plural stimuli, 1680s, originally as a medical term, "something that goads a lazy organ" (often the male member), from a modern use of Latin stimulus "a goad, a pointed stick," figuratively "a sting, a pang; incitement, spur," from PIE *sti- "point, prick, pierce" (see stick (v.)). General sense of "something that excites or arouses the mind or spirit" is from 1791. Psychological sense is first recorded 1894.
权威例句
1. Books provide children with ideas and a stimulus for play.
书不仅给孩子们以思想,而且使他们玩得更有意思。
2. Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.
把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励.
3. Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.
光是促进植物生长的一个因素.
4. Poverty is a stimulus to industry.
贫穷能使人勤劳.
5. Interest rates could fall soon and be a stimulus to the US economy.