refuse: [14] Refuse comes via Old French refuser from an unrecorded Vulgar Latin *refūsāre. It is not altogether clear where this came from, for it has no direct Latin antecedent. One theory is that it represents a blend of Latin recūsāre ‘refuse’ (source of English recusant [16]), a compound verb based on causa ‘cause’, and refūtāre ‘rebut’ (source of English refute [16]), a compound verb based on the element *fūt-, found also in English confute [16].
But another long-established school of thought derives it from refūsus, the past participle of Latin refundere ‘pour back’ (source of English refund [14]) – the underlying notion being of something ‘poured back’ or ‘rejected’. The noun refuse ‘rubbish’ [15] probably comes from Old French refus ‘refusal’, a derivative of refuser ‘refuse’.
refuse (v.)
c. 1300, from Old French refuser "reject, disregard, avoid" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *refusare, frequentative form from past participle stem of Latin refundere "pour back, give back" (see refund (v.)). Related: Refused; refusing.
refuse (n.)
mid-14c., "an outcast;" mid-14c., "a rejected thing, waste material, trash," from Old French refus "waste product, rubbish; refusal, denial, rejection," a back-formation from the past participle of refuser (see refuse (v.)). As an adjective from late 14c., "despised, rejected;" early 15c., "of low quality."
双语例句
1. The District Council made a weekly collection of refuse.
区政务委员会每周收取一次垃圾。
来自柯林斯例句
2. I've always had a loud mouth, I refuse to be silenced.
我一贯大声说出自己的想法，不会迫于压力而一言不发。
来自柯林斯例句
3. I refuse to act that way when my kids fight.
我的孩子们打起架来时，我不会那样做。
来自柯林斯例句
4. Those who refuse to repent, he said, will be punished.
那些拒不悔改的人，他说，将会受到惩罚。
来自柯林斯例句
5. You were quite within your rights to refuse to co-operate with him.
