Bloomer
DEFINITION
bloomer
(1) n.
1. A costume formerly worn by women and girls that was
composed of loose trousers gathered about the ankles and worn under a short
skirt.
2. bloomers
a. Wide, loose trousers gathered at the knee and formerly worn
by women and girls as an athletic costume.
b. Girls’ underpants of similar design.
bloomer (2) n.
1.
a. A plant that blooms.
b. A person who attains full maturity and competence: a late
bloomer.
2. Slang A blunder.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
ETYMOLOGY
Amelia Jenks
Bloomer (1818-1894), a suffragette, wore and
lectured in the short skirts and billowing trousers gathered at the ankles.
Bloomer also advocated the costume in her magazine, despite widespread condemnation
of any woman who wore them in public.
Boycott
DEFINITION
to boycott tr.v.
To abstain from or act together in abstaining from using, buying, or dealing
with as an expression of protest or disfavor or as a means of coercion.
n.
The act or an instance of boycotting.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
ETYMOLOGY
Charles Boycott resigned his captaincy in the British army and obtained
employment as an agent for absentee landowners in Ireland during the famine
years of the mid-nineteenth century. He imposed army discipline on the
impoverished Irish tenant farmers, refused to reduce rents, and, when the rents
were not paid, dispossessed the tenants from their homes. The surrounding
population reacted against him by refusing him services and food delivery and
cutting off all contact with him. He had to call in British troops to protect
him before he decamped for England. Boycott’s name was quickly adopted as the
term for this treatment, not just in English but in other languages such as
French, Dutch, German, and Russian.
Cardigan
DEFINITION
Cardigan n.
(Clothing & Fashion) a knitted jacket or sweater with buttons up the
front.
(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Breeds) the larger variety of
corgi, having a long tail.
Collins English Dictionary
ETYMOLOGY
The 7th Earl of Cardigan, who led the charge of the Light Brigade at
Balaklava, wore a sweater that buttoned down the front during his service in
the Crimean War. The cardigan achieved a renewed burst of fame by being
frequently worn by President Jimmy Carter at the White House.
Guillotine
DEFINITION
Guillotine n.
1. A device consisting of a heavy blade held aloft between upright
guides and dropped to behead a person condemned to die.
2. An instrument, such as a paper cutter, similar in action to a
guillotine.
tr.v.
1. To behead with a guillotine.
2. To cut with a guillotine or sharp blade.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
ETYMOLOGY
The guillotine was named after the French physician Jospeh-Igance Guillotin
(1738-1814)
The device was actually designed by Dr. Antoine Louis, secretary of the College
of Surgeons, as a “painless” method of chopping off human heads. It was first
used on April 25, 1792, to execute a highwayman named Pelletier or Peletier.
The device was called a louisette or louison after its inventor’s name, but
because of a speech delivered by Dr. Guillotin, his name became irrevocably
associated with the machine. After Guillotin’s death in 1814, his children
tried unsuccessfully to get the device’s name changed. When their efforts
failed, they were allowed to change their name instead.
Hooligan
DEFINITION
Hooligan n.
A tough and aggressive or violent
youth.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
ETYMOLOGY
Hooligan was the name of a quarrelsome Irish family portrayed in an
English play at the turn of the century. This play was seen by Czar Nicholas II
during a visit to London. From his comments on the play on his return to
Russia, the word “hooligan” entered the Russian language, where it is still
used – as it is in English – to describe a destructive vandal or young ruffian.
Lynch
DEFINITION
To lynch tr. v.
To punish (a person) without legal process or authority, especially by hanging,
for a perceived offense or as an act of bigotry.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
ETYMOLOGY
Charles Lynch (1736-1796) was a wealthy Virginia planter and
justice of the peace. In this office he achieved notoriety for the number of
people whom he condemned to be hanged.
Masochism
DEFINITION
Masochism n.
1. The deriving of sexual gratification, or the
tendency to derive sexual gratification, from being physically or emotionally
abused.
2. The deriving of pleasure, or the tendency to
derive pleasure, from being humiliated or mistreated, either by another or by
oneself.
3. A willingness or tendency to subject oneself to
unpleasant or trying experiences.
The American Heritage Dictionary of
the English Language
ETYMOLOGY
Leopold
von Sacher-Masoch (1835-1895), an Austrian novelist,
specialized in writing about an abnormality wherein one takes pleasure in being
abused, hurt or dominated.
Sadist
DEFINITION
Sadist n.
Someone
who obtains pleasure from inflicting pain on others
Based
on WordNet 3.0
ETYMOLOGY
Donatien Alphonse Francois de Sade (1740-1814), commonly called the
Marquis de Sade, wrote novels describing sexual satisfaction derived from
inflicting pain or degradation on others. Some of his books were written during
long spells in prison, where he had been incarcerated for trying out his
theories.
Sandwich
DEFINITION
Sandwich n.
a. Two or more slices of bread with a filling such
as meat or cheese placed between them.
b. A partly split long or round roll containing a
filling.
c. One slice of bread covered with a filling.
The American Heritage Dictionary of
the English Language
ETYMOLOGY
The
fourth Earl of Sandwich,
who lived (and gambled extensively) during the reign of George III, used to
have his servant bring him slices of meat between pieces of bread so that he
could continue at the gambling table without leaving for lunch or dinner. This
earl is doubly immortalized – Captain Cook named newly-discovered islands in
the Pacific the Sandwich Islands, after him. The islands are now known as
Hawaii.