英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

dinosaur [dinosaur 词源字典]: dinosaur: [19] Dinosaur means literally ‘terrible lizard’ (something of a misnomer, since dinosaurs are not particularly closely related to modern lizards). The word was coined around 1840 from Greek deinós ‘terrible’ (which goes back to the same Indo-European base, *dwei-, as produced English dire [16]) and sauros ‘lizard’ (which occurs in its Latin form saurus in the names of specific dinosaurs, such as brontosaurus and tyrannosaurus).
=> dire[dinosaur etymology, dinosaur origin, 英语词源]
mosaic: mosaic: [16] Mosaic work is etymologically work ‘of the muses’. The word comes ultimately from Greek mouseion, which originally meant literally ‘place of the muses’, and has also given English museum. Somehow in medieval Latin it became altered to mūsaicus or mōsaicus, and passed via early modern Italian mosaico and French mosaïque into English as mosaic. It has no etymological connection, incidentally, with Mosaic ‘of Moses’ [17].
=> muse, museum
rosary: rosary: [14] Rosary comes from Latin rosārium ‘rose garden’, a derivative of rosa ‘rose’. It was a common conceit in the Middle Ages to name collections of verse or similar short pieces after bunches of flowers (anthology comes from the Greek word for ‘flower’, and a similar inspiration underlies florilegium, while a 13thcentury volume of the collected works of the Persian poet Sa’di was called the Rose garden).

That was the background against which a collection of Roman Catholic prayers, consisting of Aves, Paternosters, and Glorias, came to be known as a rosary. A string of beads of varying sizes came to be used for counting off how far one has got in saying these prayers (English bead itself comes from a word meaning ‘prayer’), and this too was termed rosary.
=> rose
ankylosaurus (n.): Cretaceous armored dinosaur, 1907, Modern Latin, from Greek ankylos "crooked" (see angle (n.)) + -saurus.
anorexia nervosa (n.): "emaciation as a result of severe emotional disturbance," coined 1873 by William W. Gull (1816-1890), who also proposed apepsia hysterica as a name for it. See anorexia.
Appaloosa: breed of horses favored by Indian tribes in U.S. West, 1849, either from Opelousa in Louisiana or from Palouse Indians, who lived near the river of that name in Idaho, in which case it probably is a Nez Percé word. Opelousa is perhaps from Choctaw api losa "black body;" while Palouse is from Sahaptin palou:s "what is standing up in the water."
brachiosaurus (n.): 1903, Modern Latin, from Greek brakhion "arm" (see brachio-) + -saurus. The forelegs are notably longer than the hind legs.
brontosaurus (n.): 1879, Modern Latin, from Greek bronte "thunder" (perhaps from PIE imitative root *bhrem- "to growl") + -saurus. Brontes was the name of one of the Cyclopes in Greek mythology.
callosal (adj.): "pertaining to the corpus callosum," from Latin callosus (see callous) + -al (1).
ceratosaurus (n.): 1884, from cerato- + -saurus.
cosa nostra: 1963, "the Mafia in America," from Italian, literally "this thing of ours."
dinosaur (n.): 1841, coined in Modern Latin by Sir Richard Owen, from comb. form of Greek deinos "terrible" (see dire) + sauros "lizard" (see -saurus). Figurative sense of "person or institution not adapting to change" is from 1952.
disposable (adj.): 1640s, "that may be done without;" see dispose + -able. Meaning "designed to be discarded after one use" is from 1943, originally of diapers, soon of everything; replaced throw-away (1928) in this sense. First recorded use of disposable income (preserving the older sense) is from 1948.
disposal (n.): 1620s, "power to make use of;" see dispose + -al (2); of waste material, from c. 1960, originally in medical use.
dosage (n.): 1867; see dose + -age, perhaps on model of French dosage (1812).
elasmosaurus (n.): giant sea reptile from the Mezozoic, 1868, from Modern Latin (coined by E.D. Cope), from comb. form of Greek elasmos "metal plate" (from elan "to strike;" see elastic) + -saurus. So called from the caudal laminae and the great plate-bones.
Formosa: old name of Taiwan, given by the Portuguese, from Portuguese Formosa insula "beautiful island." The adjective is from the fem. of Latin formosus "beautiful, handsome, finely formed," from forma (see form (n.)). Related: Formosan (1640s).
hadrosaur (n.): 1865, from Modern Latin hadrosaurus (1859), from Greek hadros "thick, stout" (see hadron) + -saurus.
hosanna: Old English osanna, via Latin and Greek from Hebrew hosha'na, probably a shortening of hoshi'ah-nna "save, we pray" (see Psalms cxviii:25), from imperative of y-sh- (compare yeshua "salvation, deliverance, welfare") + emphatic particle -na. Originally an appeal for deliverance; used in Christian Church as an ascription of praise, because when Jesus entered Jerusalem this was shouted by Galilean pilgrims in recognition of his messiahhood (Matt. xxi:9, 15, etc.).
Ichthyosaur (n.): extinct reptile, 1830, Modern Latin, from Greek ikhthys "fish" + sauros "lizard" (see -saurus).
icosahedron (n.): 1560s, from Greek eikosahedron, neuter of eikosahedros, from eikosi "twenty" + -hedra "seat, base, chair, face of a geometric solid," from PIE root *sed- (1) "to sit" (see sedentary). Greek eikosi is from PIE *wikmti- "twenty," from *wi- "in half," hence "two" + (d)kmti-, from root *dekm- "ten" (see ten).
Jehosaphat: biblical name (II Sam. viii:16), used as a mild expletive in American English from 1857.
mimosa (n.): genus of leguminous shrubs, 1731, coined in Modern Latin (1619) from Latin mimus "mime" (see mime (n.)) + -osa, adjectival suffix (fem. of -osus). So called because some species (including the common Sensitive Plant) fold leaves when touched, seeming to mimic animal behavior. The alcoholic drink (by 1977) is so called from its yellowish color, which resembles that of the mimosa flower.
mosaic (n.): c. 1400, from Old French mosaicq "mosaic work," from Italian mosaico, from Medieval Latin musaicum "mosaic work, work of the Muses," noun use of neuter of musaicus "of the Muses," from Latin Musa (see muse). Medieval mosaics were often dedicated to the Muses. The word formed in Medieval Latin as though from Greek, but the (late) Greek word for "mosaic work" was mouseion (Klein says this sense was borrowed from Latin). Figurative use is from 1640s. As an adjective in English from 1580s. Related: Mosaicist.
Mosaic (adj.): "pertaining to Moses," 1660s (earlier Mosaical, 1560s), from Modern Latin Mosaicus, from Moses.
mosasaurus (n.): marine dinosaur, 1830, from Latin Mosa "the river Meuse" + -saurus. the fossils of the ancient reptile were first discovered 1780 near Maastricht, on the Meuse.
opposable (adj.): 1660s, "capable of being withstood," from oppose + -able. In reference to human thumbs, from 1833. Related: Opposability.
Osage: name of a group of Siouxan Indians originally from Missouri, 1690s, via French, from their self-designation Wazhazhe. The ornamental tree osage orange (Toxylon pomiferum), name first attested 1817, originally was found in their country.
plesiosaurus (n.): 1825, from Modern Latin Pleisiosaurus (1821), coined by English paleontologist William Daniel Conybeare (1787-1857) from Greek plesios "near," related to pelas, + -saurus.
ponderosa (n.): type of pine in western U.S., 1878, from scientific name Pinus ponderosa (1836), literally "heavy pine," from Latin ponderosus (see ponderous).
posable (adj.): 1972 of questions; 1975 of action figures; from pose (v.1 and 2) + -able.
posada (n.): "inn," 1763, from Spanish posada "home, lodging," from posar "to repose, rest, lodge," from Latin pausare "to cease, lay down" (see pause (n.)).
proposal (n.): 1650s, from propose + -al (2); specific sense of "offer of marriage" is from 1749.
prosaic (adj.): 1650s, "having to do with prose," from Middle French prosaique and directly from Medieval Latin prosaicus "in prose" (16c.), from Latin prosa "prose" (see prose). Meaning "having the character of prose (in contrast to the feeling of poetry)" is by 1746; extended sense of "ordinary" is by 1813, both from French.
Rosa: fem. proper name, from Latin Rosa, literally "rose" (see rose (n.1)).
rosacea (n.): 1876, short for acne rosacea (1833), from fem. of Latin rosaceus "rose-colored" (see rose (n.1)).
rosary (n.): "rose garden," mid-15c., from Latin rosarium "rose garden," in Medieval Latin also "garland; string of beads; series of prayers," from noun use of neuter of rosarius "of roses," from rosa "rose" (see rose (n.1)).

The sense of "series of prayers" is 1540s, from Middle French rosaire, a figurative use of the word meaning "rose garden," on the notion of a "garden" of prayers. This probably embodies the medieval conceit of comparing collections to bouquets (compare anthology and Medieval Latin hortulus animae "prayerbook," literally "little garden of the soul"). Sense transferred 1590s to the strings of beads used as a memory aid in reciting the rosary.
sacrosanct (adj.): "superlatively sacred or inviolable," c. 1600, from Latin sacrosanctus "protected by religious sanction, consecrated with religious ceremonies," from sacro, ablative of sacrum "religious sanction" (from neuter singular of sacer "sacred") + sanctus, past participle of sancire "make sacred" (for both, see sacred). Earlier in partially anglicized form sacro-seint (c. 1500).
stegosaurus (n.): type of plant-eating dinosaur, 1892, from Modern Latin order name Stegosauria (O.C. Marsh, 1877), from comb. form of Greek stegos "a roof" (related to stege "covering," stegein "to cover," from PIE root *(s)teg- (2) "to cover," especially "cover with a roof" (cognates: Sanskrit sthag- "cover, conceal, hide;" Latin tegere "to cover;" Lithuanian stegti "roof;" Old Norse þekja, Old English þeccan "thatch;" Dutch dekken, German decken "to cover, put under roof;" Irish tuigiur "cover," tech "house;" Welsh toi "thatch, roof," ty "house") + -saurus. The back-armor plates in the fossilized remains look like roof tiles.
sub rosa: "privately, secretly," Latin, literally "under the rose," which was regarded as a symbol of secrecy.
supposably (adv.): "as may be supposed," 1795, not originally American English, alteration of supposedly, or else from supposable (1680s), from suppose (v.) + -able.
Tuscaloosa: river in Alabama, first attested in Spanish as Tascaluza, from Choctaw (Muskogean) taska-losa, literally "warrior-black."
tyrannosaurus (n.): carnivorous Cretaceous bipedal dinosaur, 1905, Modern Latin genus name, coined by H.F. Osborn (published 1906 in "Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History" XXI, p.259) from comb. form of Greek tyrannos "tyrant" (see tyrant) + -saurus. Abbreviated name T. rex attested by 1970 (apparently first as the band name).
Xhosa (n.): South African Bantu people, 1801, their self-designation. Also of their language.
samosa: "A triangular savoury pastry fried in ghee or oil, containing spiced vegetables or meat", From Persian and Urdu.
apatosaurus: "A huge herbivorous dinosaur of the late Jurassic period, with a long neck and tail", Modern Latin, from Greek apatē 'deceit' + sauros 'lizard'.
allosaurus: "A large bipedal carnivorous dinosaur of the late Jurassic period", Modern Latin, from Greek allos 'other' + sauros 'lizard'.
ankylosaur: "A heavily built quadrupedal herbivorous dinosaur of the Cretaceous period, armoured with bony plates", Early 20th century: from modern Latin Ankylosaurus, from Greek ankulos (see ankylosis) + sauros 'lizard'.
rosarian: "A person who cultivates roses, especially as an occupation", Mid 19th century: from Latin rosarium 'rose garden, rosary' + -an.
rosaceous: "Relating to or denoting plants of the rose family (Rosaceae)", Mid 18th century: from modern Latin Rosaceae (based on Latin rosa 'rose') + -ous.