quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- quixotic




- quixotic: [18] Quixotic commemorates Don Quixote, the hero of Cervantes’s novel of the same name (published in two parts in 1605 and 1615). He was a slightly dotty Spanish gentleman whose head became turned by tales of chivalric derring-do, which he sought to emulate in real life. His most famous exploit was to charge with his lance at windmills, under the mistaken impression that they were giants.
- demand (v.)




- late 14c., "ask, make inquiry," from Old French demander (12c.) "to request; to demand," from Latin demandare "entrust, charge with a commission" (in Vulgar Latin, "to ask, request, demand"), from de- "completely" (see de-) + mandare "to order" (see mandate). Meaning "to ask for as a right" is early 15c., from Anglo-French legal use. Related: Demanded; demanding.
- electrify (v.)




- 1745, "to charge with electricity, cause electricity to pass through;" see electric + -fy. Figurative sense recorded by 1752. Meaning "convert a factory, industry, etc., to electrical power" is by 1902. Related: Electrified; electrifying.