英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

black: black: [OE] The usual Old English word for ‘black’ was sweart (source of modern English swart and swarthy, and related to German schwarz ‘black’), but black already existed (Old English blæc), and since the Middle English period it has replaced swart. Related but now extinct forms existed in other Germanic languages (including Old Norse blakkr ‘dark’ and Old Saxon blac ‘ink’), but the word’s ultimate source is not clear. Some have compared it with Latin flagrāre and Greek phlégein, both meaning ‘burn’, which go back to an Indo-European base *phleg-, a variant of *bhleg-.
bumf: bumf: [20] The earliest, literal, but now long discontinued sense of bumf is ‘toilet paper’ (first recorded in 1889), which does much to elucidate its origin: it is short for bum fodder. The element of contempt is carried over into its modern meaning, ‘unwanted or uninteresting printed material’, which dates from around 1930.
chap: chap: There are four distinct words chap in English. The oldest, ‘sore on the skin’ [14], originally meant more generally ‘crack, split’, and may be related to Middle Low German kappen ‘chop off’; it seems ultimately to be the same word as chop ‘cut’. Chap ‘jaw’ [16] (as in Bath chaps) is probably a variant of chop (as in ‘lick one’s chops’). Chap ‘fellow’ [16] originally meant ‘customer’; it is an abbreviation of chapman ‘trader’ [OE] (source of the common surname, but now obsolete as an ordinary noun), whose first element is related to English cheap. Chaps ‘leggings’ [19] is short for Mexican Spanish chaparreras, a derivative of Spanish chaparro ‘evergreen oak’; they were named from their use in protecting the legs of riders from the low thick scrub that grows in Mexico and Texas (named with another derivative of chaparro, chaparral). Chaparro itself probably comes from Basque txapar, a diminutive of saphar ‘thicket’.
=> chop; cheap; chaparral
clumsy: clumsy: [16] When clumsy first appeared on the scene around 1600, both it and the presumably related but now obsolete clumse were used not only for ‘awkward’ but also for ‘numb with cold’. This, and the fact that the word’s nearest apparent relatives are Scandinavian (such as Swedish dialect klumsig ‘numb, clumsy’), suggests that the notion originally contained in them was of being torpid from cold – so cold that one is sluggish and cannot coordinate one’s actions.
dilapidate: dilapidate: [16] It is a common misconception that dilapidate means literally ‘fall apart stone by stone’, since the word comes ultimately from Latin lapis ‘stone’ (as in lapis lazuli [14], literally ‘azure stone’). But in fact Latin dīlapidāre meant ‘squander’ (a sense once current in English, but now superseded). It was a compound verb formed from the prefix dis- ‘apart’ and lapidāre ‘throw stones’, and thus originally must have meant literally ‘scatter like stones’, but its only recorded sense is the metaphorical extension ‘throw away or destroy wantonly, squander’.

The application of the word to the destruction of buildings is a piece of later etymologizing.
=> lapis lazuli
dowry: dowry: [14] English acquired dowry via Anglo- Norman dowarie from Old French douaire (source of the originally synonymous but now little-used dower [14]). This in turn came from medieval Latin dōtārium, a derivative of Latin dōs ‘dowry’, which was related to dāre ‘give’ (source of English date, donate, etc). Its associated verb, dōtāre ‘endow’, is the ancestor of English endow.
=> date, donate, endow
grub: grub: [13] Grub ‘dig’ comes ultimately from prehistoric Germanic *grub-, perhaps via Old English *grybban, although no record of such a verb has actually come down to us (the related Germanic *grab- gave English grave, while a further variant *grōb- produced groove [15]). The relationship of grub ‘dig’ to the various noun uses of the word is far from clear. Grub ‘larva’, first recorded in the 15th century, may have been inspired by the notion of larvae digging their way through wood or earth, but equally it could be connected (via the idea of ‘smallness’) with the contemporary but now obsolete grub ‘short, dwarfish fellow’ – an entirely mysterious word. Grub ‘food’, which dates from the 17th century, is usually said to have been suggested by birds’ partiality for grubs or larvae as part of their diet.

And in the 19th century a grub was also a ‘dirty child’ – perhaps originally one who got dirty by digging or grubbing around in the earth – which may have been the source of grubby ‘dirty’ [19].
=> grave, groove
halcyon: halcyon: [14] Halcyon days, originally ‘days of calm weather’, but now used figuratively for a ‘past period of happiness and success’, are literally ‘days of the kingfisher’. The expression comes from Greek alkuonídes hēmérai ‘kingfisher’s days’, a term used in the ancient world for a period of 14 days fine or calm weather around the winter solstice which was attributed to the magical influence of the kingfisher. The origin of Greek alkúon is not known, although it was from earliest times associated with Greek háls ‘sea’ and kúōn ‘conceiving’ (whence the spelling halcyon).
harness: harness: [13] Etymologically, harness is ‘equipment for an army’. It comes via Old French herneis ‘military equipment’ from an unrecorded Old Norse *hernest, a compound formed from herr ‘army’ (a descendant of prehistoric Germanic *kharjaz ‘crowd’ and related to English harangue, harbinger, harbour, and harry) and nest ‘provisions’.

English took it over in the general sense ‘equipment’, and did not apply it specifically to the straps, buckles, etc of a horse until the 14th century (it was originally used for any equestrian equipment, including reins, saddles, etc, but now it denotes exclusively the gear of a draught horse).
=> harangue, harbinger, harbour, harry, herald
hour: hour: [13] Greek hórā (a distant relative of English year) was originally a rather vague term, denoting ‘period of time, season’. In due course it came to be applied more specifically to ‘one twelfth of a day (from sunrise to sunset)’, but as this varied in length according to the time of the year, hórā was still far from being a precise unit of time. Not until the Middle Ages (when hórā had passed via Latin hora and Old French hore into English as hour) did the term become fixed to a period of sixty minutes. (The same sort of vague relationship between ‘time’ in general or ‘period of time’ and ‘fixed period’ is shown in Swedish timme, which is related to English time but means ‘hour’; in German stunde, which originally meant ‘period of time’, but now means ‘hour’; and indeed in English tide, which in Old English times meant ‘hour’ but now, insofar as it survives as a temporal term, denotes ‘season’ – as in Whitsuntide.) English horoscope [16] comes ultimately from Greek hōroskópos, a compound which meant literally ‘observer of time’ – that is, of the ‘time of birth’.
=> horoscope, year
invest: invest: [16] The etymological notion underlying invest is of ‘putting on clothes’. It comes via Old French investir from Latin investīre, a compound verb formed from the prefix in- and vestis ‘clothes’ (source of English vest, vestment, travesty, etc). It retained that original literal sense ‘clothe’ in English for several centuries, but now it survives only in its metaphorical descendant ‘instal in an office’ (as originally performed by clothing in special garments).

Its financial sense, first recorded in English in the early 17th century, is thought to have originated in Italian investire from the idea of dressing one’s capital up in different clothes by putting it into a particular business, stock, etc.
=> travesty, vest, vestment
linen: linen: [OE] The word for ‘flax’ is an ancient one, shared by numerous Indo-European languages: Greek līnon, Latin līnum (source of English line), and prehistoric West Germanic *līnam among them. The latter passed into Old English as līn, but now survives only in the compound linseed (literally ‘flax-seed’). Its adjectival derivative, however, *līnīn, lives on in the form linen, nowadays used as a noun meaning ‘cloth made from flax’.

The Latin word, or its French descendants lin or linge, have contributed several other derivatives to English, including crinoline, lingerie [19] (literally ‘linen garments’), linnet [16] (etymologically a ‘flaxeating bird’), linoleum [19], and lint [14].
=> crinoline, line, lingerie, linnet, linoleum, lint
macaroni: macaroni: [16] Macaroni was the earliest of the Italian pasta terms to be borrowed into English, and so it now differs more than any other from its original. When English acquired it, the Italian word was maccaroni (it came ultimately from late Greek makaría ‘food made from barley’), but now it has become maccheroni. The colloquial 18th-century application of macaroni to a ‘dandy’ is thought to have been an allusion to such people’s supposed liking for foreign food.

And the derivative macaronic [17], used for a sort of verse in which Latin words are mixed in with vernacular ones for comic effect, was originally coined in Italian, comparing the verse’s crude mixture of languages with the homely hotchpotch of a macaroni dish. Macaroon [17] comes from macaron, the French descendant of Italian maccaroni.
=> macaroon
mallard: mallard: [14] Etymologically, a mallard seems to be a ‘male bird’. It comes from Old French mallart, which was probably a development of an earlier *maslart, a derivative of masle ‘male’ (source of English male). It was originally used for the ‘male of the wild duck’, but now it denotes either sex of the species (Anas platyrhynchos).
=> male
scarf: scarf: English has two words scarf. The older, but now less frequent, is ‘joint between two pieces of wood’ [14]. This may have been borrowed from an Old French *escarf, which itself was possibly based ultimately on a Scandinavian source (Swedish has skarf ‘joint between pieces of wood’). The scarf that is worn [16] comes from Old Northern French escarpe. This was equivalent to central Old French escarpe, escherpe, which originally denoted a ‘pilgrim’s bag hung round the neck’. It came via a Frankish *skirpja from Latin scirpea ‘basket made from rushes’, a derivative of scirpus ‘rush’.
sign: sign: [13] Sign comes via Old French signe from Latin signum ‘mark’. It already had the meaning ‘mark denoting something’ in Latin, and it was in this sense that it entered English, gradually ousting the native word token. The verb sign goes back ultimately to the Latin derivative signāre ‘mark’. English acquired it in the 14th century, and first used it for ‘write one’s name’ in the 15th century.

Other related forms in English include assign [14], consign [15], design, ensign [14], insignia [17], resign [14] (in which the prefix re- has the force of ‘un-’), seal ‘wax impression, fastening’, signal, signatory [17], signature [16], signet [14], significant [16], and signify [13].

The ultimate source of Latin signum is uncertain. It was once assumed to go back to the Indo-European base *sek- ‘cut’ (source of English saw, section, etc), as if it denoted etymologically a ‘cut mark’, but now Indo-European *seq- ‘point out’, hence ‘say, tell’ (source of English say) is viewed as a more likely ancestor.
=> assign, consign, design, ensign, insignia, resign, seal, signal, signature, significant
twig: twig: English has two separate words twig. The older, ‘small branch’ [OE], which has relatives in German zweig and Dutch tijg, appears to have been formed from the Germanic base *twi- ‘two’, and so etymologically it presumably denotes a ‘forked branch’. The origins of twig ‘catch on, understand’ [18] are uncertain. It may be the same word as the contemporary but now defunct twig ‘pull’. This was presumably related to tweak [17] and twitch [12], which go back to a prehistoric Germanic base *twik-.
=> tweak, twitch, two
upholster: upholster: [19] Upholster has no etymological connection with holsters. It is a back-formation from upholsterer [17], which itself was derived from an earlier but now obsolete upholster ‘person who deals in or repairs small articles’. This was an agent noun formed from the verb uphold [13] (a compound of up and hold), in the now defunct sense ‘repair’.
=> hold
wane: wane: [OE] Wane and Norwegian vana ‘spoil, waste’ are the only survivors of a family of Germanic verbs that goes back to a prehistoric *wanōjan. This was derived from the base *wan- ‘lacking’, which also produced English want. The related but now defunct English adjective wane ‘lacking’ is represented in the first syllable of wanton.
=> want, wanton
actuality (n.): late 14c., "power, efficacy," from Old French actualite and directly from Medieval Latin actualitatem (nominative actualitas), from Late Latin actualis (see actual). A Latin loan-translation of Greek energeia. Meaning "state of being real" is from 1670s (actualities "existing conditions" is from 1660s).
Mod. use of actuality in the sense of realism, contact with the contemporary, is due to Fr. actualité, from actuel, which does not mean actual, real, but now existing, up to date. [Weekley]
Adriatic: sea east of Italy, from Latin Adriaticus, from town of Atria (modern Atri) in Picenum, once a seaport but now more than 12 miles inland. The name is perhaps from atra, neuter of atrum "black," hence "the black city;" or else it represents Illyrian adur "water, sea."
analyse (v.): chiefly British English spelling of analyze (q.v.).
Analyse is better than analyze, but merely as being the one of the two equally indefensible forms that has won. The correct but now impossible form would be analysize (or analysise), with analysist for existing analyst. [Fowler]
believe (v.): Old English belyfan "to believe," earlier geleafa (Mercian), gelefa (Northumbrian), gelyfan (West Saxon) "believe," from Proto-Germanic *ga-laubjan "to believe," perhaps literally "hold dear, love" (cognates: Old Saxon gilobian "believe," Dutch geloven, Old High German gilouben, German glauben), ultimately a compound based on PIE *leubh- "to care, desire, love" (see belief).

Spelling beleeve is common till 17c.; then altered, perhaps by influence of relieve, etc. To believe on instead of in was more common in 16c. but now is a peculiarity of theology; believe of also sometimes was used in 17c. Related: Believed (formerly occasionally beleft); believing. Expression believe it or not attested by 1874; Robert Ripley's newspaper cartoon of the same name is from 1918. Emphatic you better believe attested from 1854.
carrefour (n.): late 15c., "place where four ways meet," from Old French carrefor (13c., quarrefour), from Latin quadrifurcus "four-forked," from quatuor "four" (see four) + furca "fork" (see fork (n.)). "Formerly quite naturalized, but now treated only as French" [OED]. Englished variant carfax is from Middle English carfourkes.
clemency (n.): 1550s, "mildness or gentleness shown in exercise of authority," from Latin clementia "calmness, gentleness," from clemens "calm, mild," related to clinare "to lean" (see lean (v.)) + participial suffix -menos (also in alumnus). For sense evolution, compare inclined in secondary meaning "disposed favorably." Earlier in same sense was clemence (late 15c.).

Meaning "mildness of weather or climate" is 1660s (a sense also in Latin); clement (adj.) is older in both senses, late 15c. and 1620s respectively, but now is used only in negation and only of the weather.
cornerstone (n.): late 13c., from corner (n.) + stone (n.). The figurative use is from early 14c.
I endorse without reserve the much abused sentiment of Governor M'Duffie, that "Slavery is the corner-stone of our republican edifice;" while I repudiate, as ridiculously absurd, that much lauded but nowhere accredited dogma of Mr. Jefferson, that "all men are born equal." No society has ever yet existed, and I have already incidentally quoted the highest authority to show that none ever will exist, without a natural variety of classes. [James H. Hammond, "Letter to an English Abolitionist" 1845]
cure (v.): late 14c., from Old French curer, from Latin curare "take care of," hence, in medical language, "treat medically, cure" (see cure (n.1)). In reference to fish, pork, etc., first recorded 1743. Related: Cured; curing.

Most words for "cure, heal" in European languages originally applied to the person being treated but now can be used with reference to the disease, too. Relatively few show an ancient connection to words for "physician;" typically they are connected instead to words for "make whole" or "tend to" or even "conjurer." French guérir (with Italian guarir, Old Spanish guarir) is from a Germanic verb stem also found in in Gothic warjan, Old English wearian "ward off, prevent, defend" (see warrant (n.)).
cycad (n.): 1845, Modern Latin, from Greek kykas, a word found in Theophrastus, but now thought to be a scribal error for koikas "palm trees," accusative plural of koix, a word from an unknown non-Greek language.
extempore (adv.): 1550s, from Latin phrase ex tempore "offhand, in accordance with (the needs of) the moment," literally "out of time," from ex "out of" (see ex-) + tempore, ablative of tempus (genitive temporis) "time" (see temporal). Of speaking, strictly "without preparation, without time to prepare," but now often with a sense merely of "without notes or a teleprompter." As an adjective and noun from 1630s.
galvanize (v.): 1801, "stimulate by galvanic electricity," from French galvaniser, from galvanisme (see galvanism). Figurative sense of "excite, stimulate (as if by electricity)" first recorded 1853 (galvanic was in figurative use in 1807). Meaning "to coat with metal by means of galvanic electricity" (especially to plate iron with tin, but now typically to plate it with zinc) is from 1839.
He'll swear that in her dancing she cuts all others out,
Though like a Gal that's galvanized, she throws her legs about.
[Thomas Hood, "Love has not Eyes," 1845]
Related: Galvanized; galvanizing.
heirloom (n.): early 15c., ayre lome, a hybrid from heir + loom in its original but now otherwise obsolete sense of "implement, tool." Technically, some piece of property that by will or custom passes down with the real estate.
homely (adj.): late 14c., "of or belonging to home or household, domestic," from Middle English hom "home" (see home (n.)) + -ly (2). Sense of "plain, unadorned, simple" is late 14c., and extension to "having a plain appearance, ugly, crude" took place c. 1400, but now survives chiefly in U.S., especially in New England, where it was the usual term for "physically unattractive;" ugly being typically "ill-tempered."
-ine (2): chemical suffix, sometimes -in, though modern use distinguishes them; early 19c., from French -ine, from Latin -ina, fem. form of suffix used to form adjectives from nouns (identical with -ine (1)). In French, the suffix commonly was used to form words for derived substances, hence its extended use in chemistry, where it was applied unsystematically at first (as in aniline), but now has more restricted use.
ill (adv.): c. 1200, "wickedly; with hostility;" see ill (adj.). Meaning "not well, poorly" is from c. 1300. It generally has not shifted to the realm of physical sickess, as the adjective has done. Ill-fated recorded from 1710; ill-informed from 1824; ill-tempered from c. 1600; ill-starred from c. 1600. Generally contrasted with well, hence the useful, but now obsolete or obscure illcome (1570s), illfare (c. 1300), and illth.
mill (n.2): "one-tenth cent," 1786, an original U.S. currency unit but now used only for tax calculation purposes, shortening of Latin millesimum "one-thousandth," from mille "a thousand" (see million). Formed on the analogy of cent, which is short for Latin centesimus "one hundredth" (of a dollar).
near (adv.): Old English near "closer, nearer," comparative of neah, neh"nigh." Influenced by Old Norse naer "near," it came to be used as a positive form mid-13c., and new comparative nearer developed 1500s (see nigh). As an adjective from c. 1300. Originally an adverb but now supplanted in most such senses by nearly; it has in turn supplanted correct nigh as an adjective. Related: Nearness. In near and dear (1620s) it refers to nearness of kinship. Near East first attested 1891, in Kipling. Near beer "low-alcoholic brew" is from 1908.
seismometer (n.): "instrument for measuring the intensity and motion of earthquakes," 1841, from seismo- + -meter. Originally different from a seismograph but now practically the same thing.
special (adj.): c. 1200, "better than ordinary," from Old French special, especial "special, particular, unusual" (12c., Modern French spécial) and directly from Latin specialis "individual, particular" (source also of Spanish especial, Italian speziale), from species "appearance, kind, sort" (see species).

Meaning "marked off from others by some distinguishing quality" is recorded from c. 1300; that of "limited as to function, operation, or purpose" is from 14c. Special effects first attested 1951. Special interests in U.S. political sense is from 1910. Special pleading first recorded 1680s, a term that had a sound legal meaning once but now is used generally and imprecisely. Special education in reference to those whose learning is impeded by some mental or physical handicap is from 1972.
talkative (adj.): early 15c.; see talk (v.) + -ative. An early hybrid word in English. Originally especially "boastful," but now considered less pejorative than loquacious, garrulous. Related: Talkatively; talkativeness.
tyke (n.): late 14c., "cur, mongrel," from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse tik "bitch," from Proto-Germanic *tikk- (cognates: Middle Low German tike). Also applied in Middle English to a low-bred or lazy man. The meaning "child" is from 1902, though the word was used in playful reproof from 1894. As a nickname for a Yorkshireman, from c. 1700; "Perhaps originally opprobrious; but now accepted and owned" [OED].
used (adj.): "second-hand," 1590s, past participle adjective from use (v.). To be used to "accustomed, familiar" is recorded by late 14c. Verbal phrase used to "formerly did or was" (as in I used to love her) represents a construction attested from c. 1300, and common from c. 1400, from use (intransitive) "be accustomed, practice customarily," but now surviving only in past tense form. The pronunciation is affected by the t- of to. Used-to-be (n.) "one who has outlived his fame" is from 1853.
clotbur: "A herbaceous plant of the daisy family with burred fruits, native to tropical America but now found all over the world", Mid 16th century: from dialect clote 'burdock' + burr.
halon: "Any of a number of unreactive gaseous compounds of carbon with bromine and other halogens, used in fire extinguishers, but now known to damage the ozone layer", 1960s: from halogen + -on.