英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

letterhead (n.)[letterhead 词源字典]: 1868, short for letterheading (1867); from letter (n.1) + head (n.). So called because it was printed at the "head" of the piece of paper.[letterhead etymology, letterhead origin, 英语词源]
lettering (n.): 1640s, "act of writing;" 1811 as "act of putting letters on something," verbal noun from letter (v.).
letters (n.): "the profession of authorship or literature," mid-13c., from plural of letter (n.).
lettuce (n.): late 13c., probably from Old French laitues, plural of laitue "lettuce," from Latin lactuca "lettuce," from lac (genitive lactis) "milk" (see lactation); so called for the milky juice of the plant.
leu (n.): monetary unit of Romania, introduced 1867, literally "lion." Monetary names in the Balkans often translate as "lion" because Dutch gold coins stamped with lions circulated widely in the region in the 17c. and the word for "lion" came to be a word for "money" in some languages in the region.
leukaemia (n.): alternative spelling of leukemia.
leukemia (n.): 1851, on model of German Leukämie (1848), coined by R. Virchow from Greek leukos "clear, white" (cognate with Gothic liuhaþ, Old English leoht "light;" see light (n.)) + haima "blood" (see -emia).
leukemic (adj.): also leukaemic, 1852; see leukemia + -ic.
leukocyte (n.): also leucocyte, 1860, via French leucocyte, from Greek leuko-, comb. form of leukos "white" (see light (n.)) + -cyte (see cyto-).
lev (n.): monetary unit of Bulgaria, introduced 1881, literally "lion" (see leu).
Levant: "Mediterranean lands east of Italy," late 15c., from Middle French levant "the Orient," from present participle of lever "to rise" (from Latin levare "to raise;" see lever). The region so called in reference to the direction of sunrise.
Levantine (adj.): 1640s, from Levant + -ine (1).
levari facias: Latin, literally "cause to be levied."
levator (n.): from medical Latin levator "a lifter," from Latin levatus, past participle of levare "to raise" (see lever).
levee (n.1): 1719, "natural or artificial embankment to prevent overflow of a river," from New Orleans French levée "raising, lifting; embankment," from French, originally fem. past participle of lever "to raise," from Latin levare "to raise" (see lever).
levee (n.2): "morning assembly held by a prince or king (upon rising from bed)," 1670s, from French lever "a raising," noun use of verb meaning "to raise" (see levee (n.1)).
level (n.): mid-14c., "tool to indicate a horizontal line," from Old French livel "a level" (13c.), ultimately from Latin libella "a balance, level," diminutive of libra "balance, scale, unit of weight," from PIE *lithra. Cognate Spanish nivel, Modern French niveau are from the same source but altered by dissimilation. Meaning "horizontality" is from c. 1400. Meaning "position as marked by a horizontal line" is from 1530s. Phrase on the level "fair, honest" is from 1872; earlier it meant "moderate, without great ambition" (1790).
level (v.): mid-15c., "to make level," from level (n.). From c. 1600 as "to bring to a level;" 1958 as "to cease increasing." Meaning "to aim a gun" is late 15c. Slang sense of "tell the truth" is from 1920. To level up "to rise" is attested by 1863.
A word here as to the misconception labored under by our English neighbor; he evidently does not understand the American manner of doing things. We never level down in this country; we are always at work on the up grade. "Level up! Level up!" is the motto of the American people. [James E. Garretson, "Professional Education," in "The Dental Cosmos," Philadelphia, 1865]
To level off "cease rising or falling" is from 1920, originally in aviation.
level (adj.): early 15c., from level (n.). To do one's level best is from 1851.
levelheaded (adj.): also level-headed, 1869, from level (adj.) + head (n.). The notion is of "balanced." Related: Levelheadedness.