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adventure [adventure 词源字典]: adventure: [13] Adventure derives ultimately from a Latin verb meaning ‘arrive’. It originally meant ‘what comes or happens by chance’, hence ‘luck’, but it took a rather pessimistic downturn via ‘risk, danger’ to (in the 14th century) ‘hazardous undertaking’. Its Latin source was advenīre, formed from the prefix adand venīre ‘come’. Its past participle stem, advent-, produced English advent [12] and adventitious [17], but it was its future participle, adventura ‘about to arrive’, which produced adventure.

In the Romance languages in which it subsequently developed (Italian avventura, Spanish aventura, and French aventure, the source of Middle English aventure) the d disappeared, but it was revived in 15th – 16thcentury French in imitation of Latin. The reduced form venture first appears in the 15th century.
=> adventitious, avent, venture[adventure etymology, adventure origin, 英语词源]
avenge: avenge: see vindicate
convenient: convenient: [14] Convenient comes from Latin conveniēns, the present participle of convenire ‘come together, be suitable, agree’, a compound verb formed from the prefix com- ‘together’ and venire ‘come’ (a distant relative of English come). Convenient reflects the more figurative of convenire’s meanings, as ultimately does covenant, but its original literal sense ‘assemble’ is preserved in convene [15], convention [15], convent, and coven.
=> convent, convention, coven, covenant, venue
convent: convent: [13] Latin conventus meant ‘assembly’ (it was the past participle of convenire ‘come together’, source of English convenient), but as it passed via Anglo-Norman covent into English it acquired the specialized sense ‘religious community’ (in early use it was applied to communities of either sex, but since the end of the 18th century it has come to be used exclusively for a ‘house of nuns’).

Until the mid- 15th century the Anglo-Norman spelling covent was retained in English (it survives in Covent Garden, which was formerly a vegetable garden belonging to the monks of Westminster Abbey, and may also the the source of coven [16]).
=> convenient, coven, venue
coven: coven: see convent
covenant: covenant: [13] The notion of ‘agreement’ in covenant comes originally from a literal ‘coming together’. It was borrowed from Old French covenant, a noun use of the present participle of the verb covenir ‘agree’, which was descended from Latin convenire ‘come together’ (source also of English convene, convenient, convention, convent, and coven). (Modern French has restored the n, giving convenir.)
=> convenient, convent, convention, coven, venue
craven: craven: [13] Craven originally meant simply ‘defeated’, and only gradually came to have the pejorative sense ‘cowardly’. It probably came from Old French cravante ‘defeated’, the past participle of the verb cravanter, which in turn came via Vulgar Latin *crepantāre from Latin crepāre; this meant ‘creak, rattle, crack’ (hence the English technical term crepitation [17]) but also secondarily ‘burst’ or ‘break’.
=> crepitation, crevice, decrepit
eleven: eleven: [OE] Originally, eleven and twelve seem to have meant literally ‘one over’ and ‘two over’. Eleven comes ultimately from a prehistoric Germanic *ainlif- (source also of German elf and Swedish elva) in which the first element *ainaz is ‘one’ and the second is probably related to English leave. The compound would thus have signified ‘one left (over ten)’, hence ‘ten plus one’.
=> leave, one
even: even: [OE] Even can be traced back to a prehistoric Germanic *ebnaz, although it is not clear whether it meant originally ‘flat, level’ or ‘equal, alike’ (both strands of meaning are still present in the word, the latter in such expressions as ‘get even with’ and ‘even number’, and also in its various adverbial uses, the former in ‘even keel’, ‘even light’, etc)
evening: evening: [OE] Evening is a derivative of even [OE], a word for ‘evening’ now restricted to bad poetry. This came ultimately from an Indo- European base, whose general meaning of ‘lateness’ is pointed up by other descendants such as Sanskrit apara- ‘later, western’, Greek opsé ‘late’, and Gothic iftuma ‘following, later’. The specific application to ‘latter part of the day’ seems only to have occurred in the Germanic languages, where it is represented in German abend and Dutch avond, and also possibly in Swedish afton and Danish aften (although these could be from another source).

The Old English word was ǣfen, which formed the basis of a verb ǣfnian ‘become evening’; the verbal noun derived from this has become English evening. Eve [13], as in ‘Christmas eve’, is a Middle English reduction of even.
fervent: fervent: [14] Fervent comes from the present participle of Latin fervēre ‘boil’. This verb also produced English effervescent [17] and comfrey [15], a plant-name which means literally ‘boil together’, and moreover its derivative fermentum led to English ferment [14]. It goes back ultimately to the Indo-European base *bhreu- or *bhru-, from which English also gets brew, broth, and fry, and possibly bread and burn.
=> brew, broth, comfrey, effervescent, ferment, fry
haven: haven: [11] Etymologically, a haven is probably a ‘container’ for ships. The word appears to go back ultimately to Indo-European *kap-, source also of Latin capere ‘seize’ (whence English capable, capture, etc). This produced Old Norse höfn or hafn, which lies behind the modern Scandinavian words for ‘harbour’ (such as Swedish hamn and Danish havn), and was borrowed into late Old English as hæfen, whence modern English haven. Closely related is Dutch haven, from which German borrowed hafen ‘harbour’.
=> capable, captive, capture
heaven: heaven: [OE] The precise origins of the word heaven have never been satisfactorily explained. Could it perhaps be related in some way to Greek kamára ‘vault, covering’, and thus originally have denoted ‘sky thought of as arching over or covering the earth’ (‘sky’ is at least as ancient a meaning of heaven as ‘abode of god(s)’, although it now has an archaic air)? Are the tantalizingly similar German, Swedish, and Danish himmel and Dutch hemel related to it (going back perhaps to a common Germanic source *hibn- in which the /b/ sound, which became /v/ in English, was lost – as in e’en for even – and a suffix *-ila- was adopted rather than the *-ina- that produced English heaven), or are they completely different words? The etymological jury is still out.
invent: invent: [15] Invent originally meant ‘find’ (‘Since that Eve was procreated out of Adam’s side, could not such newels [novelties] in this land be invented’, wrote the anonymous author of a 15th-century song). It was based on invent-, the past participial stem of Latin invenīre ‘come upon, find’, a compound verb formed from the prefix in- ‘on’ and venīre ‘come’.

The sense ‘devise’, which developed via ‘discover’, actually existed in the Latin verb, but English did not take it on board until the 16th century. The derivative inventory [16] was borrowed from medieval Latin inventōrium ‘list’, an alteration of late Latin inventārium, which originally meant a ‘finding out’, hence an ‘enumeration’.
=> adventure, inventory
prevent: prevent: [15] If you prevent someone, you ‘come before’ them (and indeed that literal meaning of the verb survived for some time: Thomas Cromwell wrote in 1538 ‘I have sent it unto him after the departure of the said Muriell, to the intent he might prevent the ambassadors post and you have leisure to consult and advise upon the same’; and as late as 1766 we find in Frances Sheridan’s Sidney Biddulph ‘I am an early riser, yet my lord V – prevented me the next morning, for I found him in the parlour when I came downstairs’).

The word comes from Latin praevenīre, a compound verb formed from the prefix prae- ‘before’ and venīre ‘come’. Already in Latin, though, it had progressed semantically from ‘come before’ via ‘act in advance of, anticipate’ to ‘hinder’, and this meaning emerged in English in the 16th century.
=> adventure, venue
provender: provender: see prebend
raven: raven: English has two separate words raven. The bird-name [OE] is a general Germanic term, related to German rabe, Dutch raaf, and Danish ravn. It goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *khrabnaz or *khraben, which originated in an imitation of the raven’s harsh croaking. The verb raven ‘prey, plunder’ [15], nowadays encountered virtually only in its present participle ravening and the derived ravenous, goes back ultimately to Latin rapere ‘seize by force’.
=> rape, rapture, ravenous
ravenous: ravenous: [15] Ravenous was borrowed from Old French ravineux, a derivative of the verb raviner ‘seize by force’ (source of English raven, which nowadays appears mainly in its present participial form ravening). This came from Latin rapere ‘seize by force’, ancestor also of English rape. The central modern meaning of ravenous, ‘very hungry’, developed from the notion of predatory animals that ‘seize’ and eat their prey. Other English descendants of Latin rapere include rapacious, rapid, rapture, ravage, ravine, ravish [13], surreptitious, and usurp.
=> rape, rapture, raven
revenge: revenge: see vindicate
scavenger: scavenger: [15] A scavenger was originally a scavager – the extra n is the same as that intruded into messenger, passenger, etc. This was acquired from Anglo-Norman scawager, and it started life as a term for an official whose job was to collect taxes levied on foreign merchants. Etymologically it denoted ‘inspector’, for it was derived from the verb escauwer ‘inspect’, which was borrowed from Flemish scauwen ‘look at’, a relative of English show.

By the 16th century the scavenger had begun to come down in the world, first to a ‘street-cleaner’ and finally to ‘one who gathers or lives on what others have thrown away’. The verb scavenge was derived from it in the 17th century.
=> show
seven: seven: [OE] The Indo-European term for ‘seven’ was *septm. This evolved into Latin septem (source of English September), Greek heptá (source of English heptathlon [20]), and Germanic *sebun. And *sebun in turn has diversified into German sieben, Dutch zeven, Swedish sju, Danish syv, and English seven.
=> heptathlon, september
vend: vend: [17] Latin vēndere meant ‘sell’: it was a compound verb formed from vēnum ‘sale’ (source of English venal ‘corrupt, bribable’ [17]) and dare ‘give’ (source of English data). English acquired the word via French vendre, but it was preceded into the language by the derivative vendor [16].
=> data, date, donate, venal
vendetta: vendetta: see vindicate
veneer: veneer: [17] Veneer is ultimately the same word as furnish. Both come from Old French fournir, but veneer was routed via German, which borrowed fournir as furniren. The verbal noun derived from this, furnirung, was borrowed into English as faneering in the highly specialized sense ‘provision of a thin surface layer of fine wood’. The noun veneer was a back-formation from this.
=> furnish
venereal: venereal: [15] Latin venus meant ‘love, charm’ (it came ultimately from the same Indo- European base as produced English wish and winsome and Sanskrit vānchā ‘wish’). It was not that common as a generic term, its most familiar role being as the name of the Roman goddess of love. From it was derived venereus ‘of sexual love or sexual intercourse’, which English borrowed and adapted as venereal.

The term venereal disease dates from the mid 17th century. Other contributions made by Latin venus to English include venerable [15] and venerate [17] (from Latin venerārī ‘revere’, a derivative of venus), venial [13], and possibly venom.
=> venerate, venial, venus, winsome, wish
vengeance: vengeance: see vindicate
venison: venison: [13] Latin vēnātiō meant ‘hunting’, hence ‘hunted animals, game’ (it was derived from vēnārī ‘hunt’, which may be distantly related to English win). English acquired it via Old French venison in the sense ‘flesh of hunted animals used for food’, and the modern specialization to ‘deer-meat’ did not begin to emerge until the 18th century.
venom: venom: [13] Venom comes via Old French venim from Vulgar Latin *venīmen, an alteration of Latin venēnum ‘drug, poison’. It has been speculated that this was derived ultimately from venus ‘love’ (source of English venerate, venereal, etc), in which case its ancestral sense would presumably have been ‘love-potion’.
vent: vent: English has two words vent. The verb, ‘provide with an outlet’ [14], came via Old French esventer from Vulgar Latin *exventāre ‘let out air’. This was a compound verb formed from the Latin prefix ex- ‘out’ and ventum ‘wind’ (source also of English ventilate [15] and distantly related to English wind). Vent ‘slit in the back of a garment’ [15] goes back via Old French fente to Vulgar Latin *findita ‘slit’, a noun use of the feminine past participle of Latin findere ‘split’ (source also of English fission [19] and fissure [14]).
=> ventilate, wind; fission, fissure
ventriloquist: ventriloquist: [17] A ventriloquist is etymologically a ‘stomach-speaker’. The word is an anglicization of late Latin ventriloquus, a compound formed from Latin venter ‘stomach’ (source also of English ventral [18] and ventricle [14]) and loquī ‘speak’ (source of English colloquial [18], elocution [15], eloquent [14], loquacious [17], etc).

The ultimate model for this was Greek eggastrímuthos ‘speaking in the stomach’. The term was originally a literal one; it referred to the supposed phenomenon of speaking from the stomach or abdomen, particularly as a sign of possession by an evil spirit. It was not used for the trick of throwing one’s voice until the end of the 18th century.
=> colloquial, elocution, eloquent, locution, loquatious, ventral, ventricle
advent (n.): "important arrival," 1742, an extended sense of Advent "season before Christmas" (Old English), from Latin adventus "a coming, approach, arrival," in Church Latin "the coming of the Savior," from past participle stem of advenire "arrive, come to," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + venire "to come" (see venue). In English, also sometimes extended to the Pentecost.
Adventist (n.): "one of a religious denomination that believes in or looks for the early second coming of Christ," 1843; see advent + -ist. Church Latin adventus was applied to the coming of the Savior, both the first or the anticipated second, hence Adventist was a name applied to millenarian sects, especially and originally the Millerites (U.S.).
adventitious (adj.): "of the nature of an addition from without," c. 1600, from Medieval Latin adventitius "coming from abroad, extraneous," a corruption of Latin adventicius "foreign, strange, accidental," from advent- past participle stem of advenire "arrive" (see advent). Related: Adventitiously; adventitiousness.
adventure (n.): c. 1200, auenture "that which happens by chance, fortune, luck," from Old French aventure (11c.) "chance, accident, occurrence, event, happening," from Latin adventura (res) "(a thing) about to happen," from adventurus, future participle of advenire "to come to, reach, arrive at," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + venire "to come" (see venue).

Meaning developed through "risk/danger" (a trial of one's chances), c. 1300, and "perilous undertaking" (late 14c.) and thence to "a novel or exciting incident" (1560s). Earlier it also meant "a wonder, a miracle; accounts of marvelous things" (13c.). The -d- was restored 15c.-16c. Venture is a 15c. variant.
adventure (v.): c. 1300, "to risk the loss of," from adventure (n.). Meaning "to take a chance" is early 14c. Related: Adventured; adventuring.
adventurer (n.): late 15c., "one who plays at games of chance," agent noun from adventure (v.). Meaning "one who seeks adventures" is from 1660s.
adventuresome (adj.): 1731, from adventure + -some (1).
adventurous (adj.): mid-14c., "hazardous" (also "occurring by chance," late 14c.), from Old French aventuros "chance, accidental, fortuitous;" of persons, "devoted to adventure" (Modern French aventureux), from aventure (see adventure (n.)). Sense evolution is through "rash, risk-taking" (c. 1400), "daring, fond of adventure" (mid-15c.).
aliveness (n.): 1853, from alive + -ness.
antivenin (n.): 1894, from anti- + venin, from venom + chemical suffix -in (2). Perhaps immediately from French antivenin.
assertiveness (n.): "tendency toward self-assertion," 1881, from assertive + -ness.
attentiveness (n.): mid-15c., from attentive + -ness.
avenge (v.): late 14c., from Anglo-French avenger, Old French avengier, from a- "to" (see ad-) + vengier "take revenge" (Modern French venger), from Latin vindicare "to claim, avenge, punish" (see vindicate). Related: Avenged; avenging.
avenger (n.): 1530s, agent noun from avenge (v.). Spenser (1596) has avengeress but no mention of Mrs. Peel.
avenue (n.): c. 1600, "a way of approach" (originally a military word), from Middle French avenue "way of access," from Old French avenue "act of approaching, arrival," noun use of fem. of avenu, past participle of avenir "to come to, arrive," from Latin advenire "to come to," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + venire "to come" (see venue). Meaning shifted to "a way of approach to a country-house," usually bordered by trees, hence, "a broad, tree-lined roadway" (1650s), then to "wide, main street" (by 1846, especially in U.S.).
breakeven (adj.): also break-even; usually with point, 1938, from break (v.) + even (adv.). The verbal phrase in the financial sense is recorded from 1914.
circumvent (v.): mid-15c., "to surround by hostile stratagem," from Latin circumventus, past participle of circumvenire "to get around, be around, encircle, surround," in figurative sense "to oppress, assail, cheat," from circum "around" (see circum-) + venire "to come" (see venue). Meaning "to go round" is from 1840. Related: Circumvented; circumventing.
circumvention (n.): early 15c., from Latin circumventionem (nominative circumventio), noun of action from past participle stem of circumvenire "to get around" (see circumvent).
cloven (adj.): "divided, split," Old English clofen, past participle adjective from cleave (v.1).
connivence (n.): 1590s, from Latin conniventia, from conniventem (nominative connivens), present participle of connivere (see connive). Spelling with -a- prevailed after early 18c., but is unetymological.