Fortran (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict[Fortran 词源字典]
computer programming language, 1956, from combination of elements from formula + translation.[Fortran etymology, Fortran origin, 英语词源]
fortress (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
early 14c., from Old French forteresse, forterece "strong place, fortification" (12c.), variant of fortelesse, from Medieval Latin fortalitia, from Latin fortis "strong" (see fort) + -itia, added to adjectives to form nouns of quality or condition. French -ess from Latin -itia also is in duress, largesse, riches. For change of medial -l- to -r- in Old French, compare orne "elm" from Latin ulmus; chartre from cartula; chapitre from capitulum.
fortuitous (adj.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
1650s, from Latin fortuitus "happening by chance, casual, accidental," from forte "by chance," ablative of fors "chance" (related to fortuna; see fortune). It means "accidental, undesigned" not "fortunate." Earlier in this sense was fortuit (late 14c.), from French. Related: Fortuitously; fortuitousness.
fortuity (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
1747, from stem of fortuitous + -ity.
fortunate (adj.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
late 14c., "having good fortune; bringing good fortune," from Latin fortunatus "prospered, prosperous; lucky, happy," past participle of fortunare "to make prosperous," from fortuna (see fortune). Fortunate Islands "mythical abode of the blessed dead, in the Western Ocean" (early 15c.; late 14c. as Ilondes of fortune) translates Latin Fortunatae Insulae.
fortunately (adv.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
"by (good) fortune," 1540s, from fortunate + -ly (2).
fortune (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
c. 1300, "chance, luck as a force in human affairs," from Old French fortune "lot, good fortune, misfortune" (12c.), from Latin fortuna "chance, fate, good luck," from fors (genitive fortis) "chance, luck," possibly ultimately from PIE root *bher- (1) "to carry" (see infer). If so, the sense might be "that which is brought."

Sense of "owned wealth" is first found in Spenser; probably it evolved from senses of "one's condition or standing in life," hence "position as determined by wealth," then "wealth, large estate" itself. Often personified as a goddess; her wheel betokens vicissitude. Soldier of fortune first attested 1660s. Fortune 500 "most profitable American companies" is 1955, from the list published annually in "Fortune" magazine. Fortune-hunter "one who seeks to marry for wealth" is from 1680s.
fortune cookie (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
by 1955, said to have been invented in 1918 by David Jung, Chinese immigrant to America who established Hong Kong Noodle Co., who handed out cookies that contained uplifting messages as a promotional gimmick.
fortune-teller (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
also fortuneteller, 1580s, from fortune + teller. Verbal phrase tellen fortune is from early 15c.; verbal noun fortune-telling is by 1570s.
forty (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
early 12c., feowerti, from Old English feowertig, Northumbrian feuortig "forty," from feower "four" (see four) + tig "group of ten" (see -ty (1)). Compare Old Saxon fiwartig, Old Frisian fiuwertich, Dutch veertig, Old High German fiorzug, German vierzig, Old Norse fjorir tigir, Gothic fidwor tigjus.
[T]he number 40 must have been used very frequently by Mesha's scribe as a round number. It is probably often used in that way in the Bible where it is remarkably frequent, esp. in reference to periods of days or years. ... How it came to be so used is not quite certain, but it may have originated, partly at any rate, in the idea that 40 years constituted a generation or the period at the end of which a man attains maturity, an idea common, it would seem, to the Greeks, the Israelites, and the Arabs. ["The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia," James Orr, ed., Chicago, 1915]
Forty winks "short sleep" is attested from 1821; in early use associated with, and perhaps coined by, English eccentric and lifestyle reformer William Kitchiner M.D. (1775-1827). Forty-niner in U.S. history was an adventurer to California (usually from one of the eastern states) in search of fortune during the gold rush of 1849.
forum (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
mid-15c., "place of assembly in ancient Rome," from Latin forum "marketplace, open space, public place," apparently akin to foris, foras "out of doors, outside," from PIE root *dhwer- "door, doorway" (see door). Sense of "assembly, place for public discussion" first recorded 1680s.
forward (adv.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
Old English forewearde "toward the front, in front; toward the future; at the beginning;" see fore + -ward. Adjectival sense of "early" is from 1520s; that of "presumptuous" is attested from 1560s. The Old English adjective meant "inclined to the front; early; former."
forward (v.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
1590s, "to help push forward," from forward (adv.). Meaning "to send (a letter, etc.) on to another destination" is from 1757; later of e-mail. Related: Forwarded; forwarding.
forward (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
Old English foreweard, "the fore or front part" of something, "outpost; scout;" see forward (adv.). The position in football so called since 1879.
forwardness (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
1520s, "condition of being in advance," from forward + -ness. Meaning "presumptuousness" is from c. 1600. Old English foreweardness meant "a beginning."
forwards (adv.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
c. 1400, from forward (adv.) + adverbial genitive -s. British English until mid-20c. preserved the distinction between forward and forwards, the latter expressing "a definite direction viewed in contrast with other directions." In American English, however, forward prevails in all senses since Webster (1832) damned forwards as "a corruption."
fosse (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
"ditch, trench," early 14c. (late 13c. in place names), from Old French fosse "ditch, grave, dungeon" (12c.), from Latin fossa "ditch, trench, furrow," in full fossa terra, literally "dug earth," from fem. past participle of fodere "to dig" (see fossil). The Fosse-way (early 12c.), one of the four great Roman roads of Britain, probably was so named from the ditch on either side of it.
fossil (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
1610s, "any thing dug up;" 1650s (adj.) "obtained by digging" (of coal, salt, etc.), from French fossile (16c.), from Latin fossilis "dug up," from fossus, past participle of fodere "to dig," from PIE root *bhedh- "to dig, pierce."

Restricted noun sense of "geological remains of a plant or animal" is from 1736 (the adjective in the sense "pertaining to fossils" is from 1660s); slang meaning "old person" first recorded 1859. Fossil fuel (1833) preserves the earlier, broader sense.
fossiliferous (adj.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
by 1830, from fossil + -ferous "producing, containing," from ferre "to bear" (see infer).
fossilization (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
noun of action from fossilize.