| 词源 |
crow’s nest. Now a word for any lookout station, this was of course first a naval term referring to the highest lookout point aloft. It is said to have originated with the ravens carried in cages aboard Norse vessels; the cages were hoisted aloft when land was thought to be nearby and the birds were released, the ship following their direction to shore. In any case, crow’s nest is first attested in 1604, as a fort built high on a hill. It wasn’t recorded in its present nautical sense until the early 19th century. |