英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

contraband [contraband 词源字典]: contraband: [16] Contraband means literally ‘proclamation against’ – hence ‘prohibition’. It comes via French contrebande from Italian contrabbando, a compound formed from contra ‘against’ (see CONTRARY) and bando ‘proclamation’ (whose source was late Latin bannus, bannum, a relative of English ban). The sense ‘dealing in prohibited goods’ had already developed before English acquired the word, and rapidly developed through ‘smuggling’ to ‘smuggled goods’.
=> ban, contrary[contraband etymology, contraband origin, 英语词源]
decide: decide: [14] Etymologically, decide denotes a resolving of alternatives or difficulties by cutting through them as if with a knife or a sword – dealing with them ‘at a stroke’. The word comes, perhaps via French décider, from Latin dēcidere, a compound verb formed from the prefix dē- ‘off’ and caedere ‘cut, strike’. It is not clear where this comes from, although Sanskrit khid- ‘press, tear’ has been compared.

Its other descendants in English include chisel, cement, concise, and scissors. (Other verbs for ‘decide’ which contain the basic meaning element ‘cut through’ or ‘separate’ include Latin dēcernere and German entscheiden.)
=> cement, chisel, concise, excise, incision, precise, scissors
hamburger: hamburger: [19] As its inherent beefiness amply demonstrates, the hamburger has nothing to do with ham. It originated in the German city and port of Hamburg. The fashioning of conveniently sized patties was a common way of dealing with minced beef in northern Europe and the Baltic in the 19th century, and it appears that German sailors or emigrants took the delicacy across the Atlantic with them to America.

There it was called a Hamburg steak or, using the German adjectival form, a Hamburger steak. That term is first recorded in the late 1880s, and by the first decade of the 20th century the steak had been dropped. By the 1930s the hamburger had become an American fast-food staple, and products similar in concept but with different ingredients inspired variations on its name: beefburger, cheeseburger, steakburger, and so on; and by the end of the decade plain burger was well established in the language.
nomad: nomad: [16] The Greek verb némein had a very wide range of senses. It originally meant ‘deal out, dispense’, a signification mirrored in the derived nemesis [16] (etymologically the ‘dealing out’ of what is due) and the possibly related number. It developed subsequently to ‘inhabit’ and to ‘control, manage’ (which is represented in English economy).

But a further strand was ‘put out to pasture’; and from the same stem as produced némein was formed the adjective nomás ‘wandering about to find pasture for herds or flocks’. Its plural nomádes was used to denote pastoral people who lived in this way, and the word was passed on via Latin nomades and French (singular) nomade into English.
=> economy, nemesis
pamphlet: pamphlet: [14] The original ‘pamphlet’ was Pamphilus, a short anonymous Latin love poem of the 12th century. It was very popular and widely reproduced, and its name was adapted in the vernacular to Pamflet; and by the end of the 14th century this was being used generically for any text shorter than a book. The word’s more restricted modern connotations (‘unbound’ and ‘dealing with controversial subjects’) developed gradually over the centuries.
soap opera: soap opera: [20] The original soap operas were a radio phenomenon, in 1930s America. Serial dramas dealing with humdrum-butoccasionally- melodramatic domestic life were as common then as they are on television now, and several of those on the commercial US networks were sponsored by soap manufacturers. A writer on the Christian Century in 1938 said ‘These fifteen-minute tragedies…I call the “soap tragedies”…because it is by the grace of soap I am allowed to shed tears for these characters who suffer so much from life’.

The soap connection soon linked up with horse opera, a mildly derisive term for a Western movie that had been around since the 1920s, to produce soap opera (a later coinage on the same model was space opera). The abbreviated version soap is recorded as early as 1943.
temple: temple: Temple for worship [OE] and temple at the side of the head [14] are distinct words. The former was borrowed from Latin templum, which originated as a term relating to divination, used by priests in ancient times. It denoted a space marked out or ‘cut’ out as suitable for making observations on which auguries were based – some say a space marked out on the ground, others a section of the night sky.

It probably came ultimately from the base *tem- ‘cut’, which also produced Greek témein ‘cut’ and the English suffix -tomy ‘surgical cutting’. It has found its way into most western European languages, including German, Dutch, Swedish, and Danish tempel and Welsh teml as well as the Romance languages. Temple ‘area at the side of the head’ comes via Old French temple from Vulgar Latin *tempula, an alteration of tempora, the plural of Latin tempus.

This of course originally meant ‘time’ (English gets temporary from it), and it seems that the sense ‘area at the side of the head’ arose via an intermediate ‘appropriate time, proper period’, hence ‘right place (for dealing someone a fatal blow)’.
=> tome; temporary
treat: treat: [13] Treat comes ultimately from Latin tractāre, a derivative of tractus (source of English contract, tractor, etc), the past participle of trahere ‘pull’. Originally tractāre meant ‘drag’, but it branched out metaphorically to ‘handle, deal with, discuss’, and it was in these senses that it reached English via Anglo-Norman treter. The notion of ‘dealing with something by discussion’ also underlies treatise [14] and treaty [14], which come from the same ultimate source.
=> contract, tractor, treatise, treaty
truck: truck: English has two distinct words truck. The earlier, ‘dealings’, as in ‘have no truck with’, was originally a verb, meaning ‘exchange, barter’ [13]. It was borrowed from Anglo- Norman *truquer, but its ultimate ancestry is unknown. Americans call a ‘market garden’ a truck farm, from the former practice of bartering its produce. Truck ‘goods vehicle’ [17] is generally assumed to be short for truckle; it was originally used for a ‘small wooden wheel’, particularly one on the carriage of a naval cannon.
=> truckle
accidence (n.): late 14c., in philosophy, "non-essential or incidental characteristic," also "part of grammar dealing with inflection" (mid-15c.), in some cases a misspelling of accidents, or else directly from Latin accidentia (used as a term in grammar by Quintilian), neuter plural of accidens, present participle of accidere (see accident). The grammar sense is because they change in accordance with use.
ado (n.): late 14c., "conflict, fighting; difficulty, trouble," compounded from at do, dialectal in Norse influenced areas of England for to do, as some Scandinavian languages used at with infinitive of a verb where Modern English uses to. For sense development, compare to-do. Meaning "fuss" is from early 15c. Also used in Middle English for "dealings, traffic," and "sexual intercourse" (both c. 1400).
Albion: ancient name of England, Old English, from Latin, sometimes said to be from the non-Indo-European base *alb "mountain," which also is suggested as the source of Latin Alpes "Alps," Albania, and Alba, an Irish name for "Scotland." But more likely from Latin albus "white" (see alb), which would be an apt description of the chalk cliffs of the island's southern coast.
Breoton is garsecges ealond, ðæt wæs iu geara Albion haten. [translation of Bede's "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," c.900 C.E.]
Perfidious Albion translates French rhetorical phrase la perfide Albion, said to have been in use since 16c. but popularized by Napoleon I in the recruiting drive of 1813, a reference to the supposedly treacherous policies of Britain when dealing with foreign powers.
ambidexterity (n.): 1650s, from obsolete adjective ambidexter "two-sided, using both hands with equal facility," also "double-dealing," from Medieval Latin ambidexter (see ambidextrous) + -ity.
ambidextrous (adj.): 1640s, with -ous, from ambidexter (adj.) "double-dealing" (1610s), from French ambidextre or directly from Latin ambidexter, literally "right-handed on both sides," from ambi- "both" (see ambi-) + dexter "right-handed" (see dexterity). Its opposite, ambilevous "left-handed on both sides, clumsy" (1640s) is rare. Ambidexter as a noun, "one who takes bribes from both sides," is attested from 1530s and is the earliest form of the word in English; its sense of "one who uses both hands equally well" appears by 1590s.
billingsgate (n.): 1670s, the kind of coarse, abusive language once used by women in the Billingsgate market on the River Thames below London Bridge.
Billingsgate is the market where the fishwomen assemble to purchase fish; and where, in their dealings and disputes they are somewhat apt to leave decency and good manners a little on the left hand. ["Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1811]
The place name is Old English Billingesgate, "gate of (a man called) Billing;" the "gate" probably being a gap in the Roman river wall. The market is mid-13c., not exclusively a fish market until late 17c.
commune (v.): c. 1300, "have dealings with," from Old French comuner "to make common, share" (10c., Modern French communier), from comun (see common (adj.)). Meaning "to talk intimately" is late 14c. Related: Communed; communing.
contraband (n.): 1520s, "smuggling;" 1590s, "smuggled goods;" from Middle French contrebande "a smuggling," from older Italian contrabando (modern contrabbando) "unlawful dealing," from Latin contra "against" (see contra) + Medieval Latin bannum, from Frankish *ban "a command" or some other Germanic source (see ban (v.)).
conversation (n.): mid-14c., "living together, having dealings with others," also "manner of conducting oneself in the world;" from Old French conversation, from Latin conversationem (nominative conversatio) "act of living with," noun of action from past participle stem of conversari "to live with, keep company with," literally "turn about with," from Latin com- "with" (see com-) + vertare, frequentative of vertere (see versus).

Specific sense of "talk" is 1570s. Used as a synonym for "sexual intercourse" from at least 1511, hence criminal conversation, legal term for adultery from late 18c. Related: Conversationalist; conversationist.
customer (n.): late 14c., "customs official;" later "buyer" (early 15c.), from Anglo-French custumer, from Medieval Latin custumarius, from Latin consuetudinarius (see custom (n.)). More generalized meaning "a person with whom one has dealings" emerged 1540s; that of "a person to deal with" (usually wth an adjective, tough, etc.) is by 1580s. In Shakespeare, the word also can mean "prostitute."
deal (v.): Old English dælan "to divide, distribute, separate, share, bestow, dispense," from the source of deal (n.). Meaning "to distribute cards before a game" is from 1520s. To deal with "handle" is attested from mid-15c. Related: Dealt; dealing.
digit (n.): late 14c., "numeral below 10," from Latin digitus "finger or toe" (also with secondary meanings dealing in counting and numerals), related to dicere "tell, say, point out" (see diction). Numerical sense is because numerals under 10 were counted on fingers. The "finger or toe" sense in English is attested from 1640s.
dwarf (n.): Old English dweorh, dweorg (West Saxon), duerg (Mercian), "very short human being," from Proto-Germanic *dweraz (cognates: Old Frisian dwerch, Old Saxon dwerg, Old High German twerg, German Zwerg, Old Norse dvergr), perhaps from PIE *dhwergwhos "something tiny," but with no established cognates outside Germanic. The mythological sense is 1770, from German (it seems never to have developed independently in English).
Whilst in this and other ways the dwarfs do at times have dealings with mankind, yet on the whole they seem to shrink from man; they give the impression of a downtrodden afflicted race, which is on the point of abandoning its ancient home to new and more powerful invaders. There is stamped on their character something shy and something heathenish, which estranges them from intercourse with christians. They chafe at human faithlessness, which no doubt would primarily mean the apostacy from heathenism. In the poems of the Mid. Ages, Laurin is expressly set before us as a heathen. It goes sorely against the dwarfs to see churches built, bell-ringing ... disturbs their ancient privacy; they also hate the clearing of forests, agriculture, new fangled pounding-machinery for ore. ["Teutonic Mythology," Jacob Grimm, transl. Stallybrass, 1883]
The shift of the Old English guttural at the end of the word to modern -f is typical (compare enough, draft). Old English plural dweorgas became Middle English dwarrows, later leveled down to dwarfs. The use of dwarves for the legendary race was popularized by J.R.R. Tolkien. As an adjective, from 1590s.
ecology (n.): 1873, oecology, "branch of science dealing with the relationship of living things to their environments," coined in German by German zoologist Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919) as Ökologie, from Greek oikos "house, dwelling place, habitation" (see villa) + -logia "study of" (see -logy). In use with reference to anti-pollution activities from 1960s.
equity (n.): early 14c., "quality of being equal or fair, impartiality in dealing with others," from Old French equite (13c.), from Latin aequitatem (nominative aequitas) "equality, uniformity, conformity, symmetry; fairness, equal rights; kindness, moderation," from aequus "even, just, equal" (see equal (adj.)). As the name of a system of law, 1590s, from Roman naturalis aequitas, the general principles of justice which corrected or supplemented the legal codes.
fatal (adj.): late 14c., "decreed by fate," also "fraught with fate," from Middle French fatal (14c.) and directly from Latin fatalis "ordained by fate, decreed, destined; destructive, deadly," from fatum (see fate (n.)); sense of "causing or attended with death" in English is from early 15c. Meaning "concerned with or dealing with destiny" is from mid-15c.
French (adj.): c. 1200, frensh, frenche, "pertaining to France or the French," from Old English frencisc "French," originally "of the Franks," from franca, the people name (see Frank). A similar contraction of -ish is in Dutch, Scotch, Welsh, suggesting the habit applies to the names of only the intimate neighbors.

In some provincial forms of English it could mean simply "foreign." Used in many combination-words, often dealing with food or sex: French dressing (by 1860); French toast (1630s); French letter "condom" (c. 1856, perhaps on resemblance of sheepskin and parchment), french (v.) "perform oral sex on," and French kiss (1923) all probably stem from the Anglo-Saxon equation of Gallic culture and sexual sophistication, a sense first recorded 1749 in the phrase French novel. (In late 19c.-early 20c., a French kiss was a kiss on each cheek.) French-Canadian is from 1774; french doors is by 1847. To take French leave, "depart without telling the host," is 1771, from a social custom then prevalent. However, this is said to be called in France filer à l'anglaise, literally "to take English leave."
gyrostatics (n.): branch of dynamics dealing with rotating bodies, 1883, from gyrostatic (1875); see gyrostat + -ics.
habit (v.): mid-14c., "to dwell, reside; dwell in" (obsolete), from Old French habiter, abiter "to dwell, inhabit; have dealings with," from Latin habitare "to live, dwell; stay, remain," frequentative of habere "to have, to hold, possess" (see habit (n.)). Meaning "to dress" is from 1580s. Related: Habited; habiting.
hermetic (adj.): c. 1600 (implied in hermetically), "completely sealed," also (1630s) "dealing with occult science or alchemy," from Latin hermeticus, from Greek Hermes, god of science and art, among other things, identified by Neoplatonists, mystics, and alchemists with the Egyptian god Thoth as Hermes Trismegistos "Thrice-Great Hermes," who supposedly invented the process of making a glass tube airtight (a process in alchemy) using a secret seal.
honest (adj.): c. 1300, "respectable, decent, of neat appearance," also "free from fraud," from Old French honeste (12c.; Modern French honnête), from Latin honestus "honorable, respected, regarded with honor," figuratively "deserving honor, honorable, respectable," from honos (see honor (n.)). Main modern sense of "dealing fairly, truthful" is c. 1400, as is sense of "virtuous." Phrase to make an honest woman of "marry a woman after seduction" is from 1620s.
justify (v.): c. 1300, "to administer justice;" late 14c., "to show (something) to be just or right," from Old French justifiier "submit to court proceedings" (12c.), from Latin iustificare "act justly toward, make just," from iustificus "dealing justly, righteous," from iustus "just" (see just (adj.)) + root of facere "to do" (see factitious). Of circumstances, "to afford justification," from 1630s. Meaning "to make exact" (now largely restricted to typesetting) is from 1550s. Related: Justified; justifying.
legend (n.): early 14c., "narrative dealing with a happening or an event," from Old French legende (12c., Modern French légende) and directly from Medieval Latin legenda "legend, story," literally "(things) to be read," on certain days in church, etc., from Latin legendus, neuter plural gerundive of legere "to read, gather, select" (see lecture (n.)).

Used originally of saints' lives; extended sense of "nonhistorical or mythical story" first recorded late 14c. Meaning "writing or inscription" (especially on a coin or medal) is from 1610s; on a map, illustration, etc., from 1903.
Leviticus: third book of the Pentateuch, c. 1400, from Late Latin Leviticus (liber), literally "book of the Levites," from Greek to Leuitikon biblion, from Leuites, from Hebrew Lewi. Properly the part of the Pentateuch dealing with the function of the priests who were of the tribe of Levi (a portion of the tribe acted as assistants to the priests in the temple-worship). The Hebrew title is Torath Kohanim, literally "the law of the priests." Related: Levite; Levitical.
meta-: word-forming element meaning 1. "after, behind," 2. "changed, altered," 3. "higher, beyond;" from Greek meta (prep.) "in the midst of, in common with, by means of, in pursuit or quest of," from PIE *me- "in the middle" (cognates: German mit, Gothic miþ, Old English mið "with, together with, among;" see mid). Notion of "changing places with" probably led to senses "change of place, order, or nature," which was a principal meaning of the Greek word when used as a prefix (but also denoting "community, participation; in common with; pursuing").

Third sense, "higher than, transcending, overarching, dealing with the most fundamental matters of," is due to misinterpretation of metaphysics as "science of that which transcends the physical." This has led to a prodigious erroneous extension in modern usage, with meta- affixed to the names of other sciences and disciplines, especially in the academic jargon of literary criticism.
misdeal (v.): 1746, "to make an error in dealing (cards);" from mis- (1) + deal (v.). The noun in this sense is attested from 1850. The original verbal sense (late 15c.) was "to distribute unfairly."
monte (n.): gambling card game, 1824, from Spanish monte "mountain," from Latin montem (nominative mons), see mount (n.). So called from the heap of cards left after dealing. A favorite in California during the gold rush years. The three-card form (first attested 1877) is of Mexican origin.
nominative (adj.): late 14c., "pertaining to the grammatical case dealing with the subject of a verb," from Old French nominatif, from Latin nominativus "pertaining to naming," from nominatus, past participle of nominare (see nominate). As a noun from 1620s.
nouvelle (n.): "short fictitious narrative dealing with a single situation or aspect of a character," 1670s, French nouvelle (11c.), literally "new" (see novel (adj.)).
one-sided (adj.): 1833, "dealing with one side of a question or dispute," from one + side (n.). Related: One-sidedly; one-sidedness.
pamphlet (n.): "small, unbound treatise," late 14c., from Anglo-Latin panfletus, popular short form of "Pamphilus, seu de Amore" ("Pamphilus, or about Love"), a short 12c. Latin love poem popular and widely copied in Middle Ages; the name from Greek pamphilos "loved by all," from pan- "all" + philos "loving, dear" see -phile). Meaning "brief work dealing with questions of current interest" is late 16c.
pastoral (adj.): "of or pertaining to shepherds," early 15c., from Old French pastoral (13c.), from Latin pastoralis "of herdsmen, of shepherds," from pastor (see pastor (n.)). The noun sense of "poem dealing with country life generally," usually dealing with it in an idealized form and emphasizing the purity and happiness of it, is from 1580s.
positive (adj.): early 14c., originally a legal term meaning "formally laid down," from Old French positif (13c.) and directly from Latin positivus "settled by agreement, positive" (opposed to naturalis "natural"), from positus, past participle of ponere "put, place" (see position (n.)).

Sense of "absolute" is from mid-15c. Meaning in philosophy of "dealing only with facts" is from 1590s. Sense broadened to "expressed without qualification" (1590s), then "confident in opinion" (1660s); mathematical use is from 1704; in electricity, 1755. Psychological sense of "concentrating on what is constructive and good" is recorded from 1916.
practical (adj.): early 15c., practicale "of or pertaining to matters of practice; applied," with -al (1) + earlier practic (adj.) "dealing with practical matters, applied, not merely theoretical" (early 15c.), or practic (n.) "method, practice, use" (late 14c.). In some cases directly from Old French practique (adj.) "fit for action," earlier pratique (13c.) and Medieval Latin practicalis, from Late Latin practicus "practical, active," from Greek praktikos "fit for action, fit for business; business-like, practical; active, effective, vigorous," from praktos "done; to be done," verbal adjective of prassein, prattein "to do, act, effect, accomplish."
severity (n.): late 15c., "austerity or strictness of life," from Middle French severite, from Latin severitas "seriousness, strictness, sternness," from severus "stern, strict, serious," of uncertain origin. Possibly from PIE root *segh- "to have, hold" (see scheme (n.)), or possibly from *se vero "without kindness," from se "without" (see secret) + *vero "kindness," neuter ablative of verus "true" (see very). Meaning "strictness in dealing with others" is recorded from 1520s.
statistics (n.): 1770, "science dealing with data about the condition of a state or community" [Barnhart], from German Statistik, popularized and perhaps coined by German political scientist Gottfried Aschenwall (1719-1772) in his "Vorbereitung zur Staatswissenschaft" (1748), from Modern Latin statisticum (collegium) "(lecture course on) state affairs," from Italian statista "one skilled in statecraft," from Latin status (see state (n.2)). OED points out that "the context shows that [Aschenwall] did not regard the term as novel," but current use of it seems to trace to him. Sir John Sinclair is credited with introducing it in English use. Meaning "numerical data collected and classified" is from 1829; hence the study of any subject by means of extensive enumeration. Abbreviated form stats first recorded 1961.
terminology (n.): 1770, from German Terminologie, a hybrid coined by Christian Gottfried Schütz (1747-1832), professor of poetry and rhetoric at Jena, from Medieval Latin terminus "word, expression" (see terminus) + Greek -logia "a dealing with, a speaking of" (see -logy). Related: Terminological.
Decandolle and others use the term Glossology instead of Terminology, to avoid the blemish of a word compounded of two parts taken from different languages. The convenience of treating the termination ology (and a few other parts of compounds) as not restricted to Greek combinations, is so great, that I shall venture, in these cases, to disregard this philological scruple. [William Whewell, "The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences," 1847]
treaty (n.): late 14c., "treatment, discussion," from Anglo-French treté, Old French traitié "assembly, agreement, dealings," from Latin tractatus "discussion, handling, management," from tractare "to handle, manage" (see treat (v.)). Sense of "contract or league between nations or sovereigns" is first recorded early 15c.
truck (v.1): "to exchange, barter," early 13c., from Old North French troquer "to barter, exchange," from Medieval Latin trocare "barter," of unknown origin. Rare before 16c. Sense of "have dealings with" is first recorded 1610s. The noun is first recorded 1550s, "act or practice of barter." Sense of "vegetables raised for market" is from 1784, preserved in truck farm (1866).
truck (n.2): 1530s, "act or practice of barter, trading by exchange," from French troque, from troquer (see truck (v.1)). Sense of "dealings" is from 1620s. "Exchange of commodities, barter," then "commodities for barter and exchange." In this sense the word was given a wide use in 19c. American English: "Truck at first meant market-garden produce; then it came to mean stuff in general, including 'doctor-stuff.' SPUN TRUCK is knitting work" [Thornton, "American Glossary," 1912]. Sense of "vegetables raised for market" is from 1784, preserved in truck farm (1866).
verbal (adj.): early 15c., "dealing with words" (especially in contrast to things or realities), from Old French verbal (14c.) and directly from Late Latin verbalis "consisting of words, relating to verbs," from Latin verbum "word" (see verb). Related: Verbally. Verbal conditioning is recorded from 1954. Colloquial verbal diarrhea is recorded from 1823. A verbal noun is a noun derived from a verb and sharing in its senses and constructions.