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Some computery answers!
- Origin of the term “wizard” in computing
- What is the etymology of “fanboi”?
- What is the origin of ZOMG?
Some other answers!
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1d |
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Where did the phrase “chock-full” come from? Nor do I, but just go for it; their policy is to be bold in updating pages. |
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1d |
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Where did the phrase “chock-full” come from? Wiktionary is editable. How about correcting the etymology? |
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May 17 |
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Where does the phrase “fair do's/dues/doos/does” come from? Is there anything to suggest the British phrase fair dos is connected to this Arabic word for heaven, firdos? |
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May 17 |
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Where does the phrase “fair do's/dues/doos/does” come from? @Samthere: Yeah, no problem, fair dos. |
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May 16 |
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How did the term “to favor” come to signify a limp? The usage may well go that far back, but the known record does not (yet) :) |
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May 14 |
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First printed use of the word “diagram” in English Good find! Would you like to contribute these antedatings to the OED? |
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May 12 |
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Provenance of 'deprecated' (in the programming sense) @mgkrebbs: Good find! That section explains how deprecation works, and it's the same as today. In their case, they allowed 11 years for transition. |
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May 12 |
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When did we start naming our dogs Rover, and why? No mention of Rover in the 1576 Of Englishe dogges: the diuersities, the names, the natures, and the properties. |
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May 12 |
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First printed use of the word “diagram” in English @Kris: Neither the State of Michigan, nor their Department of State Highways or Testing Laboratory Section existed in 1599, especially as the first Europeans didn't even get there until the next century. |
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May 12 |
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First printed use of the word “diagram” in English @Kris: That '1450' isn't really 1450, it's from a later summary of the book that also mentions an "18th-century inscription". Likewise, the '1590' has this user review: "This is a catalogue to an 1909 auction of rare books, of which the 1590 title page is merely an illustration." |
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May 11 |
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Etymology of "rhyme'' etymonline.com/… It comes from Greek rhythmos "measured motion, time, proportion". |
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May 7 |
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What's a jagger in the song Moves Like Jagger? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moves_like_Jagger says: "its lyrics refer to a male's ability to impress a female with his dance moves, which he compares to those of Mick Jagger, frontman for the English band The Rolling Stones." |
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May 3 |
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Does the word “raytracer” exist? @JuliusKunze: Words exist even if they're not (yet) in the dictionary. |
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May 3 |
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What is the origin of the idiom “like pulling teeth”? @DmitryBrant: When was dentistry invented? Anyway, the phrase is worthy enough for an entry in the OED. |
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May 3 |
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What is the origin of the idiom “like pulling teeth”? Antedating sent to the OED. |
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May 2 |
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What is the origin of the idiom “like pulling teeth”? See also english.stackexchange.com/questions/47139/origin-of-eye-teeth and english.stackexchange.com/questions/101132/… |
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Apr 30 |
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When did “Easter egg” begin to mean “hidden feature”? @user867: Yes, Easter eggs are traditionally hidden for children to go and find. These software treats are likewise hidden for people to go and find. |
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Apr 29 |
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When did “Easter egg” begin to mean “hidden feature”? I've voted to re-open because this is like any number of etymology questions still open. Further, my answer has extra research that found an antedating that is not (yet) found in general reference sources. |
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Apr 29 |
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Origin of term “doublespeak” "Doublespeak" now has its own entry in the OED: "= double-talk n. 2; cf. -speak suffix and doublethink n.". 1957 is still their earliest (I'll send them the 1950 from Hansard) but now the asterisk is gone. |
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Apr 29 |
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When did “Easter egg” begin to mean “hidden feature”? I've sent the antedating to the OED. |
