| 单词 | bane |
| 释义 | bane (once / 1815 pages) n The noun bane refers to anything that is a cause of harm, ruin, or death. But we often use it for things that aren't that bad, just feel like it. You might say mosquitoes are the bane of your existence. The source of this word is Middle and Old English bana, meaning "destroyer, murderer." The now obsolete meaning of "deadly poison" is seen in the names of poisonous plants such as wolfsbane and henbane. Although "bane of my existence" is a commonly heard phrase, there's something deliciously archaic about the word bane. It conjures up villages preyed upon by dragons, or witches adding one bane or another to a steaming kettle. WORD FAMILYbane: baneful, banes+/baneful: banefully USAGE EXAMPLESCrittendon was naïve and incompetent, the bane of the highly efficient Colonel Hogan, played by Bob Crane. New York Times(Dec 15, 2016) Which is to say the pipeline will be neither the economic boon, nor the climate bane, it’s been made out to be. Slate(Nov 30, 2016) Don Sr. retired from his own home taxidermy business almost a decade ago, in part because of arthritis in his hands, the bane of taxidermists. Washington Times(Nov 26, 2016) n something causing misery or death the bane of my life Syn|Hyper curse, nemesis, scourge affliction a cause of great suffering and distress |
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