Etymology dictionary

Chinaman (n.) — choker (n.)

Chinaman (n.)

1711, "native of China," from China + man (n.). Also in 18c., "dealer in china wares" (1728). Chinaman's chance "very little chance at all" is from 1904 in a California context.

Chinatown (n.)

"region of a city where Chinese immigrants live," 1857, in a California context, from China + town. But from 1852 in a St. Helena context.

chinch (n.)

"bedbug," 1620s, from Spanish/Portuguese chinche (diminutive chinchilla) "bug," from Latin cimicem (nominative cimex) "bedbug," a word of uncertain origin. Related: Chinch-bug.

chinchilla (n.)

small South American rodent, 1590s, from Spanish, literally "little bug," diminutive of chinche (see chinch); perhaps a folk-etymology alteration of a word from Quechua (Inca) or Aymara.

"spine, backbone," c. 1300, from Anglo-French achine, Old French eschine (11c., Modern French échine), a word of uncertain origin, perhaps from Germanic (compare Old English scinu "shinbone;" see shin (n.)).

chine (adj.)

"in Chinese fashion," French chiné, past participle of chiner "to color in Chinese fashion," from Chine "China" (see China).

Chinese (adj.)

"of or pertaining to China," 1570s, from China + -ese. As a noun from c. 1600. Chinee (n.) is a vulgar back-formation from this word on the mistaken notion that Chinese is a plural. As an adjective, Chinian, Chinish also were used 16c. Chinese fire-drill "chaotic situation of many people rushing around futilely" is attested by 1962, U.S. military slang, perhaps with roots in World War II U.S. Marine Corps slang. The game Chinese-checkers is attested from 1938. Chinese-lantern is from 1825.

Chink (n.2)

"a Chinese person," 1901, derogatory, perhaps derived somehow from China, or else from chink (n.1) with reference to eye shape.

chink (n.1)

"a split, crack," 1530s, with unetymological -k + Middle English chine (and replacing this word) "fissure, narrow valley," from Old English cinu, cine "fissure," which is related to cinan "to crack, split, gape," from Proto-Germanic *kino- (source also of Old Saxon and Old High German kinan, Gothic uskeinan, German keimen "to germinate;" Middle Dutch kene, Old Saxon kin, German Keim "germ"). The connection being in the notion of bursting open.

chink (n.3)

"sharp, clear, metallic sound" (especially of coin), 1580s, probably imitative. As a verb from 1580s. Related: Chinked; chinking.

chinkapin (n.)

also chincapin, chinquapin, "small tree or shrub of eastern U.S., bearing a nut like the chestnut," 1610s, from < chechinquamins >, a word in a central Atlantic coast Algonquian language,

chinky (adj.)

"full of cracks or fissures," 1640s, from chink (n.1) + -y (2). As a noun by 1879, variant of chink (n.2), derogatory term for "Chinese person;" chiefly British.

Chino-

word-forming element meaning "Chinese, of China and," from China.

chinos (n.)

(plural) 1943, from American Spanish chino, the name of the fabric from which they are made (see chino).

chino (n.)

type of cotton twill cloth, 1943 (chinos, in reference to clothing made of this), from American Spanish chino, literally "toasted;" so called in reference to its usual color. Earlier (via notion of skin color) chino meant "child of one white parent, one Indian" (fem. china), perhaps from or altered by influence of Quechua čina "female animal, servant." Sources seem to disagree on whether the racial sense or the color sense is original.

Chinook

name for a group of related native people in the Columbia River region of Washington and Oregon, from Salishan /činuk/, name of a village site [Bright]. The name was extended to a type of salmon (1851) and a warm spring wind in that region (1860). Chinook jargon was a mishmash of native (Chinook and Nootka), French, and English words; it once was the lingua franca in the Pacific Northwest, and this sense is the earliest attested use of the word (1840).

chin-strap (n.)

1805, from chin (n.) + strap (n.).

chintz (n.)

"cotton cloth printed with flowers or other colorful patterns," 1719, plural of chint (1610s), from Hindi chint, from Sanskrit chitra-s "clear, bright" (compare cheetah). The plural (the more common form of the word in commercial use) came to be regarded as singular by late 18c., and for unknown reason shifted -s to -z; perhaps after quartz. Disparaging sense, from the commonness of the fabric, is first suggested by 1851 (in George Eliot's use of chintzy).

chintzy (adj.)

1851, from chintz + -y (2). "decorated or covered with chintz," especially in a derogatory extended sense "suburban, unfashionable, petit-bourgeois, cheap; mean, stingy" [OED].

chin-up (n.)

also chinup, type of exercise, 1940, from chin (v.) + up (adv.). Earlier it was called chinning the bar and under names such as this is described by 1883.

chiono-

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."

chip (n.1)

Old English cipp "small piece (of wood, stone etc.) separated from a body by a blow from an instrument," perhaps from PIE root *keipo- "sharp post" (source also of Dutch kip "small strip of wood," Old High German kipfa "wagon pole," Old Norse keppr "stick," Latin cippus "post, stake, beam;" the Germanic words perhaps were borrowed from Latin).

Meaning "small disk or counter used in a game of chance" is first recorded 1840. Meaning "piece of dried dung" first attested 1846, American English. Electronics sense "thin, tiny square of semi-conducting material" is from 1962.

Used for thin slices of foodstuffs (originally fruit) since 1769; specific reference to potatoes (what Americans would call French fries) is found by 1859 (in "A Tale of Two Cities"). The fish-and-chips combination was being offered in London by 1860. Potato-chip is attested by 1854, but the context doesn't make it clear whether this is the British version (above) or the U.S. version, "very thin slice of potato fried until crisp" (the British crisp). The American potato-chip is said to have been invented 1853 in Saratoga, N.Y., and is described, more or less, by this name in a recipe book from 1858. OED notes they also were called Saratoga chips (by 1880).

Chip of the old block, familiar term for a child or adult who resembles a parent in some way is used by Milton (1642); earlier form was chip of the same block (1620s); more common modern form of the phrase with off in place of of is by early 20c. To have a chip on one's shoulder is 1830, American English, from the custom of a boy determined to fight putting a wood chip on his shoulder and defying another to knock it off. When the chips are down (1940s) is from the chips being down on the table after the final bets are made in a poker match. Chips as a familiar name for a carpenter is from 1785.

chip (v.)

early 15c., "to break off in small pieces" (intransitive, of stone); from Old English forcippian "to pare away by cutting, cut off," verbal form of cipp "small piece of wood" (see chip (n.1)).

Transitive meaning "to cut up, cut or trim into small pieces, diminish by cutting away a little at a time" is from late 15c. Sense of "break off fragments" is 18c. Related: Chipped; chipping. To chip in "contribute" (1861) is American English, perhaps from card-playing; but compare chop in "interrupt by remarking" (1540s). Chipped beef attested from 1826.

chip (n.2)

"break caused by chipping," 1889, from chip (v.).

chipmunk (n.)

"small striped squirrel of eastern North America," 1829 (also chitmunk, 1832), from Algonquian, probably Ojibwa ajidamoo (in the Ottawa dialect ajidamoonh) "red squirrel," literally "head first," or "one who descends trees headlong" (containing ajid- "upside down"), probably influenced by English chip and mink. Other early names for it included ground squirrel and striped squirrel.

chipotle (n.)

"smoke-dried jalapeño chili," 1950, from Mexican Spanish, ultimately a Nahuatl (Aztecan) word, said to be a compound of chilli "chili pepper" (see chili) + poctli "smoke."

Chippendale

"piece of furniture by, or in the style of, Chippendale," by 1871, from Thomas Chippendale (c. 1718-1779), English cabinetmaker. The family name (13c.) is from Chippingdale, Lancashire (which probably is from Old English ceaping "a market, marketplace" and related to cheap). Chippendales as the name of a beefcake dance revue, began late 1970s in a Los Angeles nightclub, the name said to have been chosen for its suggestion of elegance and class.

chipper (adj.)

1834, "lively, nimble, active, brisk," American English, from northern British dialectal kipper "nimble, frisky," the origin of which is obscure.

chipper (n.)

"one who or that which chips or makes into chips," 1510s, agent noun from chip (v.).

Chippewa

see Ojibwa.

chippy (n.)

also chippie, "promiscuous young woman; prostitute," 1880, U.S. slang, perhaps an extended sense of chippy (1864), short for chipping-bird "sparrow," which is perhaps ultimately a variant of cheep.

chiral (adj.)

in reference to three-dimensional forms not superposable on their mirror-images, 1894, a hybrid coined by Lord Kelvin from Latinized combining form of Greek kheir "hand" (from PIE root *ghes- "hand") + -al (1). Related: Chiralism "right-left handedness" (by 2012).

chirarism (n.)

"the thrill of an unexpected glimpse of something erotically suggestive that is normally hidden," by 2001, from Japanese, from chirari "a glance, a glimpse" + English -ism. The sense extension in Japanese to subtly erotic situations and expressions is said to date from the 1950s.

chiro-

less properly cheiro-, before vowels chir-, word-forming element meaning "hand," from Latinized form of Greek kheiro-, combining form of kheir (genitive kheiros) "the hand," from PIE root *ghes- "hand."

chirognomy (n.)

"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.

chirography (n.)

"handwriting, the art of writing," 1650s, from chiro- "the hand"+ -graphy "writing." Chirograph "formal written legal document" is attested from late 13c. in Anglo-French, from Latin chirographum, from Greek kheirographia "written testimony." Related: Chirographer; chirographic.

chirology (n.)

"art or practice of finger-spelling, use of the manual alphabet," 1650s, from chiro- "hand" + -logy "a speaking."

chiromancy (n.)

"divination by the hand, palmistry," 1520s, from French chiromancie (14c.), from Medieval Latin chiromantia, from Late Greek kheiromanteia, from kheir "hand" (from PIE root *ghes- "the hand") + -mantia "divination" (see -mancy). Related: Chiromancer; chiromantic.

Chiron

wisest of the centaurs, from Latin Chiron, from Greek Kheiron, which is of unknown origin; Klein compares Greek kheirourgos "surgeon."

chiropodist (n.)

"one who treats diseases or malformations of the hands or feet," 1785, from chiro- "hand" + pod-, stem of Greek pous "foot" (from PIE root *ped- "foot") + -ist. Probably coined by Canadian-born U.S. healer Daniel Palmer (1845-1913); originally they treated both hands and feet. A much-maligned word among classicists, who point out it could mean "having chapped feet" but probably doesn't, and in that case it is an etymological garble and no one can say for sure what it is meant to signify. Related: Chiropody.

chiropractic

in reference to the curing of diseases by manipulation of the spine or other bodily structures, coined in American English, 1898 (adj.); 1899 (n.), from chiro- "hand" + praktikos "practical" (see practical), the whole of it loosely meant as "done by hand."

chiropractor (n.)

1904, agent noun in Latin form from chiropractic (q.v.).

chirosophy (n.)

"knowledge of character and possible future based on the lines and marks of the hand," 1885, from chiro- "the hand" + -sophy "knowledge."

chirp (v.)

"make a short, sharp, happy sound like a bird," mid-15c. (implied in chirping), echoic, or else a variant of Middle English chirken "to twitter" (late 14c.), from Old English cearcian "to creak, gnash." Related: Chirped. As a noun, attested from 1802.

chirpy (adj.)

"cheerfully perky," literally "full of chirping," 1825, from chirp + -y (2). The notion is perhaps of birds fluttering and chattering.

chirr (n.)

c. 1600, "a shrill, tremulous, rattling sound," echoic of a cricket's chirp or a grasshopper's trill. As a verb from 1630s. Related: Chirred; chirring.

chirrup (v.)

1570s, alternative form of chirp (v.). Related: Chirrupy.

chirurgeon (n.)

1530s, a failed attempt to restore Greek spelling to the word that had got into English as surgeon. Related: Chirurgery. Compare French chirurgien, the modern spelling, which has been conformed to Latin.

chisel (n.)

"tool with a beveled or sloping cutting edge at one end, used for paring, splitting, gouging, or cutting out," early 14c., from Anglo-French cisel, Old French cisel "chisel," in plural, "scissors, shears" (12c., Modern French ciseau), from Vulgar Latin *cisellum "cutting tool," from Latin caesellum, diminutive of caesus, past participle of caedere "to cut" (from PIE root *kae-id- "to strike"). Related: Chiseled; chiseling.

chiseler (n.)

1824, "one who works with a chisel," agent noun from chisel (v.). In slang sense of "swindler," attested from 1918.

chiseled (adj.)

"having sharp outlines" (as though worked with a chisel), 1821, figurative past-participle adjective from chisel (v.).

chisel (v.)

c. 1500, "to break, cut, gouge, etc. with a chisel," from chisel (n.). Slang sense of "to cheat, defraud" is first recorded in 1808 as chizzel; origin and connection to the older word are obscure (but compare slang sense of gouge; perhaps the sense is "to cut close" as in a bargain). Related: Chiseled; chiseling.

Chisholm Trail

1866, named for Jesse Chisholm (c. 1806-1868), half-breed Cherokee trader and government agent who first plied it. The surname is from a barony in England, probably from Old English cisel "gravel."

chit (n.2)

"small child," 1620s, originally "young of an animal" (late 14c.), of uncertain origin; perhaps a playful deformation of kitten, but The Middle English Compendium compares Old High German kizzin "kid" and Century Dictionary mentions Old English cið "a shoot, sprout, sprig."

chit (n.1)

"a short letter, note," 1776, short for chitty (1690s), from Mahrati (Hindi) chitthi "letter, note, memorandum," from Sanskrit chitra-s "distinctively marked" (see cheetah).

chit-chat (n.)

also chitchat, "familiar or trivial talk, gossip," 1710, diminishing reduplicated form of chat. The verb is attested from 1821. Related: Chit-chatting.

chitin (n.)

"organic substance forming the wing cases of beetles and other insects," 1836, from French chitine, from Latinized form of Greek khiton "frock, tunic, garment without sleeves worn directly on the body;" in reference to soldiers, "coat of mail," used metaphorically for "any coat or covering." "Probably an Oriental word" [Liddell & Scott]; Klein compares Hebrew (Semitic) kuttoneth "coat," Aramaic kittana, Arabic kattan "linen;" Beekes compares Phoenician ktn "linen garment." Related: Chitinous.

chitlins (n.)

also chitlings; see chitterlings.

chiton (n.)

mollusc genus, 1816, from Latinized form of Greek khiton "frock (worn by both sexes), tunic, mail coat" (see chitin). Used in English in literal sense of "ancient Greek tunic" from 1850. The molluscs also are known as coat-of-mail shells for their mail-like covering.

chitter (v.)

"to chirp, twitter," c. 1200, imitative of birds. Related: Chittered; chittering.

chitter-chatter (n.)

1712, reduplicated form of chatter (n.). As a verb from 1804. Related: Chitter-chattering.

chitterlings (n.)

late 13c., cheterlingis "entrails, souse, small intestines of a swine fried for food" (early 13c. in surnames), a word of obscure origin, probably from an unrecorded Old English word having something to do with entrails (related to Old English cwið "womb;" compare German Kutteln "guts, bowels, tripe, chitterlings," Old Norse kviðr "womb," Gothic qiþus "womb"). Variants chitlins (1842) and chitlings (1880) both also had a sense of "shreds, tatters."

chivalric (adj.)

"characteristic of chivalry, chivalrous," 1797, from chivalry + -ic. Pronounced by poets with accent on the middle syllable, and because they are the only ones who need it, that pronunciation might as well be accepted.

chivalrous (adj.)

mid-14c., "pertaining to chivalry or knight-errantry," from Old French chevaleros "knightly, noble, chivalrous," from chevalier (see chevalier; also compare chivalry). According to OED, obsolete in English and French from mid-16c. Not revived in French, but brought back in English 1770s by romantic writers with a sense of "having high qualities (gallantry, courage, magnanimity) supposed to be characteristic of chivalry." Related: Chivalrously; chivalrousness.

chivalresque (adj.)

"characterized by chivalry," 1800, from chivalry on analogy of French chevalresque.

chivalry (n.)

c. 1300, "body or host of knights; knighthood in the feudal social system; bravery in war, warfare as an art," from Old French chevalerie "knighthood, chivalry, nobility, cavalry, art of war," from chevaler "knight," from Medieval Latin caballarius "horseman," from Latin caballus "nag, pack-horse" (see cavalier).

From late 14c. as "the nobility as one of the estates of the realm," also as the word for an ethical code emphasizing honor, valor, generosity and courtly manners. Modern use for "social and moral code of medieval feudalism" probably is an 18c. historical revival.

chive (n.)

common name of an edible herb closely related to garlic, c. 1400, from Old North French chive (Old French, Modern French cive, 13c.), from Latin cepa "onion" (see onion).

chivvy (v.)

"harass," 1918, from alternative form of chevy (1830) "to chase," from a noun chevy (1824, also used as a hunting cry, c. 1785), from chevy chase "a running pursuit," probably from the "Ballad of Chevy Chase," a popular song from 15c. describing a hunting party on the borderland that turned into a battle between the English and the Scots (the incident probably dates from late 14c.). The place is probably originally Cheviot Chase (see chase (n.1)).

chlamydia (n.)

type of genital infection, 1984, from the name of the bacteria that causes it (1966), which is formed from a Latinized combining form of Greek khlamys (genitive khlamydos) "short mantle, upper garment for men, military cloak," which is of unknown origin, + abstract noun ending -ia. Said to be so called due to its ability to "cloak" the nuclei of infected cells. Related: chlamydial.

Chloe

fem. proper name, Latin, from Greek Khloē, literally "young green shoot;" related to khlōros "greenish-yellow," from PIE *ghlo- variant of root *ghel- (2) "to shine," with derivatives denoting "green" and "yellow."

chloral (n.)

"colorless liquid formed by the action of chlorine on alcohol," apparently coined by German chemist Justus von Liebig in 1833 from elements from chlorine + alcohol. Later chiefly in chloral hydrate (1874).

chlorate (n.)

"salt of chloric acid," 1823; see chlorine + -ate (3)

chloric (adj.)

"pertaining to or containing chlorine," 1810; see chlorine + -ic.

chloride (n.)

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

chlorination (n.)

"act of subjecting to the action of chlorine," 1854, noun of action from chlorinate (v.).

chlorinate (v.)

"to combine or treat with chlorine," 1836 (implied in chlorinated), from chlorine (n.) + -ate (2). Related: Chlorinating.

chlorine (n.)

nonmetallic element, the name coined 1810 by English chemist Sir Humphry Davy from Latinized form of Greek khlōros "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.

chloro-

before vowels chlor-, word-forming element used in chemistry, usually indicating the presence of chlorine in a compound, but sometimes "green," from Latinized combining form of Greek khlōros "greenish-yellow" (from PIE root *ghel- (2) "to shine," with derivatives denoting "green" and "yellow").

chlorofluorocarbon (n.)

type of molecule that contains carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, and fluorine, especially as a derivative of methane, ethane, and propane, by 1946, from chloro- + fluorocarbon.

chloroform (n.)

"trichloromethane," a volatile, colorless liquid used as an anaesthetic, 1835, from French chloroforme, a hybrid coined 1834 by French chemist Jean-Baptiste Dumas (1800-1884) from chloro-, a combining form meaning "chlorine" (see chlorine), + formique "formic (acid)" (see formic (adj.)).

As a verb, "to subject to the influence of chloroform," from 1848, which is the year its anaesthetic properties were discovered. Related: Chloroformed.

chlorophyll (n.)

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 khlōros "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").

chloroplast (n.)

type of membrane in plants that conducts photosynthesis, 1887, from German chloroplast (1884, Eduard Strasburger), shortened from chloroplastid "a chlorophyll granule" (1883, Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper); see chloro- + -plast.

choad (n.)

also chode, "penis," by 1968 (Zap Comix), U.S. teen slang, of unknown origin. Guesses include a supposed Navajo chodis "penis" ["Cassell's Dictionary of Slang" 2005], or a supposed Hindi, Bengali or Gujarati vernacular word for "copulate" ["New Hacker's Dictionary," 1996].

choate (adj.)

"finished, complete," a mistaken or humorous back-formation from inchoate (q.v.) as though that word contained in- "not." It is pointed to in an 1878 letter from Oliver Wendell Holmes lamenting barbarisms in legal case writing (he said he found choate in a California report), and it is used in a South Carolina Supreme Court case from 1871 (Massey vs. Duren) as the opposite of inchoate. But non-legal use seems to have been mostly jocular:

chock (n.)

1670s, "piece of wood, block" (especially one used to prevent movement), possibly from Old North French choque "a block" (Old French çoche "log," 12c.; Modern French souche "stump, stock, block"), from Gaulish *tsukka "a tree trunk, stump."

chock (adv.)

"tightly, close up against," 1799, back formation from chock-full.

chock-a-block (adj.)

"jammed together," 1840, nautical, said of two blocks of tackle run so closely that they touch; from chock (n.) + block (n.1) in the nautical sense "a pulley together with its framework."

chock-full (adj.)

c. 1400, chokkeful "crammed full;" the first element is possibly from choke "cheek" (see cheek (n.)). Or it may be from Old French choquier "collide, crash, hit" (13c., Modern French choquer), which is probably from Germanic (compare Middle Dutch schokken, and see shock (n.1)).

chocolate (n.)

c. 1600, from Mexican Spanish chocolate, from Nahuatl (Aztecan) chocola-tl, "chocolate," and/or cacahua-tl "chocolate, chocolate bean." With a-tl "water." In the first form, the first element might be related to xocalia "to make something bitter or sour" [Karttunen]. Made with cold water by the Aztecs, with hot water by the Conquistadors, and the European forms of the word might have been influenced by Mayan chocol "hot." Brought to Spain by 1520, from there it spread to the rest of Europe. Originally a drink made by dissolving chocolate in milk or water, it was very popular 17c.

As a paste or cake made of ground, roasted, sweetened cacao seeds, 1640s. As "a piece of chocolate candy," 1880s. As a dark reddish-brown color from 1776. The adjective is from 1723 as "made of or flavored with chocolate;" 1771 as "having the color of chocolate." Chocolate milk is by 1845. Chocolate-chip is from 1940.

chocolatey (adj.)

"made of or resembling chocolate," 1922, chocolate-y, from chocolate + -y (2). Related: Choclatiness.

chocolatier (n.)

"maker of chocolate confections," 1865, from French; see chocolate + -ier. The native term was chocolate-dealer.

Choctaw

native people formerly of southeastern U.S., 1722, from Choctaw (Muskogean) Chahta, of uncertain meaning, but also said to be from Spanish chato "flattened," for the tribe's custom of flattening the heads of male infants.

As a figure skating step, attested by 1892, probably based on the skating sense of Mohawk (it is a variation of that step). Sometimes used in 19c. American English as typical of a difficult or incomprehensible language (compare Greek, used in this sense from c. 1600).

choice (adj.)

"worthy to be chosen, distinguished, excellent," mid-14c., from choice (n.). Related: Choiceness.

choice (n.)

mid-14c., "that which is choice," from choice (adj.) blended with earlier chois (n.) "action of selecting" (c. 1300); "power of choosing" (early 14c.), "the person or thing chosen" (late 14c.), from Old French chois "one's choice; fact of having a choice" (12c., Modern French choix), from verb choisir "to choose, distinguish, discern; recognize, perceive, see," which is from Frankish or some other Germanic source and related to Old English ceosan "to choose, taste, try" (from PIE root *geus- "to taste; to choose").

Late Old English chis "fastidious, choosy," from or related to ceosan, probably also contributed to the development of choice. Choice replaced Old English cyre "choice, free will," from the same base, probably because the imported word was closer to choose [see note in OED].

choir (n.)

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).

The meaning "band of singers" in English is from c. 1400, quyre. It was re-spelled mid-17c. in an attempt to match classical forms, but the pronunciation has not changed.

choir-boy (n.)

also choir boy, "member of a boys' choir," 1769, from choir + boy. As a type of innocence, by 1885.

chokage (n.)

1847, from choke (n.) + -age.

choke (v.)

c. 1300, transitive, "to stop the breath by preventing air from entering the windpipe;" late 14c., "to make to suffocate, deprive of the power of drawing breath," of persons as well as swallowed objects; a shortening of acheken (c. 1200), from Old English aceocian "to choke, suffocate," probably from root of ceoke "jaw, cheek" (see cheek (n.)), with intensive a-.

Intransitive sense from c. 1400. Meaning "gasp for breath" is from early 15c. Figurative use from c. 1400, in early use often with reference to weeds stifling the growth of useful plants (a Biblical image). Meaning "to fail in the clutch" is attested by 1976, American English. Related: Choked; choking.

The North American choke-cherry (1785) supposedly was so called for its astringent qualities: compare choke-apple "crab-apple" (1610s); and choke-pear (1530s) "kind of pear with an astringent taste" (also with a figurative sense, defined by Johnson as "Any aspersion or sarcasm, by which another person is put to silence)." Choked up "overcome with emotion and unable to speak" is attested by 1896. The baseball batting sense is by 1907.