英语词汇forlorn hope的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

forlorn hope. This expression is one of the best, or worst, ex- amples of folk etymology recorded anywhere. The Dutch called a small squad of volunteer soldiers assigned to an extremely perilous mission a verloren hoop, “a lost troop.” Such a squad of doomed death-defiers was called enfants perdus (“lost chil- dren”) by the French, verloren Kinder by the Germans, and in modern times might be described as shock troops or point men in the U.S. Army, or kamikaze, “suicide pilots,” by the Japanese. Though verloren does not mean “forlorn” and hoop does not mean “hope,” the Dutch words sound like these English words, and verloren hoop was spelled forlorn hope by the Englishmen. The expression was first applied to similar bands of English sol- diers picked to lead attacks, but by 1641 forlorn hope’s common meaning of any undertaking almost surely doomed to failure, any vain expectation, was established. The poor chances of suc- cess and high casualties suffered by forlorn hope squads are mainly responsible for the expression’s staying power, but the pathos and word music of “forlorn”—alliterative and suggest- ing “forgotten,” “forsaken”—were helpful, too.

词汇	forlorn hope
词源	forlorn hope. This expression is one of the best, or worst, ex- amples of folk etymology recorded anywhere. The Dutch called a small squad of volunteer soldiers assigned to an extremely perilous mission a verloren hoop, “a lost troop.” Such a squad of doomed death-defiers was called enfants perdus (“lost chil- dren”) by the French, verloren Kinder by the Germans, and in modern times might be described as shock troops or point men in the U.S. Army, or kamikaze, “suicide pilots,” by the Japanese. Though verloren does not mean “forlorn” and hoop does not mean “hope,” the Dutch words sound like these English words, and verloren hoop was spelled forlorn hope by the Englishmen. The expression was first applied to similar bands of English sol- diers picked to lead attacks, but by 1641 forlorn hope’s common meaning of any undertaking almost surely doomed to failure, any vain expectation, was established. The poor chances of suc- cess and high casualties suffered by forlorn hope squads are mainly responsible for the expression’s staying power, but the pathos and word music of “forlorn”—alliterative and suggest- ing “forgotten,” “forsaken”—were helpful, too.
随便看	nene neologist nepotism neptune neptune-s sheep nerd nero nero of the north nero-s crown nervous nellie nervous pudding nescience nesselrode nessiteras rhombopteryx nest egg nester nestor neurobat nevada nevaeh never complain never explain never give a sucker an even break never go to sleep angry never grab with both hands just grab with one never hoppen