英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

grateful [grateful 词源字典]: grateful: [16] Grateful is a curious sort of adjective. The grate that a grateful person is full of is a now obsolete adjective, meaning ‘pleasing’ and ‘thankful’, which was derived from Latin grātus. It is unusual for adjectives ending in -ful themselves to be formed from adjectives, rather than from nouns, and it has been suggested in this case that the related Italian gradevole ‘pleasing’ may have had some influence.

Latin grātus itself meant ‘pleasing’ as well as ‘thankful’, and has also given English congratulate [16], gratify [16], gratitude [16], and gratuity [16], and, via the derived noun grātia, grace and gratis [15].
=> congratulate, grace, gratis, gratitude[grateful etymology, grateful origin, 英语词源]
light: light: [OE] English has two distinct words light. The one meaning ‘illumination’ comes ultimately from Indo-European *leuk-, *louk-, *luk-, which also produced Greek leukós ‘white’ (source of English leukaemia [20]) and Latin lūx ‘light’ (from which English gets lucifer [OE], literally ‘light-bearer’), lūmen ‘light’ (whence English luminous [15]), lūcēre ‘shine’ (source of English lucid [16]), lūstrāre ‘light up’ (whence English illustrate and lustre [16]), and lūna ‘moon’ (source of English lunar).

Its main prehistoric West Germanic derivative was *leukhtam, from which come German and Dutch licht and English light. The word lynx may be related. Light ‘not heavy’ comes from a prehistoric Germanic *lingkhtaz, a close relative of which produced English lung (the word lung thus etymologically denotes ‘something full of air and not heavy’, and indeed lungs were, and animal lungs still are called lights in English).
=> illustrate, leukaemia, lucid, luminous, lunar, lustre, lynx; lung
print: print: [13] Latin premere meant ‘press’ (its past participial stem press- underlies English press). It passed into Old French as preindre, whose past participle formed the basis of a noun preinte ‘impression, impressed mark’ – source of English print. The verb first used for the activity of ‘printing books’ was the derived imprint [14] (‘Because this said book is full of wholesome wisdom … I have purposed to imprint it’, William Caxton, Game and Play of the Chess 1474), but print soon followed at the beginning of the 16th century.
=> press
saturate: saturate: [16] Latin satur meant ‘full’, and in particular ‘full of food, full up’ (it was a relative of satis ‘enough’, source of English satiate and satisfy). From it was formed a verb saturāre ‘fill, glut, surfeit’, whose past participle has given English saturate. At first this was used as a synonym of satisfy or satiate (‘so to saturate their insatiable hunger’, Thomas Bell, Survey of Popery 1596), and the modern sense ‘soak’ did not emerge fully until the mid 18th century.
=> sad, sated, satisfy
splendid: splendid: [17] Splendid comes via French splendide from Latin splendidus, a derivative of the verb splendēre ‘shine’. This went back ultimately to the Indo-European base *splēnd- or *plēnd- ‘bright’, which also produced Old Lithuanian splendeti ‘shine’ and Welsh llathru ‘polish’. Amongst the derivatives adopted by English are resplendent [15], splendiferous [15] (from splendiferus, a medieval alteration of late Latin splendōrifer, literally ‘bearing brightness’, hence ‘full of splendour’ – its modern use, as a jocular alternative to splendid, is a 19th-century American innovation), and splendour [15].
=> resplendent
veteran: veteran: [16] Veteran comes via French vétéran from Latin veterānus ‘old’. This was a derivative of vetus ‘old’, which is the ancestor of French vieux, Italian vecchio, and Spanish viejo. It went back ultimately to Indo-European *wetus- (source also of Latvian vecs ‘old’). This may be related to Greek étos ‘year’, in which case ‘old’ could derive from an ancestral meaning ‘full of years’.
vivid: vivid: [17] Vivid was acquired from Latin vīvidus ‘full of life, lively’. This was derived from vīvere ‘live’, which in turn went back to the Indo- European base *gwei-, source also of English biology, quick, and zoo. To the same immediate word-family belong convivial [17], revive [15], survive [15], victuals, viper, vital, vitamin, vivacious [17], and vivisection [18].
=> biology, convivial, quick, revive, survive, victuals, viper, vital, vitamin, vivacious, vivisection, zoo
abusive (adj.): 1530s (implied in abusively), originally "improper," from Middle French abusif, from Latin abusivus, from abus-, past participle stem of abuti (see abuse (v.)). Meaning "full of abuse" is from 1580s. Abuseful was used 17c., and Shakespeare has abusious ("Taming of the Shrew," 1594). Related: Abusiveness.
anecdote (n.): 1670s, "secret or private stories," from French anecdote (17c.) or directly from Greek anekdota "things unpublished," neuter plural of anekdotos, from an- "not" (see an-) + ekdotos "published," from ek- "out" + didonai "to give" (see date (n.1)).

Procopius' 6c. Anecdota, unpublished memoirs of Emperor Justinian full of court gossip, gave the word a sense of "revelation of secrets," which decayed in English to "brief, amusing stories" (1761).
anfractuous (adj.): "full of windings and turnings," 1620s, from Latin anfractuous, from anfractus "a winding, a turning, bending round," especially "a circuitous route," from am(bi)- "around" (see ambi-) + fractus, past participle of frangere "to break" (see fraction). Related: Anfractuosity.
angry (adj.): late 14c., from anger (n.) + -y (2). Originally "full of trouble, vexatious;" sense of "enraged, irate" also is from late 14c. The Old Norse adjective was ongrfullr "sorrowful," and Middle English had angerful "anxious, eager" (mid-13c.). The phrase angry young man dates to 1941 but was popularized in reference to the play "Look Back in Anger" (produced 1956) though it does not occur in that work.

"There are three words in the English language that end in -gry. Two of them are angry and hungry. What is the third?" There is no third (except some extremely obscure ones). Richard Lederer calls this "one of the most outrageous and time-wasting linguistic hoaxes in our nation's history" and traces it to a New York TV quiz show from early 1975.
animated (adj.): 1530s, "alive," past participle adjective from animate (v.). Meaning "mentally excited" is from 1530s; "full of activity" from 1580s. The "moving pictures" sense is attested from 1895; of cartoons from 1897. Related: Animatedly.
archipelago (n.): c. 1500, from Italian arcipelago "the Aegean Sea" (13c.), from Greek arkhipelagos, from arkhi- "chief" (see archon) + pelagos "sea" (see pelagic). The Aegean Sea being full of island chains, the meaning was extended in Italian to "any sea studded with islands." Klein, noting the absence of arkhipelagos in ancient or Medieval Greek (the modern word in Greek is borrowed from Italian) believe it is an Italian mistake for Aigaion pelagos "Aegean Sea" (Medieval Latin Egeopelagus), or influenced by that name.
ardurous (adj.): "full of ardor," 1770, a variant of arduous with overtones of amorous. Useful only to poets and first attested in Chatterton; perhaps, then, like his works, an instance of faux medievalism.
assertive (adj.): 1560s, "declaratory, positive, full of assertion," from assert + -ive. Meaning "insisting on one's rights" is short for self-assertive (1865).
bee (n.): stinging insect, Old English beo "bee," from Proto-Germanic *bion (cognates: Old Norse by, Old High German bia, Middle Dutch bie), possibly from PIE root *bhi- "quiver." Used metaphorically for "busy worker" since 1530s.

Sense of "meeting of neighbors to unite their labor for the benefit of one of their number," 1769, American English, probably is from comparison to the social activity of the insect; this was extended to other senses (such as spelling bee, first attested 1809; Raising-bee (1814) for building construction; also hanging bee "a lynching"). To have a bee in (one's) bonnet (1825), said of one who is harebrained or has an intense new notion or fancy, is said in Jamieson to be Scottish, perhaps from earlier expressions such as head full of bees (1510s), denoting mad mental activity.
Boeotian (adj.): 1590s, "ignorant, dull," from Boeotia, district around Thebes in ancient Greece (said to have been so called for its cattle pastures; Greek bous = "ox"), whose inhabitants were characterized as proverbially dull and countrified by their neighbors, the Athenians. The Boeotians presumably held reciprocal opinions, but their great writers, Plutarch and Pindar, though patriots, are full of praise for Athenian deeds and institutions.
Though his aim was to vindicate Boeotia, [Pindar] has probably done her a disservice, in that he has helped to immortalise the scurrilous proverb Βοιωτία ύς, which he wished to confute. ... If left to itself, the slander might have passed into oblivion long ago. [W. Rhys Roberts, "The Ancient Boeotians," 1895]
bounteous (adj.): late 14c., from bounty + -ous; originally "full of goodness," but always shading toward "generous in bestowing," a sense which logically might have been left to bountiful. Related: Bounteously; bounteousness.
breathy (adj.): 1520s, "pertaining to breath," from breath + -y (2). Of voices, "full of breath," from 1883. Related: Breathily; breathiness.
broody (adj.): 1510s, "apt to breed," from brood (v.) + -y (2). Figuratively, of persons, from 1851. Also, in modern use, sometimes "full of maternal yearning." Related: Broodily; broodiness.
bureau (n.): 1690s, "desk with drawers, writing desk," from French bureau "office; desk, writing table," originally "cloth covering for a desk," from burel "coarse woolen cloth" (as a cover for writing desks), Old French diminutive of bure "dark brown cloth," which is perhaps either from Latin burrus "red," or from Late Latin burra "wool, shaggy garment." Offices being full of such desks, the meaning expanded 1720 to "division of a government." Meaning "chest of drawers" is from 1770, said to be American English but early in British use.
burry (adj.): mid-15c., "full of burs;" see bur + -y (2).
burst (v.): Old English berstan (intransitive) "break suddenly, shatter under pressure" (class III strong verb; past tense bærst, past participle borsten), from a West Germanic metathesis of Proto-Germanic *brest- (cognates: Old Saxon brestan, Old Frisian bersta, Middle Dutch berstan, Low German barsten, Dutch barsten, Old High German brestan, German bersten "to burst"), from PIE root *bhres- "to burst, break, crack."

The forms reverted to brest- in Middle English from influence of Old Norse brestan/brast/brosten, from the same Germanic root, but it was re-metathesized late 16c. and emerged in the modern form, though brast was common as past tense through 17c. and survives in dialect.

Of extended or distended surfaces from 1530s. Figuratively, in reference to being over-full of excitement, anticipation, etc., from 1630s. Transitive sense ("to cause to break") is from late 13c. Meaning "to issue suddenly and abundantly" is from c. 1300 (literal), mid-13c. (figurative). Meaning "break into sudden activity or expression" is from 1680s. Related: Bursting.
calamari (n.): 1560s, from Italian calamari, from Latin calamarius, literally "pertaining to a pen," from calamus "a writing pen," literally "reed" (see shawm). So called from the cuttlefish's pen-like internal shell and perhaps also from its being full of ink.
careful (adj.): Old English cearful "mournful, sad," also "full of care or woe; anxious; full of concern" (for someone or something), thus "applying attention, painstaking, circumspect;" from care (n.) + -ful.
carious (adj.): 1670s, from French carieux (16c.), from Latin cariosus "full of decay," from caries "rottenness, decay" (see caries).
cavernous (adj.): c. 1400, "full of caverns," from Latin cavernosus "full of cavities" (source also of Italian cavernoso, French caverneux), from caverna (see cavern). Meaning "hollow" is recorded from 1830.
ceremonious (adj.): 1550s, from Middle French cérémonieux or directly from Late Latin caerimoniosus, from Latin caerimonia (see ceremony). Meaning "full of show and ceremony" is from 1610s. Related: Ceremoniously; ceremoniousness.
certain (adj.): c. 1300, "determined, fixed," from Old French certain "reliable, sure, assured" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *certanus, from Latin certus "sure, fixed, settled, determined" (also source of Italian certo, Spanish cierto), originally a variant past participle of cernere "to distinguish, decide," literally "to sift, separate" (see crisis).

Of persons, "full of confidence in one's knowledge or judgment," from mid-14c. Euphemistic use (of a certain age, etc.) attested from mid-18c. Certainer, certainest were common to c. 1750, but have fallen from proper use for some reason. Expression for certain "assuredly" is attested by early 14c.
chancy (adj.): 1510s, "lucky, foreboding good fortune," from chance (n.) + -y (2). Meaning "uncertain, subject to risk" is recorded from 1860. The possible sense "full of opportunity" seems to have been used regularly only in cricket (1875).
chary (adj.): Old English cearig "sorrowful" (see care (n.)). Sense evolved 16c. from "full of care" to "careful." Cognate with Old Saxon carag, Old High German charag "sorrow, trouble, care." Related: Charily; chariness.
cheerful (adj.): c. 1400, "full of cheer," from cheer (n.) + -ful. Meaning "elevating the spirits" is from mid-15c. Related: Cheerfully; cheerfulness.
chinky (adj.): "full of chinks," 1640s, from chink (n.1) + -y (2). As a noun by 1879, variant of chink (n.2), derogatory term for "Chinese person;" chiefly British.
chork (v.): mid-15c., now Scottish, "to make the noise which the feet do when the shoes are full of water" [Jamieson]. Related: Chorked; chorking.
chuck (n.1): "piece of wood or meat," 1670s, probably a variant of chock (n.) "block." "Chock and chuck appear to have been originally variants of the same word, which are now somewhat differentiated" [OED]. Specifically of shoulder meat from early 18c. American English chuck wagon (1880) is from the meat sense.
Chock and Chuck, Are low terms, very frequently used before full,--as the coach was chock full of passengers. The house was chuck full. [Daniel Powers, "A Grammar on an Entirely New System," West Brookfield, 1845]
circuitous (adj.): 1660s, from Medieval Latin circuitous "full of roundabout ways," from Latin circuitus "a going round" (see circuit (n.)). Related: Circuitously; circuitousness.
close (adj.): late 14c., "strictly confined," also "secret," from Old French clos "confined; concealed, secret; taciturn" (12c.), from Latin clausus "close, reserved," past participle adjective from claudere "stop up, fasten, shut" (see close (v.)); main sense shifting to "near" (late 15c.) by way of "closing the gap between two things." Related: Closely.

Meaning "narrowly confined, pent up" is late 14c. Meaning "near" in a figurative sense, of persons, from 1560s. Meaning "full of attention to detail" is from 1660s. Of contests, from 1855. Close call is from 1866, in a quotation in an anecdote from 1863, possibly a term from the American Civil War; close shave in the figurative sense is 1820, American English. Close range is from 1814. Close-minded is attested from 1818. Close-fisted "penurious, miserly" is from c. 1600.
cloudy (adj.): Old English cludig "rocky, hilly, full of cliffs;" see cloud (n.). Meaning "of the nature of clouds" is recorded from c. 1300; meaning "full of clouds" is late 14c.; that of "not clear" is from 1580s. Figurative sense of "gloomy" is late 14c. Related: Cloudiness; cloudily.
conscientious objector (n.): 1896, in reference to those with religious scruples about mandatory vaccination. Military sense predominated from World War I.
After a chequered career full of startling episodes and reversals, the Vaccination Bill becomes virtually the Vaccination Act. In Parliament the hottest of the contest centred round the conscientious objector. [The Lancet, Aug. 13, 1898]
cornhole (v.): synonymous with "do anal intercourse" by 1930s, apparently the reference is to a game played in the farming regions of the Ohio Valley in the U.S. from 19c., in which players take turns throwing a small bag full of feed corn at a raised platform with a hole in it; from corn (n.1) + hole (n.).
corny (adj.): 1570s, "full of corn, pertaining to corn, from corn (n.1) + -y (2). Chaucer used it of ale (late 14c.), perhaps to mean "malty." American English slang "old-fashioned, sentimental" is from 1932 (first attested in "Melody Maker"), perhaps originally "something appealing to country folk" (corn-fed in the same sense is attested from 1929). Related: Cornily; corniness.
corpulent (adj.): late 14c., from Old French corpulent "stout, fat," from Latin corpulentus "fleshy, fat," from corpus "body" (see corporeal) + -ulentus "full of." Leigh Hunt was sent to prison for two years for calling the Prince Regent corpulent in print in 1812.
cranberry (n.): 1640s, American English adaptation of Low German kraanbere, from kraan "crane" (see crane (n.)) + Middle Low German bere "berry" (see berry). Perhaps so called from a resemblance between the plants' stamens and the beaks of cranes.
Upon the Rocks and in the Moss, grew a Shrub whose fruit was very sweet, full of red juice like Currans, perhaps 'tis the same with the New England Cranberry, or Bear-Berry, (call'd so from the Bears devouring it very greedily;) with which we make Tarts. ["An Account of Several Late Voyages & Discoveries," London, 1694]
German and Dutch settlers in the New World apparently recognized the similarity between the European berries (Vaccinium oxycoccos) and the larger North American variety (V. macrocarpum) and transferred the name. In England, they were marshwort or fenberries, but the North American berries, and the name, were brought over late 17c. The native Algonquian name for the plant is represented by West Abenaki popokwa.
crazy (adj.): 1570s, "diseased, sickly," from craze + -y (2). Meaning "full of cracks or flaws" is from 1580s; that of "of unsound mind, or behaving as so" is from 1610s. Jazz slang sense "cool, exciting" attested by 1927. To drive (someone) crazy is attested by 1873. Phrase crazy like a fox recorded from 1935. Crazy Horse, Teton Lakhota (Siouan) war leader (d.1877) translates thašuka witko, literally "his horse is crazy."
creek (n.): mid-15c., creke "narrow inlet in a coastline," altered from kryk (early 13c.; in place names from 12c.), probably from Old Norse kriki "corner, nook," perhaps influenced by Anglo-French crique, itself from a Scandinavian source via Norman. Perhaps ultimately related to crook and with an original notion of "full of bends and turns" (compare dialectal Swedish krik "corner, bend; creek, cove").

Extended to "inlet or short arm of a river" by 1570s, which probably led to use for "small stream, brook" in American English (1620s). Also used there and in Canada, Australia, New Zealand for "branch of a main river," possibly from explorers moving up main rivers and seeing and noting mouths of tributaries without knowing they often were extensive rivers of their own. Slang phrase up the creek "in trouble," often especially "pregnant," first recorded 1941, perhaps originally armed forces slang for "lost while on patrol."
crumby (adj.): 1731, "full of crumbs," from crumb + -y (2). Overlapping somewhat with crummy, but generally restricted to the more literal senses.
dangerous (adj.): early 13c., "difficult, arrogant, severe" (the opposite of affable), from Anglo-French dangerous, Old French dangeros (12c., Modern French dangereux), from danger (see danger).

In Chaucer, it means "hard to please, reluctant to give;" sense of "full of danger, risky" is from late 15c. Other words used in this sense included dangersome (1560s), dangerful (1540s). Related: Dangerously.
disgraceful (adj.): 1590s, "graceless," opposite of graceful; see dis- + graceful. Meaning "full of disgrace" (1590s) is from disgrace + -ful. Related: Disgracefully.
dolorous (adj.): c. 1400, "causing pain," from Old French doloros (12c., Modern French douloureux) "painful, sorrowful, wretched," from Late Latin dolorosus "painful, sorrowful," from Latin dolor "pain, grief." Sense of "causing grief" is from mid-15c.; that of "full of sorrow" is from 1510s. Related: Dolorously; dolorousness.
dotty (adj.): 1812, "full of dots," from dot (n.) + -y (2). Meaning "silly" is from c. 1400, in dotypolle "dotty poll" (i.e. "dotty head"), in which case the first element is from dote (v.).