quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- awe (n.)



[awe 词源字典] - c. 1300, aue, "fear, terror, great reverence," earlier aghe, c. 1200, from a Scandinavian source, such as Old Norse agi "fright;" from Proto-Germanic *agiz- (cognates: Old English ege "fear," Old High German agiso "fright, terror," Gothic agis "fear, anguish"), from PIE *agh-es- (cognates: Greek akhos "pain, grief"), from root *agh- "to be depressed, be afraid" (see ail). Current sense of "dread mixed with admiration or veneration" is due to biblical use with reference to the Supreme Being. To stand in awe (early 15c.) originally was simply to stand awe. Awe-inspiring is recorded from 1814.
Al engelond of him stod awe.
["The Lay of Havelok the Dane," c. 1300]
[awe etymology, awe origin, 英语词源] - awe (v.)




- c. 1300, from awe (n.); Old English had egan (v.). Related: Awed; awing.
- aweigh (adj.)




- "raised, perpendicular," 1620s, nautical, from a- (1) + weigh.
- awesome (adj.)




- 1590s, "profoundly reverential," from awe (n.) + -some (1). Meaning "inspiring awe" is from 1670s; weakened colloquial sense of "impressive, very good" is recorded by 1961 and was in vogue from after c. 1980. Related: Awesomely; awesomeness.
- awestruck (adj.)




- 1630s, "overwhelmed by reverential fear," from awe (n.) + struck (see strike (v.)).
- awful (adj.)




- c. 1300, agheful "worthy of respect or fear," from aghe, an earlier form of awe (n.), + -ful. The Old English word was egefull. Weakened sense "very bad" is from 1809; weakened sense of "exceedingly" is by 1818.
- awfully (adv.)




- c. 1300, "so as to inspire reverence," from awful + -ly (2). Meaning "dreadfully, so as to strike one with awe" is recorded from late 14c. As a simple intensifier, "very, exceedingly," is attested from c. 1830.
- awhile (adv.)




- Old English ane hwile "(for) a while" (see while (n.)); usually written as one word since 13c.
- awhirl (adj.)




- 1837, from a- (1) + whirl (v.).
- awing (n.)




- "action of inspiring with awe," 1650s, verbal noun from awe (v.).
- awk (adj.)




- mid-15c., "turned the wrong way," from Old Norse afugr "turned backwards, wrong, contrary," from Proto-Germanic *afug-, from PIE *apu-ko-, from root *apo- "off, away" (see apo-). Obsolete since 17c.
- awkward (adj.)




- mid-14c., "in the wrong direction," from awk "back-handed" + adverbial suffix -weard (see -ward). Meaning "clumsy" first recorded 1520s. Related: Awkwardly. Other formations from awk, none of them surviving, were awky, awkly, awkness.
- awkwardness (n.)




- 1704, "lack of grace," from awkward + -ness. Meaning "physical clumsiness" is attested from c. 1770; that of "social embarrassment" is from 1788.
- awl (n.)




- Old English æl "awl, piercer," from Proto-Germanic *ælo (cognates: Old Norse alr, Dutch aal, Middle Low German al, Old High German äla, German Ahle), which is of uncertain origin. Earliest references are to piercing of the ears, though later it was associated with shoemakers. Through misdivision, frequently written 15c.-17c. as nawl (for an awl; see N).
- awn (n.)




- "bristly fibers on grain of plants," c. 1300, from Old Norse ögn, from Proto-Germanic *agano (cognates: Old English egenu, Old High German agana, German Ahne, Gothic ahana), from PIE *ak-ona- (cognates: Sanskrit asani- "arrowhead," Greek akhne "husk of wheat," Latin acus "chaff," Lithuanian akuotas "beard, awn"); suffixed form of PIE root *ak- "sharp" (see acrid).
- awning (n.)




- 1624, origin uncertain (first recorded use is by Capt. John Smith), perhaps from Middle French auvans, plural of auvent "a sloping roof," "itself of doubtful etym[ology]" (OED). A nautical term only until sense of "cover for windows or porch" emerged 1852.
- awoke




- past tense of awake (v.), from Old English awoc; also see awaken. The tendency has been to restrict the strong past tense (awoke) to the original intransitive sense of awake and the weak inflection (awakened) to the transitive, but this never has been complete.
- awoken




- past participle of awake (v.); also see awaken. The tendency has been to restrict the strong past participle (awoken) to the original intransitive sense of awake and the weak inflection (awakened) to the transitive, but this never has been complete.
- awol (adj.)




- also a.w.o.l., military initialism (acronym) for absent without leave. The -o- seems to be there mostly so the assemblage can be pronounced as a word. In U.S. military use at least from World War II, popular use by 1960.
- awry (adv.)




- late 14c., "crooked, askew," from a- (1) "on" + wry (adj.).