英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

asparagus [asparagus 词源字典]: asparagus: [15] Asparagus comes ultimately from Greek aspáragos (a word related to the Greek verb spargan ‘swell’, to the Latin verb spargere ‘scatter’ – ultimate source of English sparse, disperse, and aspersions – and also to English spark), and has over the past 150 years or so returned to the full Latin form, asparagus, in which it was originally borrowed by English.

In the intervening centuries, however, it went through several metamorphoses: in the 16th century, the truncated medieval Latin variant sparagus was current (it also occurs in one isolated example from a book of Anglo-Saxon remedies of around 1000 AD); from then until the 18th century an anglicized version, sperage, was used; and in the 17th century folk etymology (the process by which an unfamiliar word is assimilated to one more familiar) turned asparagus into sparrowgrass.

This gradually died out during the 19th century, but the abbreviation grass remains current in the jargon of the grocery trade.
=> aspersion, spark[asparagus etymology, asparagus origin, 英语词源]
August: August: [OE] The month of August was named by the Romans after their emperor Augustus (63 BC–14 AD). His name was Caius Julius Caesar Octavian, but the Senate granted him the honorary title Augustus in 27 BC. This connoted ‘imperial majesty’, and was a specific use of the adjective augustus ‘magnificent, majestic’ (source of English august [17]); it may derive ultimately from the verb augēre ‘increase’ (from which English gets auction and augment).
=> auction, augment
disgust: disgust: [16] Something that disgusts one is literally ‘not to one’s taste’. The word comes from Old French desguster, a compound verb formed from the prefix des- ‘not’ and goust ‘taste’. This in turn came from Latin gustus (ultimate source of English gusto); its modern French descendant is goût. Originally, as its derivation implies, disgust meant simply ‘cause to feel aversion, displease’ (and also, with subject and object reversed, ‘dislike, loathe’: ‘Had he not known that I disgusted it, it had never been spoke or done by him’, Robert South, Sermons 1716); but over the centuries it has hardened into ‘sicken, repel’.
=> gusto
fungus: fungus: [16] Fungus was introduced into English in the early 16th century as a learned and more all-embracing alternative to mushroom. It was borrowed from Latin fungus, which probably came from Greek sphóngos ‘sponge’, source of English sponge.
=> sponge
gust: gust: [16] The underlying meaning of gust is ‘sudden rush or gush’, and related words refer to water or steam rather than wind. It was borrowed from Old Norse gustr ‘gust’, and the closely connected geysa ‘gush’ produced English geyser [18].
=> geyser
gusto: gusto: [17] Gusto originally meant ‘taste’. It was borrowed from Italian gusto, which, like French goût, comes from Latin gustus ‘taste’. Its semantic progress from ‘taste’ via ‘liking for a particular food’ and ‘liking in general’ to ‘zest, enthusiasm’ is paralleled in relish. (Latin gustus itself came from an Indo-European *geus-, which also produced English choose.)
=> choose
sarcophagus: sarcophagus: [17] A sarcophagus is etymologically a ‘flesh-eater’: the word comes via Latin sarcophagus from Greek sarkophágos, a compound formed from sárx ‘flesh’ (source of English sarcasm) and -phágos ‘eating’. This originated as the term for a particular type of limestone that in the ancient world was used for making coffins, since bodies buried in them quickly decomposed. By extension it came to be used for the coffins themselves.
=> sarcasm
Angus: masc. proper name, Scottish, related to Irish Aonghus, a compound that may be rendered in English as "one choice." Also the name of a county in Scotland, hence a breed of cattle (1842) associated with that region.
Areopagus: 1640s, Greek, Areios pagos "the hill of Ares," west of the Acropolis in Athens, where the highest judicial court sat; second element from pagos "rocky hill." Sense extended to "any important tribunal."
Argus: hundred-eyed giant of Greek mythology, late 14c., from Latin, from Greek Argos, literally "the bright one," from argos "shining, bright" (see argent). His epithet was Panoptes "all-eyes." After his death, Hera transferred his eyes to the peacock's tail. Used in figurative sense of "very vigilant person."
asparagus (n.): late 14c., aspergy; late Old English sparage, from Latin asparagus (in Medieval Latin often sparagus), from Greek asparagos, which is of uncertain origin; probably from PIE root *sp(h)er(e)g- "to spring up" (though perhaps not originally a Greek word).

In Middle English, asperages sometimes was regarded as a plural, with false singular aspergy. By 16c. the word had been anglicized as far as sperach, sperage. It was respelled by c. 1600 to conform with classical Latin, but in 17c. the folk-etymologized variant sparrowgrass took hold, persisting into 19c., during which time asparagus had "an air of stiffness and pedantry" [John Walker, "Critical Pronouncing Dictionary," 1791]. Known in Old English as eorðnafela.
august (adj.): 1660s, from Latin augustus "venerable, majestic, magnificent, noble," probably originally "consecrated by the augurs, with favorable auguries" (see augur (n.)); or else "that which is increased" (see augment).
August: eighth month, 1097, from Latin Augustus (mensis), sixth month of the later Roman calendar, renamed from Sextilis in 8 B.C.E. to honor emperor Augustus Caesar, literally "Venerable Caesar" (see august (adj.)). In England, the name replaced native Weodmonað "weed month."
Augusta: fem. proper name, Latin fem. of Augustus.
Augustan (adj.): 1640s, from Latin Augustanus, "pertaining to Augustus (Caesar)," whose reign was connected with "the palmy period of Latin literature" [OED]; hence, "period of purity and refinement in any national literature" (1712).
Augustine (adj.): c. 1400 in reference to members of the religious order named for St. Augustine the Great (354-430), bishop of Hippo.
Augustus: masc. proper name, from Latin augustus "venerable" (see august). The name originally was a cognomen applied to Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus as emperor, with a sense something like "his majesty."
bogus: 1838, "counterfeit money, spurious coin," American English, apparently from a slang word applied (according to some sources first in Ohio in 1827) to a counterfeiter's apparatus.
One bogus or machine impressing dies on the coin, with a number of dies, engraving tools, bank bill paper, spurious coin, &c. &c. making in all a large wagon load, was taken into possession by the attorney general of Lower Canada. [Niles' Register, Sept. 7, 1833, quoting from Concord, New Hampshire, "Statesman," Aug. 24]
Some trace this to tantrabobus, also tantrabogus, a late 18c. colloquial Vermont word for any odd-looking object, in later 19c. use "the devil," which might be connected to tantarabobs, recorded as a Devonshire name for the devil. Others trace it to the same source as bogey (n.1).
cunnilingus (n.): 1887, from Latin cunnus "vulva" (see cunt) + lingere "to lick" (see lick (v.)). The Latin properly would mean "one who licks a vulva," but it is used in English in reference to the action, not the actor. The verb ought to be *cunnilingue.
Cunnilingus was a very familiar manifestation in classical times; ... it tends to be especially prevalent at all periods of high civilization. [Havelock Ellis, 1905]
degustation (n.): 1650s, from Latin degustationem (nominative degustatio) "a tasting," noun of action from past participle stem of degustare "to take a taste from, sample," from de- (see de-) + gustare "to taste" (see gusto).
dingus (n.): "any unspecified or unspecifiable object; something one does not know the name of or does not wish to name," 1876, U.S. slang, from Dutch dinges, literally "thing" (see thing).
disgust (n.): 1590s, from Middle French desgoust "strong dislike, repugnance," literally "distaste" (16c., Modern French dégoût), from desgouster "have a distaste for," from des- "opposite of" (see dis-) + gouster "taste," from Latin gustare "to taste" (see gusto).
disgust (v.): c. 1600, from Middle French desgouster "have a distaste for" (see disgust (n.)). Sense has strengthened over time, and subject and object have been reversed; the older use looks like this: "It is not very palatable, which makes some disgust it" (1660s). The reverse sense of "to excite nausea" is attested from 1640s. Related: Disgusted; disgusting.
esophagus (n.): also oesophagus, late 14c., from Greek oisophagos "gullet, passage for food," literally "what carries and eats," from oisein, future infinitive of pherein "to carry" (see infer) + -phagos, from phagein "to eat" (see -phagous). Related: Esophageal.
fagus (n.): botanical genus of beech trees, from Latin fagus "beech," from PIE root *bhagos "beech tree" (cognates: Greek phegos "oak," Latin fagus "beech," Russian buzina "elder," Old English bece, Old Norse bok, German Buche "beech"), perhaps with a ground sense of "edible" (and connected with the root of Greek phagein "to eat;" see -phagous). Beech mast was an ancient food source for agricultural animals across a wide stretch of Europe.
The restriction to western IE languages and the reference to different trees have suggested to some scholars that this word was not PIE, but a later loanword. In the Balkans, from which the beech started to spread after 6000 BC, the [Greek] word means 'oak,' not 'beech.' Yet 'oak' and 'beech' are both 'fruit-bearing trees,' so that a semantic shift from 'oak' to 'beech' appears quite conceivable. The word itself may then have been PIE after all. [de Vaan]
Fergus: masc. proper name, from Gaelic Fearghus or Old Irish Fergus "man-ability," first element cognate with Latin vir "man" (see virile); second from Old Irish gus "ability, excellence, strength, inclination," from Celtic root *gustu- "choice," from PIE root *geus- "to taste" (see gusto).
fungus (n.): 1520s, "a mushroom," from Latin fungus "a mushroom, fungus;" used in English at first as a learned alternative to mushroom (funge was used in this sense late 14c.). The Latin word is believed to be cognate with (or derived from) Greek sphongos, the Attic form of spongos "sponge" (see sponge (n.)). "Probably a loanword from a non-IE language, borrowed independently into Greek, Latin and Armenian in a form *sphong- ...." [de Vaan]
gush (v.): c. 1400, "to rush out suddenly and forcefully" (of blood, water, etc.), probably formed imitatively in English or from Low German, or from or based on Old Norse gusa "to gush, spurt," from PIE *gus-, from PIE *gheus- "to pour," and related to geyser. Metaphoric sense of "speak in an effusive manner" first recorded 1873. Related: Gushed; gushing. The noun is 1680s, from the verb.
gusher (n.): "oil well that flows without pumping," 1886, agent noun from gush (v.). Earlier in a sense of "overly effusive person" (1864).
gushy (adj.): 1845, from gush in the metaphoric sense + -y (2). Related: Gushily; gushiness.
gusset (n.): early 14c., from Old French gosset "armhole; piece of armor for the armpit" (13c.), apparently from gousse "shell of a nut," a word of unknown origin. Originally an armorer's term; of clothing from 1560s.
gussy (v.): "to dress up or decorate in a showy way," 1952, American English slang, apparently from Gussy (adj.), schoolyard slang for "overly dressed" (1940); perhaps related to gussie "effeminate man" (1901) and somehow connected to the nickname for Augusta and Augustus.
gust (n.): 1580s, "sudden squall of wind," possibly a dialectal survival from Old Norse gustr "a cold blast of wind" (related to gusa "to gush, spurt") or Old High German gussa "flood," both from Proto-Germanic *gustiz, from PIE *gheus-, from root *gheu- "to pour" (see found (v.2)). Probably originally in English as a nautical word.
gust (v.): 1813, from gust (n.). Related: Gusted; gusting.
gustation (n.): "act of tasting," 1590s, from Latin gustationem (nominative gustatio), noun of action from past participle stem of gustare "to taste, partake of, enjoy" (see gusto).
gustatory (adj.): "of or pertaining to tasting," 1680s, from Latin gustatus "sense of taste; a taste" (noun use of past participle of gustare "to taste;" see gusto) + -ory. Gustative is from 1610s.
Gustavus: masc. proper name, Latinized form of Swedish Gustaf; first element of unknown origin, second element literally "staff." Related: Gustavian.
gusto (n.): 1620s, "very common from the beginning of the 19th c." [OED], from Italian gusto "taste," from Latin gustus "a tasting," related to gustare "to taste, take a little of," from PIE *gus-tu-, suffixed form of root *geus- "to taste, choose" (cognates: Sanskrit jus- "enjoy, be pleased," Avestan zaosa- "pleasure," Old Persian dauš- "enjoy"). The root forms words for "taste" in Greek and Latin, but its descendants in Germanic and Celtic mostly mean "try" or "choose" (such as Old English cosan, cesan, Modern English choose; Gothic kausjan "to test, to taste of," Old High German koston "try," German kosten "taste of"). The semantic development could have been in either direction. English first borrowed the French form, guste "organ of taste; sense of taste" (mid-15c.), but this became obsolete.
gusty (adj.): c. 1600, from gust (n.) + -y (2). Related: Gustily; gustiness.
Magus (n.): member of the ancient Persian priestly caste, late 14c., singular of magi (q.v.).
mundungus (n.): "tobacco with an offensive odor," 1640s, from Spanish mondongo "paunch, tripe, intestines," related to modejo "paunch, belly (of a pig)."
Negus: title of the ruler of Abyssinia, 1590s, from Amharic negush "king," from stem of nagasha "he forced, ruled."
oesophagus (n.): alternative spelling of esophagus. See oe. Related: Oesophageal.
sarcophagus (n.): c. 1600, "type of stone used for coffins," from Latin sarcophagus, from Greek sarkophagos "limestone used for coffins," literally "flesh-eating," in reference to the supposed action of this type of limestone (quarried near Assos in Troas, hence the Latin lapis Assius) in quickly decomposing the body, from sarx (genitive sarkos) "flesh" (see sarcasm) + phagein "to eat" (see -phagous). Related: Sarcophagal.

The "stone" sense was the earliest in English; meaning "stone coffin, often with inscriptions or decorative carvings" is recorded from 1705. The Latin word, shortened in Vulgar Latin to *sarcus, is the source of French cercueil, German Sarg "coffin," Dutch zerk "tombstone."
tragus (n.): "eminence at the opening of the ear," 1690s, Modern Latin, from Greek tragos in this sense (Rufus of Ephesus), properly "he-goat;" so called for the tuft of hair which grows there, which resembles a goat's beard.
vagus (n.): plural vagi, 1840, "pneumogastric nerve," the long, widely distributed nerve from the brain to the upper body, from Latin vagus "wandering, straying" (see vague).
valgus (adj.): deformity in which a bone or joint is twisted outward from the center of the body; form of club-foot, 1800, from Latin valgus "bandy-legged, bow-legged, having the legs bent outward." Said to be probably related to Sanskrit valgati "to move up and down," Old English wealcan "to roll, move to and fro" (see walk (v.)), perhaps on the notion of "go irregularly or to and fro" [Tucker]. "Yet the main characteristic of 'bow-legged' is the crookedness of the legs, not 'going up and down' or 'to and fro'" [de Vaan] and there are phonetic difficulties. A classical word used in a different sense in modern medicine; also see varus.
degust: "Taste (something) carefully to appreciate it fully", Early 17th century: from Latin degustare, from de- 'completely' + gustare 'to taste'.
peroneus longus: "A muscle of the lateral side of the leg which arises from the fibula, inserts on to the cuneiform and first metatarsal bones via a long tendon passing under the foot, and serves to extend the ankle and evert the foot", Late 17th cent. From scientific Latin peroneus longus from post-classical Latin peroneus + classical Latin longus.
craniopagus: "A pair of conjoined twins attached at the head", Late 19th century: from cranio- + Greek 'that which is fixed'.