pledge: [14] Pledge comes via Old French plege from late Latin plebium, a derivative of the verb plebīre ‘pledge’. This was probably borrowed from Frankish *plegan ‘guarantee’, a derivative of the same Germanic base as produced English plight ‘pledge’ [OE] (as in ‘plight one’s troth’) and German pflicht ‘duty’. => plight
pledge (v.)
c. 1400, "to promise" (something to someone), "to give over as security for repayment," also "promise faith to," from pledge (n.) and from Old French plegier, from plege (n.). From mid-15c. as "to stand surety for, be responsible for;" late 15c. as "to mortgage." Meaning "put (someone) under oath" is from 1570s; sense of "to solemnly promise or guarantee" is from 1590s, as is sense "to drink a toast." Related: Pledged; pledging.
pledge (n.)
mid-14c., "surety, bail," from Old French plege (Modern French pleige) "hostage, security, bail," probably from Frankish *plegan "to guarantee," from *pleg-, a West Germanic root meaning "have responsibility for" (cognates: Old Saxon plegan "vouch for," Middle Dutch plien "to answer for, guarantee," Old High German pflegan "to care for, be accustomed to," Old English pleon "to risk the loss of, expose to danger;" see plight (v.)).
Meaning "allegiance vow attested by drinking with another" is from 1630s. Sense of "solemn promise" first recorded 1814, though this notion is from 16c. in the verb. Weekley notes the "curious contradiction" in pledge (v.) "to toast with a drink" (1540s) and pledge (n.) "the vow to abstain from drinking" (1833). Meaning "student who has agreed to join a fraternity or sorority" dates from 1901.
雙語(yǔ)例句
1. His tax-cutting pledge brought a delirious crowd to their feet.
他減稅的承諾讓亢奮的人群歡呼雀躍起來。
來自柯林斯例句
2. In the treaty both sides pledge to respect human rights.
雙方在條約中都承諾將尊重人權(quán)。
來自柯林斯例句
3. I pledge that by next year we will have the problem solved.
我保證來年之前我們將解決這個(gè)問題。
來自柯林斯例句
4. The agreement includes a pledge of non-aggression.