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embargo [embargo 词源字典]: embargo: [16] Something that has been embargoed has been literally ‘placed behind bars’ (compare EMBARRASS). The word comes from Vulgar Latin *imbarricāre, which was formed from the Latin prefix in- ‘in’ and Vulgar Latin *barra (source of English bar). This passed into Spanish as embargar ‘impede, restrain’, and its derived noun embargo was borrowed into English.
=> bar, barrier[embargo etymology, embargo origin, 英语词源]
embark: embark: [16] To embark is literally to ‘put or get on to a boat’ – or more specifically a barque [15] (a word acquired ultimately from late Latin barca, which is probably related to English barge). Its immediate French ancestor, barque, formed the basis of a compound verb embarquer, borrowed by English as embark. The antonym disembark also dates from the 16th century.
=> barge, barque
embarrass: embarrass: [17] As in the case of embargo, the etymological meaning of embarrass is ‘put behind bars’. It comes ultimately from Italian imbarrare ‘surround with bars’, hence ‘impede’, a compound verb formed from the prefix in- ‘in’ and Vulgar Latin *barra ‘bar’ (source of English bar). From this was derived imbarazzare, which passed into English via Spanish embarazar and French embarrasser. Its original meaning ‘impede, hamper’ remains in use, chiefly in the context ‘financially embarrassed’, but has been overtaken in frequency by ‘disconcert’.
=> bar, barrier
embassy: embassy: [16] Ultimately, embassy comes from the same source as ambassador, the Vulgar Latin verb *ambactiāre ‘go on a mission’ (a derivative, via a rather circuitous route, of Latin ambactus ‘vassal’, which was of Celtic origin). From the verb was derived the Old French noun ambassade, which was borrowed into English in the 15th century but was gradually supplanted from the 16th century onwards by embassy, acquired from another Old French derivative ambassee.
=> ambassador
embellish: embellish: [14] To embellish something is literally to ‘make it beautiful’. It comes from Old French embellir, a compound verb formed from the prefix en-, which denotes ‘causing’ or ‘making’, and bel ‘beautiful’. This Old French adjective (source of modern French beau) came from Latin bellus ‘beautiful’, and its other English offspring include beau, belle, and beauty.
=> beau, beauty, belle
ember: ember: [OE] Ember goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *aimuzjōn, although it is possible that the modern English word represents a borrowing from the related Old Norse eimyrja rather than a direct line of descent from Old English ǣmyrge. The ember of Ember days [10], incidentally, ‘days following certain Christian festivals’, is a completely different word. It comes from Old English ymbryne ‘circuit’, literally ‘running round’, a compound formed from ymb ‘round’ and ryne ‘course, running’, a relative of modern English run. It was applied to these particular days of the Christian calendar because they ‘come round’ four times a year.
embezzle: embezzle: [15] Originally, embezzle meant simply ‘steal’: ‘See that no victuals nor no other stuff of the same household be embezzled out’, Household Ordinances 1469. The modern legal sense ‘convert fraudulently’ did not develop until the late 16th century. The word itself comes from Anglo-Norman enbesiler, a compound formed from the intensive prefix en- and the Old French verb besiller, of unknown origin.
emblem: emblem: [15] The Latin term emblēma referred to ‘inlaid work’ – designs formed by setting some material such as wood or ivory, or enamel, into a contrasting surface. This usage survived into English as a conscious archaism (‘The ground more colour’d then with stone of costliest emblem’, John Milton, Paradise Lost 1667), but for the most part English has used the word metaphorically, for a ‘design which symbolizes something’.

The Latin word was borrowed from Greek émblēma, a derivative of embállein ‘throw in, put in, insert’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix en- ‘in’ and bállein ‘throw’ (source of the second syllable of English problem, and closely related to that of symbol).
=> problem, symbol
embrace: embrace: [14] To embrace someone is literally to ‘put your arms round’ them. It comes via Old French from Vulgar Latin *imbracchiāre, a compound verb formed from the prefix in- ‘in’ and Latin bracchium ‘arm’ (ultimate source of English brace, bracelet, and bra, and of French bras ‘arm’). The transferred sense ‘include’ developed in the 17th century (a course also taken by modern French embrasser, whose original ‘clasp in the arms’ has moved on to ‘kiss’ in response to the progression of baiser from ‘kiss’ to ‘have sex with’).
=> bra, brace, bracelet
embrocation: embrocation: [15] The semantic notion underlying embrocation is of ‘wetness’, for it comes ultimately from the Greek word for ‘rain’, brokhé. This was the basis of a verb embrékhein, used for ‘treat medically by the application of liquid’, from which in turn was derived the noun embrokhé ‘lotion’. Latin took this over and in the Middle Ages formed a verb from it, embrocāre ‘treat with healing liquid’, which was actually borrowed into English as embrocate: ‘In wounds of gun-shot … embrocate often’, John Woodall, Surgion’s Mate 1612.

This had died out by the mid 19th century, but its noun, embrocation (used in the concrete sense ‘lotion’ since the 17th century), survives.
embroidery: embroidery: [14] Embroidery comes from Anglo-Norman enbrouderie, a derivative of the verb enbrouder. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix en- ‘in’ and broisder ‘embroider’ (a borrowing from Frankish *brusdan). English originally borrowed the verb as embroud, but soon extended it to embrouder (the early substitution of -broid- for -broud- may have been due to the influence of broiden, the Middle English past participle of braid).
embryo: embryo: [16] The idea underlying embryo is of ‘growing within’. The word comes from Greek émbruon, a compound verb formed from the prefix en- ‘in’ and the verb brúein ‘swell, grow’, which meant literally ‘something that grows inside the body’. English acquired it via late Latin embryo.
emend: emend: see mend
emerald: emerald: [13] Emerald traces its history back to an ancient Semitic verb ‘shine’ – bāraq. From this there seems to have been formed a noun *bāraqt meaning ‘gem’. This was taken over into the ancient vernacular languages of India (main source of gems in early times) as maragada-. Greek acquired the word as máragdos ‘green gem’, which was soon superseded as the main form by a variant smáragdos.

Latin adopted this as smaragdus (which passed into English, probably via Old French, as smaragd, a term used for the ‘emerald’ from the 13th to the 18th century, and revived as an archaism in the 19th century). In post-classical times Latin smaragdus became *smaralda, and as this became disseminated through the Romance languages it acquired in many cases an additional syllable: Spanish esmeralda, for instance (source of the English forename) and Old French esmeraude, borrowed into Middle English as emeraud.
emerge: emerge: see merge
emery: emery: see smear
emetic: emetic: see vomit
émeute: émeute: see emotion
eminent: eminent: [15] Someone who is eminent literally ‘stands out’. The word comes from the present participle of Latin ēminēre ‘stand out’, a compound verb formed from the prefix ex- ‘out’ and a verbal element -minēre ‘stand, project’ which occurs also in imminent and prominent and may be related ultimately to Latin mōns ‘mountain’, source of English mount and mountain.
=> imminent, mount, mountain, prominent
emir: emir: see admiral