wing: [12] Wing was borrowed from Old Norse vængir, source also of Swedish and Danish vinge and Norwegian veng. This came ultimately from the Indo-European base *we- ‘blow’, and the missing semantic link with ‘wing’ may be ‘flutter’.
wing (n.)
late 12c., wenge, from Old Norse vængr "wing of a bird, aisle, etc." (cognates: Danish and Swedish vinge "wing"), of unknown origin, perhaps from a Proto-Germanic *we-ingjaz, suffixed form of PIE root *we- "blow" (source of Old English wawan "to blow;" see wind (n.)). Replaced Old English feðra (plural) "wings" (see feather). The meaning "either of two divisions of a political party, army, etc." is first recorded c. 1400; theatrical sense is from 1790.
The slang sense of earn (one's) wings is 1940s, from the wing-shaped badges awarded to air cadets on graduation. To be under (someone's) wing "protected by (someone)" is recorded from early 13c. Phrase on a wing and a prayer is title of a 1943 song about landing a damaged aircraft.
wing (v.)
c. 1600, "take flight;" 1610s, "fit with wings," from wing (n.). Meaning "shoot a bird in the wing" is from 1802, with figurative extensions to wounds suffered in non-essential parts. Verbal phrase wing it (1885) is said to be from a theatrical slang sense of an actor learning his lines in the wings before going onstage, or else not learning them at all and being fed by a prompter in the wings; but perhaps it is simply an image of a baby bird taking flight from the nest for the first time (the phrase is attested in this sense from 1875). Related: Winged; winging.
实用例句
1. He noticed that fabric was tearing away from the plane's wing.
他注意到机翼在一块一块地断裂。来自柯林斯例句
2. A hard-core group of right-wing senators had hoped to sway their colleagues.
一群骨干右翼参议员曾企图左右自己的同僚。来自柯林斯例句
3. The fiery right-wing leader toned down his militant statements after the meeting.
言辞激烈的右翼领袖在会后收敛了他的好战言论。来自柯林斯例句
4. The left wing dipped until it was perpendicular to the ground.
左翼下垂至与地面成90度角。来自柯林斯例句
5. He has won over a significant number of the left-wing deputies.
