英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

adopt (v.)[adopt 词源字典]: c. 1500, a back-formation from adoption or else from Middle French adopter or directly from Latin adoptare "take by choice, choose for oneself, select, choose" (especially a child). Originally in English also of friends, fathers, citizens, etc. Sense of "to legally take as one's own child" and that of "to embrace, espouse" a practice, method, etc. are from c. 1600. Related: Adopted; adopting.[adopt etymology, adopt origin, 英语词源]
adoption (n.): mid-14c., from Old French adopcion or directly from Latin adoptionem (nominative adoptio), noun of action from past participle stem of adoptare "chose for oneself, take by choice, select, adopt," especially "to take into a family, adopt as a child," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + optare "choose, wish, desire" (see option (n.)).
adoptive (adj.): early 15c., from Middle French adoptif, from Latin adoptivus "pertaining to adoption," from stem of adoptere (see adopt).
adorable (adj.): 1610s, from French adorable, from Latin adorabilis "worthy of worship," from adorare (see adore). Weakened sense of "delightful, charming" is recorded from 1710. Related: Adorably; adorableness.
adoration (n.): 1540s, from Middle French adoration, from Latin adorationem (nominative adoratio) "worship, adoration," noun of action from past participle stem of adorare; see adore, the original sense of which is preserved in this word.
adore (v.): late 14c., aouren, "to worship, pay divine honors to, bow down before," from Old French aorer "to adore, worship, praise" (10c.), from Latin adorare "speak to formally, beseech, ask in prayer," in Late Latin "to worship," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + orare "speak formally, pray" (see orator). Meaning "to honor very highly" is attested from 1590s; weakened sense of "to be very fond of" emerged by 1880s. Related: Adored; adoring.
adoring (adj.): 1650s, "worshipping," present participle adjective from adore. Related: Adoringly.
adorn (v.): late 14c., "to decorate, embellish," also "be an ornament to," from Old French aorner "to order, arrange, dispose, equip; adorn," from Latin adornare "equip, provide, embellish," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + ornare "prepare, furnish, adorn, fit out," from stem of ordo "order" (see order (n.)). The -d- was reinserted by French scribes 14c., in English from late 15c. Related: Adorned; adorning.
adornment (n.): late 14c., "act of adorning;" also "a thing which adorns;" from Old French aornement "ornament, decoration," from aorner (see adorn).
Adrastea: "nemesis," daughter of Zeus, distributor of rewards and punishments, from Greek Adrasteia, literally "she from whom there is no escape," from adrastos "not running away," from privative prefix a- + stem of drasmos "a running away," related to dromos "course" (see dromedary).
adrenal (adj.): "of or near the kidneys," 1866, Modern Latin, from ad- + renalis "of the kidneys," from Latin renes "kidneys." Adrenal gland is from 1875.
adrenaline (n.): also Adrenalin (trademark name), coined 1901 by Japanese chemist Jokichi Takamine (1853-1922), who discovered it, from Modern Latin adrenal (see adrenal) + chemical suffix -ine (2). Adrenaline rush was in use c. 1970.
Adrian: masc. proper name, from Latin Adrianus/Hadrianus, literally "of the Adriatic" (see Adriatic).
Adriatic: sea east of Italy, from Latin Adriaticus, from town of Atria (modern Atri) in Picenum, once a seaport but now more than 12 miles inland. The name is perhaps from atra, neuter of atrum "black," hence "the black city;" or else it represents Illyrian adur "water, sea."
adrift (adv.): 1620s, from a- (1) "on" + drift. Figurative use by 1680s.
adroit (adj.): 1650s, "dexterous," originally "rightly," from French adroit, from phrase à droit "according to right," from Old French à "to" (see ad-) + droit "right," from Late Latin directum "right, justice," accusative of Latin directus "straight" (see direct (v.)). Related: Adroitly; adroitness.
adsorb (v.): 1882, transitive (intransitive use attested from 1919), back-formation from adsorption "condensation of gases on the surfaces of solids" (1882), coined in German from ad- + -sorption, abstracted from absorption. See absorb. Related: Adsorbent; adsorption.
adulate (v.): 1777, back-formation from adulation.
adulation (n.): late 14c., "insincere praise," from Old French adulacion, from Latin adulationem (nominative adulatio) "a fawning; flattery, cringing courtesy," noun of action from past participle stem of aduliari "to flatter," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + ulos "tail," from PIE *ul- "the tail" (cognates: Sanskrit valah "tail," Lithuanian valai "horsehair of the tail"). The original notion is "to wag the tail" like a fawning dog (compare Greek sainein "to wag the tail," also "to flatter;" see also wheedle).
adult (adj.): 1530s (but not common until mid-17c.), from Latin adultus "grown up, mature, adult, ripe," past participle of adolescere "grow up, mature" (see adolescent). As a euphemism for "pornographic," it dates to 1958 and does no honor to the word.