prevent: [15] If you prevent someone, you ‘come before’ them (and indeed that literal meaning of the verb survived for some time: Thomas Cromwell wrote in 1538 ‘I have sent it unto him after the departure of the said Muriell, to the intent he might prevent the ambassadors post and you have leisure to consult and advise upon the same’; and as late as 1766 we find in Frances Sheridan’s Sidney Biddulph ‘I am an early riser, yet my lord V – prevented me the next morning, for I found him in the parlour when I came downstairs’).
The word comes from Latin praevenīre, a compound verb formed from the prefix prae- ‘before’ and venīre ‘come’. Already in Latin, though, it had progressed semantically from ‘come before’ via ‘act in advance of, anticipate’ to ‘hinder’, and this meaning emerged in English in the 16th century. => adventure, venue
prevent (v.)
early 15c., "act in anticipation of," from Latin praeventus, past participle of praevenire "come before, anticipate, hinder," in Late Latin also "to prevent," from prae "before" (see pre-) + venire "to come" (see venue). Originally literal; sense of "anticipate to hinder" was in Latin, but not recorded in English until 1540s.
实用例句
1. A dentist may decide to extract the tooth to prevent recurrent trouble.
牙医可能会决定拔掉那颗牙，以免反复发作。
来自柯林斯例句
2. The security zone was set up to prevent guerrilla infiltrations.
设立了安全区以防止游击队员的渗入。
来自柯林斯例句
3. Smear Vaseline on to your baby's skin to prevent soreness.
给孩子皮肤上抹些凡士林以防止肿痛。
来自柯林斯例句
4. The security forces had to intervene to prevent the situation worsening.
安全部队不得不介入，以防止局势进一步恶化。
来自柯林斯例句
5. Police are out in force to prevent a recurrence of the violence.
