quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- embezzle (v.)




- early 15c., "make away with money or property of another, steal," from Anglo-French enbesiler "to steal, cause to disappear" (c. 1300), from Old French em- (see en- (1)) + besillier "torment, destroy, gouge," which is of unknown origin. Sense of "dispose of fraudulently to one's own use," is first recorded 1580s. Related: Embezzled; embezzling.
- hot (adj.)




- Old English hat "hot, flaming, opposite of cold," also "fervent, fierce, intense, excited," from Proto-Germanic *haita- (cognates: Old Saxon and Old Frisian het, Old Norse heitr, Middle Dutch and Dutch heet, German heiß "hot," Gothic heito "heat of a fever"), from PIE root *kai- "heat" (cognates: Lithuanian kaistu "to grow hot").
The association of hot with sexuality dates back to c. 1500. Taste sense of "pungent, acrid, biting" is from 1540s. Sense of "exciting, remarkable, very good" is 1895; that of "stolen" is first recorded 1925 (originally with overtones of "easily identified and difficult to dispose of"); that of "radioactive" is from 1942.
Hot flashes in the menopausal sense attested from 1887. Hot air "unsubstantiated statements, boastful talk" is from 1900. Hot stuff for anything good or excellent is by 1889. Hot potato in figurative sense is from 1846. The hot and cold in hide-and-seek or guessing games are from hunting (1640s), with notion of tracking a scent. - knock (v.)




- Old English cnocian (West Saxon cnucian), "to pound, beat; knock (on a door)," likely of imitative origin. Meaning "deprecate, put down" is from 1892. Related: Knocked; knocking. Knock-kneed first attested 1774. Knock-down, drag-out is from 1827. Command knock it off "stop it" is first recorded 1880, perhaps from auctioneer's term for "dispose of quickly:"
At the commencement of the sales, he gave every one that wanted to purchase a paper containing a description of the lands that were to be sold; and, as the sales were cried, he called over the numbers and described the land; and when it got up to one dollar and a quarter an acre, if no body bid, after it was cried two or three times, he would say, knock it off, knock it off. [U.S. Senate record, 1834]
- phony (adj.)




- also phoney, "not genuine," 1899, perhaps an alteration of fawney "gilt brass ring used by swindlers."
His most successful swindle was selling "painted" or "phony" diamonds. He had a plan of taking cheap stones, and by "doctoring" them make them have a brilliant and high class appearance. His confederates would then take the diamonds to other pawnbrokers and dispose of them. ["The Jewelers Review," New York, April 5, 1899]
The noun meaning "phony person or thing" is attested from 1902. - raffle (v.)




- "dispose of by raffle," 1851, from raffle (n.). Related: Raffled; raffling.
- remainder (n.)




- late 14c., from Anglo-French remainder, Old French remaindre, noun use of infinitive, a variant of Old French remanoir (see remain (v.)). The verb meaning "dispose of (books) at a reduced price" is from 1904. Related: Remaindered.
- sellout (n.)




- also sell-out, "corrupt bargain," 1862 (in Mary Chesnut's diary), from the verbal phrase (at that time often meaning "dispose of one's interests" in a company, etc.), from sell (v.) + out (adv.). Meaning "event for which all tickets have been sold" is attested from 1923. The verbal phrase sell out "prostitute one's ideals or talents" is attested from 1888.
- short (adj.)




- Old English sceort, scort "short, not long, not tall; brief," probably from Proto-Germanic *skurta- (cognates: Old Norse skorta "to be short of," skort "shortness;" Old High German scurz "short"), from PIE root *(s)ker- (1) "to cut," with notion of "something cut off" (cognates: Sanskrit krdhuh "shortened, maimed, small;" Latin curtus "short," cordus "late-born," originally "stunted in growth;" Old Church Slavonic kratuku, Russian korotkij "short;" Lithuanian skurstu "to be stunted," skardus "steep;" Old Irish cert "small," Middle Irish corr "stunted, dwarfish").
Meaning "having an insufficient quantity" is from 1690s. Meaning "rude" is attested from late 14c. Meaning "easily provoked" is from 1590s; perhaps the notion is of being "not long in tolerating." Short fuse in figurative sense of "quick temper" first attested 1968. To fall short is from archery. Short run "relatively brief period of time" is from 1879. Short story first recorded 1877. To make short work of "dispose of quickly" is first attested 1570s. Phrase short and sweet is from 1530s. To be short by the knees (1733) was to be kneeling; to be short by the head (1540s) was to be beheaded. - shuffle (v.)




- 1530s, put together hastily," probably from Middle English shovelen "to move with dragging feet," itself probably a frequentative form of shoven (see shove (v.)). Or perhaps from Low German schuffeln "to walk clumsily, deal dishonestly."
Of playing cards, first recorded 1560s. Meaning "walk slowly without lifting the feet" is from 1570s. Meaning "push along gradually" is from 1560s. Meaning "move from one place to another" is from 1690s. Meaning "do a shuffle dance" is from 1818. Related: Shuffled; shuffling. Shuffle off "get rid of, dispose of" is from Shakespeare (1601). - throwaway (adj.)




- also throw-away, 1901 in reference to very low prices; by 1903 in reference to printed material meant to be read once then tossed, and to wasted votes; with reference to disposable consumer goods, attested from 1969. From the verbal phrase, attested from late 14c. in the sense "reject, cast from oneself," from throw (v.) + away (adv.). More literal meaning of "dispose of as useless, release from one's possession as unneeded" is first recorded 1520s. Throw-away society attested from 1967.
- unload (v.)




- 1520s, in reference to cargo, from un- (2) + load (v.). Figurative sense (in reference to feelings, etc.) is recorded from 1590s. Used in reference to sales of stocks by 1870, hence U.S. colloquial sense "dispose of property the holding of which is risky" (1881). Related: Unloaded; unloading.
- will (v.2)




- Old English willian "to determine by act of choice," from will (n.). From mid-15c. as "dispose of by will or testament." Often difficult to distinguish from will (v.1).
- deep-six




- "Destroy or dispose of (something) irretrievably", 1920s (as the deep six 'the grave'): perhaps from the custom of burial at sea at a depth of six fathoms.