英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

atrophy (v.)[atrophy 词源字典]: 1822 (implied in atrophied), from atrophy (n.). Related: Atrophying.[atrophy etymology, atrophy origin, 英语词源]
atropine (n.): 1836, from Latin atropa "deadly nightshade" (from which the alkaloid poison is extracted), from Greek atropos "inflexible," also the name of one of the Fates (see Atropos) + chemical suffix -ine (2).
Atropos: one of the Fates (the one who holds the shears and determines the manner of a person's death and cuts the thread), from Greek, "inflexible," literally "not to be turned away," from a- "not" (see a- (3)) + stem of trepein "to turn" (see trope). Related form Atropa was the Greek name for deadly nightshade.
attaboy: 1909, probably from common pronunciation of "that's the boy!" a cheer of encouragement or approval.
attach (v.): mid-14c. (mid-13c. in Anglo-Latin), "to take or seize (property or goods) by law," a legal term, from Old French atachier (11c.), earlier estachier "to attach, fix; stake up, support" (Modern French attacher, also compare Italian attaccare), perhaps from a- "to" + Frankish *stakon "a post, stake" or a similar Germanic word (see stake (n.)). Meaning "to fasten, affix, connect" is from c. 1400. Related: Attached; attaching.
attachable (adj.): 1570s, from attach + -able.
attache (n.): 1835, from French attaché "junior officer attached to the staff of an ambassador, etc.," literally "attached," past participle of attacher "to attach" (see attach). Attache case "small leather case for carrying papers" first recorded 1900.
attached (adj.): "affectionate, devoted, fond," 1793, past participle adjective from attach.
attachment (n.): c. 1400, "arrest of a person on judicial warrant" (mid-13c. in Anglo-Latin), from French attachement, from attacher (see attach). Application to property (including, later, wages) dates from 1590s; meaning "sympathy, devotion" is recorded from 1704; that of "something that is attached to something else" dates from 1797 and has become perhaps the most common use since the rise of e-mail.
attack (v.): c. 1600, from French attaquer (16c.), from Florentine Italian attaccare (battaglia) "join (battle)," thus the word is a doublet of attach, which was used 15c.-17c. also in the sense now reserved to attack. Related: Attacked; attacking.
attack (n.): 1660s, from attack (v.). Compare Middle English attach "a seizure or attack" (of fever), late 14c.
attain (v.): c. 1300, "to succeed in reaching," from ataign-, stem of Old French ataindre (11c., Modern French atteindre) "to come up to, reach, attain, endeavor, strive," from Vulgar Latin *attangere, corresponding to Latin attingere "to touch, to arrive at," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + tangere "to touch" (see tangent (adj.)). Latin attingere had a wide range of meanings, including "to attack, to strike, to appropriate, to manage," all somehow suggested by the literal sense "to touch." Related: Attained; attaining.
attainable (adj.): 1640s; see attain + -able. Related: Attainability.
attainder (n.): "extinction of rights of a person sentenced to death or outlaw," mid-15c., from noun use of Old French ataindre "to touch upon, strike, hit, seize, accuse, condemn" (see attain). For use of French infinitives as nouns, especially in legal language, see waiver.
attainment (n.): late 14c., "encroachment" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French ataignement (Modern French atteignement), from ataindre; see attain. Meaning "action of attaining" is from 1540s; sense of "that which is attained, personal accomplishment" dates from 1670s.
attar (n.): 1798, from Persian 'atar-gul "essence of roses," from 'atar "fragrance," from Arabic 'utur "perfumes, aromas."
attemper (v.): late 14c., from Old French attemprer, from Latin attemperare, from ad- "to" (see ad-) + temperare (see temper (v.)). Related: Attempered; attempering.
attempt (v.): late 14c., from Old French attempter (14c.), earlier atenter "to try, attempt, test," from Latin attemptare "to try" (cognates: Italian attentare, Old Provençal, Portuguese attentar, Spanish atentar), from ad- "to, upon" (see ad-) + temptare "to try" (see tempt). Related: Attempted; attempting.
attempt (n.): 1530s, from attempt (v.). Meaning "effort to accomplish something by violence" is from 1580s, especially as an assault on someone's life.
attend (v.): c. 1300, "to direct one's mind or energies," from Old French atendre (12c., Modern French attendre) "to expect, wait for, pay attention," and directly from Latin attendere "give heed to," literally "to stretch toward," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + tendere "stretch" (see tenet). The notion is of "stretching" one's mind toward something. Sense of "take care of, wait upon" is from early 14c. Meaning "to pay attention" is early 15c.; that of "to be in attendance" is mid-15c. Related: Attended; attending.