quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- ladder (n.)[ladder 词源字典]
- Old English hlæder "ladder, steps," from Proto-Germanic *khlaidri (cognates: Old Frisian hledere, Middle Dutch ledere, Old High German leitara, German Leiter), from PIE root *klei- "to lean" (cognates: Greek klimax "ladder;" see lean (v.)). In late Old English, rungs were læddrestæfæ and the side pieces were ledder steles. The belief that walking under one brings bad luck is attested from 1787, but its origin likely is more pragmatic than symbolic. Ladder-back (adj.) as a type of chair is from 1898.[ladder etymology, ladder origin, 英语词源]
- lade (v.)
- Old English hladan (past tense hlod, past participle gehladen) "to load, heap" (the general Germanic sense), also "to draw water" (a meaning peculiar to English), from Proto-Germanic *khlad- (cognates: Old Norse hlaða, Old Saxon hladan, Middle Dutch and Dutch laden, Old Frisian hlada "to load," Old High German hladen, German laden), from PIE *kla- "to spread out flat" (cognates: Lithuanian kloti "to spread," Old Church Slavonic klado "to set, place").
- laden (adj.)
- "loaded, weighted down," 1590s, from the original past participle of lade.
- ladies (n.)
- plural of lady (q.v.).
- Ladin (n.)
- Rhaeto-Romanic dialect spoken in Switzerland and Tyrol, 1873, from Latin Latinus "Latin" (see Latin (adj.)).
- lading (n.)
- "act of loading a boat," early 15c., verbal noun from lade (v.).
- Ladino (n.)
- 1889, Spanish mixed with Hebrew, Arabic, and other elements, written in Hebrew characters, spoken by Sephardim in Turkey, Greece, etc. From Spanish Ladino "sagacious, cunning crafty," originally "knowing Latin, Latin," from Latin Latinus. The Spanish word also has appeared in 19c. American English in its senses "vicious horse" and, in Central America, "mestizo, white person."
- ladle (n.)
- "large, long-handled spoon for drawing liquids," Old English hlædel "ladle," from hladan "to load" (see lade) + -le, suffix expressing "appliance, tool" (compare shovel, handle, thimble). The verb is first recorded 1520s, from the noun. Related: Ladled; ladling.
- lady (n.)
- c. 1200, lafdi, lavede, from Old English hlæfdige "mistress of a household, wife of a lord," literally "one who kneads bread," from hlaf "bread" (see loaf) + -dige "maid," related to dæge "maker of dough" (see dey (n.1); also compare lord (n.)). The medial -f- disappeared 14c. Not found outside English except where borrowed from it.
Sense of "woman of superior position in society" is c. 1200; "woman whose manners and sensibilities befit her for high rank in society" is from 1861 (ladylike in this sense is from 1580s, and ladily from c. 1400). Meaning "woman as an object of chivalrous love" is from early 14c. Used commonly as an address to any woman since 1890s. Applied in Old English to the Holy Virgin, hence many extended usages in plant names, place names, etc., from genitive singular hlæfdigan, which in Middle English merged with the nominative, so that lady- often represents (Our) Lady's, as in ladybug. Ladies' man first recorded 1784. Lady of pleasure recorded from 1640s. - ladybird (n.)
- "sweetheart," 1590s, from lady + bird (n.2).
- ladybug (n.)
- 1690s, from lady + bug (n.). The "lady" is the Virgin Mary (compare German cognate Marienkäfer). In Britain, now usually ladybird beetle (1704), through aversion to the word bug, which there has overtones of sodomy.
- ladylike (adj.)
- also lady-like, 1580s; see lady + like (adj.). Middle English had ladily "queenly, exalted" (late 14c.).
- Laertes
- king of Ithaca, father of Odysseus, Greek, literally "gatherer of the people," from laos "people" (see lay (adj.)) + eirein "to fasten together" (see series (n.)).
- lag (v.)
- "fail to keep pace," 1520s, earlier as a noun meaning "last person" (1510s), later also as an adjective (1550s, as in lag-mon "last man"), all of uncertain relationship, possibly from a Scandinavian source (compare Norwegian lagga "go slowly"), or some dialectal version of last, lack, or delay. Related: Lag; lagging. The noun meaning "retardation" is from 1855. First record of lag time is from 1951.
- lager (n.)
- 1858, American English, short for lager beer (1845), from German Lagerbier "beer brewed for keeping" some months before being drunk, from Lager "storehouse" (see lair) + Bier "beer."
- laggard
- 1702 (adj.), from lag (v.) + -ard. From 1757 as a noun.
- lagniappe (n.)
- "dividend, something extra," 1849, from New Orleans creole, of unknown origin though much speculated upon. Originally a bit of something given by New Orleans shopkeepers to customers. Said to be from American Spanish la ñapa "the gift." Klein says this is in turn from Quechua yapa "something added, gift."
We picked up one excellent word -- a word worth travelling to New Orleans to get; a nice, limber, expressive, handy word -- 'lagniappe.' They pronounce it lanny-yap. It is Spanish -- so they said. [Mark Twain, "Life on the Mississippi"]
- lagoon (n.)
- 1670s, lagune, earlier laguna (1610s), from French lagune or directly from Italian laguna "pond, lake," from Latin lacuna "pond, hole," from lacus "pond" (see lake (n.1)). Originally in reference to the region of Venice; applied 1769 (by Capt. Cook) to the lake-like stretch of water enclosed in a South Seas atoll. Also see -oon.
- lai
- see lay (n.).
- laic (adj.)
- 1560s, from French laïque (16c.), from Late Latin laicus, from Greek laikos "of or belonging to the people," from laos "people" (see lay (adj.)).