defy: [14] The underlying notion of defy is of the renunciation of allegiance. It comes via Old French defier from a Vulgar Latin *disfidāre ‘renounce one’s faith’, a compound verb formed from the prefix dis-, denoting reversal, and Latin fīdus ‘trusting’. This adjective came from a lengthened variant of the stem which produced fidēs ‘faith’, source of English faith.
The word’s current main sense represents a slight shift from ‘being disloyal’ to actively ‘challenging someone’s power’. The verb’s noun derivative defiance [14], borrowed from Old French, has a first cousin in diffidence [15], originally ‘distrustfulness’, which came from the classical Latin compound verb diffidere ‘mistrust’. => diffidence, faith
defy (v.)
c. 1300, "to renounce one's allegiance;" mid-14c., "to challenge, defy," from Old French defier, desfier "to challenge, defy, provoke; renounce (a belief), repudiate (a vow, etc.)," from Vulgar Latin *disfidare "renounce one's faith," from Latin dis- "away" (see dis-) + fidus "faithful," from the same root as fides "faith" (see faith).
双语例句
1. Her criteria defy analysis.
她的标准让人搞不明白。
来自柯林斯例句
2. I wouldn't have dared to defy my teachers.
我可不敢不听老师的话。
来自《权威词典》
3. The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.
松柏参天傲霜雪.
来自《简明英汉词典》
4. If you defy the law, you may find yourself in prison.
如果你不服从法律, 你就可能会坐牢.
来自《简明英汉词典》
5. I defy anyone to disprove the defendant's statements.
