is from 1933, earlier "prostitute" (1846). The tail-race (1776) is the part of a mill race below the wheel. To turn tail "take flight" (1580s) originally was a term in falconry. The image of the tail wagging the dog is attested from 1907.
jail
c.1275, gayhol, from O.N.Fr. gaiole and O.Fr. jaole, both meaning "a cage, prison," from M.L. gabiola, from L.L. caveola, dim. of L. cavea "cage." Both forms carried into M.E.; now pronounced "jail" however it is spelled. Norman-derived gaol (preferred in Britain) is "chiefly due to statutory and official tradition" [OED]. The verb "to put in jail" is from 1604. Jailbird is 1603, an allusion to a caged bird. Jail-break "prison escape" is from 1910. Jail bait "girl under the legal age of consent" is attested from 1934.
kill (v.)
c.1200, "to strike, hit, beat, knock." Sense of "to deprive of life" first recorded early 14c. Perhaps from an unrecorded variant of O.E. cwellan "to kill" (see quell), but the earliest sense suggests otherwise. The noun meaning "an act of killing (an animal)" is from 1852. Lawn tennis serve sense is from 1903. The kill "the knockout" is boxing jargon, 1950. Killer in slang sense of "impressive person or thing" first recorded 1937; as an adj., 1979. Killjoy is first recorded 1776; formerly used with other stems (cf. kill-courtesy "boorish person," kill-cow "bully, big man," etc.). Sense in to kill time is from 1728. Killer whale is from 1725. Killing "large profit" is 1888, Amer.Eng. slang. Kill-devil, colloquial for "rum," especially if new or of bad quality, is from 1630s.
house
O.E. hus "dwelling, shelter, house," from P.Gmc. *khusan (cf. O.N., O.Fris. hus, Du. huis, Ger. Haus), of unknown origin, perhaps connected to the root of hide (v.). In Goth. only in gudhus "temple," lit. "god-house;" the usual word for "house" in Goth. being razn. Meaning "family, including ancestors and descendants, especially if noble" is from c.1000. The legislative sense (1540s) is transferred from the building in which the body meets. Meaning "audience in a theater" is from 1921; as a dance club DJ music style, probably from the Warehouse, a Chicago nightclub where the style is said to have originated. Zodiac sense is first attested late 14c. The verb meaning "give shelter to" is O.E. husian (cognate with Ger. hausen, Du. huizen). Household is first recorded late 14c.; for housewife (early 13c.) see hussy. To play house is from 1871; as suggestive of "have sex, shack up," 1968. House arrest first attested 1936; housewarming is from 1577; houseboat is 1790. On the house "free" is from 1889.
"And the Prophet Isaiah the sonne of Amos came to him, and saide vnto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not liue." [2 Kings xx.1, version of 1611]
lick (v.)
O.E. liccian "to lick," from P.Gmc. *likkon (cf. Du. likken, Ger. lecken, Goth. bi-laigon), from PIE imitative base *leigh- (cf. Skt. ledhi "he licks," Arm. lizum "I lick," Gk. leikhein "to lick," L. lingere "to lick," O.Ir. ligim "I lick," Welsh llwy "spoon"). Fr. lecher is a Gmc. loan word. Sense of "a blow, stroke" first recorded 1678 from verb sense of "to beat," first attested 1535, which may be from its use in the Coverdale bible that year in sense of "defeat, annihilate" (an enemy's forces) in Num. xxii.4:
"Now shal this heape licke up all that is about vs, euen as an oxe licketh vp the grasse in the field."
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