词源字典 y.doc

-y (3) suffix in pet proper names (e.g. Johnny, Kitty), first recorded in Scottish, c.1400; became frequent in Eng. 15c.-16c. Extension to surnames seems to date from c.1940. Use with common nouns seems to have begun in Scot. with laddie (1546) and become popular in Eng. due to Burns poems, but the same formation appears to be represented much earlier in baby and puppy. -y (1) noun suffix, in army, city, country, etc., from O.Fr. -e, L. -atus, -atum, pp. suffix of verbs of the first conjugation. In victory, history, etc. it represents L. -ia, Gk. -ia. -y (2) adj. suffix, full of or characterized by, from O.E. -ig, from P.Gmc. *-iga (cf. Ger. -ig), cognate with Gk. -ikos, L. -icus. Y a late-developing letter in Eng. Called ipsilon in Ger., upsilon in Gk., the Eng. name is of obscure origin. The sound at the beginning of yard, yes, yield, etc. is from O.E. words with initial g- as in got and y- as in yet, which were considered the same sound and often transcribed as a character that looks something like 3 (but with a flat top and lower on the line of text), known as yogh. The system was altered by Fr. scribes, who brought over the continental use of -g- and from the early 1200s used -y- and sometimes -gh- to replace 3. Theres a good, in-depth discussion of yogh here. As short for YMCA, YWCA, YMHA first recorded 1915. yall 1909, U.S. dial. abbreviation of you all (see you). y- perfective prefix, in y-clept, etc.; a deliberate archaism, introduced by Spenser and his imitators, representing an authentic M.E. prefix, from O.E. ge-, originally meaning with, together but later a completive or perfective element, from P.Gmc. *ga-. It is still living in Ger. and Du. ge-, and survives, disguised, in some Eng. words (e.g. alike, aware). yacht 1557, yeaghe a light, fast-sailing ship, probably from Norw. jaght, from M.L.G. jacht, shortened form of jachtschip fast pirate ship, lit. ship for chasing, from jacht chase, from jagen to chase, hunt, from O.H.G. jagon, from P.Gmc. *jagojanan. yack (v.) to talk, to chatter, slang, 1950, probably echoic (cf. Australian slang yacker talk, conversation, 1882). Yackety is recorded from 1953. yadda-yadda and so on, 1990s, of echoic origin (cf. yatata talk idly, chatter, 1940s; and yatter to talk incessantly or idly, 1825). yahoo a brute in human form, 1726, from the race of brutish human creatures in Swifts Gullivers Travels. Yahtzee dice game, 1957, proprietary (E.S. Lowe Co., N.Y.), apparently based on yacht. Yahweh 1869, hypothetical reconstruction of the tetragrammaton YHWH (see Jehovah), based on the assumption that the tetragrammaton is the imperfective of Heb. verb hawah, earlier form of hayah was, in the sense of the one who is, the existing. yak (1) wild ox of central Asia, 1795, from Tibetan g-yag male yak. yak (2) laugh, 1938; talk idly (v.), 1950; echoic, perhaps of Yiddish origin. yakuza traditional Japanese organized crime cartel, lit. eight-nine-three (ya, ku, sa) the losing hand in the traditional baccarat-like Japanese card game Oicho-Kabu. The notion may be good for nothing, or bad luck (in someone who runs afoul of them), or it may be a reference to the fact that a player who draws this hand requires great skill to win. Yale 1869, kind of lock invented by Linus Yale. The surname is Welsh, from ial, and means dweller at the fertile upland. yam 1588, from Port. inhame or Sp. igname, from a W.African language (cf. Fulani nyami to eat; Twi anyinam species of yam); the word in Amer.Eng. and in Jamaican Eng. is probably directly borrowed from W.African sources. yammer 1481, to lament, probably from M.Du. jammeren and cognate M.E. yeoumeren, to mourn, complain, from O.E. geomrian to lament, from geomor sorrowful, probably of imitative origin. Meaning to make loud, annoying noise is attested from 1513. yang 1679, from Mandarin yang male, daylight, solar. yank (v.) 1822, Scottish, of unknown origin; the noun is 1818 in sense of sudden blow, cuff. Yankee 1683, a name applied disparagingly by Du. settlers in New Amsterdam (New York) to English colonists in neighboring Connecticut. It may be from Du. Janke, lit. Little John, dim. of common personal name Jan; or it may be from Jan Kes familiar form of John Cornelius, or perhaps an alt. of Jan Kees, dial. variant of Jan Kaas, lit. John Cheese, the generic nickname the Flemings used for Dutchmen. It originally seems to have been applied insultingly to Dutch, especially freebooters, before they turned around and slapped it on the English. In Eng. a term of contempt (1750s) before its use as a general term for native of New England (1765); during the American Revolution it became a disparaging British word for all American native or inhabitants. Shortened form Yank in reference to an American first recorded 1778. Yankee Doodle popular tune of the Amer. Revolution, apparently written c.1755 by British Army surgeon Dr. Richard Schuckburgh while campaigning with Amhersts force in upper New York during the French and Indian War. The original verses mocked the colonial troops serving alongside the regulars, and the Doodle element just may have been, or hinted at, the 18c. slang term for penis. The song naturally was popular with British troops in the colonies, but after the colonials began to win skirmishes with them in 1775, they took the tune as a patriotic prize and re-worked the lyrics. The current version seems to have been written in 1776 by Edward Bangs, a Harvard sophomore who also was Minuteman. yap 1603, probably of imitative origin. Originally in ref. to dog sounds; meaning to talk idle chatter is first recorded 1886. yar growling sound, imitative, attested from c.1300. yard (1) ground around a house, O.E. geard enclosure, garden, court, house, yard, from P.Gmc. *garda (cf. O.N. garr enclosure, garden, yard; O.Fris. garda, Du. gaard, O.H.G. garto, Ger. Garten garden; Goth. gards house, garda stall), from PIE *gharto-, from base *gher- to grasp, enclose (cf. O.E. gyrdan to gird, Skt. ghra- house, Alb. garth hedge, L. hortus garden, Phrygian -gordum town, Gk. khortos pasture, O.Ir. gort field, Bret. garz enclosure, garden, and second element in L. cohors enclosure, yard, company of soldiers, multitude). Lith. gardas pen, enclosure, O.C.S. gradu town, city, and Rus. gorod, -grad town, city belong to this group, but linguists dispute whether they are independent developments or borrowings from Gmc. Yard sale is attested by 1976. M.E. yerd yard-land (c.1450) was a measure of about 30 acres. Yardbird convict is 1956, from the notion of prison yards; earlier it meant basic trainee (World War II armed forces slang). yard (2) measure of length, O.E. gerd (Mercian), gierd (W.Saxon) rod, stick, measure of length, from W.Gmc. *gazdijo, from P.Gmc. *gazdaz stick, rod (cf. O.S. gerda, O.Fris. ierde, Du. gard rod; O.H.G. garta, Ger. gerte switch, twig, O.N. gaddr spike, sting, nail), from PIE *gherdh- staff, pole (cf. L. hasta shaft, staff). In O.E. it was originally a land measure of roughly 5 meters (a length later called rod, pole or perch). Modern measure of three feet is attested from 1377 (earlier rough equivalent was the ell of 45 inches, and the verge). In M.E., the word also was a euphemism for penis (cf. Loves Labours Lost, V.ii.676). Slang meaning one hundred dollars first attested 1926, Amer.Eng. Yardstick is 1816. The nautical yard-arm (1553) retains the original sense of stick. In 19c. British naval custom, it was permissible to begin drinking when the sun was over the yard-arm. yare ready, prepared, O.E. gearo ready, from P.Gmc. prefix *ga- + *arw-; related to gearwe clothing, dress (see gear). Cf. Du. gaar done, dressed; O.H.G. garo ready, prepared, complete. yarmulke 1903, from Yiddish yarmulke, from Pol. jarmulka, originally a skullcap worn by priests, perhaps ult. from M.L. almutia cowl, hood. yarn O.E. gearn spun fiber, from P.Gmc. *garnan (cf. O.N., O.H.G., Ger. garn, M.Du. gaern, Du. garen yarn), from PIE base *gher- intestine (cf. O.N. gorn gut, Skt. hira vein, Gk. khorde intestine, gut-string, Lith. zarna gut). The phrase to spin a yarn to tell a story is first attested 1812, from a sailors expression, on notion of telling stories while engaged in sedentary work like yarn-twisting. yarrow plant, also known as milfoil, O.E. gearwe, from P.Gmc. *garwo (cf. M.Du. garwe, O.H.G. garawa, Ger. Garbe), perhaps from a source akin to the root of yellow. yaw to fall away from the line of a course, 1546, from O.N. jaga, O.Dan. jge to drive, chase, from M.L.G. jagen (see yacht). yawn (v.) c.1300, yenen, yonen, from O.E. ginian, gionian open the mouth wide, gape, from P.Gmc. *gin- (cf. O.N. gina to yawn, Du. geeuwen, O.H.G. ginen, Ger. ghnen to yawn), from PIE *gh(e)i- (cf. O.C.S. zijajo to gape, Lith. zioju, Czech zivati to yawn, Gk. khainein, L. hiare to yawn, gape, Skt. vijihite to gape, be ajar). Noun meaning act of yawning is recorded from 1697. Yawner something boring is Amer.Eng. slang first recorded 1942 (yawn in this sense is attested from 1889). yawp (v.) c.1300, yolpen, probably echoic variant of yelpen (see yelp). The noun, in ref. to speech, is recorded from 1835, now used chiefly with conscious echo of Whitman. yaws 1679, from Carib yaya, the native name for the disease. yclept O.E. gicliopad; see y-. ye (pron.) O.E. ge, nom. pl. of 2nd pers. pronoun u (see thou); cognate with O.Fris. ji, O.S. gi, M.Du. ghi, Du. gij. Altered, by influence of we, from an earlier form that was similar to Goth. jus you (pl.) (see you). Cognate with Lith. jus, Skt. yuyam, Avestan yuzem, Gk. hymeis. The -r- in O.N. er, Ger. ihr probably is from infl. of the 1st pers. pl. pronouns (O.N. ver, Ger. wir). ye (article) old or quaintly archaic way of writing the, in which the -y- is a 16c. graphic alteration of , an O.E. character (generally called thorn, originally a Gmc. rune; see th-) that represented the hard -th- sound at the beginning of the. Early printers, whose types were founded on the continent, did not have a , so they substituted y as the letter that looked most like it. But in such usages it was not pronounced y. Ye for the (and yt for that) continued in manuscripts through 18c. Revived 19c. as a deliberate antiquarianism; the Ye Olde _ construction was being mocked by 1896. yea O.E. gea (W.Saxon), ge (Anglian) so, yes, an affirmative word in Gmc., cognate with Ger., Dan., Norw., Sw. ja. Spelling yeah first recorded 1905. yean O.E. eanian to bring forth (young), especially in ref. to sheep or goats, from P.Gmc. *agwnojanan (cf. Du. oonen), perhaps from PIE *agwhnos lamb (cf. Gk. amnos lamb, L. agnus, O.C.S. agne, O.Ir. van, Welsh oen). Yeanling young lamb, kid is recorded from 1637. year O.E. gear (W.Saxon), ger (Anglian) year, from P.Gmc. *jram year (cf. O.S., O.H.G. jar, O.N. ar, Dan. aar, O.Fris. ger, Du. jaar, Ger. Jahr, Goth. jer year), from PIE *yer-o-, from base *yer-/*yor- year, season (cf. Avestan yare (nom. sing.) year; Gk. hora year, season, any part of a year, also any part of a day, hour; O.C.S. jaru, Boh. jaro spring; L. hornus of this year; O.Pers. duiyaram famine, lit. bad year). Probably originally that which makes a complete cycle, and from verbal root *ei- meaning to do, make. Yearling is first attested 1465; yearly is O.E. gearlic (cf. Ger. jhrlich). yearbook 1588, book of reports of cases in law-courts for that year, from year + book. Meaning book of events and statistics of the previous year is recorded from 1710. Sense of graduating class album is attested from 1926, Amer.Eng. yearn O.E. geornan (Mercian), giernan (W.Saxon), giorna (Northumbrian), from P.Gmc. *gernijanan (cf. Goth. gairnjan to desire, Ger. begehren to desire), from base *gernaz (cf. O.H.G. gern, O.N. gjarn desirous, O.E. georn eager, desirous, Ger. gern gladly, willingly), from PIE base *gher- to like, want (see hortatory). yeast O.E. gist yeast, common W.Gmc. source (cf. M.H.G. gest, Ger. Gischt foam, froth, O.H.G. jesan, Ger. gren to ferment), from PIE *jes- boil, foam, froth (cf. Skt. yasyati boils, seethes, Gk. zein to boil, Welsh ias seething, foaming). yegg thief, burglar, especially safecracker, 1903, underworld slang, of unknown origin, said to be from John Yegg, a Swedish tramp, or from Ger. Jger huntsman. yell (v.) O.E. gellan (Mercian), giellan (W.Saxon), class III strong verb (past tense geal, pp. gollen), from P.Gmc. *gelnanan (cf. O.N. gjalla to resound, M.Du. ghellen, Du. gillen, O.H.G. gellan, Ger. gellen to yell), extended form of root of O.E. galan to sing (source of the -gale in nightingale); from PIE *ghel- to cry out, shout, sing. The noun is c.1375 in Scot., from the verb. yellow O.E. geolu, geolwe, from P.Gmc. *gelwaz (cf. O.S., O.H.G. gelo, M.Du. ghele, Du. geel, M.H.G. gel, Ger. gelb, O.N. gulr, Swed. gul yellow), from PIE *ghel-/*ghol- yellow, green (see Chloe). The verb meaning to become yellow is O.E. geoluwian. Adj. meaning light-skinned (of blacks) first recorded 1808. Applied to Asiatics since 1787, though the first recorded reference is to Turkish words for inhabitants of India. Yellow peril translates Ger. die gelbe gefahr. Sense of cowardly is 1856, of unknown origin; the color was traditionally associated rather with treachery. Yellow-bellied cowardly is from 1924, probably a rhyming reduplication of yellow; earlier yellow-belly was a sailors name for a half-caste (1867) and a Texas term for Mexican soldiers (1842, based on the color of their uniforms). Yellow dog mongrel is attested from c.1770; slang sense of contemptible person first recorded 1881. yellow journalism sensational chauvinism in the media, 1898, Amer.Eng. from newspaper agitation for war with Spain; originally publicity stunt use of colored ink (1895) in ref. to the popular Yellow Kidcharacter (his clothes were yellow) in Richard Outcaults comic strip Shantytown in the New York World. yellow ribbon The American folk custom of wearing or displaying a yellow ribbon to signify solidarity with loved ones or fellow citizens at war originated during the U.S. embassy hostage crisis in Iran in 1979. It does not have a connection to the American Civil War, beyond the use of the old British folk song Round Her Neck She Wore A Yellow Ribbon in the John Wayne movie of the same name, with a Civil War setting, released in 1949. The story of a ribbon tied to a tree as a signal to a convict returning home that his loved ones have forgiven him is attested from 1959, but the ribbon in that case was white. The ribbon color seems to have changed to yellow first in a version retold by newspaper columnist Pete Hamill in 1971. The story was dramatized in June 1972 on ABC-TV (James Earl Jones played the ex-con). Later that year, Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown copyrighted the song Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree, which became a pop hit in early 1973 and sparked a lawsuit by Hamill, later dropped. In 1975, the wife of a Watergate conspirator put out yellow ribbons when her husband was released from jail, and news coverage of that was noted and remembered by Penne Laingen, whose husband was U.S. ambassador to Iran in 1979 and one of the Iran hostages taken in the embassy on Nov. 4. Her yellow ribbon in his honor was written up in the Dec. 10, 1979, Washington Post. When the hostage families organized as the Family Liaison Action Group (FLAG), they took the yellow ribbon as their symbol. The ribbons revived in the 1991 Gulf War and again during the 2003 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. yelp O.E. gelpan (Anglian), gielpan (W.Saxon) to boast, from P.Gmc. *gelpanan (cf. O.S. galpon, O.N. gjalpa to yelp, O.N. gjalp boasting, O.H.G. gelph outcry), from PIE base *ghel- to cry out. The noun (O.E. gielp) originally meant boasting; meaning quick, sharp bark or cry is attested from c.1500. Yemen southwestern region of Arabia, from Arabic Yemen, lit. the country of the south, from yaman right side (i.e., south side, if one is facing east). The right side regarded as auspicious, hence Arabic yamana he was happy, lit. he went to the right, and hence the L. name for the region in Roman times, Arabia Felix, lit, Happy Arabia. yen (1) Japanese monetary unit, 1875, from Japanese yen, from Chinese yuan round, round object, circle, dollar. yen (2) sharp desire, hunger, 1906, earlier yin intense craving for opium (1876), from Chinese (Cantonese) yan craving, or from a Beijing dialect word for smoke. Reinforced in Eng. by influence of yearn. yenta gossip, busybody, 1923, from Yente Telebende, comic strip gossip in 1920s-30s writing of Yiddish newspaper humorist B. Kovner (pen-name of Jacob Adler) in the Jewish Daily Forward. It was a common Yiddish fem. proper name, alt. from Yentl and said to be ult. from It. gentile kind, gentle, earlier noble, high-born (see gentle). yeoman c.1300, attendant in a noble household, of unknown origin, perhaps a contraction of O.E. iunge man young man, or from an unrecorded O.E. *geaman, equivalent of O.Fris. gaman villager, from O.E. -gea district, village, cognate with O.Fris. ga, ge, from P.Gmc. *gaujan. Sense of commoner who cultivates his land is recorded from 1411; also the third order of fighting men (1375, below knights and squires, above knaves), hence yeomens service good, efficient service (1602). Meaning naval petty officer in charge of supplies is first attested 1669. Yeowoman first recorded 1852: Then I am yeo-woman O the clumsy word! Tennyson, T