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

your --- O.E. eower, genitive of ge "ye" (see ye), from P.Gmc. base of you. Cf. O.S. iuwar, O.Fris. iuwer, O.N. yðvarr, O.H.G. iuwer, Ger. euer, Goth. izwar "your." Used in titles of honor by c.1368. Absolutive form yours is attested from c.1300. For dialectal yourn, see her. Yourself is before 1325; pl. yourselves first recorded 1523.

youth --- O.E. geoguð "youth," related to geong "young," from W.Gmc. *jugunthiz, altered from P.Gmc. *juwunthiz (cf. O.S. juguth, O.Fris. jogethe, M.Du. joghet, Du. jeugd, O.H.G. jugund, Ger. Jugend, Goth. junda "youth;" see young) by influence of its contrast, *dugunthiz "ability" (source of O.E. duguð). In M.E., the medial -g- became a yogh, which then disappeared. Youthful first attested 1561.

yow --- exclamation, with various meanings, c.1440.

yowl (v.) --- c.1225, yuhelen, probably of imitative origin. The noun is recorded from c.1450.

yo-yo --- 1915, apparently from a language of the Philippines. Registered as a trademark in Vancoucer, Canada, in 1932, the year the first craze for them began (subsequent fads 1950s, 1970s, 1998). The toy itself is much older and was earlier known as bandalore (1824). Figurative sense of any "up-and-down movement" is first recorded 1932. Meaning "stupid person" is recorded from 1970. The verb in the fig. sense is attested from 1967.

ytterbium --- metallic rare-earth element, 1879, coined in Mod.L. by Swed. chemist Carl Gustaf Mosander (1797-1858) from Ytterby, name of a town in Sweden where it was discovered.

yttrium --- metallic rare-earth element, 1866, coined in Mod.L. by Swed. chemist Carl Gustaf Mosander (1797-1858) from Ytterby, name of a town in Sweden where it was discovered.

yuan --- Chinese unit of currency introduced 1914, from Chinese yuan "round, round object, circle."

yucca --- Central and S.Amer. name for the cassava plant, 1555, from Sp. yuca, juca (1497), probably from Taino, native language of Haiti.

yuck (1) --- exclamation of disgust, 1966, origin perhaps echoic (cf. Newfoundland slang yuck "to vomit," 1963).

yuck (2) --- laugh, 1938, yock, probably imitative.

Yugoslav --- 1853, from Slav (q.v.) + Serbo-Cr. jugo- "south,"comb. form of jug "south, south wind, noon," from O.C.S. jugu.

yule --- O.E. geol, geola "Christmas Day, Christmastide," from O.N. jol (pl.), a heathen feast, later taken over by Christianity, of unknown origin. The O.E. (Anglian) cognate giuli was the Anglo-Saxons' name for a two-month midwinter season corresponding to Roman December and January, a time of important feasts but not itself a festival. After conversion to Christianity it narrowed to mean "the 12-day feast of the Nativity" (which began Dec. 25), but was replaced by Christmas by 11c., except in the northeast (areas of Danish settlement), where it remained the usual word. Revived 19c. by writers to mean "the Christmas of 'Merrie England.' " First direct reference to the Yule log is 17c. O.N. jol seems to have been borrowed in O.Fr. as jolif, hence Mod.Fr. joli "pretty, nice," originally "festive" (see jolly).

yummy --- delicious, 1899, from baby talk. Yum-yum as an exclamation of pleasure is recorded from 1878.

yup --- 1906, variant of yes.

yuppie --- 1982, acronym from "young urban professional," ousting competition from yumpie (1984), from "young upward-mobile professional," and yap (1984), from "young aspiring professional." The word was felt as an insult by 1985.

Z --- not a native letter in O.E.; in Anglo-Fr. words it represents the "ts" sound (cf. Anglo-Fr. fiz, from L. filius, modern Fitz); late 13c. it began to be used for the voiced "s" sound and had fully taken that role by 1400. For letter name, see zed.

Zacchaeus --- masc. proper name, from L.L. Zacchaeus, from Gk. Zakkhaios, from Heb. zakkay, lit. "pure, innocent," from zakhah "was clean, was pure."

Zachariah --- masc. proper name, L.L. Zacharias, from Gk. Zakharias, from Heb. Zekharyahu, lit. "the Lord has remembered," from zakhar "he remembered."

zaftig --- alluringly plump, curvaceous, buxom, 1937, from Yiddish zaftik, lit. "juicy," from zaft "juice," from M.H.G. saft "juice" (see sap (n.1)).

zag (v.) --- 1793, from zig-zag (q.v.).

Zamboni --- proprietary name for a machine used to resurface ice skating rinks, 1965, trademark of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Paramount, Calif., claiming use since July 1962.

zany (n.) --- comic performer, 1588, from Fr. zani, from It. zani, zanni "a zany, clown," originally Zanni, Venetian dial. variant of Gianni, pet form of Giovanni "John." A stock character in old comedies, he aped the principal actors. The adj. is attested by 1869, from the noun.

zap --- 1929 (sound effect), 1942 (v.), comic strip word (especially from "Buck Rogers in the Twenty-Fifth Century"), of imitative origin. Meaning "to erase electronically" is 1982.

Zarathustra --- from Avestan Zarathushtra (see Zoroastrian).

zeal --- 1382, from L.L. zelus "zeal, emulation" (cf. O.Fr. zel, It. zelo, Sp. celo), a Church word, from Gk. zelos "zeal, ardor, jealousy," which is of uncertain origin. Zealous first recorded 1535.

zealot --- c.1300, "member of a militant 1st century Jewish sect which fiercely resisted the Romans in Palestine," from L.L. Zelotes, from Gk. zelotes "one who is a zealous follower," from zeloun "to be zealous," from zelos "zeal" (see zeal). Extended sense of "a fanatical enthusiast" first recorded 1638.

zebra --- 1600, from It. zebra, perhaps from Port., earlier applied to a now-extinct wild ass, said to be Congolese [OED], or Amharic [Klein], but perhaps ult. from L. equiferus "wild horse," from equus "horse" + ferus (see fierce).

zebu --- Asiatic ox, 1774, from Fr. zebu, ult. of Tibetan origin. First shown in Europe at the Paris fair of 1752.

Zebulon --- masc. proper name, Biblical son of Jacob by Leah, from Heb. Zebhulun, from zebhul "a dwelling" + dim. suffix -on (cf. Gen. xxx:20).

Zechariah --- masc. proper name, Biblical 11th of the Twelve Prophets; see Zachariah.

zed --- c.1400, from M.Fr. zede, from L.L. zeta, from Gk. zeta, from Heb. zayin, letter name, lit. "weapon;" so called in allusion to the shape of this letter in ancient Hebrew. U.S. pronunciation zee is first attested 1677. Other dialectal names for the letter are izzard, ezod, uzzard and zod.

Zeiss --- in ref. to spy-glasses or binoculars, 1905, from the firm founded by Ger. optical instrument manufacturer Carl Zeiss (1816-88).

zeitgeist --- 1848, from Ger. Zeitgeist, lit. "spirit of the age," from Zeit "time" (see tide) + Geist "spirit" (see ghost).

Zen --- school of Mahayana Buddhism, 1727, from Japanese, from Chinese ch'an, ult. from Skt. dhyana "thought, meditation," from PIE base *dhya "to see, contemplate."

Zend --- 1715, "Parsee sacred book" (in full, Zend-Avesta, 1630), from O.Pers. zend, from Pahlavi zand "commentary." First used in ref. to the language of the Zend-Avesta in 1771 by Anquetiel-Duperron (1731-1805).

zenith --- 1387, from O.Fr. cenith (Fr. zénith), from M.L. cenit, senit, bungled scribal transliteration of Arabic samt "road, path," abbreviation of samt ar-ras, lit. "the way over the head." Letter -m- misread as -ni-. The M.L. word may as well be influenced by the rough agreement of the Arabic term with classical L. semita "sidetrack, side path" (notion of "thing going off to the side"), from se- "apart" + *mi-ta-, suffixed zero-grade form of PIE base *mei- "to change" (see mutable).

Zenobia --- fem. proper name, from Gk. Zenobia, lit. "the force of Zeus," from Zen, collateral form of Zeus, + bia "strength, force," cognate with Skt. jya "force, power" (see Jain).

Zenonian --- 1843, pertaining to one of two Gk. thinkers: Zeno of Elea ("Zeno of the Paradoxes," 5c. B.C.E.), who disproved the possibility of motion; and Zeno of Citium (c. 300 B.C.E.), founder of stoicism.

zephyr --- 1369, from O.E. Zefferus, from L. Zephyrus, from Gk. Zephyros "the west wind" (sometimes personified as a god), probably related to zophos "the west, the dark region, darkness, gloom." Sense of "mild breeze" is c.1610.

zeppelin --- 1900, from Ger. Zeppelin, short for Zeppelinschiff "Zeppelin ship," after Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838-1917), Ger. general who perfected its design.

zero --- 1604, from It. zero, from M.L. zephirum, from Arabic sifr "cipher," translation of Skt. sunya-m "empty place, desert, naught" (see cipher). A brief history of the invention of "zero" can be found here. Meaning "worthless person" is recorded from 1813. The verb zero in is 1944, from the noun, on the notion of instrument adjustments. Zero tolerance first recorded 1972, originally U.S. political language.

zest --- 1674, from Fr. zeste "piece of orange or lemon peel used as a flavoring," of unknown origin. Sense of "thing that adds flavor" is 1709; that of "keen enjoyment" first attested 1791.

zeta --- Gk. letter, see zed.

zetetic --- proceeding by inquiry, 1645, from Mod.L. zeteticus, from Gk. zetetikos "searching, inquiring," from zetetos, verbal adj. of zetein "seek for, inquire into."

zeugma --- 1586, "a single word (usually a verb or adj.) made to refer to two or more words in a sentence," from Gk., lit. "a yoking," from zeugnynai "to yoke" (see jugular).

Zeus --- supreme god of the ancient Greeks, 1706, from Gk., from PIE *dewos- "god" (cf. L. deus "god," O. Pers. daiva- "demon, evil god," O.C.S. deivai, Skt. deva-), from base *dyeu- "to gleam, to shine;" also the root of words for "sky" and "day" (see diurnal). The god-sense is originally "shining," but "whether as originally sun-god or as lightener" is not now clear.

Ziegfeld --- in ref. to showgirls or stage revues, 1913, from Florenz Ziegfeld (1869-1932), U.S. theatrical producer, who staged annual "follies" from 1907-1931.

ziggurat --- 1877, from Assyrian ziqquratu "height, pinnacle," from zaqaru "to be high."

zig-zag --- 1712, from Fr. zigzag (1680), perhaps from Ger. Zickzack (though this only is attested from 1703), possibly a reduplication of Zacke "tooth, prong." Earliest use in Ger. is in ref. to military siege approaches. Originally in Eng. used to describe the layout of certain garden paths. The verb is recorded from 1787.

zilch --- nothing, 1966, from earlier sense of "meaningless speech" (1960), originally Mr. Zilch, (1931) comic character in the magazine "Ballyhoo." Perhaps from U.S. college slang (early 1900s) Joe Zilsch "an insignificant person." Probably a nonsense syllable, but Zilch is an actual Ger. surname of Slavic origin.

zillion --- 1944, arbitrary coinage with no definite numerical value; first recorded in Damon Runyon.

zinc --- 1651, from Ger. Zink, perhaps related to Zinke "prong, point;" said to have been used first by Paracelsus (c.1526) on analogy of the form of its crystals after smelting. Zinke is from O.H.G. zint "a point, jag," from P.Gmc. *tindja "tine" (cf. O.N. tindr "point, top, summit," O.E. tind "prong, spike;" cf. tine).

zine --- 1965, short for fanzine (1949), from fan + suffix abstracted from magazine.

zinfandel --- 1896, "red or white dry California wine," origin uncertain; used earlier as the name of the grape from which it was made (1880). The wine itself is said to have been known in U.S. since 1829. Some wine experts suggest a corruption of the Austrian grape name Zierfandler, though these grapes are not related to those of zinfandel. E.g. this article:

zing (n.) --- 1911, "high pitched sound," 1918, of echoic origin. Slang meaning "energy, zest" is attested from 1918. Zinger "cruel quip" first attested 1970.

zinnia --- genus of herbs of the aster family, 1767, from Mod.L. (Linnæus, 1763), named for Ger. botanist Johann Gottfried Zinn (1729-59)

Zion --- O.E. Sion, from Gk. Seon, from Heb. Tsiyon, name of a Canaanite hill fortress in Jerusalem captured by David and called in the Bible "City of David." It became the center of Jewish life and worship. Zionism "movement for forming (later supporting) a Jewish national state in Palestine" first attested 1896, from Ger. Zionismus (from Zion + L.-derived suffix -ismus), first recorded 1886 in "Selbstemancipation," by "Matthias Acher" (pseudonym of Nathan Birnbaum).

zip (adj.) --- 1963, in U.S. postal ZIP code, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, no doubt chosen with conscious echo of zip (v.1).

zip (n.) --- zero, 1900, student slang for a grade of zero on a test, etc.; of unknown origin; cf. zilch.

zip (v.1) --- move rapidly, 1852, of echoic origin. Zippy is first attested 1904. Zip gun "homemade pistol" first recorded 1950.

zip (v.2) --- to close or fasten by means of a zipper, 1932, back-formation from zipper.

zipper --- 1925, probably from zip (1). The trademark taken out on the name that year applied to a boot with zippers, not to the "lightning fastener" itself, which was at first called a zip.

Zippo --- proprietary name of a brand of cigarette lighter, patented 1934 by Zippo Manufacturing Co., Bradford, Pa.

zircon --- 1794, from Ger. Zirkon (cf. Fr. jargon, It. giargone), from Arabic zarqun "cinnabar, bright red," from Pers. zargun "gold-colored," from Avestan zari- "gold-colored," from zar "gold." Zirconium, metallic chemical element, first attested 1808, coined by Ger. chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1743-1817) in 1789; so called because it was found in zircon.

zit --- acne pimple, 1966, originally U.S. teenager slang, of unknown origin.

zither --- stringed musical instrument, 1850, from Ger. Zither, from O.H.G. zitara, from L. cithara, from Gk. kithara "lute" (see guitar).

ziti --- type of tubular pasta, pl. of zita (1845), from It.

zloty --- monetary unit of Poland, 1915, from Pol., lit. "of gold," from zloto "gold," related to Rus. zoloto, Czech zlato "gold" (see gold).

zoanthropy --- form of mania in which a man imagines himself to be another type of beast, 1856, from Mod.L. zoanthropia, from Gk. zoion "animal" + anthropos "man" (see anthropo-).

zodiac --- 1390, from O.Fr. zodiaque, from L. zodiacus "zodiac," from Gk. zodiakos (kyklos) "zodiac (circle)," lit. "circle of little animals," from zodiaion, dim. of zoion "animal" (see zoo). In O.E. it was twelf tacna "the twelve signs," and in M.E. also Our Ladye's Waye and the Girdle of the Sky.

zoetrope --- 1867, lit. "wheel of life," from Gk. zoe "life" (see zoo) + trope "turn" (see trope).

zollverein --- 1843, from Ger., lit. "customs union," from Zoll "toll" (see toll) + Verein "union," from vereinen "to unite," from ein "one."

zombie --- 1871, of W. African origin (cf. Kikongo zumbi "fetish;" Kimbundu nzambi "god"), originally the name of a snake god, later with meaning "reanimated corpse" in voodoo cult. But perhaps also from Louisiana creole word meaning "phantom, ghost," from Sp. sombra "shade, ghost." Sense "slow-witted person" is recorded from 1936.

zone --- 1390, from L. zona "geographical belt, celestial zone," from Gk. zone "a belt," related to zonnynai "to gird," from PIE base *yes- "to gird, girdle" (cf. Avestan yasta- "girt," Lith. juosiu "to gird," O.C.S. po-jasu "girdle"). Originally one of the five great divisions of the earth's surface (torrid, temperate, frigid; separated by tropics of Cancer and Capricorn and Arctic and Antarctic circles); meaning "any discrete region" is first recorded 1822. Zone defense in team sports is recorded from 1927. Zoning "land-use planning" is recorded from 1912. Zoned (adj.) in drug-use sense is attested 1960s, from ozone, which is found high in the atmosphere; the related verb to zone is from 1980s.

zonk --- 1950, "to hit hard;" 1968, "to put into a stupor;" slang term, of echoic origin.

zoo --- c.1847, short for Zoological Gardens of the London Zoological Society, established 1828 in Regent's Park to house the society's collection of wild animals. From comb. form of Gk. zoion "an animal," lit. "a living being," from PIE base *gwei- "to live, life" (cf. Gk. bios "life," O.E. cwicu "living;" see bio-). Slang meaning "crowded and chaotic place" first recorded 1935.

zoology --- 1669, from Mod.L. zoologia, from Gk. zoion "animal" (see zoo) + -logia "study," from logos "word." Zoologist first recorded 1663.

zoom --- 1886, of echoic origin. Gained popularity c.1917 as aviators began to use it; zoom lens is 1936.

zoot suit --- 1942, Amer.Eng. slang, the first element probably a nonsense reduplication of suit (cf. reet pleat, drape shape from the same jargon).

Zoroastrian --- 1743, from Zoroaster, from L. Zoroastres, from O.Pers. Zarathushtra, 6c. or 7c. B.C.E. Pers. religious teacher. The name appears to be lit. "whose camels are old," from *zarant "old" (cognate with Gk. geron, gen. gerontos "old") + ushtra "camel."

zorro --- 1838, "S.Amer. fox-wolf," from Sp., masc. of zorra "fox," from Basque azaria "fox." The comic book hero, a variation on the Robin Hood theme set in old Sp. California, was created 1919 by writer Johnston McCulley.

zouave --- 1848, from Fr., from Arabic Zwawa, from Berber Igawawaen, name of a Kabyle tribe in Algeria, from which the Fr. light infantry troops of that name were originally recruited in 1831.

zouk --- Creole Fr. "party," from zouker "engage in unrestrained social activity."

zounds --- 1600, oath of surprise or anger, altered from (by) God's wounds!

zucchetto --- 1853, from It. zucchetta "a cap," originally dim. of zucca "gourd, head," perhaps from L.L. cucutia, of unknown origin.

zucchini --- 1929, pl. of zucchino, dim. of zucca "gourd, squash," perhaps from L.L. cucutia, of unknown origin.

zwieback --- 1894, from Ger. Zweiback "biscuit," lit. "twice-baked," from zwei "two, twice" + backen "to bake;" loan-transl. of It. biscotto (see biscuit).

Zwinglian --- 1532, after Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531), Swiss Protestant reformer.

zydeco --- 1949, perhaps from Creole Fr. pronunciation of Fr. les haricots "the beans," part of the title of a popular dance tune ("les haricots sont pas salés").

zygote --- 1891, from Gk. zygotos "yoked," from zygon "yoke" (see jugular).

Zyklon --- 1926, from Ger. Zyklon, commercial name of a type of hydrogen cyanide, of unknown etymology, but it is the usual German form of the word cyclone. Originally used as a pesticide and fumigant.