destroy: [13] As in the case of demolish, to destroy something is almost literally to ‘unbuild’ it. The word comes via Old French destruire from *dēstrūgere, a Vulgar Latin alteration of Latin dēstrūere. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix dē-, denoting reversal of a previous state, and strūere ‘pile up, build’ (source of English construct and structure). Its past participle, dēstructus, has produced English destruction [14], destructive [15], and the verb destruct (recorded once in the 17th century but revived in the 1950s by backformation from destruction). => construct, destruction, structure
destroy (v.)
early 13c., from Old French destruire (12c., Modern French détruire) "destroy, ravage, lay waste," from Vulgar Latin *destrugere (source of Italian distruggere), refashioned (influenced by destructus), from Latin destruere "tear down, demolish," literally "un-build," from de- "un-, down" (see de-) + struere "to pile, build" (see structure (n.)). Related: Destroyed; destroying.
雙語例句
1. They can't destroy truth without destroying each and every one of us.
除非他們將我們趕盡殺絕，否則真理不滅。
來自柯林斯例句
2. Frogs eat pests which destroy crops and carry diseases.
青蛙吃破壞莊稼、傳播疾病的害蟲。
來自柯林斯例句
3. After the killing, he calmly lit a fire to destroy evidence.
殺人后，他鎮(zhèn)定地點(diǎn)起火銷毀罪證。
來自柯林斯例句
4. The dispute could destroy Australia's hard-won reputation for industrial stability.