英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

whale (n.)[whale 词源字典]: Old English hwæl "whale," also "walrus," from Proto-Germanic *hwalaz (cognates: Old Saxon hwal, Old Norse hvalr, hvalfiskr, Swedish val, Middle Dutch wal, walvisc, Dutch walvis, Old High German wal, German Wal), from PIE *(s)kwal-o- (cognates: Latin squalus "a kind of large sea fish"). Phrase whale of a "excellent or large example" is c. 1900, student slang. Whale-oil attested from mid-15c.[whale etymology, whale origin, 英语词源]
whale (v.2): "beat, whip severely," 1790, possibly a variant of wale (v.) "to mark with 'wales' or stripes" (early 15c.), from wale (n.). Related: Whaled; whaling.
whale (v.1): "pursue the business of whale-fishing," 1700, from whale (n.). Whale-fishing is attested from 1570s.
whalebone (n.): also whale-bone, c. 1200, from whale (n.) + bone (n.).
whaler (n.): 1680s of a person, 1806 of a boat, agent noun from whale (v.). Old English had hwælhunta.
whaling (n.): "whale-fishing," 1716, verbal noun from whale (v.).
wham (n.): "a heavy blow," 1923, of echoic origin.
whammo: exclamation signifying violence or surprise, 1932, from wham (q.v.).
whammy (n.): often double whammy, "hex, evil eye," 1932, of unknown origin, popularized 1941 in Al Capp's comic strip "Li'l Abner," where it was the specialty of Evil-Eye Fleegle.
whangdoodle (n.): name of an imaginary creature or thing, 1858, American English, fanciful formation.
wharf (n.): late Old English hwearf "shore, bank where ships can tie up," earlier "dam, embankment," from Proto-Germanic *hwarfaz (cognates: Middle Low German werf "mole, dam, wharf," German Werft "shipyard, dockyard"); related to Old English hwearfian "to turn," perhaps in a sense implying "busy activity," from PIE root *kwerp- "to turn, revolve" (cognates: Old Norse hverfa "to turn round," German werben "to enlist, solicit, court, woo," Gothic hvairban "to wander," Greek kartos "wrist," Sanskrit surpam "winnowing fan"). Wharf rat is from 1812 as "type of rat common on ships and docks;" extended sense "person who hangs around docks" is recorded from 1836.
wharfinger (n.): "operator or manager of a wharf," 1550s, from wharfage "provision or accomodation at wharves" (mid-15c.), from wharf + agent noun suffix -er (1) + intrusive -n- as in messenger.
what (pron.): Old English hwæt, referring to things in abstraction; also "why, wherefore; indeed, surely, truly," from Proto-Germanic pronoun *hwat (cognates: Old Saxon hwat, Old Norse hvat, Danish hvad, Old Frisian hwet, Dutch wat, Old High German hwaz, German was, Gothic hva "what"), from PIE *kwod, neuter singular of *kwos "who" (see who). Corresponding to Latin quid.

Meaning "what did you say?" is recorded from c. 1300. As an adjective and adverb, in Old English. As a conjunction in late Old English. Exclamatory use was in Old English. What the _____ (devil, etc.) as an exclamation of surprise is from late 14c. As an interrogative expletive at the end of sentences from 1891; common in affected British speech. Or what as an alternative end to a question is first attested 1766. What have you "anything else one can think of" is from 1925. What's up? "what is happening?" first recorded 1881.

"To give one what for is to respond to his remonstrant what for? by further assault" [Weekley]. The phrase is attested from 1873; what for? as introducing a question is from 1760. To know what is what is from c. 1400; I'll tell you what to emphasize what is about to be said is in Shakespeare.
whatchamacallit (n.): 1928, compressed form of phrase "what you may call it." What-do-you-call-it is from 1630s. Earliest recorded variant is what-calle-ye-hym, attested from late 15c. What's-his-name for "unspecified person" is attested from 1690s; variant what's-his-face is first recorded 1967.
whatever (pron.): mid-14c., "what in the world," emphatic of what, with ever. From late 14c. as "anything at all; all of; no matter what or who." From late 14c. as an adjective, "any sort of, any, every; no matter what, regardless of what." From 1870 as "whatever may be the cause, at any event," which could be the source of the modern teen slang dismissive use.
whatnot (n.): also what-not, 1530s, "anything," from what + not. Elliptical for "what may I not say," implying "everything else." As the name of a furniture item, first attested 1808, so named for the objects it is meant to hold.
whatsoever (pron.): "of whatever nature, kind, or sort," mid-13c., quuat-so-euere, from whatso "whatever" (c. 1200; see what), an emphatic referring to things, + ever. A double intensive of what. As an adjective from mid-15c.
wheal (n.): "mark made on the skin by a whip," 1808, perhaps an alteration of wale, possibly by confusion with weal "welt," and obsolete wheal "pimple, pustule" (mid-15c.), from Old English verb hwelian "to form pus, bring to a head."
wheat (n.): Old English hwæte "wheat," from Proto-Germanic *hwaitjaz (cognates: Old Saxon hweti, Old Norse hveiti, Norwegian kveite, Old Frisian hwete, Middle Dutch, Dutch weit, Old High German weizzi, German Weizen, Gothic hvaiteis "wheat"), literally "that which is white" (in reference to the grain or the meal), from PIE *kwoid-yo-, suffixed variant form of root *kweid-, *kweit- "to shine" (see white; and compare Welsh gwenith "wheat," related to gwenn "white"). The Old World grain was introduced into New Spain in 1528. Wheaties, the cereal brand name, was patented 1925.
wheatear (n.): type of bird, 1590s, back-formation from white-ears, literally "white-arse" (see white + arse). So called for its color markings; compare French name for the bird, cul-blanc, literally "white rump."