英语词汇rhinoceros的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

rhinoceros. As with hippopotamus and many other ani- mals, the Greeks named the rhinoceros. They thought the huge horn on its head very formidable and called it rhinokeros after the Greek words rhinos, “nose,” and keras, “horn.” The rhino’s horn, sometimes over four feet long, is an excellent defensive weapon, but it has plagued the animal through the ages, driv- ing it at times to the shores of the Dead Sea of extinction. One old canard had it that a rhino horn used as a goblet could detect the presence of poison; other superstitions claimed that pow- dered rhino horn could cure many ailments, including epilepsy and bubonic plague, as well as ease the pain of childbirth. Yet what caused the rhino the most trouble was the belief that its horn, similar to the legendary unicorn’s, was a sex stimulant. The ancient Chinese, Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans were among many people who believed this. Today at least three species of rhino are becoming extinct because the Chinese val- ue their powdered horn (hsi chio) as an aphrodisiac—a large horn brings at least $1,000 in what is definitely a seller’s market.

词汇	rhinoceros
词源	rhinoceros. As with hippopotamus and many other ani- mals, the Greeks named the rhinoceros. They thought the huge horn on its head very formidable and called it rhinokeros after the Greek words rhinos, “nose,” and keras, “horn.” The rhino’s horn, sometimes over four feet long, is an excellent defensive weapon, but it has plagued the animal through the ages, driv- ing it at times to the shores of the Dead Sea of extinction. One old canard had it that a rhino horn used as a goblet could detect the presence of poison; other superstitions claimed that pow- dered rhino horn could cure many ailments, including epilepsy and bubonic plague, as well as ease the pain of childbirth. Yet what caused the rhino the most trouble was the belief that its horn, similar to the legendary unicorn’s, was a sex stimulant. The ancient Chinese, Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans were among many people who believed this. Today at least three species of rhino are becoming extinct because the Chinese val- ue their powdered horn (hsi chio) as an aphrodisiac—a large horn brings at least $1,000 in what is definitely a seller’s market.
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