Etymology dictionary
frump (n.) — funest (adj.)
frump (n.)
"cross, unstylish person," especially a woman or girl, 1817, from a group of related words of uncertain origin: Frump (n.) "a mocking speech" (1550s), "a sneer or snort" (1580s); frump (v.) "to mock, flout, taunt" (1570s); frumps (n.) "ill-humor" (1660s); frumpish (adj.) "cross-tempered" (1640s); and compare frumpy.
frumpy (adj.)
1746, "cross-tempered," probably from the frumps (n.) "bad temper" (1660s) and an earlier verb meaning "to mock, browbeat" (1550s), of obscure origin, perhaps imitative of a sneer or derisive snort. See also frump. Sense of "sour-looking, unfashionable" is from 1825, but this may be a shortening of frumple "to wrinkle, crumple" (late 14c.), from Middle Dutch verrompelen "to wrinkle," from ver- "completely" + rompelen "to rumple." Related: Frumpily; frumpiness.
frustration (n.)
"act of frustrating, disappointment, defeat," 1550s, from Latin frustrationem (nominative frustratio) "a deception, a disappointment," noun of action from past-participle stem of frustrari "to deceive, disappoint, make vain," from frustra (adv.) "in vain, in error," which is related to fraus "injury, harm," a word of uncertain origin (see fraud). Earlier (mid-15c.) with a now-obsolete sense of "nullification."
frustrate (v.)
"make of no avail, bring to nothing, prevent from taking effect or coming to fulfillment," mid-15c., from Latin frustratus, past participle of frustrari "to deceive, disappoint, make vain," from frustra (adv.) "in vain, in error," which is related to fraus "injury, harm," a word of uncertain origin (see fraud). Related: Frustrated; frustrating.
frustrated (adj.)
"disappointed," 1640s, past-participle adjective from frustrate.
frustum (n.)
"remaining piece after a part has been cut off," 1650s, in mathematics, from Latin frustum "piece broken off," from PIE *bhrus-to-, from root *bhreu- "to cut, break up" (see bruise (v.)).
fry (v.)
late 13c., "cook (something) in a shallow pan over a fire," from Old French frire "to fry" (13c.), from Latin frigere "to roast or fry," from PIE *bher- "to cook, bake" (source also of Sanskrit bhrjjati "roasts," bharjanah "roasting;" Persian birishtan "to roast;" perhaps also Greek phrygein "to roast, bake"). Intransitive sense is from late 14c. U.S. slang meaning "execute in the electric chair" is U.S. slang from 1929. As a noun, "fried meat," from 1630s. Related: Fried; frying. Frying pan is recorded from mid-14c. (friing panne).
fry (n.)
early 14c. (late 13c. in Anglo-Latin), "young fish," probably from an Anglo-French noun from Old French frier, froier "to rub, spawn (by rubbing abdomen on sand)," from Vulgar Latin *frictiare. First applied to human offspring c. 1400, in Scottish. Some sources trace this usage, or the whole of the word, to Old Norse frjo, fræ "seed, offspring."
fryer (n.)
also frier, 1851 of fish for frying, 1923 of chickens; from fry (v.).
frying-pan (n.)
"metal pan with a handle, used for frying," mid-14c., from verbal noun from fry (v.) + pan (n.). To go out of the frying-pan into the fire ("from a bad situation to a worse one") is attested in Thomas More (1532).
fubar (adj.)
by 1944, acronym from fucked up beyond all recognition. Said to be military slang originally.
fubsy (adj.)
"squat and fat," 1780, from fub/fubs "small, chubby person" (1610s), which also was used as a term of endearment.
fuchsia (n.)
red color (like that of the Fuchsia flowers), 1921, from the ornamental shrub (named 1703 by French botanist Charles Plumier; by 1753 in English), from the Latinized name of German botanist Leonhard Fuchs (1501-1566) + abstract noun ending -ia. The German surname is literally "fox." Not related to Latin fucus "seaweed, sea wrack, tangle" (see fucus) which also gave its name to a red color prepared from it.
fuck (n.)
1670s, "an act of sexual intercourse," from fuck (v.). From 1874 in coarse slang sense "a woman (considered in sexual terms);" from 1929 as something one doesn't give when one doesn't care. Flying fuck originally meant "sex had on horseback" and is first attested c. 1800 in broadside ballad "New Feats of Horsemanship."
fucking (adj.)
present-participle adjective from fuck (v.). As a mere intensive, attested from 1893, probably older.
fuck (v.)
"to have sexual intercourse with" (transitive), until recently a difficult word to trace in usage, in part because it was omitted as taboo by the editors of the original OED when the "F" entries were compiled (1893-97). Johnson also had excluded the word, and fuck wasn't in a single English language dictionary from 1795 to 1965. "The Penguin Dictionary" broke the taboo in the latter year. Houghton Mifflin followed, in 1969, with "The American Heritage Dictionary," but it also published a "Clean Green" edition without the word, to assure itself access to the public high school market.
Written form attested from at least early 16c.; OED 2nd edition cites 1503, in the form fukkit, and the earliest attested appearance of current spelling is 1535 ("Bischops ... may fuck thair fill and be vnmaryit" [Sir David Lyndesay, "Ane Satyre of the Thrie Estaits"]). Presumably it is a more ancient word, but one not written in the kind of texts that have survived from Old English and Middle English [September 2015: the verb appears to have been found recently in an English court manuscript from 1310]. Buck cites proper name John le Fucker from 1278, but that surname could have other explanations. The word apparently is hinted at in a scurrilous 15c. poem, titled "Flen flyys" ["Fleas, Flies (and Friars)"], written in bastard Latin and Middle English. The relevant line reads:
"They [the monks] are not in heaven because they fuck the wives of [the town of] Ely." Fuccant is pseudo-Latin, and in the original it is written in cipher. Other very early examples of the word are from Scottish, which might suggest a Scandinavian origin, perhaps from a word akin to Norwegian dialectal fukka "copulate," or Swedish dialectal focka "copulate, strike, push," and fock "penis."
Another theory traces the Modern English verb to Middle English fyke, fike "move restlessly, fidget" (see fike) which also meant "dally, flirt," and probably is from a general North Sea Germanic word (compare Middle Dutch fokken, German ficken "fuck," earlier "make quick movements to and fro, flick," still earlier "itch, scratch;" the vulgar sense attested from 16c.). This would parallel in sense the vulgar Middle English term for "have sexual intercourse," swive, from Old English swifan "to move lightly over, sweep" (see swivel). But OED remarks that these "cannot be shown to be related" to the English word. Liberman has this to say:
Chronology and phonology rule out Shipley's attempt to derive it from Middle English firk "to press hard, beat." The unkillable urban legend that this word is an acronym of some sort (a fiction traceable on the internet to 1995 but probably predating that), and the "pluck yew" fable, are results of ingenious trifling (also see here). The Old English verb for "have sexual intercourse with" was hæman, from ham "dwelling, home," with a sense of "take home, co-habit." French foutre and Italian fottere seem to resemble the English word but are unrelated, descending rather from Latin futuere, which perhaps is from PIE root *bhau- "to strike," extended via a figurative use "from the sexual application of violent action" [Shipley; compare the sexual slang use of bang, etc.].
Fuck was outlawed in print in England (by the Obscene Publications Act, 1857) and the U.S. (by the Comstock Act, 1873). The word continued in common speech, however. During World War I:
The legal barriers against use in print broke down in mid-20c. with the "Ulysses" decision (U.S., 1933) and "Lady Chatterley's Lover" (U.S., 1959; U.K., 1960). The major breakthrough in publication was James Jones' "From Here to Eternity" (1950), with 50 fucks (down from 258 in the original manuscript).
The abbreviation F (or eff) probably began as euphemistic, but by 1943 it was regarded as a cuss word in its own right. In 1948, the publishers of "The Naked and the Dead" persuaded Norman Mailer to use the euphemism fug. When Mailer later was introduced to Dorothy Parker, she greeted him with, "So you're the man who can't spell 'fuck' " [The quip sometimes is attributed to Tallulah Bankhead]. As a written euphemism, muck is attested by 1929 (Hemingway used it in "For Whom the Bell Tolls," 1940). Tennessee Williams used rutting for fucking in Streetcar Named Desire" (1947) and restored the obscenities in the 1974 rewrite. Related: Fucked; fucking.
Fuck-all "nothing" first recorded 1960. Verbal phrase fuck up "to ruin, spoil, destroy" is attested from c. 1916. A widespread group of Slavic words (such as Polish pierdolić) can mean both "fornicate" and "make a mistake." Fuck off is attested from 1929; as a command to depart, by 1944. Egyptian legal agreements from the 23rd Dynasty (749-21 B.C.E.) frequently include the phrase, "If you do not obey this decree, may a donkey copulate with you!" [Reinhold Aman, "Maledicta," Summer 1977].
fucker (n.)
1590s, "one who copulates," agent noun from fuck (v.). By 1893 as a general term of abuse (or admiration).
fuckwit (n.)
"fool idiot," slang, c. 1970, originally British or Australian English, from fuck + wit (n.).
fucus (n.)
algae genus, 1716, from Latin fucus, a type of reddish seaweed or rock-lichen, from or related to Greek phykos "seaweed," which is said to be of Semitic origin (see phyco-). From it was prepared in ancient times a red dye for woolen goods; hence in Greek and Latin it also had a sense "red paint" and was the general word for the article of women's make-up that supplied the place of rouge; and in Latin it was further extended to include "deceit, disguise." The custom is said to have originated among the Ionians, who were in close contact with Semitic peoples.
The word was in Middle English as fuke, fuike "dissimulation" (mid-15c.); "red woolen cloth" (late 15c.); later fucus "a paint, dye," especially for the face, "rouge," also commonly used 17c. figuratively as "disguise, pretense." Hence also obsolete fucate "disguised, dissembling" (1530s), literally "colored, beautified with paint," from Latin fucatus "painted, painted, colored, disguised," past-participle adjective from fucare, a verb derived from fucus.
fud (n.)
"backside, buttocks," 1785, a Scottish and Northern dialect word of unknown origin; perhaps from Scandinavian.
fuddle (v.)
1580s, "to get drunk" (intransitive); c. 1600, "to confuse as though with drink" (transitive), of obscure origin, perhaps from Low German fuddeln "work in a slovenly manner (as if drunk)," from fuddle "worthless cloth." The more common derivative befuddle dates only to 1873. Related: Fuddled; fuddling. A hard-drinker in 17c. might be called a fuddle-cap (1660s).
fuddy-duddy (n.)
"old-fashioned person," 1871, American English, of uncertain origin.
fudge (v.)
"put together clumsily or dishonestly," by 1771 (perhaps from 17c.); perhaps an alteration of fadge "make suit, fit" (1570s), a verb of unknown origin. The verb fudge later had an especial association with sailors and log books. The traditional story of the origin of the interjection fudge "lies! nonsense!" (1766; see fudge (n.2)) traces it to a sailor's retort to anything considered lies or nonsense, from Captain Fudge, "who always brought home his owners a good cargo of lies" [Isaac Disraeli, 1791, citing a pamphlet from 1700]. It seems there really was a late 17c. Captain Fudge, called "Lying Fudge," and perhaps his name reinforced this form of fadge in the sense of "contrive without the necessary materials." The surname is from Fuche, a pet form of the masc. proper name Fulcher, from Germanic and meaning literally "people-army."
fudge (n.1)
type of confection, 1895, American English, apparently a word first used among students at women's colleges; perhaps a special use from fudge (v.) or its noun derivative, via the notion of "insubstantial" or of something "faked-up" on the spot. The verb was used in school slang, and compare fudge (n.) "a made-up story" (1797).
fudge (n.2)
"nonsense, rubbish," (1791), earlier and more usually as a contemptuous interjection, "lies! nonsense!" Probably a natural extension from fudge (v.) "put together clumsily or dishonestly," q.v. But Farmer suggests provincial French fuche, feuche, "an exclamation of contempt from Low German futsch = begone."
fuel (n.)
c. 1200, feuel, feul "fuel, material for burning," also figurative, from Old French foaille "fuel for heating," from Medieval Latin legal term focalia "right to demand material for making fire, right of cutting fuel," from classical Latin focalia "brushwood for fuel," from neuter plural of Latin focalis "pertaining to a hearth," from focus "hearth, fireplace" (see focus (n.)). Figurative use from 1570s. Of food, as fuel for the body, 1876. As "combustible liquid for an internal combustion engine" from 1886. A French derivative is fouailler "woodyard." Fuel-oil is from 1882.
fuel (v.)
1590s, "feed or furnish with fuel," literal and figurative, from fuel (n.). Intransitive sense "to get fuel" (originally firewood) is from 1880. Related: Fueled; fueling.
fug (n.)
"thick, close, stuffy atmosphere," 1888. "orig dial. & School slang" [OED].
fugacious (adj.)
"fleeing, likely to flee," 1630s, with -ous + Latin fugaci-, stem of fugax "apt to flee, timid, shy," figuratively "transitory, fleeting," from fugere "to flee" (see fugitive). Related: Fugaciously; fugaciousness; fugacity.
fugal (adj.)
1843, "pertaining to a fugue; in the style of a fugue," from fugue + -al (1).
-fuge
word-forming element meaning "that which drives away or out," from Modern Latin -fugus, with sense from Latin fugare "to put to flight" (see febrifuge) but form from Latin fugere "to flee" (see fugitive (adj.)).
fugitive (n.)
late 14c., "one who flees, a runaway, a fugitive from justice, an outlaw," from fugitive (adj.). Old French fugitif also was used as a noun meaning "fugitive person," and Latin fugitivus (adj.) commonly also was used as a noun meaning "a runaway, fugitive slave, deserter."
fugitive (adj.)
late 14c., "fleeing, having fled, having taken flight," from Old French fugitif, fuitif "absent, missing," from Latin fugitivus "fleeing," past-participle adjective from stem of fugere "to flee, fly, take flight, run away; become a fugitive, leave the country, go into exile; pass quickly; vanish, disappear, perish; avoid, shun; escape the notice of, be unknown to," from PIE root *bheug- "to flee" (source also of Greek pheugein "to flee, escape, go into exile, be on the run," phyza "(wild) flight, panic," phyge "flight, exile;" Lithuanian būgstu, būgti "be frightened," bauginti "frighten someone," baugus "timid, nervous;" perhaps also Avestan būj(i)- "penance, atonement," būjat "frees"). Old English had flyma.
Meaning "lasting but a short time, fleeting" is from c. 1500. Hence its use in literature for short compositions written for passing occasions or purposes (1766).
fugleman (n.)
also fugelman, "expert soldier placed in front of a regiment or company in exercises as an example to the others," a mangled borrowing of German Flügelmann "leader of a file," literally "wing-man," from Flügel "wing" (related to fliegen "to fly;" see fly (v.1)) + Mann (from PIE root *man- (1) "man").
fugly (adj.)
by 1995, a contraction of fucking ugly. Perhaps with conscious echo of fugh an imitative expression of revulsion or abhorrence recorded from 1680s.
fugue (n.)
type of musical composition, 1590s, fuge, from Italian fuga, literally "flight," also "ardor," from Latin fuga "a running away, act of fleeing," from fugere "to flee" (see fugitive (adj.)). Current English spelling (1660s) is from the French version of the Italian word.
Fuhrer (n.)
1934, from Führer und Reichskanzler, title assumed by Hitler in 1934 as head of the German state, from German Führer "leader," from führen "to lead," from Middle High German vüeren "to lead, drive," from Old High German fuoren "to set in motion, lead," causative of faran "to go, travel," from Proto-Germanic *faran- "to go," from PIE root *per- (2) "to lead, pass over." According to OED, Hitler's title was modeled on Mussolini's Duce.
Fuji
mountain in Japan, also Fujiyama (with Japanese yama "mountain"), of unknown origin. Some of the senses that have been suggested are "prosperous man," "fire-spitter," "incomparable," and "beauty of the long slope hanging in the sky."
-ful
word-forming element attached to nouns (and in modern English to verb stems) and meaning "full of, having, characterized by," also "amount or volume contained" (handful, bellyful); from Old English -full, -ful, which is full (adj.) become a suffix by being coalesced with a preceding noun, but originally a separate word. Cognate with German -voll, Old Norse -fullr, Danish -fuld. Most English -ful adjectives at one time or another had both passive ("full of x") and active ("causing x; full of occasion for x") senses.
It is rare in Old English and Middle English, where full was much more commonly attached at the head of a word (for example Old English fulbrecan "to violate," fulslean "to kill outright," fulripod "mature;" Middle English had ful-comen "attain (a state), realize (a truth)," ful-lasting "durability," ful-thriven "complete, perfect," etc.).
fulness (n.)
see fullness.
Fulah (n.)
Sudanese people, 1832, from the native name. Related: Fulani.
Fulbright (n.)
in education, a reference to U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright (1905-1995) of Arkansas, especially to the Fulbright Act of 1946, which authorized proceeds from sales of U.S. war surplus materials to be used to fund higher education overseas.
fulcrum (n.)
in mechanics, "a prop, a support" (on which a lever turns), 1670s, from Latin fulcrum "bedpost, foot of a couch," from fulcire "to prop up, support" (see balk (n.)).
fulfillment (n.)
1775, "a filling or carrying out, completion;" see fulfill + -ment.
fulfill (v.)
Old English fullfyllan "fill up" (a room, a ship, etc.), "make full; take the place of (something)," from full (adj.), here perhaps with a sense of "completion" + fyllan (see fill (v.), which is ultimately from the same root).
It was used from mid-13c. in reference to prophecy (probably translating Latin implere, adimplere). From mid-13c. as "do, perform; carry out, consummate, carry into effect;" from c. 1300 as "complete, finish; satiate, satisfy, gratify." Related: Fulfilled; fulfilling.
Modern English combinations with full tend to have it at the end of the word (as -ful), but this is a recent development and in Old English it was more common at the start, but this word and fulsome appear to be the only survivors.
Self-fulfilling prophecy is attested by 1949, associated with and popularized by U.S. sociologist Robert K. Merton, in writings on racial prejudices, who described it as a false definition of a situation at the outset that evokes a behavior which seems to validate the false concept.
fulfil (v.)
see fulfill. Related: fulfilment.
fulgent (adj.)
"bright, dazzling," early 15c., from Latin fulgentem (nominative fulgens) "shining, bright, dazzling," present participle of fulgere "to shine" (from PIE *bhleg- "to shine, flash," from root *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, burn." Related: Fulgently.
full (adj.)
Old English full "containing all that can be received; having eaten or drunk to repletion; filled; perfect, entire, utter," from Proto-Germanic *fullaz "full" (source also of Old Saxon full, Old Frisian ful, Dutch vol, Old High German fol, German voll, Old Norse fullr, Gothic fulls), from PIE root *pele- (1) "to fill." Related: Fuller; fullest.
The adverb is Old English ful "very, fully, entirely, completely" and was common in Middle English (full well, full many, etc.); sense of "quite, exactly, precisely" is from 1580s. Full moon, one with its whole disc illuminated, was Old English fulles monan; first record of full-blood in reference to racial purity is from 1812. Full house is 1710 in the theatrical sense, 1887 in the poker sense (three of a kind and a pair, earlier full-hand, 1850). Full-dress (adj.) "appropriate to a formal occasion" is from 1761, from the noun phrase.
fullness (n.)
mid-14c., "state of being sated or satisfied; wholeness, totality, completion" (translating Latin saturitas, plenitudo), from full (adj.) + -ness. There might have been an Old English *fulnes but it has not survived in texts. Earlier was fullhead (c. 1300), and Middle English also had fulth "fullness, abundance" (early 14c.). Fullness of time (c. 1400) is Biblical, from Paul's letters.
fulling (n.)
early 15c. (in fulling mill), verbal noun from full (v.).
full (n.)
early 14c., from Old English fyllo, fyllu "fullness (of food), satiety;" also from full (adj.).
full (v.)
"to tread or beat cloth to cleanse or thicken it," late 14c., from Old French foler, fouler "trample on, press," from Latin fullo "fuller, launderer," also a kind of beetle, a word of unknown etymology. Perhaps the Middle English word was from Old English agent-noun fullere, which probably was formed from Latin fullo with a native ending.
fullback (n.)
also full-back, 1882 in sports, from full (adj.) + back (n.).
full-blown (adj.)
of flower blossoms, "fully open," 1640s, from full (adj.) + blown "that has blossomed," from Old English geblowenne, past participle of blow (v.2) "to bloom." Figuratively "complete, fully developed" from 1650s. Full-blown also was used 17c.-18c. in reference to cheeks, sails, bladders, "fully distended" (by or as if by wind), in this case from blow (v.1), and the figurative sense might also be from or influenced by these.
full-circle (adv.)
1873, from full (adj.) + circle (n.).
fuller (n.)
"one who fulls cloth," Old English fullere "fuller" (Mark ix.3), from Latin fullo "fuller" (see foil (v.)). The native word is walker. Fuller's earth (silicate of alumina) is recorded by 1520s; so called because it was used in cleansing cloth.
full-fledged (adj.)
1570s, literal; 1883 in figurative sense; see full (adj.) + fledged.
full-grown (adj.)
1660s, from full (adj.) + grown (adj.).
fully (adv.)
Old English fullice "entirely; perfectly; completely;" see full (adj.) + -ly (2). Of similar formation are Dutch vollijk, German ööllig, Danish fuldelig.
full-length (adj.)
1709, from adverbial phrase at full length; see full (adj.) + length.
full-time (adj.)
also fulltime, 1895; full-timer is attested from 1855, in reference to students; see full (adj.) + time (n.).
fulmination (n.)
c. 1500, "act of thundering forth denunciations," from French fulmination, from Latin fulminationem (nominative fulminatio) "a discharge of lightning," noun of action from past-participle stem of fulminare "to hurl lightning" (see fulminate). Literal sense "act of exploding or detonating" (1620s) is rare in English.
fulminate (v.)
early 15c., "publish a 'thundering' denunciation; hurl condemnation (at an offender)," a figurative use, from Latin fulminatus, past participle of fulminare "hurl lightning, lighten," figuratively "to thunder," from fulmen (genitive fulminis) "lightning flash," related to fulgor "lightning," fulgere "to shine, flash," from PIE *bhleg- "to shine, flash," from root *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, burn." Metaphoric sense (the oldest in English) in reference to formal condemnation is from Medieval Latin fulminare, used of formal ecclesiastical censures. Related: Fulminated; fulminating.
fulminant (adj.)
c. 1600, "fulminating, thundering," from French fulminant or directly from Latin fulminantem (nominative fulminans), present participle of fulminare "to hurl lightning" (see fulminate). As a noun from 1808.
fulsome (adj.)
mid-13c., "abundant, plentiful," Middle English compound of ful "full" (see full (adj.)) + -som "to a considerable degree" (see -some (1)). Perhaps a case of ironic understatement. Sense extended to "plump, well-fed" (mid-14c.), then "arousing disgust" (similar to the feeling of having over-eaten), late 14c. Via the sense of "causing nausea" it came to be used of language, "offensive to taste or good manners" (early 15c.); especially "excessively flattering" (1660s). Since the 1960s, however, it commonly has been used in its original, favorable sense, especially in fulsome praise. Related: Fulsomely; fulsomeness.
fumbling (adj.)
1530s, present-participle adjective from fumble (v.). Related: Fumblingly.
fumble (n.)
1640s, from fumble (v.).
fumble (v.)
mid-15c., "handle clumsily," possibly from Old Norse falma "to fumble, grope." Similar words in Scandinavian and North Sea Germanic (Swedish fumla; Dutch fommelen) suggest onomatopoeia from a sound felt to indicate clumsiness (compare bumble, stumble, and obsolete English famble, fimble of roughly the same meaning). Intransitive sense "do or seek awkwardly" is from 1530s. Sense in football is from 1889. Related: Fumbled; fumbling.
fume (v.)
c. 1400, "to fumigate" (transitive), from Old French fumer "to smoke, burn" (12c.), from Latin fumare "to smoke, steam," from fumus "smoke, steam, fume" (from PIE root *dheu- (1) "dust, vapor, smoke"). Intransitive meaning "throw off smoke, emit vapor" is from 1530s; the figurative sense "show anger, be irritated" is slightly earlier (1520s). Related: Fumed; fumes; fuming.
fume (n.)
late 14c., "vapor, odorous vapor; exhalation," from Old French fum "smoke, steam, vapor, breath, aroma, scent" (12c.), from Latin fumus "smoke, steam, fume, old flavor" (source also of Italian fumo, Spanish humo), from PIE root *dheu- (1) "dust, vapor, smoke."
In old medicine, an "exhalation" of the body that produces emotions, dreams, sloth, etc; later especially of smokes or vapors that go to the head and affect the senses with a narcotic or stifling quality.
fuming (adj.)
1570s," emitting fumes;" 1580s, "raging, angry," present-participle adjective from fume (v.). Earlier were fumish (1510s); fumous (late 14c., from Latin fumosus).
fumigate (v.)
1520s, "scent with perfumes," back-formation from fumigation. The older verb was simply fume (c. 1400). Meaning "apply smoke or fumes to," especially for cleansing purposes, is from 1781. Related: Fumigated; fumigating; fumigatory.
fumigation (n.)
late 14c., "action of making aromatic smoke as part of a ceremony," from Latin fumigationem (nominative fumigatio) "a smoking," noun of action from past-participle stem of fumigare "to smoke," from fumus "smoke, fume" (from PIE root *dheu- (1) "dust, vapor, smoke") + root of agere "to set in motion, to do, perform" (from PIE root *ag- "to drive, draw out or forth, move"). Sense of "exposure (of someone or something) to aromatic fumes" is c. 1400, originally as a medicinal or therapeutic treatment.
fun (adj.)
mid-15c., "foolish, silly;" 1846, "enjoyable," from fun (n.).
fun (v.)
1680s, "to cheat;" 1833 "to make fun, jest, joke," from fun (n.). Related: Funning.
funning (n.)
"jesting, joking," by 1900, verbal noun from fun (v.).
fun (n.)
"diversion, amusement, mirthful sport," 1727, earlier "a cheat, trick" (c. 1700), from verb fun (1680s) "to cheat, hoax," which is of uncertain origin, probably a variant of Middle English fonnen "befool" (c. 1400; see fond). Scantly recorded in 18c. and stigmatized by Johnson as "a low cant word." Older senses are preserved in phrase to make fun of (1737) and funny money "counterfeit bills" (1938, though this use of the word may be more for the sake of the rhyme). See also funny. Fun and games "mirthful carryings-on" is from 1906.
funambulist (n.)
"tightrope-walker," 1793, coined from Latin funis "a rope, line, cord," + ambulare "to walk" (see amble (v.)). Earlier was funambulant (1660s), funambule (1690s from Latin funambulus, the classical name for a performer of this ancient type of public entertainment), and pseudo-Italian funambulo (c. 1600). Related: Funambulate; funambulation; funambulatory.
function (n.)
1530s, "one's proper work or purpose; power of acting in a specific proper way," from French fonction (16c.) and directly from Latin functionem (nominative functio) "a performance, an execution," noun of action from funct-, past-participle stem of fungi "perform, execute, discharge," from PIE *bhung- "be of use, be used" (source also of Sanskrit bhunjate "to benefit, make benefit, atone," Armenian bowcanem "to feed," Old Irish bongaid "to break, harvest"), which is perhaps related to root *bhrug- "to enjoy." Meaning "official ceremony" is from 1630s, originally in church use. Use in mathematics probably was begun by Leibnitz (1692). In reference to computer operations, 1947.
functionalism (n.)
1892, "functionality;" 1902 as a term in social sciences; from functional + -ism. In architecture from 1930. Related: functionalist.
function (v.)
1844, "perform a function" (intransitive), from function (n.). Related: Functioned; functioning.
functional (adj.)
1630s, "pertaining to function or office," from function (n.) + -al (1), or from Medieval Latin functionalis. Meaning "utilitarian" is by 1864; specific use in architecture is from 1928. Related: Functionally; functionality.
functionary (n.)
"one who has a certain function, one who holds an office," 1791, from or patterned on French fonctionnaire, a word of the Revolution; from fonction (see function (n.)). As an adjective in English from 1822, "functional." Related: Functionarism.
functionless (n.)
1836, from function (n.) + -less.
fund (v.)
1776, "convert (a debt) into capital or stock represented by interest-bearing bonds," from fund (n.). Meaning "supply (someone or something) with money, to finance" is from 1900.
funded (adj.)
1776, "existing in the form of interest-bearing bonds," past-participle adjective from fund (v.).
fund (n.)
1670s, "a bottom, the bottom; foundation, groundwork," from French fond "a bottom, floor, ground" (12c.), also "a merchant's basic stock or capital," from Latin fundus "bottom, foundation, piece of land" (from PIE root *bhudh- "bottom, base," source also of Sanskrit budhnah, Greek pythmen "foundation, bottom," Old English botm "lowest part;" see bottom (n.)). Meaning "stock of money or wealth available for some purpose" is from 1690s; sense of "store of anything to be drawn upon" is from 1704. Funds "money at one's disposal" is from 1728.
funding (n.)
1776, verbal noun from fund (v.).
fundament (n.)
late 13c., "foundation, base; buttocks, anus," from Old French fondement "foundation, bottom; land, estate; anus" (12c.), from Latin fundamentum "a foundation, ground-work; support; beginning," from fundare "to found" (see bottom (n.)). So called because it is where one sits.
fundamentalism (n.)
1920 in the religious sense; see fundamentalist + -ism.
fundamentally (adv.)
c. 1600, from fundamental + -ly (2).
fundamental (adj.)
mid-15c., "primary, original, pertaining to a foundation," modeled on Late Latin fundamentalis "of the foundation," from Latin fundamentum "foundation" (see fundament). In music (1732) it refers to the lowest note of a chord. Fundamentals (n.) "primary principles or rules" of anything is from 1630s.
fundamentalist (adj.)
1920 in the religious sense, from fundamental + -ist. Coined in American English to name a movement among Protestants c. 1920-25 based on scriptural inerrancy, etc., and associated with William Jennings Bryan, among others. The original notion might have been of "fundamental truths."
Fundamentalist is said (by George McCready Price) to have been first used in print by Curtis Lee Laws (1868-1946), editor of "The Watchman Examiner," a Baptist newspaper. The movement may have roots in the Presbyterian General Assembly of 1910, which drew up a list of five defining qualities of "true believers" which other evangelicals published in a mass-circulation series of books called "The Fundamentals." A World's Christian Fundamentals Association was founded in 1918. The words reached widespread use in the wake of the contentious Northern Baptist Convention of 1922 in Indianapolis. In denominational use, fundamentalist was opposed to modernist. Applied to other religions since 1956 (earliest extension is to the Muslim Brotherhood).
fund-raiser (n.)
also fundraiser, 1957, from fund (n.) + raise (v.).
fundus (n.)
"bottom, depths; base of an organ," 1754, from Latin fundus "bottom" (see fund (n.)). In any general use it probably is extended from specific senses in anatomy.
funebrial (adj.)
c. 1600, with -al (1) + Latin funebris "of or pertaining to a funeral," from funer-, stem of funus "a funeral" (see funeral (adj.)).
funeral (n.)
"ceremony of burying a dead person," 1510s, probably short for funeral service, etc., from funeral (adj.).
funereal (adj.)
"suitable for a funeral" (mournful, dismal, gloomy), 1725, from stem of Latin funereus "of a funeral," from funus "funeral; death" (see funeral) + -al (1). Perhaps by influence of French funerail.
funeral (adj.)
late 14c., "pertaining to the burial of the dead," mid-15c., from Medieval Latin funeralia "funeral rites," originally neuter plural of Late Latin funeralis "having to do with a funeral," from Latin funus (genitive funeris) "funeral, funeral procession, burial rites; death, corpse," a word of uncertain origin, perhaps ultimately from PIE root *dheu- (3) "to die." Singular and plural used interchangeably in English until c. 1700. In Elizabethan times also a verb, "to mourn" (transitive). The classical Latin adjective was funebris.
funerary (adj.)
"pertaining to funerals or burials," 1690s, from Late Latin funerarius, from funer-, stem of funus "a funeral" (see funeral (adj.)).
funest (adj.)
"portending death," 1650s, obsolete from 18c. except in poetry, from French funeste "unlucky" (14c.), from Latin funestus "causing death, destructive; mournful," from funus "a funeral" (see funeral (n.)). Related: Funestal (1550s).