last-ditch的词源

英文词源

last-ditch (adj.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
"on the last line of defense," 1715, attributed to William of Orange; if so, originally in a Dutch context.
We have no space to enter into the detail of the heroic struggle maintained by the young stadtholder and his faithful Dutchmen; how they laid their country under water, and successfully kept the powerful invader at bay. Once the contest seemed utterly hopeless. William was advised to compromise the matter, and yield up Holland as the conquest of Louis XIV. "No," replied he; "I mean to die in the last ditch." A speech alone sufficient to render his memory immortal. [Agnes Strickland, "Lives of the Queens of England," London, 1847]

中文词源

last-ditch:孤注一掷的

即最后的战壕,引申词义死战到底。后词义贬义化。比较die-hard.

该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版:last-ditch 词源,last-ditch 含义。

last-ditch:已无后退余地的,拼死的  

据传,该词源出英国国王威廉三世(William III of Great Britain,1650 - 1702)。威廉生于海牙,1672年出任尼德兰联省共和国军队统帅,率军与入侵的英法两国军队交战,一度失利。英法两国国王提出苛酷的和约条款,他拒绝接受。为了确保他的国家不被灭亡,他说,“I will die in the last ditch.”(我要奋战到底。)他开始重建军队,终于取得了胜利,并在1689年登上英国国王的宝座。按字面义,ditch原指“壕沟”或“防御壕”,last ditch就是“最后的防御壕”,即“最后的防线”,如今一般多用于喻义,而且常用作形容词,表示“已无后退余地的”、“坚持到底的”或“拼死的”。例如:I made one last-ditch effort to get her to stay.(为了把她挽留下来我作了最后努力。)/If the enemy refuse to surrender,we shall fight to the last ditch.(敌人不投降,我们就打到底。)