英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

field (n.)[field 词源字典]: Old English feld "plain, pasture, open land, cultivated land" (as opposed to woodland), also "a parcel of land marked off and used for pasture or tillage," probably related to Old English folde "earth, land," from Proto-Germanic *felthuz "flat land" (Cognates: Old Saxon and Old Frisian feld "field," Old Saxon folda "earth," Middle Dutch velt, Dutch veld Old High German felt, German Feld "field," but not found originally outside West Germanic; Swedish fält, Danish felt are borrowed from German; Finnish pelto "field" is believed to have been adapted from Proto-Germanic). This is from PIE *pel(e)-tu-, from root *pele- (2) "flat, to spread" (see plane (n.1)). The English spelling with -ie- probably is the work of Anglo-French scribes (compare brief, piece).

As "battle-ground," c. 1300. Meaning "sphere or range of any related things" is from mid-14c. Physics sense is from 1845. Collective use for "all engaged in a sport" (or, in horse-racing, all but the favorite) is 1742; play the field "avoid commitment" (1936) is from notion of gamblers betting on other horses than the favorite. Cricket and baseball sense of "ground on which the game is played" is from 1875. Sense of "tract of ground where something is obtained or extracted" is from 1859. As an adjective in Old English combinations, often with a sense of "rural, rustic" (feldcirice "country-church," feldlic "rural"). Of slaves, "assigned to work in the fields" (1817, in field-hand), opposed to house. A field-trial originally was of hunting dogs.[field etymology, field origin, 英语词源]
field (v.): "to go out to fight," 16c., from field (n.) in the specific sense of "battlefield" (Old English). The sports meaning "to stop and return the ball" is first recorded 1823, originally in cricket; figurative sense of this is from 1902. Related: Fielded; fielding.
field-book (n.): naturalist's notebook for observations in the field, 1848, from field (n.) + book (n.).
field-day (n.): 1747, originally a day of military exercise and review (see field (v.)); figurative sense "any day of unusual bustle, exertion, or display" [Century Dictionary] is from 1827.
field-glass (n.): magnifying apparatus, by 1836, so called from being used in the field; see field (n.) + glass (n.).
field-goal (n.): 1889 in football, from field (n.) + goal (n.). A score made from the playing field.
field-marshal (n.): high military rank in some European armies, 1610s, from field (n.) + marshal (n.). Compare French maréchal de camp, German Feldmarschall.
field-work (n.): 1767, "gathering statistics or doing research out-of-doors or on-site," from field (n.) + work (n.). From 1819 in reference to a type of military fortification raised by troops in the field.
fielder (n.): early 14c., "one who works in a field," agent noun from field (n.). Sporting sense is from 1832 (in cricket; by 1868 in baseball). Earlier in cricket was simply field (1825) and fieldsman (1767).
fielding (n.): "play in the field," 1823 in cricket (by 1884 in baseball), verbal noun from field (v.).
fieldstone (n.): stone found in fields, as used for buildings, 1797, from field (n.) + stone (n.).
fiend (n.): Old English feond "enemy, foe, adversary," originally present participle of feogan "to hate," from Proto-Germanic *fijand- "hating, hostile" (cognates: Old Frisian fiand "enemy," Old Saxon fiond, Middle Dutch viant, Dutch vijand "enemy," Old Norse fjandi, Old High German fiant, Gothic fijands), from suffixed form of PIE root *pe(i)- "to hurt" (cognates: Sanskrit pijati "reviles, scorns," Greek pema "suffering, misery, woe," Gothic faian "to blame," and possibly Latin pati "to suffer, endure"). According to Watkins, not allied to foe and feud (n.).

As spelling suggests, the word originally was the opposite of friend and described any hostile enemy (male and female, with abstract noun form feondscipe "fiendship"), but it began to be used in late Old English for "the Devil, Satan" (literally "adversary") as the "enemy of mankind," which shifted its sense to "diabolical person" (early 13c.). The old sense of the word devolved to foe, then to the imported word enemy. For spelling with -ie- see field. Meaning "devotee (of whatever is indicated)," as in dope fiend, is from 1865.
fiendish (adj.): 1520s, from fiend + -ish. Related: Fiendishly; fiendishness. Old English had feondlic "hostile."
fierce (adj.): mid-13c., "proud, noble, bold, haughty," from Old French fers, fiers, nominative form of fer, fier "strong, overwhelming, violent, fierce, wild; proud, mighty, great, impressive" (Modern French fier "proud, haughty"), from Latin ferus "wild, untamed, uncultivated; waste, desert;" figuratively "wild, uncultivated, savage, cruel," from PIE root *ghwer- "wild; wild animal" (cognates: Greek ther, Old Church Slavonic zveri, Lithuanian zveris "wild beast").

Meaning "ferocious, wild, savage, cruel" of persons is from c. 1300; of beasts from late 14c. Original English sense of "brave, proud" died out 16c., but while this sense was current fierce often was used in English as an epithet (and thus surname), which accounts for the rare instance of a French word entering English in the nominative case. Related: Fiercely; fierceness. In Middle English sometimes also "dangerous, destructive; great, strong; huge (in number)." An early 15c. medical treatise has fers benes for "wild beans."
fieri facias (n.): writ concerning a sum awarded in judgment (often requiring seizure and sale of property for debt), Latin, literally "cause it to be done, cause to be made," the first words of the writ, from Latin fieri "to be made, come into being" (see fiat). Second word from facere "to do" (see factitious).
fiery (adj.): late 13c., "flaming, full of fire," from Middle English fier "fire" (see fire (n.)) + -y (2). The spelling is a relic of one of the attempts to render Old English "y" in fyr in a changing system of vowel sounds. Other Middle English spellings include firi, furi, fuiri, vuiri, feri. From c. 1400 as "blazing red." Of persons, from late 14c. Related: Fieriness. As adjectives Old English had fyrbære "fiery, fire-bearing;" fyren "of fire, fiery, on fire;" fyrenful; fyrhat "hot as fire."
fiesta (n.): 1844 as a Spanish word in English, "Spanish-American religious festival," Spanish, literally "feast" (see feast (n.)).
FIFA: 1915, acronym from Fédération Internationale de Football Association, founded 1904 in Paris.
fife (n.): 1550s, from German Pfeife "fife, pipe," ultimately from Old High German pfifa; the English word is perhaps via Middle French fifre (15c.) from the same Old High German word. Imitative. German musicians provided music for most European courts in those days. As a verb from 1590s. Agent noun fifer is recorded earlier (1530s). Fife and drum is from 1670s.
fifteen (n.): Old English fiftyne, from fif "five" (see five) + tyne (see -teen). Cognate with Old Saxon fiftein, Old Frisian fiftine, Old Norse fimtan, Swedish femton, Dutch vijftien, German fünfzehn, Gothic fimftaihun "fifteen." French quinze, Italian quindici "fifteen" are from Latin quindecim (from quinque "five;" see quinque-; + -decim (see -teen). The number of players forming a side in rugby.