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alexandrine [alexandrine 词源字典]: alexandrine: [16] An alexandrine is a line of verse of 12 syllables, characteristic of the classic French drama of the 17th century. The term derives from the use of this metre in Alexandre, a 12th-or 13th-century Old French romance about Alexander the Great.
[alexandrine etymology, alexandrine origin, 英语词源]
apoplexy: apoplexy: [14] The Greek verb apopléssein meant ‘incapacitate by means of a stroke’. It was formed from the prefix apo- ‘away, off’ (here used as an intensive) and the verb pléssein ‘hit’ (source of English plectrum [17] and related to English complain, plangent, plankton, and plague). The derived noun, apoplēxíā, entered English via Latin and Old French.
=> complain, plague, plangent, plankton, plectrum
perplex: perplex: see ply
Alexander: masc. proper name, from Latin, from Greek Alexandros "defender of men," from alexein "to ward off, keep off, turn (something) away, defend, protect" + aner (genitive andros) "man" (see anthropo-). The first element is related to Greek alke "protection, help, strength, power, courage," alkimos "strong;" cognate with Sanskrit raksati "protects," Old English ealgian "to defend." As a kind of cocktail, it is attested from 1930.
Alexandrine: in reference to a type of verse line, 1580s (adj.); 1660s (n.), said to be from Old French Roman d'Alexandre, name of a poem about Alexander the Great that was popular in the Middle Ages, which used a 12-syllable line of 6 feet (the French heroic verse); it was used in English to vary the heroic verse of 5 feet. The name also sometimes is said to be from Alexandre de Paris, 13c. French poet, who used such a line (and who also wrote one of the popular Alexander the Great poems).
Alexis: masc. proper name, from Greek alexis, from alexein "to ward off, keep, protect" (see Alexander). The Latin form was Alexius.
apoplexy (n.): late 14c., "sudden fit of paralysis and dizziness," from Old French apoplexie or directly from Late Latin apoplexia, from Greek apoplexia, from apoplessein "to strike down and incapacitate," from apo- "off" (see apo-), in this case probably an intensive prefix, + plessein "hit" (cognates: plague (n.), also with a root sense of "stricken"). The Latin translation, sideratio, means "disease caused by a constellation."
cataplexy (n.): "the state of an animal when it is feigning death," 1883, from German kataplexie, from Greek kataplexis "stupefaction, amazement, consternation," from kataplessein "to strike down" (with fear, etc.), from kata- "down" (see cata-) + plessein "to strike, hit," from PIE *plak- (2) "to strike" (see plague (n.)). Related: Cataplectic.
circumflex (n.): 1570s, from Latin (accentus) circumflexus, "bent around," past participle of circumflectere "to bend around," of a charioteer, "turn around" (from circum "around;" see circum-, + flectere "to bend;" see flexible); used as a loan-translation of Greek (prosodia) perispomenos (Dionysius of Halicarnassus), literally "drawn-around," with reference to shape.
complex (adj.): 1650s, "composed of parts," from French complexe "complicated, complex, intricate" (17c.), from Latin complexus "surrounding, encompassing," past participle of complecti "to encircle, embrace," in transferred use, "to hold fast, master, comprehend," from com- "with" (see com-) + plectere "to weave, braid, twine, entwine," from PIE *plek-to-, from root *plek- "to plait" (see ply (v.1)). The meaning "not easily analyzed" is first recorded 1715. Complex sentence is attested from 1881.
complex (n.): 1650s, "a whole comprised of parts," from complex (adj.). Psychological sense of "connected group of repressed ideas" was established by C.G. Jung, 1907.
complexion (n.): mid-14c., "bodily constitution," from Old French complexion, complession "combination of humors," hence "temperament, character, make-up," from Latin complexionem (nominative complexio) "combination" (in Late Latin, "physical constitution"), from complexus (see complex (adj.)). Meaning "appearance of the skin of the face" is first recorded mid-15c. In medieval physiology, the color of the face indicated temperament or health.
complexity (n.): 1721, "composite nature," from complex (adj.) + -ity. Meaning "intricacy" is from 1790. Meaning "a complex condition" is from 1794.
duplex (adj.): 1817, "composed of two parts," from Latin duplex, from duo "two" (see two) + -plex, from Greek plax (genitive plakos) "flat surface." The noun sense of "house for two families; two-story apartment" is American English, 1922.
dyslexia (n.): c. 1887, from German dyslexie (1883), from Greek dys- "bad, abnormal, difficult" (see dys-) + lexis "word," from legein "speak" (see lecture (n.)) + abstract noun ending -ia. Dyslexic (n.) is first recorded 1961; dyslectic (adj.) from 1964.
flex (v.): 1520s, "to bend," usually of muscles, probably a back-formation from flexible. Related: Flexed; flexing.
flexibility (n.): 1610s, of physical things, from French flexibilité (in Old French, "weakness, vacillation") or directly from Late Latin flexibilitatem (nominative flexibilitas), from Latin flexibilis "pliant, yielding" (see flexible). Of immaterial things from 1783.
flexible (adj.): early 15c., "capable of being bent; mentally or spiritually pliant," from Middle French flexible or directly from Latin flexibilis "that may be bent, pliant, flexible, yielding;" figuratively "tractable, inconstant," from flex-, past participle stem of flectere "to bend," which is of uncertain origin. Flexile (1630s) and flexive (1620s) have become rare. Related: Flexibly. Coles' dictionary (1717) has flexiloquent "speaking words of doubtful or double meaning."
flexion (n.): c. 1600, "bent part," also, in grammar, "modification of part of a word," from Latin flexionem (nominative flexio) "a bending, swaying; bend, turn, curve," noun of action from past participle stem of flectere "to bend" (see flexible). Flection (18c.) is more recent, less etymological, but said to be more common in modern English, perhaps by influence of affection, direction, where the -ct- is in the Latin word. According to some modern dictionaries, flexion is "confined to anatomical contexts." Related: Flexional; flectional.
flexography (n.): type of rotary printing technique, 1952, from comb. form of flexible (in reference to the plate used) + -graphy in the literal sense.
flexor (n.): 1610s, of muscles, Modern Latin, agent noun from stem of Latin flectere "to bend" (see flexible). Alternative form flector attested from 1660s (see flexion).
flextime (n.): also short for flexitime, 1972, translating German Gleitzeit "sliding time." See flex + time (n.).
flexuous (adj.): "full of bends or curves, winding, sinuous," c. 1600, from Latin flexuosus, from flexus (n.) "a bending," from flectere "to bend" (see flexible). From 1620s as "undulating."
flexure (n.): 1590s, "action of flexing or bending," from Latin flextura, from flectere "to bend" (see flexible). From 1620s as "flexed or bent condition; direction in which something is bent." Picked up in mathematics (1670s), geology (1833).
genuflexion (n.): alternative form of genuflection; see -xion.
ilex (n.): late 14c., from Latin ilex "holm-oak," perhaps from an extinct non-Indo-European language.
inflexibility (n.): 1610s, from inflexible + -ity.
inflexible (adj.): late 14c., "incapable of being bent, physically rigid," also figuratively, "unbending in temper or purpose," from Middle French inflexible and directly from Latin inflexibilis, from inflexus, past participle of inflectere (see inflect). In early 15c. an identical word had an opposite sense, "capable of being swayed or moved," from in- "in, on." Related: Inflexibly.
inflexion (n.): see inflection; also see -xion.
lex talionis: 1590s, Latin, "law of retaliation," from talionis, genitive of talio (see retaliation); an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
lexeme (n.): 1937, from lexicon + -eme, ending abstracted from morpheme. Related: Lexemic.
lexical (adj.): 1833, from Greek lexikos "pertaining to words" (see lexicon) + -al (1). Related: Lexically.
lexico-: word-forming element, from Latinized comb. form of Greek lexikos (see lexicon).
lexicographer (n.): 1650s, from French lexicographe "lexicographer," from Greek lexikographos, from lexikon "wordbook" (see lexicon) + -graphos "writer," from graphein "to write" (see -graphy).
lexicography (n.): 1670s, from lexico- + -graphy. Related: Lexicographic; lexicographical.
lexicology (n.): 1828, from lexico- + -logy.
lexicon (n.): c. 1600, "a dictionary," from Middle French lexicon or directly from Modern Latin lexicon, from Greek lexikon (biblion) "word (book)," from neuter of lexikos "pertaining to words," from lexis "word," from legein "say" (see lecture (n.)).

Used originally of dictionaries of Greek, Syriac, Hebrew and Arabic, because these typically were in Latin and in Modern Latin lexicon, not dictionarius, was the preferred word. The modern sense of "vocabulary proper to some sphere of activity" (1640s) is a figurative extension.
multiplex: 1550s (adj.), 1560s (n.), in mathematics, from Latin multiplex "having many folds; many times as great in number; of many parts" (see multiply).
perplex (v.): late 14c. as an adjective, "perplexed, puzzled, bewildered," from Latin perplexus "involved, confused, intricate;" but Latin had no corresponding verb *perplectere. The Latin compound would be per "through" (see per) + plexus "entangled," past participle of plectere "to twine, braid, fold" (see complex (adj.)).

The form of the English adjective shifted to perplexed by late 15c., probably to conform to other past participle adjectives. The verb is latest attested of the group, in 1590s, evidently a back-formation from the adjective. Related: Perplexing, which well describes the history of the word.
perplexed (adj.): late 15c., past participle adjective; see perplex. A case of a past participle form attested centuries before the verb (perplex isn't recorded until 17c.). Related: Perplexedly; perplexedness.
perplexity (n.): c. 1300, "bewilderment," from Old French perplexite "confusion, perplexity," from Late Latin perplexitatem (nominative perplexitas), from Latin perplexus "confused, involved, interwoven," from per- "completely" + plexus "entangled," past participle of plectere "to twine" (see complex (adj.)). From 1590s as "something that causes perplexity."
plex: in various usages, from Latin plex-, past participle stem of plectere "to plait" (see complex (adj.)).
Plexiglas (n.): 1935, proprietary name (Röhm & Haas) for a substance also sold as Perspex and Lucite. Often written incorrectly as plexiglass.
plexus (n.): 1680s, Modern Latin, literally "braid, network," noun use of past participle of Latin plectere "to twine, braid, fold" (see complex (adj.)); used of a network, such as solar plexus "network of nerves in the abdomen" (see solar). Related: Plexal.
quadruplex (adj.): 1875, in reference to telegraph systems in which four messages can be wired simultaneously, from quadru- + plex. In classical Latin, quadruplex meant "fourfold, quadruple," as a noun, "a fourfold amount."
reflex (n.): c. 1500, "reflection of light," from verb reflex meaning "refract, deflect" (late 14c.), from Late Latin reflexus "a bending back," noun use of past participle of reflectere (see reflection). Meaning "involuntary nerve stimulation" first recorded 1877, from reflex action (1833).
reflexive (adj.): 1580s, "reflective, capable of bending or turning back," from Medieval Latin reflexivus, from Late Latin reflexus (see reflect). Meaning "of the nature of a reflex" is from 1839 (implied in reflexively). Grammatical sense from 1837. Related: Reflexiveness; reflexivity.
reflexology (n.): 1927, as a psychological theory, from German reflexologie (1912); see reflex + -ology. As a foot massage technique, first recorded 1976.
retroflex (adj.): 1776, from Modern Latin retroflexus, past participle of retroflectere "to bend back," from retro (see retro-) + flectere "to bend" (see flexible). The verb (1898) is a back-formation from retroflexed (1806), from the adjective.
Rolex (n.): proprietary name of a make of watches, trademark reg. 1908 by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf, with Wilsdorf & Davis, London. Invented name. Company moved out of Britain 1912 for tax purposes and now is headquartered in Geneva.