英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

melody (n.)[melody 词源字典]: late 13c., from Old French melodie "music, song, tune" (12c.), from Late Latin melodia, from Greek meloidia "a singing, a chanting, choral song, a tune for lyric poetry," from melos "song, part of song" (see melisma) + oide "song, ode" (see ode).[melody etymology, melody origin, 英语词源]
melon (n.): late 14c., from Old French melon (13c.), from Medieval Latin melonem (nominative melo), from Latin melopeponem, a kind of pumpkin, from Greek melopepon "gourd-apple" (name for several kinds of gourds bearing sweet fruit), from melon "apple" (see malic) + pepon, a kind of gourd, probably noun use of pepon "ripe" (see pumpkin).

In Greek, melon was used in a generic way for all foreign fruits (compare similar use of apple). The Greek plural of "melon" was used from ancient times for "a girl's breasts."
Melpomene: Muse of tragedy, from Latin, from Greek Melpomene, literally "songstress," from melpein "to sing," of unknown origin.
melt (v.): Old English meltan "become liquid, consume by fire, burn up" (class III strong verb; past tense mealt, past participle molten), from Proto-Germanic *meltanan; fused with Old English gemæltan (Anglian), gemyltan (West Saxon) "make liquid," from Proto-Germanic *gamaltijan (cognates: Old Norse melta "to digest"), both from PIE *meldh-, (cognates: Sanskrit mrduh "soft, mild," Greek meldein "to melt, make liquid," Latin mollis "soft, mild"), from root *mel- "soft," with derivatives referring to soft or softened (especially ground) materials (see mild). Figurative use by c. 1200. Related: Melted; melting.

Of food, to melt in (one's) mouth is from 1690s. Melting pot is from 1540s; figurative use from 1855; popularized with reference to America by play "The Melting Pot" by Israel Zangwill (1908).
melt (n.): 1854, "molten metal," from melt (v.). In reference to a type of sandwich topped by melted cheese, 1980, American English.
meltdown (n.): by 1937 in the ice-cream industry; by 1956 in reference to a nuclear reactor, from verbal phrase, from melt (v.) + down (adv.). Metaphoric extension since 1979.
Melvin: masc. proper name, from Old English Mælwine, literally "friend of the council," from mæl "council," from Proto-Germanic *mathla- (see blackmail) + wine "friend" (related to winnan "to strive, struggle, fight;" see win (v.)).
member (n.): late 13c., "sex organ" (compare Latin membrum virile, but in English originally of women as well as men), also, "body part or organ" (in plural, "the body"), from Old French membre "part, portion; topic, subject; limb, member of the body; member" (of a group, etc.)," 11c., from Latin membrum "limb, member of the body, part," probably from PIE *mems-ro, from root *mems- "flesh, meat" (cognates: Sanskrit mamsam "flesh;" Greek meninx "membrane," meros "thigh" (the "fleshy part"); Gothic mimz "flesh"). In English, sense of "person belonging to a group" is first attested early 14c., from notion of "constituent part of a complex structure." Meaning "one who has been elected to parliament" is from early 15c.
membership (n.): 1640s, "state of being a member," from member + -ship. Meaning "number of members" is from 1850.
membrane (n.): early 15c., "thin layer of skin or tissue," a term in anatomy, from Latin membrana "a skin, membrane; parchment (skin prepared for writing)," from membrum "limb, member of the body" (see member). The etymological sense is "that which covers the members of the body."
membranous (adj.): 1590s, from Middle French membraneux (16c.), from membrane, from Latin membrana (see membrane).
meme (n.): 1976, introduced by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in "The Selfish Gene," coined by him from Greek sources, such as mimeisthai "to imitate" (see mime), and intended to echo gene.
We need a name for the new replicator, a noun that conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation. 'Mimeme' comes from a suitable Greek root, but I want a monosyllable that sounds a bit like 'gene'. I hope my classicist friends will forgive me if I abbreviate mimeme to meme. If it is any consolation, it could alternatively be thought of as being related to 'memory', or to the French word même. It should be pronounced to rhyme with 'cream'. [Richard Dawkins, "The Selfish Gene," 1976]
memento (n.): c. 1400, "Psalm cxxxi in the Canon of the Mass" (which begins with the Latin word Memento and in which the dead are commemorated), from Latin memento "remember," imperative of meminisse "to remember, recollect, think of, bear in mind," a reduplicated form, related to mens "mind" (see mind (n.)). Meaning "reminder, object serving as a warning" is from 1580s; sense of "keepsake" is first recorded 1768.
memento mori (n.): "reminder of death," 1590s, Latin, literally "remember that you must die."
memo (n.): 1889, shortening of memorandum (q.v.).
memoir (n.): early 15c., "written record," from Anglo-French memorie "note, memorandum, something written to be kept in mind" (early 15c., Old French memoire), from Latin memoria (see memory). Meaning "person's written account of his life" is from 1670s.
memoirs (n.): "personal record of events," 1650s, plural of memoir.
memorabilia (n.): "things worth remembering," 1806, from Latin memorabilia "notable achievements," noun use of neuter plural of memorabilis "worthy of being remembered" (see memorable).
memorability (n.): 1660s, from memorable + -ity.
memorable (adj.): mid-15c., from Middle French mémorable, from Latin memorabilis "that may be told; worthy of being remembered, remarkable," from memorare "to bring to mind," from memor "mindful of" (see memory). Related: Memorably.