exhume
Definitions
To dig up a buried body, especially for examination.
掘出（尸体），尤指为检验而发掘。
To bring something long hidden or forgotten back to light.
揭出，重新发掘（被埋藏或遗忘已久之物）。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedex- (out of) + humus (ground) = to take out of the earth. Literally to dig up a buried body; figuratively to unearth a buried secret, record, or memory. Its opposite is inhume, 'to put into the ground.'
Root hum still carries 46 more wordsWhy It Means This
Exhume wears its root on its sleeve: humus is the ground, ex- pulls something out of it. Beyond the literal forensic act, English loves the metaphor — you can exhume an old scandal, a forgotten manuscript, or a buried grievance, treating the past as something interred and dug back up.
Common Collocations
- 1.exhume a body掘出尸体
- 2.exhume the remains发掘遗骨
- 3.exhume the past翻出旧事
Example Sentences
- 1.
Investigators got permission to exhume the body for new DNA tests.
- 2.
The biographer exhumed letters that had been hidden for decades.