quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- knuckle (n.)




- mid-14c., knokel "finger joint; any joint of the body, especially a knobby one; morbid lump or swelling;" common Germanic (cognates: Middle Low German knökel, Middle Dutch cnockel, German knöchel), literally "little bone," a diminutive of Proto-Germanic root *knuk- "bone" (compare German Knochen "bone).
As a verb from 1740, originally in the game of marbles. To knuckle down "apply oneself earnestly" is 1864 in American English, extended from marbles (putting a knuckle on the ground in assuming the hand position preliminary to shooting); to knuckle under "submit, give in" is first recorded 1740, supposedly from the former more general sense of "knuckle" and here meaning "knee," hence "to kneel." The face-busting knuckle-duster is from 1858 (a duster was a type of protective coat worn by workmen). - Mickey Mouse




- cartoon mouse character created 1928 by U.S. animator Walt Disney (1901-1966). As an adjective meaning "small and worthless" it dates from 1936, originally used especially of mediocre dance-band music, a put-down based on the type of tunes played as background in cartoon films.
- principled (adj.)




- "honorable, moral," 1690s, from principle, which was used as a verb 17c.-18c. meaning "to ground in principles."
- tattersall (n.)




- fabric with small and even check pattern, 1891, so called because it was similar to the traditional design of horse blankets, in reference to Tattersall's, a famous London horse market and gambler's rendezvous, founded 1766 by Richard Tattersall (1724-1795). The surname is from the place in Lincolnshire, which is said to represent "Tathere's nook," "probably in the sense 'nook of dry ground in marsh'." [Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names]
- howff




- "A favourite meeting place or haunt, especially a pub", Mid 16th century (as the name of the main burial ground in Dundee): of unknown origin.