mercenary ['m3:rsaneri]

adj. serving merely for pay or sordid advantage:venal 唯利是图的/贪婪的 雇佣的；

S acquisitive, avaricious, avid, covetous, greedy, rapacious

n. 雇佣兵；唯利是图者

词源

mercenary 只为金钱的，雇佣兵

来自拉丁语mercari,交易，买卖，词源同market.引申词义买卖的，花钱雇的，词义贬义化，用于指只为金钱的人，最后特用于指雇佣兵。

英文词源

mercenary (n.)

late 14c., "one who works only for hire," from Old French mercenaire "mercenary, hireling" (13c.) and directly from Latin mercenarius "one who does anything for pay," literally "hired, paid," from merces (genitive mercedis) "pay, reward, wages," from merx (see market (n.)).

mercenary (adj.)

1530s, from mercenary (n.), or in part from Latin mercenarius "hired, paid, serving for pay."

双语例句

1. They suggest that my motives for proposing reform are self-serving and mercenary.

他们暗示说我之所以提议改革是贪图金钱，想谋取私利。

2. Virtue flies from the heart of a mercenary man.

唯利是图的人胸中没有美德.

3. Mercenary men lust for wealth.

唯利是图的人贪求财富.

4. James is so mercenary that he'd turn in his own mother for the reward money.

詹姆斯太唯利是图了,他为领取赏钱竟出卖了自己的母亲.

5. Though perhaps that is merely a synonym for mercenary.

尽管这也许不过是惟利是图的一个同义词.

英文释义:

You might not want to call a mercenary a "hireling" to his face, but a mercenary is, after all, a soldier who gets paid to fight where needed, sometimes taking a heroic stand and other times just wanting payment for fighting.

The word mercenary comes from the Latin mercēnārius, "hireling," which defines someone who will do anything in exchange for money. In history, a mercenary was often a fighter who followed the next paycheck, but in recent decades it's also been used for fighters who pursue a good cause in areas where soldiers are in short supply. A synonym for mercenary is "soldier of fortune," and this phrase sometimes glorifies the mercenary, turning the meaning of "fortune" from "cash" to "luck in battle."

Mnemonics (Memory Aids) for mercenary

mercenary = merce(mercy) + na (not) + ry(to friend); no mercy is there so america hire force from france tofight agaist Iraq.