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despond [despond 词源字典]: despond: [17] Latin had a phrase animam dēspondēre, literally ‘give up one’s soul’, hence ‘lose heart’. The verb dēspondēre came to be used on its own in this sense, and was borrowed thus by English. It was a compound verb, formed from the prefix dē- ‘away’ and spondēre ‘promise’ (source of English sponsor, spontaneous, spouse, respond, and riposte), and originally meant ‘promise to give away’, hence ‘give up’.
=> respond, riposte, sponsor, spontaneous, spouse[despond etymology, despond origin, 英语词源]
despondence (n.): 1670s, from Latin despondere "to give up, lose, lose heart, resign, to promise in marriage" (especially in phrase animam despondere, literally "give up one's soul"), from the sense of a promise to give something away, from de- "away" (see de-) + spondere "to promise" (see spondee). A condition more severe than despair.
quail (v.): c. 1400, "have a morbid craving;" early 15c., "grow feeble or sick;" mid-15c., "to fade, fail, give way," of unknown origin, perhaps from Middle Dutch quelen "to suffer, be ill," from Proto-Germanic *kwaljan, from PIE *gwele- (1) "to throw, to pierce" (see quell). Or from obsolete quail "to curdle" (late 14c.), from Old French coailler, from Latin coagulare (see coagulate). Sense of "lose heart, shrink, cower" is attested from 1550s. According to OED, common 1520-1650, then rare until 19c., when apparently it was revived by Scott. Related: Quailed; quailing.