英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

Holstein [Holstein 词源字典]: breed of cattle, 1865; so called because originally raised in nearby Friesland. The place name is literally "woodland settlers," from the roots of German Holz "wood" (see holt) and siedeln "to settle," altered by influence of Stein "stone." Since 15c. it has been united with the Duchy of Schleswig.[Holstein etymology, Holstein origin, 英语词源]
holster (n.): "leather case for a pistol," 1660s, probably from Old English heolster, earlier helustr "concealment, hiding place," from Proto-Germanic *hulfti- (cognates: Old High German hulft "cover, case, sheath," Old Norse hulstr "case, sheath," Middle Dutch holster, German Halfter "holster"), from PIE *kel- (2) "to cover, to hide" (see cell). Intermediate forms are wanting, and the modern word could as well be from the Norse or Dutch cognates.
holster (v.): by 1902, from holster (n.). Related: Holstered; holstering.
holt (n.): Old English holt "woods," common in place names, from Proto-Germanic *hultam- (cognates: Old Frisian, Old Norse, Middle Dutch holt, Dutch hout, German Holz "wood"), from PIE *kldo- (cognates: Old Church Slavonic klada "beam, timber," Greek klados "twig," Old Irish caill "wood"), from root *kel- (1) "to strike, cut."
holy (adj.): Old English halig "holy, consecrated, sacred, godly," from Proto-Germanic *hailaga- (cognates: Old Norse heilagr, Old Frisian helich "holy," Old Saxon helag, Middle Dutch helich, Old High German heilag, German heilig, Gothic hailags "holy"). Adopted at conversion for Latin sanctus.

Primary (pre-Christian) meaning is not possible to determine, but probably it was "that must be preserved whole or intact, that cannot be transgressed or violated," and connected with Old English hal (see health) and Old High German heil "health, happiness, good luck" (source of the German salutation Heil). Holy water was in Old English. Holy has been used as an intensifying word from 1837; used in expletives since 1880s (such as holy smoke, 1883, holy mackerel, 1876, holy cow, 1914, holy moly etc.), most of them euphemisms for holy Christ or holy Moses.
Holy Land: "western Palestine, Judaea," late 13c., translating Medieval Latin terra sancta (11c.).
holystone (n.): soft sandstone used to scrub decks of sailing ships, 1777, despite the spelling, so called perhaps because it is full of holes. As a verb, by 1828.
homage (n.): late 13c., from Old French homage (12c., Modern French hommage) "allegiance or respect for one's feudal lord," from homme "man," from Latin homo (genitive hominis) "man" (see homunculus). Figurative sense of "reverence, honor shown" is from late 14c. As a verb, from 1590s (agent noun homager is from c. 1400).
hombre (n.): "a man" (especially one of Spanish descent), 1846, from Spanish, from Latin hominem, accusative of homo "man" (see homunculus).
homburg (n.): type of soft felt had with a curled brim and a dented crown, 1894, from Homburg, resort town in Prussia, where it was first made. Introduced to England by Edward VII.
home (n.): Old English ham "dwelling, house, estate, village," from Proto-Germanic *haimaz (cognates: Old Frisian hem "home, village," Old Norse heimr "residence, world," heima "home," Danish hjem, Middle Dutch heem, German heim "home," Gothic haims "village"), from PIE root *tkei- "to settle, dwell, be home" (cognates: Sanskrit kseti "abides, dwells," Armenian shen "inhabited," Greek kome, Lithuanian kaimas "village;" Old Church Slavonic semija "domestic servants").
'Home' in the full range and feeling of [Modern English] home is a conception that belongs distinctively to the word home and some of its Gmc. cognates and is not covered by any single word in most of the IE languages. [Buck]
Home stretch (1841) is originally a reference from horse racing. Home base in baseball attested by 1859 (home plate by 1867; home as the goal in a sport or game is from 1778). Home economics first attested 1899. Slang phrase make (oneself) at home "become comfortable in a place one does not live" dates from 1892. To keep the home fires burning is from a song title from 1914. To be nothing to write home about "unremarkable" is from 1907. Home movie is from 1919; home computer is from 1967.
home (v.): 1765, "to go home," from home (n.). Meaning "be guided to a destination by radio signals, etc. (of missiles, aircraft, etc.) is from 1920; it had been used earlier in reference to pigeons (1862). Related: Homed; homing. Old English had hamian "to establish in a home."
home front (n.): also homefront, 1918, from home (n.) + front (n.) in the military sense. A term from World War I; popularized (if not coined) by the agencies running the U.S. propaganda effort.
The battle front in Europe is not the only American front. There is a home front, and our people at home should be as patriotic as our men in uniform in foreign lands. [promotion for the Fourth Liberty Loan appearing in various U.S. magazines, fall 1918]
home page (n.): also homepage, 1993, from home (n.) + page (n.).
home rule (n.): 1860, originally in reference to Ireland, from home (n.) + rule (n.).
home run (n.): 1856, from home (n.) + run (n.).
homebody (n.): 1821, from home (n.) + body.
homebound (adj.): 1882, from home (n.) + bound (adj.2).
homeboy (n.): "person from one's hometown," 1940s, American English, black slang, also originally with overtones of "simpleton." With many variants (compare homebuddy, homeslice, both 1980s, with meaning shading toward "good friend"). The word had been used by Ruskin (1886) with the sense "stay-at-home male," and it was Canadian slang for "boy brought up in an orphanage or other institution" (1913).
homecoming (n.): mid-13c. in literal sense of "a coming home," from home (n.) + present participle of come. Compare Old English hamcyme "return." Attested from 1935 in U.S. high school dance sense. Used earlier in Britain in reference to the annual return of natives to the Isle of Man.