preposterous: [16] Preposterous originated as a Latin oxymoron, praeposterus. This was coined from prae ‘before’ and posterus ‘coming after, next’, a derivative of post ‘after’. It denoted ‘the wrong way round, out of order’ (and indeed that was how English preposterous was once used: ‘The preposterous is a pardonable fault … We call it by a common saying to set the cart before the horse’, George Puttenham, Art of English Poesie 1589). But already in Latin the notion had developed via ‘irrational’ to ‘absurd’, a sense quickly taken up by English.
preposterous (adj.)
1540s, from Latin praeposterus "absurd, contrary to nature, inverted, perverted, in reverse order," literally "before-behind" (compare topsy-turvy, cart before the horse), from prae "before" + posterus "subsequent." Related: Preposterously; preposterousness.
双语例句
1. The implication that marital infidelity enhances a leader's credibility is preposterous.
婚姻不忠会提升领导人可信度的暗示荒谬之极。
来自柯林斯例句
2. These claims are absolutely preposterous!
这些要求简直荒谬绝伦！
来自《权威词典》
3. It would be preposterous to shovel coal with a teaspoon.
用茶匙铲煤是荒谬的.
来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
4. The whole idea was preposterous.
整个想法都荒唐透顶。
来自辞典例句
5. He rushed about doing preposterous things in an extraordinary manner.