请输入您要查询的词汇:

 

词汇 bitter end
词源

bitter end n.

by 1759 in lexicons of nautical language, "the part of a cable which is round about the bitts" (the two great timbers used to belay cables) when the ship is at anchor (see bitt).

Bitter end of the Cable, the End which is wound about the Bitts. ["The News-Readers Pocket-Book: Or, a Military Dictionary," London, 1759]

When a cable is played out to the bitter end, there is no more left to play. Hence the term began to be used c. 1835 in non-nautical language and with probable influence of if not displacement by bitter (adj.).

updated on October 13, 2022

随便看

 

英语词源词典收录了45867条英语词源词条,基本涵盖了全部常用英语词汇的起源、历史,是研究英语词汇或通过词源学英语的必备工具。

 

Copyright © 2000-2024 Newdu.com.com All Rights Reserved
更新时间:2025/5/2 10:48:08