nasturtium (n.)

name given to various plants of the mustard family, including watercress, late Old English nasturtium, nasturcium, from Latin nasturtium "cress;" the popular etymology explanation of the name (Pliny) is that it is from Latin *nasitortium, literally "nose-twist," from nasus "nose" (from PIE root *nas- "nose") + past participle of torquere "to twist" (from PIE root *terkw- "to twist"); the plant so called for its somewhat acrid odor. Modern application to a South American trailing plant with orange flowers is recorded from 1704.

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nose-bleed (n.)

also nosebleed, "a discharge of blood from the nose, epistaxis," 1839 (Webster), from nose (n.) + bleed (n.). Also a common name of the yarrow and watercress (15c., compare nasturtium).

*nas-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "nose."

It forms all or part of: nares; nark; nasal; nasopharynx; nasturtium; ness; nose; nostril; nozzle; nuzzle; pince-nez.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit nasa, Old Persian naham, Latin nasus, Old Church Slavonic nasu, Lithuanian nosis, Old English nosu, German Nase "nose."

*terkw-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to twist."

It forms all or part of: contort; distort; extort; extortion; nasturtium; queer; retort; thwart; torch; torment; torque (n.) "rotating force;" torsion; tort; torticollis; tortuous; torture; truss.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit tarkuh "spindle;" Latin torquere "to twist;" Old Church Slavonic traku "band, girdle;" Old High German drahsil "turner," German drechseln "to turn on a lathe;" Old Norse þvert "across," Old English þweorh "transverse, perverse, angry, cross," Gothic þwairhs "angry."

Trends of nasturtium

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

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herb

c. 1300, erbe "non-woody plant," especially a leafy vegetable used for human food, from Old French erbe "grass, herb, plant fed to animals" (12c., Modern French herbe), from Latin herba "grass, an herb; herbage, turf, weeds" (source also of Spanish yerba, Portuguese herva, Italia

soul

"A substantial entity believed to be that in each person which lives, feels, thinks, and wills" [Century Dictionary], Middle English soule, from Old English sawol "spiritual and emotional part of a person, animate existence; life, living being," from Proto-Germanic *saiwalō (sour

prosper

mid-14c., prosperen, "be successful, thrive, advance in any good thing," from Old French prosperer (14c.) and directly from Latin prosperare "cause to succeed, render happy," from prosperus "favorable, fortunate, prosperous" (source also of Spanish and Italian prospero). This is

flirt

1550s, "to turn up one's nose, sneer at;" later "to rap or flick, as with the fingers" (1560s); "throw with a sudden movement," also "move in short, quick flights" (1580s). Perhaps imitative (compare flip (v.), also East Frisian flirt "a flick or light blow," flirtje "a giddy gir

anecdote

1670s, "secret or private stories," from French anecdote (17c.) or directly from Medieval Latin anecdota, from Greek anekdota "things unpublished," neuter plural of anekdotos, from an- "not" (see an- (1)) + ekdotos "published," from ek- "out" (see ex-) + didonai "to give" (from P

protagonist

1670s, "principal character in a story, drama, etc.," from Greek prōtagōnistēs "actor who plays the chief or first part," from prōtos "first" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward," hence "in front of, first, chief") + agōnistēs "actor, competitor," from agōn "contest" (from PIE root

confess

late 14c., transitive and intransitive, "make avowal or admission of" (a fault, crime, sin, debt, etc.), from Old French confesser (transitive and intransitive), from Vulgar Latin *confessare, a frequentative form from Latin confess-, past participle stem of confiteri "to acknowl

so long

parting salutation, 1860, of unknown origin, perhaps from a German idiom (compare German parting salutation adieu so lange, the full sense of which probably is something like "farewell, whilst (we're apart)"); or perhaps from or influenced by Hebrew shalom (via Yiddish sholom). S

crusade

"military expedition under the banner of the cross," 1706, a respelling or replacement of croisade (1570s), from French croisade (16c.), Spanish cruzada, both from Medieval Latin cruciata, past participle of cruciare "to mark with a cross," from Latin crux (genitive crucis) "cros

panegyric

"eulogy, laudation, praise bestowed upon some person, action, or character," c. 1600, from French panégyrique (1510s), from Latin panegyricus "public eulogy," originally an adjective, "for a public festival," from Greek panēgyrikos (logos) "(a speech) given in or addressed to a p

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updated on April 14, 2019

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