quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- primipara (n.)



[primipara 词源字典] - 1842, Modern Latin, from Latin primus "first" (see prime (adj.)) + parus (see -parous).[primipara etymology, primipara origin, 英语词源]
- primitive (adj.)




- late 14c., "of an original cause; of a thing from which something is derived; not secondary" (a sense now associated with primary), from Old French primitif "very first, original" (14c.) and directly from Latin primitivus "first or earliest of its kind," from primitus "at first," from primus "first" (see prime (adj.)).
Meaning "of or belonging to the first age" is from early 15c. Meaning "having the style of an early or ancient time" is from 1680s. In Christian sense of "adhering to the qualities of the early Church" it is recorded from 1680s. Of untrained artists from 1942. Related: Primitively. - primitive (n.)




- c. 1400, "original ancestor," from Latin primitivus (see primitive (adj.)). Meaning "aboriginal person in a land visited by Europeans" is from 1779, hence the sense "uncivilized person."
- primitivism (n.)




- 1861, from primitive + -ism. Related: Primitivist.
- primo




- 1740, in music terms, from Italian primo "first, chief," from Latin primus (see prime (adj.)). As slang for "excellent, first-class," perhaps an elaboration of prime. Of drugs, by 1990s, street slang.
- primogenitor (n.)




- "an ancestor," late 15c., from Medieval Latin primogenitor, from Latin primo (adv.) "first in order of time; at first," from primus "first" (see prime (adj.)) + genitor "father," from genitus, past participle of gignere "to beget" (see genus). Related: Primogenital; primogenitary. The fem. form is primogenitrix (1875). The rights of a second son are secundogeniture.
- primogeniture (n.)




- "right of succession of the first-born," c. 1600, from French primogeniture and directly from Medieval Latin primogenitura, from Late Latin primogenitus "first-born," from Latin primo (adv.) "first in order of time," from primus "first" (see prime (adj.)) + genitus, past participle of gignere "to beget" (see genus). Earlier it meant simply "fact of being first-born" (1590s).
- primordial (adj.)




- late 14c., from Late Latin primordialis "first of all, original," from Latin primordium "a beginning, the beginning, origin, commencement," from primus "first" (see prime (adj.)) + stem of ordiri "to begin" (see order (n.)). Related: Primordially.
- primp (v.)




- 1801, probably an extension of prim (q.v.) in its verbal "dress up" sense; compare Scottish primpit (c. 1739) "delicate, nice." Related: Primped; primping.
- primrose (n.)




- late 14c., prymrose, from Old French primerose, primerole (12c.) and directly from Medieval Latin prima rosa, literally "first rose," so called because it blooms early in spring (see prime (adj.)). As the name of a pale yellow color, by 1844.
Parallel name primula (c. 1100) is from Old French primerole, from Medieval Latin primula "primrose," shortened from primula veris "firstling of spring," thus properly fem. of Latin primulus, diminutive of primus; but primerole was used in Old French and Middle English of other flowers (cowslips, field daisies). The primrose path is from "Hamlet" I, iii. - primum mobile (n.)




- "the first source of motion," mid-15c., from Medieval Latin (11c.), literally "the first movable thing;" see prime (adj.) + mobile. A translation of Arabic al-muharrik al-awwal "the first moving" (Avicenna).
- primus




- Latin for "first, the first" (see prime (adj.)).
- prince (n.)




- c. 1200, "ruler of a principality" (mid-12c. as a surname), from Old French prince "prince, noble lord" (12c.), from Latin princeps (genitive principis) "first man, chief leader; ruler, sovereign," noun use of adjective meaning "that takes first," from primus "first" (see prime (adj.)) + root of capere "to take" (see capable). German cognate fürst, from Old High German furist "first," is apparently an imitation of the Latin formation. Colloquial meaning "admirable or generous person" is from 1911, American English. Prince Regent was the title of George, Prince of Wales (later George VI) during the mental incapacity of George III (1811-1820).
- Prince Albert




- "piercing that consists of a ring which goes through the urethra and out behind the glans," mid-20c., supposedly so-called from the modern legend that Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1819-1861), prince consort of Queen Victoria, had one.
But the term seems to be not older than bodyart maven Doug Malloy and his circle, and the stories about the prince may be fantastical inventions. Perhaps there is some connection with Albert underworld/pawnshop slang for "gold watch chain" (1861), which probably is from the common portraits of the prince in which he is shown with a conspicuous gold watch chain. Many fashions in male dress made popular by him bore his name late 19c. - Prince Charming




- 1837, from French Roi Charmant, name of the hero of Comtesse d'Aulnoy's "L'Oiseau Bleu" (1697). In English he was adopted into native fairy tales including "Sleeping Beauty" and "Cinderella."
As for me, I have always agreed with the fairy books that the moment when Prince Charming arrives is the perfect climax. Everything that goes before in the life of a girl simply leads up to that moment, and everything that comes after dates from it; and while the girl of the twentieth century, sallying forth in search of adventure, may not hope to meet at the next turn a knight in shining armor, or a sighing troubadour, she does hope, if she is normal and has the normal dreams of a girl, to find her hero in some of the men who pass her way. [Temple Bailey, "Adventures in Girlhood," Philadelphia, 1919]
- princeling (n.)




- 1610s, from prince + -ling.
- princely (adj.)




- c. 1500, "of a prince," from prince + -ly (2). Meaning "sumptuous, magnificent" is from 1530s.
- princess (n.)




- late 14c., "woman of royal or noble birth; daughter or wife of a ruler or prince; female ruler," a native formation, or else from Old French princesse, fem. of prince (see prince). Compare Medieval Latin principissa, Italian principessa. As a colloquial form of address to a woman or girl, it is recorded from 1924 (as a term of address to a lover, early 15c.).
- principal (adj.)




- c. 1300, "main, principal, chief, dominant, most important;" also "great, large," from Old French principal "main, most important," of persons, "princely, high-ranking" (11c.), from Latin principalis "first in importance; original, primitive," from princeps "first man, chief, leader" (see prince).
- principal (n.)




- c. 1300, "ruler, governor;" also "main part;" from principal (adj.) or from or influenced by noun uses in Old French and Latin. From mid-14c. in the sense of "money on which interest is paid;" 1827 as "person in charge of a public school," though meaning "head of a college or hall" was in English from mid-15c.