Origin and history of whaler

masc. proper name, attested by 1218, probably via Anglo-French Jake, Jaikes, from Old French Jacques (which was a diminutive of Latin Jacobus; see Jacob), but in English the name always has been regarded as a familiar form of John, and some have argued that it is a native formati

type of thick, viscous, dark-colored liquid used as a salve (for sheep), caulking agent (for ships), and incendiary material, Middle English tēr, from Old English teoru, teru "tar, bitumen, resin, gum," literally "the pitch of (certain kinds of) trees," from Proto-Germanic *terw-

early 13c., "skill as a result of learning or practice," from Old French art (10c.), from Latin artem (nominative ars) "work of art; practical skill; a business, craft," from PIE *ar(ə)-ti- (source also of Sanskrit rtih "manner, mode;" Greek artizein "to prepare"), suffixed form

"wet, soft, spongy ground with soil chiefly composed of decaying vegetable matter," c. 1500, from Gaelic and Irish bogach "bog," from adjective bog "soft, moist," from Proto-Celtic *buggo- "flexible" (from PIE root *bheug- "to bend"). A bog is characterized by vegetation, decaye

Middle English ship, "seagoing vessel," especially a large one, from Old English scip "ship, boat, vessel of considerable size adapted to navigation," from Proto-Germanic *skipa- (source also of Old Norse, Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Gothic skip, Danish skib, Swedish skepp, Middle Du

"seaman, sailor, one who directs or assists in navigating a ship," mid-13c., from Anglo-French mariner, Old French marinier "seaman, sailor" (12c.), from Medieval Latin marinarius "sailor," "of the sea, maritime," from Latin marinus "of the sea," from mare "sea, the sea, seawater

1520s, "to covertly and subtly introduce into the mind or heart" (trans.), from Latin insinuatus, past participle of insinuare "to thrust in, push in, make a way; creep in, intrude, bring in by windings and curvings, wind one's way into," from in- "in" (from PIE root *en "in") +

"a manifest feeling of superiority of one's worth or importance, combined with contempt of others," c. 1300, from Old French arrogance (12c.), from Latin arrogantia "presumption, pride, haughtiness," abstract noun from arrogantem (nominative arrogans) "assuming, overbearing, inso

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

1920, "muscular low-I.Q. male," originally appearing in boxing slang (compare bimbo). Perhaps from Spanish bozal, used in the slave trade and also to mean "one who speaks Spanish poorly." It was also a proper name of Eastern European origin. By 1913 a vaudeville actor named Bob A