英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

eta (n.)[eta 词源字典]: Greek letter, originally the name of the aspirate, from Phoenician heth.[eta etymology, eta origin, 英语词源]
etagere (n.): ornamental piece of furniture consisting of ranks of open shelves to display knick-knacks, etc., 1858, from French étagère (15c.), from étage "shelf, story, abode, stage, floor" (11c., Old French estage), from Vulgar Latin *staticum, from Latin statio "station, post, residence" (see station (n.)).
etaoin shrdlu: 1931, journalism slang, the sequence of characters you get if you sweep your finger down the two left-hand columns of Linotype keys, which is what typesetters did when they bungled a line and had to start it over. It was a signal to cut out the sentence, but sometimes it slipped past harried compositors and ended up in print.
etc.: see et cetera.
etcetera: see et cetera.
etch (v.): 1630s, "to engrave by eating away the surface of with acids," from Dutch etsen, from German ätzen "to etch," from Old High German azzon "give to eat; cause to bite, feed," from Proto-Germanic *atjanan, causative of *etanan "eat" (see eat). Related: Etched; etching. The Etch A Sketch drawing toy was introduced 1960 by Ohio Art Company.
etching (n.): 1630s, verbal noun from etch (v.), also "the art of engraving;" 1760s as "a print, etc., made from an etched plate."
eternal (adj.): late 14c., from Old French eternel "eternal," or directly from Late Latin aeternalis, from Latin aeternus "of an age, lasting, enduring, permanent, everlasting, endless," contraction of aeviternus "of great age," from aevum "age" (see eon). Used since Middle English both of things or conditions without beginning or end and things with a beginning only but no end. A parallel form, Middle English eterne, is from Old French eterne (cognate with Spanish eterno), directly from Latin aeternus. Related: Eternally. The Eternal (n.) for "God" is attested from 1580s.
eternity (n.): late 14c., "quality of being eternal," from Old French eternité "eternity, perpetuity" (12c.), from Latin aeternitatem (nominative aeternitas), from aeternus "enduring, permanent" (see eternal). Meaning "infinite time" is from 1580s. In the Mercian hymns, Latin aeternum is glossed by Old English ecnisse.
eth (n.): name of an Anglo-Saxon runic character (Ð, ð) representing the sound "-th-," 1846, from th + e, "the usual assistant vowel in letter-names" [Century Dictionary].
Ethan: masc. proper name, from Hebrew ethan "strong, permanent, perennial, ever-flowing" (of rivers).
ethane (n.): 1873, from ethyl + -ane, the appropriate suffix under Hofmann's system.
ethanol (n.): "ethyl alcohol," 1900, contracted from ethane, to which it is the corresponding alcohol, + -ol, here indicating alcohol.
Ethel: fem. proper name, originally a shortening of Old English Etheldred, Ethelinda, etc., in which the first element means "nobility."
Ethelbert: Anglo-Saxon masc. proper name, Old English Æðelbryht, literally "nobility-bright;" see atheling + bright (adj.).
Etheldred: Anglo-Saxon fem. proper name, Old English Æðelðryð, literally "of noble strength" (see Audrey).
Ethelred: Anglo-Saxon masc. given name, Old English Æðelræd, literally "noble counsel," from æðele "noble" (see atheling) + ræd, red "advice" (see read (v.)).
ether (n.): late 14c., "upper regions of space," from Old French ether (12c.) and directly from Latin aether "the upper pure, bright air; sky, firmament," from Greek aither "upper air; bright, purer air; the sky" (opposed to aer "the lower air"), from aithein "to burn, shine," from PIE *aidh- "to burn" (see edifice).

In ancient cosmology, the element that filled all space beyond the sphere of the moon, constituting the substance of the stars and planets. Conceived of as a purer form of fire or air, or as a fifth element. From 17c.-19c., it was the scientific word for an assumed "frame of reference" for forces in the universe, perhaps without material properties. The concept was shaken by the Michelson-Morley experiment (1887) and discarded early 20c. after the Theory of Relativity won acceptance, but before it went it gave rise to the colloquial use of ether for "the radio" (1899).

The name also was bestowed c. 1730 (Frobenius; in English by 1757) on a volatile chemical compound known since 14c. for its lightness and lack of color (its anesthetic properties weren't fully established until 1842).
ethereal (adj.): formerly also etherial, 1510s, "of the highest regions of the atmosphere," from ether + -ial; extended sense of "light, airy" is from 1590s. Figurative meaning "spirit-like, immaterial" is from 1640s. Related: Ethereally.
etheric (adj.): "pertaining to ether," 1845, from ether + -ic. Related: Etherical (1650s).