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dictionary [dictionary 词源字典]: dictionary: [16] The term dictionary was coined in medieval Latin, probably in the 13th century, on the basis of the Latin adjective dictionārius ‘of words’, a derivative of Latin dictiō ‘saying’, or, in medieval Latin, ‘word’. English picked it up comparatively late; the first known reference to it is in The pilgrimage of perfection 1526: ‘and so Peter Bercharius [Pierre Bercheur, a 15thcentury French lexicographer] in his dictionary describeth it’.

Latin dictiō (source also of English diction [15]) was a derivatives of the verb dicere ‘say’. Its original meaning was ‘point out’ rather than ‘utter’, as demonstrated by its derivative indicāre (source of English indicate) and words in other languages, such as Greek deiknúnai ‘show’, Sanskrit diç- ‘show’ (later ‘say’), and German zeihen ‘accuse’, which come from the same ultimate source.

Its past participle gave English dictum [16], and the derived verb dictāre ‘assert’ produced English dictate [17] and dictator [14]. It has been the basis of a wide range of other English words, from the more obvious derivatives like addict and predict to more heavily disguised offspring such as condition, index, and judge.
=> addict, condition, dictate, diction, ditto, index, indicate, judge, predict[dictionary etymology, dictionary origin, 英语词源]
hear: hear: [OE] The prehistoric Germanic verb for ‘hear’ was *khauzjan, which produced German hören, Dutch hooren, Swedish höra, Danish høre, and English hear. Some etymologists have suggested links with Greek akoúein ‘hear’ (source of English acoustic), and also with Latin cavēre ‘beware’ and Russian chuvstvovat’ ‘feel, perceive’, but these have not been conclusively demonstrated.
knot: knot: [OE] The word knot goes back ultimately to a prehistoric Germanic *knūdn-, whose underlying meaning was ‘round lump’. This only emerged in the English word (in such senses as ‘point from which a branch has grown’) in the Middle English period, but it can be seen in knoll [OE], which is a derivative of the same base (the related German knolle means ‘lump’). Knob [14] may be related too, although this has never been conclusively demonstrated.

The Germanic form diversified into English and Dutch knot, German knoten, Swedish knut, and Danish knode (whose Old Norse ancestor knútr was borrowed into Russian as knut ‘whip’, acquired by English as knout [18]). Knit [OE], which originally meant ‘tie in knots’, was derived in prehistoric West Germanic from knot.
=> knit
lavatory: lavatory: [14] The notion of ‘washing’ was represented in prehistoric Indo-European by *lou-, which produced Greek loúein ‘wash’, English lather, and Latin lavāre ‘wash’. This last has been a fruitful source of English words, not all of them as obvious as lavatory, which originally meant simply ‘place or vessel for washing’ (its use for a ‘room containing a water closet’ appears to date from the 19th century).

Among its relatives are deluge [14], latrine [17] (from a contraction of Latin lavātrīna), laundry, lava [18] (from Italian lava, which originally denoted a ‘stream caused by sudden rain’), lavish [15] (from the metaphorical notion of an ‘outpouring’), and lotion [14]. And from Latin luere, the form taken on by lavāre after prefixes, we get ablution [14] and dilute [16]. Lavender [15] looks as though it should belong to the same family, but no actual connection has ever been demonstrated.
=> ablution, deluge, dilute, lather, latrine, laundry, lava, lavish, lotion
stipulate: stipulate: [17] Tradition has it that the etymological notion underlying stipulate is an ancient custom of breaking a straw to seal a bargain. The word comes from the Latin verb stipulārī ‘bargain, demand’, and it has been speculated that this was derived from Latin stipula ‘straw’ (source also of English stubble [13]). The theory has not been conclusively demonstrated, but it makes a good story. Another possibility is some connection with Old Latin stipulus ‘firm’.
wimp: wimp: [20] The first record of the word wimp ‘feeble ineffectual person’ is from as long ago as 1920, but it was not used at all widely until the early 1960s. Its origins have never been satisfactorily explained. It is tempting to link it with J. Wellington Wimpy, a curious little man with a moustache who featured in the Popeye cartoons, but he was not around in the 1920s.

Nor is it altogether plausible that it came from American slang gimp ‘lame or handicapped person’. Perhaps the least unlikely suggestion is that it is short for whimper. No connection with the now obsolete slang wimp ‘woman’ [20] (perhaps an alteration of women) has ever been demonstrated. In the 1980s WIMP was used as an acronym for ‘weakly interacting massive particle’ and for ‘widows/icon/mouse/pointer’, a computer term.
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).
demonstrate (v.): 1550s, "to point out," from Latin demonstratus, past participle of demonstrare (see demonstration). Meaning "to point out by argument or deduction" is from 1570s. Related: Demonstrated; demonstrating.
phosphorus (n.): "substance or organism that shines of itself," 1640s, from Latin phosphorus "light-bringing," also "the morning star" (a sense attested in English from 1620), from Greek Phosphoros "morning star," literally "torchbearer," from phos "light," contraction of phaos "light, daylight" (related to phainein "to show, to bring to light;" see phantasm) + phoros "bearer," from pherein "to carry" (see infer).

As the name of a non-metallic chemical element, it is recorded from 1680, originally one among several substances so called; the word used exclusively of the element from c. 1750. It was discovered in 1669 by Henning Brand, merchant and alchemist of Hamburg, who derived it from urine. Lavoisier demonstrated it was an element in 1777. According to Flood, "It is the first element whose discoverer is known."
Q.E.D.: 1760, abbreviation of Latin quod erat demonstrandum "which was to be demonstrated."
unproved (adj.): "not demonstrated to be true," 1530s, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of prove (v.).
phonovision: "A system of television, invented by John Logie Baird but never publicly demonstrated, whereby vision and sound signals could be recorded on discs similar to gramophone records", 1920s; earliest use found in Punch.