英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

newsreel (n.)[newsreel 词源字典]: 1916, from news (n.) + reel (n.).[newsreel etymology, newsreel origin, 英语词源]
newsstand (n.): 1872, from news (n.) + stand (n.).
newsworthy (adj.): 1932, from news + worthy.
newsy (adj.): "full of news," 1832 from news (n.) + -y (2). Related: Newsily; newsiness.
newt (n.): early 15c., misdivision of an ewte (see N for other examples), from Middle English evete (see eft). "Eft, though now only provincial, is strictly the correct form" [Century Dictionary].
Newton (n.): unit of force, 1904, named in honor of Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727).
next (adj.): Old English niehsta, nyhsta (West Saxon), nesta (Anglian) "nearest, closest," superlative of neah (West Saxon), neh (Anglian) "nigh;" from Proto-Germanic *nekh- "near" + superlative suffix *-istaz. Cognate with Old Norse næstr, Dutch naast "next," Old High German nahisto "neighbor," German nächst "next." Adverbial and prepositional use from c. 1200. Phrase the next person "a typical person" is from 1857.
next-door (adv.): also nextdoor, 1570s, from noun phrase next door "nearest house" (late 15c.), from next + door. Noun meaning "the people living next door" is from 1855.
nexus (n.): 1660s, "bond, link, means of communication," from Latin nexus "that which ties or binds together," past participle of nectere "to bind," from PIE root *ned- "to bind, tie" (see net (n.)).
Nez Perce: native people of Idaho and vicinity, and their language, from French Nez Percé, literally "pierced nose." In reference to an early custom of the people of wearing shell ornaments in pierced septums.
niacin (n.): "pellagra-preventing vitamin in enriched bread," 1942, coined from ni(cotinic) ac(id) + -in (2), chemical suffix; suggested by the American Medical Association as a more commercially viable name than nicotinic acid.
The new name was found to be necessary because some anti-tobacco groups warned against enriched bread because it would foster the cigarette habit. ["Cooperative Consumer," Feb. 28, 1942]
Niagara: waterfall from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, from a town name, perhaps from an Iroquoian language and meaning "a neck" (between two bodies of water); general sense of "a cataract, torrent" is attested from 1841; meaning " 'shower' of ringlets (true or false) in women's hair" is from 1864, also known as cataract curls.
nib (n.): 1580s, "beak or bill of a bird," Scottish variant of Old English neb (see neb). Meaning "point" (of a pen or quill) first recorded 1610s.
nibble (v.): "to bite gently," c. 1500, perhaps from Low German nibbeln "to nibble, gnaw," related to Middle Low German nibbelen, Middle Dutch knibbelen "to gnaw," source of Dutch knibbelen "to cavail, squabble." Related: Nibbled; nibbling.
nibble (n.): 1650s, "act of nibbling," from nibble (v.). As "a small bite," from 1838.
Nibelungenlied (n.): German epic poem of 13c., literally "song of the Nibelungs," a race of dwarves who lived in Norway and owned a hoard of gold and a magic ring, literally "children of the mist," related to Old High German nebul "mist, darkness," Old English nifol (see nebula).
niblick (n.): golf club with a heavy head, of unknown origin.
nibs (n.): especially in His Nibs "boss, employer, self-important person," 1821, of unknown origin; perhaps a variant of nob "person of high position."
Nicaragua: visited 1522 by Spanish conquistador Gil González Dávila, who is said to have named it for a local native chieftain, Nicarao. Related: Nicaraguan.
nice (adj.): late 13c., "foolish, stupid, senseless," from Old French nice (12c.) "careless, clumsy; weak; poor, needy; simple, stupid, silly, foolish," from Latin nescius "ignorant, unaware," literally "not-knowing," from ne- "not" (see un-) + stem of scire "to know" (see science). "The sense development has been extraordinary, even for an adj." [Weekley] -- from "timid" (pre-1300); to "fussy, fastidious" (late 14c.); to "dainty, delicate" (c. 1400); to "precise, careful" (1500s, preserved in such terms as a nice distinction and nice and early); to "agreeable, delightful" (1769); to "kind, thoughtful" (1830).
In many examples from the 16th and 17th centuries it is difficult to say in what particular sense the writer intended it to be taken. [OED]
By 1926, it was pronounced "too great a favorite with the ladies, who have charmed out of it all its individuality and converted it into a mere diffuser of vague and mild agreeableness." [Fowler]
"I am sure," cried Catherine, "I did not mean to say anything wrong; but it is a nice book, and why should I not call it so?"
"Very true," said Henry, "and this is a very nice day, and we are taking a very nice walk; and you are two very nice young ladies. Oh! It is a very nice word indeed! It does for everything." [Jane Austen, "Northanger Abbey," 1803]