Etymology — The Origins of English Words

From title + holder.

From Middle English squamous, from Latin squāmōsus, from squāma (“scale(of a fish or reptile)”).

From Middle English stond, stounde, stound (“hour, time, season, moment”), from Old English stund (“a period of time, while, hour, occasion”), from Proto-West Germanic *stundu, from Proto-Germanic *stundō (“point in time, hour”), from Proto-Indo-European *stut- (“prop”), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”). Cognate with Scots stound (“while, period of time, moment, sudden pain, pang, stroke, blow”), dated Dutch stond (“hour, time, moment”), Low German Stund (“hour”), German Stunde (“hour”), Danish stund (“time, while”), and Swedish stund (“time, while”). Compare Middle English stunden (“to linger, stay, remain for a while”), Icelandic stunda (“to frequent, pursue”). Related to stand.

From the phrase skin a flint (“go to extreme lengths for the sake of gain or economy”), from the brittleness and hardness of flint which makes it almost impossible to remove just its skin without shattering it.

1938, from totalitarian + -ism, modeled after Italian totalitarismo (1923, by Giovanni Amendola) and German terms such as Totalstaat (1927, The Concept of the Political, by Carl Schmitt).

Uncertain; compare shinney, shinty. Tentatively suggested to be a compound of the Irish words seinn (“play, sing”) and tí (“house”).

Same as strap (which see); recorded in English since 1702. The verb sense referring to honing a sharp edge is recorded since 1842.

From tart + -y.

From un- + ability.

From un- + delight.

From un- + conditioned.

Shortening of tricycle, modelled on bike.

From tea + room. In reference to a lavatory, probably as a variant of t-room (“toilet room”).

The verb is derived from Middle English smateren, smatteren, smater, smatere (“to make dirty, defile; to talk idly, chatter; to speak foolishly”); further etymology uncertain, compare the following: * Middle English smotten (“to corrupt, debase, defile”) (whence English smot (obsolete)), related to Late Middle High German smotzen, a variant of smutzen (whence modern German schmutzen (“to become dirty or soiled; to make dirty, soil”)), from smuz (“dirt”). * Danish smadre (“to smash”), German schmettern (“to smash; to resound”) (from Middle High German smetern (“to chatter; to rattle; (dialectal) to make a smacking sound”)); Norwegian Bokmål smadre (“to smash”), Swedish smattra (“to make short, sharp, quickly repeating noises, patter, rattle”), possibly originally onomatopoeic. However, the Oxford English Dictionary says “real connection is very doubtful”. The noun is derived from the verb.

From Middle French stupéfier, from Latin stupefaciō (“strike dumb, stun with amazement, stupefy”), from stupeō (“to be stunned, speechless”) (see English stupid, stupor) + faciō (“to do, make”).

From Latin sōlus (“alone”) + ipse (“self”) + -ism.

Possibly imitative of a small explosion.

Apparently from spring, with an uncertain final element.

From Ancient Greek θρηνῳδία (thrēnōidía, “lamentation”). Compare the New Latin thrēnōdia.

From Middle English sidlyng (early 14th century), from side + -lyng (modern English side + -ling).

The noun is attested since 1829, the verb since 1846. Both derive from French tabaganne, which derives from an Algonquian word, probably Mi'kmaq tepaqan or Abenaki dabôgan, influenced by similar words in other Eastern Canadian Algonquian languages. The sense of "hat" is recorded since 1929 and is short for toboggan cap (1928), a cap suitable for wearing while tobogganing.

From Middle English tredel, from Old English tredel; equivalent to tread + -le.

From Middle English trefoil, from Old French trifoil, trefeul, from Latin trifolium, from tri- (“three”) + folium (“leaf”).

Blend of shit + fart. Compare shiss.