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Origin and history of intriguing

intriguing(adj.)

1680s, "plotting, scheming," present-participle adjective from intrigue (v.). Meaning "exciting curiosity" is from 1909. Related: Intriguingly.

also from 1680s

Entries linking to intriguing

intrigue(v.)

1610s, "to trick, deceive, cheat," from French intriguer (16c.), from Italian intrigare "to plot, meddle; perplex, puzzle," from Latin intricare "to entangle, perplex, embarrass" (see intricate).

Meaning "to plot or scheme" is recorded by 1714. That of "to excite curiosity" is from 1894 (OED calls this use "A modern gallicism"). It also could mean "carry on a clandestine or illicit sexual relationship" (1650s). The word appears earlier in English as entriken "entangle, ensnare; involve in perplexity, embarrass" (late 14c.), from Old French entrique or directly from the Latin verb. Related: Intrigued; intriguer; intriguing. Dutch intrigueren, German intriguiren are from French.

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    Trends of intriguing

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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    cabal
    1520s, "mystical interpretation of the Old Testament," later "an intriguing society, a small group meeting privately" (1660s...Popularized in English 1673 as an acronym for five intriguing ministers of Charles II (Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley...
    soubrette
    1753, theatrical jargon word for lady's maid characters in plays and operas, who typically were pert, flirtatious, and intriguing...
    minion
    .-17c. without disparaging overtones, but also from c. 1500 as "a favorite of a sovereign prince," especially "an intriguing...
    cloak
    Other "cloak and dagger pieces," as Bouterwek tells us the Spaniards call their intriguing comedies, might be tried advantageously...
    seize
    mid-13c., seisen, "take possession, take possession of" (land, goods, etc.) by force or authority, from Old French seisir "to take possession of, take by force; put in possession of, bestow upon" (Modern French saisir), from Late Latin sacire (8c.), which generally is held to be
    garb
    "fashion of dress," 1620s, from earlier sense "person's outward demeanor" (c. 1600), originally "elegance, stylishness" (1590s), from French garbe "graceful outline, gracefulness, comeliness" (Modern French galbe) or directly from Italian garbo "grace, elegance, pleasing manners,
    grab
    "seize forcibly or roughly," 1580s, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German grabben "to grab," from Proto-Germanic *grab-, *grap- (source also of Old English græppian "to seize," Old Saxon garva, Old High German garba "sheaf," literally "that which is gathered up together"), from
    brag
    late 14c., braggen "to make a loud sound," also "to talk boastfully," of obscure origin, perhaps related to bray of a trumpet and imitative, or related to the Middle English adjective brag "ostentatious, proud; spirited, brave" (early 14c.), which probably is from Celtic, and is
    connive
    c. 1600, "shut one's eyes to something one does not like but cannot help," from Latin connivere, also conivere "to wink," hence, figuratively, "to wink at (a crime), be secretly privy," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + base akin to nictare "to wink" (fro
    scheme
    1550s, "figure of speech" (a sense now obsolete), from Medieval Latin schema "a shape, a figure, a form, appearance; figure of speech; posture in dancing," from Greek skhēma (genitive skhematos) "figure, appearance, the nature of a thing," which is related to skhein "to get," and

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