松鼠为啥叫squirrel？（动物词源小知识）
教育
教育
2024-11-04 12:31
北京
有些动物名称的来源十分有趣。有的动物是因长相而得名，如犀牛（rhinoceros），有的因叫声得名，如杜鹃（cuckoo，又叫布谷鸟）。今天就为大家分享几个有趣的动物名称词源知识。1. anemone is from a Greek word meaning “windflower” (from the belief that the flower opens when it is windy).anemone（海葵）源自希腊语中表示“风花”的词（人们以为这种花在刮风时开放）。2. badger is perhaps from “badge”, because of the markings on a badger’s head. The word dates from the 16th century; the earlier Old English word for a badger was “brock”.badger（獾）可能源自 badge（标记）一词，因为獾的头上有黑白相间的条纹。badger 最早可追溯到16世纪；在那之前，獾在古英语中称为 brock。3. basilisk is from Greek basilikos which originally meant “little king” and is related to our words “basil” and “basilica”.basilisk（冠蜥）源自希腊语 basilikos 一词，最初指“小国王”，也与英语中的 basil（罗勒） 和 basilica（会堂）有联系。Basilisk lizards can run on the surface of water. 双嵴冠蜥能在水面上飞奔。4. budgerigar is from Australian Aboriginal budgeri meaning “good” and gar meaning “cockatoo”.budgerigar（虎皮鹦鹉）由澳大利亚土著语的 budgeri（好的）和 gar（凤头鹦鹉）组合而成。5. caterpillar is from Old French chatepelose meaning “hairy cat” .caterpillar（毛虫）源自古法语的 chatepelose（毛茸茸的猫）。6. flamingo is from a Spanish word flamengo, and is connected to the Latin flamma meaning “a flame” because of its colour.flamingo（红鹳）源自西班牙语的 flamengo，与拉丁语的 flamma（火焰）有关，这是因为它们火红的颜色。7. halibut is from “holy” and butt, a dialect word meaning “flatfish” (because it was eaten on Christian holy days, when meat was forbidden).halibut（大比目鱼）由 holy（神圣）和 butt（“比目鱼”的方言说法）组合而成（因为过去在基督教节日时不允许吃肉，人们常吃这种鱼）。8. rhinoceros is from Greek rhinos meaning “of the nose” and keras meaning “horn”.rhinoceros（犀牛）由希腊语的 rhinos（鼻子的）和 keras（角）组合而成。9. porpoise is from the Latin words porcus meaning “pig” and piscis meaning “python” which is from Python, the name of a huge serpent killed by Apollo in Greek legend.porpoise（鼠海豚）由拉丁语的 porcus（猪）和 piscis（蟒）组合而成，而 piscis 又源自 Python（皮同），是希腊神话中被太阳神阿波罗杀死的巨蟒。Whales, dolphins and porpoises breathe through a blowhole. 鲸、海豚和鼠海豚通过呼吸孔呼吸。10. squirrel is from Greek skiouros which is from skia meaning “shadow” and oura meaning “tail” (because its long bushy tail cast a shadow over its body and kept it cool).squirrel（松鼠）源自希腊语的 skiouros，由 skia（影子）和 oura（尾巴）组合而成（因为松鼠蓬松的长尾巴能遮阳，帮身体降温）。- 英文地道，译文准确，介绍400余种动物名称和相关知识；
