affair

将“affair”与“aff”结合记忆，想象一个“ affair”（事务）就像是一个“aff”（附加或附着的）“air”（空气或氛围），暗示这是附加或附着的某种关系或情况，比如一段私事或恋情。这样的联想有助于记忆单词的含义。

affair 事务

前缀af-同ad-, 去，往。-fair, 词根fact的法语变体。

affair

affair: [13] Like ado, and of course to-do, affair originally meant literally ‘to do’. It was coined in Old French from the phrase à faire ‘to do’, and entered English via Anglo-Norman afere. The spelling affair was established by Caxton, who based it on the French model. The specific sense of a ‘love affair’ dates from the early 18th century.
=> fact

affair (n.)

c. 1300, "what one has to do," from Anglo-French afere, Old French afaire "business, event; rank, estate" (12c., Modern French affaire), from the infinitive phrase à faire "to do," from Latin ad "to" (see ad-) + facere "to do, make" (see factitious).

A Northern word originally, brought into general use and given a French spelling by Caxton (15c.). General sense of "vague proceedings" (in romance, war, etc.) first attested 1702. Meaning "an affair of the heart; a passionate episode" is from French affaire de coeur (itself attested in English from 1809); to have an affair with someone in this sense is by 1726, earlier have an affair of love:

'Tis manifeſtly contrary to the Law of Nature, that one Woman ſhould cohabit or have an Affair of Love with more than one Man at the ſame time. ["Pufendorf's Law of Nature and Nations," transl. J. Spavan, London, 1716]

---

Thus, in our dialect, a vicious man is a man of pleasure, a sharper is one that plays the whole game, a lady is said to have an affair, a gentleman to be a gallant, a rogue in business to be one that knows the world. By this means, we have no such things as sots, debauchees, whores, rogues, or the like, in the beau monde, who may enjoy their vices without incurring disagreeable appellations. [George Berkeley, "Alciphron or the Minute Philosopher," 1732]

1. He will now face a disciplinary hearing for having an affair.

他因有外遇而要面临纪律听证会的裁决。

2. "This ain't no affair of yours, boy!" McClosky said threateningly.

“小子，这不关你的事！”麦克洛斯基威胁道。

3. He claims he was made the fall guy for the affair.

他声称自己是这起事件的替罪羊。

4. The government ordered an independent inquiry into the affair.

政府下令对该事件进行独立调查。

5. The industry minister described the affair as "an absolute scandal".

工业部长将此事件形容为“绝对的丑闻”。

【affair, matter, concern, business, thing】
这组词都有“事情”的意思，其区别是：
affair: 含义较广，侧重指已发生或必须去做的任何事情或事务。复数形式多指重大或较复杂的事务。
matter: 普通用词，着重指一件考虑中的或需要处理的事。
concern: 往往强调与个人或团体利害有直接或重大关系的事。
business: 通常指较重要或较难而又必须承担的事情，也可指商事。
thing: 用作“事情”解时，词义较笼统、含糊，多用于指不很具体的事。

【substance, affair, matter, business】
substance: 具有某种化学物理性质的“物质”
affair: 私事
matter: 泛指一切有形之物的“物质”
business: 商业，生意