英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

murder (v.)[murder 词源字典]: Old English myrðrian, from Proto-Germanic *murthjan (cognates: Old High German murdran, German mördren, Gothic maurþjan; see murder (n.)). Related: Murdered; murdering.[murder etymology, murder origin, 英语词源]
murderer (n.): mid-14c., alteration of murtherer (c. 1300), agent noun from murder (v.); in part from Old French mordrere, from Medieval Latin murdrarius, from Germanic. Old English words for this included morðorcwalu, morðorslaga, morðorwyrhta, literally "murder-wright." The original murderer's row was in New York City's Tombs prison; figurative use in baseball dates to 1858, though the quintessential one was the 1927 New York Yankees. Fem. form murderess attested from late 14c. Murderee (1920) never caught on.
murderous (adj.): 1530s, a hybrid from murder + -ous. An Old English word for it was morðorhycgende. Related: Murderously; murderousness.
murex (n.): kind of shellfish which yields a purple dye, 1580s, from Latin murex (plural murices) "purple fish, purple dye," probably cognate with Greek myax "sea mussel," of unknown origin, perhaps related to mys "mouse" (see muscle (n.) and mussel).
Muriel: fem. proper name, probably Celtic and meaning literally "sea bright;" compare Welsh Meriel, Meryl, Irish Muirgheal, earlier Muirgel, from muir "sea" (see mere (n.)) + geal "bright."
murine (adj.): c. 1600, from Latin murinus, from mus "mouse" (see mouse (n.)).
murk (n): c. 1300, myrke, from Old Norse myrkr "darkness," from Proto-Germanic *merkwjo- (cognates: Old English mirce "murky, black, dark; murkiness, darkness," Danish mǿrk "darkness," Old Saxon mirki "dark"); cognate with Old Church Slavonic mraku, Serbo-Croatian mrak, Russian mrak "darkness;" Lithuanian merkti "shut the eyes, blink," from PIE *mer- "to flicker" (see morn). Murk Monday was long the name in Scotland for the great solar eclipse of March 29, 1652 (April 8, New Style).
murky (adj.): mid-14c., from murk + -y (2). Rare before 17c. Related: Murkily; murkiness.
murmur (n.): late 14c., "expression of discontent by grumbling," from Old French murmure "murmur, sound of human voices; trouble, argument" (12c.), noun of action from murmurer "to murmur," from Latin murmurare "to murmur, mutter," from murmur (n.) "a hum, muttering, rushing," probably from a PIE reduplicative base *mor-mor, of imitative origin (cognates: Sanskrit murmurah "crackling fire," Greek mormyrein "to roar, boil," Lithuanian murmlenti "to murmur"). Meaning "softly spoken words" is from 1670s.
murmur (v.): late 14c., from Old French murmurer "murmur, grouse, grumble" (12c.), from murmur "rumbling noise" (see murmur (n.)). Related: Murmured; murmuring.
murmuring (n.): late 14c., verbal noun from murmur (v.).
Murphy: Gaelic Murchadh "sea-warrior." The Celtic "sea" element is also in names Muriel (q.v.), Murdoch (Old Irish Muireadhach, Old Welsh Mordoc "mariner"), etc. Murphy bed (1925) is named for U.S. inventor William Lawrence Murphy (1876-1959). By happy coincidence, Murphy was an illiterate 18c.-19c. perversion of Morpheus, god of sleep.
Murphy's law: 1958, used of various pessimistic aphorisms. If there ever was a real Murphy his identity is lost to history. Said to be military originally, and probably pre-dates the earliest printed example (the 1958 citation calls it "an old military maxim").
murrain (n.): "cattle plague," early 14c., from Anglo-French moryn, Old French moraine "pestilence" (12c.), probably from mourir "to die," from Latin mori (see mortal (adj.)).
muscat (n.): type of wine, 1570s, from French, from Italian moscato, literally "musky-flavored," from Vulgar Latin *muscatus, from Latin muscus (see musk).
Muscat: capital of Oman, from Arabic Masqat, said to mean "hidden" (it is isolated from the interior by hills).
muscatel (n.): 1530s, variant of muskadell (c. 1400), from Old French muscadel, from Old Provençal *muscadel, diminutive of muscat "(grape) with the fragrance of musk" (see muscat).
muscle (n.): late 14c., from Middle French muscle "muscle, sinew" (14c.) and directly from Latin musculus "a muscle," literally "little mouse," diminutive of mus "mouse" (see mouse (n.)).

So called because the shape and movement of some muscles (notably biceps) were thought to resemble mice. The analogy was made in Greek, too, where mys is both "mouse" and "muscle," and its comb. form gives the medical prefix myo-. Compare also Old Church Slavonic mysi "mouse," mysica "arm;" German Maus "mouse; muscle," Arabic 'adalah "muscle," 'adal "field mouse." In Middle English, lacerte, from the Latin word for "lizard," also was used as a word for a muscle.
Musclez & lacertez bene one selfe þing, Bot þe muscle is said to þe fourme of mouse & lacert to þe fourme of a lizard. [Guy de Chauliac, "Grande Chirurgie," c. 1425]
Hence muscular and mousy are relatives, and a Middle English word for "muscular" was lacertous, "lizardy." Figurative sense of "force, violence, threat of violence" is 1930, American English. Muscle car "hot rod" is from 1969.
muscle (v.): 1913, "to accomplish by strength," from muscle (n.). Related: Muscled; muscling. To muscle in is 1929 in underworld slang.
muscle-bound (adj.): 1879, from muscle (n.) + bound, past participle of bind (v.).