word-forming element meaning "tumor," from Latinized form of Greek kele "tumor, rupture, hernia," from PIE *kehul- "tumor" (source also of Old Norse haull, Old English heala "groin rupture," Old Church Slavonic kyla, Lithuanian kūlas "rupture").

before vowels chion-, word-forming element meaning "snow," from Latinized form of Greek khion "snow," related to kheima, kheimon "winter," from PIE root *gheim- "winter."

word-forming element meaning "around, round about, all around, on all sides," from Latin adverb and preposition circum "around, round about," literally "in a circle," probably accusative form of circus "ring" (see circus). The Latin word was commonly used in word-formation. In French, the element became circon-; Kitchin points out that con for cum is common even in classical Latin. For sense development, compare German rings "around."

"an emperor, a ruler, a dictator," late 14c., cesar, from Cæsar, originally a surname of the Julian gens in Rome, elevated to a title after Caius Julius Caesar (100 B.C.E.-44 B.C.E.) became dictator; it was used as a title of emperors down to Hadrian (138 C.E.). The name is of uncertain origin; Pliny derives it from caesaries "head of hair," because the future dictator was born with a full one; Century Dictionary suggests Latin caesius "bluish-gray" (of the eyes), also used as a proper name. Also compare caesarian.

Old English had casere, which would have yielded modern *coser, but it was replaced in Middle English by keiser (c. 1200), from Norse or Low German, and later by the French or Latin form of the name. Cæsar also is the root of German Kaiser and Russian tsar (see czar). He competes as progenitor of words for "king" with Charlemagne (Latin Carolus), as in Lithuanian karalius, Polish krol.

The use in reference to "temporal power as the object of obedience" (contrasted with God) is from Matthew xxii.21. Caesar's wife (1570s) as the figure of a person who should be above suspicion is from Plutarch. In U.S. slang c. 1900, a sheriff was Great Seizer.

"cavity on the summit of a volcano," 1865, from Spanish caldera, literally "cauldron, kettle," from Latin caldarium "hot-bath" (plural caldaria), from caldarius "pertaining to warming," from calidus "warm, hot" (from PIE root *kele- (1) "warm").

The term was originally used in describing volcanic regions occurring where Spanish is the current language, and was introduced by Von Buch in his description of the Canaries. [Century Dictionary]

"scientific study of birds' nests," 1875, from Greek kalia "a dwelling, hut, nest" (from PIE root *kel- (1) "to cover, conceal, save") + -ology. Related: Caliological.

proprietary name for a type of liquid gas sold in Britain, 1936, from Latin calor, literally "heat" (from PIE root *kele- (1) "warm").

unit of heat in physics, 1866, from French calorie, from Latin calor (genitive caloris) "heat," from PIE *kle-os-, suffixed form of root *kele- (1) "warm."

As a unit of energy, defined as "heat required to raise 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius" (the small or gram calorie), but as a measure of the energy-producing value of food, "heat required to raise 1 kilogram of water 1 degree Celsius" (the large calorie or kilocalorie). In part because of this confused definition, it was largely replaced 1950 in scientific use by the joule. Calorie-counting or -watching as a method of scientific weight-regulation is attested by 1908.

sea nymph in the "Odyssey," literally "hidden, hider" (perhaps originally a death goddess) from Greek kalyptein "to cover, conceal," from PIE root *kel- (1) "to cover, conceal, save," which also is the source of English Hell. The type of West Indian song is so called from 1934, but the origin of the name is obscure.

"divination by smoke," c. 1600, with -mancy "divination by means of" + Latinized form of Greek kapnos "smoke," which is of uncertain origin, perhaps a non-Indo-European substrate word that also produced Lithuanian kvapas "breath, smell," kvepiu, kvėpti "to gasp, breathe," Latvian kvept "to smoke, smell," and perhaps Latin vapor.

1590s, carvanzara, "Eastern inn (with a large central court) catering to caravans," ultimately from Persian karwan-sarai, from karwan (see caravan) + sara'i "palace, mansion; inn," from Iranian base *thraya- "to protect" (from PIE root *tere- (2) "cross over, pass through, overcome").

Formerly the carpet (usually in a single piece, like the Persian carpet) was also used (as it still is in the East) for covering beds, couches, tables, etc., and in hangings. [Century Dictionary]

early 14c., "to bear or convey, take along or transport," from Anglo-French carier "to transport in a vehicle" or Old North French carrier "to cart, carry" (Modern French charrier), from Gallo-Roman *carrizare, from Late Latin carricare, from Latin carrum originally "two-wheeled Celtic war chariot," from Gaulish (Celtic) karros, from PIE *krsos, from root *kers- "to run."

Meaning "take by force, gain by effort" is from 1580s. Sense of "gain victory, bear to a successful conclusion" is from 1610s; specifically in reference to elections from 1848, American English. Meaning "to conduct, manage" (often with an indefinite it) is from 1580s. Meaning "bear up and support" is from 1560s. Commercial sense of "keep in stock" is from 1848. In reference to mathematical operations from 1798. Of sound, "to be heard at a distance" by 1858.

To carry out "conduct to completion" is from c. 1600. To carry it off "brazen a thing out" is from 1704; carried off as a euphemism for "killed" is from 1670s. To be carried (away) in the figurative sense "transported, having the attention fully absorbed" is from 1560s. Carrying capacity is attested from 1836. Carry-castle (1590s) was an old descriptive term for an elephant.

"to deprive of the testicles, emasculate," 1610s (implied in castrated), back-formation from castration (q.v.), or from Latin castratus, past participle of castrare "to castrate, emasculate; to prune," supposedly from a noun *castrum "knife, instrument that cuts," from PIE root *kes- "to cut." The figurative sense "destroy the strength or vitality of" is attested earlier (1550s). Related: Castrating.

Old English catt (c. 700) "domestic cat," from West Germanic (c. 400-450), from Proto-Germanic *kattuz (source also of Old Frisian katte, Old Norse köttr, Dutch kat, Old High German kazza, German Katze), from Late Latin cattus.

The near-universal European word now, it appeared in Europe as Latin catta (Martial, c. 75 C.E.), Byzantine Greek katta (c. 350) and was in general use on the continent by c. 700, replacing Latin feles. Probably ultimately Afro-Asiatic (compare Nubian kadis, Berber kadiska, both meaning "cat"). Arabic qitt "tomcat" may be from the same source. Cats were domestic in Egypt from c. 2000 B.C.E., but not a familiar household animal to classical Greeks and Romans. The nine lives have been proverbial at least since 1560s.

The Late Latin word also is the source of Old Irish and Gaelic cat, Welsh kath, Breton kaz, Italian gatto, Spanish gato, French chat (12c.). Independent, but ultimately from the same source are words in the Slavic group: Old Church Slavonic kotuka, kotel'a, Bulgarian kotka, Russian koška, Polish kot, along with Lithuanian katė and non-Indo-European Finnish katti, which is from Lithuanian.

Extended to lions, tigers, etc. c. 1600. As a term of contempt for a woman, from early 13c. Slang sense of "prostitute" is from at least c. 1400. Slang sense of "fellow, guy," is from 1920, originally in African-American vernacular; narrower sense of "jazz enthusiast" is recorded from 1931.

Cat's paw (1769, but cat's foot in the same sense, 1590s) refers to the old folk tale in which the monkey tricks the cat into pawing chestnuts from a fire; the monkey gets the roasted nuts, the cat gets a burnt paw. Cat burglar is from 1907, so called for stealth. Cat-witted "small-minded, obstinate, and spiteful" (1670s) deserved to survive. For Cat's meow, cat's pajamas, see bee's knees. For let the cat out of the bag, see bag (n.).

"an improper or inconsistent metaphor, exceptional or undue extension of a word's meaning" (as "to stone someone with bricks"), 1580s, from Latin catachresis, from Greek katakhresis "misuse" (of a word), from katakhresthai "to misuse," from kata "down" (here with a sense of "perversion;" see cata-) + khresthai "to use" (from PIE root *gher- (2) "to like, want"). Related: Catachrestic; catachrestical; catachrestically.

1590s, "to make a catalogue;" see catalogue (n.). From 1630s as "to enter into a catalogue." Related: Catalogued; cataloguer; cataloguing.

1570s, from Middle French catapulte and directly from Latin catapulta "war machine for throwing," from Greek katapeltes, from kata "against" in reference to walls, or perhaps "through" in reference to armor (see cata-) + base of pallein "to toss, hurl" (from PIE root *pel- (5) "to thrust, strike, drive"). In ancient times a Roman military engine for throwing huge darts.

Its construction is nowhere explained with any fullness, and it is uncertain whether its action was that of a crossbow or whether springs were the propelling power. By later authors the catapult and ballista seem to be confounded. In the middle ages the name is hardly used, except where a writer is evidently seeking to give a classical form to his composition. [Century Dictionary]

 As an airplane-launching device on an aircraft-carrier by 1927.

"disease characterized by inflammation of, and discharge from, a mucous membrane; a cold in the head or chest," late 14c., from Medieval Latin catarrus, from Late Latin catarrhus, from Greek katarrhous "a catarrh, a head cold," literally "a flowing down," earlier kata rrhoos, ultimately from kata "down" (see cata-) + rhein "to flow" (from PIE root *sreu- "to flow"). Related: Catarrhal; catarrhous.

"pertaining to or characterized by catatonia," 1899, from catatonia + -ic. As a noun, "person with catatonia," from 1902.

1580s, in Aristotle's logic, "a highest notion," from Middle French catégorie, from Late Latin categoria, from Greek kategoria "accusation, prediction, category," verbal noun from kategorein "to speak against; to accuse, assert, predicate," from kata "down to" (or perhaps "against;" see cata-) + agoreuein "to harangue, to declaim (in the assembly)," from agora "public assembly" (from PIE root *ger- "to gather").

The verb's original sense of "accuse" had weakened to "assert, name" by the time Aristotle applied kategoria to his 10 classes of things that can be named. Exactly what he meant by it "has been disputed almost from his own day till the present" [OED]. Sense of "any very wide and distinctive class, any comprehensive class of persons or things" is from 1660s.

category should be used by no-one who is not prepared to state (1) that he does not mean class, & (2) that he knows the difference between the two .... [Fowler]

1580s, "church of a bishop," from phrase cathedral church (c. 1300), partially translating Late Latin ecclesia cathedralis "church of a bishop's seat," from Latin cathedra "an easy chair (principally used by ladies)," also metonymically, as in cathedrae molles "luxurious women;" also "a professor's chair;" from Greek kathedra "seat, bench," from kata "down" (see cata-) + hedra "seat, base, chair, face of a geometric solid," from PIE root *sed- (1) "to sit."

It was born an adjective, and attempts to force further adjectivization onto it in 17c. yielded cathedraical (1670s), cathedratic (1660s), cathedratical (1660s), after which the effort seems to have been given up.

1834, from Latinized form of Greek kation "going down," neuter present participle of katienai "to go down," from kata "down" (see cata-) + ienai "to go" (from PIE root *ei- "to go"). Proposed by the Rev. William Whewell, English polymath, and published by English physicist Michael Faraday. Compare ion.

1838, earlier cater-cornered (1835, American English), from now-obsolete cater "to set, cut, or move diagonally" (1570s), from Middle French catre "four," from Latin quattuor (from PIE root *kwetwer- "four"). Compare carrefour.

"very large kettle or boiler," c. 1300, caudron, from Anglo-French caudrun, Old North French cauderon (Old French chauderon "cauldron, kettle"), from augmentative of Late Latin caldaria "cooking pot" (source of Spanish calderon, Italian calderone), from Latin calidarium "hot bath," from calidus "warm, hot" (from PIE root *kele- (1) "warm"). The -l- was inserted 15c. in imitation of Latin.

c. 1300, caucioun, "bail, guarantee, pledge," from Old French caution "security, surety" (13c.), from Latin cautionem (nominative cautio) "caution, care, foresight, precaution," noun of action from past participle stem of cavere "to be on one's guard" (from PIE root *keu- "to see, observe, perceive").

The Latin sense re-emerged in English as "prudence in regard to danger" (1650s). Meaning "word of warning, monitory advice" is from c. 1600. Meaning "anything which excites alarm or astonishment" is U.S. slang, 1835.

early 15c., caven, "to hollow something out," from cave (n.). Modern sense "to collapse in or down" is 1707, American English, presumably from East Anglian dialectal calve "collapse, fall in and leave a hollow," which is perhaps from Flemish and subsequently was influenced by cave (n.). Transitive sense by 1762. Related: Caved; caving. Figurative sense of "yield to pressure" is from 1837.

"warning, hint of caution," 1550s, Latin, literally "let him beware," 3rd person singular present subjunctive of cavere "to beware, take heed, watch, guard against," from PIE root *keu- "to see, observe, perceive." Legal sense "public warning preventing some action" is from 1650s.

also caviare, "roe of certain large fish, salted and served as food," 1550s, from French caviar (16c.), from Italian caviaro (modern caviale) or Turkish khaviar, from Persian khaviyar, from khaya "egg" (from Middle Persian khayak "egg," from Old Iranian *qvyaka-, diminutive of *avya-, from PIE *ōwyo‑, *ōyyo‑ "egg," which is perhaps a derivative of the root *awi- "bird") + dar "bearing." The Russian name is ikra.

c. 1300, cesen, "to stop moving, acting, or speaking; come to an end," from Old French cesser "to come to an end, stop, cease; give up, desist," from Latin cessare "to cease, go slow, give over, leave off, be idle," frequentative of cedere (past participle cessus) "go away, withdraw, yield" (from PIE root *ked- "to go, yield"). Transitive sense "put a stop to," now rare, is from late 14c. Related: Ceased; ceasing. Old English in this sense had geswican, blinnan.

1630s, "to yield, give way," from French céder or directly from Latin cedere "to yield, give place; to give up some right or property," originally "to go from, proceed, leave," from Proto-Italic *kesd-o- "to go away, avoid," from PIE root *ked- "to go, yield."

Original sense in English is now archaic; transitive sense "yield or formally surrender (something) to another" is from 1754. The sense evolution in Latin is via the notion of "to go away, withdraw, give ground." Related: Ceded; ceding.

Latin cedere, with prefixes attached,  is the source of a great many English words: accede, concede, exceed, precede, proceed, recede, secede, etc.

mid-14c., celynge, "act of paneling a room," noun formed (with -ing) from Middle English verb ceil "put a cover or ceiling over," later "cover (walls) with wainscoting, panels, etc." (early 15c.); from Old French celer "to conceal," also "cover with paneling" (12c.), from Latin celare "to hide" (from PIE root *kel- (1) "to cover, conceal, save"). Probably influenced by Latin caelum "heaven, sky" (see celestial).

Extended to the paneling itself from late 14c., then to lath-and-plaster work.  The meaning "interior overhead surface of a room" is attested by 1530s; by late 19c. the meaning "wainscoting" was only in provincial English. Figurative sense "upper limit" is from 1934. Colloquial figurative phrase hit the ceiling "lose one's temper, get explosively angry" attested by 1908; earlier it meant "to fail" (by 1900, originally U.S. college slang). Glass ceiling in the figurative sense of "invisible barrier that prevents women from advancing" in management, etc., is attested from 1988.

late 14c., "pertaining to the sky or the visible heavens; pertaining to the Christian or pagan heaven," from Old French celestial "celestial, heavenly, sky-blue," from Latin caelestis "heavenly, pertaining to the sky," from caelum "heaven, sky; abode of the gods; climate," which is of uncertain origin; perhaps from PIE *kaid-slo-, perhaps from a root also found in Germanic and Baltic meaning "bright, clear" (compare Lithuanian skaidrus "shining, clear;" Old English hador, German heiter "clear, shining, cloudless," Old Norse heið "clear sky").

The Latin word is the source of the usual word for "sky" in most of the Romance languages, such as French ciel, Spanish cielo, Italian cielo. Transferred sense of "heavenly, very delightful" in English is from early 15c. Celestial Empire "China" is from 1808, translating native names.

early 13c., "store room," from Anglo-French celer, Old French celier "cellar, underground passage" (12c., Modern French cellier), from Latin cellarium "pantry, storeroom," literally "group of cells;" which is either directly from cella "small room, store-room" (from PIE root *kel- (1) "to cover, conceal, save"), or from noun use of neuter of adjective cellarius "pertaining to a storeroom," from cella. The sense "room under a house or other building, mostly underground and used for storage" gradually emerged in late Middle and early Modern English. Related: Cellarer. Cellar-door attested by 1640s.

"lumpy, dimpled fat," 1968, from French cellulite, from cellule "a small cell" (16c., from Latin cellula "little cell," diminutive of cella; see cell) + -ite (see -ite (1)). The word appeared mainly in fashion magazines and advertisements for beauty treatments.

"place set aside for burial of the dead," late 14c., from Old French cimetiere "graveyard" (12c.), from Medieval Latin cemeterium, Late Latin coemeterium, from Greek koimeterion "sleeping place, dormitory," from koiman "to put to sleep," keimai "I lie down," from PIE root *kei- (1) "to lie," also forming words for "bed, couch."

Early Christian writers were the first to use it for "burial ground," though the Greek word also had been anciently used in reference to the sleep of death. In Middle English simeterie, cymytory, cimitere, etc.; forms with cem- are from late 15c. An Old English word for "cemetery" was licburg (see lich (n.)). In 19c. typically a large public burial ground not attached to a church.

also coenobite, "member of a communal religious order," 1630s, from Church Latin coenobita "a cloister brother," from coenobium "a convent," from Greek koinobion "life in community, monastery," from koinos "common" (see coeno-) + bios "life," from PIE root *gwei- "to live." Related: Cenobitic; cenobitical.

late 14c., "one hundred," from Latin centum "hundred" (see hundred). The meaning shifted 17c. to "hundredth part" under influence of percent. It was chosen in this sense in 1786 as a name for a U.S. currency unit (the hundredth part of a dollar) by the Continental Congress. The word first was suggested by Robert Morris in 1782 under a different currency plan. Before the cent, Revolutionary and colonial dollars were reckoned in ninetieths, based on the exchange rate of Pennsylvania money and Spanish coin.

1640s, "relation to or consisting of 100 years," from Latin centenarius "of a hundred, relating to a hundred," from centenai "a hundred each," from centum "hundred" (see hundred).

As a noun, c. 1600 as "period of 100 years;" 1788 as "a hundredth anniversary, commemoration or celebration of a hundredth anniversary." The usual British word in this sense for the American centennial.

"consisting of 100 degrees, divided into 100 equal parts," 1799, from French, from centi- "hundred" (see centi-) + second element from Latin gradi "to walk, go, step" (from PIE root *ghredh- "to walk, go"). The centigrade thermometer (see Celsius) divides the interval between the freezing and boiling points of water into 100 degrees.

"venomous, many-legged, insect-sized arthropod," 1640s (earlier in English in Latin form, c. 1600), from French centipède, from Latin centipeda "many-footed arthropod," from centum "hundred" (see hundred) + pedis, genitive of pes "foot" (from PIE root *ped- "foot"). Related: Centipedal.

"military officer in ancient Rome," commander of a company of infantry, late 13c., from Latin centurionem (nominative centurio), "Roman army officer, head of a centuria" (a group of one hundred); see century.

one of a class of mollusks notable for having tentacles attached to a distinct head, 1825, from French cephalopode, from Modern Latin Cephalopoda (the class name), from Greek kephale "head" (see cephalo-) + pod-, stem of pous "foot" (from PIE root *ped- "foot").

"hind-brain of a vertebrate animal," 1560s, from Latin cerebellum "a small brain," diminutive of cerebrum "the brain" (also "the understanding"), from PIE *keres-, from root *ker- (1) "horn; head." Related: Cerebellar.

"the brain," 1610s, from Latin cerebrum "the brain" (also "the understanding"), from PIE *keres-, from root *ker- (1) "horn; head."

mid-14c., "to declare the truth of," also "to vouch for or confirm" (an official record, etc.), from Old French certefiier "make certain, witness the truth of" (12c.), from Late Latin certificare "to certify, to make certain," from Latin certus "fixed, sure" (see certain) + root of facere "to make, do" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put"). Also used in Middle English in broader senses of "inform, give notice to; instruct, to direct; to designate." Related: Certified; certifying.

late 14c., "a relinquishing, act of yielding," from Old French cession "cession; death" (13c.), from Latin cessionem (nominative cessio) "a giving up, surrendering," noun of action from past participle stem of cedere "to go away, yield" (from PIE root *ked- "to go, yield"). Related: Cessionary.

"a seat with a back, intended for one person," early 13c., chaere, from Old French chaiere "chair, seat, throne" (12c.; Modern French chaire "pulpit, throne;" the more modest sense having gone since 16c. with variant form chaise), from Latin cathedra "seat" (see cathedral).

Figurative sense of "seat of office or authority" c. 1300 originally was of bishops and professors. Meaning "office of a professor" (1816) is extended from the seat from which a professor lectures (mid-15c.). Meaning "seat of a person presiding at meeting" is from 1640s. As short for electric chair from 1900. Chair-rail "strip or board of wood fastened to a wall at such a height as to prevent the plaster from being scraped by the backs of chairs" is from 1822.

small tumor in the eyelid, 1708, from Latinized form of Greek khalazion, diminutive of khalaza "hail, hailstone; small lump or knot; pimple," from PIE root *gheled- "hail" (source also of Persian žala "hail," Polish złod "glaze," Russian oželedica "glazed frost, fringe of ice on snow").

c. 1600, "small groove cut in wood or stone," from Middle French chanfraindre (15c., Modern French chanfreiner), past participle of chanfraint, a word of uncertain origin. The second element seems to be from Latin frangere "to break" (from PIE root *bhreg- "to break"); perhaps the whole word is cantum frangere "to break the edge."

Meaning "sloping surface in place of a square edge or corner" is attested from c. 1840, but the connection to the other sense is uncertain. As a verb from 1560s, "cut a furrow in;" from 1680s as "cut or grind into a symmetrical sloping edge."

British for "open-sided sightseeing bus," 1811, originally in a Continental context (especially Swiss), from French char-à-bancs, literally "benched carriage," from char "wagon" (from Latin carrus "two-wheeled wagon;" see car) + à "to" (see ad-) + banc "bench" (see bench (n.)).

also charrette, c. 1400, "a chariot, a cart," from Old French charrete "wagon, small cart" (12c.), diminutive of charre, from Latin carrum, carrus "wagon" (see car).

Meaning "a concerted effort by concerned individuals to accomplish a given task by marathon work in a defined, short time" is attested by 1977, originally among architects, from French charette (by 1880s in this sense); it is said to be from the jargon of student architects hurrying to finish their models before they would have to be placed in the charrette which collected them for consideration.

c. 1200, "a load, a weight," from Old French charge "load, burden; imposition," from chargier "to load, to burden," from Late Latin carricare "to load a wagon or cart," from Latin carrus "two-wheeled wagon" (see car). A doublet of cargo.

Meaning "responsibility, burden" is from mid-14c. (as in take charge, late 14c.; in charge, 1510s), which progressed to "pecuniary burden, cost, burden of expense" (mid-15c.), and then to "price demanded for service or goods" (1510s). Meaning "anything committed to another's custody, care, or management" is from 1520s.

Legal sense of "accusation" is late 15c.; earlier "injunction, order" (late 14c.). Meaning "address delivered by a judge to a jury at the close of a trial" is from 1680s. Electrical sense is from 1767. Slang meaning "thrill, kick" (American English) is from 1951. Meaning "quantity of powder required for one discharge of a firearm" is from 1650s. Military meaning "impetuous attack upon an enemy" is from 1560s; as an order or signal to make such an attack, 1640s.

1875, "special spiritual gift or power divinely conferred, talent from God" (as on the earely Christians in "Acts," etc.), Latinized form of Greek kharisma "favor, divine gift," from kharizesthai "to show favor to," from kharis "grace, beauty, kindness" (Charis was the name of one of the three attendants of Aphrodite), which is related to khairein "to rejoice at," from PIE root *gher- (2) "to like, want."

In the form charism (plural charismata) it is attested in the "special spiritual gift from god" sense from 1640s. Middle English, meanwhile, had karisme "spiritual gift, divine grace" (c. 1500).

These gifts were of two classes, the gift of healing and gift of teaching, the latter again being of two kinds, the gift of prophecy and the gift of tongues. Such gifts have been claimed in later ages by certain teachers and sects in the church, as the Montanists and the Irvingites, and in recent times by some of those who practise the so-called faith-cure. [Century Dictionary, 1897]

Meaning "gift of leadership, power of authority" is from c. 1930, from German, used in this sense by Max Weber (1864-1920) in "Wirtschaft u. Gesellschaft" (1922).  More mundane sense of "personal charm" recorded by 1959.

"common repository for deads bodies," late 14c., from Old French charnel (12c.) "fleshly," from Late Latin carnale "graveyard," properly neuter of adjective carnalis, from Latin carnis "of the flesh," genitive of caro "flesh, meat," "flesh," originally "a piece of flesh," from PIE root *sker- (1) "to cut." As an adjective from 1813. The Late Latin word was glossed in Old English as flæschus "flesh-house." Charnel house is attested from 1550s.

"convey by car, drive as a chauffeur," 1902, from chauffeur (n.). Related: Chauffeured; chauffeuring.

late 14c., "to humor, console, dispel despondency;" c. 1400 as "entertain with food or drink," from cheer (n.). Related: Cheered; cheering. Sense of "to encourage by words or deeds" is early 15c. Which had focused to "salute with shouts of applause" by late 18c. Cheer up (intransitive) first attested 1670s.

"the proper thing" (slang), from Urdu chiz "a thing," from Persian chiz, from Old Persian *ciš-ciy "something," from PIE pronominal root *kwo-. Picked up by British in India by 1818 and used in the sense of "a big thing" (especially in the phrase the real chiz).

This perhaps is behind the expression big cheese "important person" (1914), but that is American English in origin and likely rather belongs to cheese (n.1). To cut a big cheese as a figurative expression for "look important" is recorded from 1915, and overlarge wheels of cheese, especially from Wisconsin, were commonly displayed 19c. as publicity stunts by retailers, etc.

The cheese will be on exhibition at the National Dairy Show at Chicago next week. President Taft will visit the show the morning of Monday, October thirtieth, and after his address he will be invited to cut the big cheese, which will then be distributed in small lots to visitors at the show. ["The Country Gentleman," Oct. 28, 1911]

"large, specialized chelate limb of a crustacean, great claw of a crab or lobster," 1859, Modern Latin, from chela "claw" (from Greek khele "claw, talon, pincers, cloven hoof," a word of uncertain origin) + Latin pod-, stem of pes "foot" (from PIE root *ped- "foot").

type of garden herb, Old English cerfelle "chervil," from Latin chaerephyllum, from Greek khairephyllon; second element phyllon "leaf" (from suffixed form of root *bhel- (3) "to thrive, bloom"); first element perhaps from khairein "to rejoice" (from PIE root *gher- (2) "to like, want").

Old English ceowan "to bite, gnaw, chew," from West Germanic *keuwwan (source also of Middle Low German keuwen, Dutch kauwen, Old High German kiuwan, German kauen), perhaps from PIE *gyeu- "to chew" (source also of Old Church Slavonic živo "to chew," Lithuanian žiaunos "jaws," Persian javidan "to chew").

Figurative sense of "to think over" is from late 14c.; to chew the rag "discusss some matter" is from 1885, apparently originally British army slang. Related: Chewed; chewing. To chew (someone) out (1948) probably is military slang from World War II. Chewing-gum is by 1843, American English, originally hardened secretions of the spruce tree.

fabulous monster of Greek mythology, slain by Bellerophon, late 14c., from Old French chimere or directly from Medieval Latin chimera, from Latin Chimaera, from Greek khimaira, name of a mythical fire-breathing creature, slain by Bellerophon, with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a dragon's tail; literally "year-old she-goat" (masc. khimaros), from kheima "winter season," from PIE root *gheim- "winter."

Supposedly a personification of snow or winter, but the connection to winter might be no more than the ancient habit of reckoning years as "winters." It was held by the ancients to represent a volcano; perhaps it was a symbol of "winter storms" (another sense of Greek kheima)  and generally of destructive natural forces. The word was used generically for "any grotesque monster formed from parts of other animals;" hence the figurative meaning "wild fantasy" first recorded 1580s in English (13c. in French).

Beestis clepid chymeres, that han a part of ech beest, and suche ben not, no but oonly in opynyoun. [Wyclif, "Prologue"]

1590s, "to press (affectionately) chin to chin," from chin (n.). Meaning "to bring to the chin" (of a fiddle) is from 1869. Slang meaning "to talk, gossip" is from 1883, American English. Related: Chinned; chinning. Athletic sense of "raise one's chin over" (a raised bar, for exercise) is from 1880s.

"the supposed science of judging character from the lines and marks of the hand," 1868, from chiro- "hand" + -gnomy, from Greek gnome "judgment, opinion," from PIE root *gno- "to know." Related: Chirognomist.

"compound of chlorine and another element," 1812, coined by Sir Humphrey Davy from chlorine + -ide on the analogy of oxide.

nonmetallic element, the name coined 1810 by English chemist Sir Humphry Davy from Latinized form of Greek khloros "pale green" (from PIE root *ghel- (2) "to shine," with derivatives denoting "green" and "yellow") + chemical suffix -ine (2). Named for its color. Discovered 1774, but known at first as oxymuriatic acid gas, or dephlogisticated marine acid.

green-colored stuff in plants, 1819, from French chlorophyle (1818), coined by French chemists Pierre-Joseph Pelletier (1788-1842) and Joseph Bienaimé Caventou (1795-1877) from chloro-, from Latinized form of Greek khloros "pale green, greenish-yellow" (from PIE root *ghel- (2) "to shine," with derivatives denoting "green" and "yellow") + phyllon "a leaf" (from suffixed form of PIE root *bhel- (3) "to thrive, bloom").

c. 1300, queor "part of the church where the choir sings," from Old French cuer, quer "(architectural) choir of a church; chorus of singers" (13c., Modern French choeur), from Latin chorus "choir" (see chorus). Meaning "band of singers" in English is from c. 1400, quyre. Re-spelled mid-17c. in an attempt to match classical forms, but the pronunciation has not changed.

late 14c., "bile," as one of the humors, an excess of which was supposed to cause irascibility or temper, from Old French colere "bile, anger," from Late Latin cholera "bile" (see cholera).

1934, from choline, name of a basic substance abundant in bile (coined in German, 1862, from Greek khole "bile;" see cholera) + Greek ergon "work" (from PIE root *werg- "to do") + -ic.

1828, "sacred choral song; musical composition in harmony, suited for performance by a choir," from German Choral "metrical hymn in Reformed church," shortened from Choralgesang "choral song," translating Medieval Latin cantus choralis, from Latin choralis "belonging to a chorus or choir," from chorus (see chorus). The -e was added to indicate stress. Meaning "group of singers performing choral music" is from 1942.

"division of the animal kingdom including the true vertebrates," 1880, Modern Latin, from neuter plural of Latin chordatus "having a (spinal) cord," from chorda "cord, string" (from PIE root *ghere- "gut, entrail").

"outer membrane of the fetus," 1540s, medical Latin, from Greek khorion "membrane enclosing the fetus, afterbirth," from PIE root *ghere- "gut, entrail." Related: Chorionic.

1560s, in drama, "person who speaks the prologue and explains or comments on events on stage," from Latin chorus "a dance in a circle, the persons singing and dancing, the chorus of a tragedy," from Greek khoros "round dance; dancing-place; band of dancers; company of persons in a play, under a leader, who take part in dialogue with the actors and sing their sentiments at intervals."

The Greek word is of uncertain origin, because the original sense is unknown. Perhaps it is from PIE root *gher- (1) "to grasp, enclose," if the original sense of the Greek word is "enclosed dancing floor," or *gher- (2) "to like, want," if the original notion is "to rejoice."

Extension from dance to voice is because Attic drama arose from tales inserted in the intervals of the dance. In Attic tragedy, the khoros (of 12 or 15 (tragic) or 24 (comedic) persons) gave expression, between the acts, to the moral and religious sentiments evoked by the actions of the play. English 16c. theater adopted a stripped-down version of this.

When a Poet wished to bring out a piece, he asked a Chorus from the Archon, and the expenses, being great, were defrayed by some rich citizen (the khoregos): it was furnished by the Tribe and trained originally by the Poet himself [Liddell & Scott]

The meaning "an organized company of singers" is from 1650s. Meaning "the refrain of a song" (which the audience joins in singing) is from 1590s; that of "a song to be sung by a (large) chorus" is from 1744.  Meaning "main part of a modern popular song" (as distinguished from the verse, q.v.) is by 1926, originally in jazz. As a verb, 1703, from the noun. Chorus girl "young woman who sings and dances in a stage chorus" is by 1852.

"collection of literary passages" (especially from a foreign language), 1774, from French chrestomathie, from Latinized form of Greek khrestomatheia "desire of learning; book containing selected passages," lit. "useful learning," from khrestos "useful" (verbal adjective of khresthai "to make use of," from PIE root *gher- (2) "to like, want") + manthanein "to learn" (from PIE root *mendh- "to learn"). Related: Chrestomathic.

"the Anointed," synonymous with and translating to Greek  Hebrew mashiah (see messiah), a title given to Jesus of Nazareth; Old English crist (by 830, perhaps 675), from Latin Christus, from Greek khristos "the anointed," noun use of verbal adjective of khriein "to rub, anoint" (from PIE root *ghrei- "to rub").

In the primitive Church it was a title, and used with the definite article, but from an early period it was used without it and regarded as part of the proper name of Jesus. It was treated as a proper name in Old English, but not regularly capitalized until 17c. Pronunciation with long -i- is result of Irish missionary work in England, 7c.-8c. The ch- form, regular since c. 1500 in English, was rare before. Capitalization of the word begins 14c. but is not fixed until 17c.  The Latin term drove out Old English Hæland "healer, savior," as the preferred descriptive term for Jesus.

As an oath or strong exclamation (of surprise, dismay, etc.), attested by 1748. The 17c. mystical sect of the Familists edged it toward a verb with Christed "made one with Christ." Christ-child "Jesus as a baby" (1842) translates German Christkind.

"pigment cell in an animal," 1864, from chromato- + Greek -phoros "bearing, bearer," from pherein "to carry," from PIE root *bher- (1) "to carry," also "to bear children." Related: Chromatophorous.

"subterranean," 1804, with -an + Latinized form of Greek khthonios "of the earth, in the earth," from khthon "the earth, solid surface of the earth" (mostly poetic), from PIE root *dhghem- "earth."

also chucker, chukka, "period in a polo game," 1898, from Hindi chakkar, from Sanskrit cakra "circle, wheel," from PIE root *kwel- (1) "revolve, move round."

"the eyelashes, hairs which grow from the margins of the eyelid," 1715, from Latin cilia, plural of cilium "eyelid, eyelash," perhaps related to celare "to cover, hide," from PIE root *kel- (1) "to cover, conceal, save," but words for this part of the face can be tricky (see brow). Later extended to one of the minute hair-like processes projecting from a cell or organism (1835). It sometimes is pluralized in English, which is an error. Related: Ciliary; ciliate.

Old English sinder "dross of iron, slag," from Proto-Germanic *sendra- "slag" (source also of Old Saxon sinder "slag, dross," Old Norse sindr, Middle Low German and Middle Dutch sinder, Dutch sintel, Old High German sintar, German Sinter), from PIE root *sendhro- "coagulating fluid" (source also of Old Church Slavonic sedra "cinder").

Initial s- changed to c- under influence of unrelated French cendre "ashes," from Latin cinerem (nominative cinis) "ashes," from or related to Greek konis "dust" (see incinerate). The Latin word was contracted to *cin'rem and the -d- inserted for ease of pronunciation (compare peindre from pingere). The French word also apparently shifted the sense of the English one to "small piece of burnt coal after a fire has gone out" (16c.).

Geological sense "coarse ash thrown out by volcanoes" is from 1774; cinder cone, formed around a volcano by successive eruptions of ash, is recorded from 1849. Related: Cinders.

"a group of five, five units treated as one," especially at cards or dice, late 14c., from French cinq, dissimilated from Latin quinque "five," in Late Latin also cinque (from PIE root *penkwe- "five").

The Cinque Ports (late 12c. in Anglo-Latin, late 13c. in English) were Hastings, Sandwich, Dover, Romney, and Hythe, granted special privileges from the crown in return for defense of the Channel in the days before England had a navy. Cinque outposts (1640s) was an old term for the five senses.

in architecture, an ornament consisting of five cuspidated divisions, late 15c., from Latin quinquefolium, from quinque (from PIE root *penkwe- "five") + folium "leaf" (from PIE root *bhel- (3) "to thrive, bloom"). As the name of a plant with compound leaves of five leaflets, 1540s.

coined 1959 by German-born biologist Franz Halberg, from Latin circa "about" (alternative form of circum "round about;" see circum-) + diem, accusative singular of dies "day" (from PIE root *dyeu- "to shine"). The original use is in circadian rhythm.

c. 1300, "figure of a circle, a plane figure whose periphery is everywhere equidistant from its center point," from Old French cercle "circle, ring (for the finger); hoop of a helmet or barrel" (12c.), from Latin circulus "circular figure; small ring, hoop; circular orbit" (also source of Italian cerchio), diminutive of circus "ring" (see circus).

Replaced Old English trendel and hring. Late Old English used circul, from Latin, but only in an astronomical sense. Also used of things felt to be analogous to a circle: The meaning "group of persons surrounding a center of interest" is from 1714 (it also was a secondary sense of Latin circulus); that of "coterie" is from 1640s (a sense also found in Latin circulus).

To come full circle is in Shakespeare. Sense in logic, "inconclusive argument in which unproved statements are used to prove each other" is from 1640s. Meaning "dark mark around or beneath the eyes" is from 1848.

late 14c., "a circumference; a periphery, a line going around (an area), whether circular or not; a circular or circuitous course," from Old French circuit (14c.) "a circuit; a journey (around something)," from Latin circuitus "a going around," from stem of circuire, circumire "go around," from circum "round" (see circum-) + ire "to go" (from PIE root *ei- "to go").

From c. 1400 as "space enclosed within certain limits." Hence, "district in which any business involving periodic journeys is done (1570s), especially of judicial assignments involving the journey of a judge from one place to another; in reference to routes followed by itinerant entertainers from 1834. Hence also circuit-rider "Methodist minister who rides a circuit, preaching successively in different stations" (by 1834); to ride circuit "take a roundabout course" is from 1650s.

Electrical sense "arrangement by which a current is kept up between two poles" is from 1746. Circuit-breaker "device for automatically opening an electrical circuit" is recorded from 1874. Related: Circuital.

"to walk round or about," 1650s, from Latin circumambulatus, past participle of circumambulare "to walk around," from circum "around" (see circum-) + ambulare "to walk, go about" (see amble (v.)). Related: Circumambulated; circumambulating; circumambulation.

"line that bounds a circle" (loosely, "any boundary line"), late 14c., from Latin circumferentia, neuter plural of circumferens, present participle of circumferre "to lead around, take around, carry around," from circum "around" (see circum-) + ferre "to carry," from PIE root *bher- (1) "to carry," also "to bear children." A loan-translation of Greek periphereia "periphery, the line round a circular body," literally "a carrying round" (see periphery). Related: Circumferential.

"a roundabout way of speaking, studied indirection or evasiveness in speaking or writing," c. 1400, from Latin circumlocutionem (nominative circumlocutio) "a speaking around" (the topic), from circum "around, round about" (see circum-) + locutionem (nominative locutio) "a speaking," noun of action from past participle stem of loqui "to speak" (from PIE root *tolkw- "to speak"). A loan-translation of Greek periphrasis (see periphrasis). Related: Circumlocutionary.

late 14c., "to encompass; confine, restrain, mark out bounds or limits for," from Latin circumscribere "to make a circle around, encircle, draw a line around; limit, restrain, confine, set the boundaries of," from circum "around, round about" (see circum-) + scribere "to write" (from PIE root *skribh- "to cut"). Related: Circumscribed; circumscribing.

c. 1200, "a fact related to another fact and modifying it without affecting its essential nature" (originally in reference to sins), from Old French circonstance "circumstance, situation," also literally, "outskirts" (13c., Modern French circonstance), from Latin circumstantia "surrounding condition," neuter plural of circumstans (genitive circumstantis), present participle of circumstare "stand around, surround, encompass, occupy, take possession of" from circum "around" (see circum-) + stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand, make or be firm." The Latin word is a loan-translation of Greek peristasis.

Meaning "a person's surroundings, environment" is from mid-14c. Meaning "a particular detail, matter of small consequence" is from c. 1300; sense of "that which is non-essential" is from 1590s. Obsolete sense of "formality about an important event, ceremonious accompaniment" (late 14c.) lingers in Shakespeare's phrase pomp and circumstance ("Othello" III, iii), taken by Edward Elgar as the title of his military march (1901), which is a staple of U.S. graduations.

"to turn or cause to roll," 1640s, from Latin circumvolvere "to roll round, revolve," from circum "around, round about" (see circum-) + volvere "to turn around, roll," from PIE root *wel- (3) "to turn, revolve." Related: Circumvolved; circumvolving (which is attested from early 15c.).

c. 1200, from Old French cite "town, city" (10c., Modern French cité), from earlier citet, from Latin civitatem (nominative civitas; in Late Latin sometimes citatem) originally "citizenship, condition or rights of a citizen, membership in the community," later "community of citizens, state, commonwealth" (used, for instance of the Gaulish tribes), from civis "townsman," from PIE root *kei- (1) "to lie," also forming words for "bed, couch," and with a secondary sense of "beloved, dear."

Now "a large and important town," but originally in early Middle English a walled town, a capital or cathedral town. Distinction from town is early 14c. OED calls it "Not a native designation, but app[arently] at first a somewhat grandiose title, used instead of the OE. burh" (see borough).

Between Latin and English the sense was transferred from the inhabitants to the place. The Latin word for "city" was urbs, but a resident was civis. Civitas seems to have replaced urbs as Rome (the ultimate urbs) lost its prestige. Loss of Latin -v- is regular in French in some situations (compare alleger from alleviare; neige from nivea; jeune from juvenis. A different sound evolution from the Latin word yielded Italian citta, Catalan ciutat, Spanish ciudad, Portuguese cidade.

London is the city from 1550s. As an adjective, "pertaining to a city, urban," from c. 1300. City hall "chief municipal offices" is first recorded 1670s; to fight city hall is 1913, American English. City slicker "a smart and plausible rogue, of a kind usu. found in cities" [OED] is first recorded 1916 (see slick (adj.)). City limits is from 1825.

The newspaper city-editor, who superintends the collection and publication of local news, is from 1834, American English; hence city desk attested from 1878. Inner city first attested 1968.

early 14c., "a demand of a right; right of claiming," from Old French claime "claim, complaint," from clamer (see claim (v.)). Meaning "thing claimed or demanded" is from 1792; specifically "piece of land allotted and taken" (chiefly U.S. and Australia, in reference to mining); claim-jumper is attested from 1839. Insurance sense "application for guaranteed compensation" is from 1878.

"paranormal gift of seeing things out of sight," 1837, from special use of French clairvoyance (16c., from Old French clerveans, 13c.) "quickness of understanding, sagacity, penetration," from clairvoyant "clear-sighted, discerning, judicious" (13c.), from clair (see clear (adj.)) + voyant "seeing," present participle of voir, from Latin videre "to see" (from PIE root *weid- "to see"). A secondary sense in French is the main sense in English.

"having psychic gifts, characterized by powers of clairvoyance," 1837, earlier "having insight" (1670s), from special use of French clairvoyant "clear-sighted, discerning, judicious" (13c.), from clair (see clear (adj.)) + voyant "seeing," present participle of voir, from Latin videre "to see" (from PIE root *weid- "to see"). Related: Clairvoyantly.

"utter loudly, shout," also figurative, "make importunate demands or complaints," late 14c., from clamor (n.). Related: Clamored; clamoring.

"secret, private, hidden, furtive," 1560s, from Latin clandestinus "secret, hidden," from clam "secretly," from adverbial derivative of base of celare "to hide" (from PIE root *kel- (1) "to cover, conceal, save"), perhaps on model of intestinus "internal." Related: Clandestinely. As a noun form, there is awkward clandestinity (clandestineness apparently being a dictionary word).

"single-reeded tubular woodwind instrument with a bell mouth," 1768, from French clarinette (18c.), diminutive of clarine "little bell" (16c.), noun use of fem. of adjective clarin (which also was used as a noun, "trumpet, clarion"), from clair, cler, from Latin clarus (see clear (adj.)). Alternative form clarionet is attested from 1784.

The instrument, a modification of the medieval shawm, is said to have been invented c. 1700 by J.C. Denner of Nuremberg, Germany, and was a recognized orchestral instrument from c. 1775. The ease of playing it increased greatly with a design improvement from 1843 based on Boehm's flute.

After the hautboy came the clarinet. This instrument astonished every beholder, not so much, perhaps, on account of its sound, as its machinery. One that could manage the keys of a clarinet, forty five years ago, so as to play a tune, was one of the wonders of the age. Children of all ages would crowd around the performer, and wonder and admire when the keys were moved. [Nathaniel D. Gould, "Church Music in America," Boston, 1853]

German Clarinet, Swedish klarinett, Italian clarinetto, etc. all are from French. Related: Clarinettist.

c. 1300, clarte, clerte "brightness, radiance; glory, splendor," from Old French clerte, clartet (Modern French clarté) "clarity, brightness," from Latin claritas "brightness, splendor," also, of sounds, "clearness;" figuratively "celebrity, renown, fame," from clarare "make clear," from clarus "clear" (see clear (adj.)).

Modern form is first attested early 15c., perhaps a reborrowing directly from Latin. Original senses are obsolete; meaning "clearness" (of color, judgement, style, etc.) is from mid-15c.

c. 1600, "group of students," in U.S. especially "number of pupils in a school or college of the same grade," from French classe (14c.), from Latin classis "a class, a division; army, fleet," especially "any one of the six orders into which Servius Tullius divided the Roman people for the purpose of taxation;" traditionally originally "the people of Rome under arms" (a sense attested in English from 1650s), and thus akin to calare "to call (to arms)," from PIE root *kele- (2) "to shout." In early use in English also in Latin form classis.

Meaning "an order or rank of persons, a number of persons having certain characteristics in common" is from 1660s. School and university sense of "course, lecture" (1650s) is from the notion of a form or lecture reserved to scholars who had attained a certain level. Natural history sense "group of related plants or animals" is from 1753. Meaning "high quality" is from 1874. Meaning "a division of society according to status" (with upper, lower, etc.) is from 1763. Class-consciousness (1903) is from German Klassenbewusst.

c. 1200, "a sentence, a brief passage of a written composition," from Old French clause "stipulation" (in a legal document), 12c., from Medieval Latin clausa "conclusion," used in the sense of classical Latin clausula "the end, a closing, termination," also "end of a sentence or a legal argument," from clausa, fem. noun from past participle of claudere "to close, to shut, to conclude" (see close (v.)).

Grammatical sense "one of the lesser sentences which united form a complex or compound sentence" is from c. 1300. Legal meaning "distinct condition, stipulation, or proviso" is recorded from late 14c. in English. The sense of "ending" mostly faded from the word between Latin and French, but it is occasionally found in Middle English.

A clause differs from a phrase in containing both a subject and its predicate, while a phrase is a group of two or more words not containing both these essential elements of a simple sentence. [Century Dictionary]

"pair of hardwood sticks used in making music," 1928, from American Spanish claves (plural), from Spanish clave "keystone," from Latin clavis "key" (from PIE root *klau- "hook").

"collarbone," 1610s, from Middle French clavicule "collarbone" (16c.), also "small key," from Medieval Latin clavicula "collarbone" (used c. 980 in a translation of Avicenna), special use of classical Latin clavicula, literally "small key, bolt," diminutive of clavis "key" (from PIE root *klau- "hook"); in the anatomical sense a loan-translation of Greek kleis "key, collarbone," which is from the same PIE source. So called supposedly from its function as the "fastener" of the shoulder. Related: Clavicular.

"one who carries a key of a room," c. 1600, from Latin claviger, from clavis "key" (from PIE root *klau- "hook") + stem of gerere "to bear" (see gest). Latin claviger also was an epithet of Hercules, from clava "club, knotty branch," which is related to clavis.

c. 1300, "giving light, shining, luminous;" also "not turbid; transparent, allowing light to pass through; free from impurities; morally pure, guiltless, innocent;" of colors, "bright, pure;" of weather or the sky or sea, "not stormy; mild, fair, not overcast, fully light, free from darkness or clouds;" of the eyes or vision, "clear, keen;" of the voice or sound, "plainly audible, distinct, resonant;" of the mind, "keen-witted, perspicacious;" of words or speech, "readily understood, manifest to the mind, lucid" (an Old English word for this was sweotol "distinct, clear, evident"); of land, "cleared, leveled;" from Old French cler "clear" (of sight and hearing), "light, bright, shining; sparse" (12c., Modern French clair), from Latin clarus "clear, loud," of sounds; figuratively "manifest, plain, evident," in transferred use, of sights, "bright, distinct;" also "illustrious, famous, glorious" (source of Italian chiaro, Spanish claro), from PIE *kle-ro-, from root *kele- (2) "to shout."

The prehistoric sense evolution to light and color involves an identification of the spreading of sound and the spreading of light (compare English loud, used of colors; German hell "clear, bright, shining," of pitch, "distinct, ringing, high").

Also in Middle English "beautiful, magnificent, excellent" (c. 1300); of possession or title, "unrestricted, unconditional, absolute," early 15c. Of complexion, from c. 1300. Sense of "free from encumbrance," later largely nautical, developed c. 1500. Meaning "obvious to the senses" is from 1835. Clear-sighted is from 1580s (clear-eyed is from 1520s); clear-headed is from 1709. For coast is clear see clear (v.).

c. 1300, "completely, quite, entirely, wholly," c. 1300, from clear (adj.) or adverbial use of the adjective in Old French. From early 14c. as "plainly, lucidly;" mid-14c. as "loudly, with distinctness of sound;" late 14c. as "brightly, brilliantly."

also cleché, 1680s, "pierced through with a figure of the same kind," but also, of a cross, "having arms which spread or grow broader toward the extremities," from French cléché (17c.), from Latin *clavicatus "key-holed," or clavicella "little key," from clavis "key" (from PIE root *klau- "hook"). The cross sense perhaps from or merged with Latin clava "club, knotty branch."

1570s, "character on a staff to indicate its name and pitch," so that the others may be known, from Middle French clef (12c.) "key; musical clef; trigger," from a figurative or transferred use of classical Latin clavis, which had only the literally sense "key" (from PIE root *klau- "hook").

In the Middle Ages, the Latin word was used in the Guidonian system for "the lowest note of a scale," which is its basis (see keynote). The most common is the treble, violin, or G-clef, which crosses on the second line of the staff, denoting that as the G above middle C on the piano.

late 14c., "one who lives under the patronage of another," from Anglo-French clyent (c. 1300), from Latin clientem (nominative cliens) "follower, retainer" (related to clinare "to incline, bend"), from PIE *klient-, a suffixed (active participle) form of root *klei- "to lean." The notion apparently is "one who leans on another for protection." In ancient Rome, a plebeian under the guardianship and protection of a patrician (who was called patronus in this relationship; see patron).

The meaning "a lawyer's customer" is attested from c. 1400, and by c. 1600 the word was extended to any customer who puts a particular interest in the care and management of another. Related: Cliency.

The relation of client and patron between a plebeian and a patrician, although at first strictly voluntary, was hereditary, the former bearing the family name of the latter, and performing various services for him and his family both in peace and war, in return for advice and support in respect to private rights and interests. Foreigners in Rome, and even allied or subject states and cities, were often clients of Roman patricians selected by them as patrons. The number of a patrician's clients, as of a baron's vassals in the middle ages, was a gage his greatness. [Century Dictionary]

1580s, in the rhetorical sense ("a chain of reasoning in graduating steps from weaker to stronger"), from Late Latin climax (genitive climacis), from Greek klimax "propositions rising in effectiveness," literally "ladder," from suffixed form of PIE root *klei- "to lean."

Originally in rhetoric an arrangement of successive clauses so that the last important word of one is repeated as the first important word of the next, as in Romans v.3-5: "... but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed ...." Compare anadiplosis. From the rhetorical meaning, the word evolved through "series of steps by which a goal is achieved," to "escalating steps," to (1789) "high point of intensity or development," a usage credited by the OED to "popular ignorance."

The meaning "sexual orgasm" is recorded by 1880 (also in terms such as climax of orgasm), and is said to have been promoted from c. 1900 by birth-control pioneer Marie Stopes (1880-1958) and others as a more accessible word than orgasm (n.).

1938, in biology, "a graded series of differences within a species," a back-formation from incline or from a Latinized form of Greek klinein "to slope, to lean," from PIE root *klei- "to lean." Earlier, but now obsolete, was a verb cline, from Middle English clinen "to bend, bow," from Old French cliner, from Latin clinare.

1780, "pertaining to hospital patients or hospital care," from clinic + -al (2). Meaning "coldly dispassionate" (like a medical report) is recorded from 1928. The earlier adjective was clinic "of or pertaining to the sick-bed" (1620s). Related: Clinically.

"fasten, hold together by pressure," also (mostly archaic) "to embrace," from Old English clyppan "to embrace, clasp; surround; prize, honor, cherish," from Proto-Germanic *kluppjan (source also of Old Frisian kleppa "to embrace, love," Old High German klaftra, German klafter "fathom" (on notion of outstretched arms). Also compare Lithuanian glėbys "armful," globti "to embrace."

Meaning "to fasten, bind" is early 14c. Meaning "to fasten with clips" is from 1902. Related: Clipped. Original sense of the verb is preserved in U.S. football penalty (see clipping (n.1)).

"erectile organ of female mammals," 1610s, coined in Modern Latin from Late Greek kleitoris, a diminutive, but the exact sense intended by the coiners is uncertain. Perhaps from Greek kleiein "to sheathe," also "to shut," in reference to its being covered by the labia minora. The related Greek noun kleis has a secondary meaning "a key, a latch or hook (to close a door);" see close (v.), and compare slot (n.2).

Alternatively [Watkins], from Greek kleitys, a variant of klitys "side of a hill," from PIE *kleitor-, suffixed form of root *klei- "to lean," via with a sense of "little hill." Some ancient medical sources give a supposed Greek verb kleitoriazein "to touch or titillate lasciviously, to tickle" (compare German slang der Kitzler "clitoris," literally "the tickler"), but in this case the verb is likely from the anatomy.

The anatomist Mateo Renaldo Colombo (1516-1559), professor at Padua, claimed to have discovered it ("De re anatomica," 1559, p. 243). He called it amor Veneris, vel dulcedo "the love or sweetness of Venus." It had been known earlier to women.

"a partition, a dividing band," 1690s, from French cloison, from Vulgar Latin *clausionem (nominative *clausio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin claudere "to close, shut" (see close (v.)). Related: Cloisonnage.

early 13c., cloystre, "a monastery or convent, a place of religious retirement or seclusion," from Old French cloistre "monastery, convent; enclosure" (12c., Modern French cloître), from Medieval Latin claustrum "portion of monastery closed off to laity," from Latin claustrum (usually in plural, claustra) "place shut in, enclosure; bar, bolt, means of shutting in," from past participle stem of claudere "to close, shut" (see close (v.)).

"The original purpose of cloisters was to afford a place in which the monks could take exercise and recreation" [Century Dictionary]. Spelling in French influenced by cloison "partition." Old English had clustor, clauster in the sense "prison, lock, barrier," directly from Latin, and compare, from the same source, Dutch klooster, German Kloster, Polish klasztor.

From c. 1300 in English as "covered walk running round the walls of a monastic building or large church;" from late 14c. in the general sense "colonnade round an open court." 

(klōz), c. 1200, "to shut, cover in," from Old French clos- (past participle stem of clore "to shut, to cut off from"), 12c., from Latin clausus, past participle of claudere "to shut, close; to block up, make inaccessible; put an end to; shut in, enclose, confine" (always -clusus, -cludere in compounds), from PIE root *klau- "hook," also "peg, nail, pin," all things used as locks or bolts in primitive structures.

Also partly from Old English beclysan "close in, shut up." Intransitive sense "become shut" is from late 14c. Meaning "draw near to" is from 1520s. Intransitive meaning "draw together, come together" is from 1550s, hence the idea in military verbal phrase close ranks (mid-17c.), later with figurative extensions. Meaning "bring to an end, finish" is from c. 1400; intransitive sense "come to an end" is from 1826. Of stock prices, from 1860. Meaning "bring together the parts of" (a book, etc.) is from 1560s. Related: Closed; closing.

(klōs), "tightly, with no opening or space between," from close (adj.).

late 14c., "a small private room for study or prayer," from Old French closet "small enclosure, private room," diminutive of clos "enclosure," from Latin clausum "closed space, enclosure, confinement," from neuter past participle of claudere "to shut" (see close (v.)).

In Matthew vi.6 it renders Latin cubiculum "bedchamber, bedroom," Greek tamieion "chamber, inner chamber, secret room." Modern sense of "small side-room for storage" is first recorded 1610s.

The adjective is from 1680s, "private, done in seclusion;" from 1782 as "fitted only for scholarly seclusion, not adopted to the conditions of practical life." The meaning "secret, not public, unknown" is recorded from 1952, first of alcoholism but by 1970s used principally of homosexuality; the phrase come out of the closet "admit something openly" is first recorded 1963, and lent a new meaning to the word out.

In foreign countries the Clôture has been used notoriously to barricade up a majority against the "pestilent" criticism of a minority, and in this country every "whip" and force is employed by the majority to re-assert its continued supremacy and to keep its ranks intact whenever attacked. How this one-sided struggle to maintain solidarity can be construed into "good for all" is inexplicable in the sense uttered. ["The clôture and the Recent Debate, a Letter to Sir J. Lubbock," London, 1882]

dried flowerbud of a certain tropical tree, used as a spice, late 15c., earlier clowes (14c.), from Anglo-French clowes de gilofre (c. 1200), Old French clou de girofle "nail of gillyflower," so called from its shape, from Latin clavus "a nail" (from PIE root *klau- "hook"). For second element, see gillyflower. The two cloves were much confused in Middle English. The clove pink is so called from the scent of the flowers.

early 14c., "margin of the land;" earlier "rib as a part of the body" (early 12c.), from Old French coste "rib, side, flank; slope, incline;" later "coast, shore" (12c., Modern French côte), from Latin costa "a rib," perhaps related to a root word for "bone" (compare Old Church Slavonic kosti "bone," and PIE root *ost-), but de Vaan dismisses this and calls it "an isolated word without etymology."

Latin costa developed a secondary sense in Medieval Latin of "the shore," via notion of the "side" of the land, as well as "side of a hill," and this passed into Romanic (Italian costa "coast, side," Spanish cuesta "slope," costa "coast"), but only in the Germanic languages that borrowed it is it fully specialized in this sense (Dutch kust, Swedish kust, German Küste, Danish kyst).

French also used this word for "hillside, slope," which led to the English verb meaning "a slide or sled down a snowy or icy hillside," first attested 1775 in American English. Expression the coast is clear (16c.) is an image of landing on a shore unguarded by enemies; to clear the coast (1520s) was to make it suitable for landing.

"native or permanent resident of London," specifically the City of London, more precisely one born or living "within the sound of Bow-Bell" (see Bow bells); c. 1600, usually said to be from Middle English cokenei, cokeney "spoiled child, milksop" (late 14c.), originally cokene-ey "cock's egg" (mid-14c.). The most likely disentangling of the etymology is to start from Old English cocena "cock's egg" -- genitive plural of coc "cock" + æg "egg" -- medieval term for "runt of a clutch" (as though "egg laid by a cock"), extended derisively c. 1520s to "town dweller," gradually narrowing thereafter to residents of a particular neighborhood in the East End of London. Liberman, however, disagrees:

Cockney, 'cock's egg,' a rare and seemingly obsolete word in Middle English, was, in all likelihood, not the etymon of ME cokeney 'milksop, simpleton; effeminate man; Londoner,' which is rather a reshaping of [Old French] acoquiné 'spoiled' (participle). However, this derivation poses some phonetic problems that have not been resolved.

The characteristic accent so called from 1890, but the speech peculiarities were noted from 17c. As an adjective in this sense, from 1630s. Related: Cockneydom; Cockneyish.

"white crystalline alkaloid present in opium," 1838, codeina, from French codéine, coined, with chemical suffix -ine (2), from Greek kodeia "poppy head," related to koos "prison," literally "hollow place;" kodon "bell, mouth of a trumpet;" koilos "hollow, hollowed out, spacious, deep," all from PIE root *keue- "to swell," also "vault, hole." Modern form is from 1881.

order of lobe-finned fishes, 1850, from Modern Latin Coelacanthus (genus name, 1839, Agassiz), from Greek koilos "hollow" (from PIE root *keue- "to swell," also "vault, hole") + akantha "spine" (from PIE root *ak- "be sharp, rise (out) to a point, pierce"). So called from the hollow fin rays supporting the tail in fossil remains.

Thought to have gone extinct 66 million years ago until a living one was fished up off the east coast of South Africa Dec. 22, 1938. The specimen was noticed by museum curator Marjorie Courtney-Latimer, who wrote a description of it to South African ichthyologist J.L.B. Smith.

I stared and stared, at first in puzzlement. I did not know any fish of our own, or indeed of any seas like that; it looked more like a lizard. And then a bomb seemed to burst in my brain, and beyond that sketch and the paper of the letter, I was looking at a series of fishy creatures that flashed up as on a screen, fishes no longer here, fishes that had lived in dim past ages gone, and of which only fragmentary remains in rock are known. [J.L.B. Smith, "Old Fourlegs: The Story of the Coelacanth," 1956]

"having a body cavity distinct from the intestinal cavity," 1883, from Coelomata (1877), from Modern Latin neuter plural of coelomatus, from Greek koilomat- "hollow, cavity," from koilos "hollow, hollowed out, spacious, deep," from PIE root *keue- "to swell," also "vault, hole."

1640s, "allied by blood, connected or related by birth, of the same parentage, descended from a common ancestor," from Latin cognatus "of common descent" (source also of Spanish cognado, Italian cognato), from assimilated form of com "together" (see co-) + gnatus, past participle of gnasci, older form of nasci "to be born" (from PIE root *gene- "give birth, beget").

Of things, "related in origin, traceable to the same source," by 1640s; specifically of words, "coming from the same root or original word but showing differences due to subsequent separate phonetic development," by 1782; of languages, "from the same original language," by 1799. French, Spanish, and Italian are cognate languages (all essentially descended from Latin) but are not cognate with Latin. English cognate, Spanish cognado and Italian cognato are cognate words from Latin cognatus. English brother, Sanskrit bhrátár-, Greek phratér, Latin frater, Russian bratŭ are cognate words from the PIE root *bhrater. Words that are cognates are more like cousins than siblings; they develop in different languages.

Related: Cognatic; cognation (late 14c. in English as "blood-relationship, kinship"); cognateness. As a noun, "one connected to another by ties of kinship," from 1754.

1580s, "pertaining to cognition," with -ive + Latin cognit-, past participle stem of cognoscere "to get to know, recognize," from assimilated form of com "together" (see co-) + gnoscere "to know," from PIE root *gno- "to know."

Taken over by psychologists and sociologists after c. 1940. Cognitive dissonance "psychological distress cause by holding contradictory beliefs or values" (1957) apparently was coined by U.S. social psychologist Leon Festinger, who developed the concept. Related: Cognitively.

"connoisseur," 1778 (in the plural cognoscenti), an Italian word in English, re-Latinized in Italian from earlier conoscente "connoisseur," literally "knowing man," from Latin cognoscentum (nominative cognoscens), present participle of cognoscere "to get to know, recognize," from assimilated form of com "together" (see co-) + gnoscere "to know," from PIE root *gno- "to know."

1630s, from Late Latin cohabitatus, past participle of cohabitare "to dwell together," from co- "with, together" (see co-) + habitare "to live, inhabit, dwell," frequentative of habere "to have, to hold, possess" (from PIE root *ghabh- "to give or receive"). Related: Cohabitated; cohabitating.

early 15c., "company of soldiers, band of warriors," from Middle French cohorte (14c.) and directly from Latin cohortem (nominative cohors) "enclosure," with meaning extended to "infantry company" in the Roman army through the notion of "enclosed group, retinue;" from assimilated form of com "with" (see co-) + a root akin to hortus "garden," from PIE *ghr-ti-, from PIE root *gher- (1) "to grasp, enclose."

Sense of "accomplice" is first recorded 1952, American English, from meaning "group united in common cause" (1719). In demographics, "group of persons having a common statistical characteristic" (originally being born in the same year), 1944.

1620s, "length of rope or cable," a specialized nautical sense from coil (v.). General sense "ring or series of rings in which a pliant body is wound" is from 1660s; hence, such a form forced onto a non-pliant body (1826). Specific sense "electrical conductor wound in a coil" is from 1849. Related: Coils.

"courage," literally "testicles, balls," 1932, in Hemingway ("Death in the Afternoon," an account of Spanish bull-fighting), from Spanish cojon "testicle," from Latin coleus "the testicles" (source of Italian coglione), a variant of culleus "a leather sack," cognate with Greek koleos "sheath of a sword, scabbard." Both are said in some sources to be from PIE root *kel- (1) "to cover, conceal, save," but de Vaan finds it "Probably a loanword from a non-IE language, independently into Latin and Greek."

insect order having the wings sheathed by hardened shells, 1763, from Modern Latin, from Greek koleopteros, literally "sheath-wing," used by Aristotle to describe beetles, from koleos "sheath" (from PIE root *kel- (1) "to cover, conceal, save") + pteron "wing" (from PIE root *pet- "to rush, to fly"). Related: Coleopterous; coleopteran; coleopteral.

c. 1300, coler, coller, "neck armor, gorget, something worn about the neck," from Old French coler "neck, collar" (12c., Modern French collier), from Latin collare "necklace, band or chain for the neck," from collum "the neck," from PIE *kwol-o- "neck" (source also of Old Norse and Middle Dutch hals "neck"), literally "that on which the head turns," from root *kwel- (1) "revolve, move round."

The spelling was re-Latinized in early modern English. From late 14c. as "border at the neck of a garment," also "band put around the neck of a dog or other animal for purposes of restraint or identification." From mid-15c. as "neck-band forming part of the harness of a horse or other draught-animal."

"an associate in office, employment, or labor," 1530s, from Middle French collègue (16c.), from Latin collega "partner in office," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see com-) + leg-, stem of legare "send as a deputy, send with a commission," from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather." So, "one sent or chosen to work with another," or "one chosen at the same time as another."

early 15c., "comprehensive," from Middle French collectif, from Latin collectivus, from collectus, past participle of colligere "gather together," from com- "together" (see com-) + legere "to gather," from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather." In grammar, from mid-15c., "expressing under a singular form a whole consisting of a plurality of individuals." From c. 1600 as "belonging to or exercised by a number of individuals jointly." Related: Collectively; collectiveness.

Collective bargaining was coined 1891 by English sociologist and social reformer Beatrice Webb; it was defined in U.S. 1935 by the Wagner Act. Collective noun is recorded from 1510s; collective security first attested 1934 in speech by Winston Churchill.

As a noun, from 1640s, "a collective noun" (singular in number but signifying an aggregate or assemblage, such as crowd, jury, society). As short for collective farm (in the USSR) it dates from 1925; collective farm itself is first attested 1919 in translations of Lenin.

mid-14c., "pertaining to a college," from Middle French collégial, from Latin collegialis, from collegium "community, society, guild," literally "association of collegae," plural of collega "partner in office," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see com-) + leg-, stem of legare "to choose," from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather." Related: Collegially; collegiality.

c. 1600, "conversation, dialogue" (a sense now obsolete), from Latin colloquium "conference, conversation," literally "a speaking together," from com- "together" (see com-) + -loquium "speaking," from loqui "to speak" (from PIE root *tolkw- "to speak"). Also as a legal term; meaning "a meeting for discussion, assembly, conference, seminar" is attested by 1844.

"chief commander of a regiment of troops," 1540s, coronell, from Middle French coronel (16c.), modified by dissimilation from Italian colonnella "commander of the column of soldiers at the head of a regiment," from compagna colonella "little column company," from Latin columna "pillar," collateral form of columen "top, summit," from PIE root *kel- (2) "to be prominent; hill."

The French spelling was reformed late 16c. English spelling was modified 1580s in learned writing to conform with the Italian form (via translations of Italian military manuals), and pronunciations with "r" and "l" coexisted until c. 1650, but the earlier pronunciation prevailed. Spanish and Portuguese  coronel, from Italian, show similar evolution by dissimilation and perhaps by influence of corona. Abbreviation col. is attested by 1707.

in architecture, "a series of columns placed at certain intervals," 1718, from French colonnade, from Italian colonnato, from colonna "column," from Latin columna "pillar," collateral form of columen "top, summit," from PIE root *kel- (2) "to be prominent; hill." Also see -ade. Related: Colonnaded.

"publisher's inscription at the end of a book," 1774, from Late Latin colophon, from Greek kolophon "summit, final touch" (from PIE root *kel- (2) "to be prominent; hill"). "In early times the colophon gave the information now given on the title page" [OED].

late 14c., colouren, "to make (something) a certain color, to give or apply color to," also figurative "to use (words) to a certain effect; to make (something) appear different from reality or better than it is," from Old French culurer, colorer, and directly from Latin colorare, from color (see color (n.)). Intransitive sense "become red in the face" is from 1721. Related: Colored; coloring.

late 14c., combinacyoun, "act of uniting (two things) in a whole; state of being so united," from Old French combination (14c., Modern French combinaison), from Late Latin combinationem (nominative combinatio) "a joining two by two," noun of action from past participle stem of combinare "to unite, yoke together," from Latin com "with, together" (see com-) + bini "two by two," adverb from bi- "twice" (from PIE root *dwo- "two").

Sense of "a whole formed by uniting" is from 1530s; specific sense of "union or association of persons for the attainment of some common end" is from 1570s. Meaning "series of moves required to open a combination lock" is from 1880; combination lock, one requiring a certain combination of moves to open it, is from 1851. Related: Combinational.

"machine that cuts, threshes, and cleans grain," 1900, short for combine harvester, combine mower (1857), from combine (v.). The noun was used earlier in the sense "conspiracy" (c. 1600); it became obsolete but was revived (1886) in the sense "combination or agreement between persons to further common interests."

1837, "article of food," from French comestible (14c.), from Late Latin comestibilis, from Latin comestus, past participle of comedere "eat up, consume," from com "with, together," here "thoroughly" (see com-) + edere "to eat" (from PIE root *ed- "to eat"). It was attested earlier as an adjective meaning "fit to eat" but this seems to have fallen from use 17c., and the word was reintroduced from French as a noun.

"international organization of the Communist Party," founded 1919, from contraction of Communist International and modeled on Russian Komintern.

c. 1300, "order or direct with authority" (transitive), from Old French comander "to order, enjoin, entrust" (12c., Modern French commander), from Vulgar Latin *commandare, from Latin commendare "to recommend, entrust to" (see commend); altered by influence of Latin mandare "to commit, entrust" (see mandate (n.)). In this sense Old English had bebeodan.

Intransitive sense "act as or have authority of a commander, have or exercise supreme power" is from late 14c. Also from late 14c. as "have within the range of one's influence" (of resources, etc.), hence, via a military sense, "have a view of, overlook" in reference to elevated places (1690s). Related: Commanded; commanding.

Command-post "headquarters of a military unit" is from 1918. A command performance (1863) is one given by royal command.

"according to etiquette," 1756, French, literally "as it should be." From comme "as, like, how," from Old French com, from Vulgar Latin quomo, from Latin quomodo "how? in what way?," pronominal adverb of manner, related to quam "how much?," qui "who" (from PIE root *kwo-, stem of relative and interrogative pronouns). With il, from Latin ille "this" (see le) + faut, third person singular present indicative active of falloir "be necessary," literally "be wanting or lacking" (see fail (v.)).

late 13c., "a beginning, act or fact of coming into existence," from Old French comencement "beginning, start" (Modern French commencement), from comencier "to begin, to start" (see commence).

Meaning "school graduation ceremony" attested by 1850, American English, originally in colleges, in reference to the ceremonies by which members of the graduating class are made ("begin to be") bachelors, masters, etc. (commencement in the sense of "entrance upon the privileges of a master or doctor in a university" is from late 14c.) ; thence extended to graduation ceremonies of academies and lower schools.

I know what you are thinking of -- the class members grouped in a semicircle on the stage, the three scared boys in new ready-made black suits, the seventeen pretty girls in fluffy white dresses (the gowns of the year), each senior holding a ribbon-tied manuscript bulging with thoughts on "Beyond the Alps Lies Italy," "Our Ship is Launched -- Whither Shall it Sail?" and similar topics. [Charles Moreau Harger, "The Real Commencement," "New Outlook," May 8, 1909]

late 14c., "explanation, spoken or written remark," from Old French coment "commentary" or directly from Late Latin commentum "comment, interpretation," in classical Latin "invention, fabrication, fiction," neuter past participle of comminisci "to contrive, devise," from com-, here probably an intensive prefix (see com-), + base of meminisse "to remember," related to mens (genitive mentis) "mind" (from PIE root *men- (1) "to think").

The Latin word meaning "something invented" was taken by Isidore and other Christian theologians for "interpretation, annotation." No comment as a stock refusal to answer a journalist's question is first recorded 1950, from Truman's White House press secretary Charles Ross.

"make (solids) small or fine, reduce to a fine powder," 1620s, from Latin comminutus, past participle of comminuere "to lessen, break into smaller parts," from com "with, together" (see com-) + minuere "to make smaller" (from PIE root *mei- (2) "small"). Related: Comminuted; comminuting; comminution (1570s, from Latin comminutionem).

c. 1300, "a fellowship or brotherhood; early 14c., "people of a community or town, freemen, citizenry;" late 15c., "land held in common," from Old French commune and Medieval Latin communia, and partly from common (adj.). Also compare commons. Latin communis "common, general" (adj.) also served as a noun meaning "common property; state, commonwealth."

late 14c., "violent movement or agitation, emotional disturbance," from Old French commocion "violent motion, agitation" (12c., Modern French commotion) and directly from Latin commotionem (nominative commotio) "violent motion, agitation," noun of action from past participle stem of commovere "to move, disturb," from com "with, together," perhaps here "thoroughly" (see com-) + movere "to move" (from PIE root *meue- "to push away").

From mid-15c. as "public unrest or disturbance." Verbs commote "to disturb, stir up" (1852), commove (late 14c.) are marked "rare" in Century Dictionary.

1792, in a French context, "a community organized and self-governed for local interest, subordinate to the state," from French commune "small territorial divisions set up after the Revolution," from Middle French commune "free city, group of citizens" (12c.), from Medieval Latin communia, literally "that which is common," noun use of neuter plural of Latin adjective communis "common, general" (see common (adj.)).

I am not aware that any English word precisely corresponds to the general term of the original. In France every association of human dwellings forms a commune, and every commune is governed by a Maire and a Conseil municipal. In other words, the mancipium, or municipal privilege, which belongs in England to chartered corporations alone, is alike extended to every commune into which the cantons and departments of France were divided at the Revolution. [translator's note (Henry Reeve) to 1838 English edition of de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America"] 

The English word sometimes was used in reference to the idealistic communities formed in U.S. c. 1840s, inspired by Fourier and Owen, and was used in late 1960s of hippie settlements established along similar lines.

The Commune of Paris usurped the government during the Reign of Terror. The word later was applied to a government on communalistic principles set up in Paris in 1871 upon the withdrawal of the Germans, which was quickly suppressed by national troops. Adherents of the 1871 government were Communards. Communer is from or based on French communier.

early 15c., "act of communicating, act of imparting, discussing, debating, conferring," from Old French comunicacion (14c., Modern French communication) and directly from Latin communicationem (nominative communicatio), noun of action from past participle stem of communicare "to share, divide out; communicate, impart, inform; join, unite, participate in," literally "to make common," related to communis "common, public, general" (see common (adj.)). Meaning "that which is communicated" is from late 15c.; meaning "means of communication" is from 1715. Related: Communications; communicational.

mid-15c., "to change (something into something else), transform," from Latin commutare "to often change, to change altogether," from com-, here probably an intensive prefix (see com-), + mutare "to change" (from PIE root *mei- (1) "to change, go, move").

Sense of "make less severe" is from 1630s; sense of "exchange, put in place of another" is from 1630s. Meaning "substitute one sort of burden for another" is from 1640s.

Meaning "go back and forth to work" is attested by 1889, from commutation ticket "a season pass" on a railroad, streetcar line, etc. (1848), from commute in its sense of "to change one kind of payment into another" (1795), especially "to combine a number of payments into a single one, pay a single sum instead of a number of successive payments" (1845). Related: Commuted; commuting; commutable.

The noun meaning "a journey made in commuting" is attested by 1960. Also compare commuter.

late 14c., of substances, "closely and firmly united," from Latin compactus "concentrated," past participle of compingere "to fasten together, construct," from com "with, together" (see com-) + pangere "to fix, fasten" (from PIE root *pag- "to fasten"). Related: Compactly; compactness. Compact car is 1960. Compact disc is from 1979.

"small make-up case," 1919, from compact (adj.), based on its containing compacted face powder.

late 14c., "act of making or state of being compact," from Old French compaction, from Latin compactionem (nominative compactio) "a putting or joining together," noun of action from past participle stem of compingere "to fasten together, construct," from com "with, together" (see com-) + pangere "to fix, fasten" (from PIE root *pag- "to fasten"). From 1520s as "the making of a compact."

mid-12c., "large group of people," from Old French compagnie "society, friendship, intimacy; body of soldiers" (12c.), from Late Latin companio, literally "bread fellow, messmate," from Latin com "with, together" (see com-) + panis "bread," from PIE root *pa- "to feed." Abbreviation co. dates from 1670s. 

Meaning "companionship, consort of persons one with another, intimate association" is from late 13c. Meaning "person or persons associated with another in any way" is from c. 1300. In Middle English the word also could mean "sexual union, intercourse" (c. 1300).

From late 14c. as "a number of persons united to perform or carry out anything jointly," which developed a commercial sense of "business association" by 1550s, the word having been used in reference to trade guilds from late 14c. Meaning "subdivision of an infantry regiment" (in 19c. usually 60 to 100 men, commanded by a captain) is from c. 1400. 

Meaning "person or persons with whom one voluntarily associates" is from c. 1600; phrase keep company "consort" is from 1560s (bear company in the same sense is from c. 1300). Expression two's company "two persons are just right" (for conversation, etc.), is attested from 1849; the following line varies: but three is none (or not), 1849; three's trumpery (1864); three's a crowd (1856). 

"to drive or urge irresistibly by physical or moral force," mid-14c., from Old French compellir and directly from Latin compellere "to drive together, drive to one place" (of cattle), "to force or compel" (of persons), from com "with, together" (see com-) + pellere "to drive" (from PIE root *pel- (5) "to thrust, strike, drive"). Related: Compelled; compelling.

1640s, "to be equivalent;" 1650s, "to counterbalance, make up for, give a substitute of equal value to," from Latin compensatus, past participle of compensare "to weigh one thing (against another)," thus, "to counterbalance," etymologically "to weigh together," from com "with, together" (see com-) + pensare, frequentative of pendere "to hang, cause to hang; weigh; pay" (from PIE root *(s)pen- "to draw, stretch, spin"). Meaning "to recompense, remunerate" is from 1814. The earlier verb in English was compense (late 14c.). Related: Compensated; compensating.

1610s, " to enter or be put in rivalry with," from Middle French compéter "be in rivalry with" (14c.), or directly from Late Latin competere "strive in common, strive after something in company with or together," in classical Latin "to meet or come together; agree or coincide; to be qualified," from com "with, together" (see com-) + petere "to strive, seek, fall upon, rush at, attack" (from PIE root *pet- "to rush, to fly").

According to OED, rare 17c., revived from late 18c. in sense "to strive (alongside another) for the attainment of something" and regarded early 19c. in Britain as a Scottish or American word. Market sense is from 1840s (perhaps a back-formation from competition); athletics sense attested by 1857. Intransitive use is by 1974. Related: Competed; competing.

1520s, "to embrace;" 1570s, "to weave together;" from Late Latin complectus, past participle of complectere "to embrace, encircle," from Latin com "with" (see com-) + plectere "to plait," from suffixed form of PIE root *plek- "to plait." Related: Complected; complecting.

"make complete," 1640s, from complement (n.). Earlier in a now-obsolete sense of "exchange courtesies" (1610s), from complement (n.) in a 16c. sense "that which is added, not as necessary, but as ornamental," now going with compliment. Related: Complemented; complementing.

late 14c., "having no deficiency, wanting no part or element; perfect in kind or quality; finished, ended, concluded," from Old French complet "full," or directly from Latin completus, past participle of complere "to fill up, complete the number of (a legion, etc.)," transferred to "fulfill, finish (a task)," from com-, here probably as an intensive prefix (see com-), + plere "to fill" (from PIE root *pele- (1) "to fill").

1650s, "a whole comprised of interconnected parts," from complex (adj.). Latin completus as a noun meant "a surrounding, embracing, connection, relation." Psychological sense of "connected group of repressed ideas" was established by C.G. Jung, 1907.

mid-14c., complexioun, "temperament, natural disposition of body or mind," from Old French complexion, complession "combination of humors," hence "temperament, character, make-up," from Latin complexionem (nominative complexio) "combination" (in Late Latin, "physical constitution"), from complexus "surrounding, encompassing," past participle of complecti "to encircle, embrace," in transferred use, "to hold fast, master, comprehend," from com "with, together" (see com-) + plectere "to weave, braid, twine, entwine," from PIE *plek-to-, suffixed form of root *plek- "to plait."

The Middle English sense is from the notion of bodily constitution or general nature resulting from blending of the four primary qualities (hot, cold, dry, moist) or humors (blood, phlegm, choler, black choler). The specific meaning "color or hue of the skin of the face" developed by mid-15c. In medieval physiology, the color of the face was believed to indicate temperament or health. The word rarely is used in the sense of "state of being complex."

early 15c., "complex combination or intricate intermingling," from Latin complicationem (nominative complicatio), noun of action from past participle stem of complicare "to fold together, fold up, roll up," from com "with, together" (see com-) + plicare "to fold, weave" (from PIE root *plek- "to plait").

From 1690s as "an additional disorder which develops during the course of an existing one," hence, generally, "that which renders (an existing situation) complex, involved, or intricate."

Complication commonly implies entanglement resulting either in difficulty of comprehension or in embarrassment; complexity, the multiplicity and not easily recognized relation of parts; as business complications; the complexity of a machine; the complexity of a question of duty. [Century Dictionary]

1610s, "pay a compliment to, flatter or gratify by expression of admiration, respect, etc.," from French complimenter, from compliment (see compliment (n.)). By 1690s as "manifest kindness or regard for by a gift or favor." Related: Complimented; complimenting.

early 14c., "to carry out, fulfill" (transitive), probably from Old French compli, past participle of complir "to accomplish, fulfill, carry out," from Vulgar Latin *complire, from Latin complere "to fill up," transferred to "fulfill, finish (a task)," from com-, here probably as an intensive prefix (see com-), + plere "to fill" (from PIE root *pele- (1) "to fill").

Intransitive sense of "to consent, act in accordance with another's will or desire" is attested from c. 1600 and might have been influenced by ply (v.2), or perhaps it is a reintroduction from Italian, where complire had come to mean "satisfy by 'filling up' the forms of courtesy" (compare compliment (n.)).

"personal bearing, carriage, behavior, demeanor," 1590s, from Middle French comportement "bearing, behavior," from comporter (13c.) "to behave," from Latin comportare "to bring together, collect," from com "with, together" (see com-) + portare "to carry" (from PIE root *per-(2) "to lead, pass over")

mid-14c., "to understand, take into the mind, grasp by understanding," late 14c., "to take in, include;" from Latin comprehendere "to take together, to unite; include; seize" (of catching fire or the arrest of criminals); also "to comprehend, perceive" (to seize or take in the mind), from com "with, together," here probably "completely" (see com-) + prehendere "to catch hold of, seize," from prae- "before" (see pre-) + -hendere, from PIE root *ghend- "to seize, take." Related: Comprehended; comprehending. Compare sense development in German begriefen, literally "to seize," but, through the writings of the 14c. mystics, "to seize with the mind, to comprehend."

"containing much in comparatively small limits," 1610s, from French comprehénsif, from Late Latin comprehensivus, from comprehens-, past participle stem of Latin comprehendere "to take together, to unite; include; to comprehend, perceive" (to seize or take in the mind), from com "with, together," here probably "completely" (see com-) + prehendere "to catch hold of, seize," from prae- "before" (see pre-) + -hendere, from PIE root *ghend- "to seize, take." Related: Comprehensively (mid-15c.); comprehensiveness.

1590s in the surgical sense of "soft mass of linen or other cloth to press against some part of the body (with the aid of a bandage)," from compress (v.).

early 15c., "a joint promise to abide by an arbiter's decision," from Old French compromis (13c.), from Late Latin compromissus, past participle of compromittere "to make a mutual promise" (to abide by the arbiter's decision), from com "with, together" (see com-) + promittere "to send forth; let go; foretell; assure beforehand, promise," from pro "before" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward," hence "in front of, before") + mittere "to release, let go; send, throw" (see mission).

The sense of "a coming to terms, a settlement of differences by mutual concessions" (mid-15c.) is from extension to the settlement itself. The meaning "that which results from such an agreement" is from 1510s.

genus of small dinosaurs, 1868 (from 1859 in German), Modern Latin, from Greek kompsos "refined, elegant, to the point, cunning" (according to Beekes, probably of non-IE origin) + gnathos "jaw," from PIE root *genu- (2) "jawbone, chin."

c. 1600, "exercising compulsion, tending to compel," from French compulsif, from Latin compulsus, past participle of compellere "to drive together, force," from com "with, together" (see com-) + pellere "to drive" (from PIE root *pel- (5) "to thrust, strike, drive").

Psychological sense "acting on an instant impulse to behave in a certain way" is from 1902. As a noun, "something that tends to compel," attested from 1630s; psychological sense "person subject to compulsions" is from 1957. Related: Compulsively; compulsiveness.

c. 1400, "act, process, or method of arithmetical calculation," from Latin computationem (nominative computatio), noun of action from past participle stem of computare "to sum up, reckon, compute," from com "with, together" (see com-) + putare "to reckon," originally "to prune," from PIE root *pau- (2) "to cut, strike, stamp." From 1713 as "a result of computation, amount reckoned."

"negation; in the negative; the arguments, arguers, or voters against a proposal" (mainly in pro and con), 1570s, short for Latin contra "against" (see contra). Compare pro (n.2).

"swindling," 1889 (in con man), American English, from confidence man (1849), from the many scams in which the victim is induced to hand over money as a token of confidence. Confidence with a sense of "assurance based on insufficient grounds" dates from 1590s.

a slang or colloquial shortening of various nouns beginning in con-, such as, from the 19th century, confidant, conundrum, conformist, convict, contract, and from the 20th century, conductor, conservative.

"incurved," early 15c., from Old French concave (14c.) or directly from Latin concavus "hollow, arched, vaulted, curved," from con-, here probably an intensive prefix (see con-), + cavus "hollow" (from PIE root *keue- "to swell," also "vault, hole").

early 14c., concelen, "to keep close or secret, forbear to divulge," from Old French conceler "to hide, conceal, dissimulate," from Latin concelare "to hide," from con-, here probably an intensive prefix (see con-), + celare "to hide," from PIE root *kel- (1) "to cover, conceal, save." From early 15c. as "to hide or shield from observation." Replaced Old English deagan. Related: Concealed; concealing; concealable.

mid-15c., "act of granting or yielding" (especially in argumentation), from Old French concession (14c.) or directly from Latin concessionem (nominative concessio) "an allowing, conceding," noun of action from past participle stem of concedere "to give way, yield," figuratively "agree, consent, give precedence," from con-, here probably an intensive prefix (see con-), + cedere "to go, grant, give way" (from PIE root *ked- "to go, yield").

From 1610s as "the thing or point yielded." Meaning "property granted by government" is from 1650s. Sense of "grant of privilege by a government to individuals to engage in some enterprise" is from 1856, from a sense in French. Hence the meaning "grant or lease of a small part of a property for some specified purpose" (1897), the sense in concession stand "snack bar, refreshment stand."

1540s, "act of converting from jealousy or suspicion and gaining favor or good will," from Middle French conciliation, from Latin conciliationem (nominative conciliatio) "a connection, union, bond," figuratively "a making friendly, gaining over," noun of action from past participle stem of conciliare "to bring together, unite in feelings, make friendly" (see conciliate).

early 14c., "confute or frustrate an opponent in argument, end an argument by winning it," from Latin concludere "to shut up, enclose," from assimilated form of com "together" (see con-) + -cludere, combining form of claudere "to shut" (see close (v.)).

Meanings "reach a mental determination, deduce; infer or determine by reason" are from late 14c., a sense also in Latin. General sense of "bring to an end, finish, terminate," and intransitive sense of "come to an end" are from late 14c. Meaning "settle, arrange, determine finally" is from early 15c. Sometimes in Middle English it was used in the etymological sense, "shut in" (late 14c.). Related: Concluded; concluding.

1530s, "digestion" (a sense now obsolete), from Latin concoctionem (nominative concoctio) "digestion," noun of action from past participle stem of concoquere "to digest; to boil together, prepare; to consider well," from assimilated form of com "together" (see con-) + coquere "to cook, prepare food, ripen, digest," from PIE root *pekw- "to cook, ripen."

Meaning "that which is concocted" is by 1850, figurative; meaning "a devising, a planning, act of preparing and combining the materials of anything" is from 1823.

early 14c., "agreement between persons, union in opinions or sentiment, state of mutual friendship, amiability," from Old French concorde (12c.) "concord, harmony, agreement, treaty," from Latin concordia "agreement, union," from concors (genitive concordis) "of the same mind," literally "hearts together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + cor (genitive cordis) "heart," from PIE root *kerd- "heart." Related: Concordial.

Meaning "a compact or agreement" is from late 15c. The village in Massachusetts (site of one of the opening battles of the Revolutionary War, April 19, 1775) was named in 1635, perhaps in reference to the peaceful dealings between the settlers and the local native tribes. The capital of New Hampshire was renamed for the Massachusetts town in 1763 (formerly it had been Pennycook, from a mangling of  a native Algonquian word meaning "descent").

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

   Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,

Here once the embattled farmers stood

   And fired the shot heard round the world.  

[Emerson, from "Concord Hymn"]

The Concord grape was so called by 1853, from the Massachusetts town, where it was bred for the local climate and promoted by farmer Ephraim Wales Bull. It is mentioned, but not named in the "New England Farmer" of Oct. 26, 1850, in its acknowledgements:

From E. W. Bull, Concord, a lot of fine seedling grapes, which he produced by a cross of the Catawba with a native grape. It is very good, and partakes of the nature of its parents, having some of the vinous flavor of the Catawba, and a little of the acid peculiar to our native fruit.  

late 14c., "a moving, running, or flowing together; a gathering or accumulation," from Old French concours and directly from Latin concursus "a running together," from past participle of concurrere "to run together, assemble hurriedly; clash, fight," from assimilated form of com "together" (see con-) + currere "to run" (from PIE root *kers- "to run").

From early 15c. as "an assembly, a throng." Sense of "open space in a built-up place," especially a gathering place in a railway station, etc., is American English, 1862. From French, English took concours d'élégance "a parade of vehicles in which the entrants are judged according to the elegance of their appearance" [OED], by 1923.

1520s, "that which is material or not abstract," a noun use of concrete (adj.). Meaning "a mass formed by concretion" is from 1650s, from the literal sense of Latin concretus. Hence "building material made from sand, gravel, stone chips, etc., cemented together" (1834). 

early 15c., "a combination for some purpose, cooperation" (a sense now archaic or obsolete), from Old French concurrence (14c.) or directly from Medieval Latin concurrentia "a running together," from concurrens, present participle of concurrere "to run together, assemble hurriedly; clash, fight," in transferred use, "to happen at the same time," from assimilated form of com "together" (see con-) + currere "to run" (from PIE root *kers- "to run").

Sense of "occurrence together in time, coincidence" is from c. 1600. Meaning "accordance in opinion" is from 1660s.

mid-15c., "a pickling fluid, seasoning, sauce, something used to give relish to food," from Old French condiment (13c.), from Latin condimentum "spice, seasoning, sauce," from condire "to preserve, pickle, season, put fruit in vinegar, wine, spices, etc.," a variant of condere "put together, store," from assimilated form of com "together" (see con-) + -dere "put," from PIE root *dhe- "to put, place."

Related: Condimental. Middle English also had a verb condite (early 15c.) "to season, prepare or preserve with salt, spices, sugar, etc."

"act of pardoning a wrong act," 1620s, from Latin condonationem (nominative condonatio) "a giving away," noun of action from past-participle stem of condonare "to give up, remit, permit," from assimilated form of com-, here probably an intensive prefix (see con-), + donare "give as a gift" (from donum "gift," from PIE root *do- "to give").

Condonation is the remission of a matrimonial offence known to the remitting party to have been committed by the other; on the condition subsequent that ever afterward the party remitting shall be treated by the other with conjugal kindness. [Joel Prentiss Bishop, "Commentaries on the Law of Marriage and Divorce," 1864]

"talk familiarly together, chat," 1610s, from confabulatus, past participle of Latin confabulari "to converse together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + fabulari "to talk, chat," from fabula "a tale" (from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say"). Psychiatric sense is from 1924. Earlier verb was confable (c. 1500), from Old French confabuler. Related: Confabulated; confabulating; confabulator; confabulatory.

"to make up or compound," especially "to make into sweetmeats," late 14c., from Latin confectus, past participle of conficere "to prepare," from assimilated form of com "with" (see con-) + combining form of facere "to make, to do" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put"). Related: Confected; confecting.

late 14c., "contract between two or more persons, states, etc., for mutual support or joint action," from Anglo-French confederacie (Old French confederacie), from stem of Latin confoederare "to unite by a league," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + foederare, from foedus "a league" (from suffixed form of PIE root *bheidh- "to trust, confide, persuade").

Also late 14c. as "an aggregation of persons, states, etc., united by a league, a confederation. At first in reference to leagues of classical Greek states (Aetolian, Delian, Achaean, etc.), later of the Netherlands. In 17c.-18c. often in a bad sense, especially "a conspiracy against a superior."

The word was used of the United States of America under (and in) the Articles of Confederation (1777-1788). In reference to the national organization of the seceding Southern states (1861-1865, also Southern Confederacy) from 1861, in the constitution of the Confederate States of America, formed by constitutional convention at Montgomery, Alabama, March 11, 1861.

Confederacy now usually implies a looser or more temporary association than confederation, which is applied to a union of states organized on an intentionally permanent basis. [OED]

late 14c., "allied, united in a league," from Late Latin confoederatus "leagued together," past participle of confoederare "to unite by a league" (see confederate (v.)). Meaning "of or belonging to the Confederate States of America" is from 1861. Confederal "of or pertaining to a confederation" (1782) was used of the United States under the Articles of Confederation.

early 15c., "act of confederating, alliance, agreement," from Anglo-French confederacion, Old French confederacion (14c.), from Late Latin confoederationem (nominative confoederatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of confoederare "to unite in a league," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + foederare (from suffixed form of PIE root *bheidh- "to trust, confide, persuade").

Meaning "states or persons united by a league" is from 1620s. In U.S. history, the Articles of Confederation were adopted by Congress in 1777 and ratified by the states over the next four years. They went into effect March 1, 1781, and expired March 4, 1789.

1550s, "act of consulting together," from Middle French conférence (15c.), from Medieval Latin conferentia, from Latin conferens, present participle of conferre "to bring together; deliberate, talk over," literally "to bring together," from assimilated form of com "together" (see con-) + ferre "to bear, carry," from PIE root *bher- (1) "to carry," also "to bear children." Meaning "formal meeting for consultation, discussion, instruction, exchange of opinions, etc.," is from 1580s. As a verb from 1846 (implied in conferencing).

1815, "small pellets made of lime or soft plaster, used in Italy during carnival by the revelers for pelting one another in the streets," from Italian plural of confetto "sweetmeat," via Old French, from Latin confectum, confectus (see confection).

The little balls (which left white marks) were substitutes for the small sugar-plum candies that traditionally were thrown during Italian carnivals; the custom was adopted in England by early 19c. for weddings and other occasions, with symbolic tossing of little bits of paper (which are called confetti by 1846).

The chief amusement of the Carnival consists in throwing the confetti--a very ancient practice, and which, with a little research, may be traced up through the Italian Chronicles to the time of the Romans. The confetti were originally of sugar, and the nobility still pique themselves on adhering to so costly a material. The people have degraded them to small balls of lime, which allows more sport, and takes in a much greater number of combatants. [Dr. Abraham Eldon, "The Continental Traveller's Oracle; or, Maxims for Foreign Locomotion," London, 1828]

[The Roman ladies] are generally provided with a small basket of confetti, and as their acquaintance and admirers pass in review, they must be prepared to receive a volley of them. It is thought quite the supreme bon ton for a Roman beau, to mark how many distinguished beauties he is in favour with, by having both his coat and hat covered as white as a miller with the flour of these confetti. [John Bramsen, "Letters of a Prussian Traveller," 1818]

mid-15c., "to place trust or have faith," from Latin confidere "to trust in, rely firmly upon, believe," from assimilated form of com, here probably an intensive prefix (see com-), + fidere "to trust" (from PIE root *bheidh- "to trust, confide, persuade"). Meaning "to share a secret with, take into one's confidence" is from 1735; phrase confide in (someone) is from 1888. Related: Confided; confiding.

1570s, "self-reliant, sure of oneself;" c. 1600, "fully assured, having strong belief," from Middle French confident, from Latin confidentem (nominative confidens) "firmly trusting, reliant, self-confident, bold, daring," present participle of confidere "to have full trust or reliance," from assimilated form of com, here probably an intensive prefix (see com-), + fidere "to trust" (from PIE root *bheidh- "to trust, confide, persuade"). Related: Confidently.

1650s, "to catch fire," from Latin conflagratus, past participle of conflagrare "to burn, consume," from assimilated form of com-, here probably an intensive prefix (see con-), + flagrare "to burn, blaze, glow," from PIE root *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, burn." Transitive meaning "to set on fire" is from 1835.

early 15c., "a flowing together, especially of two or more streams," from Late Latin confluentia, from Latin confluentem (nominative confluens), present participle of confluere "to flow together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + fluere "to flow" (see fluent).

"colleague, fellow member," mid-15c., from Old French confrere "brother, companion" (13c.), from Medieval Latin confrater, from assimilated form of com "together, with" (see con-) + frater "brother" (from PIE root *bhrater- "brother"). Probably lost in later 17c. and reborrowed 19c. from Modern French confrère.

"a thing of the same kind as, or nearly allied to, another," 1730s, from French congénère (16c.), from Latin congener "of the same race or kind," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + gener-, stem of genus "race, kind" (from PIE root *gene- "give birth, beget," with derivatives referring to procreation and familial and tribal groups). Related: Congenerous (1640s); congeneracy.

"existing from birth," 1796, from Latin congenitus "born or produced together," from assimilated form of com "together, with" (see con-) + genitus, past participle of gignere "to beget" (from PIE root *gene- "give birth, beget"). This sense formerly belonged to congenial (which is attested from 1660s with this meaning). Related: Congenitally.

mid-15c., from Latin congratulationem (nominative congratulatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of congratulari "wish joy," from com "together, with" (see com-) + gratulari "give thanks, show joy," from gratus "agreeable" (from suffixed form of PIE root *gwere- (2) "to favor").

late-14c., congregacioun, "a gathering, assembly, a crowd; an organized group, as of a religious order or body of scholars; act of congregating," from Old French congregacion (12c., Modern French congrégation) and directly from Latin congregationem (nominative congregatio) "an assembling together, union, society," noun of action from past-participle stem of congregare "to herd together, collect in a flock, swarm; assemble," from assimilated form of com "together" (see con-) + gregare "to collect into a flock, gather," from grex (genitive gregis) "a flock" (from PIE root *ger- "to gather").

Used by Tyndale (1520s) to translate Greek ekklesia in New Testament in the sense "an assembly of persons for religious worship and instruction," also "the Christian church in general." The word also was used by Wycliffe and other Old Testament translators in place of synagoge on the notion of "the whole body of the Hebrews, as a community, gathered and set apart for the service of God. (Vulgate uses a variety of words in these cases, including congregatio but also ecclesia, vulgus, synagoga, populus.) Protestant reformers in 16c. used it in place of church; hence the word's main modern sense of "local society of believers" (1520s).

"a plant producing cones, a plant of the order Coniferae" (which includes pine, fir, and cypress trees), 1847, from Latin conifer "cone-bearing, bearing conical fruit," from conus "cone" (see cone) + ferre "to bear, carry," from PIE root *bher- (1) "to carry," also "to bear children."

"united, connected, associated," late 14c., from Middle French conjoint, past participle of conjoindre "to meet, come together" (12c.), from Latin coniungere "to join together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + iungere "to join together" (from nasalized form of PIE root *yeug- "to join." Related: Conjointly (early 14c.).

1520s, in the grammatical sense, "inflect (a verb) through all its various forms," from Latin coniugatus, past participle of coniugare "to yoke together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + iugare "to join," from iugum "yoke" (from PIE root *yeug- "to join"). "This use has its origin in the fact that in inflected languages, a verb is conjugated by conjoining certain inflectional syllables with the root" [Century Dictionary]. Earlier as an adjective, "joined together" (late 15c.). Related: Conjugated; conjugating.

"conjoined, conjoint," mid-15c., from Latin coniunctus, past participle of coniugare "to join together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + iugare "to join," from iugum "yoke" (from PIE root *yeug- "to join"). A doublet of conjoint and conjoint.

mid-15c., originally in the grammatical sense," from Latin coniunctivus "serving to connect," from coniunctus, past participle of coniungere "to join together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + iungere "to join together" (from nasalized form of PIE root *yeug- "to join").

The conjunctive mode (Late Latin coniunctivus modus) is the mode which follows a conditional conjunction or expresses contingency; more commonly it is called subjunctive. Non-grammatical sense of "connecting, uniting, solidifying" is from late 15c.  Meaning "closely connected" is from c. 1600. Related: Conjunctively.

1640s, "allied in origin or nature;" 1650s, "born or produced at the same time, congenital," from Late Latin connatus "born together, born at the same time," past participle of connasci "to be born together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + nasci "to be born" (Old Latin gnasci, from PIE root *gene- "give birth, beget"). Related: Connation.

c. 1600, "knowing, privy to" (poetic), from Latin conscius "knowing, aware," from conscire "be (mutually) aware," from assimilated form of com "with," or "thoroughly" (see con-) + scire "to know" (see science). The Latin word probably is a loan-translation of Greek syneidos.

The sense of "knowing or perceiving within oneself, sensible inwardly, aware" is from 1630s, perhaps a shortening of conscious to oneself (1620s). Also compare the Latin sense evolution in conscience. From 1650s as "aware (of a fact)." Sense of "active and awake, endowed with active mental faculties" is from 1837. Related: Consciously.

"uninterrupted in course or succession," 1610s, from French consécutif (16c.), from Medieval Latin consecutivus, from consecut-, past-participle stem of Latin consequi "to follow after," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + sequi "to follow" (from PIE root *sekw- (1) "to follow"). Related: Consecutively.

early 15c., "conclusive, logical," also "following as an effect or result," from Old French consequent "following, resulting" and directly from Latin consequentem (nominative consequens) "following, consequent," present participle of consequi "to follow after," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + sequi "to follow" (from PIE root *sekw- (1) "to follow"). Related: Consequently.

1755, "commission with jurisdiction over a port or river," from -cy + Latin conservant-, present-participle stem of conservare "to keep, preserve, keep intact, guard," from assimilated form of com-, here probably an intensive prefix (see com-), + servare "keep watch, maintain" (from PIE root *ser- (1) "to protect").

Earlier was conservacy "preservation under law, protection" (mid-15c., Anglo-French conservacie). Meaning "official preservation of undeveloped land" dates from 1859 (first reference is to protection of bo trees in Ceylon). General sense of "act of preserving" is by 1832. Meaning "institution concerned with the preservation of nature, undeveloped land, etc." is by 1949.

late 14c., conservacioun, "preservation of health and soundness, maintenance in good condition, act of guarding or keeping with care," from Latin conservationem (nominative conservatio) "a keeping, preserving, conserving," noun of action from past-participle stem of conservare "to keep, preserve, keep intact, guard," from assimilated form of com-, here probably an intensive prefix (see com-), + servare "keep watch, maintain" (from PIE root *ser- (1) "to protect").

Meaning "preservation of existing conditions" in any sense is from mid-15c. The word has been used since late 15c. in reference to English municipal authorities who had charge of rivers, sewers, forests, fisheries, etc. Specifically with reference to preservation of nature and wild places by 1909.

The phrase conservation of energy apparently was coined in French by Leibnitz in 1692; it is attested in English publications from early 18c. as conservatio virum vivarum or partially nativized versions of it. The exact phrase is attested from 1853. 

late 14c., conservatyf, "tending to preserve or protect, preservative, having the power to keep whole or safe," from Middle French conservatif, from Medieval Latin conservativus, from Latin conservatus, past participle of conservare "to keep, preserve, keep intact, guard," from assimilated form of com-, here probably an intensive prefix (see com-), + servare "keep watch, maintain" (from PIE root *ser- (1) "to protect").

From 1840 in the general sense "disposed to retain and maintain what is established, opposed to innovation and change," or, in a negative sense "opposed to progress."

As a modern political tradition, "antagonistic to change in the institutions of a country," often especially "opposed to changes toward pure democracy," conservatism traces to Edmund Burke's opposition to the French Revolution (1790), but the word conservative is not found in his writing. It was coined by his French disciples (such as Chateaubriand, who titled his journal defending clerical and political restoration "Le Conservateur").

Conservative as the name of a British political faction first appeared in an 1830 issue of the "Quarterly Review," in an unsigned article sometimes attributed to John Wilson Croker. It replaced Tory (q.v.) by 1843, reflecting both a change from the pejorative name (in use for 150 years) and repudiation of some reactionary policies.

Strictly speaking, conservatism is not a political system, but rather a way of looking at the civil order. The conservative of Peru ... will differ greatly from those of Australia, for though they may share a preference for things established, the institutions and customs which they desire to preserve are not identical. [Russell Kirk (1918-1994)]

Phrases such as conservative estimate (1874), in which it means "characterized by caution, deliberately low," make no sense etymologically. Related: Conservatively; conservativeness.

"to keep safe, preserve from loss or decay," late 14c., from Old French conserver (9c.), from Latin conservare "to keep, preserve, keep intact, guard," from assimilated form of com-, here probably an intensive prefix (see com-), + servare "keep watch, maintain" (from PIE root *ser- (1) "to protect"). Related: Conserved; conserving.

As a noun (often conserves) from late 14c. as "that which preserves;" early 15c. as "a confection, something preserved with sugar, etc."

1520s, "to be, exist in a permanent state as a body composed of parts," from Middle French consister (14c.) or directly from Latin consistere "to stand firm, take a standing position, stop, halt," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + sistere "to place," causative of stare "to stand, be standing," from PIE root *sta- "to stand, make or be firm."

From 1560s, with of, as "be composed, be made up." From 1630s as "be consistent." Related: Consisted; consisting.

1590s, "firmness of matter," from Medieval Latin consistentia   literally "a standing together," or directly from Latin consistentem (nominative consistens), present participle of consistere "to stand firm, take a standing position, stop, halt," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + sistere "to place," causative of stare "to stand, be standing," from PIE root *sta- "to stand, make or be firm."

Meaning "state of being in agreement or harmony" (with something) is from 1650s; meaning "steady adherence to principles, patterns of action, etc." is from 1716. Meaning "harmonious connection, as of the parts of a system" is from 1787.

early 15c., "partner" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French consort "colleague, partner," consorte "wife" (14c.), from Latin consortem (nominative consors) "partner, comrade; brother, sister," in Medieval Latin, "a wife," noun use of adjective meaning "having the same lot, of the same fortune," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + sors "a share, lot" (from PIE root *ser- (2) "to line up").

Sense of "husband or wife" ("partner in marriage") is from 1630s in English. A prince consort (1837) is a prince who is the husband of a queen but himself has no royal authority (the most notable being Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, husband of Queen Victoria; the initial proposal in Parliament in 1840 was to call him king-consort); queen consort is attested from 1667. Related: Consortial.

The husband of a reigning queen has no powers, he is not king unless an act of parliament makes him so. Philip of Spain, Mary's husband, bore the title of king, Anne's husband was simply Prince George of Denmark. Queen Victoria's husband was simply Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha until 1857 when the queen conferred on him the title of Prince Consort. [F.W. Maitland, "The Constitutional History of England, 1908]

"associate, unite in company," 1580s, from consort (n.). Related: Consorted; consorting. Since the earliest record it has been confused in form and sense with concert.

late 14c., "steadfast, resolute; patient, unshakable; fixed or firm in mind," from Old French constant (14c.) or directly from Latin constantem (nominative constans) "standing firm, stable, steadfast, faithful," present participle of constare "to stand together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand, make or be firm."

Meaning "steadfast in attachment to a person or cause" is from early 15c. Of actions and conditions, "fixed, not varying" (1540s); "continual, enduring" (1650s). Meaning "regularly recurring" is from 1817. Related: Constantly.

masc. proper name, Latin Constantinus, from constans "standing firm, stable, steadfast, faithful," present participle of constare "to stand together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand, make or be firm." With the common name-forming suffix -inus (see -ine (1)).

"to throw into confusion," 1650s, from Latin consternatus, past participle of consternare "overcome, confuse, dismay, perplex, terrify, alarm," probably related to consternere "throw down, prostrate," from assimilated form of com-, here probably an intensive prefix (see com-), + sternere "to spread out, lay down, stretch out," from nasalized form of PIE root *stere- "to spread."