internecine: [17] Etymologically, internecine denotes ‘a(chǎn)ttended by great slaughter’. Its modern connotations of ‘conflict within a group’, which can be traced back to the 18th century (Dr Johnson in his Dictionary 1755 defines it as ‘endeavouring mutual destruction’), presumably arise from the standard interpretation of inter- as ‘a(chǎn)mong, between’. But in fact in the case of internecine it was originally used simply as an intensive prefix.
The word was borrowed from Latin internecīnus, a derivative of internecāre ‘slaughter, exterminate’. This was a compound verb formed with the intensive inter- from necāre ‘kill’ (a relative of English necromancy and pernicious). => necromancy, pernicious
internecine (adj.)
1660s, "deadly, destructive," from Latin internecinus "very deadly, murderous, destructive," from internecare "kill or destroy," from inter (see inter-) + necare "kill" (see noxious). Considered in the OED as misinterpreted in Johnson's Dictionary [1755], which defined it as "endeavouring mutual destruction," on association of inter- with "mutual" when the prefix supposedly is used in this case as an intensive. From Johnson, wrongly or not, has come the main modern definition of "mutually destructive."
雙語例句
1. The whole episode has drawn attention again to internecine strife in the ruling party.
整個事件再次引起人們對執(zhí)政黨內(nèi)部紛爭的關注。
來自柯林斯例句
2. The internecine strife was caused by a shortage of food.
這次內(nèi)部沖突，是由于食物匱乏而引致的。
來自辭典例句
3. Strife was internecine during the next fortnight.
在以后兩個星期的沖突中我們兩敗俱傷.
來自辭典例句
4. Marx foresaw constant internecine warfare among capitalists, resulting in and fewer controlling vaster and vaster empires.
馬克思預見到資本家會不斷自相殘殺, 結果將造成越來越少的人控制著越來越大的帝國.
來自互聯(lián)網(wǎng)
5. The strike with acerb contradictory conflict, massive capital, shut out, make both sides of capital internecine.