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astronomy [astronomy 词源字典]: astronomy: [13] Astronomy comes via Old French and Latin from Greek astronomíā, a derivative of the verb astronomein, literally ‘watch the stars’. Greek ástron and astér ‘star’ (whence English astral [17] and asterisk [17]) came ultimately from the Indo-European base *ster-, which also produced Latin stella ‘star’, German stern ‘star’, and English star.

The second element of the compound, which came from the verb némein, meant originally ‘arrange, distribute’. At first, no distinction was made between astronomy and astrology. Indeed, in Latin astrologia was the standard term for the study of the stars until Seneca introduced the Greek term astronomia. When the two terms first coexisted in English (astrology entered the language about a century later than astronomy) they were used interchangeably, and in fact when a distinction first began to be recognized between the two it was the opposite of that now accepted: astrology meant simply ‘observation’, whereas astronomy signified ‘divination’.

The current assignment of sense was not fully established until the 17th century.
=> asterisk, astral, star[astronomy etymology, astronomy origin, 英语词源]
buff: buff: [16] Buff originally meant ‘buffalo’; it was presumably an alteration of the French word buffe ‘buffalo’. That sense had died out by the early 18th century, but since then the word has undergone a bizarre series of semantic changes. First, it came to mean ‘leather’, originally from buffalo hides, but later from ox hides. This was commonly used in the 16th and 17th centuries for making military uniforms, so be in buff came to mean ‘be in the army’.

Then in the 17th century the associations of ‘hide’ and ‘skin’ led to the expression in the buff ‘naked’. The colour of buff leather, a sort of dull yellowish-brown, led to the word’s adoption in the 18th century as a colour term. In the 19th century, soft buff or suede leather was used for the small pads or wheels used by silversmiths, watchmakers, etc for polishing: hence the verb buff ‘polish’.

And finally, in the 1820s New York City volunteer firemen were known as ‘buffs’, from the colour of their uniforms; thus anyone who was a volunteer or enthusiastic for something became known as a buff (as in ‘film buff’). The buff of blind-man’s buff is a different word. It meant ‘blow, punch’, and was borrowed in the 15th century from Old French buffe, source also of English buffet ‘blow’ [13].

The term blind-man’s buff is first recorded around 1600, some what later than its now obsolete synonym hoodman blind.
=> buffalo, buffet
canter: canter: [18] Canter comes from phrases such as Canterbury trot, Canterbury pace, etc, which were terms applied to the pace at which medieval pilgrims rode on their way by horse to the shrine of Thomas à Beckett at Canterbury in Kent (earliest references to it are from the 17th century, much later than the time of Chaucer’s pilgrims in the Middle Ages). The abbreviated from canter appeared in the 18th century, initially as a verb, and Samuel Johnson in his Dictionary 1755 defined Canterbury gallop as ‘the hand gallop of an ambling horse, commonly called a canter’.
cribbage (n.): the card game, 1620s, probably from crib "set of cards thrown from each player's hand," which is of uncertain origin, though this word is later than the game name.
ethnology (n.): "science of the characteristics, history, and customs of the races of mankind," 1832, from ethno- + -logy, perhaps modeled on French or German. Related: Ethnologist; ethnological.
Ethnology is a very modern science, even later than Geology, and as yet hardly known in America, although much cultivated latterly in Germany and France, being considered an indispensable auxiliary to history and geography. ["Atlantic Journal and Friend of Knowledge," Philadelphia, summer 1832]
flounce (v.): 1540s, "to dash, plunge, flop," perhaps from Scandinavian (compare dialectal Swedish flunsa "to plunge," Norwegian flunsa "to hurry, work hurriedly," but first record of these is 200 years later than the English word), said to be of imitative origin. Spelling likely influenced by bounce. Notions of "anger, impatience" began to adhere to the word 18c. Related: Flounced; flouncing. As a noun from 1580s in reference to a sudden fling or turn of the body; by mid-18c. especially as expressing impatience or disdain.
frantic (adj.): mid-14c., "insane," unexplained variant of Middle English frentik (see frenetic). Compare franzy, dialectal form of frenzy. Transferred meaning "affected by wild excitement" is from late 15c. Of the adverbial forms, frantically (1749) is later than franticly (1540s).
infra-: word-forming element from Latin infra (adv., prep.) "below, underneath, beneath; later than, smaller, inferior to," from PIE *ndher "under" (cognates: Sanskrit adnah "below," Old English under "under, among;" see under). Opposed to super-. Its use as a prefix was rare in Latin.
onto (prep.): 1580s, as on to, from on + to. Appeared much later than parallel into. As a closed compound (on analogy of into), first recorded 1715.
ticklish (adj.): "easily tickled," 1590s, from tickle + -ish. Literal sense is attested later than the figurative sense "easy to upset" (1580s). An earlier word for this was tickly (1520s). Meaning "difficult to do, dubious, requiring great care" is from 1590s. Related: Ticklishly; ticklishness.
widgeon (n.): migratory wild duck, 1510s, perhaps from a northern variant of French vigeon, which some trace to Latin vipionem (nominative vipio), "a kind of small crane," a Balearic word, perhaps imitative, with an evolution of form similar to that which produced pigeon. But the French word is later than the English one, and OED finds all this "very dubious." Applied to different species in Europe and America.