coconut的词源

英文词源

coconut

coconut: [17] Despite its tropical origins, the coconut has a European name. The base of the coconut’s shell, with its three small holes, apparently reminded early Spanish and Portuguese explorers of a human face, so they called it coco; this was the Portuguese word for a grinning or grimacing face, as of a scarecrow. English adopted it in the 16th century, and it formed the basis of the compound coconut, first recorded in 1613. (Before then the fruit of the coconut palm had been known as the Indian nut.)

coconut (n.)

1610s, from coco + nut. Meaning "the head" is slang from 1834.

中文词源

coconut（椰子）：西班牙神话中可怕的鬼脸

在西班牙及葡萄牙神话中，有一个可怕的妖怪叫做coco，他长着一个南瓜头，面目可 怖。家长们经常用它来吓唬小孩。在口语中，coco表示“鬼脸、骷髅”。当葡萄牙殖民者到达太平洋岛屿时，他们发现岛上有很多椰树，所结果实的底部有三个 凹陷处，看上去像个鬼脸，所以就用coco来命名，将其称为coconut，字面意思就是“鬼脸坚果”。

coconut：['kəʊkənʌt] n.椰子，椰子肉

该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版：coconut 词源，coconut 含义。

coconut：椰子

来自葡萄牙语。coco, 狰狞的，nut，坚果。因该热带水果剥掉外层皮后，从底部看去如同狰狞的脸而得名。

coconut：椰子

coconut（椰子）这种水果的底部有三个小洞，很象一张怪脸：两只眼睛，一张嘴。Coco在西班牙语和葡萄牙语中意思是“怪相”、“鬼脸”。Coconut的字面含义则是“鬼脸三角壳果”。

Coconut又写做cocoanut，这倒不是因为它与cocoa（可可）有什么关系，而是由于英国辞典编纂家Dr. Samuel Johnson（1709——1784）的笔误，以致以讹传讹，流传至今。