TAKE A GLANCE @ What Has Been Gathered @ Etymo's collections 'bout
the word
MIGHTY ..
mighty (adj.) Old English mihtig, earlier mæhtig, from miht (see might (n.)). Cf. Old Frisian mechtig, Old Saxon mahtig, Dutch machtig, German mächtig. As an adverb, it is attested from c.1300, though now considered colloquial. Pharos (n.) Look up Pharos at Dictionary.com as a word for a lighthouse, 1550s, in reference to the island of Pharos off the coast of Alexandria, on which Ptolemy Philadelphius built a mighty lighthouse. hid (v.) Look up hid at Dictionary.com past tense and alternative past participle of hide (v.1). How to entangle, trammel up and snare Your soul in mine, and labyrinth you there Like the hid scent in an unbudded rose? Aye, a sweet kiss -- you see your mighty woes. [Keats, "Lamia"] bored (adj.) Look up bored at Dictionary.com 1823, past participle adjective from bore (v.) in the figurative sense. Society is now one polished horde, Formed of two mighty tribes, the Bores and Bored. [Byron, "Don Juan," 1823] jeroboam (n.) Look up jeroboam at Dictionary.com 1816, "large wine bottle," from Jeroboam, "a mighty man of valour" (I Kings xi:28) "who made Israel to sin" (xiv:16), from Hebrew Yarobh'am, literally "let the people increase." rich (adj.) Look up rich at Dictionary.com Old English rice "strong, powerful; great, mighty; of high rank," in later Old English "wealthy," from Proto-Germanic *rikijaz (cf. Old Norse rikr, Swedish rik, Danish rig, Old Frisian rike "wealthy, mighty," Dutch rijk, Old High German rihhi "ruler, powerful, rich," German reich "rich," Gothic reiks "ruler, powerful, rich"), borrowed from a Celtic source akin to Gaulish *rix, Old Irish ri (genitive rig) "king," from PIE root *reg- "move in a straight line," hence, "direct, rule" (see rex). The form of the word was influenced in Middle English by Old French riche "wealthy, magnificent, sumptuous," which is, with Spanish rico, Italian ricco, from Frankish *riki "powerful," or some other cognate Germanic source. Old English also had a noun, rice "rule, reign, power, might; authority; empire." The evolution of the word reflects a connection between wealth and power in the ancient world. Of food and colors, from early 14c.; of sounds, from 1590s. Sense of "entertaining, amusing" is recorded from 1760. The noun meaning "the wealthy" was in Old English. prevalent (adj.) Look up prevalent at Dictionary.com early 15c., "having great power or force," from Latin praevalentem (nominative praevalens) "of superior strength; mighty," present participle of praevalere "to be more able" (see prevail). Meaning "extensively existing, in general use" is from 1650s. Nimrod Look up Nimrod at Dictionary.com "great hunter," 1712, a reference to the biblical son of Cush, referred to (Gen. x:8-9) as "a mighty hunter before the Lord." It came to mean "geek, klutz" by 1983 in teenager slang, for unknown reasons. (Amateur theories include its occasional use in "Bugs Bunny" cartoon episodes featuring rabbit-hunting Elmer Fudd as a foil; its possible ironic use, among hunters, for a clumsy member of their fraternity; or a stereotype of deer hunters by the non-hunting population in the U.S.) huge (adj.) Look up huge at Dictionary.com mid-12c., apparently a shortening of Old French ahuge, ahoge "extremely large, enormous; mighty, powerful," itself of uncertain origin. Expanded form hugeous is attested from early 15c. Related: Hugeness. mightiness (n.) Look up mightiness at Dictionary.com Old English mihtinesse; see mighty + -ness. imperious (adj.) Look up imperious at Dictionary.com 1540s, from Latin imperiosus "commanding, mighty, powerful," from imperium "empire, command" (see empire). Related: Imperiously. mightily (adv.) Look up mightily at Dictionary.com Old English mihtiglice; see mighty + -ly (2). puissant (adj.) Look up puissant at Dictionary.com mid-15c., from Middle French puissant "strong, mighty, powerful," earlier poissant (12c.), from stem of Old French poeir "to be able" (see power (n.)). Related: Puissantly. Bridget Look up Bridget at Dictionary.com fem. proper name, from Irish Brighid, fire goddess, from brigh "strength," from Celtic *brig-o-, from PIE *bhrgh-nt- "high, mighty," from root *bhrgh- "high" (see borough). Donald Look up Donald at Dictionary.com surname, from 13c. Scottish Dofnald, Dufenald, probably from Gaelic Domhnall, Old Irish Domnall (pronounced "Dovnall"), from Proto-Celtic *Dubno-valos "world-mighty, ruler of the world," from *walos "ruler" + PIE *dheub- (see deep (adj.)). hieratic (adj.) Look up hieratic at Dictionary.com "pertaining to sacred things," 1650s (implied in hieratical), from Latin hieraticus, from Greek hieratikos "pertaining to a priest or his office, priestly," from hierateia "priesthood," from hiereus "priest," from hieros "sacred, holy, hallowed; superhuman, mighty; divine" (see ire). haughty (adj.) Look up haughty at Dictionary.com 1520s, an extension of haught (q.v.) "high in one's own estimation" by addition of -y (2) on model of might/mighty, naught/naughty, etc. Middle English also had hautif in this sense (mid-15c., from Old French hautif). Related: Haughtily. Burgundy (n.) Look up Burgundy at Dictionary.com 1670s, "wine made in Burgundy," region and former duchy in France. The place name is from Medieval Latin Burgundia, from Late Latin Burgundiones, literally "highlanders," from PIE *bhrgh-nt- "high, mighty," from root *bhrgh- "high" (see borough). epigone (n.) Look up epigone at Dictionary.com also epigon, "undistinguished scions of mighty ancestors," (sometimes in Latin plural form epigoni), from Greek epigonoi, in classical use with reference to the sons of the Seven who warred against Thebes; plural of epigonos "born afterward" from epi (see epi-) + -gonos, from root of gignesthai "to be born" related to genos "race, birth, descent" (see genus). Bellatrix Look up Bellatrix at Dictionary.com bright star in the left shoulder of Orion, from Latin bellatrix "a female warrior," frequently used as an adjective, "warlike, skilled in war," fem. of bellator "to wage war," from bellum "war" (see bellicose). The Latin name, from the Alfonsine Tables (mid-13c.), very loosely translates the Arabic name for the star, Al Najid "the conqueror." In astrology it was the natal star of all destined to great civil or military honors, and rendered women born under its influence lucky and loquacious; or as old Thomas Hood said, "Women born under this constellation shall have mighty tongues." [Allen] mega- Look up mega- at Dictionary.com before vowels meg-, word-forming element often meaning "large, great," but in precise scientific language "one million" (megaton, megawatt, etc.), from Greek megas "great, large, vast, big, high, tall; mighty, important" (fem. megale), from PIE *meg- "great" (cf. Latin magnus, Old English micel; see mickle). Mega began to be used alone as an adjective by 1982. High-speed computer stores 2.5 megabits [headline in "Electronics" magazine, Oct. 1, 1957] fort (n.) Look up fort at Dictionary.com mid-15c., "fortified place, stronghold," from Middle French fort, from noun use in Old French of fort (adj.) "strong, fortified" (10c.), from Latin fortis "strong, mighty, firm, steadfast," from Old Latin forctus, possibly from PIE root *bheregh- "high, elevated," with derivatives referring to hills and hill-forts (cf. Sanskrit brmhati "strengthens, elevates," Old High German berg "hill;" see barrow (n.2)). magnate (n.) Look up magnate at Dictionary.com mid-15c., "great man, noble, man of wealth," from Late Latin magnates, plural of magnas "great person, nobleman," from Latin magnus "great, large, big" (of size), "abundant" (of quantity), "great, considerable" (of value), "strong, powerful" (of force); of persons, "elder, aged," also, figuratively, "great, mighty, grand, important," from PIE *mag-no-, from root *meg- "great" (cf. Sanskrit maha-, mahat- "great;" Greek megas, fem. megale "great, large;" Gothic mikils, Old English micel "great, big, many;" see mickle). almighty (adj.) Look up almighty at Dictionary.com Old English ælmihtig "all-powerful," also a by-name of God; compound of æl (see all) + mihtig (see mighty); common Germanic (cf. Old Saxon alomahtig, Old High German alamahtic, German allmächtig, Old Norse almattigr), perhaps an early Germanic loan-translation of Latin omnipotens (see omnipotent). The almighty dollar, that great object of universal devotion throughout our land." [Washington Irving, 1836] Related: Almightily. Matilda Look up Matilda at Dictionary.com fem. proper name, from French Mathilde, of Germanic origin, literally "mighty in battle;" cf. Old High German Mahthilda, from mahti "might, power" + hildi "battle," from Proto-Germanic *hildiz "battle," from PIE *kel- (1) "to strike, cut." The name also was late 19c. Australian slang for "a traveller's bundle or swag," hence the expression waltzing Matilda "to travel on foot" (by 1889). In my electorate nearly every man you meet who is not "waltzing Matilda" rides a bicycle. ["Parliamentary Debates," Australia, 1907] The lyrics of the song of that name, sometimes called the unofficial Australian national anthem, are said to date to 1893. all Look up all at Dictionary.com Old English eall "all, every, entire," from Proto-Germanic *alnaz (cf. Old Frisian, Old High German al, Old Norse allr, Gothic alls), with no certain connection outside Germanic. Combinations with all meaning "wholly, without limit" were common in Old English (e.g. eall-halig "all-holy," eall-mihtig "all-mighty") and the method continued to form new compound words throughout the history of English. First record of all out "to one's full powers" is 1880. All-terrain vehicle first recorded 1968. All clear as a signal of "no danger" is recorded from 1902. All right, indicative of approval, is attested from 1953. department store (n.) Look up department store at Dictionary.com 1878; a store that sells a variety of items, organized by department. The "Department Store" is the outgrowth of the cheap counter business originated by Butler Brothers in Boston about ten years ago. The little "Five Cent Counter" then became a cornerstone from which the largest of all the world's branches of merchandising was to be reared. It was the "Cheap Counter" which proved to the progressive merchant his ability to sell all lines of wares under one roof. It was the Five Cent Counter "epidemic" of '77 and '78 which rushed like a mighty whirlwind from the Atlantic to the Pacific and all along its path transformed old time one line storekeepers into the wide-awake merchant princes of the present day. It was this same epidemic which made possible the world famed Department Stores of Houghton, of Boston; Macy, of New York; Wanamaker, of Philadelphia; and Lehman, of Chicago. ["American Storekeeper," 1885] fierce (adj.) Look up fierce at Dictionary.com mid-13c., "proud, noble, bold," from Old French fers, nominative form of fer, fier "strong, overwhelming, violent, fierce, wild; proud, mighty, great, impressive" (Modern French fier "proud, haughty"), from Latin ferus "wild, untamed," from PIE root *ghwer- "wild, wild animal" (cf. Greek ther, Old Church Slavonic zveri, Lithuanian zveris "wild beast"). Original English sense of "brave, proud" died out 16c., but caused the word at first to be commonly used as an epithet, which accounts for the rare instance of a French word entering English in the nominative case. Meaning "ferocious, wild, savage" is from c.1300. Related: Fiercely; fierceness. high (adj.) Look up high at Dictionary.com Old English heh (Anglian), heah (West Saxon) "of great height, lofty, tall, exalted, high-class," from Proto-Germanic *haukhaz (cf. Old Saxon hoh, Old Norse har, Danish høi, Swedish hög, Old Frisian hach, Dutch hoog, Old High German hoh, German hoch, Gothic hauhs "high;" also German Hügel "hill," Old Norse haugr "mound"), perhaps related to Lithuanian kaukara "hill." Spelling with -gh represents a final guttural sound in the original word, lost since 14c. Of sound pitch, late 14c. Of roads, "most frequented or important," c.1200. Meaning "euphoric or exhilarated from alcohol" is first attested 1620s, of drugs, 1932. Sense of "proud, haughty, arrogant, supercilious" (c.1200) is reflected in high hand (late 14c.) and high horse. High seas first attested late 14c., with sense (also found in the Latin cognate) of "deep" as well as "tall" (cf. Old English heahflod "deep water," also Old Persian baršan "height, depth"). Of an evil or a punishment, "grave, serious, severe" (e.g. high treason), c.1200 (Old English had heahsynn "deadly sin, crime"). High pressure (adj.) is from 1824, of engines, 1891, of weather systems, 1933, of sales pitches. A child's high chair is from 1848. High school "school for advanced studies" attested from late 15c. in Scotland; by 1824 in U.S. High time "fully time, the fullness of time," is from late 14c. High noon is from early 14c.; the sense is "full, total, complete." High and mighty is c.1200 (heh i mahhte). High finance (1905) is that concerned with large sums. High and dry of beached things (especially ships) is from 1783. High-water mark is what is left by a flood or highest tide (1550s); figurative use by 1814.
No comments:
Post a Comment