feckless

英 ['fekl?s] 美['f?kl?s]

TEM8GRE暢通詞匯

名詞:?fecklessness;

1. feck (Scottish shortened form of effect) + -less.

feckless 品格差的

feck, 縮寫自effect, 效果，價值。-less, 沒有，無。詞義引申為差勁的，品格差的。

feckless: feckless: [16] From an etymological point of view, feckless is simply another way of saying ineffective. It originated in Scotland, where from the 15th century the local population economized on the pronunciation of effect, reducing it to feck (this survived into modern times in the sense ‘efficacy’). From it was formed feckless, literally ‘having no effect’, and also feckful ‘efficient, vigorous’, which never made it further south than northern England.
=> effect
feckless (adj.): 1590s, from feck, "effect, value, vigor" (late 15c.), Scottish shortened form of effect (n.), + -less. Popularized by Carlyle, who left its opposite, feckful, in dialectal obscurity. Related: Fecklessly; fecklessness.

1. Her husband was a charming, but lazy and feckless man.: 她的丈夫討人喜歡，但卻是個懶惰沒有出息的人。

2. He regarded the young man as feckless and irresponsible.: 他認為這個年輕人不光無能，還不負責任。

3. German banks lent hand over fist to feckless foreign borrowers.: 德國銀行曾向財務狀況不佳的外國借款人大量放貸.

4. The feckless Yukio Hatoyama, who stepped down on June 2 nd a grand total of 259 days.: 鳩山由紀夫一事無成, 他于6月2日宣布辭職,在任共259天.