quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- avenue (n.)




- c. 1600, "a way of approach" (originally a military word), from Middle French avenue "way of access," from Old French avenue "act of approaching, arrival," noun use of fem. of avenu, past participle of avenir "to come to, arrive," from Latin advenire "to come to," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + venire "to come" (see venue). Meaning shifted to "a way of approach to a country-house," usually bordered by trees, hence, "a broad, tree-lined roadway" (1650s), then to "wide, main street" (by 1846, especially in U.S.).
- Madison Avenue




- "values and business of advertising and public relations," 1954, from the street in Manhattan, laid out c. 1836 and named for U.S. President James Madison. The concentration of advertising agencies there seems to date from the 1940s.
- parvenu (n.)




- "upstart," 1802, from French parvenu, "said of an obscure person who has made a great fortune" (Littré); noun use of past participle of parvenir "to arrive" (12c.), from Latin pervenire "to come up, arrive, attain," from per- "through" (see per (prep.)) + venire "to come" (see venue). As an adjective from 1828.
- revenue (n.)




- early 15c., "income from property or possessions," from Middle French revenue, in Old French, "a return," noun use of fem. past participle of revenir "come back" (10c.), from Latin revenire "return, come back," from re- "back" (see re-) + venire "come" (see venue). Meaning "public income" is first recorded 1680s; revenue sharing popularized from 1971. Revenuer "U.S. Department of Revenue agent," the bane of Appalachian moonshiners, first attested 1880.
- venue (n.)




- c. 1300, "a coming for the purpose of attack," from Old French venue "coming" (12c.), from fem. past participle of venir "to come," from Latin venire "to come," from PIE root *gwa- "to go, come" (cognates: Old English cuman "to come;" see come). The sense of "place where a case in law is tried" is first recorded 1530s. Extended to locality in general, especially "site of a concert or sporting event" (1857). Change of venue is from Blackstone (1768).
- venule (n.)




- "small vein," 1850, from Latin venula, diminutive of vena "vein" (see vein).
- Venus




- late Old English, from Latin Venus (plural veneres), in ancient Roman mythology, the goddess of beauty and love, especially sensual love, from venus "love, sexual desire; loveliness, beauty, charm; a beloved object," from PIE root *wen- (1) "to strive after, wish, desire" (cognates: Sanskrit veti "follows after," vanas- "desire," vanati "desires, loves, wins;" Avestan vanaiti "he wishes, is victorious," vayeiti "hunts;" Lithuanian veju "to hunt, pursue;" Old Church Slavonic voji "warrior;" Old English waþ "hunting," wynn "joy," wunian "to dwell," wenian "to accustom, train, wean," wyscan "to wish;" Old Norse veiðr "chase, hunting, fishing"). Applied by the Romans to Greek Aphrodite, Egyptian Hathor, etc.
Applied in English to any beautiful, attractive woman by 1570s. As the name of the most brilliant planet from late 13c., from this sense in Latin (Old English called it morgensteorra and æfensteorra). The venus fly-trap (Dionæa muscipula) was discovered 1760 by Gov. Arthur Dobbs in North Carolina and description sent to Collinson in England. The Central Atlantic Coast Algonquian name for the plant, /titipiwitshik/, yielded regional American English tippity wichity. - Venusian (n.)




- "(hypothetical) inhabitant of the second planet from the sun," 1866, from Venus + -ian. Middle English had Venerian "one under the influence of the planet Venus; a lover" (late 14c.).
- revenuer




- "A government officer who enforces laws against the illegal distillation of alcohol", Late 19th cent. From revenue + -er. Compare revenue, 5c.