bite

英 [baɪt] 美[baɪt]

CET4TEM4考研CET6高频词基本词汇IELTS

复数: bites;第三人称单数: bites;过去式: bit;过去分词: bitten;现在分词: biting;

bite 咬

来自PIE *bheid, 咬，撕，词源同bit, boat.

bite: bite: [OE] The Old English verb bītan came from prehistoric Germanic *bītan, which also produced German beissen and Dutch bijten. The short-vowel version of the base, *bit-, was the source of bit, beetle, and probably bitter, and is also represented in various non-Germanic forms, such as Latin fidere ‘split’ (from which English gets fission). Bait came via Old Norse from a causal usage, ‘cause to bite’, and passed via Old French into abet (the possible source of bet).
=> beetle, bit, bitter, fission
bite (v.): Old English bitan (class I strong verb; past tense bat, past participle biten), from Proto-Germanic *bitan (cognates: Old Saxon bitan, Old Norse and Old Frisian bita, Middle Dutch biten, Dutch bijten, German beissen, Gothic beitan "to bite"), from PIE root *bheid- "to split, crack" (see fissure).

To bite the bullet is said to be 1700s military slang, from old medical custom of having the patient bite a lead bullet during an operation to divert attention from pain and reduce screaming. Figurative use from 1891; the custom itself attested from 1840s. To bite (one's) tongue "refrain from speaking" is 1590s. To bite the dust "die" is 1750 (Latin had the same image; compare Virgil's procubuit moriens et humum semel ore momordit). To bite off more than one can chew (c. 1880) is U.S. slang, from plug tobacco.
bite (n.): c. 1200, from bite (v).

1. Wendy popped in for a quick bite to eat on Monday night.: 温迪周一晚上过来匆匆吃了点儿饭。

3. Any dog bite, no matter how small, needs immediate medical attention.: 被狗咬后，不管伤口多小，都必须立即就医。