英语词源

• tenet 英文词源 tenet tenet: see tenant tenet (n.) "principle, opinion, or dogma maintained as true by a person, sect, school, etc.," properly "a thing held (to be true)," early 15c., from Latin tenet "he holds," third person singular present indicative of tenere "to hold, grasp, keep, have possession, maintain," also "reach, gain, acquire, obtain; hold back, repress, restrain;" figuratively "hold in
• tender 英文词源 tender tender: English has two distinct words tender , both of which go back ultimately to the Indo- European base * ten - ‘stretch’. The adjective, ‘delicate, fragile’ [13], comes via Old French tendre from Latin tener ‘delicate’, a descendant of * ten - and source also of English tendril [16] (etymologically a ‘tender’ shoot). The verb, ‘offer’ [16], comes from a
• tendency 英文词源 tendency (n.) 1620s, from Medieval Latin tendentia "inclination, leaning," from Latin tendens , present participle of tendere "to stretch, extend, aim" (see tenet ). Earlier in same sense was tendaunce (mid-15c.), from Old French tendance . 中文词源 tendency ：倾向，趋势 词根词缀： -tend-延伸 + -ency名词词尾 → 伸向 该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文
• tend 英文词源 tend tend: English has two distinct words tend , but they come from the same ultimate source. Tend ‘look after’ [14] is short for attend , which goes back to Latin compound verb based on tendere ‘stretch’ – source of English tend ‘have an inclination’ [14]. Tendere itself was descended from the Indo-European base * ten - ‘stretch’ (source also of English tenant , ten
• tenant 英文词源 tenant tenant: [14] A tenant is etymologically a ‘holder’. The word comes from Old French tenant , a noun use of the present participle of tenir ‘hold’. This in turn went back to Latin tenēre ‘hold’, a descendant of the Indo-European base * ten - ‘stretch, extend’ (source also of English tend , tense , thin , etc). Also from Latin tenēre come English tenacious [16],
• tenancy 英文词源 lieutenancy (n.) mid-15c., from lieutenant + -cy . 中文词源 tenancy ：租佃，租赁 词根词缀： -ten-握,持有 + -ancy名词词尾 该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版： tenancy 词源， tenancy 含义。 tenancy ：租期 来自 tenant,租客，-ancy,状态名词后缀。 tenancy ：租期 来自 tenant,租客，-ancy,状态名词后缀。
• tenacious 英文词源 tenacious (adj.) c. 1600, from Latin stem of tenacity + -ous . Related: Tenaciously ; tenaciousness . 中文词源 tenacious ：牢牢不放的，坚定的  词根词缀： -ten-握,持有 + -acious形容词词尾 该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版： tenacious 词源， tenacious 含义。 tenacious ：坚持的，坚强的 ten-,持有，握住，-acious,形容词后缀
• tenable 英文词源 tenable (adj.) "capable of being held or maintained," 1570s, from Middle French tenable , from Old French (12c.), from tenir "to hold," from Latin tenere "to hold, keep" (see tenet ). 中文词源 tenable ：可守住的，可维持的 词根词缀： -ten-握,持有 + -able形容词词尾,被动意义 该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版： tenable 词源， tenable 含义
• temptation 英文词源 temptation (n.) c. 1200, "act of enticing someone to sin," also "an experience or state of being tempted," from Old French temptacion (12c., Modern French tentation ), from Latin temptationem (nominative temptatio ), noun of action from past participle stem of temptare "to feel, try out" (see tempt ). Meaning "that which tempts a person (to sin)" is from c. 1500. 中文词源 temptati
• tempt 英文词源 tempt (v.) c. 1200, of the devil, flesh, etc., "draw or entice to evil or sin, lure (someone) from God's law; be alluring or seductive," from Old French tempter (12c.), from Latin temptare "to feel, try out, attempt to influence, test," a variant of tentare "handle, touch, try, test." The Latin alteration is "explainable only as an ancient error due to some confusion" [Century Diction
• temporal 英文词源 temporal (adj.) late 14c., "worldly, secular;" also "terrestrial, earthly; temporary, lasting only for a time," from Old French temporal "earthly," and directly from Latin temporalis "of a time, but for a time, temporary," from tempus (genitive temporis ) "time, season, proper time or season," of unknown origin. Related: Temporally . 中文词源 temporal ：世俗的，现世的 词根
• temporary 英文词源 temporary temporary: [16] Temporary was adapted from Latin temporārius , a derivative of tempus ‘time’. The origins of this are not certain, but it could go back ultimately to the prehistoric base * ten - ‘stretch’ (source of English tend , tense , thin , etc), in which case it would denote etymologically a ‘stretch of time’. Other English derivatives include extempore ,
• temperature 英文词源 temperature temperature: [16] Like its relatives temper and temperament , temperature originally meant ‘mixture’ (Philemon Holland in 1601 wrote of ‘a temperature of brass and iron together’). The modern sense ‘degree of heat’ emerged in the late 17th century, and seems to have evolved from another early and now obsolete sense, ‘mild weather’. This reflected the ‘res
• tempo 英文词源 tempo (n.) "relative speed of a piece of music," 1724, from Italian tempo , literally "time" (plural tempi ), from Latin tempus "time, season, portion of time" (see temporal ). Extended (non-musical) senses by 1898. 中文词源 tempo ：(音乐)速度，拍子 词根词缀： -temp-时间 + -o名词词尾 该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版： tempo 词源， tempo 含义
• temperate 英文词源 temperate (adj.) late 14c., of persons, "modest, forbearing, self-restrained, not swayed by passion;" of climates or seasons, "not liable to excessive heat or cold," from Latin temperatus "restrained, regulated, limited, moderate, sober, calm, steady," from past participle of temperare "to moderate, regulate" (see temper (v.)). Related: Temperately ; temperateness . Temperate zone is
• telescope 英文词源 telescope (n.) 1640s, from Italian telescopio (Galileo, 1611), and Modern Latin telescopium (Kepler, 1613), both from Greek teleskopos "far-seeing," from tele- "far" (see tele- ) + -skopos "watcher" (see scope (n.1)). Said to have been coined by Prince Cesi, founder and head of the Roman Academy of the Lincei (Galileo was a member). Used in English in Latin form from 1619. telescope (
• telephone 英文词源 telephone (v.) 1878, from telephone (n.). Related: Telephoned ; telephoning . telephone (n.) 1835, "system for conveying words over distance by musical notes" (devised in 1828 by French composer Jean-François Sudré (1787-1862); each tone played over several octaves represented a letter of the alphabet), from French téléphone (c. 1830), from télé- "far" (see tele- ) + phone "soun
• telegraph 英文词源 telegraph (n.) 1794, "semaphor apparatus" (hence the Telegraph Hill in many cities), literally "that which writes at a distance," from French télégraphe , from télé- "far" (from Greek tele- ; see tele- ) + -graphe (see -graphy ). The signaling device had been invented in France in 1791 by the brothers Chappe, who had called it tachygraphe , literally "that which writes fast," but
• telegram 英文词源 telegram (n.) "telegraphic dispatch," according to Bartlett's 1859 edition a coinage of E. Peshine Smith of Rochester, N.Y., from tele- , as in telegraph + -gram , and introduced in the Albany "Evening Journal" of April 6, 1852. Damned in the cradle by purists who pointed out that the correct formation would be telegrapheme (which is close to the Modern Greek word). May I suggest to s
• telecommunications 英文词源 encrypt (v.) 1968 in telecommunications, a back-formation from encryption (1964), or from en- (1) + crypt (n.) on the notion of "hidden place" (see crypto- ). Related: Encrypted ; encrypting . modulate (v.) 1610s, in music, back-formation from modulation , or else from Latin modulatus , past participle of modulari . General sense from 1620s. In telecommunications from 1908. Related: M
• telecast 英文词源 telecast (n.) 1937, from television + broadcast (n.). The verb is recorded from 1940. 中文词源 telecast ：电视广播 词根词缀： -tele-远 + cast投掷 该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版： telecast 词源， telecast 含义。 telecast ：电视广播 tele-,电视的，-cast,广播，缩写自 broadcast.
• technology 英文词源 technology (n.) 1610s, "a discourse or treatise on an art or the arts," from Greek tekhnologia "systematic treatment of an art, craft, or technique," originally referring to grammar, from tekhno- (see techno- ) + -logy . The meaning "study of mechanical and industrial arts" (Century Dictionary, 1902, gives examples of "spinning, metal-working, or brewing") is first recorded 1859. High
• technologist 英文词源 technologist (n.) "one versed in technology," 1803, from technology + -ist . 中文词源 technologist ：工艺学家，技术专家  词根词缀： -techn-技术 + -o- + -logist名词词尾,…学家 该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版： technologist 词源， technologist 含义。
• technological 英文词源 technological (adj.) 1620s, in reference to terminology, from technology + -ical . Meaning "of or relating to technology" from 1800. Related: Technologically . 中文词源 technological ：工艺(学)的，技术的 词根词缀： -techn-技术 + -o- + -logical…学的 该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版： technological 词源， technological 含义。
• technique 英文词源 technique (n.) 1817, at first especially in criticism of art and music, from French technique "formal practical details in artistic expression" (18c.), noun use of technique (adj.) "of art, technical," from Greek tekhnikos "pertaining to art," from tekhne "art, skill, craft in work" (see techno- ). 中文词源 technique ：技术，技能；工艺 = technic, technique的拼法来源于
• technician 英文词源 technician (n.) 1833, "person expert in the technicalities of some question," from technic + -ian . Meaning "person skilled in mechanical arts" is recorded from 1939. 中文词源 technician ：技术员，技师，技工 词根词缀： -techn-技术 + -ician名词词尾,熟悉…的人 该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版： technician 词源， technician 含义。 t
• technical 英文词源 technical technical: [17] Greek tékhnē denoted ‘skill, art, craft, trade’ (it may have come from the Indo- European base * tek - ‘shape, make’, which also produced Greek téktōn ‘carpenter, builder’, source of English architect and tectonic [17]). From it was derived the adjective tekhnikós , which passed into English via Latin technicus as technic (now obsolete) and t
• teamwork 英文词源 teamwork (n.) also team-work , 1828 in the literal sense, "work done by a team of horses, oxen, etc." (as distinguished from manual labor), from team (n.) + work (n.). Attested by 1909 in the extended sense. 中文词源 teamwork ：协作，合作，配合 词根词缀： team团队 + work工作 该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版： teamwork 词源， teamwork 含义。
• teacher 英文词源 teacher (n.) "one who teaches," c. 1300; agent noun from teach (v.). It was used earlier in a sense of "index finger" (late 13c.). Teacher's pet attested from 1856. 中文词源 teacher ：教师 词根词缀： teach教 + -er名词词尾,人 该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版： teacher 词源， teacher 含义。 teacher ：教师，老师 来自 teach,教育，-er,人
• teach 英文词源 teach teach: [OE] To teach someone is etymologically to ‘show’ them something. The word goes back ultimately to the prehistoric Indo-European base * deik - ‘show’, which also produced Greek deiknúnai ‘show’ (source of English paradigm [15]) and Latin dīcere ‘say’ (source of English diction , dictionary , etc). Its Germanic descendant was * taik -, which produced Engl
• tax 英文词源 tax tax: [13] Tax originally denoted ‘assess an amount to be levied’; the notion of ‘imposing such a levy’ is a secondary development. The word comes via Old French taxer from Latin taxāre ‘touch, assess, appraise’, a derivative of tangere ‘touch’ (source of English contact , tangible , etc). From taxāre was derived the medieval Latin noun taxa ‘tax, piece of work
• task 英文词源 task task: see tax task (n.) early 14c., "a quantity of labor imposed as a duty," from Old North French tasque (12c., Old French tasche , Modern French tâche ) "duty, tax," from Vulgar Latin *tasca "a duty, assessment," metathesis of Medieval Latin taxa , a back-formation of Latin taxare "to evaluate, estimate, assess" (see tax (v.)). General sense of "any piece of work that has to b
• tangible 英文词源 tangible tangible: [16] Tangible means literally ‘touchable’. It comes via French tangible from late Latin tangibilis , a derivative of Latin tangere ‘touch’. Other English words from this source include tangent [16], etymologically a line ‘touching’ a circle. Its past participle tactus has contributed contact , intact , and tact , while the base from which it was formed,
• tangent 英文词源 tangent (adj.) 1590s, "meeting at a point without intersecting," from Latin tangentem (nominative tangens ), present participle of tangere "to touch," from PIE root *tag- "to touch, to handle; border on; taste, partake of; strike, hit;" figuratively "affect, impress; trick, cheat; mention, speak of" (cognates: Latin tactus "touch;" Greek tassein "to arrange," tetagon "having seized;"
• tale 英文词源 tale tale: [OE] A tale is etymologically something that is ‘told’. The word is descended from a prehistoric Germanic * talō , a derivative of the base * tal -, which also produced English talk and tell . Of its Germanic relatives, German zahl , Dutch getal , Swedish antal , and Danish tal all mean ‘number’, reflecting a secondary meaning ‘reckoning, enumeration’ which onc
• takeoff 英文词源 takeoff (n.) also take-off , "caricature," colloquial, 1846, from earlier sense of "thing that detracts from something, drawback" (1826), from take (v.) + off (adv.). Meaning "act of becoming airborne" is from 1904 in reference to aircraft; in reference to jumping, it is attested from 1869. Verbal phrase take off "become airborne" is from 1918, in reference to aircraft; figurative use
• take 英文词源 take take: [12] Take was borrowed from Old Norse taka , whose modern descendants include Swedish taga and Danish tage . Now defunct relatives include Middle Dutch tāken ‘seize’ and Gothic tekan ‘touch’, and its ancestral meaning is probably ‘lay hands on’, but its ultimate origins are not known. take (v.) late Old English tacan "to take, seize," from a Scandinavian source
• tailor 英文词源 tailor tailor: [13] A tailor is etymologically a ‘cutter’. The word was acquired from Anglo-Norman taillour , a variant of Old French tailleur . This went back to Vulgar Latin * tāliātor ‘cutter’, a derivative of * tāliāre ‘cut’, which in turn was formed from Latin tālea ‘cutting’ (in the sense of a ‘piece of a plant removed for grafting or regrowing’). The sp
• tail 英文词源 tail tail: [OE] Tail comes from a prehistoric Germanic * taglaz , whose other modern descendants include German zagel ‘penis’ and Swedish tagel ‘horsehair’. This in turn went back to an Indo- European * doklos , which had the general meaning ‘something long and thin’. tail (n.1) "hindmost part of an animal," Old English tægl , tægel "a tail," from Proto-Germanic *tagla-
• tactical 英文词源 tactical (adj.) 1560s, "pertaining to tactics," from Modern Latin tactica (see tactics ) + -al (1). Meaning "characterized by adroit management" is from 1883. In reference to nuclear weapons ("for limited use in military operations," opposed to strategic ) it is recorded from 1957. Related: Tactically . 中文词源 tactical ：战术(上)的；善用策略的  来源于希腊语takt
• tactic 英文词源 tactic tactic: [17] Tactics denotes etymologically ‘arrangement, setting in order’. It goes back ultimately to Greek tássein ‘put in order’, hence ‘arrange in battle formation’. From this was derived taktós ‘arranged’, which formed the basis of the further adjective taktikós ‘concerned with arrangement or (military) planning’ (source of English tactic and tactic
• tactful 英文词源 tactful (adj.) 1844, from tact + -ful . Related: Tactfully ; tactfulness . 中文词源 tactful ：老练的，机智的，圆滑的 词根词缀： -tact-接触→相切 + -ful形容词词尾 → 摩擦系数处处为零→圆滑 该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版： tactful 词源， tactful 含义。 tactful ：老练的，得体的 来自 tact,老练，得体。
• tact 英文词源 tact tact: [17] Tact originally denoted the ‘sense of touch’ (that is what Alexander Ross was referring to when he wrote ‘Of all the creatures, the sense of tact is most exquisite in man’, Arcana microcosmi 1651). But by the end of the 18th century it had evolved semantically via ‘refined faculty of perception’ to ‘skill in behaving or speaking with propriety or sensitiv
• tack 英文词源 tack tack: English has three distinct words tack . The oldest, meaning ‘nail or other fastening’ [14], comes from Old Northern French taque , a variant of Old French tache ‘nail, fastening’. This was borrowed from prehistoric Germanic, but the nature of its connection with attach , if any, is not known. In the 15th century it was applied to the ‘ropes, cables, etc fastening
• tacky 英文词源 tacky (adj.1) "sticky," 1788, from tack (n.1) in the sense of "an act of attaching temporarily" + -y (2). Related: Tackiness "stickiness." tacky (adj.2) "in poor taste," 1888, from earlier sense of "shabby, seedy" (1862), adjectival use of tackey (n.) "ill-fed or neglected horse" (1800), later extended to persons in like condition, "hillbilly, cracker" (1888), of uncertain origin. Rel
• tablet 英文词源 tablet (n.) c. 1300, "slab or flat surface for an inscription" (especially the two Mosaic tables of stone), from Old French tablete "small table, merchant's display counter" (13c., Modern French tablette ), diminutive of table "slab," or from Medieval Latin tabuleta (source also of Spanish tableta , Italian tavoletta ), diminutive of Latin tabula (see table (n.)). The meaning "lozenge
• table 英文词源 table table: [12] Latin tabula originally denoted a ‘board’ or ‘plank’, and hence a ‘slab for writing on’ and a ‘list or similar arrangement of words or figures written on such a slab’ (as in a ‘table of contents’). It was in the farther outposts of the Roman empire that the sense ‘piece of furniture for serving meals on’ emerged – possibly in Frankish, where
• The Sword of Damocles 英文词源 No matching word found in the dictionary. Word of Random lavatory lavatory: [14] The notion of ‘washing’ was represented in prehistoric Indo-European by * lou -, which produced Greek loúein ‘wash’, English lather , and Latin lavāre ‘wash’. This last has been a fruitful source of English words, not all of them as obvious as lavatory , which originally meant simply ‘plac
• The Augean Stables 英文词源 No matching word found in the dictionary. Word of Random car car: [14] Car seems first to have been used as an independent term for a road vehicle powered by an internal-combustion engine in 1896, in the publication Farman’s Auto-Cars (the compounds autocar and motorcar are a year earlier). But the word is of course of far longer standing as a general term for a wheeled conveyance.
• tally 英文词源 tally (n.) mid-15c., "stick marked with notches to indicate amount owed or paid," from Anglo-French tallie (early 14c., Old French taille "notch in a piece of wood signifying a debt"), Anglo-Latin talea (late 12c.), from Medieval Latin tallia , from Latin talea "a cutting, rod, stick" (see tailor (n.), and compare sense history of score ). Meaning "a thing that matches another" first
• taboo 英文词源 taboo (adj.) also tabu , 1777 (in Cook's "A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean"), "consecrated, inviolable, forbidden, unclean or cursed," explained in some English sources as being from Tongan (Polynesian language of the island of Tonga) ta-bu "sacred," from ta "mark" + bu "especially." But this may be folk etymology, as linguists in the Pacific have reconstructed an irreducable Proto-Polyn
• tabloid 英文词源 tabloid tabloid: [19] Tabloid originated as a trade-name for a brand of tablets of condensed medicine, registered in 1884 by Burroughs, Wellcome and Company. It was an alteration of tablet [14], which came from Old French tablete , a diminutive form of table (source of English table ). This originally denoted a ‘slab for writing on or inscribing’. Such slabs would have been flat a
• tandem 英文词源 tandem tandem: [18] Latin tandem meant ‘eventually, at length’. Its use for ‘acting conjointly’ arose from an 18th-century play on words, in which ‘at length’ was jocularly interpreted as ‘lengthwise, in a straight line’, and the word was applied to a ‘carriage drawn by two horses one behind the other in a straight line’. In the 1880s it was transferred to a ‘bic
• tarmac 英文词源 tarmac tarmac: [20] The term tarmac commemorates the name of John Loudon McAdam (1756–1836), a Scottish civil engineer who developed a method of levelling roads and covering them with gravel. Setting the gravel in tar produced in the 1880s the term tarmacadam , and in 1903 the abbreviated form tarmac was registered as a trademark. By 1919 the word was being used in British English a
• tank 英文词源 tank tank: [17] Tank ‘water-storage container’ originated in India, where it denoted a ‘pond’. It was borrowed from a local word, such as Gujarati tānkh or Marathi tānken ‘pond, cistern’. These in turn probably went back to Sanskrit tadāga ‘pond, lake’, which was of Dravidian origin. The word was applied as a secret code name to the new armoured vehicle at the end o
• teetotaller 英文词源 teetotaler (n.) also teetotaller , 1834, agent noun from teetotal . Related: Teetotalism . wowser "A puritanical or censorious person, in particular a teetotaller or person opposed to alcohol", Late 19th century: of obscure origin. 中文词源 teetotaller ：绝对戒酒者 英语中“不喝酒的人”一般作nondrinker 或abstainer ，而“绝对戒酒者”则以 teetotal(l)er 来
• testicle 英文词源 testicle (n.) early 15c., alteration of testicule (late 14c.), from Latin testiculus , diminutive of testis "testicle" (see testis ). Old English had beallucas (see ballocks ) and herþan , probably originally "leather bag" (compare heorþa "deer-skin"). The commonest slang terms for them in other languages are words that mean "balls," "stones," "nuts," "eggs." 中文词源 testicle ：
• testify 英文词源 testify (v.) late 14c., "give legal testimony, affirm the truth of, bear witness to;" of things, c. 1400, "serve as evidence of," from Anglo-French testifier , from Latin testificari "bear witness, show, demonstrate," also "call to witness," from testis "a witness" (see testament ) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious ). Biblical sense of "openly profess one's faith and devotion
• thesaurus 英文词源 thesaurus thesaurus: see treasure thesaurus (n.) 1823, "treasury, storehouse," from Latin thesaurus "treasury, a hoard, a treasure, something laid up," figuratively "repository, collection," from Greek thesauros "a treasure, treasury, storehouse, chest," from root of tithenai "to put, to place" (see theme ). The meaning "encyclopedia filled with information" is from 1840, but existed
• thermos 英文词源 Thermos (n.) trademark registered in Britain 1907, invented by Sir James Dewar (patented 1904 but not named then), from Greek thermos "hot" (see thermal ). Dewar built the first one in 1892, but it was first manufactured commercially in Germany in 1904, when two glass blowers formed Thermos GmbH . Supposedly the company sponsored a contest to name the thing, and a Munich resident won
• tide 英文词源 tide tide: [OE] Tide originally meant ‘time’ – as in the tautologous ‘time and tide wait for no man’. Like the related German zeit , Dutch tijd , and Swedish and Danish tid , all of which mean ‘time’, it comes from a prehistoric Germanic * tīdiz . This was derived from the base * tī - (source also of English time ), which in turn went back to the Indo-European base * dī
• tip 英文词源 tip tip: English has three distinct words tip , two of them possibly related. Tip ‘extremity’ [15] was probably borrowed from Old Norse typpi . This was descended from prehistoric Germanic * tupp - ‘upper extremity’ (source also of English top and toupee ). Tip ‘touch lightly’ [13] (as in ‘tip-and-run cricket’) may have been borrowed from Low German tippen , although i
• tomfoolery 英文词源 tomfoolery (n.) "foolish trifling," 1812, from tomfool + -ery . 中文词源 tomfoolery ：蠢举，蠢事 tomfoolery 来自Tom Fool,而 Tom Fool 则是旧时用以指“傻子”的词语之一。在中世纪观看疯子做滑稽动作被当作一种娱乐。在16世纪和17世纪时伦敦曾有一家名叫Bedlam 的精神病院。由于要求收容的申请书过多，许多患者尚未
• tomorrow 英文词源 tomorrow tomorrow: [OE] Tomorrow was formed (following the model of today ) from the preposition to (here in the sense ‘at, on’) and morgenne , the dative form of Old English morgen ‘morning’, which has evolved into modern English morn and morrow. = morning tomorrow (adv.) mid-13c., to morewe , from Old English to morgenne "on (the) morrow," from to "at, on" (see to ) + morgen
• train 英文词源 train train: [14] A train is etymologically something that is ‘pulled’ along. The word was borrowed from Old French train , a derivative of the verb trahiner ‘drag’. And this in turn went back to Vulgar Latin * tragināre , a derivative of Latin * tragere , a variant of trahere ‘pull’. It was first used in English for ‘delay’, from the notion of being ‘pulled’ back
• treacle 英文词源 treacle treacle: [14] Treacle is etymologically an ‘antidote to the bite of wild animals’. The word comes via Old French triacle and Latin thēriaca from Greek thēriaké . This was short for antídotos thēriaké ‘antidote to poisonous animals’, thēriaké being a derivative of thēríon ‘wild animal, poisonous animal’, which in turn came from thér ‘wild savage’. It
• tropic 英文词源 tropic tropic: [14] The etymological notion underlying the word tropic is of ‘turning’, and the reason for its application to the hot regions of the world is that the two lines of latitude which bound them (the tropic of Cancer and the tropic of Capricorn ) mark the points at which the sun reaches its zenith at the solstices and then ‘turns’ back. The word comes via Latin trop
• turncaot 英文词源 No matching word found in the dictionary. Word of Random towel towel: [13] A towel is etymologically something for ‘washing’ with. The word comes from Old French toaille , which was a borrowing from prehistoric Germanic * thwakhliō . This was derived from the verb * thwakhan ‘wash’, whose modern descendants include Swedish tvätta and Danish tvætte ‘wash’. Another relati
• trump 英文词源 trump trump: There are two distinct words trump in English. The now archaic term for a ‘trumpet’ [13] is of Germanic origin, although it and its derivatives reached English via the Romance languages. Its ultimate source was Old High German trumpa , which no doubt started life as an imitation of the sound made by the instrument it denoted. This passed into English via Old French tr
• typewrite 英文词源 typewriter (n.) in the mechanical sense, 1868, from type (n.) + writer . Related: Type-write (v.) "print by means of a typewriter;" type-written (1882). 中文词源 typewrite ：打字机 打字机早在1714年就已问世，有关纪录可见于当时英国的一项专利。那是一种主要为盲人设计的速度很慢而打起来费劲的打字机。打字机的英语名称 type
• tycoon 英文词源 tycoon tycoon: [19] Japanese taikun was a title used for the military commander or shogun of Japan, particularly by his supporters when addressing foreigners, in the attempt to convey the impression that he was more powerful and important than the emperor. For it meant literally ‘great prince, emperor’. It was borrowed from ancient Chinese t’ai kiu ə n ‘emperor’, a compound
• text 英文词源 text text: [14] Latin texere meant ‘weave’ (this was actually a secondary sense, its original meaning being ‘build’, and it went back ultimately to the Indo-European base * tek - ‘make’, source also of English technical ). Its past participle textus was used as a noun meaning ‘woven material’, and hence metaphorically ‘literary composition’. English acquired it via
• topic 英文词源 topic topic: [16] Greek tópos meant ‘place’. From it was derived the adjective topikós ‘of a place’, which came to mean ‘commonplace’. Aristotle used it in the title of his treatise Tà topiká , which contains commonplace arguments, and it was with direct reference to this that the word first arrived in English (via Latin topica ). The sense ‘subject, theme’ arose i
• tragedy 英文词源 tragedy tragedy: [14] Etymologically, a tragedy is probably a ‘goat-song’. The word comes via Old French tragedie and Latin tragoedia from Greek tragōidíā , a compound formed from trágos ‘goat’ and ōidé ‘song’ (source of English ode , parody , rhapsody , etc). It is thought that the underlying reference may be to a sort of ancient Greek drama in which the chorus were
• tea 英文词源 tea tea: [17] English acquired tea via Dutch thee and Malay teh from te , the word for ‘tea’ in the Amoy dialect of Chinese, from southeast China (the Mandarin Chinese version of the word is chá , from which English got cha [17]). It was originally pronounced /tay/ as well as /tee/, but it was the latter which eventually won out. = cha tea (n.) 1650s, tay , also in early spelling
• tobacco 英文词源 tobacco tobacco: [16] Tobacco was introduced to Europe from the Americas, and that is where its name came from too. It originated in a Carib word, and reached English via Spanish and Portuguese tabaco . What precisely the Carib word meant, however, is a matter of dispute. Some say that it referred to tobacco leaves rolled up into a cylindrical shape for smoking, while others maintain
• tomato 英文词源 tomato (n.) 1753, earlier tomate (c. 1600), from Spanish tomate (mid-16c.) from Nahuatl (Aztecan) tomatl "a tomato," said to mean literally "the swelling fruit," from tomana "to swell." Spelling probably influenced by potato (1565). Slang meaning "an attractive girl" is recorded from 1929, on notion of juicy plumpness. A member of the nightshade family, all of which contain poisonous
• trousers 英文词源 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 trousers (n.) "garment
• theater 英文词源 theater (n.) late 14c., "open air place in ancient times for viewing spectacles and plays," from Old French theatre (12c., Modern French théâtre , improperly accented) and directly from Latin theatrum "play-house, theater; stage; spectators in a theater" (source also of Spanish, Italian teatro ), from Greek theatron "theater; the people in the theater; a show, a spectacle," literall
• the white house 英文词源 bully pulpit (n.) 1904, coined by U.S. president Teddy Roosevelt, in reference to the White House. 中文词源 the white house ：白宫 “白宫”是美国首都华盛顿的总统府和政府的行政机关所在地。但“白宫”的名字是怎么来的呢？这要追溯到1812年。当时英国正同美国交战，英军占领了华盛顿，放火烧掉了一些房子，其中包
• the Noughties 英文词源 No matching word found in the dictionary. Word of Random regurgitate regurgitate: see gorge 中文词源 the Noughties ：21世纪头十年 来自nought的复数形式，用于指21世纪头十年。 该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版： the Noughties 词源， the Noughties 含义。
• the North Pole 英文词源 antarctic (adj.) late 14c., antartyk "opposite to the north pole" (adj.), also (with capital A ) "region around the South pole" (n.), from Old French antartique , from Medieval Latin antarcticus , from Greek antarktikos "opposite the north," from anti- "opposite" (see anti- ) + arktikos "arctic" (see arctic ). The first -c- sound ceased to be pronounced in Medieval Latin and was dropp
• the Northern Lights 英文词源 No matching word found in the dictionary. Word of Random blaspheme blaspheme: [14] Blaspheme has maintained a remarkable semantic and formal stability since its origins in Greek blásphēmos , which meant ‘speaking evil or profane things’ ( blas - is related to blaptikós ‘hurtful’; the - phēmos element denotes ‘speaking’, and is related to phēmí ‘I say’). The deriv
• the nitty-gritty 英文词源 No matching word found in the dictionary. Word of Random excite excite: [14] The use of the word excite to convey ‘agitated elation’ is a comparatively recent development, first recorded from the mid 19th century. Before that it was a fairly neutral verb, meaning ‘produce a response, provoke’ (as in the rather formal ‘excite much comment’). It comes, perhaps via Old French
• the netherworld 英文词源 Persephone wife of Hades, queen of the netherworld, identified with Kore, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, from Greek Persephone (see person ). 中文词源 the netherworld ：阴间，地狱 nether,下方的，world,世界。引申词义阴间，地狱。 该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版： the netherworld 词源， the netherworld 含义。
• the morning star 英文词源 phosphor (n.) "morning star," 1630s, from Latin phosphorus "the morning star" (see phosphorus ). Meaning "anything phosphorescent" is from 1705. phosphorus (n.) "substance or organism that shines of itself," 1640s, from Latin phosphorus "light-bringing," also "the morning star" (a sense attested in English from 1620), from Greek Phosphoros "morning star," literally "torchbearer," from
• the Monroe Doctrine 英文词源 No matching word found in the dictionary. Word of Random provost provost: [OE] A provost is etymologically an official ‘placed before’ others – that is, put in charge of them. The word’s ancestor is Latin praepositus ‘superintendent’, a noun use of the past participle of praepōnere , a compound verb formed from the prefix prae - ‘in front’ and pōnere ‘put’ (sourc
• the Milky Way 英文词源 galactic (adj.) 1839, "of the Milky Way, of the bright band of stars around the night sky," from Late Latin galacticus , from galaxias (see galaxy ). In modern scientific sense "pertaining to (our) galaxy," from 1849. From 1844 as "of or pertaining to milk." galaxy (n.) late 14c., from French galaxie or directly from Late Latin galaxias "the Milky Way" as a feature in the night sky (i
• the Middle Ages 英文词源 ague ague: [14] In its origins, ague is the same word as acute . It comes from the Latin phrase febris acuta ‘sharp fever’ (which found its way into Middle English as fever agu ). In the Middle Ages the Latin adjective acuta came to be used on its own as a noun meaning ‘fever’; this became aguē in medieval French, from which it was borrowed into English. From the end of the 1
• the metric system 英文词源 gram gram: [18] Gram , or gramme as it is sometimes spelled, was borrowed at the end of the 18th century from French gramme , the term adopted in 1799 as the basic unit of weight in the metric system. The word itself goes back via late Latin gramma ‘small unit’ to Greek grámma (source of English grammar ), which originally meant ‘letter of the alphabet’ but later came to be u