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algebra [algebra 词源字典]: algebra: [16] Algebra symbolizes the debt of Western culture to Arab mathematics, but ironically when it first entered the English language it was used as a term for the setting of broken bones, and even sometimes for the fractures themselves (‘The helpes of Algebra and of dislocations’, Robert Copland, Formulary of Guydo in surgery 1541). This reflects the original literal meaning of the Arabic term al jebr, ‘the reuniting of broken parts’, from the verb jabara ‘reunite’.

The anatomical connotations of this were adopted when the word was borrowed, as algebra, into Spanish, Italian, and medieval Latin, from one or other of which English acquired it. In Arabic, however, it had long been applied to the solving of algebraic equations (the full Arabic expression was ’ilm aljebr wa’lmuqābalah ‘the science of reunion and equation’, and the mathematician al- Khwarizmi used aljebr as the title of his treatise on algebra – see ALGORITHM), and by the end of the 16th century this was firmly established as the central meaning of algebra in English.
[algebra etymology, algebra origin, 英语词源]
decide: decide: [14] Etymologically, decide denotes a resolving of alternatives or difficulties by cutting through them as if with a knife or a sword – dealing with them ‘at a stroke’. The word comes, perhaps via French décider, from Latin dēcidere, a compound verb formed from the prefix dē- ‘off’ and caedere ‘cut, strike’. It is not clear where this comes from, although Sanskrit khid- ‘press, tear’ has been compared.

Its other descendants in English include chisel, cement, concise, and scissors. (Other verbs for ‘decide’ which contain the basic meaning element ‘cut through’ or ‘separate’ include Latin dēcernere and German entscheiden.)
=> cement, chisel, concise, excise, incision, precise, scissors
absolve (v.): early 15c., from Latin absolvere "set free, loosen, acquit," from ab- "from" (see ab-) + solvere "loosen" (see solve). Related: Absolved; absolving.
aqua fortis (n.): old name for "concentrated nitric acid," c. 1600, Latin, literally "strong water;" see aqua- + fort. So called for its power of dissolving metals (copper, silver) unaffected by other agents.
catalysis (n.): 1650s, "dissolution," from Latinized form of Greek katalysis "dissolution, a dissolving" (of governments, military units, etc.), from katalyein "to dissolve," from kata- "down" (or "completely"), see cata-, + lyein "to loosen" (see lose). Chemical sense "change caused by an agent which itself remains unchanged" is attested from 1836, introduced by Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1779-1848).
decide (v.): late 14c., "to settle a dispute," from Old French decider, from Latin decidere "to decide, determine," literally "to cut off," from de- "off" (see de-) + caedere "to cut" (see -cide). For Latin vowel change, see acquisition. Sense is of resolving difficulties "at a stroke." Meaning "to make up one's mind" is attested from 1830. Related: Decided; deciding.
dialectic (n.): 1580s, earlier dialatik (late 14c.), from Old French dialectique (12c.), from Latin dialectica, from Greek dialektike (techne) "(art of) philosophical discussion or discourse," fem. of dialektikos "of conversation, discourse," from dialektos "discourse, conversation" (see dialect). Originally synonymous with logic; in modern philosophy refined by Kant, then by Hegel, who made it mean "process of resolving or merging contradictions in character." Related: Dialectics.
dissolution (n.): late 14c., "separation into parts," also "frivolity, moral laxness, dissolute living," from Old French dissolution (12c.) and directly from Latin dissolutionem (nominative dissolutio) "a dissolving, destroying, interruption, dissolution," noun of action from past participle stem of dissolvere (see dissolve).
dissolve (v.): late 14c. (transitive and intransitive) "to break up" (of material substances), from Latin dissolvere "to loosen up, break apart," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + solvere "to loose, loosen" (see solve). Meaning "to disband" (an assembly) is early 15c. Related: Dissolved; dissolving.
iridium (n.): 1804, Modern Latin, coined by its discoverer, English chemist Smithson Tennant (1761-1815) from Greek iris (genitive iridos) "rainbow;" so called for "the striking variety of colours which it gives while dissolving in marine acid" [Tennant]
-lysis: scientific/medical word-forming element meaning "loosening, dissolving, dissolution," from Greek lysis "a loosening, setting free, releasing, dissolution," from lyein "to unfasten, loose, loosen, untie" (see lose).
lyso-: word-forming element indicating "loosening, dissolving, freeing," before vowels lys-, from comb. form of Greek lysis "a loosening" (see lyse).
Oedipus: son of Laius and Jocasta, the king and queen of Thebes, Greek, literally "swollen-foot," from oidan "to swell" (from PIE *oid-; see edema) + pous (genitive podos) "foot," from PIE root *ped- (1) "a foot" (see foot (n.)). Oedipus complex (1910) coined by Freud. In Latin, figurative references to Oedipus generally referred to solving riddles. Oedipus effect (1957) is Karl Popper's term for "the self-fulfilling nature of prophecies or predictions."
resolution (n.): late 14c., "a breaking into parts," from Old French resolution (14c.) or directly from Latin resolutionem (nominative resolutio) "process of reducing things into simpler forms," from past participle stem of resolvere "loosen" (see resolve). Sense of "a solving" (as of mathematical problems) first recorded 1540s, as is that of "power of holding firmly" (compare resolute). Sense of "decision or expression of a meeting" is from c. 1600. Meaning "effect of an optical instrument" is from 1860. New Year's resolutions in reference to a specific intention to better oneself is at least from 1780s, and through 19c. generally of a pious nature.
resolve (v.): late 14c., "melt, dissolve, reduce to liquid;" intransitive sense from c. 1400; from Old French resolver or directly from Latin resolvere "to loosen, loose, unyoke, undo; explain; relax; set free; make void, dispel," from re-, perhaps intensive, or "back" (see re-), + solvere "loosen" (see solve). Early 15c. as "separate into components," hence the use in optics (1785). Meaning "determine, decide upon" is from 1520s, hence "pass a resolution" (1580s). For sense evolution, compare resolute (adj.). Related: Resolved; resolving.
riddle (n.1): "A word game or joke, comprising a question or statement couched in deliberately puzzling terms, propounded for solving by the hearer/reader using clues embedded within that wording" [Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore], early 13c., from Old English rædels "riddle; counsel; conjecture; imagination; discussion," common Germanic (Old Frisian riedsal "riddle," Old Saxon radisli, Middle Dutch raetsel, Dutch raadsel, Old High German radisle, German Rätsel "riddle").

The first element is from Proto-Germanic *redaz-, from PIE *re-dh-, from PIE *re(1)- "to reason, count" (cognates: Old English rædan "to advise, counsel, read, guess;" see read (v.)). The ending is Old English noun suffix -els, the -s of which later was mistaken for a plural affix and stripped off. Meaning "anything which puzzles or perplexes" is from late 14c.
solution (n.): late 14c., "a solving or being solved," from Old French solucion "division, dissolving; explanation; payment" or directly from Latin solutionem (nominative solutio) "a loosening or unfastening," noun of action from past participle stem of solvere "to loosen, untie, solve, dissolve" (see solve). Meaning "liquid containing a dissolved substance" is first recorded 1590s.
solve (v.): late 14c., "to disperse, dissipate, loosen," from Latin solvere "to loosen, dissolve; untie, release, detach; depart; unlock; scatter; dismiss; accomplish, fulfill; explain; remove," from PIE *se-lu-, from reflexive pronoun *s(w)e- (see idiom) + root *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart" (see lose). The meaning "explain, answer" is attested from 1530s; for sense evolution, see solution. Mathematical use is attested from 1737. Related: Solved; solving.
stereoptican (n.): "double magic lantern producing dissolving views or impressions of three-dimensionality to pictured objects," 1858, from stereo- + Greek optikon, neuter of optikos "pertaining to sight" (see optic).
suspension (n.): early 15c., "a temporary halting or deprivation," from Latin suspensionem (nominative suspensio) "the act or state of hanging up, a vaulting," noun of action, from past participle stem of suspendere "to hang up, cause to hang, suspend" (see suspend). Suspension of disbelief is from Coleridge:
A semblance of truth sufficient to procure for these shadows of imagination that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith. ["Biographia Literaria," 1817]
Meaning "action of hanging by a support from above" is attested from 1540s. Meaning "particles suspended in liquid without dissolving" is from 1707. Suspension-bridge first recorded 1819 (earlier suspended bridge, 1796).