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apocalypse [apocalypse 词源字典]: apocalypse: [13] A ‘catastrophic event, such as the end of the world’ is a relatively recent, 20thcentury development in the meaning of apocalypse. Originally it was an alternative name for the book of the Bible known as the ‘Revelation of St. John the divine’, which describes a vision of the future granted to St John on the island of Patmos. And in fact, the underlying etymological meaning of apocalypse is literally ‘revelation’.

It comes, via Old French and ecclesiastical Latin, from Greek apokálupsis, a derivative of the verb apokalúptein ‘uncover, reveal’, which was formed from the prefix apo- ‘away, off’ and the verb kalúptein ‘cover’ (related to English conceal).
=> conceal[apocalypse etymology, apocalypse origin, 英语词源]
apocrypha: apocrypha: see crypt
apocryphal: apocryphal: [16] Apocryphal is a ‘secondgeneration’ adjective; the original adjective form in English was apocrypha (‘The writing is apocrypha when the author thereof is unknown’, John de Trevisa 1387). This came, via ecclesiastical Latin, from Greek apókruphos ‘hidden’, a derivative of the compound verb apokrúptein ‘hide away’, which was formed from the prefix apo- ‘away, off’ and the verb krúptein ‘hide’ (source of English crypt and cryptic).

It was applied as a noun to writings in general that were of unknown authorship, and in the 16th century came to be used specifically as the collective term for the uncanonical books of the Old Testament. It was perhaps confusion between the adjectival and nominal roles of apocrypha that led to the formation of the new adjective apocryphal towards the end of the 16th century.
=> crypt, cryptic
apogee: apogee: [17] In its original, literal sense, a planet’s or satellite’s apogee is the point in its orbit at which it is furthest away from the Earth; and this is reflected in the word’s ultimate source, Greek apógaios or apógeios ‘far from the Earth’, formed from the prefix apo- ‘away’ and gē ‘earth’ (source of English geography, geology, and geometry).

From this was derived a noun, apógaion, which passed into English via Latin apogeum or French apogée. The metaphorical sense ‘culmination’ developed in the later 17th century. The opposite of apogee, perigee [16], contains the Greek prefix peri- ‘around’, in the sense ‘close around’, and entered English at about the same time as apogee.
=> geography, perigee
apology: apology: [16] The original meaning of apology was ‘formal self-justification’, often used as the title of a piece of writing rebutting criticism (as in the Apology of Sir Thomas More, knight 1533). This is indicative of the word’s origins in Greek apologíā, a derivative of the verb apologeisthai ‘speak in one’s defence’, formed from the prefix apo- ‘away, off’ and logos ‘speech’ (source of English logic).

It entered English through either French apologie or Latin apologia (which was separately borrowed into English as a Latinism in the late 18th century). The meaning ‘expression of regret for offence given’ developed in the late 16th century.
=> logic
apoplexy: apoplexy: [14] The Greek verb apopléssein meant ‘incapacitate by means of a stroke’. It was formed from the prefix apo- ‘away, off’ (here used as an intensive) and the verb pléssein ‘hit’ (source of English plectrum [17] and related to English complain, plangent, plankton, and plague). The derived noun, apoplēxíā, entered English via Latin and Old French.
=> complain, plague, plangent, plankton, plectrum
apostle: apostle: [OE] Apostle was an early borrowing into Old English from Latin, and like angel it originally meant ‘messenger’. Latin apostolus came from Greek apóstolos ‘messenger’, or literally ‘someone sent out’; this was a compound formed from the prefix apo- ‘away’ and the verb stéllein ‘send’ (related to English stall and local). The Old English form, apostol, was gradually replaced from the 12th century by apostle, from Old French apostle.
=> epistle, local, stall
apostrophe: apostrophe: [17] Apostrophe comes originally from the Greek phrase prosōidiā apóstrophos, literally ‘accent of turning away’, hence, a mark showing where a letter or sound has been omitted. Apóstrophos itself was derived from the compound verb apostréphein, formed from the prefix apo- ‘away’ and the verb stréphein ‘turn’ (related to the second element of catastrophe [16], whose Greek original meant literally ‘overturning’). English acquired the word via French and Latin.
=> catastrophe
apothecary: apothecary: [14] Originally, an apothecary was simply a shopkeeper – the word comes via Old French from late Latin apothēcārius, which was based on Greek apothékē ‘storehouse’ (source, via French, of boutique [18] and via Spanish of bodega [19]), a derivative of the verb apotithénai ‘put away’ (formed from the prefix apo- ‘away’ and the verb tithénai ‘put’ – source of thesis).

By the time the word entered English it was reserved to shopkeepers who sold non-perishable groceries, such as spices – and herbal and other remedies. Gradually, apothecaries began to specialize more and more in drugs, so that in 1617 a formal separation took place between the Apothecaries’ Company of London and the Grocers’ Company. Apothecary remained the general term for a ‘druggist’ until about 1800, when chemist began to take over.
=> bodega, boutique, thesis
apotheosis: apotheosis: see theology
capon: capon: [OE] Capon, a ‘castrated male chicken’, is probably literally a ‘cut cockerel’. The word comes via Anglo-Norman capun from Latin capō, which is probably ultimately derived from a word for ‘cut’ – Greek kóptein, for example – the underlying reference of course being to the cutting off of the unfortunate bird’s testicles.
juxtaposition: juxtaposition: see joust
teapoy: teapoy: see foot
vapour: vapour: [14] Latin vapor meant ‘steam, heat’. English acquired it via Old French vapour. The now archaic use of the plural, vapours, for a ‘fit of fainting, hysteria, etc’, which dates from the 17th century, was inspired by the notion that exhalations from the stomach and other internal organs affected the brain. Vapid [17] comes from Latin vapidus ‘insipid’, which may have been related to vapor.
=> vapid
weapon: weapon: [OE] Weapon comes from a prehistoric Germanic *wǣpnam, a source it shares with German waffe, Dutch wapen, Swedish vapen, and Danish vaaben. But of the ancestry of the Germanic form nothing certain is known.
apo koinu: Greek, literally "in common." Applied to sentences with one subject and two predicates; a formation rare in modern English, though it occurs more often in Old English. Compare koine.
apo-: before vowels ap-, word-forming element meaning "from, away from, separate, free from," from Greek apo "from, away from; after; in descent from," in compounds, "from, asunder, away, off; finishing, completing; ceasing from; back again," from PIE root *apo- "off, away" (cognates: Sanskrit apa "away from," Avestan apa "away from," Latin ab "away from, from," Gothic af, Old English of "away from").
apocalypse (n.): late 14c., "revelation, disclosure," from Church Latin apocalypsis "revelation," from Greek apokalyptein "uncover, disclose, reveal," from apo- "from" (see apo-) + kalyptein "to cover, conceal" (see Calypso). The Christian end-of-the-world story is part of the revelation in John of Patmos' book "Apokalypsis" (a title rendered into English as "Apocalypse" c. 1230 and "Revelations" by Wyclif c. 1380).

Its general sense in Middle English was "insight, vision; hallucination;" meaning "a cataclysmic event" is modern. As agent nouns, apocalypst (1829), apocalypt (1834), and apocalyptist (1835) have been tried.
apocalyptic (adj.): 1660s, "pertaining to the 'Revelation of St. John' in the New Testament," from Greek apokalyptikos, from apokalyptein (see apocalypse). Meaning "pertaining to the imminent end of the world" evolved by 1880s.
Apocrypha: late 14c., neuter plural of Late Latin apocryphus "secret, not approved for public reading," from Greek apokryphos "hidden; obscure," thus "(books) of unknown authorship" (especially those included in the Septuagint and Vulgate but not originally written in Hebrew and not counted as genuine by the Jews), from apo- "away" (see apo-) + kryptein "to hide" (see crypt). Properly plural (the single would be Apocryphon or apocryphum), but commonly treated as a collective singular.
apocryphal (adj.): 1580s, "of doubtful authenticity," from Apocrypha + -al (1). Middle English had apocrive (late 14c.) in same sense.
apodal (adj.): 1769, with -al + Greek apous (genitive apodos) "footless," from a-, privative prefix (see a- (3)) + pous "foot," from PIE root *ped- (1) "a foot" (see foot (n.)).
apodictic (adj.): "clearly demonstrated," 1650s, from Latin apodicticus, from Greek apodeiktikos, from apodeiktos, verbal adjective of apodeiknynai "to show off, demonstrate," literally "to point away from" (other objects, at one), from apo "off, away" (see apo-) + deiknynai "to show" (see diction).
apodyterium (n.): 1690s, from Latin apodyterium "undressing room" (in a bath house), from Greek apodyterion "undressing room," from apodyein "to put off, undress," from apo- "off" (see apo-) + dyein "to put on, enter, go in."
apogee (n.): "point at which the moon is farthest from the earth," 1590s, from French apogée, from Latin apogaeum, from Greek apogaion, neuter adjective, "away from the earth," a term from Ptolemaic astronomy, from apo "off, away" (see apo-) + gaia/ge "earth" (see Gaia). Adjective forms are apogeal, apogean.
apolitical (adj.): 1947, from a- "not" (see a- (3)) + political.
Apollo: Olympian deity, god of music, poetry, medicine, etc., later identified with Helios, the sun god; the name is a Latin form of Greek Apollon, said to be perhaps related to an obsolete Greek verb meaning "to drive away" (evil, etc.) [Klein, citing Usener].
Apollonian (adj.): 1660s, from Apollo (Greek Apollon) + -ian. The Greek adjective was Apollonios. The word also is attested in English as Apollinarian (1753), Apolline (c. 1600).
Apollyon: destroying angel of the bottomless pit (a name sometimes given to the Devil), late 14c., from present participle of Greek apollyein "to destroy utterly" (from apo- "from, away from" + olluein "to destroy"); a translation of Hebrew Abaddon (q.v.).
apologetic (adj.): 1640s, "vindicatory," from French apologétique, from Latin apologeticus, from Greek apologetikos "defensible," from apologeisthai (see apology). Meaning "regretfully acknowledging failure" is from 1855. As a noun, "formal defense," from early 15c. Related: Apologetics (c. 1753).
apologia (n.): see apology.
apological (adj.): c. 1600; see apology + -ical.
apologise (v.): chiefly British English spelling of apologize; for suffix, see -ize. Related: Apologised; apologising.
apologist (n.): 1630s, from French apologiste, from apologie (see apology).
apologize (v.): 1590s, "to speak in defense of;" see apology + -ize. Main modern sense "to regretfully acknowledge" is attested by 1725. The Greek equivalent, apologizesthai, meant simply "to give an account." Related: Apologized; apologizing.
apologue (n.): "moral fable," 1550s, from French apologue, from Latin apologus, from Greek apologos, from apo- "off, away from" (see apo-) + logos "speech" (see lecture (n.)). Literally, "(that which comes) from a speech."
apology (n.): early 15c., "defense, justification," from Late Latin apologia, from Greek apologia "a speech in defense," from apologeisthai "to speak in one's defense," from apologos "an account, story," from apo- "from, off" (see apo-) + logos "speech" (see lecture (n.)).

The original English sense of "self-justification" yielded a meaning "frank expression of regret for wrong done," first recorded 1590s, but this was not the main sense until 18c. The old sense tends to emerge in Latin form apologia (first attested in English 1784), especially since J.H. Newman's "Apologia pro Vita Sua" (1864).
aponeurosis (n.): 1670s, from Latin, from Greek aponeurosis, from aponeuroein, from apo- "off, away from" (see apo-) + neuron "sinew" (see neuro-).
apophatic (adj.): "involving a mention of something one feigns to deny; involving knowledge obtained by negation," 1850, from Greek apophatikos, from apophasis "denial, answer," from apophanai "to speak off," from apo- "off" (see apo-) + phanai "to speak," related to pheme "voice," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say" (see fame (n.)).
apophthegm (n.): see apothegm.
apoplectic (adj.): 1610s, "involving apoplexy," from French apoplectique (16c.), from Latin apoplecticus, from Greek apoplektikos "disabled by a stroke, crippled, struck dumb," from apoplektos, verbal adjective of apoplessein (see apoplexy). Meaning "showing symptoms of apoplexy" (1721) gradually shaded into "enraged, very angry."
apoplexy (n.): late 14c., "sudden fit of paralysis and dizziness," from Old French apoplexie or directly from Late Latin apoplexia, from Greek apoplexia, from apoplessein "to strike down and incapacitate," from apo- "off" (see apo-), in this case probably an intensive prefix, + plessein "hit" (cognates: plague (n.), also with a root sense of "stricken"). The Latin translation, sideratio, means "disease caused by a constellation."
aporetic (adj.): c. 1600, from French aporetique, from Greek aporetikos, from aporeein "to be at a loss," from aporos "impassable, impracticable, very difficult; hard to deal with; at a loss," from a-, privative prefix (see a- (3)), + poros "passage" (see pore (n.)).
aporia (n.): 1580s, from Latin, from Greek aporia, noun of state from aporos (see aporetic).
aposiopesis (n.): rhetorical artifice wherein the speaker suddenly breaks off in the middle of a sentence, 1570s, from Latin, from Greek aposiopesis "a becoming silent," also as a rhetorical figure, from apo- (see apo-) + siope "silence."
apostasy (n.): late 14c., "renunciation, abandonment or neglect of established religion," from Latin apostasia, from later Greek apostasia, from apostasis "revolt, defection," literally "a standing off" (see apostate). General (non-religious) sense is attested from 1570s.
apostate (n.): mid-14c., "one who forsakes his religion or faith," from Old French apostate (Modern French apostat) and directly from Late Latin apostata, from Greek apostasia "defection, desertion, rebellion," from apostenai "to defect," literally "to stand off," from apo- "away from" (see apo-) + stenai "to stand." Used in non-religious situations (politics, etc.) from mid-14c.
apostate (adj.): late 14c.; see apostate (n.).
apostatize (v.): 1610s, from Late Latin apostatizare, earlier apostatare, from apostata (see apostate). Related: Apostatized; apostatizing. The past participle form apostazied is attested from late 14c.
apostille (n.): "note, especially on text of the Bible," also apostil, 1520s, from French apostille (15c.), probably from Medieval Latin postilla, which probably represents Latin post illa, literally "after those."