abominable, Lat. abominabilis, from ab and omen, contrary to the omens, foreboding: detestable. absurd, Lat. absurdus, from ab, from, and surdus, deaf, lit. proceeding from one that is deaf, and hence incongruous: opposed to manifest truth. absurdity. See absurd. abundance, Lat. abundantia, from ab and unda, a wave; lit. an overflow: an overflowing fulness; plen teousness. address, v., Fr. adresser, from Lat. diri gere (dis and regere), to arrange, set in array to prepare. admire, Lat. admirari, from ad and mirari, to wonder at; used by Bacon in its etymological sense. alo, A.-S. a, to, and do: bustle, trouble. aisle, O. Fr. aisle (Fr. aile), Lat. ala, a wing of a building: in Gothic cathedrals and churches, one of the lateral divisions of a building separated from the middle of the nave by two rows of piers. Albion, an ancient or poetical name of England. The name "Albion" is derived from Lat. albus, white, on account of the appearance of Eng. land's chalky cliffs. alchemist, Arabic al-kimia, alchemy (which, however, is thought to be ultimately from a Greek root chemos, juice, liquid): one who prac tises alchemy. ambiguity, Lat. ambiguus, from ambigere (amb, around, and agere, to drive), to wander about with irresolute mind: doubtfulness or uncertainty. ambition, Lat. ambitio, from amb, around, and ire, to go, a going around, especially of candidates in Rome to solicit votes, and hence, primarily, desire for office: an eager desire for honor, superiority, or power. ambitious. See ambition. Amen, Heb. amen, true: an expression used at the end of prayers, and meaning So be it. annuity, L. Lat. annuitas, from annus, year a sum of money payable yearly. = anon, adv., A.-S. an in, and on one, that is, in one minute: hence soon. anonymous, Lat. anonymus, from Gr. anonumos, without a name (an, privative, and onuma, name): nameless. antic, adj., Lat. antiquus, old, ancient. Used in this primary sense by Milton. Then, since what is old and old-fashioned is liable to be thought of as odd, it came to mean fantastic, grotesque. Aphrodite, Gr. Aphrodite, the Greek name for Lat. Venus, from aphros, the foam of the sea. Cupid (Gr. Eros) was her son, "her boy." transitive use and sense the word is obsolete. atrabiliar, L. Lat. atrabiliaris, from Lat. atra, black, and bilis, bile: affected with melancholy. audience, Lat. audientia, a hearing, from audire, to hear: the act of hearing; admittance to a hearing. augur, v., Lat. n. augur, a Roman of ficer who pretended to foretell future events by the flight, singing, etc., of birds (avis), or by other celestial objects: to betoken. Augur differs in meaning from betoken: persons or things augur ; things only betoken. author, Lat. auctor, from augere, to increase, to produce: the composer of a book. apothecary, Gr. apotheke, repository awe, n., A.-S. oga or aige, dread: rev (from apo, away, and tithenai, to put): one who sells drugs. In England apothecaries also prescribe for diseases, acting as subphysicians. apparel, v., Fr. appareil, provision, fur nishing to clothe, to attire. argent, Lat. argentum, silver : resembling silver, hence bright. armistice, Fr. armistice, from Lat. arma, arms, and stare, to stand still: suspension of hostilities by agreement; a truce. erential fear. SYN. Awe dread - reverence. Awe is a mixed feeling of sublimity and fear in view of something great or terrible. Dread is strong personal fear in view of something terrible. Reverence is a strong sentiment of respect, generally mingled slightly with fear. bane, v., A.-S. bana, destruction: to poison. The verb is obsolete. askance, Dutch schuins, sideways: ob- barb, contracted from Barbary: a liquely. horse of the Barbary stock noted for speed. barbarian, Lat. barbarus, Gr. barbaros, foreign an uncivilized person. bass, Fr. basse, deep, low deep or grave in sound. : bay, v., Fr. aboyer, to bark: to bark at. beam, A.-S. beam, a beam: a shaft of rays. bedight. See dight. beholding, beholden (= holden, i. e. held or bound in gratitude): obliged. "Beholding" is the all but uni form spelling in the early copies | calamity, Lat. calamitas, loss, misfort of Shakespeare, though the more bestead, A.-S. be and stead, to help, as- As "bombast" was originally used boon, Lat. bonus, good, lit. that which bower, from A.-S. bur, a cottage. In this literal sense it is used by Milton, and not in its modern meaning of an arbor. It had also in early times the signification of a chamber or lodging-place; and in this sense the word is used by Gray. bridegroom, A.-S. brydguma, a man newly married or about to be buffoon, Fr. bouffon, from bouffer, to puff out, because the buffoons puffed bully, v., O. Eng. bully, to boil to act butler, O. Fr. bouteillier, from bouteille, a bottle, lit. a bottle-bearer or cupbearer: a servant or officer in a household whose principal business is to take charge of the liquors, plate, etc. buttress, Fr. bouter, to push, to butt: a projecting support to the exterior of a wall. cadence, Lat. cadentia, from cadere, to fall a regular fall or modulation of sound. une, injury, lit. the injury of crops, from calemus, reed, any straw of grain, stalk, blade: an event or a disaster producing extensive evil. calendar, Lat. calendarium, an accountbook: an arrangement of the divisions of time. candid, Lat. candidus, from candere, to be of a glowing white: fair, just, impartial. canonize, L. Lat. canonizare, from Lat. canon, a list or roll: to place upon the catalogue of saints. canopy, Gr. konopeion, a net of gauze to keep off knats (konops, gnat): a covering over a throne or over a bed. cavalier, Fr. cavalier, a horseman, from Lat. caballus, a horse: a knight, a censure, v., Lat. censere, to value: to a monster in the shape of a dog nus, from capella, a hood, sacred vessel, chapel. It is said that the kings of France, in war, carried into the field St. Martin's hat, which was kept in a tent as a precious relic, whence the place took the name capella, a little hat, and the priest who had the custody of the tent was called capel lanus, chaplain. charm, Fr. charme, Lat. carmen, song, chant. children, A.-S. cild, pl. cildru, cildra. The word is a curious instance of a double plural (= child + ra+en). cholera, Gr. cholera, from chole, bile: a disease characterized by vomiting and purging. (con), with, and merx, mercis, merchandise: holding intercourse. commission, Lat. committere (com and mittere), to trust: 1. The act of perpetrating; 2. Something intrusted to a person. chorister, Fr. choriste, a singer in a commune, Lat. communicare, to com choir, from Gr. choros, a choir. Christmas, from Christ, and L. Lat. missa, mass: the festival of the Christian Church observed annually on December 25, in memory of the birth of Christ. cinctured, adj., Lat. cinctura, a girdle (from cingere, to gird): having a cincture or girdle. civil, L. Lat. civilis, from civis, a citi zen: civilized, refined. This use of the word, as applied to a person, is obsolete. clarion, L. Lat. clario, from Lat. clarus, clear, from its shrill sound: a kind of trumpet whose note is clear and shrill, clerk, Lat. clericus, priest: a parish of ficer in the Church of England. cloister, O. Fr. cloistre, Lat. claustrum, from claudere, to shut, to close: a covered arcade in a monastic or collegiate establishment sur rounding an inner quadrangular area of buildings; a place of learned seclusion. coffer, Fr. coffre, from Lat. cophinus, Gr. kophinos, a basket, a chest: treasury or funds. cognizance, L. Lat. cognoscentia, from Lat. cognoscere (con and noscere, to know), to be acquainted: a badge worn by a retainer or dependent to indicate the person or party to which he belonged. coherent, Lat. co for con, with, and he rere, to stick cleaving together, and hence connected by some relation of order. commereing, Lat. commercium, from com municate: to converse together familiarly. companion, Fr. compagnon, from L. Lat. companium, fellowship, mess (com, together, panis, bread): an associate, a comrade. company, the state of being a companion (which see): fellowship. compass, 7., L. Lat. compassus (cum and passus, a pace or step), circle : to encircle, to environ. compensate, Lat. com (con), with, and pendere, pensum, to weigh to balance, to make equal return. compensation. See compensate. conceit, It. concetto, from Lat. conceptus, (con and capere, to take), lit. something conceived: used by Johnson in the sense of quaint fancy. congenial, Lat. congenialis, partaking of the same nature: kindred, sympathetic. consent, Lat. con, together, and sentire, to feel: sympathy, accord. Used by Milton in this its etymological sense. conspirator, Lat. conspirator, from con spirare, to blow together, to agree, to plot: one who conspires with others for an evil purpose. contract, Lat. contractus, from con and trahere, to draw together: an agreement, a covenant. convincement, a hybrid word com pounded of a Latin root, convince (from convincere, to conquer), and an A.-S. suffix. It is now superseded by the form conviction. cope, A.-S. ceapan, to trade: to requite. copse, contraction of coppice, from O. Fr. copeiz, from couper, to cut, because originally a wood of small growth cut for fuel: a wood of small growth. corn, A.-S. corn, grain: used by Bun yan in the sense of wheat. coronal, Lat. coronalis, belonging to the crown (corona): a garland. coronet, Lat. corona, a crown: an in ferior crown worn by noblemen. corpse, Lat. corpus, lit. a body, whether living or dead: the dead body of a human being. In the first folio of Shakespeare the word is spelled corpes. Another form of the word, still used, is corse. crafty, A.-S. craft, strength, art: used by Bacon in the sense of merely practical. crew, O. Eng. crue, from Fr. crue, in crease or gathering. The primitive meaning is company, and in this sense it is used by Milton. In modern usage, except when employed to designate a ship's company, it usually has a derogatory implication. crosier, Fr. croix (= Lat. crux), a cross the official staff of an archbishop, terminating at the top in a cross. erusade, Fr. croisade, from croix (crux), the cross a military expedition undertaken in the Middle Ages to recover the Holy Land from the Mohammedans. The crusaders! wore a cross on their breasts. crusader. See crusade. cucumber, O. Fr. coucombre (now con combre), Lat. cucumis, gen. cucumeris: a well-known plant and its fruit, of the genus cucumis. curfew, Fr. couvrir, to cover, and feu, fire the bell-ringing at nightfall practised in olden times as a signal to cover fires, extinguish lights, and retire to rest. curiously, Lat. curiosus, careful, from cura, care carefully. In this sense it is used by Bacon. The modern meanings are extensions of this primary signification: thus, to be curious about a thing is to be careful or anxious to learn about it, and a curious object is one that excites careful attention. cynosure, from Lat. cynosura (Gr. kunosoura, lit. dog's tail), the ancient name for the constellation of the Lesser Bear. To this, as containing the pole-star, the eyes of mariners are directed; and hence the meaning of cynosure, as denoting any object that strongly attracts attention. decent, Lat. decens, decentis, becoming, | modest used by Milton in its etymological sense. decrepitude, Lat. decreptus, lit. noised out, noiseless, applied to old people who creep about quietly, from de and crepare, crepitare, to make a noise, to rattle: the broken state produced by decay and the infirmities of age. deliberation, Lat. deliberare, to weigh, from de and libra, a balance: careful consideration. demean, Lat. minare, to drive: to be have. This is the proper use of the word. The employment of it as synonymous with to lower, degrade, is founded on a mistaken notion that the word is connected with mean, which it nowise is. demure, O. Fr. de (honnes) murs (=Fr. mœurs), lit. of good manners: dec orous. |