英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

clutch [clutch 词源字典]: clutch: Clutch ‘seize’ [14] and clutch of eggs [18] are separate words, although they may ultimately be related. The verb arose in Middle English as a variant of the now obsolete clitch, which came from Old English clyccan ‘bend, clench’. The modern sense of the noun, ‘device for engaging a motor vehicle’s gears’, which was introduced at the end of the 19th century, developed from a more general early 19thcentury meaning ‘coupling for bringing working parts together’, based no doubt on the notion of ‘seizing’ and ‘grasping’. Clutch of eggs is a variant of the now obsolete dialectal form cletch [17].

This was a derivative of the Middle English verb clecken ‘give birth’, which was borrowed from Old Norse klekja (probably a distant relative of clutch ‘seize’).
[clutch etymology, clutch origin, 英语词源]
lorry: lorry: [19] The first record we have of the word lorry is from the northwest of England in the early 1830s, when it denoted a ‘low wagon’ (it was often used for railway wagons). The modern application to a motor vehicle emerged at the beginning of the 20th century. It is not clear where it came from, although it has been speculated that it was based on the personal name Laurie (perhaps someone called Laurie invented the vehicle). Another possibility is some connection with the Northern dialect verb lurry ‘pull’.
accelerator (n.): 1610s, from Latin accelerator, agent noun from accelerare (see accelerate). Motor vehicle sense is from 1900.
amphibious (adj.): 1640s, from Greek amphibios "having a double life" (see amphibian). Of motor vehicles, from 1915.
automobile (n.): "self-propelled motor vehicle," 1895, from French automobile, short for véhicule automobile (see automobile (adj.)). The modern Greek calls it autokineto "moved of itself." The French word had competition in the early years from locomobile; in English other early forms were motorcar and autocar. An electrical car was an electromobile (1899).
camper (n.): 1630s, "soldier," agent noun from camp (v.). Meaning "attendee at a camp meeting" is from 1806; meaning "one who sleeps in temporary quarters outdoors" is from 1856; that of "motor vehicle with sleeping quarters" is from 1960. Extended use of happy camper is from c. 1987.
carburetor (n.): device to enhance a gas flame, 1866, from carburet "compound of carbon and another substance" (1795, now displaced by carbide), also used as a verb, "to combine with carbon" (1802); from carb-, comb. form of carbon, + -uret, an archaic suffix formed from Modern Latin -uretum to parallel French words in -ure. Motor vehicle sense is from 1896.
clutch (n.2): movable mechanical part for transmitting motion, 1814, from clutch (v.), with the "seizing" sense extended to "device for bringing working parts together." Originally of mill-works, first used of motor vehicles 1899. Meaning "moment when heroics are required" is attested from 1920s.
coast (v.): late 14c., "to skirt, to go around the sides, to go along the border" of something (as a ship does the coastline), from Anglo-French costien, from the French source of coast (n.). The meaning "sled downhill," first attested 1775 in American English, is a separate borrowing. Of motor vehicles, "to move without thrust from the engine," by 1925; figurative use, of persons, "not to exert oneself," by 1934. Related: Coasted; coasting.
dashboard (n.): 1846, from dash (v.) + board (n.1); "board in front of a carriage to stop mud from being splashed ("dashed") into the vehicle by the horse's hoofs." Of motor vehicles, from 1904.
handling (n.): Old English handlung "action of touching or feeling," from handlian (see handle (v.)). Meaning "way in which something handles" (especially a motor vehicle) is from 1962.
lorry (n.): "a truck; a long, flat wagon," 1838, British railroad word, probably from verb lurry "to pull, tug" (1570s), of uncertain origin. Meaning "large motor vehicle for carrying goods" is first attested 1911.
Michelin: type of tires, 1902, from French motor vehicle manufacturers André (1853-1931) and Édouard (1859-1940) Michelin, who first made the tires.
model (n.): 1570s, "likeness made to scale; architect's set of designs," from Middle French modelle (16c., Modern French modèle), from Italian modello "a model, mold," from Vulgar Latin *modellus, from Latin modulus "a small measure, standard," diminutive of modus "manner, measure" (see mode (n.1)).

Sense of "thing or person to be imitated" is 1630s. Meaning "motor vehicle of a particular design" is from 1900 (such as Model T, 1908; Ford's other early models included C, F, and B). Sense of "artist's model" is first recorded 1690s; that of "fashion model" is from 1904. German, Swedish modell, Dutch, Danish model are from French or Italian.
no-fault (adj.): as a type of U.S. motor vehicle insurance, 1967, from no + fault (n.).
ride (n.): 1759, "journey on the back of a horse or in a vehicle," from ride (v.); slang meaning "a motor vehicle" is recorded from 1930; sense of "amusement park device" is from 1934. Meaning "act of sexual intercourse" is from 1937. To take (someone) for a ride "tease, mislead, cheat," is first attested 1925, American English, possibly from underworld sense of "take on a car trip with intent to kill" (1927). Phrase go along for the ride in the figurative sense "join in passively" is from 1956. A ride cymbal (1956) is used by jazz drummers for keeping up continuous rhythm, as opposed to a crash cymbal (ride as "rhythm" in jazz slang is recorded from 1936).
semi-trailer (n.): also semitrailer, 1910 in reference to motor vehicles (late 19c. in botany), from semi- + trailer.Short form semi is attested from 1942.
shift (n.1): c. 1300, "a movement, a beginning," from shift (v.). This is the word in to make shift "make efforts" (mid-15c.). Sense of "change, alteration" is from 1560s. Sense of "means to an end" is from 1520s; hence "an expedient." Meaning "mechanism for changing gear in a motor vehicle" is recorded from 1914. Typewriter shift key is from 1893; shift-lock is from 1899.

Meaning "period of working time" (originally in a mine) is attested from 1809, with older sense "relay of horses" (1708); perhaps with sense influenced by a North Sea Germanic cognate word (such as North Frisian skeft "division, stratum," skaft "one of successive parties of workmen"). Similar double senses of "division" and "relay of workers" exist in Swedish skift, German schicht.
shimmy (v.): "do a suggestive dance," 1918, perhaps via phrase shake the shimmy, which is possibly from shimmy (n.), a U.S. dialectal form of chemise (mistaken as a plural; compare shammy) first recorded 1837. Or perhaps the verb is related to shimmer (v.) via a notion of glistening light. Transferred sense of "vibration of a motor vehicle" is from 1925. Related: Shimmied; shimmying. As a noun, the name of a popular, fast, suggestive pre-flapper dance, by 1919.
skid (n.): c. 1600, "beam or plank on which something rests," especially on which something heavy can be rolled from place to place (1782), of uncertain origin, probably from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse skið "stick of wood" (see ski (n.)). As "a sliding along" from 1890; specifically of motor vehicles from 1903. Skid-mark is from 1914.

In the timber regions of the American West, skids laid down one after another to form a road were "a poor thing for pleasure walks, but admirably adapted for hauling logs on the ground with a minimum of friction" ["Out West" magazine, October 1903]. A skid as something used to facilitate downhill motion led to figurative phrases such as hit the skids "go into rapid decline" (1909), and see skid row.
spoiler (n.): 1530s, "one who robs or plunders," agent noun from spoil (v.). Meaning "one who mars another's chance at victory" is attested from 1950 in U.S. politics, perhaps from boxing. Aeronautics sense is from 1928, because the flap thwarts the "lift" on the plane; transferred to structures serving a similar purpose on speedboats (1957) and motor vehicles (1963). Meaning "information about the plot of a movie, etc., which might 'spoil' it for one who has not seen it" is attested by 1982.
sprag (n.): "prop in a mine," 1841, of unknown origin. Transferred by 1878 to wood blocks, etc., used to brake motor vehicles. As a verb, from 1841. Related: Spragged; spragging.
transmission (n.): 1610s, "conveyance from one place to another," from Latin transmissionem (nominative transmissio) "a sending over or across, passage," noun of action from past participle stem of transmittere "send over or across" (see transmit). Meaning "part of a motor vehicle that regulates power from the engine to the axle" is first recorded 1894.
truck (n.1): "vehicle," 1610s, originally "small wheel" (especially one on which the carriages of a ship's guns were mounted), probably from Latin trochus "iron hoop," from Greek trokhos "wheel," from trekhein "to run" (see truckle (n.)). Sense extended to "cart for carrying heavy loads" (1774), then in American English to "motor vehicle for carrying heavy loads" (1913), a shortened form of motor truck in this sense (1901).
There have also been lost to the enemy 6,200 guns, 2,550 tanks and 70,000 trucks, which is the American name for lorries, and which, I understand, has been adopted by the combined staffs in North-West Africa in exchange for the use of the word petrol in place of gasolene. [Winston Churchill, address to joint session of U.S. Congress, May 19, 1943]
Truck stop is attested from 1956.
trunk (n.1): mid-15c., "box, case," from Old French tronc "alms box in a church," also "trunk of a tree, trunk of the human body, wooden block" (12c.), from Latin truncus "trunk of a tree, trunk of the body," of uncertain origin, perhaps originally "mutilated, cut off." The meaning "box, case" is likely to be from the notion of the body as the "case" of the organs. English acquired the "main stem of a tree" and "torso of the body" senses from Old French in late 15c. The sense of "luggage compartment of a motor vehicle" is from 1930. Railroad trunk line is attested from 1843; telephone version is from 1889.
Winnebago: "Siouan people of eastern Wisconsin," 1766, from Potawatomi winepyekoha, literally "person of dirty water," in reference to the muddy or fish-clogged waters of the Fox River below Lake Winnebago. As a type of motor vehicle, attested from 1966.
prang: "Crash (a motor vehicle or aircraft)", 1940s: imitative.
petrolic: "Of or relating to petrol or petroleum; specifically relating to the use of petrol-driven motor vehicles", Late 19th cent.; earliest use found in William Dean Howells (1837–1920), author. Originally from petrol- + -ic. In later use probably partly re-formed from petrol + -ic.
trafficator: "An obsolete kind of signalling device on the side of a motor vehicle, having the form of a small illuminated pointer which could be extended to indicate a change of direction", 1930s: blend of traffic and indicator.