英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

delegate (n.)[delegate 词源字典]: late 15c., from Old French delegat or directly from Latin delegatus, past participle of delegare "to send as a representative," from de- "from, away" (see de-) + legare "send with a commission" (see legate).[delegate etymology, delegate origin, 英语词源]
delegate (v.): 1520s (early 15c. as a past participle adjective), from delegate (n.). Related: Delegated; delegating.
delegation (n.): 1610s, "action of delegating" (earlier in this sense was delegacie, mid-15c.); perhaps a native formation, perhaps from French délégation, or directly from Latin delegationem (nominative delegatio) "assignment, delegation," noun of action from past participle stem of delegare (see delegate). Meaning "persons sent by commission" is from 1818; meaning "a state's elected representatives, taken collectively," is U.S. political usage from 1820s.
delete (v.): late 15c., "destroy, eradicate," from Latin deletus, past participle of delere "destroy, blot out, efface," from delevi, originally perfective tense of delinere "to daub, erase by smudging" (as of the wax on a writing table), from de- "from, away" (see de-) + linere "to smear, wipe" (see lime (n.1)). In English, specifically of written matter, from c. 1600. Related: Deleted; deleting.
deleterious (adj.): 1640s, from Medieval Latin deleterius, from Greek deleterios "noxious," from deleter "destroyer," from deleisthai "to hurt, injure." Related: Deleteriously; deleteriousness.
deletion (n.): 1580s, from Latin deletionem (nominative deletio), noun of action from past participle stem of delere (see delete).
delf (n.): late Old English dælf "trench, ditch, quarry," from gedelf "digging, a digging," from delfan "to dig" (see delve).
Delft: town in Holland,named from its chief canal, from Dutch delf, literally "ditch, canal;" which is related to Old English dælf and modern delve. As a short form of delftware, attested from 1714.
delftware (n.): 1714, from Delft, town in Holland where the glazed earthenware was made, + ware (n.).
Delhi: city in India, of unknown origin, perhaps connected to Hindi dehli "threshold," with reference to the watershed boundary between the Ganges and Indus, which is nearby.
deli (n.): 1954, short for delicatessen.
Delian (adj.): 1620s, "of Delos," tiny island in the Aegean, birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. Delian problem "find the length of the side of a cube having double the volume of a given cube," was set by the oracle at Delos when it answered (430 B.C.E.) that the plague in Athens would end when Apollo's (cube-shaped) altar was doubled. The Latin fem. form of the word became the proper name Delia.
deliberate (adj.): early 15c., "done with careful consideration," from Latin deliberatus "resolved upon, determined," past participle of deliberare (see deliberation). Meaning "slow, consciously unhurried" is attested by 1590s. Related: Deliberately.
deliberate (v.): 1540s, from Latin deliberatus, past participle of deliberare (see deliberation). Related: Deliberated; deliberating.
deliberation (n.): late 14c., Old French deliberation, from Latin deliberationem (nominative deliberatio), noun of action from past participle stem of deliberare "weigh, consider well," from de- "entirely" (see de-) + -liberare, altered (perhaps by influence of liberare "liberate") from librare "to balance, weigh," from libra "scale."
deliberative (adj.): 1550s, from Middle French délibératif or directly from Latin deliberativus "pertaining to deliberation," from past participle stem of deliberare (see deliberation). Related: Deliberatively; deliberativeness.
delibrate (v.): 1620s, "to pull off the bark of a tree," from Latin delibrare "to peel," from de- (see de-) + liber "bark" (see library).
delicacies (n.): "things dainty and gratifying to the palate," mid-15c., from plural of delicacy.
delicacy (n.): late 14c., "delightfulness; fastidiousness; quality of being addicted to sensuous pleasure," from delicate + -cy. Meaning "fineness, softness, tender loveliness" is from 1580s; that of "weakness of constitution" is from 1630s. Meaning "fine food, a dainty viand" is from early 15c.
delicate (adj.): late 14c., "self-indulgent, loving ease; delightful; sensitive, easily hurt; feeble," from Latin delicatus "alluring, delightful, dainty," also "addicted to pleasure, luxurious, effeminate;" which is of uncertain origin; related by folk etymology (and perhaps genuinely) to deliciae "a pet," and delicere "to allure, entice" (see delicious). Meaning "easily broken" is recorded from 1560s.