white

• adj. 白色的；白种的；纯洁的
• n. 白色；洁白；白种人

词态变化

中文词源

来自PIE*kweit,白色，照耀，词源同wheat.

英文词源

white

white: [OE] White goes back ultimately to Indo- European *kwitnos or *kwidnos, which was formed from the same base as produced Sanskrit sveta- ‘white’ and Russian svet ‘light’. It passed into prehistoric Germanic as *khwītaz, which has since evolved into German weiss, Swedish vit, Danish hvid, and English white (Dutch wit comes from a variant of the same Germanic source). Wheat is etymologically the ‘white’ grain.
=> wheat, whitsun

white (adj.)

Old English hwit "bright, radiant; clear, fair," also as a noun (see separate entry), from Proto-Germanic *hwitaz (cognates: Old Saxon and Old Frisian hwit, Old Norse hvitr, Dutch wit, Old High German hwiz, German weiß, Gothic hveits), from PIE *kweid-o-, suffixed form of root *kweit- "white; to shine" (cognates: Sanskrit svetah "white;" Old Church Slavonic sviteti "to shine," svetu "light;" Lithuanian šviesti "to shine," svaityti "to brighten").

As a surname, originally with reference to fair hair or complexion, it is one of the oldest in English, being well-established before the Conquest. Meaning "morally pure" was in Old English. Association with royalist causes is late 18c. Slang sense of "honorable, fair" is 1877, American English; in Middle English it meant "gracious, friendly, favorable." The racial sense "of those races (chiefly European or of European extraction) characterized by light complexion" is recorded from c. 1600; meaning "characteristic of or pertaining to white people" is from 1852, American English. White supremacy attested from 1884, American English; white flight is from 1966, American English.

White way "brightly illuminated street in a big city" is from 1908. White flag of truce or surrender is from c. 1600. White lie is attested from 1741. White Christmas is attested from 1847. White House as the name of the U.S. presidential residence is recorded from 1811. White water "river rapids" is recorded from 1580s. White Russian "language of Byelorussia" is recorded from 1850; the mixed drink is from c. 1978. Astronomical white dwarf is from 1924. White witch, one who used the power for good, is from 1620s.

white (n.)

Old English hwit "whiteness, white food, white of an egg," from white (adj.). Also in late Old English "a highly luminous color devoid of chroma." Meaning "white part of the eyeball" is from c. 1400. Meaning "white man, person of a race distinguished by light complexion" is from 1670s; white man in this sense is from 1690s. White man's burden is from Kipling's 1899 poem.

Take up the White Man's burden--
The savage wars of peace--
Fill full the mouth of Famine
And bid the sickness cease;
And when your goal is nearest
The end for others sought,
Watch sloth and heathen Folly
Bring all your hopes to nought.

双语例句

1. The overhead light was covered now with a white globe.

现在，顶灯已装上了一个白色球状罩子。

来自柯林斯例句

2. She walked forward and embraced him and stroked his tousled white hair.

她走上前拥抱他并轻抚他凌乱的白发。

来自柯林斯例句

3. Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate in a bowl suspended over simmering water.

同时，把碗置于微沸的水上，将白巧克力放入碗中使其熔化。

来自柯林斯例句

4. Queen Mary started the fashion for blue and white china in England.

玛丽女王开启了青花瓷在英格兰的流行风尚。

来自柯林斯例句

5. The White House quickly announced that the policy is under review.

白宫很快宣布该项政策正在审核中。

来自柯林斯例句