regret: [14] The origins of regret are not altogether clear, but it may mean etymologically ‘weep over again’. It was borrowed from Old French regreter, which could have been based on a prehistoric Germanic verb *grētan ‘weep’ (source of archaic English greet ‘weep’).
regret (v.)
"to look back with distress or sorrowful longing; to grieve for on remembering," late 14c., from Old French regreter "long after, bewail, lament someone's death; ask the help of" (Modern French regretter), from re-, intensive prefix (see re-), + -greter, possibly from Frankish or some other Germanic source (compare Old English gr?tan "to weep;" Old Norse grata "to weep, groan"), from Proto-Germanic *gretan "weep." "Not found in other Romance languages, and variously explained" [Century Dictionary].
Related: Regretted; regretting. Replaced Old English oftyncan, from of- "off, away," here denoting opposition, + tyncan "seem, seem fit" (as in methinks).
regret (n.)
"pain or distress in the mind at something done or left undone," 1530s, from the verb, or from Middle French regret, back-formation from regreter (see regret (v.)).
雙語例句
1. Failure is never quite so frightening as regret do.
比失敗更令人恐懼的是懊悔。
來自金山詞霸 每日一句
2. From Cairo came expressions of regret at the attack.
開羅對此次攻擊表示遺憾。
來自柯林斯例句
3. Her lack of co-operation is nothing new, I regret to say.
很遺憾，我不得不說她缺少合作精神不是什么新鮮事。
來自柯林斯例句
4. We regret to inform you that you are being furloughed indefinitely.
我們遺憾地通知您，您將要無限期地在家待崗。
來自柯林斯例句
5. They will bitterly regret what they have done for ever more.