A- (3) prefix meaning "not," from Gk a-, an- "not," from pie base *ne "not" (see un-)

twelfth --- O.E. twelfta, cognate with O.N. tolfti, O.Fris. twelefta, O.H.G. zwelifto, Ger. zwölfte (see twelve). O.E. twelftan niht "Twelfth Night," the eve of Epiphany, which comes twelve days after Christmas, formerly was a time of merrymaking.

twelve --- O.E. twelf, lit. "two left" (over ten), from P.Gmc. *twa-lif-, a compound of the root of two + *lif-, root of the verb leave (see eleven). Cf. O.S. twelif, O.N. tolf, O.Fris. twelef, M.Du. twalef, Du. twaalf, O.H.G. zwelif, Ger. zwölf, Goth. twalif. Outside Gmc., an analogous formation is Lith. drylika, with second element -lika "left over."

twenty --- O.E. twentig "group of twenty," from twegen "two" (see two) + -tig "group of ten" (see -ty (1)). Cognate with O.Fris. twintich, Du. twintig, O.H.G. zweinzug, Ger. zwanzig. Goth. twai tigjus is even more transparent: lit. "two tens." Twentieth is O.E. twentigoða. The card game twenty-one (1790) is from Fr. vingt-et-un (1781). Twenty-twenty hindsight is first recorded 1962, a fig. use of the Snellen fraction for normal visual acuity, expressed in feet. The guessing game of twenty questions is recorded from 1786. The Twentieth Century Limited was an express train from New York to Chicago 1902-1967.

twerp --- of unknown origin; the "Dictionary of American Slang" gives a first reference of 1874 (but without citation), which, if correct, would rule out the usual theory that it is from the proper name of T.W. Earp, a student at Oxford c.1911, who kindled wrath "in the hearts of the rugger-playing stalwarts at Oxford, when he was president of the Union, by being the last, most charming, and wittiest of the 'decadents.' "

twi- --- prefix meaning "two," O.E. twi-, prefix meaning "two, in two ways, twice, double," from P.Gmc. *twi- (cf. O.Fris. twi-, O.N. tvi-, Du. twee-, O.H.G. zwi-, Ger. zwei-), from PIE *dwis (cf. Skt. dvi-, Gk. di-, Old L. dvi-, L. bi-, Lith. dvi-), from *dwo "two" (see two). Cognate with bi-. Older instances of it include M.E. twinter "two years old" (1404, of cattle, sheep, etc.), reduced from O.E. twi-wintre, and O.E. twispræc "double or deceitful speech."

twice --- late O.E. twiga, twigea "two times" (cognate with O.Fris. twia, O.S. tuuio) + adverbial genitive ending -es.

twiddle --- c.1540, "to trifle," of unknown origin; of the fingers, first recorded 1676. Fig. phrase twiddle one's thumbs "have nothing to do" is recorded from 1846; to twirl one's thumbs in the same sense is recorded from 1816.

twig --- O.E. twigge, from P.Gmc. *twigan (cf. M.Du. twijch, Du. twijg, O.H.G. zwig, Ger. Zweig "branch, twig"), from the root of twi- (see twin), here meaning "forked" (as in O.E. twisel "fork, point of division"). Twiggy "slender" is recorded from 1562.

twilight --- 1387 (implied in twilighting), a compound of twi- + light (n.) Cognate with Du. tweelicht (16c.), Ger. zwielicht. Exact connotation of twi- in this word is unclear, but it appears to refer to "half" light, rather than the fact that twilight occurs twice a day. Cf. also Skt. samdhya "twilight," lit. "a holding together, junction," M.H.G. zwischerliecht, lit. "tweenlight." Originally and most commonly in Eng. with ref. to evening twilight but occasionally used of morning twilight (a sense first attested c.1440). Figurative extension is first recorded 1600.

twill --- cloth woven in parallel diagonal lines, 1329, Scottish and northern English variant of M.E. twile, from O.E. twili "woven with double thread, twilled," formed on model of L. bilix "with a double thread" (with O.E. twi- substituted for cognate L. bi-), from L. licium "thread," of uncertain origin.

twin (adj.) --- O.E. twinn "consisting of two, twofold, double," probably ultimately from P.Gmc. *twinjaz (cf. O.N. tvinnr, O.Dan. tvinling, Du. tweeling, Ger. zwillung), from PIE *dwisno- (cf. L. bini "two each," Lith. dvynu "twins"), from *dwi- "double," from base *dwo- "two" (see two). The verb meaning "to combine two things closely" is recorded from c.1394. The noun developed from O.E. getwinn "double."

twine (n.) --- O.E. twin "double thread," from P.Gmc. *twizna- (cf. Du. twijn, Low Ger. twern, Ger. zwirn "twine, thread"), from the same root as twin (q.v.). The verb meaning "to twist strands together to form twine" is recorded from c.1275; sense of "to twist around something" (as twine does) is recorded from c.1300.

twinge (n.) --- 1548, "a pinch," from obsolete verb twinge "to pinch, tweak," from O.E. twengan "to pinch," of uncertain origin. Meaning "sharp, sudden pain" is recorded from 1608. Fig. sense (with ref. to shame, remorse, etc.) is recorded from 1622.

twink --- c.1400, "a winking of the eye," also "a twinkle" (1830), from twinkle. Meaning "young sexually attractive person" is recorded from 1963, probably from Twinkies, trademark name of a cupcake junk food introduced in 1930 by Continental Baking Co., apparently an alteration of twinkle. But cf. 1920s-30s British homosexual slang twank in a similar sense.

twinkle (v.) --- O.E. twinclian, frequentative of twincan "to wink, blink;" related to M.H.G. zwinken, Ger. zwinkern, and probably somehow imitative. The noun is recorded from 1548. Phrase in the twinkling of an eye is attested from 1303.

twirl --- 1598 (n. and v.), of uncertain origin, possibly connected with O.E. þwirl "a stirrer." Or else a blend of twist and whirl.

twist (n.) --- 1350, "flat part of a hinge," probably from O.E. -twist (in mæsttwist "mast rope, stay;" candeltwist "wick"), from P.Gmc. *twis-, from root of two. Original senses suggest "dividing in two" (cf. cognate O.N. tvistra "to divide, separate," Goth. twis- "in two, asunder," Du. twist, Ger. zwist "quarrel, discord," though these senes have no equivalent in Eng.), but later ones are of "combining two into one," hence the original sense of the word may be "rope made of two strands." Meaning "thread or cord composed of two or more fibers" is recorded from 1555. Meaning "act or action of turning on an axis" is attested from 1576. Sense of "beverage consisting of two or more liquors" is first attested c.1700. Meaning "thick cord of tobacco" is from 1791. Meaning "curled piece of lemon, etc., used to flavor a drink" is recorded from 1958. Sense of "unexpected plot development" is from 1941. The popular rock 'n' roll dance craze is from 1961, but twist was used to describe popular dances in 1894 and again in the 1920s. To get one's knickers in a twist "be unduly agitated" is British slang first attested 1971.

twist (v.) --- c.1325 (implied in p.t. twaste), "to wring," from the source of twist (n.). Sense of "to spin two or more strands of yarn into thread" is attested from 1471. Meaning "to move in a winding fashion" is recorded from 1635. To twist the lion's tail was U.S. slang (1895) for "to provoke British feeling."

twisted --- perverted, mentally strange, 1900, from twist (n.) in a sense of "mental peculiarity, perversion" first attested 1811.

twister --- 1579, "one who spins thread," from twist (v.). Meaning "tornado" is attested from 1897, Amer.Eng.

twisty --- attractively feminine, 1970s slang, is from twist "girl" (1928), apparently from rhyming slang twist and twirl (1924).

twit (v.) --- 1530, aphetic form of atwite, from O.E. ætwitan "to blame, reproach," from æt "at" + witan "to blame," from P.Gmc. *witanan (cf. O.E. wite, O.S. witi, O.N. viti "punishment, torture;" O.H.G. wizzi "punishment," wizan "to punish;" Du. verwijten, O.H.G. firwizan, Ger. verweisen "to reproach, reprove," Goth. fraweitan "to avenge"), from PIE base *weid- "to see." For sense evolution, cf. L. animadvertere, lit. "to give heed to, observe," later "to chastise, censure, punish." The noun meaning "foolish, stupid and ineffectual person" is first attested 1934 in British slang, popular 1950s-60s, crossed over to U.S. with British sitcoms. It probably developed from the verb sense of "reproach" but may be influenced by nitwit.

twitch (v.) --- c.1175, to-twic-chen "pull apart with a quick jerk," related to O.E. twiccian "to pluck," from P.Gmc. *twikjonan (cf. Low Ger. twicken, Du. twikken, O.H.G. gizwickan, Ger. zwicken "to pinch, tweak"). The noun is attested from 1523.

twitter (v.) --- c.1374, of imitative origin (cf. O.H.G. zwizziron, Ger. zwitschern, Dan. kvidre). The noun meaning "condition of tremulous excitement" is attested from 1678.

twixt --- c.1300, aphetic for betwixt (q.v.).

twizzle (v.) --- to twist, form by twisting (trans.), 1788, apparently a made-up word suggested by twist.

two --- O.E. twa, fem. and neut. form of twegen "two" (see twain), from P.Gmc. *twai (cf. O.S., O.Fris. twene, twa, O.N. tveir, tvau, Du. twee, O.H.G. zwene, zwo, Ger. zwei, Goth. twai), from PIE *duwo (cf. Skt. dvau, Avestan dva, Gk. duo, L. duo, O.Welsh dou, Lith. dvi, O.C.S. duva, first element in Hittite ta-ugash "two years old"). Twofold is O.E. tweofeald. Dance style two-step is recorded from 1900. Twofer is first recorded 1911 (originally in ref. to cigars), from two for (a dollar, etc.). Two-faced "deceitful" first recorded 1619. Two cheers for _____, expressing qualified enthusiasm first recorded 1951 in E.M. Forster's title "Two Cheers for Democracy." Two-dimensional is recorded from 1883; fig. sense of "lacking substance or depth" is attested from 1934.

two bits --- quarter, 1730, in ref. to the Mexican real, a large coin that was divided into eight bits (cf. piece of eight; see piece); hence two-bit (adj.) "cheap, tawdry," first recorded 1929.

two-time (v.) --- to deceive, cheat, betray, 1924, perhaps from notion of "to have two at a time."

-ty (1) --- suffix representing "ten" in cardinal numbers (sixty, seventy, etc.), from O.E. -tig, from a Gmc. root (cf. Du. -tig, O.Fris. -tich, O.N. -tigr, O.H.G. -zig, -zug, Ger. -zig) that existed as a distinct word in Gothic tigjus, O.N. tigir "tens, decades." English, like many other Germanic languages, retains traces of a base-12 number system. The most obvious instance is eleven and twelve which ought to be the first two numbers of the "teens" series. Their Old English forms, enleofan and twel(eo)f(an), are more transparent: "leave one" and "leave two." Old English also had hund endleofantig for "110" and hund twelftig for "120." One hundred was hund teantig. The -tig formation ran through 12 cycles, and could have bequeathed us numbers *eleventy ("110") and *twelfty ("120") had it endured, but already during the O.E. period it was being obscured. O.N. used hundrað for "120" and þusend for "1,200." Tvauhundrað was "240" and þriuhundrað was "360." Older Germanic legal texts distinguished a "common hundred" (100) from a "great hundred" (120). This duodecimal system, according to one authority, is "perhaps due to contact with Babylonia."

-ty (2) --- suffix used in forming abstract nouns from adjectives (safety, surety, etc.), M.E. -te, from O.Fr. -te, from L. -tatem (-tas, gen. -tatis), cognate with Gk. -tes, Skt. -tati-.

Tyburn --- place of public execution for Middlesex from c.1200 to 1783; it stood at the junction of modern Oxford Street, Bayswater Road and Edgware Road.

tycoon --- 1857, title given by foreigners to the shogun of Japan (said to have been used by his supporters when addressing foreigners, as an attempt to convey that the shogun was more important than the emperor), from Jap. taikun "great lord or prince," from Chinese tai "great" + kiun "lord." Transf. meaning "important person" is attested from 1861, in ref. to U.S. president Abraham Lincoln (in Hay's diary); specific application to "businessman" is post-World War I.

tyke --- c.1400, "cur, mongrel," from O.N. tik "bitch," related to M.L.G. tike. Also applied to a low-bred or lazy man. The meaning "child" is from 1902, though it was used in playful reproof from 1894.

tympanum --- drum of the ear, 1619, from M.L. tympanum, introduced in this sense by It. anatomist Gabriele Fallopio (1523-62), from L. tympanum "drum," from Gk. tympanon "a drum, panel of a door," from root of typtein "to beat, strike" (see type). Cf. O.E. timpan "drum, timbrel, tambourine," From L. tympanum. The modern meaning "a drum" is attested in Eng. from 1675. Tympanist "one who plays on a drum" is recorded from 1611; since mid-19c. specifically of players on kettledrums.

type (n.) --- c.1470, "symbol, emblem," from L. typus "figure, image, form, kind," from Gk. typos "dent, impression, mark, figure, original form," from root of typtein "to strike, beat," from PIE base *(s)teu- "to strike, cut, hew" (see steep (adj.)). Extended 1713 to printing blocks with letters carved on them. The meaning "general form or character of some kind, class" is first in Eng. 1843, though it had that sense in L. and Gk. The verb meaning "to write with a typewriter" is attested from 1888. Typewriter in the mechanical sense is attested from 1868; typist is recorded from 1843. Typeface first attested 1887. Type-cast (adj. and v.) with ref. to actors is recorded from 1946, perhaps a deliberate pun on the verbal phrase in the print type founding sense (attested from 1847). To be someone's type "be the sort of person that person is attracted to" is recorded from 1934.

typhoid (adj.) --- 1800, lit. "resembling typhus," from typhus + suffix from Gk. -oeides "like," from eidos "form, shape" (see -oid). The noun is from 1861, a shortened form of typhoid fever (1845), so called because it was originally thought to be a variety of typhus. Typhoid Mary (1909) was Mary Mallon (d.1938), a typhoid carrier who worked as a cook and became notorious after it was learned she had unwittingly infected hundreds in U.S.

typhoon --- the modern word represents a coincidence and convergence of at least two unrelated words of similar sound and sense. Tiphon "violent storm, whirlwind, tornado" is recorded from 1555, from Gk. typhon "whirlwind," personified as a giant, father of the winds, perhaps from typhein "to smoke." The meaning "cyclone, violent hurricane of India or the China Seas" (1588) is first recorded in T. Hickock's translation of an account in Italian of a voyage to the East Indies by Cæsar Frederick, a merchant of Venice, probably borrowed from, or infl. by, Chinese (Cantonese) tai fung "a great wind," from tu "big" + feng "wind;" name given to violent cyclonic storms in the China seas. A third possibility is tufan, a word in Arabic, Persian and Hindi meaning "big cyclonic storm" (and the source of Port. tufao), which may be from Gk. typhon but commonly is said to be a noun of action from Arabic tafa "to turn round."

typhus --- acute infectious fever, 1785, from Mod.L. (De Sauvages, 1759), from Gk. typhos "stupor caused by fever," lit. "smoke," from typhein "to smoke," related to typhos "blind," typhon "whirlwind," ult. origin unknown. The disease so called from the prostration that it causes.

typical --- 1605, "symbolic, emblematic," from M.L. typicalis "symbolic," from L.L. typicus "of or pertaining to a type," from Gk. typikos, from typos "impression" (see type). Sense of "characteristic" is first recorded 1850.

typify --- 1634, "to represent by a symbol," from L. typus (see type). Meaning "to serve as a typical specimen of some class, etc." is attested from 1854.

typo --- 1816, short for typographer; 1892 as short for typographical error (see typography).

typography --- 1641, from Fr. typographie, from M.L. typographia, from Gk. typos (see type) + -grapheia "writing." Typographical "pertaining to typography" is recorded from 1593.

tyrannosaurus --- carnivorous Cretaceous bipedal dinosaur, 1905, Mod.L., the genus name, coined by H.F. Osborn (published 1906 in "Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History" XXI, p.259) from Gk. tyrannos "tyrant" + sauros "lizard."

tyranny --- c.1368, "cruel or unjust use of power," from O.Fr. tyrannie (13c.), from L.L. tyrannia "tyranny," from Gk. tyrannia "rule of a tyrant," from tyrannos "master" (see tyrant). Tyrannize is first attested 1494, from M.Fr. tyranniser (14c.); tyrannical was formed 1538 (tyrannic was used in this sense from 1491).

tyrant --- 1297, "absolute ruler," from O.Fr. tyrant (12c.), from L. tyrannus "lord, master, tyrant" (cf. Sp. tirano, It. tiranno), from Gk. tyrannos "lord, master, sovereign, absolute ruler," a loan-word from a language of Asia Minor (probably Lydian); cf. Etruscan Turan "mistress, lady" (surname of Venus).

tyre --- variant spelling of tire (n.).

Tyrian --- 1513, from L. Tyrius "of Tyre," from Tyrus, island-city in the Levant, from Gk. Tyros, from Hebrew/Phoenician tzor, lit. "rock, rocky place." Especially in ref. to Tyrian purple, a dye made there in ancient times from certain mollusks.

tyro --- 1611, from M.L. tyro, variant of L. tiro (pl. tirones) "young soldier, recruit, beginner," of unknown origin.

Tyrone --- Ir. county, from Ir. Tir Eoghain "Eoghan's Land," from Eoghan "Owen," ancestor of the O'Neills, who owned land here. Tir also forms the final syllable in Leinster, Munster, Ulster.

tyrosine --- amino acid, 1857, coined 1846 by Ger. chemist Baron von Justus Liebig (1802-73) from Gk. tyros "cheese" + chemical suffix -ine. So called because it was easily obtained from cheese.

Tyrrhenian --- 1660, "pertaining to the Etruscans," from L. Tyrrheni, from Gk. Tyrrenoi "Tyrrhenians," from tyrsis "tower, walled city" (cf. L. turris "tower"). Earlier Tyrrhene (1387).

u --- for historical evolution, see V. Used punningly for you by 1588 ["Love's Labour's Lost," V.i.60], not long after the pronunciation shift that made the vowel a homonym of the pronoun. As a simple shorthand (without intentional word-play), it is recorded from 1862. Common in business abbreviations since 1923 (e.g. U-Haul, attested from 1951).

U.K. --- abbreviation for United Kingdom, attested from 1892.

U.N. --- abbreviation for United Nations, attested from 1946.

U.S. --- abbreviation for United States, attested from 1834.

U-bahn --- Ger. or Austrian subway system, 1938 (originally in ref. to Berlin), from Ger. U-bahn, short for Untergrund-bahn, lit. "underground railway."

ubi --- place, location, position, 1614, common in Eng. c.1640-1740. from L. ubi "where," ult. from PIE *kwo-bhi- (cf. Skt. kuha, O.C.S. kude "where"), locative case of pronomial base *kwo-. Ubi sunt, lit. "where are" (1914), in ref. to lamentations for the mutability of things is from a phrase used in certain M.L. Christian works.

ubiquity --- 1579, from M.Fr. ubiquité (17c.), from L. ubique "everywhere," from ubi "where" (see ubi) + que "any, also, ever," a suffix that can give universal meaning to the word it is attached to. Originally a Lutheran theological position maintaining the omnipresence of Christ. Ubiquitous in the sense of "turning up everywhere" is first recorded 1837, originally a jocular extension of the theological word.

U-boat --- 1916 (said to have been in use from 1913), partial translation of Ger. U-boot, short for Unterseeboot, lit. "undersea boat."

udder --- O.E. udder "milk gland of a cow, goat, etc.," from P.Gmc. *udr- (cf. O.Fris., M.Du. uder, O.H.G. utar, Ger. Euter, and, with unexplained change of consonant, O.N. jugr), from PIE *udhr- (cf. Skt. udhar, Gk. outhar, L. uber "udder").

UFO --- 1953, abbreviation of Unidentified Flying Object, which is attested from 1950. Ufology is first attested 1959.

Ugaritic --- 1936, "pertaining to Ugarit," ancient city of northern Syria, and esp. to the language first discovered there 1929 by Claude Schaeffer, from Ugarit, which probably is ult. from Sumerian ugaru "field."

ugh --- 1765, imitative of the sound of a cough; as an interjection of disgust, recorded from 1837.

ugly --- c.1250, uglike "frightful or horrible in appearance," from O.N. uggligr "dreadful, fearful," from uggr "fear, apprehension, dread" (perhaps related to agg "strife, hate") + -ligr "-like." Meaning softened to "very unpleasant to look at" c.1375. Extended sense of "morally offensive" is attested from c.1300; that of "ill-tempered" is from 1687. Among words for this concept, ugly is unusual in being formed from a root for "fear, dread." More common is a compound meaning "ill-shaped" (e.g. Gk. dyseides, L. deformis, Ir. dochrud, Skt. ku-rupa). Another Gmc. group has a root sense of "hate, sorrow" (see loath). Verb uglify is attested from 1576. Ugly duckling (1877) is from the story by Hans Christian Andersen, first translated from Danish to English 1846. Ugly American "U.S. citizen who behaves offensively abroad" is first recorded 1958 as a book title.

uh --- inarticulate sound, attested from 1605; uh-huh, spoken affirmative (often ironic or non-committal) is recorded from 1904; negative uh-uh is attested from 1924.

UHF --- 1937, abbreviation of ultra-high frequency (1932) in ref. to radio frequencies in the range of 300 to 3,000 megahertz.

uhlan --- cavalryman, 1753, from Ger. Uhlan, from Pol. ulan "a lancer," from Turk. oghlan "a youth." For sense evolution, cf. infantry.

ukase --- 1729, "decree issued by a Russian emperor," from Rus. ukaz "edict," from ukazat' "to show, decree," from O.C.S. ukazati, from u-, intens. prefix, + kazati "to show, order," which is related to the first element of Casimir.

Ukraine --- from Rus. Ukraina, lit. "border, frontier," from u- "at" + krai "edge."

ukulele --- 1896, from Hawaiian 'ukulele, lit. "leaping flea," from 'uku "louse, flea" + lele "to fly, jump, leap." So called from the rapid motion of the fingers in playing it. It developed from a Port. instrument introduced to the islands c.1879. Abbreviated form uke is attested from 1915.

ulcer --- c.1400, from O.Fr. ulcere, from V.L. ulcerem, from L. ulcus (gen. ulceris) "ulcer," from PIE base *elk-es- "wound" (cf. Gk. elkos).

-ule --- suffix meaning "small, little" (capsule, module, etc.), from Fr. -ule, from L. diminutive suffix -ulus (fem. -ula, neut. -ulum).

ulema --- scholars of Muslim religious law, 1688, from Arabic 'ulema "learned men, scholars," pl. of 'alim "learned," from 'alama "to know."

-ulent --- from L. adj. suffix -ulentus "full of."

ullage --- amount by which a cask or bottle falls short of being full, 1481, from Anglo-Fr. ulliage (1329), Anglo-L. oliagium (1297), O.Fr. ouillage, from ouiller "to fill up (a barrel) to the bung," lit. "to fill to the eye," from ueil "eye," from L. ochulus.

ulna --- inner bone of the forearm, 1541, from L., lit. "elbow," related to O.E. eln (see elbow).

Ulrich --- masc. proper name, from Ger., from O.H.G. Uodalrich, lit. "of a rich home," from uodal "home, nobolity" (related to O.E. æðele "noble," O.N. oðal "home").

Ulster --- northernmost of the four provinces of Ireland, 14c., from Anglo-Fr. Ulvestre (c.1225), Anglo-L. Ulvestera (c.1200), corresponding to O.N. Ulfastir, probably from Ir. Ulaidh "men of Ulster" + suffix also found in Leinster, Munster, and perhaps representing Ir. tir "land."

ult. --- see ultimo.

ulterior --- 1646, from L. ulterior "more distant, further," comparative of *ulter "beyond" (see ultra). The sense in ulterior motives is first attested 1735.

ultimate --- 1654, from L.L. ultimatus, pp. of ultimare "to be final, come to an end," from ultimus "last, final," superlative of *ulter "beyond" (see ultra). Ultimate Frisbee is attested from 1972.

ultimatum --- 1731, from Mod.L., from M.L. adj. ultimatum "last possible, final," from L. ultimatum, neut. of ultimatus (see ultimate). Hamilton and others use the L. plural ultimata. In slang c.1820s, ultimatum was used for "the buttocks."

ultimo --- in the month preceding the present, 1616, common in abbreviated form ult. in 18c.-19c. correspondence and newspapers, from L. ultimo (mense) "of last (month)," abl. sing. masc. of ultimus "last" (see ultimate). Earlier it was used in the sense of "on the last day of the month specified" (1582).

ultra- --- prefix meaning "beyond" (ultraviolet) or "extremely" (ultramodern), from L. ultra- from ultra (adv. and prep.) "beyond, on the further side," from PIE *al- "beyond." In common use from early 19c., it appears to have arisen from Fr. political designations. As its own word, a noun meaning "extremist" of various stripes, it is first recorded 1817, from Fr. ultra, shortening of ultra-royaliste "extreme royalist."