Siamese twins的词源
英文词源
- Siamese twins
- Siamese twins: [19] The original ‘Siamese twins’ were two males, Chang and Eng (1811– 74), born in Siam (now Thailand), who were joined together at the hip. No attempt was made to separate them, and they lived to a respectable age; each married and fathered children. In an age unembarrassed to be interested in ‘freaks’, they gained considerable public attention, and by the 1850s Siamese twins seems to have established itself as a generic term. The late 20th century’s aversion from associating physical defects with racial or national groups has ousted it in favour of ‘conjoined twins’.
中文词源
1811年在暹罗（Siam，即今泰国）一对很有名的中国血统的连体双胞胎章（Chang）与炎（Eng），自胸骨至脐部以系带相连。以后著名的美国游艺节目演出经理人巴纳姆（P.T.Barnum,1810-1891)把他们带往美国，在各地巡回展览。他把这对连体儿称作Siamese twins（暹罗孪生子）。1846年他们娶了一对英国孪生姐妹萨拉(Sarah Yates)与阿德莱德(Adelaide Yates)为妻，定居于北卡罗来纳州的一个农场，共生育了22个子女，直到1874年才逝世，死的时间只相隔两三个小时。据此，后人就用Siamese twins泛指“连体双胞胎”，并进而喻指“关系密切的两人（或两事物）”。英语中有一类由and连接的成对词，如pick and choose（挑挑拣拣），by and by（不久），weal and woe（祸福），betwixt and between（在……之间）等等，英国词典编纂者和语言学家福勒(H.W.Fowler,1858-1933)亦称之为Siamese twins。
该词的英语词源请访问找单词词源英文版：Siamese twins 词源，Siamese twins 含义。
