answer: [OE] Etymologically, the word answer contains the notion of making a sworn statement rebutting a charge. It comes from a prehistoric West and North Germanic compound *andswarō; the first element of this was the prefix *and- ‘against’, related to German ent- ‘away, un-’ and to Greek anti-, source of English anti-; and the second element came from the same source as English swear.
In Old English, the Germanic compound became andswaru (noun) and andswarian (verb) ‘reply’, which by the 14th century had been reduced to answer. The synonymous respond has a similar semantic history: Latin respondēre meant ‘make a solemn promise in return’, hence ‘reply’. And, as another element in the jigsaw, Swedish ansvar means ‘responsibility’ – a sense echoed by English answerable. => swear
answer (n.)
Old English andswaru "an answer, a reply," from and- "against" (see ante) + -swaru "affirmation," from swerian "to swear" (see swear), suggesting an original sense of "make a sworn statement rebutting a charge." A common Germanic compound (cognates: Old Saxon antswor, Old Norse andsvar, Old Frisian ondser, Danish and Swedish ansvar), implying a Proto-Germanic *andswara-. Meaning "a reply to a question," the main modern sense, was present in Old English. Meaning "solution of a problem" is from c. 1300.
answer (v.)
Old English answarian "to answer;" see answer (n.). Meaning "to respond in antiphony" is from early 15c.; that of "to be responsible for" is early 13c. Related: Answered; answering. The telephone answering machine is from 1961.
例文
1. "I can't give you an answer now," he hedged.
「私は今あなたに答えることができません」と彼は避けた。
2.Two historical questions-you can answer them how you like.
2つの歴史的な質問に自由に答えてください。
3.Two men answer ?ing the description of the suspects tried to enter Switzerland.
記載された容疑者の様子に一致する2人の男がスイス入りを試みた。
4.He grimaced slightly，obviously expecting no answer to his rhetorical question.
彼は少し眉をひそめたが、誰も彼の反問に答えることを期待していないことは明らかだ。
5.I don 't quite know what to say in answer to your question.