英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

castor: castor: There are two distinct words castor in English. The older originally meant ‘beaver’ [14], and was early used with reference to a bitter pungent substance secreted by glands near the beaver’s anus, employed in medicine and perfumery. The term castor oil [18] probably comes from the use of this oil, derived from the seed of a tropical plant, as a substitute for castor in medicine.

The more recent castor [17] is simply a derivative of the verb cast; it was originally (and still often is) spelled caster. Its use for sprinkling or ‘throwing’ sugar is obvious (the term castor sugar dates back to the mid 19th century), but its application to a ‘small swivelling wheel’ is less immediately clear: it comes from a now obsolete sense of the verb, mainly nautical, ‘veer, turn’: ‘Prepare for casting to port’, George Nares, Seamanship 1882.
=> cast
edit: edit: [18] Etymologically, someone who edits a newspaper ‘gives it out’, or in effect ‘publishes’ it. And that in fact is how the word was first used in English: when William Enfield wrote in his 1791 translation of Brucker’s Historia critica philosophiae that a certain author ‘wrote many philosophical treatises which have never been edited’, he meant ‘published’.

This usage comes directly from ēditus, the past participle of Latin ēdere ‘put out, exhibit, publish’, which was a compound verb formed from the prefix ex- ‘out’ and dare ‘put, give’ (source of English date, donate, etc). In its modern application, ‘prepare for publication’, it is mainly a back-formation from editor [17], which acquired this particular sense in the 18th century. (French éditeur still means ‘publisher’, and the term editor is used in that sense in some British publishing houses.)
=> date, donate
rampart: rampart: [16] Rampart, which means etymologically ‘fortified place’, has a very convoluted history. Its ultimate ancestor is Latin parāre ‘prepare’ (source of English prepare). To this was added the prefix ante- ‘before’ to produce the Vulgar Latin verb *anteparāre ‘prepare for defence’. This passed via Provençal amparar into Old French as emparer ‘defend, fortify’, which had the intensive re- prefixed to it, giving remparer ‘fortify’. From this was derived the noun remper or ramper, which was altered (apparently under the influence of boulevart, source of English boulevard) to rempart or rampart – whence English rampart.
=> prepare
anticipate (v.): 1530s, "to cause to happen sooner," a back-formation from anticipation, or else from Latin anticipatus, past participle of anticipare "take (care of) ahead of time," literally "taking into possession beforehand," from ante "before" (see ante) + capere "to take" (see capable).

Later "to be aware of (something) coming at a future time" (1640s). Used in the sense of "expect, look forward to" since 1749, but anticipate has an element of "prepare for, forestall" that should prevent its being used as a synonym for expect. Related: Anticipated; anticipating.
curfew (n.): early 14c., "evening signal, ringing of a bell at a fixed hour," from Anglo-French coeverfu (late 13c.), from Old French cuevrefeu, literally "cover fire" (Modern French couvre-few), from cuevre, imperative of covrir "to cover" (see cover (v.)) + feu "fire" (see focus (n.)). The medieval practice of ringing a bell at fixed time in the evening as an order to bank the hearths and prepare for sleep. The original purpose was to prevent conflagrations from untended fires. The modern extended sense of "periodic restriction of movement" had evolved by 1800s.
dress (v.): early 14c., "make straight; direct, guide, control, prepare for cooking," from Old French dresser, drecier "raise (oneself), address, prepare, lift, raise, hoist, set up, arrange, set (a table), serve (food), straighten, put right, direct," from Vulgar Latin *directiare, from Latin directus "direct, straight" (see direct (v.)).

Sense of "decorate, adorn" is late 14c., as is that of "put on clothing." Original sense survives in military meaning "align columns of troops." Dress up "attire elaborately" is from 1670s; dressing down "wearing clothes less formal than expected" is from 1960. To dress (someone) down (1769) is ironical. Related: Dressed; dressing.
embattle (v.): late 14c., "prepare for a fight," from Old French embataillier "to prepare for battle," from assimilated form of en- (see en- (1)) + bataille (see battle (n.)). Related: Embattled; embattling. Originally of armies; of individuals as well since 1590s (first attested in Spenser).
forearm (v.): "prepare for an attack," 1590s, from fore- + arm (v.) "take up weapons." Related: Forearmed; forearming.
heat (n.): Old English hætu, hæto "heat, warmth, quality of being hot; fervor, ardor," from Proto-Germanic *haita- "heat" (cognates: Old Saxon hittia, Old Norse hiti, Old Frisian hete, German hitze "heat," Gothic heito "fever"), from PIE *kaid-, from root *kai- "heat." The same root is the source of Old English hat "hot" and hæða "hot weather."

Meaning "a single course in a race," especially a horse race, is from 1660s, perhaps from earlier figurative sense of "violent action; a single intense effort" (late 14c.), or the meaning "run given to a horse to prepare for a race" (1570s). The latter word over time was extended to "division of a race or contest when there are too many contestants to run at once," the winners of each heat then competing in a final race.

Meaning "sexual excitement in animals" is from 1768, especially of females, corresponding to rut in males. Meaning "trouble with the police" attested by 1920. Heat wave "period of excessive hot weather" first attested 1890; earlier in reference to solar cycles. Heat-stroke is from 1874. Heat-seeking (adj.) of missiles, etc., is from 1956. Red heat, white heat are in reference to the color of heated metals, especially iron.