英语词汇beyond the pale的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

beyond the pale; put to the pale. There is no connection be- tween this expression and the word pale, “of whitish appear- ance,” which comes from the Latin pallidus, “pallid.” Pale here refers to the Latin palus, “a stake or boundary marker driven into the ground with others to fence off a territory under the rule of a certain nation.” Pale or picket fences (we call them pal- ings today) were erected all over Europe from Roman times to designate territory belonging to a certain country. Later, the “pale” came to be used figuratively, as in the famous 15th- century “English pale” portion of Ireland that the English dom- inated before Cromwell conquered the whole island. Beyond the pale first meant simply to be outside the boundaries or ju- risdiction of a nation, but by extension, and with the aid of Kipling’s “Beyond the Pale,” it came to describe a dismal place to which we assign social outcasts, those regarded as beyond the bounds of moral or social decency. To put to the pale often means to defeat someone so badly that he’ll be banished from competition with you forever (“Write more poems like this and you’ll put Poe to the pale.”).

词汇	beyond the pale
词源	beyond the pale; put to the pale. There is no connection be- tween this expression and the word pale, “of whitish appear- ance,” which comes from the Latin pallidus, “pallid.” Pale here refers to the Latin palus, “a stake or boundary marker driven into the ground with others to fence off a territory under the rule of a certain nation.” Pale or picket fences (we call them pal- ings today) were erected all over Europe from Roman times to designate territory belonging to a certain country. Later, the “pale” came to be used figuratively, as in the famous 15th- century “English pale” portion of Ireland that the English dom- inated before Cromwell conquered the whole island. Beyond the pale first meant simply to be outside the boundaries or ju- risdiction of a nation, but by extension, and with the aid of Kipling’s “Beyond the Pale,” it came to describe a dismal place to which we assign social outcasts, those regarded as beyond the bounds of moral or social decency. To put to the pale often means to defeat someone so badly that he’ll be banished from competition with you forever (“Write more poems like this and you’ll put Poe to the pale.”).
随便看	johnny reb johnny town-mouse john o’groat-s house john roberts johns hopkins johnson box johnsonese johnsonian johnston smith john thomas john wayne john wesley hardin joint jolly boat jolly good jolly good fellow jolly good show jolly roger joltin’ joe jonathan apple jonquil jordan almond jorum joseph coat joseph vissarionovich stalin 1879–1953