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Origin and history of coco

coco(n.)

"palm tree," 1550s, from Spanish and Portuguese coco "grinning or grimacing face," on resemblance of the three depressions at the base of the shell to a monkey or human face. The earlier word for it was the Latinized form cocus, which sometimes was Englished as cocos.

also from 1550s

Entries linking to coco

cocoa(n.)

"brown powder produced by grinding roasted seeds of the cacao, an American evergreen tree," 1788, originally the seeds themselves (1707), corruption (by influence of coco) of cacao. The confusion with coco was already underway in English when the printers of Johnson's dictionary ran together the entries for coco and cocoa, after which it has never been undone. Cocoa has been the regular spelling from c. 1800.

coconut(n.)

1610s, "fruit of the tropical palm tree," from coco + nut. In reference to the dried, shredded flesh of the nut used in cookery and confections, by 1830. Meaning "the head" is slang from 1834. Coconut-oil is attested from 1829.

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    lamp
    c. 1200, "vessel containing flammable liquid and a wick to lift it by capillary action when lit," from Old French lampe "lamp, lights" (12c.), from Latin lampas "a light, torch, flambeau," from Greek lampas "a torch, oil-lamp, beacon-light, light," from lampein "to shine," perhap
    palm
    "flat of the hand, inner surface of the hand between the wrist and the fingers," c. 1300, paume, from Old French paume, palme (Modern French paume), from Latin palma "palm of the hand," also "flat end of an oar; palm tree," from PIE root *pele- (2) "flat; to spread" (source also
    tree
    Old English treo, treow "tree" (also "timber, wood, beam, log, stake"), from Proto-Germanic *trewam (source also of Old Frisian tre, Old Saxon trio, Old Norse tre, Gothic triu "tree"), from PIE *drew-o-, suffixed variant form of root *deru- "be firm, solid, steadfast," with speci
    administration
    mid-14c., administracioun, "act of giving or dispensing;" late 14c., "management (of a business, property, etc.), act of administering," from Latin administrationem (nominative administratio) "aid, help, cooperation; direction, management," noun of action from past-participle ste
    edifice
    late 14c., from Old French edifice "building" (12c.), from Latin aedificium "building," from aedificare "to erect a building," from aedis, variant of aedes "temple, sanctuary," usually a single edifice without partitions, also, in the plural, "dwelling house, building," originall
    fairy
    c. 1300, fairie, "the country or home of supernatural or legendary creatures; fairyland," also "something incredible or fictitious," from Old French faerie "land of fairies, meeting of fairies; enchantment, magic, witchcraft, sorcery" (12c.), from fae "fay," from Latin fata "the
    companion
    c. 1300, "one who accompanies or associates with another," from Old French compagnon "fellow, mate, friend, partner" (12c.), from Late Latin companionem (nominative companio), literally "bread fellow, messmate," from Latin com "with, together" (see com-) + panis "bread," from PIE
    decorum
    1560s, "that which is proper or fitting in a literary or artistic composition;" 1580s, "propriety of speech, behavior, or dress; formal politeness," from Latin decorum "that which is seemly," noun use of neuter of adjective decorus "fit, proper," from decor "beauty, elegance, cha
    obituary
    1706, "register of deaths, a list of the dead," from Medieval Latin obituarius "a record of the death of a person," literally "pertaining to death," from Latin obitus "departure, a going to meet, encounter" (a euphemism for "death"), from stem of obire "go toward, go to meet" (as
    rose
    a fragrant shrub noted for its beauty and its thorns, cultivated from remote antiquity, Old English rose, from Latin rosa (source of Italian and Spanish rosa, French rose; also source of Dutch roos, German Rose, Swedish ros, Serbo-Croatian ruža, Polish róża, Russian roza, Lithuan

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