buoy: [13] Buoy is of disputed origin, as to both its immediate source and its ultimate derivation. One school of thought holds that English borrowed it directly from Old French boie ‘chain’, while another views Middle Dutch boeye as an intermediate stage. Again some etymologists maintain that its beginnings were amongst the Germanic languages, and have connected it with English beacon, while others would trace it via Latin boia ‘strap’ to Greek boeiai ‘ox-leather straps’, a derivative of bous ‘ox’ (which is related to English cow).
The meaning of Old French boie favours the latter explanation, the semantic link being that buoys are held in place by chains. Buoyant [16] comes from Spanish boyante, the present participle of boyar ‘float’, which was derived from boya ‘buoy’, a borrowing from Old French boie.
buoy (n.)
late 13c., perhaps from either Old French buie or Middle Dutch boeye, both from West Germanic *baukna "beacon, signal" (see beacon). OED, however, supports Middle Dutch boeie, or Old French boie "fetter, chain" (see boy), "because of its being fettered to a spot."
buoy (v.)
late 16c., "to mark with a buoy," from buoy (n.). Meaning "rise up, lift, sustain" is from c. 1600, perhaps influenced by Spanish boyar "to float," ultimately from the same source. In the figurative sense (of hopes, spirits, etc.) it is recorded from 1640s. Related: Buoyed; buoying.
双语例句
1. The party did little to buoy up her spirits.
这次聚会并没有让她振作多少.
来自《简明英汉词典》
2. I relaxed, letting the salt water buoy me up.
我放松下来, 任凭海水托浮着.
来自《简明英汉词典》
3. The ship kept the buoy on her off side.
这条船在浮标的左边.
来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
4. A buoy marked the entrance to the anchorage.
停泊处的入口有一个浮标作标记.
来自《简明英汉词典》
5. A tail buoy is connected to the far end of the cable.
