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mountain in California, named for local native tribe, for whose name Bright offers no etymology.

1917, short for medical examination. Earlier it was colloquial for "a student or practitioner of medicine" (1823).

1560s, "a bag for money, a purse," from money + bag (n.). Slang moneybags for "rich person" is by 1818.

1831 in the sporting sense, "a gathering of huntsmen for fox-hunting," from meet (v.). Later of bicyclists gathering for a ride, etc.

boondoggle (n.)

"A trivial, useless, or unnecessary undertaking; wasteful expenditure" [OED], 1935, American English, of uncertain origin, popularized during the New Deal as a contemptuous word for make-work projects for the unemployed. Said to have been a pioneer word for "gadget;" it also was by 1932 a Boy Scout term for a kind of woven braid.

raison d'etre (n.)

"excuse for being," 1864, first recorded in letter of J.S. Mill, from French raison d'être, literally "rational grounds for existence."

elevator (n.)

1640s, originally of muscles which raise a part of the body, from Latin elevator "one who raises up," agent noun from past participle stem of elevare (see elevate). As a name for a mechanical lift (originally for grain) attested from 1787. Elevator music for bland, low-volume background music meant to relax listeners is attested by 1963. Elevator as a lift for shoes is from 1940.

bathroom (n.)

also bath-room, 1780, from bath + room (n.). Originally a room with apparatus for bathing (the only definition in "Century Dictionary," 1902); it came to be used 20c. in U.S. as a euphemism for a lavatory and often is noted as a word that confuses British travelers. To go to the bathroom, euphemism for "relieve oneself; urinate, defecate," is from 1920 (in a book for children), but typically is used without regard for whether an actual bathroom is involved.

requital (n.)

"return for some service, kindness, etc.; act of requiting" for good or ill, 1570s, from requite + -al (2).

Sterno (n.)

U.S. proprietary name for solidified alcohol used as fuel for cooking stoves, 1915, by S. Sternau & Co., New York, N.Y. Noted by 1935 as a source of dangerous but cheap alcohol for drinking.

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