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fractal (n.)[fractal 词源字典]: "never-ending pattern," 1975, from French fractal, from Latin fractus "interrupted, irregular," literally "broken," past participle of frangere "to break" (see fraction). Coined by French mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot (1924-2010) in "Les Objets Fractals."
Many important spatial patterns of Nature are either irregular or fragmented to such an extreme degree that ... classical geometry ... is hardly of any help in describing their form. ... I hope to show that it is possible in many cases to remedy this absence of geometric representation by using a family of shapes I propose to call fractals -- or fractal sets. [Mandelbrot, "Fractals," 1977]
[fractal etymology, fractal origin, 英语词源]
fraction (n.): late 14c., originally in the mathematical sense, from Anglo-French fraccioun (Old French fraccion, "a breaking," 12c., Modern French fraction) and directly from Late Latin fractionem (nominative fractio) "a breaking," especially into pieces, in Medieval Latin "a fragment, portion," noun of action from past participle stem of Latin frangere "to break (something) in pieces, shatter, fracture," from Proto-Italic *frang-, from a nasalized variant of PIE root *bhreg- "to break" (cognates: Sanskrit (giri)-bhraj "breaking-forth (out of the mountains);" Gothic brikan, Old English brecan "to break;" Lithuanian brasketi "crash, crack;" Old Irish braigim "break wind"). Meaning "a breaking or dividing" in English is from early 15c.; sense of "broken off piece, fragment," is from c. 1600.
fractional (adj.): 1670s, from fraction + -al (1). Related: Fractionally.
fractious (adj.): "apt to quarrel," 1725, from fraction in an obsolete sense of "a brawling, discord" (c. 1500) + -ous; probably on model of captious. Related: Fractiously; fractiousness.
fracture (n.): early 15c., "a breaking of a bone," from Middle French fracture (14c.), from Latin fractura "a breach, break, cleft," from fractus, past participle of frangere "to break" (see fraction). As "a broken surface" from 1794.
fracture (v.): "cause a fracture in" (transitive), 1610s (implied in fractured), from fracture (n.). Intransitive meaning "become fractured" is from 1830. Related: Fracturing.
frag (v.): by 1970, U.S. military slang, back-formed verb from slang noun shortening of fragmentation grenade (1918), which was said to have been the weapon of choice over a firearm because the evidence is destroyed in the act. Related: Fragged; fragging.
fragile (adj.): 1510s, "liable to sin, morally weak;" c. 1600, "liable to break;" a back-formation from fragility, or else from Middle French fragile (Old French fragele, 14c.), from Latin fragilis "easily broken," from root of frangere "to break" (see fraction). Transferred sense of "of frail constitution" (of persons) is from 1858.
fragility (n.): late 14c., "moral weakness," from Old French fragilité "debility, frailty" (12c.), from Latin fragilitatem (nominative fragilitas) "brittleness, weakness," from fragilis "brittle, easily broken," from root of frangere "to break" (see fraction). Meaning "quality of being easily broken" is from late 15c.
fragment (n.): early 15c., "small piece or part," from Latin fragmentum "a fragment, remnant," literally "a piece broken off," from root of frangere "to break" (see fraction).
fragment (v.): by 1788 (implied in fragmented), from fragment (n.). Intransitive use from 1961. Related: Fragmenting.
fragmentary (adj.): 1610s, but mainly a dictionary word until early 19c., from fragment (n.) + -ary. Fragmental was used from 1798.
fragmentation (n.): "a breaking up into parts," 1842, noun of action from fragment (v.). Fragmentation grenade attested from 1918.
fragrance (n.): 1660s, from French fragrance or directly from Late Latin fragrantia, from stem of Latin fragrans "sweet-smelling" (see fragrant). Related: Fragrancy (1570s).
fragrant (adj.): mid-15c., from Latin fragrantem (nominative fragrans) "sweet-smelling," present participle of fragrare "smell strongly, emit (a sweet) odor," from Proto-Italic *fragro-, from PIE root *bhrag- "to smell" (cognates: Old Irish broimm "break wind," Middle High German bræhen "to smell," Middle Dutch bracke, Old High German braccho "hound, setter;" see brach). Usually of pleasing or agreeable smells, but sometimes ironic. Related: Fragrantly.
fraidy-cat (n.): "coward," by 1871, American English slang, from 'fraid (by 1816), childish or dialectal (African, West Indies) pronunciation of afraid, + cat (n.), perhaps in reference to the animals' instinct to scatter when startled.
frail (adj.): mid-14c., "morally weak," from Old French fraile, frele "weak, frail, sickly, infirm" (12c., Modern French frêle), from Latin fragilis "easily broken" (see fragility). It is the Frenchified form of fragile. Sense of "easily destroyed, liable to break" in English is from late 14c. The U.S. slang noun meaning "a woman" is attested from 1908; perhaps with awareness of Shakespeare's "Frailty, thy name is woman."
frailty (n.): mid-14c., freylte, from Old French fraileté "frailty, weakness," from Latin fragilitatem (nominative fragilitas) "weakness, frailty," from fragilis "fragile" (see fragility). Related: Frailties.
fraktur (n.): 1886, Fractur, "German black-lettering," from German Fraktur "black-letter, Gothic type," also "a fracture, a break," from Latin fractura (see fracture (n.)). So called from its angular, "broken" letters. The style was common in German printing from c. 1540 and thence was transferred to Pennsylvania German arts that incorporate the lettering.
framboise (n.): 1570s, from French framboise "raspberry" (12c.), usually explained as a corruption (by influence of French fraise "strawberry") of Dutch braambezie (cognate with German brombeere "blackberry," literally "bramble-berry"). "But some French scholars doubt this" [OED].