Origin and history of sprue

1890, "arrangement," from the verbal phrase set up, which is attested from c. 1200 as "place in an erect position, place upright, make ready for use;" from set (v.) + up (adv.). From 19c. also "a favorable arrangement of the balls in billiards, etc., especially when left by one p

late 15c. (Caxton), "destroy or derange the order of, throw into confusion," from dis- "not" (see dis-) + order (v.). Replaced earlier disordeine (mid-14c.), from Old French desordainer, from Medieval Latin disordinare "throw into disorder," from Latin dis- + ordinare "to order,

Old English þing "meeting, assembly, council, discussion," later "entity, being, matter" (subject of deliberation in an assembly), also "act, deed, event, material object, body, being, creature," from Proto-Germanic *thinga- "assembly" (source also of Old Frisian thing "assembly,

formerly also endict, c. 1300, enditen, inditen, "bring formal charges against (someone); accuse of a crime," from Anglo-French enditer "accuse, indict, find chargeable with a criminal offense" (late 13c.), Old French enditier, enditer "to dictate, write, compose; (legally) indic

1530s (in Latin form sycophanta), "informer, talebearer, slanderer" (a sense now obsolete), from French sycophante and directly from Latin sycophanta, from Greek sykophantēs "false accuser, slanderer," literally "one who shows the fig," from sykon "fig" (see fig (n.1)) + phainein

Old English clut "lump of something," also "patch of cloth put over a hole to mend it," from Proto-Germanic *klutaz (source also of Old Norse klute "kerchief," Danish klud "rag, tatter," Frisian klut "lump," Dutch kluit "clod, lump"); perhaps related to clot (v.). In later use "a

1650s, from hand in cap, a game whereby two bettors would engage a neutral umpire to determine the odds in an unequal contest. The bettors would put their hands holding forfeit money into a hat or cap. The umpire would announce the odds and the bettors would withdraw their hands

mid-15c., contentement, "satisfactory payment" (of a debt; a sense now obsolete), from Old French contentment, from contenter (see content (v.)). Meaning "That happiness which consists in being satisfied with present conditions" is from 1590s. Contentment is passive; satisfactio

mid-14c., Babilon, representing the Greek rendition of Akkadian Bab-ilani "the gate of the gods," from bab "gate" + ilani, plural of ilu "god" (compare Babel). The Old Persian form, Babiru-, shows characteristic transformation of -l- to -r- in words assimilated from Semitic. The

c. 1300, "custom, habit," in phrase bi rote "by heart," a word of unknown origin, sometimes said to be connected with Old French rote "route" (see route (n.)), or from Latin rota "wheel" (see rotary), but OED calls both suggestions groundless. Meaning "a fixed or unchanging round