Origin and history of introversion

mid-14c., condicioun, "particular mode of being of a person or thing," also "a requisite or prerequisite, a stipulation," from Old French condicion "stipulation; state; behavior; social status" (12c., Modern French condition), from Medieval Latin conditionem (nominative conditio)

c. 1300, "small, portable slab of durable material, often covered in wax in which writing was incised; flat surface for an inscription" (originally especially the two Mosaic tables of stone), from Old French tablete "small table, merchant's display counter" (13c., Modern French t

c. 1300, retrete, "a step backward;" late 14c., "act of retiring or withdrawing; military signal for retiring from action or exercise," from Old French retret, retrait, noun use of past participle of retrere "draw back," from Latin retrahere "draw back, withdraw, call back," from

"unfriendly opponent, enemy" (originally especially of Satan as the enemy of mankind), mid-14c., aduersere, from Anglo-French adverser (13c.), Old French adversarie (12c., Modern French adversaire) "hostile opponent, enemy," or directly from Latin adversarius "an opponent, rival,

also spic-and-span, "very neat, clean, and trim," 1660s, from spick-and-span-new "new and fresh" (1570s), literally "new as a recently made spike and wood-chip." It seems to be an elaboration, with spick "nail" (see spike (n.1)), of older span-new "very new," in reference to some

late Old English wyrre, werre "large-scale military conflict," from Old North French werre "war" (Old French guerre "difficulty, dispute; hostility; fight, combat, war;" Modern French guerre), from Frankish *werra, from Proto-Germanic *werz-a- (source also of Old Saxon werran, Ol

late 14c., "to cast down" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French aflicter, from Latin afflictare "to damage, harass, torment," frequentative of affligere (past participle afflictus) "to dash down, overthrow," from ad "to" (see ad-) + fligere (past participle flictus) "to strike.

Old English brysan "to crush, pound, injure by a blow which discolors the skin," from Proto-Germanic *brusjan, from PIE root *bhreu- "to smash, cut, break up" (source also of Old Irish bronnaim "I wrong, I hurt;" Breton brezel "war," Vulgar Latin *brisare "to break"). It merged b

"instrument for opening locks," Middle English keie, from Old English cæg "metal piece that works a lock, key" literal and figurative ("solution, explanation, one who or that which opens the way or explains"), a word of unknown origin, abnormal evolution, and no sure cognates oth

1650s, "act of reviving after decline or discontinuance;" specifically from 1660s as, "the bringing back to the stage of a play which has not been presented for a considerable time;" from revive + -al (2). The sense of "a general and extraordinary religious awakening in a communi