英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

band: band: There are two distinct words band in English, but neither of them goes back as far as Old English. The one meaning ‘group of people’ [15] comes from Old French bande, but is probably Germanic in ultimate origin; the specific sense ‘group of musicians’ developed in the 17th century. Band ‘strip’ [13] comes from Germanic *bindan, source of English bind, but reached English in two quite separate phases.

It first came via Old Norse band, in the sense ‘something that ties or constrains’; this replaced Old English bend, also from Germanic *bindan (which now survives only as a heraldic term, as in bend sinister), but is now itself more or less obsolete, having been superseded by bond, a variant form. But then in the 15th century it arrived again, by a different route: Old French had bande ‘strip, stripe’, which can be traced back, perhaps via a Vulgar Latin *binda, to the same ultimate source, Germanic *bindan.
=> bend, bind, bond, bundle, ribbon
dinner: dinner: [13] The etymological meaning of dinner is ‘breakfast’. The word comes ultimately from an unrecorded Vulgar Latin verb *disjūnāre, a compound formed from the prefix dis- ‘un-’ and jējūnus ‘fasting, hungry’ (source of English jejune [17]): hence, ‘break one’s fast’. Old French adopted it in two phases: as desiuner, which became modern French déjeuner (originally ‘breakfast’ but later ‘lunch’), borrowed by English in the 18th century; and as disner.

In later Old French this developed into diner (source of English dine [13]), which came to be used as a noun – from which English acquired dinner. In English it has always denoted the main meal of the day, although the timing of this has varied over the centuries, and continues to do so, according to region, social class, etc.
=> jejune
line: line: [OE] The closest modern English line comes to its ancestor is probably in the fisherman’s ‘rod and line’ – a ‘string’ or ‘chord’. For it goes back to Latin līnea ‘string’. This was a derivative of līnum ‘flax’ (source of English linen), and hence meant etymologically ‘flaxen thread’. English acquired it in two separate phases.

First of all it was borrowed directly from Latin in the Old English period, and then it made a return appearance via Old French ligne in the 14th century; the two have coalesced to form modern English line. Derived forms include lineage [14], lineal [15], lineament [15], and liner [19]. The last is based on the sense ‘shipping line’, which goes back to the notion of a ‘line’ or succession of ships plying between ports.
=> align, lineal, linen, liner
lunar: lunar: [17] Latin lūna ‘moon’ came from an Indo- European base which also produced English light (not to mention a range of Latin ‘light’- words, such as lūx and lūmen, which have given English illustrate, lucid, luminous, lustre, etc). It had two adjectival derivatives: lūnāris, which simply meant ‘of the moon’, and was borrowed by English as lunar; and lūnāticus.

This was originally used for ‘living on the moon’, but subsequently came to employed in the sense ‘crazy’, from the notion that certain sorts of periodic madness were caused by the phases of the moon. English acquired it via Old French lunatique as lunatic [13].
=> illustrate, light, luminous, lunatic, lustre
monk: monk: [OE] Etymologically, a monk is someone who lives ‘alone’. The word comes ultimately from late Greek mónachos ‘solitary person, hermit’, which was derived from Greek mónos ‘alone’ (source of the English prefix mono-). It passed into late Latin as monachus (by which time it had come to denote ‘monk’), and eventually found its way to Old English as munuc – whence modern English monk.

Another derivative of Greek mónos was monázein ‘live alone’. On this was based late Greek monastérion, whose late Latin form monastērium has been acquired by English in two distinct phases: first in the Anglo-Saxon period as mynster, which has given modern English minster [OE], and then in the 15th century as monastery.
=> minster, monastery
parsley: parsley: [14] The ultimate source of parsley is Greek petrōselínon, a compound formed from pétrā ‘rock’ (source of English petrify, petrol, etc) and sélīnon ‘parsley’ (source of English celery). From it was descended Latin petroselīnum, which in post-classical times became petrosilium. This passed into English in two distinct phases: first, direct from Latin in the Old English period as petersilie, and secondly, in the 13th century via Old French peresil as percil. By the 14th century these had started to merge together into percely, later parsley.
=> celery, petrol
phase: phase: [19] Greek phásis (a derivative of the verb phaínein ‘show’, source of English phantom) meant ‘appearance’, and also ‘cyclical apparent form of a planet, moon, etc’. This was adopted into modern Latin as phasis, and it originally passed into English (in the 17th century) in the Latin plural form phases. Phase represents a new singular formed from this. The more familiar modern sense ‘stage in a sequence’ is a metaphorical extension of the astronomical meaning.
=> phantom
relieve: relieve: [14] Relieve goes back via Old French relever to Latin relevāre ‘raise again’, a compound verb formed from the prefix re- ‘again’ and levāre ‘raise’ (source of English elevate, levy, etc). Its metaphorical extension to ‘lighten, alleviate’ began in Latin. The derived noun relief reached English in two phases. First, in the standard sense ‘easing, alleviation’, via Anglo-Norman relef in the 14th century; and then, in the 17th century, via French from Italian relievo in the sense ‘raised area in a design’ – a return to the etymological meaning ‘raise’.
=> elevate, levy, relevant
Dionysian (adj.): of or pertaining to Dionysos, Greek god of wine and revelry, identified with Roman Bacchus. His name is of unknown origin. Or in reference to historical men named Dionysius such as the tyrants of Syracuse and especially Dionysius Exiguus (see A.D.), such as Dionysian period of 532 Julian years, when the moon phases recur on the same days of the week.
month (n.): Old English monað, from Proto-Germanic *menoth- (cognates: Old Saxon manoth, Old Frisian monath, Middle Dutch manet, Dutch maand, Old High German manod, German Monat, Old Norse manaðr, Gothic menoþs "month"), related to *menon- "moon" (see moon (n.); the month was calculated from lunar phases). Its cognates mean only "month" in the Romance languages, but in Germanic generally continue to do double duty. Phrase a month of Sundays "a very long time" is from 1832 (roughly 7 and a half months, but never used literally).
moon (n.): Old English mona, from Proto-Germanic *menon- (cognates: Old Saxon and Old High German mano, Old Frisian mona, Old Norse mani, Danish maane, Dutch maan, German Mond, Gothic mena "moon"), from PIE *me(n)ses- "moon, month" (cognates: Sanskrit masah "moon, month;" Avestan ma, Persian mah, Armenian mis "month;" Greek mene "moon," men "month;" Latin mensis "month;" Old Church Slavonic meseci, Lithuanian menesis "moon, month;" Old Irish mi, Welsh mis, Breton miz "month"), probably from root *me- "to measure," in reference to the moon's phases as the measure of time.

A masculine noun in Old English. In Greek, Italic, Celtic, Armenian the cognate words now mean only "month." Greek selene (Lesbian selanna) is from selas "light, brightness (of heavenly bodies)." Old Norse also had tungl "moon," ("replacing mani in prose" - Buck), evidently an older Germanic word for "heavenly body," cognate with Gothic tuggl, Old English tungol "heavenly body, constellation," of unknown origin or connection. Hence Old Norse tunglfylling "lunation," tunglœrr "lunatic" (adj.).

Extended 1665 to satellites of other planets. To shoot the moon "leave without paying rent" is British slang from c. 1823; card-playing sense perhaps influenced by gambler's shoot the works (1922) "go for broke" in shooting dice. The moon race and the U.S. space program of the 1960s inspired a number of coinages, including, from those skeptical of the benefits to be gained, moondoggle (based on boondoggle). The man in the moon is mentioned since early 14c.; he carries a bundle of thorn-twigs and is accompanied by a dog. Some Japanese, however, see a rice-cake-making rabbit in the moon.
phase (n.): 1705, "phase of the moon," back-formed as a singular from Modern Latin phases, plural of phasis, from Greek phasis "appearance" (of a star), "phase" (of the moon), from stem of phainein "to show, to make appear" (see phantasm). Latin singular phasis was used in English from 1660. Non-lunar application is first attested 1841. Meaning "temporary difficult period" (especially of adolescents) is attested from 1913.
quarter (n.): c. 1300, "one-fourth of anything; one of four parts or divisions of a thing;" often in reference to the four parts into which a slaughtered animal is cut, from Old French quartier, cartier (12c.), from Latin quartarius "fourth part," from quartus "fourth" (see quart). One of the earliest dated references in English is to "parts of the body as dismembered during execution" (c. 1300).

Used of the phases of the moon from early 15c. The use of quarter of an hour is attested from mid-15c. In Middle English quarter also meant "one of the four divisions of a 12-hour night" (late 14c.), and the quarter of the night meant "nine o'clock p.m." (early 14c.).

From late 14c. as "one of the four quadrants of the heavens;" hence, from the notion of the winds, "a side, a direction" (c. 1400). In heraldry from mid-14c. as "one of the four divisions of a shield or coat of arms." The word's connection with "four" loosened in Middle English and by 15c. expressions such as six-quartered for "six-sided" are found. Meaning "region, locality, area, place" is from c. 1400. Meaning "portion of a town" (identified by the class or race of people who live there) is first attested 1520s. For military sense, see quarters. As a period of time in a football game, from 1911. Quarter horse, bred strong for racing on quarter-mile tracks, first recorded 1834.

The coin (one fourth of a dollar) is peculiar to U.S., first recorded 1783. But quarter could mean "a farthing" in Middle English (late 14c.), and compare British quadrant "a farthing" (c. 1600), and classical Latin quadrans, the name of a coin worth a quarter of an as (the basic unit of Roman currency).

Quarter days (mid-15c.), designated as days when rents were paid and contracts and leases began or expired, were, in England, Lady day (March 25), Midsummer day (June 24), Michaelmas day (Sept. 29), and Christmas day (Dec. 25); in Scotland, keeping closer to the pagan Celtic calendar, they were Candlemas (Feb. 2), Whitsunday (May 15), Lammas (Aug. 1), and Martinmas (Nov. 11). Quarter in the sense "period of three months; one of the four divisions of a year" is recorded from late 14c.
villain (n.): c. 1300 (late 12c. as a surname), "base or low-born rustic," from Anglo-French and Old French vilain "peasant, farmer, commoner, churl, yokel" (12c.), from Medieval Latin villanus "farmhand," from Latin villa "country house, farm" (see villa).
The most important phases of the sense development of this word may be summed up as follows: 'inhabitant of a farm; peasant; churl, boor; clown; miser; knave, scoundrel.' Today both Fr. vilain and Eng. villain are used only in a pejorative sense. [Klein]
Meaning "character in a novel, play, etc. whose evil motives or actions help drive the plot" is from 1822.
astrometeorology: "The study of the (supposed) influence on the weather and climate of planetary and stellar phenomena, such as sunspots, the phases of the moon, comets, and planetary conjunctions", Early 19th cent.; earliest use found in Philosophical Magazine. From astro- + meteorology.