euthanasia

首次使用於1606年，來自古希臘語 εὐθανασία (euthanasía)，來自εὐ- (eu-, “好的”) + θάνατος (thánatos, “死亡”)。

/juːθəˈneɪʒə/

Euthanasia is the most difficult part of a veterinarian's job.


gung ho

源自官話 工合 (gōnghé)的词语误用，其被误解释为了工 (gōng, “工作”) + 合 (hé, “一起”)即“一起工作”，但其是工業合作社／工业合作社 (Gōngyè Hézuòshè)的简称。“一起工作”的解释是由20世纪30年代驻扎在中国的美国海军准将埃文斯·卡尔逊作出的。其成为了卡尔逊领导的斗志昂扬的团的口号和外号，最后导致其他海军士兵将这个词解释为“狂热的”。在美国，其在1943年战争片《孤岛突击队》（Gung Ho!）的影响下普及开来。

more gung ho (comparative)
most gung ho (superlative)

狂热的，偏激的，过分热情的

No matter how gung ho you are when you start, you will tire as you become mired in details.


devout

源自中古英語 devout、devot，源自古法語 devot（法语dévot），源自拉丁語 dēvōtus，dēvōveō的过去分词。devote的同源對似詞。

devouter (comparative)
more devout (comparative)
devoutest (superlative)
most devout (superlative)

devout sighs; devout eyes; a devout posture


encore

借自法語 encore (“再次”)，亦曾使用过该词义。

to encore a performer

to encore a song


pun

繼承自中古英語 ponnen、ponen、punen，來自古英語 punian、pūnian (“重擊，毆打，咆哮，輾壓，研磨”)，來自原始日耳曼語 *punōną (“打碎，粉碎”)。參見pound。作為一種文字遊戲，來自"beating"字到位的概念。

We punned about the topic until all around us groaned.


pun

The pun is the lowest form of wit.


apricot

pickled apricots


head

源自中古英語 hed, heed, heved, heaved ← 古英語 hēafod (“頭部；頂部；來源，起源；首領；首都”) ← 原始日耳曼語 *haubudą (“頭”) ← 原始印歐語 *káput-，*kapōlo- (“頭；碗”)的變體。
同源詞
與低地蘇格蘭語 heid, hede, hevid, heved (“頭”), 古英語 hafola (“頭”), 北弗里斯蘭語 hood (“頭”), 荷蘭語 hoofd (“頭”), 德語 Haupt (“頭”), 瑞典語 huvud (“頭”), 冰島語 höfuð (“頭”), 拉丁語 caput (“頭”), 梵語 कपाल (kapāla, “顱”), 印地語 कपाल (kapāl, “顱”)同源。

We are going to head up North for our holiday.

We will head off tomorrow.

Next holiday we will head out West, or head to Chicago.

下個假期我們去西部或者去芝加哥。

Right now I need to head into town to do some shopping.

I'm fed up working for a boss. I'm going to head out on my own, set up my own business.

How does the ship head?


hold

源自中古英語 holden ← 古英語 healdan ← 原始日耳曼語 *haldaną (“照料（牲口），放牧”)，可能源自原始印歐語 *kel- (“驅趕”)（對比拉丁語 celer (“快”), 吐火羅語B kälts (“刺激，驅趕”), 古希臘語 κέλλω (kéllō, “驅趕”), 梵語 कलयति (kalayati, “他促使”)）。與西弗里斯蘭語 hâlde, 低地德語 holden, holen, 荷蘭語 houden, 德語 halten, 丹麥語、書面挪威語 holde, 新挪威語 halda同源。

hold with the hare and run with the hounds

to hold true;  The proposition holds.


Greek

繼承自古英語 Grēcas (“希臘人”)，Crēcas的變體，來自原始西日耳曼語 *Krēkō，來自拉丁語 Graecus，源頭不明，可能衍生自地名Γραῖα (Graîa)或來自部落名Graii的其他古巴爾幹語族形式，參見英語維基百科條目Griko、Names of the Greeks。希臘語中有個同源詞Γραικός (Graikós)，是從神話時代的祖先Γραίοι (Graíoi, “格瑞西安族”)而來。日爾曼語族同源詞包括荷蘭語 Griek、德語 Grieche。英語和日爾曼語族同源詞中的⟨g⟩，是受到法語 grec和古典拉丁語 Graecus的影響下恢復的。
該形容詞可追溯到14世紀的中古英語，取代了古英語 Grēċisċ (“希臘式的”)和早期中古英語 Gregeis。指兄弟會跟姐妹會，來自早期希臘字母的截斷。

Was Joe a Greek in college?


fluorescent

/ˌflʊəˈɹɛsənt/

The fluorescents hummed day and night.


milk

源自中古英語 milken，源自古英語 melcan，源自原始日耳曼語 *melkaną，最终源自原始印歐語 *h₂melǵ-，和上方名词相同的词干。对比荷蘭語和德語 melken、丹麥語 malke、挪威語 mjølke，以及拉丁語 mulgeō (“挤奶”)、古希臘語 ἀμέλγω (amélgō, “挤奶”)、阿爾巴尼亞語 mjel (“挤奶”)、俄語 молоко́ (molokó)、立陶宛語 mélžti、吐火羅語A mālk-。

masturbate

榨精，尤指仅为自己的快感给男性行手淫

榨精，尤指仅为自己的快感给男性行手淫

Controlled milking can actually establish and consolidate a mistress’ dominance over her sub rather than diminish it.

:Template:rfquote-sense


facies

借自拉丁語 faciēs (“形式，構造，形象；面孔，面容，容貌”)。face的同源對似詞。

costive facies


hypothermia

新拉丁語，源自古希臘語 ὑπο- (hupo-, “在...之下，低于”) + θέρμη (thérmē, “热量”) + -ία (-ía, 阴性后缀)

/ˌhaɪpəʊˈθɜː(ɹ)mi.ə/

Hypothermia is the systemic cold injury.


insult

- Marvel owns your gods!
- Insulting is not arguing.


high

源自中古英語 high、heigh、heih，源自古英語 hēah (“高的，高耸的，高级的，上层的，杰出的，高傲的，深邃的”)，源自原始西日耳曼語 *hauh (“高”)，源自原始日耳曼語 *hauhaz (“高”)，源自原始印歐語 *kewk- (“升”)。
与低地蘇格蘭語 heich (“高的”)、薩特弗里斯蘭語 hooch (“高的”)、西弗里斯蘭語 heech (“高的”)、荷蘭語 hoog (“高的”)、低地德語 hoog (“高的”)、德語 hoch (“高的”)、瑞典語 hög (“高的”)、挪威語 høy (“高的”)、冰島語 hár (“高的”)、立陶宛語 kaukas (“肿块，疮”)、俄語 ку́ча (kúča, “摞，沓”)同源。

higher (comparative)
highest (superlative)

地位高的，上层的 一流的，最重要的

The oldest of the elves' royal family still conversed in High Elvish.

The Barnacles were a very high family, and a very large family. They were dispersed all over the public offices, and held all sorts of public places.

Not a one of them was old enough to know what the high past of Liani separatism had really been like.

2007, Sheila Finch, Shaper's Legacy ISBN 1434401596, page 122:

the high priest, the high officials of the court, the high altar

主教，法庭的高级官员，主祭坛

地位高的，上层的 严重的，严厉的，重要的

high crimes, the high festival of the sun

地位高的，上层的 程度高的

high heat; high noon; high seasoning; high pleasure; high colour; high scholarship; high tide; high [tourism] season; the High Middle Ages

高温，正午，味道重的调味料，非常开心，深（鲜）色，高深的学术研究，满潮，（旅游）旺季，中世纪鼎盛时期

High sauces and rich spices are fetch'd from the Indies.

1709-1710, Thomas Baker, Reflections on Learning

地位高的，上层的 复杂的，繁杂的，高深的

Plain living and high thinking are no more.

I have KT742 of the same suit. In other words, a K-high flush.

我有同一个花色的KT742，也就是K中最大的同花顺

9-high straight = 98765 unsuited

Royal Flush = AKQJT suited = A-high straight flush

North's hand was high. East was in trouble.

Cutler pushed forward the two necessary white chips. No one's hand was high, and Loomis made a slight winning.

1894, Harper's Magazine, volume 88, page 910:


keyboard

Keyboarding is the part of this job I hate the most.


conservative

借自中古法語 conservatif，來自拉丁語 cōnservō (“儲存”)。等同conserve + -ative。

more conservative (comparative)
most conservative (superlative)

The chef added a conservative amount of salt to the dish.

The curriculum committee at this university is extremely conservative.

At a conservative estimate, growth may even be negative next year.


pig

源自中古英語 pigge (“小猪”)（原指小猪，年长猪是swyn），多半源自古英語 *picga（仅可考于picgbrēad (“猪饲料”)等复合词中），源自原始西日耳曼語 *piggō、*puggō (“小猪”)。对比中古荷蘭語 pogge、puggen、pigge、pegsken (“猪崽”)、中古低地德語 pugge、pûke (“猪崽”)。本词使用于体重快速增加的动物幼崽，所以其可能是源自动词“to big”，源自中古英語 biggen、byggen，源自古諾爾斯語 byggja、byggva (“建造”)，源自原始日耳曼語 *būwijaną (“建造”)，源自原始印歐語 *bʰuH- (“成为，成长为”)。Pokorny认为词根与*bū-、*bew- (“肿，胀”)有关，以解释“pig”和“big”之间的互换关系。
有时有人指出其与早期现代荷蘭語 bigge（现代big (“猪崽”)）、西弗里斯蘭語 bigge (“猪崽”)和中古低地德語的相似词有关，但是“发音难以解释”。一些文献指出这些词“多半无关”，其他人认为这一联系“有可能，但无法确定”。
指“警察”的俚语义至晚自1785年起可考。

The man kept a pen with two pigs that he fed everything from carrots to cabbage.

Some religions prohibit their adherents from eating pig.

"Miss Chastene, could you fetch me out an extra plate of pig and biscuit. My partner can't do without your marvelous cooking."

2005, Ross Eddy Osborn, Thorns of a Tainted Rose, →ISBN，頁號 196:

条子，警察 （源自1785年前）

The protester shouted, “Don't give in to the pigs!” as he was arrested.

There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down brothers on the instant replay

1971, Gil Scott-Heron （作曲作詞）, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”:

“...Sounds too easy,” Marvin was saying. “What about the pigs?”

1989, Dan Simmons, Carrion Comfort, page 359,

The bank robberies went on and each raid became more bloody, Meinhof encouraging her followers to “kill the pigs” offering the slightest resistance, referring to policemen.

1990, Jay Robert Nash, Encyclopedia of World Crime: Volume 1: A-C, page 198,

Backing 300 of the more aggressive protesters was a supporting cast of several thousand more who stared down the small line of police. Those in front resumed their taunts of “Pig, pig, fascist pig,” and “pigs eat shit, pigs eat shit.” The rest of the crowd, however, backed off and sat down on the grass when reinforcements arrived. Police did not retaliate for the name-calling, and within minutes the line of demonstrators broke apart and the incident was over without violence.¹¹³

2008, Frank Kusch, Battleground Chicago: The Police and the 1968 Democratic National Convention, page 63,

But me, I joined the party to fight the pigs. That′s why I joined. Because my experience with the police was always negative.

2011, T. J. English, The Savage City: Race, Murder and a Generation on the Edge, unnumbered page,

Got a mind for the undies
I'm tryna stay far from the pigs

The conveyor carried the pigs from the smelter to the freight cars.

传送带将铸块从锻造炉送至车皮。

After the ill-advised trade, the investor was stuck with worthless options for 10,000 tons of iron pig.

The pig was cracked, and molten metal was oozing from the side.

Unfortunately, the pig sent to clear the obstruction got lodged in a tight bend, adding to the problem.

Unfortunately, the M60 is about twenty-four pounds and is very unbalanced. You try carrying the pig around the jungle and see how you feel.


insidious

源自中古法語 insidieux，源自拉丁語 īnsidiōsus (“狡猾的，欺诈的，骗人的”)，源自īnsidiae (“埋伏，伏击，诡计，奸计”) + -ōsus，源自īnsideō (“坐在..里或上”)，源自in (“里，上”) + sedeō (“坐”)。

more insidious (comparative)
most insidious (superlative)

Gashford slid his cold insidious palm into his master's grasp, and so, hand in hand, and followed still by Barnaby and by his mother too, they mingled with the concourse.

1841 February–November, Charles Dickens, “Barnaby Rudge”, 出自 Master Humphrey’s Clock, 卷 III, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, chapter 48，頁號 215:

All these facts clearly appear to me now to establish that the sanctioned scheme was a part of a bigger and […] more insidious scheme which was to hoodwink the creditors and to firmly establish and consolidate the position […]

1948, D.V. Chitaley (editor or publisher), All India Reporter, volume 3, page 341:

The atmosphere of this insidious city comes out to meet him the moment he touches the European shore; for in London he meets Maria Gostrey just over from France.

1969, Dorothy Brewster, John Angus Burrell, Dead reckonings in fiction:

They all sought the President's views on the world situation in general and the Asian situation in particular. Without mincing words he would comment on his favorite theme, namely, the insidious scheme of the international Communists to conquer the free world.

1983, James C. H. Shen, “Rejoining the Government”, 出自 Robert Myers 編, The U.S. & Free China: How the U.S. Sold Out Its Ally, Washington, D.C.: Acropolis Books Ltd., →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC，頁號 28:

This seemed to her the worst defilement into which this insidious city had cheated her and in her agitation, she nearly ran into the latrine, […]

2005, Anita Desai, Voices in the City, page 189:

This is the insidious way sports entrap you: you follow a player, which commits you to his team. You begin to acquire scraps of utterly useless information about teammates, managers, owners, trainers, agents, lawyers.

2007, Joseph Epstein, Narcissus Leaves the Pool，頁號 171:

Hansel and Gretel were lured by the witch’s insidious gingerbread house.


analysis

comparative analysis


drown

源自中古英語 drownen、drounen、drunen (“溺死”)，其词源不详。
《牛津英语词典》提出一个不可考的古英语形式*drūnian。 Harper 2001指出古英语druncnian、ġedruncnian（→中古英語 drunknen、dronknen (“溺死”)），它们“可能受到了古諾爾斯語 drukkna的影响”（对比冰島語 drukkna、丹麥語 drukne (“溺死”)）。Funk & Wagnalls认为词源不详。有理论指出（如ODS）其可能直接借自古諾爾斯語 drukkna，但《牛津词典》认为在“发音和各种原因上解释不通”，除非引入不可考变体古諾爾斯語 *drunkna的可能性。

[d̠͡ɹ̠˔ʷaʊn]

使...淹没（于其他物品中）

The answers intelligence services seek are often drowned in the flood of information they can now gather.


emperor

In imperial China, it was often a responsibility of the emperor to evaluate his predecessor after the latter's death.


dissuade

Jane dissuaded Martha from committing suicide.


decay

civic and moral decay

systemic decay

I fancied at first the stuff was paraffin wax, and smashed the jar accordingly. But the odor of camphor was unmistakable. It struck me as singularly odd, that among the universal decay, this volatile substance had chanced to survive, perhaps through many thousand years.

1895, H. G. Wells, 章號 X, 出自 The Time Machine:


initial

the initial word of the article
（請為本使用例添加中文翻譯） 文章头一个词


initial

John put his initials on each page of the contract.
（請為本使用例添加中文翻譯） 约翰在条约每一页上都签了名字首字母。


initial

John initialed each page of the contract.
（請為本使用例添加中文翻譯） 约翰在条约每一页上都签了名字首字母。


furnace

源自中古英語 forneys，源自古法語 fornais（法語 fournaise），源自拉丁語 fornāx。

Plans for the next phase include furnaces capable of inert atmospheres and partial vacuums.

同類詞：heater、space heater

HVAC services include furnace maintenance.


morbid

more morbid (comparative)
most morbid (superlative)

病的；致病的；病態的；可怕的

You may read more about such things, if morbid curiosity has you ever overtaken.


hectic

源自中古英語 etik、ethik，源自古法語 etique，源自中世紀拉丁語 *hecticus，源自古希臘語 ἑκτικός (hektikós, “习惯的，繁忙的，消耗性的”)，源自ἕξις (héxis, “（身体或精神的）状态，条件”)，源自ἔχειν (ékhein, “有；在（某种状态下）”)。

more hectic (comparative)
most hectic (superlative)

hectic fever


orifice

源自中古法語，源自古法語，源自晚期拉丁語 orificium (“开口；”字面义“做一张嘴巴”)，由os (“嘴巴”) + facio (“做”)构成的复合词。

the orifice of an artery or vein; the orifice of a wound; the vagina and other orifices


baffle

不详。可能与法語 bafouer (“藐视”)或已弃用的法語 befer (“嘲笑”)有关，经由苏格兰语bauchle (“羞辱”)。

hoodwink

欺骗 （16-18世纪）

deceive

欺骗 （16-18世纪）

无谓地挣扎 （19世纪）

A ship baffles with the winds.


baffle

（声音、光、液体等的）反射板，挡板

科西嘉語

Tanker trucks use baffles to keep the liquids inside from sloshing around.


pedestrian

借自拉丁語 pedester，词根pedestri-（源自pedes） + -an (形容词构成后缀)。

more pedestrian (comparative)
most pedestrian (superlative)

本詞語需要翻譯為漢語。請協助添加，並移除{{rfdef}}模板。

The choreographer prefers pedestrian movements.


hiatus

借自拉丁語 hiātus (“缺口，开口”)（16世纪中叶），源自hiō (“开着，打哈欠”)。

Hiatus aorticus is an opening in the diaphragm through which aorta and thoracic duct pass.


strategy

借自古希臘語 στρατηγία (stratēgía)。

Oftentimes, the very simple strategies pay very great dividends.


procession

源自中古英語 processioun，借自古法語 pourciession，源自拉丁語 prōcessiō (“行进，前进；（晚期拉丁语）宗教队伍”)，源自prōcēdere，prōcessus (“前行，前进”)的过去分词，详见proceed。

行列，队伍，队列；游行队伍

a procession of mourners

the Lord Mayor's procession

The final fifty miles of the race was a procession with little change in the relative positions of the cars […]
（請為本引文添加中文翻譯）


notwithstanding

源自中古英語 notwithstandinge、notwithstondyng、natwithstandyng，等价于not + withstanding。对比近义且构成类似的中古英語 notgainstonding、not aȝenstondynge。

notwithstanding personal preferences, the school district's rules on the topic govern our decision

Those on whom Christ bestowed miraculous cures were so transported that their gratitude made them, notwithstanding his prohibition, proclaim the wonders he had done.

1675, Richard Allestree, The Causes of the Decay of Christian Piety:

Notwithstanding the high resolution of Hawkeye he fully comprehended all the difficulties and danger he was about to incur.

1826, James Fenimore Cooper, 章號 26, 出自 The Last of the Mohicans:

有關使用本詞的更多用例，請參閱Citations:notwithstanding。


notwithstanding

in accordance with school district rules on the topic, personal preferences notwithstanding

Van Gaal’s dismissal of his ability to play a central role notwithstanding, Shinji Kagawa began playing just behind the strikers Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernández.

2014年August26日, Richard Rae, “Manchester United humbled by MK Dons after Will Grigg hits double”, 出自 The Guardian:

And be it declared and enacted by the authority aforesaid, that an Habeas Corpus, according to the true intent and meaning of this act, may be directed and seen in any county Palatine, the Cinque Ports, or other privileged places within the Kindgom of England, dominion of Wales, or town of Berwick upon Tweed, and the islands of Jersey and Guernsey; any law or usage to the contrary notwithstanding.


ridiculous

借自拉丁語 rīdiculus (“可笑的，荒唐的”)，参见ridicule。

more ridiculous (comparative)
most ridiculous (superlative)

silly

荒唐的，可笑的，愚蠢的，滑稽的

willy nilly

荒唐的，可笑的，愚蠢的，滑稽的

frivolous

荒唐的，可笑的，愚蠢的，滑稽的

goofy

荒唐的，可笑的，愚蠢的，滑稽的

funny

荒唐的，可笑的，愚蠢的，滑稽的

humorous

荒唐的，可笑的，愚蠢的，滑稽的

absurd

荒唐的，可笑的，愚蠢的，滑稽的

odd

荒唐的，可笑的，愚蠢的，滑稽的

surreal

荒唐的，可笑的，愚蠢的，滑稽的

unreasonable

荒唐的，可笑的，愚蠢的，滑稽的

straightforward

荒唐的，可笑的，愚蠢的，滑稽的

serious

荒唐的，可笑的，愚蠢的，滑稽的

somber

荒唐的，可笑的，愚蠢的，滑稽的

solemn

荒唐的，可笑的，愚蠢的，滑稽的

In a ridiculous feat of engineering, the team can calculate the difference in arrival time to within one-tenth of a nanosecond.

在工程学界的一项难以置信的壮举中，那个团队能够在1/10纳秒内计算出粒子达到时间差。

Gaines is a classic motor player with a low center of gravity and ridiculous strength.


incentive

借自中世紀拉丁語 incentīvus (“起調或定調”)，來自incinō (“起調”)，來自in- (“在”) + canō (“唱”)。該詞的形成似乎受到incendō (“放火”)的影響。

I have no incentive to do housework right now.

It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: perhaps out of a desire to escape the gravity of this world or to get a preview of the next; […].

2013年June7日, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, 出自 The Guardian Weekly, 卷 188, 期 26，頁號 36:

Management offered the sales team a $500 incentive for each car sold.


desperate

借自拉丁語 dēspērātus，dēspērō (“沒有希望”)的過去分詞。

more desperate (comparative)
most desperate (superlative)

a desperate disease; desperate fortune


sneer

可能与中古高地德語 snerren (“讲八卦”)有关。

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-sneer.wav

to sneer fulsome lies at a person

There was a quick scuffle within the cabin. "Leave me alone, I say, and git!" cried the cook. "Can't I be friendly without you hollerin?" sneered the miner. "You wouldn't have been 'lowed to stay round here if it hadn't been for me."


radioactive

於1898年由皮埃尔·居里和玛丽·居里借自法語 radio-actif所創的新詞，等同於radio- + active。

more radioactive (comparative)
most radioactive (superlative)

對人或思想有危險且令人厭惡的

Even sleazy tactics and his radioactive mouth may not be able to contain this debacle.

And while Biden’s other nominees have done little to provoke Republican backlash thus far, [Neera] Tanden is “radioactive,” as Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) put it.

2020年November30日, Burgess Everett, Caitlin Emma, Theodoric Meyer, 引 John Cornyn, “Joe Biden's 'radioactive' nominee”, 出自 POLITICO:

If, by some miracle, Democrats hang on to one or both houses of Congress this November, it will be because of Cawthorn, Paul Gosar, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and other would-be G.O.P. candidates trying to be just like them — the Radioactive Republicans.

2022年April4日, Gail Collins, Bret Stephens, “Which ‘Radioactive Republicans’ Are We Betting On?”, 出自 The New York Times, →ISSN:


turgid

源自拉丁語 turgidus (“肿胀的”)，源自turgeō (“肿胀”)。

more turgid (comparative)
most turgid (superlative)

I have a turgid limb.

A vegetable that is fully moist and firm will seem both crisp and more tender than the same vegetable limp from water loss. When we bite down on a vegetable turgid with water, the already-stressed cell walls readily break and the cells burst open; in a limp vegetable, chewing compresses the walls together, and we have to exert much more pressure to break through them.

2004, Harold McGee, 章號 5, 出自 On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Scribner, →ISBN:


precious

源自中古英語 precious，借自古法語 precios (“珍贵的，昂贵的，宝贝的，至爱的；做作的”)，源自拉丁語 pretiōsus (“珍贵的，昂贵的”)，源自pretium (“价值，价格”)，参见price。

more precious (comparative)
most precious (superlative)

He spent hours painting the eyes of the portrait, which his fellow artists regarded as a bit precious.

Writers are often very precious about their work.

Hearing what a struggle it was for her, I began to understand why some people are so precious about being Irish. Being second-generation Irish, she had the option to hide behind her accent. Instead she would thump her fist to defend Irish people from those speaking out against them.

2016年November20日, Katie Walsh, “Why are Irish people so precious about Irishness?”, 出自 The Irish Times, Dublin: Irish Times Trust, →ISSN, →OCLC，2023-04-01歸檔自原頁面:


plump

源自中古英語 plump。

a plump of trees, fowls, or spears


abrasive

more abrasive (comparative)
most abrasive (superlative)

傷人感情的，性情或態度粗暴的

An abrasive person can grate on one's sensibilities.

Despite her proper upbringing, we found her manners to be terribly abrasive.


sedentary

源自中古法語 sédentaire，源自拉丁語 sedentārius (“坐着的”)，源自sedeō (“坐”)。

more sedentary (comparative)
most sedentary (superlative)

很少移动的；停留于附近的

The oyster is a sedentary mollusk; the barnacles are sedentary crustaceans.


kiln

源自中古英語 kilne，源自古英語 cylene或cyline (“大炉子”)，源自拉丁語 culīna (“厨房，厨房火炉”)。

When making pottery we need to allow the bisque to dry before we kiln it.


antagonism

源自古希臘語 ἀνταγωνιστής (antagōnistḗs, “对手”)，源自ἀνταγωνίζεσθαι (antagōnízesthai, “使...对立”)，源自ἀγών (agṓn, “对抗”)（英語 agon）。

/ænˈtæɡənɪzəm/

Their longstanding antagonism is manifested in frequent scuffles and shouting matches.


dip

源自中古英語 dippen，源自古英語 dyppan，源自原始西日耳曼語 *duppjan，源自原始日耳曼語 *dupjaną，见*daupijaną。与deep有关。

将...降至一半高度 （旗帜，尤指国旗，来表示投降或还礼，称为点旗礼）

The sailor rushed to the flag hoist to dip the flag in return.

The farmer is going to dip the cattle today.


convince

源自拉丁語 convincō (“說服，駁斥”)，來自con- + vincō (“攻佔，征服”)。convict的同源對似詞。替代本土古英語 oferreċċan。

I wouldn't have or do something, unless I'm convinced that it's good.

Such convincing proofs and assurances of it as might enable them to convince others.

1718, Francis Atterbury, sermon preached on Easter Day at Westminster Abbey


cap

源自中古英語 cappe，源自 古英語 cæppe，源自晚期拉丁語 cappa。cape, chape, and cope的同源對似詞。

the cap of column, door, etc.; a capital, coping, cornice, lintel, or plate

flat cap; foolscap; legal cap


bristle

源自中古英語 bristil、bristel、brustel，源自古英語 bristl、*brystl、*byrstel，源自原始西日耳曼語 *burstilu，原始西日耳曼語 *bursti的指小词，源自原始日耳曼語 *burstiz（对比荷蘭語 borstel、德語 Borste (“野猪的鬓毛”)、冰島語 burst），源自原始印歐語 *bʰr̥stís（对比中古愛爾蘭語 brostaid (“招惹”)、拉丁語 fastīgium (“顶部的”)、波蘭語 barszcz (“猪草”)），等价于brust + -le。

過時，新英格兰和纽约上州农村口音

to bristle a thread


deed

One small deed can have one stour effect or more.


diet

源自中古英語 diet、dyet、diete，源自古法語 diete，源自中世紀拉丁語 dieta (“养生；集会”)，源自拉丁語 diaeta，源自古希臘語 δίαιτα (díaita)。

lite

简化版的，精简的，迷你的

简化版的，精简的，迷你的

You folks reduce it to the bible only as being authoritative, impoverishing the faith. "Christianity Lite", diet Christianity for those who can't handle the Whole Meal.


diet

源自中古英語 diet、dyet，源自古法語 diete，源自中世紀拉丁語 diēta、diaeta (“集会；审判；一天的路途”)，源自古希臘語 δῐ́αιτα (díaita, “生活方式；生活空间；决定，判断”)，受到了拉丁語 diēs (“一天”)的影响。

They were given representation of some important diet committees.

The National Diet of Japan

a diet of worship


glassy

源自中古英語 glasy，等价于glass + -y。对比薩特弗里斯蘭語 glääsich (“玻璃般的”)、荷蘭語 glazig (“玻璃般的”)、德國低地德語 glasig (“玻璃般的”)、德語 glasig (“玻璃般的”)。

glassier (comparative)
glassiest (superlative)

玻璃般的 （尤指光滑反光）
无浪的

同類詞：glossy、shiny

a resin tabletop with a glassy polish

a fair day on a glassy sea

风平浪静的海面上天气不错的一天

architecture enamored of glass and steel, where glassier meant classier

同類詞：fisheye

the glassy eyes of a person in a trance


funnel

源自中古英語 funell、fonel，可能经由古法語 *founel（对比中古法語 fonel、古奧克語 fonilh、enfounilh），源自拉丁語 fundibulum、infundibulum (“漏斗”)，源自infundere (“倒入”)；in (“内”) + fundere (“倾倒”)，对比布列塔尼語 founilh (“漏斗”)、威爾士語 ffynel (“气孔，烟囱”)。参见fuse。

funnels
funnelling
funneling
funnelled
funneled

导向，引导到 （资金，资源，感情等）

Our taxes are being funnelled into pointless government initiatives.

Like so many others, I was awestruck by the first season, which captured a moment in time and successfully funnelled its rage outwards at a world in which women are indeed silenced, controlled and killed by men.

2018年June16日, Fiona Sturges, “Cattleprods! Severed tongues! Torture porn! Why I’ve stopped watching the Handmaid’s Tale”, 出自 Katharine Viner 編, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC，於2020-02-05歸檔自原頁面:


mimicry

They say that mimicry is the sincerest form of flattery, but I still think I'm being mocked when he acts just like me.

When animal mimicry goes really wrong they don't just look like something that a predator would ignore, they look like lunch.


impervious

源自拉丁語 impervius (“无法穿过的”)，源自in- (“不”) + pervius (“能透过的”)。

more impervious (comparative)
most impervious (superlative)

Although patchworked and sagging, the roof proved impervious to the weather.

The white faience façade, the glazed Doultonware Carrera marble, was made locally. And being glazed, it was impervious to London's sooty atmosphere, enabling easier cleaning.

2023年December13日, Robin Leleux, “Restored... and a richly deserved award: Findlater's Corner”, 出自 RAIL, 期 998，頁號 43:


beryl

繼承自中古英語 beryl，來自古法語 beril，來自拉丁語 bērillus、bēryllus，來自古希臘語 βήρυλλος (bḗrullos, “綠柱石”)，來自普拉克里特諸語言 [具體何詞?]，來自梵語 वैडूर्य (vaiḍūrya)。

The crown was set with six beryls of excellent size and color.

The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl …

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ezekiel 1:16:


molybdenum

借自新拉丁語 molybdaenum，來自molybdaena (“任何像鉛的物質”)，來自古希臘語 μολύβδαινα (molúbdaina, “鉛墜，一塊鉛”)，來自μόλυβδος (mólubdos, “鉛；石墨”)，來自安那托利亞語族詞彙同源的呂底亞語 𐤪𐤠𐤭𐤦𐤥𐤣𐤠 (mariwda, “黑暗”)，來自原始印歐語 *morkʷ-iyo-，來自詞根*morkʷ- (“暗”)，與英語 murk同源。參見拉丁語 plumbum nigrum (“鉛”)。後綴為 + -um (“化學元素”)。
18世紀最後25年被證實。

molybdenum disulfide, molybdenum disulphide

a quadruple bond between molybdenums

Thus in M₄O₁₁, for example, ¾ of the molybdenums are octahedrally connected and ¼ are tetrahedrally coordinated and, furthermore, the formula is compatible with the existence of one Mo(IV) for every three Mo(VI), so at first glance the compound might appear to be a class I mixed valence system.

2007, Peter Day, Molecules into Materials: Case Studies in Materials Chemistry—Mixed Valency, Magnetism and Superconductivity，頁號 233:


glower

源自glore的一个（可能是苏格兰语的）变体，源自中古英語 glōren、glouren (“照耀；瞪着”)，或原子glow (“盯着”, 弃用)，最终源自某斯堪的纳维亚（北日耳曼语支）语言。同源词有低地德語 gloren (“闪烁；发微光”)、中古荷蘭語 gloren、冰島語 glóra。还见glare。

怒视 （自15世纪末叶）

She sure has an awful glower on her face.

[H]e [Rab, a dog] growled and gave now and then a sharp impatient yelp; he would have liked to have done something to that man. But James had him firm, and gave him a glower from time to time, and an intimation of a possible kick;—all the better for James, it kept his eye and his mind off Ailie.

1862, John Brown, “Rab and His Friends”, 出自 Spare Hours, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC，頁號 33:

"I thought we could go a bit farther to the back pasture. You can get a better view." / "Of the extensive Bannister estate?" she said with a wry tone. / "Of the ranch," he said, a glower showing her that he didn't fully appreciate her comment.

2015, Carolyne Aarsen, 章號 6, 出自 The Cowboy’s Homecoming (Love Inspired Books), New York, N.Y.: Harlequin, →ISBN，頁號 89:

"Enough," Nathaniel repeated as he kept a tight hold on their suspenders. "What's been said was said. What's been done has been done. It's over. Let is go." / The glowers the boys gave him warned Nathaniel that he was wasting his breath.

2016, Jo Ann Brown, 章號 1, 出自 His Amish Sweetheart (Love Inspired Books; Amish Hearts; 3), New York, N.Y.: Harlequin, →ISBN:


little

less (comparative)
lesser (comparative)
least (superlative)

Words mean little without real work.


relict

殘餘物 本詞語需要翻譯為漢語。請協助添加，並移除{{rfdef}}模板。

A small number of linguists believe that Cimbrian is not an Austro-Bavarian dialect but a relict of Lombardic.


a la mode

借自法語 à la mode (“時尚的”)。

Our pie a la mode has a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

With a bowl of beef stew, apple pie a la mode, and two cups of coffee under his belt, Gus Wilson walked leisurely back to the Model Garage.

November 1959, "Martin Bunn", Popular Science, Gus Pulls a Switch:


remote control

The bomb was detonated by remote control.


abdication

首次記錄於1552年。派生自中古法語 abdication，派生自拉丁語 abdicātiō (“放棄、廢棄”)，源自abdicō。

自願放棄主權 （首次記錄於17世紀晚期）

abdication of the throne, government, power, authority


abduce

派生自拉丁語 abdūcō (“帶走”)，源自ab (“從；離開”) + dūcō (“帶領”)。

牽引；導走；帶走；收回；引向不同的部位；將肢體移出，遠離身體中央 （16世紀中期）

If we abduce the eye unto either corner, the object will not duplicate.


acquisition

繼承自中古英語，源自古法語 acquisicion，來自拉丁語 acquisītiō，來自acquirere；等同於acquire + -ition。

The acquisition of sports equipment can be fun in itself.

That graphite tennis racquet is quite an acquisition.


slump

可能源自北日耳曼語支，对比丹麥語 slumpe (“碰巧遇到”)、挪威語 slumpe (“碰巧发生”)、瑞典語 slumpa (“变卖”)。亦对比德語 schlumpen (“跟踪；拖湿；马虎”)。

一种酥皮水果馅饼，类似cobbler

a blackberry slump


peak

早期形式peake、peek、peke，源自中古英語 *peke、*pek（可考作peked，是piked的变体），变换自pike、pyke、pyk (“尖端”)，源自古英語 pīc、piic (“针，尖刺，顶端，锥”)，源自原始日耳曼語 *pīkaz (“顶”)。同源词有荷蘭語 piek (“顶峰”)、丹麥語 pik (“矛，尖端”)、瑞典語 pik (“矛，尖端”)、挪威語 pik (“尖端，顶峰”)。还见pike。

apex

（某段时间内数值的）顶峰，最高值

pinnacle

（某段时间内数值的）顶峰，最高值

peak-halyards

peak-brails


prim

源自 普羅旺斯方言 prim (“細膩、優秀”)，源自古法語 prim，prin，源自:Template:lena 拉丁語 primus (“首先”)。prime的同源對似詞。

primmer (comparative)
primmest (superlative)

正式的；精確的；故作整潔或漂亮

prim regularity; a prim person


abdicate

* 首次記錄於1541年。
* 派生自拉丁語 abdicātus (“放棄的”)，abdicō (“放棄，拒絕”) 的完成被動分詞，源自ab (“離開”) + dicō (“宣告、表明”)，類似於dīcō (“說”)。

去除；拋棄；放棄 （16世紀中期至17世紀晚期）

betray and abdicate the due right both of ourselves and successors

投降、放棄或交出（主權等）；不再擔任或履行高級職位、身分 （首次記錄於17世紀）

to abdicate the throne, the crown, the papacy

The cross-bearers abdicated their service.

1776, Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire:

He abdicates all right to be his own governor.

1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France:

The understanding abdicates its functions.

1856, James Anthony Froude, History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth:


capricious

more capricious (comparative)
most capricious (superlative)

arbitrary

任性的；多变的，变化无常的

whimsical

任性的；多变的，变化无常的

fickle

任性的；多变的，变化无常的

conscientious

任性的；多变的，变化无常的

rigorous

任性的；多变的，变化无常的

任性的；多变的，变化无常的

I almost died in a capricious winter storm.

Stringent rulers are unlikely to act capriciously.


sod

源自中古英語 sod、sodde 首次記錄於15世纪中叶，源自中古荷蘭語 zoden (“草皮”)或中古低地德語 sôde、soede (“草皮”)，两者与荷蘭語 zode (“草皮”)、德語 Sode (“草皮”)、古弗里斯蘭語 sātha (“草皮”)有关。上述词最终词源不详。

He sodded the worn areas twice a year.


sod

源自古英语复数过去式，或逆構詞自过去分词sodden。

more sod (comparative)
most sod (superlative)

sod damper


blind

源自中古英語 blynd，源自古英語 blind，源自原始西日耳曼語 *blind，源自原始日耳曼語 *blindaz。

用来藏匿其他东西的东西，遮掩物

a duck blind

The blinds are $10 and $20, and the ante is $1.

The blinds immediately folded when I reraised.


blind

more blind (comparative)
most blind (superlative)

本詞語需要翻譯為漢語。請協助添加，並移除{{rfdef}}模板。

Blind bake your pie case for fifteen minutes, then add the filling. This will help avoid a "soggy bottom".

If the shell is going to be baked without a filling, “baking the crust blind,” prick the bottom and sides of the crust to allow the steam to escape. Another variation: line the bottom of the crust with parchment paper […]

2012, Frank D. Conforti, Food Selection and Preparation: A Laboratory Manual, John Wiley & Sons (ISBN 9781118591390), page 63:

PIE WEIGHTS: When you are baking a crust blind, which means when you are partially or fully baking it without filling (see blind-baking, page 474), you need something to keep the crust from puffing up: weights.

2013, Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home to Yours, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (ISBN 9780547348063), page 490:


madam

源自中古英語 madame，源自古法語 madame，源自ma (“我的”) + dame (“贵妇；夫人”)，源自晚期古典拉丁語 mea domina。Madonna的同源對似詞。

Selina kept pushing and shoving during musical chairs. The nursery school teacher said she was a bad-tempered little madam.

同類詞：(多称呼男性) pimp、brothel-keeper

After she grew too old to work as a prostitute, she became a madam.


catfight

hairpulling contest

（尤指女人之间的）打架，吵架

scragfight

（尤指女人之间的）打架，吵架

（尤指女人之间的）打架，吵架

Nancy and Sheila got into a catfight when Nancy's boyfriend cheated on her with Sheila.

Female conflict, seen in this kind of structure, works conveniently—it takes note of aggression in women and sets it against other women. Men are spared. The audience applauds. Everyone loves a catfight.

1980, Louise Bernikow, Among Women, New York: Harmony Books，頁號 207:

There was a time when I would get furious and fire off an angry note if someone cast me in a catfight with a woman colleague. I assumed that catfights would fade as women progressed. They seemed so retro.

2005, Maureen Dowd, Are Men Necessary?, →ISBN，頁號 310:


level

源自中古英語 level，源自古法語 livel、liveau m（后作nivel）、niveau，源自拉丁語 libella f (“平衡，水平”)，libra f (“平衡，水平”)的指小词。参见libra、librate。libella and niveau的同源對似詞。
动词源自中古英語 levelen，其派生自名词。

leveler (comparative)
leveller (comparative)
levelest (superlative)
levellest (superlative)

His voice has been unchanged. It has been level for 12 hours.

a level head; a level understanding

a level consideration

c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, 出自 Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, 出版於 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

The earth's oceans remain level in relation to the pull of gravity.


level

She achieved a high level of distinction.


level

levels
leveling
levelling
leveled
levelled

将...对准，将...瞄准，使...针对于

He levelled an accusation of fraud at the directors.  The hunter levels the gun before taking a shot.

Bertram de Gordon, standing on the castle wall, levelled a quarrel out of a crossbow.

1592, John Stow, The Annales of England:

The force of her horror must have been palpable in the air, because Jorge's eyes opened as she raised the bayonet up. \"Fina?\"

2023年October12日, HarryBlank, “Fire in the Hole”, 出自 SCP Foundation，於2024-05-22歸檔自原頁面:

to level all the ranks and conditions of men


curvy

curvier (comparative)
curviest (superlative)

I love this woman and her curvy body.

He tried to shift his focus back to Jessica and their wedding, but the soft, curvy blonde he'd met recently was stealing more and more of his attention.

2013, Ava Catori, The Big, Not-So-Small, Curvy Girls Dating Agency, Ava Catori Books:


comical

more comical (comparative)
most comical (superlative)

It was a comical performance.

The tutor excelled in comical scoldings.

He's just put salt in his tea instead of sugar. What a comical error!

Mr. Sanders has scored some rhetorical points against Mrs. Clinton for her longstanding ties to Wall Street, but she has responded well, and it would be comical to watch any of the Republican candidates try to make that case, given that they are all virtually tied to, or actually part of, the business establishment.

2016 January 30, "Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Nomination," The New York Times (retrieved 30 January 2016):


countess

源自盎格魯-諾曼語 cuntesse、古法語 contesse，源自拉丁語 comitessa，等价于count + -ess。contessa的同源對似詞。

Elizabeth Millicent Leveson-Gower is 24th Countess of Sutherland; her son will be the 25th Earl.


washout

wash out 的動詞派生詞。

washaway

冲刷造成的侵蚀；冲出来的水渠

The cistern was fitted with washouts and air-valves.


dependable

more dependable (comparative)
most dependable (superlative)

He was a very dependable person.


deadpan

more deadpan (comparative)
most deadpan (superlative)

a deadpan face or look

deadpan behaviour or speech


confound

源自中古英語 confounden (“摧毁；迷惑”)，源自盎格魯-諾曼語 cunfundre和古法語 confondre，源自拉丁語 confundō (“混合，搅混”)。与found (“冶炼”)（与found (“创始”)和find无关）、fusion有关。

Don't confound the situation by yelling.

While she had obeyed him, smiling sweetly all the time, she had nursed a growing resentment of what she called his "Latin American macho attitude." To confound the problem, his mother, who lived with them on and off, was described by the wife as being as domineering as her son.

1983, Carol M. Anderson, Susan Stewart, Mastering Resistance: A Practical Guide to Family Therapy:


divination

/ˌdɪvɨˈneɪʃən/

The Neo-Platonic Theory of Divination


denizen

源自中古英語 denisein，源自古法語 denzein，源自deinz (“内部”) + -ein，源自晚期拉丁語 deintus (“自内部”)，其衍生出法語 dans。

Then by commaundement wer all Fre[n]chemen and Scottes imprisoned and the goodes seazed, and all suche as were denizens were commaunded to shewe their letters patentes […]

1548, Edward Hall, The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre and Yorke, London, The xiiii yere,

A denizen is a kind of middle state, between an alien and a natural-born subject, and partakes of both.

1765, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book 1, Chapter X, p. 374

All free persons were authorized and permitted to transport themselves, their families, and goods […] to Jamaica，源自any part of the British dominions; and their children born in Jamaica were declared free denizens of England, entitled to the same privileges as free born subjects of England.

1803, John Browne Cutting, “A Succinct History of Jamaica” in Robert Charles Dallas, The History of the Maroons, London: Longman and Rees, Volume 1, p. xlv,

Though born in Iceland, he became a denizen of Britain after leaving Oxford.


diatribe

首次可考于1581年，借自法語 diatribe，源自拉丁語 diatriba (“学术讨论，学术演讲”)，源自古希臘語 διατριβή (diatribḗ, “消磨时间的方式，演讲”)，源自διά (diá, “通过，经由”) + τρίβω (tríbō, “浪费，耗费”)。

The senator was prone to diatribes which could go on for more than an hour.


enfleurage

/ˌɑ̃.fluˈɹɑʒ/

‘Thereʼs a man in Somerset who claims heʼs invented a method of enfleurage that requires no alcohol.’

2002, Michel Faber, The Crimson Petal and the White, Canongate Books (2010)，頁號 652:

The perfumes of plants like jasmine could only be extracted by enfleurage, as other methods of the time would denature the scents.


exquisite

源自拉丁語 exquīsītus，exquīrō (“找出，找到”)的过去分词。

more exquisite (comparative)
most exquisite (superlative)

上好的，优质的，杰出的，突出的，卓越的

They sell good coffee and pastries, but their chocolate is exquisite.

他们卖的咖啡和糕点不错，但是他们的巧克力很棒。

Sourav Ganguly scored an exquisite century in his debut Test match.


elegiac

源自中古法語 élégiaque，源自拉丁語 elegīacus，源自古希臘語 ἐλεγειακός (elegeiakós)。

more elegiac (comparative)
most elegiac (superlative)

/ˌɛləˈd͡ʒaɪək/

/ˌɛləˈd͡ʒaɪæk/

the elegiac distich or couplet, consisting of a dactylic hexameter and pentameter


yo-yo

原是商標名。最可能源自伊洛卡諾語 yóyo，或另一菲律賓語族同源詞。

It is hard to watch the management for very long and not conclude that the place is run by a bunch of yo-yos.

Now look at them yo-yos, that's the way you do it

1985, Sting & Mark Knopfler （作曲作詞）, “Money for Nothing”, 出自 Brothers in Arms, 演出者 Dire Straits:

Henry glanced past him at the few other customers currently in attendance. "Hey! Any of you yo-yos headed up Castle Hill?"


wrongdoer

Get and keep wrongdoers out of your thorp (village).


dovetail

鴿子尾巴
榫頭
類似燕尾榫的線
名詞衍生自dove + tail。動詞衍生自名詞。

The executive board dovetailed its decision neatly with the prior projects the company had taken up.

Through my new project, I dovetail my interests in botany and programming.

Close contacts are also maintained between the chief operating officers of the railways and the movement and transport officers of the Service departments to dovetail railway transport into the schemes of the fighting forces.

1943 March–April, John R. Hind, “The British Railways at War”, 出自 The Railway Magazine, Sutton, London: IPC Transport Press, →ISSN, →OCLC，頁號 95:

I felt that through the combined study of psychology and linguistics I would find out how children learned language, and that I would be able to dovetail this knowledge into my business career in Japan.

1988, Kenji Hakuta, “Why Bilinguals?”, 出自 Frank S. Kessel 編, The Development of Language and Language Researchers: Essays in Honor of Roger Brown, Hillsdale, N.J., Hove, East Sussex: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, →ISBN，頁號 299:

The parts of your essay should dovetail so that it is cohesive and coherent.

The task now facing Mr Crook and his team in the multi-disciplinary programme is sequencing the works going forward, to ensure track, signalling, station works and overhead line installations dovetail together.

2019 October, Philip Sherratt, “Midland Main Line Upgrade Presses On”, 出自 Modern Railways, Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC，頁號 60:


eh

自然的exclamation。首个书面记录见于16世纪中叶。可能是aye的无重音变体。
菲律宾相关义项可能受到了他加祿語 eh和/或西班牙語 eh的影响。

meh

唉，啊 （表达冷漠，无所谓）

（用于强调，确保听话人注意到自己所说的事物。）

I went to the restaurant, eh, but my friends didn't show up.

（表达对前述理由的担心）

—Why is it like this?
—Eh, It's like that eh.


vandalism

借自法語 vandalisme，等同於vandal + -ism。最早由亨利·格雷瓜尔用來譴責法國大革命期間對藝術品的掠奪與破壞，指的是455年洗劫羅馬的汪达尔人。

As we turned down the street I was appalled by the vandalism: spray paint and smashed windows that were everywhere.

Bradford once boasted two stations with overall roofs. The pair were swept away in the 1970s in an act of corporate and civic vandalism.

2022年November2日, Paul Bigland, “New trains, old trains, and splendid scenery”, 出自 RAIL, 期 969，頁號 57:


verbiage

源自法語 verbiage。英语词可能可以分析作verb (“動詞”) + -age。

bureaucratic verbiage

The comparison of coincidences in the verbiage of different languages, and affinity of etymological formation, are interesting subjects of philological investigation.

1846, Margaret Thornley, The True End of Education and the Means Adapted to It:

Use concise military verbiage.

1947, George S. Patton, War as I Knew It:


viewport

acrylic plastic viewports in pressure vessels for human occupancy


unsavory

more unsavory (comparative)
most unsavory (superlative)

His unsavory reputation as a mobster came back to haunt him when he ran for mayor of New York.


unscathed

He was quite relieved to finish the conversation unscathed.

On Tyneside, the suburban electric services were relatively unscathed by the conditions.

1962 March, “The New Year Freeze-up on British Railways”, 出自 Modern Railways，頁號 159:

This was not the cagey, cautious approach which had been widely anticipated. Rather, it was a signal that McCoist had reached a fairly significant conclusion – that his only hope of getting through this storm unscathed was to get his fragile team back on the front foot.

2011年December29日, Keith Jackson, “SPL: Celtic 1 Rangers 0”, 出自 Daily Record:

This final running sore through several years did not leave the Queen unscathed, since it was clear that the palace had neglected its duty, either to persuade Charles to give up his long-running affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, or to protect and advise Diana how to cope with the international celebrity that had suddenly been thrust upon her.

September 8 2022, Stephen Bates, “Queen Elizabeth II obituary”, 出自 The Guardian:


underpin

underlie

支持，支撑，是...的根本

corroborate

支持，支撑，是...的根本

支持，支撑，是...的根本

Public confidence in politicians must underpin our democracy.

Since Rupert Murdoch famously bet the farm on Premier League football to rescue Sky TV in 1991, it has been the catnip that has underpinned subscriber loyalty and, even in a far more complicated media landscape, is seen as so vital as to be worth almost any price.

2016年October24日, Owen Gibson, “Is the unthinkable happening – are people finally switching the football off?”, 出自 The Guardian, London:

The operator said the results were underpinned by a 16% increase in Q3 sales from North America.

2019年November6日, “Eurostar reports another increase in passengers”, 出自 Rail，頁號 25:


fairness

Some questioned the fairness of the new laws.

The reason why fairness in taxation matters is institutionalized unfairness rots society from the inside, and the social order and economy eventually collapse.

2024年January28日, Charles Hugh Smith, Our Tax System Is an Unfair Mess: Here's How to Fix It:


unbridled

more unbridled (comparative)
most unbridled (superlative)

无拘无束的，无羁的，放纵的

unbridled capitalism

She jumped into the project with unbridled enthusiasm.

1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, 卷 (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar […], →OCLC:

Unbridled competition between the different means of transport is eliminated by a licensing system, to which all transport concerns, whether by land or water, are subjected for both regular and occasional transport.

1962 March, J. M. Tolson, “The Netherlands Railways today—I: The economic development of the Netherlands Railways”, 出自 Modern Railways，頁號 170:

His contempt was totally unbridled, as though my goal was a personal affront to him and all humanity.

2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin，頁號 131:


cadet

借自法語 cadet，源自加斯科涅语 capdet，源自晚期拉丁語 capitellum (“小头”)。1634年起在英语内可考。
caddy, caudillo, and capitellum的同源對似詞。

a cadet branch of the family


underhanded

more underhanded (comparative)
most underhanded (superlative)

underhand

除了“人手不足的”以外的义项

不真心的，挖苦的，讽刺的

Of course, sometimes compliments just aren't really compliments. Underhanded compliments are, for better or worse, nothing new or unusual.

2012, Hanne Blank, The Unapologetic Fat Girl's Guide to Exercise and Other Incendiary Acts, →ISBN，頁號 56:

Poking underhanded fun at the contestants live on stage was absolutely inexcusable.

2013, Charmaine Ross, Makeover Miracle, →ISBN:

“Have you seen my film?” He's asking about Election, his deliriously sardonic and underhanded satire of politics and high school culture that follows trepidatious government teacher (Matthew Broderick) through increasingly bizarre attempts to sideline a senior's fanatical student body presidential campaign.

2014, Julie Levinson, Alexander Payne: Interviews, →ISBN:

An underhanded compliment is actually criticism.


giraffe

源自法語 giraffe（现作girafe），源自阿拉伯語 زَرَافَة (zarāfa, “长颈鹿”)，最终源自波斯語 زُرنَاپَا (zurnāpā)，زُرنَا (zurnā, “长笛”) + پَا (pā, “腿”)的复合词。

Are you having a giraffe?!


firsthand

a firsthand copy


gruel

源自中古英語 gruel、gruwel、greuel、growel (“用扁豆等制成的谷物粗粉”)，源自古法語 gruel (“谷物粗粉”→ 法語 gruau)，源自中世紀拉丁語 grutellum，中世紀拉丁語 grutum (“面粉；谷物粗粉”)的指小词，源自某日耳曼語族语言，多半是古英語 grūt (“面粉；谷物粗粉”)或可能是古法蘭克語 *grūt，两者均源自原始日耳曼語 *grūtiz (“砂砾”)。对比荷蘭語 gruit、中古低地德語 grūt、中古高地德語 grūz、德語 Grütze (“谷物”)。亦与英語 groats、grit有关。

thin gruel


henceforth

源自中古英語 hennes forth、hens-forþ、hennes-forþ，等价于hence (“从这里”) + forth (“往前”)。

My thanes and kinsmen,/Henceforth be earls, the first that ever Scotland /In such an honour named

1606, William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act I, scene II:

I will try to do a better job, henceforth, now that I know the proper technique!

Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth...Vader.

2005, George Lucas, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith


hoary

hoarier (comparative)
hoariest (superlative)

the old man bowed his hoary head in acquiescence


handsome

繼承自中古英語 handsum、hondsom，等同於hand + -some。對照荷蘭語 handzaam、德國低地德語 handsaam。原意是指「容易處理和使用」，因此便出現了「合適的」和「靈巧的，聰明的」等含義（16世紀中期），並產生了表示欣賞的現代化含義（16世紀晚期）。

more handsome (comparative)
handsomer (comparative)
most handsome (superlative)
handsomest (superlative)

外表英俊、帥氣、有吸引力，好看

On the opposite side of the street, on the corner, is the city hall, a very handsome building of brick and stone.

1916, On H.R. 4683, site for post-office building at Chicago, Ill，頁號 117:

The mother, Ekaterina Pavlovna, who at one time had been handsome, but now, asthmatic, depressed, vague, and over-feeble for her years, tried to entertain me with conversation about painting. Having heard from her daughter that I might come to Shelkovka, she had hurriedly recalled two or three of my landscapes which she had seen in exhibitions in Moscow, and now asked what I meant to express by them.

1917, Anton Chekhov, 譯者 Constance Garnett, The Darling and Other Stories, Project Gutenberg, →ISBN，頁號 71:

Often, human mortals describe their visits to the Tuatha's [places] in similar terms: they were great bright places, occupied by exceedingly handsome men and women, that sported wonderful crystal chairs, inexhaustible supplies of mead or ale ...

2006, Richard Leviton, The Gods in Their Cities, iUniverse, →ISBN，頁號 44:

That is one handsome tree you've got there.


hilarity

源自拉丁語 hilaritas (“开心”)，形容词hilaris，最终源自古希腊语 + 状态名词后缀-tas。

The duck escaped into the children's party, and hilarity ensued.


hanky-panky

可能是羅姆語短语hakk'ni panki (“花招，见不得人的事”)的变体。

诡计，花招，见不得人的事

I think there was some hanky-panky with the last election.


gutter

源自中古英語 gutter、guttur、goter，源自盎格魯-諾曼語 guttere，源自古法語 goutiere（法語 gouttière），最终源自拉丁語 gutta (“滴”)。

You can decide to use the bumpers to avoid the ball going down the gutter every time.


gutter

使...恶化；强调...变差

The students' performance guttered after the school event.

The patient's state would soon gutter.


holler

hollow的另一種寫法。

the holler tree


hitch

可能源自中古英語 hicchen、hytchen、icchen (“猛地移动”)，词源不详，其他语言中难以找到同源词。对比itch、hike。

His truck sported a heavy-duty hitch for his boat.


infallible

源自中世紀拉丁語 infallibilis，源自拉丁語 in- + fallibilis。对比法語 infaillible。字面分析等同於 in- + fallible。

more infallible (comparative)
most infallible (superlative)

Try this infallible cure for hiccups.

[L]isten patiently [...] and you will easily perceive why I am reserved upon that subject. I will not lead you on, unguarded and ardent as I then was, to your destruction and infallible misery.

1818, Mary Shelley, 章號 4, 出自 Frankenstein，於2011-10-30歸檔自原頁面:

In precisely the same way does a quack doctor prescribe his infallible nostrum to every patient, without taking into account differences of constitution, or [...]

1833, James Rennie, “The Word Gardening”, 出自 Alphabet of Scientific Gardening for the Use of Beginners, London: William Orr，頁號 2:


intolerance

Religious intolerance is a serious problem in Brazil.


ignominious

源自法語或古法語 ignominieux，源自拉丁語 ignōminiōsus (“可耻的”)，源自ignōminia (“名誉扫地”)，源自ig- (“不”) + nomen (“名誉”)（前缀为in-的同化形式）。 就词形分析为ignominy + -ious。

more ignominious (comparative)
most ignominious (superlative)

The time when the pseudovirtuous men and women die a painful and ignominious death has yet to come.

The golden eagle, which glittered in the front of the legion, was the object of their fondest devotion; nor was it esteemed less impious than it was ignominious, to abandon that sacred ensign in the hour of danger.

1776, Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol I, ch 1—pt ii:

And it came to pass that they took him; and his name was Nehor; and they carried him upon the top of the hill Manti, and there he was caused, or rather did acknowledge, between the heavens and the earth, that what he had taught to the people was contrary to the word of God; and there he suffered an ignominious death.

Greene died of a debauch; and Marlowe, the gracer of tragedians, perished in an ignominious brawl.

1902, Thomas Ebenezer Webb, The Mystery of William Shakespeare: A Summary of Evidence，頁號 242:

For Roy Hodgson it was a desperate and ignominious way to end his four years as England manager. Whatever else happened in that time, his period in office will probably always be remembered for the full-on humiliation that accompanied this defeat and the knowledge it will rank among the more infamous results in the history of the national team.

2016年June27日, Daniel Taylor, “England humiliated as Iceland knock them out of Euro 2016”, 出自 The Guardian, London:

And yet it also seems that Khashoggi avoided anything as ignominious as personal bankruptcy.

2017年June7日, Adam Lusher, “Adnan Khashoggi: the 'whoremonger' whose arms deals funded a playboy life of decadence and 'pleasure wives'”, 出自 The Independent, London:


immutable

源自中古英語 immutable，源自拉丁語 immūtābilis (“无法改变的”)。im- + mutable。

The government has enacted an immutable law.

Mutable as is our nature, it delights in the immutable: and we expect as much constancy as if all time, to say nothing of our own changeableness, had not shewn that ever "the fashion of this world passeth away."

1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], 章號 XIV, 出自 Francesca Carrara. […], 卷 II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC，頁號 171:

In the trustless cryptocurrency world, you can still trust the cryptocurrency community and its mechanisms to ensure that the blockchain contains an accurate and immutable—unchangeable—record of cryptocurrency transactions.

2019, Peter Kent, Tyler Bain, Cryptocurrency Mining For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN，頁號 30:


inaugural

源自法語 inaugural，源自inaugurer，源自拉丁語 augurare (“起誓”)。

起始的，落成的，标志开始的

2009 was the inaugural season for New York Yankees' new stadium.


legislative

more legislative (comparative)
most legislative (superlative)

a legislative act


inane

源自中古法語 inane，源自拉丁語 inānis (“空的，没用的”)，其词源不详。

inaner (comparative)
more inane (comparative)
inanest (superlative)
most inane (superlative)

Francesca followed, reluctant enough in her secret; for though she would not have admitted it even to herself, she did shrink from the infliction of the inane solemnities with which her father garnished his discourse—to say nothing of the ungracious reflections which so often glanced at herself.

1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], 章號 XXIX, 出自 Francesca Carrara. […], 卷 III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC，頁號 237:

God, if she had to listen to another conversation about some kid she didnʼt know—how Tina J. stole the stage at the talent show or Bobby R. won the tee ball game or any other number of inane accomplishments.

2020, Brit Bennett, The Vanishing Half, Dialogue Books，頁號 156:

This supremely gifted kid told me that in the early elementary grades, the songs sung in music class were so inane that he wanted to skip grades already! Eventually he did, so better late than never.


hobnob

源自hob and nob、hob or nob (干杯时所喊出的一个短语，可能意为give and take，指轮流干杯或轮流买酒，现已古旧)，源自方言词hab nab (“有或没有，指去喝酒的邀请”)，源自古英語 habban (“拥有”)（最终源自原始印歐語 *keh₂p- (“拿，掠”)） + nabban (“没有”)（源自ne（最终源自原始印歐語 *ne (“不，否”)） + habban）。

巴结，与...亲近 （有权势的人）

The ambitious young student hobnobbed with the faculty at the prestigious college he hoped to attend.

那位野心勃勃的年轻学生巴结上了他想上的名牌大学的老师。

His favorite spot in the club was the bar, where he could hobnob with the big-wigs.

Here, over fiery "monaghahela," Jean Batiste, the sallow half-breed voyageur from the north—and who, deserting the service of the "North West" (the Hudson's Bay Company), has come down the Mississippi, from the "Falls," to try the sweets and the liberty of "free" trapping—hobnobs with a stalwart leather-clad "boy," just returned from trapping on the waters of Grand River, on the western side the mountains, who interlards his mountain jargon with Spanish words picked up in Taos and California.

1849, George Frederick Ruxton, 章號 III, 出自 Life in the Far West (Plains and Rockies; 175), Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC，頁號 71:

Well, you know all about how we dine, and assume, as you may, that we never ate more heartily, hob[-]nobbed more cordially, or interchanged with more frankness and sincerity all the affectionate social amenities which flow from a community of feeling amongst men who are bound together by the great bond of intellectual citizenship, members of the great "mysteries" of knowledge.

1853 October, Jonathan Freke Slingsby [pseudonym; John Francis Waller], “A Night with the Mystics”, 出自 The Dublin University Magazine, a Literary and Political Journal, 卷 XLII, 號 CCL, Dublin: James McGlashan, 50 Upper Sackville-Street; London: W[illia]m S[omerville] Orr and Company, →OCLC，頁號 495:

A man who never misused his time here; a Fellow of his Colleges, M.A., Lecturer, Don; […] my name, alas is not upon the board—my poverty, indeed, not will, prevented it, and so beneath his wing I dine at the "high table" with the reverend deans, and hobnob with professors.

1855, “Back at Trinity”, 出自 Charles Dickens 編, Household Words. A Weekly Journal, 卷 XI, 期 22 (275 overall), New York, N.Y.: J. A. Dix, publisher, office, No. 10, Park Place, →OCLC，頁號 521，列號 1:

But it must be in solitude. I do not need or desire to hobnob artificially with other old men in order to revisit them in their salad days, and to renew my own.

1952 May, George Santayana, “I Like to Be a Stranger”, 出自 The Atlantic:

We are Sanctified Brethren, […] whom God has chosen to place in Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, a town of about twelve hundred in the center of the state, populated by German Catholics and Norwegian Lutherans, whom Scripture tells us to keep clear of, holding fast to the Principle of Separation[…], which is not such a big problem for my people, because we are standoffish by nature and not given to hobnobbing with strangers. Separation is the exact right Principle for us.

2001, Garrison Keillor, “A Summer Night”, 出自 Lake Wobegon Summer 1956, New York, N.Y.: Viking Press, →ISBN:

[A] club that has earned the right to aspire to hobnobbing with European competitors could find itself brawling against relegation.

2017年October14日, Paul Doyle, “Mauricio Pellegrino yet to find attacking solution for stuttering Southampton: Nothing so far this season suggests the Argentinian will be more successful than Claude Puel in finding the answer to the club’s continuing lack of firepower”, 出自 The Guardian, London，於2017-11-10歸檔自原頁面:


mortifying

mortifyings of the flesh


harass

动词派生自中古法語、古法語 harasser (“使...力竭；折磨，烦扰”)（现代法語 harasser (“使...力竭”)），可能源自古法語 harer (“放狗追”)，源自古法蘭克語 *hara (“此处，到这里”, 命令狗攻击的指令)，源自原始日耳曼語 *hē₂r (“这里”)，最终源自原始印歐語 *ḱe (“这里；这个”) + *ís (“那个，那位”) + *-r。
名词派生自动词。

don't ask, don't tell, don't harass, don't pursue

给...负担，使...紧张

To harass good people is no different than speaking ill of them.

The ſoul that dies this death, is like a loving wife matched with a rigorous huſband: ſhe does what ſhe can to pleaſe him, yet he is never pleaſed; but toſſeth, haraſſeth, and beats her, till ſhe break her heart, and death ſets her free: […]

1761, Thomas Boston, “State II. Namely, the State of Nature or of Entire Depravation. Head I. The Sinfulness of Man’s Natural State. [Of the Corruption of the Will.]”, 出自 Human Nature in Its Four-fold State […], 12th版, Edinburgh: […] David Gray […], →OCLC，頁號 80:

He, who harasseth his household, shall inherit the wind; / And the fool shall be the servant of the wise in heart.

1831, William French and George Skinner（譯者）, A New Translation of the Proverbs of Solomon from the Original Hebrew […], Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] J. Smith printer to the University; London: John Murray […], →OCLC, Proverbs XI:29，頁號 37:

Zeal without judgment is an evil, though it be zeal unto good; / […] / By a shoulder to the wheel downhill harasseth the labouring beast, / And where an obstruction were needed, will harm by an ill judged thrusting-on.

1839, Martin F[arquhar] Tupper, “Of Discretion”, 出自 Proverbial Philosophy: A Book of Thoughts and Arguments, Originally Treated, 3rd版, London: Joseph Rickerby, […], →OCLC，頁號s 147–148:


leverage

/ˈlɛv(ə)ɹɪd͡ʒ/

mechanical advantage

繞樞軸旋轉的槓桿而復合的力；參見扭矩。

operating leverage

在設施的高產能利用率下運作時能夠獲得非常高的回報的能力。

繞樞軸旋轉的槓桿而復合的力；參見扭矩。

A crowbar uses leverage to pry nails out of wood.

In order to proportion the braking force to the weight carried by a wheel - a matter of special importance in the braking of wagons - variable leverage systems are now being introduced in which the end of one axle spring is linked to a control spring in the change-over valve, so automatically varying the leverage exerted by the brake-rod according to whether the wagon is full or empty.

1960 April, “The braking of trains”, 出自 Trains Illustrated，頁號 237:

任何複合的或用來獲得優勢的影響。

Try using competitors’ prices for leverage in the negotiation.

The former Forest man, who passed a late fitness test, appeared to use Guy Moussi for leverage before nodding in David Fox's free-kick at the far post - his 22nd goal of the season.

2011年April15日, Saj Chowdhury, “Norwich 2 - 1 Nott'm Forest”, 出自 BBC Sport:

使用合約確定回報的借入資金來提高投資能力並獲得預期更高的回報，但通常風險較高。

Leverage is great until something goes wrong with your investments and you still have to pay your debts.

Online margin trading is usually based on leverage, where the brokerage effectively lets you borrow more money than you have deposited as collateral.

2011, Brian Dolan, Currency Trading For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN，頁號 55:

Both exchanges offer crypto derivatives, which are bets on future fluctuations in cryptocurrency prices. They also offer extreme leverage — up to 125 times on Binance. That means a $1,000 down payment can be turned into a $125,000 gamble.

2021年July23日, Eric Lipton, Ephrat Livni, “‘I Feel Conflicted’: Crypto’s Offshore Trading Moguls Talk Shop”, 出自 The New York Times, →ISSN:


leverage

/ˈlɛv(ə)ɹɪd͡ʒ/

使用；利用；為了充分利用（某物）而進行操縱。

They plan to leverage the publicity into a good distribution agreement.

They plan to leverage off the publicity to get a good distribution agreement.

EAP research has developed advanced methods for producing corpus-informed vocabulary resources, but these have yet to be fully leveraged to promote disciplinary literacy within the secondary school context.

2018, Clarence Green, James Lambert, “Advancing disciplinary literacy through English for academic purposes: Discipline-specific wordlists, collocations and word families for eight secondary subjects”, 出自 Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 卷 35, →DOI，頁號 105:


moment of inertia

The moment of inertia of a rigid body is a quantity that determines the torque needed for a given angular acceleration about a given rotational axis, analogous to how mass determines the force needed for a given acceleration.

The moments of inertia of a heterogeneous body whose boundary is a surface of uniform density may sometimes be found by the method of differentiation.

1882, Edward John Routh, The Elementary Part of a Treatise on the Dynamics of a System of Rigid Bodies, 4th版, MacMillan & Co.，頁號 10:

Consequently, the moment of inertia of a body relative to any axis can be found when that for the parallel axis through its centre of gravity is known.

1884, Benjamin Williamson, An Elementary Treatise on the Integral Calculus, 4th版, Appleton and Company，頁號 292:


lass

源自中古英語 lasse，源自古諾爾斯語 laskura (“少女，未婚女性”)。与低地蘇格蘭語 lassie同源。

同類詞：lad

Come and dance, ye lads and lasses!

My audience to this not-too-easy operation was a small group of Scottish school lasses, who seemed (perhaps naturally) to find the proceedings somewhat mysterious, but at any rate amusing. I wished they would go away, but they didn't, so I had to get on with the job to the accompaniment of a background of giggles!

1952 February, H. C. Casserley, “Permanent Wayfarings”, 出自 Railway Magazine，頁號 77:


noncommittal

more noncommittal (comparative)
most noncommittal (superlative)

不明确的，不果敢的；不置可否的，含糊的；不情愿的

The Major's face was noncommittal.

市长一副不置可否的表情。

The noncommittal Indians would give no counsel as to fording.

[He] is candid, open-hearted, and hardly non-commmittal enough for his own interest at times.

1818, S.R. Wells, The American Phrenonological Journal, and other miscellany, 卷 10，頁號 234:

A United Nations spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, has previously said the organization would not divulge its sources of information, but welcomed any additional information from the coalition. The United Nations has been noncommittal on the Saudi proposal to send its experts to Riyadh.

2016年June22日, Somini Sengupta, “Saudis Question U.N. Leader Over Report on Rights Violators”, 出自 The New York Times:


negate

借自拉丁語 negātus，negāre (“拒絕、否決”)的過去分詞，源自*nec-aiare（或相似的形式），源自nec (“非；亦非”) + aiere (“說”)。

否認存在、證據或真實性；牴觸

The investigation tending to negate any supernatural influences.


lief

繼承自中古英語 lef、leve、leef，繼承自古英語 lēof，繼承自原始西日耳曼語 *leub，繼承自原始日耳曼語 *leubaz。
同源詞包括薩特弗里斯蘭語 ljo、ljoo、西弗里斯蘭語 leaf、荷蘭語 lief、德國低地德語 leev、德語 lieb、瑞典語、新挪威語 ljuv、哥特語 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐍆𐍃 (liufs)、俄語 любо́вь (ljubóvʹ)、波蘭語 luby。
副詞可對比德語 lieber、荷蘭語 liever (“寧願，更喜歡”)。

liefer (comparative)
liever (comparative)
liefest (superlative)

I'd as lief have one as t'other.

As far as physiognomy goes, the winners protest that they would as lief have foregone the double points, and the money.

1826, Thomas Byerly, John Timbs, The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction:

these great masters of the art, who would far liefer see us little ones practice it, than themselves engage [...].

1869, RD Blackmoore, Lorna Doone, section II:

Since sware the Parcæ unto me, their friend, / they shall adore my name, my favour prize; / and, as their feats of armèd prowess shend / all feats of rival Rome, I lief devise / some mode of aidance in what things I may, / far as our force o'er man extendeth sway.

1880, Richard Francis Burton, Os Lusíadas, 卷 II，頁號 339:

I'd as lief put on my hat and cane and help you if you think they'll be too heavy.

1902, Josephine Spenser, Corner in Chrysanthemums:


murky

源自中古英語 mirky，等价于murk + -y。与古諾爾斯語 myrkr、俄語 мрак (mrak)、塞爾維亞-克羅地亞語 мра̑к有关。

murkier (comparative)
murkiest (superlative)

模糊的，浑浊的，朦胧的；多云的；隐晦的，暧昧不清的

murky waters

murky territory

They may face an impenetrable word, approach its murky history from every direction, and fail to find a convincing solution (or even any solution: “origin unknow,” “the rest is unclear,” and the like).

2021年April21日, Anatoly Liberman, “Going out on a Limb”, 出自 Oxford Etymologist:

Mr. Farrier, 39, said he often questioned the moral implications of his trips. “It’s very ethically murky territory,” Mr. Farrier said.

2022年October28日, Maria Cramer, “Beaches? Cruises? ‘Dark’ Tourists Prefer the Gloomy and Macabre”, 出自 The New York Times, →ISSN:

China’s murky statistics are fueling widespread public distrust. Its narrow definition of Covid deaths “will very much underestimate the true death toll,” the W.H.O. says.

2022年December23日, Keith Bradsher, Amy Chang Chien, Joy Dong, “As Cases Explode, China’s Low Covid Death Toll Convinces No One”, 出自 The New York Times, →ISSN:


melodramatic

more melodramatic (comparative)
most melodramatic (superlative)

过于情绪化的，多愁善感的

She wrote him a melodramatic letter, threatening to kill herself.

Dearest Eloise,— There is one little and perhaps insignificant French cake, which I feel certain would soon become a favourite in the cottage, more particularly amongst its juvenile inhabitants. It is the famed galette, the melodramatic food of the gamins, galopins, mechanics, and semi-artists of France.

1854, Alexis [Benoît] Soyer, A Shilling Cookery for the People: Embracing an Entirely New System of Plain Cookery and Domestic Economy, London, New York, N.Y.: George Routledge & Co., →OCLC，頁號 125:


bolshie

来自 Bolshevik（俄語 большеви́к (bolʹševík)，布尔什维克），来自俄語 большевики́ (bolʹševikí, “多数派”) + -ie。

bolshier (comparative)
bolshiest (superlative)

Rachel came in, and Nick felt he'd been caught larking about, Catherine squashing him like some bolshie teenage attempt at seduction.
（請為本引文添加中文翻譯）

2004, Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty, Bloomsbury, 2005, Chapter 16,

Kate, don't be so bolshie!


prefect

源自中古英語 prefect及prefecte，源自古法語 prefect（现代法语préfet），源自拉丁語 praefectus (“监督者，监察者，长官”)，源自praeficere (“使...负责”)。

（古罗马的）长官，队长等

the prefect of the aqueducts; the prefect of a camp, of a fleet, of the city guard, or of provisions; the pretorian prefect, who was commander of the troops guarding the emperor's person

It seems that in the autumn of 803 he went on leave. His uncle Po Chi-chên, had recently been moved from his post at Hsü-chou and promoted to be Prefect of Hsü-chʻang in Central Honan.

1951, Arthur Waley, The Life and Times of Po Chü-i, London: George Allen & Unwin, →OCLC，頁號 33:


pliant

源自中古英語 pliaunt，源自古法語 ploiant，ploiier (“折叠”)的现在分词。

more pliant (comparative)
most pliant (superlative)

Whether in its northern or southern home, the black-throated blue warbler builds its nest of bark, roots, and other pliant material, loose and rather bulky, in a variety of saplings, bushes, and weeds, but always a few inches or a few feet from the ground.

1917, The National Geographic Magazine April 1917, The Warblers of North America

a pliant thread  pliant wax


providence

源自盎格魯-諾曼語 providence、中古法語 providence，及两者词源拉丁語 prōvidentia (“远虑”)，源自prōvidēre (“提供”)的现在分词。取代了本土词古英語 foresċēawung。

对资源的合理安排，节约，节俭 （自17世纪）

His providence in saving for his old age is exemplary.


monstrous

繼承自中古英語 monstrous，來自古法語 monstrueuse、monstrüos，來自拉丁語 mōnstrōsus。對照monstruous。

more monstrous (comparative)
most monstrous (superlative)

a monstrous height

Possibly monster pumpkins may become still more monstrous by the shoots being ringed, and so may other vegetables and fruits where quality is of less importance than mere size.

1901年December20日, “The Ringing of Plants”, 出自 The Agricultural Journal and Mining Record, 卷 4, 期 21，頁號 663:


protestant

more protestant (comparative)
most protestant (superlative)

a protestant effort

protestant work ethic


outdoors

They went outdoors to light up their cigarettes.


outdoors

She loves the outdoors.


google

Tom googles all of his prospective girlfriends.

"Have fun and keep googling!"

1998年July8日, Larry Page, “Google Search Engine: New Features”, 出自 eGroups, Google Friends Mailing List，於1999-10-09歸檔自原頁面:

Googling in search of an apology from the former Enron C.E.O. […]

2002年December28日, Bill Keller, “Who's Sorry Now?”, 出自 The New York Times, →ISSN, retrieved 2007-06-24，頁號 A-19:


polygamous

/pəˈlɪɡəməs/

That Mormon community no longer practises polygamous relationships.

[…] declaring legitimate all children of LDS polygamous marriages […]

2001, Kathryn Daynes, More Wives Than One, p 177


odious

源自中古英語 odious，源自古法語 odieus，源自拉丁語 odiōsus，源自odium (“恨”)。

more odious (comparative)
most odious (superlative)

Scrubbing the toilets in the bar at the end of a Saturday night is an odious task.

You told a lie, an odious damned lie: / Upon my soul, a lie, a wicked lie!

约1603–1604年, 威廉·莎士比亚, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice [奥赛罗]”, 出自 Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (第一对开本), 伦敦: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, 出版於 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]，行號s 179-80:

I own no crime, unless it be a crime to've hindered you from perpetrating that which would have made you odious to mankind, at least the fairest half.

1750, “Theodora”, Thomas Morell 作詞, George Frideric Handel 作曲:

He looks upon study as an odious fetter; his time is spent in the open air, climbing the hills or rowing on the lake.

1818, Mary Shelley, 章號 6, 出自 Frankenstein，於2013-05-08歸檔自原頁面:


passenger

/ˈpæsɪnd͡ʒɚ/

/ˈpæsənd͡ʒɚ/

/ˈpæsɪnd͡ʒə/

/ˈpæsənd͡ʒə/

unscheduled passenger


prevarication

源自盎格魯-諾曼語 prevaricassion、中古法語 prevarication和其来源，拉丁語 praevāricātiō (“与对手串通；偏离正轨；欺瞒”)，源自praevāricor的词干。

/pɹɪˌvæɹɪˈkeɪʃən/

/pɹɪˌvæɹəˈkeɪʃən/

Prevarication became the order of the day in his government while truth was a stranger in those halls.

Mr Rajoy frustrates many with his prevarication over a fresh euro-zone bail-out, which now comes with a conditional promise from the European Central Bank (ECB) to help bring down Spain’s stifling borrowing costs.

2012年October6日, “Charlemagne: Mysterious Mariano”, 出自 The Economist:


prisoner

繼承自中古英語 prisoner，來自古法語 prisonier (對照中世紀拉丁語 prisōnārius)，等同於prison + -er。

被某種情況或某種環境限制或困住或感到被限制或困住的人

I am no longer a prisoner to fear, for I am a child of God.


befitting

more befitting (comparative)
most befitting (superlative)

适合的，相称的，配得上的

He moved with a befitting grace.


rhetoric

繼承自中古英語 rethorik、rhetoric，來自古法語 rhetorique，來自拉丁語 rhētorica，來自古希臘語 ῥητορική (rhētorikḗ)，ῥητορικὴ τέχνη (rhētorikḕ tékhnē)的省略，來自ῥητορικός (rhētorikós, “關於公共演說”)，來自ῥήτωρ (rhḗtōr, “公共演說家”)。

It’s only so much rhetoric.


beguile

源自中古英語 begilen、begylen，等价于be- + guile。对比中古荷蘭語 begilen (“欺骗”)。bewile的同源對似詞。

吸引，迷住，使...陶醉

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming.

1864 November 21, Abraham Lincoln (signed) or John Hay, letter to Mrs. Bixby in Boston

I will never touch The Orb, even though its mysterious glow seduces and beguiles


blasphemous

借自拉丁語 blasphēmus (“褻瀆”)，來自古希臘語 βλάσφημος (blásphēmos, “惡言傷人”)。

more blasphemous (comparative)
most blasphemous (superlative)

His taking the name of God in vain was considered blasphemous.


regale

源自法語 régaler (“取悦于，款待”)，源自古法語 regale、rigale，源自gale (“欢乐”)，可能源自日耳曼語族（参见古法語 galer）。受到了古法語 se rigoler (“开心，愉悦”)的影响，其词源不详。对比中古高地德語 begalen (“迷住”)、英語 gale (“唱歌；使...陶醉”)。亦对比英語 gala。

（使用故事等）取悦，使...满足

to regale the taste, the eye, or the ear


based

指代精炼可卡因（freebase cocaine），经由basehead一词。由美国歌手Lil B所创来形容自己的生活方式。

more based (comparative)
most based (superlative)

unwoke

很棒的，值得赞赏的，令人钦佩的，中肯的

cringe

很棒的，值得赞赏的，令人钦佩的，中肯的

unbased

很棒的，值得赞赏的，令人钦佩的，中肯的

很棒的，值得赞赏的，令人钦佩的，中肯的 （因反对自由主义或左翼价值观而）值得赞赏的

OP is based as fuck

Based and red pilled.

My last account got banned for being too based.

Those who are against Trump are not based at all. On February 16th, The Donald users comment on a “based” post in r/DankMemes which uses a classic Squidward sleeping meme to criticize those who are upset by Chris Pratt going to “church” (one which was purportedly anti-LGBT) but “ok” with sex predators in Hollywood: […]

2019, Kira Stalker, "The Fracturing of the Alt Right: Conflicting Online Discourses Of White Nationalist Communities", thesis submitted to George Mason University, page 139:

His [Brenton Tarrant's] meme-themed shooting greatly represents the spirit of the aussie people, in the sense of shitposting until their last moment, based and redpilled he is.

2019, anonymous, quoted in Cathrine Thorleifsson, "From cyberfascism to terrorism: On 4chan/pol/ culture and the transnational production of memetic violence", Nations and Nationalism, Volume 28, Issue 1, page 293:

Then, in the same month, noted feminist Christina Hoff Sommers was branded “white supremacy-adjacent” by feminist Roxane Gay. Her reasoning? That our beloved “Based Mom” once appeared at an event with Milo Yiannopoulos and didn't disavow him enough.

2020, David Rubin, Don't Burn This Book: Thinking for Yourself in an Age of Unreason，頁號 未標明:


portend

借自拉丁語 portendere (“预测，预知”)，源自por- (“向前”) + tendere (“伸展”)，tendo的现在主动不定式。

Let it be known that the Rapture portends the End of Days.

When the staccato, Neptunes-ian single “Boyfriend” was released in March, musical prognosticators were quick to peg the album it portended, Believe, as Justin Bieber’s Justified, a grown-and-sexy, R&B-centric departure that evolved millennial teenybopper Justin Timberlake into one of the unifying pop-music figures of the aughts.

2012年June26日, Genevieve Koski, “Music: Reviews: Justin Bieber: Believe”, 出自 The A.V. Club，於2020-08-06歸檔自原頁面:


bating

I replied, That he was a very unworthy man, if it were true, to speak slightingly of a family, which was as good as his own, bating that it was not allied to the peerage […].

‘There is but little I have heard from you which I did not expect to hear, and which I ought not to have expected; because, bating one circumstance, it is all very true.’


bubbly

bubblier (comparative)
bubbliest (superlative)

泡泡的，类似泡泡的，泡沫质的

The architecture of the conservatory was bubbly.


buckra

借自埃菲克語 mbakara或伊比比奧語 mbakara；對照古拉語 buckra (“白人”)。

a buckra yam


besmirch

debase

玷污（...的名声），诋毁，丑化

smear

玷污（...的名声），诋毁，丑化

slander

玷污（...的名声），诋毁，丑化

玷污（...的名声），诋毁，丑化

The newspaper was on a campaign to besmirch the actor.


refined

more refined (comparative)
most refined (superlative)

提纯的，无杂质的，尤指：
精炼的 （无熔渣或合金的）

The Temple at Jerusalem preferred Tyrian shekels, since even with Ba'al's portrait they bore highly refined silver.


righteous

源自早期形式rightuous、rightwose、rightwos、rightwise，源自中古英語 rightwise、rightwis，源自古英語 rihtwīs (“正直的，正义的”)，对应于right + -wise（第二个词素的发音被同化成了-ous），又或者right + wise (“方式”)。同源词包括低地蘇格蘭語 richtwis (“正直的”)、古高地德語 rehtwīsic (“正直的，正义的”)、冰島語 réttvíss (“正直的，正义的”)。亦对比thefteous、mighteous。

more righteous (comparative)
most righteous (superlative)

Human beings should take a righteous path, and so should art. We should promote kindness and beauty through art.


bravado

源自法語 bravade (“自夸”)，源自意大利語 bravata，源自动词bravare (“自夸”)，源自bravo。

/bɹɑːˈvɑːdoʊ/

The angry customer stood in the middle of the showroom and voiced his complaints with loud bravado.

For a bravado he had the organ taken down and conveyed to his father's house, where he had it put up in the chamber where it now stands. It was also for a bravado that he played on it every day. But, by−and−by, the amount of time which he spent at it daily began to increase rapidly.

1891, Rosa Mulholland, The Haunted Organist of Hurly Burly，頁號 12:

Songs like "Hey Bobby", and "Do Ya" drip with innuendo and sexual bravado.

1990 Amy Longsdorf, K.T. Oslin: Personality, Wit and Style To Spare", The Morning Callhttp://articles.mcall.com/1990-08-11/entertainment/2758085_1_oslin-country-music-kt

Stripped of all bravado, Cersei breaks, and shows the very scared, vulnerable woman who has kept her emotions at bay. “I don’t want to die,” she whimpers, “Not like this.” It’s all the more moving for coming from a character who built her identity on steely resolve and contempt for such hoary conceits as fear.

2019年May12日, Alex McLevy, “Westeros faces a disastrous final battle on the penultimate Game of Thrones (newbies)”, 出自 The A.V. Club:

The rise of SOS devices – satellite-synched gadgets that send a signal to rescue agencies when activated – give people bravado, Estrada says. “A lot of people carry these SOS devices and they think they can get into any trouble and they can get help,” he says, adding that he has seen more requests for assistance recently.

2023年February11日, Katharine Gammon, “A mountain of trouble? The draw – and danger – of California’s Mount Baldy”, 出自 The Guardian, →ISSN:

No doubt there is fear despite the bravado, but there is also no significant loss of Ukrainian military cohesion.

2023年April2日, Dan Sabbagh, Ed Ram, “Surrounded and outgunned, Ukraine’s tank crews prepare for battle of Bakhmut”, 出自 The Guardian, →ISSN:


pitching

wild pitching in baseball


bullshit

吹牛 （一种扑克游戏，见维基百科）

Anyone want to play a few hands of bullshit?


bioavailability

生物利用度 食物與營養補充品中所含營養素的吸收程度

poor/low oral bioavailability


human nature

How much innate human nature do you think the human races have left?

The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite. There is something humiliating about it.[…]Can those harmless but refined fellow-diners be the selfish cads whose gluttony and personal appearance so raised your contemptuous wrath on your arrival?

1922, Ben Travers, 章號 5, 出自 A Cuckoo in the Nest:


assembly language

A skilled programmer can write very fast code in assembly language.


slosh

（大声地）倾倒，哗啦哗啦地倒（指液体）

The coffee was nice and hot, so she sloshed some into a cup and went back to her desk.

咖啡做得很好，还很热，她哗啦地倒进一个杯子里，回到她的桌子那。

He really sloshed on the sauce- they were a bit strong for my taste.


blow down

blows down
blowing down
blew down
blown down

I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down.

Part of the shed was recently blown down in a gale and has been removed, leaving rather inadequate accommodation.

1951 June, “Notes and News: Eskdale Railway Rolling Stock”, 出自 Railway Magazine，頁號 424:

A tree had been blown down on the track east of Chippenham. Bath Spa station became a scene of milling confusion. One minute we were told that trains were running. Then they weren't. Then they were again. Not a sound basis on which to try rejigging a business trip.

2020年June3日, Andrew Mourant, “A safer railway in a greener habitat”, 出自 RAIL，頁號 58:

同類詞：rinse down、wash down

Blow down this enclosure and do some chip handling before you run this machine any further.


all told

來自all + told (“計算”)，來自tell的本義，現為古舊義項。

I think they had over 300 people there, all told.


cruising speed

to reach cruising speed


escape hatch

What we need is progress with an escape hatch.


design speed

The road's design speed is only 60mph, as some of the corners are a little sharp.

The vessel's design speed is 20 knots, though we can push her up to 25 if necessary.


bench test

That’s funny, the throbulator was working fine when I bench tested it.


launching

Launch 指的是一個時間點上的事件。Launching 指的是一個持續性的過程。

The launching of the Titanic.

By 1940 they had conducted 25 successful launchings of A5 rockets, which reached 10 miles altitude and had a range of 12 miles.

2010, Raymond Friedman, A History of Jet Propulsion, Including Rockets，頁號 123:


run-time

a run-time error


與一個假的電話號碼有關。在21世紀之前，北美的撥號計劃中，本地交換機和區號555被保留為虛構的號碼。

555-2368, that's a 555 number, it isn't real.

1-555-321-2368, that's a 555 number, it isn't real.

(555)234-2368, that's a 555 number, it isn't real.


put out

Yet she must dye, else shee'l betray more men:
Put out the Light, and then put out the Light:
If I quench thee, thou flaming Minister,
I can againe thy former light restore,
Should I repent me. But once put out thy Light,
Thou cunning'st Patterne of excelling Nature,
I know not where is that Promethaean heate
That can thy Light re-Lume.

约1603–1604年, 威廉·莎士比亚, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice [奥赛罗]”, 出自 Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (第一对开本), 伦敦: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, 出版於 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

They worked for days to put out the brushfire.

She put out her cigarette.


frame of reference

Anyone with an unsubverted or cleansed frame of reference likely couldn't bear seeing such mistreatment and violence.


lead time

It's an excellent device, but it has a 10-week lead time, so be sure to order it in advance.

With long lead times in timetable planning WMT [West Midlands Trains] has stated that the earliest it can recast the timetable will be May 2020.

2019 October, “Chase Line service to be split next May”, 出自 Modern Railways，頁號 17:


sideways

more sideways (comparative)
most sideways (superlative)

Once we get out of this sideways economy, our figures will more accurately reflect what we're truly capable of.


x的作用是通配符；緊隨最初的8086之後，使用相同架構（逐步擴大）的處理器名稱也用86結尾（80186、80286、80386、80486；英特爾在80486之後不再使用這種命名法，但其他x86處理器製造商繼續使用-586-和-686-作為處理器品牌名稱）。

泛指一系列基於Intel 8086且向下相容的中央處理器指令集架構
特別指32位元版本的x86指令集架構

The x86 version of Windows 7 only supports a maximum of 4 GiB of RAM; 64-bit Windows can support a lot more.


troll

The actress was widely trolled online after accidentally revealing that she didn't know the names of the continents.

We like to troll, we like to go the night before one of their primaries, we just, we do a little trolling, it's called we do a little trolling.

2020年March2日, Donald Trump, President Trump Rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, 經由 C-SPAN:

Cristiano Ronaldo's dislike of dessert has been trolled by a former teammate. ¶ Ben Foster proudly showed off his apple crumble, having joked that he was skipping dessert.

2021年September22日, Sam Cooper, “An old teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo's trolled his dislike of dessert by scoffing a giant pudding on his YouTube channel”, 出自 Business Insider, New York, N.Y.: Insider Inc., →OCLC，2024-04-07歸檔自原頁面:

Taylor Swift, who could've been crowned the queen of pranks in the early years of her career, is finding out what it feels like to be on the other side of a little onstage trolling.

2024年March11日, Sammi Burke, “See One of Taylor Swift's Dancers Troll Her on Stage During '22'”, 出自 Parade, New York, N.Y.: The Arena Group, →OCLC，2024-04-07歸檔自原頁面:


meme

由英國的生物學家理查德·道金斯在1976造出，用於其著作《自私的基因》。mimeme的縮略（對比英語 phoneme），源自古希臘語 μῖμος (mîmos, “複製，模仿”)。。其網路含義由迈克·戈德温應用。

culturgen

模因，迷因（透過模仿在人與人之間傳播的思想、行為或風格）

（本為錯誤卻）廣泛流傳成真實的行為或理念

it’s a meme degree

jogging is a meme


meme

將……轉變成網路迷因；（在現實生活中）使用網路迷因

to meme into existence

Scott Greer, a deputy editor of the Daily Caller, tweeted, “Cernovich memed #SickHillary into reality. Never doubt the power of memes.”

2016年October31日, Andrew Marantz, “Trolls for Trump”, 出自 The New Yorker, retrieved 2017-12-02:

David Moyes succeeding Slaven Bilić as West Ham United manager is being memed into existence by the internet, Football Burp understands.

2017年November6日, “David Moyes to West Ham “memed into existence by the internet””, 出自 Football Burp, retrieved 2017-12-02:


stark

源自中古英語 stark、starc，源自古英語 stearc、starc (“僵硬的；不屈的，固执的；强大的；猛烈的，凶猛的”)，源自原始西日耳曼語 *stark，源自原始日耳曼語 *starkuz (“强大的”)，源自原始印歐語 *(s)terg- (“僵硬”)。
同源词包括薩特弗里斯蘭語 sterc (“强的”)、荷蘭語 sterk (“强的”)、低地德語 sterk (“强的”)、德語 stark (“强的”)、丹麥語 stærk (“强的”)、瑞典語 stark (“强的”)、挪威語 sterk (“强的”)、冰島語 sterkur (“强的”)。与starch有关。
短语stark naked实际上变换自中古英語 stert naked，源自stert (“尾巴”)，字面上等价于butt naked。

starker (comparative)
starkest (superlative)

I screamed in stark terror.

A flower was growing, in stark contrast, out of the sidewalk.

Rhetoric is very good or stark naught; there's no medium in rhetoric.

1689 (first published posthumously), John Selden, Table-Talk


bona fide

源自拉丁語 bonā fidē (“以善意”)，bona fidēs (“善意”)的斜格。

Although he failed, the prime minister made a bona fide attempt to repair the nation's damaged economy.


sed

源自stream editor (字面意思是“流編輯器”)。

Can you sed out those trailing spaces, please?


holo

We compared the holo and apo forms of the protein.


accountable

more accountable (comparative)
most accountable (superlative)

Every man is accountable to God for his conduct.

You will be held accountable for your misdemeanors.

"Because the railway is economically and socially vital, it receives large amounts of public money and must therefore ultimately be accountable to government. [...]

2020年April22日, Philip Haigh, “Labour's blueprint for the future of Britain's railways”, 出自 Rail，頁號 28:


straddle

作动词时，自16世纪60年代起可考。很可能是方言词striddle的变换形式。名词自17世纪10年代起可考。

This weed straddles the entire garden.

这种杂草蔓延于整个花园。

Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks


straddle

The first salvo fell short; the next was long; the third was a straddle.


amiss

more amiss (comparative)
most amiss (superlative)

He suspected something was amiss.

Something amiss in the arrangements had distracted the staff.

His wisdom and virtue cannot always rectify that which is amiss in himself or his circumstances.

1722, William Wollaston, The Religion of Nature Delineated:

Moreover, all were furnished with carbines and cartridge boxes, and the leader was armed with a sabre with a leather sheath. This was not so much amiss, and would do very well at a distance: but during the two hours' halt at the village aforesaid, I took it into my head, while the owners were enjoying their siesta under the shade of the gateway, just to stride in among them, and take a nearer inspection of the weapons.

1836, Charles Joseph La Trobe, The Rambler in Mexico:

There is a strong feeling across the land that something is amiss in America. You sometimes hear about these feelings when people discuss their concerns about how the baby boom generation is going to bankrupt our social security or Medicare programs, or about the growing size of the national debt that will be paid for by future generations.

2009, Robert Perrucci, Carolyn Cummings Perrucci, America at Risk: The Crisis of Hope, Trust, and Caring:


haunted

more haunted (comparative)
most haunted (superlative)
hauntedest (superlative)

The hotel was haunted by a disembodied spirit.

a soldier haunted by the memories of combat

a haunted expression


al-Qaeda

來自阿拉伯語 الْقَاعِدَة (al-qāʕida)，قَاعِدَة (qāʕida, “基礎，基本”)的定單數。

/ˌæl kɑːˈiːdə/

al-Qaeda often kills non-Muslim and non-Sunni civilians.


armpit

來自中古英語 armpitt、arme-pitt、armput，等同於arm + pit。
(令人不快的事物)：大概是指胳肢窩下的體味。

令人不快或不受歡迎的地方或東西

the armpit of America


syndicate

來自法語 syndicat (“辛迪加辦公室；辛迪加委員會；工會”)，來自syndic (“辛迪加；代表；日內瓦首席行政官”) + -at (“表示行動或行動結果的後綴”)，來自中世紀拉丁語 *syndicatus，來自syndicus (“公司或城鎮的代表；辛迪加”) (來自古希臘語 σύνδικος (súndikos, “被告辯護人”)，來自σύν (sún, “旁邊；和”) + δίκη (díkē, “審判；正義”)) + -ātus (“從名詞組成形容詞的後綴，表示擁有某種東西或某種品質”)。
對照意大利語 sindacato (“辛迪加；工會；審計，控制，監督”)、奧克語 sendegat、葡萄牙語 sindicato (“工會”)、西班牙語 sindicado、sindicato (“辛迪加辦公室；辛迪加；工會”)。

音頻 (名詞) (澳洲)

a gambling syndicate

The worst deed ever alleged against the early sandalwood traders was that a number of natives were suffocated in a cave at Vaté, in the New Hebrides, by the smoke from a fire built at its mouth. But this was done by order of Maafu, who, on behalf of an Australian syndicate of highly-respectable merchants and church-members, was "bossing" an expedition in search of sandalwood through the New Hebrides.

1886, Julian Thomas, “Maafu, Prince of Tonga”, 出自 Cannibals & Convicts: Notes of Personal Experiences in the Western Pacific, London, New York, N.Y.: Cassel & Company, Limited, →OCLC，頁號 24:

Held at the estate of Mafia boss Joseph Barbara in Apalachin, NY, the meeting called by [Vito] Genovese in November 1957 brought over 100 mobsters from around the country to cement his power over the national crime syndicate.

1999, John Madinger, “Case Development”, 出自 Confidential Informant: Law Enforcement’s Most Valuable Tool, Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, →ISBN，頁號 178:

a gambling syndicate

In the mid-1880s, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt broke into print inauspiciously as one member of the stable of writers who supplied humorous sketches and mildly sentimental or didactic squibs for S[amuel] S[idney] McClure's newspaper syndicate.

1980, Wiliam L. Andrews, “The Apprentice Years: Experiments and Decisions”, 出自 The Literary Career of Charles W. Chesnutt, Baton Rouge, La., London: Louisiana State University Press, →ISBN，頁號 17:


solace

源自古法語 solas，源自拉丁語 sōlācium (“安慰”)，源自原始印歐語 *selh₂- (“恕，慰”)。

You cannot put a monetary value on emotional solace.


succinct

源自中古英語 succinte、succynt，源自古法語 succinct，源自拉丁語 succinctus，succingō (“从下方束缚”)被动完成时分词，源自sub + cingō (“束缚，包裹，包住”)。

more succinct (comparative)
most succinct (superlative)

Unlike general lossless data compression algorithms, succinct data structures retain the ability to use them in-place, without decompressing them first.


autism

借自德語 Autismus，由瑞士精神病學家尤金·布鲁勒造出，首次使用是1907年，卡尔·荣格將其作為“自體性慾”的替代詞，儘管布魯勒本人在其1911年首次出版的《Dementia Praecox》著作，對這兩個詞作了區分。來自古希臘語 αὐτός (autós, “自我”) + -ισμός (-ismós, “特性”)。

weaponized autism


類似911、119，這些號碼既方便使用旋轉式或按鍵式電話撥打，又不易誤撥。

中國、日本、德國、印度尼西亞、拉脫維亞、玻利維亞、危地馬拉、安道爾、瑙魯、象牙海岸、臺灣等地的報案電話號碼。

110 handles police emergencies in Japan and Korea but fires and medical emergencies have a separate number, 119.


在注释中，把一个词标为祈使语气

manĝi, manĝu, manĝis "eat, eat!, ate"


-'s

（非标准，有时被禁用） are (常用在where, here, 和there后)

Where’s the table tennis balls?


-'s

相当于-s，撇号可以不加。

（有时不用） 用于组成数字、字母、某些缩写和某些名词的复数形式，通常是因为不带撇号会引起歧义和混淆。

There are four 3’s in my phone number.

“Banana” has three a’s and one b.

You can buy CD’s in that shop.

These are the do’s and don’ts.

（错误用法）组成名词复数（然而正确用法是只用加“s”即可）。这种现象被称为 greengrocer’s apostrophe。

Apple’s 50p a pound


wheels

Like my new wheels?

rolling 18 wheels


their

源自古諾爾斯語 þeirra。古英語 hiera的代替。

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/LL-Q1860 (eng)-Nattes à chat-their.wav

第三人稱複數形容詞性物主代詞：他/她/它們的。

they will meet tomorrow at their convenience; this is probably their cat


speel

可能源自中古英語 spilen (“作樂，遊玩”) ← 古英語 spilian (“作樂，遊玩”) ← 原始日耳曼語 *spilōną。與荷蘭語 spelen (“玩”), 德語 spielen (“玩”), 盧森堡語 spillen (“玩”), 冰島語 spila (“玩”), 法羅語 spæla (“玩”), 瑞典語 spela (“玩”), 丹麥語 spille (“玩”), 挪威語 spille (“玩”)同源。

(鄉村、北英格蘭、蘇格蘭) 玩，進行（娛樂）活動

To speel ba'.


speel

源自原始日耳曼語 *spilą (“舞蹈，遊戲”)。

(鄉村、北英格蘭、蘇格蘭) 遊戲

To play a good speel.


have to

I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed, did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.

Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame.

2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, 出自 美國科學家, 卷 101, 期 4:

I just have to have that shirt; you have to wear a seat belt


swart

源自中古英語 swarten ← 古英語 sweartian ← 原始日耳曼語 *swartōną。

to swart a living part

[…] the heate of the Sun, whose fervor may swarte a living part, and even black a dead or dissolving flesh,


twain

源自中古英語 tweyne, tweien, twaine ← 古英語 twēġen m (“二”) ← 原始日耳曼語 *twai ← 原始印歐語 *dwóh₁。與薩特弗里斯蘭語 twäin, 低地德語 twene, 德語 zween, 瑞典語 tvenne同源。參見two。
本詞起源自中古英語詞性失去時期，作為two的形式之一，尤用於名詞後。現代用法留存於欽定版聖經、婚禮詞、詩歌（作韻尾）。

But the warm twilight round us twain will never rise again.

Bring me these twain cups of wine and water, and let us drink from the one we feel more befitting of this day.

A month or twain to live on honeycomb

1866, Algernon Swinburne, Before Parting, lines 1-2

Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.

1889, Rudyard Kipling, The Ballad of East and West, line 1

[…] all too soon we twain shall tread

1900, Ernest Dowson, Amor Profanus, lines 26-28


secession

源自拉丁語 sēcessiō (“脫離”)。

That year, secession was enacted on account of unreasonable policies.


antebellum

源自拉丁語短語ante bellum (字面意思是“戰前”)，ante (“之前”) + bellum (“戰爭”)。

希特勒統治下戰前的德國，出現了一種全新的國家榮譽的形式。


foreign language

Irish courts will hear cases in English or Gaelic, but speakers of foreign languages must find an interpreter.

The children struggled in their Welsh lessons because they didn't have any experience of foreign languages.


Anglish

源自Angle + -ish，最早是由英國幽默作家Paul Jennings在《笨拙雜誌》（Punch）上提出。

一種用日耳曼語族原生詞代替外來（尤其拉丁語、法語、希臘語）詞彙的英語形式。

In Anglish, you might call a dictionary a ‘wordbook’.


fure

源自原始日耳曼語 *fōrijaną。與荷蘭語 voeren (“帶領”), 低地德語 fören (“帶領”), 德語 führen (“帶領”), 盧森堡語 féieren (“帶領”), 冰島語 færa (“攜帶，移動”), 法羅語 føra (“帶領，攜帶”), 瑞典語 föra (“帶領，指揮”), 丹麥語 före (“帶領”), 書面挪威語 føre (“帶領”)同源。

(英格蘭北部、蘇格蘭) 帶領

So far as his labor and his wisdom fures.

To his master, the Kings Majesty or General, that fures or leads the war.

(英格蘭北部、蘇格蘭) 攜帶

No goods should be fured upon the over-loft of the ships.


hadith

源自阿拉伯語 حَدِيث (ḥadīṯ) ← حَدَّثَ (ḥaddaṯa, “告訴，報告”)。

hadith (plural)
hadiths (plural)
ahadith (plural)

In addition to the Quran, many Muslims also look to the hadiths for moral and spiritual guidance in their daily lives.

There are four main Shia books of hadith and six main Sunni books of hadith.


ey

源自拉丁語 ei，古法語 ahi, äi。

To have no ey for nought.

Exhorting thy people to have a special ey, That thee to praise they never cease.
（請為本引文添加中文翻譯）


superman

仿譯自德語 Übermensch；Thomas Common- + 托马斯·康门- + en》，和super。德语词是由尼采在其1883年的著作《查拉图斯特拉如是说（Also sprach Zarathustra）》中提出，并由爱尔兰剧作家萧伯纳在1903年剧作《凡人與超人1909年翻译尼采著作时提出本词。有的学者认为本词并不对应 Übermensch，应使用德语词或overman。
“有超能力的人”一义是由DC漫画角色超人普及，其最早登场是1938年6月的Action Comics #1。

(哲学) 超人 （1903）

Nietzsche wrote of the coming of the superman.

Man does desire an ideal Superman with such energy as he can spare from his nutrition, and has in every age magnified the best living substitute for it he can find. His least incompetent general is set up as an Alexander; his King is the first gentleman in the world; his Pope is a saint. He is never without an array of human idols who are all nothing but sham Supermen.

1903, [George] Bernard Shaw, “Man's Objection to His Own Improvement”, in The Revolutionist's Handbook and Pocket Companion, appendix to Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy, Westminster, London: Archibald Constable & Co., Ltd., OCLC 903618586, page 194:

And Zarathustra spake thus unto the people: / I teach you the Superman. Man is something that is to be surpassed. What have ye done to surpass man? / […] What is the ape to man? A laughing-stock, a thing of shame. And just the same shall man be to the Superman: a laughing-stock, a thing of shame.

1909, Friedrich Nietzsche; Thomas Common, transl., “Zarathustra's Prologue”, in Thus Spake Zarathustra; a Book for All and None (Complete Works of Friedrich Nietzsche; 4), Edinburgh, T. N. Foulis, OCLC 1210069; republished as Thus Spake Zarathustra, New York, N.Y.: The Modern Library, [1940s?], OCLC 11993131, page 6:

He worked like a superman to single-handedly complete the project on time.

[page 113] The idea of superman is as old as the world. Through all the centuries, through hundreds of centuries of its history, humanity has lived with the idea of superman. Sayings and legends of all ancient peoples are full of images of a superman. Heroes of myths, Titans, demi-gods, Prometheus, who brought fire from heaven; prophets, messiahs and saints of all religions; heroes of fairy tales and epic songs, knights who rescue captive princesses, awake sleeping beauties, vanquish dragons, and fight giants and ogres—all these are images of a superman. […] [page 114] People dreamt of, or remembered times long past when their life was governed by supermen, who struggled against evil, upheld justice and acted as mediators between men and the Deity, governing them according to the will of the Deity, giving them laws, bringing them commandments.

1931, P[yotr] D[emianovich] Ouspensky, R[eginald] R. Merton, transl., “Superman”, 出自 A New Model of the Universe: Principles of the Psychological Method in Its Application to Problems of Science, Religion, and Art, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, →OCLC，頁號s 113–114:

I had a vision of what the ideal man should be. I wanted someone whose income combined with mine could afford us a family, an apartment, a car, and all the travel, luxury, and fun we could possibly tolerate. I wanted a Superman.

2010 August, A[lex] E[chevarria] Roman, 章號 25, 出自 The Superman Project: A Chico Santana Mystery, New York, N.Y.: Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN，頁號 218:

What type of human weakness might a being of unfathomable power—a superman—inadvertently expose to the keen analytic mind of an avenging dark knight? Would he discover that a superhuman being who cannot be overcome, who is loved and adored by most, and who awes the commoner, desires to be overcome?

2016, Patrick J. Reider, “How Batman Cowed a God”, 出自 Nicolas Michaud 編, Batman, Superman, and Philosophy: Badass or Boyscout? (Popular Culture and Philosophy; 100), Chicago, Ill.: Open Court Publishing Company, →ISBN:

Early in Crime and Punishment, [Rodion] Raskolnikov has become obsessed with the notion that he himself is a "superman." Therefore, he thinks, he is not subject to the laws that govern ordinary people. […] However, his indecision and confusion throughout the novel indicate that he is not a superman. Moreover, in the course of the novel, [Fyodor] Dostoyevsky seeks to prove that there is no such thing as a superman. Dostoyevsky believes that every human life is precious, and no one is entitled to kill.

2016, A Study Guide for Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” (Novels for Students), Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale; Cengage Learning, →ISBN:


aneroid

源自法語 anéroïde ← 古希臘語 ἀ- (a-) + νηρός (nērós, “濕”)。

An evacuated bellows and mechanical linkage operates an aneroid barometer.


aborted

Spines are aborted branches.


avascular

more avascular (comparative)
most avascular (superlative)

An avascular mass was discovered during surgery.


douchebag

That douchebag ruined my shrimp cocktail.

Why doesn't that guy get a job? He’s a regular douchebag.

It's fine to help your friends eat healthy, but don't be a douchebag and harass them about it.

That pocket protector makes you look like a douchebag.


fella

(非正式、美國南部) 對男性的稱呼。

By the third go-around, the essence of what I wrote was, "And the same to you, fella!" I am glad that our relationship has survived that exchange.

1997, Donald Meichenbaum, “Discussion”, 出自 Jeffrey K. Zeig 編, The Evolution of Psychotherapy: The Third Conference，頁號 90:

Am I right, fellas?


initials

:Template:複 人名（姓、名、中間名等）的首字母，作為人名的縮寫。參見monogram。

You may leave out where you live and use either initials or an alias, since gods, buddhas and other divinities look only at our hearts.


trespass

源自古法語 trespasser，tres- (“越，過”) + passer (“通過”)。

transgress

(現代罕見) 違法；做錯事

to trespass upon the time or patience of another

"Indeed I have, sir," was her answer. "She is a great deal too ill to be moved. Mr. Jones says we must not think of moving her. We must trespass a little longer on your kindness."
#*:: 班纳特太太回答道：“我却没有想象到会这般严重呢，先生，她病得太厉害了，根本不能搬动。钟斯大夫也说，千万不可以叫她搬动。我们只得叨光你们多照顾几天啦。”

1813 — Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.

宣佈某人因到他人土地上而犯非法侵入罪

The dean trespassed the streaker from his university.

The entire police force has in effect been trespassed from a Wellington property to stop officers checking whether a heavy-sleeping offender is complying with an overnight bail curfew.

2012年June21日, Greg O'Connor, “Criminal trespasses police officers”, 出自 Stuff:


autist

:Template:網(4chan俚語，具冒犯性) （不正常的）固執者，堅持者

autists arguing about 'muh graphics'