quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- singular[singular 词源字典]
- singular: [14] Singular comes ultimately from Latin singulāris ‘alone of its kind’, a derivative of singulus ‘single’. It reached English via Old French singuler as singuler (the modern spelling singular is a 17th-century relatinization). The word’s grammatical application, and its use for ‘remarkable, extraordinary’, both developed in Latin.
=> single[singular etymology, singular origin, 英语词源] - singular (adj.)
- mid-14c., "alone, apart; being a unit; special, unsurpassed," from Old French singuler "personal particular; distinctive; singular in number" (12c., Modern French singulier) or directly from Latin singularis "single, solitary, one by one, one at a time; peculiar, remarkable," from singulus (see single (adj.)). Meaning "remarkably good, unusual, rare, separated from others (by excellence), uncommon" is from c. 1400 in English; this also was a common meaning of Latin singularis.