quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- gaiter



[gaiter 词源字典] - gaiter: [18] Etymologically as well as semantically, gaiter is an ‘ankle covering’. It comes from French guêtre ‘gaiter’, which may well have been formed from Germanic *wirst-. This denoted ‘twist, turn’, and it has several modern derivatives which mean essentially ‘twisting joint’: German rist, for example, which has now migrated anatomically to the ‘instep’ and the ‘back of the hand’, originally signified ‘ankle, wrist’, and although English wrist now refers only to the hand/arm joint, it was formerly used dialectally for the ‘ankle’.
=> wrist[gaiter etymology, gaiter origin, 英语词源] - throw




- throw: [OE] Old English thrāwan meant ‘twist, turn’. It came from a prehistoric Germanic *thrējan, which also produced German drehen ‘turn’. This in turn went back to the Indo- European base *ter-, whose other descendants include Greek teírein ‘wear out’, Latin terere ‘rub’ (source of English attrition [14], contrition [13], and trite [16]), Lithuanian trinù ‘rub, file, saw’, Welsh taradr ‘auger’, and English thread and turn.
It is not clear how the original sense ‘twist, turn’ (which survives in ‘throwing a pot’ on a potter’s wheel) evolved in English into ‘project, hurl’ (first recorded in the 13th century), but presumably there must have been some intermediate phase such as ‘throw with a twisting action – as in throwing the discus’.
=> attrition, contrition, thread, trite, turn - torment




- torment: [13] The notion underlying torment is of an instrument of torture worked by ‘twisting’. The word was borrowed from Latin tormentum ‘instrument of torture’, hence ‘torture, great suffering’. This was a contraction of an earlier *torquementum, a derivative of torquēre ‘twist’, which has also given English contort [15], extort [16], retort [16], torch, torque [19], torsion [15], tort [14], tortuous [15], and torture [16] (literally ‘twisting’).
=> contort, extort, retort, thwart, torch, torque, torsion, tort, torture - warp




- warp: [OE] Warp originally meant ‘throw’ (‘Saint Paul’s head after his decease in a deep vewar [fishpond] warped was’, Scottish Legends of the Saints 1375). The notion of ‘bending’ or ‘twisting’ is a secondary development (first recorded in the 14th century). Its immediate inspiration may have been the related Old Norse past participle orpinn ‘warped’, but the underlying motivation was no doubt a conceptual link between ‘throwing’ and ‘twisting’, presumably via ‘throw with a twisting action’ (it is probably no coincidence that English throw originally meant ‘twist’).
The word came from a prehistoric Germanic base *werb-, which also produced German werfen and Dutch werpan ‘throw’. This was probably descended from Indo-European *wer-, source also of Latin vertere ‘turn’, from which English gets revert, version, etc.
=> convert, revert, version, wharf - worm




- worm: [OE] The ancestral meaning of worm appears to be ‘snake’; its application to smaller limbless creatures is a secondary development. It comes from a prehistoric Germanic *wurmiz, *wurmaz, which also produced German wurm, Dutch worm, and Danish orm ‘worm’ and Swedish orm ‘snake’. And this in turn went back to Indo-European *wrmi-, *wrmo- (source also of Latin vermis, from which English gets vermilion and vermin), a possible derivative of the base *wer- ‘turn, twist’ (source of English convert, reverse, etc) – in which case the worm would be etymologically the ‘twisting’ or ‘winding’ creature.
=> vermilion, vermin - wrist




- wrist: [OE] The wrist is etymologically the ‘twisting’ joint. The word goes back to prehistoric Germanic *wristiz, which also produced German rist ‘instep, wrist’ and Swedish vrist ‘instep, ankle’. This was derived from the base *writh-, whose wr- sound seems originally to have been symbolic of the action of twisting. Variants of the base lie behind English wreath [OE], wrest [OE], and writhe [OE]; and gaiter may be related.
=> wreath, wrest, writhe - epistrophe (n.)




- 1640s, from Late Latin epistrophe, from Greek epistrophe "a turning about, twisting, a turning (of affairs), a moving up and down," from epi "upon" (see epi-) + strophe "a turning" (see strophe). In rhetoric, a figure in which successive phrases are followed by the same word of affirmation; also used in music. Related: Epistrophic.
- extortion (n.)




- c. 1300, from Latin extortionem (nominative extortio) "a twisting out, extorting," noun of action from past participle stem of extorquere "wrench out, wrest away, to obtain by force," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + torquere "to twist" (see torque (n.)).
- garrote (n.)




- also garrotte, 1620s, "Spanish method of capital punishment by strangulation," from Spanish garrote "stick for twisting cord" (the method used in the execution), of unknown origin. Perhaps from Old French guaroc "club, stick, rod, shaft of a crossbow," probably ultimately Celtic, but possibly from Frankish *wrokkan "to twist" (cognate with Middle Dutch wroken "to twist").
I have no hesitation in pronouncing death by the garrot, at once the most manly, and the least offensive to the eye. [Major John Richardson, "British Legion," 1837]
- purl (v.1)




- "knit with inverted stitches," 1825; earlier "embroider with gold or silver thread" (1520s), probably from Middle English pirlyng "revolving, twisting," of unknown origin. The two senses usually are taken as one word, but even this is not certain. Klein suggests a source in Italian pirolare "to twirl," from pirolo "top." As a noun, from late 14c. as "bordering, frills," 1530s as "twisted thread of gold and silver."
- quirk (n.)




- 1560s, "quibble, evasion," of unknown origin, perhaps connected to German quer (see queer (adj.)) via notion of twisting and slanting; but its earliest appearance in western England dialect seems to argue against this source. Perhaps originally a technical term for a twist or flourish in weaving. Sense of "peculiarity" is c. 1600.
- -saurus




- element used in forming dinosaur names, from Latinized comb. form of Greek sauros "lizard," of unknown origin; possibly related to saulos "twisting, wavering."
- serpentine (adj.)




- "twisting, winding," 1610s; see serpent + -ine (1). An earlier adjective meaning "having the evil qualities of a serpent" is recorded from late 14c., from the French source of serpentine (n.). The winding lake of that name in Hyde Park, London, was constructed in 1730.
- spin (n.)




- 1831, "a rapid revolving motion," from spin (v.). Meaning "fairly rapid ride" is from 1856. Sense of "a twisting delivery in throwing or striking a ball" is from 1851. Sense in physics is from 1926. Meaning "act of playing a phonograph record" is from 1977. Meaning "influence imparted by a media source" is from 1984.
- stroboscope (n.)




- "instrument for studying motion by periodic light," 1896, from -scope + comb. form of Greek strobos "a twisting, act of whirling," from PIE *streb(h)- "to wind, turn" (see strophe). Earlier as the name of a similar device used as a "scientific toy" [OED]. Related: Stroboscopic (1846).
- torsion (n.)




- early 15c., "wringing pain in the bowels," from Old French torsion "colic" (early 14c.), from Late Latin torsionem (nominative torsio) "a wringing or gripping," from Latin tortionem (nominative tortio) "torture, torment," noun of action from past participle stem of torquere "to twist, distort, torture" (see torque (n.)). Meaning "act or effect of twisting as by opposing forces" is first recorded 1540s.
- tortious (adj.)




- late 14c., "wrongful, illegal," from Anglo-French torcious (14c.), from stem of torcion, literally "a twisting," from Late Latin tortionem (see torsion, and compare tort). Meaning "pertaining to a tort" is from 1540s.
- tortuous (adj.)




- late 14c., "full of twists and turns," from Anglo-French tortuous (12c.), Old French tortuos, from Latin tortuosus "full of twists, winding," from tortus "a twisting, winding," from stem of torquere "to twist, wring, distort" (see torque (n.)). Related: Tortuously; tortuousness.
- torture (n.)




- early 15c., "contortion, twisting, distortion; a disorder characterized by contortion," from Old French torture "infliction of great pain; great pain, agony" (12c.), and directly from Late Latin tortura "a twisting, writhing," in Medieval Latin "pain inflicted by judicial or ecclesiastical authority as a means of punishment or persuasion," from stem of Latin torquere "to twist, turn, wind, wring, distort" (see torque (n.)). The meaning "infliction of severe bodily pain as a means of punishment or persuasion" in English is from 1550s. The theory behind judicial torture was that a guilty person could be made to confess, but an innocent one could not, by this means. Macaulay writes that it was last inflicted in England in May 1640.
- trauma (n.)




- 1690s, "physical wound," medical Latin, from Greek trauma "a wound, a hurt; a defeat," from PIE *trau-, extended form of root *tere- (1) "to rub, turn," with derivatives referring to twisting, piercing, etc. (see throw (v.)). Sense of "psychic wound, unpleasant experience which causes abnormal stress" is from 1894.
- twist (v.)




- c. 1200 (implied in past tense form twaste), "to wring," from twist (n.). Sense of "to spin two or more strands of yarn into thread" is attested from late 15c. Meaning "to move in a winding fashion" is recorded from 1630s. To twist the lion's tail was U.S. slang (1895) for "to provoke British feeling" (the lion being the symbol of Britain). To twist (someone's) arm in the figurative sense of "pressure (to do something)" is from 1945. Related: Twisted; twisting.
- twizzle (v.)




- "to twist, form by twisting" (transitive), 1788, apparently a made-up word suggested by twist. Related: Twizzled; twizzling.
- untwist (v.)




- 1530s, from un- (2) "reverse, opposite of" + twist (v.). Related: Untwisted; untwisting.
- weave (v.1)




- Old English wefan "to weave, form by interlacing yarn," figuratively "devise, contrive, arrange" (class V strong verb; past tense wæf, past participle wefen), from Proto-Germanic *weban (cognates: Old Norse vefa, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, Dutch weven, Old High German weban, German weben "to weave"), from PIE *webh- "to weave;" also "to move quickly" (cognates: Sanskrit ubhnati "he laces together," Persian baftan "to weave," Greek hyphe, hyphos "web," Old English webb "web").
The form of the past tense altered in Middle English from wave to wove. Extended sense of "combine into a whole" is from late 14c.; meaning "go by twisting and turning" is from 1640s. Related: Wove; woven; weaving. - wind (v.1)




- "move by turning and twisting," Old English windan "to turn, twist, plait, curl, brandish, swing" (class III strong verb; past tense wand, past participle wunden), from Proto-Germanic *windan "to wind" (cognates: Old Saxon windan, Old Norse vinda, Old Frisian winda, Dutch winden, Old High German wintan, German winden, Gothic windan "to wind"), from PIE *wendh- "to turn, wind, weave" (cognates: Latin viere "twist, plait, weave," vincire "bind;" Lithuanian vyti "twist, wind").
Related to wend, which is its causative form, and to wander. The past tense and past participle merged in Middle English. Meaning "to twine, entwine oneself around" is from 1590s; transitive sense of "turn or twist round and round (on something) is from c. 1300. Meaning "set a watch, clockwork, etc. in operating mode by tightening its spring" is from c. 1600. Wind down "come to a conclusion" is recorded from 1952; wind up "come to a conclusion" is from 1825; earlier in transitive sense "put (affairs) in order in advance of a final settlement" (1780). Winding sheet "shroud of a corpse" is attested from early 15c. - wr-




- common Germanic consonantal combination, especially to start words implying twisting or distortion. Retained in Dutch and Flemish; reduced to -r- in Old High German and Old Norse; represented by vr- in Danish and Swedish; still spelled -wr- in English, but the -w- ceased to be pronounced c. 1450-1700 except in dialects.
- wrench (n.)




- Old English wrenc "a twisting, artifice, trick;" see wrench (v.). The meaning "tool with jaws at one end for turning or holding" is first recorded 1794.
- writhe (v.)




- Old English wriðan (transitive) "to twist or bend," earlier "to bind or fetter," from Proto-Germanic *writhanan (cognates: North Frisian wrial, Old High German ridan, Old Norse riða, Middle Swedish vriþa, Middle Danish vride), from PIE *wreit- "to turn, bend" (see wreath). Intransitive, of the body or limbs, "move in a twisting or tortuous manner," from c. 1300. Related: Writhed; writhing.
- yarn (n.)




- Old English gearn "spun fiber, spun wool," from Proto-Germanic *garnan (cognates: Old Norse, Old High German, German garn, Middle Dutch gaern, Dutch garen "yarn"), from PIE root *ghere- "intestine, gut, entrail" (cognates: Old Norse gorn "gut," Sanskrit hira "vein; entrails," Latin hernia "rupture," Greek khorde "intestine, gut-string," Lithuanian zarna "gut"). The phrase to spin a yarn "to tell a story" is first attested 1812, from a sailors' expression, on notion of telling stories while engaged in sedentary work such as yarn-twisting.