Author: iamking

late 14c., “sea monster, sea serpent,” sometimes regarded as a form of Satan, from Late Latin leviathan, from Hebrew livyathan “dragon, serpent, huge sea animal,” of unknown origin, perhaps from root l-w-h- “to wind, turn, twist,” on the notion of a serpent’s coils. If so, related to Hebrew liwyah “wreath,” Arabic lawa “to bend, twist.” Of powerful persons or things from c. 1600. Hobbes’s use is from 1651.

An aquatic animal mentioned in the Old Testament. It is described in Job xli. apparently as a crocodile; in Isa. xxvii 1 it is called a piercing and a crooked serpent; and it is mentioned indefinitely in Ps. lxxiv. 14 as food and Ps. civ. 26. [Century Dictionary]

c. 1200, “that which may be inherited,” from Old French iritage, eritage, heritage “heir; inheritance, ancestral estate, heirloom,” from heriter “inherit,” from Late Latin hereditare, ultimately from Latin heres (genitive heredis) “heir” (see heredity). Meaning “condition or state transmitted from ancestors” is from 1620s.

late 14c., also embassador, “diplomatic emissary of a ruler in the court of another,” from Old French embassator, ambassateor, which comes via Provençal or Old Spanish from Latin ambactus “a servant, vassal,” from Celtic amb(i)actos “a messenger, servant,” from PIE root *ambhi- “around” + *ag- “to drive, draw out or forth, move.”

Compare embassy. Forms in am- and em- were used indiscriminately in English 17c.-18c. Until 1893 the United States sent and received none, having only ministers (often called ambassadors), who represented the state, not the sovereign.

1620s, from French émissaire (17c.) or directly from Latin emissarius “a scout, a spy,” literally “that is sent out,” from emissus, past participle of emittere “send forth” (see emit).