释义 |
grin·go AHD[grĭngʹgō] D.J.[ˈgrɪŋgəʊ]K.K.[ˈgrɪŋgo]n.(名词)【复数】 grin.gos 【无礼用语】 【俚语】 - Used as a disparaging term for a foreigner in Latin America, especially an American or English person.外国佬,老外:在拉丁美洲尤指对英、美外国人的贬义的称呼
- Spanish [foreign, foreign language, gibberish] 西班牙语 [外国的,外语,胡扯]
- probably alteration of griego [Greek] 可能为 griego的变化 [希腊语]
- from Latin Graecus * see Greek 源自 拉丁语 Graecus * 参见 Greek
注释- The wordgringo is an offensive term in Latin America for a foreigner, particularly an American or English person.But the word existed in Spanish before this particular sense came into being.In fact,gringo may be an alteration of the word griego, the Spanish development of LatinGraecus, "Greek.” Griego first meant "Greek, Grecian,”as an adjective and "Greek, Greek language,” as a noun.The saying "It's Greek to me" exists in Spanish,as it does in English,and helps us understand whygriego came to mean "unintelligible language" and perhaps, by further extension of this idea,"stranger, that is, one who speaks a foreign language.”The altered formgringo lost touch with Greek but has the senses "unintelligible language,” "foreigner, especially an English person,”and in Latin America, "North American or Britisher.”Its first recorded English use (1849) is in John Woodhouse Audubon'sWestern Journal: "We were hooted and shouted at as we passed through, and called ‘Gringoes.’”在拉丁美洲,gringo 一词是对外国人, 尤其是英美人的不尊敬的称呼。但在有这一特定含义之前这个词已存在于西班牙语之中。事实上,gringo 也许是 griego 一词的变体, 而后者则是西班牙语对拉丁语中Graecus “希腊的”一词的发展。 Griego 开始作形容词时意为“希腊的”; 作名词时意为“希腊,希腊语”。在西班牙语中也有“这对我来说象希腊语一样”的说法,这同英语中一样。这就帮我们理解为什么griego 开始有“胡说八道”的意思, 随着这层意思地延伸,就指“陌生人,即一个讲外语的人”。gringo 的变体已与希腊毫无关系而却有了“胡说八道”、 “外国人,尤指讲英语的人”等含义;在拉丁美洲它更指“北美人或英国人”。此词有记载的第一次在英语中的运用(1849年)是在约翰·伍德豪斯·奥杜邦的西部游记 中: “我们走过时四周都是叫喊声、怪叫声和‘外国佬’的叫骂声”
|