crocodile [简明英汉词典]
n.鳄鱼,鳄鱼皮
crocodile
[5krCkEdail]
n.
鳄鱼,鳄鱼皮
crocodile
croc.o.dile
AHD:[kr¼k“…-dºl”]
D.J.[6kr%k*7dail]
K.K.[6kr$k*7da!l]
n.（名词）
Any of various large aquatic reptiles,chiefly of the genus Crocodylus,native to tropical and subtropical regions and having thick,armorlike skin and long,tapering jaws.
鳄鱼：任一种原产于热带和亚热带地区的鳄 属大型水栖爬行动物,生有厚的、甲状皮肤以及长而逐渐变细的尾巴
A crocodilian reptile,such as an alligator,a caiman,or a gavial.
鳄类动物：鳄类爬行动物,如短吻鳄、凯门鳄或长吻鳄
Leather made from crocodile skin.
鳄鱼皮革：用鳄鱼皮做成的皮革
Middle English cocodril
中古英语 cocodril
from Old French
源自 古法语
from Latin cocodrillus [variant of] crocodºlus
源自 拉丁语 cocodrillus [] crocodºlus的变体
from Greek krokodilos
源自 希腊语 krokodilos
krok¶} [pebble]
krok¶} [卵石]
drilos [circumcised man,worm]
drilos [受割的人,蠕虫]
The crocodile may owe its name to its resemblance to a much smaller creature,a lizard that lived in the stone walls of Ionia.This lizard's name,krokodilos,is thought to be a compound of krok¶,“pebble,gravel,” and drilos,which is only attested as meaning “circumcised man” but is assumed to mean “worm” as well.According to Herodotus,Ionians in Egypt noted the resemblance,probably humorously,between basking crocodiles and their own “worm of the stones.” The modern form of English crocodile represents a return to the Classical Latin spelling crocodº,Latin having borrowed the word from Greek.But other spellings occurred in Classical Greek and Latin,and one of these Latin spellings,cocodrillus,passed into Medieval Latin and Old French (cocodril ) and then into English,so that our earliest possible use of the word,in a work perhaps composed before 1300,is spelled cokedrille.It was not until the 16th century that the word came to have its present spelling.The various spellings met with in the history of crocodile reflect the same sort of variations that occurred in the history of alligator.
鳄鱼可能是因为与一种比它小得多的生物,即生长在爱奥尼亚的石墙中的蜥蜴外表相似而得名.这种蜥蜴的名字krokodilos 被认为是由 kroke （意为“卵石,砾石”）一词和 drilos 这一（只被证明有“受割的人”的意思但又被假定有“蠕虫”的意思的）词组成的复合词.希罗多德认为,埃及境内的爱奥尼亚人可能出于幽默而记下了晒太阳的鳄鱼和他们本地的“石头中的蠕虫”之间的类似点.英语的crocodile 的现代形式反映了古拉丁语拼法 crocodilus 的回归,拉丁语中的这个词是从希腊语中引入的.但是出现在古希腊语和古拉丁语中的其它拼法以及其中一种拉丁语拼法,cocodrillus ,却进入到中世纪拉丁语和古法语(cocodril )中,然后又进入到英语中,所以出现在可能写于1300年以前的一篇文章中的我们最早有可能使用该词时的拼法是cokedrille .直到16世纪,这个词才变成现在这种拼法.在crocodile 一词的演变历史中的多种拼法也反映了在 alligator 一词的演变历史中的相似变化
Is a butterfly named for the color of its excrement or because it was really a thieving witch?The first suggestion rests on the fact that an early Dutch name for the butterfly was boterschijte.This name is as astonishing a phenomenon as the fact that anyone ever noticed the color of butterfly excrement.Apparently,however,when the butterfly was not busy leaving colorful traces of itself,it was stealing milk and butter.This was not because of its thievish nature but because it was really a mischievous witch in the form of a winged insect.So the second suggestion is that this predilection for butter larceny gave rise to the colorful insect's name.
蝴蝶是以其排泄物的颜色命名的,还是因为它的确是个正在偷东西的精灵呢?第一个假设基于蝴蝶在古代荷兰语中的名称为boterschijte 这个事实.这个名称同任何人都曾注意到蝴蝶的排泄物的颜色这个事实一样是个令人吃惊的现象.然而,很显然蝴蝶不是在忙于留下它们彩色的行迹就是忙于偷牛奶或奶油.这不是因为它有偷窃的天性而是因为它确实是一只作为有翅昆虫形体的淘气的精灵.所以第二个假设就是这种奶油盗窃的嗜好引出了彩色昆虫的命名