英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

mignon (adj.)[mignon 词源字典]: "delicately formed," 1550s, French, literally "delicate, charming, pretty;" see minion. As a noun, "pretty child," from 1827.[mignon etymology, mignon origin, 英语词源]
migraine (n.): late 14c., megrim, from Old French migraigne (13c.), from vulgar pronunciation of Late Latin hemicrania "pain in one side of the head, headache," from Greek hemikrania, from hemi- "half" + kranion "skull" (see cranium). The Middle English form was re-spelled 1777 on the French model. Related: Migrainous.
migrant (adj.): 1670s, from Latin migrantem (nominative migrans), present participle of migrare "to remove, depart, to move from one place to another" (see migration).
migrant (n.): "person who migrates," 1760, from migrant (adj.).
migrate (v.): 1690s, from Latin migratus, past participle of migrare "to move from one place to another" (see migration). Related: Migrated; migrating.
migration (n.): 1610s, of persons, 1640s of animals, from Latin migrationem (nominative migratio) "a removal, change of abode, migration," noun of action from past participle stem of migrare "to move from one place to another," probably originally *migwros, from PIE *meigw- (source of Greek ameibein "to change"), from root *mei- (1) "to change, go, move" (see mutable). Related: Migrational.

That European birds migrate across the seas or to Asia was understood in the Middle Ages, but subsequently forgotten. Dr. Johnson held that swallows slept all winter in the beds of rivers, while the naturalist Morton (1703) stated that they migrated to the moon. As late as 1837 the "Kendal Mercury" "detailed the circumstance of a person having observed several Swallows emerging from Grasmere Lake, in the spring of that year, in the form of 'bell-shaped bubbles,' from each of which a Swallow burst forth ...."
migratory (adj.): 1753, from Latin migrat-, past participle stem of migrare "to movefrom one place to another" (see migration) + -ory.
mikado (n.): 1727, former title of the emperor of Japan, from mi "honorable" + kado "gate, portal." Similar to Sublime Porte, old title of the Ottoman emperor/government, and Pharaoh, which literally means "great house."
mil (n.): 1721, in per mil "per thousand," from Latin mille "thousand" (see million); compare percent. As a unit of length for diameter of wire, it is attested from 1891; as a unit of angular measure it is first recorded 1907.
Milan: city in northern Italy, Roman Mediolanum, from Gaulish medios "middle" + lanu "plain," in reference to its situation in the Po Valley. Related: Milanese.
milch (adj.): "giving milk," from Old English -milce "milking," from West Germanic *melik- "milk" (see milk (n)).
mild (adj.): Old English milde "gentle, merciful," from Proto-Germanic *milthjaz- (cognates: Old Norse mildr, Old Saxon mildi, Old Frisian milde, Middle Dutch milde, Dutch mild, Old High German milti, German milde "mild," Gothic mildiþa "kindness"), from PIE *meldh-, from root *mel- "soft," with derivatives referring to soft or softened materials (cognates: Greek malthon "weakling," myle "mill;" Latin molere "to grind;" Old Irish meldach "tender;" Sanskrit mrdh "to neglect," also "to be moist"). Originally of persons and powers; of the weather from c. 1400, of disease from 1744. Also in Old English as an adverb, "mercifully, graciously."
Mild goes further than gentle in expressing softness of nature; it is chiefly a word of nature or character, while gentle is chiefly a word of action. [Century Dictionary]
mildew (n.): mid-13c., mildeu "honeydew, nectar," from Old English meledeaw "honeydew" (sticky stuff exuded by aphids), from Proto-Germanic compound of *melith "honey" (see Melissa) + *dawwaz "dew" (see dew). Similar formation in Old Saxon milidou, Dutch meeldauw, German Meltau "mildew."

First element in many cases assimilated to forms of meal (n.2) "ground grain." As a kind of fungus it is first recorded mid-14c., so called from its being sticky and originally growing in plants. As a verb from 1550s. Related: Mildewed.
mildly (adv.): Old English mildelice "graciously, affably, kindly;" see mild + -ly (2). Phrase to put it mildly is attested from 1929.
mildness (n.): Old English mildnes "mildness, mercy," from mild (adj.) + -ness.
Mildred: fem. proper name, Old English Mildðryð, from milde "mild" (see mild) + ðryð "power, strength." A popular name in the Middle Ages through fame of St. Mildred (obit c. 700), abbess, daughter of a Mercian king and a Kentish princess. Among the 10 most popular names for girls born in the U.S. between 1903 and 1926, it hasn't been in the top 1,000 since 1983.
mile (n.): Old English mil, from West Germanic *milja (cognates: Middle Dutch mile, Dutch mijl, Old High German mila, German meile), from Latin milia "thousands," plural of mille "a thousand" (neuter plural was mistaken in Germanic as a fem. singular), of unknown origin.

The Latin word also is the source of French mille, Italian miglio, Spanish milla. The Scandinavian words (Old Norse mila, etc.) are from English. An ancient Roman mile was 1,000 double paces (one step with each foot), for about 4,860 feet, but there were many local variants and a modern statute mile is about 400 feet longer. In Germany, Holland, and Scandinavia in the Middle Ages, the Latin word was applied arbitrarily to the ancient Germanic rasta, a measure of from 3.25 to 6 English miles. Mile-a-minute (adj.) "very fast" is attested from 1957.
mileage (n.): 1754, "fixed rate per mile," from mile + -age. Meaning "a total number of miles" is from 1861.
milestone (n.): 1746, from mile + stone (n.).
MILF (n.): by 1999, acronym of Mother I'd Like to Fuck or some such thing.