Origin and history of medieval

"of the Goths," the ancient Germanic people, "pertaining to the Goths or their language," 1610s, from Late Latin Gothicus, from Gothi, Greek Gothoi (see Goth). Old English had Gotisc. As a noun, "the language of the Goths," from 1757. Gothic was used by 17c. scholars to mean "Ger

"loose white robe," c. 1200, from Old French surpeliz (12c.), from Medieval Latin superpellicium (vestmentum) "a surplice...," literally "an over fur (garment)," from Latin super "over" (see super-) + Medieval Latin pellicium "fur garment, tunic...So called because it was donned over fur garments worn by clergymen for warmth in unheated medieval churches....

"handicraft, trade, art" (archaic), late 14c., misterie, from Medieval Latin misterium, alteration of Latin ministerium "...service, occupation, office, ministry" (see ministry), influenced in form by Medieval Latin mysterium (see mystery (n.1))...Now perhaps only in mystery play, in reference to the medieval performances, if they often were, as is often said, staged...

(late 13c. in place-names), from Old French marle (Modern French marne) and directly from Medieval Latin margila, diminutive...(marlen, from Old French marler and Medieval Latin marlare)....Medieval Latin margila also is the source of Dutch mergel, German Mergel....

release, let go, relinquish, abandon" (12c.), from quite "free, clear, entire, at liberty; discharged; unmarried," from Medieval...Latin quitus, quittus, from Latin quietus "free" (in Medieval Latin "free from war, debts, etc."), also "calm, resting"...The Middle English word also is in part from Medieval Latin quittantia, a variant of quietantia....

garnet" (early 14c.), from Old French grenate, gernatte, granate "garnet," also an adjective, "of a dark red color," from Medieval...Latin granatum "garnet; of dark red color," perhaps abstracted from the Medieval Latin or Old French words for pomegranate...Or the word might be from Medieval Latin granum "grain," in its sense of "cochineal, red dye."...

early 14c., "a devil, incubus, mischievous and ugly fairy," from Norman French gobelin (12c., as Medieval Latin Gobelinus...Evreux, in chronicle of Ordericus Vitalis), of uncertain origin; said to be unrelated to German kobold (see cobalt), or from Medieval...Though French gobelin was not recorded until almost 250 years after appearance of the English term, it is mentioned in the Medieval...Latin text of the 1100's, and few people who believed in folk magic used Medieval Latin....

1580s, "a middle ground, quality, or degree; that which holds a middle place or position," from Latin medium "the middle, midst, center; interval," noun use of neuter of adjective medius "in the middle, between; from the middle" (from PIE root *medhyo- "middle"). Many of the seco

Middle English plukken, "pull (something) off or out from a surface" (especially hair or feathers, but also teeth), from late Old English ploccian, pluccian "pull off, cull," from West Germanic *plokken (source also of Middle Low German plucken, Middle Dutch plocken, Dutch plukke

"expressing or characterized by sadness or mournfulness; doleful," c. 1600, formerly also lugubrous, from -ous + Latin lugubris "mournful, doleful, pertaining to mourning," from lugere "to mourn," from PIE root *leug- "to break; to cause pain" (source also of Greek lygros "mournf