Origin and history of R.A.F.

Meaning "a rapid take-off" of an aircraft group is attested from 1940, R.A.F. slang, transitive and intransitive....

"small imaginary creature blamed for mechanical failures," oral use in R.A.F. aviators' slang from Malta, the Middle East...

It is said to have been used likewise by the R.A.F. since 1938....

1630s, "to render (something) whole, bring together the parts of," from Latin integratus, past participle of integrare "make whole," from integer "whole, complete," figuratively, "untainted, upright," literally "untouched," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + root of tangere "to touch

late Old English planete, in old astronomy, "star other than a fixed star; star revolving in an orbit," from Old French planete (Modern French planète) and directly from Late Latin planeta, from Greek planētēs, from (asteres) planētai "wandering (stars)," from planasthai "to wand

1610s, "a discourse or treatise on an art or the arts," from Latinized form of Greek tekhnologia "systematic treatment of an art, craft, or technique," originally referring to grammar, from tekhno-, combining form of tekhnē "art, skill, craft in work; method, system, an art, a sy

"government by the people, system of government in which the sovereign power is vested in the people as a whole exercising power directly or by elected officials; a state so governed," 1570s, from French démocratie (14c.), from Medieval Latin democratia (13c.), from Greek dēmokra

c. 1300, "incantation, magic charm," from Old French charme (12c.) "magic charm, magic spell incantation; song, lamentation," from Latin carmen "song, verse, enchantment, religious formula," from canere "to sing" (from PIE root *kan- "to sing"), with dissimilation of -n- to -r- b

personal name of the Christian Savior, late 12c.; it is the Greek form of Joshua, used variously in translations of the Bible. From Late Latin Iesus (properly pronounced as three syllables), from Greek Iesous, which is an attempt to render into Greek the Aramaic (Semitic) proper

also co-efficient, c. 1600, "that which unites in action with something else to produce a given effect," from co- + efficient. Probably influenced by Modern Latin coefficiens, which was used in mathematics in 16c., introduced by French mathematician François Viète (1540-1603). As