quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- reluctant
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[reluctant 词源字典] - reluctant: [17] To be reluctant about doing something is etymologically to ‘struggle against’ it. The word comes from the present participle of Latin reluctārī, a compound verb formed from the prefix re- ‘against’ and luctārī ‘struggle’. Among the first English writers to employ it was John Milton, who used it in the literal Latin sense, describing the writhing Satan: ‘a monstrous serpent on his belly prone, reluctant, but in vain’, Paradise Lost 1667. ‘Unwilling, averse’, a metaphorical extension which saw the light of day in Latin, made its debut in English at the start of the 18th century.
[reluctant etymology, reluctant origin, 英语词源] - reluctant (adj.)
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- "unwilling," 1660s, from Latin reluctantem (nominative reluctans), present participle of reluctari (see reluctance). Related: Reluctantly. The Latin word is also the source of Spanish reluchante, Italian riluttante.