英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

barnacle [barnacle 词源字典]: barnacle: [12] The term barnacle was originally applied to a type of goose, Branta leucopsis, which according to medieval legend grew on trees or on logs of wood. Various fanciful versions of its reproductive cycle existed, among them that it emerged from a fruit or that it grew attached to a tree by its beak, but the most tenacious was that it developed inside small shellfish attached to wood, rocks, etc by the seashore.

Hence by the end of the 16th century the term had come to be applied to these shellfish, and today that is its main sense. The word was originally bernak (it gained its -le ending in the 15th century) and came from medieval Latin bernaca, but its ultimate source is unknown.
[barnacle etymology, barnacle origin, 英语词源]
cockatrice: cockatrice: [14] The name of the cockatrice, a mythical serpent whose glance could kill, has a bizarre history. It started life as medieval Latin calcātrix, which meant literally ‘tracker, hunter’ (it was formed from the verb calcāre ‘tread, track’, a derivative of calx ‘heel’). This was a direct translation of Greek ikhneúmōn (a derivative of ikhneúein ‘track’), a name given to a mysterious Egyptian creature in ancient times which was said to prey on crocodiles.

At one point Latin calcātrix, later caucātrix, came to be used for the crocodile itself, but this application never gained much currency in English (which adopted the word via Old French cocatris). Instead, it was adopted as another name for the basilisk, a mythical serpent. The accidental similarity of the first syllable to cock led both to the embroidering of the basilisk/cockatrice legend, so that it was said to have been born from a cock’s egg, and to the word’s 16th-century rerouting as a heraldic term for a beast with the head, wings, and body of a cock and the tail of a serpent.
errand: errand: [OE] Despite the passing similarity, errand has no etymological connection with err and error. It comes from a prehistoric Germanic *ǣrundjam, which meant ‘message’ – a sense which in fact survived in English until as recently as the 18th century (Miles Coverdale, for example, in his 1535 translation of 1 Samuel 11:5 wrote ‘So they told him the errand of the men of Jabesh’ – where the Authorized Version has ‘tidings’).

The main modern meaning, ‘task one goes to perform’, developed in the 13th century (in American English it has latterly gained specific connotations of ‘shopping’). The source of the Germanic word is not known, but it is no doubt related to Swedish ärende and Danish ærinde ‘errand, message, business’.
experience: experience: [14] Experience, experiment [14], and expert [14] all come from the same source, Latin experīrī. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix ex- ‘out’ and a prehistoric base *per- denoting ‘attempt, trial’ (found also in English empirical, peril, pirate, and repertory), and meant ‘try, test’. The original meaning is best preserved in experiment, but in fact experience too meant at first ‘putting to the test’ in English.

From this developed the notion of ‘actually observing phenomena in order to gain knowledge of them’, which in turn led to the more subjective ‘condition of having undergone or been affected by a particular event’. The sense ‘knowledge or skill gained from such observation or from undergoing such events’ did not, however, emerge until the late 15th century. Expert was originally only an adjective, meaning ‘having experience of something’, or ‘trained by such experience’; its use as a noun only developed in the 19th century.
=> empirical, experiment, expert, peril, pirate, repertory
science: science: [14] Etymologically, science simply means ‘knowledge’, for it comes via Old French science from Latin scientia, a noun formed from the present participle of the verb scīre ‘know’. It early on passed via ‘knowledge gained by study’ to a ‘particular branch of study’, but its modern connotations of technical, mathematical, or broadly ‘non-arts’ studies did not begin to emerge until the 18th century. The derivative scientist was coined in 1840 by William Whewell: ‘We need very much a name to describe a cultivator of science in general. I should incline to call him a Scientist’, Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences 1840.
=> conscious
Siamese twins: Siamese twins: [19] The original ‘Siamese twins’ were two males, Chang and Eng (1811– 74), born in Siam (now Thailand), who were joined together at the hip. No attempt was made to separate them, and they lived to a respectable age; each married and fathered children. In an age unembarrassed to be interested in ‘freaks’, they gained considerable public attention, and by the 1850s Siamese twins seems to have established itself as a generic term. The late 20th century’s aversion from associating physical defects with racial or national groups has ousted it in favour of ‘conjoined twins’.
silhouette: silhouette: [18] The term silhouette commemorates the name of the French author and politician Étienne de Silhouette (1709–67). As finance minister in the late 1750s he gained a reputation for cheeseparing, and silhouette came to be used for anything skimped. One account of the application of the word to a ‘simple cut-out picture’ is that it carries on this notion of ‘simplicity’ or ‘lack of finish’, but an alternative theory is that Silhouette himself was in the habit of making such pictures. The metaphorical use of the term for a ‘dark image against a bright background’ emerged in the mid-19th century.
strain: strain: English has two distinct words strain. The older, ‘line of ancestry’ [OE], denotes etymologically ‘something gained by accumulation’. It comes from the prehistoric base *streu- ‘pile up’, which was related to Latin struere ‘build’ (source of English destroy, structure, etc). In the Old English period the notion of ‘gaining something’ was extended metaphorically to ‘producing offspring’, which formed the jumping-off point for the word’s modern range of meanings. Strain ‘pull tight, wrench’ [13] was borrowed from estreign-, the stem form of Old French estreindre ‘pull tight, tie’.

This in turn was descended from Latin stringere ‘pull tight, tie tight’ (source also of English strait, strict, and stringent [17] and of a host of derived forms such as constrain [14], prestige, restrain [14] and constrict, district, restrict, etc). Strain ‘tune’ [16] is assumed to be the same word, perhaps deriving ultimately from the notion of ‘stretching’ the strings of a musical instrument.
=> construct, destroy, structure; constrain, constrict, district, prestige, restrain, restrict, strait, strict, stringent
witness: witness: [OE] Witness originally meant ‘knowledge’ or ‘wisdom’; it was simply an abstract noun formed from wit. This was extended via ‘knowledge gained by observation’ to ‘testimony’ in the Old English period, and by the beginning of the Middle English period ‘person who gives testimony’ was well established.
=> wit
acquired (adj.): c. 1600, "gained by effort," past participle adjective from acquire. Of diseases, "occurring after birth, thus not dependent on heredity," 1842 (opposed to congenital). Acquired taste is attested from 1734.
around (adv.): c. 1300, "in circumference," from phrase on round. Rare before 1600. In sense of "here and there with no fixed direction" it is 1776, American English (properly about). Of time, from 1888. To have been around "gained worldly experience" is from 1927, U.S. colloquial.
bargain (v.): late 14c., from Old French bargaignier (12c., Modern French barguigner) "to haggle over the price," perhaps from Frankish *borganjan "to lend" or some other Germanic source, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *borgan (cognates: Old High German borgen; Old English borgian, source of borrow). Another suggestion is that the French word comes from Late Latin barca "a barge," because it "carries goods to and fro." There are difficulties with both suggestions. Related: Bargained; bargaining.
below (adv.): early 14c., biloogh, from be- "by, about" + logh, lou, lowe "low" (see low (adj.)). Apparently a variant of earlier a-lowe (influenced by other adverbs in be-; see before), the parallel form to an-high (now on high). Beneath was the usual word; below was very rare in Middle English and gained currency only in 16c. It is frequent in Shakespeare. As a preposition from 1570s. According to Fowler, below is the opposite of above and concerns difference of level and suggests comparison of independent things. Under is the opposite of over and is concerned with superposition and subjection and suggests some interrelation.
chancellor (n.): early 12c., from Old French chancelier (12c.), from Late Latin cancellarius "keeper of the barrier, secretary, usher of a law court," so called because he worked behind a lattice (Latin cancellus) at a basilica or law court (see chancel). In the Roman Empire, a sort of court usher; the post gradually gained importance in the Western kingdoms. A variant form, canceler, existed in Old English, from Old North French, but was replaced by this central French form.
experience (n.): late 14c., "observation as the source of knowledge; actual observation; an event which has affected one," from Old French esperience "experiment, proof, experience" (13c.), from Latin experientia "a trial, proof, experiment; knowledge gained by repeated trials," from experientem (nominative experiens) "experienced, enterprising, active, industrious," present participle of experiri "to try, test," from ex- "out of" (see ex-) + peritus "experienced, tested," from PIE root *per- (3) "to lead, pass over" (see peril). Meaning "state of having done something and gotten handy at it" is from late 15c.
experiential (adj.): 1640s (implied in experientially), from Latin experientia "knowledge gained by testing or trials" (see experience (n.)) + -al (1).
gain (v.): 1520s, "obtain as profit," from Middle French gagner, from Old French gaaignier "to earn, gain; trade; capture, win," also "work in the fields, cultivate land," from Frankish *waidanjan "hunt, forage," also "graze, pasture," from Proto-Germanic *waithanjan "to hunt, plunder," from *waithjo- "pursuit, hunting" (cognates: Old English waþ "hunting," German Weide "pasture, pasturage," Old Norse veiðr "hunting, fishing, catch of fish"), from PIE *weie- "to strive after, pursue with vigor, desire" (see venison). Meaning "obtain by effort or striving" is from 1540s; intransitive sense of "profit, make gain" is from 1570s. Meaning "arrive at" is from c. 1600. Of timepieces by 1861. Related: Gained; gaining. To gain on "advance nearer" is from 1719. To gain ground (1620s) was originally military.
gorgonzola: type of blue cheese, 1878, short for Gorgonzola cheese (1866), named for Gorgonzola, village near Milan where it was made.
In the neighbourhood is Gorgonzola, celebrated in the annals of the middle ages for the victory of Frederigo Barbarossa over the Milanese, in 1158; for the capture of the chevalric and poetic king Ensius, in 1243; for the advantage gained by the Torriani over the Visconti, in 1278, and which the latter revenged in 1281; but above all, famous for its strachino a cheese of European celebrity. ["Italy and its Comforts," London, 1842]
haul (n.): 1660s, "act of pulling," from haul (v.). Meaning "something gained" is from 1776, a figurative use from the meaning "the quantity of fish taken in one haul of a net," or perhaps on the notion of "drawing" a profit. Meaning "distance over which something must be hauled" (usually with long or short) is attested from 1873.
learn (v.): Old English leornian "to get knowledge, be cultivated, study, read, think about," from Proto-Germanic *liznojan (cognates: Old Frisian lernia, Middle Dutch leeren, Dutch leren, Old High German lernen, German lernen "to learn," Gothic lais "I know"), with a base sense of "to follow or find the track," from PIE *leis- (1) "track, furrow." Related to German Gleis "track," and to Old English læst "sole of the foot" (see last (n.)).

The transitive sense (He learned me how to read), now vulgar, was acceptable from c. 1200 until early 19c., from Old English læran "to teach" (cognates: Dutch leren, German lehren "to teach," literally "to make known;" see lore), and is preserved in past participle adjective learned "having knowledge gained by study." Related: Learning.
learned (adj.): "having knowledge gained by study," mid-14c., past participle adjective from learn (v.) in former transitive sense. Related: Learnedly; learnedness.
moon (n.): Old English mona, from Proto-Germanic *menon- (cognates: Old Saxon and Old High German mano, Old Frisian mona, Old Norse mani, Danish maane, Dutch maan, German Mond, Gothic mena "moon"), from PIE *me(n)ses- "moon, month" (cognates: Sanskrit masah "moon, month;" Avestan ma, Persian mah, Armenian mis "month;" Greek mene "moon," men "month;" Latin mensis "month;" Old Church Slavonic meseci, Lithuanian menesis "moon, month;" Old Irish mi, Welsh mis, Breton miz "month"), probably from root *me- "to measure," in reference to the moon's phases as the measure of time.

A masculine noun in Old English. In Greek, Italic, Celtic, Armenian the cognate words now mean only "month." Greek selene (Lesbian selanna) is from selas "light, brightness (of heavenly bodies)." Old Norse also had tungl "moon," ("replacing mani in prose" - Buck), evidently an older Germanic word for "heavenly body," cognate with Gothic tuggl, Old English tungol "heavenly body, constellation," of unknown origin or connection. Hence Old Norse tunglfylling "lunation," tunglœrr "lunatic" (adj.).

Extended 1665 to satellites of other planets. To shoot the moon "leave without paying rent" is British slang from c. 1823; card-playing sense perhaps influenced by gambler's shoot the works (1922) "go for broke" in shooting dice. The moon race and the U.S. space program of the 1960s inspired a number of coinages, including, from those skeptical of the benefits to be gained, moondoggle (based on boondoggle). The man in the moon is mentioned since early 14c.; he carries a bundle of thorn-twigs and is accompanied by a dog. Some Japanese, however, see a rice-cake-making rabbit in the moon.
-ology: word-forming element indicating "branch of knowledge, science," now the usual form of -logy. Originally used c. 1800 in nonce formations (commonsensology, etc.), it gained legitimacy by influence of the proper formation in geology, mythology, etc., where the -o- is a stem vowel in the previous element.
perquisite (n.): mid-15c., "property acquired other than by inheritance," from Medieval Latin perquisitum "thing gained, profit," in classical Latin, "thing sought after," noun use of neuter past participle of perquirere "to seek, ask for," from per- "thoroughly" (see per) + quærere "to seek" (see query (v.)). For Latin vowel change, see acquisition. General meaning "fee or profit on top of regular wages" first recorded 1560s.
purchase (n.): c. 1300, purchas, "acquisition, gain;" also, "something acquired or received, a possession; property, goods;" especially "booty, spoil; goods gained by pillage or robbery" (to make purchase was "to seize by robbery"). Also "mercenary soldier, one who fights for booty." From Anglo-French purchace, Old French porchaz "acquisition, gain, profit; seizing, plunder; search pursuit, effort," from Anglo-French purchaser, Old French porchacier (see purchase (v.)).

From early 14c. as "endeavor, effort, exertion; instigation, contrivance;" late 14c. as "act of acquiring, procurement." Meaning "that which is bought" is from 1580s. The sense of "hold or position for advantageously applying power" (1711) is extended from the nautical verb meaning "to haul or draw (especially by mechanical power)," often used in reference to hauling up anchors, attested from 1560s. Wif of purchase (early 14c.) was a term for "concubine."
radon (n.): heaviest gaseous element, 1918, from German Radon, from radium (q.v.) + -on suffix of inert gases. The element was identified in radioactive decay of radium. Alternative name niton (from Latin nitens "shining") gained currency in France and Germany.
read (adj.): 1580s, "having knowledge gained from reading," in well-read, etc., past participle adjective from read (v.).
regain (v.): 1540s, from Middle French regaigner (Modern French regagner), from re- "again" (see re-) + gaginer, from Old French gaaignier (see gain (v.)). Related: Regained; regaining.
reparable (adj.): 1560s, from Middle French reparable (16c.), from Latin reparabilis "able to be restored or regained," from reparare "restore" (see repair (v.1)).
science (n.): mid-14c., "what is known, knowledge (of something) acquired by study; information;" also "assurance of knowledge, certitude, certainty," from Old French science "knowledge, learning, application; corpus of human knowledge" (12c.), from Latin scientia "knowledge, a knowing; expertness," from sciens (genitive scientis) "intelligent, skilled," present participle of scire "to know," probably originally "to separate one thing from another, to distinguish," related to scindere "to cut, divide," from PIE root *skei- "to cut, to split" (cognates: Greek skhizein "to split, rend, cleave," Gothic skaidan, Old English sceadan "to divide, separate;" see shed (v.)).

From late 14c. in English as "book-learning," also "a particular branch of knowledge or of learning;" also "skillfulness, cleverness; craftiness." From c. 1400 as "experiential knowledge;" also "a skill, handicraft; a trade." From late 14c. as "collective human knowledge" (especially "that gained by systematic observation, experiment, and reasoning). Modern (restricted) sense of "body of regular or methodical observations or propositions concerning a particular subject or speculation" is attested from 1725; in 17c.-18c. this concept commonly was called philosophy. Sense of "non-arts studies" is attested from 1670s.
Science, since people must do it, is a socially embedded activity. It progresses by hunch, vision, and intuition. Much of its change through time does not record a closer approach to absolute truth, but the alteration of cultural contexts that influence it so strongly. Facts are not pure and unsullied bits of information; culture also influences what we see and how we see it. Theories, moreover, are not inexorable inductions from facts. The most creative theories are often imaginative visions imposed upon facts; the source of imagination is also strongly cultural. [Stephen Jay Gould, introduction to "The Mismeasure of Man," 1981]

In science you must not talk before you know. In art you must not talk before you do. In literature you must not talk before you think. [John Ruskin, "The Eagle's Nest," 1872]
The distinction is commonly understood as between theoretical truth (Greek episteme) and methods for effecting practical results (tekhne), but science sometimes is used for practical applications and art for applications of skill. To blind (someone) with science "confuse by the use of big words or complex explanations" is attested from 1937, originally noted as a phrase from Australia and New Zealand.
spare (n.): "extra thing or part," 1640s, from spare (adj.). The Middle English noun sense was "a sparing, mercy, leniency" (early 14c.). Bowling game sense of "an advantage gained by a knocking down of all pins in two bowls" is attested from 1843, American English.
speakeasy (n.): "unlicensed saloon," 1889 (in the New York "Voice"), from verbal phrase, from speak (v.) + easy (adv.); so called from the practice of speaking quietly about such a place in public, or when inside it, so as not to alert the police and neighbors. The word gained wide currency in U.S. during Prohibition (1920-1932). In early 19c. Irish and British dialect, a speak softly shop meant "smuggler's den."
thusly (adv.): 1865 (in an Artemus Ward dialect humor piece), from thus + -ly (2). A double adverb. Perhaps originally a humorous or mocking over-correction of thus; it has gained some currency but earns frowns for the user.
vincible (adj.): 1540s, from Middle French vincible and directly from Latin vincibilis "that which can be gained; easily maintained," from vincere (see victor). A vincible ignorance in theology is an ignorance in one who possesses the means of overcoming it.
winnings (n.): "things gained or won," late 14c., plural verbal noun from win (v.).
zoom (v.): 1886, of echoic origin. Gained popularity c. 1917 as aviators began to use it. As a noun from 1917. The photographer's zoom lens is from 1936, from the specific aviation sense of zoom as "to quickly move closer."