prim: [18] Prim etymologically means ‘first’. It comes from Old French prime, the feminine form of prin ‘fine, excellent’, which went back to Latin prīmus ‘first’ (source of English prime). The English meaning developed through a derogatory ‘overrefined’. => first, prime
prim
1680s (v.) "to assume a formal, precise demeanor," perhaps from French prim "thin, small, delicate," from Old French prim "fine, delicate," from Latin primus "finest," literally "first" (see prime (adj.)). Later, "deck out, dress to effect" (1721). Attested as a noun from 1700. The adjective, the sole surviving sense, is from 1709. A cant word at first. Related: Primly; primness.
实用例句
1. We tend to imagine that the Victorians were very prim and proper.
我们倾向于把维多利亚时代的人想象得非常古板、中规中矩。
来自柯林斯例句
2. On her blonde wavy hair, the white hat looked nicely prim.
这顶白色的帽子戴在她金色的卷发上显得非常雅致。
来自柯林斯例句
3. You can't tell her that joke—she's much too prim and proper .
你可别跟她讲那个笑话，她这个人古板正经得要命。
来自《权威词典》
4. She's too prim to enjoy rude jokes!
她太古板,不喜欢听粗野的笑话!
来自《简明英汉词典》
5. It was a strange conjunction — the prim serious young Queen and the elderly, cynical Whig.
