sincere的词源

英文词源

sincere (adj.)

1530s, "pure, unmixed," from Middle French sincere (16c.), from Latin sincerus, of things, "whole, clean, pure, uninjured, unmixed," figuratively "sound, genuine, pure, true, candid, truthful," of uncertain origin. Ground sense seems to be "that which is not falsified." Meaning "free from pretense or falsehood" in English is from 1530s.

There has been a temptation to see the first element as Latin sine "without." But there is no etymological justification for the common story that the word means "without wax" (*sin cerae), which is dismissed out of hand by OED and others, and the stories invented to justify that folk etymology are even less plausible. Watkins has it as originally "of one growth" (i.e. "not hybrid, unmixed"), from PIE *sm-ke-ro-, from *sem- "one" (see same) + root of crescere "to grow" (see crescent).

中文词源

sincere：真挚的，真诚的

据旧时说法．sincere的词源可以追溯到意大利文艺复兴盛期，雕刻家、画家、建筑师和诗人米开朗琪罗( Michelange-Lo，1475 - 1564)生活的那个时代。米开朗琪罗在成名前曾在采石场工作。当时罗马的采石工人常常涂蜡于大理石，以掩饰其瑕疵，但是这只能瞒骗一时。以后罗马元老院(the Roman Senate)颁令，凡大理石不得涂蜡，换言之，大理石必须“无蜡”，用拉丁语表示则是sine cera（没有蜡）。这两部分最后合成丁英语单词sincere，它的词义先是由“无蜡的”引申为“纯粹的”，继而又引申为“真挚的”，“真诚的”。

　　然而，大多数权威人士认为，sincere 一词系源于拉丁语sincerus（纯粹的，不搀假的）。

该词的英语词源请访问找单词词源英文版：sincere 词源，sincere 含义。