quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- wonder (n.)[wonder 词源字典]
- Old English wundor "marvelous thing, miracle, object of astonishment," from Proto-Germanic *wundran (cognates: Old Saxon wundar, Middle Dutch, Dutch wonder, Old High German wuntar, German wunder, Old Norse undr), of unknown origin. In Middle English it also came to mean the emotion associated with such a sight (late 13c.). To be no wonder was in Old English. The original wonder drug (1939) was Sulfanilamide.[wonder etymology, wonder origin, 英语词源]
- wonder (v.)
- Old English wundrian "be astonished," also "admire; make wonderful, magnify," from the source of wonder (n.). Cognate with Dutch wonderen, Old High German wuntaron, German wundern. Sense of "entertain some doubt or curiosity" is late 13c. Related: Wondered; wondering.
Reflexive use (It wonders me that "I wonder why ...") was common in Middle English and as late as Tindale (1533), and is said to survive in Yorkshire/Lincolnshire. In Pennsylvania German areas it is idiomatic from German das wundert mich. - wonder woman (n.)
- 1917, a woman who seems wonderful or has wonderful qualities, from wonder (n.) + woman. The comic book superheroine debuted in DC Comics in 1941.
- wonder-worker (n.)
- 1590s, from wonder (n.) + worker, translating Greek thaumatourgos. Old English had wundorweorc "miracle."
- wonderful (adj.)
- late Old English wunderfoll; see wonder (n.) + -ful. Related: Wonderfully.
- wonderland (n.)
- "imaginary realm," 1787, from wonder (n.) + land (n.).
- wonderment (n.)
- 1530s, from wonder (n.) + -ment.
- wonderous (adj.)
- see wondrous.
- wondrous (adj.)
- c. 1500, from Middle English wonders (adj.), early 14c., originally genitive of wonder (n.), with suffix altered by influence of marvelous, etc. As an adverb from 1550s. Related: Wondrously; wondrousness.
- wonk (n.)
- "overly studious person," 1962, earlier "effeminate male" (1954), American English student slang. Perhaps a shortening of British slang wonky "shaky, unreliable," or a variant of British slang wanker "masturbator." It seemed to rise into currency as a synonym for nerd late 1980s from Ivy League slang and was widely popularized 1993 during the presidency of Bill Clinton. Tom Wolfe (1988) described it as "an Eastern prep-school term referring to all those who do not have the 'honk' voice, i.e., all who are non-aristocratic."
- wonky (adj.)
- "shaky, groggy, unstable," 1919, of unknown origin. German prefix wankel- has a similar sense. Perhaps from surviving dialectal words based on Old English wancol "shaky, tottering" (see wench (n.)).
- wont (adj.)
- "accustomed," Middle English contraction of Old English wunod, past participle of wunian "to dwell, inhabit, exist; be accustomed, be used to," from Proto-Germanic *wunen "to be content, to rejoice" (cognates: Old Saxon wunon, Old Frisian wonia "to dwell, remain, be used to," Old High German wonen, German wohnen "to dwell;" related to Old English winnan, gewinnan "to win" (see win (v.)) and to wean; from PIE *wen- (1) "strive for, desire." The original meaning of the Germanic verbs was "be content, rejoice."
- wont (n.)
- "habitual usage, custom," c. 1400, from wont, adjective and verb.
- wonted (adj.)
- "accustomed, usual," c. 1400, adjectival formation from wont. An unconscious double past participle.
- wonton (n.)
- also won ton, 1948, from Cantonese wan t'an, Mandarin hun tun "stuffed dumpling."
- woo (v.)
- Old English wogian "to woo, court, marry," of uncertain origin and with no known cognates; perhaps related to woh, wog- "bent, inclined," as with affection. Related: Wooed; wooing; wooer.
- wood (n.)
- Old English wudu, earlier widu "tree, trees collectively, forest, grove; the substance of which trees are made," from Proto-Germanic *widu- (cognates: Old Norse viðr, Danish and Swedish ved "tree, wood," Old High German witu "wood"), from PIE *widhu- "tree, wood" (cognates: Welsh gwydd "trees," Gaelic fiodh- "wood, timber," Old Irish fid "tree, wood"). Out of the woods "safe" is from 1792.
- wood (adj.)
- "violently insane" (now obsolete), from Old English wod "mad, frenzied," from Proto-Germanic *woda- (cognates: Gothic woþs "possessed, mad," Old High German wuot "mad, madness," German wut "rage, fury"), from PIE *wet- (1) "to blow; inspire, spiritually arouse;" source of Latin vates "seer, poet," Old Irish faith "poet;" "with a common element of mental excitement" [Buck]. Compare Old English woþ "sound, melody, song," Old Norse oðr "poetry," and the god-name Odin.
- woodbine (n.)
- Old English wudubinde, a climbing plant, from wudu "wood" (see wood (n.)) + binde "wreath," related to bind (v.). Used of various climbing plants on three continents.
- woodchuck (n.)
- 1670s, alteration (influenced by wood (n.)) of Cree (Algonquian) otchek or Ojibwa otchig, "marten," the name subsequently transferred to the groundhog.