英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

degauss (v.)[degauss 词源字典]: "de-magnetize," originally especially of ships as a defense against magnetic mines, 1940, from German scientist Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855), a pioneer in the study of magnetics.[degauss etymology, degauss origin, 英语词源]
degeneracy (n.): 1660s, from degenerate + -cy.
degenerate (adj.): late 15c., from Latin degeneratus, past participle of degenerare "to be inferior to one's ancestors, to become unlike one's race or kind, fall from ancestral quality," used of physical as well as moral qualities, from phrase de genere, from de + genus (genitive generis) "birth, descent" (see genus). The noun is from 1550s.
degenerate (v.): 1540s, from Latin degeneratus, past participle of degenerare "fall from ancestral quality" (see degenerate (adj.)). Figurative sense of "to fall off, decline" was in Latin. Related: Degenerated; degenerating.
degeneration (n.): c. 1600, from French dégéneration (15c.) or directly from Late Latin degenerationem (nominative degeneratio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin degenerare (see degenerate (adj.)).
degenerative (adj.): 1846; see degenerate + -ive.
deglutition (n.): from French déglutition (16c.), from Latin deglutitionem, noun of action from past participle stem of deglutare, from de- (see de-) + glutire "to swallow," from PIE *gwele- (3) "to swallow" (see glut (v.)).
degradation (n.): 1530s, from French dégradation (14c., Old French degradacion), from Medieval Latin degradationem (nominative degradatio), noun of action from past participle stem of degradare (see degrade).
degrade (v.): late 14c., from Old French degrader (12c.) "degrade, deprive (of office, rank, etc.)," from des- "down" (see dis-) + Latin gradus "step" (see grade (n.)). Related: Degraded; degrading.
degree (n.): early 13c., from Old French degré (12c.) "a step (of a stair), pace, degree (of relationship), academic degree; rank, status, position," said to be from Vulgar Latin *degradus "a step," from Late Latin degredare, from Latin de- "down" (see de-) + gradus "step" (see grade (n.)).

Most modern senses date from Middle English, from notion of a hierarchy of steps. Meaning "a grade of crime" is 1670s; that of "a unit of temperature" is from 1727. The division of the circle into 360 degrees was known in Babylon and Egypt. It is perhaps from the daily motion of the sun through the zodiac in the course of a year.
degression (n.): late 15c., from Latin degressionem (nominative degressio) "a going down," noun of action from past participle stem of degredi "to go down, march down, descend," from de- "down" (see de-) + gradus "step" (see grade (n.)).
degustation (n.): 1650s, from Latin degustationem (nominative degustatio) "a tasting," noun of action from past participle stem of degustare "to take a taste from, sample," from de- (see de-) + gustare "to taste" (see gusto).
dehiscence (n.): 1828, from Modern Latin dehiscentia, from dehiscentem (nominative dehiscens), present participle of dehiscere "to gape, open, split down" (of the earth, etc.), from de- (see de-) + hiscere, inchoative of hiare "to yawn" (see yawn (v.)).
dehumanize (v.): 1818, from de- + humanize. Related: Dehumanized; dehumanizing.
dehumidifier (n.): 1921, agent noun from de- + humidify.
dehydrate (v.): 1854, from de- + hydrate (v.). A chemical term at first, given a broader extension 1880s. Related: Dehydration (1834).
deicide (n.): 1610s, "the killing of a god;" 1650s, "one who kills a god," from Latin deus "god" (see Zeus) + -cida (see -cide).
deictic (adj.): 1828, from Latinized form of Greek deiktikos "able to show," from deiktos "shown," verbal adjective from deiknynai "to show" (see diction).
deific (adj.): late 15c., from French déifique (late 14c.), from Late Latin deificus "god-making, sacred," in Medieval Latin "divine," from deus "god" (see Zeus) + -ficus "making," from unstressed form of facere "to make, do" (see factitious).
deification (n.): late 14c., from Late Latin deificationem (nominative deificatio), noun of action from past participle stem of deificare (see deify).