appoint: [14] Appoint came from the Old French verb apointier ‘arrange’, which was based on the phrase a point, literally ‘to a point’. Hints of the original meaning can still be found in some of the verb’s early uses in English, in the sense ‘settle a matter decisively’, but its main modern meanings, ‘fix by prior arrangement’ and ‘select for a post’, had become established by the mid 15th century. => point
late 14c., "to decide, resolve; to arrange the time of (a meeting, etc.)," from Anglo-French appointer, Old French apointier "make ready, arrange, settle, place" (12c.), from apointer "duly, fitly," from phrase à point "to the point," from a- "to" (see ad-) + point "point," from Latin punctum (see point (n.)). The ground sense is "to come to a point (about some matter)," therefore "agree, settle." Meaning "put (someone) in charge" is early 15c. Related: Appointed; appointing.
双语例句
1. "Why didn't you appoint Ron twelve months ago?"—"Good question."
“你为什么12个月前不任命罗恩呢？”——“问得好。”
来自柯林斯例句
2. He promised to appoint an AIDS czar to deal with the disease.
他许诺任命一位艾滋病大使来应对这种疾病。
来自柯林斯例句
3. Our plan is to allocate one member of staff to handle appoint-ments.
我们的计划是分派一位职员处理预约事宜。
来自柯林斯例句
4. The Prime Minister has the power to dismiss and appoint senior ministers.
