immense(adj.)
“great beyond measure”是15世纪早期的用法,来自14世纪中叶的古法语 immense,源自拉丁语 immensus,“不可测量的,无限的”,也用于比喻,来自没有 in- 的同化形式“否定的,相反的”(参见 in- (1))+ mensus “被测量过的”,过去分词形式 metiri “测量”(来自 PIE 根 *me- (2) “衡量”)。18世纪时这个流行词语备受推崇,并被嘲笑:
For instance, a long while every thing was immense great and immense little, immense handsome and immense ugly. Miss Tippet from the cloisters, could not drink tea with Master Parchment at the White Conduit-house, unless it was an immense fine day, yet probably it might rain so immense, there was no going without a coach. ["Town and Country Magazine" (in "Annual Register" for 1772)]
例如,有很长一段时间,每件事情都是 immense 大和 immense 小, immense 漂亮和 immense 丑陋。从修道院来的 Tippet 小姐,除非天气 immense 很好,否则就不能在白色凉亭酒店和 Parchment 大师一起喝茶,但很可能会下雨那么 immense,就不能没有教练了。[“城市和乡村杂志”(见1772年“年度纪事”)]
该词起源时间:15世纪初