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

Cain --- elder son of Adam and Eve, from Heb. Qayin, lit. "created one," also "smith," from Sem. stem q-y-n "to form, to fashion." To raise Cain is first recorded 1840. Surnames McCain, McCann, etc., are a contraction of Ir. Mac Cathan "son of Cathan," from Celt. cathan, lit. "warrior," from cath "battle."

cairn --- 1535, from Scottish carne, from Gael. carn "heap of stones, rocky hill," akin to Gaul. karnon "horn," from PIE base *ker-n- "highest part of the body, horn," thus "tip, peak" (see horn).

Cairo --- city in Egypt, Arabic al-Kahira "the strong." The Egyptian name was khere-ohe "place of combat," said to be in ref. to a battle between the gods Seth and Horus that took place here.

caisson --- 1704, from Fr. caisson, from M.Fr. caisson "large box," from It. cassone, augmentive form of cassa "a chest," from L. capsa "a box" (see case (2)).

caitiff --- c.1300, from O.N.Fr. caitive "captive, miserable," from L. captivum (see captive). In most Romance languages, it has acquired a pejorative sense.

cajole --- 1645, from Fr. cajoler, perhaps a blend of M.Fr. cageoler "to chatter like a jay," from gajole, southern dim. of geai "jay," and O.Fr. gaioler "to cage, entice into a cage" (see jail).

Cajun --- 1868, Cagian, dialectic pronunciation of Acadian, from Acadia, former French colony in what is now Canadian Maritimes. Its Fr. setters were dispersed and exiled by the English and thousands made their way to New Orleans in the period 1764-1788.

cake --- c.1230, from O.N. kaka "cake," from W.Gmc. *kokon-, from PIE base *gag-, *gog- "something round, lump of something." Not related to L. coquere "to cook," as formerly supposed. Replaced its O.E. cognate, coecel. Originally (until c.1420) "a flat, round loaf of bread." Caked "thickly encrusted" (with) is from 1922. Let them eat cake is from Rousseau's "Confessions," in reference to an incident c.1740, when it was already proverbial, long before Marie Antoinette. The "cake" in question was not a confection, but a poor man's food. "What man, I trow ye raue, Wolde ye bothe eate your cake and haue your cake?" ["The Proverbs & Epigrams of John Heywood," 1562]

cakewalk --- 1863, Amer.Eng., from cake (n.) + walk, probably in ref. to the cake given as a prize for the fanciest steps in a procession in a Southern black custom (explained by Richard H. Thornton, 1912, as, "A walking competition among negroes," in which the prize cake goes to "the couple who put on most style"). Its figurative meaning of "something easy" (1863) is recorded before the literal one (1879). This may also be the source of the phrase to take the cake (1847). Piece of cake "something easy" is from 1936.

calabash --- 1596, "dried, hollowed gourd used as a drinking cup," from Sp. calabaza, possibly from Arabic qar'a yabisa "dry gourd," from Pers. kharabuz, used of various large melons; or from a pre-Roman Iberian *calapaccia.

calaboose --- 1792, Amer.Eng., from Louisiana Fr. calabouse, from Sp. calabozo "dungeon," probably from V.L. *calafodium, from pre-Roman *cala "protected place, den" + L. fodere "to dig" (see fossil).

calamine --- 1598, from Fr. calamine, from O.Fr. calemine, from M.L. calamina, corrupted by alchemists from L. cadmia "zinc ore," from Gk. kadmeia.

calamity --- c.1425, from M.Fr. calamite, from L. calamitatem (nom. calamitus) "damage, disaster, adversity," origin obscure. L. writers associated it with calamus "straw," but it is perhaps from a lost root preserved in incolumis "uninjured."

calcium --- coined 1808 by Sir Humphry Davy from L. calx (gen. calcis) "limestone."

calculation --- 1393, from L.L. calculationem, from calculare, from L. calculus "reckoning, account," originally "pebble used in counting," dim. of calx (gen. calcis) "limestone." Calculating "shrewd, selfish" is from 1809. Calculator "adding machine" is from 1784; application to the electronic form is from 1946.

calculus --- 1666, from L. calculus "reckoning, account," originally "pebble used in counting," dim. of calx (gen. calcis) "limestone." Modern mathematical sense is a shortening of differential calculus. Also used from 1732 to mean "concretion occurring accidentally in the animal body," as dental plaque, kidney stones, etc.

caldera --- 1865, "cavity on the summit of a volcano," from Sp. caldera "cauldron, kettle," from L. caldarium, from caldarius "pertaining to warming," from calidus "warm, hot" (see calorie).

caldron --- c.1300, from Anglo-Fr. caudrun, from O.Fr. chauderon, from L.L. caldaria "cooking pot" (with suffix indicating great size), from L. calidarium "hot bath," from calidus "warm, hot" (see calorie). The -l- was inserted 15c. in imitation of Latin.

Caleb --- masc. proper name, in the Bible, one of the 12 men sent by Moses to reconnoiter Canaan, from Heb. Kalebh, lit. "dog-like," from kelebh "dog."

Caledonia --- Roman name of part of northern Britain; since 18c, applied poetically to Scotland or the Scottish Highlands.

calendar --- c.1205, from O.Fr. calendier "list, register," from L. calendarium "account book," from kalendae "calends" the first day of the Roman month -- when debts fell due and accounts were reckoned -- from calare "to announce solemnly, call out," as the priests did in proclaiming the new moon that marked the calends, from PIE base kele- "to call, shout" (see claim). "Taken by the early Church for its register list of saints and their feast days. The -ar spelling in Eng. is 17c. to differentiate it from the now obscure calender "cloth-presser" (from M.L. calendra, from L. cylindrus, from the shape of the machine used).

calf --- O.E. cealf "young cow," from W.Gmc. *kalbam, perh. from PIE *gelb(h)-, from base *gel- "to swell," hence, "womb, fetus, young of an animal." Elliptical sense of "leather made from the skin of a calf" is from 1727. Used of icebergs that break off from glaciers from 1818. Calf of the leg is from O.N. kalfr, source unknown; possibly from the same Gmc. root.

caliber --- 1567, from M.Fr. calibre, via Sp. or It., ult. from Arabic qalib "a mold, last," perhaps from Gk. kalopodion "a shoemaker's last," lit. "little wooden foot," from kalon "wood" + podos gen. of pous "foot" (see foot). Arabic also used the word in the sense "mold for casting bullets," which is the original lit. meaning in Eng., though the earliest cited sense is the fig. one of "social standing, quality, rank." Calibrate is attested from 1864.

calico --- 1540, corruption of Calicut (mod. Kozhikode), seaport on Malabar coast of India, where Europeans first obtained it. In 16c. it was second only to Goa among Indian commercial ports for European trade. Extended to animal colorings suggestive of printed calicos in 1807, originally of horses.

California --- name of an imaginary realm in "Las sergas de Esplandián" ("Exploits of Espladán"), a romance by Sp. writer Garci Ordóñez de Montalvo, published in 1510, which was said to have been influential among Sp. explorers of the New World and may have led them to misidentify Baja California as this land and mistake it for an island. Where Montalvo got the name and what it means, if anything, is a mystery.

caliper --- 1627, short for calliper compass (1588), a device used to measure caliber (q.v.).

caliph --- 1393, from Arabic khalifa "successor," originally Abu-Bakr, who succeeded Muhammad in the role of leader of the faithful after the prophet's death. Caliphate "dominion of a caliph" is from 1614.

calisthenics --- 1839, formed on model of Fr. callisthenie, from Gk. kallos "beauty" + sthenos "strength." Originally, gymnastic exercises suitable for girls and meant to develop the figure; training calculated to develop the figure and promote graceful movement. The proper Gk., if there was such a word in Gk., would have been kallistheneia.

call (v.) --- O.E. ceallian, less common than clipian; replaced by related O.N. kalla "to cry loudly," from P.Gmc. *kallojanan, from PIE base *gal- "to call, scream, shriek, shout" (cf. Skt. garhati "bewail, criticize;" L. gallus "cock;" O.H.G. klaga, Ger. Klage "complaint, grievance, lament, accusation;" O.E. clacu "affront;" O.C.S. glasu "voice," glagolu "word;" Welsh galw "call"). Meaning "to give a name to" is c.1250. Meaning "to visit" (M.E.) was literally "to stand at the door and call;" sense of "a short formal visit" is from 1862; caller "visitor" is from 1786. Telephone/telegraph sense is from 1889 (hence slang call girl, c.1900, originally a prostitute dispatched by telephone). Coin-toss sense is from 1801. Calling "vocation" (1382) traces to I Cor. vii:20. To call out someone to fight (1823) corresponds to Fr. provoqueur. To call it a day is from 1834.

calligraphy --- 1613, from Gk. kaligraphia, from kallos "beauty" + graphein "to write" (see graph).

calliope --- 1858, "steam-whistle keyboard organ," in allusion to Calliope, ninth and chief muse of eloquence and epic poetry, from Gk. Kalliope, from kalli-, combining form of kallos "beauty" + opos (gen. of *ops) "voice."

callipygian --- of, pertaining to, or having beautiful buttocks, 1800, from Gk. kallipygos, name of a statue of Aphrodite, from kalli-, combining form of kallos "beauty" + pyge "rump, buttocks." Sir Thomas Browne (1646) refers to "Callipygæ and women largely composed behinde."

Callisto --- 2nd moon of Jupiter, in classical mythology a nymph, mother of Arcas by Zeus, turned to a bear by Hera, from Gk. kallistos, superl. of kalos "beautiful." Feminized as proper name Callista.

callithumpian --- 1836, U.S. colloquial, probably a fanciful construction at one time designating a society of social reformers, then in reference to "noisy disturbers of elections and meetings," and most commonly "a band of discordant instruments."

callous (adj.) --- 1578, "hardened," in the physical sense, from L. callosus "thick-skinned," from callum "hard skin" (see callus). The figurative sense of "unfeeling" appeared in Eng. 1679.

callow --- O.E. calu "bare, bald," prob. from W.Gmc. *kalwaz, perhaps from L. or Celt. From young birds with no feathers, meaning extended to any young inexperienced thing or creature (1580).

callus (n.) --- 1563, from L., var. of callum "hard skin," related to callere "be hard," and cognate with Skt. kalika "bud," O.Ir. calath "hard."

calm --- 1380, from O.Fr. calme, traditionally from O.It. calma, from L.L. cauma "heat of the mid-day sun" (in Italy, a time when everything rests and is still), from Gk. kauma "heat" (especially of the sun), from kaiein "to burn." Spelling infl. by L. calere "to be hot." Figurative application to social or mental conditions is 16c.

calomel --- 1676, "mercurous chloride," from Fr. calomel, supposedly from Gk. kalos "fair" + melas "black," but as the powder is yellowish-white this seems difficult.

calorie --- 1866, from L. calor (gen. caloris) "heat," from PIE *kle-os-, suffixed form of base *kele- "warm" (cf. L. calidus "warm," calere "be hot;" Skt. carad- "harvest," lit. "hot time;" Lith. silti "become warm," silus "August;" O.N. hlær, O.E. hleow "warm"). Technically, the heat required to raise 1 kilogram of water 1 degree Celsius. In scientific use, largely replaced 1950 by the joule. Caloric, the supposed elastic fluid that accounted for phenomena of heat in Lavoisier's now-abandoned theory, was in use from 1792.

calumet --- 1665, from Canadian Fr. calumet, from Norman Fr. calumet "pipe," from L. calamellus, dim. of L. calamus "reed."

calumny --- 1447, from M.Fr. calomnie, from L. calumnia "slander, false accusation," from calvi "to trick, deceive," from PIE base *kel-, *kol- "to deceive, confuse."

Calvary --- name of the mount of the Crucifixion, 1382, from L. Calvaria, translating Aramaic gulgulta "place of the skull" (see Golgotha). Rendered in O.E. as Heafodpannan stow.

calve --- O.E. cealfian, from cealf "calf" (see calf). Of icebergs, 1837.

Calvinism --- 1570, from John Calvin (1509-1564), Protestant reformer. Alternate form Calvinian was in use in 1566. Generalized association with stern moral codes and predestination is attested since at least 1853.

Calypso --- sea nymph in the "Odyssey," lit. "hidden, hider" (originally a death goddess) from Gk. kalyptein "to cover, conceal," from PIE *kel- "to cover, conceal, save," root of Eng. Hell (see cell). The W. Indian type of song is so called from 1934, of unknown origin or connection to the nymph.

calyx --- 1686, from L., from Gk., "outer covering" (of a fruit, flower bud, etc.), from root of kalyptein "to cover, conceal" (see cell). The proper plural is calyces.

cam --- 1777, from Du. cam "cog of a wheel," originally "comb;" cognate of Eng. comb (q.v.).

camaraderie --- 1840, from Fr., from camarade "comrade."

camber --- 1618, nautical term, from O.Fr. cambre "bent," from L. camurum, acc. of camur "crooked, arched."

Cambrian --- 1656, "from or of Wales or the Welsh," from Cambria, variant of Cumbria, Latinized derivation of Cymry, the name of the Welsh for themselves, from O.Celt. Combroges "compatriots." Geological sense (of rocks first studied in Wales and Cumberland) is from 1836.

cambric --- 1385, from Kamerijk, Flem. form of Cambrai, city in northern France where the cloth was originally made, from L. Camaracum.

Cambridge --- O.E. Grontabricc (c.745) "Bridge on the River Granta" (a Celtic river name, of obscure origin). The change to Cante- and later Cam- was due to Norman influence. The river name Cam is a back-formation in this case, but Cam also was a legitimate Celtic river name, meaning "crooked."

camcorder --- 1982, from camera and recorder.

camel --- O.E., from L. camelus, from Gk. kamelos, from Heb. or Phoen. gamal, perhaps related to Arabic jamala "to bear." Another O.E. word for the beast was olfend, apparently were based on confusion of camels with elephants in a place and time when both were known only from travelers' vague descriptions. The Arabian have one hump (the lighter variety is the Dromedary); the Bactrian have two humps.

camellia --- 1753, named by Linnæus from Latinized form of G.J. Kamel (1661-1706), Jesuit who described the flora of the island of Luzon.

Camelot --- the name first found in medieval Fr. romances; it corresponds to L. Camuladonum, the Roman forerunner of Colchester, which was an impressive ruin in the Middle Ages. But Malory identifies it with Winchester and Elizabethans tended to see it as Cadbury Castle, an Iron Age hill fort near Glastonbury.

Camembert --- 1878, from name of village near Argentan, France, where it was originally made.

cameo --- 1222, "carved precious stone with two layers of colors," from It. cammeo (13c.), from M.L. cammæus, perhaps ult. from Arabic qamaa'il "flower buds," or Pers. chumahan "agate." Transferred sense of "small character or part that stands out from other minor parts" in a play, etc., is from 1851.

camera --- 16c., in Mod.L. camera obscura "dark chamber" (a black box with a lens that could project images of external objects), from L. camera "vaulted room," from Gk. kamara "vaulted chamber," from PIE base *kam- "to arch." Contrasted with camera lucida (L., "light chamber"), which uses prisms to produce an image on paper beneath the instrument, which can be traced. Shortened to camera when modern photography began, 1840 (extended to television filming devices 1928). Camera-shy is from 1922.

Camilla --- fem. proper name, from L., fem. of Camillus, from camillus "noble youth attending at sacrifices," perhaps from Etruscan.

camisole --- 1816, from Fr. camisole, from Prov. camisola dim. of camisa "shirt," from L.L. camisia "shirt, nightgown," (see chemise).

camomile --- c.1265, from O.Fr. camemile, from L. chamomilla, from Gk. chamaimelon "earth apple," from chamai "on the ground" (see chameleon) + melon "apple."

camouflage --- 1917, from Fr. camoufler, Parisian slang, "to disguise," from It. camuffare "to disguise," probably alt. by Fr. camouflet "puff of smoke," on the notion of "blow smoke in someone's face." The British navy in World War I called it dazzle-painting.

camp (1) --- O.E. camp "contest," from W.Gmc. *kampo-z, early loan from L. campus "open field" (see campus), especially "open space for military exercise." Meaning "place where an army lodges temporarily" is 1528, from Fr. camp, from the same L. source. Transferred to non-military senses 1560. Meaning "body of adherents of a doctrine or cause" is 1871. The verb meaning "to encamp" is from 1543. Camp-follower first attested 1810. Camp-meeting is from 1809, usually in reference to Methodists.

camp (2) --- tasteless, 1909, homosexual slang, perhaps from mid-17c. Fr. camper "to portray, pose" (as in se camper "put oneself in a bold, provocative pose"); popularized 1964 by Susan Sontag's essay "Notes on Camp."

campaign --- 1647, from Fr., campagne "open country," from O.Fr. champagne "open country" (suited to military maneuvers), similar to It. campagna, from L.L. campania "level country," from L. campus "a field" (see campus). Old armies spent winters in quarters and took to the "open field" to seek battle in summer. Extension of meaning from military to political is Amer.Eng. 1809. The verb is first attested 1701.

Campbell --- family name, from Gael. caimbeul "wry or crooked mouth," from cam "crooked, deformed, one-eyed, cross-eyed." Also in surname Cameron, from Gael. camshron "wry or hooked nose" (in the Highland clan; the Lowland name is for a locality in Fife). Campbellite is 1830, follower of Alexander Campbell, preacher from Virginia, U.S.A. They called themselves Disciples.

camphor --- 1313, from O.Fr. camphre, from M.L. camfora, from Arabic kafur (Skt. karpuram), from Malay kapur "camphor tree."

campus --- 1774, from L. campus "a field," probably prop. "an expanse surrounded" (by woods, higher ground, etc.), from PIE *kampos "a corner, cove," from base *kamp- "to bend" (cf. Lith. kampus "corner," Pol. kepa "island in a river"). First used in college sense at Princeton.

can (n.) --- O.E. canne "a cup, container," from P.Gmc. *kanna, probably an early borrowing from L.L. canna "container, vessel," from L. canna "reed," but the sense evolution is difficult. Modern "air-tight vessel of tinned iron" is from 1867; can-opener is from 1877; the verb meaning "to put up in cans" is attested from 1871. Slang meaning "toilet" is c.1900, said to be a shortening of piss-can. Meaning "buttocks" is from c.1910. Verb meaning "fire an employee" is from 1905. Canned "pre-recorded" first attested 1904.

can (v.) --- O.E. 1st & 3rd pers. sing. pres. indic. of cunnan "know, have power to, be able," (also "to have carnal knowledge"), from P.Gmc. *kunnan "to be mentally able, to have learned" (cf. O.N. kenna "to know, make known," O.Fris. kanna "to recognize, admit," Ger. kennen "to know," Goth. kannjan "to make known"), from PIE base *gno- (see know). Absorbing the third sense of "to know," that of "to know how to do something" (in addition to "to know as a fact" and "to be acquainted with" something or someone). An O.E. preterite-present verb, its original p.p., couth, survives only in its negation (see uncouth), but cf. could. Cannot is attested from c.1400; can't first recorded 1706 (O.E. expressed the notion by ne cunnan).

Canada --- 1568 (implied in Canadian), said to be a Latinized form of a word for "village" in an Iroquoian language of the St. Lawrence valley that had gone extinct by 1600. Most still-spoken Iroquoian languages have a similar word (e.g. Mohawk kana:ta "town"). Canada goose is attested from 1772.

canal --- c.1449, from L. canalis "pipe, groove, channel," from canna "reed." Originally "a pipe for liquid," its sense shifted by 1673 to "artificial waterway."

canard --- before 1850, from Fr. "a hoax," lit. "a duck," said by Littré to be from the phrase vendre un canard à moitié "to half-sell a duck," thus, from some long-forgotten joke, "to cheat." From O.Fr. quanart, probably echoic of a duck's quack.

canary --- 1584, of the wine; 1655, of the songbirds (short for Canary-bird, 1576), from Fr. canarie, from Sp. canario, from L. Insula Canaria "Canary Island," largest of the Fortunate Isles, lit. "island of dogs," (canis, gen. canarius) since large dogs lived there. Hence, the name of the little bird from the island. The name was extended to the whole island group (Canariæ Insulæ) by the time of Arnobius (c.300).

canasta --- 1948, Uruguayan card game played with two decks and four jokers, popular c.1945-1965; from Sp., lit. "basket" (see cannister); perhaps in reference to the "packs" of cards used.

Canberra --- capital of Australia, 1826, from Aborigine nganbirra "meeting place."

can-can --- 1848, from Fr., possibly from can, the child word for "duck," via some notion of "waddling" too obscure or obscene to attempt to disentangle here (see canard). Or perhaps from Fr. cancan (16c.) "noise, disturbance," echoic of quacking.

cancel --- 1399, from Anglo-Fr. canceler, from L. cancellare "to make resemble a lattice," which in L.L. took on a sense "cross out something written," from cancelli pl. of cancellus "lattice, grating," dim. of cancer "crossed bars, lattice," a var. of carcer "prison."

cancer --- O.E., from L. "a crab," later, "malignant tumor." Greek physician Galen, among others, noted similarity of crabs to some tumors with swollen veins. From Gk. karkinos, which, like the Mod.E. word, has three meanings: crab, tumor, and the zodiac constellation (1391), from PIE base *qarq- "to be hard" (like the shell of a crab); cf. Skt. karkatah "crab," karkarah "hard;" and probably cognate with PIE base *qar-tu- "hard, strong," source of Eng. hard. Meaning "person born under the zodiac sign of Cancer" is from 1894. Cancer stick "cigarette" is from 1959.

candelabrum --- 1811, from L. candelabrum "candlestick," from candela (see candle).

candid --- 1630, from L. candidum "white, pure, sincere," from candere "to shine," from PIE base *kand- "to glow, to shine" (see candle). Metaphoric extension to "frank" first recorded 1675. Of photography, 1929.

candidate --- 1613, from L. candidatus "white-robed," from candidus (see candid). Office-seekers in ancient Rome wore white togas. Candidacy is from 1864.

candle --- O.E. candel, early church-word borrowing from L. candela "a light, torch," from candere "to shine," from PIE base *kand- "to glow, to shine, to shoot out light" (cf. Skt. cand- "to give light, shine," candra- "shining, glowing, moon;" Gk. kandaros "coal;" Welsh cann "white;" M.Ir. condud "fuel"). Candles were unknown in ancient Greece (where oil lamps sufficed), but common from early times among Romans and Etruscans. Candles on birthday cakes seems to have been originally a German custom. To hold a candle to originally meant "to help in a subordinate capacity." Candlemass, O.E. candelmæsse, is the feast of the purification of the Virgin Mary (Feb. 2), celebrated with many candles, corresponding to Celtic pagan Imbolc. To burn the candle at both ends is recorded from 1730.

candor --- openness of mind, c.1637, from L., "purity, openness," orig. "whiteness," from candere "to shine" (see candle).

candy --- 1274, from O.Fr. sucre candi "sugar candy," from Arabic qandi, from Pers. qand "cane sugar," probably from Skt. khanda "piece (of sugar)," perhaps from Dravidian (cf. Tamil kantu "candy," kattu "to harden, condense"). Eye-candy is first recorded 1984, based on a metaphor also found in nose candy "cocaine" (1930). Candyass is from 1950s; candy-striper is 1960s, so called from design of her uniform.

cane --- 1398, from O.Fr. canne, from L. canna "reed, cane," from Gk. kanna, probably from Assyr. qanu "tube, reed," from Sumerian gin "reed." Sense of "walking stick" in Eng. is 1590; verb meaning "to beat with a walking stick" is from 1667.

Canfield --- type of solitaire, 1912, from U.S. gambler J.A. Canfield (1855-1914).

canine (n.) --- pointed teeth, 1398, from L. caninus "of the dog," gen. of canis "dog," from PIE base *kwon- "dog" (cf. Gk. kyon, O.E. hund, O.H.G. hunt, O.Ir. cu, Welsh ci, Skt. svan-, Avestan spa, Rus. sobaka (apparently from an Iranian source), Armenian shun, Lith. suo). The adjective is attested from 1607. The noun meaning "dog" is first recorded 1869.