英语词汇gatling gun的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

Gatling gun. The Gatling gun won fame as the best of the 11 mostly eponymous Civil War machine guns (including the Rip- ley; the Ager “Coffee Mill”; the Claxon; the Gorgas; and the Wil- liams, which, when used by the Confederates on May 3, 1862, became the first machine gun to be fired in warfare). Designed by Doctor Richard Jordan Gatling (1818–1903), a North Caroli- na physician and inventor, the Gatling was perfected by 1862 but adopted by Union forces too late to be used in more than a few battles. Mounted on wheels, it had a cluster of 5 to 10 barrels that revolved around a central shaft. The gunner, by turning a hand crank, controlled the rate of fire, up to 350 rounds per minute. Despite the weapon’s late introduction, the Gatling’s ef- fective range of 2,000 yards had a strong psychological effect on the Confederacy; adopted by many nations after the Civil War, it remained in use until about 1900. Although the weapon is of only historical importance today, as the precursor of the mod- ern machine gun, another word deriving from it has wide cur- rency. Gat, a slang term for a small gun, apparently arose as a humorous exaggeration. By 1880, however, fictional characters were talking of having gatlins under their coats and it wasn’t long before gatlin, or gatling, was shortened to gat.

词汇	gatling gun
词源	Gatling gun. The Gatling gun won fame as the best of the 11 mostly eponymous Civil War machine guns (including the Rip- ley; the Ager “Coffee Mill”; the Claxon; the Gorgas; and the Wil- liams, which, when used by the Confederates on May 3, 1862, became the first machine gun to be fired in warfare). Designed by Doctor Richard Jordan Gatling (1818–1903), a North Caroli- na physician and inventor, the Gatling was perfected by 1862 but adopted by Union forces too late to be used in more than a few battles. Mounted on wheels, it had a cluster of 5 to 10 barrels that revolved around a central shaft. The gunner, by turning a hand crank, controlled the rate of fire, up to 350 rounds per minute. Despite the weapon’s late introduction, the Gatling’s ef- fective range of 2,000 yards had a strong psychological effect on the Confederacy; adopted by many nations after the Civil War, it remained in use until about 1900. Although the weapon is of only historical importance today, as the precursor of the mod- ern machine gun, another word deriving from it has wide cur- rency. Gat, a slang term for a small gun, apparently arose as a humorous exaggeration. By 1880, however, fictional characters were talking of having gatlins under their coats and it wasn’t long before gatlin, or gatling, was shortened to gat.
随便看	fore forecastle fo’c-sle forefather-s day foreigner forest city forget it forget-me-not forgotten man forgotten war for he-s a jolly good fellow fork fork in the beam forlorn hope for my next trick fornication for openers for pete-s sake forsythia fortnight fortune cookies fortunella forty-gallon baptists forty thieves for whom the bell tolls fosbury flop