quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- Gaul (n.)



[Gaul 词源字典] - 1560s, "an inhabitant of ancient Gaul," from French Gaule, from Latin Gallia, from Gallus "a Gaul." Also used somewhat facetiously for "a Frenchman." Gauloise, the popular brand of French cigarettes, dates to 1910.[Gaul etymology, Gaul origin, 英语词源]
- Gitano (n.)




- "gypsy," 1834, from Spanish Gitano (fem. Gitana), from Vulgar Latin *Ægyptanus "Egyptian" (see Gypsy). The fem. is gitana. The French form of the feminine, gitane, was used as the name of a brand of cigarettes (1933) and has come to be used for French cigarettes generally.
- king (n.)




- Old English cyning "king, ruler," from Proto-Germanic *kuningaz (cognates: Dutch koning, Old Norse konungr, Danish konge, Old Saxon and Old High German kuning, Middle High German künic, German König). Possibly related to Old English cynn "family, race" (see kin), making a king originally a "leader of the people;" or from a related root suggesting "noble birth," making a king originally "one who descended from noble birth." The sociological and ideological implications render this a topic of much debate.
Finnish kuningas "king," Old Church Slavonic kunegu "prince" (Russian knyaz, Bohemian knez), Lithuanian kunigas "clergyman" are loans from Germanic.
As leon is the king of bestes. [John Gower, "Confessio Amantis," 1390]
In Old English, used for names of chiefs of Anglian and Saxon tribes or clans, then of the states they founded. Also extended to British and Danish chiefs they fought. The chess piece so called from early 15c.; the playing card from 1560s; use in checkers/draughts first recorded 1820. Applied in nature to species deemed remarkably big or dominant (such as king crab, 1690s). In marketing, king-size is from 1939, originally of cigarettes.
[I]t was [Eugene] Field who haunted the declining years of Creston Clarke with his review of that actor's Lear. ... Said he, "Mr. Clarke played the King all the evening as though under constant fear that someone else was about to play the Ace." ["Theatre Magazine," January 1922]
- lucky (adj.)




- mid-15c., of persons; 1540s, of actions or objects, "likely to bring luck;" from luck + -y (2). Meaning "occurring by chance" is 1590s. Related: Luckier; luckiest; luckiness. Lucky break is attested from 1884 in billiards; 1872 as "failure or break-down which turns out to be fortunate." Lucky Strike as the name of a brand of cigarettes (originally chewing tobacco) popular mid-20c. is said to date from 1871; popular from 1935 when the brandâs maker picked up sponsorship of âYour Hit Paradeâ on radio.
- mentholated (adj.)




- of cigarettes, 1933, from menthol + -ate (2).
- pack (n.)




- "bundle," early 13c., probably from a Low German word (compare Middle Dutch pac, pack "bundle," Middle Low German pak, Middle Flemish pac, attested from late 12c.), originally a term of wool traders in Flanders; or possibly from Old Norse pakki. All are of unknown origin.
Italian pacco is a Dutch loan word; French pacque probably is from Flemish. Meaning "set of persons" (usually of a low character) is c. 1300, older than sense of "group of hunting animals" (early 15c.). Extended to collective sets of playing cards (1590s), floating ice (1791), cigarettes (1924), and submarines (1943). Meaning "knapsack on a frame" is attested from 1916. Pack of lies first attested 1763. - paperless (adj.)




- 1938 of cigarettes; 1967 of banks; 1971 of offices, from paper (n.) + -less.
- rolling (adj.)




- 14c., past participle adjective from roll (v.). Of prairie land from 1819. From mid-15c. as a verbal noun. Rolling pin is recorded from late 15c. Rolling paper for cigarettes, etc., is from 1969. Rolling stock "wheeled vehicles on a railroad" (locomotives, carriages, etc.) is from 1853.
The rollyng stone neuer gatherth mosse. [John Heywood, "A dialogue conteinying the nomber in effect of all the proverbes in the Englishe tongue," 1546]
- spiv (n.)




- "petty crook who will turn his hand to anything so long as it does not involve honest work," 1934, British slang, probably dating back to late 19c. and connected with spiff (see spiffy) in one of its various senses. Being a flashy dresser was a spiv characteristic.
The spiv reached his apotheosis during World War II and the succeeding years, when the disrupted economic conditions allowed ample scope for unofficial trading (a pair of nylons here, a few packets of cigarettes there) and other petty crime. He became a stock figure in the English social comedy, represented on screen by such stereotypes as 'Flash Harry' (played by George Cole) in the St. Trinian's films and Pte. Walker in Dad's Army. [Ayto, "20th Century Words"]