lose: [OE] The verb lose originated as a derivative of the Old English noun los ‘loss’, which went back ultimately to the same Indo-European source (*lau-, *leu-, lu-) as produced English loose and the suffix -less. In Old English it was losian, which eventually ousted the original lēosan to become the only verb for ‘lose’. The noun los died out before the Middle English period, and was replaced by loss [14], probably a derivative of the past participle lost. The past participle of lēosan ‘lose’ was loren, which survives in forlorn and love-lorn. => loose
lose (v.)
Old English losian "be lost, perish," from los "destruction, loss," from Proto-Germanic *lausa- (cognates: Old Norse los "the breaking up of an army;" Old English forleosan "to lose, destroy," Old Frisian forliasa, Old Saxon farliosan, Middle Dutch verliesen, Old High German firliosan, German verlieren), from PIE root *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart, untie, separate" (cognates: Sanskrit lunati "cuts, cuts off," lavitram "sickle;" Greek lyein "to loosen, untie, slacken," lysus "a loosening;" Latin luere "to loose, release, atone for, expiate").
Replaced related leosan (a class II strong verb whose past participle loren survives in forlorn and lovelorn), from Proto-Germanic *leusanan (cognates: Old High German virliosan, German verlieren, Old Frisian urliasa, Gothic fraliusan "to lose").
Transitive sense of "to part with accidentally" is from c. 1200. Meaning "fail to maintain" is from mid-15c. Meaning "to be defeated" (in a game, etc.) is from 1530s. Meaning "to cause (someone) to lose his way" is from 1640s. To lose (one's) mind "become insane" is attested from c. 1500. To lose out "fail" is 1858, American English. Related: Lost; losing.
实用例句
1. Some battles you win, some battles you lose.
胜败乃兵家常事。
来自美剧《生活大爆炸》
2. He appealed to his countrymen not to lose heart.
他呼吁自己的同胞不要丧失信心。
来自柯林斯例句
3. Torn muscles retract, and lose strength, structure, and tightness.
撕裂的肌肉会收缩，丧失原来的力量、结构和紧实度。
来自柯林斯例句
4. Having children was the quickest way to lose your street cred.
生孩子是使自己不再年轻时尚的最快方法。
来自柯林斯例句
5. I can lose a few pounds without resorting to daft diets.
