bitter: [OE] Old English biter appears to have come from *bit-, the short-vowel version of *bīt-, source of bite. Its original meaning would thus have been ‘biting’, and although there do not seem to be any traces of this left in the historical record, the sense development to ‘acrid-tasting’ is fairly straightforward (compare the similar case of sharp).
It seems likely that the bitter of ‘bitter end’ comes from a different source altogether, although in its current meaning it appears to have been influenced by the adjective bitter. A bitter was originally a ‘turn of a cable round the bitts’, and a bitt was a ‘post on the deck of a ship for fastening cables to’. It is not clear where bitt came from, although it was probably originally a seafarer’s term from the north German coast, and it may be related to English boat.
Thus in the first instance ‘to the bitter end’ probably meant ‘to the very end, as far as it is possible to go’. => bite
bitter (adj.)
Old English biter "bitter, sharp, cutting; angry, embittered; cruel," from Proto-Germanic *bitras- (cognates: Old Saxon bittar, Old Norse bitr, Dutch bitter, Old High German bittar, German bitter, Gothic baitrs "bitter"), from PIE root *bheid- "to split" (cognates: Old English bitan "to bite;" see bite (v.)). Evidently the meaning drifted in prehistoric times from "biting, of pungent taste," to "acrid-tasting." Used figuratively in Old English of states of mind and words. Related: Bitterly.
例文
1. They drink bitter on draught in the local bar.
彼らは地元のバーで樽詰めの苦いビールを飲んでいる。
2.For many,their long-awaited homecoming was a bitter disappointment.
多くの人にとって、彼らが待ち望んでいた故郷への帰り道は彼らをがっかりさせた。
3.McGuire took a long swig from his bottle of bitter lemon.
マグワイアは瓶を持ち上げて苦いレモン汁をゴクゴク飲んだ。
4.Our spirits rallied as the bitter -sweet alcohol worked its magic.
苦い中に甘い酒が効き目を発揮し、私たちの精神は奮い立った。
5.Outside,a bitter east wind was accompanied by fluries of snow.