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

botany --- 1696, from botanic (1656), from Fr. botanique or M.L. botanicus, from Gk. botanikos "of herbs," from botane "a plant, pasture, fodder." The -y is from astronomy, etc. Botany Bay so called by Capt. Cook on account of the great variety of plants found there.

botch --- 1382, bocchen "to repair," later, "to spoil by unskillful work" (1530), of unknown origin.

both --- There are several theories, all similar, and deriving the word from the tendency to say "both the." One is that it is O.E. begen (masc.) "both" (from P.Gmc. *ba, from PIE *bho "both") + -þ extended base. Another traces it to the P.Gmc. formula represented in O.E. by ba þa "both these," from ba (feminine nominative and accusative of begen) + þa, nominative and accusative plural of se "that." A third traces it to O.N. baðir "both," from *bai thaiz "both the," from P.Gmc. *thaiz, third person plural pronoun.

bother --- 1718, probably from Anglo-Irish pother, since its earliest use was by Irish writers Sheridan, Swift, Sterne. Perhaps from Ir. bodhairim "I deafen."

bottle --- 1346, originally of leather, from O.Fr. boteille, from L.L. butticula dim. of L. buttis "a cask." The verb is first recorded 1641. Bottleneck in the fig. sense of "something obstructing even flow" (of traffic, production, etc.) is from 1896.

bottom --- O.E. botm, bodan "ground, soil, lowest part," from P.Gmc. *buthm- (cf. O.Fris. boden "soil," O.N. botn, O.H.G. bodam, Ger. Boden "ground, earth, soil"), from PIE base *bhu(n)d(h)- (cf. Skt. budhnah, Avestan buna- "bottom," Gk. pythmen "foundation," L. fundus "bottom, piece of land, farm," O.Ir. bond "sole of the foot"). Meaning "posterior of a man" is from 1794; the verb "to reach the bottom of" is from 1808. Bottom dollar "the last dollar one has" is from 1882.

botulism --- 1878, from Ger. Botulismus (1878), coined in Ger. from L. botulus "sausage" (see bowel) + -ismus suffix of action or state. Sickness first traced to eating tainted sausage.

boudoir --- 1777, "room where a lady may retire to be alone," from Fr., lit. "pouting room," from bouder "to pout, sulk," which, like pout, is probably of imitative origin.

bouffant --- 1880, from Fr., prp. of bouffer "to puff out," from O.Fr. bouffer. First used of hairdo 1955.

bougainvillea --- woody vine, 1866, named for Fr. navigator Louis Bougainville (1729-1811).

bough --- O.E. bog "shoulder, arm," extended O.E. to "twig, branch" (cf. limb), from P.Gmc. *bogaz (cf. O.N. bogr "shoulder," O.H.G. buog), from PIE *bhagus "elbow, forearm" (cf. Skt. bahus "arm," Armenian bazuk, Gk. pakhys "forearm"). The "limb of a tree" sense is peculiar to Eng.

bought --- pp. of buy (q.v.).

bouillabaisse --- fish stew, 1855, from Fr., from Prov. bouiabaisso, a compound of two verbs corresponding to Eng. boil-abase (the latter in the original sense of "to lower").

bouillon --- 1656, from Fr. bouillir "to boil," from O.Fr. boillir (see boil).

boulder --- 1677, variant of M.E. bulder (c.1300), from a Scand. source akin to Sw. dial. bullersten "noisy stone" (large stone in a stream, causing water to roar around it), from bullra "to roar" + sten "stone." Or the first element may be from *buller- "round object," from P.Gmc. *bul-, from PIE *bhel- "to inflate, swell" (see bole).

boulevard --- 1769, from Fr., originally "top surface of a military rampart," from a garbled attempt to adopt M.Du. bolwerc "wall of a fortification" (see bulwark) into Fr., which lacks a -w-. The original notion is of a promenade laid out atop demolished city walls, which would be much wider than urban streets. Originally in Eng. with conscious echoes of Paris; since 1929, in U.S., used of multi-lane limited-access urban highways.

bounce --- c.1225, bounsen "to thump, hit," perhaps from Du. bonzen "to beat, thump," or Low Ger. bunsen, or onomatopoeic; sense probably influenced by bound (v.). Sense of "to bounce like a ball" is from 1519; the rubber check sense is from 1927. Bouncing "vigorous, big" is from 1579. First record of bouncer "a bully" is from 1833; in the saloon sense, it dates from 1883. " 'The Bouncer' is merely the English 'chucker out'. When liberty verges on license and gaiety on wanton delirium, the Bouncer selects the gayest of the gay, and -- bounces him!" ["London Daily News," July 26, 1883]

bound (adj.1) --- fastened, c.1360, in fig. sense of "compelled," from bounden, pp. of bind (q.v.). Meaning "under obligation" is from 1470; the literal sense "made fast by tying" is the latest recorded (1552).

bound (adj.2) --- ready to go, c.1200, boun, from O.N. buinn pp. of bua "to prepare," also "to dwell, to live," from P.Gmc. *bowan (cf. O.H.G. buan "to dwell," O.Dan. both "dwelling, stall"), from PIE base *bheue- "to be, exist, dwell" (see be). Final -d is presumably through association with pp. of bind.

bound (n.) --- limit, c.1205, from Anglo-L. bunda, from O.Fr. bonde, variant of bodne, from M.L. bodina, perhaps from Gaulish. Now chiefly in out of bounds, which originally referred to limits imposed on students at schools. The verb meaning "to form the boundary of" is from 1601. Boundless is from 1592.

bound (v.) --- to leap, 1586, from M.Fr. bondir, from O.Fr. bondir "to leap, rebound, make a noise," originally "to echo back," from V.L. *bombitire "to buzz, hum" (see bomb), perhaps on model of V.L. *tinnitire. Hence bounder (slang, 1889) "would-be stylish person," perhaps from notion of one trying to "bound" into high society, but earliest usage suggests one outside the "bounds" of acceptable socializing.

boundary --- 1626, from Fr., from O.Fr. bodne, from M.L. bodina, butina "boundary, boundary marker" (see bound (n.)), perhaps infl. by M.L. bonnarium "piece of land within a fixed limit."

bounty --- c.1250, "generosity," from O.Fr. bonte "goodness," from L. bonitatem (nom. bonitas) "goodness," from bonus "good." Bounteous is from c.1374; bountiful is from 1508. Sense of "gift bestowed by a sovereign or the state" led to extended senses of "gratuity to a military recruit" (1702) and "reward for killing or taking a criminal" (1764). "I do ... promise, that there shall be paid ... the following several and respective premiums and Bounties for the prisoners and Scalps of the Enemy Indians that shall be taken or killed ...." ["Papers of the Governor of Pennsylvania," 1764]

bouquet --- 1716, introduced to Eng. by Lady Mary Montague from Fr., originally (M.Fr.) "little wood," from O.Fr. boschet dim. of bosco, from M.L. boscus "grove" (see bush).

bourbon --- type of American whiskey, 1846, from Bourbon County, Ky., where it was made, the county named for the line of Fr. kings (who also ruled in Naples and Spain), of whom it was proverbially said, "they learn nothing and forget nothing." Credited to Baptist Rev. Elijah Craig of Scott County (1789) who is said to have been the first to age Kentucky corn whiskey. The royal family ruled in France 1589-1792 and 1815-48; its name is from Bourbon l'Archambault, chief town of a lordship in central France, probably from Borvo, name of a local Celtic deity associated with thermal springs, whose name probably is related to Celt. borvo "foam, froth."

bourgeois --- 1564, "of the Fr. middle class," from Fr., from O.Fr. burgeis "town dweller" (as distinct from "peasant"), from borc "town, village," from Frank. *burg (see borough). Sense of "socially or aesthetically conventional" is from 1764; in communist and socialist writing, "a capitalist" (1883). Bourgeoisie (n.) "middle class" is first recorded 1707. "It is better to be a good ordinary bourgeois than a bad ordinary bohemian." [Aldous Huxley, 1930]

bourn (1) --- small stream (also bourne), especially of the winter torrents of the chalk downs, O.E. brunna, from P.Gmc. *brunnoz "spring, fountain" (cf. O.H.G. brunno, O.N. brunnr, O.Fris. burna, Ger. Brunnen "fountain," Goth. brunna "well"), ult. from PIE base *bhreue- "to boil, bubble, effervesce, burn" (see brew).

bourn (2) --- destination, 1523, from Fr. borne, apparently a variant of bodne (see bound (n.)), used by Shakespeare in Hamlet's soliloquy (1602), from which it entered into Eng. poetic speech. He meant it probably in the correct sense of "boundary," but it has been taken to mean "goal" (Wordsworth, Matthew Arnold) or sometimes "realm" (Keats). "The dread of something after death, The vndiscouered Countrey; from whose Borne No Traueller returnes." ["Hamlet" III.i.79]

bourse --- stock exchange, 1575, burse, from O.Fr. borse, from M.L. bursa "a bag" (see purse). Fr. spelling and modern sense of "exchange for merchants" is first recorded 1845, from the name of the Paris stock exchange. The term originated because in 13c. Bruges the sign of a purse (or perhaps three purses), hung on the front of the house where merchants met.

boustrophedon --- 1783, ancient form of writing with lines alternately written left-to-right and right-to-left, from Gk., lit. "turning as an ox in plowing," from bous "ox" + strephein "to turn."

bout --- 1541, from M.E. bught, probably from an unrecorded O.E. variant of byht "a bend," from P.Gmc. *bukhta-. Sense evolved from "a circuit of any kind" (as of a plow) to "a round at any kind of exercise" (1575), "a round at fighting" (1591), extended 1670 to "a fit of drinking."

boutique --- fashion shop, 1953, earlier "small shop of any sort" (1767), from Fr., from O.Prov. botica, from L. apotheca (see apothecary).

bovine --- 1817, from Fr. bovin, from L.L. bovinus, from L. bovis gen. of bos "ox, cow," from PIE *gwous-, cognate with O.E. cu "cow." Fig. sense of "inert and stupid" is from 1855.

bovver --- 1969, Cockney pronunciation of bother "trouble" (q.v.), given wide extended usage in skinhead slang.

bow (n1.) --- weapon, O.E. boga "archery bow, arch, rainbow," from P.Gmc. *bugon (see bow (v.)). The sense of "a looped knot" is from 1547. The musician's bow (1580) was formerly curved like the archer's. Bow-legged is attested from 1552.

bow (n2.) --- front of a ship, 1342, from O.N. bogr or M.Du. boech "bow of a ship," lit. "shoulder (of an animal)," the connecting notion being "the shoulders of the ship." See bough.

bow (v.) --- O.E. bugan "to bend, to bend the body in condescension," also "to turn back" (class II strong verb; past tense beag, pp. bogen), from P.Gmc. *bugon (cf. M.L.G. bugen, O.H.G. biogan, Goth. biugan "to bend," O.N. boginn "bent"), from *beugen, from PIE base *bheugh- (cf. Skt. bhujati "bends, thrusts aside"). The noun is first recorded 1656. Bow out "withdraw" is from 1942.

bowdlerize --- 1836, from Thomas Bowdler (1754-1825), English editor who in 1818 published a notorious expurgated Shakespeare, "in which those words and expressions are omitted which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family."

bowel --- c.1300, from O.Fr. bouele, from M.L. botellus "small intestine," originally "sausage," dim. of botulus "sausage," a word borrowed from Oscan-Umbrian, from PIE *gwet-/*geut- (cf. L. guttur "throat," O.E. cwið, Goth. qiþus "belly, womb," Ger. kutteln "guts, chitterlings"). Gk. splankhnon (from the same PIE base as spleen) was a word for the principal internal organs, felt as the seat of various emotions. It was later used in Septuagint to translate a Heb. word, and then in early Bibles rendered in Eng. in its literal sense as bowels, which thus acquired a secondary meaning of "pity, compassion" (1382). But in later editions often translated as heart. Gk. poets, from Aeschylus down, regarded the bowels as the seat of the more violent passions such as anger and love, but by the Hebrews they were seen as the seat of tender affections, especially kindness, benevolence, and compassion.

bower --- O.E. bur "room, hut, dwelling," from P.Gmc. *buraz (cf. Ger. bauer "birdcage"), from base *bu- "to dwell." Modern spelling developed after 1350. Sense of "leafy arbor" (place closed in by trees) is first attested 1523. Hence, too, Australia's bower-bird (1847). New York City's Bowery (1787) was originally a homestead farm (Du. bowerij); used attributively for its squalor since 1840.

bowie knife --- 1842, named for inventor, Col. James Bowie (1799-1836), and properly pronounced boo-ee.

bowl --- O.E. bolla "pot, cup, bowl," from P.Gmc. *bul- "a round vessel" (cf. O.N. bolle, O.H.G. bolla), from PIE *bhel- "to inflate, swell" (see bole).

bowler --- hard round hat, 1861, said to be from a J. Bowler, 19c. London hat manufacturer; but perhaps simply from bowl (q.v.); cf. O.E. heafodbolla "brainpan, skull."

bowling --- 1535, "playing at bowls" (1440, implied in v. bowlyn), from gerund of bowl "wooden ball" (1413), from M.Fr. boule "ball," ult. from L. bulla "bubble, knob, round thing." Bowling alley is from 1555. "Noon apprentice ... [shall] play ... at the Tenys, Closshe, Dise, Cardes, Bowles nor any other unlawfull game." [Act 11, Henry VII, 1495]

bowsprit --- spar extending from the bow of a ship, 1296, probably from M.L.G. bochspret, from boch "bow" + spret "pole" (cf. O.E. spreot "pole," Du. spriet "spear").

bow-wow --- imitative of a dog's barking, first recorded 1576.

box (n.1.) --- O.E. "a wooden container," also "type of shrub," from L.L. buxis, from Gk. pyxis "boxwood box," from pyxos "box tree," of uncertain origin. Slang meaning "vulva" is attested 17c., according to "Dictionary of American Slang;" modern use seems to date from c.WWII, perhaps originally Australian, and on notion of "box of tricks." Box office is 1786; in the fig. sense of "financial element of a performance" it is first recorded 1904. Boxing-day (1849) "first weekday after Christmas," on which postmen and others expect to receive a Christmas present, originally in ref. to the custom of distributing the contents of the Christmas box, which was placed in the church for charity collections.

box (n.2.) --- a blow, c.1300, of uncertain origin, possibly related to M.Du. boke, M.H.G. buc and Dan. bask, all meaning "a blow," perhaps imitative. The verb meaning "to fight with the fists" is from 1567. Boxing as a sport is first recorded 1711.

boxer --- fighter, 1472, from box (n.2). The name of the breed of dog (1934), is from Ger. (the breed originated in Germany), itself taken from Eng. boxer "fighter," the dog so called for its pugnaciousness. Boxer shorts (1944) so called from their resemblance to the attire worn in the ring. Boxer Rebellion (1900) is based on British mistranslation of Chinese xenophobic society of I-He-T'uan "Righteous Harmony Band," rendered by British as I-He-Ch'uan "Righteous Uniting Fists."

boy --- 1154, boie "servant, commoner, knave, boy," possibly from O.Fr. embuie "one fettered," from V.L. *imboiare, from L. boia "leg iron, yoke, leather collar," from Gk. boeiai dorai "ox hides." But it also appears to be identical with E.Fris. boi "young gentleman," and perhaps with Du. boef "knave," from M.Du. boeve, perhaps from M.L.G. buobe. Used slightingly of young men in M.E. Meaning "male negro slave or Asian personal servant of any age" attested from 1609. Boyfriend is attested from 1909. Amer.Eng. expression oh, boy attested from 1917.

boyar --- 1591, "member of a Rus. aristocratic class (abolished by Peter the Great)," from Rus. boyarin, perhaps from boji "struggle," or from O.Slav. root bol- "great."

boycott --- 1880, from Irish Land League ostracism of Capt. Charles C. Boycott (1832-1897) land agent of Lough-Mask in County Mayo, who refused to lower rents for his tenant farmers. Quickly adopted by newspapers in languages as far afield as Japanese (boikotto). The family name is from a place in England.

Boyd --- in many cases, the family name represents Gaelic or Irish buidhe "yellow," suggesting blond hair, cf. Manx name Mac Giolla Buidhe (1100).

boysenberry --- 1935, developed early 1900s by California botanist Rudolf Boysen, and named for him.

bozo --- muscular low-I.Q. male, c.1910, perhaps from Sp. bozal, used in slave trade and to mean "one who speaks Spanish poorly." Bozo the clown was created 1940 at Capitol Records as the voice in a series of story-telling records for children ["Wall Street Journal," Oct. 31, 1983].

bra --- 1936, shortening of brassiere (q.v.).

brace (n.) --- 1313, "armor for the arms," from O.Fr. brace "arms," also "length measured by two arms," from L. bracchia pl. of brachium "an arm," from Gk. brakhion "arm, upper arm," from brakhys "short," in contrast to the longer forearm. Applied to various devices for fastening, tightening, on notion of clasping arms. The verb "to render firm or steady by tensing" is c.1440, with figurative extension to tonics, etc. that "brace" the nerves (cf. bracer "stiff drink," 1740).

bracelet --- 1437, from M.Fr., from O.Fr., dim. of bracel, from L. bracchiale "armlet," from brachium (see brace).

brach --- bitch hound (archaic), c.1340, brache, originally "hound that hunts by scent," from O.Fr. brache, of W.Gmc. origin (cf. M.Du. brache, O.H.G. braccho "hound, setter"). Related to M.H.G. bræhen "to smell," cognate with L. fragrare "to smell sweetly."

brachiopod --- bivalve mollusk, 1836, Mod.L., from Gk. brakhion "arm" + pous "foot." They have long spiral arms on either side of their mouths.

brachiosaurus --- 1903, Mod.L., from Gk. brakhion "arm" + sauros "lizard." The forelegs are longer than the hind legs.

brachy- --- comb. form of Gk. brakhys "short."

bracken --- coarse fern, c.1325, northern England word, from a Scand. source (cf. Dan. bregne, Sw. bräken "fern").

bracket --- 1580, bragget, probably from M.Fr. braguette "codpiece armor," from a fancied resemblance of that article to architectural supports (Sp. cognate bragueta meant both "codpiece" and "bracket"), dim. of brague "knee pants," ultimately from Gaulish *braca "pants," itself from Gmc. (cf. O.E. broc "garment for the legs and trunk"). The connecting notion may be of two limbs, or of appliances used in pairs. The typographical bracket is first recorded 1750, so called for its resemblance to double supports in carpentry. Senses affected by L. brachium "arm."

brackish --- 1538, from Scottish brack "salty," from M.Du. brak "salty," also "worthless."

brad --- 1295, brod, from O.N. broddr "spike, point, arrow," from P.Gmc. *brozda- (cf. O.E. brord "point, blade of grass," O.H.G. brort "point, edge, crown").

brae --- steep slope, in northern England esp. "the sides of a hill," 1330, from Scot., "slope, river bank," from O.N. bra "eyelash." "The word must have passed through the sense of 'eye-brow' to 'brow of a hill', supercilium (cf. OE. eaghill 'eye-hill'=eyebrow)" [OED].

brag --- c.1360, braggen, origin obscure, perhaps related to bray of a trumpet. Other sources suggest O.N. bragr "the best, the toast (of anything)," also "poetry." Braggadocio is Spenser's coinage, 1590, from brag, with augmentative ending by analogy to the It. words then in vogue. Braggart (1577) though influenced by brag is a different word, from M.Fr. braguer "to flaunt, brag," perhaps originally "to show off clothes, especially breeches," from brague "breeches" (see bracket). There may be an element of codpiece-flaunting in all this.

brahmin --- member of Boston's upper class, 1823, fig. use of Brahman "member of the highest priestly Hindu caste," 1481, from Skt. brahmana-s, from brahman- "prayer," also "the universal soul, the Absolute." Related to Brahma, chief god of the trinity Brahma-Vishnu-Siva in Hindu religion.

braid --- c.1205, breidan "to dart, twist, pull," from O.E. bregdan "to move quickly" (class III strong verb, past tense brægd, past participle brogden), from P.Gmc. *bregthan "make sudden jerky movements from side to side" (cf. O.N. bregða "to brandish, turn about, braid;" O.S. bregdan "to weave;" Du. breien "to knit;" O.H.G. brettan "to draw, weave, braid"), from PIE base *bherek- "to gleam, flash." The broader word survives only in the narrow definition of "plaiting hair," which was in O.E. The noun meaning "anything plaited or entwined" (especially hair) is from 1530.

Braille --- 1853, from Louis Braille (1809-52), Fr. musician and teacher, blind from age 3, who devised it c.1830.

brain --- O.E. brægen, from P.Gmc. *bragnam, from PIE base *mregh-m(n)o- "skull, brain" (cf. Gk. brekhmos "front part of the skull"). The custom of using the plural to refer to the substance (literal or figurative), as opposed to the organ, dates from 16c. Fig. sense of "intellectual power" is from 1393; meaning "a clever person" is first recorded 1914. Brainstorm "brilliant idea, mental excitement" is 1849; verb is from 1920s; brainsick (1483) meant "mad, addled." Brain-dead is from 1976; brain teaser is from 1923. Brainwashing is 1950, a literal translation of Chinese xi nao. Though it had been occasionally used since early 1900s, brain trust became current 1933, in ref. to the intellectuals gathered by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt as advisors.

braise --- 1797, from Fr. braise "live coals," from O.Fr. brese "embers," ult. from W.Gmc. *brasa (as is It. bragia, Sp. brasa), from PIE *bhre- "burn, heat" (see brawn).

brake --- c.1440, from O.Du. braeke "flax brake," from breken "to break." The word was applied to many crushing implements, and the ring through the nose of a draught ox. It was infl. in sense by O.Fr. brac, a form of bras "an arm," thus "a lever or handle," which was being used in Eng. from 1380, and applied to "a bridle or curb" from 1430. One or the other or both took up the main modern meaning of "stopping device for a wheel," first attested 1772.

bramble --- O.E. bræmbel "rough, prickly shrub" (especially the blackberry bush), with euphonic -b-, from earlier bræmel, from P.Gmc. *bræmaz (see broom).

bran --- c.1300, "the husk of wheat, barley, etc., separated from the flour after grinding," from O.Fr. bren, perhaps connected with Gaulish *brenno- "manure," or with burn. The word was also used 16c. for "dandruff flakes."

branch --- 1297, "limb of a tree" (also used of things analogous to it, especially geographic features), from O.Fr. branche, from L.L. branca "a claw, paw," of unknown origin, probably Gaulish. Meaning "local office of a business" is first recorded 1817, from earlier sense of "component part of a system" (1696). The verb meaning "to diverge from a central point" is first attested 1799.

brand --- O.E. brand, brond "firebrand, piece of burning wood, torch," and (poetic) "sword," from P.Gmc. *brandaz, from base *bran-/*bren- (see burn). Meaning of "identifying mark made by a hot iron" (1552) broadened 1827 to "a particular make of goods." Brand-new is c.1570 and must have meant "fresh from the fire" (Shakespeare has fire-new).

brandish --- c.1340, from O.Fr. brandiss-, stem of brandir "to flourish a sword," of Frank. origin (see brand).

brandy --- 1657, abbreviation of brandywine (1622) from Du. brandewijn "burnt wine," so called because it is distilled (cf. Ger. cognate Branntwein and Czech palenka "brandy," from paliti "to burn").

branks --- 1595, of unknown origin, perhaps from North Sea Gmc. An instrument of punishment for women, originally Scottish, it was a kind of iron cage for the head with a metal bit attached to still the tongue. "Paide for caring a woman throughe the towne for skoulding, with branks, 4d. ["Municipal Accounts of Newcastle," 1595]

Branwen --- from Welsh bran "raven" + (g)wen "fair." Daughter of Llyr, she was one of the legendary heroines of Wales.

brash --- 1824, of obscure origin, originally Amer.Eng.; perhaps akin to Scottish brash "attack, assault" (1533), or Fr. breche "fragments," especially of ice, from a Gmc. source (cf. O.H.G. brehha "breach," from brehhan "to break"), or to Ger. brechen "to vomit."

brass --- O.E. bræs, originally an alloy of copper and tin (now bronze), in modern use an alloy of two parts copper, one part zinc. A mystery word, with no known cognates beyond Eng. Perhaps akin to Fr. brasser "to brew," since it is an alloy. It also has been compared to O.Swed. brasa "fire," but no sure connection can be made. The meaning "effrontery, impudence" is from 1624. Slang sense of "high officials" is first recorded 1899. Brassy "debased yet pretentious" is from 1586; in the sense of "strident and artificial" it is from 1865. The brass tacks that you get down to (1897) are probably the ones used to measure cloth on the counter of a dry goods store, suggesting precision.