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elegant [elegant 词源字典]: elegant: [15] Someone who made careful, fastidious choices was termed in Latin ēlegāns. This was the present participle of a hypothetical verb *ēlegāre, a derivative of ēligere ‘pick out, select’ (source of English elect). Originally it seems to have been a derogatory term – ‘fussy, foppish’ – but by classical times it signified more approvingly ‘making refined choices’, and was also transferred to the things chosen – ‘choice, tasteful’. English probably acquired the word via French.
=> elect[elegant etymology, elegant origin, 英语词源]
began (v.): past tense of begin.
elegance (n.): c. 1500, "tastefulness, correctness, harmoniousness, refinement," of speech or prose, from Middle French élégance, from Latin elegantia "taste, propriety, refinement," from elegantem (see elegant). Earlier form was elegancy (early 15c.). Meaning "refined luxury" is from 1797. Via French come German Eleganz, Swedish elegans, etc.
elegant (adj.): late 15c., "tastefully ornate," from Middle French élégant (15c.), from Latin elegantem (nominative elegans) "choice, fine, tasteful," collateral form of present participle of eligere "select with care, choose." Meaning "characterized by refined grace" is from 1520s. Latin elegans originally was a term of reproach, "dainty, fastidious;" the notion of "tastefully refined" emerged in classical Latin. Related: Elegantly.
Elegant implies that anything of an artificial character to which it is applied is the result of training and cultivation through the study of models or ideals of grace; graceful implies less of consciousness, and suggests often a natural gift. A rustic, uneducated girl may be naturally graceful, but not elegant.
inelegant (adj.): c. 1500, from French inélégant (15c.), from Latin inelegantem (nominative inelegans) "not choice, without taste, without judgment," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + elegans (see elegant). Related: Inelegantly; inelegance.
Muskoegan: North American Indian language family, 1891, from Creek maskoki.
oregano (n.): 1771, from Spanish or American Spanish oregano, from Latin origanus, origanum, from Greek oreiganon, from oros "mountain" (see oread) + ganos "brightness, ornament." The older form of the word in English was the Latin-derived origanum (mid-13c.), also origan (early 15c.). In Europe, the dried leaves of wild marjoram; in America, a different, and more pungent, shrub.
vegan (n.): 1944, from vegetable (n.) + -an; coined by English vegetarian Donald Watson (1910-2005) to distinguish those who abstain from all animal products (eggs, cheese, etc.) from those who merely refuse to eat the animals.
steganography: "The practice of concealing messages or information within other non-secret text or data", Late 16th century: modern Latin steganographia, from Greek steganos 'covered'+ -graphy.
freegan: "A person who rejects consumerism and seeks to help the environment by reducing waste, especially by retrieving and using discarded food and other goods", Early 21st century: blend of free and vegan.
congregant: "A member of a congregation, especially that of a church or synagogue", Late 19th century: from Latin congregant- 'collecting (into a flock), uniting', from the verb congregare (see congregate).