attitude: [17] In origin, attitude is the same word as aptitude. Both come ultimately from late Latin aptitūdō. In Old French this became aptitude, which English acquired in the 15th century, but in Italian it became attitudine, which meant ‘disposition’ or ‘posture’. This was transmitted via French attitude to English, where at first it was used as a technical term in art criticism, meaning the ‘disposition of a figure in a painting’. The metaphorical sense ‘mental position with regard to something’ developed in the early 19th century. => aptitude
attitude (n.)
1660s, via French attitude (17c.), from Italian attitudine "disposition, posture," also "aptness, promptitude," from Late Latin aptitudinem (nominative aptitudo; see aptitude). Originally 17c. a technical term in art for the posture of a figure in a statue or painting; later generalized to "a posture of the body supposed to imply some mental state" (1725). Sense of "settled behavior reflecting feeling or opinion" is first recorded 1837. Connotations of "antagonistic and uncooperative" developed by 1962 in slang.
双语例句
1. Beauty is an attitude. It has nothing to do with age.
美是一种态度,与年龄无关。
来自金山词霸
2. Remember, keep a positive attitude and good things will happen.
记住:保持乐观的心态,好事自然会发生。
来自美剧《摩登家庭》
3. Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.--Zig Ziglar
决定你人生高度的,不是你的才能,而是你的态度。
来自金山词霸 每日一句
4. He maintained an ambivalent attitude to the Church throughout his long life.
在他漫长的一生中,他对基督教信仰始终是一种摇摆不定的态度。
来自柯林斯例句
5. We would have thought he would have a more responsible attitude.