decide

英文词源

decide

decide: [14] Etymologically, decide denotes a resolving of alternatives or difficulties by cutting through them as if with a knife or a sword – dealing with them ‘at a stroke’. The word comes, perhaps via French décider, from Latin dēcidere, a compound verb formed from the prefix dē- ‘off’ and caedere ‘cut, strike’. It is not clear where this comes from, although Sanskrit khid- ‘press, tear’ has been compared.

Its other descendants in English include chisel, cement, concise, and scissors. (Other verbs for ‘decide’ which contain the basic meaning element ‘cut through’ or ‘separate’ include Latin dēcernere and German entscheiden.)
=> cement, chisel, concise, excise, incision, precise, scissors

decide (v.)

late 14c., "to settle a dispute," from Old French decider, from Latin decidere "to decide, determine," literally "to cut off," from de- "off" (see de-) + caedere "to cut" (see -cide). For Latin vowel change, see acquisition. Sense is of resolving difficulties "at a stroke." Meaning "to make up one's mind" is attested from 1830. Related: Decided; deciding.