early 15c., from Middle French calamite (14c.), from Latin calamitatem (nominative calamitas) "damage, loss, failure; disaster, misfortune, adversity," origin obscure. Early etymologists associated it with calamus "straw" (see shawm); but it is perhaps from a lost root preserved in incolumis "uninjured," from PIE *kle-mo-, from base *kel- (1) "to strike, cut" (see holt).
双语例句
1. He described drugs as the greatest calamity of the age.
他称毒品是这个时代最大的祸害。
来自柯林斯例句
2. The frost last week was a great calamity to the citrus industry.
上周的霜冻对柑橘种植业是一场大灾难.
来自《简明英汉词典》
3. The marriage proved to be the greatest calamity of his life.
事实证明这桩婚姻是他一生中最大的不幸.
来自《简明英汉词典》
4. The recent flooding in the south was a calamity.
最近南方的洪水是一场灾难.
来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
5. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.
