quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- opportunity[opportunity 词源字典]
- opportunity: [14] Opportunity has its origins in a Latin nautical term denoting ‘favourable winds’. This was opportūnus, a compound adjective formed from the prefix ob- ‘to’ and portus ‘harbour’ (source of English port). It was used originally for winds, ‘blowing towards the harbour’, and since it is good when such advantageous winds arrive, it developed metaphorically to ‘coming at a convenient time’. From it English got opportune [15] and the derived opportunity. Opportunism [19] is a much more recent introduction, which originated in the world of Italian politics.
=> port[opportunity etymology, opportunity origin, 英语词源] - opportunity (n.)
- late 14c., from Old French opportunite (13c.) and directly from Latin opportunitatem (nominative opportunitas) "fitness, convenience, suitableness, favorable time," from opportunus (see opportune). Opportunity cost attested from 1911. Expression opportunity knocks but once (at any man's door) attested from 1898.