- dismay (v.)
[dismay 词源字典] - late 13c., dismaien, from Old French *desmaier (attested only in past participle dismaye), from Latin de- intensive prefix + Old French esmaier "to trouble, disturb," from Vulgar Latin *exmagare "divest of power or ability" (source of Italian smagare "to weaken, dismay, discourage"), from ex- (see ex-) + Germanic stem *mag- "power, ability" (cognates: Old High German magen "to be powerful or able;" see may (v.)). Spanish desmayer "to be dispirited" is a loan word from Old French. Related: Dismayed; dismaying.[dismay etymology, dismay origin, 英语词源]
- dispirit (v.)
- 1640s; see dis- + spirit (n.). Related: Dispirited; dispiriting.
- faintly (adv.)
- c. 1300, "dispiritedly, timidly, half-heartedly;" early 14c. "feebly, wearily, without vigor;" from faint (adj.) + -ly (2). Meaning "indistinctly" is from 1580s. Also in Middle English, "deceitfully, hypocritically, falsely" (mid-14c.).
- heartless (adj.)
- Old English heortleas "dispirited, dejected;" see heart (n.) + -less. In Middle English with expanded senses "lacking in courage; foolish; listless; half-hearted; sluggish." Sense of "callous, cruel, wanting in kindly feeling" is not certainly attested before Shelley used it in 1816. Literal meaning "lacking a heart, lifeless" (mid-15c.) is rare. Related: Heartlessly; heartlessness. Similar formation in Dutch harteloos, German herzlos.
- low (adj.)
- "not high," late 13c., from lah (late 12c.), "not rising much, being near the base or ground" (of objects or persons); "lying on the ground or in a deep place" (late 13c.), from Old Norse lagr "low," or a similar Scandinavian source (compare Swedish låg, Danish lav), from Proto-Germanic *lega- "lying flat, low" (cognates: Old Frisian lech, Middle Dutch lage, Dutch laag "low," dialectal German läge "flat"), from PIE *legh- "to lie" (see lie (v.2)).
Meaning "humble in rank" is from c. 1200; "undignified" is from 1550s; sense of "dejected, dispirited" is attested from 1737; meaning "coarse, vulgar" is from 1759. In reference to sounds, "not loud," also "having a deep pitch," it is attested from c. 1300. Of prices, from c. 1400. In geographical usage, low refers to the part of a country near the sea-shore (c. 1300, as in Low Countries "Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg," 1540s). As an adverb c. 1200, from the adjective.
