frugal

• adj. 节俭的；朴素的；花钱少的

词态变化

助记提示

中文词源

来自fructus, 果实，词源同fruit. 原义为丰产的，丰富的，衍生词义节约的，节俭的，即节俭才能富裕之义。比较thrive, 繁盛，thrift，节俭。

英文词源

frugal

frugal: [16] Paradoxically, frugal comes from a source that meant ‘fruitful’. English borrowed it from Latin frūgālis, which was derived from the adjective frūgī ‘useful’. This in turn was the dative case of the noun frūx ‘fruit, value’, which came from the same base as frūctus, the source of English fruit. The links in the semantic chain seem to have been that something that was ‘useful, valuable, or productive’ was also ‘profitable’, and that in order to be ‘profitable’ it must be ‘economical’ – hence frugal’s connotations of ‘careful expenditure’.
=> fruit

frugal (adj.)

"economical in use," 1590s, from Middle French frugal, from Latin frugalis, from undeclined adjective frugi "useful, proper, worthy, honest; temperate, economical," originally dative of frux (plural fruges) "fruit, produce," figuratively "value, result, success," related to fructus (see fruit), from PIE *bhrug- "agricultural produce," also "to enjoy." Sense evolved in Latin from "useful" to "profitable" to "economical." Related: Frugally.

双语例句

1. She lives a frugal life.

她生活俭朴。

来自柯林斯例句

2. He was a VIP, but he had a frugal life.

他是位要人, 但生活俭朴.

来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3. We're planning a frugal Christmas.

我们正计划过一个花钱少的圣诞节.

来自《简明英汉词典》

4. She lived a careful and frugal life.

她过着谨慎、节俭的生活.

来自《简明英汉词典》

5. The old woman is frugal to the extreme.

那老妇人节约到了极点.

来自《现代汉英综合大词典》