英语词汇lesbian的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

lesbian. Lesbos, a Greek island in the Aegean Sea off the west coast of Turkey, was a center of civilization in the seventh and sixth centuries b.c. There Sappho, the most famous poet- ess of her time, taught the arts of poetry to a select group of young women. The legend has never been proved but the ro- mantic ardor of some of Sappho’s lyrical poems probably ac- counts for the tradition that she and her followers engaged in homosexual love, female homosexuality being named for the Lesbians, or residents of Lesbos. The word Lesbian (with a cap- ital) designates any inhabitant of the island, which is noted for its rich soil as well as its sardine and sponge fisheries. Here Epicurus and Aristotle once lived and the philosopher Theo- phrastus was born. Sapphism, from Sappho’s name, is a syno- nym for lesbianism. The poetess, according to legend, threw herself into the sea when spurned by the handsome youth Phaon, but the story is generally regarded as pure invention. Sappho may have married and had a son. Her simple, passion- ate verse, characterized by matchless lyricism and vivid use of words, originally formed nine books, but only fragments of these are extant today. The “Tenth Muse,” as she was known, used the four-line verse form now called sapphics in her honor, and is in fact noted for her careful control over meter. See sappho.

词汇	lesbian
词源	lesbian. Lesbos, a Greek island in the Aegean Sea off the west coast of Turkey, was a center of civilization in the seventh and sixth centuries b.c. There Sappho, the most famous poet- ess of her time, taught the arts of poetry to a select group of young women. The legend has never been proved but the ro- mantic ardor of some of Sappho’s lyrical poems probably ac- counts for the tradition that she and her followers engaged in homosexual love, female homosexuality being named for the Lesbians, or residents of Lesbos. The word Lesbian (with a cap- ital) designates any inhabitant of the island, which is noted for its rich soil as well as its sardine and sponge fisheries. Here Epicurus and Aristotle once lived and the philosopher Theo- phrastus was born. Sapphism, from Sappho’s name, is a syno- nym for lesbianism. The poetess, according to legend, threw herself into the sea when spurned by the handsome youth Phaon, but the story is generally regarded as pure invention. Sappho may have married and had a son. Her simple, passion- ate verse, characterized by matchless lyricism and vivid use of words, originally formed nine books, but only fragments of these are extant today. The “Tenth Muse,” as she was known, used the four-line verse form now called sapphics in her honor, and is in fact noted for her careful control over meter. See sappho.
随便看	the hills are closing in on him the hollywood golden rule the hub the hulks the iliad in a nutshell the immortal tragedian the industry the internationale the ireland hoax he-s gone and with him what a world is dead he-s got short arms and long pockets he she found the hole he sold his saddle he spake three thousand proverbs hessian heterochromia heterodoxy heterosexual hetty green he walks between the raindrops he was born with a silver foot in his mouth he wears a two-inch belt and big jim suspenders hewers of wood and drawers of water he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day hex