quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- debility[debility 词源字典]
- debility: [15] Despite the passing similarity, debility has no connection with ability. It comes via Old French debilite from Latin dēbilitās, a derivative of the adjective dēbilis ‘weak’. This was a compound formed from the prefix de- ‘not’ and a second element meaning ‘strong’, represented also in Sanskrit bálam ‘strength’, Greek beltíon ‘better’, and Old Slavic bolij ‘larger’ (ultimate source of bolshevik).
[debility etymology, debility origin, 英语词源] - debility (n.)
- early 15c., from Middle French debilite (Modern French débilité) or directly from Latin debilitatem (nominative debilitas) "a laming, crippling, weakening," from debilis "lame, disabled, crippled," figuratively "weak, helpless," from de- "from, away" (see de-) + -bilis "strength," from PIE root *bel- (see Bolshevik).