英语词源

• astound 英文词源 astound astound: [17] Astound , astonish , and stun all come ultimately from the same origin: a Vulgar Latin verb * extonāre , which literally meant something like ‘leave someone thunderstruck’ (it was formed from the Latin verb tonāre ‘thunder’). This became Old French estoner , which had three offshoots in English: it was borrowed into Middle English in the 13th century as
• asthma 英文词源 asthma asthma: [14] The original idea contained in asthma is that of ‘breathing hard’. The Greek noun asthma was derived from the verb ázein ‘breathe hard’ (related to áein ‘blow’, from which English gets air ). In its earliest form in English it was asma , reflecting its immediate source in medieval Latin, and though the Greek spelling was restored in the 16th century,
• asteroid 英文词源 asteroid (n.) 1802, coined probably by German-born English astronomer William Herschel (1738-1822) from Greek asteroeides "star-like," from aster "star" (see astro- ) + -eidos "form, shape" (see -oid ). 中文词源 asteroid ：小行星 发音释义：['æstərɔɪd] n.[天] 小行星；[无脊椎] 海盘车；小游星adj. 星状的 结构分析：asteroid = aster（星星）+oid（形
• asterisk 英文词源 asterisk (n.) "figure used in printing and writing to indicate footnote, omission, etc.," late 14c., asterich , asterisc , from Late Latin asteriscus , from Greek asterikos "little star," diminutive of aster "star" (see astro- ). As a verb from 1733. 中文词源 asterisk ：星号 发音释义：['æstərɪsk] n.星号vt. 注上星号；用星号标出 结构分析：asterisk = aster（
• astute 英文词源 astute (adj.) 1610s, from Latin astutus "crafty, wary, shrewd; sagacious, expert," from astus "cunning, cleverness, adroitness," which is of uncertain origin, perhaps from Greek asty "town," a word borrowed into Latin and with an overtone of "city sophistication" (compare asteism ). Related: Astutely ; astuteness . 中文词源 astute ：精明的 发音释义：[ə'stjuːt] adj. 机敏
• astronomical 英文词源 astronomical (adj.) 1550s, from astronomy + -ical . Popular meaning "immense, concerning very large figures" (as sizes and distances in astronomy) is attested from 1899. Astronomical unit (abbreviation A.U. ) "mean distance from Earth to Sun," used as a unit of measure of distance in space, is from 1909. Related: Astronomically . 中文词源 astronomical ：天文的 发音释义：[
• astrology 英文词源 astrology (n.) late 14c., from Latin astrologia "astronomy, the science of the heavenly bodies," from Greek astrologia "telling of the stars," from astron "star" (see astro- ) + -logia "treating of" (see -logy ). Originally identical with astronomy , it had also a special sense of "practical astronomy, astronomy applied to prediction of events." This was divided into natural astrology
• astrolabe 英文词源 astrolabe (n.) mid-14c., from Old French astrelabe , from Medieval Latin astrolabium , from Greek astrolabos (organon) "star taking (instrument)," from astron "star" (see astro- ) + lambanien "to take" (see analemma ). 中文词源 astrolabe ：星盘 发音释义：['æstrəleɪb] n. [天] 星盘；天体观测仪 结构分析：astrolabe = astro（星体）+labe（=taker，捕获者）
• astringent 英文词源 astringent (adj.) 1540s, from Latin astringentum (nominative astringens ), present participle of astringere "to bind fast, tighten, contract," from ad- "to" (see ad- ) + stringere "draw tight" (see strain (v.)). As a noun from 1620s. 中文词源 astringent ：止血的 发音释义：[ə'strɪndʒənt] adj. 涩的；收敛性的；止血的；严厉的n. [药] 收敛剂；止血药 结
• atonal 英文词源 atonal (adj.) 1922, from a- "not" (see a- (2)) + tonal . 中文词源 atonal ：无调的 发音释义：[e'tonl] adj. 体育，运动 结构分析：atonal = a（没有）+tone（曲调）+al（形容词后缀）→无调的 常见搭配：atonal music（无调音乐）；atonal song（无调歌） 衍生词：atonality（无调性） 该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版
• athletics 英文词源 athletics (n.) c. 1730, from athletic ; also see -ics . Probably formed on model of gymnastics . 中文词源 athletics ：体育、运动 发音释义：[æθ'letɪks] n. 体育，运动 结构分析：athletics = athle（运动）+tics（名词后缀）→体育、运动 词源解释：athle←希腊语athlein（竞争奖品）←希腊语athlos（竞争）←希腊语athlon（奖品）
• asymmetric 英文词源 asymmetrical (adj.) 1680s; see asymmetry + -ical . Other forms that have served as an adjective based on asymmetry are asymmetral (1620s), asymmetrous (1660s), and asymmetric (1875); only the last seems to have any currency. Related: Asymmetrically . 中文词源 asymmetric ：不对称的 发音释义：[,æsɪ'metrɪk] adj. 不对称的；非对称的 结构分析：asymmetric = a（不
• asunder 英文词源 asunder (adv.) mid-12c., contraction of Old English on sundran (see sunder ). Middle English used to know asunder for "distinguish, tell apart." 中文词源 asunder ：分离的 发音释义：[ə'sʌndə] adv. 化为碎片地；分离地adj. 分成碎片的；分离的 结构分析：asunder = a（处于…状态）+sunder（分离的）→分离的 词源解释：sunder←原始日耳
• attain 英文词源 attain attain: [14] Unlike contain , maintain , obtain , and the rest of a very long list of English words ending in - tain , attain does not come from Latin tenēre ‘_hold’. Its source is Latin tangere ‘touch’ (as in English tangible and tangent ). The addition of the prefix ad - ‘to’ produced attingere ‘reach’, which passed via Vulgar Latin * attangere and Old French
• attach 英文词源 attach attach: [14] When English first acquired it, attach meant ‘seize’ or ‘arrest’. It is Germanic in origin, but reached us via Old French atachier . This was an alteration of earlier Old French estachier ‘fasten (with a stake)’, which was based on a hypothetical Germanic * stakōn . The metaphorical meaning ‘arrest’ appears to have arisen in Anglo-Norman, the route
• atrocity 英文词源 atrocity (n.) 1530s, from Middle French atrocité or directly from Latin atrocitatem (nominative atrocitas ) "cruelty, fierceness, harshness," noun of quality from atrox "fierce, cruel, frightful," from PIE *atro-ek- , from root *ater- "fire" (see atrium ) + *okw- "see" (see eye (n.)); thus "of fiery or threatening appearance." The meaning "an atrocious deed" is from 1793. 中文词源
• atrocious 英文词源 atrocious atrocious: [17] Traced back to its ultimate source, atrocious meant something not too dissimilar to ‘having a black eye’. Latin āter was ‘black, dark’ (it occurs also in English atrabilious ‘melancholic’ [17] – Greek mélās meant ‘black’), and the stem *- oc -, *- ox meant ‘looking, appearing’ (Latin oculus ‘eye’ and ferox ‘fierce’ – based o
• attorney 英文词源 attorney attorney: [14] Attorney was formed in Old French from the prefix a - ‘to’ and the verb torner ‘turn’. This produced the verb atorner , literally ‘turn to’, hence ‘assign to’ or ‘appoint to’. Its past participle, atorne , was used as a noun with much the same signification as appointee – ‘someone appointed’ – and hence ‘someone appointed to act as
• attest 英文词源 attest attest: see testament attest (v.) 1590s, from Middle French attester (Old French atester , 13c.) "affirm, attest," from Latin attestari "confirm," literally "bear witness to," from ad- "to" (see ad- ) + testari "bear witness," from testis "witness" (see testament ). Related: Attested ; attesting . 中文词源 attest ：证明 发音释义：[ə'test] vt. 证明；证实；为…
• attenuate 英文词源 attenuate (v.) "to make thin, to make less," 1520s, from Latin attenuatus "enfeebled, weak," past participle of attenuare "to make thin, lessen, diminish," from ad- "to" (see ad- ) + tenuare "make thin," from tenuis "thin" (see tenet ). Related: Attenuated ; attenuating . Earlier was Middle English attenuen "to make thin (in consistency)," early 15c. 中文词源 attenuate ：使减弱
• attainment 英文词源 attainment (n.) late 14c., "encroachment" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French ataignement (Modern French atteignement ), from ataindre ; see attain . Meaning "action of attaining" is from 1540s; sense of "that which is attained, personal accomplishment" dates from 1670s. 中文词源 attainment ：成就 发音释义：[ə'teɪnm(ə)nt] n. 达到；成就；学识 结构分析：a
• audacious 英文词源 audacious (adj.) 1540s, "confident, intrepid," from Middle French audacieux , from audace "boldness," from Latin audacia "daring, boldness, courage," from audax "brave, bold, daring," but more often "bold" in a bad sense, "audacious, rash, foolhardy," from audere "to dare, be bold." Bad sense of "shameless" is attested from 1590s in English. Related: Audaciously . 中文词源 audacio
• attune 英文词源 attune attune: see tune attune (v.) 1590s, from tune (v.), "probably suggested by ATONE" [OED]. Related: Attuned ; attuning . 中文词源 attune ：使协调 发音释义：[ə'tjuːn] vt. 使协调；使合拍；为…调音；调合波长 结构分析：attune = at（=ad，使）+tune（曲调）→使曲调相合→使协调 同源词：tune（曲调） 衍生词：attunement（协调
• attribute 英文词源 attribute (v.) late 14c., "assign, bestow," from Latin attributus , past participle of attribuere "assign to, add, bestow;" figuratively "to attribute, ascribe, impute," from ad- "to" + tribuere "assign, give, bestow" (see tribute ). Related: Attributed ; attributing . attribute (n.) "quality ascribed to someone," late 14c., from Latin attributum "anything attributed," noun use of neu
• augur 英文词源 augur augur: [14] In Roman times, an augur was someone who foretold the future by observing the flight of birds (or by examining their entrails). His method of divination was reflected in his title, for the Latin word augur , earlier auger , seems to have meant literally ‘one who performs with birds’, from avis ‘bird’ (as in English aviary [16] and aviation [19]) and gerere ‘
• augment 英文词源 augment (v.) c. 1400, from Old French augmenter "increase, enhance" (14c.), from Late Latin augmentare "to increase," from Latin augmentum "an increase," from augere "to increase, make big, enlarge, enrich," from PIE root *aug- (1) "to increase" (cognates: Sanskrit ojas- "strength;" Lithuanian augu "to grow," aukstas "high, of superior rank;" Greek auxo "increase," auxein "to increase
• auditorium 英文词源 auditorium (n.) 1727, from Latin auditorium "lecture room," literally "place where something is heard," neuter of auditorius (adj.) "of or for hearing," from auditus , past participle of audire "to hear" (see audience ); also see -ory . Earlier in the same sense was auditory (late 14c.). 中文词源 auditorium ：礼堂、观众席 发音释义：[ɔːdɪ'tɔːrɪəm] n. 礼堂，会堂
• audit 英文词源 audit (n.) early 15c., from Latin auditus "a hearing," past participle of audire "hear" (see audience ). Official examination of accounts, which originally was an oral procedure. audit (v.) mid-15c., from audit (n.). Related: Audited ; auditing . 中文词源 audit ：审计、旁听 发音释义：['ɔːdɪt] vt. 审计； 查帐n. 审计；查帐vt. （美）旁听 词源解释：au
• audience 英文词源 audience (n.) late 14c., "the action of hearing," from Old French audience , from Latin audentia "a hearing, listening," from audientum (nominative audiens ), present participle of audire "to hear," from PIE compound *au-dh- "to perceive physically, grasp," from root *au- "to perceive" (cognates: Greek aisthanesthai "to feel;" Sanskrit avih , Avestan avish "openly, evidently;" Old Chu
• august 英文词源 August August: [OE] The month of August was named by the Romans after their emperor Augustus (63 BC–14 AD). His name was Caius Julius Caesar Octavian, but the Senate granted him the honorary title Augustus in 27 BC. This connoted ‘imperial majesty’, and was a specific use of the adjective augustus ‘magnificent, majestic’ (source of English august [17]); it may derive ultimat
• auspicious 英文词源 auspicious (adj.) 1590s, "of good omen" (implied in auspiciously ), from Latin auspicium "divination by observing the flight of birds," from auspex (genitive auspicis ) + -ous . Related: Auspiciously ; auspiciousness . 中文词源 auspicious ：吉兆的、幸运的 发音释义：[ɔː'spɪʃəs]adj. 吉兆的，吉利的；幸运的 结构分析：auspicious = auspice（观鸟占卜）
• augury 英文词源 augury (n.) late 14c., "divination from the flight of birds," from Old French augure "divination, soothsaying, sorcery, enchantment," or directly from Latin augurium "divination, the observation and interpretation of omens" (see augur ). Figurative sense of "omen, portent, indication" is from 1797 (also often in plural as auguries ). 中文词源 augury ：占卜、预言 发音释义：
• authoritarian 英文词源 authoritarian (adj.) 1862, "favoring imposed order over freedom," from authority + -an . Compare authoritative , which originally had this meaning to itself. Noun in the sense of one advocating or practicing such governance is from 1859. 中文词源 authoritarian ：独裁主义者 发音释义：[ɔː,θɒrɪ'teərɪən] adj. 独裁主义的；权力主义的n. 权力主义者；独裁
• authenticity 英文词源 authenticity (n.) 1760; see authentic + -ity . Earlier form was authentity (1650s). 中文词源 authenticity ：真实性 发音释义：[ɔːθen'tɪsɪtɪ] n. 真实性，确实性；可靠性 结构分析：authenticity = authentic（真实的）+ity（名词后缀）→真实性 该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版： authenticity 词源， authenticity 含义。 a
• authentic 英文词源 authentic authentic: [14] Etymologically, something that is authentic is something that has the authority of its original creator. Greek authentikós was a derivative of the noun authéntēs ‘doer, master’, which was formed from autós ‘self’ and the base - hentēs ‘worker, doer’ (related to Sanskrit sanoti ‘he gains’). The adjective’s original meaning in English was
• austerity 英文词源 austerity (n.) mid-14c., "sternness, harshness," from Old French austerite "harshness, cruelty" (14c.) and directly from Late Latin austeritatem (nominative austeritas ), from austerus (see austere ). Of severe self-discipline, from 1580s; hence "severe simplicity" (1875); applied during World War II to national policies limiting non-essentials as a wartime economy. 中文词源 auste
• autonomy 英文词源 autonomy (n.) 1620s, of states, from Greek autonomia "independence," noun of quality from autonomos "independent, living by one's own laws," from auto- "self" (see auto- ) + nomos "custom, law" (see numismatics ). Of persons, from 1803. 中文词源 autonomy ：自治 发音释义：[ɔː'tɒnəmɪ] n. 自治，自治权 结构分析：autonomy = auto（自己）+nomy（治理）→自治
• autocrat 英文词源 autocrat (n.) 1803, from French autocrate , from Greek autokrates "ruling by oneself, absolute, autocratic," from autos- "self" (see auto- ) + kratia "rule," from kratos "strength, power" (see -cracy ). First used by Robert Southey, with reference to Napoleon. An earlier form was autocrator (1789), used in reference to the Russian Czars. Earliest form in English is the fem. autocratre
• autocracy 英文词源 autocracy (n.) 1650s, "independent power, self-sustained power," from French autocratie , from Greek autokrateia "ruling by oneself," noun of state from autokrates (see autocrat ). Meaning "absolute government, supreme political power" is recorded from 1855. 中文词源 autocracy ：独裁政治 发音释义：[ɔː'tɒkrəsɪ] n. 独裁政治；专制政治；独裁政府；独裁统治
• autobiography 英文词源 autobiography (n.) 1797, from auto- + biography . Related: Autobiographical . 中文词源 autobiography ：自传 发音释义：[ɔːtəbaɪ'ɒgrəfɪ] n. 自传；自传文学 结构分析：autobiography = auto（自己）+biography（人物传记）→自传；biography = bio（人物）+graphy（描绘）→传记 词源解释：auto←希腊语autos（自己）；bio←希腊语
• avarice 英文词源 avarice avarice: [13] The Latin verb avēre meant ‘covet’. One of its derivatives was the adjective avārus ‘greedy’, from which the noun avāritia was formed. This entered English via Old French avarice . Another of its derivatives was the adjective avidus ‘greedy’ which, as well as being the source of English avid [18], produced, via a hypothetical contracted form * audu
• avant-garde 英文词源 avant-garde avant-garde: see vanguard avant-garde (n.) (also avant garde , avantgarde ); French, literally "advance guard" (see avant + guard (n.)). Used in English 15c.-18c. in a literal, military sense; borrowed again 1910 as an artistic term for "pioneers or innovators of a particular period." Also used around the same time in communist and anarchist publications. As an adjective,
• avalanche 英文词源 avalanche avalanche: [18] Not surprisingly, avalanche originated in the Alps. The French dialect of Savoy, an area near the Italian border in the western Alps, had a term lavantse , apparently derived from a Vulgar Latin * labanca (whence Provençal lavanca ). Through association with the verb avaler ‘descend’ (see DOWN), this underwent metathesis (transposition of l and v ) to pr
• available 英文词源 available available: see value available (adj.) mid-15c., "beneficial," also "valid, effective, capable of producing the desired effect," from avail + -able . Meaning "at one's disposal, capable of being made use of" is recorded from 1827. 中文词源 available ：可用的 发音释义：[ə'veləbl] adj. 有效的，可得的；可利用的；空闲的 结构分析：available = av
• auxiliary 英文词源 auxiliary (adj.) c. 1600, from Latin auxiliaris "helpful," from auxilium "aid, help, support," related to auctus , past participle of augere "to increase" (see augment ). auxiliary (n.) "foreign troops in service of a nation at war," c. 1600, from auxiliary (adj.). Related: Auxiliaries . 中文词源 auxiliary ：辅助的 发音释义：[ɔːg'zɪlɪərɪ; ɒg-] n. 助动词；辅助者
• averse 英文词源 averse (adj.) mid-15c., "turned away in mind or feeling," from Old French avers and directly from Latin aversus "turned away, turned back," past participle of avertere (see avert ). Originally and usually in English in the mental sense, while avert is used in a physical sense. 中文词源 averse ：反感的 发音释义：[ə'vɜːs] adj. 反感的；反对的；不愿意的 结构分
• aver 英文词源 aver (v.) late 14c., from Old French averer "verify," from Vulgar Latin *adverare "make true, prove to be true," from Latin ad- "to" (see ad- ) + verus "true" (see very ). Related: Averred ; averring . 中文词源 aver ：断言、坚称 发音释义：[ə'vɜː] vt. 断言；坚称；极力声明；主张 结构分析：aver = a（=ad，去）+ver（真实的）→证明是真实的→
• avenge 英文词源 avenge avenge: see vindicate avenge (v.) late 14c., from Anglo-French avenger , Old French avengier , from a- "to" (see ad- ) + vengier "take revenge" (Modern French venger ), from Latin vindicare "to claim, avenge, punish" (see vindicate ). Related: Avenged ; avenging . 中文词源 avenge ：报仇 发音释义：[ə'ven(d)ʒ] vt. 替…报仇vi. 报复，报仇 结构分析：aveng
• avaricious 英文词源 avaricious (adj.) late 15c., from Old French avaricios "greedy, covetous" (Modern French avaricieux ), from avarice (see avarice ). An Old English word for it was feoh-georn . Related: Avariciously ; avariciousness . 中文词源 avaricious ：贪婪的 发音释义：[ævə'rɪʃəs] adj. 贪婪的；贪得无厌的 结构分析：avaricious = avarice（贪婪）+ious（名词后缀）
• arachn- 英文词源 No matching word found in the dictionary. Word of Random pragmatic pragmatic: [16] The base * prak -, which produced Greek praktós (source of English practice ), also lies behind Greek prágma ‘deed, affair’. From this was derived pragmatikós ‘skilled in affairs’, which passed into English via late Latin pragmaticus . = practice 中文词源 arachn- （蜘蛛）：希腊神话
• awe 英文词源 awe awe: [13] Old English had the word ege , meaning ‘awe’, but modern English awe is a Scandinavian borrowing; the related Old Norse agi steadily infiltrated the language from the northeast southwards during the Middle Ages. Agi came, like ege , from a hypothetical Germanic form * agon , which in turn goes back to an Indo-European base * agh - (whence also Greek ákhos ‘pain’
• avow 英文词源 avow (v.) early 13c., from Anglo-French avouer , Old French avoer "acknowledge, accept, recognize," especially as a protector (Modern French avouer ), from Latin advocare (see advocate ). A synonym of avouch (q.v.), which tends to contain the more technical, legal aspect of the word. Related: Avowed ; avowing . 中文词源 avow ：公开承认 发音释义：[ə'vaʊ] vt. 承认；公开
• avid 英文词源 avid (adj.) 1769, from French avide (15c.), from Latin avidus "longing eagerly, desirous, greedy," from avere "to desire eagerly." Also in part a back-formation from avidity . Related: Avidly . 中文词源 avid ：渴望的 发音释义：['ævɪd] adj. 渴望的，贪婪的；热心的 结构分析：avid = av（渴望）+id（形容词后缀）→渴望的 词源解释：av←拉丁语
• aviary 英文词源 aviary aviary: see augur aviary (n.) 1570s, from Latin aviarium "place in which birds are kept," neuter of aviarius "of birds," from avis "bird," from PIE *awi- "bird" (cognates: Sanskrit vih , Avestan vish "bird," Greek aietos "eagle"). 中文词源 aviary ：养鸟场 发音释义：['eɪvɪərɪ] vt. 鸟类饲养场；大型鸟舍 结构分析：aviary = avi（鸟）+ary（场所）→
• avert 英文词源 avert (v.) c. 1400, from Old French avertir (12c.), "turn, direct; avert; make aware," from Vulgar Latin *advertire , from Latin avertere "to turn away, to drive away," from ab- "from, away" (see ab- ) + vertere "to turn" (see versus ). Related: Averted ; averting . 中文词源 avert ：避免 发音释义：[ə'vɜːt] vt. 避免，防止；转移 结构分析：avert = a（away）+
• axiom 英文词源 axiom (n.) late 15c., from Middle French axiome , from Latin axioma , from Greek axioma "authority," literally "that which is thought worthy or fit," from axioun "to think worthy," from axios "worthy, worth, of like value, weighing as much," from PIE adjective *ag-ty-o- "weighty," from root *ag- "to drive, draw, move" (see act (n.)). Axioms in philosophy are not axioms until they are
• awry 英文词源 awry (adv.) late 14c., "crooked, askew," from a- (1) "on" + wry (adj.). 中文词源 awry ：歪曲的 发音释义：[ə'raɪ] adj. 错误的；扭曲的adv. 歪曲地；歪斜地；错误地 结构分析：awry = a（处于…状态）+wry（扭曲的）→扭曲的 词源解释：wry←古英语wrigian（转、弯曲）←原始日耳曼语wrig 同源词：wry（歪曲的、歪斜的
• awning 英文词源 awning (n.) 1624, origin uncertain (first recorded use is by Capt. John Smith), perhaps from Middle French auvans , plural of auvent "a sloping roof," "itself of doubtful etym[ology]" (OED). A nautical term only until sense of "cover for windows or porch" emerged 1852. 中文词源 awning ：遮阳蓬、雨篷 发音释义：['ɔːnɪŋ] n. 雨篷；遮阳篷；甲板等上的天篷 趣
• awl 英文词源 awl awl: [OE] The Old English form, æl , came from a hypothetical Germanic base * āl -, which had a probable relative in Sanskrit ārā . The compound bradawl was formed in the 19th century using the term brad ‘thin flat nail’, which came originally from Old Norse broddr ‘spike’. Awls, tools for making holes to take nails, are part of the shoemaker’s traditional set of imp
• awkward 英文词源 awkward awkward: [14] When awkward was coined, in Scotland and northern England, it meant ‘turned in the wrong direction’. Middle English had an adjective awk , which meant ‘the wrong way round, backhanded’, and hence ‘perverse’, and with the addition of the suffix - ward this became awkward . Awk itself was adopted from Old Norse afugr , which is related to German ab ‘a
• axle 英文词源 axle axle: [17] The word axle emerges surprisingly late considering the antiquity of axles, but related terms had existed in the language for perhaps a thousand years. Old English had eax , which came from a hypothetical Germanic * akhsō , related to Latin axis . This survived in the compound ax-tree until the 17th century (later in Scotland); tree in this context meant ‘beam’. B
• axis 英文词源 axis axis: [14] Axis is at the centre of a complex web of ‘turning’ words. Besides its immediate source, Latin axis , there were Greek áxōn , Sanskrit ákshas , and a hypothetical Germanic * akhsō which produced Old English eax ‘axle’ as well as modern German achse ‘axle, shaft’ and Dutch as ; and there could well be a connection with Latin agere (source of English act
• ambiguity 英文词源 ambiguity (n.) c. 1400, "uncertainty, doubt, indecision, hesitation," also from Medieval Latin ambiguitatem (nominative ambiguitas ) "double meaning, equivocalness, double sense," noun of state from ambiguus (see ambiguous ). 中文词源 ambiguity ：含糊，不明确 词根词缀：amb-在…周围 + -ig-驾驶,引导 + -u- + -ity名词词尾 该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源
• alibi 英文词源 alibi alibi: [18] In Latin, alibi means literally ‘somewhere else’. It is the locative form (that is, the form expressing place) of the pronoun alius ‘other’ (which is related to Greek allos ‘other’ and English else ). When first introduced into English it was used in legal contexts as an adverb, meaning, as in Latin, ‘elsewhere’: ‘The prisoner had little to say in h
• alimony 英文词源 alimony alimony: [17] Alimony is an anglicization of Latin alimōnia , which is based on the verb alere ‘nourish’ (source of alma ‘bounteous’, as in alma mater , and of alumnus ). This in turn goes back to a hypothetical root * al -, which is also the basis of English adolescent , adult , altitude (from Latin altus ‘high’), and old . The original sense ‘nourishment, sust
• algebra 英文词源 algebra 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 litera
• apology 英文词源 apology apology: [16] The original meaning of apology was ‘formal self-justification’, often used as the title of a piece of writing rebutting criticism (as in the Apology of Sir Thomas More , knight 1533). This is indicative of the word’s origins in Greek apologíā , a derivative of the verb apologeisthai ‘speak in one’s defence’, formed from the prefix apo - ‘away, of
• asset 英文词源 asset asset: [16] Originally, to have assets was simply to have ‘enough’ – as in French assez . The Anglo-Norman legal phrase aver asetz signified ‘have enough money to meet one’s debts’, and eventually asetz , later assets , passed from the general meaning ‘enough’ to the particular ‘financial resources’ (the final - s caused it to be regarded as a plural noun, bu
• agony 英文词源 agony agony: [14] Agony is one of the more remote relatives of that prolific Latin verb agere (see AGENT). Its ultimate source is the Greek verb ágein ‘lead’, which comes from the same Indo- European root as agere . Related to ágein was the Greek noun agón , originally literally ‘a bringing of people together to compete for a prize’, hence ‘contest, conflict’ (which has
• abigail 英文词源 Abigail fem. proper name, in Old Testament, Abigail the Carmelitess, a wife of David, from Hebrew Abhigayil , literally "my father is rejoicing," from abh "father" + gil "to rejoice." Used in general sense of "lady's maid" (1660s) from character of that name in Beaumont Fletcher's "The Scornful Lady." The waiting maid association perhaps begins with I Sam. xxv, where David's wife ofte
• alsoran 英文词源 No matching word found in the dictionary. Word of Random accident accident: [14] Etymologically, an accident is simply ‘something which happens’ – ‘an event’. That was what the word originally meant in English, and it was only subsequently that the senses ‘something which happens by chance’ and ‘mishap’ developed. It comes from the Latin verb cadere ‘fall’ (also
• affluent 英文词源 affluent affluent: [15] The meaning ‘rich’ is a fairly recent development for affluent ; it is first recorded in the mid 18th century. Originally the adjective meant simply ‘flowing’. It came, via Old French, from Latin affluent -, the present participle of affluere , a compound verb formed from the prefix ad - ‘towards’ and fluere ‘flow’ (the source of English fluid ,
• America 英文词源 America 1507, in Cartographer Martin Waldseemüller's treatise "Cosmographiae Introductio," from Modern Latin Americanus , after Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512) who made two trips to the New World as a navigator and claimed to have discovered it. His published works put forward the idea that it was a new continent, and he was first to call it Novus Mundus "New World." Amerigo is more eas
• arsenal 英文词源 arsenal arsenal: [16] The word arsenal has a complicated history, stretching back through Italian to Arabic. The Arabic original was dāras- sinā‘ah , literally ‘house of the manufacture’. This seems to have been borrowed into Venetian Italian, somehow losing its initial d , as arzaná , and been applied specifically to the large naval dockyard in Venice (which in the 15th cent
• algorithm 英文词源 algorithm algorithm: [13] Algorithm comes from the name of an Arab mathematician, in full Abu Ja far Mohammed ibn-Musa al-Khwarizmi (c. 780–c. 850), who lived and taught in Baghdad and whose works in translation introduced Arabic numerals to the West. The last part of his name means literally ‘man from Khwarizm’, a town on the borders of Turkmenistan, now called Khiva. The Arabi
• abacus 英文词源 abacus abacus: [17] Abacus comes originally from a Hebrew word for ‘dust’, ’ ābāq . This was borrowed into Greek with the sense of ‘drawing board covered with dust or sand’, on which one could draw for, among other purposes, making mathematical calculations. The Greek word, ábax , subsequently developed various other meanings, including ‘table’, both in the literal se
• accolade 英文词源 accolade accolade: [17] Accolade goes back to an assumed Vulgar Latin verb * accollāre , meaning ‘put one’s arms round someone’s neck’ ( collum is Latin for ‘neck’, and is the source of English collar ). It put in its first recorded appearance in the Provençal noun acolada , which was borrowed into French as accolade and thence made its way into English. A memory of the
• alderman 英文词源 alderman alderman: [OE] Alderman preserves the notion that those who are old (the ‘elders’) are automatically in charge. In Anglo-Saxon England the ealdor was the chief of a family or clan, by virtue of seniority (the word is based on the adjective eald ‘old’). Alderman (Old English ealdorman ) was a political title or rank adopted probably in the early 8th century for someone
• alkali 英文词源 alkali alkali: [14] English acquired alkali via Latin from Arabic al-qalīy ‘the ashes’, a derivative of the verb qalay ‘fry’. The implicit reference is to the plant saltwort (Latin name Salsola kali ), which was burnt to obtain its alkaline ashes (Chaucer’s canon’s yeoman, the alchemist’s assistant, mentions it: ‘Salt tartre, alcaly, and salt preparat, And combust mat
• alligator 英文词源 alligator alligator: [16] The Spanish, on encountering the alligator in America, called it el lagarto ‘the lizard’. At first English adopted simply the noun (‘In this river we killed a monstrous Lagarto or Crocodile’, Job Hortop, The trauailes of an Englishman 1568), but before the end of the 16th century the Spanish definite article el had been misanalysed as part of the noun
• albatross 英文词源 albatross albatross: [17] The word albatross has a confused history. The least uncertain thing about it is that until the late 17th century it was alcatras ; the change of the first element to alba seems to have arisen from association of the albatross’s white colour with Latin albus ‘white’. However, which particular bird the alcatras was, and where the word alcatras ultimately
• amok 英文词源 amok amok: [17] Amok is Malayan in origin, where it is an adjective, amoq , meaning ‘fighting frenziedly’. Its first brief brush with English actually came in the early 16th century, via Portuguese, which had adopted it as a noun, amouco , signifying a ‘homicidally crazed Malay’. This sense persisted until the late 18th century, but by then the phrase run amok , with all its m
• anecdote 英文词源 anecdote anecdote: [17] In Greek, anékdotos meant ‘unpublished’. It was formed from the negative prefix an - and ékdotos , which in turn came from the verb didónai ‘give’ (a distant cousin of English donation and date ) plus the prefix ek - ‘out’ – hence ‘give out, publish’. The use of the plural anékdota by the 6th-century Byzantine historian Procopius as the ti
• aristocracy 英文词源 aristocracy aristocracy: [16] Greek áristos meant ‘best’; hence aristocracy signifies, etymologically, ‘rule by the best’ (the suffix - cracy derives ultimately from Greek krátos ‘strength, power’, a relative of English hard ). The term aristokratíā was used by Aristotle and Plato in their political writings, denoting ‘government of a state by those best fitted for t
• athlete 英文词源 athlete athlete: [18] The etymological idea underlying athlete is ‘competing for a prize’. Greek āthlon meant ‘award, prize’, whence the verb athlein ‘compete for a prize’. Derived from this was the noun athlētés ‘competitor’. The context in which the word was most commonly used in Greek was that of the public games, where competitors took part in races, boxing matc
• asylum 英文词源 asylum asylum: [15] Greek sulon meant ‘right of seizure’. With the addition of the negative prefix a - ‘not’ this was turned into the adjective ásūlos ‘inviolable’, which in turn was nominalized as āsūlon ‘refuge’. When it first entered English, via Latin asylum , it was used specifically for ‘place of sanctuary for hunted criminals and others’ (a meaning refle
• aboard 英文词源 aboard (adv.) late 14c., probably in most cases from Old French à bord , from à "on" + bord "board," from Frankish *bord or a similar Germanic source (see board (n.2)); the "boarding" or sides of a vessel extended to the ship itself. The usual Middle English expression was within shippes borde . The call all aboard! as a warning to passengers is attested from 1838. 中文词源 aboa
• advocate 英文词源 advocate advocate: [14] Etymologically, advocate contains the notion of ‘calling’, specifically of calling someone in for advice or as a witness. This was the meaning of the Latin verb advocāre (formed from vocāre ‘call’, from which English also gets vocation ). Its past participle, advocātus , came to be used as a noun, originally meaning ‘legal witness or adviser’, an
• ambulance 英文词源 ambulance ambulance: [19] Originally, ambulance was a French term for a field hospital – that is, one set up at a site convenient for a battlefield, and capable of being moved on to the next battlefield when the army advanced (or retreated). In other words, it was an itinerant hospital, and the ultimate source of the term is the Latin verb ambulāre ‘walk’ (as in amble ). The ea
• amnesty 英文词源 amnesty (n.) "pardon of past offenses," 1570s, from French amnestie "intentional overlooking," from Latin amnestia , from Greek amnestia "forgetfulness (of wrong); an amnesty," from a- , privative prefix, "not" (see a- (3)), + mnestis "remembrance," related to mnaomai "I remember" (see mind (n.)). As a verb, from 1809. Amnesty International founded 1961 as Appeal for Amnesty . The nam