commit: [14] Etymologically, commit simply means ‘put together’. It comes from Latin committere, a compound verb formed from the prefix com- ‘together’ and the verb mittere ‘put, send’ (whence English missile and mission). It originally meant literally ‘join, connect’, but then branched out along the lines of ‘put for safety, entrust’ (the force of com- here being more intensive than collective) and ‘perpetrate’ (exactly how this sense evolved is not clear).
The whole range of meanings followed the Latin verb into English, although ‘put together’ was never more than an archaism, and died out in the 17th century. Of derivatives based on the Latin verb’s past participial stem commiss-, commission entered English in the 14th century and commissionaire (via French) in the 18th century. Medieval Latin commissārius produced English commissary [14] and, via French, Russian commissar, borrowed into English in the 20th century. => commissar, committee, missile, mission
commit (v.)
late 14c., "to give in charge, entrust," from Latin committere "to unite, connect, combine; to bring together," from com- "together" (see com-) + mittere "to put, send" (see mission). Evolution into modern range of meanings is not entirely clear. Sense of "perpetrating" was ancient in Latin; in English from mid-15c. The intransitive use (in place of commit oneself) first recorded 1982, probably influenced by existentialism use (1948) of commitment to translate Sartre's engagement "emotional and moral engagement."
双语例句
1. He should not commit American troops without the full consent of Congress.
没有国会的完全同意，他不应该调遣美国军队。
来自柯林斯例句
2. She didn't want to commit herself one way or the other.
不管怎样，她都不想明确表态。
来自柯林斯例句
3. It makes me sick that people commit offences and never get punished.
一些人屡屡犯罪却从未受到惩戒，这真让我气愤。
来自柯林斯例句
4. I'll repeat that so you can commit it to memory.
我会重复一下，好让你们记住。
来自柯林斯例句
5. They are sitting on the fence and refusing to commit themselves.
