tweezers: [17] French étui denotes a small case for carrying personal articles, small tools and the like (it was descended from Old French estuier ‘keep, shut up, imprison’). English adopted it in the early 17th century as etui or, anglicized, as etwee. The plural of this came to be used (like scissors) for a single article, and it did not take long for etweese to be apprehended as a singular noun.
The next step in the word’s transformation was the loss of its first syllable: hence, tweeze. This still meant ‘case for small instruments’, and the plural tweezes began to be used for the instruments themselves – typically implements of personal adornment, such as combs, scissors and small pincers for pulling out hairs. By the 1650s tweezes had been extended to tweezers (perhaps on the model of scissors), and this was being applied specifically to the pincers – as it still is today.
tweezers (n.)
"small pincers, diminutive tongs," 1650s, extended from tweezes, plural of tweeze "case for tweezers" (1620s), a shortening of etweese, considered as plural of etwee (1610s) "a small case," from French étui "small case" (see etui). Sense transferred from the case to the implement inside it. For form, compare trousers from trouzes.
双语例句
1. Remove the bee sting with tweezers.
用镊子拔掉蜜蜂的螫刺。
来自柯林斯例句
2. a pair of tweezers
一把镊子
来自《权威词典》
3. Bee stings should be removed with tweezers.
蜜蜂的螫刺应该用小镊子***.
来自《简明英汉词典》
4. We simply removed from the cracked endocarp with sterile tweezers.
我们简单地用消过毒的镊子从裂开的内果皮中取出种子.
来自辞典例句
5. A scalpel and tweezers are the only tools needed.
