英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

boring (adj.)[boring 词源字典]: mid-15c., "action of piercing," from bore (v.). From 1853 in reference to animals that bore; 1840 in the sense "wearying, causing ennui."[boring etymology, boring origin, 英语词源]
Boris: Slavic masc. proper name, literally "fight," from Slavic root *bor- "to fight, overcome" (see bore (v.)).
bork (v.): 1987, "to discredit a candidate for some position by savaging his or her career and beliefs," from name of U.S. jurist Robert H. Bork (1927-2012), whose Supreme Court nomination in 1987 was rejected after an intense counter-campaign.
born: Old English boren, alternative past participle of beran (see bear (v.)). Distinction between born and borne is 17c.
born-again (adj.): of Protestant Christians, by 1920, based on John iii:3. Used in figurative (non-religious) sense by 1977.
borne: past participle of bear (v.).
Borneo: large island in Indonesia, from Portuguese alteration of Brunei, which is today the name of a sultanate on the island. This is Hindi and probably ultimately from Sanskrit bhumi "land, region."
boron (n.): 1812, from borax + ending abstracted unetymologically from carbon (it resembles carbon). Originally called boracium by Humphrey Davy because it was drawn from boracic acid. Related: Boric.
borough (n.): Old English burg, burh "a dwelling or dwellings within a fortified enclosure," from Proto-Germanic *burgs "hill fort, fortress" (cognates: Old Frisian burg "castle," Old Norse borg "wall, castle," Old High German burg, buruc "fortified place, citadel," German Burg "castle," Gothic baurgs "city"), from PIE root *bhergh- (2) "high," with derivatives referring to hills, hill forts, fortified elevations (source also of Old English beorg "hill;" see barrow (n.2)).

In German and Old Norse, chiefly as "fortress, castle;" in Gothic, "town, civic community." Meaning shifted in Middle English from "fortress," to "fortified town," to simply "town" (especially one possessing municipal organization or sending representatives to Parliament). In U.S. (originally Pennsylvania, 1718) often an incorporated town; in Alaska, however, it is the equivalent of a county. The Scottish form is burgh. The Old English dative singular byrig survives in many place names as -bury.
borrow (v.): Old English borgian "to lend, be surety for," from Proto-Germanic *borg "pledge" (cognates: Old English borg "pledge, security, bail, debt," Old Norse borga "to become bail for, guarantee," Middle Dutch borghen "to protect, guarantee," Old High German boragen "to beware of," German borgen "to borrow; to lend"), from PIE root *bhergh- (1) "to hide, protect" (see bury). Sense shifted in Old English to "borrow," apparently on the notion of collateral deposited as security for something borrowed. Related: Borrowed; borrowing.
borscht (n.): 1884, from Russian borshch "cow parsnip," which was an original recipe ingredient. Borscht belt "region of predominantly Jewish resorts in and around the Catskill Mountains of New York" (also known as the Yiddish Alps) is by 1938.
bort (n.): "waste diamonds, small chips from diamond-cutting," of unknown origin, perhaps related to Old French bort "bastard."
borzoi (n.): Russian wolfhound, 1887, from Russian borzoy, literally "swift, quick" (compare Czech brzy, Serbo-Croatian brzo "quickly," Lithuanian bruzdeti "to hurry").
bose (n.): "to seek for hollows underground by ramming the ground and observing the vibrations," 1929, ultimately from Scottish word boss "hollow, empty" (1510s), earlier a noun meaning "small cask, wine flask" (late 14c.).
bosh (n.): "empty talk, nonsense," 1834, from Turkish, literally "empty." Introduced in "Ayesha," popular romance novel by J.J. Morier (1780-1849).
Bosnia: named for the River Bosna, which is perhaps from an Indo-European root *bhog- "current." As a name or adjective for someone there, Bosnian (1788) is older in English than Bosniac (1836, from Russian Bosnyak).
bosom (n.): Old English bosm "breast; womb; surface; ship's hold," from West Germanic *bosm- (cognates: Old Frisian bosm, Old Saxon bosom, Middle Dutch boesem, Dutch boezem, Old High German buosam, German Busen "bosom, breast"), perhaps from PIE root *bhou- "to grow, swell," or *bhaghus "arm" (in which case the primary notion would be "enclosure formed by the breast and the arms"). Narrowed meaning "a woman's breasts" is from 1959; but bosomy "big-breasted" is from 1928. Bosom-friend is attested 1580s; bosom buddy from 1920s.
boson (n.): class of subatomic particles, named for Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose (1894-1974) + subatomic particle suffix -on.
boss (n.1): "overseer," 1640s, American English, from Dutch baas "a master," Middle Dutch baes, of obscure origin. If original sense was "uncle," perhaps it is related to Old High German basa "aunt," but some sources discount this theory. The Dutch form baas is attested in English from 1620s as the standard title of a Dutch ship's captain. The word's popularity in U.S. may reflect egalitarian avoidance of master (n.) as well as the need to distinguish slave from free labor. The slang adjective meaning "excellent" is recorded in 1880s, revived, apparently independently, in teen and jazz slang in 1950s.
boss (n.2): "protuberance, button," c. 1300, from Old French boce "a hump, swelling, tumor" (12c., Modern French bosse), from either Frankish *botija or Vulgar Latin *bottia, both which is of uncertain origin.