puny: [16] Etymologically, puny means ‘born later’. It was borrowed from Old French puisne, a compound adjective formed from puis ‘afterwards’ and ne ‘born’ (a relative of English native, nature, etc). This signified ‘junior’, in which sense it was originally acquired by English as puisne. This spelling survives (albeit pronounced the same as puny) as a term denoting a judge of junior rank, and the anglicized orthography has since the 18th century been reserved to ‘feeble, small’. => nation, native, nature
puny (adj.)
1570s, "inferior in rank" (1540s as a noun, "junior pupil, freshman"), from Middle French puisné (Modern French puîné), from Old French puisne "born later, younger, youngest" (12c., contrasted with aisné "first-born"), from puis nez, from puis "afterward" (from Vulgar Latin *postius, from Latin postea "after this, hereafter," from post "after," see post-, + ea "there") + Old French né "born," from Latin natus, past participle of nasci "be born" (Old Latin gnasci; see genus). Sense of "small, weak, insignificant" first recorded 1590s. Compare puisne. Related: Puniness.
双语例句
1. The lamb was a puny little thing.
羊羔瘦小孱弱。
来自《权威词典》
2. Have grandiose aims but puny abilities, great ambition but little talent.
眼高手低, 志大才疏.
来自《简明英汉词典》
3. We did not meet again for ten years , by then , the rather puny boy had grown into a six - foot man, weighing 200 pounds.
我们有10年没有见面了, 本来是一个小不点的男孩子,现在已长成6英尺高200磅重的大个儿了.
来自《简明英汉词典》
4. The resources at the central banks' disposal are simply too puny.
中央银行掌握的资金实在太少了。
来自辞典例句
5. Antonio was a puny lad, and not strong enough to work.
