word orgins 3 Flashcards
handicap
Reference to horse racing is 1754 (Handy-Cap Match), where the umpire decrees the superior horse should carry extra weight as a “handicap;” this led to sense of “encumbrance, disability” first recorded 1890. The main modern sense, “disability,” is the last to develop, early 20c.
handicap
Reference to horse racing is 1754 (Handy-Cap Match), where the umpire decrees the superior horse should carry extra weight as a “handicap;” this led to sense of “encumbrance, disability” first recorded 1890. The main modern sense, “disability,” is the last to develop, early 20c.
idiot
from Late Latin idioticus “uneducated, ignorant,” in classical Latin, “of an ordinary person,” from Greek idiotikos “unprofessional, unskilled; not done by rules of art, unprofessional,” from idiotes
infantry
570s, from French infantrie, from older Italian, Spanish infanteria “foot soldiers, force composed of those too inexperienced or low in rank for cavalry,” from infante “foot soldier,” originally “a youth,” from Latin infantem (see infant). Meaning “infants collectively” is recorded from 1610s.
jalopy
An old car in a dilapidated condition.
perhaps from Jalapa, Mexico, where many U.S. used cars supposedly were sent (see jalapeno).
kid
the young of a goat,” from a Scandinavian source (cf. Old Norse kið “young goat”), from Proto-Germanic *kiðjom (cf. Old High German kizzi, German kitze, Danish and Swedish kid). Extended meaning of “child”
kit and caboodle
with) absolutely all, everything
kit (n.1) in dismissive sense “number of things viewed as a whole” (1785) + boodle “lot, collection,” perhaps from Dutch boedel “property.” Kit also was paired with other words in similar formations.
larceny
Theft of personal property.
from a Greek source akin to latron “pay, hire, wages,” from a suffixed form of PIE root *le- “to get.”
magazine
place for storing goods, especially military ammunition,” from Middle French magasin “warehouse, depot, store” (15c.), from Italian magazzino, from Arabic makhazin, plural of makhzan “storehouse”
moron
medical Latin, from Greek (Attic) moron, neuter of moros “foolish, dull, sluggish, stupid,”
naked truth
“Truth and Falsehood went swimming. Falsehood stole the clothes that Truth had left on the river bank, but Truth refused to wear Falsehood’s clothes and went naked.”
Read more: http://www.joe-ks.com/phrases/phrasesN.htm#ixzz2QsCRDEmy
*As mad as a hatter *
Mercury used to be used in the manufacture of felt hats, so hatters, or hat makers, would come into contact with this poisonous metal a lot. Unfortunately, the effect of such exposure may lead to mercury poisoning, one of the symptoms of which is insanity.
idiot
from Late Latin idioticus “uneducated, ignorant,” in classical Latin, “of an ordinary person,” from Greek idiotikos “unprofessional, unskilled; not done by rules of art, unprofessional,” from idiotes
infantry
570s, from French infantrie, from older Italian, Spanish infanteria “foot soldiers, force composed of those too inexperienced or low in rank for cavalry,” from infante “foot soldier,” originally “a youth,” from Latin infantem (see infant). Meaning “infants collectively” is recorded from 1610s.
jalopy
An old car in a dilapidated condition.
perhaps from Jalapa, Mexico, where many U.S. used cars supposedly were sent (see jalapeno).
