英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

eavesdrop (v.)[eavesdrop 词源字典]: "lurk near a place to hear what is said inside," c. 1600, probably a back-formation from eavesdropper. The original notion is listening from under the eaves of a house. Related: Eavesdropping.[eavesdrop etymology, eavesdrop origin, 英语词源]
eavesdropper (n.): mid-15c., with agent-noun ending + Middle English eavesdrop, from Old English yfesdrype "place around a house where the rainwater drips off the roof," from eave (q.v.) + drip (v.). Technically, "one who stands at walls or windows to overhear what's going on inside."
ebb (n.): Old English ebba "falling of the tide, low tide," perhaps from Proto-Germanic *af- (cognates: Old Frisian ebba, Old Saxon ebbiunga, Middle Dutch ebbe, Dutch eb, German Ebbe), from PIE root *apo- "off, away" (see apo-). Figurative sense of "decline, decay, gradual diminution" is from late 14c. Ebb-tide is from 1776.
ebb (v.): Old English ebbian "flow back, subside," from the root of ebb (n.). Figurative use in late Old English. Related: Ebbed; ebbing.
Ebenezer: masc. proper name, from Hebrew ebhen ezar "stone of help," from ebhen "stone" + ezer "help." Sometimes also the name of a Protestant chapel or meeting house, from name of a stone raised by Samuel to commemorate a divinely aided victory over the Philistines at Mizpeh (I Sam. vii:12),
Ebionite: mid-15c., sect (1c.-2c.) that held Jesus was a mere man and Christians continued bound by Mosaic Law, from Latin ebonita, from Hebrew ebyon "the poor." The reason it was so called is uncertain. Related: Ebionism; Ebionitic.
Eblis: prince of the fallen angels in Arabic mythology and religion, from Arabic Iblis. Klein thinks this may be Greek diablos, passed through Syriac where the first syllable was mistaken for the Syriac genitive particle di and dropped. "Before his fall he was called Azazel or Hharis" [Century Dictionary].
ebola (n.): virus, 1976, named for Ebola River valley in Congo, where it first was studied.
ebon (n.): early 15c., "ebony wood, ebony tree," from Old French ebene or directly from Latin ebenus (see ebony). As an adjective, "made of ebony," from 1590s. Figurative sense of "dark, black" is from 1590s; in some cases a poetic shortening of ebony.
Ebonics (n.): "African-American vernacular English," 1975, as title of a book by U.S. professor R.L. Williams (b.1930); a blend of ebony and phonics.
ebonite (n.): 1860, from ebon + -ite (1).
ebony (n.): dark, hard wood favored for carving, musical instruments, etc., 1590s, perhaps an extended form of Middle English ebon, or from hebenyf (late 14c.), perhaps a Middle English misreading of Latin hebeninus "of ebony," from Greek ebeninos, from ebenos "ebony," probably from Egyptian hbnj or another Semitic source. Figurative use to suggest intense blackness is from 1620s. As an adjective, "of ebony, made of ebony," from 1590s; in reference to skin color of Africans, by 1813. French ébène, Old High German ebenus (German Ebenholz) are from Latin ebenus.
ebriety (n.): "state or habit of being intoxicated," early 15c., from Latin ebrietatem (nominative ebrietas) "drunkenness, intoxication," from ebrius "drunk, full, sated with drink," which is of unknown origin. The opposite of sobriety. Related: Ebrious; ebriosity.
ebullience (n.): 1749, from Latin ebullientem (nominative ebulliens) "a boiling, a bursting forth, overflow," present participle of ebullire "to boil over" (see ebullient). Related: Ebulliency (1670s), ebullition (c. 1400).
ebullient (adj.): 1590s, "boiling," from Latin ebullientem (nominative ebulliens), present participle of ebullire "to boil over," literally or figuratively, from ex- "out" (see ex-) + bullire "to bubble" (see boil (v.)). Figurative sense of "enthusiastic" is first recorded 1660s.
ec-: typical form in English of Latin ex-, Greek ex-, ek- before consonants (as in eclipse, ecstacy). See ex-.
ecarte (n.): card game for two played with 32 cards, 1824, from French écarté, literally "discarded," past participle of écarter "to discard," from e- (see ex-) + carte (see card (n.)). So called because the players may discard cards in his hand after the deal and get new ones from the deck.
ecbatic (adj.): "drawn from the relationship of cause and effect," especially of arguments, 1836, from ecbasis, from Latin ecbasis, from Greek ekbasis "a going out, issue, event," from ek- "out" (see ex-) + basis "a step, a base," from bainein "to go, step" (see come).
ecce homo: Latin, literally "behold the man" (John xix:5), from Latin ecce "lo!, behold!" Christ crowned with thorns, especially as the subject of a painting.
eccentric (n.): early 15c., "eccentric circle or orbit," originally a term in Ptolemaic astronomy, "circle or orbit not having the Earth precisely at its center," from Middle French eccentrique and directly from Medieval Latin eccentricus (noun and adjective), from Greek ekkentros "out of the center" (as opposed to concentric), from ek "out" (see ex-) + kentron "center" (see center (n.)). Meaning "odd or whimsical person" is attested by 1817 (S.W. Ryley, "The Itinerant, or Memoirs of an Actor").
June 4 [1800].--Died in the streets in Newcastle, William Barron, an eccentric, well known for many years by the name of Billy Pea-pudding. [John Sykes, "Local Records, or Historical Register of Remarkable Events which have Occurred Exclusively in the Counties of Durham and Northumberland, Town and County of Newcastle Upon Tyne, and Berwick Upon Tweed," Newcastle, 1824]