1510s, "make shorter;" 1560s, "grow shorter," from short (adj.) + -en (1); the earlier form of the verb was simply short, from Old English sceortian "to grow short, become short; run short, fail," gescyrtan "to make short."
双语例句
1. As they shorten, cells become more prone to disease and death.
细胞变小后就会更容易感染疾病,也更容易死亡。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Her father paid 1,000 for an operation to shorten her nose.
她父亲花了1,000英镑给她做了削鼻手术。
来自柯林斯例句
3. When the days shorten in winter some people suffer depression.