department: [15] English has borrowed department from French département on two completely separate occasions. Originally, in late Middle English, it was used for ‘departure’, but this died out in the mid-17th century. Then in the 18th century it was re-acquired in the different sense ‘distinct division’; Dr Johnson, in his Dictionary 1755, dismisses it as a French term.
department (n.)
mid-15c., "a going away, act of leaving," from Old French departement (12c.) "division, sharing out; divorce, parting," from Late Latin departire (see depart). French department meant "group of people" (as well as "departure"), from which English borrowed the sense of "separate division, separate business assigned to someone in a larger organization" (c. 1735). Meaning "separate division of a government" is from 1769. As an administrative district in France, from 1792.
实用例句
1. She was the only woman in Shell's legal department.
她是壳牌公司法律事务部唯一的女性。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Officials at the State Department say the issue is urgent.
国务院官员说该问题很急迫。
来自柯林斯例句
3. She appears nightly on the television news, speaking for the State Department.
她作为国务院的发言人，每晚都会出现在电视新闻中。
来自柯林斯例句
4. He passed the letters to the Department of Trade and Industry.
他把信交给了贸工部。
来自柯林斯例句
5. Patients took more than two hours to be processed through the department.
