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

hula --- traditional dance of Hawaii, 1825, from Hawaiian. Hula hoop first recorded 1958.

hulk --- O.E. hulc "light, fast ship" (but in M.E. a heavy, unwieldy one), probably from O.Du. hulke and M.L. hulcus, from Gk. holkas "merchant ship," lit. "ship that is towed." Meaning "body of an old, worn-out ship" is first recorded 1671. The Hulks ("Great Expectations") were old ships used as prisons. Sense of "big, clumsy person" is first recorded 1597. The verb meaning "to go about in a hulking manner" is from 1793.

hull (1) --- seed covering, from O.E. hulu, from P.Gmc. *khulus "to cover" (cf. O.H.G. hulla, hulsa). The verb was in M.E.; hulled can mean both "having a particular kind of hull" and "stripped of the hull."

hull (2) --- body of a ship, 1571, perhaps from hull (1) on fancied resemblance of ship keels to open peapods (cf. L. carina "keel of a ship," originally "shell of a nut;" Gk. phaselus "light passenger ship, yacht," lit. "bean pod;" Fr. coque "hull of a ship, shell of a walnut or egg"). Alternate etymology is from M.E. hoole "ship's keel" (c.1440), from the same source as hold (n.).

hullabaloo --- 1762, hollo-ballo "uproar," chiefly in northern England and Scot., perhaps a rhyming reduplication of hollo (see hello).

hum --- c.1374, hommen "make a murmuring sound to cover embarrassment," later hummen "to buzz, drone" (c.1420), probably of imitative origin. Sense of "sing with closed lips" is first attested c.1485; that of "be busy and active" is 1884, perhaps on analogy of a beehive. Humming-bird (1637) so called from sound made by the rapid vibration of its wings. "There is a curious bird to see to, called a humming bird, no bigger then a great Beetle." [Thomas Morton, "New English Canaan," 1637]

human --- c.1250, from M.Fr. humain "of or belonging to man," from L. humanus, probably related to homo (gen. hominis) "man," and to humus "earth," on notion of "earthly beings," as opposed to the gods (cf. Heb. adam "man," from adamah "ground"). Cognate with O.Lith. zmuo (acc. zmuni) "man, male person." Displaced its O.E. cognate guma (from P.Gmc. *guman-) which survives only in disguise in bridegroom. First record of humankind is from 1645. Humanoid (1918) is a hybrid of L. humanus and Gk. -oeides "like," from eidos "form, shape" (see -oid).

humane --- c.1450, variant of human, used interchangeably with it until early 18c., when it began to be a distinct word with sense of "having qualities befitting human beings." But inhuman still can be the opposite of humane. The Royal Humane Society (founded 1774) was originally to rescue drowning persons.

humanism --- along with humanist used in a variety of philosophical and theological senses 16c.-18c., especially ones imitating L. humanitas "education befitting a cultivated man." Main modern sense traces to c.1860; as a pragmatic system of thought, defined 1907 by co-founder F.C.S. Schiller as: "The perception that the philosophical problem concerns human beings striving to comprehend a world of human experience by the resources of human minds." Humanist is from Fr. humaniste, from It. umanista, coined by It. poet Lodovicio Ariosto (1474-1533) "student of human affairs or human nature."

humanity --- c.1384, from O.Fr. humanité, from L. humanitatem (nom. humanitas) "human nature, humanity," from humanus (see human). Originally in Eng. "kindness, graciousness;" sense of "human race" first recorded c.1450. Humanities (L. literæ humaniores) were those branches of literature (ancient classics, rhetoric, poetry) which tended to humanize or refine. Humanitarian (1819) originally was "one who affirms the humanity of Christ (but denies His divinity);" first used 1844 in modern sense of "one who advocates or practices human action;" usually disparaging at first, with a suggestion of excess.

humble (adj.) --- c.1250, from O.Fr. humble, earlier humele, from L. humilis "lowly, humble," lit. "on the ground," from humus "earth." Senses of "not self-asserting" and "of low birth or rank" were both in M.E. The verb is c.1380 in the intrans. sense of "to render oneself humble;" 1484 in the trans. sense of "to lower (someone) in dignity." "Don't be so humble; you're not that great." [Golda Meir] To eat humble pie (1830) is from umble pie (1648), pie made from umbles "edible inner parts of an animal" (especially deer), considered a low-class food. The similar sense of similar-sounding words (the "h" of humble was not pronounced then) converged in the pun. Umbles, meanwhile, is M.E. numbles "offal" (with loss of n- through assimilation into preceding article), from O.Fr. nombles "loin, fillet," from L. lumulus, dim. of lumbus "loin."

humbug --- 1751, student slang, "trick, jest, hoax, deception," of unknown origin.

humdinger --- 1905, Amer.Eng., originally used of beautiful women; probably from dinger, early 19c. slang word for anything superlative.

humdrum --- routine, monotonous, 1553, probably a reduplication of hum.

humerus --- 1706, "bone of the upper arm," orig. (14c.) "shoulder," a misspelled borrowing of L. umerus "shoulder," from PIE *omesos (cf. Skt. amsah, Gk. omos, O.N. ass, Goth. ams "shoulder").

humid --- 1412 (implied in humidity), from O.Fr. humide, from L. humidus "moist, wet," var. (by infl. of humus "earth") of umidus, from umere "be moist."

humiliation --- c.1386, from O.Fr. humiliation, from L.L. humiliationem (nom. humiliatio) "humbling, humiliation," from L. humiliare "to humble," from humilis "humble." Humiliate is c.1533, a back-formation of this.

humility --- c.1315, from O.Fr. humilité, from L. humilitatem (nom. humilitas) "lowness, insignificance," in Church L. "meekness," from humilis "humble." In the Mercian hymns, L. humilitatem is glossed by O.E. eaðmodnisse.

hummock --- knoll, hillock, 1555, originally nautical, "conical small hill on a seacoast," of obscure origin, though second element is dim. suffix -ock. In Florida, where the local form is hammock, it means a clump of hardwood trees on a knoll in a swamp or on a key.

hummus --- 1955, from Turk. humus "mashed chick peas."

humongous --- 1960s, Amer.Eng., apparently a fanciful coinage from huge and monstrous.

humor --- 1340, "fluid or juice of an animal or plant," from Anglo-Norm. humour, from O.Fr. humor, from L. umor "body fluid" (also humor, by false assoc. with humus "earth"), related to umere "be wet, moist," and to uvescere "become wet." In ancient and medieval physiology, "any of the four body fluids" (blood, phlegm, choler, and melancholy or black bile) whose relative proportions were thought to determine state of mind. This led to a sense of "mood, temporary state of mind" (first recorded 1525); the sense of "amusing quality, funniness" is first recorded 1682, probably via sense of "whim, caprice" (1565), which also produced the verb sense of "indulge," first attested 1588. "The pronunciation of the initial h is only of recent date, and is sometimes omitted ...." [OED] Humorous in the modern sense is first recorded 1705.

humour --- See humor.

hump --- 1681 (in hump-backed), from Du. homp "lump," from M.L.G. hump "bump," from P.Gmc. *khump-. Replaced, or perhaps influenced by, O.E. crump. A meaning attested from 1901 is "mound in a railway yard over which cars must be pushed," which may be behind the fig. sense of "critical point of an undertaking" (1914). The verb meaning "to do the sex act with" is attested from 1785, but the source of this indicates it is an older word. Humpback whale is from 1725.

Humphrey --- masc. proper name, from O.E. Hunfrið, probably from P.Gmc. *hun "strength" + O.E. frið "peace." To dine with Duke Humphrey (17c.) meant to go without a meal, though the reason for the expression now is obscure.

Humpty-dumpty --- from Fr. nursery rhyme hero (the rhyme first attested in Eng. 1810), probably a reduplication of Humpty, a pet form of Humphrey. Originally, humpty-dumpty was a drink (1698), "ale boiled with brandy," probably from hump and dump, but the connection is obscure and there may not be one. Meaning "a short, dumpy, hump-shouldered person" (1785) is attested earlier in Eng. than the nursery rhyme, though it may be from the notion of an anthropomorphic egg. " 'It's very provoking,' Humpty Dumpty said, ... 'to be called an egg -- very!' " ["Through the Looking-Glass," 1872]

humus --- 1796, from L. humus "earth, soil," probably from humi "on the ground," from PIE *ghom- (cf. Gk. khamai "on the ground," Lith. zeme, O.C.S. zemlja "earth," L. humilis "low").

humvee --- 1991, Persian Gulf War military slang, rough acronym for high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle.

Hun --- O.E., tribe from central Asia that overran Europe in the 4c. and 5c. (esp. under their king Attila, called Flagellum Dei "The Scourge of God"), from M.L. Hunni, apparently ult. from Turkic Hun-yü, the name of a tribe (they were known in China as Han or Hiong-nu). Fig. sense of "reckless destroyer of beauty" is from 1806. Applied to the German in World War I by their enemies because of stories of atrocities, but the nickname originally was urged on Ger. soldiers bound for China by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1900, which caused a scandal.

hunch --- originally (1581) a verb, "to push, thrust," of unknown origin. Meaning "raise or bend into a hump" is 1598, in hunchbacked. Perhaps a variant of bunch. Figurative sense of "hint, tip" (a "push" toward a solution or answer), first recorded 1849, led to that of "premonition, presentiment" (1904).

hundred --- O.E. hundred "a counting of 100," from W.Gmc. *khundrath (cf. O.N. hundrað, Ger. hundert), first element is P.Gmc. *hunda- "hundred" (cf. Goth. hund, O.H.G. hunt), from PIE *kmtom "hundred" (cf. Skt. satam, Avestan satem, Gk. hekaton, L. centum, Lith. simtas, O.Ir. cet, Bret. kant "hundred"). Second element is P.Gmc. *rath "reckoning, number" (cf. Goth. raþjo "a reckoning, account, number," garaþjan "to count"). O.E. also used simple hund, as well as hund-teontig. Meaning "division of a county or shire with its own court" (still in some British place names and U.S. state of Delaware) was in O.E. and probably represents 100 hides of land. The Hundred Years War (which ran intermittently from 1337 to 1453) was first so called in 1874.

hung (adj.) --- past tense of hang; meaning "having impressive male genitals" is from 1641; of a jury, "unable to agree," 1848. Hung-over is from 1950; hung-up "obsessed" is from 1961.

Hungary --- 1450, probably lit. "land of the Huns," who ruled a vast territory from there under Attila in the Dark Ages; from M.L. Hungaria, from Medieval Gk. Oungroi, the name applied to the people whose name for themselves we transliterate as Magyars. Also related are Fr. Hongrie, Ger. Ungarn, Rus. Vengriya, Ukr. Ugorshchina, but the Turk. name for the country, Macaristan, reflects the indigenous name.

hunger --- O.E. hungor "unease or pain caused by lack of food, craving appetite, debility from lack of food," from P.Gmc. *khungrus (cf. O.H.G. hungar, O.N. hungr, Ger. hunger, Du. honger, Goth. huhrus), probably from PIE base *kenk- "to burn, be dry, pain." Hungry is O.E. hungrig.

hunk --- 1813, "large piece cut off," probably from W.Flem. hunke (used of bread and meat), which is perhaps related to Du. homp "lump, hump." Meaning "attractive, sexually appealing man" is first attested 1945 in jive talk (in Australian slang, it is recorded from 1941).

hunker --- to squat, crouch, 1720, Scottish, probably from O.N. huka "to crouch," hoka, hokra "to crawl." Hunker down, Southern U.S. dialectal phrase, popularized c.1965, from northern British hunker "haunch."

hunky-dory --- 1866, Amer.Eng. (popularized c.1870 by a Christy Minstrel song), perhaps a reduplication of hunkey "all right, satisfactory" (1861), from hunk "in a safe position" (1847) New York City slang, from Du. honk "goal, home," from M.Du. honc "place of refuge, hiding place." A theory from 1876, however, traces it to Honcho dori, said to be a street in Yokohama, Japan, where sailors went for diversions of the sort sailors enjoy.

hunt --- O.E. huntian "chase game," related to hentan "to seize," from P.Gmc. *khuntojan (cf. Goth. hinþan "to seize, capture," O.H.G. hunda "booty"), from PIE *kend-. General sense of "search diligently" (for anything) is first recorded c.1200. The noun meaning "body of persons associated for the purpose of hunting with a pack of hounds" is first recorded 1579. Happy hunting-grounds "Native American afterlife paradise" is from "Last of the Mohicans" (1826).

Huntingdon --- O.E. Huntandun (973) "Hill of the Huntsman" (or of a man called Hunta).

Huntington's chorea --- 1889, named for U.S. neurologist George Huntington (1851-1916), who described it in 1872.

hurdle --- O.E. hyrdel "frame of intertwined twigs used as a temporary barrier," dim. of hyrd "door," from P.Gmc. *khurdis (cf. Ger. Hürde "hurdle, fold, pen;" O.N. hurð, Goth. haurds "door"), from PIE *krtis (cf. L. cratis "hurdle, wickerwork," Gk. kartalos "a kind of basket," kyrtos "fishing creel"), from base *qrt- "to weave, twist together" (cf. Skt. krt "to spin"). Sense of "barrier to jump in a race" first recorded 1833; figurative sense of "obstacle" is 1924.

hurdy-gurdy --- 1749, perhaps imitative of its sound and influenced by c.1500 hirdy-girdy "uproar, confusion."

hurl --- c.1225, hurlen, probably related to Low Ger. hurreln "to throw, to dash," and E.Fris. hurreln "to roar, to bluster." OED suggests all are from onomatopoeic *hurr "expressing rapid motion;" see also hurry. For difference between hurl and hurtle (which apparently were confused since early M.E.) see hurtle.

hurling --- verbal noun of hurl (q.v.); attested 1527 as a form of hockey played in Ireland; c.1600 as the name of a game like hand-ball that once was popular in Cornwall.

hurly-burly --- 1539, alteration of phrase hurling and burling, reduplication of 14c. hurling "commotion, tumult," verbal noun of hurl (q.v.). Hurling time was the name applied by chroniclers to the period of tumult and commotion around Wat Tyler's rebellion.

hurrah --- 1686, alteration of huzza, apparently infl. by similar shouts in Ger., Dan., Swed. May have been picked up during Thirty Years' War. According to Moriz Heyne, this was the battle-cry of Prussian soldiers during the War of Liberation (1812-13). Hooray is its popular form and is almost as old.

hurricane --- 1555, a partially deformed adoptation from Sp. huracan (Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdés, "Historia General y Natural de las Indias," 1547-9), furacan (in the works of Pedro Mártir De Anghiera, chaplain to the court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella and historian of Spanish explorations), from an Arawakan (W. Indies) word. In Port., it became furacão. Confusion of initial h- and f- common in Sp. in these years; the conquistador is known in contemporary records as both Hernando and Fernando Cortés. First in Eng. in Richard Eden's "Decades of the New World": "These tempestes of the ayer (which the Grecians caule Tiphones ...) they caule furacanes." OED records some 39 different spellings, mostly from the late 16c., including forcane, herrycano, harrycain, hurlecane. Modern form became frequent from 1650, established after 1688. Shakespeare uses hurricano ("King Lear," "Troilus and Cressida"), but in reference to waterspouts.

hurry (v.) --- 1590, first recorded in Shakespeare, who used it often, perhaps a W.Midlands sense of M.E. hurren "to vibrate rapidly, buzz," from P.Gmc. *khurza "to move with haste" (cf. M.H.G. hurren "to whir, move fast," O.Swed. hurra "to whirl round"), which also perhaps is the root of hurl. The noun is 1600, from the verb. Reduplicated form hurry-scurry is from 1732.

hurst --- hillock (especially a sandy one), also "grove, wooded eminence," from O.E. hyrst, from P.Gmc. *khurstiz (cf. M.Du. horst "underwood," Ger. Horst "thicket, shrubbery"). Common in place names (cf. Amherst).

hurt --- c.1200, from O.Fr. hurter "to ram, strike, collide," perhaps from Frank. *hurt (cf. M.H.G. hurten "run at, collide," O.N. hrutr "ram"). Sense of "injury" is purely an Eng. development. Sense of "knock" died out 17c., but cf. hurtle.

hurtle --- c.1225, hurteln, probably freq. of hurten (see hurt). The essential notion in hurtle is that of forcible collision, in hurl that of forcible projection.

husband --- O.E. husbonda "male head of a household," probably from O.N. husbondi "master of the house," from hus "house" + bondi "householder, dweller, freeholder, peasant," from buandi, prp. of bua "to dwell" The sense of "peasant farmer" (c.1220) is preserved in husbandry (first attested c.1380 in this sense). Beginning c.1290, replaced O.E. wer as "married man," companion of wif, a sad loss for Eng. poetry. The verb "manage thriftily" is 1440, from the noun in the obsolete sense of "steward" (c.1450). Slang shortening hubby first attested 1688.

hush --- 1546, variant of M.E. huisht (c.1380), probably of imitative origin, with terminal -t lost probably by being mistaken for a pt. suffix. Hush-hush (adj.) is 1916 reduplication. Hush-money is attested from 1709. Hush-puppy "deep-fried ball of cornmeal batter" first attested 1918; as a type of lightweight soft shoe, it is a proprietary name, registered 1961.

husk --- 1392, huske "dry, outer skin of certain fruits and seeds," perhaps from M.Du. huuskyn "little house, core of fruit, case," dim. of huus "house."

husky (1) --- hoarse, c.1722 in reference to a cattle disease (of persons, 1740), from the notion of "dry as a husk;" sense of "tough and strong," is first found 1869 Amer.Eng., on analogy of corn husks.

husky (2) --- Eskimo dog, 1852, Canadian Eng., earlier (1830) hoskey "an Eskimo," shortened variant of Ehuskemay (1743), itself a variant of Eskimo.

hussar --- 1532, from Ger. Husar, from Hungarian huszar "light horseman," originally "freebooter," from O.Serb. husar, var. of kursar "pirate," from It. corsaro (see corsair). Bodies of light horsemen organized in Hungary late 15c., widely imitated elsewhere in Europe.

Hussite --- 1532, follower of John Huss, Bohemian religious reformer burnt in 1415. His name is an abbreviation of the name of his native village, Husinec, lit. "goose-pen."

hussy --- 1530, "mistress of a household, housewife," alt. of M.E. husewif, from huse "house" + wif "wife." Gradually broadened to mean "any woman or girl," and by 1650 was being applied to "a woman or girl who shows casual or improper behavior," and a general derogatory sense had overtaken the word by 19c. "It is common to use housewife in a good, and huswife or hussy in a bad sense." [Johnson]

hustings --- O.E. husting "meeting, court, tribunal," from O.N. husðing "council," from hus "house" + ðing "assembly" (see thing); so called because it was a meeting of the men who formed the "household" of a nobleman or king. The native O.E. word for this was folc-gemot. The plural became the usual form c.1500; sense of "temporary platform for political speeches" developed by 1719 from London's Court of Hustings, presided over by the Lord Mayor, which was held on a platform in the Guildhall. This sense broadened to encompass the whole election process.

hustle --- 1684, "to shake to and fro" (especially of money in a cap, as part of a game called hustle-cap), metathesized from Du. hutselen, husseln "to shake, to toss," freq. of hutsen, var. of hotsen "to shake." "The stems hot-, hut- appear in a number of formations in both High and Low German dialects, all implying a shaking movement" [O.E.D.]. Meaning of "push roughly, shove" first recorded 1751. That of "hurry, move quickly" is from 1812. "To get in a quick, illegal manner" is 1840 in Amer.Eng.; "to sell goods aggressively" is 1887. The noun sense of "illegal business activity" is first recorded 1963 in Amer.Eng. Hustler "thief" is first recorded 1825; in sense of "energetic person" (especially a salesman) it is from 1882; in sense of "prostitute" it dates from 1924.

hut --- 1658, from Fr. hutte "cottage" (16c.), from M.H.G. hütte "cottage, hut," probably from P.Gmc. *khudjan-, from the root of O.E. hydan "to hide." Apparently first in Eng. as a military word.

hutch --- 1303, "storage chest" (also applied to the biblical "ark of God"), from O.Fr. huche, from M.L. hutica "chest," of uncertain origin. Sense of "cupboard for food or dishes" first recorded 1671; that of "box-like pen for an animal" is from 1607.

Hutterite --- 1645, in ref. to Moravian Anabaptist sect established by Jacob Hutter (d.1536).

huzza --- 1573, originally a sailor's shout of exaltation, encouragement, or applause. Perhaps originally a hoisting cry.

hyacinth --- 1553 in this form; earlier jacinth (1230), from Gk. hyakinthos, probably ult. from a non-I.E. Mediterranean language. Used in ancient Greece of a blue gem, perhaps sapphire, and of a purple or deep red flower, but exactly which one is unknown (gladiolus, iris, and larkspur have been suggested). Fabled to have sprouted from the blood of Hyakinthos, youth beloved by Apollo and accidentally slain by him. The flower is said to have the letters "AI" or "AIAI" on its petals. The modern use in ref. to a flowering plant genus is from 1578.

Hyades --- star cluster in constellation Taurus, 1398, from Gk. Hyades, popularly explained as "rain-bringers" (from hyein "to rain"), because wet weather supposedly began coincidentally with their heliacal rising, but in fact probably from hys "swine" (the L. word for them was Suculæ "little pigs").

hybrid --- 1601, from L. hybrida, var. of ibrida "mongrel," specifically "offspring of a tame sow and a wild boar," of unknown origin but probably from Gk. and somehow related to hubris. A rare word before c.1850.

hydra --- 1835, genus name of a freshwater polyp, from Gk. Hydra, many-headed Lernaean water serpent slain by Hercules (this sense is attested in Eng. from c.1374), from hydor (gen. hydatos) "water" (see water (n.1)); related to Skt. udrah "aquatic animal" and O.E. ottur "otter." Used figuratively for "any multiplicity of evils" [Johnson].

hydrangea --- 1753, coined in Mod.L. by Linnæus as compound of Gk. hydr-, stem of hydor "water" (see water (n.1)) + angeion "vessel, capsule;" so called from the shrub's cup-shaped seed pods.

hydrant --- 1806, coined in Amer.Eng. from Gk. hydr-, stem of hydor "water" (see water (n.1)) + -ant, prp. ending of L. verbs.

hydrate --- 1802, "compound of water and another chemical," from Fr. hydrate, coined by Fr. chemist Joseph-Louis Proust (1754-1826) from Gk. hydr-, stem of hydor "water" (see water (n.1)). The verb is first attested 1850.

hydraulic --- 1606, from Gk. hydraulikos organon "water organ," from hydr-, stem of hydor "water" (see water (n.1)) + aulos "musical instrument, hollow tube." Extended in L. authors to other kinds of water engines.

hydrocarbon --- 1826, "compound of hydrogen and carbon," formed in Eng. from hydro-, comb. form of Gk. hydor "water" (see water (n.1)) + carbon.

hydroelectric --- 1827, formed in Eng. from hydro-, comb. form of Gk. hydor "water" (see water (n.1)) + electric.

hydrofoil --- 1920, "boat that travels through water on wings," formed in Eng. from hydro-, comb. form of Gk. hydor "water" (see water (n.1)) + foil (n.).

hydrogen --- 1791, from Fr. hydrogène, coined 1787 by G. de Morveau from Gk. hydr-, stem of hydros "water" + Fr. -gène "producing." So called because it forms water when exposed to oxygen. Hydrogen bomb first recorded 1947; shortened form H-bomb is from 1950.

hydrolysis --- 1880, formed in Eng. from hydro-, comb. form of Gk. hydor "water" (see water (n.1)) + lysis "a loosening, a dissolution," from lyein "to loosen, dissolve" (see lose).

hydrophobia --- 1392, from L.L. hydrophobia (Cælius Aurelianus, c.420), from Gk. hydrophobia (Celsius, 50 C.E.), from hydrophobos "dreading water," from hydr-, stem of hydros "water" + phobos "dread, fear" (see phobia). So called because human sufferers show aversion to water and have difficulty swallowing it.

hydroplane (n.) --- 1904, coined in Amer.Eng. with sense of "motorboat that glides on the surface of water," from hydro-, comb. form of Gk. hydor "water" + plane (from airplane). The verb is first attested 1914, "to skim the surface of water by use of hydroplanes;" meaning "skid on a thin layer of water" (esp. of automobile tires) first recorded 1962, properly aquaplane (1961 in this sense).