Origin and history of Toltec

popular name of a common bird of Europe, Asia, and America, known for its chattering, acquisitiveness, curiosity, and mimicry, c. 1600, earlier simply pie (mid-13c.). The first element is Mag, nickname for Margaret, long used in proverbial and slang English for qualities associat

c. 1200, literally "wind eye," from Old Norse vindauga, from vindr "wind" (see wind (n.1)) + auga "eye" (from PIE root *okw- "to see"). Replaced Old English eagþyrl, literally "eye-hole," and eagduru, literally "eye-door." Compare Old Frisian andern "window," literally "breath-do

"done mechanically or without interest or zeal and merely for the sake of being rid of the duty of doing it; done so as to conform to the letter but not the spirit," 1580s, from Late Latin perfunctorius "careless, negligent," literally "like one who wishes to get through a thing,

1718, "committee of cardinals in charge of foreign missions of the Catholic Church," short for Congregatio de Propaganda Fide "congregation for propagating the faith," a committee of cardinals established 1622 by Gregory XV to supervise foreign missions. The word is properly the

British political party, 1657, in part perhaps a disparaging use of whigg "a country bumpkin" (1640s); but mainly a shortened form of Whiggamore (1649) "one of the adherents of the Presbyterian cause in western Scotland who marched on Edinburgh in 1648 to oppose Charles I." Perha

Old English ofspring "children or young collectively, descendants," literally "those who spring off (someone)," from of "away, away from" (see off (prep.)) + springan "to spring" (see spring (v.)). Similar formation in Old Norse afspringr. The figurative sense "that which is prod

Old English catt (c. 700) "domestic cat," from West Germanic (c. 400-450), from Proto-Germanic *kattuz (source also of Old Frisian katte, Old Norse köttr, Dutch kat, Old High German kazza, German Katze), from Late Latin cattus. The near-universal European word now, it appeared in

1580s, "the divine Word, second person of the Christian Trinity," from Greek logos "word, speech, statement, discourse," also "a computation, account," also "reason, judgment, understanding," from PIE *log-o-, suffixed form of root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather," with derivatives

seventh or last day of the week, Old English sæterdæg, sæternesdæg, literally "day of the planet Saturn," from Sæternes (genitive of Sætern; see Saturn) + Old English dæg (see day). Partial loan-translation of Latin Saturni dies "Saturn's day" (compare Dutch Zaterdag, Old Frisian

"insect, beetle," 1620s (earliest reference is to bedbugs), of unknown origin, probably (but not certainly) from or influenced by Middle English bugge "something frightening, scarecrow" (late 14c.), a word or meaning that has become obsolete since the "insect" sense arose, except