quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- advice[advice 词源字典]
- advice: [13] Like modern French avis, advice originally meant ‘opinion’, literally ‘what seems to one to be the case’. In Latin, ‘seem’ was usually expressed by the passive of the verb vidēre ‘see’; thus, vīsum est, ‘it seems’ (literally ‘it is seen’). With the addition of the dative first person pronoun, one could express the notion of opinion: mihi vīsum est, ‘it seems to me’.
It appears either that this was partially translated into Old French as ce m’est a vis, or that the past participle vīsum was nominalized in Latin, making possible such phrases as ad (meum) vīsum ‘in (my) view’; but either way it is certain that a(d)- became prefixed to vīs(um), producing a new word, a(d)vis, for ‘opinion’.
It was originally borrowed into English without the d, but learned influence had restored the Latin spelling by the end of the 15th century. As to its meaning, ‘opinion’ was obsolete by the mid 17th century, but already by the late 14th century the present sense of ‘counsel’ was developing. The verb advise [14] probably comes from Old French aviser, based on avis.
=> vision, visit[advice etymology, advice origin, 英语词源] - also
- also: [OE] Also was a late Old English compound formed from all ‘exactly, even’ and swa ‘so’; it meant ‘in just this way, thus’, and hence (recalling the meaning of German also ‘therefore’) ‘similarly’. These two uses died out in, respectively, the 15th and 17th centuries, but already by the 13th century ‘similarly’ was developing into the current sense ‘in addition’. As came from also in the 12th century. In Old English, the notion of ‘in addition’ now expressed by also was verbalized as eke.
=> as - cult
- cult: [17] The Indo-European base *quel-,* quoldenoted primarily ‘move around, turn’ (it is the source of English cycle and wheel). By metaphorical extension it came to signify ‘be busy’, which later branched out in two semantic directions: ‘inhabiting a place’ and ‘making a wild place suitable for crops’. These are both channelled into Latin colere, which meant ‘inhabit’, ‘cultivate’, and also ‘worship’.
The notion of ‘inhabiting’ is reflected in its descendant colony, but its past participial stem cult- has bequeathed us other aspects of its meaning. ‘Worship’ is represented by cult, acquired via French culte or directly from Latin cultus. ‘Developing the land’ appears in cultivate [17], from the medieval Latin derivative cultivāre, and by metaphorical extension in culture [15], from French culture, which originally meant ‘piece of tilled land’.
=> colony, cultivate, culture, cycle, wheel - harangue
- harangue: [15] The original notion underlying harangue may have been of a large group of people crowded round, with the idea of ‘addressing’ them only developing later. The word comes via Old French harangue from medieval Latin harenga, and it has been speculated that this was perhaps acquired from a prehistoric Germanic *kharikhring- ‘assembly’, a compound of *kharjaz ‘crowd’ (source of English harbinger, harbour, harry, and herald and related to harness) and *khringaz ‘ring’.
=> harbinger, harbour, harness, harry, herald - include
- include: [15] The idea of ‘shutting in’ or ‘enclosure’ is etymologically central to include – indeed, it is virtually the same word as enclose. It was borrowed from Latin inclūdere, a compound verb formed from the prefix in- and claudere ‘shut’ (source of English close). (A probable Vulgar Latin descendant of inclūdere was *inclaudere, which passed into Old French as enclore. English took over its past participle enclose as the verb enclose [14].) The metaphorical sense ‘comprise’ was already developing in classical Latin.
=> close, enclose - interval
- interval: [13] The val- of interval represents Latin vallum ‘rampart’ (source of English wall) – so etymologically the word means ‘space between ramparts’. That was the original sense of its Latin ancestor, intervallum, but already in the classical period the metaphorical ‘gap in time, pause’ was developing.
=> wall - precocious
- precocious: [17] Precocious means etymologically ‘pre-cooked’. It was borrowed from Latin praecox, a derivative of the verb praecoquere ‘cook in advance’, which was a compound formed from the prefix prae- ‘before’ and coquere ‘cook’ (a relative of English cook and kitchen). But coquere was also used metaphorically for ‘ripen’, and so praecox also meant ‘early-ripening’ – whence English precocious ‘developing before its time’. The apricot is etymologically the ‘precocious’ fruit.
=> apricot, cook, kiln, kitchen - raisin
- raisin: [13] Raisin comes ultimately from a Latin word that meant ‘bunch of grapes’. This was racēmus (source also of English raceme [18]). It passed via Vulgar Latin *racīmus into Old French as raisin, by which time it had come to mean just ‘grape’ rather ‘bunch of grapes’. And it was already developing further to ‘dried grape’ by the time English acquired it.
=> raceme - rake
- rake: English has three distinct words rake. The oldest, ‘toothed implement’ [OE], goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *rak- or *rek- ‘gather, heap up’, which also produced German rechen ‘rake’. It may be descended ultimately from Indo-European *rog-, *reg- ‘stretch’ (source of Latin regere ‘rule’ and English right), the notion of ‘stretching’ developing via ‘stretch out the hand’ to ‘collect, gather’. Rake ‘slant, inclination’ [17] is of uncertain origin, although it seems likely that it is related to German ragen ‘project’.
It formed the basis of the adjective rakish [19] (inspired originally by the backwardinclined masts on certain fast sailing ships), but this has since become associated with the third rake, ‘dissolute man’ [17]. This was short for the now defunct rakehell [16], which comes from the notion that one would have to search through hell with a rake to find such a bad man.
=> right; rakish - brown (adj.)
- Old English brun "dark, dusky," developing a definite color sense only 13c., from Proto-Germanic *brunaz (cognates: Old Norse brunn, Danish brun, Old Frisian and Old High German brun, Dutch bruin, German braun), from PIE *bher- (3) "shining, brown" (cognates: Lithuanian beras "brown"), related to *bheros "dark animal" (compare beaver, bear (n.), and Greek phrynos "toad," literally "the brown animal").
The Old English word also had a sense of "brightness, shining," preserved only in burnish. The Germanic word was adopted into Romanic (Middle Latin brunus, Italian and Spanish bruno, French brun). Brown Bess, slang name for old British Army flintlock musket, first recorded 1785. - dollar (n.)
- 1550s, from Low German daler, from German taler (1530s, later thaler), abbreviation of Joachimstaler, literally "(gulden) of Joachimstal," coin minted 1519 from silver from mine opened 1516 near Joachimstal, town in Erzgebirge Mountains in northwest Bohemia. German Tal is cognate with English dale.
The thaler was a large silver coin of varying value in the German states (and a unit of the German monetary union of 1857-73 equal to three marks); it also served as a currency unit in Denmark and Sweden. English colonists in America used the word in reference to Spanish pieces of eight. Due to extensive trade with the Spanish Indies and the proximity of Spanish colonies along the Gulf Coast, the Spanish dollar was probably the coin most familiar in the American colonies and the closest thing to a standard in all of them; it was used in the government's records of public debt and expenditures; it had the added advantage of not being British. The Continental Congress in 1786 adopted dollar as a unit when it set up the modern U.S. currency system, which was based on the suggestion of Gouverneur Morris (1782) as modified by Thomas Jefferson. None were circulated until 1794 .
When William M. Evarts was Secretary of State he accompanied Lord Coleridge on an excursion to Mount Vernon. Coleridge remarked that he had heard it said that Washington, standing on the lawn, could throw a dollar clear across the Potomac. Mr. Evarts explained that a dollar would go further in those days than now. [Walsh]
Phrase dollars to doughnuts attested from 1890; dollar diplomacy is from 1910. The dollar sign ($) is said to derive from the image of the Pillars of Hercules, stamped with a scroll, on the Spanish piece of eight. However, according to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing of the U.S. Department of the Treasury:
[T]he most widely accepted explanation is that the symbol is the result of evolution, independently in different places, of the Mexican or Spanish "P's" for pesos, or piastres, or pieces of eight. The theory, derived from a study of old manuscripts, is that the "S" gradually came to be written over the "P," developing a close equivalent of the "$" mark. It was widely used before the adoption of the United States dollar in 1785.
- expound (v.)
- c. 1300, from Old French espondre "expound (on), set forth, explain," from Latin exponere "put forth, expose, exhibit; set on shore, disembark; offer, leave exposed, reveal, publish," from ex- "forth" (see ex-) + ponere "to put, place" (see position (n.)); with intrusive -d developing in French (compare sound (n.1)); the usual Middle English form was expoune. Related: Expounded; expounding.
'In Englissh,' quod Pacience, 'it is wel hard, wel to expounen, ac somdeel I shal seyen it, by so thow understonde.' ["Piers Plowman," late 14c.]
- film-maker (n.)
- also filmmaker, 1859 as a solution used in developing photographs, later "a producer of film for cameras" (by 1889), from film (n.) + maker. As "producer of a cinematographic work, movie-maker," from 1905.
- kindergarten (n.)
- 1852, from German, literally "children's garden," from Kinder "children" (plural of Kind "child;" see kin (n.)) + Garten "garden" (see yard (n.1)). Coined 1840 by German educator Friedrich Fröbel (1782-1852) in reference to his method of developing intelligence in young children.
Kindergarten means a garden of children, and Froebel, the inventor of it, or rather, as he would prefer to express it, the discoverer of the method of Nature, meant to symbolize by the name the spirit and plan of treatment. How does the gardener treat his plants? He studies their individual natures, and puts them into such circumstances of soil and atmosphere as enable them to grow, flower, and bring forth fruit,-- also to renew their manifestation year after year. [Mann, Horace, and Elizabeth P. Peabody, "Moral Culture of Infancy and Kindergarten Guide," Boston, 1863]
The first one in England was established 1850 by Johannes Ronge, German Catholic priest; in America, 1868, by Elizabeth Peabody of Boston, Mass. Taken into English untranslated, whereas other nations that borrowed the institution nativized the name (Danish börnehave, Modern Hebrew gan yeladim, literally "garden of children"). Sometimes partially anglicized as kindergarden (attested by 1879). - mnemonics (n.)
- "art of developing memory," 1721; see mnemonic; also see -ics.
- ticket (n.)
- 1520s, "short note or document," from a shortened form of Middle French etiquet "label, note," from Old French estiquette "a little note" (late 14c.), especially one affixed to a gate or wall as a public notice, literally "something stuck (up or on)," from estiquer "to affix, stick on, attach," from Frankish *stikkan, cognate with Old English stician "to pierce," from Proto-Germanic *stikken "to be stuck," stative form from PIE *steig- "to stick; pointed" (see stick (v.)).
Meaning "card or piece of paper that gives its holder a right or privilege" is first recorded 1670s, probably developing from the sense of "certificate, license, permit." The political sense of "list of candidates put forward by a faction" has been used in American English since 1711. Meaning "official notification of offense" is from 1930. Big ticket item is from 1953. Slang the ticket "just the thing, what is expected" is recorded from 1838, perhaps with notion of a winning lottery ticket. - united states (n.)
- attested from 1617, originally with reference to Holland; the North American confederation first so called in 1776. United Provinces were the seven northern provinces of the Netherlands, allied from 1579, later developing into the kingdom of Holland.
- watch (n.)
- Old English wæcce "a watching, state of being or remaining awake, wakefulness;" also "act or practice of refraining from sleep for devotional or penitential purposes;" from wæccan (see watch (v.)). From c. 1200 as "one of the periods into which the night is divided," in reference to ancient times translating Latin vigilia, Greek phylake, Hebrew ashmoreth.
The Hebrews divided the night into three watches, the Greeks usually into four (sometimes five), the Romans (followed by the Jews in New Testament times) into four. [OED]
On þis niht beð fowuer niht wecches: Biforen euen þe bilimpeð to children; Mid-niht ðe bilimpeð to frumberdligges; hanecrau þe bilimpeð þowuene men; morgewile to alde men. [Trinity Homilies, c. 1200]
From mid-13c. as "a shift of guard duty; an assignment as municipal watchman;" late 13c. as "person or group obligated to patrol a town (especially at night) to keep order, etc." Also in Middle English, "the practice of remaining awake at night for purposes of debauchery and dissipation;" hence wacches of wodnesse "late-night revels and debauchery." The alliterative combination watch and ward preserves the old distinction of watch for night-time municipal patrols and ward for guarding by day; in combination, they meant "continuous vigilance."
Military sense of "military guard, sentinel" is from late 14c. General sense of "careful observation, watchfulness, vigilance" is from late 14c.; to keep watch is from late 14c. Meaning "period of time in which a division of a ship's crew remains on deck" is from 1580s. The meaning "small timepiece" is from 1580s, developing from that of "a clock to wake up sleepers" (mid-15c.). - will (v.1)
- Old English *willan, wyllan "to wish, desire; be willing; be used to; be about to" (past tense wolde), from Proto-Germanic *willjan (cognates: Old Saxon willian, Old Norse vilja, Old Frisian willa, Dutch willen, Old High German wellan, German wollen, Gothic wiljan "to will, wish, desire," Gothic waljan "to choose").
The Germanic words are from PIE root *wel- (2) "to wish, will" (cognates: Sanskrit vrnoti "chooses, prefers," varyah "to be chosen, eligible, excellent," varanam "choosing;" Avestan verenav- "to wish, will, choose;" Greek elpis "hope;" Latin volo, velle "to wish, will, desire;" Old Church Slavonic voljo, voliti "to will," veljo, veleti "to command;" Lithuanian velyti "to wish, favor," pa-velmi "I will," viliuos "I hope;" Welsh gwell "better").
Compare also Old English wel "well," literally "according to one's wish;" wela "well-being, riches." The use as a future auxiliary was already developing in Old English. The implication of intention or volition distinguishes it from shall, which expresses or implies obligation or necessity. Contracted forms, especially after pronouns, began to appear 16c., as in sheele for "she will." The form with an apostrophe is from 17c. - window (n.)
- c. 1200, literally "wind eye," from Old Norse vindauga, from vindr "wind" (see wind (n.1)) + auga "eye" (see eye (n.)). Replaced Old English eagþyrl, literally "eye-hole," and eagduru, literally "eye-door."
Originally an unglazed hole in a roof, most Germanic languages adopted a version of Latin fenestra to describe the glass version (such as German Fenster, Swedish fönster), and English used fenester as a parallel word till mid-16c. Window dressing is first recorded 1790; figurative sense is from 1898. Window seat is attested from 1778. Window of opportunity (1979) is from earlier figurative use in U.S. space program, such as launch window (1963). Window-shopping is recorded from 1904.
"Window shopping, according to the women, is the king of outdoor sports. Whenever a woman gets down town and has 2 or 3 hours and no money to spend, she goes window shopping. She gives the Poiret gowns and the thousand dollar furs the double O and then kids herself into believing she'd look like Lillian Russell or Beverly Bayne if she had 'em on. It's great for developing the imagination and one of the great secrets of conserving the bankroll. ..." ["Motor Age," Jan. 27, 1916]
- Y
- a late-developing letter in English. Called ipsilon in German, upsilon in Greek, the English name is of obscure origin. The sound at the beginning of yard, yes, yield, etc. is from Old English words with initial g- as in got and y- as in yet, which were considered the same sound and often transcribed as Ȝ, known as yogh. The system was altered by French scribes, who brought over the continental use of -g- and from the early 1200s used -y- and sometimes -gh- to replace Ȝ. As short for YMCA, etc., by 1915.
- adelphophagy
- " Zoology . The consumption by a developing embryo or larva of eggs, embryos, or larvae from the same brood", Early 20th cent.; earliest use found in Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society. From ancient Greek ἀδελϕός brother + -phagy, after French adelphophagie.
- advolution
- "The process of developing in a specific direction or towards a particular end; an instance of this. Now rare", Early 18th cent.; earliest use found in Nathan Bailey (d. 1742), lexicographer and schoolmaster. Originally from post-classical Latin advolution-, advolutio action of rolling towards, prostration, rotation from classical Latin advolūt-, past participial stem of advolvere to roll to or towards, (reflexive or passive) to prostrate oneself before, grovel at (from ad- + volvere) + -iō.
- hue and cry
- "A loud clamour or public outcry", Late Middle English: from the Anglo-Norman French legal phrase hu e cri, literally 'outcry and cry', from Old French hu 'outcry' (from huer 'to shout'). More In early times any person witnessing or surprising a criminal committing a crime could raise a hue and cry, calling for others to join in their pursuit and capture. In law the cry had to be raised by the inhabitants of the district in which the crime was committed, or otherwise the pursuers were liable for any damages suffered by the victim. The origin of the expression is in legal French hu e cri ‘outcry and cry’. The first element has no connection with hue ‘colour’, which is a native English word related to Swedish hy ‘skin, complexion’, and originally meant ‘form, appearance’, only developing the colour sense in the mid 19th century.