fragile

英['fr?d?a?l] 美['fr?d??l]

名詞:?fragility;

fragile 易碎的

來自fragment, 碎片。

fragile: fragile: [17] Fragile and frail [13] are doublets: that is to say, they have the same ultimate source but have evolved in different ways. In this case the source was Latin fragilis ‘breakable’, a derivative of the same base (*frag-) as produced frangere ‘break’ (whence English fractious). Fragile was acquired either directly from the Latin adjective or via French fragile, but frail passed through Old French frale or frele on its way to English. Other English words to come from *frag- include fragment [15] (from Latin fragmentum) and saxifrage, literally ‘rockbreaker’.
=> fraction, fracture, fragment, frail, saxifrage
fragile (adj.): 1510s, "liable to sin, morally weak;" c. 1600, "liable to break;" a back-formation from fragility, or else from Middle French fragile (Old French fragele, 14c.), from Latin fragilis "easily broken," from root of frangere "to break" (see fraction). Transferred sense of "of frail constitution" (of persons) is from 1858.

1. He remains the anchor of the country's fragile political balance.: 他仍然是維系該國(guó)脆弱的政治平衡的支柱。

2. The fragile economies of several southern African nations could be irreparably damaged.: 一些南非國(guó)家的脆弱經(jīng)濟(jì)可能會(huì)被徹底破壞，無法挽回。

3. She was small and fragile and looked incongruous in an army uniform.: 她又小又弱，穿一身軍裝看起來很不協(xié)調(diào)。

4. Because of the extreme cold, the Antarctic is a uniquely fragile environment.: 極度嚴(yán)寒造成了南極地區(qū)絕無僅有的脆弱環(huán)境。

5. He placed one hand heavily on a fragile, wobbling table.: 他把一只手重重地放在一張搖搖晃晃的桌上。