英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

cherchez la femme [cherchez la femme 词源字典]: French, literally "seek the woman," on the notion that a woman is the cause for whatever crime has been committed, first used by Alexandre Dumas père in "Les Mohicans de Paris" (1864) in the form cherchons la femme. French chercher is from Latin circare, in Late Latin "to wander hither and thither," from circus "circle" (see circus).[cherchez la femme etymology, cherchez la femme origin, 英语词源]
pity (n.): early 13c., from Old French pite, pitet "pity, mercy, compassion, care, tenderness; pitiful state, wretched condition" (11c., Modern French pitié), from Latin pietatem (nominative pietas) "piety, loyalty, duty" (see piety). Replaced Old English mildheortness, literally "mild-heartness," itself a loan-translation of Latin misericordia. English pity and piety were not fully distinguished until 17c. Transferred sense of "grounds or cause for pity" is from late 14c.
Pollyanna (n.): "one who finds cause for gladness in the most difficult situations," 1921, a reference to Pollyanna Whittier, child heroine of U.S. novelist Eleanor Hodgman Porter's "Pollyanna" (1913) and "Pollyanna Grows Up" (1915), who was noted for keeping her chin up during disasters.
scandal (n.): 1580s, "discredit caused by irreligious conduct," from Middle French scandale (12c.), from Late Latin scandalum "cause for offense, stumbling block, temptation," from Greek skandalon "a trap or snare laid for an enemy," in New Testament, metaphorically as "a stumbling block, offense;" originally "trap with a springing device," from PIE *skand- "to leap, climb" (see scan (v.); also see slander (n.), which is another form of the same word).

Attested from early 13c., but the modern word likely is a reborrowing. Meaning "malicious gossip," also "shameful action or event" is from 1590s; sense of "person whose conduct is a disgrace" is from 1630s. Scandal sheet "sensational newspaper" is from 1939. Scandal-monger is from 1702.
sheepskin (n.): c. 1200, "the skin of a sheep," from sheep + skin (n.). Meaning "diploma" dates from 1804; so called because formerly made of sheepskin parchment.
trouble (n.): c. 1200, "agitation of the mind, emotional turmoil," from Old French truble, torble "trouble, disturbance" (12c.), from trubler/torbler (see trouble (v.)). From early 15c. as "a concern, a cause for worry;" 1590s as "something that causes trouble." Meaning "unpleasant relations with the authorities" is from 1550s. Related: Troubles (1510s). Trouble and strife as rhyming slang for "wife" is recorded from 1908.
paddy wagon: "A police van", 1930s: paddy from Paddy, perhaps because formerly many American police officers were of Irish descent.