D.A.

American English initialism (acronym) for district attorney from 1934; for duck's ass haircut (or, as OED would have it, duck's arse), from 1951. The haircut so called for the shape at the back of the head.

also from 1934

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Tony (1)

masc. proper name, short for Anthony. Tony Curtis, as a style of men's haircut (usually with a D.A. at the back), is by 1956, from the screen name of U.S. film star Bernard Schwarz (1925-2010).

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adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

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district

1610s, "territory under the jurisdiction of a lord or officer," from French district (16c.), from Medieval Latin districtus "restraining of offenders, jurisdiction," then under the feudal system "area of jurisdiction, district within which the lord may take and withhold personal

attorney

early 14c. (mid-13c. in Anglo-Latin), "one appointed by another to act in his place," from Old French atorné "(one) appointed," past participle of aturner "to decree, assign, appoint," from atorner "to assign," literally "to turn to" (see attorn). The sense is of "one appointed t

wisdom

Old English wisdom "knowledge, learning, experience," from wis (see wise (adj.)) + -dom. A common Germanic compound (Old Saxon, Old Frisian wisdom, Old Norse visdomr, Old High German wistuom "wisdom," German Weistum "judicial sentence serving as a precedent"). Wisdom teeth are so

shag

1590s, "cloth having a velvet nap on one side," perhaps ultimately from Old English sceacga "rough matted hair or wool," but the word seems to be missing in Middle English. The Old English word is from Proto-Germanic *skagjan (source also of Old Norse skegg, Swedish skägg "beard"

heredity

1530s, "inheritance, succession," from French hérédité, from Old French eredite "inheritance, legacy" (12c.), from Latin hereditatem (nominative hereditas) "heirship, inheritance, an inheritance, condition of being an heir," from heres (genitive heredis) "heir, heiress" (from PIE

stoop

Middle English stoupen, "bend forward and downward," especially of persons "lower the body by bending forward," from Old English stupian "to bow, bend," from Proto-Germanic *stupojanan (source also of Middle Dutch stupen "to bow, bend," Norwegian stupa "fall, drop"), perhaps from

planet

late Old English planete, in old astronomy, "star other than a fixed star; star revolving in an orbit," from Old French planete (Modern French planète) and directly from Late Latin planeta, from Greek planētēs, from (asteres) planētai "wandering (stars)," from planasthai "to wand

ragamuffin

mid-14c., "demon;" late 14c., "a ragged lout," also in surnames (Isabella Ragamuffyn, 1344), from Middle English raggi "ragged" ("rag-y"?) + "fanciful ending" [OED], or else perhaps second the element is Middle Dutch muffe "mitten." Or, as Johnson has it, "From rag and I know not

hysteria

nervous disease, 1801, coined in medical Latin as an abstract noun from Greek hystera "womb," from PIE *udtero-, variant of *udero- "abdomen, womb, stomach" (see uterus). Originally defined as a neurotic condition peculiar to women and thought to be caused by a dysfunction of the

sedition

mid-14c., sedicioun, "rebellion, uprising, revolt, factitious commotion in the state; concerted attempt to overthrow civil authority; violent strife between factions, civil or religious disorder, riot; rebelliousness against authority," from Old French sedicion (14c., Modern Fren

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updated on September 28, 2017

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