"long pole on a ship to support the sail," Old English m?st, from Proto-Germanic *mastaz (cognates: Old Norse mastr, Middle Dutch maste, Dutch, Danish mast, German Mast), from PIE *mazdo- "a pole, rod" (cognates: Latin malus "mast," Old Irish matan "club," Irish maide "a stick," Old Church Slavonic mostu "bridge"). The single mast of an old ship was the boundary between quarters of officers and crew, hence before the mast in the title of Dana's book, etc.
mast (n.2)
"fallen nuts; food for swine," Old English m?st, from Proto-Germanic *masto (cognates: Dutch, Old High German, German mast "mast;" Old English verb m?sten "to fatten, feed"), perhaps from PIE *mad-sta-, from root *mad- "moist, wet," also used of various qualities of food (cognates: Sanskrit madati "it bubbles, gladdens," medah "fat, marrow;" Latin madere "be sodden, be drunk;" Middle Persian mast "drunk;" Old English mete "food," Old High German muos "meal, mushlike food," Gothic mats "food").
雙語例句
1. He has nailed his colours firmly to Mr Dobson's mast.
他表示堅決支持多布森先生。
來自柯林斯例句
2. Mr Kennedy nailed his colours to the mast of the single currency.
肯尼迪先生表示支持單一貨幣制。
來自柯林斯例句
3. It's your turn to nail your colours to the mast.