英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

ephah (n.)[ephah 词源字典]: Hebrew dry measure, probably of Egyptian origin (compare Coptic epi "measure").[ephah etymology, ephah origin, 英语词源]
ephebe (n.): "young man," 1690s, from Greek ephebos (see ephebic).
ephebic (adj.): 1880, from Latinized form of Greek ephebikos "of or for an ephebe," from ephebos "one arrived at puberty, one of age 18-20," from epi "upon" (see epi-) + hebe "early manhood," from PIE *yegw-a- "power, youth, strength." In classical Athens, a youth of 18 underwent his dokimasia, had his hair cut off, and was enrolled as a citizen. His chief occupation for the next two years was garrison duty.
ephedra (n.): genus of low, branchy desert shrubs, 1914, from Modern Latin (1737) from Greek ephedra, a name given by Pliny to the horsetail, literally "sitting upon," from fem. of ephedros "sitting or seated upon; sitting at or near," from epi "on" (see epi-) + hedra "seat, base, chair; face of a geometric solid" (see sedentary). The reason for the name is not known.
ephedrine (n.): 1889, named 1887 by Japanese organic chemist Nagai Nagayoshi (1844-1929), from the plant ephedra, from which it was first extracted, + chemical suffix -ine (2).
ephemera (n.): late 14c., originally a medical term, from Medieval Latin ephemera (febris) "(fever) lasting a day," from fem. of ephemerus, from Greek ephemeros "daily, for the day," also "lasting or living only one day, short-lived," from epi "on" (see epi-) + hemerai, dative of hemera "day," from PIE *amer- "day." Sense extended 17c. to short-lived insects (Modern Latin ephemera musca) and flowers; general sense of "thing of transitory existence" is first attested 1751. Compare Greek ephemeroi "men," literally "creatures of a day."
ephemeral (adj.): 1560s; see ephemera + -al (1). Originally of diseases and lifespans, "lasting but one day;" extended sense of "transitory" is from 1630s. Related: Ephemerally; ephemerality.
ephemeris (n.): table showing predicted positions of heavenly bodies, 1550s, Modern Latin, from Greek ephemeris "diary, journal, calendar," from ephemeros "daily" (see ephemera). The classical plural is ephemerides.
ephemeron (n.): "insect which lives for a very short time in its winged state," 1620s, from Greek (zoon) ephemeron, neuter of adjective ephemeros "living but a day" (see ephemera). Figurative use by 1771.
Ephesians (n.): New Testament epistle, late 14c., addressed to Christian residents of the Ionian Greek city of Ephesus, in what now is western Turkey.
Ephesus: Greek city in ancient Asia Minor, center of worship for Artemis, Latinized form of Greek Ephesos, traditionally derived from ephoros "overseer," in reference to its religious significance, but this might be folk etymology. Related: Ephesine.
ephialtes (n.): nightmare or demon that causes nightmares, c. 1600, from Greek Ephialtes, name of a demon supposed to cause nightmares; the ancient explanation is that it was from ephallesthai "to leap upon," which suits the sense, but OED finds "considerable" phonological difficulties with this.
ephod (n.): Jewish priestly vestment, late 14c., from Hebrew ephod, from aphad "to put on."
ephor (n.): Spartan magistrate, 1580s, from Greek ephoros "overseer," from epi- "over" (see epi-) + horan "to see," possibly from PIE root *wer- (4) "to perceive" (see ward (n.)).
Ephraim: masc. personal name, in Old Testament the younger son of Joseph, also the name of the tribe descended from him, and sometimes used figuratively for "Kingdom of Israel;" Greek form of Hebrew Ephrayim, a derivative of parah "was fruitful" (related to Aramaic pera "fruit").
epi-: before vowels reduced to ep-, before aspirated vowels eph-, word-forming element meaning "on, upon, above," also "in addition to; toward, among," from Greek epi "upon, at, close upon (in space or time), on the occasion of, in addition," from PIE *epi, *opi "near, at, against" (cognates: Sanskrit api "also, besides;" Avestan aipi "also, to, toward;" Armenian ev "also, and;" Latin ob "toward, against, in the way of;" Oscan op, Greek opi- "behind;" Hittite appizzis "younger;" Lithuanian ap- "about, near;" Old Church Slavonic ob "on"). A productive prefix in Greek; also used in modern scientific compounds (such as epicenter).
epic (adj.): 1580s, "pertaining to or constituting a lengthy heroic poem," via Middle French épique or directly from Latin epicus, from Greek epikos, from epos "a word; a tale, story; promise, prophecy, proverb; poetry in heroic verse," from PIE *wekw- "to speak" (see voice (n.)). Extended sense of "grand, heroic" first recorded in English 1731. From 1706 as a noun in reference to an epic poem, "A long narrative told on a grand scale of time and place, featuring a larger-than-life protagonist and heroic actions" [Miller Williams, "Patterns of Poetry"]. Earlier as "an epic poet" (1630s).
epicene (adj.): "belonging to or including both sexes," mid-15c., epycen, originally a grammatical term for nouns that may denote either gender, from Latin epicoenus "common," from Greek epikoinos "common to many, promiscuous," from epi "on" (see epi-) + koinos "common" (see coeno-). English has no need of it in its grammatical sense. Extended sense of "characteristic of both sexes" first recorded in English c. 1600; that of "effeminate" is from 1630s.
epicenter (n.): 1885 in seismology, "point on the earth's surface directly above the center or focus of an earthquake," from Modern Latin epicentrum (1879 in geological use); see epi- + center (n.). Related: Epicentral (1866).
epicentre (n.): chiefly British English spelling of epicenter; for spelling, see -re.