unwieldy: [14] Unwieldy originally meant ‘weak, feeble’ (‘a(chǎn) toothless, old, impotent, and unwieldy woman’, Reginald Scot, Discovery of Witch-craft 1584). The meaning ‘a(chǎn)wkward to handle’ developed in the 16th century. The word was based on the now seldom encountered wieldy, which evolved from Old English wielde ‘a(chǎn)ctive, vigorous’. This in turn went back to the Germanic base *walth- ‘have power’, source also of English herald and wield. => herald, wield
unwieldy (adj.)
late 14c., "lacking strength, powerless," from un- (1) "not" + obsolete wieldy, from Old English wielde "active, vigorous," from Proto-Germanic *walth- "have power" (see wield (v.)). Meaning "moving ungracefully" is recorded from 1520s; in reference to weapons, "difficult to handle, awkward by virtue of size or shape" it is attested from 1540s. Related: Unwieldiness.
雙語例句
1. They came panting up to his door with their unwieldy baggage.
他們提著笨重的行李氣喘吁吁地來到他門口。
來自柯林斯例句
2. His firm must contend with the unwieldy Russian bureaucracy.
他的公司必須與俄羅斯龐大的官僚機(jī)構(gòu)周旋。
來自柯林斯例句
3. This machine is too unwieldy to move.
這臺(tái)機(jī)器太笨重了,很難搬動(dòng).
來自《簡明英漢詞典》
4. Her two guns were too unwieldy for accurate shooting.