英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

cheesecake (n.)[cheesecake 词源字典]: also cheese-cake, mid-15c., from cheese (n.1) + cake (n.). In figurative uses for "soft, effeminate" from 18c. Slang meaning dates from 1934, when a "Time" magazine article defined it as "leg-pictures of sporty females." In its early years this sense of the word often was associated with Marlene Dietrich.[cheesecake etymology, cheesecake origin, 英语词源]
cheesed (adj.): "disgruntled, exasperated," 1941, British slang, origin obscure, connections uncertain. See cheese (n.1), cheese (n.2), cheesy.
cheesy (adj.): "cheese-like," late 14c., from cheese (n.1) + -y (2). Meaning "cheap, inferior" is attested from 1896, perhaps originally U.S. student slang, along with cheese (n.) "an ignorant, stupid person." In late 19c. British slang, cheesy was "fine, showy" (1858), probably from cheese (n.2) and some suggest the modern derogatory use is an "ironic reversal" of this. The word was in common use in medical writing in the late 19c. to describe morbid substances found in tubers, decaying flesh, etc.
cheetah (n.): 1704, from Hindi chita "leopard," from Sanskrit chitraka "hunting leopard, tiger," literally "speckled," from chitra-s "distinctively marked, variegated, many-colored, bright, clear" (from PIE *kit-ro-, from root *(s)kai- (1) "bright, shining;" see shine (v.)) + kayah "body," from PIE *kwei- "to build, make" (see poet).
chef (n.): "head cook," 1830, from French chef, short for chef de cuisine, literally "head of the kitchen," from Old French chief "leader, ruler, head" (see chief (n.)).
Cheka: early Soviet secret police, 1921, from Russian initials of Chrezvychainaya Komissiya "Extraordinary Commission (for Combating Counter-Revolution);" set up 1917, superseded 1922 by G.P.U.
chelate (adj.): "having pincer-like claws," 1826 as a term in zoology; 1920 in chemistry, from Modern Latin chela "claw" (from Greek khele "claw, talon, cloven hoof;" see chelicerae) + -ate (2). Related: Chelated; chelating; chelation.
chelicerae (n.): 1831, plural of Modern Latin chelicera, from Greek khele "claw, talon, cloven hoof," from PIE *ghel-wo-, from root *ghel-una- "jaw," + keras "horn" (see kerato-). Earlier chelicer (1835), from French chélicère.
cheliped (n.): 1859, Modern Latin, from chela "claw," from Greek khele "claw" (see chelicerae) + Latin pod-, stem of pes "foot," from PIE root *ped- (1) "a foot" (see foot (n.)).
Chelsea: district in southwest London, Chelchuthe (1300), Old English Chelchede (1086), Celchyth (789), Caelichyth (767), probably literally "chalk landing place," from Old English cealc "chalk" (see chalk (n.)) + hyth "landing place." Perhaps chalk or limestone was unloaded here from Chalk near Gravesend in Kent. Chelsea Hospital founded by Charles II, built 1680s, as a home for aged veterans. As a fem. proper name, not in the top 1,000 names in U.S. until 1969, then in the top 100 among girls born 1984 to 1998, peaking at number 15 in 1992.
chemical (adj.): 1570s, "relating to chemistry," from chemic "of alchemy" (a worn-down derivative of Medieval Latin alchimicus; see alchemy) + -al (1). In early use also of alchemy. Related: Chemically.
chemical (n.): 1747, from chemical (adj.). Related: Chemicals.
chemise (n.): late Old English, cemes "shirt," from Old French chemise "shirt, undertunic, shift," or directly from Late Latin camisia "shirt, tunic" (Jerome; also source of Italian camicia, Spanish camisa); originally a soldier's word, probably via Gaulish, from Proto-Germanic *hamithjan (cognates: Old Frisian hemethe, Old Saxon hemithi, Old English hemeðe, German hemd "shirt"), which is of uncertain origin (see heaven). The French form took over after c. 1200. Related: Chemisette.
chemist (n.): 1560s, chymist, "alchemist," from Middle French chimiste, from Medieval Latin chimista, reduced from alchimista (see alchemy). Modern spelling is from c. 1790. Meaning "chemical scientist" is from 1620s; meaning "dealer in medicinal drugs" (mostly in British English) is from 1745.
chemistry (n.): c. 1600, "alchemy," from chemist + -ry; also see chemical (adj.). The meaning "natural physical process" is 1640s, and the scientific study not so called until 1788. The figurative sense of "instinctual attraction or affinity" is attested slightly earlier, from the alchemical sense.
chemo-: before vowels chem-, word-forming element denoting "relation to chemical action or chemicals," from comb. form of chemical (adj.), used to form scientific compound words from c. 1900.
chemosynthesis (n.): 1898, from chemo- + synthesis.
chemotaxis (n.): 1891, coined in German, 1888, by German botanist Wilhelm Pfeffer (1845-1920) from chemo- + Greek taxis "arrangement" (see tactics).
chemotherapy (n.): 1906, from German Chemotherapie, coined by German biochemist Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915), from chemo- + therapie (see therapy).
chenille (n.): "velvety cord," 1738, from French chenille, properly "caterpillar," literally "little dog" (13c.), from Latin canicula "a dog" (also "a violent woman; the star Sirius; the worst throw in dice"), diminutive of canis "dog" (see canine (n.)). So called for its furry look. Compare caterpillar.