小词详解 | distend

田间小站 · 公众号 · · 2024-03-14 08:45

正文

distend 英 [dɪˈstend] 美 [dɪˈstend]

TOEFL SAT GRE

外刊例句

The trend to distend seems odd at first.
膨胀的趋势一开始看起来很奇怪。
——《经济学人》
You are left to hobble , if that; the flutter of a bedsheet over the distended foot is anguish enough, let alone the full weight of the body bearing down.
如果那样的话，你只能一瘸一拐地走；床单在肿胀的脚上飘动就已经够痛苦的了，更不用说承受身体的全部重量了。
——《纽约时报》

基本释义

[verb] swell or cause to swell by pressure from inside
[动词] 因内部压力而（使）膨胀

深入解读

Distend 是一个与熟词 tend, extend, attend, contend 以及小站（微信公众号：田间小站）在熟词僻义栏目中推送过的 tender 同词根 tend, tens, tent （伸展）单词，可以一并联想记忆。

从词源上来看， distend 源自拉丁语 distendere （膨胀、伸展、扩展），由前缀 dis- （分开、离、散）+词根 tend 构成，15世纪进入英语后即用来表示“（使）膨胀、肿胀、鼓起、隆起、扩张”，常作正式用语或医学术语使用，侧重指腹部或身体其他部位因内部压力而向外部各个方向膨胀，常意味着超出了正常的范围或者说显得不自然。比如：

扩张的血管
distended blood vessels
膨胀的自我
distended ego
那个散布流言蜚语的委琐小人步履蹒跚地走近，肚子鼓胀凸出。
The petty gossip waddled closer, his belly bulging and distended .

名著用例

As Scabior said it, Harry's scar, which was stretched tight across his distended forehead, burned savagely . More clearly than he could make out anything around him, he saw a towering building, a grim