retrieve: [15] To retrieve something is etymologically to ‘re-find’ it. The word comes from retreuv-, the stem of Old French retrover. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix re- ‘again’ and trover ‘find’ (ancestor of modern French trouver and source of English troubadour and trove, as in treasure trove). Its original application in English was to dogs refinding game that had been temporarily lost (hence the term retriever [15]). => troubadour, trove
retrieve (v.)
early 15c., retreve, originally in reference to dogs finding lost game, from Middle French retruev-, stem of Old French retreuver (Modern French retrouver) "find again, recover, meet again, recognize," from re- "again" (see re-) + trouver "to find," probably from Vulgar Latin *tropare "to compose" (see trove). Altered 16c. to retrive; modern form is from mid-17c.
实用例句
1. He is the one man who could retrieve that situation.
他是唯一能挽回局面的人。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Computers can instantly retrieve millions of information bits.
计算机可以立即检索到数百万条信息。
来自柯林斯例句
3. She bent to retrieve her comb from the floor.
她弯腰从地上捡起她的梳子。
来自《权威词典》
4. He did his best to retrieve the situation, amidst some laughter.