英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

gouty (adj.)[gouty 词源字典]: late 14c., from gout + -y (2).[gouty etymology, gouty origin, 英语词源]
govern (v.): late 13c., "to rule with authority," from Old French governer "steer, be at the helm of; govern, rule, command, direct" (11c., Modern French gouverner), from Latin gubernare "to direct, rule, guide, govern" (source also of Spanish gobernar, Italian governare), originally "to steer, to pilot," a nautical borrowing from Greek kybernan "to steer or pilot a ship, direct as a pilot," figuratively "to guide, govern" (the root of cybernetics). The -k- to -g- sound shift is perhaps via the medium of Etruscan. Intransitive sense from 1590s. Related: Governed; governing.
governable (adj.): 1640s, from govern + -able.
governance (n.): late 14c., "act or manner of governing," from Old French governance "government, rule, administration; (rule of) conduct" (Modern French gouvernance), from governer "to govern, rule, command" (see govern). Fowler writes that the word "has now the dignity of incipient archaism," but it might continue useful in its original sense as government comes to mean primarily "the governing power in a state."
governess (n.): mid-15c., "female ruler," shortening of governouresse "a woman who rules" (late 14c.), from Old French governeresse "female ruler or administrator" (see governor + -ess). The Latin fem, form was gubernatrix. In the sense of "a female teacher in a private home" governess it is attested from 1712, probably as a fem. of governor in the now-obsolete sense "one who has charge of a young man's education and activities, a tutor" (1570s).
government (n.): late 14c., "act of governing or ruling;" 1550s, "system by which a thing is governed" (especially a state), from Old French governement "control, direction, administration" (Modern French gouvernement), from governer "to govern" (see govern). Meaning "governing power" in a given place is from 1702. Compare governance.
governmental (adj.): 1744, from government + -al (1). Related: Governmentally. A Middle English word in the same sense was gubernatif (late 14c.).
governmentalism (n.): "disposition to enlarge the power and scope of the government," 1841, from governmental + -ism; originally in reference to France and perhaps from French.
Besides this, it is a well known fact, one made sufficiently clear by the history of the United States, that the less governmentalism there is in a country, the better it is for the citizens as to their material interests. A very complicated governmental apparatus, when, especially, it is useless, is and can be only hurtful to the interests of the mass of the people. [Amedee H. Simonin, "Resumption of Specie Payments," 1868]
Related: Governmentalist.
governor (n.): c. 1300, gouernour, "personal keeper, protector, guide;" late 14c., "one who governs, a ruler," from Old French governeor "prince, ruler, administrator; helmsman" (11c., Modern French gouverneur) and directly from Latin gubernatorem (nominative gubernator) "director, ruler, governor," originally "steersman, pilot" (see govern). Meaning "subordinate ruler; head of a province, etc." is from late 14c. Meaning "one charged with direction or control of an institution, etc." is from late 14c. Mechanical sense of "self-acting regulator" is from 1819. The adjective gubernatorial remembers the Latin form. There is a record of English governator from 1520s.
gow (n.): 1915, "opium," from Cantonese yao-kao "opium," literally "drug-sap;" used as such by Raymond Chandler, etc.; by 1950s the meaning had expanded to "pictures of nude or scantily clad women," hence gow job "flashy girl," which in teenager slang came to also mean "hot rod."
gowk (n.): "cuckoo," early 14c., from Old Norse gaukr, from Proto-Germanic *gaukoz (cognates: Old English geac "cuckoo," Old High German gouh). Meaning "fool" attested from c. 1600.
gown (n.): long, loose outer garment, c. 1300, from Old French goune "robe, coat; (nun's) habit, gown," related to Late Latin gunna "leather garment, skin, hide," of unknown origin. Used by St. Boniface (8c.) for a fur garment permitted for old or infirm monks. Klein writes that it is probably "a word adopted from a language of the Apennine or the Balkan Peninsula." OED points to Byzantine Greek gouna, a word for a coarse garment sometimes made of skins, but also notes "some scholars regard it as of Celtic origin."

In 18c., gown was the common word for what now usually is styled a dress. It was maintained more in the U.S. than in Britain, but was somewhat revived 20c. in fashion senses and in combinations (such as bridal gown, nightgown). Meaning "flowing robe worn on official occasions as a badge of office or authority" is from late 14c. As collective singular for "residents of a university" (1650s) it typically is used in rhyming opposition to town.
goy (n.): "a gentile, a non-Jew" (plural goyim), 1835, from Hebrew goy "people, nation;" in Mishnaic and Modern Hebrew, also "gentile" (compare gentile).
goyim: plural of goy (q.v.).
grab (v.): "seize forcibly or roughly," 1580s, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German grabben "to grab," from Proto-Germanic *grab-, *grap- (cognates: Old English græppian "to seize," Old Saxon garva, Old High German garba "sheaf," literally "that which is gathered up together"), from PIE *ghrebh- (1) "to seize, reach" (cognates: Sanskrit grbhnati "seizes," Old Persian grab- "seize" as possession or prisoner, Old Church Slavonic grabiti "to seize, rob," Lithuanian grebiu "to rake"). Sense of "to get by unscrupulous methods" was reinforced by grab game, a kind of swindle, attested from 1846. Related: Grabbed; grabbing.
grab (n.): 1777, "thing grabbed;" 1824, "act of grabbing, a sudden grasp or seizing" from grab (v.). Up for grabs attested from 1945 in jive talk.
grab-bag (n.): "miscellaneous mixture," 1867, originally the name of a carnival game (1854) consisting of a bag full of items to be obtained by thrusting the hand within, the privilege of doing so having previously been bought; from grab + bag (n.).
grabble (v.): 1570s, probably from Dutch grabbelen, frequentative of grabben (see grab (v.)). Related: Grabbled; grabbling.
grabby (adj.): "greedy, grasping," 1910, from grab + -y (2). Related: Grabbiness.
Grace: fem. proper name, literally "favor, grace;" see grace (n.).