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asthma [asthma 词源字典]: asthma: [14] The original idea contained in asthma is that of ‘breathing hard’. The Greek noun asthma was derived from the verb ázein ‘breathe hard’ (related to áein ‘blow’, from which English gets air). In its earliest form in English it was asma, reflecting its immediate source in medieval Latin, and though the Greek spelling was restored in the 16th century, the word’s pronunciation has for the most part stuck with asma.
=> air[asthma etymology, asthma origin, 英语词源]
drachma: drachma: see dram
henchman: henchman: [14] Early spellings such as hengestman and henxstman suggest that this word is a compound of Old English hengest ‘stallion’ and man ‘man’. There are chronological difficulties, for hengest seems to have gone out of general use in the 13th century, and henchman is not recorded until the mid-14th century, but it seems highly likely nevertheless that the compound must originally have meant ‘horse servant, groom’.

The word hengest would no doubt have remained alive in popular consciousness as the name of the Jutish chieftain Hengist who conquered Kent in the 5th century with his brother Horsa; it is related to modern German hengst ‘stallion’, and goes back ultimately to a prehistoric Indo-European kənku-, which denoted ‘jump’. Henchman remained in use for ‘squire’ or ‘page’ until the 17th century, but then seems to have drifted out of use, and it was Sir Walter Scott who revived it in the early 19th century, in the sense ‘trusty right-hand man’.
schmaltz: schmaltz: see enamel
arithmancy (n.): "divination by numbers," 1570s, from Greek arithmos "number" (see arithmetic) + -manteia "divination" (see -mancy).
asthma (n.): late 14c. asma, asma, from Latin asthma, from Greek asthma "short breath, a panting," from azein "breathe hard," probably related to anemos "wind." The -th- was restored in English 16c.
asthmatic (adj.): 1540s, from Latin asthmaticus, from Greek asthmatikos, from asthma (see asthma). Noun meaning "person with asthma" is recorded from 1610s.
benchmark (n.): also bench-mark, "surveyor's point of reference," 1838, from a specialized surveyors' use of bench (n.) + mark (n.1); figurative sense is from 1884.
birthmark (n.): also birth-mark, by 1805, from birth (n.) + mark (n.1). Birth marks in 17c. could be longing marks; supposedly they showed the image of something longed for by the mother while expecting. Related: Birthmarked.
Brahma: 1785, from Sanskrit Brahma, nominative of Brahman, chief god of the trinity Brahma-Vishnu-Siva in post-Vedic Hindu religion (see brahmin).
Brahman: see brahmin.
Brahmaputra: river in Asia, Hindi, literally "son of Brahma."
Bushman (n.): 1785, from South African Dutch boschjesman, literally "man of the bush," from boschje, from Dutch bosje, diminutive of bosch, bos (see bush (n.)).
churchman (n.): mid-13c., from church (n.) + man (n.).
coachman (n.): 1570s, from coach (n.) + man (n.).
drachma (n.): 1570s, from Latinized form of Greek drakhme, an Attic coin and weight, probably originally "a handful" (see dram). Earlier in English as dragme (late 14c.), from Old French dragme, from Medieval Latin dragma.
Dutchman (n.): "Dutch ship," 1650s, from Dutch (adj.) + man (n.). References to the ghost ship called the Flying Dutchman seem to begin early 19c. (see flying).
earthman (n.): also earth-man, 1860, "a spirit of nature; a demon who lives below the ground," from earth (n.) + man (n.). Science fiction sense of "inhabitant of the planet Earth" first attested 1949 in writing of Robert Heinlein.
Englishman: Old English Engliscman, from English (n.1) + man (n.). Related: Englishmen. Englishwoman is from c. 1400. Englander "native of England" is from 1820; in some cases from German Engländer. Englisher is from 1680s. Englishry is from late 13c. in Anglo-French as "state of being English;" from mid-15c. as "the English people or faction."
freshman (n.): 1550s, "newcomer, novice," from fresh (adj.1) in the sense "making one's first acquaintance, inexperienced" + man (n.). Sense of "university student in first year" is attested from 1590s. As an adjective by 1805. Freshwoman is from 1620s. Related: Freshmen; freshmanic, freshmanship, freshmanhood.
henchman (n.): mid-14c., hengestman, later henshman (mid-15c.) "high-ranking servant (usually of gentle birth), attendant upon a king, nobleman, etc.," originally "groom," probably from man (n.) + Old English hengest "horse, stallion, gelding," from Proto-Germanic *hangistas (cognates: Old Frisian hengst, Dutch hengest, German Hengst "stallion"), perhaps literally "best at springing," from PIE *kenku- (cognates: Greek kekiein "to gush forth;" Lithuanian sokti "to jump, dance;" Breton kazek "a mare," literally "that which belongs to a stallion").

Perhaps modeled on Old Norse compound hesta-maðr "horse-boy, groom." The word became obsolete in England but was retained in Scottish as "personal attendant of a Highland chief," in which sense Scott revived it in literary English from 1810. Sense of "obedient or unscrupulous follower" is first recorded 1839, probably based on a misunderstanding of the word as used by Scott.
Irishman (n.): c. 1200, from Irish + man (n.).
Ishmael: masc. proper name, biblical son of Abraham and Hagar, from Hebrew Yishma'el, literally "God hears," from yishma, imperf. of shama "he heard." The Arabs claim descent from him. Figurative sense of "an outcast," "whose hand is against every man, and every man's hand against him" is from Gen. xvi:12.
Kathmandu: Nepalese capital, from Nepalese Kathmandu, from kath "wooden" + mandu "temple."
marshmallow (n.): Old English mersc-mealwe "kind of mallow plant (Althea officinalis) which grows near salt marshes;" from marsh + mallow. The confection (so called from 1877) originally was made from paste from the roots of this plant. The Greek word for the plant, althaea, is from althein "to heal."
matchmaker (n.): also match-maker, "marriage-broker," 1630s, from match (n.2) + maker. Related: Match-making.
mishmash (n.): also mish-mash, mid-15c., mysse-masche, probably an imitative reduplication of mash (n.).
pitchman (n.): 1926, American English, from pitch (n.1) in the sales sense + man (n.).
schmaltz (n.): "banal or excessive sentimentalism," 1935, from Yiddish shmalts, literally "melted fat," from Middle High German smalz, from Old High German smalz "animal fat," related to smelzan "to melt" (see smelt (v.)). Modern German Schmalz "fat, grease" has the same figurative meaning. First mentioned in English as "a derogatory term used to describe straight jazz" ["Vanity Fair," Nov. 1935].
schmaltzy (adj.): 1935, from schmaltz + -y (2). Related: Schmaltziness.
watchmaker (n.): 1620s, from watch (n.) in the "timepiece" sense + maker.
watchman (n.): also watch-man, c. 1400, "guard, sentinel, lookout" (late 12c. as a surname), figuratively "guardian, protector" (mid-15c.), from watch (n.) + man (n.). Also "person characterized by wakefulness" (mid-15c.).
Welshman (n.): Old English Wilisc mon; see Welsh + man (n.).
Deutschmark: "(Until the introduction of the euro in 2002) the basic monetary unit of Germany, equal to 100 pfennig", From German deutsche Mark 'German mark'.
yashmak: "A veil concealing all of the face except the eyes, worn by some Muslim women in public", Mid 19th century: via Arabic from Turkish.
Northman: "A native or inhabitant of Scandinavia, especially of Norway", Old English (see north, man).