英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

agree [agree 词源字典]: agree: [14] Originally, if a thing ‘agreed you’, it was to your liking, it pleased you. This early meaning survives in the adjective agreeable [14], but the verb has meanwhile moved on via ‘to reconcile (people who have quarrelled)’ and ‘to come into accord’ to its commonest presentday sense, ‘to concur’. It comes from Old French agréer ‘to please’, which was based on the phrase a gré ‘to one’s liking’. Gré was descended from Latin grātum, a noun based on grātus ‘pleasing’, from which English also gets grace and grateful.
=> congratulate, grace, grateful, gratitude[agree etymology, agree origin, 英语词源]
good: good: [OE] Good is such a general, all-embracing word for anything regarded in a positive light that it perhaps comes as something of a surprise that it is not an ancient primary term distributed throughout the Indo-European languages. It is a strictly Germanic word (German has gut, Dutch goed, and Swedish and Danish god), and it goes back to prehistoric Germanic *gath- ‘bring together’ (source of English gather and together); the progression of senses appears to be ‘brought together, united’, ‘fitting, suitable’, ‘pleasing’, and ‘good’. See also BEST.
=> gather, together
grace: grace: [12] Latin grātus meant ‘pleasing’. Its most obvious English descendants are grateful, gratify, gratuity, etc, but it is also responsible for grace (not to mention the even better disguised agree). Its derived noun grātia ‘pleasure, favour, thanks’ passed into English via Old French grace. Gracious [13] comes ultimately from Latin grātiōsus; grateful [15] is an English formation. (The apparently similar gracile ‘slender’ [17], incidentally, is not etymologically related; it comes from Latin gracilis ‘slender’.)
=> agree, grateful
grateful: grateful: [16] Grateful is a curious sort of adjective. The grate that a grateful person is full of is a now obsolete adjective, meaning ‘pleasing’ and ‘thankful’, which was derived from Latin grātus. It is unusual for adjectives ending in -ful themselves to be formed from adjectives, rather than from nouns, and it has been suggested in this case that the related Italian gradevole ‘pleasing’ may have had some influence.

Latin grātus itself meant ‘pleasing’ as well as ‘thankful’, and has also given English congratulate [16], gratify [16], gratitude [16], and gratuity [16], and, via the derived noun grātia, grace and gratis [15].
=> congratulate, grace, gratis, gratitude
harmony: harmony: [14] The etymological idea behind harmony is ‘fitting things together’ – that is, of combining notes in an aesthetically pleasing manner. It comes via Old French harmonie and Latin harmonia from Greek harmoníā ‘means of joining’, hence ‘agreement, concord’, a derivative of harmós ‘joint’. As a musical term in Greek it appears to have denoted ‘scale’, or more simply just ‘music’, and its original use in English was for what we would now call ‘melody’.

It was not applied to the combination of notes to form chords (a practice which originated in the 9th century) until the 16th century. The term harmonica was coined in 1762 by the American physicist and statesman Benjamin Franklin for a musical instrument consisting of a set of water-filled glasses tuned to different notes and played with the fingers. It was first applied to the mouth-organ in the 19th century.
hobbit: hobbit: [20] The name of these small furry-footed human-like creatures was invented by their creator, J.R.R. Tolkien, and first appeared in public in The Hobbit (1937). It probably simply occurred to him as a pleasing- and appropriatesounding name, but with typical linguistic thoroughness he later worked up a detailed etymological rationale for it: in their own language, he claimed, hobbits were called kuduk; this was a worn-down version of an original kûd-dûkan, which meant literally ‘holedweller’; in Old English, ‘hole-dweller’ would have been holbytla, which in modern English could plausibly have become eroded to hobbit.
like: like: English has a diverse group of words spelled like, but they all come ultimately from the same source. This was prehistoric Germanic *līkam ‘appearance, form, body’ (source also of the lych- of English lych-gate [15], which originally signified the gate through which a coffin was carried into a churchyard). From it was derived the verb *līkōjan, which passed into English as like.

It originally meant ‘please’, but by the 12th century had done a semantic somersault to ‘find pleasing’. The same Germanic *likam produced English alike, literally ‘similar in appearance’, whose Old Norse relative líkr was borrowed into English as the adjective like [12]. Its adverbial and prepositional uses developed in the later Middle Ages. Also from Old Norse came the derived adjective likely [13].

English each and such were formed from the ancestor of like.
=> each, such
love: love: [OE] The word love goes back to an Indo- European *leubh-, which has spawned a huge lexical progeny: not just words for ‘love’ (love’s Germanic relatives, such as German liebe and Dutch liefde, as well as the archaic English lief ‘dear’ [OE] and Latin libīdō ‘strong desire’, source of English libidinous [15]) but also words for ‘praise’ (German lob and Dutch lof) and ‘belief’ (German glauben, Dutch gelooven, English believe).

The sense ‘find pleasing’ is primary; it subsequently developed to ‘praise’ and, probably via ‘be satisfied with’, to ‘trust, believe’. The derivative lovely [OE] originally meant ‘affectionate’ and ‘lovable’; the modern sense ‘beautiful’ did not develop until the late 13th century.
=> believe, leave, lief
placebo: placebo: [13] Placebo started life as the first person future singular of the Latin verb placēre ‘please’ (source of English please), and hence meant originally ‘I will please’. It was the first word of the antiphon to the first psalm in the Roman Catholic service for the dead, Placēbo Dominō in rēgiōne vivōrum ‘I will please the Lord in the land of the living’. The word’s medical use emerged at the end of the 18th, and arose from the notion of a medicine ‘pleasing’ the patient rather than having any direct physiological effect.
=> please
smack: smack: English has four separate words smack. The oldest, ‘taste’ [OE], is now mainly used metaphorically (as in smack of ‘suggest’). It has relatives in German geschmack, Dutch smaak, Swedish smak, and Danish smag ‘taste’, and may be distantly linked to Lithuanian smagus ‘pleasing’. Smack ‘hit’ [16] at first meant ‘open the lips noisily’, and was borrowed from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch smacken, which no doubt originated in imitation of the noise made.

It was not used for ‘hit with the palm of the hand’ until the mid 19th century. The slang use of the derivative smacker for ‘money’ originated in the USA around the end of World War I. Smack ‘small sailing boat’ [17] was borrowed from Dutch smak, a word of unknown origin. And smack ‘heroin’ [20] is probably an alteration of schmeck ‘heroin or other drug’ [20], which in turn comes from Yiddish schmeck ‘sniff’.
volition: volition: [17] Volition comes via French volition from medieval Latin volitiō, a noun derived from Latin volō ‘I will’. Together with English will, this went back ultimately to Indo-European *wel-, *wol- ‘be pleasing’, which also produced English volunteer and voluptuous.
=> voluntary, volunteer, voluptuous, will
voluptuous: voluptuous: [14] Voluptuous goes back ultimately to the Indo-European base *wol-, *wel- ‘be pleasing’, which also produced English volunteer and will. From it was descended the Latin adverb volup ‘agreeably’, from which were derived in turn the noun voluptās ‘pleasure’ and the adjective voluptuōsus ‘giving pleasure’. In its transmission via Old French voluptueux to English, it acquired additional connotations of ‘sensual pleasure’.
=> volition
will: will: Will the noun [OE] and the two verbs will [OE] all go back ultimately to the Indo- European base *wel-, *wol- ‘be pleasing’, which also produced English voluntary, voluptuous, wealth, well ‘satisfactorily’, etc. From it was derived a noun, *weljon, which evolved into English will, and also German wille, Dutch wil, Swedish vilja, and Danish vilje.

The verb will ‘decide on or resolve by force of the will’ was formed in the prehistoric Germanic period from the noun. The auxiliary verb will, expressing intention or future time, comes from a prehistoric Germanic *weljan. Would evolved from its original Old English past form wolde.
=> voluntary, voluptuous, wealth, will, would
agree (v.): late 14c., "to be to one's liking;" also "to give consent," from Old French agreer "to receive with favor, take pleasure in" (12c.), from phrase a gré "favorably, of good will," literally "to (one's) liking," from Latin ad "to" (see ad-) + gratum "pleasing," neuter of gratus (see grace (n.)); the original sense survives best in agreeable. Meaning "to be in harmony in opinions" is from late 15c. Related: Agreed; agreeing.
agreeable (adj.): late 14c., "to one's liking," from Old French agreable (12c., Modern French agréable) "pleasing, in agreement, consenting, thankful," from agreer "to please" (see agree). Related: Agreeably. To do the agreeable (1825) was to "act in a courteous manner."
Amanda: fem. proper name, literally "worthy to be loved," fem. of Latin amandus "pleasing," gerundive of amare "to love" (see Amy). A top 10 list name for girls born in U.S. between 1976 and 1995.
appeal (v.): early 14c., originally in legal sense of "to call" to a higher judge or court, from Anglo-French apeler "to call upon, accuse," Old French apeler "make an appeal" (11c., Modern French appeler), from Latin appellare "to accost, address, appeal to, summon, name," iterative of appellere "to prepare," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + pellere "to beat, drive" (see pulse (n.1)). Related: Appealed; appealing.

Probably a Roman metaphoric extension of a nautical term for "driving a ship toward a particular landing." Popular modern meaning "to be attractive or pleasing" is quite recent, attested from 1907 (appealing in this sense is from 1891), from the notion of "to address oneself in expectation of a sympathetic response."
attractive (adj.): late 14c., "absorptive," from Middle French attractif (14c.), from attract-, past participle stem of attrahere (see attract). Meaning "having the quality of drawing people's eye or interest" is from 1580s; sense of "pleasing, alluring" is from c. 1600. Related: Attractively; attractiveness.
beautiful (adj.): mid-15c., "pleasing to the eye," from beauty + -ful. The beautiful people "the fashionable set" first attested 1964 in (where else?) "Vogue" (it also was the title of a 1941 play by U.S. dramatist William Saroyan). House Beautiful is from "Pilgrim's Progress," where it is a proper name of a place. Related: Beautifully.
charm (n.): c. 1300, "incantation, magic charm," from Old French charme (12c.) "magic charm, magic, spell; incantation, song, lamentation," from Latin carmen "song, verse, enchantment, religious formula," from canere "to sing" (see chant (v.)), with dissimilation of -n- to -r- before -m- in intermediate form *canmen (for a similar evolution, see Latin germen "germ," from *genmen). The notion is of chanting or reciting verses of magical power.
A yet stronger power than that of herb or stone lies in the spoken word, and all nations use it both for blessing and cursing. But these, to be effective, must be choice, well knit, rhythmic words (verba concepta), must have lilt and tune; hence all that is strong in the speech wielded by priest, physician, magician, is allied to the forms of poetry. [Jacob Grimm, "Teutonic Mythology" (transl. Stallybrass), 1883]
Sense of "pleasing quality" evolved 17c. Meaning "small trinket fastened to a watch-chain, etc." first recorded 1865. Quantum physics sense is from 1964. To work like a charm (figuratively) is recorded by 1824.
charm (v.): c. 1300, "to recite or cast a magic spell," from Old French charmer (13c.) "to enchant, to fill (someone) with desire (for something); to protect, cure, treat; to maltreat, harm," from Late Latin carminare, from Latin carmen (see charm (n.)). In Old French used alike of magical and non-magical activity. In English, "to win over by treating pleasingly, delight" from mid-15c. Related: Charmed; charming. Charmed (short for I am charmed) as a conventional reply to a greeting or meeting is attested by 1825.
complacence (n.): mid-15c., "pleasure," from Medieval Latin complacentia "satisfaction, pleasure," from Latin complacentem (nominative complacens), present participle of complacere "to be very pleasing," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + placere "to please" (see please). Sense of "pleased with oneself" is 18c.
complacent (adj.): 1650s, "pleasing," from Latin complacentem (nominative complacens) "pleasing," present participle of complacere "be very pleasing" (see complacence). Meaning "pleased with oneself" is from 1767. Related: Complacently.
complaisant (adj.): 1640s, from French complaisant (16c.), in Middle French, "pleasing," present participle of complaire "acquiesce to please," from Latin complacere "be very pleasing" (see complacent, with which it overlapped till mid-19c.). Possibly influenced in French by Old French plaire "gratify."
dainty (adj.): c. 1300, deinte, "delightful, pleasing," from dainty (n.). Meaning evolved in Middle English to "choice, excellent" (late 14c.) to "delicately pretty." Related: Daintiness.
displease (v.): early 14c., from Old French desplais-, present tense stem of desplaisir "to displease" (13c.), from Latin displicere "displease," from dis- "not" (see dis-) + placere "to please" (see please). Related: Displeased; displeasing.
Euterpe: muse of music, from Greek Euterpe, literally "well-pleasing," from eu "well" (see eu-) + terpein "to delight, please" (see Terpsichore). "A divinity of joy and pleasure, inventress of the double flute, favoring rather the wild and simple melodies of primitive peoples than the more finished art of music, and associated more with Bacchus than with Apollo" [Century Dictionary]. Related: Euterpean.
fair (adj.): Old English fæger "pleasing to the sight (of persons and body features, also of objects, places, etc.); beautiful, handsome, attractive," of weather, "bright, clear, pleasant; not rainy," also in late Old English "morally good," from Proto-Germanic *fagraz (cognates: Old Saxon fagar, Old Norse fagr, Swedish fager, Old High German fagar "beautiful," Gothic fagrs "fit"), perhaps from PIE *pek- (1) "to make pretty" (cognates: Lithuanian puošiu "I decorate").

The meaning in reference to weather preserves the oldest sense "suitable, agreeable" (opposed to foul (adj.)). Of the main modern senses of the word, that of "light of complexion or color of hair and eyes, not dusky or sallow" (of persons) is from c. 1200, faire, contrasted to browne and reflecting tastes in beauty. From early 13c. as "according with propriety; according with justice," hence "equitable, impartial, just, free from bias" (mid-14c.).

Of wind, "not excessive; favorable for a ship's passage," from late 14c. Of handwriting from 1690s. From c. 1300 as "promising good fortune, auspicious." Also from c. 1300 as "above average, considerable, sizable." From 1860 as "comparatively good."

The sporting senses (fair ball, fair catch, etc.) began to appear in 1856. Fair play is from 1590s but not originally in sports. Fair-haired in the figurative sense of "darling, favorite" is from 1909. First record of fair-weather friends is from 1736 (in a letter from Pope published that year, written in 1730). The fair sex "women" is from 1660s, from the "beautiful" sense (fair as a noun meaning "a woman" is from early 15c.). Fair game "legitimate target" is from 1776, from hunting.
Others, who have not gone to such a height of audacious wickedness, have yet considered common prostitutes as fair game, which they might pursue without restraint. ["Advice from a Father to a Son, Just Entered into the Army and about to Go Abroad into Action," London, 1776]
favorable (adj.): late 14c., "kind, friendly," from Old French favorable "well-disposed, favorable, partial," from Latin favorabilis "favored, in favor," from favor "good will, partiality" (see favor (n.)). Meaning "advantageous" is from mid-15c. In Middle English it also meant "attractive, pleasing, agreeable." Related: Favorably.
flatter (v.): c. 1200, flateren, flaterien, "seek to please or gratify (someone) by undue praise, praise insincerely, beguile with pleasing words," from Old French flater "to deceive; caress, fondle; prostrate, throw, fling (to the ground)" (13c.), probably from a Germanic source, perhaps from Proto-Germanic *flata- "flat" (see flat (adj.)).

"Of somewhat doubtful etymology" [OED]. Liberman calls it "one of many imitative verbs beginning with fl- and denoting unsteady or light, repeated movement" (for example flicker, flutter). If it is related to flat the notion could be either "caress with the flat of the hand, stroke, pet," or "throw oneself flat on the ground" (in fawning adoration). The -er ending is unusual for an English verb from French; perhaps it is by influence of shimmer, flicker, etc., or from flattery.

Meaning "give a pleasing but false impression to" is from late 14c. Sense of "show (something) to best advantage" is from 1580s, originally of portraits. Related: Flattered; flattering.
flattering (adj.): late 14c., "pleasing to the imagination; dishonestly pleasing; having a false appearance of favorableness," present participle adjective from flatter. Meaning "gratifying to self-esteem" is from 1757. Related: Flatteringly.
flavor (n.): c. 1300, "a smell, odor" (usually a pleasing one), from Old French flaor "smell, odor; action of smelling, sense of smell," probably from Vulgar Latin flator "odor," literally "that which blows," in classical Latin "blower," from flare "to blow, puff," which is cognate with Old English blawan (see blow (v.1)).

"Not common before Milton's time" [Century Dictionary], and it is not clear what exactly Milton meant when he used it. The same Vulgar Latin source produced Old Italian fiatore "a bad odor." Sense of "taste, savor" is 1690s, perhaps 1670s; originally "the element in taste which depends on the sense of smell." The -v- in the English word is euphonic or perhaps from influence of savor. Flavor-of-the-month is from 1946 (originally of ice cream).
form (n.): c. 1200, forme, fourme, "semblance, image, likeness," from Old French forme, fourme, "physical form, appearance; pleasing looks; shape, image; way, manner" (12c.), from Latin forma "form, contour, figure, shape; appearance, looks; a fine form, beauty; an outline, a model, pattern, design; sort, kind condition," a word of unknown origin. One theory holds that it is from or cognate with Greek morphe "form, beauty, outward appearance" (see Morpheus) via Etruscan [Klein].

From c. 1300 as "physical shape (of something), contour, outline," of a person, "shape of the body;" also "appearance, likeness;" also "the imprint of an object." From c. 1300 as "correct or appropriate way of doing something; established procedure; traditional usage; formal etiquette." Mid-14c. as "instrument for shaping; a mould;" late 14c. as "way in which something is done," also "pattern of a manufactured object." Used widely from late 14c. in theology and Platonic philosophy with senses "archetype of a thing or class; Platonic essence of a thing; the formative principle." From c. 1300 in law, "a legal agreement; terms of agreement," later "a legal document" (mid-14c.). Meaning "a document with blanks to be filled in" is from 1855. From 1590s as "systematic or orderly arrangement;" from 1610s as "mere ceremony." From 1550s as "a class or rank at school" (from sense "a fixed course of study," late 14c.). Form-fitting (adj.) in reference to clothing is from 1893.
fragrant (adj.): mid-15c., from Latin fragrantem (nominative fragrans) "sweet-smelling," present participle of fragrare "smell strongly, emit (a sweet) odor," from Proto-Italic *fragro-, from PIE root *bhrag- "to smell" (cognates: Old Irish broimm "break wind," Middle High German bræhen "to smell," Middle Dutch bracke, Old High German braccho "hound, setter;" see brach). Usually of pleasing or agreeable smells, but sometimes ironic. Related: Fragrantly.
frightful (adj.): mid-13c., "timid, fearful, full of terror," from fright (n.) + -ful. The prevailing modern sense of "alarming, full of occasion for fright" is from c. 1600. Meaning "dreadful, horrible, shocking" (often hyperbolic) is attested from c. 1700; Johnson noted it as "a cant word among women for anything unpleasing." Related: Frightfully; frightfulness. Middle English also had frighty "causing fear," also "afraid" (mid-13c.).
garb (n.): "fashion of dress," 1620s, from earlier sense "person's outward demeanor" (c. 1600), originally "elegance, stylishness" (1590s), from Middle French garbe "graceful outline, gracefulness, comeliness" (Modern French galbe) or directly from Italian garbo "grace, elegance, pleasing manners, " which is from Old High German gar(a)wi "dress, equipment, preparation," or some other Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *garwi- "equipment; adornment" (see gear (n.)).
genteel (adj.): 1590s, "fashionably elegant; suitable to polite society, characteristic of a lady or gentleman; decorous in manners or behavior," from Middle French gentil "stylish, fashionable, elegant; nice, graceful, pleasing," from Old French gentil "high-born, noble" (11c.); a reborrowing (with evolved senses) of the French word that had early come into English as gentle (q.v.), with French pronunciation and stress preserved to emphasize the distinction. The Latin source of the French word is the ancestor of English gentile, but the main modern meaning of that word is from a later Scriptural sense in Latin. See also jaunty. OED 2nd ed. reports genteel "is now used, except by the ignorant, only in mockery" (a development it dates from the 1840s).
gentle (adj.): early 13c., gentile, gentle "well-born, of noble rank or family," from Old French gentil/jentil "high-born, worthy, noble, of good family; courageous, valiant; fine, good, fair" (11c., in Modern French "nice, graceful, pleasing; fine, pretty") and directly from Latin gentilis "of the same family or clan," in Medieval Latin "of noble or good birth," from gens (genitive gentis) "race, clan," from root of gignere "beget," from PIE root *gene- "to give birth, beget" (see genus).

Sense evolved in English and French to "having the character or manners of one of noble rank or birth," varying according to how those were defined. From mid-13c. in English as "gracious, kind" (now obsolete), manners prescribed for Christian or chivalrous nobility. From late 13c. as "courteous, polite, well-bred, charming;" c. 1300 as "graceful, beautiful." Meaning "mild, tender; easy; not harsh" (of animals, things, persons) is from 1550s. Older sense remains in gentleman, and compare gentile (adj.), an alternative form which tends to keep the Biblical senses of the Latin word (though gentle in Middle English sometimes meant "pagan, heathen"), and genteel, which is the same word borrowed again from French. From 1823 as "pertaining to the fairies."
Gioconda: La Gioconda, name of the da Vinci painting also known as the Mona Lisa (q.v.), from Italian Gioconda, fem. of Giocondo, the surname of her husband (Francesco del Giocondo); the name is from Late Latin jocundus, literally "pleasing, pleasant" (see jocund). Hence the French name of the painting, La Joconde.
good (adj.): Old English god (with a long "o") "excellent, fine; valuable; desirable, favorable, beneficial; full, entire, complete;" of abstractions, actions, etc., "beneficial, effective; righteous, pious;" of persons or souls, "righteous, pious, virtuous;" probably originally "having the right or desirable quality," from Proto-Germanic *godaz "fitting, suitable" (cognates: Old Norse goðr, Dutch goed, Old High German guot, German gut, Gothic goþs), originally "fit, adequate, belonging together," from PIE root *ghedh- "to unite, be associated, suitable" (cognates: Old Church Slavonic godu "pleasing time," Russian godnyi "fit, suitable," Old English gædrian "to gather, to take up together").

Irregular comparative and superlative (better, best) reflect a widespread pattern in words for "good," as in Latin bonus, melior, optimus.

Sense of "kind, benevolent" is from late Old English in reference to persons or God, from mid-14c. of actions. That of "friendly, gracious" is from c. 1200. Meaning "fortunate, prosperous, favorable" was in late Old English. As an expression of satisfaction, from early 15c. Of persons, "skilled (at a profession or occupation), expert," in late Old English, now typically with at; in Middle English with of or to. Of children, "well-behaved," by 1690s. Of money, "not debased, standard as to value," from late 14c. From c. 1200 of numbers or quantities, "large, great," of time or distance, "long;" good while "a considerable time" is from c. 1300; good way "a great distance" is mid-15c.
Why then, can one desire too much of a good thing. ["As You Like It"]
As good as "practically, virtually" is from mid-14c.; to be good for "beneficial to" is from late 14c. To make good "repay (costs, expenses), atone for (a sin or an offense)" is from late 14c. To have a good mind "have an earnest desire" (to do something) is from c. 1500. Good deed, good works were in Old English as "an act of piety;" good deed specifically as "act of service to others" was reinforced early 20c. by Boy Scouting. Good turn is from c. 1400. Good sport, of persons, is from 1906. The good book "the Bible" attested from 1801, originally in missionary literature describing the language of conversion efforts in American Indian tribes. Good to go is attested from 1989.
good-natured (adj.): 1570s, from good nature "pleasing or kind disposition" (mid-15c.), from good (adj.) + nature (n.). Related: Good-naturedly.
grace (n.): late 12c., "God's unmerited favor, love, or help," from Old French grace "pardon, divine grace, mercy; favor, thanks; elegance, virtue" (12c., Modern French grâce), from Latin gratia "favor, esteem, regard; pleasing quality, good will, gratitude" (source of Italian grazia, Spanish gracia; in Church use translating Greek kharisma), from gratus "pleasing, agreeable," from PIE *gwreto-, suffixed form of root *gwere- (3) "to favor" (cognates: Sanskrit grnati "sings, praises, announces," Lithuanian giriu "to praise, celebrate," Avestan gar- "to praise").

Sense of "virtue" is early 14c., that of "beauty of form or movement, pleasing quality" is mid-14c. In classical sense, "one of the three sister goddesses (Latin Gratiæ, Greek Kharites), bestowers of beauty and charm," it is first recorded in English 1579 in Spenser. In music, "an embellishment not essential to the melody or harmony," 1650s. As the name of the short prayer that is said before or after a meal (early 13c.; until 16c. usually graces) has a sense of "gratitude." As a title of honor, c. 1500.
graceful (adj.): mid-15c., "full of (divine) grace," also "pleasant, sweet," from grace (n.) + -ful. Meaning "with pleasing or attractive qualities" is from 1580s. Related: Gracefully; gracefulness.
gracious (adj.): c. 1300, "filled with God's grace," from Old French gracios "courteous, pleasing, kind, friendly" (12c., Modern French gracieux), from Latin gratiosus "enjoying favor, agreeable, obliging; popular, acceptable," from gratia (see grace (n.)). Meaning "merciful, benevolent" is from late 14c. As an exclamation, elliptically for gracious God, attested from 1713.
grant (n.): late 14c., "something granted; authoritative bestowal of a privilege, etc.," from Anglo-French graunt, Old French graant, collateral variant of creant "promise, assurance, vow; agreement, pact; will, wish, pleasure," from creanter "be pleasing; assure, promise, guarantee; confirm, authorize" (see grant (v.)). Earlier in English in now-obsolete sense of "allowance, permission" (c. 1200). Especially "money formally granted by an authority" from c. 1800. In American English, especially of land, from c. 1700.
grateful (adj.): 1550s, "pleasing to the mind," also "full of gratitude, disposed to repay favors bestowed," from obsolete adjective grate "agreeable, pleasant," from Latin gratus "pleasing" (see grace (n.)). "A most unusual formation" [Weekley]. Is there another case where English uses -ful to make an adjective from an adjective? Related: Gratefully (1540s); gratefulness.
Grateful often expresses the feeling and the readiness to manifest the feeling by acts, even a long time after the rendering of the favor; thankful refers rather to the immediate acknowledgment of the favor by words. [Century Dictionary]
gratify (v.): c. 1400, "to bestow grace upon;" 1530s, "to show gratitude to," from Latin gratificari "to do favor to, oblige, gratify," from gratus "pleasing" (see grace (n.)) + root of facere "to make, do, perform" (see factitious). Meaning "to give pleasure to" is from 1560s. Related: Gratified; gratifying.
gratitude (n.): mid-15c., "good will," from Middle French gratitude (15c.) or directly from Medieval Latin gratitudinem (nominative gratitudo) "thankfulness," from Latin gratus "thankful, pleasing" (see grace (n.)). Meaning "thankfulness" is from 1560s.
gratuitous (adj.): 1650s, "freely bestowed," from Latin gratuitus "done without pay, spontaneous, voluntary," from gratus "pleasing, agreeable," from gratia "favor" (see grace (n.)). Earlier was gratuital (1590s). Sense of "uncalled for, done without good reason" is first recorded 1690s.
harmony (n.): late 14c., "combination of tones pleasing to the ear," from Old French harmonie, armonie "harmony," also the name of a musical instrument (12c.), from Latin harmonia, from Greek harmonia "agreement, concord of sounds," also as a proper name, the personification of music, literally "means of joining," used of ship-planks, etc., also "settled government, order," related to harmos "fastenings of a door; shoulder," from PIE *ar-ti-, from *ar- "to fit together" (see arm (n.1)). Modern scientific harmony, using combinations of notes to form chords, is from 16c. Sense of "agreement of feeling, concord" is from late 14c.