| 词源 |
shrimp n.early 14c., "slender, long-tailed, ten-footed, edible marine crustacean," Middle English shrimpe, probably from or related to Old Norse skreppa "thin person," from Proto-Germanic *skrimp- (see scrimp). This is related to Old English scrimman "to shrink." The connecting notion between the two senses would be probably "thinness" (compare Danish dialectal skrimpe "thin cattle"). OED speculates that the general sense of "shrunken creature, puny person" is probably directly from the etymological source, however that meaning in English is attested only from late 14c. and is felt as transferred from the crustacean sense. An especially puny one might be a shrimplet (1680s). Shrimp cocktail is attested by 1937. shrimp v. "fish for shrimp," 1801 (implied in shrimping), from shrimp (n.). Related: Shrimper "person who catches shrimp; vessel engaged in shrimping" (1808). updated on September 20, 2022 |