Category: vocabulary

c. 1300, partie, “a part, division, section, portion,” a sense now obsolete; also “physical piece, fragment; section of a book or treatise,” from Old French partie “side, part; portion, share; separation, division” (12c.), literally “that which is divided,” noun use of fem. past participle of partir “to divide, separate” (10c.), from Latin partire/partiri “to share, part, distribute, divide,” from pars “a part, piece, a share” (from PIE root *pere- (2) “to grant, allot”).

In early use the word often appears where we would have its relative part (n.). Also from c. 1300 in the legal sense “person or group of persons involved in a lawsuit, agreement, etc.,” and in the political sense of “a number of persons united in supporting a person, policy, or cause.” From early 14c. as any “group of people,” also “a social class.” Meaning “a person, a paritcular person” is from mid-15c.

The military sense of “a detached part of a larger body or company” is by 1640s. The sense of “a gathering for social pleasure” is found by 1716, from general sense of persons gathered (originally for some specific, temporary purpose, such as dinner party, hunting party).

Phrase the party is over “enjoyment or pleasant times have come to an end” is from 1937; party line is recorded by 1834 in the sense of “policy adopted by a political party,” and by 1893 in the sense of “telephone line shared by two or more subscribers.” Party pooper “one who casts gloom over a convivial event” is from 1951, American English.

early 15c., ficcioun, “that which is invented or imagined in the mind,” from Old French ficcion “dissimulation, ruse; invention, fabrication” (13c.) and directly from Latin fictionem (nominative fictio) “a fashioning or feigning,” noun of action from past participle stem of fingere “to shape, form, devise, feign,” originally “to knead, form out of clay,” from PIE root *dheigh- “to form, build.”

Meaning “prose works (not dramatic) of the imagination” is from 1590s, at first often including plays and poems. Narrower sense of “the part of literature comprising novels and short stories based on imagined scenes or characters” is by early 19c. The legal sense (fiction of law) is from 1580s. A writer of fiction could be a fictionist (1827). The related Latin words included the literal notion “worked by hand,” as well as the figurative senses of “invented in the mind; artificial, not natural”: Latin fictilis “made of clay, earthen;” fictor “molder, sculptor” (also borrowed 17c. in English), but also of Ulysses as “master of deceit;” fictum “a deception, falsehood; fiction.”

late 14c., “perform manual or physical work; work hard; keep busy; take pains, strive, endeavor” (also “copulate”), from Old French laborer “to work, toil; struggle, have difficulty; be busy; plow land,” from Latin laborare “to work, endeavor, take pains, exert oneself; produce by toil; suffer, be afflicted; be in distress or difficulty,” from labor “toil, work, exertion” (see labor (n.)).

The verb in modern French, Spanish, and Portuguese means “to plow;” the wider sense being taken by the equivalent of English travail. Sense of “endure pain, suffer” is early 15c., especially in phrase labor of child (mid-15c.). Meaning “be burdened” (with trouble, affliction, etc., usually with under) is from late 15c. The transitive senses have tended to go with belabor. Related: Labored; laboring.

c. 1300, “a task, a project” (such as the labors of Hercules); later “exertion of the body; trouble, difficulty, hardship” (late 14c.), from Old French labor “toil, work, exertion, task; tribulation, suffering” (12c., Modern French labeur), from Latin labor “toil, exertion; hardship, pain, fatigue; a work, a product of labor,” a word of uncertain origin. Some sources venture that it could be related to labere “to totter” on the notion of “tottering under a burden,” but de Vaan finds this unconvincing. The native word is work.

Meaning “body of laborers considered as a class” (usually contrasted to capitalists) is from 1839; for the British political sense see labour. Sense of “physical exertions of childbirth” is attested from 1590s, short for labour of birthe (early 15c.); the sense also is found in Old French, and compare French en travail “in (childbirth) suffering” (see travail). Labor Day was first marked 1882 in New York City. The prison labor camp is attested from 1900. Labor-saving (adj.) is from 1776. Labor of love is by 1797.

1809, in geology, “a rock made up of pebbles and other water-worn debris from previous rocks,” from conglomerate (adj.). General sense of “anything comprised of heterogeneous or incongruous materials” is from 1831.  Specific sense “large business group” is from 1963, short for conglomerate corporation. Related: Conglomeratic.

“gathered into a ball or rounded mass,” 1570s, from Latin conglomeratus, past participle of conglomerare “to roll together, concentrate, heap up,” from assimilated form of com “with, together” (see con-) + glomerare “to gather into a ball, collect,” from glomus (genitive glomeris) “a ball, ball-shaped mass,” possibly from PIE *glem- (see glebe).

mid-14c. (c. 1200 as a surname), mid-14c., “intelligence; discretion, foresight; wisdom to see what is suitable or profitable;” also one of the four cardinal virtues, “wisdom to see what is virtuous;” from Old French prudence (13c.) and directly from Latin prudentia “a foreseeing, foresight, sagacity, practical judgment,” contraction of providentia “foresight” (see providence). Secondary sense of “wisdom” (late 14c.) is preserved in jurisprudence.

1620s, “systematic knowledge of law,” from French jurisprudence (17c.) and directly from Late Latin iurisprudentia “the science of law,” from iuris “of right, of law” (genitive of ius; see jurist) + prudentia “knowledge, a foreseeing” (see prudence). Meaning “the philosophy of law” is first attested 1756. Related: Jurisprudent; jurisprudential.

1610s, “territory under the jurisdiction of a lord or officer,” from French district (16c.), from Medieval Latin districtus “restraining of offenders, jurisdiction,” then under the feudal system “area of jurisdiction, district within which the lord may take and withhold personal property (distrain) for legal reasons.” It is a noun use of the past participle of Latin distringere “to draw apart, hinder,” also in Medieval Latin “compel, coerce,” from dis- “apart” (see dis-) + stringere “draw tight, press together” (see strain (v.)).

Compare distress (v.) which originally in English also had a sense of “constrain or compel.” District was used generally of “a limited extent of a country marked off for a special purpose” by 1660s, then vaguely of “any tract of land” by 1712. In the U.S., it generally indicates that the inhabitants act together for some specific purpose (school district, etc.). District attorney is attested by 1789, American English.

late 14c., “to make free,” from Old French franchiss-, past participle stem of franchir “to free” (12c.), from franc “free” (see frank (adj.)). Franchising is from 1570s; the commercial licensing sense is from 1966. Related: Franchisee; franchiser; franchisor.