英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

Main Street (n.)[Main Street 词源字典]: "principal street of a (U.S.) town," 1810. Used allusively to indicate "mediocrity, small-town materialism" from late 19c., especially since publication of Sinclair Lewis's novel "Main Street" (1920).[Main Street etymology, Main Street origin, 英语词源]
main-mast (n.): "the tallest mast, usually located near the center of the ship," 16c., from main (adj.) + mast (n.1).
Maine: U.S. state, probably ultimately from French Maine, region in France (named for the river that runs through it, which has a name of Gaulish origin). The name was applied to that part of coastal North America by French explorers.
mainframe (n.): "central processor of a computer system," 1964, from main (adj.) + frame (n.).
mainland (n.): c. 1400, from main (adj.) + land (n.). Usually referring to continuous bodies of land and not islands or peninsulas. Related: Mainlander.
mainline (v.): also main-line, 1934, from main line in American English slang sense "principal vein into which drugs can be injected" (1933).
mainly (adv.): late 13c., "vigorously," from main (adj.) + -ly (2). Meaning "especially" is from c. 1400; that of "for the most part" is from 1660s.
mainspring (n.): 1590s, of watches, clocks, etc., from main (adj.) + spring (n.3). Figurative use from 1690s.
mainstay (n.): "chief support," 1787, figurative use of a nautical noun meaning "stay which extends from the main-top to the foot of the foremast" (late 15c.), from main (adj.) + stay (n.).
mainstream (n.): also main-stream, main stream, "principal current of a river," 1660s, from main (adj.) + stream (n.); hence, "prevailing direction in opinion, popular taste, etc.," a figurative use first attested in Carlyle (1831). Mainstream media attested by 1980 in language of U.S. leftists critical of coverage of national affairs.
maintain (v.): mid-13c., "to practice habitually," from Anglo-French meintenir (Old French maintenir, 12c.) "keep (a wife), sustain; persevere in, practice continually," from Latin manu tenere "hold in the hand," from manu, ablative of manus "hand" (see manual) + tenere "to hold" (see tenet). Meaning "to carry on, keep up" is from mid-14c.; that of "to keep oneself, to support" is from late 14c. Sense of "to defend in speech" is from mid-14c. Related: Maintained; maintaining; maintains.
maintainable (adj.): mid-15c., from maintain + -able. Related: Maintainability.
maintenance (n.): mid-14c., "bearing, deportment," from Old French maintenance "upkeep; shelter, protection,: from maintenir (see maintain). Meaning "action of upholding or keeping in being" is from early 15c. "Action of providing a person with the necessities of life" is from late 14c.
maisonette (n.): 1818, "small house," from French maisonnette, diminutive of maison "house" (11c.), from Latin mansionem (see mansion). Meaning "a part of a building let separately" is from 1912.
maitre d': also maitre d, 1943; see maître d'hôtel.
maitre d'hotel: 1530s, "head domestic," from French maître d'hôtel, literally "house-master," from Old French maistre "master; skilled worker, educator" (12c.), from Latin magistrum (see magistrate). Sense of "hotel manager, manager of a dining room" is from 1890. Shortened form maître d' is attested from 1942; simple maitre from 1899.
maize (n.): 1550s, from Cuban Spanish maiz, from Arawakan (Haiti) mahiz.
majestic (adj.): c. 1600, from majesty + -ic. Related: Majestical (1570s); majestically.
majesty (n.): c. 1300, "greatness, glory," from Old French majeste "grandeur, nobility" (12c.), from Latin maiestatem (nominative maiestas) "greatness, dignity, elevation, honor, excellence," from stem of maior (neuter maius), comparative of magnus "great" (see magnate). Earliest English us is with reference to God; as a title, in reference to kings and queens (late 14c.), it is from Romance languages and descends from the Roman Empire.
Majlis (n.): Persian national assembly, 1821, from Arabic majlis "assembly," literally "session," from jalasa "he sat down."