quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- educrat (n.)



[educrat 词源字典] - 1968, usually pejorative; first element from education, second from bureaucrat. Said to have been coined by Claude R. Kirk Jr. (1926-2011), governor of Florida 1967-71.
While political leaders and corporate CEOs, focusing as usual on the quarterly return, call for "workers for the new economy," their educational reforms are producing just that: students with a grab-bag of minor skills and competencies and minds that are sadly uneventful, incapable of genuine intellectual achievement and lacking any sense of continuity with the historical and cultural traditions of our society. Their world is small, bleak, and limited; their world will become ours. [David Solway, "The Turtle Hypodermic of Sickenpods," Quebec, 2000]
[educrat etymology, educrat origin, 英语词源] - Edward




- masc. proper name, from Old English Eadweard, literally "prosperity-guard," from ead "wealth, prosperity" (see Edith) + weard "guardian" (see ward (n.)). Among the 10 most popular names for boys born in the U.S. every year from 1895 to 1930.
- Edwardian (adj.)




- 1861, in reference to the medieval English kings of that name; 1908 in the sense of "of the time or reign of Edward VII" (1901-10), and, since 1934, especially with reference to the men's clothing styles (as in teddy-boy, 1954, for which see Teddy). From Edward + -ian.
- Edwin




- masc. proper name, from Old English Ead-wine, literally "prosperity-friend, friend of riches," from ead "wealth, prosperity, joy" (see Edith) + wine "friend, protector" (related to winnan "to strive, struggle, fight;" see win (v.)).
- eek




- sound of a squeak of fear, by 1940.
- eel (n.)




- Old English æl "eel," from Proto-Germanic *ælaz (cognates: Old Frisian -el, Middle Dutch ael, Dutch aal, Old Saxon and Old High German al, German Aal, Old Norse all), which is of unknown origin, with no certain cognates outside Germanic. Used figuratively for slipperiness from at least 1520s.
- eel-skin (n.)




- 1560s, from eel + skin (n.). "Formerly used as a casing for the cue or pigtail of the hair or the wig, especially by sailors." [Century Dictionary]
- eeny




- a word from a popular children's counting-out rhyme, recorded in the form eeny, meeny, miny, mo by 1888, when it was listed among 862 "Rhymes and doggerels for counting out" in Henry Carrington Bolton's book "The Counting-Out Rhymes of Children" [New York]. Bolton describes it as "the favorite with American children, actually reported from nearly every State in the Union." He notes similar forms in notes similar forms in German (Ene, meni, mino), Dutch, and and Platt-Deutsch (Ene, mine, mike, maken), and, from Cornwall, Eena, meena, moina, mite. The form eeny meeny mony mi is recorded in U.S. from 1873, and Hanna, mana, mona, mike is said to have been used in New York in 1815.
- eerie (adj.)




- also eery, c. 1300, "timid, affected by superstitious fear," north England and Scottish variant of Old English earg "cowardly, fearful, craven, vile, wretched, useless," from Proto-Germanic *argaz (cognates: Old Frisian erg "evil, bad," Middle Dutch arch "bad," Dutch arg, Old High German arg "cowardly, worthless," German arg "bad, wicked," Old Norse argr "unmanly, voluptuous," Swedish arg "malicious"). Sense of "causing fear because of strangeness" is first attested 1792. Finnish arka "cowardly" is a Germanic loan-word.
- eerily (adv.)




- 1821, from eerie + -ly (2).
- eff (v.)




- 1943, euphemism for fuck, representing the sound of its first letter. Related: Effing.
- effable (adj.)




- "that may be (lawfully) expressed in words," 1630s, from French effable or directly, from Latin effabilis "utterable," from effari "to utter" (see ineffable). Now obsolete or archaic.
- efface (v.)




- "to erase or obliterate," especially something written or carved, late 15c., from Middle French effacer, from Old French esfacier (12c.) "to wipe out, destroy," literally "to remove the face," from es- "out" (see ex-) + face "appearance," from Latin facies "face" (see face (n.)). Related: Effaced; effacing. Compare deface.
- effacement (n.)




- 1743, from French effacement; see efface + -ment.
- effect (n.)




- mid-14c., "execution or completion (of an act)," from Old French efet (13c., Modern French effet) "result, execution, completion, ending," from Latin effectus "accomplishment, performance," from past participle stem of efficere "work out, accomplish," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + facere "to do" (see factitious). From French, borrowed into Dutch, German, Scandinavian.
From late 14c. as "power or capacity to produce an intended result; efficacy, effectiveness," and in astrology, "operation or action (of a heavenly body) on human affairs; influence." Also "that which follows from something else; a consequence, a result." From early 15c. as "intended result, purpose, object, intent." Also formerly with a sense of "reality, fact," hence in effect (late 14c.), originally "in fact, actually, really." Meaning "impression produced on the beholder" is from 1736. Sense in stage effect, sound effect, etc. first recorded 1881. - effect (v.)




- "to produce as a result; to bring to a desired end," 1580s, from Latin effectus, past participle of efficere (see effect (n.)). Related: Effecting; effection.
- effected (adj.)




- "brought about," past participle adjective from effect (v.). Since early 15c. sometimes used erroneously for affected.
- effective (adj.)




- late 14c., "serving to effect the intended purpose," from Old French effectif, from Latin effectivus "productive, effective," from effect-, stem of efficere (see effect (n.)). Of military forces, meaning "fit for action or duty" is from 1680s.
- effectively (adv.)




- 1650s, "actually," from effective + -ly (2). From c. 1600 as "as a means of producing;" from 1825 as "so as to produce an effect."
- effectiveness (n.)




- c. 1600, from effective + -ness.