英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

advertise: advertise: [15] When it was originally borrowed into English, from French, advertise meant ‘notice’. It comes ultimately from the Latin verb advertere ‘turn towards’ (whose past participle adversus ‘hostile’ is the source of English adverse [14] and adversity [13]). A later variant form, advertīre, passed into Old French as avertir ‘warn’ (not to be confused with the avertir from which English gets avert [15] and averse [16], which came from Latin abvertere ‘turn away’).

This was later reformed into advertir, on the model of its Latin original, and its stem form advertiss- was taken into English, with its note of ‘warning’ already softening into ‘giving notice of’, or simply ‘noticing’. The modern sense of ‘describing publicly in order to increase sales’ had its beginnings in the mid 18th century. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the verb was pronounced with the main stress on its second syllable, like the advertise- in advertisement.
=> adverse, adversity, verse
billiards: billiards: [16] Billiard comes from French billard, which is the name not only of the game, but also of the cue it is played with. And the cue is the clue to the word’s history, for it comes from French bille ‘tree trunk’, hence ‘long cylindrical bit of wood’. The import of the -ard suffix is not altogether clear, but another suffix used with bille was the diminutive -ette, from which English got billet ‘piece of wood’ [15] (not to be confused with billet ‘assignment to lodgings’; see BILL). Bille itself came from medieval Latin billa or billus, which may have been of Celtic origin.
=> billet
conversation: conversation: [14] Latin convertere meant ‘turn round, transform’. It was a compound verb formed from the intensive prefix com- and vertere ‘turn’ (source of English verse, version, and vertigo). It has spawned a variety of English words, its most direct descendant being convert [13]. Its past participle conversus produced the noun converse ‘opposite’ [16], but this should not be confused with the verb converse ‘talk’ [14], which came via quite a different route.

Latin vertere had a specialized form, vertāre, denoting repeated action. From it came versārī ‘live, occupy oneself’, which, with the addition of the com- prefix, produced conversārī ‘live, dwell, associate or communicate with others’. This passed via Old French converser into English, but at first both it and its derivative conversation were limited semantically to the notion of ‘dwelling’ and ‘social life’; the specific modern sense ‘talk’ was not brought into play until the late 16th century.
=> convert, verse, version
demeanour: demeanour: [15] A person’s demeanour is how they ‘conduct’ themselves. The word goes back ultimately to the literal notion of driving animals along. It is a derivative of the now virtually obsolete reflexive verb demean ‘behave’, borrowed in the 13th century from Old French demener. This was a compound formed from the intensive prefix de- and mener ‘lead’, a descendant of Latin mināre ‘drive a herd of animals’ (whose original connotation of ‘urging on with threats’ is revealed by its close relationship with minārī ‘threaten’, source of English menace).

This obsolete demean should not, incidentally, be confused with demean ‘degrade’ [17], which was formed from the adjective mean.
=> menace
poplar: poplar: [14] The ancestor of poplar was Latin pōpulus ‘poplar’ (not to be confused with populus ‘people’). This passed into Old French as pople, which with the addition of the treename suffix -ier became poplier. Its Anglo- Norman version was popler, from which English got poplar.
raft: raft: [15] The ancestor of raft meant ‘beam, rafter’. This was Old Norse raptr. Not until it got into English, apparently, was it used for a ‘craft made by tying logs together’. (It should not, incidentally, be confused with the mainly American raft ‘large collection, lot’ [19], which is an alteration of Scottish English raff ‘rubbish’ – probable source of English raffish [19]. This too may well be of Scandinavian origin – Swedish has rafs ‘rubbish’.) Rafter [OE] comes from a Germanic source that was probably also responsible for raft.
=> raffish, rafter
aisle (n.): late 14c., ele, "lateral division of a church (usually separated by a row of pillars), from Old French ele "wing (of a bird or an army), side of a ship" (12c., Modern French aile), from Latin ala, related to axilla "wing, upper arm, armpit; wing of an army," from PIE *aks- "axis" (see axis), via a suffixed form *aks-la-. The root meaning in "turning" connects it with axle and axis.

Confused from 15c. with unrelated ile "island" (perhaps from notion of a "detached" part of a church), and so it took an -s- when isle did, c. 1700; by 1750 it had acquired an a-, on the model of French cognate aile. The word also was confused with alley, which gave it the sense of "passage between rows of pews or seats" (1731), which was thence extended to railway cars, theaters, etc.
Amaretto: Italian almond-flavored liqueur, 1945 (the original brand, Amaretto di Saronno, dates to 1851), from the Italian word for almond (q.v.), which did not acquire the excrescent -l- of the English word. Sometimes confused with amoretto. Amoroso (literally "lover"), a type of sweetened sherry, is attested from c. 1870.
anise (n.): Levantine plant cultivated for its seeds, which were important sources of chemical oils and flavoring, c. 1300, from Old French anis (13c.), from Latin anisum, from Greek anison. By the Ancients, somewhat confused with dill.
antipodes (n.): late 14c., "persons who dwell on the opposite side of the globe;" 1540s as "place on the opposite side of the earth," from Latin antipodes "those who dwell on the opposite side of the earth," from Greek antipodes, plural of antipous "with feet opposite (ours)," from anti- "opposite" (see anti-) + pous "foot," from PIE root *ped- (1) "a foot" (see foot (n.)); thus, people who live on the opposite side of the world.
Yonde in Ethiopia ben the Antipodes, men that haue theyr fete ayenst our fete. ["De Proprietatibus Rerum Bartholomeus Anglicus," translated by John of Trevisa, 1398]
Not to be confused with antiscii "those who live on the same meridian on opposite side of the equator," whose shadows fall at noon in the opposite direction, from Greek anti- + skia "shadow." Related: Antipodal (adj.); antipodean (1630s, n.; 1650s, adj.).
aspic (n.): "savory meat jelly," 1789, from French aspic "jelly" (18c.), literally "asp," from Old French aspe (see asp) + ending from basilisc "basilisk" (the two creatures sometimes were confused with one another). The foodstuff said to be so called from its coldness (froid comme un aspic is said by Littré to be a proverbial phrase), or the colors in the gelatin, or the shape of the mold. It also was a French word for "lavendar spike" and might refer to this as a seasoning element.
awaken (v.): Old English awæcnan (intransitive), "to spring into being, arise, originate," also, less often, "to wake up;" earlier onwæcnan, from a- (1) "on" + wæcnan (see waken). Transitive meaning "to rouse from sleep" is recorded from 1510s; figurative sense of "to stir up, rouse to activity" is from c. 1600.

Originally strong declension (past tense awoc, past participle awacen), already in Old English it was confused with awake (v.) and a weak past tense awæcnede (modern awakened) emerged and has since become the accepted form, with awoke and awoken transferred to awake. Subtle shades of distinction determine the use of awake or awaken in modern English. Related: Awakening.
banshee (n.): 1771, from phonetic spelling of Irish bean sidhe "female of the Elves," from bean "woman" (from PIE *gwen-; see queen) + sidhe, from sith "fairy" or sid "fairy mound." Specifically, one who calls to the spirits of the dead. Sidhe sometimes is confused with sithe, genitive of sith "peace."
barratry (n.): early 15c., "sale of ecclesiastical or state offices," from Old French baraterie "deceit, guile, trickery," from barat "malpractice, fraud, deceit, trickery," which is of unknown origin, perhaps from Celtic. In marine law, "wrongful conduct by a ship's crew or officer, resulting in loss to owners," from 1620s. Meaning "offense of habitually starting legal suits" is from 1640s. Sense somewhat confused with that of Middle English baratri "combat, fighting" (c. 1400), from Old Norse baratta "fight, contest strife." This was an active word in Middle English, with forms such as baraten "to disturb the peace" (mid-15c.); baratour "inciter to riot, bully" (late 14c., mid-13c. as a surname). Barataria Bay, Louisiana, U.S., is from Spanish baratear "to cheat, deceive," cognate of the French word; the bay so called in reference to the difficulty of its entry passages.
basil (n.): aromatic shrubby plant, early 15c., from Old French basile (15c., Modern French basilic), from Medieval Latin basilicum, from Greek basilikon (phyton) "royal (plant)," from basileus "king" (see Basil). So called, probably, because it was believed to have been used in making royal perfumes. In Latin, confused with basiliscus (see basilisk) because it was supposed to be an antidote to the basilisk's venom.
basilisk (n.): c. 1300, from Latin basiliscus, from Greek basiliskos "little king," diminutive of basileus "king" (see Basil); said by Pliny to have been so called because of a crest or spot on its head resembling a crown.
The basilisk has since the fourteenth century been confused with the Cockatrice, and the subject is now a complicated one. [T.H. White, "The Bestiary. A Book of Beasts," 1954]
Its breath and glance were said to be fatal. The South American lizard so called (1813) because it, like the mythical beast, has a crest. Also used of a type of large cannon, throwing shot of 200 lb., from 1540s.
behest (n.): Old English behæs "a vow," perhaps from behatan "to promise" (from be- + hatan "command, call;" see cite) and confused with obsolete hest "command," which may account for the parasitic -t as well as the Middle English shift in meaning to "command, injunction" (late 12c.).
bird (n.2): "maiden, young girl," c. 1300, confused with burd (q.v.), but felt by later writers as a figurative use of bird (n.1). Modern slang meaning "young woman" is from 1915, and probably arose independently of the older word.
bridal (adj.): mid-15c., transferred use of noun bridal "wedding feast," Old English brydealo "marriage feast," from bryd ealu, literally "bride ale" (see bride + ale); second element later confused with suffix -al (1), especially after c. 1600.
brothel (n.): "bawdy house," 1590s, shortened from brothel-house, from brothel "prostitute" (late 15c.), earlier "vile, worthless person" of either sex (14c.), from Old English broðen past participle of breoðan "deteriorate, go to ruin," from Proto-Germanic *breuthan "to be broken up," related to *breutan "to break" (see brittle). In 16c. brothel-house was confused with unrelated bordel (see bordello) and the word shifted meaning from a person to a place.
burlap (n.): 1690s, probably from Middle English borel "coarse cloth," from Old French burel (see bureau); or Dutch boeren "coarse," perhaps confused with boer "peasant." The second element, -lap, meant "piece of cloth" (see lap (n.)).
careen (v.): 1590s, "to turn a ship on its side" (with the keel exposed), from French cariner, literally "to expose a ship's keel," from Middle French carene "keel" (16c.), from Italian (Genoese dialect) carena, from Latin carina "keel of a ship," originally "nutshell," possibly from PIE root *kar- "hard" (see hard (adj.)).

Intransitive sense of "to lean, to tilt" is from 1763, specifically of ships; in general use by 1883. In sense "to rush headlong," confused with career (v.) since at least 1923. [To career is to move rapidly; to careen is to lurch from side to side (often while moving rapidly).] Earlier figurative uses of careen were "to be laid up; to rest." Related: Careened; careening.
cherub (n.): late 14c. as an order of angels, from Late Latin cherub, from Greek cheroub, from Hebrew kerubh (plural kerubhim) "winged angel," perhaps related to Akkadian karubu "to bless," karibu "one who blesses," an epithet of the bull-colossus. Old English had cerubin, from the Greek plural.
The cherubim, a common feature of ancient Near Eastern mythology, are not to be confused with the round-cheeked darlings of Renaissance iconography. The root of the terms either means "hybrid" or, by an inversion of consonants, "mount," "steed," and they are winged beasts, probably of awesome aspect, on which the sky god of the old Canaanite myths and of the poetry of Psalms goes riding through the air. [Robert Alter, "The Five Books of Moses," 2004, commentary on Gen. iii:24]
Chile: South American country, probably named from a local native word subsequently confused with Mexican Spanish chile "chili pepper" (see chili). Suggestions are that the native word means "land's end" or else "cold, winter," which would make a coincidental convergence with English chilly. Related: Chilean.
concent (n.): "harmony," 1580s, from Latin concentus "a singing together, harmony," from concinere "to sing or sound together," from com- "with, together" (see com-) + canere "to sing" (see chant (v.)). Often misspelled consent or confused with that word.
decollete (adj.): 1831, from French décolleté, past participle of décolleter "to bare the neck and shoulders," from de- (see de-) + collet "collar of a dress," diminutive of col (Latin collum) "neck" (see collar (n.)). Not to be confused with decollate (v.), which means "to behead."
Druid (n.): 1560s, from French druide, from Latin druidae (plural), from Gaulish Druides, from Celtic compound *dru-wid-, probably representing Old Celtic *derwos "true"/PIE *dru- "tree" (especially oak; see tree (n.)) + *wid- "to know" (see vision). Hence, literally, perhaps, "they who know the oak" (perhaps in allusion to divination from mistletoe). Anglo-Saxon, too, used identical words to mean "tree" and "truth" (treow).

The English form comes via Latin, not immediately from Celtic. The Old Irish form was drui (dative and accusative druid; plural druad); Modern Irish and Gaelic draoi, genitive druadh "magician, sorcerer." Not to be confused with United Ancient Order of Druids, secret benefit society founded in London 1781.
effuse (v.): "to pour out, spill," late 14c., from Middle French effuser or directly from Latin effusus "poured out," past participle of effundere "to pour forth" (see effusion). Related: Effused; effusing. Not to be confused with eff youse.
flush (n.): The section of entries for the various flushes in Century Dictionary opens with a caveat:
The several words spelled flush, being mostly dialectal, colloquial, or technical, and scantily recorded in early literature, have become partly confused with one another, and cannot now be entirely disentangled. Words originally different have acquired some meanings very nearly identical, while on the other hand there are some meanings not obviously related which are, nevertheless, to be referred to one original.
Weekley calls it "A very puzzling word." Sense of "a rush of water" in a stream (1520s), is probably from flush (v.1). From this likely come the extended senses "rush of emotion or passion" (1610s); "a sudden shooting up" (1773); "act of cleansing (a drain) by flushing" (1883); "glow of light or color" (especially sudden redness in the face), 1620s. Independently from the verb, probably, is the noun sense of "a flight of birds suddenly started up" (1590s).

The meaning "hand of cards all of one suit" (1520s) is of uncertain origin, perhaps formed on the model of Middle French flus (15c.), from Old French flux, flus "a flowing, rolling" (see flux), which, in common with its Italian cognate flusso, is said to have once had a sense of "a run" of cards. The form in English probably was influenced by flush (v.1).
garbage (n.): "refuse, filth," 1580s; earlier "giblets, refuse of a fowl, waste parts of an animal (head, feet, etc.) used for human food" (early 15c., in early use also gabage, garbish, garbidge ), of unknown origin; OED says probably from Anglo-French "like many other words found in early cookery books." In its sense of "waste material, refuse" it has been influenced by and partly confused with garble (q.v.) in its older sense of "remove refuse material from spices;" Middle English had the derived noun garbelage but it is attested only as the action of removing the refuse, not the material itself.

Perhaps the English word originally is from a derivative of Old French garbe/jarbe "sheaf of wheat, bundle of sheaves," though the sense connection is difficult. This word is from Proto-Germanic *garba- (cognates: Dutch garf, German garbe "sheaf"), from PIE *ghrebh- (1) "to seize, reach" (see grab (v.)).

"In modern American usage garbage is generally restricted to mean kitchen and vegetable wastes" [Craigie]. Used figuratively for "worthless, offensive stuff" from 1590s. Garbage can is from 1901. Garbage collector "trash man" is from 1872; Australian shortening garbo attested from 1953. Garbology "study of waste as a social science" is by 1976; garbologist is from 1965.
gawp (n.): "fool, simpleton," 1825, perhaps from gawp (v.) "to yawn, gape" (as in astonishment), which is attested from 1680s, a dialectal survival of galp (c. 1300), which is related to yelp or gape and perhaps confused with or influenced by gawk.
Gerald: masc. proper name, introduced into England by the Normans, from Old French Giralt, from Old High German Gerwald, "spear-wielder," from Proto-Germanic *girald, from *ger "spear" (see gar) + base of waltan "to rule" (cognate with Old English wealdan; see wield). The name often was confused with Gerard.
Gregory: masc. proper name, popular in England and Scotland by mid-12c. (Pope Gregory I sent the men who converted the English to Christianity), nativization of Late Latin Gregorius, literally "wakeful" (equivalent to Latin Vigilantius), from Greek gregorios, a derivative of gregoros "to be watchful," from PIE root *ger- "to be awake" (cognates: Sanskrit jagarti "he is awake," Avestan agarayeiti "wakes up, rouses"). At times confused with Latin gregarius (see gregarious).
hagiarchy (n.): "government by persons in holy orders," 1826 (Southey, "Vindiciae Ecclesiae Anglicanae"); see hagio- "holy" + -archy. Not to be confused with hagiocracy "government by persons considered holy" (1816), with -cracy.
irruption (n.): 1570s, from Middle French irruption or directly from Latin irruptionem (nominative irruptio) "a breaking in, bursting in, invasion," noun of action from past participle stem of irrumpere, from assimilated form of in- "into, in, on, upon" (see in- (2)) + rumpere (see rupture (n.)). Frequently confused with eruption.
Irwin: masc. proper name, Old English Eoforwine "boar-friend;" often confused with Irving, Irvin, which are from Irvine, Ayrshire, or Irving, Dumfries.
odalisque (n.): "female slave in a harem," 1680s, from French odalisque (1660s), from Turkish odaliq "maidservant," from odah "room in a harem," literally "chamber, hall," + -liq, suffix expressing function. In French, the suffix was confused with Greek -isk(os) "of the nature of, belonging to."
osprey (n.): fishing hawk, mid-15c., from Anglo-French ospriet, from Medieval Latin avis prede "bird of prey," from Latin avis praedæ, a generic term apparently confused with this specific bird in Old French on its similarity to ossifrage.
profer (v.): c. 1300, "to utter, express," from Old French proferer (13c.) "utter, present verbally, pronounce," from Latin proferre "to bring forth, produce," figuratively "make known, publish, quote, utter." Sense confused with proffer. Related: Profered; profering.
rack (n.3): "clouds driven before the wind," c. 1300, also "rush of wind, collision, crash," originally a northern word, possibly from Old English racu "cloud" (or an unrecorded Scandinavian cognate of it), reinforced by Old Norse rek "wreckage, jetsam," or by influence of Old English wræc "something driven;" from Proto-Germanic *wrakaz, from PIE root *wreg- "to push, shove, drive" (see urge (v.)). Often confused with wrack (n.), especially in phrase rack and ruin (1590s). The distinction is that rack is "driven clouds;" wrack is "seaweed cast up on shore."
Sabaoth (n.): early 14c., from Late Latin, from Greek Sabaoth, rendering Hebrew tzebhaoth "hosts, armies," plural of tzabha "army," from tzaba "he waged war, he served." A word translated in English in the Old Testament by the phrase "the Lord of Hosts," but originally left untranslated in the New Testament and in the "Te Deum" in the designation Lord of Sabaoth; often confused with sabbath.
set (v.): Old English settan (transitive) "cause to sit, put in some place, fix firmly; build, found; appoint, assign," from Proto-Germanic *(bi)satjan "to cause to sit, set" (cognates: Old Norse setja, Swedish sätta, Old Saxon settian, Old Frisian setta, Dutch zetten, German setzen, Gothic satjan), causative form of PIE *sod-, variant of *sed- (1) "to sit" (see sit (v.)). Also see set (n.2).

Intransitive sense from c. 1200, "be seated." Used in many disparate senses by Middle English; sense of "make or cause to do, act, or be; start" and that of "mount a gemstone" attested by mid-13c. Confused with sit since early 14c. Of the sun, moon, etc., "to go down," recorded from c. 1300, perhaps from similar use of the cognates in Scandinavian languages. To set (something) on "incite to attack" (c. 1300) originally was in reference to hounds and game.
Simon: masc. proper name, from Latin, from Greek Symeon, from Hebrew Shim'on, literally "hearkening, hearing," from shama "he heard." In English Old Testaments, usually printed as Simeon, but in New Testament almost always as Simon. Confused with Greek masc. proper name Simon, which is from simos "snub-nosed."
sine (n.): trigonometric function, 1590s (in Thomas Fale's "Horologiographia, the Art of Dialling"), from Latin sinus "fold in a garment, bend, curve, bosom" (see sinus). Used mid-12c. by Gherardo of Cremona in Medieval Latin translation of Arabic geometrical text to render Arabic jiba "chord of an arc, sine" (from Sanskrit jya "bowstring"), which he confused with jaib "bundle, bosom, fold in a garment."
stem (v.1): "to hold back," early 14c., from a Scandinavian source, such as Old Norse stemma "to stop, dam up; be stopped, abate," from Proto-Germanic *stamjan (cognates: Swedish stämma, Old Saxon stemmian, Middle Dutch stemon, German stemmen "stop, resist, oppose"), from PIE root *stem- "to strike against something" (cognates: Lithuanian stumiu "thrust, push"). Not connected to stem (n.). Related: Stemmed; stemming. Phrase to stem the tide is literally "to hold back the tide," but often is confused with stem (v.2) "make headway against."

Verbal phrase stems from (1932, American English), perhaps is from stem (v.) in the sense "to rise, mount up, have origin in" (1570s), or is influenced by or translates German stammen aus, probably from a figurative sense represented by English stem (n.) in the sense of "stock of a family, line of descent" (c. 1540; cognates: family tree, and German stammvater "tribal ancestor," literally "stem-father").
strait (adj.): "narrow, strict" (late 13c.), from Old French estreit, estrait "tight, close-fitting, constricted, narrow" (Modern French étroit), from Latin strictus, past participle of stringere (2) "bind or draw tight" (see strain (v.)). More or less confused with unrelated straight (adj.). Related: Straightly.
tanner (n.2): "sixpence," slang word first recorded 1811, of unknown origin. J.C. Hotten, lexicographer of Victorian slang, thinks it may be from tanner and skin, rhyming slang for "thin," presumably in reference to the smallness of the coin. Not to be confused with tenner, slang for "ten-pound note," which dates from 1861.
trapezoid (n.): 1706, "a trapezium," from Modern Latin trapezoides, from Late Greek trapezoeides, noun use by Euclid of Greek trapezoeides "trapezium-shaped," from trapeza, literally "table" (see trapezium), + -oeides "shaped" (see -oid). Technically, a plane four-sided figure with no two sides parallel. But in English since c. 1800, often confused with trapezium in its sense of "a quadrilateral figure having only sides parallel and two not."
troll (v.): late 14c., "to go about, stroll," later (early 15c.) "roll from side to side, trundle," probably from Old French troller, a hunting term, "wander, to go in quest of game without purpose" (Modern French trôler), from a Germanic source (compare Old High German trollen "to walk with short steps"), from Proto-Germanic *truzlanan.

Sense of "sing in a full, rolling voice" (first attested 1570s) and that of "fish with a moving line" (c. 1600) both are extended technical uses from the general sense of "roll, trundle," the former from "sing in the manner of a catch or round," the latter perhaps confused with trail or trawl. Figurative sense of "to lure on as with a moving bait, entice, allure" is from 1560s. Meaning "to cruise in search of sexual encounters" is recorded from 1967, originally in homosexual slang.
un- (2): prefix of reversal, deprivation, or removal (as in unhand, undo, unbutton), Old English on-, un-, from Proto-Germanic *andi- (cognates: Old Saxon ant-, Old Norse and-, Dutch ont-, Old High German ant-, German ant-, Gothic and- "against"), from PIE *anti "facing opposite, near, in front of, before, against" (see ante).

More or less confused with un- (1) through similarity in the notions of "negation" and "reversal;" an adjective such as unlocked might represent "not locked" (un- (1)) or the past tense of unlock (un- (2)).