请输入您要查询的词汇:

 

词汇 turtle
词源

turtle [M16th] English sailors gave the turtle its name. They probably based it on tortue, an early form of tortoise [LME], from French tortue and Spanish tortuga ‘tortoise’ of uncertain origin. A boat is said to turn turtle [E19th] when it turns upside down, because it then looks a bit like the shell of a turtle, or because it is as helpless as a turtle flipped over on its back, although the expression is found from 1689 for catching turtles on shore by turning them on their backs and rendering them helpless.

The turtle in turtle dove is a completely different word whose ultimate source is Latin turtur, an imitation of the bird’s cooing.

随便看

 

英语词源词典收录了6069条英语词源词条,基本涵盖了全部常用英语词汇的起源、历史,是研究英语词汇或通过词源学英语的必备工具。

 

Copyright © 2000-2024 Newdu.com.com All Rights Reserved
更新时间:2025/3/15 23:44:15