英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

germ [germ 词源字典]: germ: [17] As its close relatives germane and germinate [17] suggest, germ has more to do etymologically with ‘sprouting’ and ‘coming to life’ than with ‘disease’. It comes via Old French germe from Latin germen ‘sprout, offshoot’, which may go back ultimately to the Indo- European base *gen- ‘produce’ (source of English gene, generate, genitive, etc).

The meaning ‘sprout, from which new life develops’ persisted into English (and still occurs in such contexts as wheatgerm – and indeed in metaphorical expressions like ‘the germ of an idea’). Then at the beginning of the 19th century it began to be used to put into words the idea of a ‘seed’ from which a disease grew: ‘The vaccine virus must act in one or other of these two ways: either it must destroy the germe of the small-pox … or it must neutralize this germe’, Medical Journal 1803.

By the end of the century it was an accepted colloquialism for ‘harmful microorganism’.
=> germane, germinate[germ etymology, germ origin, 英语词源]
terrace: terrace: [16] Terrace is one of a small family of English words that go back ultimately to Latin terra ‘earth, land’. This was probably descended from Indo-European *tersā- ‘dry’ (source also of English thirst, torrid, etc), in which case it denoted etymologically ‘dry land’, as opposed to ‘sea’. The family also includes inter [14] (etymologically ‘put into the earth’), terra cotta [18] (from Italian, literally ‘cooked earth’), terra firma [17] (literally ‘firm land’), terrain [18], terrestrial [15], terrier [15] (etymologically a dog which is sent down burrows in the ‘earth’ after its quarry), terrine, territory [15], and tureen. Terrace itself came via Old French terrace from the Vulgar Latin derivative *terrāceus, which denoted a ‘platform made from a pile of earth or rubble’.
=> terrain, terrestrial, terrier, terrine, territory, thirst, torrid, tureen
box (v.1): "to put into storage, put into a box," mid-15c., from box (n.1). Related: Boxed; boxing.
couch (v.): c. 1300, "to overlay with gold, inlay," from Old French couchier "to lay down, place; go to bed, put to bed," from Latin collocare "to lay, place, station, arrange," from com- "together" (see com-) + locare "to place" (see locate). Meaning "to put into words" is from 1520s. Related: Couched; couching. Heraldic couchant ("lying down with the head up") is late 15c., from the French present participle.
derange (v.): 1776, "throw into confusion," from French déranger, from Old French desrengier "disarrange, throw into disorder," from des- "do the opposite of" (see dis-) + Old French rengier (Modern French ranger) "to put into line," from reng "line, row," from a Germanic source (see rank (n.)). Mental sense first recorded c. 1790.
enceinte (adj.): "pregnant, with child," c. 1600, insente, from French enceinte "pregnant" (12c.), from Late Latin incincta (source of Italian incinta), explained by Isidore of Seville (7c.) as "ungirt," from Latin in-, privative prefix (see in- (1)), + cincta, fem. of cinctus, past participle of cingere "to gird" (see cinch). But perhaps the Late Latin word is from past participle of Latin incingere "to put into a girdle" (that is, "to make (a woman) pregnant"), with in- (2) "in, into." Modern form is 18c., perhaps a reborrowing from French.
exercise (v.): late 14c., "to employ, put into active use," from exercise (n.); originally "to make use of;" also in regard to mental and spiritual training; sense of "engage in physical activity" is from 1650s. From late 14c. in sense of "train, drill, discipline, educate (someone); develop (a skill) by practice." Related: Exercised; exercises; exercising.
exert (v.): 1660s, "thrust forth, push out," from Latin exertus/exsertus, past participle of exerere/exserere "thrust out, put forth," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + serere "attach, join" (see series). Meaning "put into use" is 1680s. Related: Exerted; exerting.
express (v.1): late 14c., "represent in visual arts; put into words," from Old French espresser, expresser "press, squeeze out; speak one's mind" (Modern French exprimer), Medieval Latin expressare, frequentative of Latin exprimere "represent, describe, portray, imitate, translate," literally "to press out" (source also of Italian espresso); the sense evolution here perhaps is via an intermediary sense such as "clay, etc., that under pressure takes the form of an image," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + pressare "to press, push," from Latin premere (see press (v.1)). Related: Expressed; expresses; expressing.
incite (v.): mid-15c., from Middle French enciter (14c.), from Latin incitare "to put into rapid motion," figuratively "rouse, urge, encourage, stimulate," from in- "into, in, on, upon" (see in- (2)) + citare "move, excite" (see cite). Related: Incited; inciting.
inhume (v.): c. 1600 (implied in inhumed), from Latin inhumare "to bury," literally "to put into the ground," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + humus "earth, soil" (see humus).
institutionalize (v.): "to put into institutional life" (usually deprecatory), 1905; see institution. Related: Institutionalized. Earlier (1865) it meant "to make into an institution."
invaginate (v.): 1650s, from Medieval Latin invaginatus, past participle of invaginare "to put into a sheath," from Latin in- "in" (see in- (2)) + vagina "a sheath" (see vagina). Related: Invaginated; invagination.
monetize (v.): 1880, "put into circulation as money," from Latin moneta "money" (see money) + -ize. Related: Monetized; monetizing.
phrase (v.): "to put into a phrase," 1560s; see phrase (n.). Related: Phrased; phrasing.
pit (v.): mid-15c., "to put into a pit," from pit (n.1); especially for purposes of fighting (of cocks, dogs, pugilists) from 1760. Figurative sense of "to set in rivalry" is from 1754. Meaning "to make pits in" is from late 15c. Related: Pitted; pitting. Compare Pit-bull as a dog breed attested from 1922, short for pit-bull terrier (by 1912). This also is the notion behind the meaning "the part of a theater on the floor of the house" (1640s).
poach (v.2): "cook in liquid," early 15c., from Old French poché, past participle of pochier (12c.), literally "put into a pocket" (as the white of an egg forms a pocket for the yolk), from poche "bag, pocket," from Frankish *pokka "bag," from Proto-Germanic *puk- (see poke (n.)). Related: Poached; poaching.
potted (adj.): of meat, "preserved in a pot," 1640s, past participle adjective from pot (v.). Of a plant, from 1718. In the figurative sense of "put into a short, condensed form," 1866,
predispose (v.): 1640s, "to put into a certain frame of mind," perhaps a back-formation from predisposition. Related: Predisposed; predisposing.
scapulimancy (n.): divination by means of the cracks in a shoulder-blade put into a fire, 1871, from comb. form of scapula + -mancy.
stage (v.): early 14c., "to erect, construct," from stage (n.). The meaning "put into a play" is from c. 1600; that of "put (a play) on the stage" first recorded 1879; general sense of "to mount" (a comeback, etc.) is attested from 1924. Related: Staged; staging.
tabulate (v.): "to put into form of a table, collect or arrange in columns," 1734, from Latin tabula (see table (n.)) + -ate (2). Earlier in the more literal Latin sense "lay a floor" (1650s). Related: Tabulated; tabulating.
tank (v.): 1900, "to put into a tank," from tank (n.). Meaning "to lose or fail" attested from 1976, originally in tennis jargon, specifically in an interview with Billie Jean King in "Life" magazine, Sept. 22, 1967:
"When our men don't feel like trying," she says, "They 'tank' [give up]. I never tanked a match in my life and I never saw a girl do it. The men do it all the time in minor tournaments when they don't feel like hustling. You have to be horribly competitive to win in big-time tennis."
Sometimes said to be from boxing, in some sense, perhaps from the notion of "taking a dive," but evidence for this is wanting. Related: Tanked; tanking. Adjective tanked "drunk" is from 1893.
tuck (v.): late 14c., "to pull or gather up," earlier "to pluck, stretch" (implied in tucker "one who finishes clothes by stretching them on tenters, late 13c. as a surname), probably from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch tucken "pull up, draw up, tug" (cognate with Old English tucian "mistreat, torment," and related to Old English togian "to pull," German zucken; see tow (v.)). Sense of "thrust into a snug place" is first recorded 1580s. Slang meaning "to consume, swallow, put into one's stomach" is recorded from 1784. Related: Tucked; tucking.
tune (v.): "bring into a state of proper pitch," c. 1500, from tune (n.). Non-musical meaning "to adjust an organ or receiver, put into a state proper for some purpose" is recorded from 1887. Verbal phrase tune in in reference to radio (later also TV) is recorded from 1913; figurative sense of "become aware" is recorded from 1926. Tune out "eliminate radio reception" is recorded from 1908; figurative sense of "disregard, stop heeding" is from 1928. Related: Tuned; tuning.
versify (v.): late 14c., "compose verse, write poetry, make verses," from Old French versifier "turn into verse" (13c.), from Latin versificare "compose verse; put into verse," from versus "verse" (see verse) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious). Transitive sense of "put into verse" in English is from 1735. Related: Versified; versifying; versifier (mid-14c.).
vest (v.): early 15c., "to put in possession of a person," from Old French vestir "to clothe; get dressed," from Medieval Latin vestire "to put into possession, to invest," from Latin vestire "to clothe, dress, adorn," related to vestis "garment, clothing," from PIE *wes- (4) "to clothe" (see wear (v.)). Related: Vested; vesting.
vulcanize (v.): 1827, "to put into flames," from Vulcan (q.v.), name of the Roman god of fire, + -ize. As a treatment for rubber, first recorded 1846. Related: Vulcanized; vulcanizing.
word (v.): c. 1200, "to utter;" 1610s, "put into words," from word (n.). Related: Worded; wording.
zonk (v.): 1950, "to hit hard;" 1968, "to put into a stupor;" slang term, of echoic origin.
pensée: "A thought or reflection put into literary form; an aphorism", French.