英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

canopy [canopy 词源字典]: canopy: [14] Etymologically, a canopy is a ‘mosquito net’. The word comes ultimately from Greek kōnōpeion, a derivative of kónops ‘mosquito’. This passed via Latin cōnōpūum into medieval Latin as canopeum, which meant both ‘mosquito net’ and ‘couch with such a net’. English adopted it directly from Latin as canope or canape, meaning ‘covering suspended over a throne, bed, etc’.

The French version of the word, however, concentrated on other aspects of canopeum’s meaning; French canapé means ‘couch, sofa’. Its metaphorical extension, ‘piece of bread or biscuit with a savoury topping’, was borrowed into English towards the end of the 19th century.
=> canapé[canopy etymology, canopy origin, 英语词源]
cult: cult: [17] The Indo-European base *quel-,* quoldenoted primarily ‘move around, turn’ (it is the source of English cycle and wheel). By metaphorical extension it came to signify ‘be busy’, which later branched out in two semantic directions: ‘inhabiting a place’ and ‘making a wild place suitable for crops’. These are both channelled into Latin colere, which meant ‘inhabit’, ‘cultivate’, and also ‘worship’.

The notion of ‘inhabiting’ is reflected in its descendant colony, but its past participial stem cult- has bequeathed us other aspects of its meaning. ‘Worship’ is represented by cult, acquired via French culte or directly from Latin cultus. ‘Developing the land’ appears in cultivate [17], from the medieval Latin derivative cultivāre, and by metaphorical extension in culture [15], from French culture, which originally meant ‘piece of tilled land’.
=> colony, cultivate, culture, cycle, wheel
fine: fine: [12] Both the adjective and the noun fine have come a very long way since their beginnings in Latin finis ‘end’. The etymological sense of the adjective is ‘finished’ – hence, ‘of high quality’. It comes via Old French fin from Vulgar Latin *fīnus, an adjective formed from the Latin verb fīnīre ‘limit, complete’ (source of English finish). (A derivative of *finus was the noun *finitia, from which ultimately English gets finesse [15].) The noun fine also comes from an Old French fin, this time a noun descended directly from Latin fīnis.

In medieval times this was used for ‘money to be paid at the completion of legal proceedings’ – hence the present-day sense ‘payment imposed as a punishment’. From the same ultimate source, but reflecting different aspects of it, come confine [16] and define [14] (‘limitation’) and refine [16] (‘high quality’).
=> confine, define, final, finance, finesse, finish, refine
gambit: gambit: [17] Like gambol [16], gambit originated in an Italian noun meaning literally ‘tripping up’. The Italian for ‘leg’ is gamba (a relative of English gammon ‘bacon’). From it were derived gambetto and gambata, both of which signified ‘trip-up’. The former was borrowed into Spanish as gambito, where its underlying notion of ‘underhanded procedure’ was first applied specifically to a chess manoeuvre in the mid- 16th century.

It passed into English mainly via French gambit. More frivolous, light-hearted aspects of ‘tripping’ are preserved in gambata, which English originally took over via French as gambade and gradually transformed into gambol.
=> gambol, gammon
particular: particular: [14] Latin particula (source of English parcel and particle) was a diminutive form of pars ‘part’, and denoted ‘small part’. From it was derived the adjective particulāris, which denoted ‘concerned with small parts, or details’ (as opposed to ‘concerned with wider aspects of a matter’). English acquired it via Old French particuler.
=> part, particle
reason: reason: [13] Reason, together with rational, represent in English the ‘thinking’ aspects of the Latin verb rērī (it also meant ‘calculate’, and in that guise has given English rate, ration, etc). From it was derived the noun ratiō ‘thinking, calculation’ (source of English ratio and the rest). This spawned a Vulgar Latin variant *ratiōne, which passed into Old French as reisun – whence English reason.
=> rate, ratio, ration
cad (n.): 1730, shortening of cadet (q.v.); originally used of servants, then (1831) of town boys by students at British universities and public schools (though at Cambridge it meant "snob"). Meaning "person lacking in finer feelings" is from 1838.
A cad used to be a jumped-up member of the lower classes who was guilty of behaving as if he didn't know that his lowly origin made him unfit for having sexual relationships with well-bred women. [Anthony West, "H.G. Wells: Aspects of a Life," 1984]
hazy (adj.): 1620s, hawsey, nautical, of unknown origin. Some connect it with German hase "hare," an animal which plays an important part in Germanic folklore, with many supernatural and unlucky aspects in medieval times (among the superstitions: a dead hare should not be brought aboard a fishing ship, and the word hare should not be spoken at sea). Another suggestion is Old English hasu, haswe "gray." Related: Hazily; haziness.
Jekyll and Hyde: in reference to opposite aspects of a person's character, from Robert Louis Stevenson's story, "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," published 1886. The surname Jekyll is of Breton origin and was originally a personal name.
"Though so profound a double-dealer, I was in no sense a hypocrite. Both sides of me were in dead earnest; I was no more myself when I laid aside restraint and plunged in shame, than when I labored, in the eye of day, at the furtherance of knowledge or the relief of sorrow and suffering." [Robert Louis Stevenson, "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," 1886]
market (n.): early 12c., "a meeting at a fixed time for buying and selling livestock and provisions," from Old North French market "marketplace, trade, commerce" (Old French marchiet, Modern French marché), from Latin mercatus "trading, buying and selling, trade, market" (source of Italian mercato, Spanish mercado, Dutch markt, German Markt), from past participle of mercari "to trade, deal in, buy," from merx (genitive mercis) "wares, merchandise," from Italic root *merk-, possibly from Etruscan, referring to various aspects of economics. Meaning "public building or space where markets are held" first attested mid-13c. Sense of "sales, as controlled by supply and demand" is from 1680s. Market value (1690s) first attested in writings of John Locke. Market economy is from 1948; market research is from 1921.
respects (n.): "expressions or signs of esteem, deference, or compliment," 1610s; see respect (n.). Earlier (late 14c.) as "aspects, particular respects."
spiritual (adj.): c. 1300, "of or concerning the spirit" (especially in religious aspects), from Old French spirituel, esperituel (12c.) or directly from a Medieval Latin ecclesiastical use of Latin spiritualis "of or pertaining to breath, breathing, wind, or air; pertaining to spirit," from spiritus "of breathing, of the spirit" (see spirit (n.)). Meaning "of or concerning the church" is attested from mid-14c. Related: Spiritually. An Old English word for "spiritual" was godcundlic.
In avibus intellige studia spiritualia, in animalibus exercitia corporalia [Richard of St. Victoror (1110-1173): "Watch birds to understand how spiritual things move, animals to understand physical motion." - E.P.]
paralinguistics: "The branch of linguistics which studies non-phonemic aspects of speech, such as tone of voice, tempo, etc.; non-phonemic characteristics of communication; paralanguage", 1950s; earliest use found in Archibald Anderson Hill (b. 1902). From para- + linguistic: see quot. 1958.
otaku: "(In Japan) a young person who is obsessed with computers or particular aspects of popular culture to the detriment of their social skills", Japanese, literally 'your house', in formal speech also meaning 'you', used by some anime and manga fans as an affectedly formal way of addressing others with similar interests.
read-me file: "A file containing information about other stored files; specifically a text file with information concerning the installation, use, or other aspects of a particular item of software", 1980s; earliest use found in Usenet (newsgroups).
language transfer: "The phenomenon whereby acquisition of a new language is influenced by the grammar, pronunciation, orthography, or other aspects of an individual's first language (or another previously learned language), which may either inhibit or facilitate learning", 1930s.