type of rifle used by the British army early 20c., 1902 (adj.); 1910 (n.), named for J.P. Lee (1831-1904), U.S. designer of bolt action + Enfield (q.v.).
name of character in a series of novels by U.S. fiction writer Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950), introduced 1914.
masc. proper name, German Siegfried; the first element is from Old High German sigu "victory," from Proto-Germanic *seges- "victory" (source also of Old Frisian si, Old Saxon sigi, Middle Dutch seghe, Dutch zege, German Sieg, Old Norse sigr, Danish seier, Gothic sigis, Old English sige "victory, success, triumph"), from PIE root *segh- "to hold" (source also of Sanskrit saha- "victory," sahate "overcomes, masters").
The second element is from Old High German frithu "peace" (from suffixed form of PIE root *pri- "to love"). Siegfried Line, World War I German fortifications in France (and German western defenses after it), is from German Siegfriedlinie, named for the hero in Wagner's "Ring" cycle.
fem. proper name, Old English Eadgyð, from ead "riches, prosperity, good fortune, happiness" + guð "war." A fairly common name; it survived through the Middle Ages, probably on the popularity of St. Eadgyð of Wilton (962-84, abbess, daughter of King Edgar of England), fell from favor 16c., was revived in fashion late 19c. Old English ead (also in eadig "wealthy, prosperous, fortunate, happy, blessed; perfect;" eadnes "inner peace, ease, joy, prosperity") became Middle English edy, eadi "rich, wealthy; costly, expensive; happy, blessed," but was ousted by happy. Late Old English, in its grab-bag of alliterative pairings, had edye men and arme "rich men and poor."
1906 in reference to a type of lawn or deck chair said to have been designed in 1903 by a Thomas Lee, owner of the Westport Mountain Spring, a resort in the Adirondack region of New York State. Commercial manufacture is said to have begin the following year but it was at first called Westport chair after the town where it was made.
Adirondack Mountains is a back-formation from Adirondacks, which was treated as a plural noun but really it is from Mohawk (Iroquoian) adiro:daks "tree-eaters," a name they applied to neighboring Algonquian tribes. The -s is an imperfective affix.
1507, "the western hemisphere, North and South America," in Cartographer Martin Waldseemüller's treatise "Cosmographiae Introductio," from Modern Latin Americanus, traditionally after Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512) who made two trips to the New World as a navigator and claimed to have discovered it. His published works put forward the idea that it was a new continent, and he was first to call it Novus Mundus "New World." Amerigo is more easily Latinized than Vespucci (Latin Vesputius, which might have yielded place-name Vesputia). The sense in English naturally was restricted toward the British colonies, then the United States.
It is a thousand pities that the puny witticisms of a few professional objectors should have the power to prevent, even for a year, the adoption of a name for our country. At present we have, clearly, none. There should be no hesitation about "Appalachia." In the first place, it is distinctive. "America" is not, and can never be made so. We may legislate as much as we please, and assume for our country whatever name we think right — but to use it will be no name, to any purpose for which a name is needed, unless we can take it away from the regions which employ it at present. South America is "America," and will insist upon remaining so. [Edgar Allan Poe, "Marginalia," in Graham's Magazine, Philadelphia, December 1846]
FREDONIA, FREDONIAN, FREDE, FREDISH, &c. &c. These extraordinary words, which have been deservedly ridiculed here as well as in England, were proposed sometime ago, and countenanced by two or three individuals, as names for the territory and people of the United States. The general term American is now commonly understood (at least in all places where the English language is spoken,) to mean an inhabitant of the United States; and is so employed, except where unusual precision of language is required. [John Pickering, "A Vocabulary, or Collection of Words and Phrases Which Have Been Supposed to be Peculiar to the United States of America," Boston, 1816]
The man's name Amerigo is Germanic, said to derive from Gothic Amalrich, literally "work-ruler." The Old English form of the name has come down as surnames Emmerich, Emery, etc. The Italian fem. form merged into Amelia.
Colloquial pronunciation "Ameri-kay," not uncommon 19c., goes back to at least 1643 and a poem that rhymed the word with away. Amerika "U.S. society viewed as racist, fascist, oppressive, etc." is attested from 1969; the spelling is German but it also might suggest the KKK.
