alibi: [18] In Latin, alibi means literally ‘somewhere else’. It is the locative form (that is, the form expressing place) of the pronoun alius ‘other’ (which is related to Greek allos ‘other’ and English else). When first introduced into English it was used in legal contexts as an adverb, meaning, as in Latin, ‘elsewhere’: ‘The prisoner had little to say in his defence; he endeavoured to prove himself Alibi’, John Arbuthnot, Law is a bottomless pit 1727.
But by the end of the 18th century it had become a noun, ‘plea of being elsewhere at the time of a crime’. The more general sense of an ‘excuse’ developed in the 20th century. Another legal offspring of Latin alius is alias. This was a direct 16th-century borrowing of Latin aliās, a form of alius meaning ‘otherwise’. => alias, else
alibi (n.)
1743, "the plea of having been elsewhere when an action took place," from Latin alibi "elsewhere, somewhere else," locative of alius "(an)other" (see alias (adv.)). The weakened sense of "excuse" is attested since 1912, but technically any proof of innocence that doesn't involve being "elsewhere" is an excuse, not an alibi.
实用例句
1. This argument is only too blatantly an alibi for domestic repression.
这一辩解完全是在为国内的镇压活动开脱。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Mick had an airtight alibi.
米克有确凿的不在场证据。
来自柯林斯例句
3. He has a solid alibi.
他有不在场的确凿证据。
来自柯林斯例句
4. The police verified that she had an airtight alibi.
警方查明她有着无懈可击的不在犯罪现场的证据.
来自《简明英汉词典》
5. Do you have any proof to substantiate your alibi?
