puny: [16] Etymologically, puny means ‘born later’. It was borrowed from Old French puisne, a compound adjective formed from puis ‘afterwards’ and ne ‘born’ (a relative of English native, nature, etc). This signified ‘junior’, in which sense it was originally acquired by English as puisne. This spelling survives (albeit pronounced the same as puny) as a term denoting a judge of junior rank, and the anglicized orthography has since the 18th century been reserved to ‘feeble, small’. => nation, native, nature
puny (adj.)
1570s, "inferior in rank" (1540s as a noun, "junior pupil, freshman"), from Middle French puisné (Modern French puîné), from Old French puisne "born later, younger, youngest" (12c., contrasted with aisné "first-born"), from puis nez, from puis "afterward" (from Vulgar Latin *postius, from Latin postea "after this, hereafter," from post "after," see post-, + ea "there") + Old French né "born," from Latin natus, past participle of nasci "be born" (Old Latin gnasci; see genus). Sense of "small, weak, insignificant" first recorded 1590s. Compare puisne. Related: Puniness.
雙語例句
1. The lamb was a puny little thing.
羊羔瘦小孱弱。
來自《權威詞典》
2. Have grandiose aims but puny abilities, great ambition but little talent.
眼高手低, 誌大才疏.
來自《簡明英漢詞典》
3. We did not meet again for ten years , by then , the rather puny boy had grown into a six - foot man, weighing 200 pounds.
我們有10年沒有見麵了, 本來是一個小不點的男孩子,現在已長成6英尺高200磅重的大個兒了.
來自《簡明英漢詞典》
4. The resources at the central banks' disposal are simply too puny.
中央銀行掌握的資金實在太少了。
來自辭典例句
5. Antonio was a puny lad, and not strong enough to work.