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capstan [capstan 词源字典]: capstan: [14] Capstan is a borrowing from Old Provençal. There the word was cabestan. Its earlier form capestran was a derivative of capestre ‘rope, noose’, which came from Latin capistrum ‘halter’. This in turn came from capere ‘take’, a prolific source of English words, and related to English heave.
=> capture, heave[capstan etymology, capstan origin, 英语词源]
castanet: castanet: [17] Castanets were originally named in Spanish from their resemblance to the shells of chestnuts, Spanish castañeta being a diminutive form of castaña ‘chestnut’, from Latin castanea (itself the ultimate source of English chestnut). Another name for them in 17th-century English was knackers: ‘Castinettas: knackers of the form of chestnuts, used to this day by the Spaniards in their dances’, Robert Stapylton, Juvenal’s sixteen satires 1647.
=> chestnut
circumstance: circumstance: see statue
constant: constant: see consist
distance: distance: [13] Etymologically, things that are distant stand far apart from each other. The word comes via Old French from Latin distantia, an abstract noun formed from distāns, the present participle of distāre ‘be remote’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix dis- ‘apart’ and stāre ‘stand’ (source of English state, station, statue, etc and related to English stand).
=> stand, state, station, statue
instant: instant: [15] Latin instāre meant ‘be present’ (it was a compound verb formed from the prefix in- ‘upon’ and stāre ‘stand’). Its present participle instāns was used adjectivally for ‘present’, and hence by extension for ‘urgent’. The latter was actually the meaning originally taken up by English, but it has now virtually died out. ‘Present’ was introduced in the mid-16th century (it now survives in the abbreviation inst, used in giving dates to signify ‘the present month’), and by the end of the century this had evolved into the main current sense ‘immediate’.

The noun instant ‘moment’ comes from medieval Latin tempus instāns ‘present time’. Derived from instāns was the Latin noun instantia ‘presence, urgency’. Again it was the latter that originally came into English with instance [14]. The main modern sense ‘example’, first recorded in the 16th century, appears to come ultimately from a semantic progression in medieval Latin from ‘urgency’ to ‘eager solicitation’ and hence to ‘legal pleading’.

Further metaphoricization took it on to ‘new argument or example adduced to counter a previous one’, and hence in due course to simply ‘example’.
=> instance, stand, station, statue
mustang: mustang: [19] Etymologically, a mustang is a ‘mixed’ animal. The word comes from Mexican Spanish mestengo, which originally in Spanish meant ‘stray’. This was derived from mesta ‘annual roundup of cattle, participated in by all the herdsmen, in which stray cattle were disposed of’, which in turn goes back to medieval Latin mixta. And mixta (literally ‘mixed’) was used for the wild or stray animals that got ‘mixed’ in with the graziers’ herds (it was a noun use of the feminine past participle of miscēre ‘mix’, source of English miscellaneous and mix).

The word passed early on from ‘stray cattle’ to ‘stray horses’.
=> miscellaneous, mix
stance: stance: see stanza
stand: stand: [OE] Stand goes back ultimately to the prehistoric Indo-European base *stā- ‘stand’. This passed into Germanic as *sta-, *stō-. Addition of the suffix *-nd- produced *standan, source of English stand, while past forms were created with the suffix *-t-, which has given English stood. Another descendant of the Indo- European base was Latin stāre ‘stand’, a prolific source of English words (among them stage, stanza, state, station, statue, etc).
=> stable, stage, stall, stamina, stanza, state, static, station, statue, steed, stool, stud, system
standard: standard: Standard ‘flag, banner’ [12] denotes etymologically something that is ‘extended’ or unfurled. The word comes from Anglo-Norman estaundart ‘flag displayed on a battlefield so that troops can rally to it’. This was a derivative of Old French estendre ‘extend’ (first cousin of English extend). The sense ‘criterion, norm’, which emerged in the 15th century, is probably a metaphorical application of the notion of the ‘royal standard’ or banner as being the point from which authoritative commands (as of standards of weight and measurement) are issued. Standard ‘upright object, such as a tree’ [13] is probably an alteration of stander.
=> extend; stand
stanza: stanza: [16] Etymologically, a stanza is a place where one ‘stands’ or stops. The word was borrowed from Italian stanza, a descendant of Vulgar Latin *stantia ‘standing, stopping-place’, which in turn was derived from the present participle of Latin stāre ‘stand’ (source of English stage, state, station, etc). Its application to a ‘verse of poetry’ arose in Italian from the notion of ‘stopping’ at the end of a section. Stanza was borrowed into French as stance, from which English gets stance [16].
=> stance, stand, state, station
substance: substance: [13] Latin substantia denoted the ‘essence’ of something. Derived from the present participle of substāre ‘be present’, a compound verb formed from the prefix sub- ‘under’ and stāre ‘stand’ (a relative of English stand), it was virtually a loan-translation of Greek hupóstasis ‘substance, existence, essence’, which likewise was formed from elements meaning literally ‘under’ and ‘stand’. The word’s ultimate etymological meaning is thus ‘that which underlies or is the essence of something’.
=> stand, station, statue
understand: understand: [OE] The compound verb understand was formed in the centuries immediately preceding the Anglo-Saxon invasions of Britain. It is composed, of course, of under and stand, and the semantic link between ‘standing under’ something and ‘knowing about’ it may be ‘being close to’ it.
assistance (n.): early 15c., "act of helping or aiding," from Middle French assistance, from assister (see assist (v.)).
assistant (n.): mid-15c., assistent "one who helps or aids another," from Middle French assistent, adjective and noun, properly present participle of assister (see assist (v.)).
assistant (adj.): mid-15c., "helpful, of assistance," from Middle French assistent (see assistant (n.)).
Athelstan: masc. proper name, Old English Æðelstane, literally "noble stone;" see atheling + stone (n.).
Augustan (adj.): 1640s, from Latin Augustanus, "pertaining to Augustus (Caesar)," whose reign was connected with "the palmy period of Latin literature" [OED]; hence, "period of purity and refinement in any national literature" (1712).
Avestan: Eastern Iranian language that survived in sacred texts centuries after it went extinct, from Persian Avesta "sacred books of the Parsees," earlier Avistak, literally "books."
bandstand (n.): also band-stand, 1859, from band (n.2) + stand (n).
bystander (n.): 1610s, from by + agent noun from stand (v.). They have been innocent at least since 1829. Stander-by is from 1540s.
capstan (n.): late 14c., from Old French cabestant, from Old Provençal cabestan, from capestre "pulley cord," from Latin capistrum "halter," from capere "to hold, take" (see capable).
castanet (n.): usually castanets, 1640s, from French castagnette or directly from Spanish castañeta diminutive of castaña "chestnut," from Latin castanea (see chestnut).
circumstance (n.): early 13c., "conditions surrounding and accompanying an event," from Old French circonstance "circumstance, situation," also literally, "outskirts" (13c., Modern French circonstance), from Latin circumstantia "surrounding condition," neuter plural of circumstans (genitive circumstantis), present participle of circumstare "stand around, surround, encompass, occupy, take possession of" from circum "around" (see circum-) + stare "to stand" from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). The Latin word is a loan-translation of Greek peristasis.

Meaning "a person's surroundings, environment" is from mid-14c. Meaning "a detail" is from c. 1300; sense of "that which is non-essential" is from 1590s. Obsolete sense of "formality about an important event" (late 14c.) lingers in Shakespeare's phrase pomp and circumstance ("Othello" III, iii).
circumstances (n.): "condition of life, material welfare" (usually with a qualifying adjective), 1704, from circumstance.
circumstantial (adj.): c. 1600, from Latin circumstantia (see circumstance) + -al (1). Related: Circumstantially. Circumstantial evidence is attested by 1691.
circumstantiate (v.): 1650s, from Latin circumstantia "surrounding condition" (see circumstance) + -ate (2). Related: Circumstantiated; circumstantiating; circumstantiation.
constance (n.): mid-14c., "steadfastness," from Old French constance "steadfastness, permanence" (14c.), from Latin constantia (source of Italian costanza, Spanish constancia), noun of action from constantem (see constant (adj.)). Obsolete since 17c. except as a given name for a girl, which enjoyed a mild popularity in U.S. c. 1945-1955.
constancy (n.): 1520s, from constance + -cy.
constant (adj.): late 14c., "steadfast, resolute," from Old French constant (14c.) or directly from Latin constantem (nominative constans) "standing firm, stable, steadfast, faithful," present participle of constare, from com- "together" (see com-) + stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). Of actions and conditions from 1650s. Related: Constantly.
constant (n.): 1832 in mathematics and physics, from constant (adj.).
Constantinople: the proper name from 330 C.E. to 1930 C.E. of what is now Istanbul, from Greek Konstantinou polis "Constantine's city," named for Roman emperor Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, whose name is derived from Latin constans (see constant (adj.)).
consubstantial (adj.): late 15c., a term in the theology of the trinity, from Church Latin consubstantialis, from com- "with" (see com-) + substantia (see substance). In general use from 1570s. Related: Consubstantiality.
consubstantiation (n.): 1590s, from Church Latin consubstantionem (nominative consubstantio), noun of action from past participle stem of consubstantiare, from com- "with" (see com-) + substantia (see substance). Related: Consubstantiate.
contestant (adj.): 1660s, from French contestant, present participle of contester (see contest (v.)).
contestant (n.): "one who contests," from contestant (adj.). Popularized in U.S. Civil War, when it was a journalist's term for the combatants on either side.
decongestant (n.): 1950, from de- + congestant (see congest).
distance (n.): late 13c., "quarrel, estrangement, discord, strife," from Old French destance (13c.), from Latin distantia "a standing apart," from distantem (nominative distans) "standing apart, separate, distant," present participle of distare "stand apart," from dis- "apart, off" (see dis-) + stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand, set down, make or be firm" (see stet).

Meaning "remoteness, space between things or places" is late 14c. The figurative sense of "aloofness" is the same as in stand-offish. Phrase go the distance (1930s) seems to be originally from the prize ring, where the word meant "scheduled length of a bout."
distance (v.): 1570s (transitive); 1640s (intransitive), from distance (n.). Related: Distanced; distancing.
distant (adj.): late 14c., from Old French distant (14c.), from Latin distantem (nominative distans), present participle of distare "to stand apart, be remote" (see distance (n.)). Related: Distantly.
equidistant (adj.): 1560s, from French équidistant (14c.), from Late Latin aequidistantem (nominative aequidistans), from aequi- (see equal (adj.)) + distans (see distant). In reference to a type of map projection, from 1866. Related: Equidistance.
free-standing (adj.): 1841, from free (adj.) + standing (adj.).
grandstand (n.): "main seating for spectators at an outdoor event," 1761 (two words), from grand (adj.) + stand (n.). The verb meaning "to show off" is student slang from 1895, from grandstand player, attested in baseball slang from 1888.
It's little things of this sort which makes the 'grand stand player.' They make impossible catches, and when they get the ball they roll all over the field. [M.J. Kelly, "Play Ball," 1888]
Compare British gallery hit (1882) "showy play by a batsman in cricket, 'intended to gain applause from uncritical spectators'" [OED]. Related: grandstanding.
handstand (n.): also hand-stand, 1897 as an athletic feat, from hand (n.) + stand (n.).
happenstance (n.): 1855, from happening + ending from circumstance.
Hindustan: 1610s, from Persian, literally "country of the Hindus;" see Hindu + -stan.
inconstance (n.): late 14c., from Old French inconstance (13c.), from Latin inconstantia, noun of quality from inconstans (see inconstant).
inconstancy (n.): 1520s, from Latin inconstantia (see inconstance).
inconstant (adj.): c. 1400, "fickle, not steadfast," from Middle French inconstant (late 14c.), from Latin inconstantem (nominative inconstans) "changeable, fickle, capricious," from in- "not, opposite of, without" (see in- (1)) + constantem (see constant). Related: Inconstantly.
instance (n.): mid-14c., "urgency," from Old French instance "eagerness, anxiety, solicitation" (13c.), from Latin instantia "presence, effort intention; earnestness, urgency," literally "a standing near," from instans (see instant). In Scholastic logic, "a fact or example" (early 15c.), from Medieval Latin instantia, used to translate Greek enstasis. This led to use in phrase for instance "as an example" (1650s), and the noun phrase To give (someone) a for instance (1953, American English).