Old Words For Winter Ailments
涨知识!在古代,“咳嗽”、“头痛”、“打喷嚏”用英语这么说
1.Meldrop
鼻涕
Derived from Scandinavian roots, meldrop was originally a drop of foam from a horse’s mouth as it chomped on the bit—the metal crossbar held in a horse’s mouth, the Old Norse word for which was mel. According to the English Dialect Dictionary, however, it came to have additional meanings in 16th-century Scots: Meldrop can be used to refer to both a drip of water from the tip of an icicle and a pendulous droplet on the tip of a person’s nose.
Meldrop的词根源于斯堪的纳维亚语,最初是指马戴着马嚼子而从嘴里留出的一滴唾沫(马嚼子是马嘴里戴着的金属横条),而古斯堪的纳维亚语中mel表示马嚼子的意思。然而,根据《英语方言词典》,Meldrop在16世纪的苏格兰语中有了其他含义:既可以用来指冰柱顶端的一滴水,也可以用来指人鼻尖上的一滴鼻涕。
2.Snirl
鼻塞
Besides being a long-forgotten dialect word for the nose—or for the metal hoop pierced through a bull’s nostrils—snirl or snurl is an old 18th-century dialect word for a stuffy head cold.
Snirl或snurl是一个过时已久的方言词,表示鼻子或穿过公牛鼻孔的金属环,在18世纪方言词中形容感冒鼻塞。
3.Kiffle
轻咳
To kiffle is to cough because you have a tickle in the throat. To hosk, meanwhile, is to cough harshly or painfully; to boke is to cough violently, according to the English Dialect Dictionary; and to wirken is to cough or choke, likely because you’re eating too quickly. A tissick, likewise, is a dry, tickling cough.
Kiffle表示因喉咙发痒而轻咳。此外,hosk表示剧烈或痛苦的咳嗽;根据《英语方言词典》,boke是剧烈咳嗽;而wirken指因为吃得太快等而呛咳。而tissick表示发痒干咳。
4. Fox’s Cough
咳嗽
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, this is a hoarse, scratching cough that refuses to clear up, apparently so-called because the fox’s call is so raucous.
根据《牛津英语词典》解释,Fox’s Cough是一种嘶哑的、刺挠的、持续的咳嗽,这么说显然是因为狐狸的叫声非常刺耳。
5. Sternutament
喷嚏
Sternutation is a 16th-century medical word for the act of sneezing, which makes sternutament an equally ancient word for a single sneeze.
Sternutation是16世纪的医学术语,表示打喷嚏这个动作,而Sternutament在古代英语中表示一个喷嚏。
6. Presenteeism
身体不适
The opposite of absenteeism is presenteeism—a term coined in the early 1930s for the act of turning up to work, despite being unwell.
Presenteeism是absenteeism的反义词,是20世纪30年代初出现的一个术语,用来表示尽管身体不适,但仍坚持上班的行为。
7.Headwarch
头痛
Waerc was an Old English word for pain (which derives from the same ancient root as work). That makes headwarch an equally ancient word for a headache.
Waerc在古英语中表示疼痛(它与work源自同一古英语词根)。因此,headwarch在古代就是头痛的意思。
来源:Mental Floss
编辑:董静
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