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adequate [adequate 词源字典]: adequate: see equal
[adequate etymology, adequate origin, 英语词源]
bequeath: bequeath: [OE] Etymologically, what you bequeath is what you ‘say’ you will leave someone in your will. The word comes from Old English becwethan, a derivative of cwethan ‘say’, whose past tense cwæth gives us quoth (it is no relation to quote, by the way). The original sense ‘say, utter’ died out in the 13th century, leaving the legal sense of ‘transferring by will’ (first recorded in 1066).

The noun derivative of Old English cwethan in compounds was -cwiss. Hence we can assume there was an Old English noun *becwiss, although none is recorded. The first we hear of it is at the beginning of the 14th century, when it had unaccountably had a t added to it, producing what we now know as bequest.
=> bequest, quoth
chequer: chequer: see exchequer
consequence: consequence: see sequence
equal: equal: [14] Latin aequus (a word of unknown ancestry) meant ‘level’ or ‘even’. From it was derived the adjective aequālis ‘equal’, which has provided the term for ‘equal’ in all the modern Romance languages, including French égal (source of English egalitarian [19]), Italian uguale, and Spanish igual. English, however, is the only Germanic language in which it constitutes a major borrowing.

English also possesses, of course, a host of related words, including adequate [17], equanimity [17], equate [15], equation [14] equator [14] (etymologically the line of latitude that ‘equalizes’ day and night), and iniquity [14] (etymologically the equivalent of inequality), not to mention all those beginning with the prefix equi-, such as equidistant [16], equilibrium [17] (literally ‘equal balance’, from Latin lībra ‘balance’), equinox [14], equity [14], and equivalent [15].
=> adequate, egalitarian, equator, equity, iniquity
equerry: equerry: [16] Nowadays in Britain simply royal attendants, equerries’ long and traditional association with the royal stables has led to association of the word equerry with Latin equus ‘horse’, but in fact the two are quite unrelated. Equerry originally meant ‘stable’, and was borrowed from the obsolete French escuirie (now écurie). It is not clear where this came from: some etymologists have linked it with Old High German scūr ‘barn, shed’, while others have derived it from Old French escuier ‘groom’ (source of English esquire and squire), according to which view it would mean ‘place where a groom stayed or worked’. (Escuier itself came ultimately from Latin scūtārius ‘shieldbearer’.) Forms such as escurie remained current in English up until the 18th century, but already by the 17th century equus-influenced spellings had begun to appear.

The person in charge of such a stable was formerly termed in French escuier d’escuirie ‘squire of the stable’, and in English groom of the equerry, and there are records from quite early in the 16th century indicating that equerry was being used on its own as the term for such a groom.
=> esquire, squire
equestrian: equestrian: [17] Equestrian was adapted from Latin equester, an adjective derived from eques ‘horseman’. Eques in turn was based on equus ‘horse’ (source of English equine [18]). This was the Latin descendant of *ekwos, the prehistoric Indo-European term for ‘horse’, which was once found in all the daughter languages of Indo- European except for the Slavic branch: Old English had eoh, for example, Old Irish ech, Sanskrit avás, and ancient Greek híppos (source of English hippodrome and hippopotamus).

It is a remarkable circumstance, however, that over the past thousand years equus and its relatives have (other than in derivatives such as equine) died out, to be replaced by secondary terms such as French cheval (from Latin caballus, probably a non-Indo-European borrowing), German pferd (from late Latin paraverēdus ‘extra post-horse’, source also of English palfrey), and English horse.
=> equine, hippopotamus
equip: equip: [16] Etymologically, equip means ‘fit out or provide crew for a ship’. Its immediate source was French équiper, but this appears to have been a borrowing from Old Norse skipa ‘fit out a ship’, a verb derived from skip ‘ship’ (first cousin of English ship). The carliest examples of its use in English are in the much broader sense ‘supply with necessary materials’, and its specific links with the sea were soon severed.
=> ship
exchequer: exchequer: [13] Etymologically, an exchequer is something that has ‘checks’ or squares on it, and indeed the earliest use of the word in English was for ‘chessboard’. It came via Anglo- Norman escheker from medieval Latin scaccārium ‘chessboard’, a derivative of Vulgar Latin scaccus ‘check’ (source of English check ‘verify’). In the early Middle Ages the office of state, in both England and Normandy, which dealt with the collection and management of the royal revenue, used a table with a chequered cloth on it as a sort of rudimentary adding machine, counters being placed on various squares as an aid to calculation.

And by the 14th century it had become the custom to refer to this department, from its chessboard-like table cloth, as the exchequer (Robert Mannyng, for instance, in his Chronicle 1331, records that ‘to Berwick came the king’s exchequer, Sir Hugh of Cressyngham he was chancellor, Walter of Admundesham he was treasurer’). Exchequer was the source of chequer [13], which by further reduction produced check ‘pattern of squares’.
=> check, chess
frequent: frequent: [16] Frequent comes from Latin frequēns, which meant ‘crowded’ as well as ‘regularly repeated’ (it is not known what the origins of frequēns were, although it may be related to Latin farcīre ‘stuff’, source of English farce). The sense ‘crowded’ was carried over into English along with ‘regularly repeated’, but it had virtually died out by the end of the 18th century. The verb frequent [15] goes back to Latin frequentāre ‘visit frequently or regularly’.
harlequin: harlequin: [16] Harlequin, a brightly-clad character in the Italian commedia dell’arte, has a murky history. He seems to have originated in a mythical figure known in Old French as Herlequin or Hellequin, who was the leader of a ghostly troop of horsemen who rode across the sky at night. And Herlequin could well be a later incarnation of King Herla (in Old English Herla cyning), a legendary personage who has been identified with the chief Anglo-Saxon god Woden.

It seems likely that another piece of the jigsaw could be the erlking, the supernatural abductor of children described in a Goethe poem memorably set to music by Schubert; its name is generally traced back to Danish ellerkonge, a variant of elverkonge, literally ‘king of the elves’, which bears a resemblance to Herlequin that is surely too strong to be coincidental.

In early modern French Herlequin became Harlequin, the form borrowed by English (present-day French arlequin shows the influence of Italian arlecchino).
=> king
mannequin: mannequin: see man
obsequious: obsequious: see sequence
request: request: [14] Request and require [14] come from the same ultimate source: Latin requīrere. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix re- ‘again’ and quaerere ‘ask, search’ (source of English enquire, question, etc). It originally meant ‘seek again, ask for again’, and it passed into Vulgar Latin as *requaerere, whose feminine past participle *requaesita has given English request. ‘Ask for’ gradually passed via ‘demand’ into ‘need’, and it was in this sense that English acquired the verb *requaerere, through Old French requere, as require.

Derivatives include requisite [15] and requisition [16].
=> enquire, inquest, query, question, requisition
requite: requite: see quit
sequence: sequence: [14] Sequence is at the centre of a large family of English words that go back ultimately to Latin sequī ‘follow’ (others include consecutive [17], consequence [14], ensue, obsequious [15], persecute [15], prosecute, pursue, second, sect, subsequent [15], sue, and suit). Sequence itself comes from late Latin sequentia, a derivative of the present participle sequēns.

Another Latin derivative was sequēla ‘that which follows’, which has given English sequal [15]. Sequī came from the Indo-European base *seq-, which also produced Greek hépomai, Irish sechur, Lithuanian sekti, and Sanskrit sac-, all meaning ‘follow’.
=> consecutive, consequence, ensue, obsequious, persecute, prosecute, pursue, second, sect, sequal, set, sue, suit
sequin: sequin: [17] When English first adopted sequin, it was the name of a coin. Its ultimate ancestor was Arabic sikkah, which denoted a die from which coins were minted (in Anglo-Indian English from the 17th to the 19th century, a sicca was a newly minted rupee). Italian took the word over as zecca, and created a diminutive form zecchino, referring to a gold coin.

The original application was specifically to a Venetian coin, but this subsequently broadened out, and the term was also used for a Turkish coin (alternatively known as a sultanin). In French, zecchino became sequin, which is the form in which English acquired it. The word might well have followed the coin into oblivion, but in the late 19th century it managed to get itself applied to the small round shiny pieces of metal applied to clothing, and its continued existence was guaranteed.
subsequent: subsequent: see sequence
adequate (adj.): 1610s, from Latin adaequatus "equalized," past participle of adaequare "to make equal to," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + aequare "make level," from aequus (see equal (adj.)). The sense is of being "equal to what is required." Related: Adequateness.
adequately (adv.): 1620s, from adequate + -ly (2); originally a term in logic in reference to correspondence of ideas and objects. Meaning "suitably" is recorded from 1680s.
bequeath (v.): Old English becweðan "to say, speak to, exhort, blame," also "leave by will;" from be- + cweðan "to say," from Proto-Germanic *kwethan, from PIE *gwet- "to say, speak."

Original sense of "say, utter" died out 13c., leaving legal sense of "transfer by will." Closely related to bequest. "An old word kept alive in wills" [OED 1st ed.]. Old English bequeðere meant "interpreter, translator." Related: Bequeathed; bequeathing.
bequest (n.): c. 1300, "act of bequeathing," from be- + *cwis, *cwiss "saying" (related to quoth; from Proto-Germanic *kwessiz; see bequeath), with excrescent -t. Meaning "that which is bequeathed" is recorded from late 15c.
cheque (n.): see check.
chequer: see checker (n.2).
coequal (adj.): late 14c.; see co- + equal.
consequence (n.): late 14c., "inference, conclusion," from Old French consequence "result" (13c., Modern French conséquence), from Latin consequentia, from consequentem (nominative consequens), present participle of consequi "to follow after," from com- "with" (see com-) + sequi "to follow" (see sequel). Sense of "importance" (c. 1600) is from notion of being "pregnant with consequences."
consequences (n.): see consequence. As the name of a round game, attested from 1796.
consequent (adj.): late 14c., in various senses now restricted to consequence, from Middle French conséquent "following, resulting," from Latin consequentem (nominative consequens); see consequence. Meaning "an event which follows another" is from 1610s. Mathematical sense is from 1560s. Related: Consequently.
consequential (adj.): 1620s, from consequent (Latin consequentia) + -al (1). Meaning "pregnant with consequences, important" is recorded from 1728. Related: Consequentially (c. 1600).
consequentialism (n.): 1969, from consequential + -ism. The philosophy that the morality of an action is to be judged solely by its consequences. Related: Consequentialist.
discotheque (n.): 1954 as a French word in English; nativized by 1965, from French discothèque "nightclub with recorded music for dancing," also "record library," borrowed 1932 from Italian discoteca "record collection, record library," coined 1927 from disco "phonograph record" + -teca "collection," probably on model of biblioteca "library."
equability (n.): 1530s, from Latin aequabilitatem (nominative aequabilitas) "equality, uniformity, evenness," figuratively "impartiality," from aequabilis "equal, consistent, uniform" (see equable).
equable (adj.): 1670s, back-formation from equability or else from Latin aequabilis "equal, consistent, uniform," from aequare "make uniform" (see equate). Related: Equably; equableness.
equal (adj.): late 14c., "identical in amount, extent, or portion;" early 15c., "even or smooth of surface," from Latin aequalis "uniform, identical, equal," from aequus "level, even, flat; as tall as, on a level with; friendly, kind, just, fair, equitable, impartial; proportionate; calm, tranquil," which is of unknown origin. Parallel formation egal (from Old French egal) was in use late 14c.-17c. Equal rights is from 1752; by 1854, American English, in relation to men and women. Equal opportunity (adj.) in terms of hiring, etc. is recorded by 1925.
equal (v.): 1580s, "compare, liken, consider as equal" (obsolete), also "match, rival, become equal to," from equal (adj.). Related: Equaled; equaling.
equal (n.): 1570s, from equal (adj.).
equalise (v.): chiefly British English spelling of equalize; see -ize. Related: Equalised; equalising; equaliser; equalisation.
equalitarian (adj.): 1799, in reference to the doctrine that all mankind are equal, from equality on model of humanitarian, etc. As a noun from 1837.
equalitarianism (n.): 1857, from equalitarian + -ism.
equality (n.): late 14c., "evenness, smoothness, uniformity;" c. 1400, in reference to amount or number, from Old French equalité "equality, parity" (Modern French égalité, which form dates from 17c.), from Latin aequalitatem (nominative aequalitas) "equality, similarity, likeness" (also sometimes with reference to civil rights), from aequalis "uniform, identical, equal" (see equal (adj.)). Early 15c. as "state of being equal." Of privileges, rights, etc., in English from 1520s.
equalization (n.): 1781, from equalize + -ation.
equalize (v.): 1580s, "make equal, cause to be equal in amount or degree," from equal (adj.) + -ize. Sports score sense attested by 1925. Related: Equalized; equalizing.
equalizer (n.): 1792, agent noun from equalize. Sports sense attested by 1930; in the U.S. underworld slang sense of "pistol," it is from c. 1900.
equally (adv.): late 14c., "in equal shares," from equal (adj.) + -ly (2). Meaning "impartially" is from 1520s; that of "in an equal manner, uniformly" is from 1660s.
equanimity (n.): c. 1600, "fairness, impartiality," from French équanimité, from Latin aequanimitatem (nominative aequanimitas) "evenness of mind, calmness; good-will, kindness," from aequanimis "mild, kind," literally "even-minded," from aequus "even, level" (see equal (adj.)) + animus "mind, spirit" (see animus). Meaning "evenness of temper" in English is from 1610s.
equanimous (adj.): "of a steady temper," 1650s, from Latin aequanimis "mild, kind" (see equanimity) + -ous.
equate (v.): early 15c., "to make similar or the same; to balance or harmonize; distribute (ingredients) uniformly; reduce to evenness or smoothness; to set (a fracture)," from Latin aequatus "level, levelled, even, side-by-side," past participle of aequare "make even or uniform, make equal," from aequus "level, even, equal" (see equal (adj.)). Earliest use in English was of astrological calculation, then "to make equal;" meaning "to regard as equal" is early 19c. Related: Equated; equating.
equation (n.): late 14c., a term in astrology (from French équation, 14c.); general sense of "action of making equal" is from 1650s, from Latin aequationem (nominative aequatio) "an equal distribution, a sharing in common," noun of state from past participle stem of aequare (see equal (adj.)). Mathematical sense is from 1560s, on notion of equalizing the expressions; Chemistry sense is from 1807.
equator (n.): late 14c., from Medieval Latin aequator (diei et noctis) "equalizer (of day and night)," agent noun from Latin aequare "make equal" (see equate). When the sun is on the celestial equator, twice annually, day and night are of equal length. Sense of "celestial equator" is earliest, extension to "terrestrial line midway between the poles" first recorded in English 1610s.
equatorial (adj.): 1660s, from equator + -ial. Related: Equatorially.