quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- tombola




- tombola: see tumble
- Denebola




- second-brightest star in Leo, from Latinized corruption of Arabic dhanab al-(asad) "tail of the lion." In 18c., often simply Deneb.
- ebola (n.)




- virus, 1976, named for Ebola River valley in Congo, where it first was studied.
- hyperbola (n.)




- 1660s, from Latinized form of Greek hyperbole "extravagance," literally "a throwing beyond" (see hyperbole). Perhaps so called because the inclination of the plane to the base of the cone exceeds that of the side of the cone.
- parabola (n.)




- 1570s, from Modern Latin parabola, from Greek parabole "parabola, comparison, analogy; application" (see parable), so called by Apollonius of Perga c. 210 B.C.E. because it is produced by "application" of a given area to a given straight line. It had a different sense in Pythagorean geometry. Related: Parabolic.
- tombola (n.)




- Italian lotto-style lottery, 1880, from Italian tombola, apparently from tombolare "to tumble, fall upside down," from a Germanic source (see tumble (v.)).
- lobola




- "(Among southern African peoples) a bride price, traditionally one paid with cattle", Zulu and Xhosa.