elegant的词源
英文词源
- elegant
- elegant: [15] Someone who made careful, fastidious choices was termed in Latin ēlegāns. This was the present participle of a hypothetical verb *ēlegāre, a derivative of ēligere ‘pick out, select’ (source of English elect). Originally it seems to have been a derogatory term – ‘fussy, foppish’ – but by classical times it signified more approvingly ‘making refined choices’, and was also transferred to the things chosen – ‘choice, tasteful’. English probably acquired the word via French.
=> elect - elegant (adj.)
- late 15c., "tastefully ornate," from Middle French élégant (15c.), from Latin elegantem (nominative elegans) "choice, fine, tasteful," collateral form of present participle of eligere "select with care, choose." Meaning "characterized by refined grace" is from 1520s. Latin elegans originally was a term of reproach, "dainty, fastidious;" the notion of "tastefully refined" emerged in classical Latin. Related: Elegantly.
Elegant implies that anything of an artificial character to which it is applied is the result of training and cultivation through the study of models or ideals of grace; graceful implies less of consciousness, and suggests often a natural gift. A rustic, uneducated girl may be naturally graceful, but not elegant.
中文词源
e-, 向外。-leg, 收集，选出，词源同college, eligible. 即选出来的，优秀的，优雅的。
该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版：elegant 词源，elegant 含义。
elegant：优雅的，优美的，精致的；完美的
来源于拉丁语动词eligere(选出)。
词根词缀： e-出 + -leg-采集 + -ant ...的→ 采集在一起遴选出优美的
