英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

beware: beware: see ware
bewilder: bewilder: see wild
brew: brew: [OE] The ancestral meaning of brew has basically to do with ‘heat’. It comes from an Indo-European base *bhreu- or *bhru, which is also the source of Latin fervēre ‘boil’, from which we get fervent, ferment, and the second syllable of comfrey. Broth and possibly bread can be traced back to the same Indo-European base, and some etymologists have linked it with burn. To ‘brew’ was thus originally something like ‘make a drink by boiling’, ‘fermentation’ being a secondary but connected connotation.
=> broth, comfrey, ferment, fervent
causeway: causeway: [15] Etymologically, a causeway is a road paved with limestone. In late Middle English, the word was causey way, causey coming via Anglo-Norman *cauce from Vulgar Latin *calciāta, an adjective derived from Latin calx ‘limestone’ (source also of English chalk, calcium, and calculate). The simple form causey ‘causeway, path’ survived dialectally well into the 20th century, and its French relative chausée, ‘road’ is still very much alive.
=> calcium, calculate, chalk
chew: chew: [OE] Chew, and its Germanic relatives German kauen and Dutch kauwen, can be traced back to a prehistoric West Germanic *kewwan. It has relatives in other Indo-European languages, including Latin gingīva ‘gum’ (source of English gingivitis).
=> gingivitis
crew: crew: [15] The idea originally underlying crew is ‘augmentation’. It comes from Old French creue, which was derived from the verb creistre ‘grow, increase, augment’, a descendant of Latin crēscere ‘grow’. At first in English it denoted a squad of military reinforcements. Soon its meaning had spread to any band of soldiers, and by the end of the 16th century the word was being used for any group of people gathered together with or without a particular purpose. The most familiar modern application, to the people manning a ship, emerged in the latter part of the 17th century.
=> crescent, croissant, increase
curfew: curfew: [13] Curfew means literally ‘coverfire’. It was introduced into English via Anglo-Norman coeverfu from Old French covrefeu, which was formed from covrir ‘cover’ and feu ‘fire’ (feu was a descendant of Latin focus ‘hearth’, which has given English focus, foyer, fuel, and fusillade). The notion underlying the word is that of a signal given at a particular time in the evening to extinguish all fires in a town, camp, etc; its original purpose seems to have been to prevent accidental fires breaking out at night.
=> cover, focus, foyer, fuel
curlew: curlew: [14] The name of the curlew was no doubt originally inspired by its haunting flutelike call, but it has been speculated that other forces have been at work too. The word was borrowed from Old French courlieu, which bears more than a passing resemblance to Old French courliu ‘messenger’ (a compound formed from courre ‘run’ and lieu ‘place’, from Latin locus), and it seems quite possible that the latter may have influenced the formation of the former.
dew: dew: [OE] Dew is an ancient word, which can be traced back to the Indo-European base *dheu-; this also produced Greek thein ‘run’ and Sanskrit dhāv ‘flow, wash’ (whence, via Hindi, English dhobi ‘Indian washerman’ [19]) and dhaūtís ‘brook’. Its Germanic descendant was *dauwaz, which produced (besides English dew) German tau, Dutch dauw, and Swedish dagg.
=> dhobi
eschew: eschew: [14] Eschew is ultimately of Germanic origin, although it reached English via French. Its remote ancestor is prehistoric Germanic *skeukhwaz, source also of English shy. A verb based on this, *skeukhwan, was borrowed into Vulgar Latin as *skīvāre, which in Old French became eschiver or eschuer – whence English eschew. An Old Northern French variant of the Old French form, eskiuer, gave English skew [14] (which originally meant ‘escape’), while modern French esquiver ‘dodge’ (actually a reborrowing from Italian schivare rather than a direct descendant of Old French eschiver) could be the source of English skive [20], a probable borrowing by British servicemen in France during World War I.
=> skew, skive
few: few: [OE] Few traces its history back to the Indo- European base *pau-, denoting smallness of quantity or number, amongst whose other descendants are Latin paucus ‘little’ (source of English paucity [15], French peu ‘few’, and Italian and Spanish poco ‘a little’), Latin (and hence English) pauper ‘poor’, and English poor and poverty. In Germanic it produced *faw-, whose modern representatives are Swedish få, Danish faa, and English few.
=> pauper, poor, poverty
jewel: jewel: [13] Originally, jewel meant ‘costly adornment made from precious stones or metals’ – a sense now largely restricted to the collective form jewellery [14]. The main modern sense ‘gem’ emerged towards the end of the 16th century. The word comes from Anglo-Norman juel, but exactly where that came from is not known for certain. It is generally assumed to be a derivative of jeu ‘game’, which came from Latin jocus (source of English jocular, joke, etc).
=> jeopardy, jocular, joke
lukewarm: lukewarm: [14] Lukewarm is a compound adjective based on the now obsolete Middle English luke ‘tepid’. It is not altogether clear where this came from, but it is generally assumed to be a derivative of the also now obsolete lew ‘(fairly) warm’, with perhaps a diminutive suffix. Lew goes back to an Old English hlēow ‘warm’, a variant of which became modern English lee ‘shelter’. It is related to Latin calor ‘heat’ (source of English calorie), calidus ‘hot’ (source of English caudle, cauldron, and chowder), and calēre ‘be hot’ (source of English nonchalant).
=> calorie, cauldron, chowder, lee, nonchalant
mews: mews: [14] In former times, a mew was a place where trained falcons were kept (etymologically the word means ‘moulting-place’; it came from Old French mue, a derivative of muer ‘moult’, which was descended from Latin mūtāre ‘change’). In the latter part of the 14th century the Royal Mews were built in London on the site of what is now Trafalgar Square, to house the royal hawks.

By Henry VII’s time they were being used as stables, and from at least the early 17th century the term mews was used for ‘stabling around an open yard’. The modern application to a ‘street of former stables converted to human dwellings’ dates from the early 19th century.
=> moult, mutate
mildew: mildew: [OE] Mildew originally meant ‘honeydew’ (which is a sort of sticky substance exuded by aphids and similar insects on to leaves). It is a compound noun formed in the prehistoric Germanic period from *melith ‘honey’ (a relative of Latin mel ‘honey’, source of English mellifluous and molasses) and *daw-waz, ancestor of English dew. The metaphorical transference from ‘honey-dew’ to a less pleasant, fungal growth on plants, etc took place in the 14th century.
=> dew, mellifluous, molasses
nephew: nephew: [13] Nephew goes back ultimately to Indo-European *nepōt-, which denoted a range of indirect male descendants, including ‘grandson’ and ‘nephew’. Among its offspring were Greek anepsiós ‘nephew’, Sanskrit nápāt ‘grandson’, Germanic *nebon (source of German neffe and Dutch neef ‘nephew’), and Latin nepōs ‘nephew, grandson’ (source of English nepotism [17], etymologically ‘favouring one’s nephews’).

This passed into Old French as neveu, from which English got nephew (replacing the related native English term neve). The corresponding Indo-European feminine form was *neptī-, which is the ultimate source of English niece.
=> nepotism, niece
new: new: [OE] New goes back a long way – to Indo- European *newos, in fact. This also produced Greek néos ‘new’ (source of English neophyte and a range of other neo- compounds), Latin novus ‘new’ (ancestor of French nouveau, Italian nuovo, and Spanish nuevo, and source of English novel, novice, etc), Welsh newydd ‘new’, Lithuanian naujas ‘new’, and Russian novyj. Its prehistoric Germanic descendant was *neujaz, which has fanned out into German neu, Dutch nieuw, Swedish and Danish ny, and English new. The use of the plural noun news for ‘information’ dates from the 15th century.
=> neon, novel, novice
newel: newel: see noose
newfangled: newfangled: see fang
newt: newt: see nickname
peewit: peewit: see lapwing
pew: pew: [14] Historically, pew and podium are the same word. Both go back ultimately to Greek pódion ‘small foot, base’, a diminutive form of poús ‘foot’ (a distant relative of English foot). This passed into Latin as podium ‘raised place, balcony’, acquired directly by English as podium [18]. Its plural podia passed into English via Old French puie ‘raised seat, balcony’ as pew.

This was originally used for a sort of raised enclosure in a church, court, etc. rather like a pulpit or dock; then for an enclosure in a church set aside for particular people to sit in (now known as a box pew); and finally (in the 17th century) for a church bench.
=> foot, pedal, podium
reward: reward: [14] Reward is ultimately the same word as regard, and indeed was originally used interchangeably with it. It came from rewarder, the Anglo-Norman version of Old French regarder, source of English regard. The modern meaning of reward, ‘recompense’, which goes back to the 14th century, presumably arose from the notion of ‘regarding’ someone with favour.
=> guard, regard
screw: screw: [15] Screw comes ultimately from a Latin word meaning ‘female pig’ – scrōfa (source also of English scrofula [14], a disease to which pigs were once thought to be particularly prone). By the medieval period scrōfa was being used for a ‘screw’, mainly no doubt in allusion to the pig’s curly, corkscrew-like tail, but also perhaps partly prompted by the resemblance to Latin scrobis ‘ditch, trench’, hence ‘cunt’, which was used in Vulgar Latin for the ‘groove in a screw-head’ (the use of the verb screw for ‘copulate’, first recorded in the early 18th century, is purely coincidental).

English got the word from Old French escroue, which came either directly from Latin scrōfa or via prehistoric West Germanic *scrūva (source of German schraube ‘screw’).
=> scrofula
sew: sew: [OE] Sew comes, with its relatives Swedish sy and Danish sye, from a prehistoric Germanic *siwjan. This was descended from an Indo- European base *siw-, *sju- that also produced Latin suere ‘sew’ (source of English suture [16]), Greek humén ‘membrane’ (source of English hymen [17]), and English seam. It is no relation to sow.
=> hymen, seam, suture
sewer: sewer: [15] Etymologically, sewer denotes the ‘removal of water’. The word comes via Anglo- Norman sever from Vulgar Latin *exaquāria, a derivative of *exaquāre ‘remove water, drain’. This was a compound verb formed from Latin ex- ‘out’ and aqua ‘water’. The derivatives sewage [19] and sewerage [19] are both native English formations.
=> aquatic
shrewd: shrewd: [14] Shrewd originally meant ‘wicked, dangerous’. Its modern sense ‘astute’ did not develop (via a less approbatory ‘cunning’) until the 16th century. It was derived from shrew ‘wicked man’ (a sense now obsolete). This is generally assumed to be the same noun as shrew the animal-name [OE], a word of uncertain origin. Shrews were formerly thought to have a poisonous bite, and were held in superstitious fear – hence the term’s metaphorical application. The move from ‘wicked man’ via ‘bad-tempered abusive complainer’ to ‘nagging woman’ began in the 14th century.
=> shrew
skew: skew: see eschew
skewbald: skewbald: [17] Skewbald, which denotes a horse with brown and white patches, is a compound formed (on the model of piebald) from an earlier skued ‘skewbald’ and bald (in the ancestral sense ‘having white patches on the coat’). It is not clear where skued came from. One candidate as its ancestor is Old French escu ‘shield’, as if it meant etymologically ‘marked with shield shapes’ or ‘chequered’, but another possibility is Middle English skew ‘(cloudy) skies’.
spew: spew: see spit
stew: stew: [14] The cooking sense of stew is a secondary development, first recorded in English in the 15th century. It originally denoted ‘take a steam bath’. It came via Old French estuver from Vulgar Latin *extūfāre. This was a compound verb formed from a probable noun *tūfus ‘hot vapour, steam’, a descendant of Greek túphos ‘smoke, steam, stupor’ (source also of English typhus [18] and typhoid [18]). *Extūfāre probably lies behind English stifle too.
=> stifle, stove, typhoid, typhus
steward: steward: [OE] A steward is etymologically someone ‘in charge of a sty’. Its Old English ancestor stigweard was a compound formed from stig ‘hall, house’ (a relative, if not the direct ancestor, of English sty ‘dwelling for pigs’) and weard ‘guardian, keeper’ – hence ‘keeper of the hall’.
=> guard, sty, ward
strew: strew: see straw
trews: trews: see trousers
view: view: [15] Etymologically, a view is simply something ‘seen’. The word was borrowed from Old French veue, a noun use of the feminine past participle of veoir ‘see’. This was descended from Latin vidēre ‘see’ (source of English vision, visit, etc).
=> vision
werewolf: werewolf: [OE] Etymologically, a werewolf is probably a ‘man-wolf’. Its first element, were-, is generally assumed to be the same word as the long obsolete Old English noun wer ‘man’ (a relative of Latin vir ‘man’, from which English gets virile).
=> virile, world
alewife (n.): herring-like fish of North America, 1630s, named from the word for female tavern keepers (late 14c.), from ale + wife; the fish so called in reference to its large abdomen.
Andrew: masc. proper name, from Old French Andreu (Modern French André), from Latin Andreas, from Greek Andreas, from andreios "manly," from aner (genitive andros) "man" (see anthropo-). Andrew Millar (1590s) for some forgotten reason became English naval slang for "government authority," and especially "the Royal Navy." St. Andrew (feast day Nov. 30) has long been regarded as patron saint of Scotland. The Andrew's cross (c. 1400) supposedly resembles the one St. Andrew was crucified on.
anew (adv.): c. 1300, a neue, from Old English of-niowe; see a- (1) + new. One-word form dominant from c. 1400.
askew (adv.): 1570s, of uncertain etymology; perhaps literally "on skew" (see skew), or from the Old Norse form, a ska. Earlier askoye is attested in the same sense (early 15c.).
Bartholomew: masc. proper name, from Old French Barthelemieu, from Latin Bartholomæus, from Greek Bartholomaios, from Aramaic bar Talmay, literally "son of Talmai," from the proper name Talmai, "abounding in furrows." One of the 12 Apostles, his festival is Aug. 24. On this date in 1572 took place the massacre of Protestants in France. Bartholomew Fair was held annually from 1133 to 1855 at West Smithfield.
bejewel (v.): 1550s, from be- + jewel. Related: Bejeweled.
beshrew (v.): early 14c., "deprave, pervert, corrupt," from be- + shrew (v.) "to curse;" see shrew. Meaning "to invoke evil upon" is from late 14c.
bestrew (v.): Old English bestreowian; see be- + strew (v.).
bewail (v.): c. 1300, from be- + wail (v.). Related: Bewailed; bewailing.
beware (v.): c. 1200, probably from a conflation of be ware (though the compound bewarian "defend" existed in Old English). See ware (v.).
beweep (v.): Old English bewepan, cognate with Old Frisian biwepa, Old Saxon biwopian; see be- + weep. Related: Bewept.
bewig (v.): 1714, from be- + wig. Related: Bewigged; bewigging.
bewilder (v.): 1680s, from be- "thoroughly" + archaic wilder "lead astray, lure into the wilds," probably a back-formation of wilderness. An earlier word with the same sense was bewhape (early 14c.). Related: Bewildered; bewildering; bewilderingly.
bewildered (adj.): 1680s, past participle adjective from bewilder (q.v.).