| 词汇 | scrimshaw |
| 词源 | scrimshaw. Up until relatively recent times sailors on long voyages would often spend their spare time carefully carving whalebone, shells, or ivory into decorative and useful objects, ranging from clothespins to elaborate canes and jewelry boxes. This intricate work was called scrimshaw, a word whose origins are rather vague. Webster’s traces scrimshaw to the French es- crimer, “to fight with a sword,” in the sense of “to make flour- ishes,” while other dictionaries suggest scrimshank, English military slang for “to evade duty, be a shirker.” Just as many au- thorities believe the word comes from the proper name Scrim- shaw, referring to some once-illustrious sailor-carver noted for his craftsmanship. But Scrimshaw, if he did exist, hasn’t been identified. Scrimshaw work was also called skrimshander and today it can mean any good piece of mechanical work. |
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