prey: [13] Prey comes via Old French preie from Latin praeda ‘booty’ (from which was derived the verb praedārī ‘plunder’, source of English depredation [15] and predatory [16]). This was a contraction of an earlier praeheda, a noun formed with the prefix prae- ‘before’ from the same base (*hed- ‘seize’, source also of English get) as produced the verb praehendere ‘seize’.
This has been a rich source of English vocabulary, contributing through different channels such a varied assortment as prehensile [18], prison, and prize ‘something seized in war’, not to mention prefixed forms like apprehend. comprehend [14], comprise [15], impregnable [15], reprehensible, reprieve, and surprise. It is also the ancestor of French prendre ‘take’. => apprehend, comprehend, comprise, depredation, impregnable, predatory, prehensile, prison, reprehensible, reprieve, surprise
prey (v.)
c. 1300, "to plunder, pillage, ravage," from prey (n.) and in part from Old French preer, earlier preder (c.1040), from Late Latin praedare, from praeda (see prey (n.)). Its sense of "to kill and devour" is attested from mid-14c. Related: Preyed; preying.
prey (n.)
mid-13c., "animal hunted for food," also "that which is taken in war," from Old French preie "booty, animal taken in the chase" (mid-12c., Modern French proie), from Latin praeda "booty, plunder, game hunted," earlier praeheda, literally "something seized before," from PIE *prai-heda-; for first element see prae-; second element related to the second element in prehendere "to grasp, seize" (see prehensile).
雙語例句
1. The spider must wait for prey to be ensnared on its web.
蜘蛛必須等待獵物被它的蛛網困住。
來自柯林斯例句
2. Children in evacuation centres are falling prey to disease.
疏散中心的孩子正受到疾病的折磨。
來自柯林斯例句
3. On the flight from Paris to Toulon, Mechiche fell prey to panic.
在從巴黎飛往土倫的航班上，梅希什驚慌失措。
來自柯林斯例句
4. The survey claims loan companies prey on weak families already in debt.
這項調查聲稱信貸公司專對那些已經負債的弱勢家庭下手。
來自柯林斯例句
5. Electric rays stun their prey with huge electrical discharges.