Trojan (adj.)
Old English Troian "of or pertaining to ancient
Troy," from Latin Trojanus, from Troia, Troja "
Troy," from the Greek name for the city, said to be from Tros, name of a king of Phrygia, the mythical founder of
Troy. Trojan horse was figurative of ambush-from-within in Roman times (equus Troianus); attested in English from 1570s; the computer virus sense is attested by 1982.
As a noun from mid-14c., "inhabitant of ancient Troy;" in early modern English, the noun could mean "a determined fellow, one who fights or works hard," from the Trojans' long resistance to the Greeks in the Trojan War, but also in 17c., it was a colloquial term for "person of dissolute life, carousing companion." The trade name for a brand of prophylactic contraceptive was registered 1927 in U.S.
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Dardanelles
strait between the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara, separating Europe from Asia, the classical Hellespont, probably from Dardanus (Greek Dardanos), name of an ancient city near
Troy, on the Asia side of the strait, home of the Dardani, a people-name said to be from a mythical founder Dardanus, but this is likely folk-etymology. Related: Dardanian.
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Achilles
Greek hero of the Trojan War stories, bravest, swiftest, and handsomest of Agamemnon's army before
Troy, he was son of Thetis and Peleus. His name is perhaps a compound of akhos "pain, grief" (see
awe) + laos "the people, a people" (see
lay (adj.)); or else it is from Pre-Greek (non-IE). Related: Achillean.
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odyssey (n.)
c. 1600, "Odyssey," title given to one of the two great epic poems of ancient Greece, from Latin Odyssea, from Greek Odysseia, the ancient name of the Homeric poem telling tales of the ten-year wanderings of
Odysseus, king of Ithaca, seeking home after the fall of
Troy. Figurative sense of "long, adventurous journey" is recorded by 1889.
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Ilium
"
Troy;" see
Iliad.
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palladium (n.1)
"a safeguard," c. 1600, originally (late 14c., Palladioun) "a sacred image of
Pallas Athene," from Old French palladion, from Latin palladium, from Greek Palladion, noun use of neuter of Palladios "of Pallas." It stood in the citadel of
Troy and the safety of the city was believed to depend on it. Related: Palladian.
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Ida
fem. proper name, Medieval Latin, from Old High German Ida, which is perhaps related to Old Norse ið "work." As the name of a mountain near
Troy and one in Crete (the mystic birthplace of Zeus), it probably is a different word, of unknown or non-IE origin; related: Idaean.
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heroic (adj.)
1540s, "having or displaying the qualities of a hero," shortened from heroical (early 15c., also heroycus) "noble, magnanimous," from Latin heroicus "of a hero, heroic, mythical," from Greek hērōikos "of or for a hero, pertaining to heroes," from hērōs (see
hero (n.1)). In some modern uses, "having recourse to extreme measures." The Heroic Age, semi-mythical prehistoric period in Greece, ended with the return of the armies from the fall of
Troy. Related: Heroically. Heroic verse (1610s), decasyllabic iambic, is from Italian.
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myrmidon (n.)
one of a warlike people of ancient Thessaly, legendarily ruled by Achilles and accompanying him to
Troy, c. 1400, from Latin Myrmidones (plural), from Greek Myrmidones, Thessalian tribe led by Achilles to the Trojan War, fabled to have been ants changed into men, and often derived from Greek myrmex "ant" (from PIE *morwi- (see
Formica (2)), but Watkins does not connect them and Klein's sources suggest a connection to Greek mormos "dread, terror." Transferred sense of "faithful unquestioning follower," often with a suggestion of unscrupulousness, is from c. 1600.
Iliad
from Latin Ilias (genitive Iliadis), from Greek Ilias poiesis "poem of Ilion" (
Troy), literally "city of Ilius," the mythical founder. With
-ad.
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-ad
word-forming element of Greek origin appended to nouns and denoting collective numerals (triad, Olympiad) and fem. patronymics (
Dryad,
Naiad, also, in plural,
Pleiades,
Hyades), thence also plant family names; from Greek -as (genitive -ados), fem. suffix equivalent to -is.
From its use in
Iliad (literally "of Ilion," that is, "
Troy;" from Ilias poiesis or oidos "poem of Ilion," the accompanying noun being feminine, hence the termination) it has formed titles of poems in imitation of it (Columbiad, Dunciad).
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*bhergh- (2)
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "high," with derivatives referring to hills and hill-forts.
It forms all or part of:
barrow (n.2) "mound, hill, grave-mound;"
belfry;
borough;
bourgeoisie;
burg;
burgess;
burgher;
burglar;
faubourg;
iceberg.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit b'rhant "high," brmhati "strengthens, elevates;" Avestan brzant- "high," Old Persian bard- "be high;" Greek Pergamos, name of the citadel of
Troy; Old Church Slavonic bregu "mountain, height;" Old Irish brigh "mountain;" Welsh bera "stack, pyramid."
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ounce (n.1)
unit of weight, the twelfth part of a pound, early 14c., from Old French once, unce, a measure of weight or time (12c.), from Latin uncia "one-twelfth part" (of a pound, a foot, etc.), from Latin unus "one" (from PIE root
*oi-no- "one, unique"). The Latin word had been adopted in Old English as ynce (see
inch).
It was one-twelfth of a pound in the
Troy system of weights, but one-sixteenth in avoirdupois. Abbreviation oz. is from older Italian onza. It was used loosely from late 14c. for "a small quantity." Also used in Middle English as a measure of time (7.5 seconds) and length (about 3 inches). In figurative expressions and proverbs, an ounce of X is compared or contrasted with a pound of Y from 1520s.
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Cassandra
fem. proper name, Latinized form of Greek Kasandra, Kassandra, name of the daughter of Priam and Hecuba of
Troy, seduced by Apollo, who gave her the gift of prophecy, but when she betrayed him he amended it so that, though she spoke truth, none would believe her. Used figuratively since 1660s.
The name is of uncertain origin, though the second element looks like a fem. form of Greek andros "of man, male human being." Watkins suggests PIE *(s)kand- "to shine" as its source. The name also has been connected to kekasmai "to surpass, excel," and Beekes suggests a source in PIE *(s)kend- "raise."
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pound (n.1)
[fundamental unit of weight] Old English pund "pound" (in weight or money), also "pint," from Proto-Germanic *punda- "pound" as a measure of weight (source of Gothic pund, Old High German phunt, German Pfund, Middle Dutch pont, Old Frisian and Old Norse pund), an early borrowing from Latin pondo "pound," originally in libra pondo "a pound by weight," from pondo (adv.) "by weight," ablative of pondus "weight," from stem of pendere "to hang, cause to hang; weigh" (from PIE root
*(s)pen- "to draw, stretch, spin"). Perhaps the notion is the weight of a thing measured by how much it stretches a cord.
Meaning "unit of money" was in Old English, originally "a (Tower) pound of silver."
In the Middle Ages it was reckoned variously: the Tower pound (12 ounces), the merchant's pound (15), the avoirdupois (16), the
Troy (12); the 16-ounce pound was established before late 14c.
Pound cake (1747) is so called because it has a pound, more or less, of each ingredient.
Pound of flesh is from "Merchant of Venice" IV.i. The abbreviations lb., £ are from libra "pound," and reflect the medieval custom of keeping accounts in Latin (see
Libra).
A peny yn seson spent wille safe a pounde. [Paston Letters, 1457]
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hero (n.1)
late 14c., "man of superhuman strength or physical courage," from Old French heroe (14c., Modern French héros), from Latin heros (plural heroes) "hero, demi-god, illustrious man," from Greek hērōs (plural hērōes) "demi-god." This is of uncertain origin; according to an old theory perhaps originally "defender, protector" and (Pokorny, Watkins) from PIE root
*ser- (1) "to protect," but Beekes writes that it is "Probably a Pre-Greek word."
In Homer, of the Greeks before
Troy, then a comprehensive term used of warriors generally, also of all free men in the Heroic Age. In classical mythology from at least the time of Hesiod (8c. B.C.E.) "man born from a god and a mortal," especially one who had done service to mankind; with the exception of Heracles limited to local deities and patrons of cities.