wing: [12] Wing was borrowed from Old Norse vængir, source also of Swedish and Danish vinge and Norwegian veng. This came ultimately from the Indo-European base *we- ‘blow’, and the missing semantic link with ‘wing’ may be ‘flutter’.
wing (n.)
late 12c., wenge, from Old Norse vængr "wing of a bird, aisle, etc." (cognates: Danish and Swedish vinge "wing"), of unknown origin, perhaps from a Proto-Germanic *we-ingjaz, suffixed form of PIE root *we- "blow" (source of Old English wawan "to blow;" see wind (n.)). Replaced Old English feðra (plural) "wings" (see feather). The meaning "either of two divisions of a political party, army, etc." is first recorded c. 1400; theatrical sense is from 1790.
The slang sense of earn (one's) wings is 1940s, from the wing-shaped badges awarded to air cadets on graduation. To be under (someone's) wing "protected by (someone)" is recorded from early 13c. Phrase on a wing and a prayer is title of a 1943 song about landing a damaged aircraft.
wing (v.)
c. 1600, "take flight;" 1610s, "fit with wings," from wing (n.). Meaning "shoot a bird in the wing" is from 1802, with figurative extensions to wounds suffered in non-essential parts. Verbal phrase wing it (1885) is said to be from a theatrical slang sense of an actor learning his lines in the wings before going onstage, or else not learning them at all and being fed by a prompter in the wings; but perhaps it is simply an image of a baby bird taking flight from the nest for the first time (the phrase is attested in this sense from 1875). Related: Winged; winging.
双语例句
1. He noticed that fabric was tearing away from the plane's wing.
他注意到机翼在一块一块地断裂。
来自柯林斯例句
2. A hard-core group of right-wing senators had hoped to sway their colleagues.
一群骨干右翼参议员曾企图左右自己的同僚。
来自柯林斯例句
3. The fiery right-wing leader toned down his militant statements after the meeting.
言辞激烈的右翼领袖在会后收敛了他的好战言论。
来自柯林斯例句
4. The left wing dipped until it was perpendicular to the ground.
左翼下垂至与地面成90度角。
来自柯林斯例句
5. He has won over a significant number of the left-wing deputies.
