anchor: [OE] English borrowed this word from Latin in the 9th century, but its ultimate source is Greek ágkūra (which goes back to an Indo- European base *angg- ‘bent’, also the source of angle and ankle). Originally it was spelled ancor, reflecting Latin ancora; the inauthentic h began to creep in in the 16th century, in imitation of the learned-looking but misguided Latin spelling anchora. => angle, ankle
anchor (n.)
Old English ancor, borrowed 9c. from Latin ancora "anchor," from or cognate with Greek ankyra "anchor, hook" (see ankle). A very early borrowing and said to be the only Latin nautical term used in the Germanic languages. The -ch- form emerged late 16c., a pedantic imitation of a corrupt spelling of the Latin word. The figurative sense of "that which gives stability or security" is from late 14c. Meaning "host or presenter of a TV or radio program" is from 1965, short for anchorman.
anchor (v.)
c. 1200, from anchor (n.). Related: Anchored; anchoring.
雙語例句
1. He remains the anchor of the country's fragile political balance.
他仍然是維系該國脆弱的政治平衡的支柱。
來自柯林斯例句
2. Sailing boats lay at anchor in the narrow waterway.
帆船停泊在狹窄的水道上。
來自柯林斯例句
3. NATO remains the United States' chief institutional anchor in Europe.