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Origin and history of belvedere

belvedere(n.)

"raised turret or open story atop a house," 1590s, from Italian belvedere, literally "a fair sight," from bel, bello "beautiful" (from Latin bellus "beautiful, fair;" see belle) + vedere "a view, sight" (from PIE root *weid- "to see"). The pronunciation perhaps was influenced by the French form of the word. So called because it was used for viewing the grounds.

also from 1590s

Entries linking to belvedere

belle(n.)

"beautiful woman well-dressed; reigning beauty," 1620s, from French belle, from Old French bele, from Latin bella, fem. of bellus "beautiful, fair," from PIE *dwenelo-, diminutive form of root *deu- (2) "to do, perform; show favor, revere." Related to bonus "good" (see bonus). "The dim. meaning is the reason why bellus was originally used to refer to women and children; it was applied to men only ironically" [de Vaan, who adds that "The PIE etymology is disputed"].

gazebo(n.)

1752, supposedly a facetious formation from gaze + -bo, Latin first person singular future tense suffix (as in videbo "I shall see"), on model of earlier belvedere "cupola," from Italian, literally "a fair sight." But according to OED perhaps rather a corruption of some oriental word.

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brush
"instrument consisting of flexible material (bristles, hair, etc.) attached to a handle or stock," late 14c., "dust-sweeper, a brush for sweeping," from Old French broisse, broce "a brush" (13c., Modern French brosse), perhaps from Vulgar Latin *bruscia "a bunch of new shoots" (u
shrub
"low-growing bush, a woody plant with stems branched from or near the ground," Middle English shrubbe, from Old English scrybb "brushwood, shrubbery," a rare and late word (but preserved also, perhaps, in Shrewsbury), possibly from a Scandinavian source (compare dialectal Danish
bush
"many-stemmed woody plant," from Old English bysc (found in place names), from West Germanic *busk "bush, thicket" (source also of Old Saxon and Old High German busc, Dutch bosch, bos, German Busch). Influenced by or combined with Old French (busche "firewood") and Medieval Latin
summer
"hot season of the year," Middle English somer, from Old English sumor "summer," from Proto-Germanic *sumra- (source also of Old Saxon, Old Norse, Old High German sumar, Old Frisian sumur, Middle Dutch somer, Dutch zomer, German Sommer). This is from PIE root *sm- "summer" (sourc
cypress
popular name of a type of evergreen tree noted for its dense, dark foliage and durable, fragrant wood, native to southern Europe and sacred to Pluto, late 12c., from Old French cipres (12c., Modern French cyprès), from Late Latin cypressus, from Latin cupressus, from Greek kypari
fire
Old English fyr "fire, a fire," from Proto-Germanic *fūr- (source also of Old Saxon fiur, Old Frisian fiur, Old Norse fürr, Middle Dutch and Dutch vuur, Old High German fiur, German Feuer "fire"), from PIE *perjos, from root *paewr- "fire." Current spelling is attested as early a
drama
1510s, "a composition presenting in dialogue a course of human action, the description of a story converted into the action of a play," from Late Latin drama "play, drama," from Greek drama (genitive dramatos) "action, deed; play, spectacle," from drāo "to do, make, act, perform"
siren
mid-14c., in classical mythology, "sea nymph who by her singing lures sailors to their destruction," from Old French sereine (12c., Modern French sirène) and directly from Latin Siren (Late Latin Sirena), from Greek Seiren ["Odyssey," xii.39 ff.], one of the Seirēnes, the mythica
herald
"messenger, envoy," late 13c. (in Anglo-Latin); c. 1200 as a surname, from Anglo-French heraud, Old French heraut, hiraut (12c.), from Frankish *hariwald "commander of an army" or a similar Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *harja "army" (from PIE root *koro- "war;" see harry)
abhor
c. 1400, "to loathe, regard with repugnance, dislike intensely," literally "to shrink back with horror or dread," from Latin abhorrere "shrink back from, have an aversion for, shudder at," from ab "off, away from" (see ab-) + horrere "tremble at, shudder," literally "to bristle,

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