also ragoo, "highly seasoned meat and vegetable stew," 1650s, from French ragoût (mid-17c.), from ragoûter "awaken the appetite," from Old French re- "back" (see re-) + à "to" + goût "taste," from Latin gustum (nominative gustus), related to gustare "to taste, take a little of" (from PIE root *geus- "to taste; to choose"). Figuratively, of any spicy mixture, by 1670s. The name of ragu, the type of spicy pasta sauce from Bologna, is a 17c. Italian borrowing of the French word.

[undercooked] 1650s, a variant of Middle English rere, from Old English hrere "lightly cooked," probably related to hreran "to stir, move, shake, agitate," from Proto-Germanic *hrorjan, which is reconstructed to be from PIE root *kere- "to mix, confuse; cook" (source also of Greek kera- "to mix," krasis "mixture"). Germanic cognates include Old Frisian hrera "to stir, move," Old Saxon hrorian, Dutch roeren, German rühren, Old Norse hroera.

Originally of eggs, in reference to meat from 1784, and, according to OED (1989), in this sense "formerly often regarded as an Americanism, although it was current in many English dialects ... and used by English writers in the first half of the 19th c."

"pivoted piece designed to fit into the teeth of a ratchet-wheel, permitting the wheel to rotate in one direction but not in the other," 1650s, rochet, from French rochet "bobbin, spindle," from Italian rocchetto "spool, ratchet," diminutive of rocca "distaff," possibly from a Germanic source (compare Old High German rocko "distaff," Old Norse rokkr), from Proto-Germanic *rukka-, from PIE root *ruk- "fabric, spun yarn." Compare rocket (n.2). The current spelling in English dates from 1721, influenced by synonymous ratch, which perhaps is borrowed from German Rätsche "ratchet."

1650s, "sense of touch or feeling" (with an isolated instance, tacþe from c. 1200), from Latin tactus "a touch, handling, sense of touch," from root of tangere "to touch" (from PIE root *tag- "to touch, handle").

The meaning "fineness of discernment in action or conduct, diplomacy, intuitive mental perception of what is best to do or say" is in English by 1804, noted at the time as a development in the French cognate tact. The Latin figurative sense was "influence, effect."

1650s, in theology, "forming the final aim or object" (ultimate purpose etc.), also "beyond which no analysis or discovery is possible;" from Late Latin ultimatus, past participle of ultimare "to be final, come to an end," from Latin ultimus (fem. ultima) "last, final, farthest, most distant, extreme," superlative of *ulter "beyond" (from suffixed form of PIE root *al- "beyond").

As a noun from 1680s. Related: Ultimately; ultimateness; ultimacy. Ultimate Frisbee is attested by 1972.

In special cases it is synonymous with final, except that it implies at least two preceding members, which final does not ; and this circumstance gives the idea of a climax, and so emphasizes ultimate. But more frequently the series to which ultimate refers is a regressive one, so that it is quite opposed to final. Thus ultimate cause means the original cause beyond which no causation can be traced ; but final cause is the end toward which action is directed. [Century Dictionary] 

1650s, "dexterous," originally "rightly," from French adroit, which by Old French had senses "upright (physically and morally); able, clever, skillful; well-formed, handsome; on the right-hand side; veritable," from adverbial phrase à droit "according to right."

This is from Old French à "to" (see ad-) + droit, dreit "right," from Medieval Latin directum (contracted drictum) "right, justice, law," neuter or accusative of Latin directus "straight," past participle of dirigere "set straight," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + regere "to direct, to guide, keep straight" (from PIE root *reg- "move in a straight line," with derivatives meaning "to direct in a straight line," thus "to lead, rule"). It expresses prominently the idea of a trained hand. Related: Adroitly; adroitness.

1650s, "freight loaded on a ship," from Spanish cargo "burden," from cargar "to load, impose taxes," from Late Latin carricare "to load a wagon or cart," from Latin carrus "wagon" (see car).

The French cognate yielded English charge (n.); also compare cark. South Pacific cargo cult is from 1949. Cargo pants is attested from 1977, "loose-fitting casual pants with large pockets on the thighs;" they were named for the cargo pocket (by 1944), originally on military pants, so called for its carrying capacity.

"act of emptying or reducing," 1650s, from Late Latin depletionem (nominative depletio) "blood-letting," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin deplere "to empty," literally "to un-fill," from de "off, away" (see de-) + plere "to fill" (from PIE root *pele- (1) "to fill").

1650s, formerly also elastick, coined in French (1650s) as a scientific term to describe gases, "having the property of recovering its former volume after compression," from Modern Latin elasticus, from Greek elastos "ductile, flexible," related to elaunein "to strike, beat out," which is of uncertain origin; according to Watkins from an extended form of the PIE base *ele- "to go."

Applied to solids from 1670s, "having the power of returning to the form from which it is bent, etc., as soon as the applied force is removed." Figurative use by 1859. The noun meaning "piece of elastic material," originally a cord or string woven with rubber, is from 1847, American English.

1650s, "to hack, chop into small pieces," from French hacher "chop up" (14c.), from Old French hache "ax" (see hatchet). Hash browns (1926) is short for hashed browned potatoes (1886), with the -ed omitted, as in mash potatoes. The hash marks on a football field were so called by 1954, from their similarity to hash marks, armed forces slang for "service stripes on the sleeve of a military uniform" (1909), which supposedly were called that because they mark the number of years one has had free food (that is, hash (n.1)) from the Army; but perhaps there is a connection with the noun form of hatch (v.2).