英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

lieutenant (n.)[lieutenant 词源字典]: late 14c., "one who takes the place of another," from Old French lieu tenant "substitute, deputy," literally "placeholder," from lieu "place" (see lieu) + tenant, present participle of tenir "to hold" (see tenant). The notion is of a "substitute" for higher authority. Specific military sense of "officer next in rank to a captain" is from 1570s. Pronunciation with lef- is common in Britain, and spellings to reflect it date back to 14c., but the origin of this is a mystery (OED rejects suggestion that it comes from old confusion of -u- and -v-).[lieutenant etymology, lieutenant origin, 英语词源]
life (n.): Old English life (dative lif) "existence, lifetime, way of life, condition of being a living thing, opposite of death," from Proto-Germanic *libam (cognates: Old Norse lif "life, body," Dutch lijf "body," Old High German lib "life," German Leib "body"), properly "continuance, perseverance," from PIE *leip- "to remain, persevere, continue; stick, adhere" (see leave (v.)). Much of the modern range of meanings was present in Old English. Meaning "property which distinguishes living from non-living matter" is from 1560s. Sense of "vitality, energy" is from 1580s. Extended 1703 to "term of duration (of inanimate objects)."

Life-jacket is from 1840; life-preserver from 1630s of anything that is meant to save a life, 1803 of devices worn to prevent drowning. Life-saver is from 1883, figurative use from 1909, as a brand of hard sugar candy, from 1912, so called for shape. Life-form is from 1861. Life cycle is from 1855.
life of Riley (n.): "life at ease," expression popularized by 1917, American English, sometimes said to trace to various songs from c. 1902.
life-boat: also lifeboat, 1801 (the thing itself attested by 1785), from life (n.) + boat.
life-size (adj.): 1820, from life (n.) + size (n.).
lifeblood (n.): also life-blood, 1580s, "blood necessary for life," from life (n.) + blood (n.). Figurative and transferred use is from 1590s.
lifeguard (n.): also life-guard, 1640s, "bodyguard of soldiers," from life (n.) + guard (n.), translating German leibgarde. Sense of "person paid to watch over bathers" is by 1896.
lifeless (adj.): Old English lifleas "inanimate, dead;" see life + -less. Meaning "with no living things" is from 1728. Related: Lifelessly; lifelessness.
lifelike (adj.): 1610s, "likely to live," from life (n.) + like (adj.). Meaning "exactly like the living original" is from 1725.
lifeline (n.): also life-line, 1700, "rope used somehow to save lives," from life (n.) + line (n.); figurative sense first attested 1860. Sense in palmistry from 1890.
lifelong (adj.): also life-long, "continuing a lifetime," 1855, from life (n.) + long (adj.).
lifer (n.): "prisoner serving a life sentence," 1830, from life (n.).
lifespan (n.): also life span, 1918, from life (n.) + span (n.1).
lifestyle (n.): also life-style, 1929, from life (n.) + style (n.); originally a specific term used by Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler (1870-1937); broader sense is by 1961.
lifetime (n.): also life-time, early 13c., from life (n.) + time (n.). One word from 19c. Old English had lifdæg in same sense, literally "life day."
lifeway (n.): "way of life," 1960s, an unconscious revival of Old English lifweg; see life (n.) + way (n.).
lift (v.): c. 1200, from Old Norse lypta "to raise," from Proto-Germanic *luftijan (cognates: Middle Low German lüchten, Dutch lichten, German lüften "to lift;" Old English lyft "heaven, air," see loft). The meaning "steal" (as in shop-lift) is first recorded 1520s. Related: Lifted; lifting.
lift (n.): late 15c., "act of lifting," from lift (v.). Meaning "act of helping" is 1630s; that of "cheering influence" is from 1861. Sense of "elevator" is from 1851; that of "upward force of an aircraft" is from 1902. Meaning "help given to a pedestrian by taking him into a vehicle" is from 1712.
liftoff (n.): also lift-off, "vertical take-off of a rocket, etc.," 1956, American English, from lift (v.) + off.
ligament (n.): late 14c., from Latin ligamentum "band, tie, ligature," from ligare "to bind, tie," from PIE *leig- "to bind" (cognates: Albanian lith "I bind," Middle Low German lik "band," Middle High German geleich "joint, limb"). Related: Ligamental; ligamentary.