quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- weave (v.2)[weave 词源字典]
- c. 1200, "to move from one place to another," of uncertain origin, perhaps from weave (v.1). From early 14c. as "move to and fro;" 1590s as "move side to side." Use in boxing is from 1818. Related: Weaved; weaving.[weave etymology, weave origin, 英语词源]
- weaver (n.)
- mid-14c. (mid-13c. as a surname), agent noun from weave (v.). The weaver-bird (1826) so called from the ingenuity of its nests.
- web (n.)
- Old English webb "woven fabric, woven work, tapestry," from Proto-Germanic *wabjam "fabric, web" (cognates: Old Saxon webbi, Old Norse vefr, Dutch webbe, Old High German weppi, German gewebe "web"), from PIE *webh- "to weave" (see weave (v.)).
Meaning "spider's web" is first recorded early 13c. Applied to the membranes between the toes of ducks and other aquatic birds from 1570s. Internet sense is from 1992, shortened from World Wide Web (1990). Web browser, web page both also attested 1990. - webbed (adj.)
- 1660s, from web.
- Weber
- surname attested from 1255; literally "weaver" (see web).
- weblog (n.)
- by 1994; see blog.
- webmaster (n.)
- 1993, from web in the Internet sense + master (n.).
- website (n.)
- also web site, 1994, from web in the Internet sense + site.
- webster (n.)
- "a weaver," Old English webbestre "a female weaver," from web (q.v.) + fem. suffix -ster. Noah Webster's dictionary first published 1828.
- wed (v.)
- Old English weddian "to pledge oneself, covenant to do something, vow; betroth, marry," also "unite (two other people) in a marriage, conduct the marriage ceremony," from Proto-Germanic *wadi- (cognates: Old Norse veðja, Danish vedde "to bet, wager," Old Frisian weddia "to promise," Gothic ga-wadjon "to betroth"), from PIE root *wadh- (1) "to pledge, to redeem a pledge" (cognates: Latin vas, genitive vadis "bail, security," Lithuanian vaduoti "to redeem a pledge").
The sense has remained closer to "pledge" in other Germanic languages (such as German Wette "a bet, wager"); development to "marry" is unique to English. "Originally 'make a woman one's wife by giving a pledge or earnest money', then used of either party" [Buck]. Passively, of two people, "to be joined as husband and wife," from c. 1200. Related: Wedded; wedding. - wedding (n.)
- Old English weddung "state of being wed; pledge, betrothal; action of marrying," verbal noun from wed (v.). Meaning "nuptials, ceremony of marriage" is recorded from early 13c.; the usual Old English word for the ceremony was bridelope, literally "bridal run," in reference to conducting the bride to her new home. Wedding ring is from late 14c.; wedding cake is recorded from 1640s, as a style of architecture from 1879. Wedding-dress attested from 1779; wedding-reception from 1856.
- wedge (n.)
- Old English wecg "a wedge," from Proto-Germanic *wagjaz (cognates: Old Norse veggr, Middle Dutch wegge, Dutch wig, Old High German weggi "wedge," dialectal German Weck "wedge-shaped bread roll"), of uncertain origin; perhaps related to Latin vomer "plowshare." From 1610s in reference to other things shaped like a wedge. Of women's shoes or shoe-heels, from 1939. Wedge issue is attested from 1999.
- wedge (v.)
- early 15c., "jam in place with a wedge; tighten with a wedge," from wedge (n.). Figurative sense "drive or pack (into)" is from 1720. Meaning "split (something) apart with a wedge" attested by 1853. Related: Wedged; wedging.
- wedgie (n.)
- 1940, "wedge-heeled shoe," from wedge (n.) + -ie. The underwear prank so called by 1970s, from the effect it gives the victim.
- wedgwood (n.)
- type of English pottery, 1787, from Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795), English potter.
- wedlock (n.)
- Old English wedlac "pledge-giving, marriage vow," from wed + -lac, noun suffix meaning "actions or proceedings, practice," attested in about a dozen Old English compounds (feohtlac "warfare"), but this is the only surviving example. Suffix altered by folk etymology through association with lock (n.1). Meaning "condition of being married" is recorded from early 13c.
- Wednesday (n.)
- fourth day of the week, Old English wodnesdæg "Woden's day," a Germanic loan-translation of Latin dies Mercurii "day of Mercury" (compare Old Norse Oðinsdagr, Swedish Onsdag, Old Frisian Wonsdei, Middle Dutch Wudensdach). For Woden, see Odin.
Contracted pronunciation is recorded from 15c. The Odin-based name is missing in German (mittwoch, from Old High German mittwocha, literally "mid-week"), probably by influence of Gothic, which seems to have adopted a pure ecclesiastical (i.e. non-astrological) week from Greek missionaries. The Gothic model also seems to be the source of Polish środa, Russian sreda "Wednesday," literally "middle." - wee (adj.)
- "extremely small," mid-15c., from earlier noun use in sense of "quantity, amount" (such as a littel wei "a little thing or amount," c. 1300), from Old English wæge "weight" (see weigh). Adjectival use wee bit apparently developed as parallel to such forms as a bit thing "a little thing." Wee hours is attested by 1891, from Scottish phrase wee sma' hours (1819). Wee folk "faeries" is recorded from 1819. Weeny "tiny, small" is from 1790.
- weed (n.)
- "plant not valued for use or beauty," Old English weod, uueod "grass, herb, weed," from Proto-Germanic *weud- (cognates: Old Saxon wiod, East Frisian wiud), of unknown origin. Also applied to trees that grow abundantly. Meaning "tobacco" is from c. 1600; that of "marijuana" is from 1920s. The chemical weed-killer is attested by 1885.
- weed (v.)
- "to clear the ground of weeds," late Old English weodian "to weed," from the source of weed (n.). Figurative use by c. 1400. Related: Weeded; weeding; weeder.