quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- turf[turf 词源字典]
- turf: [OE] Turf is a general Germanic word. It goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *turb-, which also produced German torf ‘peat’, Dutch turf, Swedish torf, and Danish tørv, and was borrowed into the Romance languages, giving French tourbe, Italian torba, and Spanish turba. Its ultimate source was the Indo-European base *drbh-.
[turf etymology, turf origin, 英语词源] - turf (n.)
- Old English turf, tyrf "slab of soil and grass, sod," also "surface of grassland," from Proto-Germanic *turb- (cognates: Old Norse torf, Danish tørv, Old Frisian turf, Old High German zurba, German Torf), from PIE root *drebh- "to wind, compress" (cognates: Sanskrit darbhah "tuft of grass").
Especially "the race course," hence the turf "the profession of racing horses" (1755). French tourbe "turf" is a Germanic loan-word. The Old English plural was identical with the singular, but in Middle English turves sometimes was used. Slang meaning "territory claimed by a gang" is attested from 1953 in Brooklyn, N.Y.; earlier it had a jive talk sense of "the street, the sidewalk" (1930s), which is attested in hobo use from 1899, and before that "the work and venue of a prostitute" (1860). Turf war is recorded from 1962. - turf (v.)
- early 15c., "to cover (ground) with turf," from turf (n.). Related: Turfed; turfing.