英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

bunch [bunch 词源字典]: bunch: [14] Bunch originally meant ‘swelling’ (the first text recorded as containing the word, the Middle English poem Body and Soul 1325, speaks of ragged folk ‘with broad bunches on their back’), but we have no real clues as to its source. Perhaps, like bump, it was ultimately imitative of the sound of hitting something, the sense ‘swelling’ being the result of the blows. The first hints of the modern sense ‘cluster, collection’ come in the mid-15th century in the phrase bunch of straw, although how this derived from ‘swelling’ is not clear.
[bunch etymology, bunch origin, 英语词源]
judge: judge: [13] Etymologically, a judge is someone who ‘speaks the law’. The word comes via Old French juge from Latin jūdex, which was originally a compound noun made up of jūs ‘law’ and the element -dicus ‘speaking’ (related to English diction, dictionary, etc). Parallel formations to have reached English are juridical [16] and jurisdiction [13], while derivatives of jūdex itself include judicature [16], judicial [14], judiciary [16], and judicious [16].
=> diction, dictionary, judicious, jury, just
porcupine: porcupine: [14] The porcupine is etymologically a ‘spiny pig’. Its name was coined in Vulgar Latin as *porcospīnus from Latin porcus ‘pig’ (source of English pork) and spīnus ‘spine’. It came to English via Old French porc espin. It underwent all sorts of traumas (portpen, porpoynt, porpentine – the form used by Shakespeare: the ghost of Hamlet’s father speaks of the ‘quills upon the fretful porpentine’ – porkenpick, porpin, etc) before finally settling down in the 17th century to porcupine, and around 1700 the fanciful variant porcupig was coined.
=> pork, spine
pronounce: pronounce: [14] Latin nuntius meant ‘messenger’. From it was derived the verb nuntiāre ‘announce’, which has formed the basis of English announce [15], annunciation [14], denounce [13], pronounce, and renounce [14]. Pronounce itself goes back to Latin prōnuntiāre ‘proclaim’, formed with the prefix prō- ‘forth, out, in public’. Its specific application to the ‘way in which a person speaks’ emerged in English in the early 17th century.
=> announce, denounce, nuncio, renounce
prophet: prophet: [12] A prophet is etymologically someone who ‘speaks for’ another. The word comes via Old French prophete and Latin prophēta from Greek prophétēs, a compound noun formed from the prefix pro- ‘for’ and -phētēs ‘speaker’ (a derivative of phánai ‘speak’, which goes back to the same Indo-European base, *bha- ‘speak’, as produced English fable, fate, etc).

It meant literally ‘spokesman’, and was frequently used specifically for ‘one who interprets the will of the gods to humans’. The Greek translators of the Bible adopted it into Christian usage. Prophecy [13] comes ultimately from the Greek derivative prophētíā.
=> fable, fame, fate
blabber (v.): mid-14c., "to speak as an infant speaks," frequentative of blabben, of echoic origin (compare Old Norse blabbra, Danish blabbre "babble," German plappern "to babble"). Meaning "to talk excessively" is from late 14c. Related: Blabbered; blabbering.
bohemian (n.): "a gypsy of society," 1848, from French bohemién (1550s), from the country name (see Bohemia). The modern sense is perhaps from the use of this country name since 15c. in French for "gypsy" (they were wrongly believed to have come from there, though their first appearance in Western Europe may have been directly from there), or from association with 15c. Bohemian heretics. It was popularized by Henri Murger's 1845 story collection "Scenes de la Vie de Boheme," the basis of Puccini's "La Bohème." Used in English 1848 in Thackary's "Vanity Fair."
The term 'Bohemian' has come to be very commonly accepted in our day as the description of a certain kind of literary gipsey, no matter in what language he speaks, or what city he inhabits .... A Bohemian is simply an artist or littérateur who, consciously or unconsciously, secedes from conventionality in life and in art. ["Westminster Review," 1862]
bozo (n.): "muscular low-I.Q. male," c. 1910, perhaps from Spanish bozal, used in the slave trade and also to mean "one who speaks Spanish poorly." Bozo the clown was created 1940 at Capitol Records as the voice in a series of story-telling records for children ["Wall Street Journal," Oct. 31, 1983].
darnel (n.): weed growing in grainfields, c. 1300, from northern dialectal French darnelle; according to one theory, the the second element is Old French neelle (Modern French nielle) "cockle," from Vulgar Latin nigella "black-seeded," from fem. of Latin nigellus "blackish."

But perhaps rather the word is related to Middle Dutch verdaernt, verdarnt "stunned, dumbfounded, angry," Walloon darne, derne "stunned, dazed, drunk," the plant so called from its well-known inebriating property. Long noted for its "poisonous" properties (actually caused by fungus growing on the plant); The French word for it is ivraie, from Latin ebriacus "intoxicated," and the botanical name, Lolium temulentum, is from Latin temulent "drunken," though this sometimes is said to be "from the heavy seed heads lolling over under their own weight."
In some parts of continental Europe it appears the seeds of darnel have the reputation of causing intoxication in men, beasts, and birds, the effects being sometimes so violent as to produce convulsions. In Scotland the name of Sleepies, is applied to darnel, from the seeds causing narcotic effects. [Gouverneur Emerson, "The American Farmer's Encyclopedia," New York, 1860. It also mentions that "Haller speaks of them as communicating these properties to beer."]
Ethiop (n.): late 14c., from Latin Æthiops "Ethiopian, negro," from Greek Aithiops, long supposed in popular etymology to be from aithein "to burn" + ops "face" (compare aithops "fiery-looking," later "sunburned").
Who the Homeric Æthiopians were is a matter of doubt. The poet elsewhere speaks of two divisions of them, one dwelling near the rising, the other near the setting of the sun, both having imbrowned visages from their proximity to that luminary, and both leading a blissful existence, because living amid a flood of light; and, as a natural concomitant of a blissful existence, blameless, and pure, and free from every kind of moral defilement. [Charles Anthon, note to "The First Six Books of Homer's Iliad," 1878]
fame (n.): early 13c., "character attributed to someone;" late 13c., "celebrity, renown," from Old French fame "fame, reputation, renown, rumor" (12c.), from Latin fama "talk, rumor, report; reputation, public opinion; renown, good reputation," but also "ill-fame, scandal, reproach," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say" (cognates: Sanskrit bhanati "speaks;" Latin fari "to say," fabula "narrative, account, tale, story;" Armenian ban, bay "word, term;" Old Church Slavonic bajati "to talk, tell;" Old English boian "to boast," ben "prayer, request;" Greek pheme "speech, voice, utterance, a speaking, talk," phone "voice, sound," phanai "to speak;" Old Irish bann "law").

The goddess Fama was the personification of rumor in Roman mythology. The Latin derivative fabulare was the colloquial word for "speak, talk" since the time of Plautus, whence Spanish hablar.
I've always been afraid I was going to tap the world on the shoulder for 20 years, and when it finally turned around I was going to forget what I had to say. [Tom Waits, "Playboy" magazine interview, March, 1988]
fickle (adj.): c. 1200, "false, treacherous, deceptive, deceitful, crafty" (obsolete), probably from Old English ficol "deceitful, cunning, tricky," related to befician "deceive," and to facen "deceit, treachery; blemish, fault." Common Germanic (compare Old Saxon fekan "deceit," Old High German feihhan "deceit, fraud, treachery"), from PIE *peig- (2) "evil-minded, treacherous, hostile" (see foe).

Sense of "changeable, inconstant, unstable" is from c. 1300 (especially of Fortune and women). Related: Fickleness. Fickly (c. 1300) is rare or obsolete. Also with a verb form in Middle English, fikelen "to deceive, flatter," later "to puzzle, perplex," which survived long enough in Northern dialects to get into Scott's novels. Fikel-tonge (late 14c.) was an allegorical or character name for "one who speaks falsehoods."
-logy: word-forming element meaning "a speaking, discourse, treatise, doctrine, theory, science," from Greek -logia (often via French -logie or Medieval Latin -logia), from root of legein "to speak;" thus, "the character or deportment of one who speaks or treats of (a certain subject);" see lecture (n.).
leech (n.2): obsolete for "physician," from Old English læce, probably from Old Danish læke, from Proto-Germanic *lekjaz "enchanter, one who speaks magic words; healer, physician" (cognates: Old Frisian letza, Old Saxon laki, Old Norse læknir, Old High German lahhi, Gothic lekeis "physician"), literally "one who counsels," perhaps connected with a root found in Celtic (compare Irish liaig "charmer, exorcist, physician") and Slavic (compare Serbo-Croatian lijekar, Polish lekarz), from PIE *lep-agi "conjurer," from root *leg- "to collect," with derivatives meaning "to speak" (see lecture (n.)).

For sense development, compare Old Church Slavonic baliji "doctor," originally "conjurer," related to Serbo-Croatian bajati "enchant, conjure;" Old Church Slavonic vrači, Russian vrač "doctor," related to Serbo-Croatian vrač "sorcerer, fortune-teller." The form merged with leech (n.1) in Middle English, apparently by folk etymology. In 17c., leech usually was applied only to veterinary practitioners. The fourth finger of the hand, in Old English, was læcfinger, translating Latin digitus medicus, Greek daktylus iatrikos, supposedly because a vein from that finger stretches straight to the heart.
loquitur: stage direction, "he or she speaks," Latin, third person present indicative singular of loqui "to talk" (see locution).
mouthpiece (n.): also mouth-piece, 1680s, "casting fitted on an open end of a pipe, etc.," from mouth (n.) + piece (n.). Meaning "piece of a musical instrument that goes in the mouth" is from 1776. Sense of "one who speaks on behalf of others" is from 1805; in the specific sense of "lawyer" it is first found 1857.
Nahuatl: 1822, from Spanish, from Nahuatl (Aztecan) Nahuatl, the people's name, "something that makes an agreeable sound; someone who speaks well or speaks one's own language." As a language name, usually in the compound form nahuatlahotol-li.
plain (adj.): c. 1300, "flat, smooth," from Old French plain "flat, smooth, even" (12c.), from Latin planus "flat, even, level" (see plane (n.1)). Sense of "evident" is from, c. 1300; that of "free from obstruction" is early 14c.; meaning "simple, sincere, ordinary" is recorded from late 14c., especially of dress, "unembellished, without decoration."

In reference to the dress and speech of Quakers, it is recorded from 1824; of Amish and Mennonites, from 1894 (in the Dutch regions of Pennsylvania Plain with the capital is shorthand adjective for "Amish and Old Order Mennonite"). Of appearance, as a euphemism for "ill-favored, ugly" it dates from 1749. Of envelopes from 1913. As an adverb from early 14c. Plain English is from c. 1500. Plain dealer "one who deals plainly or speaks candidly" is from 1570s, marked "Now rare" in OED 2nd edition. To be as plain as the nose on (one's) face is from 1690s.
pool (n.2): game similar to billiards, 1848, originally (1690s) a card game played for collective stakes (a "pool"), from French poule "stakes, booty, plunder," literally "hen," from Old French poille "hen, young fowl" (see foal (n.)).

Perhaps the original notion is from jeu de la poule, supposedly a game in which people threw things at a chicken and the player who hit it, won it, which speaks volumes about life in the Middle Ages. The notion behind the word, then, is "playing for money." The connection of "hen" and "stakes" is also present in Spanish polla and Walloon paie.

Meaning "collective stakes" in betting first recorded 1869; sense of "common reservoir of resources" is from 1917. Meaning "group of persons who share duties or skills" is from 1928. From 1933 as short for football pool in wagering. Pool shark is from 1898. The phrase dirty pool "underhanded or unsportsmanlike conduct," especially in politics (1951), seems to belong here now, but the phrase dirty pool of politics, with an image of pool (n.1) is recorded from 1871 and was in use early 20c.
proctor (n.): late 14c., contraction of procurator (c. 1300) "steward or manager of a household;" also "a provider" (see procurator). From late 14c. as "one who acts or speaks for another; spokesman, advocate;" early 15c. as "business manager or financial administrator of a church, college, holy order, etc."
prophet (n.): late 12c., "person who speaks for God; one who foretells, inspired preacher," from Old French prophete, profete "prophet, soothsayer" (11c., Modern French prophète) and directly from Latin propheta, from Greek prophetes (Doric prophatas) "an interpreter, spokesman," especially of the gods, "inspired preacher or teacher," from pro- "before" (see pro-) + root of phanai "to speak," from PIE *bha- (2) "speak" (see fame (n.)).

The Greek word was used in Septuagint for Hebrew nabj "soothsayer." Early Latin writers translated Greek prophetes with Latin vates, but the Latinized form propheta predominated in post-Classical times, chiefly due to Christian writers, probably because of pagan associations of vates. In English, meaning "prophetic writer of the Old Testament" is from late 14c. Non-religious sense is from 1848; used of Muhammad from 1610s (translating Arabic al-nabiy, and sometimes also al-rasul, properly "the messenger"). The Latin word is glossed in Old English by witga.
quiz (n.): "brief examination of a student on some subject," 1852, perhaps from quiz (v.), or from slang quiz "odd person" (1782, perhaps originally university slang), via the notion of "schoolboy prank or joke played at the expense of a person deemed a quiz" (a noun sense attested frequently 1840s).
A Quiz, in the common acceptation of the word, signifies one who thinks, speaks, or acts differently from the rest of the world in general. But, as manners and opinions are as various as mankind, it will be difficult to say who shall be termed a Quiz, and who shall not: each person indiscriminately applying the name of Quiz to every one who differs from himself .... ["The London Magazine," November, 1783]
According to OED, the anecdote that credits this word to a bet by the Dublin theater-manager Daly or Daley that he could coin a word is regarded by authorities as "doubtful" and the first record of it appears to be in 1836 (in Smart's "Walker Remodelled"; the story is omitted in the edition of 1840).
The word Quiz is a sort of a kind of a word
That people apply to some being absurd;
One who seems, as t'were oddly your fancy to strike
In a sort of a fashion you somehow don't like
A mixture of odd, and of queer, and all that
Which one hates, just, you know, as some folks hate a cat;
A comical, whimsical, strange, droll -- that is,
You know what I mean; 'tis -- in short, -- 'tis a quiz!

[from "Etymology of Quiz," Charles Dibdin, 1842]
res ipsa loquitur: Latin, "the thing speaks for itself."
soothsayer (n.): mid-14c., zoþ ziggere (Kentish), "one who speaks truth,;" late 14c., sothseggere, "fortune-teller;" see sooth + say. Old English had soðsagu "act of speaking the truth."
speaker (n.): c. 1300, "one who speaks," agent noun from speak (v.). Similar formation in Old Frisian spreker, Old High German sprahhari, German Sprecher. First applied to "person who presides over an assembly" c. 1400, from similar use in Anglo-French (late 14c.) in reference to the English Parliament; later extended to the U.S. House of Representatives, etc. The electric amplifier so called from 1926, short for loud-speaker.
spokesman (n.): 1510s, "an interpreter," 1530s in the sense of "person who speaks for another or others." Irregular formation from spoke, past tense of speak (actually a back-formation from spoken) + man (n.). Perhaps on analogy of craftsman. Spokeswoman is from 1650s; spokesperson is from 1972; spokesmodel is attested from 1990.
theme (n.): early 14c., "subject or topic on which a person writes or speaks," from Old French tesme (13c., with silent -s- "indicating vowel length" [OED], Modern French thème) and directly from Latin thema "a subject, thesis," from Greek thema "a proposition, subject, deposit," literally "something set down," from root of tithenai "put down, place," from PIE *dhe-mn, from root *dhe- "to put, to do" (see factitious). Meaning "school essay" is from 1540s. Extension to music first recorded 1670s; theme song first attested 1929. Theme park is from 1960.
voice (n.): late 13c., "sound made by the human mouth," from Old French voiz "voice, speech; word, saying, rumor, report" (Modern French voix), from Latin vocem (nominative vox) "voice, sound, utterance, cry, call, speech, sentence, language, word" (source also of Italian voce, Spanish voz), related to vocare "to call," from PIE root *wekw- "give vocal utterance, speak" (cognates: Sanskrit vakti "speaks, says," vacas- "word;" Avestan vac- "speak, say;" Greek eipon (aorist) "spoke, said," epos "word;" Old Prussian wackis "cry;" German er-wähnen "to mention").

Replaced Old English stefn. Meaning "ability in a singer" is first attested c. 1600. Meaning "expression of feeling, etc." (in reference to groups of people, etc., such as Voice of America) is recorded from late 14c. Meaning "invisible spirit or force that directs or suggests" (especially in the context of insanity, as in hear voices in (one's) head) is from 1911.
pauciloquent: "That uses few words in speech or conversation; laconic", Mid 17th cent.; earliest use found in Thomas Blount (1618–1679), antiquary and lexicographer. From classical Latin pauci- + -loquent, after pauciloquy. Compare post-classical Latin pauciloquus that speaks little, of few words.