genetic disorder causing developmental and intellectual delays, 1961, from J.L.H. Down (1828-1896), English physician; chosen as a less racist name for the condition than earlier mongolism.

mountain in Caernarvonshire, northern Wales, from snow (n.) + Old English dun "hill, mountain" (see down (n.2); presumably translating a former Celtic name. The height is snow-covered much of the year. Related: Snowdonian.

"temptress, treacherous lover," 1590s, from the name of the woman who seduced and betrayed Samson in Judges, from Hebrew Delilah, literally "delicate, languishing, amorous," from Semitic root d-l-l "to hang down, to languish."

1867, abbreviation of Grand Army of the Republic, the organization founded by union veterans of the American Civil War. The Grand Army was the name given (on the French model) to the army that organized in Washington in 1861 to put down the rebellion.

famously pungent type of cheese, 1870, short for Limburger cheese (1817), from Limburg, province in northeast Belgium, where the cheese is made. The place name is from Germanic *lindo "lime tree" (see linden) + *burg "fortification."

Some frauds a few years ago started a Limburger cheese factory down in Keyport, New Jersey, but the imposition was soon exposed. A man could come within 300 yards of the spurious article without being knocked down, and as the smell never had any effect on the town clock the business was soon discontinued. [John E. Boyd, "The Berkeley Heroine and Others Stories," 1899]

light, white Burgundy wine, 1660s, named for town of Chablis southeast of Paris. Made only of Chardonnay grapes. The French word chablis (16c.) is literally "deadwood," fallen from a tree through age or brought down by wind, short for bois chablis, from Old French *chableiz.

"of or pertaining to the geological period between the Triassic and the Cretaceous," 1823, from French Jurassique, literally "of the Jura Mountains," between France and Switzerland, whose limestones were laid down during this geological period. The name was chosen by von Humboldt. As a noun from 1831. The name is said to be from Gaulish *iuris "wooded mountain."

Greek goddess of law and justice, the name means "custom, right," literally "that which is laid down or established" (by custom); also "laws, ordinances," but closer in sense to Latin ius (see jurist) than to lex (see legal); related to thema "proposition; that which is placed" (see theme).

also barnburner, by 1844, American English, a member of the more progressive faction of the New York Democratic Party (opposed to the Hunkers); the nickname is an allusion to the old story of the farmer who, to rid his barn of rats, burned it down. The figurative use for "intense, exciting event" (especially a sports contest) is by 1934.

King of Corinth in classical mythology, famed as "the craftiest of men," he was condemned in the afterlife to roll uphill a stone which perpetually rolls down again; from Latinized form of Greek Sisyphos, a name of unknown origin. Liddell & Scott suggest a reduplication of syphos "the crafty" (with Aeolic -u- for -o-), but Klein calls this folk-etymology.