instrument: [13] Instrument comes from the same source as instruct: the Latin verb instruere ‘build, prepare, equip, teach’. From it was derived the noun instrūmentum, which meant ‘tool, equipment’. When introduced into English via Old French at the end of the 13th century it was used for a ‘musical instrument’, but the more general ‘implement’ and the metaphorical ‘means’ soon followed in the 14th century. => construct, destroy, instruct, structure
instrument (n.)
late 13c., "musical instrument," from Old French instrument "means, device; musical instrument" (14c., earlier estrument, 13c.) and directly from Latin instrumentem "a tool, apparatus, furniture, dress, document," from instruere "arrange, furnish" (see instruct). Meaning "tool, implement, utensil" is early 14c. in English; meaning "written document by which formal expression is given to a legal act" is from early 15c.
双语例句
1. An instrument called a trocar makes a puncture in the abdominal wall.
一种叫做套管针的工具在腹壁上刺了一个孔。
来自柯林斯例句
2. The veto has been a traditional instrument of diplomacy for centuries.
几个世纪以来否决权一直是外交上惯用的手段。
来自柯林斯例句
3. There is an internal circuit breaker to protect the instrument from overload.
内置有断路器，防止设备过载。
来自柯林斯例句
4. The despot claimed to be the chosen instrument of divine providence.
专制者声称自己是上天选定的统治工具.
来自《简明英汉词典》
5. There are twin holes on each side of the instrument.
