damn
- damn
damn late 13c., "to condemn," from O.Fr. damner "damn, condemn; convict, blame; injure," derivative of L. damnare "to adjudge guilty; to doom; to condemn, blame, reject," from noun damnum "damage, hurt, harm; loss, injury; a fine, penalty," possibly from an ancient religious term from PIE *dap- "to apportion in exchange" [see Watkins]. The Latin word evolved a legal meaning of "pronounce judgment upon." Theological sense is first recorded early 14c.; the optative expletive use likely is as old. Damn and its derivatives generally were avoided in print from 18c. to c.1930s (the famous line in the film version of "Gone with the Wind" was a breakthrough and required much effort by the studio). The noun is recorded from 1610s; to be not worth a damn is from 1817. The adjective is 1775, short for damned; Damn Yankee, characteristic Southern U.S. term for "Northerner," is attested from 1812.
Etymology dictionary.
2014.
:
Look at other dictionaries:
damn — ► VERB 1) (be damned) (in Christian belief) be condemned by God to eternal punishment in hell. 2) harshly condemn. 3) curse. ► EXCLAMATION informal ▪ expressing anger or frustration. ► ADJECTIVE informal ▪ u … English terms dictionary
damn´er — damn «dam», verb, noun, adjective, adverb, interjection. –v.t. 1. to declare (something) to be bad or inferior; condemn: »The critics damned the new book. SYNONYM(S): denounce, proscribe, execrate. 2. to cause to fail; ruin: » … Useful english dictionary
damn — [dam] vt. damned, damning [ME damnen < OFr damner < L damnare, to condemn, fine < damnum, loss, injury, akin to Gr dapanē, cost < IE * depno , sacrificial feast < base * dā(i) , to part, divide > TIME, TATTER] 1. a) Obs. to… … English World dictionary
Damn — (d[a^]m), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Damned} (d[a^]md or d[a^]m n[e^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Damning} (d[a^]m [i^]ng or d[a^]m n[i^]ng).] [OE. damnen dampnen (with excrescent p), OF. damner, dampner, F. damner, fr. L. damnare, damnatum, to condemn, fr.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Damn U — US 7 single Single by Prince from the album Love Symbol B side … Wikipedia
Damn — Damn, v. i. To invoke damnation; to curse. While I inwardly damn. Goldsmith. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
damn it — damn it/you/him/etc impolite phrase used when you are annoyed about something Jim’s never around when he’s supposed to be – damn him! Thesaurus: impolite and offensive expressions used when anno … Useful english dictionary
damn — index proscribe (denounce) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
damn — vb 1 doom, condemn, *sentence, proscribe Analogous words: *judge, adjudge: *punish, castigate, discipline Antonyms: save (from eternal punishment) Contrasted words: redeem, ransom, *rescue, delive … New Dictionary of Synonyms
damn — [v] condemn, denounce abuse, anathematize, attack, ban, banish, blaspheme, blast, castigate, cast out, censure, complain of, confound, convict, criticize, cry down, curse, cuss*, darn, denunciate, doom, drat, excommunicate, excoriate, execrate,… … New thesaurus
