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alma mater: alma mater: [17] Alma mater literally means ‘mother who fosters or nourishes’. The Latin adjective almus ‘giving nourishment’, derives from the verb alere ‘nourish’ (source of English alimony and alimentary). The epithet alma mater was originally applied by the Romans to a number of goddesses whose particular province was abundance, notably Ceres and Cybele.

In the 17th century it began to be used in English with reference to a person’s former school or college, thought of as a place of intellectual and spiritual nourishment (Alexander Pope was amongst its earliest users, although the reference is far from kind: ‘Proceed, great days! ’till Learning fly the shore … ’Till Isis’ Elders reel, their pupils’ sport, And Alma mater lie dissolv’d in Port!’ Dunciad 1718).

If that which nourishes is almus, those who are nourished are alumni (similarly derived from the verb alere). Alumnus was first applied in English to a pupil – and more specifically a former pupil or graduate – in the 17th century; an early reference combines the notions of alumnus and alma mater: ‘Lieutenant Governor … promised his Interposition for them, as become such an Alumnus to such an Alma Mater’, William Sewall’s Diary 12 October 1696.

The first example of the feminine form, alumna, comes in the 1880s.
=> alimentary, alimony, alumnus
almanac: almanac: [14] One of the first recorded uses of almanac in English is by Chaucer in his Treatise on the astrolabe 1391: ‘A table of the verray Moeuyng of the Mone from howre to howre, every day and in every signe, after thin Almenak’. At that time an almanac was specifically a table of the movements and positions of the sun, moon, and planets, from which astronomical calculations could be made; other refinements and additions, such as a calendar, came to be included over succeeding centuries.

The earliest authenticated reference to an almanac comes in the (Latin) works of the English scientist Roger Bacon, in the mid 13th century. But the ultimate source of the word is obscure. Its first syllable, al-, and its general relevance to medieval science and technology, strongly suggest an Arabic origin, but no convincing candidate has been found.
almond: almond: [13] The l in almond is a comparatively recent addition; its immediate source, Latin amandula, did not have one (and nor, correspondingly, do French amande, Portuguese amendoa, Italian mandola, or German mandel). But the relative frequency of the prefix al- in Latin-derived words seems to have prompted its grafting on to amandula in its passage from Latin to Old French, giving a hypothetical *almandle and eventually al(e)mande.

French in due course dropped the l, but English acquired the word when it was still there. Going further back in time, the source of amandula was Latin amygdula, of which it was an alteration, and amygdula in turn was borrowed from the Greek word for ‘almond’, amygdálē. The Latin and Greek forms have been reborrowed into English at a much later date in various scientific terms: amygdala, for instance, an almond-shaped mass of nerve tissue in the brain; amygdalin, a glucoside found in bitter almonds; and amygdaloid, a rock with almondshaped cavities.
almoner: almoner: see alms
almost: almost: [OE] Almost is simply a combination of all and most. In Anglo-Saxon times, and up until the 17th century, it meant ‘mostly all’ or ‘nearly all’ (thus one could say ‘My best friends are almost men’, meaning most of them are men); but already by the 13th century the modern sense ‘nearly, not quite’ was well in place.
=> all, most
alms: alms: [OE] The word alms has become much reduced in its passage through time from its ultimate Greek source, eleēmosúnē ‘pity, alms’. This was borrowed into post-classical (Christian) Latin as eleēmosyna, which subsequently became simplified in Vulgar Latin to *alimosina (source of the word for ‘alms’ in many Romance languages, such as French aumône and Italian limosina).

At this stage Germanic borrowed it, and in due course dispersed it (German almosen, Dutch aalmoes). It entered Old English as ælmesse, which became reduced in Middle English to almes and finally by the 17th century to alms (which because of its -s had come to be regarded as a plural noun). The original Greek eleēmosúnē is itself a derivative, of the adjective eleémōn ‘compassionate’, which in turn came from the noun éleos ‘pity’.

From medieval Latin eleēmosyna was derived the adjective eleēmosynarius (borrowed into English in the 17th century as the almost unpronounceable eleemosynary ‘giving alms’). Used as a noun, this passed into Old French as a(u)lmonier, and eventually, in the 13th century, became English aumoner ‘giver of alms’. The modern sense of almoner as a hospital social worker did not develop until the end of the 19th century.
=> almoner, eleemosynary
balm: balm: [13] In origin, balm and balsam are the same word. Both come via Latin balsamum from Greek bálsamon, an ‘aromatic oily resin exuded from certain trees’. Its ultimate source may have been Hebrew bāśām ‘spice’. Latin balsamum passed into Old French, and thence into English, as basme or baume (hence the modern English pronunciation), and in the 15th to 16th centuries the Latin l was restored to the written form of the word. The new borrowing balsam, direct from Latin, was made in the 15th century.
=> balsam
calm: calm: [14] The underlying meaning of calm seems to be not far removed from ‘siesta’. It comes ultimately from Greek kauma ‘heat’, which was borrowed into late Latin as cauma. This appears to have been applied progressively to the ‘great heat of the midday sun’, to ‘rest taken during this period’, and finally to simply ‘quietness, absence of activity’. Cauma passed into Old Italian as calma, and English seems to have got the word from Italian.
napalm: napalm: [20] Napalm, a jelly-like substance, is made by thickening petrol with the aluminium salts of naphthenic acid and palmitic acid, and the term napalm was coined in the early 1940s from the first syllables of naphthenic and palmitic (the former is from naphtha [16], ultimately of Greek origin, the latter from Latin palma (see PALM), because the acid is obtained from palm oil). It was used in World War II, but it was the Korean War that really brought it to public attention, and it is from then that the use of napalm as a verb dates.
palm: palm: Palm the tree [OE] and the palm of the hand [14] are effectively distinct words in English, but they have the same ultimate source: Latin palma. This originally meant ‘palm of the hand’ (it is related to Irish lám ‘hand’ and Welsh llaw ‘hand’), and the application to the tree is a secondary one, alluding to the shape of the cluster of palm leaves, like the fingers of a hand.

The Latin word was borrowed into the Germanic dialects in prehistoric times in the tree sense, and is now widespread (German palme and Dutch and Swedish palm as well as English palm). English acquired it in the ‘hand’ sense via Old French paume, with subsequent reversion to the Latin spelling. The French diminutive palmette denotes a stylized palm leaf used as a decorative device, particularly on cornices.

It was borrowed into English in the mid-19th century, and is thought to have formed the basis of English pelmet [20].
=> pelmet
psalm: psalm: [OE] The Greek verb psállein originally meant ‘pluck’, but it was extended figuratively to ‘pluck harpstrings’, and hence ‘sing to the accompaniment of the harp’. From it was derived the noun psalmós ‘harp-song’, which was used in the Greek Septuagint to render Hebrew mizmōr ‘song (of the sort sung to the harp by David)’. It passed into Old English via late Latin psalmus. Another derivative of Greek psállein was psaltérion ‘stringed instrument played by plucking’, which has given English psalter [OE] and psaltery [13].
realm: realm: [13] Realm., régime, and regimen are ultimately the same word. All three come from Latin regimen ‘system of government’, a derivative of the verb regere ‘rule’ (from which English gets rector, regent, register, etc). This passed into Old French, where reiel ‘royal’ was grafted into it, producing realme – whence English realm.
=> rector, regal, régime, regimen, register, royal
salmon: salmon: [13] The ancestral Indo-European word for ‘salmon’ is lax. It survives in numerous modern European languages, including German lachs, Swedish lax (whence English gravlax), Yiddish laks (source of English lox ‘smoked salmon’), and Russian losos’. The Old English member of the family was læx, but in the 13th century this was replaced by salmon, a borrowing from Anglo-Norman saumoun. This in turn went back to Latin salmō, which some have linked with salīre ‘jump’ (source of English assail, insult, salient, etc) – hence the ‘leaping’ fish.
Alma: fem. proper name, from Latin Alma "nourishing," fem. of almus; from alere "to nourish" (see old).
Alma Mater (n.): late 14c., Latin, literally "bountiful mother," a title Romans gave to goddesses, especially Ceres and Cybele, from alma, fem. of almus "nourishing," from alere "to nourish" (see old) + mater "mother" (see mother (n.1)). First used 1710 in sense of "one's university or school" in reference to British universities.
almagest (n.): late 14c., title of a treatise on astronomy by Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria, extended in Middle English to other works on astrology or astronomy, from Old French almageste (13c.), from Arabic al majisti, from al "the" + Greek megiste "the greatest (composition)," from fem. of megistos, superlative of megas "great" (see mickle). Originally titled in Greek Megale syntaxis tes astronomias "Great Composition on Astronomy;" Arab translators in their admiration altered this.
almah (n.): Egyptian dancing-girl, belly-dancer, 1814, perhaps from Arabic almah (fem. adjective), "learned, knowing," from alama "to know." Or perhaps from a Semitic root meaning "girl" (cognates: Hebrew alma "a young girl, a damsel").
almanac (n.): late 14c., attested in Anglo-Latin from mid-13c., via Old French almanach or Medieval Latin almanachus, which is of uncertain origin. It is sometimes said to be from a Spanish-Arabic al-manakh "calendar, almanac," but possibly ultimately from Late Greek almenichiakon "calendar," which is said to be of Coptic origin.

This word has been the subject of much speculation. Originally a book of permanent tables of astronomical data; one-year versions, combined with ecclesiastical calendars, date from 16c.; "astrological and weather predictions appear in 16-17th c.; the 'useful statistics' are a modern feature" [OED].
almighty (adj.): Old English ælmihtig "all-powerful," also a by-name of God; compound of æl (see all) + mihtig (see mighty); common Germanic (cognates: Old Saxon alomahtig, Old High German alamahtic, German allmächtig, Old Norse almattigr), perhaps an early Germanic loan-translation of Latin omnipotens (see omnipotent).
The almighty dollar, that great object of universal devotion throughout our land." [Washington Irving, 1836]
Related: Almightily.
Almohades: 12c. Muslim religious power that ruled Spain and North Africa, founded by Mohammed ibn Abdullah, the name is literally "the Unitarians," short for Arabic al-muwahhidun "they who profess the unity (of God)," so called for their absolutist monotheism.
almond (n.): c. 1300, from Old French almande, amande, from Vulgar Latin *amendla, *amandula, from Latin amygdala (plural), from Greek amygdalos "an almond tree," which is of unknown origin, perhaps a Semitic word. Altered in Medieval Latin by influence of amandus "loveable," and acquiring in French an excrescent -l- perhaps from Spanish almendra "almond," which got it via confusion with the Arabic definite article al-, which formed the beginnings of many Spanish words. Applied to eyes shaped like almonds, especially of certain Asiatic peoples, from 1870.
almoner (n.): "official distributor of alms on behalf of another," c. 1300 (mid-13c. as a surname), from Old French almosnier (12c.; Modern French aumônerie), from Vulgar Latin *almosinarius, from Late Latin elemosinarius (adj.) "connected with alms," from eleemosyna "alms" (see alms).
Almoravides: Muslim Berber horde from the Sahara which founded a dynasty in Morocco (11c.) and conquered much of Spain and Portugal. The name is Spanish, from Arabic al-Murabitun, literally "the monks living in a fortified convent," from ribat "fortified convent."
almost (adv.): Old English eallmæst "nearly all, for the most part," literally "mostly all;" see all + most. Modern form from 15c.
alms (n.): Old English ælmesse "alms, almsgiving," from Proto-Germanic *alemosna (cognates: Old Saxon alamosna, Old High German alamuosan, Old Norse ölmusa), an early borrowing of Vulgar Latin *alemosyna (source of Old Spanish almosna, Old French almosne, Italian limosina), from Church Latin eleemosyna (Tertullian, 3c.), from Greek eleemosyne "pity, mercy," in Ecclesiastical Greek "charity, alms," from eleemon "compassionate," from eleos "pity, mercy," which is of unknown origin, perhaps imitative of cries for alms. Spelling perversion in Vulgar Latin is perhaps by influence of alimonia.
almshouse (n.): mid-15c., from alms + house (n.).
balm (n.): early 13c., basme, aromatic substance made from resins and oils, from Old French basme (Modern French baume), from Latin balsamum, from Greek balsamon "balsam," from Hebrew basam "spice," related to Aramaic busma, Arabic basham "balsam, spice, perfume."

Spelling refashioned 15c.-16c. on Latin model. Sense of "healing or soothing influence" (1540s) is from aromatic preparations from balsam (see balsam). Biblical Balm of Gilead, however, began with Coverdale; the Hebrew word there is tsori, which was rendered in Septuagint and Vulgate as "resin" (Greek rhetine, Latin resina).
balmy (adj.): c. 1500, "delicately fragrant," from balm + -y (2). Figurative use for "soothing" dates from c. 1600; of breezes, air, etc. "mild, fragrant" (combining both earlier senses) it is first attested 1704. Meaning "weak-minded, idiotic," 1851, is from London slang.
becalm (v.): 1550s, from be- + calm. Related: Becalmed; becalming.
calm (adj.): late 14c., from Old French calme "tranquility, quiet," traditionally from Old Italian calma, from Late Latin cauma "heat of the mid-day sun" (in Italy, a time when everything rests and is still), from Greek kauma "heat" (especially of the sun), from kaiein "to burn" (see caustic). Spelling influenced by Latin calere "to be hot." Figurative application to social or mental conditions is 16c.
calm (n.): late 14c., from Old French calme, carme "stillness, quiet, tranquility," from the adjective (see calm (adj.)).
calm (v.): late 14c., from Old French calmer or from calm (adj.). Related: Calmed; calming.
calmative (adj.): by 1831, from French calmatif; see calm (adj.) + -ative. A hybrid word; purists prefer sedative. "The Latinic suffix is here defensible on the ground of It. and Sp. calmar, F. calmer ...." [OED].
calmly (adv.): 1590s, from calm (adj.) + -ly (2).
calmness (n.): 1510s, from calm (adj.) + -ness.
concealment (n.): early 14c. (late 13c. in Anglo-French), from Old French concelement "concealment, secrecy," from conceler "to hide" (see conceal). Originally a term in law; general sense is from c. 1600.
Dalmatia: region along the eastern Adriatic coast in what is now Croatia, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from a derivative of PIE *dhal- "to bloom," in a sense of "young animal," in reference to the mountain pastures.
Dalmatian: 1810, spotted dog, presumably named for Dalmatia, but dog breeders argue over whether there is a Croatian ancestry for the breed, which seems to be represented in Egyptian bas-reliefs and Hellenic friezes. Popular in early 1800s as a carriage dog, to trot alongside carriages and guard them in owner's absence. Even fire departments nowadays tend to spell it *Dalmation.
embalm (v.): late 14c., embaumen "to apply balm or ointment; to embalm a corpse," from Old French embaumer, earlier embausmer, "preserve (a corpse) with spices," from assimilated form of en- "in" (see en- (1)) + baume "balm" (see balm) + verbal suffix -er. The -l- inserted in English 1500s in imitation of Latin. Related: Embalmed; embalming.
malmsey (n.): c. 1400, type of strong, sweet white wine, from Provençal malmesie or Middle Dutch malemesye, both from Medieval Latin malmasia, from Medieval Greek Monembasia "Monemvasia," a town in the southern Peloponnesus that was an important center of wine production in the Middle Ages, literally "only one entrance," from monos "alone, only" (see mono-) + embasis "entering into," from en- "in" + basis "a going, a stepping, a base" (see basis).
napalm (n.): 1942, from na(phthenic) palm(itic) acids, used in manufacture of the chemical that thickens gasoline. The verb is 1950, from the noun. Related: Napalmed; napalming.
ophthalmia (n.): "inflammation of the eye, conjunctivitis," late 14c., from Medieval Latin obtalmia, Old French obtalmie, from Late Latin ophthalmia, or directly from Greek ophthalmia, from ophthalmos (see ophthalmo-) + -ia.
ophthalmic (adj.): "pertaining to the eye," early 18c., from Latin ophthalmicus, from Greek ophthalmikos "pertaining to the eye," from ophthalmos "eye" (see ophthalmo-).
ophthalmo-: before vowels ophthalm-, word-forming element meaning "eye," mostly in plural, "the eyes," from Greek ophthalmo-, comb. form of ophthalmos "eye," originally "the seeing," of uncertain origin. Perhaps from ops "eye" (see optic) + a form related to thalamos "inner room, chamber" (see thalamus), giving the whole a sense of "eye and eye socket."
ophthalmologist (n.): 1834; see ophthalmology + -ist.
ophthalmology (n.): 1842; see ophthalmo- + -logy. Related: Ophthalmological.
ophthalmoscope (n.): 1857 in English; coined 1852 by German physician and physicist Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (1821â1894) from ophthalmo- + -scope.
palm (n.1): "flat of the hand," c. 1300, from Old French palme (Modern French paume), from Latin palma "palm of the hand," also "flat end of an oar; palm tree," from PIE *pel- "to spread out; flat" (cognates: Greek palame "open hand," Old Irish lam, Welsh llaw, Old English folm, Old High German folma "hand," Sanskrit panih "hand, hoof"). Palm oil is earlier in the punning sense of "bribe" (1620s) than in the literal sense of "oil from the fruit of the West African palm" (1705, from palm (n.2)).
palm (n.2): tropical tree, Old English palma, Old French palme, both from Latin palma "palm tree," originally "palm of the hand;" the tree so called from the shape of its leaves, like fingers of a hand (see palm (n.1)).

The word traveled early to northern Europe, where the tree does not grow, via Christianity, and took root in the local languages (such as Old Saxon palma, Old High German palma, Old Norse palmr). Palm Sunday is Old English palm-sunnandæg.

In ancient times, a leaf or frond was carried or worn as a symbol of victory or triumph, or on feast days; hence figurative use of palm for "victory, triumph" (late 14c.). Palm court "large room in a hotel, etc., usually decorated with potted palms" first recorded 1908.
palm (v.): "impose (something) on (someone)," 1670s, from palm (n.1). Extended form palm off is from 1822.