quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- evening (n.)



[evening 词源字典] - from Old English æfnung "the coming of evening, sunset, time around sunset," verbal noun from æfnian "become evening, grow toward evening," from æfen "evening" (see eve). As a synonym of even (n.) in the sense "time from sunset to bedtime," it dates from mid-15c. and now entirely replaces the older word in this sense. Another Old English noun for "evening" was cwildtid.[evening etymology, evening origin, 英语词源]
- evenly (adv.)




- Old English efenlice "evenly, equally;" see even (adj.) + -ly (2). Meaning "so as to produce uniformity of texture is early 15c.; that of "without surface irregularities, smoothly" is from 1630s.
- evenness (n.)




- Old English efenniss "equality, equity;" see even (adj.) + -ness. Meaning "levelness, smoothness" is late 14c.
- evensong (n.)




- the native word for vespers, Old English æfensang; see even (n.) + song.
- event (n.)




- 1570s, "the consequence of anything" (as in in the event that); 1580s, "that which happens;" from Middle French event, from Latin eventus "occurrence, accident, event, fortune, fate, lot, issue," from past participle stem of evenire "to come out, happen, result," from assimilated form of ex- "out" (see ex-) + venire "to come" (see venue). Meaning "a contest or single proceeding in a public sport" is from 1865. Events as "the course of events" is attested from 1842. Event horizon in astrophysics is from 1969.
- eventful (adj.)




- c. 1600, from event + -ful. According to OED, it is in Shakespeare, once ("As You Like It"), and there is no record of it between then and Johnson's "Dictionary." Related: Eventfully; eventfulness. Eventless is attested from 1815.
- eventide (n.)




- "evening" (archaic), Old English æfentid; see even (n.) + tide (n.).
- eventual (adj.)




- 1610s, "pertaining to events," from French éventuel, from Latin event-, stem of evenire (see event). Meaning "ultimately resulting" is by 1823.
- eventuality (n.)




- 1759, "a possible occurrence," from eventual + -ity, on model of French éventualité.
- eventually (adv.)




- "ultimately," 1670s, from eventual + -ly (2).
- eventuate (v.)




- 1788, American English, from Latin eventus, past participle of eventire (see event). Related: Eventuated; eventuating.
- eventuation (n.)




- 1813, noun of action from eventuate.
- ever (adv.)




- Old English æfre "ever, at any time, always;" of uncertain origin, no cognates in any other Germanic language; perhaps a contraction of a in feore, literally "ever in life" (the expression a to fore is common in Old English writings). First element is almost certainly related to Old English a "always, ever," from Proto-Germanic *aiwo, from PIE *aiw- "vital force, life, long life, eternity" (see eon). Liberman suggests second element is comparative adjectival suffix -re.
Sometimes contracted to e'er in dialect and poetry. Ever began to be used in late Old English as a way to generalize or intensify when, what, where, etc. The sense evolution was from "at any time at all, in any way" to "at any particular time; at some time or another; under any circumstances." Ever so "to whatever extent" is recorded by 1680s. Expression did you ever? (implying "see/do/hear of such a thing") attested by 1840. - ever-living (adj.)




- 1540s, from ever + living (adj.).
- ever-loving (adj.)




- 1730, from ever + loving. As a mere intensifier from 1930s.
- Everest (n.)




- mountain between Nepal and Tibet, named 1865 for Sir George Everest (1790-1866), surveyor-general of India. The Tibetan name is Chomolangma "mother goddess of the world." Everest's surname is said in name-books to be a variant of Devereux, a Norman name, from Evereux/Evreux in France, which from a Celtic tribal name (Latin Eburovices) based on the Ebura (modern Eure) river.
- Everglades (n.)




- 1826, from everglade (1823), from ever, apparently in sense of "endless" + glade. Charles Vignoles's "Observations upon the Floridas" (1823) has Eternal Glades and Ever Glade morass.
The distance from the mouth of Hilsborough river to the head of the lake, in a direct line, is about 110 statute miles. The country between them is mostly, if not wholly, an everglade, by which is meant a low marsh frequently covered with water, and in which there grows a sharp triangular grass, from ten to twelve feet high, and impervious to men or animals. ["American Mechanics' Magazine," 1825]
- evergreen (n.)




- 1640s in reference to trees and shrubs, from ever + green (adj.). From 1660s as an adjective; figurative sense from 1871.
- everlasting




- early 13c., "eternal" (adj.); "eternally" (adv.); "eternity" (n.); from ever + lasting. Colloquially in mid-19c. U.S., "very, exceedingly." A verb, everlast, "to endure forever," is recorded late 14c. Related: Everlastingly.
- evermore (adv.)




- c. 1300 as one word, "at all times; all the time; forever, eternally;" see ever + more. Replacing evermo (13c.), from Old English æfre ma.