early 15c., from Middle French calamite (14c.), from Latin calamitatem (nominative calamitas) "damage, loss, failure; disaster, misfortune, adversity," origin obscure. Early etymologists associated it with calamus "straw" (see shawm); but it is perhaps from a lost root preserved in incolumis "uninjured," from PIE *kle-mo-, from base *kel- (1) "to strike, cut" (see holt).
雙語例句
1. He described drugs as the greatest calamity of the age.
他稱毒品是這個時代最大的禍害。
來自柯林斯例句
2. The frost last week was a great calamity to the citrus industry.
上周的霜凍對柑橘種植業是一場大災難.
來自《簡明英漢詞典》
3. The marriage proved to be the greatest calamity of his life.
事實證明這樁婚姻是他一生中最大的不幸.
來自《簡明英漢詞典》
4. The recent flooding in the south was a calamity.
最近南方的洪水是一場災難.
來自《現代漢英綜合大詞典》
5. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.