quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- ambidextrous



[ambidextrous 词源字典] - ambidextrous: [16] Ambidextrous means literally ‘right-handed on both sides’. It was formed in Latin from the prefix ambi- ‘both’ and the adjective dexter ‘right-handed’ (source of English dextrous). Ambi- corresponds to the Latin adjective ambo ‘both’, which derived ultimately from the Indo-European base *amb- ‘around’ (an element in the source of ambassador and embassy).
The second element in Latin ambo seems to correspond to Old English ba ‘both’, which is related to modern English both. Other English words formed with the prefix amb(i)- include ambient [16] (which came, like ambition, from Latin ambīre ‘go round’), ambit [16] (from Latin ambitus ‘circuit’), ambiguous, ambition, amble, and ambulance.
=> dextrous[ambidextrous etymology, ambidextrous origin, 英语词源] - dextrous




- dextrous: [17] Just as the left hand has always been associated with awkwardness or maladroitness (cack-handed), so the right hand has traditionally been credited with skill: hence dextrous, a derivative of Latin dexter, which meant ‘on the right side’ and thus by extension ‘skilful’. This came ultimately, like Greek dexiós, Gothic taihswa, Breton dehou, Russian desnoj, and many other related forms in the general semantic area ‘right-hand side’, from an Indo-European base *dek-. English acquired the Latin adjective itself as a heraldic term in the 16th century.
- troubadour




- troubadour: [18] A troubadour is etymologically someone who ‘finds’ – that is, ‘composes’ – songs. The word comes via French troubadour from Provençal trobador, a derivative of the verb trobar (whose modern French equivalent is trouver). This seems originally to have meant ‘compose’, and later to have shifted its semantic ground via ‘invent’ to ‘find’.
It is not known for certain where it came from, but one theory traces it back via a Vulgar Latin *tropāre to Latin tropus ‘figure of speech’ (source of English trope [16]). This in turn was borrowed from Greek trópos ‘turn’, a relative of English trophy and tropic. If this is so, its ancestral meaning would be ‘use figures of speech’.
=> tropic - trouble




- trouble: [13] Trouble is etymologically something that ‘disturbs’ one – indeed, the two words are related. Trouble was borrowed from Old French trouble or tourble, a derivative of the verb tourbler. This was descended from Vulgar Latin *turbulāre, a derivative of *turbulus, which in turn was an alteration of Latin turbidus ‘wild, confused, muddy’ (source of English turbid [17]).
And turbidus itself was derived from turba ‘disturbance, crowd’ (a borrowing from Greek túrbē ‘disorder’), which also produced the verb turbāre ‘disturb’ (source of English disturb [13] and turbulent [16]). Turbine too is closely related.
=> disturb, turbid, turbine, turbulent - trough




- trough: [OE] Etymologically, a trough is something made out of ‘wood’. Its ultimate source is Indo-European *drukós, a derivative of the base *dru- ‘wood, tree’ (source also of English tree). This passed into prehistoric Germanic as *trugaz, which has since diversified into German and Dutch trog, Swedish tråg, Danish trug, and English trough. English trug ‘shallow basket’ [16] is a variant of trough.
=> tray, tree, trug - troupe




- troupe: see troop
- trousers




- trousers: [17] Trousers is a Gaelic contribution to English vocabulary. Irish trius and Scots Gaelic triubhas (singular nouns) denote ‘closefitting shorts’. They were borrowed into English in the 16th century as trouse or trews. The latter form has survived intact, but trouse, through the influence of drawers, was expanded into trousers.
=> trews - ambidextrous (adj.)




- 1640s, with -ous, from ambidexter (adj.) "double-dealing" (1610s), from French ambidextre or directly from Latin ambidexter, literally "right-handed on both sides," from ambi- "both" (see ambi-) + dexter "right-handed" (see dexterity). Its opposite, ambilevous "left-handed on both sides, clumsy" (1640s) is rare. Ambidexter as a noun, "one who takes bribes from both sides," is attested from 1530s and is the earliest form of the word in English; its sense of "one who uses both hands equally well" appears by 1590s.
- dextrous (adj.)




- 1620s, alternative spelling of dexterous; this version is more conformable to Latin but less common in English.
- disastrous (adj.)




- 1580s, "ill-starred," from French désastreux (16c.), from désastre (see disaster) or from Italian desastroso. Meaning "calamitous" is from c. 1600. Related: Disastrously.
- idolatrous (adj.)




- 1540s, from idolater + -ous.
- lustrous




- c. 1600, from luster + -ous. Related: Lustrously; lustrousness.
- monstrous (adj.)




- mid-15c., "unnatural, deviating from the natural order, hideous," from Middle French monstrueux, from Latin monstruosus "strange, unnatural, monstrous," from monstrum (see monster). Meaning "enormous" is from c. 1500; that of "outrageously wrong" is from 1570s. Earlier form monstruous (late 14c., from Old French monstruous) was "very common in the 16th c." [OED].
- nitrous (adj.)




- c. 1600, from Latin nitrosus, from nitrum (see nitre). Originally "of nitre, pertaining to nitre;" more precise use in chemistry (designating a compound in which the nitrogen has a lower valence than the corresponding nitric compound) is from 1780s. Nitrous oxide attested from 1800.
- over-trouble (v.)




- 1580s, from over- + trouble (v.). Related: Over-troubled; over-troubling.
- petrous (adj.)




- 1540s, from Middle French petreux, from Latin petrosus "stony," from petra "rock," from Greek petra "rock, cliff, ledge, shelf of rock, rocky ridge," of uncertain origin. Possibly from PIE root *per- "to lead, pass over," if the original meaning is "bedrock" and the notion is "what one comes through to" [Watkins].
- retrousse (adj.)




- "turned up" (of the nose), 1802, from French retroussé (16c.) past participle adjective from retrousser "to turn up."
- troubadour (n.)




- 1727, from French troubadour (16c.) "one of a class of lyric poets in southern France, eastern Spain, and northern Italy 11c.-13c.," from Old Provençal trobador, from trobar "to find," earlier "invent a song, compose in verse," perhaps from Vulgar Latin *tropare "compose, sing," especially in the form of tropes, from Latin tropus "a song" (see trope). The alternative theory among French etymologists derives the Old Provençal word from a metathesis of Latin turbare "to disturb," via a sense of "to turn up." Meanwhile, Arabists posit an origin in Arabic taraba "to sing." General sense of "one who composes or sings verses or ballads" first recorded 1826.
- trouble (v.)




- c. 1200, from Old French trubler, metathesis of turbler, torbler "to trouble, disturb; make cloudy, stir up, mix" (11c.), from Vulgar Latin *turbulare, from Late Latin turbidare "to trouble, make turbid," from Latin turbidus (see turbid). Related: Troubled; troubling.
- trouble (n.)




- c. 1200, "agitation of the mind, emotional turmoil," from Old French truble, torble "trouble, disturbance" (12c.), from trubler/torbler (see trouble (v.)). From early 15c. as "a concern, a cause for worry;" 1590s as "something that causes trouble." Meaning "unpleasant relations with the authorities" is from 1550s. Related: Troubles (1510s). Trouble and strife as rhyming slang for "wife" is recorded from 1908.
- troubled (adj.)




- of persons, minds, etc., early 14c.; past participle adjective from trouble (v.). In reference to waters, etc., late 14c.
- troublemaker (n.)




- also trouble-maker, 1843, from trouble (n.) + maker.
- troubleshoot (v.)




- also trouble-shoot, 1918 (implied in troubleshooting), probably a back-formation from troubleshooter.
- troubleshooter (n.)




- also trouble-shooter, 1898, originally one who works on telegraph or telephone lines. From trouble (n.) + agent noun from shoot (v.).
- troublesome (n.)




- 1540s, from trouble (n.) + -some (1). Troublesomeness.
- troublous (adj.)




- early 15c., from Old French troblos, torblos, from truble/torble (see trouble (n.)).
- trough (n.)




- Old English trog "wooden vessel, tray, hollow vessel, canoe," from Proto-Germanic *trugaz (cognates: Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Old Norse trog, Middle Dutch troch, Dutch trog, Old High German troc, German trog), from PIE *dru-ko-, from root *dru-, *deru- "wood, tree" (see tree (n.)). Originally pronounced in English with a hard -gh- (as in Scottish loch); pronunciation shifted to "-ff," but spelling remained.
- trounce (v.)




- 1550s, "to trouble, afflict, harass," later "to beat, thrash" (1560s), of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to Middle French troncer "to cut, cut off a piece from," from tronce "piece of timber," from Old French tronc (see trunk). Related: Trounced; trouncing.
- troupe (n.)




- 1825, "company, band," especially of performers, actors, dancers, etc., from French troupe "company" (see troop (n.)).
- trouper (n.)




- 1890, "actor or performer in a troupe," from troupe (n.) + -er (1). Transferred sense of "reliable, uncomplaining person" [OED] is attested by 1942, American English.
- trousers (n.)




- "garment for men, covering the lower body and each leg separately," 1610s, earlier trouzes (1580s), extended from trouse (1570s), with plural ending typical of things in pairs, from Gaelic or Middle Irish triubhas "close-fitting shorts," of uncertain origin. Early recorded use of the word indicates the garment was regarded as Celtic: "A jellous wife was like an Irish trouze, alwayes close to a mans tayle" [1630]. The unexplained intrusive second -r- is perhaps by influence of drawers or other words in pairs ending in -ers.
- trousseau (n.)




- "a bride's clothing, etc., brought from her former home," 1817, from French trousseau, originally "a bundle," diminutive of Old French trousse "bundle" (see truss (n.)). Italicized as foreign at first, nativized by 1833. The Old French word was borrowed into Middle English early 13c. as "a bundle of keys," but it fell from use.
- trout (n.)




- Old English truht "trout," in part from Old French truite, both from Late Latin tructa, perhaps from Greek troktes "a kind of sea fish," literally "nibbler," from trogein "to gnaw," from PIE *tro-, from root *tere- (1) (see throw (v.)). In late 17c. slang, trusty trout was used in a sense of "confidential friend."
- untroubled (adj.)




- late 15c., from un- (1) "not" + past participle of trouble (v.).
- ophiolatrous




- "Of, relating to, or practising ophiolatry", Late 19th cent.; earliest use found in Alfred Ellis (1852–1894), army officer and writer. From ophio- + -latrous, after ophiolatry.