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alumnus [alumnus 词源字典]: alumnus: see alma mater
[alumnus etymology, alumnus origin, 英语词源]
autumn: autumn: [14] English acquired autumn from Latin autumnus, partly via Old French autompne. Where Latin got the word from is a mystery; it may have been a borrowing from Etruscan, a long-extinct pre-Roman language of the Italian peninsula. In Old English, the term for ‘autumn’ was harvest, and this remained in common use throughout the Middle Ages; it was not until the 16th century that autumn really began to replace it (at the same time as harvest began to be applied more commonly to the gathering of crops). Fall, now the main US term for ‘autumn’, is 16th-century too.
calumny: calumny: see challenge
chimney: chimney: [14] Greek kámīnos meant ‘furnace’ (it was related to kamárā ‘vaulted room’, source of English camera and chamber). It was borrowed into Latin as camīnus, from which the adjective camīnātus ‘having a furnace, oven, etc’ was derived. By late Latin times this had become a noun, camīnāta, which passed into Old French as cheminee, and thence into English. The original meanings ‘fireplace’ and ‘stove’ persisted until the 19th century, but already in Old French the sense ‘flue’ had developed, which was finally to win out.
=> camera, chamber
column: column: [15] The notion underlying column is of ‘height, command, extremity’. It comes, via Old French colomne, from Latin columna ‘pillar’, which was probably a derivative of columen, culmen ‘top, summit’ (from which English also gets culminate). It goes back ultimately to a base *kol-, *kel-, distant ancestor of English excel and hill. The word’s application to vertical sections of printed matter dates from the 15th century, but its transference to that which is written (as in ‘write a weekly newspaper column’) is a 20thcentury development.
=> culminate, excel, hill
damn: damn: [13] Damn comes via Old French damner from Latin damnāre, a derivative of the noun damnum. This originally meant ‘loss, harm’ (it is the source of English damage), but the verb damnāre soon spread its application to ‘pronounce judgment upon’, in both the legal and the theological sense. These meanings (reflected also in the derived condemn) followed the verb through Old French into English, which dropped the strict legal sense around the 16th century but has persisted with the theological one and its more profane offshoots.
=> condemn, damage, indemnity
gymnasium: gymnasium: [16] Greek gumnós meant ‘naked’. It was customary in ancient times for athletes to train naked, and so the verb gumnázein came to mean ‘train, practise’ – particularly by doing exercises (whence English gymnast [16]). From the verb was derived the noun gumnásion, which Latin borrowed as gymnasium ‘school’. This academic sense has never caught on to any extent in English (although it is the word’s only application in German); we have preferred to go back to the original athletic connotations.
hymn: hymn: [13] For the ancient Greeks, a húmnos was a ‘song of praise’ – but not necessarily a religious one. It could be used to celebrate the deeds of heroes as well as to compliment the gods. However, the Greek Septuagint uses it to render various Hebrew words meaning ‘song praising God’, and it was this meaning that was carried via Latin hymnus and Old French ymne into English as imne (the spelling hymn is a 16thcentury latinization).
indemnity: indemnity: see damage
remnant: remnant: see remain
simnel: simnel: [13] Simnel, a term now used for a cake made at Easter, originally denoted ‘bread made from fine flour’. It was borrowed from Old French simenel, which itself came from either Latin simila (source of English semolina) or Greek semídālis, both meaning ‘fine flour’.
solemn: solemn: [14] Solemn comes via Old French solemne from Latin sollemnis ‘customary’, hence ‘performed with due ceremony on a particular fixed day’. This was derived from sollus ‘whole’ (source also of English solicit).
=> solicit
Agamemnon: king of Mycenae, leader of the Greeks in the Trojan War, his name perhaps represents Greek Aga-medmon, literally "ruling mightily," from agan "very much" + medon "ruler" (see meditation).
alumna (n.): see alumnus.
alumnae (n.): see alumnus.
alumni (n.): see alumnus.
alumnus (n.): 1640s, from Latin alumnus "a pupil," literally "foster son," vestigial present passive participle of alere "to nourish" (see old), with ending akin to Greek -omenos. Plural is alumni. Fem. is alumna (1882), fem. plural alumnae.
ame damnee (n.): "devoted adherent, toady," 1823, from French âme damnée "familiar spirit," literally "damned soul," originally a soul damned by compact with a controlling demon.
amnesia (n.): "loss of memory," 1786 (as a Greek word in English from 1670s), Modern Latin, coined from Greek amnesia "forgetfulness," from a-, privative prefix, "not" (see a- (3)) + stem from mnasthai "to recall, remember," related to mnemnon "mindful," mneme "memory;" from PIE root *men- "to think, remember" (see mind (n.)).
amnesiac (n.): "one affected by amnesia," 1913, from amnesia (q.v.).
amnesic (adj.): "pertaining to amnesia," 1863; see amnesia + -ic.
amnestic (adj.): "causing loss of memory," 1879, from Greek amnestia "oblivion, forgetfulness;" see amnesia.
amnesty (n.): "pardon of past offenses," 1570s, from French amnestie "intentional overlooking," from Latin amnestia, from Greek amnestia "forgetfulness (of wrong); an amnesty," from a-, privative prefix, "not" (see a- (3)), + mnestis "remembrance," related to mnaomai "I remember" (see mind (n.)). As a verb, from 1809. Amnesty International founded 1961 as Appeal for Amnesty. The name was changed 1963.
amniocentesis (n.): 1958, Modern Latin, from amnion (see amniotic) + centesis "surgical puncture," from Greek kentesis "a pricking," from kentein "to prick," related to kontos "pole" (see center (n.)).
amnion (n.): 1660s, Modern Latin, from Greek amnion "membrane around a fetus," said to be originally "bowl in which the blood of victims was caught" [Liddell & Scott], which is variously said to be of unknown origin, from ame "bucket," or a diminutive of amnos "lamb."
amniotic (adj.): 1822, from Modern Latin amnion (see amnion) + -ic.
anamnesis (n.): "recollection, remembrance," 1650s, from Greek anamnesis "a calling to mind, remembrance," noun of action from stem of anamimneskein "to remember, to remind (someone) of (something), make mention of," from ana "back" (see ana-) + mimneskesthai "to recall, cause to remember" (see amnesia). Related: Anamnestic.
autumn (n.): late 14c., autumpne (modern form from 16c.), from Old French autumpne, automne (13c.), from Latin autumnus (also auctumnus, perhaps influenced by auctus "increase"), which is of unknown origin. Perhaps from Etruscan, but Tucker suggests a meaning "drying-up season" and a root in *auq- (which would suggest the form in -c- was the original) and compares archaic English sere-month "August."

Harvest was the English name for the season until autumn began to displace it 16c. In Britain, the season is popularly August through October; in U.S., September through November. Compare Italian autunno, Spanish otoño, Portuguese outono, all from the Latin word. Unlike the other three seasons, its names across the Indo-European languages leave no evidence that there ever was a common word for it.

Many "autumn" words mean "end, end of summer," or "harvest." Compare also Lithuanian ruduo "autumn," from rudas "reddish," in reference to leaves; Old Irish fogamar, literally "under-winter."
autumnal (adj.): 1570s, from Latin autumnalis "pertaining to autumn," from autumnus (see autumn).
calmness (n.): 1510s, from calm (adj.) + -ness.
calumniate (v.): 1550s, from Latin calumniatus, past participle of calumniari "to accuse falsely," from calumnia "slander, false accusation" (see calumny). Related: Calumniated; calumniating.
calumniation (n.): 1540s, noun of action from calumniate (v.).
calumniator (n.): 1690s, from Latin calumniator, agent noun from calumniari (see calumniate (v.)).
calumnious (adj.): late 15c., from Latin calumniosus, from calumnia (see calumny). Related: Calumniously.
calumny (n.): "False & malicious misrepresentation of the words or actions of others, calculated to injure their reputation" [Fowler], mid-15c., from Middle French calomnie (15c.), from Latin calumnia "trickery, subterfuge, misrepresentation, malicious charge," from calvi "to trick, deceive," from PIE root *kel- (6) "to deceive, confuse" (cognates: Greek kelein "to bewitch, seduce, beguile," Gothic holon "to deceive," Old Norse hol "praise, flattery," Old English hol "slander," holian "to slander").
chimney (n.): late 13c., "furnace;" early 14c., "chimney stack of a fireplace;" late 14c., "fireplace in a residential space;" from Old French cheminee "fireplace; room with a fireplace; hearth; chimney stack" (12c., Modern French cheminée), from Late Latin (camera) caminata "fireplace; room with a fireplace," from Latin caminatus, adjective of caminus "furnace, forge; hearth, oven; flue," from Greek kaminos "furnace, oven, brick kiln." Jamieson [1808] notes that in vulgar use in Scotland it always is pronounced "chimley." Chimney sweep attested from 1610s, earlier chimney sweeper (c. 1500).
circumnavigate (v.): 1630s, from Latin circumnavigatus, past participle of circumnavigare "to sail round," from circum "around" (see circum-) + navigare (see navigation). Related: Circumnavigated; circumnavigating; circumnavigable.
circumnavigation (n.): 1705, from circumnavigate + -ion.
Clytaemnestra: also Clytemnestra, wife and murderess of Agamemnon, from Greek Klytaimnestra, from klytos "celebrated, heard of" (see loud) + mnester "wooer, suitor," literally "willing to mind, mindful of," related to mnasthai "to remember," from PIE root *men- "to think" (see mind (n.)).
column (n.): mid-15c., "vertical division of a page," also "a pillar, post," from Old French colombe (12c., Modern French colonne "column, pillar"), from Latin columna "pillar," collateral form of columen "top, summit," from PIE root *kel- (4) "to project, be prominent" (see hill). Sense of "matter written for a newspaper" dates from 1785.
columnar (adj.): 1728, from Late Latin columnaris "rising in the form of a pillar," from columna "column" (see column).
columnist (n.): 1920, from column in the newspaper sense + -ist.
condemn (v.): early 14c., condempner "to blame, censure," from Old French condamner "to condemn" (11c.), from Latin condemnare "to sentence, doom, blame, disapprove," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + damnare "to harm, damage" (see damn). Replaced Old English fordeman. Related: Condemned; condemning.
condemnation (n.): late 14c., from Latin condemnationem (nominative condemnatio), noun of action from past participle stem of condemnare (see condemn).
condemnatory (adj.): late 16c., from Latin condemnat-, past participle stem of condemnare (see condemn) + -ory.
condemned (adj.): 1540s, "found guilty, at fault," past participle adjective from condemn. Of property, "found unfit for use," from 1798.
contemn (v.): mid-15c., from Old French contemner (15c.), from Latin contemnere "to despise, scorn" (see contempt).
damn (v.): late 13c., "to condemn," from Old French damner "damn, condemn; convict, blame; injure," derivative of Latin damnare "to adjudge guilty; to doom; to condemn, blame, reject," from noun damnum "damage, hurt, harm; loss, injury; a fine, penalty," possibly from an ancient religious term from PIE *dap- "to apportion in exchange" [see Watkins]. The Latin word evolved a legal meaning of "pronounce judgment upon." Theological sense is first recorded early 14c.; the optative expletive use likely is as old.

Damn and its derivatives generally were avoided in print from 18c. to c. 1930s (the famous line in the film version of "Gone with the Wind" was a breakthrough and required much effort by the studio). The noun is recorded from 1610s; to be not worth a damn is from 1817. The adjective is 1775, short for damned; Damn Yankee, characteristic Southern U.S. term for "Northerner," is attested from 1812. Related: Damning.
damnable (adj.): mid-14c., from Old French damnable or directly from Late Latin damnabilis, from Latin damnare "to doom, condemn" (see damn). Related: Damnably.
damnation (n.): c. 1300, "condemnation to Hell by God," also "fact of being condemned by judicial sentence," from Old French damnation, from Latin damnationem (nominative damnatio), noun of action from past participle stem of damnare (see damn). As an imprecation, attested from c. 1600.
Damnation follows death in other men,
But your damn'd Poet lives and writes agen.
[Pope, letter to Henry Cromwell, 1707 or 1708]