Mystery Terminology Etymology
In my book, The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Taker, I’ve attempted to keep the language in dialogue and exposition as close to terms and phrases used in 1901 as possible. I love studying the etymology of words, and one of the things I discovered was how many terms we use in the mystery genre, specifically, that weren’t around when the genre first came to be. Actually, quite a few didn’t come about until the Golden Age of mystery (thank you, Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers).
Check out the list below. (Thank you to the online sources at the bottom of the article!) Be sure to leave me a comment if you can think of others to add!
- APB– also a.p.b., “general alarm,” 1960, police jargon initialism (acronym) for all-points bulletin, itself attested by 1953 (perhaps more in the jargon of detective novels than in actual police use). The notion is “information of general importance,” broadcast to all who can hear it.
- authorities-“those in charge, those with police powers” is recorded from mid-19c.
- backup (n.)- “a standby, a reserve,” 1952
- back up (v.) – 1767, “stand behind and support”
- Behind bars – “in prison” is attested by 1934, American English
- blotter (n.)-1590s, “thing for drying wet spots,” agent noun from blot (v.). Meaning “bad writer” is from c. 1600. Sense of “day book” is from 1670s, and the word was applied by 1810 to rough drafts, scrap books, notebooks, and draft account books. Hence the police jargon sense “arrest record sheet,” recorded from 1887.
- blue– Blue was by c. 1600 the distinctive color of the dress of servants, which may be the reason police uniforms are blue, a tradition Farmer dates to Elizabethan times.
- bobby (n.)- “London policeman,” 1844, from the familiar diminutive form of the masc. proper name Robert, in reference to Mr. (later Sir) Robert Peel (1788-1850), Home Secretary who introduced the Metropolitan Police Act (10 Geo IV, c.44) of 1829. Compare peeler.
- brass– Slang sense of “high officials” is first recorded 1899, from their insignia.
- bust (n.2)-Meaning “police raid or arrest” is from 1938.
- case-Meaning “incident or series of events requiring police investigation” is from 1838.
- clue (v) – “to inform someone of the important facts,” usually with in, 1934, from clue (n.). Related: Clued; cluing. Earlier in now-obsolete sense of “follow or track by clues” (1660s).
- clue(n)- 1590s, spelling variant of clew “a ball of thread or yarn,” in this sense with reference to the one Theseus used as a guide out of the Labyrinth. The purely figurative sense of “that which points the way” is from 1620s. As something which a bewildered person does not have, by 1948.
- clueless (adj) – 1862, “trackless,” from clue (n.) + -less. Meaning “ignorant, uninformed” is from 1943, said to be RAF slang from 1930s. Student slang use by 1985 is perhaps an independent extension along the same line. Related: Cluelessly; cluelessness.
- constable (n.) – c. 1200, “chief household officer, justice of the peace,” from Old French conestable (12c., Modern French connétable), “steward, governor,” principal officer of the Frankish king’s household, from Late Latin comes stabuli, literally “count of the stable” (established by Theodosian Code, c.438 C.E.), hence, “chief groom.” See count (n.1). Second element is from Latin stabulum “stable, standing place” (see stable (n.)). Probably a translation of a Germanic word. Meaning “an officer of the peace” is from c. 1600, transferred to “police officer” 1836. French reborrowed constable 19c. as “English police.”
- Coroner– (n) title of a county or municipal officer with certain duties, mid-14c. (mid-13c. as a surname), corouner, from Anglo-French curuner, from Anglo-Latin custos placitorum coronae(late 12c.)
- Personal Note: Be sure to note the difference between “coroner” and “medical examiner” and when the two terms should be used—they are NOT interchangeable!
- cover-up (n.)- also coverup, “means or act of concealing” some event or activity, 1922
- detective– 1850, short for detective police, from detective (adj.), 1843
- DOA – also d.o.a., 1929, police slang abbreviation of dead on arrival.
- evidence (n.) – c. 1300, “appearance from which inferences may be drawn,” from Old French evidence, from Late Latin evidentia “proof,” in classical Latin “distinction, vivid presentation, clearness” in rhetoric, from stem of Latin evidens “obvious, apparent” (see evident). Meaning “ground for belief” is from late 14c.; that of “obviousness” is from 1660s and tacks closely to the sense of evident. Legal senses are from c. 1500, when it began to oust witness. Also “one who furnishes testimony, witness” (1590s); hence turn (State’s) evidence.
- eye-witness (n.) – also eyewitness, 1530s, from eye (n.) + witness (n.). As a verb from 1844. Related: Eyewitnessed; eyewitnessing.
- fink (n.)- 1902, of uncertain origin, possibly from German Fink “a frivolous or dissolute person,” originally “a finch” (see finch); the German word also had a sense of “informer” (compare stool pigeon). The other theory traces it to Pinks, short for Pinkerton agents, the private police force hired to break up the 1892 Homestead strike. As a verb, 1925 in American English slang. Related: Finked; finking.
- forensic– Later used especially in sense of “pertaining to legal trials,” as in forensic medicine (1845).
- fuzz-Meaning “the police” is American English, 1929, underworld slang; origin, signification, and connection to the older word unknown.
- game’s afoot– From Shakespeare’s King Henry IV Part I, 1597: “Before the game is afoot, thou still let’st slip.”
- go-ahead (adj.) – by 1840, “pushing, driving,” from verbal phrase go ahead. Go ahead as a command or invitation to proceed is from 1831, American English.
- heat -Meaning “trouble with the police” attested by 1920.
- hoodlum (n.) – popularized 1871, American English, (identified throughout the 1870s as “a California word”) “young street rowdy, loafer,” especially one involved in violence against Chinese immigrants, “young criminal, gangster;” it appears to have been in use locally from a slightly earlier date and may have begun as a specific name of a gang: The police have recently been investigating the proceedings of a gang of thieving boys who denominate themselves and are known to the world as the Hoodlum Gang. [San Francisco “Golden Era” newspaper, Feb. 16, 1868, p.4]
- hooligan (n.) -1890s, of unknown origin, according to OED, first found in British newspaper police-court reports in the summer of 1898, almost certainly from the variant form of the Irish surname Houlihan, which figured as a characteristic comic Irish name in music hall songs and newspapers of the 1880s and ’90s.
- inside job — “robbery, espionage, etc., committed by or with the help of a resident or servant of a place” is attested by 1887, American English
- inspector (n.) – c. 1600, “overseer, superintendent,” from Latin inspector “one who views or observes,” agent noun from past participle stem of inspicere “look at, observe, view; look into, inspect, examine,” from in- “into” (from PIE root *en “in”) + specere “to look” (from PIE root *spek- “to observe”). As a police ranking between sergeant and superintendent, it dates from 1840. Related: Inspectorial (1752). Of the 18c. feminine formations, inspectrix (1703) is earlier than inspectress (1737).
- Interpol – 1952, contraction of international police (in full, The International Criminal Police Commission), founded 1923 with headquarters in Paris.
- leads –that of “a clue to a solution” is by 1851, from the notion of “thing to be followed.”
- Limb of the law– 18c. derisive slang for a lawyer or police officer.
- line-up (n.) – also lineup, from the verbal phrase line up (1889 as “form a line;” 1902 as “make into a line”); see line (v.2) + up (adv.). As a noun, the baseball version (1889) is older than the police version (1907).
- Keystone cops – bumbling police in the slapstick silent movies produced by Keystone Studios, formed in 1912 in Edendale, Calif., by Canadian-born U.S. film director Mack Sennett (1884-1960).
- medical examiner — In 1877, Massachusetts replaced lay coroners with physicians called medical examiners (MEs), the first official use of the title in the United States. At the time, the ME was confined to investigating cases of death possibly occurring by violence. By 1918, New York City had a medical examiner department headed by a physician. (http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1785357-overview#a2)
- mortician — 1895, American English, coined from mortuary + -ician, as in physician.
- An undertaker will no longer be known as an “undertaker and embalmer.” In the future he will be known as the “mortician.” This was decided on at the second day’s meeting of the Funeral Directors’ Association of Kentucky, which was held in Louisville. [“The Medical Herald,” July 1895]
- motive— Meaning “that which inwardly moves a person to behave a certain way” is from early 15c.
- M.P. -1917, abbreviation of military police, which is recorded from 1827.
- mug (n.2)- “a person’s face,” 1708, possibly from mug (n.1), on notion of drinking mugs shaped like grotesque faces. Sense of “portrait or photograph in police records” (as in mug shot, 1950) had emerged by 1887. Hence, also, “a person” (especially “a criminal”), 1890.
- mystery– Meaning “detective story” first recorded in English 1908.
- nark– 1859, “to act as a police informer” (v.); 1860, “police informer” (n.), probably from Romany nak “nose,” from Hindi nak, from Sanskrit nakra, which probably is related to Sanskrit nasa “nose” (from PIE root *nas- “nose”). Sense and spelling tending to merge with etymologically unrelated narc (q.v.).
- patrolman (n.) – “police constable on a particular beat,” 1841, from patrol (n.) + man (n.).
- perp (n.)- American English police slang shortening of perpetrator (as in perp walk); by 1940s.
- pig– the derogatory slang meaning “police officer” has been in underworld slang since at least 1811.
- plain clothes (n.)- “ordinary dress” (as opposed to military uniform), 1822; of police detectives, it is attested from 1842. Also plainclothes.
- police (n.) – 1530s, “the regulation and control of a community,” at first essentially the same word as policy (n.1); from Middle French police (late 15c.), from Latin politia “civil administration,” from Greek polis “city” (see polis). Until mid-19c. used in England for “civil administration;” application to “administration of public order, law-enforcement” (1716) is from French (late 17c.), and originally in English referred to France or other foreign nations. The first force so-named in England was the Marine Police, set up 1798 to protect merchandise at the Port of London. Meaning “body of officers entrusted with the duty of enforcing laws, detecting crime, etc.” is from 1810. Police power is the power of a government to limit civil liberties and exercise restraint and compulsion over private rights, especially to advance or protect the public welfare. Police state “state regulated by means of national police” first recorded 1865, with reference to Austria. Police action in the international sense of “military intervention short of war, ostensibly to correct lawlessness” is from 1933. Police officer is attested from 1794, American English. Police station is from 1817.
- police (v.) – “to keep order in,” 1580s, from Middle French policer, from police (see police (n.)). Meaning “to keep order by means of police” is from 1837. Related: Policed; policing.
- policeman (n.)- 1790, from police (n.) + man (n.).
- premeditation (n.)- early 15c., from Old French premeditacion and directly from Latin praemeditationem (nominative praemeditatio) “consideration beforehand,” noun of action from past participle stem of praemeditari “to consider beforehand,” from prae “before” (see pre-) + meditari “to consider,” from a frequentative form of PIE root *med- “take appropriate measures.”
- premeditate (v.) – 1540s, from pre- + meditate, or a back formation from premeditation, or else from Latin praemeditatus, past participle of praemeditari “to consider beforehand,” from prae “before” (see pre-) + meditari “to consider,” from a frequentative form of PIE root *med- “take appropriate measures.” Related: Premeditated; premeditating.
- The press—meaning “journalists collectively” is attested from 1921.
- reporter — In the newspaper sense, from 1798.
- ragamuffin– Sense of “dirty, disreputable boy” is from 1580s.
- rogue (n.)- 1560s, “idle vagrant,” perhaps a shortened form of roger (with a hard -g-), thieves’ slang for a begging vagabond who pretends to be a poor scholar from Oxford or Cambridge, which is perhaps an agent noun in English from Latin rogare “to ask.” Another theory [Klein] traces it to Celtic (compare Breton rog “haughty”); OED says, “There is no evidence of connexion with F. rogue ‘arrogant.’ ” In playful or affectionate use, “one who is mischievous,” 1590s. Meaning “large wild beast living apart from the herd” is from 1859, originally of elephants. Meaning “something uncontrolled or undisciplined” is from 1964. Also common in 17c. as a verb. Rogue’s gallery “police collection of mug shots” is attested from 1859.
- runner– Meaning “smuggler” first recorded 1721; sense of “police officer” is from 1771.
- Scene of the crime – (1923) first attested in Agatha Christie.
- Scotland Yard (n.) – used for “London Metropolitan Police,” 1864, from the name of short street off Whitehall, London; where from 1829 to 1890 stood the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Force, hence, the force itself, especially the detective branch. After 1890, located in “New Scotland Yard.”
- self-defense (n.)- 1650s, “act of defending oneself,” first attested in Hobbes, from self- + defense. In sports sense, first with reference to fencing (1728), then boxing (1820s).
- sergeant– As a police rank, in Great Britain from 1839.
- star– Brass star as a police badge is recorded from 1859 (New York City).
- Station house– “police station” is attested from 1836.
- sting (n.) -Meaning “carefully planned theft or robbery” is attested from 1930; sense of “police undercover entrapment” first attested 1975.
- suspect (n.) – “a suspected person,” 1590s, from suspect (adj.). Earlier as a noun it meant “a suspicion, mistrust” (late 14c.).
- suspect (v.)- mid-15c. (implied in suspected), from suspect (adj.) and in part from Middle French suspecter or directly from Latin suspectare “to mistrust,” frequentative of suspicere. Related: Suspecting.
- suspect (adj.)- early 14c., “suspected of wrongdoing, under suspicion;” mid-14c., “regarded with mistrust, liable to arouse suspicion,” from Old French suspect (14c.), from Latin suspectus “suspected, regarded with suspicion or mistrust,” past participle of suspicere “look up at, look upward,” figuratively “look up to, admire, respect;” also “look at secretly, look askance at,” hence, figuratively, “mistrust, regard with suspicion,” from assimilated form of sub “up to” (see sub-) + specere “to look at” (from PIE root *spek- “to observe”). The notion behind the word is “look at secretly,” hence, “look at distrustfully.”
- suss (v.)- “to figure out, investigate and discover,” 1966, earlier “to suspect” (1953, police jargon), a slang shortening of suspect (v.). Related: Sussed.
- team (v.)- 1550s, “to harness beasts in a team,” from team (n.). From 1841 as “drive a team.” The meaning “to come together as a team” (usually with up) is attested from 1932. Transitive sense “to use (something) in conjunction” (with something else) is from 1948. Related: Teamed; teaming. The Old English verb, teaman, tieman, is attested only in the sense “bring forth, beget, engender, propagate.”
- team (n.) – Old English team “descendant, family, race, line; child-bearing, brood; company, band; set of draft animals yoked together,” Applied in Old English to groups of persons working together for some purpose, especially “group of people acting together to bring suit;” modern sense of “persons associated in some joint action” is from 1520s. Team spirit is recorded from 1928. Team player attested from 1886, originally in baseball.
- double-team (v.) – “attack two-on-one,” 1860; see double (adj.) + team (v.). Related: Double-teamed; double-teaming.
- teammate (n.)- 1901
- teamwork (n.) – 1828 in the literal sense, “work done by a team of horses, oxen, etc.” (as distinguished from manual labor). Attested by 1909 in the extended sense.
- tenderloin (n.)-The slang meaning “police district noted for vice” appeared first 1887 in New York, on the notion of the neighborhood of the chief theaters, restaurants, etc., being the “juciest cut” for graft and blackmail.
- third degree (n.) – “intense interrogation by police,” 1900, probably a reference to Third Degree of master mason in Freemasonry (1772), the conferring of which included an interrogation ceremony. Third degree as a measure of severity of burns (most severe) is attested from 1866, from French (1832); in American English, as a definition of the seriousness of a particular type of crime (the least serious type) it is recorded from 1865.
- thug— sense of “ruffian, cutthroat, violent lowbrow” is from 1839.
- The usual suspects -is from a line delivered by Claude Rains (as a French police inspector) in “Casablanca” (1942).
- Vice squad-“special police unit targeting prostitution, narcotics, gambling, etc.,” is attested from 1905, American English.
- victim (n.) – Sense of “person who is hurt, tortured, or killed by another” is recorded from 1650s; meaning “person oppressed by some power or situation” is from 1718. Weaker sense of “person taken advantage of” is recorded from 1781.
- victimize (v.)- 1830, victimization (noun of action from victimize) 1832
- victimless (adj.) – 1965
- wanted (adj.)- 1690s, “lacking;” 1812, “sought by the police;” past participle adjective from want (v.). Wanted poster attested by 1945.
- whodunit (n.) – “murder mystery,” 1930, U.S. slang, originally a semi-facetious formation from who done it? Whydunit is from 1968.
- Window of opportunity– (1979) is from earlier figurative use in U.S. space program, such as launch window (1963).
- witness (v.)- c. 1300, “bear testimony,” from witness (n.). Meaning “affix one’s signature to (a document) to establish its identity” is from early 14c. Meaning “see or know by personal presence, observe” is from 1580s. Related: Witnessed; witnessing.
- witness (n.)- Old English witnes “attestation of fact, event, etc., from personal knowledge;” also “one who so testifies;” originally “knowledge, wit,” formed from wit (n.) + -ness. Christian use (late 14c.) is as a literal translation of Greek martys (see martyr). Witness stand is recorded from 1853.
Sources:
https://blog.wordnik.com/elementary-my-dear-wordnik-mystery-words