New Words

Key to Abbreviations

Anglo-L.
Anglo-Latin, the form of Medieval Latin used in England during the Middle English period.
c.
Century, when following a number (16c.); circa (around) when preceding one (c.1500).
Fr.
French, Romance language spoken cheifly in France.
It.
Italian, the Romance language spoken in Italy, it evolved out of the Tuscan dialect in the Renaissance.
L.
Classical Latin, the Italic language of ancient Rome until about 4c.
M.Fr.
Middle French, the French language as written and spoken c. 1400-c.1600.
M.L.
Medieval Latin, Latin as written and spoken c.700-c.1500.
O.Fr.
Old French, the French language as written and spoken c. 900-1400.
Pers.
Persian, also known as Farsi, modern Iranian language spoken in Iran and Afghanistan.
pl.
Plural, the form of a word that denotes it refers to more than one person or thing.
Prov.
Provençal, Romance language of several dialects in southern France.
Sem.
Semitic, major subgroup of Afroasiatic language family, including Hebrew, Aramaic, Akkadian.
Skt.
Sanskrit, the classical Indian literary language from 4c. B.C.
Sp.
Spanish, also known as Castilian, Romance language spoken in Spain and Spanish America.
Turk.
Turkish, Turkic (non-Indo-European) language spoken in Turkey.

admiral

c. 1205, from Arabic title amir-ar-rahl "chief of the transport," officer in the Mediterranean fleet, from amir "leader," influenced by L. ad-mirabilis (see admire).

amber

1365, "ambergris," from O.Fr. ambre, from M.L. ambar, from Arabic anbar "amber," a word brought home to Europe by the Crusaders. The sense was extended to fossil resin c.1400, which has become the main sense as the use of ambergris has waned. This was formerly known as white or yellow amber. In Fr., they are distinguished as ambre gris and amber jaune.

assassin

1531 (in Anglo-L. from c.1237), via Fr. and It., from Arabic hashishiyyin "hashish-users," pl. of hashishiyy, from hashish. A fanatical Ismaili Muslim sect of the time of the Crusades with a reputation for murdering opposing leaders after intoxicating themselves by eating hashish. The pl. suffix -in was mistaken in Europe for part of the word.

azimuth

"distance of a star from the north or south point of the meridian," c.1391, from O.Fr. azimut, from Arabic as-sumut "the ways," pl. of as-samt "the way, direction" (see zenith).

azure

c.1325, from O.Fr. azur, false separation of Arabic lazaward "lapis lazuli," as though the -l- were the French article l\'. The Arabic name is from Pers. lajward, from Lajward, a place in Turkestan, mentioned by Marco Polo, where the stone was collected.

candy

1274, from O.Fr. sucre candi "sugar candy," from Arabic qandi, from Pers. qand "cane sugar," probably from Skt. khanda "piece (of sugar)," perhaps from Dravidian.

jar

"cylindrical vessel," 1421, possibly from M.Fr. jarre "liquid measure" (smaller than a barrel), from Prov. jarra, from Arabic jarrah "earthen water vessel" (whence also Sp. jarra, It. giarra).

mattress

c.1290, from O.Fr. materas, from It. materasso, from M.L. matracium, borrowed in Sicily from Arabic al-matrah "the cushion" literally "the thing thrown down," from taraha "he threw (down)."

soda

1471, "alkaline substance," from It. sida (or M.L. soda) "a kind of saltwort," (bushy plant of Old World salt marshes and sea beaches having prickly leaves; burned to produce a crude soda ash) from which soda is obtained, probably from Arabic suwwad, the name of a variety of saltwort exported from North Africa to Sicily in the Middle Ages, related to sawad "black," the color of the plant. The meaning "carbonated water" is first recorded 1834, a shortening of soda water (1802). Carbonated drinks started in the Arab world and Cola was brought by West African slaves to the South, the birth place of Coca-Cola

sofa

1625, "raised section of a floor, covered with carpets and cushions," from Turk. sofa, from Arabic suffah "bench." Meaning "long stuffed seat for reclining" is recorded from 1717.