英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

academy [academy 词源字典]: academy: [16] Borrowed either from French académie or from Latin acadēmia, academy goes back ultimately to Greek Akadēmíā, the name of the place in Athens where the philosopher Plato (c. 428–347 BC) taught. Traditionally thought of as a grove (‘the groves of Academe’), this was in fact more of an enclosed piece of ground, a garden or park; it was named after the Attic mythological hero Akadēmos or Hekadēmus. In its application to the philosophical doctrines of Plato, English academy goes back directly to its Latin source, but the more general meanings ‘college, place of training’ derive from French.
[academy etymology, academy origin, 英语词源]
Adam: Adam: Adam’s apple [18] The original apple in question was the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which the serpent in the Garden of Eden tricked Eve into eating, and which she in turn persuaded Adam to eat. It was traditionally believed that a piece of it stuck in Adam’s throat, and so it became an appropriate and convenient metaphor for the thyroid cartilage of the larynx, which protrudes noticeably in men.
Adam's apple: Adam's apple: [18] The original apple in question was the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which the serpent in the Garden of Eden tricked Eve into eating, and which she in turn persuaded Adam to eat. It was traditionally believed that a piece of it stuck in Adam’s throat, and so it became an appropriate and convenient metaphor for the thyroid cartilage of the larynx, which protrudes noticeably in men.
aegis: aegis: [18] The notion of ‘protection’ contained in this word goes back to classical mythology, in which one of the functions or attributes of the Greek god Zeus (and later of Roman Jupiter or Minerva) was the giving of protection. This was usually represented visually as a shield, traditionally held to be made of goatskin – hence Greek aigís, the name of the shield, came to be associated in the popular imagination with aix (aig- in its stem form), the Greek word for ‘goat’. English borrowed the word directly from Latin.
bayonet: bayonet: [17] Bayonet comes from French bayonette, an early spelling of what is now baïonette. The French term is traditionally derived from Bayonne, the name of a town and port on the southwest coast of France, near Biarritz, where bayonets were supposedly first used by Basques of the area, in the 17th century. But this etymology is not universally accepted, and some have noted the resemblance to Old French bayon ‘crossbow bolt’.
cancan: cancan: [19] The English word was borrowed from French, where it originally, in the 16th century, meant ‘noise, uproar’. Its ultimate source is unknown, although it has traditionally been associated with Latin quanquam ‘although’, taken to be the prelude to a noisy scholastic argument. Its application to the uproarious dance began in the 19th century, in French as well as English; however, its presentday association with high-kicking chorus girls (with, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, ‘extravagant and indecent gestures’) seems to be a slightly later development, since the earliest examples of its use quoted by the OED apparently refer to men: ‘He usually compromises by dancing the Can-can’, A E Sweet, Texas Siftings 1882.
confetti: confetti: [19] The Latin compound verb conficere meant ‘put together, make, prepare’ (it was formed from the prefix com- and facere ‘do, make’, source of English fact, factory, fashion, etc and related to English do). From its past participial stem was formed the noun confectiō, which passed into English, via Old French, as confection in the 14th century (by which time it already had its present-day association with sweets).

But the past participle confectum also produced Old French confit, whence English comfit [15], and Italian confetto, which was a small sweet traditionally thrown during carnivals. The British adapted the missiles to weddings (displacing the traditional rice) at the end of the 19th century, using symbolic shreds of coloured paper rather than real sweets.
=> comfit, confection, discomfit, do, fact, factory, fashion
cynic: cynic: [16] Originally, the Cynics were a group of ascetic philosophers in ancient Greece. Their founder, around 400 BC, was Antisthenes, a follower of Socrates. They advocated the view that virtue and self-control are the highest good and, particularly under their later leader Diogenes, came to exhibit a contempt for the frailties of their fellow human beings that is traditionally said to have earned them their name: Greek kúōn meant ‘dog’ (it is related to English hound), and the philosophers were allegedly dubbed kunikós on account of their ‘dog-like’ sneering.

A more prosaic but more likely explanation of the term is that it comes from the Kunósarge, the gymnasium where Antisthenes taught (perhaps later influenced by kúōn). English acquired the word via Latin cynicus.
dextrous: dextrous: [17] Just as the left hand has always been associated with awkwardness or maladroitness (cack-handed), so the right hand has traditionally been credited with skill: hence dextrous, a derivative of Latin dexter, which meant ‘on the right side’ and thus by extension ‘skilful’. This came ultimately, like Greek dexiós, Gothic taihswa, Breton dehou, Russian desnoj, and many other related forms in the general semantic area ‘right-hand side’, from an Indo-European base *dek-. English acquired the Latin adjective itself as a heraldic term in the 16th century.
fiasco: fiasco: [19] In Italian, a fiasco is literally a ‘bottle’ (the word comes from medieval Latin fiasco, source of English flagon and flask). Its figurative use apparently stems from the phrase far fiasco, literally ‘make a bottle’, used traditionally in Italian theatrical slang for ‘suffer a complete breakdown in performance’. The usual range of fanciful theories has been advanced for the origin of the usage, but none is particularly convincing.
=> flagon, flask
punch: punch: English has three distinct words punch, not counting the capitalized character in the Punch and Judy show, but two of them are probably ultimately related. Punch ‘hit’ [14] originated as a variant of Middle English pounce ‘pierce, prod’. This came from Old French poinsonner ‘prick, stamp’, a derivative of the noun poinson ‘pointed tool’ (source of the now obsolete English puncheon ‘pointed tool’ [14]).

And poinson in turn came from Vulgar Latin *punctiō, a derivative of *punctiāre ‘pierce, prick’, which went back to the past participle of Latin pungere ‘prick’ (source of English point, punctuation, etc). Punch ‘tool for making holes’ [15] (as in ‘ticket punch’) probably originated as an abbreviated version of puncheon. Punch ‘drink’ [17] is said to come from Hindi pānch, a descendant of Sanskrit panchan ‘five’, an allusion to the fact that the drink is traditionally made from five ingredients: spirits, water, lemon juice, sugar, and spice.

This has never been definitely established, however, and an alternative possibility is that it is an abbreviation of puncheon ‘barrel’ [15], a word of uncertain origin. The name of Mr Punch [17] is short for Punchinello, which comes from a Neapolitan dialect word polecenella. This may have been a diminutive of Italian polecena ‘young turkey’, which goes back ultimately to Latin pullus ‘young animal, young chicken’ (source of English poultry).

It is presumably an allusion to Punch’s beaklike nose.
=> point, punctuation
sex: sex: [14] Sex comes via Old French sexe from Latin sexus. This has traditionally been explained as a relative of Latin secāre ‘cut’ (source of English section, sector, etc), as if it denoted etymologically that ‘section’ of the population which is male or female, but that view is no longer generally held. The use of sex for ‘sexual intercourse’ (first recorded in the works of D H Lawrence) and the derivative sexy are both 20th-century developments.
tilt: tilt: [14] Tilt originally meant ‘fall over’; the sense ‘slant’ is not recorded before the 16th century. The word is probably descended from an unrecorded Old English *tyltan, whose ultimate source would have been the prehistoric Germanic adjective *taltaz ‘unsteady’ (ancestor also of Swedish tulta ‘totter’). Tilt ‘joust’ (first recorded in the 16th century) has traditionally been regarded as the same word, based presumably on the notion of making one’s opponent ‘fall over’, but this is not certain.
Aegean: sea between Greece and Asia Minor, 1570s, traditionally named for Aegeus, father of Theseus, who threw himself to his death in it when he thought his son had perished; but perhaps from Greek aiges "waves," a word of unknown origin.
Arcadian: "ideally rustic or rural; an idealized rustic," 1580s, from Greek Arkadia, district in the Peloponnesus, taken by poets as an ideal region of rural felicity, traditionally from Arkas (genitive Arkadas), son of Zeus, name of the founder and first ruler of Arcadia.
Athens: city of ancient Attica, capital of modern Greece, from Greek Athenai (plural because the city had several distinct parts), traditionally derived from Athena, but probably assimilated from a lost name in a pre-Hellenic language.
Attica: traditionally explained as from Greek Attikos (Latin Atticus) "of Athens" (see Athens); but perhaps ultimately from Greek akte "shore, maritime place," also "raised place."
authentic (adj.): mid-14c., "authoritative," from Old French autentique (13c., Modern French authentique) "authentic; canonical," and directly from Medieval Latin authenticus, from Greek authentikos "original, genuine, principal," from authentes "one acting on one's own authority," from autos "self" (see auto-) + hentes "doer, being," from PIE *sene- "to accomplish, achieve." Sense of "entitled to acceptance as factual" is first recorded mid-14c.

Traditionally in modern use, authentic implies that the contents of the thing in question correspond to the facts and are not fictitious; genuine implies that the reputed author is the real one; but this is not always maintained: "The distinction which the 18th c. apologists attempted to establish between genuine and authentic ... does not agree well with the etymology of the latter word, and is not now recognized" [OED].
baloney (n.): 1894, variant of bologna sausage (q.v.). As slang for "nonsense," 1922, American English (popularized 1930s by N.Y. Gov. Alfred E. Smith; in this sense sometimes said to have been one of the coinages of legendary "Variety" staffer Jack Conway), from earlier sense of "idiot" (by 1915), perhaps influenced by blarney, but usually regarded as being from the sausage, as a type traditionally made from odds and ends. It also was ring slang early 20c. for an inferior fighter.
The aristocratic Kid's first brawl for sugar was had in Sandusky, Odryo, with a boloney entitled Young Du Fresne. He gave the green and nervous Kid a proper pastin' for six rounds and the disgusted Dummy sold me his find for a hundred bucks, leavin' the clubhouse just in time to miss seein' the boy get stung, get mad, and win by a knockout. [H.C. Witwer, "The Leather Pushers," "Colliers," Oct. 16, 1920]
Berlin: city in Brandenburg, capital of Germany, traditionally by folk-etymology from German Bär "bear," but likely from a Slavic source, compare Old Polabian berl-, birl- "swamp," in reference to the old city's location on low, marshy ground along the River Spree. A flashpoint city in the Cold War, the Berlin airlift ran from June 28, 1948 to May 12, 1949. The Berlin Wall began to be built Aug. 15, 1961, and was effective until Nov. 9, 1989.
book (n.): Old English boc "book, writing, written document," traditionally from Proto-Germanic *bokiz "beech" (cognates: German Buch "book" Buche "beech;" see beech), the notion being of beechwood tablets on which runes were inscribed, but it may be from the tree itself (people still carve initials in them). The Old English word originally meant any written document. Latin and Sanskrit also have words for "writing" that are based on tree names ("birch" and "ash," respectively). Meaning "libretto of an opera" is from 1768. A betting book is from 1856.
Brandenburg: region in northeastern Germany, traditionally said to be ultimately from Slavic, but perhaps German and meaning literally "burned fortress," or else from a Celtic proper name.
broom (n.): Old English brom "broom, brushwood," the common flowering shrub whose twigs were tied together to make a tool for sweeping, from Proto-Germanic *bræmaz "thorny bush" (cognates: Dutch braam, German Brombeere "blackberry"), from PIE root *bh(e)rem- "to project, a point."

Traditionally, both the flowers and sweeping with broom twigs were considered unlucky in May (Suffolk, Sussex, Wiltshire, etc.). The witch's flying broomstick originally was one among many such objects (pitchfork, trough, bowl), but the broomstick became fixed as the popular tool of supernatural flight via engravings from a famous Lancashire witch trial of 1612.
calm (adj.): late 14c., from Old French calme "tranquility, quiet," traditionally from Old Italian calma, from Late Latin cauma "heat of the mid-day sun" (in Italy, a time when everything rests and is still), from Greek kauma "heat" (especially of the sun), from kaiein "to burn" (see caustic). Spelling influenced by Latin calere "to be hot." Figurative application to social or mental conditions is 16c.
caramel (n.): 1725, from French caramel "burnt sugar" (17c.), via Old Spanish caramel (modern caramelo), ultimately from Medieval Latin cannamellis, traditionally from Latin canna (see cane (n.)) + mellis, genitive of mel "honey" (see Melissa). But some give the Medieval Latin word an Arabic origin, or trace it to Latin calamus "reed, cane."
class (n.): c. 1600, "group of students," from French classe (14c.), from Latin classis "a class, a division; army, fleet," especially "any one of the six orders into which Servius Tullius divided the Roman people for the purpose of taxation;" traditionally originally "the people of Rome under arms" (a sense attested in English from 1650s), and thus akin to calare "to call (to arms)," from PIE root *kele- (2) "to shout" (see claim (v.)). In early use in English also in Latin form classis.

School and university sense of "course, lecture" (1650s) is from the notion of a form or lecture reserved to scholars who had attained a certain level. Natural history sense is from 1753. Meaning "a division of society according to status" (upper, lower, etc.) is from 1772. Meaning "high quality" is from 1847. Class-consciousness (1903) is from German klassenbewusst.
cleavage (n.): 1816, in geology, "action of splitting (rocks or gems) along natural fissures," from cleave (v.1) + -age. General meaning "action or state of cleaving or being cleft" is from 1867.

The sense of "cleft between a woman's breasts in low-cut clothing" is first recorded 1946, defined in a "Time" magazine article [Aug. 5] as the "Johnston Office trade term for the shadowed depression dividing an actress' bosom into two distinct sections;" traditionally first used in this sense by U.S. publicist Joseph I. Breen (1888-1965), head of the Production Code Administration (replaced 1945 by Eric Johnston), enforcers of Hollywood self-censorship, in reference to Jane Russell's costumes and poses in "The Outlaw."
coal (n.): Old English col "charcoal, live coal," from Proto-Germanic *kula(n) (cognates: Old Frisian kole, Middle Dutch cole, Dutch kool, Old High German chol, German Kohle, Old Norse kol), from PIE root *g(e)u-lo- "live coal" (cognates: Irish gual "coal").

Meaning "mineral consisting of fossilized carbon" is from mid-13c. First mentioned (370 B.C.E.) by Theophrastus in his treatise "On Stones" under the name lithos anthrakos (see anthrax). Traditionally good luck, coal was given as a New Year's gift in England, said to guarantee a warm hearth for the coming year. The phrase drag (or rake) over the coals was a reference to the treatment meted out to heretics by Christians. To carry coals "do dirty work," also "submit to insult" is from 1520s. To carry coals to Newcastle (c. 1600) Anglicizes Greek glauk eis Athenas "owls to Athens."
condom (n.): 1706, traditionally named for a British physician during reign of Charles II (a story traceable to 1709), but there is no evidence for that. Also spelled condam, quondam, which suggests it may be from Italian guantone, from guanto "a glove." A word omitted in the original OED (c. 1890) and not used openly in the U.S. and not advertised in mass media until November 1986 speech by Surgeon General C. Everett Koop on AIDS prevention. Compare prophylactic.
confetti (n.): 1815, from Italian plural of confetto "sweetmeat," via Old French, from Latin confectum, confectus (see confection). A small candy traditionally thrown during carnivals in Italy, custom adopted in England for weddings and other occasions, with symbolic tossing of paper.
couch (n.): mid-14c., from Old French couche (12c.) "a bed, lair," from coucher "to lie down," from Latin collocare (see couch (v.)). Traditionally, a couch has the head end only raised, and only half a back; a sofa has both ends raised and a full back; a settee is like a sofa but may be without arms; an ottoman has neither back nor arms, nor has a divan, the distinctive feature of which is that it goes against a wall. Couch potato first recorded 1979.
Crete: traditionally said to be from Krus, name of a mythological ancestor, but probably an ethnic name of some sort.
Des Moines: city in Iowa, U.S., named for French Rivière des Moines, the river that flows past it, which traditionally is derived from French des moines "of the monks," in reference to missionaries, but this probably is a fur trappers' folk-etymologizing of a name of the native people who lived there.

The place appears in a 1673 text as Moinguena, and historians believe this represents Miami-Illinois mooyiinkweena, literally "shitface," from mooy "excrement" + iinkwee "face;" a name given by the Peoria Indians (whose name has itself become a sort of insult) to their western neighbors. It is not unusual for Indian peoples to have hostile or derogatory names for others, but this seems an extreme case.
Dorian (adj.): c. 1600, in reference to the mode of ancient Greek music, literally "of Doris," from Greek Doris, district in central Greece, traditionally named for Doros, legendary ancestor of the Dorians, whose name is probably related to doron "gift" (see date (n.1)).
Ecclesiastes (n.): c. 1300, name given to one of the Old Testament books, traditionally ascribed to Solomon, from Greek ekklesiastes (see ecclesiastic), to render Hebrew qoheleth "one who addresses an assembly," from qahal "assembly." The title is technically the designation of the speaker, but that word throughout is usually rendered into English as "The Preacher" (which Klein calls "erroneous," as the modern meaning of preacher is not synonymous with the Greek word).
Ephesus: Greek city in ancient Asia Minor, center of worship for Artemis, Latinized form of Greek Ephesos, traditionally derived from ephoros "overseer," in reference to its religious significance, but this might be folk etymology. Related: Ephesine.
Eskimo (n.): 1580s, from Danish Eskimo or Middle French Esquimaux (plural), both probably from an Algonquian word, such as Abenaki askimo (plural askimoak), Ojibwa ashkimeq, traditionally said to mean literally "eaters of raw meat," from Proto-Algonquian *ask- "raw" + *-imo "eat." Research from 1980s in linguistics of the region suggests this derivation, though widely credited there, might be inaccurate or incomplete, and the word might mean "snowshoe-netter." See also Innuit. Of language, from 1819. As an adjective by 1744. Eskimo pie "chocolate-coated ice cream bar" introduced 1922 and was initially a craze that drove up the price of cocoa beans on the New York market 50 percent in three months [F.L. Allen, "Only Yesterday," 1931].
Europe: from Latin Europa "Europe," from Greek Europe, which is of uncertain origin; as a geographic name first recorded in the Homeric hymn to Apollo (522 B.C.E. or earlier):
"Telphusa, here I am minded to make a glorious temple, an oracle for men, and hither they will always bring perfect hecatombs, both those who live in rich Peloponnesus and those of Europe and all the wave-washed isles, coming to seek oracles."
Often explained as "broad face," from eurys "wide" (see eury-) + ops "face," literally "eye" (see eye (n.)). But also traditionally linked with Europa, Phoenician princess in Greek mythology. Klein (citing Heinrich Lewy) suggests a possible Semitic origin in Akkad. erebu "to go down, set" (in reference to the sun) which would parallel orient. Another suggestion along those lines is Phoenician 'ereb "evening," hence "west."
excise (n.): "tax on goods," late 15c., from Middle Dutch excijs (early 15c.), apparently altered from accijs "tax" (by influence of Latin excisus "cut out or removed," see excise (v.)), traditionally from Old French acceis "tax, assessment" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *accensum, ultimately from Latin ad- "to" (see ad-) + census "tax, census" (see census). English got the word, and the idea for the tax, from Holland.
flunk (v.): 1823, American English college slang, original meaning "to back out, give up, fail," of obscure origin, traditionally said to be an alteration of British university slang funk "to be frightened, shrink from" (see funk (n.1)). Meaning "cause to fail, give a failing mark to" is from 1843. Related: Flunked; flunking.
Frank (n.): one of the Germanic tribal people (Salian Franks) situated on the lower Rhine from 3c. that conquered Romano-Celtic northern Gaul c.500 C.E.; from their territory and partly from their language grew modern France and French. Old English franc, franca "freeman, noble; Frank, Frenchman," from Medieval Latin francus, a Late Latin borrowing of Frankish *Frank, the people's self-designation (cognate with Old High German Franko, the Latin word also is the source of Spanish and Italian names Franco).

The origin of the ethnic name is uncertain; it traditionally is said to be from the old Germanic word *frankon "javelin, lance" (compare Old English franca "lance, javelin"), their preferred weapon, but the reverse may be the case. Compare also Saxon, traditionally from root of Old English seax "knife." The adjectival sense of "free, at liberty" (see frank (adj.)) probably developed from the tribal name, not the other way round. It was noted by 1680s that, in the Levant, this was the name given to anyone of Western nationality (compare Feringhee and lingua franca).
Gilead: Biblical site (Gen. xxxi:21, etc.), traditionally from the name of a grandson of Manasseh, perhaps from Aramaic gal "heap of stones."
Gregorian (adj.): "pertaining to Gregory," from Late Latin Gregorianus, from Gregorius (see Gregory). From c. 1600 of church music, in reference to Gregory I the Great (pope from 590-604), who traditionally codified it; 1640s in reference to new calendar (introduced 1582) from Pope Gregory XIII (1572-1585); due to Protestant resistance, the calendar was not introduced in England and the American colonies until 1752.
Guernsey: Channel Island, the name is Viking. The second element of the name is Old Norse ey "island;" the first element uncertain, traditionally meaning "green," but perhaps rather representing a Viking personal name, such as Grani. Like neighboring Jersey, it was also taken as the name for a coarse, close-fitting vest of wool (1839), worn originally by seamen, and in Australia the word supplies many of the usages of jersey in U.S. As a type of cattle bred there, from 1784.
haiku (n.): 1900, from Japanese haiku, telescoped (supposedly in the late nineteenth century, by the poet Shiki) from haikai no ku "jocosity of verse," originally the name of the opening lines of a type of improvised, witty linked verse. The form developed mid-16c. "Traditionally, there is mention of a season of the year somewhere in a haiku, as a means of establishing the poem's tone, though this may be only the slightest suggestion." [Miller Williams, "Patterns of Poetry," Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University, 1986].
Hanseatic (adj.): 1610s, from Hanseatic League, medieval confederation of North German towns for the protection of commerce, from Medieval Latin Hanseaticus, from Middle Low German hanse "fellowship, merchants' guild" (see Hanse). Its origin traditionally is dated from the compact between Hamburg and Lübeck in 1241; the assembly last met in 1669. Compare hanshus "guild hall" (12c.).
heroin (n.): 1898, from German Heroin, coined 1898 as trademark registered by Friedrich Bayer & Co. for their morphine substitute, traditionally from Greek heros (see hero (n.1)) because of the euphoric feeling the drug provides, but no evidence for this seems to have been found so far.
A new hypnotic, to which the name of "heroin" has been given, has been tried in the medical clinic of Professor Gerhardt in Berlin. ["The Lancet," Dec. 3, 1898]
hoagie (n.): American English (originally Philadelphia) word for "hero, large sandwich made from a long, split roll;" originally hoggie (c. 1936), traditionally said to be named for Big Band songwriter Hoagland Howard "Hoagy" Carmichael (1899-1981), but the use of the word pre-dates his celebrity and the original spelling seems to suggest another source (perhaps hog). Modern spelling is c. 1945, and may have been altered by influence of Carmichael's nickname.
imbecile (adj.): 1540s, imbecille "weak, feeble" (especially in reference to the body), from Middle French imbecile (15c.), from Latin imbecillus "weak, feeble" (see imbecility). Sense shifted to mental weakness from mid-18c. (compare frail, which in provincial English also could mean "mentally weak"). As a noun, "feeble-minded person," it is attested from 1802. Traditionally an adult with a mental age of roughly 6 to 9 (above an idiot but beneath a moron).
imbecility (n.): early 15c., "physical weakness, feebleness (of a body part), impotence," from Middle French imbécillité and directly from Latin imbecillitatem (nominative imbecillitas) "weakness, feebleness," from imbecillus "weak, feeble," traditionally said to mean "unsupported" (quasi sine baculo), from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + baculum "a stick" (see bacillus). "Weakness in mind" (as opposed to body) was a secondary sense in Latin but was not attested in English until 1620s.