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

Babylon --- 1362, from Gk. version of Akkad. Bab-ilani "the gate of the gods," from bab "gate" + ilani, pl. of ilu "god" (cf. Babel). The O.Pers. form, Babiru-, shows characteristic transformation of -l- to -r- in words assimilated from Semitic.

baby-sitter --- 1937, from baby + agent noun of sit. Short form sitter is attested from 1943.

Bacardi --- 1921, name for a brand of West Indian rum produced by Compania Ron Bacardi, originally of Cuba.

baccalaureate --- 1625, "university degree of a bachelor," from M.L. baccalaureus "student with the first degree," altered by a play on words with bacca lauri "laurel berry" (laurels being awarded for academic success). The M.L. word perhaps ultimately is derived from L. baculum "staff" (see bacillus), which the young student might carry, but it is more likely just a Latinization of bachelor (q.v.) in its academic sense. In modern U.S. usage, the word usually is short for baccalaureate-sermon (1864), a religious farewell address to the graduating class.

baccarat --- 1866, from Fr. baccara, of unknown origin.

Bacchanal --- 1536, from L. bacchanalis "having to do with Bacchus" (Gk. Bakkhos), god of wine and revelry. His name is perhaps related to L. bacca "berry." Meaning "riotous, drunken roistering; orgy" is from 1711; Bacchanalia in this sense is from 1633, from the name of the Roman festival held in honor of Bacchus. Bacchae "female attendants of Bacchus" is from Gk. Bakkhai, pl. of Bakkhe.

bachelor --- 1297, "youthful knight, novice in arms," from O.Fr. bacheler "knight bachelor," a young squire in training for knighthood, probably from M.L. baccalarius "vassal farmer," one who helps or tends a baccalaria "section of land." Or from L. baculum "a stick," since the squire would practice with a staff, not a sword. Meaning evolved 14c. from "knight in training" to "junior member of a guild or university" to "unmarried man" (1386). Fem. form bachelorette, with Fr. ending, is from 1935, replacing earlier bachelor-girl (1895). Bachelor party is first recorded 1922. A clipped form bach was a colloquial verb in 19c. Amer.Eng. meaning "to live as an unmarried man."

bacillus --- 1883, from Mod.L., "little rod," from L.L. bacillum, dim. of baculum "a stick," from PIE base *bak- "staff," also source of Gk. bakterion (see bacteria). Introduced as a term in bacteriology 1853 by Ger. botanist Ferdinand Cohn (1828-98).

back --- O.E. bæc "back, backwards, behind," from P.Gmc. *bakam (cf. O.S., M.Du. bak, O.Fris. bek), which mostly has been ousted in other modern Gmc. languages by words akin to Mod.E. ridge. Verb "to move (something) back" is from 1486; meaning "to support" (as by a bet) is first attested 1548. Backbiting is first recorded c.1175; backslide in the religious sense is from 1581; backwoods is from 1709. Back-date first recorded 1946. Backside "rump" is first recorded 1500. Back door "devious, shady, illegal" is from 1643. The verb back off "retreat" is attested from 1930s. Back down in fig. sense of "withdraw a charge" is first attested 1859, Amer.Eng., from notion of descending a ladder, etc. Back-firing "premature ignition in an internal-combustion engine" is first recorded 1897. Back-stabber in the fig. sense is from 1906. Back-seat driver first attested 1926. Back-track "retrace one's steps" is from 1904. Back-to-nature (adj.) is first attested 1915. Backpack is 1914 as a noun, 1916 as a verb. The back of (one's) hand has been used to imply contempt and rejection since at least 1300; to know something like the back of one's hand, implying familiarity, is first attested 1943. Back bench in the House of Commons sense is from 1874. Back-hand as a tennis stroke dates from 1657. Back-talk "impertinent retort" is first recorded 1858, originally often used in literary attempts at low Irish idiom. To be on the back burner in the figurative sense is from 1960. Back-formation coined by Eng. lexicographer James Murray (1837-1915).

backbone --- spine, c.1300, from back + bone. Fig. sense of "strength of character" is attested from 1843.

backgammon --- 1645, baggammon, the second element from M.E. gamen, ancestor of Mod.E. game; the first element because pieces are sometimes forced to go "back." Known 13c.-17c. as tables.

background --- 1672, from back + ground; original sense was theatrical, later applied to painting. Fig. sense is first attested 1854.

backlash --- 1815, of machinery, from back + lash. In metaphoric sense, it is attested from 1921.

backlog --- 1684, from back + log. Originally a large log placed at the back of a fire. Figurative sense is first attested 1883, via notion of "a reserve of something stored up."

backslash --- 1982, new punctuation symbol introduced for computer purposes, from back + slash (n.).

backward --- c.1300, from abakward, from O.E. on bæc + -weard adj./adv. suffix. Backwards, with adverbial genitive, is from 1513. Meaning "behindhand with regard to progress" is first attested 1693. To ring bells backward (from lowest to highest), c.1500, was a signal of alarm for fire or invasion, or to express dismay.

bacon --- c.1330, "meat from the back and sides of a pig" (originally either fresh or cured), from O.Fr. bacon, from P.Gmc. *bakkon "back meat" (cf. O.H.G. bahho, O.Du. baken "bacon"). Slang phrase bring home the bacon first recorded 1908.

bacteria --- 1847, from Mod.L. pl. of bacterium, from Gk. bakterion "small staff," dim. of baktron "stick, rod," from PIE *bak- "staff used for support." So called because the first ones observed were rod-shaped. Introduced as a scientific word 1838 by Ger. naturalist Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg (1795-1876).

Bactrian --- type of camel, 1601, from L. Bactria, ancient region in what is now northwestern Afghanistan, lit. "the western province," from Pers. bakhtar "the west."

bad --- 1203, mystery word, no apparent relatives in other languages. Possibly from two related O.E. derogatory terms: bæddel and bædling "effeminate man, hermaphrodite, pederast." Originally "defective, inferior;" sense of "evil, morally depraved" is first recorded 1300. A rare word before 1400, and evil was more common until 1700. In U.S. place names, sometimes translating native terms meaning "supernaturally dangerous." Ironic use as a word of approval is said to be at least since 1890s orally, originally in Black Eng., emerging in print 1928 in a jazz context. Badder, baddest were used as recently as Defoe (18c.), but yielded to comp. worse and superl. worst (taken over from evil, ill), from P.Gmc. *wersizon, comp. of *wers-. Farsi has bad in more or less the same sense as the Eng. word, but this is regarded by linguists as a coincidence. The form of the words diverges over time (Farsi bad comes from M.Pers. vat), and such convergent evolutions are found across many languages, given the vast number of words in each and the limited range of sounds humans can make to signify them. Among other coincidental matches with English are Korean mani "many," Chinese pei "pay," Nahuatl (Aztecan) huel "well," Maya hol "hole."

badge --- c.1350, perhaps from Anglo-Fr. bage, or Anglo-L. bagis, pl. of bagia "emblem," origin unknown.

badger --- 1523, from M.E. bageard, perhaps from bage "badge" + -ard "one who carries some action or possesses some quality," suffix related to M.H.G. -hart "bold." If so, the central notion is the badge-like white blaze on the animal's forehead. But blaze was the usual word for this. The verb is 1794, from the noun (based on the behavior of the dogs in the medieval sport of badger-baiting). The O.E. name for the creature was the Celtic borrowing brock. In Amer.Eng., the nickname of inhabitants or natives of Wisconsin (1833).

badlands --- arid, highly eroded regions of the western U.S., 1852, from bad + land. Applied to urban districts of crime and vice since 1892 (originally with ref. to Chicago).

badminton --- 1874, from Badminton House, name of Gloucestershire estate of the Duke of Beaufort, where the game was first played in England, mid-19c., having been picked up by British officers from Indian poona. The place name is O.E. Badimyncgtun (972), "estate of (a man called) Baduhelm."

bad-mouth (v.) --- abuse someone verbally, 1941, probably ultimately from noun phrase bad mouth (1835), in black Eng., "a curse, spell," translating an idiom found in African and West Indian languages.

Baedeker --- travel guide, 1863, from Ger. printer and bookseller Karl Baedeker (1801-1859) whose popular travel guides began the custom of rating places with one to four stars. The Baedeker raids by the Ger. Air Force in April and May 1942 targeted British cultural and historical sites.

baffle --- 1548, "to disgrace," perhaps a Scottish respelling of bauchle "to disgrace publicly" (especially a perjured knight), prob. related to Fr. bafouer "to abuse, hoodwink," possibly from baf, a natural sound of disgust, like bah. Meaning "to bewilder, confuse" is from 1649; that of "to defeat someone's efforts" is from 1675. The noun sense of "shielding device" is first recorded 1881.

bag --- c.1230, bagge, from O.N. baggi or a similar Scand. source, perhaps ultimately of Celtic origin. Disparaging slang for "woman" dates from 1924. Meaning "person's area of interest or expertise" is 1964, from Black Eng. slang, from jazz sense of "category," probably via notion of putting something in a bag. Baggy "puffed out, hanging loosely" is 1834. Many fig. senses are from the notion of the game bag (1486) into which the product of the hunt was placed; e.g. the verb meaning "to kill game" (1814) and its colloquial extension to "catch, seize, steal" (1818).

bagatelle --- 1637, "a trifle," from Fr., from It. bagatella "a trifle," dim. of L. baca "berry." As "a piece of light music," it is attested from 1827.

bagel --- 1919, from Yiddish beygl, from M.H.G. boug- "ring, bracelet," from O.H.G. boug, related to biogan "to bend" and O.E. beag "ring" (in poetry, an Anglo-Saxon lord was beaggifa "ring-giver"). The variety of bagel with onion flakes sprinkled on it is a bialy, short for Bialystok, city in Poland.

baggage --- c.1440, from O.Fr. bagage, from bague "pack, bundle," ult. from the same Scand. source that yielded bag.

Baghdad --- a pre-Islamic name apparently of Indo-European origin and probably meaning "gift of god," with the first element related to Rus. bog "god" and the second to Eng. donor.

bagpipe --- c.1386, from bag + pipe; originally a favorite instrument in England as well as the Celtic lands, but by 1912 English army officers' slang for it was agony bags.

baguette --- 1727, a type of architectural ornament, from Fr. baguette "a small rod," from L. baculum "a stick" (see bacillus). Meaning "a diamond cut long" is from 1926; that of "a long, thin loaf of Fr. bread" is from 1958.

Baha'i --- 1889, mystical, tolerant Iranian religion founded by a Mirza Ali Mohammed ibn Radhik, Shiraz merchant executed for heresy in 1850, and named for his leading disciple, Baha Allah (Pers. "splendor of God;" ult. from Arabic). It also is sometimes called Babism, after the name taken by the founder, Bab-ed-Din, "gate of the faith."

bail (n.1) --- bond money, 1485, developed from "temporary release from jail" (1466), and that from earlier meaning "captivity, custody" (1259). From O.Fr. baillier "control, guard, deliver," from L. bajulare "to bear a burden," from bajulus "porter," of unknown origin.

bail (n.2) --- horizontal piece of wood in a cricket wicket, c.1742, originally "any cross bar" (1575), probably identical with M.Fr. bail "horizontal piece of wood affixed on two stakes," and with Eng. bail "palisade wall, outer wall of a castle" (see bailey).

bail (v.) --- 1613, from baile "bucket" (1336), from O.Fr. baille "bucket," from M.L. *bajula (aquae), lit. "porter of water," from L. bajulare "to bear a burden" (see bail (n.1)).

bailey --- wall enclosing an outer court, 1300, baylle, of unknown origin, perhaps ultimately connected to L. bacula "sticks," on notion of "stakes, palisade fence." Old Bailey, seat of Central Criminal Court in London, was so called because it stood within the ancient bailey of the city wall. The surname Bailey usually is from O.Fr. bailli, a later form of baillif (q.v.).

bailiff --- c.1242, from O.Fr. baillif, acc. of baillis "administrative official, deputy," from V.L. *bajulivus "official in charge of a castle," from L. bajulus "porter." Used in M.E. of a public administrator of a district, a chief officer of a Hundred, or an officer under a sheriff.

bailiwick --- district of a bailiff, 1460, from bailiff (q.v.) + O.E. wic "village" (see wick (2)). Fig. sense of "one's natural or proper sphere" is first recorded 1843.

bairn --- child (of any age), O.E. bearn, probably related to beran ("bear (v.), carry, give birth"). Not chiefly Scottish.

bait (n.) --- c.1300, from O.N. beita, from P.Gmc. *baitan (cf. O.H.G. beizzen "to bait"), causative of *bitan (see bite), which gave rise to the two modern meanings, of "harassment" and "food offered." The verb (1300) originally referred to the medieval custom of setting dogs on some ferocious animal to bite and worry it; the fig. sense of "to persecute or harass one unable to escape the torment" is recorded earlier (c.1200).

bake --- O.E. bacan "to bake," from P.Gmc. *bakanan (cf. O.N. baka, M.Du. backen, O.H.G. bahhan), from PIE base *bhog- "to warm, roast, bake" (cf. Gk. phogein "to roast"). Baker is O.E. bæcere. Bakery "place for making bread" is from 1857, replacing earlier bakehouse; as "shop where baked goods are sold" it was noted 19c. as an Americanism. Baker's dozen "thirteen" is from 1599. "These dealers [hucksters] ... on purchasing their bread from the bakers, were privileged by law to receive thirteen batches for twelve, and this would seem to have been the extent of their profits. Hence the expression, still in use, 'A baker's dozen.' " [H.T. Riley, "Liber Albus," 1859]

bakelite --- type of plastic widely used early 20c., 1909, from Ger. Bakelit, named for Belgian-born physicist Leo Baekeland (1863-1944).

baksheesh --- 1625, in India, Egypt, etc., "a tip," from Pers. bakhshish, lit. "gift," from verb bakhshidan "to give" (also "to forgive"), from PIE base *bhag- "to share out, apportion, distribute" (see -phagous).

Balaclava --- woolen head covering, esp. worn by soldiers, named for village near Sebastopol, Russia, site of a battle Oct. 25, 1854, in the Crimean War.

balalaika --- Rus. triangular-shaped stringed instrument, 1788, from Rus., said to be related to balabolit "to chatter, babble."

balance --- c.1275, "apparatus for weighing," from O.Fr. balance, from M.L. bilancia, from L.L. bilanx (acc. bilancem), from L. (libra) bilanx "(scale) having two pans," possibly from L. bis "twice" + lanx "a dish, scale." The accounting sense is from 1588; the meaning "general harmony between parts" is from 1732; sense of "physical equipoise" is from 1667. The verb is attested from 1579. Balance of power in the geopolitical sense is from 1701; balanced meal, diet, etc. is from 1908.

balcony --- 1618, from It. balcone, from balco "scaffold," from Langobardic *balko- "beam" (cf. O.E. balca "beam, ridge," see balk) + It. augmentative suffix -one. Till c.1825, regularly accented on the second syllable.

bald --- 1297, ballede, probably from Celt. bal "white patch, blaze" especially on the head of a horse or other animal (from PIE base *bhel- "gleaming, white") + M.E. -ede adjectival suffix. The PIE base is also the source of Skt. bhalam "brightness, forehead," Gk. phalos "white," L. fulcia "coot" (so called for the white patch on its head), Alb. bale "forehead," O.C.S. belu "white," Lith. balnas "pale." The proper name Ballard probably means "bald head," cf. Wyclif "Stye up, ballard," where Coverdale translates "Come vp here thou balde heade" [2 Kg.2:23-24, where God kills 42 children for making fun of Elijah's lack of hair.] Bald eagle first attested 1688.

balderdash --- 1596, of unknown origin; originally a jumbled mix of liquors (milk and beer, beer and wine, etc.), transferred 1674 to "senseless jumble of words." First element perhaps cognate with Dan. balder "noise, clatter" (cf. boulder).

baldric --- c.1300, "belt worn over the shoulder," from O.Fr. baldre, which is probably from L. balteus "belt," perhaps infl. by M.H.G. balderich.

Baldwin --- masc. proper name, from O.Fr. Baldoin, from a Gmc. source, cf. O.H.G. Baldawin, lit. "bold friend," from bald "bold" + wini "friend." A popular Flemish name, common in England before and after the Conquest.

bale --- large bundle or package, c.1325, from O.Fr. bale "rolled-up bundle," from a Gmc. source (cf. O.H.G. balla "ball"), from P.Gmc. *ball-, from PIE *bhel- "to blow, swell" (see bole).

baleen --- c.1325, "whalebone," from O.Fr. balaine "whale, whalebone," from L. ballaena, from Gk. phallaina "whale," related to phallos "swollen penis," probably because of a whale's shape, from PIE base *bhel- "to swell" (see bole). Klein writes that the Gk. to L. transition was "through the medium of the Illyrian language, a fact which explains the transition of Gk. -ph- into L. -b- (instead of -p-)."

baleful --- O.E. bealu-full, from bealu "evil, malice, misery," from P.Gmc. *balwom (cf. O.Fris. balu, O.H.G. balo, O.N. bol), from PIE base *bheleu- "to beat." In poetic use only during Anglo-Saxon times and long extinct, but revived by modern romantic poets.

balk --- O.E. balca "ridge," from or influenced by O.N. balkr "ridge of land," especially between two plowed furrows, both from P.Gmc. *balkan-, *belkan- (cf. O.S. balko, Dan. bjelke, O.Fris. balka, Ger. Balken "beam, rafter"), from PIE *bhelg- "beam, plank" (cf. L. fulcire "to prop up, support," fulcrum "bedpost," Lith. balziena "cross-bar;" and possibly Gk. phalanx "trunk, log, line of battle"). Modern senses are figurative, either representing the balk as a hindrance or obstruction (e.g., of horses, "to stop short before an obstacle," recorded from 1481), or from the verb sense of "to miss or omit intentionally" (attested by 1484) as a lazy or incompetent plowman would in making balks. Baseball sense is first attested 1845.

Balkanize --- 1920, first used in reference to the Baltic states, on the model of what had happened in the Balkans; said to have been coined by Eng. editor James Louis Garvin (1868-1947), but Toynbee credited it to "German Socialists." Either way, the reference is to the political situation in the Balkans c.1878-1913, when the European section of the Ottoman Empire split up into small, warring nations. Balkan is from Turkic balkan "mountain."

ball (1) --- round object, O.E., from O.N. bollr "ball," from P.Gmc. *balluz (cf. O.H.G. ballo, Ger. Ball), from PIE base *bhel- "to swell" (see bole). The verb meaning "copulate" is first recorded 1940s in jazz slang. To be on the ball is 1912, from sports. Ball-point pen first recorded 1947. Ball of fire when first recorded in 1821 referred to "a glass of brandy;" as "spectacularly successful striver" it is c.1900. Ball and chain as a prisoner's restraint is recorded from 1835; as "one's wife," early 1920s.

ball (2) --- dancing party, 1632, from O.Fr. baller "to dance," from L.L. ballare "to dance," from Gk. ballizein "to dance, jump about," also "to throw," from PIE base *gwel- "to drip, spring forth, throw" (cf. Skt. balbaliti "whirls, twirls," Gk. ballizo "dance," O.E. plega "play"). Hence, "very enjoyable time" (1945, Amer.Eng. slang). Ballroom dancing first attested 1894.

ballad --- 1492, from O.Fr. ballade "dancing song," from O.Prov. ballada "(poem for a) dance," from L.L. ballare "to dance" (see ball (2)). Ballade, c.1386 (popularized 19c. as a type of musical composition by Frédéric Chopin), represents an earlier borrowing of the same O.Fr. word. Technically, a poem consisting of one or more triplets of seven- (later eight-) lined stanzas, each ending with the same line as the refrain, usually with an envoy.

ballast --- heavy material used to steady a ship, 1530, from M.E. bar "bare" (in this case "mere") + last "a load, burden," or borrowed from identical terms in North Sea Gmc. and Scand. (cf. O.Dan. barlast, 14c.). Du. balg-last "ballast," lit. "belly-load," is a folk-etymology corruption.

ballerina --- 1792, from It., lit. "dancing girl," fem. of ballerino "dancer," from ballo "a dance" (see ball (2)). The It. plural form ballerine formerly sometimes was used in Eng.

ballet --- 1667, from Fr. ballette from It. balletto, dim. of ballo "a dance" (see ball (2)).

ballistics --- 1753, from L. ballista "ancient military machine for hurling stones" (in Eng. from 1598), from Gk. ballistes, from ballizein "to throw," from PIE base *gwel- "to drip, spring forth, throw" (cf. Skt.apa-gurya "swinging;" see ball (2)). Ballistic missile first attested 1954, attained extreme heights, hence fig. expression go ballistic (mid-1980s) "become irrationally angry."

ballocks --- testicles, from O.E. beallucas, plural dim. of balle (see ball (1)).

balloon --- 1579, "a game played with a large inflated leather ball," perhaps borrowed in part from Fr. ballon, altered (after balle) from It. pallone "large ball," from palla "ball," from Langobardic palla (from P.Gmc. *ball-, from PIE *bhel- "to blow, swell") + -one suffix indicating great size. It also meant the ball itself (1592), which was batted back and forth by means of large wooden paddles strapped to the forearms. In 17c., it also meant "a type of fireworks housed in a pasteboard ball" (1634) and "round ball used as an architectural ornament" (1656). Acquired modern meaning after Montgolfier brothers' flights, 1783. As a child's toy, it is attested from 1848; as "outline containing words in a comic engraving" it dates from 1844. The verb meaning "to swell, puff up" is attested from 1841. Trial balloon is congnate of Fr. ballon d'essai.

ballot --- 1549, from It. pallotte, dim. of palla "ball," for small balls used as counters in secret voting (see balloon). Earliest references are to Venice.

ballpark --- baseball stadium, 1899, from (base)ball + park. Fig. sense of "acceptable range of approximation" first recorded 1960, originally referring to area within which a spacecraft was expected to return to earth; the reference is to broad but reasonably predictable dimensions.

balls --- testicles, 1325, from pl. of ball (1). See also ballocks. Meaning "courage, nerve" is from 1928; ballsy "courageous, masculine" first recorded 1959 in Norman Mailer (writing of Truman Capote). Ball-busting "difficult" is first recorded 1944; ball-buster disparaging for "dominant female" is from 1974. Balls to the wall, however, is probably from WWII Air Forces slang, from the ball that topped the aircraft throttle, thrust to the bulkhead of the cockpit to attain full speed.

ballyhoo --- publicity, hype, 1908, from circus slang, "a short sample of a sideshow" (1901), of unknown origin. There is a village of Ballyhooly in County Cork, Ireland. In nautical lingo, ballahou or ballahoo (1867, perhaps 1836) meant "an ungainly vessel," from Sp. balahu "schooner."

balm --- c.1220, basme, from O.Fr. basme, from L. balsamum, from Gk. balsamon "balsam," from Heb. basam "spice," related to Aram. busma, Arabic basham "balsam, spice, perfume." Spelling refashioned 15c.-16c. on L. model. Sense of "healing or soothing influence" (1549) is from aromatic preparations from balsam (see balsam). Biblical Balm of Gilead, however, began with Coverdale; the Heb. word there is tsori, which was rendered in Septuagint and Vulgate as "resin" (Gk. hretine, L. resina). Balmy "fragrant, mild" (of weather) is first attested 1704; meaning "weak-minded" is from 1851 London slang.

baloney --- slang for "nonsense," 1922, Amer.Eng. (popularized 1930s by N.Y. Gov. Alfred E. Smith), from earlier sense of "idiot" (probably influenced by blarney), usually regarded as being from bologna sausage, a type traditionally made from odds and ends, named for the city in Italy.

balsa --- 1866, apparently from Sp. balsa "float," originally the name of rafts used on the Pacific coast of Latin America (1777).