quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- depredation[depredation 词源字典]
- depredation: see prey
[depredation etymology, depredation origin, 英语词源] - dromedary
- dromedary: [14] The dromedary, or onehumped camel, got its name from its swiftness of foot. The word comes via Old French dromedaire from late Latin dromedārius, an adjective formed from dromas, the Latin term for ‘camel’. This in turn was derived from the Greek dromás ‘runner’, a close relative of drómos ‘running, course’, which is the source of the -drome in such English words as hippodrome, aerodrome, and palindrome.
=> aerodrome, hippodrome, palindrome - medal
- medal: see metal
- pedagogue
- pedagogue: see page
- pedal
- pedal: [17] Pedal is one of a group of English words which go back to Latin pēs ‘foot’ or its Romance descendants (to which English foot is related). Others include impede [17], pedestal [16] (which comes via French from Old Italian piedestallo, a conflation of pie di stallo ‘foot of a stall’), pedestrian [18], pedicure [19], pedigree, and pedometer [18].
=> foot, impede, pawn, pedestal, pedestrian, pedigree - predatory
- predatory: see prey
- sesquipedalian
- sesquipedalian: [17] Sesquipedalian means etymologically ‘a foot and a half long’. Its use in English was inspired by the Roman poet Horace’s phrase sesquipedalia verba, literally ‘words a foot and a half long’, hence ‘preposterously long words that sound pompous’ – of which sesquipedalian itself is an appropriately good example. It is a compound word formed from the Latin prefix sesqui- ‘half as much again’ (a derivative of sēmi- ‘half’) and pēs ‘foot’.
=> foot, pedal - abecedary (n.)
- "primer, alphabet table," mid-15c., from Medieval Latin abecedarium "an ABC book," neuter of adjective abecedarius, used as a noun, from the first four letters of the Latin alphabet. Abecedarian (adj.) is attested from 1660s.
- Airedale
- type of terrier, 1880, named for Airedale, a district in West Riding, Yorkshire.
Name registered by Kennel Club (1886), for earlier Bingley (where first bred), or broken-haired terrier. [Weekley]
- al Qaeda
- alternative Latin alphabet transliteration of Arabic al Qaida (q.v.).
- Andromeda
- constellation, 1667 (earlier Andromece, mid-15c.); in classical mythology the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, from Greek, literally "mindful of her husband," from andros, genitive of aner "man" (see anthropo-) + medesthai "to be mindful of, think on," related to medea (neuter plural) "counsels, plans, devices, cunning" (and source of the name Medea).
- antedate (v.)
- 1580s, earlier as noun meaning "a backdating, false early date attached to a document or event" (1570s); from Latin ante "before" (see ante) + date (v.1). Related: Antedated; antedating.
- bedaub (v.)
- 1550s, from be- + daub (v). Related: Bedaubed; bedaubing.
- bedazzle (v.)
- 1590s, from be- + dazzle (v.). Related: Bedazzled; bedazzling.
- bipedal (adj.)
- c. 1600, from biped + -al (1). Classical Latin bipedalis meant "two feet long or thick."
- bipedalism (n.)
- 1897; see bipedal + -ism.
- cedar (n.)
- Old English ceder, blended in Middle English with Old French cedre, both from Latin cedrus, from Greek kedros "cedar, juniper," origin uncertain. Cedar oil was used by the Egyptians in embalming as a preservative against decay and the word for it was used figuratively for "immortality" by the Romans. Cedar chest attested from 1722. Related: Cedrine.
- daedal (adj.)
- 1580s, "skillful, cunning," from Latin daedalus, from Greek daidalos "skillful, cunningly wrought." Also an anglicized form of the name Daedalus from Greek mythology (1610s).
- Daedalus
- father of Icarus in Greek mythology, builder of the Cretan labyrinth, from Greek Daidalos, literally "the cunning worker," from daidallein "to work artfully."
- depredate (v.)
- 1620s, from Latin depredatus, past participle of depraedare "to pillage, ravage" (see depredation).
- depredation (n.)
- late 15c., from Middle French déprédation, from Late Latin depraedationem (nominative depraedatio) "a plundering," from past participle stem of Latin depraedari "to pillage," from de- "thoroughly" (see de-) + praedari "to plunder," literally "to make prey of," from praeda "prey" (see prey (n.)).
- dromedary (n.)
- late 13c., from Old French dromedaire, from Late Latin dromedarius "kind of camel," from Latin dromas (genitive dromados), from Greek dromas kamelos "running camel," from dromos "a race course," from PIE *drem-, from possible base *der- "to run, walk, step" (cognates: Sanskrit dramati "runs, goes," Greek dromas "running," Middle High German tremen "to rock, shake, sway"). One-humped Arabian camels were bred and trained for riding. An early variant was drumbledairy (1560s).
- edacious (adj.)
- 1736, from Latin edaci-, stem of edax "voracious, gluttonous," from edere "to eat" (see edible) + -ous. Related: Edacity (1620s); edaciously;
edaciousness.
- Edam (adj.)
- 1836, type of cheese named for Edam, village in Holland where it was originally made. The place name is literally "the dam on the River Ye," which flows into the Ijsselmeer there, and the river name is literally "river" (see ea).
- fedayeen (n.)
- partisans or irregulars in the Middle East, from Arabic plural of fedai "devotee, zealot, one who risks life for a cause," from Persian fidai.
- impedance (n.)
- 1886, from impede + -ance.
- Lacedaemonian (adj.)
- 1780, from Latin Lacedaemonius, from Greek Lakedaimonios, from Lakedaimon, an ancient Greek name for Sparta and the district around it.
- medal (v.)
- 1845, "stamped onto a medal," from medal (n.). From 1857 as "to award (someone or something) a medal;" intransitive sense is 20c. Related: Medaled; medalled; medaling; medalling.
- medal (n.)
- 1580s, from Middle French médaille (15c.), from Italian medaglia "a medal," according to OED from Vulgar Latin *metallea (moneta) "metal (coin)," from Latin metallum (see metal). The other theory [Klein, Barnhart, Watkins] is that medaglia originally meant "coin worth half a denarius," and is from Vulgar Latin *medalia, from Late Latin medialia "little halves," neuter plural of medialis "of the middle" (see medial (adj.)). Originally a trinket or charm; as a reward for merit, proficiency, etc., attested from 1751.
- medalist (n.)
- 1680s, "one skilled in medals," from medal (n.) + -ist. Meaning "medal-maker" is from 1756; that of "recipient of a medal" is from 1797.
- medallion (n.)
- 1650s, from French médaillon (17c.), from Italian medaglione "large medal," augmentative of medaglia (see medal).
- Mohammedan
- see Mohammed. Related: Mohammedanism.
- pedagogic (adj.)
- 1781, from Latin paedagogicus, from Greek paidagogikos "suitable for a teacher," from paidagogos "teacher" (see pedagogue).
- pedagogical (adj.)
- 1610s, from Latin paedagogicus (see pedagogic) + -al (1). Related: Pedagogically.
- pedagogue (n.)
- late 14c., "schoolmaster, teacher," from Old French pedagoge "teacher of children" (14c.), from Latin paedagogus, from Greek paidagogos "slave who escorts boys to school and generally supervises them," later "a teacher," from pais (genitive paidos) "child" (see pedo-) + agogos "leader," from agein "to lead" (see act (n.)). Hostile implications in the word are at least from the time of Pepys (1650s). Related: Pedagogal.
- pedagogy (n.)
- 1580s, from Middle French pédagogie (16c.), from Latin paedagogia, from Greek paidagogia "education, attendance on boys," from paidagogos "teacher" (see pedagogue).
- pedal (n.)
- 1610s, "lever (on an organ) worked by foot," from French pédale "feet, trick with the feet," from Italian pedale "treadle, pedal," from Late Latin pedale "(thing) of the foot," neuter of Latin pedalis "of the foot," from pes (genitive pedis) "foot," from PIE root *ped- (1) "a foot" (see foot (n.)).
Extended to various mechanical contrivances by 1789. Pedal steel guitar is from 1969. Pedal-pushers "type of women's trousers suitable for bicycling" is from 1944.
When college girls took to riding bicycles in slacks, they first rolled up one trouser leg, then rolled up both. This whimsy has now produced a trim variety of long shorts, called "pedal pushers." ["Life," Aug. 28, 1944]
- pedal (v.)
- 1866 of musical organs, 1888 of bicycles, from pedal (n.). Related: Pedaled; pedaling.
- pedant (n.)
- 1580s, "schoolmaster," from Middle French pédant (1560s) or directly from Italian pedante, literally "teacher, schoolmaster," of uncertain origin, apparently an alteration of Late Latin paedagogantem (nominative paedagogans), present participle of paedagogare (see pedagogue). Meaning "person who trumpets minor points of learning" first recorded 1590s.
- pedantic (adj.)
- formed in English c. 1600, from pedant + -ic. The French equivalent is pédantesque. Perhaps first attested in John Donne's "Sunne Rising," where he bids the morning sun let his love and him linger in bed, telling it, "Sawcy pedantique wretch, goe chide Late schooleboyes." Related: Pedantical (1580s); pedantically.
- pedanticism (n.)
- 19c., from pedantic + -ism. Earlier was pedantism (1590s).
- pedantocracy (n.)
- 1842, from pedant + -cracy. Coined (in French) by Mill in a letter to Comte.
- pedantry (n.)
- 1610s, from Italian pedanteria, from pedante, or from French pédanterie, from pédant (see pedant).
- predacious (adj.)
- also predaceous, 1713, from stem of predation (Latin praedari) + -acious.
- predate (v.)
- "to seek prey," 1974, a back-formation from predator, etc. Related: Predated; predating. For the word meaning "antedate; pre-exist," see pre-date.
- predation (n.)
- late 15c., "act of plundering or pillaging," from Latin praedationem (nominative praedatio) "a plundering, act of taking booty," from praedari "to rob, to plunder," from praeda "plunder, booty, prey" (see prey (n.)). Zoological sense recorded from 1907.
- predator (n.)
- 1862, from Latin praedator "plunderer," from praedari "to rob" (see predation). Originally Predatores (Swainson, 1840) used of insects that ate other insects.
- predatory (adj.)
- 1580s, "involving plundering," from Latin praedatorius "pertaining to plunder," from praedator "plunderer," from praedor "to plunder," from praeda "prey" (see prey (n.)). Of animals, from 1660s.
- redact (v.)
- early 15c., "bring into organized form," from Latin redactus, past participle of redigere "to drive back, force back; bring back; collect, call in; bring down, reduce," from re- "back, again" (see re-) + agere "to drive" (see act (n.)). Specific meaning "arrange, edit" is from 1851.
- redaction (n.)
- "editing for publication," 1785, from French rédaction "a compiling; a working over, editing; editorial staff" (late 17c.), from Late Latin redact-, past participle stem of redigere (see redact). Meaning "a redacted version" is from 1810. Earlier it meant "a driving back" (1620s).