6個英文單詞的有趣來源

08-26

6個英文單詞的有趣來源

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squirrel 松鼠

In middle English, squirrel is the shortening of Old French esquireul, from a diminutive of Latin sciurus, from Greek skiouros, from skia shade + oura tail.

英文中的Squirrel源自希臘語的「skiouros」，意思是「影子的尾巴」（shade tail）。

awkward 尷尬的

When the English word「awkward」 first appeared in English in the 14th century, it carried the literal meaning of 「turned around backwards,」 and it wasn』t until the 16th century that the modern meaning of 「clumsy,」 in both literal and figurative senses, appeared.

awkward一詞源自古挪威語 afugr，即轉錯了方向」。

computer 計算機

The term "computer", in use from the early 17th century, meant "one who computes": a person performing mathematical calculations, before electronic computers became commercially available.

早在計算機發明之前，computer一詞便已經存在，它用來表示一個執行計算的人。後來，這個詞逐漸用於代表處理計算任務的機器。

daisy 雛菊

Daisy originates from old English d??ges ēage days eye,because the flower opens in the morning and closes at night.

雛菊(daisy)具有白天開放，夜間閉合的特性，在古英語中它被稱作太陽的眼睛（day』s eye）。

narcissus 水仙花，自戀狂

In Greek mythology, Narcissus is the name of a youth who was punished for repulsing Echoslove by being made to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool.

希臘神話中，Narcissus（那喀索斯）是位美少年，但他只愛自己。回聲女神厄科（Echo）向他求愛，遭到拒絕後日漸憔悴，最後軀體消失，只留下她聲音在山林中迴響(echo)。愛神阿佛洛狄特為了懲罰Narcissus，讓他迷戀上自己在水中的倒影，最後憔悴而死。他死後化為水仙花，narcissus也因此成了這種花的名稱。由narcissus派生出narcissism一詞，意為「自戀」。

sarcasm 諷刺

1570s, sarcasmus, from Late Latin sarcasmus, from late Greek sarkasmos "a sneer, jest, taunt, mockery," from sarkazein "to speak bitterly, sneer," literally "to strip off the flesh," from sarx (genitive sarkos) "flesh," properly "piece of meat," from PIE root *twerk- "to cut" (source also of Avestan thwares "to cut").

英文的sarcasm來源於拉丁語的「sarkazein」，意思是「把肉撕下來」。古代希臘人在辯論時，優秀的辯論家往往能抓住對方言語中的漏洞，用尖酸刻薄的話加以諷刺，使對手顏面盡失。這種尖酸刻薄的諷刺，就像是用牙齒將對手的肌膚一條條撕咬下來，因此將其稱為sarkazein，to strip off the flesh。

red delicious apple 蛇果

我們常說的蛇果它與蛇一點關係沒有。這個詞源於英語中的red delicious apple"(可口的紅蘋果)，被音譯為「紅地厘蛇果」後面就演變成蛇果了。

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