degenerate的词源
英文词源
- degenerate (adj.)
- late 15c., from Latin degeneratus, past participle of degenerare "to be inferior to one's ancestors, to become unlike one's race or kind, fall from ancestral quality," used of physical as well as moral qualities, from phrase de genere, from de + genus (genitive generis) "birth, descent" (see genus). The noun is from 1550s.
- degenerate (v.)
- 1540s, from Latin degeneratus, past participle of degenerare "fall from ancestral quality" (see degenerate (adj.)). Figurative sense of "to fall off, decline" was in Latin. Related: Degenerated; degenerating.
中文词源
de-, 向下，离开。-gen, 出生，词源同gene, generate. 原义为偏离祖训，有损祖先名声，后引申为堕落，恶化。
该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版：degenerate 词源，degenerate 含义。
词根词缀： de-下降;否定 + -gener-生殖 + -ate动词词尾
