quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- namby-pamby[namby-pamby 词源字典]
- namby-pamby: [18] Namby-pamby originated in the early 18th century as a derisive nickname for the English poet Ambrose Philips (1674– 1749), who wrote feebly sentimental pastorals (‘Dimply damsel, sweetly smiling’ gives something of their flavour). They appear to have got on the nerves particularly of his contemporary, the author Henry Carey (?1687– 1741), who is credited with coining the nickname (based, of course, on the first syllable of Philip’s forename). The first record of its use as a general term comes from 1745.
[namby-pamby etymology, namby-pamby origin, 英语词源] - pamphlet
- pamphlet: [14] The original ‘pamphlet’ was Pamphilus, a short anonymous Latin love poem of the 12th century. It was very popular and widely reproduced, and its name was adapted in the vernacular to Pamflet; and by the end of the 14th century this was being used generically for any text shorter than a book. The word’s more restricted modern connotations (‘unbound’ and ‘dealing with controversial subjects’) developed gradually over the centuries.
- Diazepam (n.)
- 1961, from (benzo)diazep(ine) + -am, apparently an arbitrary suffix. The element diazo- denotes two nitrogen atoms combined with one hydrocarbon radical.
- dopamine
- 1959, from DOPA, the amino acid (from first letter of elements of dioxyphenylalanine), + -amine.
- namby-pamby (adj.)
- "weakly sentimental, insipidly pretty," 1745, from satiric nickname of English poet Ambrose Philips (1674-1749) mocking his sentimental pastorals addressed to infant members of the nobility. Used first in 1726 in a farce credited to Carey. Related: Namby-pambical.
- pampas (n.)
- "large plains of South America," 1704, from Spanish pampas, plural of pampa, from Quechua (Peru) pampa "a plain."
- pamper (v.)
- late 14c., "to cram with food," probably from Middle Dutch (compare West Flemish pamperen "cram with food, overindulge;" dialectal German pampen "to cram"), probably from frequentative of root of pap (n.1). Meaning "to overindulge" first attested 1520s. Related: Pampered; pampering.
- pampered (adj.)
- 1520s, "over-fed," past participle adjective from pamper. Meaning "spoiled by luxury" is from 1690s.
- pamphlet (n.)
- "small, unbound treatise," late 14c., from Anglo-Latin panfletus, popular short form of "Pamphilus, seu de Amore" ("Pamphilus, or about Love"), a short 12c. Latin love poem popular and widely copied in Middle Ages; the name from Greek pamphilos "loved by all," from pan- "all" + philos "loving, dear" see -phile). Meaning "brief work dealing with questions of current interest" is late 16c.
- pamphleteer (n.)
- 1640s, from pamphlet + -eer. As a verb from 1690s.
- Pamphylia
- ancient region in modern Turkey, from Greek, literally "place of all races," from pan "all" (see pan-) + phylon "race" (see phylo-).
- Pamplona
- city in Spain, Roman Pompeiopolis, named for Pompey, Roman emperor who founded it 68 B.C.E.
- spam (n.)
- proprietary name registered by Geo. A. Hormel & Co. in U.S., 1937; probably a conflation of spiced ham. Soon extended to other kinds of canned meat.
In the sense of "Internet junk mail" it was coined by Usenet users after March 31, 1993, when Usenet administrator Richard Depew inadvertently posted the same message 200 times to a discussion group. The term had been used in online text games, and ultimately it is from a 1970 sketch on the British TV show "Monty Python's Flying Circus" wherein a reading of a restaurant's menu devolves into endless repetitions of "spam."