| 词汇 | guy |
| 词源 | guy. American expressions often vary greatly in meaning from their identical British cousins. A regular guy to many En- glishmen means “a thoroughly grotesque person,” not “a de- cent chap” at all. The difference is not as pronounced as in the past, but the American meaning still has a strange ring to Brit- ish ears. For the English, guy owes its origin to the grotesque effigies of Guy Fawkes, a leader of the infamous Gunpowder Plot, which are carried through the streets of England and burnt in bonfires on November 5, Guy Fawkes Day. All of the festivities through the years probably mellowed the meaning of the word to include both good and bad guys. But only in America, far removed from the Gunpowder Plot in distance as well as time, is guy widely used for any “chap” or “fellow,” no ridicule intended. In England to this day a guy remains a ridiculous-looking person. Since the 1970s guys in America has been used in referring to women as well as men, especially in mixed groups of men and women (i.e., “Do you guys want to come over?”). American playwright Eugene O’Neill was the first person to record this last use of guy, in a 1927 letter to a friend; it became widely used by both men and women within the next 10 years or so. |
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英语词源词典收录了13259条英语词源词条，基本涵盖了全部常用英语词汇的起源、历史，是研究英语词汇或通过词源学英语的必备工具。