quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- drought[drought 词源字典]
- drought: [OE] Etymologically, drought means simply ‘dryness’. The prehistoric Germanic base that produced English dry (and indeed drain) was *draug-, *drūg-. To this was added the suffix -th, used for creating abstract nouns from adjectives, as in length, strength, and truth; this gave Old English drūgath. The subsequent change of -th to -t (which began in the 13th century) is mirrored in such words as height and theft.
=> drain, dry[drought etymology, drought origin, 英语词源] - fan
- fan: English has two words fan. By far the older [OE] came from Latin vannus; it originally meant ‘device for winnowing grain’, and its now familiar sense ‘handheld device for creating a cooling draught’ did not develop until the 16th century. Its characteristic semicircular shape gave rise to the term fanlight [19] (since applied to a rectangular window above a door). Fan ‘supporter’ is short for fanatic. There is a one-off example of its use in the 17th century, in New news from Bedlam 1682, but the origins of the modern word were in late 19th-century America, where it was used for sports supporters.
- twice
- twice: [12] Twice was formed from Old English twige ‘twice’ (itself based on twi-, the combining form of two) and the genitive ending -s, which was used for creating adverbs, such as always, nowadays, once, thrice, etc.
=> two - atheist (n.)
- 1570s, from French athéiste (16c.), from Greek atheos "without god, denying the gods; abandoned of the gods; godless, ungodly," from a- "without" + theos "a god" (see theo-).
The existence of a world without God seems to me less absurd than the presence of a God, existing in all his perfection, creating an imperfect man in order to make him run the risk of Hell. [Armand Salacrou, "Certitudes et incertitudes," 1943]
- atmospheric (adj.)
- 1783, from atmosphere + -ic. In a sense of "creating a mood or mental environment" it is from 1908. Atmospherics "disturbances in wireless communication" is from 1905.
- congress (n.)
- c. 1400, "body of attendants; also "meeting of armed forces" (mid-15c.); main modern sense of "coming together of people, a meeting" is from 1520s; from Latin congressus "a friendly meeting; a hostile encounter," past participle of congredi "meet with, fight with," from com- "together" (see com-) + gradi "to walk," from gradus "a step" (see grade (n.)).
Sense of "meeting of delegates" is first recorded 1670s. Meaning "sexual union" is from 1580s. Used in reference to the national legislative body of the American states since 1775 (though since 1765 in America as a name for proposed bodies). Congress of Vienna met Nov. 1, 1814, to June 8, 1815, and redrew the map of Europe with an eye to creating a balance of powers after the disruptions of Napoleon. - create (v.)
- late 14c., from Latin creatus, past participle of creare "to make, bring forth, produce, beget," related to crescere "arise, grow" (see crescent). Related: Created; creating.
- creation (n.)
- late 14c., "action of creating, a created thing," from Old French creacion (14c., Modern French création) "creation, coming into being," from Latin creationem (nominative creatio) "a creating, a producing," in classical use "an electing, appointment, choice," noun of action from past participle stem of creare (see create). Meaning "that which God has created, the world and all in it" is from 1610s. The native word in the Biblical sense was Old English frum-sceaft. Of fashion costumes, desserts, etc., from 1870s, from French. Creation science is attested by 1970.
- creative (adj.)
- 1670s, "having the quality of creating," from create + -ive. Of literature, "imaginative," from 1816, first attested in Wordsworth. Creative writing is attested from 1907. Related: Creatively.
- echoic (adj.)
- 1880; see echo (n.) + -ic. A word from the OED.
Onomatopoeia, in addition to its awkwardness, has neither associative nor etymological application to words imitating sounds. It means word-making or word-coining and is strictly as applicable to Comte's altruisme as to cuckoo. Echoism suggests the echoing of a sound heard, and has the useful derivatives echoist, echoize, and echoic instead of onomatopoetic, which is not only unmanageable, but when applied to words like cuckoo, crack, erroneous; it is the voice of the cuckoo, the sharp sound of breaking, which are onomatopoetic or word-creating, not the echoic words which they create. [James A.H. Murray, Philological Society president's annual address, 1880]
- -fic
- adjectival word-forming element meaning "making, creating," from French -fique and directly from Latin -ficus, from unstressed form of facere "to make" (see -fy).
- flashing (n.)
- 1791, "act of creating an artificial flood," verbal noun from flash (v.); also compare flash (n.2)). Meaning "indecent exposure" is by 1968 (see flasher). The meaning "strip of metal used in roofing, etc." is from 1782, earlier simply flash (1570s), but the sense connection is unclear and it might be an unrelated word.
- formation (n.)
- late 14c., "vital force in plants and animals;" early 15c., "act of creating or making," from Old French formacion "formation, fashioning, creation" (12c.) or directly from Latin formationem (nominative formatio) "a forming, shaping," noun of action or condition from past participle stem of formare "to form," from forma (see form (n.)). Meaning that which is formed or created" is from 1640s. In geology, "group of rocks having a similar origin or character," 1815. Related: Formational.
- generation (n.)
- early 14c., "body of individuals born about the same period" (historically 30 years but in other uses as few as 17), on the notion of "descendants at the same stage in the line of descent," from Old French generacion "race, people, species; progeny, offspring; act of procreating" (12c., Modern French génération) and directly from Latin generationem (nominative generatio) "generating, generation," noun of action from past participle stem of generare "bring forth, beget, produce," from genus "race, kind" (see genus).
From late 14c. as "act or process of procreation; process of being formed; state of being procreated; reproduction; sexual intercourse;" also "that which is produced, fruit, crop; children; descendants, offspring of the same parent." Generation gap first recorded 1967; generation x is 1991, by author Douglas Coupland (b.1961) in the book of that name; generation y attested by 1994. Adjectival phrase first-generation, second-generation, etc. with reference to U.S. immigrant families is from 1896. Related: Generational. - goose (v.)
- "jab in the rear," c. 1880, from goose (n.), possibly from resemblance of the upturned thumb to a goose's beak, or from the notion of creating nervous excitement. Related: Goosed; goosing. In 19c. theatrical slang, to be goosed meant "to be hissed" (by 1818). A broad range of sexual slang senses historically cluster around goose and gooseberry; goose and duck was rhyming slang for "fuck;" Farmer identifies Winchester goose as "a woman; whence, by implication, the sexual favor," and goose as a verb "to go wenching, to womanize, also to possess a woman." He also has goose-grease for a woman's sexual juices, while gooser and goose's neck meant "the penis." Gooseberries (they are hairy) was "testicles," and gooseberry pudding "a woman."
- machinery (n.)
- 1680s; from machine (n.) + -ery. Originally theatrical, "devices for creating stage effects" (which also was a sense of Greek mekhane); meaning "machines collectively" is attested from 1731. Middle English had machinament "a contrivance" (early 15c.).
- obligatory (adj.)
- c. 1400, from Old French obligatoire "creating an obligation, obligatory," and directly from Late Latin obligatorius "binding," from obligat-, past participle stem of obligare (see oblige).
- off-putting
- 1570s, "procrastinating," from off (adv.) + put (v.). Meaning "creating an unfavorable impression" is first recorded 1894.
- procreate (v.)
- 1530s, a back formation from procreation or else from Latin procreatus, past participle of procreare "to beget, bring forth" (see procreation). Related: Procreated; procreating.
- recreate (v.)
- also re-create, "to create anew," 1580s, from re- "back, again" + create. Related: Recreated; recreating; recreation.