quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- Erl-king (n.)[Erl-king 词源字典]
- 1797, in Scott's translation of Goethe, from German Erl-könig, fiend who haunts the depths of forests in German and Scandinavian poetic mythology, literally "alder-king;" according to OED, Herder's erroneous translation of Danish ellerkonge "king of the elves." Compare German Eller, Erle "alder" (see alder).[Erl-king etymology, Erl-king origin, 英语词源]
- shepherd (n.)
- Old English sceaphierde, from sceap "sheep" (see sheep) + hierde "herder," from heord "a herd" (see herd (n.)). Similar formation in Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schaphirde, Middle High German schafhirte, German dialectal Schafhirt. Shepherds customarily were buried with a tuft of wool in hand, to prove on Doomsday their occupation and be excused for often missing Sunday church. Shepherd's pie is recorded from 1877.
- superman (n.)
- 1903, coined by George Bernard Shaw to translate German Übermensch, "highly evolved human being that transcends good and evil," from "Thus Spake Zarathustra" (1883-91), by Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). First used in German by Hermann Rab (1520s), and also used by Herder and Goethe. Translated as overman (1895) and beyond-man (1896) before Shaw got it right in his play title "Man and Superman" (1903). Application to comic strip hero is from 1938.
So was created ... Superman! champion of the oppressed, the physical marvel who had sworn to devote his existence to helping those in need! ["Action Comics," June 1, 1938]
- wrangler (n.)
- 1510s, "one who takes part in quarrels," agent noun from wrangle (v.). Meaning "person in charge of horses or cattle, herder" is from 1888; as a proprietary name for a brand of jeans, copyrighted 1947, claiming use from 1929.
- zeitgeist (n.)
- 1848, from German Zeitgeist (Herder, 1769), "spirit of the age," literally "time-spirit," from Zeit "time" (see tide (n.)) + Geist "spirit" (see ghost (n.)). Carlyle has it as a German word in "Sartor Resartus" (1840) and translates it as "Time-Spirit."