Arcanus expressions

late 14c., aouren, "to worship, pay divine honors to, bow down before," from O.Fr. aorer "to adore, worship, praise" (10c.), from L. adorare "speak to formally, beseech, ask in prayer," in Late Latin "to worship," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + orare "speak formally, pray" (see orator). Meaning "to honor very highly" is attested from 1590s; weakened sense of "to be very fond of" emerged by 1880s. Related: Adored; adoring. late 13c., "foolish, stupid, senseless," from O.Fr. nice (12c.) "careless, clumsy; weak; poor, needy; simple, stupid, silly, foolish," from L. nescius "ignorant, unaware," lit. "not-knowing," from ne- "not" (see un-) + stem of scire "to know" (see science). "The sense development has been extraordinary, even for an adj." [Weekley] -- from "timid" (pre-1300); to "fussy, fastidious" (late 14c.); to "dainty, delicate" (c.1400); to "precise, careful" (1500s, preserved in such terms as a nice distinction and nice and early); to "agreeable, delightful" (1769); to "kind, thoughtful" (1830). "In many examples from the 16th and 17th centuries it is difficult to say in what particular sense the writer intended it to be taken." [OED] By 1926, it was pronounced "too great a favorite with the ladies, who have charmed out of it all its individuality and converted it into a mere diffuser of vague and mild agreeableness." [Fowler] "I am sure," cried Catherine, "I did not mean to say anything wrong; but it is a nice book, and why should I not call it so?" "Very true," said Henry, "and this is a very nice day, and we are taking a very nice walk; and you are two very nice young ladies. Oh! It is a very nice word indeed! It does for everything." [Jane Austen, "Northanger Abbey," 1803]

early 15c., "stupefactive;" 1590s, "dreadful;" prp. adjective from amaze. Sense of "wonderful" is recorded from 1704. Related: Amazingly. Stupefactive serving to stupefy Stupefy to make senseless or stupid Amaze - early 13c., amasian "stupefy, make crazy," from a-, probably used here as an intensive prefix, +

masian, related to maze (q.v.). Sense of "overwhelm with wonder" is from 1580s. Related: Amazed; amazing. Ceremony- Late 14c. cerymonye, from M.L. ceremonia, from L. caerimonia holiness, sacredness, awe, reverent rite, sacred ceremonypossibly of estrucan originpossibly a reference to Etruscan pontiff ancient rites. Charm- c. 1300 to recite or cast a magic spell, from O.Fr. Charmer; c.1300 incantation, magic charm from 12c. charme Mascot- talisman, charm 1881 from provincial French mascotte sorcerers charm, faerie friend, good luck piece Charisma - "gift of leadership, power of authority," c.1930, from German, used in this sense by Max

Weber (1864-1920) in "Wirtschaft u. Gesellschaft" (1922), from Gk. kharisma "favor, divine gift," from kharizesthai "to show favor to," from kharis "grace, beauty, kindness" (Charis was the name of one of the three attendants of Aphrodite) related to khairein "to rejoice at," from PIE root *gher- "to desire, like" (see hortatory). More mundane sense of "personal charm" recorded by 1959. Earlier, the word had been used in English with a sense of "grace, talent from God" (1875), directly

from Latinized Greek; and in the form charism (pl. charismata) it is attested in English from 1640s. Middle English, meanwhile, had karisme "spiritual gift, divine grace" (c.1500).

c.1200, gloire "the splendor of God or Christ; praise offered to God, worship," from O.Fr. glorie (11c., Mod.Fr. gloire), from L. gloria "fame, renown, great praise or honor," of uncertain origin. Greek doxa "expectation" (Homer), later "opinion, fame," and ultimately "glory," was used in Biblical writing to translate a Hebrew word which had a sense of "brightness, splendor, magnificence, majesty," and this subsequently was translated as L. gloria, which has colored that word's meaning in most European tongues. Wuldor was an O.E. word used in this sense. Sense of "magnificence" is c.1300 in English. Meaning "worldly honor, fame, renown" of "the kingdom of Heaven," and of "one who is a source of glory" are from mid-14c. Latin also had gloriola "a little fame." Glory days was in use by 1970.