| 单词 | 例证 |
| 释义 | 〔clever〕Being too clever is thought to be unwise,and support for this popular notion may be afforded by the fact that the devil seems to have been the first "clever" one in English.The source of our wordclever is probably the Middle English word cliver, recorded only once in a work written before 1250,in which it is said that the devil is "cliver on sinnes.”This means something like "skillful in respect to sins.”Cliver probably goes back to the Indo-European root gleubh-, "to cut, cleave.” Although the intermediate ancestry ofcliver is unclear, the semantic connection has to do with penetration or incisiveness—that is, cutting through to the heart of the matter,just as a woodcarver cuts through material in order to realize a certain vision.太聪明被认为是愚蠢的，英语中魔鬼被认为是第一“聪明的”，这一事实可能是这一普遍概念的例证。clever 的词源可能是中世纪英语单词 cliver , 仅在一本1250年以前写的著作中出现过一次，书中说魔鬼“在犯罪方面很聪明”。这个含义有些类似于“在犯罪方面很有本事。”Cliver 可以追溯到印欧词根 gleubh- “切、削”。 虽然cliver 的中介来源尚不清楚， 但语义的联系肯定与穿透力或透彻性有关--即穿透事物的本质，就象木工劈开材料以了解其内在材质〔fill〕To supply with material, such as writing, an inscription, or an illustration:补满：提供或补充材料，例如写作、描述或例证：〔cite〕cited several instances of insubordinate behavior.引用数个反抗行为的例证〔illustration〕Material used to clarify or explain.See Synonyms at example 例证：被用来说明或解释的材料 参见 example〔yes〕The wordyes is a good example of how an ordinary and frequently used word can have a complex etymology. We can traceyes back to two Indo-European roots, .i-, a pronominal stem, and .es-, "to be.” From two extended forms of.i-, .yām and .yāi, came the prehistoric Common Germanic forms.jā and jai, which gave us Old Englishgeā, an affirmative particle, the source of Modern Englishyea. The Indo-European root.es- is the source of our forms am and is. From the stem.sī- used to make verb forms in the optative mood, a mood used to express a wish, came the Germanic form.sijai-, which gave us Old Englishsīe, "may it be so.” This form, unlike the sources ofam and is, died out, but before disappearing it had combined with Old Englishgēa to form the compound gēse, the ancestor of our wordyes. Thissīe was destined to have even more of a triumph. Until around 1600yea was used to respond to positive expressions, whereasyes was used to respond to negative expressions. After that timeyes became a response to both positive and negative expressions, yea surviving primarily in voice votes. yes 一词是说明一个普通常用词如何拥有一复杂词源的极好例证。 我们可以追溯yes 到两个印欧语词根， 代名词词干i- 和 es- “是”。 从i-的两种扩展形式，yam 和 yai， 形成了史前普通日耳曼语形式ja 和 jai, 它们又带来了古英语中的肯定虚词gea ， 这便是现代英语yea 的来源。 而印欧语词根es- 是我们 am 和 is 两形式的源头。 以is- ，一个用于制造祈愿语气动词的词干， 产生出日尔曼形式sijai-， 并由此形成了古英语sie, “希望如此”。 这种形式不象am 和 is 的词源，已经灭绝了， 但在消失之前，它已经和古英语gea 混合形成复合词 gese， 即我们的单词yes 的前身。 这个sie 注定要获取更大的胜利。 直至1600年左右，yea 还被用于回答肯定的陈述； 而yes 则用于回答否定陈述。 此后，yes 既可作肯定也可否定表达的回答， yea 则主要在口头投票时使用 〔example〕provided an illustration of the word in context;在上下文中给出这个词的例证；〔evidence〕To indicate clearly; exemplify or prove.显示：明确清楚地指出；例证或证明〔illustrate〕To clarify by serving as an example or comparison.举例说明：运用例证或比喻把问题讲清楚〔Kalidasa〕Indian dramatist and lyric poet. His poetry represents the height of the kavya style, as exemplified by his epic poemRaghuvamsa and his lyric poem Meghaduta. 迦梨陀娑：印度剧作家和抒情诗人。他的诗作代表了美文体的巅峰，如叙事诗《罗怙世系》 及抒情诗 《云使》 便是最好的例证 〔everwhere〕Inversion—the reversal of the two halves of a compound word—is a common process in Southern dialects.It affects a number of indefinite pronouns (whichever, whatever, whoever ) ending in -ever, yieldingeverwhich, everwhat, and everwho. The commonly occurringeverwhere can be an example of inversion when it means "wherever" but illustrates elision of an unstressed syllable in its meaning "everywhere.”Other examples of Southern inversion cited by Craig M. Carver inAmerican Regional Dialects are peckerwood, hoppergrass, doll-baby, tie-tongued, doghanged (meaning "hangdog"), and right-out ("outright"). 倒置——一个复合词的两部分的颠倒──是美国南部方言的一种常用方法，它影响到若干以-ever 结尾的不确定性代名词（ whichever，whatever，whoever ）， 产生出everwhich，everwhat 和 everwho 。 通常出现的everwhere ，当它意为"wherever（即无论何处）”时是倒置的一个例子， 但当它意为"everywhere（各处，到处）”时是省略非重读音节的一例证。克雷格M卡弗尔在美国区域方言 中引用的其它美国南部倒置的例子有 peckerwood ， hoppergrass，doll-baby，tie-tongued，doghanged（意思是“下贱的人”）和 right-out （“坦率的”） 〔illustrate〕To present a clarification, an example, or an explanation.说清楚：提供一条说明、一个例证或一条解释〔misericord〕A dagger, a support for someone who is standing, and a special monastic apartment are all called by the same name because,strangely enough,they are all examples of mercy.The wordmisericord goes back to Latin misericordia, "mercy,” derived frommisericors, "merciful,” which is in turn derived frommiserērī, "to pity,” and cor, "heart.” In Medieval Latin the wordmisericordia was used to denote various merciful things, and these senses were borrowed into English.Misericordia referred to an apartment in a monastery where certain relaxations of the monastic rule were permitted,especially those involving food and drink.The word also designated a projection on the underside of a hinged seat in a choir stall against which a standing person could lean,no doubt a merciful thing during long services.Finally,misericordia was used for a dagger with which the death stroke was administered to a seriously wounded knight. 匕首、站立的人依靠的托板和一种特殊的修道院房都被称为同一名称，尽管非常奇怪，但这是因为它们全都是仁慈和怜悯的例证。misericord 一词可追溯到拉丁词 misericordia 意为“怜悯”， 源自misericors 意为“怜悯的”， 而后者又从misereri 意为“怜悯”和 cor 意为“心”演变而来。 在中世纪拉丁文中misericordia 一词用来指示各种表现仁慈和怜悯的事物， 这些意思被转借进了英语。Misericordia 指的是修道院中的一个房间， 某些特定的修道戒律在此被允许放宽，特别是有关饮食的戒律。这个词也指教堂座位的活动座板底面上可供站立的人依靠的凸出物，这在长长的宗教仪式中无疑是一个富有仁慈之心的物体，后来misericordia 也用来指将受伤很重的骑士刺死的匕首 〔instance〕An example that is cited to prove or invalidate a contention or illustrate a point.See Synonyms at example 例证：被引用于证明或驳斥某种论点或证明某种观点的例子 参见 example〔example〕A problem or exercise used to illustrate a principle or method.例证：用来举例说明一个原则或方法的一道问题或练习〔Yankee〕Yankee is an excellent example of a widely known word whose origins cannot be determined. The best hypothesis is thatYankee comes from Dutch Janke, a nickname forJan, "John.” Evidence can be found in theOxford English Dictionary that the forms Yankey, Yanky, and Yankee were used as surnames or nicknames in the 17th century. The wordYankee is first found in one of our modern senses in 1758, the sense being "a New Englander.” The 17th-century nickname forJan was derisive, and the first instances of our word show the term being used derisively by the British for New Englanders.After the Battle of Lexington (1775) New Englanders dignified the name.The British were responsible for application of the term to all Americans (a use first recorded around 1784);and Southerners, for application of the term to Northerners (first recorded in 1817).Yankee 是一个广为人知但来源不明的单词的极好例证。 最好的假设是Yankee 来自于荷兰语 Janke, 是Jan “约翰”的浑名。 从《牛津英语字典》 可以找到证据证明 Yankey,Yanky 和 Yankee 这些形式在17世纪曾被用作姓氏或浑名。 Yankee 一词的第一个现代意义出现于1758年，即“新英格兰人”。 17世纪Jan 的浑名含有嘲弄意味， 该词的第一例用法也说明英国人用它来嘲弄新英格兰人。在莱克星顿战役(1775年）后，新英格兰人赋于了它尊严与荣誉。英国人用该词来指称所有美国人（首次出现于1784年）；美国南方人则用它指称北方人（首次出现于1817年）〔temper〕heroes who exemplified the medieval temper; the politicized temper of the 1930's.例证了中世纪的特点的英雄们；20世纪30年代的政治特点〔fundamental〕an example that was fundamental to the argument.论据中的一个主要例证〔prototype〕An original type, form, or instance that serves as a model on which later stages are based or judged.原型：一种原初的类型、形式或例证，是作为其后期阶段的基础的模型〔unique〕Over the course of the centuryunique has become the paradigmatic example of the class of terms that do not allow comparison or modification by an adverb of degree such as very, somewhat, or quite. Thus, most grammarians believe that it is incorrect to say that something isvery unique or more unique than something else, though phrases such asnearly unique and almost unique are acceptable. In the most recent survey the sentenceHer designs are quite unique in today's fashion scene was unacceptable to 80 percent of the Usage Panel. · Critical objections to the comparison and degree modification of absolute terms date to the 18th centuryand have been applied to a wide group of adjectives includingequal, fatal, omnipotent, parallel, perfect, and unanimous. According to the standard argument, such words denote properties that a thing either does or does not have but cannot have to a qualifiable degree.Thus ifunique is properly used to mean "without equal or equivalent,” something either is unique or it isn't, and phrases such asvery unique and more unique can only betray a weakening of the sense to mean something like "unusual" or "distinctive.” It is true that comparison and modification ofunique are often associated with the style favored by copywriters, as in the advertisement announcing thatOmaha's most unique restaurant is now even more unique or in the claim that a new automobile is So unique, it's patented. But modification ofunique is also found in the work of reputable writers, where it may lack any connotations of hyperbole.A painting is described asthe most unique of Beckman's self-portraits, and a travel writer states thatChicago is no less unique an American city than New York or San Francisco. The relative acceptability of these usages reflects the semantic subtlety ofunique itself. If we were to useunique only according to the strictest criteria of logic, after all, we might freely apply the term to anything in the worldsince nothing is wholly equivalent to anything else.Clearly, then, when we say that a restaurant or painting is unique,we mean that it is worthy of inclusion in a class by itself according to certain implicit but generally accepted criteria.Thus a legitimately unique painting might be one that realizes an unparalleled aesthetic vision,but not one that is rendered only in pigments whose names begin with the lettero; and a legitimately unique restaurant might be one that serves 18th-century French cuisine according to the original recipes,not one that has been installed in a converted sardine cannery.Given this understanding, it is not inherently impossible to think of uniqueness as a matter of degree,in the sense that one painting or restaurant may be more or less worthy of inclusion in a class by itself than some other. ·What is troubling about the copywriters' use ofunique is not that the word has become a synonym for unusual. Rather, it is the copywriters who are using the word in conformity with strict logic.Uniqueness is claimed for a restaurant in virtue of some trivial properties of its decor or menu,or for a resort hotel that simply happens to have a singularly picturesque view of the bay.Though it may be true that such properties render these thingslogically unique, they do not constitute legitimate grounds for putting the things into a class by themselves according to the criteria ordinarily invoked when things are sorted into classes.In fact, the abuse ofunique can be cloying even when no modification or comparison is involved; when we read an advertisement for a line of sportswear that featuresa unique selection of colors, we may suspect that the distinctive properties of the color selection are not so remarkable as the advertiser would have us believe. But it is not surprising that these uses ofunique should lend themselves to promiscuous modification and comparison; for once it is granted that uniqueness can be claimed for any product or service that is somehow distinctive from all its competitors,it is inevitable that an increase in uniqueness will be seen in every minor innovation.See Usage Note at equal ,infinite ,parallel ,perfect 在本世纪整个过程中unique 已成为不能由程度副词，例 very、somewhat 或 quite， 比较或修饰的一类术语的例证。 因此，多数语法学家认为说某事是very unique 或 more unique than 是不正确的， 虽然短语例如nearly unique 和 almost unique 是可接受的。 在最近的调查中，句子Her designs are quite unique in today's fashion scene （她的设计在现今流行样式的场面中是很独特的） 对用法专题使用小组的百分之八十成员是不可接受的。 对纯粹术语的比较和程度修饰的主要异议可追述到18世纪，并已广泛用到许多形容词中，包括equal, fatal, omnipotent, parallel, perfect 和 unanimous。 根据标准论据，这些单词表示一事有或没有但不能有可修饰的程度的性质。于是如果unique 适当地用于表示“没有相等或相当的”，则某事是唯一的或不是唯一的， 而短语像very unique 和 more unique 仅能表露出说明某事像“不寻常的”或“独特的”的意义的减弱。 的确，unique 的比较和修饰常与撰稿人喜欢的文体相联系， 如在广告中称Omaha's most unique restaurant is now even more unique（奥马哈城的最独特的餐馆现在甚至是更加独特） 或声称新汽车是 So unique, it's patented（如此独特，它取得了专利权）。 但是unique 的修饰也在著名作家的作品中发现， 那里可能缺乏夸张法的任何涵义。描述一张油画为the most unique of Beckman's self-portraits（最独特的贝克曼的自画像）， 一位旅游作家叙述Chicago is no less unique an American city than New York or San Francisco（芝加哥比纽约或旧金山是不逊独特的美国城市）。 这些用法的相对可接受性反映unique 自身语义的巧妙。 如果我们仅按照逻辑的严格标准使用unique ， 则我们终于会自由地把此术语使用于世界上的任何事，因为没有完全等同于另一事的事。于是，显然当我们说餐馆或油画是独特的时，我们意味着根据某种隐含的但可普遍接受的判据它是值得包含在一个等级内的。于是合理独特的油画可能是实现空前未有的审美型的，而不是仅给予名字以字母O开始的颜料； 合理独特的餐馆可能根据原来的食谱提供18世纪法国菜肴的餐馆，而不是配备转换的沙丁鱼罐头食品的餐馆。按这样了解，将独特性视为程度问题不是本来就不可能的，在这个意义上一张油画或一个餐馆或多或少可能是极好的有价值的内涵物而不是其他。关于撰稿人使用unique 的困惑不是此单词已成为 unusual 的同义词。 相反地，正是撰稿人使用此单词与严密的逻辑相一致。对餐馆声称独特性是由于它的布置或菜单的某些不重要的性质，或者对于人们常去的旅馆仅因为有海湾的独一无二地别致的景象。虽然这样的性质使得这些事logically 独特的可能是真实的， 但是当事情进行了分类，根据平常实行的判据把这些事情自身放到一类，他们不组成正常的基础。事实上unique 的滥用会使人发腻，即使在没有涉及修饰或比较的时候； 当我们读运动服装的unique selection of colors（颜色的独特选择） 的一行广告时， 我们会怀疑颜色选择的独特性质并非广告商希望我们所认为的那么明显。但不必惊讶于unique 的这些用法应当适用于杂乱的修饰和比较； 就这一次可以承认，独特性能用来指任何产品或服务，它们与所有的竞争者相比较有某种程度的特色，在每一小的创新中可以看到独特性的增加是必然会发生的 参见 equal,infinite,parallel,perfect〔furnish〕"The story of Orpheus has furnished Pope with an illustration"(Thomas Bulfinch)“俄耳甫斯的传说为蒲柏提供了例证”(托马斯·布兰芬奇)〔instance〕To demonstrate or show by an example; exemplify.例示：用例子来说明或证明；例证 |
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