affair

英 [ə'feə]美 [ə'fɛr]
  • n. 事情；事务；私事；（尤指关系不长久的）风流韵事
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中文词源

affair 事务

前缀af-同ad-, 去，往。-fair, 词根fact的法语变体。

英文词源

affair
affair: [13] Like ado, and of course to-do, affair originally meant literally ‘to do’. It was coined in Old French from the phrase à faire ‘to do’, and entered English via Anglo-Norman afere. The spelling affair was established by Caxton, who based it on the French model. The specific sense of a ‘love affair’ dates from the early 18th century.
=> fact
affair (n.)
c. 1300, "what one has to do," from Anglo-French afere, Old French afaire "business, event; rank, estate" (12c., Modern French affaire), from the infinitive phrase à faire "to do," from Latin ad "to" (see ad-) + facere "to do, make" (see factitious).

A Northern word originally, brought into general use and given a French spelling by Caxton (15c.). General sense of "vague proceedings" (in romance, war, etc.) first attested 1702. Meaning "an affair of the heart; a passionate episode" is from French affaire de coeur (itself attested in English from 1809); to have an affair with someone in this sense is by 1726, earlier have an affair of love:
'Tis manifeſtly contrary to the Law of Nature, that one Woman ſhould cohabit or have an Affair of Love with more than one Man at the ſame time. ["Pufendorf's Law of Nature and Nations," transl. J. Spavan, London, 1716]


Thus, in our dialect, a vicious man is a man of pleasure, a sharper is one that plays the whole game, a lady is said to have an affair, a gentleman to be a gallant, a rogue in business to be one that knows the world. By this means, we have no such things as sots, debauchees, whores, rogues, or the like, in the beau monde, who may enjoy their vices without incurring disagreeable appellations. [George Berkeley, "Alciphron or the Minute Philosopher," 1732]

双语例句

1. He will now face a disciplinary hearing for having an affair.
他因有外遇而要面临纪律听证会的裁决。
来自柯林斯例句
2. "This ain't no affair of yours, boy!" McClosky said threateningly.
“小子，这不关你的事！”麦克洛斯基威胁道。
来自柯林斯例句
3. He claims he was made the fall guy for the affair.
他声称自己是这起事件的替罪羊。
来自柯林斯例句
4. The government ordered an independent inquiry into the affair.
政府下令对该事件进行独立调查。
来自柯林斯例句
5. The industry minister described the affair as "an absolute scandal".
工业部长将此事件形容为“绝对的丑闻”。
来自柯林斯例句