英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

MIT [MIT 词源字典]: originally M.I.T., abbreviation of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, attested from 1892.[MIT etymology, MIT origin, 英语词源]
mite (n.1): "tiny animal, minute arachnid," Old English mite, from Proto-Germanic *miton (cognates: Middle Dutch mite, Dutch mijt, Old High German miza, Danish mide) originally meaning perhaps "the cutter," in reference to its bite, from Proto-Germanic *mait- (cognates: Gothic maitan, Old High German meizen "to cut"), from PIE root *mai- "to cut" (see maim). Or else its original sense is "something small," and it is from PIE *mei- (2) "small," in reference to size (see minus).
mite (n.2): "little bit," mid-14c., from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German mite "tiny animal," from Proto-Germanic *miton-, from PIE *mei- (2) "small" (see minus), and thus probably identical with mite (n.1). Also the name of a medieval Flemish copper coin of very small value, proverbial in English for "a very small unit of money," hence used since Wyclif to translate Latin minutum from Vulgate in Mark xii:43, itself a translation of Greek lepton. French mite (14c.) is a loan-word from Dutch.
miter (n.2): in the carpentry sense of "joint at a 45 degree angle," 1670s, perhaps from mitre, via notion of joining of the two peaks of the folded cap. As a verb from 1731.
miter (n.1): alternative spelling of mitre (see -re).
Mithras: Persian god of light, 1550s, from Latin, from Greek Mithras, from Avestan Mithra-, from Indo-Iranian *mitram "contract," whence *mitras "contractual partner, friend," conceptualized as a god, or, according to Kent, first the epithet of a divinity and eventually his name; from PIE root *mei- "to bind" (see mitre). Related to Sanskrit Mitrah, a Vedic deity associated with Varuna. "His name is one of the earliest Indic words we possess, being found in clay tablets from Anatolia dating to about 1500 B.C." [Calvert Watkins, "Dictionary of Indo-European Roots," 2000]. Related: Mithraic; Mithraism.
mithridate (n.): "antidote against poison," from Medieval Latin mithridatum, from Late Latin mithridatium, neuter of Mithridatius "pertaining to Mithridates," king of Pontus, who made himself poison-proof.
mithril (n.): 1954, an invented word by English author J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973).
mitigant (adj.): 1540s, from Latin mitigantem, present participle of mitigare (see mitigate). As a noun from 1865.
mitigate (v.): early 15c., "relieve (pain)," from Latin mitigatus, past participle of mitigare "soften, make tender, ripen, mellow, tame," figuratively, "make mild or gentle, pacify, soothe," ultimately from mitis "gentle, soft" (from PIE *mei- "mild") + root of agere "do, make, act" (see act). First element is from PIE root *mei- "soft, mild." Related: Mitigated; mitigating; mitigates.
mitigating (adj,.): "extenuating," 1610s, present participle adjective from mitigate.
mitigation (n.): mid-14c., from Latin mitigationem (nominative mitigatio), noun of action from past participle stem of mitigare (see mitigate).
mitochondria (n.): 1901, from German, coined 1898 by microbiologist Carl Benda (1857-1933), from Greek mitos "thread" (see mitre) + khondrion "little granule," diminutive of khondros "granule, lump of salt" (see grind (v.)).
mitochondrion (n.): singular of mitochondria.
mitosis (n.): 1887, coined in German from Greek mitos "warp thread" (see mitre) + Modern Latin -osis "act, process." Term introduced by German anatomist Walther Fleming (1843-1905) in 1882. So called because chromatin of the cell nucleus appears as long threads in the first stages.
mitrailleuse (n.): kind of machine gun, from French mitrailleuse (19c.), from Old French mitaille (14c.) "small coins," hence "old iron, scrap iron," then "grapeshot;" originally a diminutive of mite "a small coin" (see mite (n.2)). "For sense development it should be borne in mind that orig. guns used to be loaded with scrap iron" [Klein].
mitral (adj.): c. 1600, "resembling a mitre," from French mitral, from Modern Latin mitralis, from Latin mitra (see mitre). Mitral valve is attested from 1705.
mitre (n.): bishop's tall hat, late 14c., from Old French mitre, from Latin mitra "headband, turban," from Greek mitra "headband, turban," earlier a belt or cloth worn under armor about the waist, from PIE root *mei- "to tie" (cognates: Sanskrit Mitrah, Old Persian Mithra-, god names; Russian mir "world, peace," Greek mitos "a warp thread"). In Latin, "a kind of headdress common among Asiatics, the wearing of which by men was regarded in Rome as a mark of effeminacy" [OED]. But the word was used in Vulgate to translate Hebrew micnepheth "headdress of a priest."
mitt (n.): 1765, shortened form of mitten (q.v.). Baseball sense is from 1902. Slang sense of "hand" is from 1896.
mitten (n.): late 14c., from Old French mitaine "mitten, half-glove" (12c.), from Old French mite "mitten," and from Medieval Latin mitta, which are perhaps from Middle High German mittemo, Old High German mittamo "middle, midmost" (reflecting notion of "half-glove"), or from Vulgar Latin *medietana "divided in the middle," from Latin medius (see medial (adj.)).