diversity
英 [da?'v??s?t?; d?-]
美 [d??v?s?ti]
助記提示
1、di- "apart" + vers- + -ity.
2、含義：turn to different ways, turn to many or various by separate or apart.
3、該詞在拉丁語中其實就是divert的過去分詞，也就是說它來源于divert的拉丁語對應詞的過去分詞。由此取形容詞詞性并引申出如今的含義。
4、含義：quality of being diverse.
英文詞源
- diversity (n.)
- mid-14c., "quality of being diverse," mostly in a neutral sense, from Old French diversité (12c.) "difference, diversity, unique feature, oddness:" also "wickedness, perversity," from Latin diversitatem (nominative diversitas) "contrariety, contradiction, disagreement;" also, as a secondary sense, "difference, diversity," from diversus "turned different ways" (in Late Latin "various"), past participle of divertere (see divert).
Negative meaning, "being contrary to what is agreeable or right; perversity, evil" existed in English from late 15c. but was obsolete from 17c. Diversity as a virtue in a nation is an idea from the rise of modern democracies in the 1790s, where it kept one faction from arrogating all power (but this was not quite the modern sense, as ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, etc. were not the qualities in mind):
The dissimilarity in the ingredients which will compose the national government, and still more in the manner in which they will be brought into action in its various branches, must form a powerful obstacle to a concert of views in any partial scheme of elections. There is sufficient diversity in the state of property, in the genius, manners, and habits of the people of the different parts of the Union, to occasion a material diversity of disposition in their representatives towards the different ranks and conditions in society. ["Federalist" #60, Feb. 26, 1788 (Hamilton)]
Specific focus (in a positive sense) on race, gender, etc. is from 1992.
雙語例句
- 1. Few countries have as rich a diversity of habitat as South Africa.
- 幾乎沒有哪個國家像南非那樣擁有如此多樣化的動植物棲生地。
來自柯林斯例句
- 2. We have nothing against diversity; indeed, we want more of it.
- 我們一點都不抵觸多樣化；實際上，我們需要多樣性更豐富一些。
來自柯林斯例句
- 3. Conservationists are mostly wedded to preserving diversity in nature.
- 自然環境保護主義者大多致力于保持物種的多樣性。
來自柯林斯例句
- 4. Two of our greatest strengths are diversity and community.
- 我們最大的兩個優勢是多樣性和團體精神。
來自柯林斯例句
- 5. Many employers seek diversity in their staffs.
- 很多雇主尋求雇員的多樣性。
來自柯林斯例句