英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

band: band: There are two distinct words band in English, but neither of them goes back as far as Old English. The one meaning ‘group of people’ [15] comes from Old French bande, but is probably Germanic in ultimate origin; the specific sense ‘group of musicians’ developed in the 17th century. Band ‘strip’ [13] comes from Germanic *bindan, source of English bind, but reached English in two quite separate phases.

It first came via Old Norse band, in the sense ‘something that ties or constrains’; this replaced Old English bend, also from Germanic *bindan (which now survives only as a heraldic term, as in bend sinister), but is now itself more or less obsolete, having been superseded by bond, a variant form. But then in the 15th century it arrived again, by a different route: Old French had bande ‘strip, stripe’, which can be traced back, perhaps via a Vulgar Latin *binda, to the same ultimate source, Germanic *bindan.
=> bend, bind, bond, bundle, ribbon
cannon: cannon: English has two different words cannon, neither of which can for certain be connected with canon. The earlier, ‘large gun’ [16], comes via French canon from Italian cannone ‘large tube’, which was a derivative of canna ‘tube, pipe’, from Latin canna (source of English cane). Cannon as in ‘cannon off something’ [19] is originally a billiards term, and was an alteration (by association with cannon the gun) of an earlier carom (the form still used in American English).

This came from Spanish carombola, a kind of fruit fancifully held to resemble a billiard ball, whose ultimate source was probably an unrecorded *karambal in the Marathi language of south central India.
=> cane; carom
chagrin: chagrin: [17] The word chagrin first appeared in French in the 14th century as an adjective, meaning ‘sad, vexed’, a usage at first adopted into English: ‘My wife in a chagrin humour, she not being pleased with my kindness to either of them’, Samuel Pepys’s Diary 6 August 1666. It died out in English in the early 18th century, but the subsequently developed noun and verb have persisted. Etymologists now discount any connection with French chagrin ‘untanned leather’ (source of English shagreen [17]), which came from Turkish sagri.
grouse: grouse: English has two words grouse, neither of whose ancestries are adequately documented. It has been speculated that grouse the game-bird [16] originated as the plural of a now lost *grue, which may have come from the medieval Latin bird-name grūta, or from Welsh grugiar, a compound of grug ‘heath’ and iar ‘hen’. Grouse ‘complain’ [19] is first recorded in the poetry of Rudyard Kipling. It seems originally to have been pronounced to rhyme with moose, but in the 20th century has come into line phonetically with grouse the bird. It is not known where it came from.
atrium (n.): 1570s, from Latin atrium "central court or main room of an ancient Roman house, room which contains the hearth," sometimes said (on authority of Varro, "De Lingua Latina") to be an Etruscan word, but perhaps from PIE *ater- "fire," on notion of "place where smoke from the hearth escapes" (through a hole in the roof). Anatomical sense of "either of the upper cavities of the heart" first recorded 1870. Meaning "skylit central court in a public building" first attested 1967.
creole (n.): c. 1600, from French créole (17c.), from Spanish criollo "person native to a locality," from Portuguese crioulo, diminutive of cria "person (especially a servant) raised in one's house," from criar "to raise or bring up," from Latin creare "to produce, create" (see create).

The exact sense varies with local use. Originally with no connotation of color or race; Fowler (1926) writes: "Creole does not imply mixture of race, but denotes a person either of European or (now rarely) of negro descent born and naturalized in certain West Indian and American countries." In U.S. use, applied to descendants of French and Spanish settlers in Louisiana from at least 1792. Of languages, from 1879. As an adjective, from 1748.
HIV (n.): 1986, initialism (acronym) from human immunodeficiency virus, name for either of the two viruses that cause AIDS.
masher (n.): "thing that mashes," c. 1500, agent noun from mash (v.). Meaning "would-be lady-killer" is from 1875, American English, perhaps in use from 1860, probably from mash (v.) on notion either of "pressing one's attentions," or of "crushing someone else's emotions" (compare crush).
He was, to use a Western expression, a 'regular heart-smasher among the women; and it may not be improper to state, just here, that no one had a more exalted opinion of his capabilities in that line than the aforesaid 'Jo' himself. ["Harper's New Monthly Magazine," March 1861]

He had a weakness to be considered a regular masher of female hearts and a very wicked young man with the fair sex generally, but there was not a well-authenticated instance of his ever having broken a heart in his life, nor likely to be one. [Gilbert A. Pierce, "Zachariah, The Congressman," Chicago, 1880]
Also in use late 19c were mash (n.) "a romantic fixation, crush" (1884); mash (v.) "excite sentimental admiration" (1882); mash-note "love letter" (1890).
tropic (n.): late 14c., "either of the two circles in the celestial sphere which describe the northernmost and southernmost points of the ecliptic," from Late Latin tropicus "of or pertaining to the solstice" (as a noun, "one of the tropics"), from Latin tropicus "pertaining to a turn," from Greek tropikos "of or pertaining to a turn or change; of or pertaining to the solstice" (as a noun, "the solstice," short for tropikos kyklos), from trope "a turning" (see trope).

The notion is of the point at which the sun "turns back" after reaching its northernmost or southernmost point in the sky. Extended 1520s to the corresponding latitudes on the earth's surface (23 degrees 28 minutes north and south); meaning "region between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn" is from 1837.
trunnion (n.): "either of two round projections of a cannon," 1620s, from French trognon "core of fruit, stump, tree trunk," from Middle French troignon (14c.), probably from Latin truncus (see trunk).
Valentine (n.): mid-15c., "sweetheart chosen on St. Valentine's Day," from Late Latin Valentinus, the name of two early Italian saints (from Latin valentia "strength, capacity;" see valence). Choosing a sweetheart on this day originated 14c. as a custom in English and French court circles. Meaning "letter or card sent to a sweetheart" first recorded 1824. The romantic association of the day is said to be from it being around the time when birds choose their mates.
For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd cometh there to chese his make.
[Chaucer, "Parlement of Foules," c. 1381]
Probably the date was the informal first day of spring in whatever French region invented the custom (many surviving medieval calendars reckon the start of spring on the 7th or 22nd of February). No evidence connects it with the Roman Lupercalia (an 18c. theory) or to any romantic or avian quality in either of the saints. The custom of sending special cards or letters on this date flourished in England c. 1840-1870, declined around the turn of the 20th century, and revived 1920s.
To speak of the particular Customs of the English Britons, I shall begin with Valentine's Day, Feb. 14. when young Men and Maidens get their several Names writ down upon Scrolls of Paper rolled up, and lay 'em asunder, the Men drawing the Maidens Names, and these the Mens; upon which, the Men salute their chosen Valentines and present them with Gloves, &c. This Custom (which sometimes introduces a Match) is grounded upon the Instinct of Animals, which about this Time of the Year, feeling a new Heat by the approach of the Sun, begin to couple. ["The Present State of Great Britain and Ireland" London, 1723]
wainscot (n.): mid-14c., "imported oak of superior quality" (well-grained and without knots), probably from Middle Dutch or Middle Flemish waghenscote "superior quality oak wood, board used for paneling" (though neither of these is attested as early as the English word), related to Middle Low German wagenschot (late 14c.), from waghen (see wagon) + scote "partition, crossbar." So called perhaps because the wood originally was used for wagon building and coachwork, but the sense evolution is not entirely clear. Meaning "panels lining the walls of rooms" is recorded from 1540s. Wainscoting is from 1570s.
whether (conj.): Old English hwæðer, hweðer "which of two, whether," from Proto-Germanic *gihwatharaz (cognates Old Saxon hwedar, Old Norse hvarr, Gothic huaþar, Old High German hwedar "which of the two," German weder "neither"), from interrogative base *khwa- "who" (see who) + comparative suffix *-theraz (cognate compounds in Sanskrit katarah, Avestan katara-, Greek poteros, Latin uter "which of the two, either of two," Lithuanian katras "which of the two," Old Church Slavonic koteru "which"). Its comparative form is either. Also in Old English as a pronoun and adjective. Phrase whether or not (also whether or no) recorded from 1650s.
wing (n.): late 12c., wenge, from Old Norse vængr "wing of a bird, aisle, etc." (cognates: Danish and Swedish vinge "wing"), of unknown origin, perhaps from a Proto-Germanic *we-ingjaz, suffixed form of PIE root *we- "blow" (source of Old English wawan "to blow;" see wind (n.)). Replaced Old English feðra (plural) "wings" (see feather). The meaning "either of two divisions of a political party, army, etc." is first recorded c. 1400; theatrical sense is from 1790.

The slang sense of earn (one's) wings is 1940s, from the wing-shaped badges awarded to air cadets on graduation. To be under (someone's) wing "protected by (someone)" is recorded from early 13c. Phrase on a wing and a prayer is title of a 1943 song about landing a damaged aircraft.
fallopian tube: "(In a female mammal) either of a pair of tubes along which eggs travel from the ovaries to the uterus", Early 18th century: from Fallopius, Latinized form of the name of Gabriello Fallopio (1523–62), the Italian anatomist who first described them.
phaeophorbide: "A greyish-green compound formed by the degradation of chlorophyll or phaeophytin (e.g. by strong acid or by enzymes), having the structure of phaeophytin with the phytyl group replaced by a hydrogen atom; (more fully phaeophorbide a, phaeophorbide b) either of two forms of this, derived from chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b respectively", Early 20th cent.; earliest use found in Chemical Abstracts. From German Phäophorbid from ancient Greek ϕαιός grey + ϕορβή pasture, food + German -id.
nubecula: " Astronomy . In form Nubecula. (The name of) either of the Magellanic Clouds", Late 17th cent.; earliest use found in Robert Hooke (1635–1703), natural philosopher. From classical Latin nūbēcula a small cloud, a cloud-like cluster of stars, a cloudy area in urine, a film in the eye from nūbēs cloud + -cula.
antennule: "A small antenna, especially either of the first pair of antennae in a crustacean", Mid 19th century: diminutive of antenna.
pubis: "Either of a pair of bones forming the two sides of the pelvis", Late 16th century: from Latin os pubis 'bone of the pubes'.
obturator: "Either of two muscles covering the outer front part of the pelvis on each side and involved in movements of the thigh and hip", Early 18th century: from medieval Latin, literally 'obstructor', from obturare 'stop up'.
latissimus: "Either of a pair of large, roughly triangular muscles covering the lower part of the back, extending from the sacral, lumbar, and lower thoracic vertebrae to the armpits", Early 17th century: modern Latin, from musculus latissimus dorsi, literally 'broadest muscle of the back'.
teres: "Either of two muscles passing below the shoulder joint from the scapula to the upper part of the humerus, one ( teres major) drawing the arm towards the body and rotating it inwards, the other ( teres minor) rotating it outwards", Early 18th century: modern Latin, from Latin, literally 'rounded'.
cricoarytenoid: "Of or relating to the cricoid and arytenoid cartilages; especially designating either of a pair of muscles (lateral and posterior) which originate from the cricoid and insert on to the thyroid cartilage, and serve to adduct and abduct the vocal folds", Mid 18th cent. From crico- + arytenoid, after post-classical Latin cricoarytaenoideus, cricoarytaenoides.
arytenoid: "Either of a pair of cartilages at the back of the larynx, used in the production of different kinds of voice quality (for example, creaky voice)", Early 18th century: from modern Latin arytaenoides, from Greek arutainoeidēs, from arutaina 'funnel'.
splenius: "Either of two muscles attached to the vertebrae in the neck and upper back which draw back the head", Mid 18th century: modern Latin, from Greek splēnion 'bandage'.
corpus cavernosum: "Either of two masses of erectile tissue forming the bulk of the penis and the clitoris", From corpus and Latin cavernosum, neuter of cavernosus 'containing hollows'.
pygopagus: "A pair of conjoined twins united in the region of the buttocks (usually at the sacrum and coccyx); either of a pair of such twins", Mid 19th cent. From pygo- + -pagus, after French pygopage; compare earlier pygopage.
epicondyle: "A protuberance above or on the condyle of a long bone, especially either of the two at the elbow end of the humerus", Mid 19th century: from French épicondyle, modern Latin epicondylus (see epi-, condyle).
autosite: "The larger and more completely developed member of a pair of unequal conjoined twins, on which the less developed member (parasite) is dependent. In early use also: †either of a pair of equally developed conjoined twins ( obsolete )", Mid 19th cent. From French autosite from ancient Greek αὐτόσιτος bringing one's own provisions from αὐτο- + σῖτος food.
cocoyam: "(In West Africa) either of two plants of the arum family with edible corms, i.e. taro (also old cocoyam) and tannia (also new cocoyam)", Early 20th century: probably from coco (sense 2) + yam.
pteris: "Originally: †bracken, Pteridium aquilinum (formerly Pteris aquilina) ( obsolete ). In later use (in form Pteris): a genus of ferns, now comprising largely tropical and subtropical species but formerly including bracken; (also in form pteris) a fern of this genus (also pteris fern)", Early 17th cent.; earliest use found in Philemon Holland (1552–1637), translator. From classical Latin pteris, either of two kinds of fern, sometimes identified with male fern and bracken (Pliny; later adopted as genus name: see note below) and its etymon Hellenistic Greek πτέρις male fern (from ancient Greek πτερόν wing + -ις), so called on account of its feathery leaves.