#你不知道的词汇冷知识# 这些常用词都怎么来的？

不背单词App 2016-01-21 17:45:19

来源/Grammarly Blog 翻译/朗易思听
世界第一运动足球的英文是 football ，这人人都知道，可为什么美国人把足球叫 soccer 呢？把秋天称作 fall 是因为只有秋天掉叶子么？这些问题时不时冒出来，但很多人都不知道这些词的词源，也就是它们是怎么来的，怎么一步步发展到今天的用法。我们参考了John Ayto的书Word Origins: the Hidden Histories of English Words from A to Z《词的起源：英语单词不为人知的历史》和其他一些资料，试图回答这些磨人的问题：以下这些词从哪来？是怎样打入现代词汇阵营的？
The world’s most popular sport is calledfootball, which is an obvious term, so why do Americans call itsoccer? Is autumn calledfallbecause it occurs when leaves fall? These questions pop up often, but not many people know the etymology (the origin and historical development) of these words. We consultedJohn Ayto’s bookWord Origins: the Hidden Histories of English Words from A to Zandother sourcesfor answers to our burning questions about where the following words come from and how they made it into the modern lexicon.

美国人为什么把足球叫 Soccer？Why do we call football “soccer”?

在19世纪末，一些足球俱乐部的头头聚在伦敦的一家小酒馆，讨论制定足球的规则并命名为英式足球（Association Football）。Association Football 简称为 soccer，因为那时候很流行在英国俚语后面加-er。虽然 soccer 是英国人发明的，但却留在了美式英语中，而英国人不再用了。

During the late nineteenth century, leaders of a dozen football clubs gathered at a London tavern to establish the rules of football and created Association Football. Association football was shortened tosoccerbecause the addition of-erto nouns was popular in British slang at the time.Soccerhas remained in the American lexicon, but although the term originated in the UK, the British no longer use it.

秋天为什么是 fall？Why do we call autumn “fall”?

在16世纪，短语落叶的季节（fall of the leaf）用来形容我们现在所说的“秋天（autumn）”。后来缩略为 fall，并在美式英语中取代了 autumn ，成为指代秋天的主要词汇，不过 autumn 没有完全出局，仍在使用中。

In the sixteenth century, the phrasefall of the leafwas used to describe the season known as autumn. It was later shortened tofalland replaced autumn as the main word to describe the season in the US, although autumn is still in use.

为什么把罪犯叫 crook？Why do we call a criminal “crook”?

Crook 的本意是“弯曲”或者“勾住”，就像以前牧羊人用的曲柄杖。crook 的比喻意义是指一个人“弯了”，也就是说这个人不正直，不值得信任。（当然现在弯了根本是另一个意义好么，不过 crook 没有你以为的那层意思）

Crookmeans “bend” or “hook,” such as the crook of a shepherd’s staff. Metaphorically, a crook is a “bent” person—someone who cannot be trusted.

↑这就是牧羊人的曲柄杖，用来勾住小羊的脖子不让乱跑↑

肥皂剧为什么叫“肥皂”剧？Why do we call it a “soap opera”?

在上世纪30年代的美国， Soup opera指的是由肥皂和洗涤剂制造商赞助的广播节目，比如说宝洁Procter & Gamble (P&G)。节目在白天播出，播送的常常是情节夸张的故事，后来在50年代都改编成了电视剧。TeleNext Media公司的剧As the World Turns （《地球照转》）从1965年一直播到2010年，就是宝洁公司赞助的。宝洁是近几十年来仅剩的一家还在赞助肥皂剧的肥皂制造商。

In 1930s America,soap operaswere radio shows that were sponsored by soap and detergent manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble (P&G). They aired during the day, featuring characteristically melodramatic storylines, and transitioned to television in the 1950s.As the World Turns, which ran from 1956 to 2010, was produced by TeleNext Media, which is funded by P&G; P&G was the last soap company still involved in funding soap operas in recent history.

现在你知道这些常用词的来源了，下次被问到的时候，就可以给他们上一课啦。

Now that you know the etymologies of these common words, you’ll be ready with an answer the next time someone asks where they came from.

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