prey: [13] Prey comes via Old French preie from Latin praeda ‘booty’ (from which was derived the verb praedārī ‘plunder’, source of English depredation [15] and predatory [16]). This was a contraction of an earlier praeheda, a noun formed with the prefix prae- ‘before’ from the same base (*hed- ‘seize’, source also of English get) as produced the verb praehendere ‘seize’.
This has been a rich source of English vocabulary, contributing through different channels such a varied assortment as prehensile [18], prison, and prize ‘something seized in war’, not to mention prefixed forms like apprehend. comprehend [14], comprise [15], impregnable [15], reprehensible, reprieve, and surprise. It is also the ancestor of French prendre ‘take’. => apprehend, comprehend, comprise, depredation, impregnable, predatory, prehensile, prison, reprehensible, reprieve, surprise
prey (v.)
c. 1300, "to plunder, pillage, ravage," from prey (n.) and in part from Old French preer, earlier preder (c.1040), from Late Latin praedare, from praeda (see prey (n.)). Its sense of "to kill and devour" is attested from mid-14c. Related: Preyed; preying.
prey (n.)
mid-13c., "animal hunted for food," also "that which is taken in war," from Old French preie "booty, animal taken in the chase" (mid-12c., Modern French proie), from Latin praeda "booty, plunder, game hunted," earlier praeheda, literally "something seized before," from PIE *prai-heda-; for first element see prae-; second element related to the second element in prehendere "to grasp, seize" (see prehensile).
双语例句
1. The spider must wait for prey to be ensnared on its web.
蜘蛛必须等待猎物被它的蛛网困住。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Children in evacuation centres are falling prey to disease.
疏散中心的孩子正受到疾病的折磨。
来自柯林斯例句
3. On the flight from Paris to Toulon, Mechiche fell prey to panic.
在从巴黎飞往土伦的航班上，梅希什惊慌失措。
来自柯林斯例句
4. The survey claims loan companies prey on weak families already in debt.
这项调查声称信贷公司专对那些已经负债的弱势家庭下手。
来自柯林斯例句
5. Electric rays stun their prey with huge electrical discharges.
