deficient: [16] Deficient was acquired from Latin dēficient-, the present participial stem of dēficere ‘undo, fail, leave, be lacking’, a compound verb formed from the prefix dē- ‘away’ and facere ‘do, make’ (a parallel formation lies behind English defeat). The past participial stem of the Latin verb, dēfect-, produced English defect [15], while its third person present singular dēficit was borrowed by English as deficit. => defeat, defect, deficit
1580s, from Latin deficientem (nominative deficiens), present participle of deficere "to desert, revolt, fail," from de- "down, away" (see de-) + facere "to do, perform" (see factitious).
双语例句
1. a diet that is deficient in vitamin A
缺乏维生素A的饮食
来自《权威词典》
2. A diet deficient in vitamin D may cause the disease rickets.
缺少维生素D的饮食可能导致软骨病.
来自《简明英汉词典》
3. An educational system which fails to teach basic arithmetic is seriously deficient.
