acreyoudaoicibaDictYouDict[acre 词源字典]
acre: [OE] Acre is a word of ancient ancestry, going back probably to the Indo-European base *ag-, source of words such as agent and act. This base had a range of meanings covering ‘do’ and ‘drive’, and it is possible that the notion of driving contributed to the concept of driving animals on to land for pasture. However that may be, it gave rise to a group of words in Indo- European languages, including Latin ager (whence English agriculture), Greek agros, Sanskrit ájras, and a hypothetical Germanic *akraz.

By this time, people’s agricultural activities had moved on from herding animals in open country to tilling the soil in enclosed areas, and all of this group of words meant specifically ‘field’. From the Germanic form developed Old English æcer, which as early as 1000 AD had come to be used for referring to a particular measured area of agricultural land (as much as a pair of oxen could plough in one day).

=> act, agent, agriculture, eyrie, onager, peregrine, pilgrim[acre etymology, acre origin, 英语词源]
bicycleyoudaoicibaDictYouDict
bicycle: [19] The word bicycle, literally ‘twowheeled’ (from Greek kúklos ‘circle, wheel’), was originally coined in French, and first appeared in English in 1868, in the 7 September edition of the Daily News: ‘bysicles and trysicles which we saw in the Champs Élysées and the Bois de Boulogne this summer’. This reflects the fact that it was in the 1860s that the bicycle first assumed the form we know it in today, with pedals and cranks driving the front wheel. (Slightly earlier was the now obsolete velocipede, literally ‘swift foot’, first applied to pedal bicycles and tricycles around 1850.

Until the introduction of pneumatic tyres in the 1880s, the new cycles were known as bone-shakers – a term first encountered in 1874.)

=> cycle, wheel
deeryoudaoicibaDictYouDict
deer: [OE] In Old English, dēor meant ‘animal’ in general, as opposed to ‘human being’ (as its modern Germanic relatives, German tier, Dutch dier, and Swedish djur, still do). Apparently connected forms in some other Indo-European languages, such as Lithuanian dusti ‘gasp’ and Church Slavonic dychati ‘breathe’, suggest that it comes via a prehistoric Germanic *deuzom from Indo-European *dheusóm, which meant ‘creature that breathes’ (English animal and Sanskrit prānin- ‘living creature’ have similar semantic origins).

Traces of specialization in meaning to ‘deer’ occur as early as the 9th century (although the main Old English word for ‘deer’ was heorot, source of modern English hart), and during the Middle English period it became firmly established, driving out ‘animal’ by the 15th century.

demeanouryoudaoicibaDictYouDict
demeanour: [15] A person’s demeanour is how they ‘conduct’ themselves. The word goes back ultimately to the literal notion of driving animals along. It is a derivative of the now virtually obsolete reflexive verb demean ‘behave’, borrowed in the 13th century from Old French demener. This was a compound formed from the intensive prefix de- and mener ‘lead’, a descendant of Latin mināre ‘drive a herd of animals’ (whose original connotation of ‘urging on with threats’ is revealed by its close relationship with minārī ‘threaten’, source of English menace).

This obsolete demean should not, incidentally, be confused with demean ‘degrade’ [17], which was formed from the adjective mean.

=> menace
driftyoudaoicibaDictYouDict
drift: [13] Drift comes ultimately from the same Germanic base as produced drive, and etymologically means ‘driving or being driven’, but as far as we can tell it did not exist in Old English, and the word as we now have it is a borrowing from other Germanic languages. Its first recorded use is in the sense ‘snowdrift’, which points to Old Norse drift as the source, but later more general applications were probably reinforced by Dutch drift.
=> drive
driveyoudaoicibaDictYouDict
drive: [OE] As far as is known, drive is an exclusively Germanic word. It and its relatives German treiben, Dutch drijven, Swedish driva, Danish drive, and Gothic dreiban point to a prehistoric Germanic ancestor *drīban. Its base also produced English drift and drove [OE]. The central modern sense of drive, ‘drive a car’, comes from the earlier notion of driving a horse, ox, etc by pushing it, whipping it, etc from behind, forcing it onwards, but in most other modern European languages the verb for ‘driving a vehicle’ denotes basically ‘leading’ or ‘guiding’ (French conduire, for example, or German lenken).
=> drift, drove
elasticyoudaoicibaDictYouDict
elastic: [17] Greek elaúnein meant ‘drive’. From it was derived the late Greek adjective elastikós, which had the sense ‘driving, propelling’. Its Latin version elasticus was used by the French scientist Jean Pecquet (1622–74) in describing the expansive properties of gases, and that is the sense in which it was originally adopted into English. Its transference to the wider meaning ‘returning to a former state after contracting’ took place towards the end of the 17th century.
exerciseyoudaoicibaDictYouDict
exercise: [14] The notion underlying exercise is of ‘removal of restraint’. It comes ultimately from Latin exercēre, a compound verb formed from the prefix ex- ‘out of, from’ and arcēre ‘restrain, enclose’ (source of English arcane and related to English ark). It has been speculated that this originally denoted the driving of draught animals out into the fields to plough, but however that may be, it soon developed the general senses ‘set to work, keep at work’ and ‘drill, practise’ which form the semantic basis of English exercise.
=> arcane, ark
explodeyoudaoicibaDictYouDict
explode: [16] The use of explode to mean ‘burst with destructive force’ is a comparatively recent, late 19th-century development. The Latin verb explōdere, from which it comes, signified something quite different – ‘drive off the stage with hisses and boos’ (it was a compound formed from the prefix ex- ‘out’ and plaudere ‘clap’, source of English applaud and plaudits).

From this developed the figurative sense ‘reject, disapprove’, which was how the word was used when it was first taken over into English: ‘Not that I wholly explode Astrology; I believe there is something in it’, Thomas Tryon, Miscellanea 1696 (the modern notion of ‘exploding a theory’ is descended from this usage). In the 17th century, however, the Latin verb’s original sense was reintroduced, and it survived into the 19th century: ‘In the playhouse when he doth wrong, no critic is so apt to hiss and explode him’, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones 1749.

Towards the end of the 17th century we find the first traces of a metaphorical use that combines the notion of ‘driving out, expelling’ with ‘loud noise’ (‘the effects of Lightning, exploded from the Clouds’, Robert Plot, Natural History of Staffordshire 1679), but it was not to be for more than a century that the meaning element ‘drive out’ was replaced by the ‘burst, shatter’ of present-day English explode (Dr Johnson makes no mention of it in his Dictionary 1755, for example) Today the notion of ‘bursting violently’ is primary, that of ‘loud noise’ probably secondary, although still present.

=> applause, plaudits
act (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
late 14c., "a thing done," from Old French acte "(official) document," and directly from Latin actus "a doing, a driving, impulse; a part in a play, act," and actum "a thing done," originally a legal term, both from agere "to do, set in motion, drive, urge, chase, stir up," from PIE root *ag- "to drive, draw out or forth, move" (cognates: Greek agein "to lead, guide, drive, carry off," agon "assembly, contest in the games," agogos "leader;" Sanskrit ajati "drives," ajirah "moving, active;" Old Norse aka "to drive;" Middle Irish ag "battle").

Theatrical ("part of a play," 1510s) and legislative (early 15c.) senses of the word also were in Latin. Meaning "display of exaggerated behavior" is from 1928. In the act "in the process" is from 1590s, perhaps originally from the 16c. sense of the act as "sexual intercourse." Act of God "uncontrollable natural force" recorded by 1726.
An act of God is an accident which arises from a cause which operates without interference or aid from man (1 Pars. on Cont. 635); the loss arising wherefrom cannot be guarded against by the ordinary exertions of human skill and prudence so as to prevent its effect. [William Wait, "General Principles of the Law," Albany, 1879]
appeal (v.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
early 14c., originally in legal sense of "to call" to a higher judge or court, from Anglo-French apeler "to call upon, accuse," Old French apeler "make an appeal" (11c., Modern French appeler), from Latin appellare "to accost, address, appeal to, summon, name," iterative of appellere "to prepare," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + pellere "to beat, drive" (see pulse (n.1)). Related: Appealed; appealing.

Probably a Roman metaphoric extension of a nautical term for "driving a ship toward a particular landing." Popular modern meaning "to be attractive or pleasing" is quite recent, attested from 1907 (appealing in this sense is from 1891), from the notion of "to address oneself in expectation of a sympathetic response."
compulsion (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
early 15c., from Middle French compulsion, from Latin compulsionem (nominative compulsio) "a driving, urging," noun of action from past participle stem of compellere "compel" (see compel). Psychological sense is from 1909 in A.A. Brill's translation of Freud's "Selected Papers on Hysteria," where German Zwangsneurose is rendered as compulsion neurosis.
curricular (adj.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
1798, "pertaining to driving carriages;" from Latin curriculum (see curriculum) + -ar.
doughnut (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
1809, American English, from dough + nut (n.), probably on the notion of being a small round lump (the holes came later, first mentioned c. 1861). First recorded by Washington Irving, who described them as "balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog's fat, and called doughnuts, or olykoeks." Earlier name for it was dough-boy (1680s). Bartlett (1848) meanwhile lists doughnuts and crullers among the types of olycokes, a word he derives from Dutch olikoek, literally "oil-cake," to indicate a cake fried in lard.
The ladies of Augusta, Maine, set in operation and carried out a novel idea, namely, the distribution of over fifty bushels of doughnuts to the Third volunteer regiment of that State. A procession of ladies, headed by music, passed between double lines of troops, who presented arms, and were afterwards drawn up in hollow square to receive from tender and gracious hands the welcome doughnation. [Frazar Kirkland, "Anecdotes of the Rebellion," 1866]
Meaning "a driving in tight circles" is U.S. slang, 1981. Compare also donut.
drive (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
1690s, "act of driving," from drive (v.). Meaning "excursion by vehicle" is from 1785. Golfing sense of "forcible blow" is from 1836. Meaning "organized effort to raise money" is 1889, American English. Sense of "dynamism" is from 1908. In the computing sense, first attested 1963.
drive (v.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
Old English drifan "to drive, force, hunt, pursue; rush against" (class I strong verb; past tense draf, past participle drifen), from Proto-Germanic *driban (cognates: Old Frisian driva, Old Saxon driban, Dutch drijven, Old High German triban, German treiben, Old Norse drifa, Gothic dreiban "to drive"), from PIE root *dhreibh- "to drive, push." Original sense of "pushing from behind," altered in Modern English by application to automobiles. Related: Driving.
MILLER: "The more you drive, the less intelligent you are." ["Repo Man," 1984]
drove (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
Old English draf "beasts driven in a body, road along which cattle are driven," originally "act of driving," from drifan "to drive" (see drive (v.)).
exaction (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
late 14c., "action of demanding payment; imposition, requisitioning" of taxes, etc., from Old French exaccion and directly from Latin exactionem (nominative exactio) "a driving out; supervision; exaction; a tax, tribute, impost," noun of action from past participle stem of exigere (see exact (adj.)). Meaning "a tax, tribute, toll, fee," etc. is from mid-15c.
exercise (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
mid-14c., "condition of being in active operation; practice for the sake of training," from Old French exercice (13c.) "exercise, execution of power; physical or spiritual exercise," from Latin exercitium "training, exercise" (of soldiers, horsemen, etc.); "play;" in Medieval Latin also of arts, from exercitare, frequentative of exercere "keep busy, keep at work, oversee, engage busily; train, exercise; practice, follow; carry into effect; disturb, disquiet," literally "remove restraint," from ex- "off" (see ex-) + arcere "keep away, prevent, enclose," from PIE *ark- "to hold, contain, guard" (see arcane).

Original sense may have been driving farm animals to the field to plow. Meaning "physical activity for fitness, etc." first recorded in English late 14c. Also from late 14c. as "a carrying out of an action; a doing or practicing; a disciplinary task." In reference to written schoolwork from early 17c. The ending was abstracted for formations such as dancercise (1967); jazzercise (1977); and boxercise (1985).
exorcism (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
early 15c., "a calling up or driving out of evil spirits," from Late Latin exorcismus, from Greek exorkismos "administration of an oath," in Ecclesiastical Greek, "exorcism," from exorkizein "exorcize, bind by oath," from ex "out of" (see ex-) + horkizein "cause to swear," from horkos "oath." Earlier in the same sense was exorcization (late 14c.).
explosion (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
1620s, "action of driving out with violence and noise," from French explosion, from Latin explosionem (nominative explosio) "a driving off by clapping," noun of action from past participle stem of explodere "drive out by clapping" (see explode for origin and sense evolution). Meaning "a going off with violence and noise" is from 1660s. Sense of "a rapid increase or development" is first attested 1953.
fatigue (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
1660s, "that which causes weariness," from French fatigue "weariness," from fatiguer "to tire" (15c.), from Latin fatigare "to weary, to tire out," originally "to cause to break down," from pre-Latin adjective *fati-agos "driving to the point of breakdown," with first half from Old Latin *fatis, which is of unknown origin but apparently related to affatim (adv.) "sufficiently" and to fatisci "crack, split." The second half is the root of agere "to drive" (see act (n.)).

Especially "the labors of military persons" (1776). Meaning "a feeling of weariness from exertion" is from 1719. Of metals or other materials under strain, from 1877.
febrifuge (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
"medicine that reduces fever," 1680s, from French fébrifuge, literally "driving fever away," from Latin febris (see fever) + fugare "cause to flee, put to flight, drive off, chase away, rout," also used in reference to banishment and exile, derived verb from fuga "flight," from PIE *bhug-a-, suffixed form of root *bheug- (1) "to flee" (see fugitive (adj.)).
gad (v.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
mid-15c., gadden, "go quickly, hurry," of uncertain origin, perhaps from gad (n.) "sharp stick for driving oxen" on the notion of moving as animals do when being driven by a gad. There also was a Middle English gadeling (Old English gædeling) "kinsman, companion in arms; fellow, man," but which had a deteriorated sense of "person of low birth, rogue, vagabond" by c. 1300 (it also had a meaning "wandering," but this is attested only from 16c.). Related: Gadding.
go-ahead (adj.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
by 1840, "pushing, driving," from verbal phrase go ahead; see go (v.) + ahead (adv.). Go ahead as a command or invitation to proceed is from 1831, American English.
goad (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
Old English gad "point, spearhead, arrowhead, pointed stick used for driving cattle," from Proto-Germanic *gaido "goad, spear" (cognates: Lombardic gaida "spear"), from suffixed form of PIE root *ghei- (1) "to propel, prick" (cognates: Sanskrit hetih "missile, projectile," himsati "he injures;" Avestan zaena- "weapon;" Greek khaios "shepherd's staff;" Old English gar "spear;" Old Irish gae "spear"). Figurative use "anything that urges or stimulates" is since 16c., probably from the Bible.
hack (n.2)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
"person hired to do routine work," c. 1700, ultimately short for hackney "an ordinary horse, horse for general service (especially for driving or riding, as opposed to war, hunting, or hauling)," c. 1300. This word is probably from the place name Hackney, Middlesex. Apparently nags were raised on the pastureland there in early medieval times. Extended sense of "horse for hire" (late 14c.) led naturally to "broken-down nag," and also "prostitute" (1570s) and "a drudge" (1540s), especially a literary one, one who writes according to direction or demand. Sense of "carriage for hire" (1704) led to modern slang for "taxicab." As an adjective, 1734, from the noun. Hack writer is first recorded 1826, though hackney writer is at least 50 years earlier. Hack-work is recorded from 1851.
impair (v.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
late 14c., earlier ampayre, apeyre (c. 1300), from Old French empeirier (Modern French empirer), from Vulgar Latin *impeiorare "make worse," from assimilated form of in- "into, in" (see in- (2)) + Late Latin peiorare "make worse" (see pejorative). In reference to driving under the influence of alcohol, first recorded 1951 in Canadian English. Related: Impaired; impairing.
impetus (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
early 15c., impetous "rapid movement, rush;" 1640s, with modern spelling, "force with which a body moves, driving force," from Latin impetus "attack, assault, onset, impulse, violence, vigor, force, passion," related to impetere "to attack," from assimilated form of in- "into, in, on, upon" (see in- (2)) + petere "aim for, rush at" (see petition (n.)).
impulsion (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
early 15c., "driving, pushing, thrusting," from Old French impulsion (early 14c.), from Latin impulsionem (nominative impulsio) "external pressure," figuratively "incitement, instigation," noun of action from past participle stem of impellere (see impel).
KlondikeyoudaoicibaDictYouDict
tributary of the Yukon River in northwestern Canada, from Kutchin (Athabaskan) throndiuk, said to mean "hammer-water" and to be a reference to the practice of driving stakes into the riverbed to support fish traps. Scene of a gold rush after 1896.
merchant (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
c. 1200, from Anglo-French marchaunt "merchant, shopkeeper" (Old French marcheant, Modern French marchand), from Vulgar Latin *mercatantem (nominative *mercatans) "a buyer," present participle of *mercatare, frequentative of Latin mercari "to trade, traffic, deal in" (see market). Meaning "fellow, chap" is from 1540s; with a specific qualifier, and suggesting someone who deals in it (such as speed merchant "one who enjoys fast driving"), from 1914.
Mulligan (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
surname, from Gaelic Maolagan, Old Irish Maelecan, a double diminutive of mael "bald," hence "the little bald (or shaven) one," probably often a reference to a monk or disciple. As "stew made with whatever's available," 1904, hobo slang, probably from a proper name. The golf sense of "extra stroke after a poor shot" (1949) is sometimes said to be from the name of a Canadian golfer in the 1920s whose friends gave him an extra shot in gratitude for driving them over rough roads to their weekly foursome at St. Lambert Country Club near Montreal.
pitch (v.1)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
c. 1200, "to thrust in, fasten, settle," probably from an unrecorded Old English *piccean, related to prick (v.). The original past tense was pight. Sense of "set upright," as in pitch a tent (late 13c.), is from notion of "driving in" the pegs. Meaning to incline forward and downward" is from 1510s. Meaning "throw (a ball)" evolved late 14c. from that of "hit the mark." Musical sense is from 1670s. Of ships, "to plunge" in the waves, 1620s. To pitch in "work vigorously" is from 1847, perhaps from farm labor. Related: Pitched; pitching.
propulsion (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
1610s, "expulsion," noun of action formed from propuls-, past participle stem of Latin propellere "to propel" (see propel). Meaning "act of driving forward, propulsive force" first attested 1799.
redaction (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
"editing for publication," 1785, from French rédaction "a compiling; a working over, editing; editorial staff" (late 17c.), from Late Latin redact-, past participle stem of redigere (see redact). Meaning "a redacted version" is from 1810. Earlier it meant "a driving back" (1620s).
repercussion (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
early 15c., "act of driving back," from Middle French répercussion (14c.) or directly from Latin repercusionem (nominative repercussio), from past participle stem of repercutere "to strike or beat back; shine back, reflect; echo," from re- "back" (see re-) + percutere "to strike or thrust through" (see percussion). Meaning "reverberation, echo" first recorded 1590s; the metaphoric extension is recorded from 1620s.
repulsion (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
early 15c., "repudiation," from Late Latin repulsionem (nominative repulsio) "a repelling," noun of action from past participle stem of repellere (see repel). Meaning "action of forcing or driving back" is attested from 1540s. Sense of "strong dislike" is from 1751.
rush (n.2)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
"a hasty driving forward," late 14c., from rush (v.). Sense of "mass migration of people" (especially to a gold field) is from 1848, American English. Football/rugby sense from 1857. Meaning "surge of pleasure" is from 1960s. Rush hour first recorded 1888. Rush order from 1896.
screw (v.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
"to twist (something) like a screw," 1590s, from screw (n.). From 1610s as "to attach with a screw." Slang meaning "to copulate" dates from at least 1725, originally usually of the action of the male, on the notion of driving a screw into something. Meaning "defraud, cheat" is from 1900. First recorded 1949 in exclamations as a euphemism. Related: Screwed; screwing. To screw up "blunder" is recorded from 1942. Screwed up originally was figurative for "tuned to a high or precise pitch" (1907), an image from the pegs of stringed instruments. Meaning "confused, muddled" attested from 1943. Expression to have (one's) head screwed on the right (or wrong) way is from 1821.
screwdriver (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
also screw-driver, "tool for driving screws," 1779, from screw (n.) + driver. Meaning "cocktail made from vodka and orange juice" is recorded from 1956. (Screwed/screwy have had a sense of "drunk" since 19c.; compare slang tight "drunk").
spark (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
Old English spearca "glowing or fiery particle thrown off," from Proto-Germanic *spark- (cognates: Middle Low German sparke, Middle Dutch spranke, not found in other Germanic languages). Electrical sense dates from 1748. Old French esparque is from Germanic.

Slang sense of "a gallant, a showy beau, a roisterer" (c. 1600) is perhaps a figurative use, but also perhaps from cognate Old Norse sparkr "lively." Spark plug first recorded 1902 (sparking plug is from 1899); figurative sense of "one who initiates or is a driving force in some activity" is from 1941.
speeding (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
c. 1300, "success;" c. 1400 "action of aiding;" verbal noun from speed (v.). Meaning "action of driving an automobile too fast" is from 1908. Speeding ticket is from 1940.
spike (v.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
1620s, "to fasten with spikes," from spike (n.1). Meaning "to rise in a spike" is from 1958. Military sense (1680s) means "to disable guns by driving a large nail into the touch-hole." Figurative use of this sense is from 1823. Meaning "to lace (a drink) with liquor" is from 1889. Journalism sense of "to kill a story before publication" (1908) is from the metal spindle in which old-time editors filed hard copy of stories after they were set in type, or especially when rejected for publication. Related: Spiked; spiking.
stapler (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
mechanical device for driving staples, by 1949; agent noun from staple (v.). Long before, it meant "merchant of the staple, monopolist."
stour (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
c. 1300, "tumult, armed conflict, struggle with adversity or pain," from Anglo-French estur, Old French estour "a tumult, conflict, assault, shock, battle," from Proto-Germanic *sturmaz "storm" (cognates: Old High German sturm "storm; battle;" see storm (n.)). Became obsolete, revived by Spenser and his followers in various senses; also surviving as a Scottish and Northern English word meaning "a (driving) storm" or "uproar, commotion." Italian stormo also is from Germanic.
swipe (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
1807, "a driving stroke made with the arms in full swing," perhaps a dialectal variant of sweep (n.), or in part from obsolete swip "a stroke, blow" (c. 1200), from Proto-Germanic *swip-, related to Old English swipu "a stick, whip; chastisement." Other possible sources or influences are Middle English swope "to sweep with broad movements" (in reference to brooms, swords, etc.), from Old English swapan; obsolete swaip "stroke, blow;" or obsolete swape "oar, pole."
thyoudaoicibaDictYouDict
A sound found chiefly in words of Old English, Old Norse or Greek origin, unpronounceable by Normans and many other Europeans. In Greek, the sound corresponds etymologically to Sanskrit -dh- and English -d-; and it was represented graphically by -TH- and at first pronounced as a true aspirate (as still in English outhouse, shithead, etc.). But by 2c. B.C.E. the Greek letter theta was in universal use and had the modern "-th-" sound. Latin had neither the letter nor the sound, however, and the Romans represented Greek theta by -TH-, which they generally pronounced, at least in Late Latin, as simple "-t-" (passed down to Romanic languages, as in Spanish termal "thermal," teoria "theory," teatro "theater").

In Germanic languages it represents PIE *-t- and was common at the start of words or after stressed vowels. To represent it, Old English and Old Norse used the characters ð "eth" (a modified form of -d-) and þ "thorn," which originally was a rune. Old English, unlike Old Norse, seems never to have standardized which of the two versions of the sound ("hard" and "soft") was represented by which of the two letters.

The digraph -th- sometimes appears in early Old English, on the Roman model, and it returned in Middle English with the French scribes, driving out eth by c. 1250, but thorn persisted, especially in demonstratives (þat, þe, þis, etc.), even as other words were being spelled with -th-. The advent of printing dealt its death-blow, however, as types were imported from continental founders, who had no thorn. For a time y was used in its place (especially in Scotland), because it had a similar shape, hence ye for the in historical tourist trap Ye Olde _______ Shoppe (it never was pronounced "ye," only spelled that way).

The awareness that some Latin words in t- were from Greek th- encouraged over-correction in English and created unetymological forms such as Thames and author, while some words borrowed from Romanic languages preserve, on the Roman model, the Greek -th- spelling but the simple Latin "t" pronunciation (as in Thomas and thyme).
treadmill (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
invented (and named) 1822; originally an instrument of prison discipline; from tread (v.) + mill (n.1). Treadwheel as a similar method of driving machinery is from 1570s.
As a corrective punishment, the discipline of the stepping mill has had a most salutary effect upon the prisoners, and is not likely to be easily forgotten, while it is an occupation which by no means interferes with, nor is calculated to lessen the value of, those branches of prison regulation which provide for the moral and religious improvement of the criminal. ["Description of the Tread Mill Invented by Mr. William Cubitt of Ipswich for the Employment of Prisoners," London, 1822]
By later generations regarded as a path to physical fitness.
HeliosyoudaoicibaDictYouDict
"The sun personified as a god, father of Phaethon. He is generally represented as a charioteer driving daily from east to west across the sky", Greek hēlios 'sun'.