英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

lang syne [lang syne 词源字典]: c. 1500, Scottish variant of long since; popularized in Burns' song, 1788.[lang syne etymology, lang syne origin, 英语词源]
language (n.): late 13c., langage "words, what is said, conversation, talk," from Old French langage (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *linguaticum, from Latin lingua "tongue," also "speech, language" (see lingual). The form with -u- developed in Anglo-French. Meaning "a language" is from c. 1300, also used in Middle English of dialects:
Mercii, þat beeþ men of myddel Engelond[,] vnderstondeþ bettre þe side langages, norþerne and souþerne, þan norþerne and souþerne vnderstondeþ eiþer oþer. [John of Trevisa, translation of Bartholomew de Glanville's "De proprietatibus rerum," 1398]

In oþir inglis was it drawin, And turnid ic haue it til ur awin Language of the norþin lede, Þat can na noþir inglis rede. ["Cursor Mundi," early 14c.]
Language barrier attested from 1933.
languedoc (n.): "language of medieval France south of the Loire," 1660s, from French langue d'oc "speech of the south of France," literally "the language of 'yes,' " from oc the word used for "yes" in southern France, from Latin hoc "this;" as opposed to langue d'oïl, from the way of saying "yes" in the north of France (Modern French oui); each from a different word in Latin phrase hoc ille (fecit) "this he (did)." The langue d'oïl has developed into standard Modern French.
languet (n.): early 15c., literally "little tongue," from French languette, diminutive of langue "tongue," from Latin lingua (see lingual).
languid (adj.): 1590s, from Middle French languide (16c.) and directly from Latin languidus "faint, listless," from languere "be weak or faint," from PIE root *(s)leg- "to be slack" (see lax). Related: Languidly; languidness.
languish (v.): early 14c., "fail in strength, exhibit signs of approaching death," from languiss-, present participle stem of Old French languir "be listless, pine, grieve, fall ill," from Vulgar Latin *languire, from Latin languere "be weak or faint" (see lax). Weaker sense "be lovesick, grieve, lament, grow faint," is from mid-14c. Related: Languished; languishing.
languor (n.): c. 1300, "disease, distress, mental suffering," from Old French langor "sickness, weakness" (Modern French langueur), from Latin languorem (nominative languor) "faintness, feebleness, lassitude," from languere "be weak or faint" (see lax). Sense shifted to "faintness, weariness" (1650s) and "habitual want of energy" (1825).
languorous (adj.): late 15c., "mournful," from Old French langoros (11c.), from langor (see languor). Meaning "suggestive of languor" is from 1821. Related: Languorously; languorousness.
Lanier: surname, from Old French lainier "wool-monger," from Latin lana "wool" (see wool).
lank (adj.): Old English hlanc "loose and empty, slender, flaccid," from Proto-Germanic *hlanka-, forming words meaning "to bend, turn," perhaps with a connecting notion of "flexible" (see flank (n.)). In Middle English, "Some examples may be long adj. with unvoicing of g" ["Middle English Dictionary"]
lanky (adj.): 1630s, "straight and flat," used of hair, from lank + -y (2); sense of "awkwardly tall and thin" is first recorded 1818. Related: Lankiness.
lanolin (n.): fatty matter extracted from sheep's wool," 1885, from German Lanolin, coined by German physician Mathias Eugenius Oscar Liebreich (1838-1908) from Latin lana "wool" (see wool) + oleum "oil, fat" (see oil (n.)) + chemical suffix -in (2).
lantern (n.): mid-13c., from Old French lanterne "lamp, lantern, light" (12c.), from Latin lanterna "lantern, lamp, torch," altered (by influence of Latin lucerna "lamp") from Greek lampter "torch," from lampein "to shine" (see lamp). Variant lanthorn (16c.-19c.) was folk etymology based on the common use of horn as a translucent cover. Lantern-jaws "hollow, long cheeks" is from a resemblance noted since at least mid-14c.
lanthanum (n.): metallic rare earth element, 1841, coined in Modern Latin by Swedish chemist and mineralogist Carl Gustav Mosander (1797-1858), who discovered it in 1839, from Greek lanthanein "to lie hidden, escape notice," from PIE root *ladh- "to be hidden" (see latent). So called because the element was "concealed" in rare minerals.
lanyard (n.): also laniard, alternative spelling (influenced by nautical yard (2) "long beam used to support a sail") of Middle English lainer, "thong for fastening parts of armor or clothing" (late 14c.), from Old French laniere "thong, lash," from lasniere, from lasne "strap, thong," apparently altered (by metathesis and influence of Old French las "lace") from nasliere, from Frankish *nastila or some other Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *nastila- (cognates: Old High German, Old Saxon nestila "lace, strap, band," German nestel "string, lace, strap"), from PIE root *ned- "to knot."
Laocoon: Trojan priest of Apollo, from Latin Laocoon, from Greek Laukoun, from laos "people" (see lay (adj.)) + koeo "I mark, perceive."
Laocoön, n. A famous piece of antique sculpture representing a priest of that time and his two sons in the folds of two enormous serpents. The skill and diligence with which the old man and lads support the serpents and keep them up in their work have been justly regarded as one of the noblest artistic illustrations of the mastery of human intelligence over brute inertia. [Ambrose Bierce, "Devil's Dictionary," 1911]
Laodicean: "lukewarm in religion," 1560s, from Laodicea, Syrian city (modern Latakia) whose early Christians were chastised in the Bible for indifference to their religion [Rev. iii:14-16]. The city is said to be named for the 3c B.C.E. Syrian queen Laodice, wife of Antiochus II.
Laos: Southeast Asian land, from the name of legendary founder Lao. Related: Laotian.
lap (n.): Old English læppa (plural læppan) "skirt or flap of a garment," from Proto-Germanic *lapp- (cognates: Old Frisian lappa, Old Saxon lappo, Middle Dutch lappe, Dutch lap, Old High German lappa, German Lappen "rag, shred," Old Norse leppr "patch, rag"), from PIE root *leb- "be loose, hang down."

Sense of "lower part of a shirt" led to that of "upper legs of seated person" (c. 1300). Used figuratively ("bosom, breast") from late 14c., as in lap of luxury, first recorded 1802. From 15c.-In 17c. the word (often in plural) was a euphemism for "female pudendum," but this is not the source of lap dance, which is first recorded 1993.
To lap dance, you undress, sit your client down, order him to stay still and fully clothed, then hover over him, making a motion that you have perfected by watching Mister Softee ice cream dispensers. [Anthony Lane, review of "Showgirls," "New Yorker," Oct. 16, 1995]
That this is pleasure and not torment for the client is something survivors of the late 20c. will have to explain to their youngers.
lap (v.1): "take up liquid with the tongue," from Old English lapian "to lap up, drink," from Proto-Germanic *lapojan (cognates: Old High German laffen "to lick," Old Saxon lepil, Dutch lepel, German Löffel "spoon"), from PIE imitative base *lab- (cognates: Greek laptein "to sip, lick," Latin lambere "to lick"), indicative of licking, lapping, smacking lips. Meaning "splash gently" first recorded 1823, based on similarity of sound. Related: Lapped; lapping.