英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

athlete [athlete 词源字典]: athlete: [18] The etymological idea underlying athlete is ‘competing for a prize’. Greek āthlon meant ‘award, prize’, whence the verb athlein ‘compete for a prize’. Derived from this was the noun athlētés ‘competitor’. The context in which the word was most commonly used in Greek was that of the public games, where competitors took part in races, boxing matches, etc. Hence the gradual narrowing down of the meaning of athlete to ‘one who takes part in sports involving physical exercise’, and even further to ‘participant in track and field events’.
[athlete etymology, athlete origin, 英语词源]
fire: fire: [OE] Appropriately enough for one of the mainsprings of human civilization, the word fire is widespread amongst Indo-European languages (although it is only one of two competing ‘fire’ strands, the other being represented in English by ignite). Among its relatives are Greek pur (whence English pyre, pyrotechnic, and, by a very circuitous route, bureau), Czech pýr ‘embers’, Armenian hūr, and Hittite pahhur, pointing back to a prehistoric Indo-European *pūr. Its Germanic descendant was *fūir, from which came German feuer, Dutch vuur, and English fire.
=> bureau, pyre, pyrotechnic
viking: viking: [19] There are two competing theories as to the origin of the word viking. If its ancestry is genuinely Scandinavian (and Old Norse víkingr is first recorded in the 10th century), then it was presumably based on Old Norse vík ‘inlet’, and it would denote etymologically ‘person who lives by the fjords’ – a logical enough notion. However, earlier traces of the word have been found in Old English and Old Frisian, from around the 8th century, which suggests the alternative theory that it may have been coined from Old English wīc ‘camp’ (ancestor of the -wick, -wich of English place-names).

On this view, the term originated as a word used by the Anglo-Saxons for the Norse raiders, who made temporary camps while they attacked and plundered the local populace. It was introduced into modern English at the start of the 19th century as an antiquarian’s or historian’s term.
compete (v.): 1610s, " to enter or be put in rivalry with," from Middle French compéter "be in rivalry with" (14c.), or directly from Late Latin competere "strive in common," in classical Latin "to come together, agree, to be qualified," later, "strive together," from com- "together" (see com-) + petere "to strive, seek, fall upon, rush at, attack" (see petition (n.)).

Rare 17c., revived from late 18c. in sense "to strive (alongside another) for the attainment of something" and regarded early 19c. in Britain as a Scottish or American word. Market sense is from 1840s (perhaps a back-formation from competition); athletics sense attested by 1857. Related: Competed; competing.
competition (n.): c. 1600, "action of competing," from Latin competitionem (nominative competitio) "agreement, rivalry," noun of action from past participle stem of competere (see compete). Meaning "a contest for something" is from 1610s. Sense of "rivalry in the marketplace" attested from 1793; that of "entity or entities with which one competes" is from 1961, especially in business.
ermine (n.): late 12c., from Old French ermine (12c., Modern French hermine), used in reference to both the animal and the fur. Apparently the word is a convergence of Latin (mus) Armenius "Armenian (mouse)" -- ermines being abundant in Asia Minor -- and an unrelated Germanic word for "weasel" (represented by Old High German harmo "ermine, stoat, weasel," adj. harmin; Old Saxon harmo, Old English hearma "shrew," etc.) that happened to sound like it. OED splits the difference between competing theories. The fur, especially with the black of the tail inserted at regular intervals in the pure white of the winter coat, was used for the lining of official and ceremonial garments, in England especially judicial robes, hence figurative use from 18c. for "the judiciary." Related: Ermined.
gem (n.): "a precious stone" (especially when cut or polished), c. 1300, probably from Old French gemme (12c.), from Latin gemma "precious stone, jewel," originally "bud," from Proto-Italic *gebma- "bud, sprout," from PIE *geb-m- "sprout, bud" (cognates: Lithuanian žembeti "to germinate, sprout," Old Church Slavonic prozebnoti "to germinate"). The two competing traditional etymologies trace it either to the root *gembh- "tooth, nail; to bite" [Watkins] or *gem- "'to press." De Vaan finds the second "semantically unconvincing" and leans toward the first despite the difficult sense connection. Of persons, "a rare or excellent example (of something)" from late 13c. Alternative forms iemme, gimme persisted into 14c. and might represent a survival of Old English gimm "precious stone, gem, jewel," also "eye," which was borrowed directly from Latin gemma.
heat (n.): Old English hætu, hæto "heat, warmth, quality of being hot; fervor, ardor," from Proto-Germanic *haita- "heat" (cognates: Old Saxon hittia, Old Norse hiti, Old Frisian hete, German hitze "heat," Gothic heito "fever"), from PIE *kaid-, from root *kai- "heat." The same root is the source of Old English hat "hot" and hæða "hot weather."

Meaning "a single course in a race," especially a horse race, is from 1660s, perhaps from earlier figurative sense of "violent action; a single intense effort" (late 14c.), or the meaning "run given to a horse to prepare for a race" (1570s). The latter word over time was extended to "division of a race or contest when there are too many contestants to run at once," the winners of each heat then competing in a final race.

Meaning "sexual excitement in animals" is from 1768, especially of females, corresponding to rut in males. Meaning "trouble with the police" attested by 1920. Heat wave "period of excessive hot weather" first attested 1890; earlier in reference to solar cycles. Heat-stroke is from 1874. Heat-seeking (adj.) of missiles, etc., is from 1956. Red heat, white heat are in reference to the color of heated metals, especially iron.
Occam's razor: when two competing hypotheses explain the data equally well, choose the simpler. Or, as Sir William Hamilton puts it, "Neither more, nor more onerous, causes are to be assumed, than are necessary to account for the phenomena." Named for English philosopher William of Ockham or Occam (c. 1285-c. 1349), who expressed it with Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter ncccssitatem.
So called after William of Occam (died about 1349): but, as a historical fact, Occam does not make much use of this principle, which belongs rather to the contemporary nominalist William Durand de St. Pourçain (died 1332). [Century Dictionary]
paradoxical (adj.): 1580s, from paradox + -ical. Competing forms were paradoxal (1560s), paradoxial (1620s), but they survive in niches, if at all. Related: Paradoxically.
tweedledum (n.): paired with tweedledee to signify two things or persons nearly alike, differing in name, 1725, coined by English poet John Byrom (1692-1767) in his satire "On the Feud Between Handel and Bononcini," a couple of competing musicians, from tweedle "to sing, to whistle" (1680s), of imitative origin. The -dum and -dee perhaps suggest low and high sounds respectively.