英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

liberal: liberal: [14] The Latin word for ‘free’ was līber. It came from the same prehistoric source as Greek eleútheros ‘free’, which may have denoted ‘people, nation’ (in which case the underlying etymological meaning of the word would be ‘being a member of the (free) people’, as opposed to ‘being a slave’). From līber was derived līberālis ‘of freedom’, which passed into English via Old French liberal.

Its earliest English meanings were ‘generous’ and ‘appropriate to the cultural pursuits of a ‘free’ man’ (as in ‘the liberal arts’). The connotations of ‘tolerance’ and ‘lack of prejudice’ did not emerge until the 18th century, and the word’s use as a designation of a particular political party in Britain dates from the early 19th century. Also from Latin līber come English libertine [14] and liberty [14].
=> libertine, liberty
teddy: teddy: English has two words teddy, both of them based on affectionate alterations of male first names. The teddy bear [20] was named after Theodore (‘Teddy’) Roosevelt, president of the USA from 1901 to 1909. One of his favourite leisure pursuits was hunting bears, and early in 1906 the New York Times published a humorous poem about the adventures of two bears, which were named Teddy B and Teddy G in his honour.

The names were then appropriated to two bears that had just been presented to the Bronx Zoo; and before the year was out, toy manufacturers with an eye for profit had put toy bears called teddy bears on the market. The teddy of teddy boy [20] is short for Edward, an allusion to the teddy boys’ preference for clothes in a style reminiscent of the Edwardian period (1901–10).

The first record of the word comes from 1954.
addiction (n.): c. 1600, "tendency," of habits, pursuits, etc.; 1640s as "state of being self-addicted," from Latin addictionem (nominative addictio) "an awarding, a devoting," noun of action from past participle stem of addicere (see addict (v.)). Earliest sense was less severe: "inclination, penchant," but this has become obsolete. In main modern sense it is first attested 1906, in reference to opium (there is an isolated instance from 1779, with reference to tobacco).
alchemy (n.): mid-14c., from Old French alchimie (14c.), alquemie (13c.), from Medieval Latin alkimia, from Arabic al-kimiya, from Greek khemeioa (found c.300 C.E. in a decree of Diocletian against "the old writings of the Egyptians"), all meaning "alchemy." Perhaps from an old name for Egypt (Khemia, literally "land of black earth," found in Plutarch), or from Greek khymatos "that which is poured out," from khein "to pour," related to khymos "juice, sap" [Klein, citing W. Muss-Arnolt, calls this folk etymology]. The word seems to have elements of both origins.
Mahn ... concludes, after an elaborate investigation, that Gr. khymeia was probably the original, being first applied to pharmaceutical chemistry, which was chiefly concerned with juices or infusions of plants; that the pursuits of the Alexandrian alchemists were a subsequent development of chemical study, and that the notoriety of these may have caused the name of the art to be popularly associated with the ancient name of Egypt. [OED]
The al- is the Arabic definite article, "the." The art and the name were adopted by the Arabs from Alexandrians and thence returned to Europe via Spain. Alchemy was the "chemistry" of the Middle Ages and early modern times; since c. 1600 the word has been applied distinctively to the pursuit of the transmutation of baser metals into gold, which, along with the search for the universal solvent and the panacea, were the chief occupations of early chemistry.
philately (n.): "stamp-collecting," 1865, from French philatélie, coined by French stamp collector Georges Herpin (in "Le Collectionneur de Timbres-poste," Nov. 15, 1864), from Greek phil- "loving" (see philo-) + ateleia "exemption from tax," the closest word Herpin could find in ancient Greek to the concept of "postage stamp" (from a- "without" + telos "tax;" see toll (n.)). A reminder of the original function of postage stamps, now often forgotten: the cost of letter-carrying formerly was paid by the recipient; stamps indicated it had been pre-paid by the sender, thus the letters were "carriage-free."
It is a pity that for one of the most popular scientific pursuits one of the least popularly intelligible names should have been found. [Fowler]
Stampomania (1865) also was tried. Stamp-collecting is from 1862. Related: Philatelic; philatelism; philatelist.
sensation (n.): 1610s, "a reaction to external stimulation of the sense organs," from French sensation (14c.) and directly from Medieval Latin sensationem (nominative sensatio), from Late Latin sensatus "endowed with sense, sensible," from Latin sensus "feeling" (see sense (n.)). Meaning "state of shock, surprise, in a community" first recorded 1779.
The great object of life is sensation -- to feel that we exist, even though in pain. It is this 'craving void' which drives us to gaming -- to battle, to travel -- to intemperate, but keenly felt, pursuits of any description, whose principal attraction is the agitation inseparable from their accomplishment. [Lord Byron, letter, Sept. 6, 1813]
literator: "A person engaged in literary pursuits; a writer; = littérateur. Now rare", Mid 17th cent.; earliest use found in Richard Montagu (bap. 1575, d. 1641), bishop of Norwich and religious controversialist. From classical Latin litterātor (also literātor) schoolteacher, frequently used disparagingly, in post-classical Latin also writer, author from littera + -tor, suffix forming agent nouns.
phoney: "Not genuine; fraudulent", Late 19th century: of unknown origin. More The fraudulent practice of the fawney-rig is probably the source of phoney ‘not genuine, fraudulent’, which was first recorded in the USA at the end of the 19th century. In 1823 Pierce Egan, a chronicler of popular pursuits and low life in England, described how the fawney-rig worked. ‘A fellow drops a brass ring, double gilt, which he picks up before the party meant to be cheated, and to whom he disposes of it for less than its supposed, and ten times more than its real, value.’ The word fawney came from Irish fáinne ‘a ring’. The phoney war was the period of comparative inaction at the beginning of the Second World War, between the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 and that of Norway in April 1940. The expression is now used of any coming confrontation, as in ‘the debates on tax in the pre-election phoney war’ (Earth Matters, 1997).