英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

antecedent [antecedent 词源字典]: late 14c. (n. and adj.), from Old French antecedent (14c.) or directly from Latin antecedentem (nominative antecedens), present participle of antecedere "go before, precede," from ante- "before" (see ante) + cedere "to yield" (see cede). Used as a noun in Latin philosophical writings.[antecedent etymology, antecedent origin, 英语词源]
antechamber (n.): 1650s, from French antichambre (16c.), on analogy of Italian anticamera (see ante and chamber).
antedate (v.): 1580s, earlier as noun meaning "a backdating, false early date attached to a document or event" (1570s); from Latin ante "before" (see ante) + date (v.1). Related: Antedated; antedating.
antediluvian (adj.): "before Noah's flood," 1640s, formed from Latin ante- "before" (see ante) + diluvium "a flood" (see deluge (n.)). Coined by English physician Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682). As a noun meaning "person who lived before the Flood," from 1680s.
antelope (n.): early 15c., from Old French antelop, from Medieval Latin ant(h)alopus (11c.), from Greek antholops (attested in Eusebius of Antioch, c.336 C.E.), a fabulous animal haunting the banks of the Euphrates, very savage, hard to catch and having long saw-like horns capable of cutting down trees. Original sense and language unknown (it looks like Greek "flower-eye," as if from anthos + ops, but that may be a result of Greek folk etymology). A heraldic animal, also known in Medieval Latin as talopus and calopus, the name was applied c. 1600 to a living type of deer-like mammal. In the western U.S., it is used in reference to the pronghorn.
antemundane (adj.): "existing or happening before the creation of the world," 1731; see ante- + mundane.
antenatal (adj.): "before birth," 1798, from Latin ante "before" (see ante) + natal.
antenna (n.): 1640s, "feeler or horn of an insect," from Latin antenna "sail yard," the long yard that sticks up on some sails, which is of unknown origin, perhaps from PIE root *temp- "to stretch, extend." In the etymological sense, it is a loan-translation of Aristotle's Greek keraiai "horns" (of insects). Modern use in radio, etc., for "aerial wire" is from 1902. Adjectival forms are antennal (1834), antennary (1836), antennular (1858).
antennae (n.): Latinate plural of antenna; see -ae.
antennas (n.): nativized plural of antenna; see -ae.
antenuptial (adj.): "prior to marriage," 1818, originally of children's births; see ante- + nuptial.
antepartum (adj.): 1908, from Latin phrase ante partum "before birth" (see postpartum).
antepenult (n.): 1610s; see antepenultimate.
antepenultimate (adj.): "the last but two," 1730, from antepenult (n.), 1610s, abbreviation of Latin antepaenultima (syllaba), fem. of antepaenultimus, from ante "before" (see ante) + paenultima, from paen "almost" + ultima "last" (see ultimate).
anterior (adj.): 1610s, Latin, literally "former," comparative of ante "before" (see ante). Related: Anteriority.
anteroom (n.): also ante-room, 1762, literally "a room in front;" after French antichambre, Italian anticamera, from Latin ante "before" (see ante) + camera (see chamber).
anthem (n.): Old English ontemn, antefn, "a composition (in prose or verse) sung antiphonally," from Late Latin antefana, from Greek antiphona "verse response" (see antiphon). Sense evolved to "a composition set to sacred music" (late 14c.), then "song of praise or gladness" (1590s). Used in reference to the English national song (technically, as OED points out, a hymn) and extended to those of other nations. Modern spelling is from late 16c., perhaps an attempt to make the word look more Greek.
anthemic (adj.): of music, "felt to resemble an anthem," 1841, from anthem + -ic. In reference to a type of acid, 1859, so called because isolated from dog-fennel (Anthemis arvensis).
anther (n.): 1550s, "medical extract of flowers," from French anthère, from Modern Latin anthera "a medicine extracted from a flower," from Greek anthera, fem. of antheros "flowery, blooming," from anthos "flower," from PIE root *andh- "to bloom" (cognates: Sanskrit andhas "herb," Armenian and "field," Middle Irish ainder "young girl," Welsh anner "young cow"). Main modern sense attested by 1791.
anthesis (n.): "full bloom," 1835, from Greek anthesis, noun of action from antheein "to blossom," from anthos "flower," (see anther).