英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

abacus [abacus 词源字典]: abacus: [17] Abacus comes originally from a Hebrew word for ‘dust’, ’ābāq. This was borrowed into Greek with the sense of ‘drawing board covered with dust or sand’, on which one could draw for, among other purposes, making mathematical calculations. The Greek word, ábax, subsequently developed various other meanings, including ‘table’, both in the literal sense and as a mathematical table.

But it was as a ‘dust-covered board’ that its Latin descendant, abacus, was first used in English, in the 14th century. It was not until the 17th century that the more general sense of a counting board or frame came into use, and the more specific ‘counting frame with movable balls’ is later still.
[abacus etymology, abacus origin, 英语词源]
anathema: anathema: [16] Originally in Greek anáthēma was a ‘votive offering’ (it was a derivative of the compound verb anatithénai ‘set up, dedicate’, formed from the prefix ana- ‘up’ and the verb tithénai ‘place’, source of English theme and related to English do). But from being broadly ‘anything offered up for religious purposes’, the word gradually developed negative associations of ‘something dedicated to evil’; and by the time it reached Latin it meant ‘curse’ or ‘accursed person’.
=> do, theme
badger: badger: [16] The Old English term for a ‘badger’ was brock, a word of Celtic origin, and badger does not begin to appear, somewhat mysteriously, until the early 16th century. The name has never been satisfactorily explained, but perhaps the least implausible explanation is from the word badge, in reference to the white stripes on the animal’s forehead, as if it were wearing a badge (a term originally applied to a distinctive device worn by a knight for purposes of recognition); the early spelling bageard suggests that it may have been formed with the suffix -ard, as in dullard and sluggard. (Badge itself is of even more obscure origin; it first turns up in Middle English, in the mid 14th century.) Other early terms for the badger were bauson (14th– 18th centuries), from Old French bausen, and grey (15th–17th centuries).
barbecue: barbecue: [17] Barbecue originated in the language of the now extinct Taino people of the West Indies. It first emerges in the Haitian creole term barbacoa, which meant simply ‘wooden framework’ (used for other purposes than roasting meat – for example, as a bed). American Spanish adopted the word, and passed it on to English. Compare BUCCANEER.
impostor: impostor: [16] An impostor is etymologically someone who ‘imposes’ on others. The word comes via French imposteur from late Latin impostor, a contraction of classical Latin impositor. This was a derivative of imponere ‘put on’, hence ‘inflict, deceive’ (a compound verb based on ponere ‘put, place’), which also gave English impose [15], impost ‘tax’ [16], and imposture [16]. It is the ‘deceive’ sense of imponere, of course, that has come through into impostor.
=> compose, depose, impose, position
khaki: khaki: [19] Khaki is part of the large linguistic legacy of British rule in India. In Urdu khākī means ‘dusty’, and is a derivative of the noun khāk ‘dust’ (a word of Persian origin). It seems first to have been used with reference to the colour of military uniforms in the Guide Corps of the Indian army in the late 1840s. The term followed the colour when it was more widely adopted by the British army for camouflage purposes during the South African wars at the end of the 19th century.
legal: legal: [16] The Latin term for a ‘law’ was lex. From its stem form leg- come English legal, legislator [17] (which goes back to a Latin compound meaning literally ‘one who proposes a law’), and legitimate [15]. Loyal is a doublet of legal, acquired via Old French rather than directly from Latin. Another derivative of legwas the Latin verb lēgāre ‘depute, commission, bequeath’, which has given English colleague, college, delegate [14], legacy [14], and legation [15].
=> colleague, college, delegate, legacy, loyal
not: not: [14] In Old English and early Middle English the simple particle ne was used for making negative sentences. But it was evidently often felt to be in need of some reinforcement, for purposes of emphasis, and to do this job noht was brought in. Ancestor of modern English nought [OE], it was a compound formed from ne and ōwiht ‘anything’ (precursor of archaic modern English ought).

By the end of the 13th century this was being widely used as the sole negator in sentences, the ne having been dispensed with, and we soon find spellings reflecting the sort of reduction in pronunciation from nought to not that one would expect from its often weakly-stressed position.
=> nought, ought
pilgrim: pilgrim: [12] Etymologically, a pilgrim is someone who goes on a journey. The word comes via Provençal pelegrin from Latin peregrīnus ‘foreign’. This was a derivative of pereger ‘on a journey, abroad’, a compound formed from per ‘through’ and ager ‘country’ (source of English agriculture). When it arrived in English it was still being used for ‘traveller’ (a sense which survives in the related peregrinations [16]), but the specific ‘one who journeys for religious purposes’ was well established by the 13th century.

The peregrine falcon [14] got its name because falconers took its young for hunting while they were ‘journeying’ from their breeding places, rather than from their nests.
=> peregrine
play: play: [OE] The origins of play are obscure. It had a relative in Middle Dutch pleien ‘dance about, jump for joy’, but this has now died out, leaving it in splendid but puzzling isolation, its ancestry unaccounted for. Its underlying meaning appears to be ‘make rapid movements for purposes of recreation’, but already in Old English times it was being used for ‘perform on a musical instrument’. The earliest record of the use of the noun for a ‘dramatic work’ is from the 14th century.
posse: posse: [17] Posse was the Latin verb for ‘be able’. It was a conflation of an earlier expression potis esse ‘be able’; and potis ‘able’ was descended from an Indo-European base *potthat also produced Sanskrit pati- ‘master, husband’ and Lithuanian patis ‘husband’. In medieval Latin posse came to be used as a noun meaning ‘power, force’.

It formed the basis of the expression posse comitātus, literally ‘force of the county’, denoting a body of men whom the sheriff of a county was empowered to raise for such purposes as suppressing a riot. The abbreviated form posse emerged at the end of the 17th century, but really came into its own in 18th- and 19th-century America.
=> possible, potent
riding: riding: [11] Until 1974 Yorkshire was divided for administrative purposes into three ridings. The word has no connection with ride. It means etymologically ‘third part’. It was borrowed from Old Norse thrithjungr ‘third part’, a derivative of thrithi ‘third’. Its original English form was *thrithing, later thriding or triding, and it eventually lost its initial t through assimilation into the t of the preceding east and west.
=> three
stall: stall: Stall ‘compartment, booth, etc’ [OE] and stall ‘stop’ [15] are distinct words, but they have a common ancestor, in prehistoric Germanic *stal-, *stel- ‘position’ (source of English still). This in turn was formed from the base *sta- ‘stand’, which also produced English stand. From *stal- was derived the noun *stallaz ‘standing-place (for an animal)’, which has given German, Swedish, and English stall, Dutch stal, and Danish stald.

A stallion [14] is etymologically a horse kept in a ‘stall’ for breeding purposes. And stable represents a parallel Latin formation to the Germanic stall (it has become specialized to a ‘building for horses’, whereas stall developed to ‘standingplace for a single animal’). The same Germanic base produced Frankish *stal ‘position’, which formed the basis of Old French estaler ‘halt’, source of the English verb stall, and also of English stale and stalemate.
=> stale, stallion, stand, still
stud: stud: Stud ‘place where horses are bred’ and stud ‘nail’ [OE] are different words. The former (like stable and stall) denotes etymologically a place where animals ‘stand’, in this case for breeding purposes. It comes from a prehistoric Germanic *stōtham, a derivative of the base *sta-, *stō- ‘stand’ (source also of English stand, and of steed [OE], which originally denoted a ‘male horse used for breeding’).

The use of the word for a ‘man who is highly active and proficient sexually’ dates from the end of the 19th century. The ancestry of stud ‘nail’ is not altogether clear, although it appears to be related to German stützen ‘support’. It originally meant ‘post, support’, a sense preserved in the building term stud ‘upright post to which boards are fixed’, and ‘nail’ (presumed to represent the same word) did not emerge until the 15th century.
=> stand, steed
test: test: [14] Latin testum denoted an ‘earthenware pot’. English acquired it via Old French test, and used it originally for a ‘pot in which metals are subjected to heat’. Among the purposes these tests were put to was assaying, to ascertain the quality of metal, and by the 16th century the word was being used metaphorically for an ‘examination of properties or qualities’. English testy and French tête ‘head’ are close relatives.
=> testy
tour: tour: [14] Etymologically, a tour is a ‘circular movement’. The word comes via Old French tour from Latin tornus ‘lathe’, which also produced English turn. It was not used for a ‘journey of visits’ – literally a ‘circuitous journey’ – until the 17th century (the term grand tour, denoting a lengthy journey around western Europe formerly undertaken by fashionable young men, ostensibly for educational purposes, is first recorded in the mid-18th century, but the derivative tourist does not crop up until about 1800). Tournament [13] and tourney [13] both go back ultimately to a Vulgar Latin derivative of tornus, the underlying etymological notion being of the combatants ‘turning’ or wheeling round to face each other.

And tourniquet [17] probably comes from the same source.
=> tournament, tourniquet, turn
troubadour: troubadour: [18] A troubadour is etymologically someone who ‘finds’ – that is, ‘composes’ – songs. The word comes via French troubadour from Provençal trobador, a derivative of the verb trobar (whose modern French equivalent is trouver). This seems originally to have meant ‘compose’, and later to have shifted its semantic ground via ‘invent’ to ‘find’.

It is not known for certain where it came from, but one theory traces it back via a Vulgar Latin *tropāre to Latin tropus ‘figure of speech’ (source of English trope [16]). This in turn was borrowed from Greek trópos ‘turn’, a relative of English trophy and tropic. If this is so, its ancestral meaning would be ‘use figures of speech’.
=> tropic
adultery (n.): "voluntary violation of the marriage bed," c. 1300, avoutrie, from Old French avouterie (12c.), noun of condition from avoutre, from Latin adulterare "to corrupt" (see adulteration). Modern spelling, with the re-inserted -d-, is from early 15c. (see ad-).

In Middle English, also "sex between husband and wife for recreational purposes; idolatry, perversion, heresy." Classified as single adultery (with an unmarried person) and double adultery (with a married person). Old English word was æwbryce "breach of law(ful marriage)" (compare German Ehebruch). Adultery Dune in Arizona corresponds to Navajo sei adilehe "adultery sand," where illicit lovers met privately.
anoint (v.): c. 1300 (implied in anointing), from Old French enoint "smeared on," past participle of enoindre "smear on," from Latin inunguere "to anoint," from in- "on" + unguere "to smear" (see unguent). Originally in reference to grease or oil smeared on for medicinal purposes; its use in the Coverdale Bible in reference to Christ (as in The Lord's Anointed; see chrism) has spiritualized the word. Related: Anointed; anointing.
assessment (n.): 1540s, "value of property for tax purposes," from assess + -ment. Meaning "determination or adjustment of tax rate" is from 1540s; general sense of "estimation" is recorded from 1620s. In education jargon from 1956.
backslash (n.): 1982, new punctuation symbol introduced for computer purposes, from back (adj.) + slash (n.).
ballast (n.): "heavy material used to steady a ship," 1520s, from Middle English bar "bare" (see bare; in this case "mere") + last "a load, burden," or borrowed from identical terms in North Sea Germanic and Scandinavian (compare Old Danish barlast, 14c.). "Mere" because not carried for commercial purposes. Dutch balg-last "ballast," literally "belly-load," is a folk-etymology corruption.
bidet (n.): 1620s, "small horse," from French bidet (16c.), of unknown etymology. Originally in French "a small horse, a pony," thus "a vessel on a low narrow stand, which can be bestridden for bathing purposes," a sense attested in English from 1766.
black (adj.): Old English blæc "dark," from Proto-Germanic *blakaz "burned" (cognates: Old Norse blakkr "dark," Old High German blah "black," Swedish bläck "ink," Dutch blaken "to burn"), from PIE *bhleg- "to burn, gleam, shine, flash" (cognates: Greek phlegein "to burn, scorch," Latin flagrare "to blaze, glow, burn"), from root *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, burn;" see bleach (v.).

The same root produced Old English blac "bright, shining, glittering, pale;" the connecting notions being, perhaps, "fire" (bright) and "burned" (dark). The usual Old English word for "black" was sweart (see swart). According to OED: "In ME. it is often doubtful whether blac, blak, blake, means 'black, dark,' or 'pale, colourless, wan, livid.' " Used of dark-skinned people in Old English.

Of coffee, first attested 1796. Meaning "fierce, terrible, wicked" is late 14c. The color of sin and sorrow since at least c. 1300; sense of "with dark purposes, malignant" emerged 1580s (as in black magic). Black face in reference to a performance style originated in U.S., is from 1868. Black flag, flown (especially by pirates) as a signal of "no mercy," from 1590s. Black dog "melancholy" attested from 1826. Black belt is from 1875 in reference to districts of the U.S. South with heaviest African population; 1870 with reference to fertility of soil; 1913 in judo sense. Black power is from 1966, associated with Stokely Carmichael.
Brest: city in France, from Celtic, from bre "hill." The city in Belarus is from Slavic berest "elm." Part of Lithuania from 1319, it thus was known, for purposes of distinguishing them, as Brest Litovsk until 1921.
broil (v.1): "to cook," late 14c. (earlier "to burn," mid-14c.), from Old French bruller "to broil, roast" (Modern French brûler), earlier brusler "to burn" (11c.), which, with Italian bruciare, is of uncertain and much-disputed origin.

Perhaps from Vulgar Latin *brodum "broth," borrowed from Germanic and ultimately related to brew (v.). Gamillscheg proposes it to be from Latin ustulare "to scorch, singe" (from ustus, past participle of urere "to burn") and altered by influence of Germanic "burn" words beginning in br-. Related: Broiled; broiling.
cane (n.): late 14c., from Old French cane "reed, cane, spear" (13c., Modern French canne), from Latin canna "reed, cane," from Greek kanna, perhaps from Assyrian qanu "tube, reed" (compare Hebrew qaneh, Arabic qanah "reed"), from Sumerian gin "reed." But Tucker finds this borrowing "needless" and proposes a native Indo-European formation from a root meaning "to bind, bend." Sense of "walking stick" in English is 1580s.
catastrophism (n.): as a geological or biological theory, 1869, coined by Huxley from catastrophe + -ism.
By CATASTROPHISM I mean any form of geological speculation which, in order to account for the phenomena of geology, supposes the operation of forces different in their nature, or immeasurably different in power, from those which we at present see in action in the universe. [T.H. Huxley, "Address" to the Geological Society of London, Feb. 19, 1869]
Related: Catastrophist.
centerfold (n.): also center-fold, "fold-out center spread of a magazine or newspaper," 1950, from center (n.) + fold (n.2). "Playboy" debuted December 1953, and the word came to be used especially for illustrations of comely women, hence "woman who poses as a centerfold model" (by 1965).
chaos (n.): late 14c., "gaping void," from Old French chaos (14c.) or directly from Latin chaos, from Greek khaos "abyss, that which gapes wide open, is vast and empty," from *khnwos, from PIE root *gheu- "to gape, yawn" (cognates: Greek khaino "I yawn," Old English ginian, Old Norse ginnunga-gap; see yawn (v.)).

Meaning "utter confusion" (c. 1600) is extended from theological use of chaos for "the void at the beginning of creation" in Vulgate version of Genesis (1530s in English). The Greek for "disorder" was tarakhe, however the use of chaos here was rooted in Hesiod ("Theogony"), who describes khaos as the primeval emptiness of the Universe, begetter of Erebus and Nyx ("Night"), and in Ovid ("Metamorphoses"), who opposes Khaos to Kosmos, "the ordered Universe." Meaning "orderless confusion" in human affairs is from c. 1600. Chaos theory in the modern mathematical sense is attested from c. 1977.
cleavage (n.): 1816, in geology, "action of splitting (rocks or gems) along natural fissures," from cleave (v.1) + -age. General meaning "action or state of cleaving or being cleft" is from 1867.

The sense of "cleft between a woman's breasts in low-cut clothing" is first recorded 1946, defined in a "Time" magazine article [Aug. 5] as the "Johnston Office trade term for the shadowed depression dividing an actress' bosom into two distinct sections;" traditionally first used in this sense by U.S. publicist Joseph I. Breen (1888-1965), head of the Production Code Administration (replaced 1945 by Eric Johnston), enforcers of Hollywood self-censorship, in reference to Jane Russell's costumes and poses in "The Outlaw."
closet (v.): "shut up as in a closet" (originally usually for purposes of concealment or private consultation), 1680s, from closet (v.). Related: Closeted; closeting.
cockney (n.): c. 1600, usually said to be from rare Middle English cokenei, cokeney "spoiled child, milksop" (late 14c.), originally cokene-ey "cock's egg" (mid-14c.). Most likely disentangling of the etymology is to start from Old English cocena "cock's egg" -- genitive plural of coc "cock" + æg "egg" -- medieval term for "runt of a clutch," extended derisively c. 1520s to "town dweller," gradually narrowing thereafter to residents of a particular neighborhood in the East End of London. Liberman, however, disagrees:
[I]n all likelihood, not the etymon of ME cokeney 'milksop, simpleton; effeminate man; Londoner,' which is rather a reshaping of [Old French] acoquiné 'spoiled' (participle). However, this derivation poses some phonetic problems that have not been resolved.
The accent so called from 1890, but the speech peculiarities were noted from 17c. As an adjective in this sense, from 1630s.
collection (n.): late 14c., "action of collecting," from Old French collection (14c.), from Latin collectionem (nominative collectio) "a gathering together," noun of action from colligere (see collect). Especially of money gathered for religious or charitable purposes from 1530s. Meaning "a group of objects viewed as a whole" is from c. 1400.
copse (n.): 1570s, "small wood grown for purposes of periodic cutting," contraction of coppice.
cross (adj.): developed in early Modern English from the adverb (see cross (adv.)). Earliest sense is "falling athwart, lying athwart the main direction" (1520s). Meaning "intersecting, lying athwart each other" is from c. 1600.

Sense of "adverse, opposed, contrary, opposite" is from 1560s; of persons, "peevish, ill-tempered," from 1630s, probably from the earlier senses of "contrary, athwart," especially with reference to winds and sailing ships. A 19c. emphatic form was cross as two sticks (1807), punning on the verb.

Cross-purposes "contradictory intentions" is from 1660s. Cross-legged is from 1520s; cross-grained is from 1670s of wood; as "opposed in nature or temper" from 1640s.
demo (n.): short for demonstration (tape, disc, etc.). Music recording given out for promotional purposes, 1963. The word was used earlier to mean "a public political demonstration" (1936).
demon (n.): c. 1200, from Latin daemon "spirit," from Greek daimon "deity, divine power; lesser god; guiding spirit, tutelary deity" (sometimes including souls of the dead); "one's genius, lot, or fortune;" from PIE *dai-mon- "divider, provider" (of fortunes or destinies), from root *da- "to divide" (see tide (n.)).

Used (with daimonion) in Christian Greek translations and Vulgate for "god of the heathen" and "unclean spirit." Jewish authors earlier had employed the Greek word in this sense, using it to render shedim "lords, idols" in the Septuagint, and Matt. viii:31 has daimones, translated as deofol in Old English, feend or deuil in Middle English. Another Old English word for this was hellcniht, literally "hell-knight."

The original mythological sense is sometimes written daemon for purposes of distinction. The Demon of Socrates was a daimonion, a "divine principle or inward oracle." His accusers, and later the Church Fathers, however, represented this otherwise. The Demon Star (1895) is Algol.
electricity (n.): 1640s (Browne, from Gilbert's Modern Latin), from electric (q.v.) + -ity. Originally in reference to friction.
Electricity seems destined to play a most important part in the arts and industries. The question of its economical application to some purposes is still unsettled, but experiment has already proved that it will propel a street car better than a gas jet and give more light than a horse. [Ambrose Bierce, "The Cynic's Word Book," 1906]
Episcopalian: 1738 (n.), 1768 (adj.), from episcopal + -ian. Related: Episcopalianism (by 1821).
The awkward derivative episcopalianism, seems to be used for episcopacy, a good English word, which was quite sufficient for the purposes of our honest forefathers, who were strangers to this ridiculous innovation. The word complained of is also reprehensible on the ground of its sectarian termination. ["On the Terms Episcopalian and Episcopalianism," "The Gospel Advocate," October 1821]
expose (v.): early 15c., "to leave without shelter or defense," from Old French esposer, exposer "lay open, set forth, speak one's mind, explain" (13c.), from Latin exponere "set forth, lay open, exhibit, reveal, publish" (see expound), altered by confusion with poser "to place, lay down" (see pose (v.1)). Meaning "to exhibit openly" is from 1620s; that of "to unmask" is from 1690s. Photographic sense is from 1839. Related: Exposed; exposes; exposing.
faggot (n.2): "male homosexual," 1914, American English slang, probably from earlier contemptuous term for "woman" (1590s), especially an old and unpleasant one, in reference to faggot (n.1) "bundle of sticks," as something awkward that has to be carried (compare baggage "worthless woman," 1590s). It may also be reinforced by Yiddish faygele "homosexual" (n.), literally "little bird." It also may have roots in British public school slang noun fag "a junior who does certain duties for a senior" (1785), with suggestions of "catamite," from fag (v.). This also spun off a verb (see fag (v.2).
He [the prefect] used to fag me to blow the chapel organ for him. ["Boy's Own Paper," 1889]
Other obsolete British senses of faggot were "man hired into military service merely to fill out the ranks at muster" (1700) and "vote manufactured for party purposes" (1817).

The explanation that male homosexuals were called faggots because they were burned at the stake as punishment is an etymological urban legend. Burning sometimes was a punishment meted out to homosexuals in Christian Europe (on the suggestion of the Biblical fate of Sodom and Gomorrah), but in England, where parliament had made homosexuality a capital offense in 1533, hanging was the method prescribed. Use of faggot in connection with public executions had long been obscure English historical trivia by the time the word began to be used for "male homosexual" in 20th century American slang, whereas the contemptuous slang word for "woman" (in common with the other possible sources or influences listed here) was in active use early 20c., by D.H. Lawrence and James Joyce, among others.
fairing (n.): "piece added for streamlining purposes," 1865, from fair (v.) a ship-building word meaning "to make 'fair' or level, adjust, make regular, correct curvatures," from fair (adj.).
fascist (adj.): 1921, from Italian partito nazionale fascista, the anti-communist political movement organized 1919 under Benito Mussolini (1883-1945); from Italian fascio "group, association," literally "bundle" (see fasces). Fasci "groups of men organized for political purposes" had been a feature of Sicily since c. 1895, and the 20c. totalitarian sense probably came directly from this but was influenced by the historical Roman fasces, which became the party symbol. As a noun from 1922 in English, earlier in Italian plural fascisti (1921), and until 1923 in English it often appeared in its Italian form, as an Italian word.

[Fowler: "Whether this full anglicization of the words is worth while cannot be decided till we know whether the things are to be temporary or permanent in England" -- probably an addition to the 1930 reprint, retained in 1944 U.S. edition.] Related: Fascistic.
fishnet (n.): "net used to catch fish," Old English fiscnett; see fish (n.) + net (n.). From 1881 in reference to a type of stitch that resembles fishnet. By 1912 in reference to women's hosiery.
There has been considerable misconception as to the purpose of the fishnet hose imported by the ECONOMIST and illustrated on page 177. The newspaper representatives who viewed it at the ECONOMIST'S fashion exhibition used it as a pretext for many humorous articles and conveyed the impression that it was to be worn next the skin. The purpose is to use it over white or colored hose, to produce an unusual effect. Every store should have one or more pairs for exhibition purposes, if for no other reason. ["Dry Goods Economist," June 22, 1912]
foundation (n.): late 14c., "action of founding," from Old French fondacion "foundation" (14c.) or directly from Late Latin fundationem (nominative fundatio) "a founding," noun of action from past participle stem of Latin fundare "to lay a bottom or foundation" (see found (v.1)). The Latin word is glossed in Old English by staþol.

Specialized sense of "establishment of an institution with an endowment to pay for it" is from late 14c.; meaning "that which is founded" (a college, hospital, etc.) is from 1510s; meaning "funds endowed for benevolent or charitable purposes" is from early 15c. Sense of "solid base of a structure" is from early 15c.
freedom (n.): Old English freodom "power of self-determination, state of free will; emancipation from slavery, deliverance;" see free (adj.) + -dom. Meaning "exemption from arbitrary or despotic control, civil liberty" is from late 14c. Meaning "possession of particular privileges" is from 1570s. Similar formation in Old Frisian fridom, Dutch vrijdom, Middle Low German vridom. Freedom-rider recorded 1961 in reference to civil rights activists in U.S. trying to integrate bus lines.
It has been said by some physicians, that life is a forced state. The same may be said of freedom. It requires efforts, it presupposes mental and moral qualities of a high order to be generally diffused in the society where it exists. [John C. Calhoun, speech, U.S. House of Representatives, Jan. 31, 1816]
Freedom fighter attested by 1903 (originally with reference to Cuba). Freedom-loving (adj.) is from 1841.
fugitive (adj.): late 14c., "fleeing, having fled, having taken flight," from Old French fugitif, fuitif "absent, missing," from Latin fugitivus "fleeing," past participle adjective from stem of fugere "to flee, fly, take flight, run away; become a fugitive, leave the country, go into exile; pass quickly; vanish, disappear, perish; avoid, shun; escape the notice of, be unknown to," from PIE root *bheug- (1) "to flee" (cognates: Greek pheugein "to flee," Lithuanian bugstu "be frightened," bauginti "frighten someone," baugus "timid, nervous"). Old English had flyma.

Meaning "lasting but a short time, fleeting" is from c. 1500. Hence its use in literature for short compositions written for passing occasions or purposes (1766).
fumigate (v.): 1520s, "scent with perfumes," back-formation from fumigation. The older verb was simply fume (c. 1400). Meaning "apply smoke or fumes to," especially for cleansing purposes, is from 1781. Related: Fumigated; fumigating; fumigatory.
galoot (n.): 1812, nautical, "raw recruit, green hand," apparently originally a sailor's contemptuous word for soldiers or marines, of unknown origin. "Dictionary of American Slang" proposes galut, Sierra Leone creole form of Spanish galeoto "galley slave." In general (non-nautical) use by 1866, "awkward or boorish man," but often a term of humorous contempt.