accomplice 指“共犯;同谋;帮凶”,即在犯罪或不当行为中协助、参与或与他人合谋的人(比 partner 更偏负面语境)。
/əˈkʌmplɪs/
He was arrested as an accomplice.
他作为共犯被逮捕了。
Although she didn’t steal anything herself, she acted as an accomplice by helping them escape.
尽管她自己没有偷任何东西,但她帮助他们逃跑,构成了共犯。
来自中古法语 acomplise(“同伙、伙伴”之意),与 accomplish 同源,均可追溯到拉丁语 *ad-*(“向、去”)+ complere(“完成、做完”)的概念;后来在英语中语义逐渐固定为“在不法行为中一起‘完成’的人”,带上明显的贬义色彩。