trim: [16] The origins of trim are uncertain, but it may come from an unrecorded Middle English verb *trimmen ‘arrange’, a descendant of Old English trymman or trymian ‘make stronger or firmer’
trim (v.)
mid-15c., probably from Old English trymian, trymman "strengthen, fortify, confirm; comfort; incite; set in order, arrange, prepare, make ready; become strong," from trum "strong, stable," from Proto-Germanic *trum-, from PIE *dru-mo-, suffixed form of *deru- "to be firm, solid, steadfast" (see true). Examples in Middle English are wanting.
Original sense is preserved in nautical phrase in fighting trim (see trim (n.)); where the verb meant "distribute the load of a ship so she floats on an even keel" (1570s). Meaning "make neat by cutting" is first recorded 1520s; that of "decorate, adorn" is from 1540s. Sense of "reduce" is attested from 1966.
trim (n.)
"state of being prepared," 1580s, nautical jargon, "fit for sailing," from trim (v.). From 1570s as "ornament, decoration;" the meaning "visible woodwork of a house" is recorded from 1884; sense of "ornamental additions to an automobile" is from 1922. Slang meaning "a woman regarded as a sex object" is attested from 1955, American English.
trim (adj.)
c. 1500, "neatly or smartly dressed," probably ultimately from trim (v.) or from related Old English trum "firm, fixed, secure, strong, sound, vigorous, active." Related: Trimly; trimness.
双语例句
1. He is already getting in trim for the big day.
他已经在为那个重要的日子调整状态了。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Jordan promised to trim the city budget without cutting essential services.
乔丹承诺在不减少基本服务的前提下，缩减市政预算。
来自柯林斯例句
3. The driver was a trim young woman of perhaps thirty.
司机是个大约30岁的身材苗条的年轻女子。
来自柯林斯例句
4. Trim off the excess pastry using a sharp knife.
用一把快刀切去多余的饼皮。
来自柯林斯例句
5. Trim any tough or woody stalks from the asparagus.