comprise

comprise
verb
  1. [with obj.]consist of; be made up of
    由…组成，由…构成
    the country comprises twenty states.
    这个国家由20个州组成。
    ■make up; constitute
    组成，构成
    this single breed comprises 50 per cent of the Swiss cattle population.
    仅此品种就构成了瑞士牛总数的50%。
    documents are comprised of words.
    文件是由词句构成的。
语源
  1. late Middle English: from French, 'comprised', feminine past participle of comprendre, from Old French comprehender (see comprehend)
用法
  1. 1 According to traditional usage, comprise means ‘consist of’, as in the country comprises twenty statesand should not be used to mean ‘constitute or make up (a whole)’, as in this single breed comprises 50 per cent of the Swiss cattle populationBut confusion has arisen because of uses in the passive, which have been formed by analogy with words like compose: when comprise is used in the active (as in the country comprises twenty states), it is, oddly, more or less synonymous with the passive use of the second sense (as in the country is comprised of twenty states). Such passive uses of comprise are common and are fast becoming part of standard English. Other erroneous forms, such as the property comprises of bedroom, bathroom, and kitchenshould not be used in standard English.
  2. 2 On the differences between comprise and include, see usage at include
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