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What Happened?
Lich in Old and Middle English referred to bodies in general. In the OED's two definitions for lich, that body could be alive ("lich, n.," def. 1) or dead ("lich, n.," def. 2). That's important to understand because corpse could also refer to a living or dead body ("corpse, n.," def. 1 and 2).
Between Middle ...
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My grandfather was a blacksmith (now long dead). My understanding is that a countersink (also called a bob-punch), is used to form a depression in the surface of plates to be joined together when rivetting. Without this, the head of the rivet projects entirely and is subject to damage. If the head is broken off, the rivet will sink into the plate. The ...
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The conjecture on this in the OED says
Etymology: counter- prefix, apparently in a sense akin to 8 b, the hole being the counterpart of that which is to be sunk in it.
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Certainly TaleisinMerlin's answer is weighty. Here's the addendum:
Addendum
While certainly lich has been dropped from the vernacular, there is one particular language community in which its use is still strident, and that is the fantasy genre. My first encounter with lich(e) was as a child when I was introduced to it as a type of undead villan in one of ...
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I consulted a number of dictionaries of word and phrase origins and investigated early instances of bulldozer (in various spellings) in hopes of answering my own questions. I can’t say that the results are entirely satisfactory.
Dictionary discussions of the origin of ‘bulldozer’
Dictionaries of word origins largely support the etymological account given by ...
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I suggest obtuse.
OED has
Annoyingly unperceptive or slow to understand; stupid; insensitive. Also, of a remark, action, etc.: exhibiting dullness, stupidity or insensitivity; clumsy, unsubtle.
1509 S. Hᴀᴡᴇs Pastime of Pleasure (1845) xɪɪɪ. 113 I am but yonge, it is to me obtuse Of these maters to presume to endyte.
a1586 Sɪʀ P. Sɪᴅɴᴇʏ Lady of May in ...
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Nerf, I would assume, comes from the Nerf company who manufactured foam projectile toys and sports balls for safe, indoor play. To "nerf" an effect, is to decrease its potential destructive output.
Buff, refers to a buffer:
a device or a piece of material for reducing shock or damage due to contact
a means or device used as a cushion against shock
...
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Grasshopper dozers, anyone?? Nebraska. State Board of Agriculture · 1900. This shows a use of dozer 30 years before the first diesel tractor dozer attachment appeared.
The following Experiments with the hopper dozer for grass as detailed in Bulletin No 14 of the Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station are of interest both in showing the amount harm done by ...
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