【英语学习】【WOTD】incipient 释义/词源/示例

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incipient adj. [in-SIP-ee-unt]

adj. 起初的；初期的

Definition

: beginning to come into being or to become apparent
：开始形成或者显现的

Did You Know?

A good starting point for any investigation of incipient is the Latin verb incipere, which means “to begin.” incipient emerged in English in the 17th century, appearing in both religious and scientific contexts, as in “incipient grace” and “incipient putrefaction.” Later came the genesis of two related nouns, incipiency and incipience, both of which are synonymous with beginning. Incipere also stands at the beginning of the words inception (“an act, process, or instances of beginning”) and incipit, a term that literally means “it begins” and which was used for the opening words of a medieval text. Incipere itself derives from another Latin verb, capere, which means “to take” or “to seize.”

词源词根演化：capere (“to take”) —> incipere (to begin") —> incipient (adj.) / incipiency (n.) / incipience (n.)

要想了解incipient这个词，一个好的出发点是拉丁动词incipere，意思是“开始，起始”。incipient在17世纪出现在英语世界里，在宗教与科学文献中都有，例如“incipient grace （初之恩典）”与“incipient putrefaction （早期化脓）”。后来，有出现了两个相关的名词，incipiency与incipience，这两个都是beginning的同义词。 incipere 也出现在单词inception（“最初的行为，过程，实例”）里，与单词incipit里，这个词字面意思是“it begins”，主要作为中世纪文献里用于文章起始部分。incipere本身衍生自另一个拉丁动词capere，意思是“拿住”或者“抓住”。

注：putrefaction：腐败，化脓

Examples

• “I read the motive as being dictated by the necessity of stifling an incipient scandal in order to protect the magic of the marketplace.”
  — James Baldwin, The Evidence of Things Not Seen, 1985

  我读下来感觉被决定的动机就是为了保护市场的力量而要扼杀一个初始的丑闻的需要。

  注：dictate：vt. 口授；规定；决定，影响
  ；stifle ['staɪfl]：使窒息；扼杀；扑灭；抑制

• “As investment in the industry grows, partnerships and acquisitions are gaining speed, reports CB Insights. Over the past few years, Uber has partnered with five flying-car startups for its incipient flying-taxi service… .”
  — Michael J. Coren, Quartz, 13 Oct. 2018

  随着市场投资的增长，合作与收购都在加速，CB Insights报道。在过去几年里，Uber为了它的早期飞行出租车服务，已经与5家飞行汽车创业公司在开展合作。