英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

upset (v.)[upset 词源字典]: mid-15c., "to set up, fix," from up (adv.) + set (v.). Similar formation in Middle Dutch opsetten "set up, propose," German aufsetzen. Modern sense of "overturn, capsize" (1803) is that of obsolete overset. In reference to the stomach, from 1834. Meaning "to throw into mental discomposure" is from 1805. Related: Upsetting.[upset etymology, upset origin, 英语词源]
upset (n.): early 15c., "insurrection," from upset (v.). Meaning "overturning of a vehicle or boat" is recorded from 1804.
upset (adj.): early 14c., "erected," past participle adjective from upset (v.). From 1805 as "distressed."
upshot (n.): 1530s, from up (adj.) + shot (n.); originally, the final shot in an archery match, hence the figurative sense of "result, issue, conclusion" (c. 1600).
upside (n.): 1610s, "upper side or surface," from up (adj.) + side (n.). Adverbial phrase upside (someone's) head in reference to a blow to the head is recorded from 1970, U.S. black slang.
upside down (adv.): late 15c., earlier upsadoun (late 14c.), up so down (c. 1300); the so perhaps meaning "as if." As an adjective from 1866.
upsilon (n.): 20th letter of the Greek alphabet, 1640s, from Greek u psilon, literally "a mere (or bare) 'u;' " so called in later Greek in reference to its sound. The exact reason is variously explained, but it seems to have had something to do with distinguishing it from diphthongs.
upskirt (adj.): by 1997, from up (adv.) + skirt (n.). As a verb by 2008.
"Upskirt" videos, usually taken using low-hanging bags, feature up-close-and-personal crotch shots of leggy, panty-clad young women. ["Weekly World News," Sept. 29, 1998]
upstage (adv.): 1855 in theatrical jargon, "to the rear of the stage," from up (adv.) + stage (n.). From 1901 as an adjective, 1916 as a noun. The notion in the verb (1921) is of drawing attention to oneself (and away from a fellow actor) by moving upstage, so that the other actor must face away from the audience. Related: Upstaged; upstaging.
upstairs (adv.): 1590s, from up (adv.) + stairs (see stair). As an adjective from 1782. The noun is first attested 1872. Adjectival meaning "characteristic of upstairs life" (in private rooms of a household, as opposed to servants' quarters) is recorded from 1942.
He [Halifax] had said he had known many kicked down stairs, but he never knew any kicked up stairs before. [Gilbert Burnet, supplement to "History of My own Time," from his original memoirs, c. 1697]
upstanding (adj.): 14c., altered from or replacing Old English upstandene, in the literal sense, from up (adv.) + standing (see stand (v.)); see -ing (2). Figurative sense of "honest" is attested from 1863. A verb upstand "stand up, be erect, rise" is recorded from c. 1200.
upstart (n.): 1550s, "one newly risen from a humble position to one of power, importance, or rank, a parvenu," also start-up, from up (adv.) + start (v.) in the sense of "jump, spring, rise." As an adjective from 1560s. Compare the archaic verb upstart "to spring to one's feet," attested from c. 1300.
upstate (adv.): 1901, American English, from up (adv.) + state (n.).
upstream (adv.): also up-stream, 1680s, from up (adv.) + stream (n.). As an adjective from 1838.
upsurge (n.): 1916, from up (adv.) + surge (n.).
upswing (n.): 1922, in golf, from up (adv.) + swing (n.). Sense in economics is attested from 1934.
upsy-daisy (adv.): 1711, up-a-daisy, baby talk extension of up (adv.). Compare lackadaisical. A word upsee was in use in English late 17c. in phrases such as upsee-Dutch "in the Dutch style" (of drinking), from Dutch op zijn, and also occasionally as an adverb, "extremely," and could have had an influence on this word.
uptake (n.): "capacity for understanding, perceptive power," 1816, from up (adv.) + take (v.). Compare Middle English verb uptake "to pick or take up" (c. 1300). Meaning "pipe leading up from the smoke box of a steam boiler to the chimney" is from 1839.
uptick (n.): "upward trend," 1962, an economist's term, from up (adv.) + tick (v.), in reference to some recording mechanism.
uptight (adj.): "tense," slang, 1934, from up- + tight (adj.). Meaning "straight-laced" first recorded 1969. It was used in a sense of "excellent" in jazz slang c. 1962.