英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

Aldine (n.)[Aldine 词源字典]: type font, 1837, from Aldus Manutius (1450-1515), Venetian printer who used it in his popular editions of Greek and Roman classics. His name is a Latinized form of Italian Aldo Manuzio, the first name short for Teobaldo (see Theobald), and, like so many Italian masc. given names, of Germanic origin. The device characteristic of Aldine books is a figure of a dolphin on an anchor.[Aldine etymology, Aldine origin, 英语词源]
Aubrey: masc. personal name, from Old French Auberi, from Old High German Alberich "ruler of elves," or *Alb(e)rada "elf-counsel" (fem.). In U.S., it began to be used as a girl's name c. 1973 and was among the top 100 given names for girls born 2006-2008, eclipsing its use for boys, which faded in proportion.
Bruce: a Norman surname, but etymology from Brix (place in La Manche, Normandy) is now considered doubtful ["Dictionary of English Surnames"]. Originated in Britain with Robert de Bruis, a baron listed in the Domesday Book. His son, a friend of David I, king of Scotland, was granted by him in 1124 the lordship of Annandale, and David's son, Robert, founded the Scottish House of Bruce. As a given name for U.S. males, most popular for boys born c. 1946-1954.
Catherine: fem. proper name, from French Catherine, from Medieval Latin Katerina, from Latin Ecaterina, from Greek Aikaterine. The -h- was introduced 16c., probably a folk etymology from Greek katharos "pure" (see catharsis). The initial Greek vowel is preserved in Russian form Ekaterina.

As the name of a type of pear, attested from 1640s. Catherine wheel (early 13c.) is named for St. Catherine of Alexandria, legendary virgin martyr from the time of Maximinus who was tortured on a spiked wheel. Her name day is Nov. 25. A popular saint in the Middle Ages, which accounts for the popularity of the given name.
Cher: U.S. pop performer, born Cherilyn Sarkisian (1946). As a given name for girls in U.S., it hit a bump of popularity 1972-73 around the time she starred in a popular TV variety show.
clement (adj.): mid-15c., "mild," of persons (attested from early 13c. as a surname), from Old French clement, from Latin clementem (nominative clemens) "mild, placid, gentle" (see clemency). Of weather, 1620s. Taken as a name by several early popes and popular in England as a masculine given name from mid-12c., also in fem. form Clemence.
constance (n.): mid-14c., "steadfastness," from Old French constance "steadfastness, permanence" (14c.), from Latin constantia (source of Italian costanza, Spanish constancia), noun of action from constantem (see constant (adj.)). Obsolete since 17c. except as a given name for a girl, which enjoyed a mild popularity in U.S. c. 1945-1955.
Darwin: surname attested from 12c., from Old English deorwine, literally "dear friend," probably used as a given name and also the source of the masc. proper name Derwin.
dirk (n.): c. 1600, perhaps from Dirk, the proper name, which was used in Scandinavian for "a picklock." But the earliest spellings were dork, durk (Johnson, 1755, seems to be responsible for the modern spelling), and the earliest association is with Highlanders, however there seems to be no such word in Gaelic, where the proper name is biodag. Another candidate is German dolch "dagger." The masc. given name is a variant of Derrick, ultimately from the Germanic compound in Dietrich.
Douglas: family name (late 12c.), later masc. personal name, from Gaelic Dubh glas "the dark water," name of a place in Lanarkshire. As a given name, in the top 40 for boys born in U.S. from 1942 to 1971. Douglas fir named for David Douglas (1798-1834), Scottish botanist who first recorded it in Pacific Northwest, 1825. Douglas scheme, Douglas plan, Douglassite, etc. refer to "social credit" economic model put forth by British engineer Maj. Clifford Hugh Douglas (1879-1952).
elf (n.): "one of a race of powerful supernatural beings in Germanic folklore," Old English elf (Mercian, Kentish), ælf (Northumbrian), ylfe (plural, West Saxon) "sprite, fairy, goblin, incubus," from Proto-Germanic *albiz (cognates: Old Saxon alf, Old Norse alfr, German alp "evil spirit, goblin, incubus"), origin unknown; according to Watkins, possibly from PIE *albho- "white." Used figuratively for "mischievous person" from 1550s.

In addition to elf/ælf (masc.), Old English had parallel form *elfen (fem.), the plural of which was *elfenna, -elfen, from Proto-Germanic *albinjo-. Both words survived into Middle English and were active there, the former as elf (with the vowel of the plural), plural elves, the latter as elven, West Midlands dialect alven (plural elvene).

The Germanic elf originally was dwarfish and malicious (compare elf-lock "knot in hair," Old English ælfadl "nightmare," ælfsogoða "hiccup," thought to be caused by elves); in the Middle Ages they were confused to some degree with faeries; the more noble version begins with Spenser. Nonetheless a popular component in Anglo-Saxon names, many of which survive as modern given names and surnames, such as Ælfræd "Elf-counsel" (Alfred), Ælfwine "Elf-friend" (Alvin), Ælfric "Elf-ruler" (Eldridge), also women's names such as Ælfflæd "Elf-beauty." Elf Lock hair tangled, especially by Queen Mab, "which it was not fortunate to disentangle" [according to Robert Nares' glossary of Shakespeare] is from 1592.
Ethelred: Anglo-Saxon masc. given name, Old English Æðelræd, literally "noble counsel," from æðele "noble" (see atheling) + ræd, red "advice" (see read (v.)).
every (adj.): early 13c., contraction of Old English æfre ælc "each of a group," literally "ever each" (Chaucer's everich), from each with ever added for emphasis. The word still is felt to want emphasis; as in Modern English every last ..., every single ..., etc.

Also a pronoun to Chaucer, Shakespeare, Spenser. Compare everybody, everything, etc. The word everywhen is attested from 1843 but never caught on; neither did everyhow (1837). Slang phrase every Tom, Dick, and Harry "every man, everyone" dates from at least 1734, from common English given names.
Gail: fem. proper name, in some cases short for Abigail, or from the Hebrew root in that name meaning "rejoicing." Attained its greatest popularity in U.S. as a given name for girls born c. 1945-1955.
given (adj.): late 14c., "allotted, predestined," past participle adjective from give (v.). From 1560s as "admitted, supposed, allowed as a supposition." From late 14c. as "disposed, addicted." Middle English also had a noun give, yeve "that which is given or offered freely." The modern noun sense of "what is given, known facts" is from 1879. Given name (1827) so called because given at baptism.
John: masc. proper name, mid-12c., from Medieval Latin Johannes, from Late Latin Joannes, from Greek Ioannes, from Hebrew Yohanan (longer form y'hohanan) literally "Jehovah has favored," from hanan "he was gracious."

As the name of John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, it was one of the most common Christian given names, and in England by early 14c. it rivaled William in popularity. The Old French form was Jean, but in England its variants Johan, Jehan yielded Jan, Jen (also compare surname Jensen). Welsh form was Ieuan (see Evan), but Ioan was adopted for the Welsh Authorized Version of the Bible, hence frequency of Jones as a Welsh surname.
John Hancock: colloquial for "signature," 1903 (sometimes, through some unexplainable error, John Henry), from the Boston merchant and rebel (1736-1793), signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The extended sense is from his signing that dangerous document first or most flamboyantly.
John Hancock, president of Congress, was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence, writing his name in large, plain letters, and saying: "There; John Bull can read my name without spectacles. Now let him double the price on my head, for this is my defiance." [Hélène Adeline Guerber, "The Story of the Thirteen Colonies," New York, 1898]
The family name is attested from 1276 in Yorkshire, a diminutive (see cock) of Hann, a very common given name in 13c. Yorkshire as a pet form of Henry or John.
Kay: fem. proper name, often a shortening of Katherine. As a given name for girls, from 1890s in the U.S.; in the top 100 for girls born there 1936-1945.
Laurence: masc. proper name, from Old French Lorenz (French Laurent), from Latin Laurentius, literally "of Laurentum," a maritime town in Latium, literally "town of bay trees," from laurus (see laurel). The Italian form is Lorenzo. A popular given name in the Middle Ages, as a surname it is attested in England from mid-12c. Larkin is a pet-form. For some reason, the name since at least 18c. has been the personification of indolence (compare German der faule Lenz "Lazy Lawrence"). But in Scotland, the pet form Lowrie has been used for "a fox" (c. 1500), also for "a crafty person" (1560s).
Mabel: fem. proper name, shortening of Amabel. Enjoyed its greatest popularity as a given name for girl babies in U.S. from c. 1884-1895.
musket (n.): "firearm for infantry" (later replaced by the rifle), 1580s, from Middle French mousquette, also the name of a kind of sparrow-hawk, diminutive of mosca "a fly," from Latin musca (see midge). The hawk so called either for its size or because it looks speckled when in flight. Early firearms often were given names of beasts (compare dragoon, also falcon, a kind of cannon mentioned by Hakluyt), and the equivalent word in Italian was used to mean "an arrow for a crossbow." The French word was borrowed earlier into English (early 15c.) in its literal sense of "sparrow-hawk."
Nicholas: masc. proper name, from French Nicolas, from Latin Nicholaus, Nicolaus, from Greek Nikholaos, literally "victory-people," from nike "victory" (see Nike) + laos "people" (see lay (adj.)). The saint (obit. 326 C.E.) was a bishop of Myra in Lycia, patron of scholars, especially schoolboys. A popular given name in England in Middle Ages, as was the fem. form Nicolaa, corresponding to French Nicole. Colloquial Old Nick "the devil" is attested from 1640s, evidently from the proper name, but for no certain reason.
Patrick: masc. proper name, from Old Irish Patraicc (Irish Padraig), from Latin Patricius, literally "a patrician" (see patrician). As a given name, chiefly in northern England and Scotland, in Ireland only a popular name after 1600, due probably to the Scots settlers in Ulster. [Reaney]
Shrewsbury: one of the most etymologically complex of English place names, it illustrates the changes wrought in Old English words by Anglo-French scribes who could not pronounce them. Recorded 1016 as Scrobbesbyrig, it originally may have meant "the fortified place in (a district called) The Scrub." The initial consonant cluster was impossible for the scribes, who simplified it to sr-, then added a vowel (sar-) to make it easier still.

The name was also changed by Anglo-French loss or metathesis of liquids in words containing -l-, -n-, or -r- (also evident in the derivatives of Old French Berengier "bear-spear" -- Old High German Beringar -- name of one of the paladins in the Charlemagne romances and a common given name in England 12c. and 13c., which has come down in surnames as Berringer, Bellanger, Benger, etc.). Thus Sarop- became Salop- and in the 12c. and 13c. the overwhelming spelling in government records was Salopesberie, which accounts for the abbreviation Salop for the modern county.

During all this, the Anglo-Saxon inhabitants (as opposed to the French scribes) still pronounced it properly, and regular sound evolutions probably produced a pronunciation something like Shrobesbury (which turns up on a 1327 patent roll). After a predictable -b- to -v- (a vowel in the Middle Ages) to -u- shift, the modern spelling begins to emerge 14c. and is fully established 15c.

Shrewsbury clock, for some reason, became proverbial for exactness, and thus, naturally, proverbial as indicating exaggeration of accuracy (1590s).
Thomas: masc. proper name, from Greek Thomas, of Aramaic origin and said to mean "a twin" (John's gospel refers to Thomas as ho legomenos didymos "called the twin;" compare Syriac toma "twin," Arabic tau'am "twin"). Before the Conquest, found only as the name of a priest, but after 1066, one of the most common given names in English. Also see Tom, Tommy. Doubting Thomas is from John xx:25; A Thomist (1530s, from Medieval Latin Thomista, mid-14c.) is a follower of 13c. scholastic theologian St. Thomas Aquinas.
Wendy: as a woman's given name, apparently coined by James M. Barrie ("Peter and Wendy," 1911); it first registers on the U.S. Social Security list of popular baby names in 1936 and was in the top 40 names for girls born in the U.S. from 1965 to 1976
William: masc. proper name, from Old North French Willaume, Norman form of French Guillaume, of Germanic origin (cognates: Old High German Willahelm, German Wilhelm), from willio "will" (see will (n.)) + helma "helmet," from Proto-Germanic *helmaz "protective covering" (see helm (n.2)). After the Conquest, the most popular given name in England until supplanted by John.
Jolly Roger: "A pirate’s flag with a white skull and crossbones on a black background", Early 18th century: apparently from jolly¹ + the male given name Roger, possibly in the old dialect sense 'the Devil'.
jessie: "An effeminate, weak, or oversensitive man", 1920s: from the female given name Jessie.
larrikin: "A boisterous, often badly behaved young man", Mid 19th century: from English dialect, perhaps from the given name Larry (pet form of Lawrence) + -kin, or from a pronunciation of larking.
willy (1): "A penis", Early 20th century: pet form of the given name William.
moggie: "A cat, typically one that does not have a pedigree or is otherwise unremarkable", Late 17th century: variant of Maggie, pet form of the given name Margaret. More This informal word for a cat is a variant of Maggie, a pet form of the name Margaret.
jillaroo: "A female novice on a cattle station or sheep station", 1940s: from the given name Jill, on the pattern of jackaroo.
Old Nick: "An informal name for the Devil", Mid 17th century: probably from a pet form of the given name Nicholas.