afford

英 [?'f??d] 美[?'f?rd]

CET4TEM4IELTS考研TOEFLCET6中頻詞核心詞匯

第三人稱單數:?affords;過去式:?afforded;過去分詞:?afforded;現在分詞:?affording;名詞:?affordability;形容詞:?affordable;

afford 提供

前綴af-同ad-, 去，往。詞根ford,向前，同forth. 指資助，推動前進。

afford: afford: [OE] This verb originally meant ‘accomplish, fulfil’. In Old English times it was geforthian, formed from the prefix ge-, denoting completion of an action, and forthian ‘advance towards completion’ or literally ‘further’ (from the adverb forth). The notion of accomplishing something or managing something gradually led, by the 15th century, to the idea of being able to do something because one has enough money.

Meanwhile, the original ge- prefix, which by Middle English times had become i- (iforthien), had been transformed into af- under the influence of the many Latin-based words beginning in aff-, and in the 16th century spellings with final d in place of th start to appear.
=> forth
afford (v.): Middle English aforthen, from Old English geforeian "to put forth, contribute; further, advance; carry out, accomplish," from ge- completive prefix (see a- (1)) + foreian "to further," from fore "forward, onward" (see forth).

Change of -th- to -d- took place late 16c. (and also transformed burthen and murther into their modern forms). Prefix shift to af- took place 16c. under mistaken belief that it was a Latin word in ad-. Notion of "accomplish" (late Old English) gradually became "be able to bear the expense of, have enough money" to do something (late 14c.). Older sense is preserved in afford (one) an opportunity. Related: Afforded; affording.

1. They could not afford to spoil those maps by careless colouring.: 若是上色的時候不小心弄壞了那些地圖，他們可承擔不起。

3. It would be nice to be able to afford to retire earlier.: 無后顧之憂而能提早退休當是件幸事。

4. I really can't afford to see this company go belly up.: 我絕對不能眼睜睜地看著這家公司垮掉。