| 词汇 | lunatic |
| 词源 | lunatic. Lunatics are literally “moonstruck persons,” the word deriving from the Latin luna, “moon.” At least since Ro- man times it has been popularly believed that the mind is af- fected by the moon and that “lunatics grow more and more frenzied as the moon increases to full.” Recorded in English as early as 1290, lunatic is no longer used medically. “The lunatic, the lover and the poet,” wrote Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “are of imagination all compact.” See looney tunes. |
| 随便看 |
英语词源词典收录了13259条英语词源词条，基本涵盖了全部常用英语词汇的起源、历史，是研究英语词汇或通过词源学英语的必备工具。