quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- anaconda[anaconda 词源字典]
- anaconda: [18] The term anaconda has a confused history. It appears to come from Sinhalese henakandayā, literally ‘lightningstem’, which referred to a type of slender green snake. This was anglicized as anaconda by the British naturalist John Ray, who in a List of Indian serpents 1693 described it as a snake which ‘crushed the limbs of buffaloes and yoke beasts’.
And the 1797 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica notes it as a ‘very large and terrible snake [from Ceylon] which often devours the unfortunate traveller alive’. However, in the early 19th century the French zoologist François Marie Daudin for no known reason transferred the name to a large South American snake of the boa family, and that application has since stuck.
[anaconda etymology, anaconda origin, 英语词源] - base (n.)
- "bottom, foundation, pedestal," early 14c., from Old French bas "depth" (12c.), from Latin basis "foundation," from Greek basis "step, pedestal," from bainein "to step" (see come). The military sense is from 1860. The chemical sense (1810) was introduced in French 1754 by French chemist Guillaume-François Rouelle (1703-1770). Sporting sense of "starting point" ia from 1690s, also "destination of a runner" (1812). As a "safe" spot in a tag-like game, suggested from mid-15c. (as the name of the game later called prisoner's base).
- chateaubriand (n.)
- "grilled beef steak, garnished with herbs," 1877, named, for some reason, for French writer François René, Vicomte de Chateaubriand (1768-1848).
- coefficient (n.)
- also co-efficient, c. 1600, from co- + efficient. Probably influenced by Modern Latin coefficiens, which was used in mathematics in 16c., introduced by French mathematician François Viète (1540-1603). As an adjective from 1660s.
- eminence (n.)
- c. 1400, "projection, protuberance;" early 15c., "high or exalted position," from Old French eminence or directly from Latin eminentia "a distinctive feature, conspicuous part," from eminentem (nominative eminens) "standing out, projecting," figuratively, "prominent, distinctive" (see eminent).
As a title of honor (now only of cardinals) it is attested from 1650s. The original Éminence grise (French, literally "gray eminence") was François Leclerc du Trembley (1577-1638), confidential agent of Richelieu. - enteritis (n.)
- "acute inflammation of the bowels," 1808, medical Latin, coined c. 1750 by French pathologist François-Boissier de la Croix de Sauvages (1706-1767), from enteron "intestine" (see enteric) + -itis "inflammation."
- Fourierism (n.)
- 1841, in reference to ideas of French socialist François-Marie-Charles Fourier (1772-1837), whose plan also was called phalansterianism. Related: Fourierist. In scientific use, Fourier refers to French mathematician Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier (1768-1830).
- Frances
- fem. proper name, from French, from Old French Franceise (Modern French Françoise), fem. of Franceis (see Francis).
- Francis
- masc. proper name, from French François, from Old French Franceis "noble, free," as a noun "a Frenchman, inhabitant of Ile-de-France; the French language," from Late Latin Franciscus, literally "Frankish;" cognate with French and frank (adj.).
- gastritis (n.)
- 1806, medical Latin, from gastro- "stomach" + -itis "inflammation." Coined by French pathologist François-Boissier de la Croix de Sauvages (1706-1767).
- gibbon (n.)
- long-armed ape of the East Indies, 1770, from French gibbon (18c.), supposedly from a word in the French colonies of India but not found in any language there. Brought to Europe by Marquis Joseph-François Dupleix (1697-1763), French governor general in India 1742-54. The surname is Old French Giboin, from Frankish *Geba-win "gift-friend," or in some cases a diminutive of Gibb, itself a familiar form of Gilbert.
- lavalier (n.)
- kind of ornament that hangs around the neck, from French lavallière, a kind of tie, after Louise Françoise de La Baume Le Blanc de La Vallière, Duchesse de La Vallière (1644-1710), mistress of Louis XIV from 1661-1667.
- limnology (n.)
- study of lakes and fresh water, 1892, with -logy + limno-, comb. form of Greek limne "pool of standing water, tidal pool, marsh, lake," from PIE root *(s)lei- "slime" (see slime (n.)). The science founded and the name probably coined by Swiss geologist François-Alphonse Forel (1841-1912). Related: Limnological; limnologist.
- mansard
- 1734, from French mansarde, short for toit à la mansarde, a corrupt spelling, named for French architect Nicholas François Mansart (1598-1666), who made use of them.
- mirepoix (n.)
- in cookery, 1815, from French, evidently named for Charles Pierre Gaston François, duc de Mirepoix (1699-1757), French diplomat. The concoction supposedly created by his head chef and named in his honor during the reign of Louis XV, one of the grand epochs of French cookery, when it was the style of the aristocracy to have dishes named in their honor.
MIREPOIX.--It is probable that one of these days the common sense of mankind will rise in rebellion against this word and abolish it. What is the Duke of Mirepoix to us because his wife was amiable to Louis XV.?
If she be not fair to me,
What care I how fair she be?
The Duke of Mirepoix made himself convenient to the king, and his name is now convenient to the people--the convenient name for the faggot of vegetables that flavours a stew or a sauce. ["Kettner's Book of the Table," London, 1877]
- morgue (n.)
- "mortuary," 1821, from French Morgue, originally a specific building in Paris where bodies were exposed for identification:
There is, in the most populous part of the French metropolis, an establishment entitled La Morgue, destined for the reception and exposition of bodies drowned in the Seine, and caught in nets, which are placed in different parts of the river for that purpose. The object of this exposition is, that the deceased may be recognised by their friends or relatives, and receive the rights of sepulture accordingly. The Morgue is open at all hours of the day, to passengers of every description, and often displays at a time, five or six horrible carcasses stretched, without covering, on an inclined platform, and subjected to the promiscuous gaze of the mob. ["American Review," January 1811]
Before that it was the place where new prisoners were displayed to keepers to establish their identification. Thus the name is believed to be probably from French morgue "haughtiness," originally "a sad expression, solemn look," from Old French morguer "look solemnly," from Vulgar Latin *murricare "to make a face, pout," from *murrum "muzzle, snout." The 1768 Dictionnaire Royal François-Anglois Et Anglois-François defines French morgue both as "A proud, big, haughty or stately look, stare, surliness, or surly look" and "A little gratel room wherein a new prisoner is set, and must continue some hours, that the Jailer's ordinary servants may the better take notice of his face."
Adopted as a general term in U.S., 1880s, replacing earlier dead house, etc. In newspaper slang, "collection of pre-written obituary material of living persons" (1903), hence "library of clips, photos, etc.," 1918. - parachute (n.)
- 1784 (the year the use of one first was attempted, in Paris), from French parachute, literally "that which protects against a fall," hybrid coined by French aeronaut François Blanchard (1753-1809) from para- "defense against" (see para- (2)) + chute "a fall" (see chute).
PARACHUTE, a kind of large and strong umbrella, contrived to break a person's fall from an airballoon, should any accident happen to the balloon at a high elevation. ["Supplement to the Encyclopaedia or Dictionary of Arts and Sciences," Philadelphia, 1803]
- peace (n.)
- mid-12c., "freedom from civil disorder," from Anglo-French pes, Old French pais "peace, reconciliation, silence, permission" (11c., Modern French paix), from Latin pacem (nominative pax) "compact, agreement, treaty of peace, tranquility, absence of war" (source of Provençal patz, Spanish paz, Italian pace), from PIE *pag-/*pak- "fasten," related to pacisci "to covenant or agree" (see pact).
Replaced Old English frið, also sibb, which also meant "happiness." Modern spelling is 1500s, reflecting vowel shift. Sense in peace of mind is from c. 1200. Used in various greetings from c. 1300, from Biblical Latin pax, Greek eirene, which were used by translators to render Hebrew shalom, properly "safety, welfare, prosperity."
Sense of "quiet" is attested by 1300; meaning "absence or cessation of war or hostility" is attested from c. 1300. As a type of hybrid tea rose (developed 1939 in France by François Meilland), so called from 1944. Native American peace pipe is first recorded 1760. Peace-officer attested from 1714. Peace offering is from 1530s. Phrase peace with honor first recorded 1607 (in "Coriolanus"). The U.S. Peace Corps was set up March 1, 1962. Peace sign, both the hand gesture and the graphic, attested from 1968. - peritonitis (n.)
- 1776, medical Latin, coined c. 1750 by French pathologist François-Boissier de la Croix de Sauvages (1706-1767) from Greek peritonos (from peritonaion; see peritoneum) + -itis "inflammation."
- phalanstery (n.)
- 1846, from French phalanstère, name for one of the socialistic communities of c.1,800 people, living together as family, proposed as the basic unit of society in the system of French social scientist François-Marie-Charles Fourier (1772-1837), coined by Fourier from phalange, properly "phalanx" (see phalanx) + ending after monastère "monastery."
- quaternary (adj.)
- early 15c., "consisting of four parts," from Latin quaternarius "of four each, containing four," from quaterni "four each, by fours," from quater "four times," related to quattuor "four" (see four). Also as a noun, "the number four" (mid-15c.), from Latin quaternarius.
In geological sense, attested from 1843 in English, proposed 1829 by French geologist Jules Pierre François Stanislas Desnoyers (1800-1887) as name for "the fourth great epoch of geological time," but because it comprises only the age of man, and the other epochs are many hundred times longer, not all accepted it. - Rabelaisian (adj.)
- 1817, from French author François Rabelais (c. 1490-1553), whose writings "are distinguished by exuberance of imagination and language combined with extravagance and coarseness of humor and satire." [OED]
- Rosetta Stone (n.)
- discovered 1798 at Rosetta, Egypt; now in British Museum. Dating to 2c. B.C.E., its trilingual inscription helped Jean-François Champollion decipher Egyptian demotic and hieroglyphics in 1822, which opened the way to study of all early Egyptian records. Hence, figurative use of the term to mean "something which provides the key to previously unattainable understanding" (1902). The place name is the European form of Rashid, a name given because it was founded c.800 C.E. by Caliph Harun ar-Rashid.
- 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 the better name was suggested to them by French diplomat Comte André-François Miot de Mélito (1762-1841). First applied 1797 to an experimental electric telegraph (designed by Dr. Don Francisco Salva at Barcelona); the practical version was developed 1830s by U.S. inventor Samuel F.B. Morse (1791-1872). Meaning "telegraphic message" is from 1821. Related: Telegraphy.
- 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 "sound, voice," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say" (see fame (n.)). Sudré's system never proved practical. Also used of other apparatus early 19c., including "instrument similar to a foghorn for signaling from ship to ship" (1844). The electrical communication tool was first described in modern form by Philip Reis (1861); developed by Scottish-born inventor Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), and so called by him from 1876.
- tissue (n.)
- mid-14c., "band or belt of rich material," from Old French tissu "a ribbon, headband, belt of woven material" (c. 1200), noun use of tissu "woven, interlaced," past participle of tistre "to weave," from Latin texere "to weave, to make" (see texture (n.)). The biological sense is first recorded 1831, from French, introduced c. 1800 by French anatomist Marie-François-Xavier Bichal (1771-1802). Meaning "piece of absorbent paper used as a handkerchief" is from 1929. Tissue-paper is from 1777, supposedly so called because it was made to be placed between tissues to protect them.
- Voltaire
- name taken from 1718 by French author François Marie Arouet (1694-1778) after his imprisonment in the Bastille on suspicion of having written some satirical verses; originally de Voltaire. The signification is uncertain.
- yesteryear (n.)
- coined 1870 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti from yester- + year to translate French antan (from Vulgar Latin *anteannum "the year before") in a refrain by François Villon: Mais ou sont les neiges d'antan? which Rossetti rendered "But where are the snows of yesteryear?"
- marcel
- "A deep artificial wave in the hair", Late 19th century: named after Marcel Grateau (1852–1936), the Parisian hairdresser who invented it. More permanent from Late Middle English:Permanent is from Latin permanent- ‘remaining to the end’ from per- ‘through’ and manere ‘remain’. The abbreviation perm in hairdressing dates from the 1920s, a shortening of ‘permanent wave’, a process that had been introduced only a few years earlier. Before that people had to curl their hair with hot tongs, or use the late 19th century marcel wave, named after François Marcel Grateau (1852–1936), the French hairdresser who invented the method.