thesaurus | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

7 entries found.

1823, "treasury, storehouse," from Latin thesaurus "treasury, a hoard, a treasure, something laid up," figuratively "repository, collection," from Greek thēsauros "a treasure, treasury, storehouse, chest," related to tithenai "to put, to place." According to Watkins, it is from a reduplicated form of PIE root *dhe- "to set, put," but Beekes offers: "No etymology, but probably a technical loanword, without a doubt from Pre-Greek."

The meaning "encyclopedia filled with information" is from 1840, but existed earlier as thesaurarie (1590s), used as a title by early dictionary compilers, on the notion of thesaurus verborum "a treasury of words." Meaning "collection of words arranged according to sense" is first attested 1852 in Roget's title. Thesaurer is attested in Middle English for "treasurer" and thesaur "treasure" was in use 15c.-16c.

Roget

a reference to the "Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases" published 1852 by English philologist Peter Mark Roget (1779-1869). The surname is a diminutive of Roger. Related: Roget's.

Boniface

masc. proper name. Saint Boniface (c. 675-754) was an Anglo-Saxon missionary to the continental Germanic peoples.

Contrary to the common opinion, this name derives not from Latin bonifacius 'well-doer,' but from bonifatius, from bonum 'good' and fatum 'fate.' The change to Bonifacius was due to pronunciation and from this was deduced a false etymology. Bonifatius is frequent on Latin inscriptions. Bonifacius is found only twice and these late (Thesaurus) ["Dictionary of English Surnames"]

Meaning "innkeeper" (by 1803) is from Will Boniface, character in George Farquhar's comedy "The Beaux' Stratagem" (1707).

trove (n.)

1888, from treasure trove (c. 1550), from Anglo-French tresor trové (late 12c.), translating Latin thesaurus inventus, literally "treasure found." Originally any precious metal object one finds hidden whose owner is unknown. As this usually meant ancient hoards, the term came to mean "treasure hoard" in popular use. Rendered treasure found from mid-15c. French trove is past participle of trover "to find," from Old French trover, torver, of unknown origin, perhaps from Latin turbare "to move" (hence "to seek for") or Medieval Latin *tropare "to compose, sing."

treasure (n.)

mid-12c., tresor, from Old French tresor "treasury, hoard, treasure" (11c., Modern French trésor), from Gallo-Roman *tresaurus, from Latin thesaurus "treasury, treasure" (source also of Spanish, Italian tesoro), from Greek thēsauros "store, treasure, treasure house," related to tithenai "to put, to place," from reduplicated form of PIE root *dhe- "to set, put." In Middle English also thresur, etc.; modern spelling is from 16c. Replaced Old English goldhord, maðm. General sense of "anything valued" is recorded from c. 1200. Treasure hunt is first recorded 1913. For treasure trove, see trove.

blow-job (n.)

also blowjob, "act of fellatio," 1961, from blow + job (n.). Exactly which blow is meant is the subject of some debate; the word might have begun as a euphemism for suck (thus from blow (v.1)), or it might refer to the explosive climax of an orgasm (thus blow (v.2)). The oldest verbal form appears to be blow (someone) off (1933), a phrase originally among prostitutes.

Unlike much sex slang, its date of origin probably is pretty close to the date it first is attested in print: as recently as the early 1950s, military pilots could innocently talk of their jet planes as blow jobs according to the "Thesaurus of American Slang."

ham (n.2)

"overacting inferior performer," 1882, American English, apparently a shortening of hamfatter (1880) "actor of low grade," which is said (at least since 1889) to be from the old minstrel show song, "The Ham-fat Man" (attested by 1856). The song, a comical black-face number, has nothing to do with acting, but the connection might be with the quality of acting in minstrel shows, where the song was popular (compare the definition of hambone in the 1942 "American Thesaurus of Slang," "unconvincing blackface dialectician"). Its most popular aspect was the chorus and the performance of the line "Hoochee, kouchee, kouchee, says the ham fat man."

Ham also had a sports slang sense of "incompetent pugilist" (1888), perhaps from the notion in ham-fisted. The notion of "amateurish" led to the sense of "amateur radio operator" (1919).

Trending words