quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- pale
- pale: English has two words pale. The adjective [13] comes via Old French from Latin pallidus (source also of English appal – originally ‘turn pale’ – pall ‘become wearisome’ [14] – originally a shortening of appal – and pallid [17]). This was a derivative of the verb pallēre ‘be pale’, which was descended from *pol-, *pel-, the same Indo-European base as produced English fallow.
The noun pale [14] comes via Old French pal from Latin pālus ‘stake’. This was a descendant of the base *pāg- ‘fix’, which also produced English pagan, page, and pole ‘stick’. English palisade [17] comes ultimately from *pālicea, a Vulgar Latin derivative of pālus, and the closely related Latin pāla ‘spade’ produced English palette [17] and pallet [16].
=> appal, fallow, pall, pallid; pagan, page, palette, palisade, pallet, pole, travel - burn (v.)
- 12c., combination of Old Norse brenna "to burn, light," and two originally distinct Old English verbs: bærnan "to kindle" (transitive) and beornan "to be on fire" (intransitive), all from Proto-Germanic *brennan/*brannjan (cognates: Middle Dutch bernen, Dutch branden, Old High German brinnan, German brennen, Gothic -brannjan "to set on fire"). This perhaps is from PIE
*gwher- "to heat, warm" (see warm (adj.)), or from PIE *bhre-n-u, from root *bhreue- "to boil forth, well up" (see brew (v.)). Related: Burned/burnt (see -ed); burning.
Figuratively (of passions, battle, etc.) in Old English. Meaning "cheat, swindle, victimize" is first attested 1650s. In late 18c, slang, burned meant "infected with venereal disease." To burn one's bridges (behind one) "behave so as to destroy any chance of returning to a status quo" (attested by 1892 in Mark Twain), perhaps ultimately is from reckless cavalry raids in the American Civil War. Slavic languages have historically used different and unrelated words for the transitive and intransitive senses of "set fire to"/"be on fire:" for example Polish palić/gorzeć, Russian žeč'/gorel. - palisade (n.)
- "a fence of stakes," c. 1600, from Middle French palissade (15c.), from Provençal palissada, from palissa "a stake or paling," from Gallo-Roman *palicea, from Latin palus "stake" (see pale (n.)). Military sense is attested from 1690s. The Palisades, along the Hudson River opposite New York City, so called by 1823.