英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

acquit [acquit 词源字典]: acquit: [13] Acquit is ultimately related to quiet. The Latin noun quies, from which we get quiet, was the basis of a probable verb *quietare, later *quitare, whose original meaning, ‘put to rest’, developed to ‘settle’, as in ‘settle a debt’. With the addition of the prefix ad- this passed into Old French as a(c)quiter, and thence into English (still with the ‘settling or discharging debts’ meaning). The currently most common sense, ‘declare not guilty’, did not appear until the 14th century, and the most recent meaning, ‘conduct oneself in a particular way’, developed from the notion of discharging one’s duties.
=> quiet[acquit etymology, acquit origin, 英语词源]
spit: spit: English has two words spit in current usage. Spit ‘eject saliva’ [OE] is one of a sizable group of English words beginning sp- which denote ‘ejecting or discharging liquid’. Others include spew [OE], spout [14], spurt [16], and sputter [16]. They all go back ultimately to an Indo- European base *spyēu-, *spyū-, etc, imitative of the sound of spitting, which also produced Latin spuere ‘spit’ (source of English cuspidor [18] and sputum [17]).

The immediate source of spit itself was the prehistoric Germanic base *spit-, a variant of which, *spāt-, produced English spittle [15] (originally spattle, but changed through association with spit). Spit for roasting things on [OE] comes from a prehistoric Germanic *spituz, which also produced German spiess and Dutch spit.
=> cuspidor, spew, spout, spurt, sputter, sputum
artillery (n.): late 14c., "warlike munitions," from Anglo-French artillerie, Old French artillerie (14c.), from artillier "to provide with engines of war" (13c.), which probably is from Medieval Latin articulum "art, skill," diminutive of Latin ars (genitive artis) "art." But some would connect it with Latin articulum "joint," and still others with Old French atillier "to equip," altered by influence of arte. Sense of "engines for discharging missiles" (catapults, slings, bows, etc.) is from late 15c.; that of "ordnance, large guns" is from 1530s.
charge (v.): early 13c., "to load, fill," from Old French chargier "to load, burden, weigh down," from Late Latin carricare "to load a wagon or cart," from Latin carrus "wagon" (see car). Senses of "entrust," "command," "accuse" all emerged in Middle English and were found in Old French. Sense of "rush in to attack" is 1560s, perhaps through earlier meaning "load a weapon" (1540s). Meaning "impose a burden of expense" is from mid-14c. Meaning "fill with electricity" is from 1748. Related: Charged; charging. Chargé d'affaires was borrowed from French, 1767, literally "(one) charged with affairs."
charger (n.): late 15c., "one who loads," agent noun from charge (v.). Meaning "horse ridden in charging" is from 1762.
discharge (v.): early 14c., "to exempt, exonerate, release," from Old French deschargier (12c., Modern French décharger) "to unload, discharge," from Late Latin discarricare, from dis- "do the opposite of" (see dis-) + carricare "load" (see charge (v.)).

Meaning "to unload, to free from" is late 14c. Of weapons, from 1550s. The electrical sense is first attested 1748. Meaning "to fulfill, to perform one's duties" is from c. 1400. Related: Discharged; discharging.
fester (v.): late 14c., of wounds, "to become ulcerous, suppurate," from festre (n.) "a fistula" (c. 1300), or from Old French verb festrir "ulcerate, fester," from festre (n.) "small sore discharging pus." The nouns in Old French and Middle English both are from Latin fistula "pipe, ulcer" (see fistula). Related: Festered; festering; festerment.
firing (n.): 1540s, "action of applying fire or setting on fire," verbal noun from fire (v.). From c. 1600 as "act of discharging firearms." Firing squad is attested from 1891 in reference to military executions; earlier as "those selected to fire over the grave of anyone interred with military honors" (1864); earlier in both senses is firing-party (1798 in reference to military executions; 1776 in reference to military funerals).
hype (n.): "excessive or misleading publicity or advertising," 1967, American English (the verb is attested from 1937), probably in part a back-formation of hyperbole, but also from underworld slang sense "swindle by overcharging or short-changing" (1926), a back-formation of hyper "short-change con man" (1914), from prefix hyper- meaning "over, to excess." Also possibly influenced by drug addicts' slang hype, 1913 shortening of hypodermic needle. Related: Hyped; hyping. In early 18c., hyp "morbid depression of the spirits" was colloquial for hypochondria (usually as the hyp or the hyps).
ordnance (n.): "cannon, artillery," 1540s, a clipped form of ordinance (q.v.) which was attested from late 14c. in the sense of "military materials, provisions of war;" a sense now obsolete but which led to those of "engines for discharging missiles" (early 15c.) and "branch of the military concerned with stores and materials" (late 15c.). The shorter word was established in these distinct senses by 17c. Ordnance survey (1833), official survey of Great Britain and Ireland, was undertaken by the government under the direction of the Master-General of the Ordnance (the natural choice, gunners being thoroughly trained in surveying ranges and distances).
overcharge (v.): c. 1300, "to overload, overburden," from over- + charge (v.). Meaning "to charge someone too much money" is from 1660s. Related: Overcharged; overcharging.
rebel (n.): "person who makes war on his country for political motives," mid-14c., from rebel (adj.). Meaning "supporter of the American cause in the War of Independence" is from 1775; sense of "supporter of the Southern cause in the American Civil War" is attested from April 15, 1861. Rebel yell in an American Civil War context attested from 1862, but the thing itself is older and was said to have been picked up by southwestern men in their periodic wars against the Indians.
The Southern troops, when charging or to express their delight, always yell in a manner peculiar to themselves. The Yankee cheer is more like ours; but the Confederate officers declare that the rebel yell has a particular merit, and always produces a salutary and useful effect upon their adversaries. A corps is sometimes spoken of as a 'good yelling regiment.' [A.J.L. Fremantle, "The Battle of Gettysburg and the Campaign in Pennsylvania," in "Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine," Sept. 1863]
recharge (v.): early 15c., "to reload" (a vessel), from re- "again, back" + charge "to load" (q.v.); modeled on Old French rechargier "to load, load back on" (13c.). Meaning "re-power a battery" is from 1876. Related: Recharged; recharging. The noun is recorded from 1610s in English.
supercharge (v.): 1919, originally of internal combustion engines, from super- + charge (v.). Related: Supercharged (1876); supercharger; supercharging.
surcharge (v.): early 15c., "overcharge, charge too much expense," from Old French surcharger "to overload, overburden, overcharge" (12c.), from sur- "over" (see sur- (1)) + chargier "to load" (see charge (v.)). Meaning "make an extra charge on" is from 1885. The noun is also first attested early 15c. Related: Surcharged; surcharging.
nickel-and-dime: "Harass (someone) by charging for many trivial items or services", Late 19th century: originally denoting a shop selling articles costing five or ten cents.