Origin and history of Abel

Armstrong, "The Folklore of Birds," 1958] The Quran connects the raven with Cain's murder of Abel, but in Christianity the...

[Abel Boyer, "The Political State of Great Britain," 1727] Facts are stubborn things is in an 1822 translation of the popular...

mid-14c., gunne "an engine of war that throws rocks, arrows or other missiles from a tube by the force of explosive powder or other substance," apparently a shortening of woman's name Gunilda, found in Middle English gonnilde "cannon" and in an Anglo-Latin reference to a specific

"the doctrine of a realist," in any sense of that word, 1794, originally in philosophy, from real (adj.) + -ism; after French réalisme or German Realismus; from Late Latin realis "real." In reference to scholastic doctrine of Thomas Aquinas (opposed to nominalism), it is recorded

late 14c., supplicacioun, "earnest request, entreaty, plea," from Old French suplicacion "humble request" and directly from Latin supplicationem (nominative supplicatio) "a public prayer, thanksgiving day," noun of action from past-participle stem of supplicare "to beg humbly" (i

mid-15c., "the tilling of land, act of preparing the earth for crops," from Latin cultura "a cultivating, agriculture," figuratively "care, culture, an honoring," from past participle stem of colere "to tend, guard; to till, cultivate" (see colony). Meaning "the cultivation or re

c. 1600, "sameness, oneness, state of being the same," from French identité (14c.), from Medieval Latin identitatem (nominative identitas) "sameness," ultimately from Latin idem (neuter) "the same" (see idem). [For discussion of Latin formation, see entry in OED.] Earlier form of

by 1953, said to have been in use in radio broadcast jargon since early 1940s, American English, possibly from Yiddish glitsh "a slip," from glitshn "to slip," from German glitschen, and related gleiten "to glide" (see glide (v.)). Perhaps directly from German. Apparently it bega

1812 (from 1683 as Ingin), a spelling representing the early American English colloquial pronunciation of Indian (q.v.). Honest Injun as an asseveration of truthfuless is first recorded 1868, from the notion of assurance extracted from Indians of their lack of duplicity in a part

"desecrate, treat (holy things) with irreverence," late 14c., prophanen, from Old French profaner, prophaner (13c.) and directly from Latin profanare (in Medieval Latin often prophanare) "to desecrate, render unholy, violate," from profanus "unholy, not consecrated" (see profane