Category: vocabulary

late 14c., “sulphate of iron,” from Old French vitriol (13c.), from Medieval Latin vitriolum “vitriol,” noun use of neuter of vitriolus, variant of Late Latin vitreolus “of glass,” from Latin vitreus “of glass, glassy,” from vitrum “glass” (see vitreous). So called from its glassy appearance in certain states. Meaning “bitter or caustic feelings” first attested 1769, in reference to the corrosive properties of vitriol (when heated it produces sulfuric acid, formerly called oil of vitriol).

c. 1300, “body part or organ, an integral part of an animal body having a distinct function” (in plural, “the body”), from Old French membre “part, portion; topic, subject; limb, member of the body; member” (of a group, etc.),” 11c., from Latin membrum “limb, member of the body, part,” probably from PIE *mems-ro, from root *mems- “flesh, meat” (source also of Sanskrit mamsam “flesh;” Greek meninx “membrane,” mēros “thigh” (the “fleshy part”); Gothic mimz “flesh”).

In common use, “one of the limbs or extremities.” Especially “the sex organ” (c. 1300, compare Latin membrum virile, but in English originally of women as well as men). Figurative sense of “anything likened to a part of the body” is by 14c., hence “a component part of any aggregate or whole, constituent part of a complex structure, one of a number of associated parts or entities.”

The transferred sense of “person belonging to a group” is attested from mid-14c., from notion of “person considered in relation to an aggregate of individuals to which he or she belongs,” especially one who has united with or been formally chosen as a corporate part of an association or public body. This meaning was reinforced by, if not directly from, the use of member in Christian theology and discourse from mid-14c. for “a Christian” (a “member” of the Church as the “Body of Christ”). Meaning “one who has been elected to parliament” is from early 15c.

Latin, literally “at first sight,” ablative of prima facies “first appearance,” from prima, fem. singular of primus “first” (see prime (adj.)) + facies “form, face” (see face (n.)).

prime (adj.)

late 14c., “first in order,” from Latin primus “first, the first, first part,” figuratively “chief, principal; excellent, distinguished, noble” (source also of Italian and Spanish primo), from pre-Italic *prismos, superlative of PIE *preis- “before,” from root *per- (1) “forward,” hence “in front of, before, first, chief.”

Meaning “first in importance” is from 1610s in English; that of “first-rate” is from 1620s. Arithmetical sense (as in prime number) is from 1560s; prime meridian “the meridian of the earth from which longitude is measured, that of Greenwich, England,” is from 1878. Prime time originally (c. 1500) meant “spring time;” broadcasting sense of “peak tuning-in period” is attested by 1961.

face (n.)

c. 1300, “the human face, a face; facial appearance or expression; likeness, image,” from Old French face “face, countenance, look, appearance” (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *facia (source also of Italian faccia), from Latin facies “appearance, form, figure,” and secondarily “visage, countenance,” which probably is literally “form imposed on something” and related to facere “to make” (from PIE root *dhe- “to set, put”).

Replaced Old English andwlita “face, countenance” (from root of wlitan “to see, look”) and ansyn, ansien, the usual word (from the root of seon “see”). Words for “face” in Indo-European commonly are based on the notion of “appearance, look,” and are mostly derivatives from verbs for “to see, look” (as with the Old English words, Greek prosopon, literally “toward-look,” Lithuanian veidas, from root *weid- “to see,” etc.). But in some cases, as here, the word for “face” means “form, shape.” In French, the use of face for “front of the head” was given up 17c. and replaced by visage (older vis), from Latin visus “sight.”

From late 14c. as “outward appearance (as contrasted to some other reality);” also from late 14c. as “forward part or front of anything;” also “surface (of the earth or sea), extent (of a city).” Typographical sense of “part of the type which forms the letter” is from 1680s.

Whan she cometh hoom, she raumpeth in my face And crieth ‘false coward.’ [Chaucer, “Monk’s Tale”]

Face to face is from mid-14c. Face time is attested from 1990. To lose face “lose prestige” (1835), is from Chinese tu lien; hence also save face (1915). To show (one’s) face “make or put in an appearance” is from mid-14c. (shewen the face). To make a face “change the appearance of the face in disgust, mockery, etc.” is from 1560s. Two faces under one hood as a figure of duplicity is attested from mid-15c.

“color,” Old English hiw “color; form, appearance; species, kind; beauty,” earlier heow, hiow, from Proto-Germanic *hiwam (source also of Old Norse hy “bird’s down,” Swedish hy “skin, complexion,” Gothic hiwi “form, appearance”), from PIE *kiwo-, suffixed form of root *kei- (2), a color adjective of broad application (source also of Sanskrit chawi “hide, skin, complexion, color, beauty, splendor,” Lithuanian šyvas “white”).

A common word in Old English, squeezed into obscurity after c. 1600 by color (n.) but revived 1850s in chemistry and chromatography, often in a distinctive sense in reference to the quality of color other than luminosity and chroma.

1530s, “not subject to dispensation,” from Medieval Latin *indispensabilis, from in- “not, opposite of” (see in- (1)) + dispensabilis, from Latin dispensare “disburse, administer, distribute (by weight)” (see dispense). Meaning “necessary” is from 1690s. From 17c. into 19c. often spelled indispensible, but modern dictionaries considered this improper.

As a noun, “indispensable thing,” from 1794; c. 1800-1810, after French use, it was the name of a type of pocket bag worn by women. indispensables (1820) also was one of the many 1820s jocular euphemisms for “trousers” (see inexpressible). Related: Indispensably.

“well done!,” 1761, from Italian bravo, literally “brave” (see brave (adj.)). Earlier it was used as a noun meaning “desperado, hired killer” (1590s). Superlative form is bravissimo.

It is held by some philologists that as “Bravo!” is an exclamation its form should not change, but remain bravo under all circumstances. Nevertheless “bravo” is usually applied to a male, “brava” to a female artist, and “bravi” to two or more. [“Elson’s Music Dictionary,” 1905]

late 15c., “admit or show one’s knowledge,” a blend of Middle English aknow “admit or show one’s knowledge” (from Old English oncnawan “understand, come to recognize,” from on (see on (prep.)) + cnawan “recognize;” see know) and Middle English knowlechen “admit, acknowledge” (c. 1200; see knowledge). “By 16th c. the earlier vbs. knowledge and a(c)know … were obs., and acknowledge took their place” [OED].

In the merger, an unetymological -c- slipped in; perhaps the explanation is that when English kn- became a simple “n” sound, the -c- stepped up to preserve, in this word, the ancient “kn-” sound. Related: Acknowledged; acknowledging.

mid-15c., “knowledge of an event or incident; understanding,” from Middle French recognition (15c.) and directly from Latin recognitionem (nominative recognitio) “a reviewing, investigation, examination,” noun of action from past participle stem of recognoscere “to acknowledge, know again; examine” (see recognize).

Sense of “formal avowal of knowledge and approval” is from 1590s; especially acknowledgement of the independence of a country by a state formerly exercising sovereignty (1824). Meaning “a knowing again” is from 1798

“fear of crossing open spaces,” 1873, from German Agorophobie, coined 1871 by Berlin psychiatrist Carl Westphal from Greek agora “place of assembly, city market” (but here with the general sense “open space;” see agora) + -phobia “fear.” Related: Agoraphobe; agoraphobic.

“precisian in speech or manners,” 1753, originally in reference to theological scruples (1704), of unknown origin; earlier appearances of the same word meaning “dandy, fop” (1670s), “thief” (c. 1600; in form prigger recorded from 1560s) could be related, as could thieves’ cant prig “a tinker” (1560s).

A p[rig] is wise beyond his years in all the things that do not matter. A p. cracks nuts with a steam hammer: that is, calls in the first principles of morality to decide whether he may, or must, do something of as little importance as drinking a glass of beer. On the whole, one may, perhaps, say that all his different characteristics come from the combination, in varying proportions, of three things–the desire to do his duty, the belief that he knows better than other people, & blindness to the difference in value between different things. [“anonymous essay,” quoted in Fowler, 1926]