predicament

英 [prɪ'dɪkəm(ə)nt] 美 [prɪ'dɪkəmənt]
  • n. 窘况,困境;状态

中文词源


predicament 情况,困境,窘境

来自拉丁语praedicamentum,预测之事,分类,品质,词源同predicate.后借用该拉丁词来翻译希腊语kategoria,分类,该词为古希腊哲学家亚里士多德对当时的社会进行分类后创造出来的词,共十类,即being,quantity,quality,relation,place,time,posture,possession,action,passion.引申词义情况,状况,后特别用于指不好的情况,即困难,窘境。

英文词源


predicament
predicament: [14] Predicament was originally a technical term in logic, denoting a ‘category of attributes which may be asserted of a thing’. It broadened out in the 16th century to ‘situation’, but it does not seem to have been until the 18th century that the specific modern sense ‘awkward situation’ became established. The word comes from late Latin praedicāmentum, a derivative of praedicāre ‘proclaim’ (source of English preach and predicate [16]). This was a compound verb formed from the prefix prae- ‘in front of’, hence ‘in public’ and dicāre ‘make known’.
=> preach, predicate
predicament (n.)
early 15c., "category, class; one of Aristotle's 10 categories," from Medieval Latin predicamentum, from Late Latin praedicamentum "quality, category, something predicted, that which is asserted," from Latin praedicatus, past participle of praedicare (see predicate). Praedicamentum is a loan-translation of Greek kategoria, Aristotle's word. The meaning "unpleasant situation" is first recorded 1580s.

双语例句


1. Hank explained our predicament.
汉克说明了我们的艰难处境。

来自柯林斯例句

2. the club's financial predicament
俱乐部的财政困境

来自《权威词典》

3. He hasn't realized his predicament yet.
他还没有意识到自己的尴尬处境.

来自《简明英汉词典》

4. I am in the identical predicament with yourself.
我和你处于同样的窘境之中.

来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5. "It must be very difficult," said Hunter, feeling a surge of embarrassment for Diane's predicament.
“那肯定不好过,”亨特说,突然为黛安娜的困境感到很为难。

来自柯林斯例句

单词首字母