词组 | insignia |
释义 | insignia Insignia has the form of a Latin plural, the singular of which is insigne. But as an English word, insignia is used both as a plural and as a singular: • ... the magazine's insignia has been a rabbit dressed in evening clothes —Current Biography, September 1968 • ... all the insignia and stigmata of Old World nationalism —Henry Steele Commager, Saturday Rev., 13 Dec. 1975 When insignia is understood as a singular, it often has insignias as its plural: • Precise or elegant usage is seen as one of the insignias of class —Anatole Broyard, N.Y. Times Book Rev., 22 Mar. 1981 The singular insignia is recorded in the OED as early as 1774, but its use seems not to have become common until the 20th century. Usage commentators have in general regarded it with tolerance, although it has had its critics (such as Follett 1966). The alternative singular insigne is preferred by some writers: • ... a red beret with the Amtrak arrow insigne — David Butwin, Saturday Rev., 22 Jan. 1972 However, insignia is a far more common choice in such contexts, and insigne is itself sometimes criticized as pretentious. Insignia appears still to be used primarily as a plural in British English, but in American English, the singular insignia and the plural insignias (as well as the plural insignia) are now unquestionably standard. You need not hesitate to use them. |
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