英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

jail [jail 词源字典]: jail: [13] Etymologically, a jail is a ‘little cage’. The word comes ultimately from Vulgar Latin *gaviola, which was an alteration of an earlier *caveola, a diminutive form of Latin cavea ‘cage’ (source of English cage). It passed into English in two distinct versions: jail came via Old French jaiole; but the Old Northern French form of the word was gaiole, and this produced English gaol.

Until the 17th century gaol was pronounced with a hard /g/ sound, but then it gradually fell into line phonetically with jail. There has been a tendency for British English to use the spelling gaol, while American prefers jail, but there are now signs that jail is on the increase in Britain.
=> cage[jail etymology, jail origin, 英语词源]
warp: warp: [OE] Warp originally meant ‘throw’ (‘Saint Paul’s head after his decease in a deep vewar [fishpond] warped was’, Scottish Legends of the Saints 1375). The notion of ‘bending’ or ‘twisting’ is a secondary development (first recorded in the 14th century). Its immediate inspiration may have been the related Old Norse past participle orpinn ‘warped’, but the underlying motivation was no doubt a conceptual link between ‘throwing’ and ‘twisting’, presumably via ‘throw with a twisting action’ (it is probably no coincidence that English throw originally meant ‘twist’).

The word came from a prehistoric Germanic base *werb-, which also produced German werfen and Dutch werpan ‘throw’. This was probably descended from Indo-European *wer-, source also of Latin vertere ‘turn’, from which English gets revert, version, etc.
=> convert, revert, version, wharf
aggravation (n.): late 15c., from Middle French aggravation, from Late Latin aggravationem (nominative aggravatio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin aggravare "make heavier," figuratively "to embarrass further, increase in oppressiveness," from ad "to" (see ad-) + gravare "weigh down," from gravis "heavy" (see grave (adj.)). Oldest sense is "increasing in gravity or seriousness;" that of "irritation" is from 1610s.
anthrax (n.): late 14c., "any severe boil or carbuncle," from Latin, from Greek anthrax "charcoal, live coal," also "carbuncle," which is of unknown origin. Specific sense of the malignant disease in sheep and cattle (and occasionally humans) is from 1876.
augur (n.): 1540s, from Latin augur, a religious official in ancient Rome who foretold events by interpreting omens, perhaps originally meaning "an increase in crops enacted in ritual," in which case it probably is from Old Latin *augos (genitive *augeris) "increase," and is related to augere "increase" (see augment). The more popular theory is that it is from Latin avis "bird," because the flights, singing, and feeding of birds, along with entrails from bird sacrifices, were important objects of divination (compare auspicious). In that case, the second element would be from garrire "to talk."
bloody (adj.): Old Engish blodig, adjective from blod (see blood). Common Germanic, compare Old Frisian blodich, Old Saxon blôdag, Dutch bloedig, Old High German bluotag, German blutig.

It has been a British intensive swear word since at least 1676. Weekley relates it to the purely intensive use of the cognate Dutch bloed, German Blut. But perhaps it ultimately is connected with bloods in the slang sense of "rowdy young aristocrats" (see blood (n.)) via expressions such as bloody drunk "as drunk as a blood."

Partridge reports that it was "respectable" before c. 1750, and it was used by Fielding and Swift, but heavily tabooed c. 1750-c. 1920, perhaps from imagined association with menstruation; Johnson calls it "very vulgar," and OED writes of it, "now constantly in the mouths of the lowest classes, but by respectable people considered 'a horrid word', on par with obscene or profane language."
The onset of the taboo against bloody coincides with the increase in linguistic prudery that presaged the Victorian Era but it is hard to say what the precise cause was in the case of this specific word. Attempts have been made to explain the term's extraordinary shock power by invoking etymology. Theories that derive it from such oaths as "By our Lady" or "God's blood" seem farfetched, however. More likely, the taboo stemmed from the fear that many people have of blood and, in the minds of some, from an association with menstrual bleeding. Whatever, the term was debarred from polite society during the whole of the nineteenth century. [Rawson]
Shaw shocked theatergoers when he put it in the mouth of Eliza Doolittle in "Pygmalion" (1914), and for a time the word was known euphemistically as "the Shavian adjective." It was avoided in print as late as 1936. Bloody Sunday, Jan. 30, 1972, when 13 civilians were killed by British troops at protest in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
crescent (n.): late 14c., "crescent-shaped ornament," from Anglo-French cressaunt, from Old French creissant "crescent of the moon" (12c., Modern French croissant), from Latin crescentum (nominative crescens), present participle of crescere "come forth, spring up, grow, thrive, swell, increase in numbers or strength," from PIE root *ker- (3) "to grow" (cognates: Latin Ceres, goddess of agriculture, creare "to bring forth, create, produce;" Greek kouros "boy," kore "girl;" Armenian serem "bring forth," serim "be born").

Applied in Latin to the waxing moon, luna crescens, but subsequently in Latin mistaken to refer to the shape, not the stage. The original Latin sense is preserved in crescendo. A badge or emblem of the Turkish sultans (probably chosen for its suggestion of "increase"); figurative sense of "Muslim political power" is from 1580s, but modern writers often falsely associate it with the Saracens of the Crusades or the Moors of Spain. Horns of the waxing moon are on the viewer's left side; those of the waning moon are on his right.
croup (n.): "coughing illness," 1765, from obsolete verb croup "to cry hoarsely, croak" (1510s), probably echoic. This was the local name of the disease in southeastern Scotland, given wide currency by Dr. Francis Home (1719-1813) of Edinburgh in his 1765 article on it. Related: Croupy.
decay (n.): mid-15c., "deterioration, decline in value," from decay (v.). Meaning "gradual decrease in radioactivity" is from 1897.
Graves' disease: "exophthalmic goiter," 1862, named for Irish physician Robert James Graves (1796-1853), who first recognized the disease in 1835. The surname probably is from Old Norse greifi "steward," corresponding to Old English gerefa (see reeve).
inflation (n.): mid-14c., "swelling caused by gathering of 'wind' in the body; flatulence;" figuratively, "outbursts of pride," from Latin inflationem (nominative inflatio) "a puffing up; flatulence," noun of action from past participle stem of inflare "blow into, puff up," from in- "into" (see in- (2)) + flare "to blow" (see blow (v.1)). Monetary sense of "enlargement of prices" (originally by an increase in the amount of money in circulation) first recorded 1838 in American English.
influenza (n.): 1743, borrowed during an outbreak of the disease in Europe, from Italian influenza "influenza, epidemic," originally "visitation, influence (of the stars)," from Medieval Latin influentia (see influence). Used in Italian for diseases since at least 1504 (as in influenza di febbre scarlattina "scarlet fever") on notion of astral or occult influence. The 1743 outbreak began in Italy. Often applied since mid-19c. to severe colds.
level (v.): mid-15c., "to make level," from level (n.). From c. 1600 as "to bring to a level;" 1958 as "to cease increasing." Meaning "to aim a gun" is late 15c. Slang sense of "tell the truth" is from 1920. To level up "to rise" is attested by 1863.
A word here as to the misconception labored under by our English neighbor; he evidently does not understand the American manner of doing things. We never level down in this country; we are always at work on the up grade. "Level up! Level up!" is the motto of the American people. [James E. Garretson, "Professional Education," in "The Dental Cosmos," Philadelphia, 1865]
To level off "cease rising or falling" is from 1920, originally in aviation.
raise (n.): "act of raising or lifting," 1530s, from raise (v.). Meaning "an increase in amount or value" is from 1728. Meaning "increase in salary or wages" is from 1898, chiefly American English (British preferring rise). Earliest attested use (c. 1500) is in obsolete sense of "a levy."
rickets (n.): disease caused by vitamin D deficiency, 1630s, of uncertain origin. Originally a local name for the disease in Dorset and Somerset, England. Some derive it from a Dorset word, rucket "to breathe with difficulty," but the sense connection is difficult. The Modern Latin name for the disease, rachitis, comes from Greek rhakhis "spine" (see rachitic), but this was chosen by English physician Daniel Whistler (1619-1684) for resemblance to rickets.
rise (v.): Old English risan "to rise, rise from sleep, get out of bed; stand up, rise to one's feet; get up from table; rise together; be fit, be proper" (usually arisan; class I strong verb; past tense ras, past participle risen), from Proto-Germanic *us-risanan "to go up" (cognates: Old Norse risa, Old Saxon risan, Gothic urreisan "to rise," Old High German risan "to rise, flow," German reisen "to travel," originally "to rise for a journey").

From c. 1200 as "move from a lower to a higher position, move upward; increase in number or amount; rise in fortune, prosper; become prominent;" also "rise from the dead." Meaning "come into existence, originate; result (from)" is mid-13c. From early 14c. as "rebel, revolt;" also "occur, happen, come to pass; take place." Related to raise (v.). Related: Rose; risen.
syphilis (n.): infectious venereal disease, 1718, Modern Latin, originally from the title of a poem, "Syphilis, sive Morbus Gallicus" "Syphilis, or the French Disease," published 1530, by Veronese doctor Girolamo Fracastoro (1483-1553), which tells the tale of the shepherd Syphilus, supposed to be the first sufferer from the disease. Fracastoro first used the word as a generic term for the disease in his 1546 treatise "De Contagione." Why he chose the name is unknown; it may be intended as Latin for "Pig-lover," though there was also a Sipylus, a son of Niobe, in Ovid.
wrinkle (n.): "fold or crease in the extenal body," late 14c.; in cloth or clothing from early 15c., probably from wrinkle (v.). Meaning "defect, problem" first recorded 1640s; that of "idea, device, notion" (especially a new one) is from 1817.
defervescence: "The abatement of a fever as indicated by a decrease in bodily temperature", Early 18th century: from Latin defervescent- 'ceasing to boil', from the verb defervescere.
musher: "A person who owns and drives a taxi cab", Late 19th century: from slang mush 'owner-driver of a cab', from mushroom, apparently referring to the increase in the number of vehicles owned as the business grows.
bioconcentration: "Increase in the concentration of a (typically toxic) chemical in the tissue of organisms, especially progressive concentration in organisms further up the food chain; an instance of this", 1960s; earliest use found in Practical in Treatment Low- & Intermediate-level Radioactive Wastes. From bio- + concentration.
Helicobacter: "A genus of Gram-negative, microaerophilic bacteria with helical, curved, or straight cells, isolated chiefly from the digestive tract of mammals; (also helicobacter) a bacterium of this genus, especially Helicobacter pylori, which causes chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer disease in humans", 1980s. From scientific Latin Helicobacter, genus name from ancient Greek ἑλικο- + -bacter.
rupia: "A skin disease in which there is an eruption of vesicles or pustules which develop into ulcerated sores covered by thick, dark scabs or crusts; especially a form of secondary syphilis characterized by such lesions", Early 19th cent.; earliest use found in Thomas Bateman (1778–1821), physician and dermatologist. From scientific Latin rupia from ancient Greek ῥύπος dirt, filth + classical Latin -ia.
diabetes insipidus: "A disease in which the secretion of or response to the pituitary hormone vasopressin is impaired, resulting in the production of very large quantities of dilute urine, often with dehydration and insatiable thirst", Late 19th century: from diabetes + Latin insipidus 'insipid'.