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agnostic [agnostic 词源字典]: agnostic: [19] Agnostic is an invented word. It was coined by the English biologist and religious sceptic T H Huxley (1825–95) to express his opposition to the views of religious gnostics of the time, who claimed that the world of the spirit (and hence God) was knowable (gnostic comes ultimately from Greek gnōsis ‘knowledge’). With the addition of the Greek-derived prefix a- ‘not’ Huxley proclaimed the ultimate unknowability of God.

The circumstances of the coinage, or at least of an early instance of the word’s use by its coiner, were recorded by R H Hutton, who was present at a party held by the Metaphysical Society in a house on Clapham Common in 1869 when Huxley suggested agnostic, basing it apparently on St Paul’s reference to the altar of ‘the Unknown God’.
[agnostic etymology, agnostic origin, 英语词源]
edict: edict: [15] An edict is literally that which is ‘spoken out’ or ‘proclaimed’. It was acquired directly from Latin ēdictum, which comes from the past participle of ēdīcere ‘proclaim’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix ex- ‘out’ and dīcere ‘say’ (source of English diction, dictionary, dictate amongst a host of others). The passing resemblance of edict to edit is quite fortuitous, for they are completely unrelated.
=> dictate, diction, dictionary
offend: offend: [14] Latin offendere meant ‘strike against’. It was a compound verb formed from the prefix ob- ‘against’ and -fendere ‘hit’ (source also of English defend). Its literal sense survived into English (‘The navy is a great defence and surety of this realm in time of war, as well to offend as defend’ proclaimed an act of parliament of Henry VIII’s time), and continues to do so in the derivatives offence [14] and offensive [16], but as far as the verb is concerned only the metaphorical ‘hurt the feelings’ and ‘violate’ remain.
=> defend, fend
snob: snob: [18] Snob originally meant a ‘shoemaker’. Cambridge University students of the late 18th century took it over as a slang term for a ‘townsman, someone not a member of the university’, and it seems to have been this usage which formed the basis in the 1830s for the emergence of the new general sense ‘member of the lower orders’ (‘The nobs have lost their dirty seats – the honest snobs have got ’em’, proclaimed the Lincoln Herald on 22 July 1831, anticipating the new Reform Act).

This in turn developed into ‘ostentatiously vulgar person’, but it was the novelist William Thackeray who really sowed the seeds of the word’s modern meaning in his Book of Snobs 1848, where he used it for ‘someone vulgarly aping his social superiors’. It has since broadened out to include those who insist on their gentility as well as those who aspire to it. As for the origins of the word snob itself, they remain a mystery.

An ingenious suggestion once put forward is that it came from s. nob., supposedly an abbreviation for Latin sine nobilitate ‘without nobility’, but this ignores the word’s early history.
Briton (n.): Anglo-French Bretun, from Latin Brittonem (nominative Britto, misspelled Brito in MSS) "a member of the tribe of the Britons," from *Britt-os, the Celtic name of the Celtic inhabitants of Britain and southern Scotland before the 5c. Anglo-Saxon invasion drove them into Wales, Cornwall, and a few other corners. In 4c. B.C.E. Greek they are recorded as Prittanoi, which is said to mean "tattooed people." Exclusively in historical use after Old English period; revived when James I was proclaimed King of Great Britain in 1604, and made official at the union of England and Scotland in 1707.
indictive (adj.): 1650s, from Latin indictivus "proclaimed," from indicere "to declare, announce," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + dicere "to speak" (see diction).
jubilee (n.): late 14c., in the Old Testament sense, from Old French jubileu "jubille; anniversary; rejoicing," from Late Latin jubilaeus "the jubilee year," originally an adjective, "of the jubilee," altered (by association with Latin jubilare "to shout with joy") from Greek iabelaios, from iobelos, from Hebrew yobhel "jubilee," formerly "a trumpet, ram's horn," literally "ram."

The original notion was of a year of emancipation of slaves and restoration of lands, to be celebrated every 50th year (Levit. xxv:9); it was proclaimed by the sounding of a ram's horn on the Day of Atonement. The Catholic Church sense of "a period for remission of sin penalties in exchange for pilgrimages, alms, etc." was begun in 1300 by Boniface VIII. The general sense of "season of rejoicing" is first recorded mid-15c., though through early 20c. the word kept its specific association with 50th anniversaries. As a type of African-American folk song, it is attested from 1872.
muezzin (n.): "official who calls Muslims to prayer from the minaret of a mosque," 1580s, from Arabic muadhdhin, properly active participle of adhdhana, frequentative of adhanna "he proclaimed," from uthn "ear." Compare Hebrew he'ezin "he gave ear, heard," from ozen "ear." English spelling is from dialectal use of -z- for -dh-.
proclaim (v.): late 14c., proclamen, from Latin proclamare "cry or call out," from pro- "forth" (see pro-) + clamare "to cry out" (see claim (v.)). Spelling altered by influence of claim. Related: Proclaimed; proclaiming; proclaimer.
proclamation (n.): late 14c., "act of making public," also "that which is proclaimed;" from Old French proclamacion (14c., Modern French proclamation) and directly from Latin proclamationem (nominative proclamatio), noun of action from past participle stem of proclamare (see proclaim).
so-called (adj.): 1650s, from so + past participle of call (v.). As a "sneer word" (1980, Safire, who lumps it with self-proclaimed, would-be, and purported), from 1837.
calends: "The first day of the month in the ancient Roman calendar", Old English (denoting an appointed time): from Old French calendes, from Latin kalendae, calendae 'first day of the month' (when accounts were due and the order of days was proclaimed); related to Latin calare and Greek kalein 'call, proclaim'.
Dáil: "The lower house of Parliament in the Republic of Ireland, composed of 166 members (called Teachtai Dála). It was first established in 1919, when Irish republicans proclaimed an Irish state", Irish, 'assembly (of Ireland)'.