英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

fauna [fauna 词源字典]: fauna: [18] Fauna was a Roman goddess of the countryside, sister of Faunus (the Roman equivalent of Greek Pan) who was a nature and fertility god worshipped by shepherds, farmers, etc. The Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus applied her name in 1746 to his catalogue of the animals of Sweden, Fauna suecica ‘Swedish Fauna’, and it has been used since then as a collective term for the animal life of a region (one of the earliest records of its use in English is by the naturalist Gilbert White in 1771). (Faunus, source of English faun [14], may be related ultimately to Latin favēre ‘regard favourably’, source of English favour.)
=> faun[fauna etymology, fauna origin, 英语词源]
funambulist: funambulist: see funicular
incunabulum: incunabulum: [19] An incunabulum is a book printed before 1501. But etymologically the word has nothing to do with books. It comes from the Latin plural noun incūnābula, which had a range of meanings, including ‘swaddling clothes’, ‘cradle’, and ‘infancy’, which point back to its original source, Latin cūnae ‘cradle’. Nineteenth-century antiquarians and bibliographers applied the term to early printed books since they represented the ‘infancy’ of book production.
lacuna: lacuna: see lake
lunar: lunar: [17] Latin lūna ‘moon’ came from an Indo- European base which also produced English light (not to mention a range of Latin ‘light’- words, such as lūx and lūmen, which have given English illustrate, lucid, luminous, lustre, etc). It had two adjectival derivatives: lūnāris, which simply meant ‘of the moon’, and was borrowed by English as lunar; and lūnāticus.

This was originally used for ‘living on the moon’, but subsequently came to employed in the sense ‘crazy’, from the notion that certain sorts of periodic madness were caused by the phases of the moon. English acquired it via Old French lunatique as lunatic [13].
=> illustrate, light, luminous, lunatic, lustre
tsunami: tsunami: [19] Japanese tsunami means literally ‘harbour waves’, a reference to the devastating effect Pacific tsunamis have had on Japanese coastal communities. For most of the 20th century the term was largely restricted to the specialized vocabulary of oceanographers and earth scientists, lay people preferring the more familiar tidal wave (a misnomer: strictly speaking, a tidal wave is one caused by the movement of the tide, whereas a tsunami is specifically generated by an undersea earthquake), but the disastrous inundation of southern Asian coasts at the end of 2004 lodged it firmly in the language’s everyday lexicon.
unanimous: unanimous: [17] Unanimous means etymologically ‘of a single mind’, hence ‘sharing the same opinion’. It comes from Latin ūnanimus ‘of one mind’, a compound adjective formed from ūnus ‘one’ and animus ‘mind, spirit’ (a relative of English animal, animate, etc).
=> animal, animate
buna (n.): synthetic rubber made from butadiene, from German Buna, from first elements of butadiene, name of a hydrocarbon (related to butane; the suffix indicates the presence of two double bonds) + Na, indicating sodium (from natrium; see sodium).
communal (adj.): 1811 in reference to communes; 1843 in reference to communities, from French communal (Old French comunal, 12c.), from Late Latin communalis, from communa (see commune (n.)).
communalism (n.): 1871 (in reference to Paris), from communal + -ism.
fauna (n.): 1771, "the total of the animal life of a certain region or time, from Late Latin Fauna, a rustic Roman fertility goddess who was wife, sister, or daughter (or some combination) of Faunus (see faun).

Popularized by Linnaeus, who adopted it as a companion word to flora and used it in the title of his 1746 catalogue of the animals of Sweden, "Fauna Suecica." First used in English Gilbert White (1720-1793) the parson-naturalist.
faunal (adj.): "of or pertaining to a fauna," 1840, from fauna + -al (1).
fortunate (adj.): late 14c., "having good fortune; bringing good fortune," from Latin fortunatus "prospered, prosperous; lucky, happy," past participle of fortunare "to make prosperous," from fortuna (see fortune). Fortunate Islands "mythical abode of the blessed dead, in the Western Ocean" (early 15c.; late 14c. as Ilondes of fortune) translates Latin Fortunatae Insulae.
fortunately (adv.): "by (good) fortune," 1540s, from fortunate + -ly (2).
funambulist (n.): "tightrope-walker," 1793, coined from Latin funis "a rope, line, cord," + ambulare "to walk" (see amble (v.)). Earlier was funambulant (1660s), funambule (1690s from Latin funambulus, the classical name for a performer of this ancient type of public entertainment), and pseudo-Italian funambulo (c. 1600). Related: Funambulate; funambulation; funambulatory.
Hunan: Chinese province, literally "south of the lake" (Lake Dongting), from hu "lake" + nan "south."
importunate (adj.): 1520s, from importune + -ate, or else from Medieval Latin importunatus, past participle of importunari. Related: Importunately (mid-15c.).
incunabula (n.): "swaddling clothes," also, figuratively, "childhood, beginnings;" 1824, from Latin incunabula (neuter plural), ultimately from cunae "cradle," from PIE *koi-na-, from root *kei- "to lie; bed, couch."
incunabulum (n.): 1861, singular of incunabula; taken up (originally in German) as a word for any book printed late 15c., in the "infancy" of the printer's art.
kahuna (n.): 1886, in a report in English by the Hawaiian government, which defines the word as "doctor and sorcerer," from Hawaiian, where it was applied as well to priests and navigators. In surfer slang, for "a god of surfing," it is attested from 1962 (but big kahuna in same sense is said to date from 1950s.
lacuna (n.): "blank or missing portion in a manuscript," 1660s, from Latin lacuna "hole, pit," diminutive of lacus "pond, lake" (see lake (n.1)). The Latin plural is lacunae. Related: Lacunal; lacunar; lacunose.
lacunae: plural of lacuna (q.v.).
Luna (n.): late 14c. "moon," also an alchemical name for "silver;" from Latin luna "moon, goddess of the moon," from *leuksna- (cognates: Old Church Slavonic luna "moon," Old Prussian lauxnos "stars," Middle Irish luan "light, moon"), from the same source as lux, lumen "light," lucere "to shine" (see light (n.)). The luna moth (1841, American English) so called for the crescent-shaped markings on its wings. Lunarian (1708) was an early word for "inhabitant of the moon."
lunacy (n.): 1540s, "condition of being a lunatic," formed in English from lunatic + -cy. Originally in reference to intermittent periods of insanity, such as were believed to be triggered by the moon's cycle. The Old English equivalent was monaðseocnes "month-sickness."
lunar (adj.): "crescent-shaped," early 15c.; "pertaining to the moon," 1620s, from Old French lunaire (15c.), from Latin lunaris "of the moon," from luna "moon" (with capital L- "moon goddess"); see Luna.
lunate (adj.): "crescent-shaped," 1777, from Latin lunatus, from luna (see Luna).
lunatic (adj.): late 13c., "affected with periodic insanity, dependent on the changes of the moon," from Old French lunatique, lunage "insane," or directly from Late Latin lunaticus "moon-struck," from Latin luna "moon" (see Luna). Compare Old English monseoc "lunatic," literally "moon-sick;" Middle High German lune "humor, temper, mood, whim, fancy" (German Laune), from Latin luna. Compare also New Testament Greek seleniazomai "be epileptic," from selene "moon." Lunatic fringe (1913) apparently was coined by U.S. politician Theodore Roosevelt.
Then, among the wise and high-minded people who in self-respecting and genuine fashion strive earnestly for peace, there are foolish fanatics always to be found in such a movement and always discrediting it -- the men who form the lunatic fringe in all reform movements. [Theodore Roosevelt, autobiography, 1913].
Earlier it was a term for a type of hairstyle worn over the forehead (1877). Lunatic soup (1933) was Australian slang for "alcoholic drink."
lunatic (n.): "lunatic person," late 14c., from lunatic (adj.).
lunation (n.): "time from one new moon to another," late 14c., from Medieval Latin lunationem, from luna "moon" (see Luna).
runabout (n.): 1540s, in reference to persons, from run (v.) + about (adv.). From 1890 as a small, light type of carriage; later extended to motor cars.
runaround (n.): also run-around, "deceptive, evasive treatment," 1915, from verbal phrase, from run (v.) + around (adv.).
runaway (n.): 1540s, "one who flees," from verbal phrase, from run (v.) + away (adv.). Meaning "an act of running away" is from 1724.
sauna (n.): 1881, from Finnish sauna.
shogunate (n.): 1871, a hybrid, from Japanese shogun + Latinate suffix -ate (1).
sublunary (adj.): 1590s, "situated under the moon," hence "earthly, mundane" (old cosmology), from Modern Latin sublunaris, from sub- (see sub-) + lunaris (see lunar).
tribunal (n.): early 15c., "a judgement seat," from Old French tribunal "justice seat, judgement seat" (13c.) and directly from Latin tribunal "platform for the seat of magistrates, elevation, embankment," from tribunus "official in ancient Rome, magistrate," literally "head of a tribe" (see tribune). Hence, "a court of justice or judicial assembly" (1580s).
tsunami (n.): 1896, in reference to the one that struck Japan that year on June 15, from Japanese tsunami, from tsu "harbor" + nami "waves."
tuna (n.): 1881, from American Spanish (California) tuna, from Spanish atun, from Arabic tun, borrowed, probably in Spain, from Latin thunnus "tunny" (see tunny).
unabashed (adj.): 1570s, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of abash (v.). Related: Unabashedly.
unabated (adj.): 1610s, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of abate (v.).
unable (adj.): late 14c., "lacking in ability, incapable," from un- (1) "not" + able (adj.). Modeled on Old French inhabile or Latin inhabilis.
unabridged (adj.): 1590s, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of abridge (v.). Since 19c. chiefly in reference to literary works.
unaccented (adj.): 1590s, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of accent (v.).
unacceptable (adj.): late 15c., from un- (1) "not" + acceptable. Related: Unacceptably.
unaccompanied (adj.): 1540s, "not in the company of others, having no companions," from un- (1) "not" + past participle of accompany (v.). Musical sense "without instrumental accompaniment" is first recorded 1818.
unaccomplished (adj.): 1520s, "not finished," from un- (1) "not" + past participle of accomplish (v.). Meaning "not furnished with social or intellectual accomplishments" is from 1729 (see accomplished).
unaccountable (adj.): 1640s, "inexplicable," from un- (1) "not" + accountable. Meaning "not liable to be called to account" is recorded from 1640s. Related: Unaccountably; unaccountability; unaccountableness.
unaccredited (adj.): 1828, from un- (1) "not" + accredited.
unaccustomed (adj.): 1520s, "not customary, unfamiliar," from un- (1) "not" + past participle of accustom (v.). Meaning "not accustomed or habituated" (to) is first attested 1610s (see accustomed).
unacknowledged (adj.): 1580s, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of acknowledge (v.).