defy: [14] The underlying notion of defy is of the renunciation of allegiance. It comes via Old French defier from a Vulgar Latin *disfidāre ‘renounce one’s faith’, a compound verb formed from the prefix dis-, denoting reversal, and Latin fīdus ‘trusting’. This adjective came from a lengthened variant of the stem which produced fidēs ‘faith’, source of English faith.
The word’s current main sense represents a slight shift from ‘being disloyal’ to actively ‘challenging someone’s power’. The verb’s noun derivative defiance [14], borrowed from Old French, has a first cousin in diffidence [15], originally ‘distrustfulness’, which came from the classical Latin compound verb diffidere ‘mistrust’. => diffidence, faith
defy (v.)
c. 1300, "to renounce one's allegiance;" mid-14c., "to challenge, defy," from Old French defier, desfier "to challenge, defy, provoke; renounce (a belief), repudiate (a vow, etc.)," from Vulgar Latin *disfidare "renounce one's faith," from Latin dis- "away" (see dis-) + fidus "faithful," from the same root as fides "faith" (see faith).
例文
1. Her criteria defy analysis.
彼女の基準がわからない。
2.I wouldn 't have dared to defy my teachers.
先生の言うことを聞かないわけにはいきません。
3.The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.
松柏参天傲霜雪.
4.If you defy the law,you may find yourself in prison.
法律に従わなければ刑務所に入る可能性があります。
5.I defy anyone to disprove the defendant 's statements.