quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- loaf[loaf 词源字典]
- loaf: English has two words loaf. By far the older is ‘portion of bread’ [OE], which goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *khlaibaz. This also produced German laib and Danish lev ‘loaf’, and was borrowed, originally into Gothic, from an Old Slavic chleb (source of modern Russian and Polish chleb ‘bread, loaf’). Heavily disguised, loaf forms part of both lady and lord (which etymologically mean respectively ‘loafkneader’ and ‘loaf-guardian’), and it also contributed the first syllable to Lammas [OE], literally ‘loaf-mass’.
The verb loaf ‘dawdle, mooch’ [19] seems to have been a back-formation from loafer, which was probably adapted in 19th-century American English from German landläufer ‘vagabond’, a compound of land ‘land’ and läufer ‘runner’ (to which English leap is related).
=> lady, lord; leap[loaf etymology, loaf origin, 英语词源] - ad-
- word-forming element expressing direction toward or in addition to, from Latin ad "to, toward" in space or time; "with regard to, in relation to," as a prefix, sometimes merely emphatic, from PIE *ad- "to, near, at" (cognate with Old English æt; see at). Simplified to a- before sc-, sp- and st-; modified to ac- before many consonants and then re-spelled af-, ag-, al-, etc., in conformity with the following consonant (as in affection, aggression). In Old French, reduced to a- in all cases (an evolution already underway in Merovingian Latin), but written forms in French were refashioned after Latin in 14c. and English did likewise 15c. in words it had picked up from Old French. In many cases pronunciation followed the shift.
- afford (v.)
- Middle English aforthen, from Old English geforðian "to put forth, contribute; further, advance; carry out, accomplish," from ge- completive prefix (see a- (1)) + forðian "to further," from forð "forward, onward" (see forth).
Change of -th- to -d- took place late 16c. (and also transformed burthen and murther into their modern forms). Prefix shift to af- took place 16c. under mistaken belief that it was a Latin word in ad-. Notion of "accomplish" (late Old English) gradually became "be able to bear the expense of, have enough money" to do something (late 14c.). Older sense is preserved in afford (one) an opportunity. Related: Afforded; affording. - beefeater (n.)
- "warder of the Tower of London," 1670s, a contemptuous reference to well-fed servants of the royal household; the notion is of "one who eats another's beef" (see eater, and compare Old English hlaf-æta "servant," literally "loaf-eater").
- blade (n.)
- Old English blæd "a leaf," but also "a leaf-like part" (of spade, oar, etc.), from Proto-Germanic *bladaz (cognates: Old Frisian bled "leaf," German Blatt, Old Saxon, Danish, Dutch blad, Old Norse blað), from PIE *bhle-to-, suffixed form (past participle) of *bhel- (3) "to thrive, bloom," possibly identical with *bhel- (2) "to blow, swell" (see bole). Extended in Middle English to shoulders (c. 1300) and swords (early 14c.). The modern use in reference to grass may be a Middle English revival, by influence of Old French bled "corn, wheat" (11c., perhaps from Germanic). The cognate in German, Blatt, is the general word for "leaf;" Laub is used collectively as "foliage." Old Norse blað was used of herbs and plants, lauf in reference to trees. This might have been the original distinction in Old English, too. Of men from 1590s; in later use often a reference to 18c. gallants, but the original exact sense, and thus signification, is uncertain.
- chaff (n.)
- "husks," Old English ceaf "chaff," probably from Proto-Germanic *kaf- "to gnaw, chew" (cognates: Middle Dutch and Dutch kaf, German Kaff), from PIE root *gep(h)- "jaw, mouth" (see jowl (n.1)). Used figuratively for "worthless material" from late 14c.
- craft (n.)
- Old English cræft (West Saxon, Northumbrian), -creft (Kentish), originally "power, physical strength, might," from Proto-Germanic *krab-/*kraf- (cognates: Old Frisian kreft, Old High German chraft, German Kraft "strength, skill;" Old Norse kraptr "strength, virtue"). Sense expanded in Old English to include "skill, dexterity; art, science, talent" (via a notion of "mental power"), which led by late Old English to the meaning "trade, handicraft, calling," also "something built or made." The word still was used for "might, power" in Middle English.
Use for "small boat" is first recorded 1670s, probably from a phrase similar to vessels of small craft and referring either to the trade they did or the seamanship they required, or perhaps it preserves the word in its original sense of "power." - deaf (adj.)
- Old English deaf "deaf," also "empty, barren," specialized from Proto-Germanic *daubaz (cognates: Old Saxon dof, Old Norse daufr, Old Frisian daf, Dutch doof "deaf," German taub, Gothic daufs "deaf, insensate"), from PIE dheubh-, which was used to form words meaning "confusion, stupefaction, dizziness" (cognates: Greek typhlos "blind," typhein "to make smoke;" Old English dumb "unable to speak;" Old High German tumb).
The word was pronounced to rhyme with reef until 18c. Deaf-mute is from 1837, after French sourd-muet. Deaf-mutes were sought after in 18c.-19c. Britain as fortune-tellers. Deaf as an adder (Old English) is from Psalms lviii:5. - 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.
- foliate (adj.)
- 1620s, "beaten into thin sheets," from Medieval Latin foliatus "leaved, leafy," from Latin folium "a leaf" (see folio). As "leaf-like" from 1650s.
- frond (n.)
- 1785, from Latin frons (genitive frondis) "leafy branch, green bough, foliage." Adopted by Linnæus for the leaf-like organs of ferns, palms, etc., as a word distinct from folium. Later given a more precise meaning in botany.
- gaffe (n.)
- "blunder," 1909, perhaps from French gaffe "clumsy remark," originally "boat hook," from Middle French gaffe (15c.), from Old Provençal gafar "to seize," probably from a Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *gaf-, which is perhaps from PIE *kap- "to grasp, catch" (see capable). Sense connection between the hook and the blunder is obscure; the gaff was used to land big fish. Or the Modern English word might derive from British slang verb gaff "to cheat, trick" (1893); or gaff "criticism" (1896), from Scottish dialect sense of "loud, rude talk" (see gaff (n.2)).
- leave (v.)
- Old English læfan "to let remain; remain; have left; bequeath," from Proto-Germanic *laibijan (cognates: Old Frisian leva "to leave," Old Saxon farlebid "left over"), causative of *liban "remain," (source of Old English belifan, German bleiben, Gothic bileiban "to remain"), from root *laf- "remnant, what remains," from PIE *leip- "to stick, adhere;" also "fat."
The Germanic root has only the sense "remain, continue," which also is in Greek lipares "persevering, importunate." But this usually is regarded as a development from the primary PIE sense of "adhere, be sticky" (compare Lithuanian lipti, Old Church Slavonic lipet "to adhere," Greek lipos "grease," Sanskrit rip-/lip- "to smear, adhere to." Seemingly contradictory meaning of "depart" (early 13c.) comes from notion of "to leave behind" (as in to leave the earth "to die;" to leave the field "retreat"). - lip-read (v.)
- 1880, back-formation from lip-reading, which is attested from 1852 in writings on educating deaf-mutes; from lip (n.) + reading.
- lord (n.)
- mid-13c., laverd, loverd, from Old English hlaford "master of a household, ruler, superior," also "God" (translating Latin Dominus, though Old English drihten was used more often), earlier hlafweard, literally "one who guards the loaves," from hlaf "bread, loaf" (see loaf (n.)) + weard "keeper, guardian" (see ward (n.)). Compare lady (literally "bread-kneader"), and Old English hlafæta "household servant," literally "loaf-eater." Modern monosyllabic form emerged 14c. As an interjection from late 14c. Lord's Prayer is from 1540s. Lord of the Flies translates Beelzebub (q.v.) and was name of 1954 book by William Golding. To drink like a lord is from 1620s.
- meerschaum (n.)
- type of soft white clay, 1784; from 1789 as "tobacco pipe with a bowl made of meerschaum clay," from German Meerschaum, literally "sea-foam," so called from its frothy appearance; from Old High German mari "sea" (see mere (n.)) + scum "scum" (see skim (v.)). A loan-translation of Latin spuma maris, itself said to be a loan translation of Greek halos akhne, from Persian kaf-i-darya.
- phyllophagous (adj.)
- "leaf-eating," 1819, from phyllo- + -phagous.
- rafter (n.)
- "sloping timber of a roof," Old English ræftras (West Saxon), reftras (Mercian), both plural, related to Old Norse raptr "log," from Proto-Germanic *raf-tra-, from PIE *rap-tro-, from root *rep- "stake, beam."
- shove (v.)
- Old English scufan "push away, thrust, push with violence" (class II strong verb; past tense sceaf, past participle scoven), from Proto-Germanic *skeub-, *skub- (cognates: Old Norse skufa, Old Frisian skuva, Dutch schuiven, Old High German scioban, German schieben "to push, thrust," Gothic af-skiuban), from PIE root *skeubh- "to shove" (cognates: scuffle, shuffle, shovel; likely cognates outside Germanic include Lithuanian skubti "to make haste," skubinti "to hasten"). Related: Shoved; shoving.
Replaced by push in all but colloquial and nautical usage. Shove off "leave" (1844) is from boating. Shove the queer (1859) was an old expression for "to counterfeit money." Shove it had an earlier sense of "depart" before it became a rude synonym for stick it (by 1941) with implied destination. - skene (n.)
- ancient type of Celtic dagger found in Ireland, double-edged and leaf-like, 1520s, from Irish Gaelic scian (genitive sceine) "knife," cognate with Gaelic sgian "knife," Welsh ysgien "a slicer," from PIE *skiy-ena-, from root *skei- "to divide, split" (see shed (v.)).
- Trafalgar
- cape in southwestern Spain, from Arabic taraf-al-garb "end of the west," or taraf-agarr "end of the column" (in reference to the pillars of Hercules). The British naval victory over the French there was fought Oct. 21, 1805; hence London's Trafalgar Square, named in commemoration of it.
- monkey puzzle
- "An evergreen coniferous tree with branches covered in spirals of tough spiny leaf-like scales, native to Chile", Mid 19th century: said to be so named in response to a remark that an attempt to climb the tree would puzzle a monkey.
- colobus
- "A slender leaf-eating African monkey with silky fur, a long tail, and very small or absent thumbs", Modern Latin, from Greek kolobos 'cut short'.
- petalody
- "Transformation of parts of a flower, usually stamens or sepals, into petals or petal-like structures (as a teratological or evolutionary phenomenon)", Mid 19th cent.; earliest use found in Maxwell Tylden Masters (1833–1907), botanist and journal editor. From ancient Greek πεταλώδης leaf-like + -y, apparently after petalodic.
- foliose
- "(Of a lichen) having a lobed, leaf-like shape", Early 18th century: from Latin foliosus, from folium 'leaf'.
- affeer
- "To determine, decide, assess; ( Law ) to fix or settle the amount of (a fine or amercement), typically by adjusting a generally prescribed penalty according to the particular circumstances of an offender and his or her offence; to settle the amount to be paid by (a person); to perform this task for (a certain community or region)", Middle English. From Anglo-Norman aferer, affeerer, afferer, affurer, afurer, Anglo-Norman and Middle French affeurer, Middle French afeurer (also Anglo-Norman affoerer, Anglo-Norman and Middle French afforer, Old French, Middle French aforer; French †affeurer, †afforer) to determine the value of (goods, or a weight or measure), to tax (someone), to fix the amount of (an amercement) from post-classical Latin afforare to assess, to appraise, fix the price of from classical Latin af-, variant of ad- + forum market, in post-classical Latin also market price.
- dictyostele
- "A type of stele found in certain vascular plants (especially ferns) which is broken up into a network of meristeles separated by parenchymatous areas usually associated with leaf-gaps", Early 20th cent. From dictyo- + stele.
- affuse
- "(Chiefly in pass.). Christian Church . To baptize (a person) by affusion", Mid 17th cent.; earliest use found in Walter Charleton (1620–1707), physician and natural philosopher. From classical Latin affūs-, past participial stem of affundere to pour on from af-, variant of ad- + fundere.
- protophyll
- "In a clubmoss: a primitive leaf-like structure produced on the upper surface of the protocorm or tuber", Late 19th cent.; earliest use found in Frederic Bower (1855–1948), botanist. From proto- + -phyll.