英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

bobsleigh [bobsleigh 词源字典]: "A mechanically steered and braked sledge, typically for two or four people, used for racing down an ice-covered run", Mid 19th century (originally US, denoting a sleigh made of two short sleighs coupled together and used for hauling logs): from bob² in the sense 'short' + sleigh.[bobsleigh etymology, bobsleigh origin, 英语词源]
biospelaeology: "The study of the living organisms found in caves", 1940s; earliest use found in New Biology. From bio- + speleology, after French biospéléologie.
bindi: "A decorative mark worn in the middle of the forehead by Indian women, especially Hindus", From Hindi bindī.
bude: "With a person or thing as subject and bare or to-infinitive. Was necessitated or obliged; should, must (with both deontic and epistemic force)", Late Middle English; earliest use found in Cursor Mundi: a Northumbrian poem of the 14th century. Originally a contracted variant of behoved, 3rd singular past indicative of behove; subsequently sometimes reinterpreted as a stem form showing invariant present and past forms.
biomacromolecule: "A macromolecular biomolecule", 1960s.
bioinorganic: "Of or relating to both biology and inorganic chemistry; specifically designating biochemical compounds containing metal atoms (as haemoglobin, chlorophyll, etc.) and the branch of chemistry concerned with such compounds", 1970s; earliest use found in Science. From bio- + inorganic.
burse: "A flat, square, fabric-covered case in which a folded corporal cloth is carried to and from an altar in church", Late Middle English (in sense 'purse'): from French bourse or medieval Latin bursa (see bourse, bursa).
borstal: "A custodial institution for young offenders", Early 20th century: named after the village of Borstal in southern England, where the first of these was established.
buffo: "A comic actor in Italian opera", Mid 18th century: Italian, 'puff of wind, buffoon', from buffare 'to puff', of imitative origin.
barbule: "A minute filament projecting from the barb of a feather", Mid 19th century: from Latin barbula, diminutive of barba 'beard'.
bourg: "A town or village under the shadow of a castle", French, from late Latin burgus 'castle' (in medieval Latin 'fortified town'), ultimately of Germanic origin and related to borough.
bottomry: "A system of merchant insurance in which a ship is used as security against a loan to finance a voyage, the lender losing their money if the ship sinks", Late 16th century: from bottom (in the sense 'ship') + -ry, influenced by Dutch bodemerij.
battels: "(At Oxford University) a college account for food and accommodation expenses", Late 16th century: perhaps from dialect battle 'nourish', from the earlier adjective battle 'nutritious'; probably related to batten².
burton (1): "Meet with disaster; be ruined, destroyed, or killed", Second World War (originally RAF slang): perhaps referring to Burton ale, from Burton upon Trent.
burton (2): "A light two-block tackle for hoisting", Early 18th century: alteration of Middle English Breton tackle, a nautical term in the same (see Breton).
bourdon: "A low-pitched stop in an organ or harmonium, typically a stopped diapason of 16-foot pitch", Middle English (in the sense 'drone of a bagpipe'): from Old French, 'drone', of imitative origin.
bo-peep: "A quick look", Early 16th century (originally denoting a game of hiding and reappearing): from bo, an exclamation intended to startle someone (compare with boo¹) + the verb peep¹. The current sense dates from the 1940s.
brandling: "A red earthworm with rings of a brighter colour, typically found in manure, and used as bait by anglers and in composting kitchen waste", Mid 17th century: from brand + -ling.
bumbershoot: "An umbrella", Late 19th century: alteration of umbrella + parachute.
bumbershoot: "An umbrella", Late 19th century: alteration of umbrella + parachute.