curfew的词源
英文词源
- curfew
- curfew: [13] Curfew means literally ‘coverfire’. It was introduced into English via Anglo-Norman coeverfu from Old French covrefeu, which was formed from covrir ‘cover’ and feu ‘fire’ (feu was a descendant of Latin focus ‘hearth’, which has given English focus, foyer, fuel, and fusillade). The notion underlying the word is that of a signal given at a particular time in the evening to extinguish all fires in a town, camp, etc; its original purpose seems to have been to prevent accidental fires breaking out at night.
=> cover, focus, foyer, fuel - curfew (n.)
- early 14c., "evening signal, ringing of a bell at a fixed hour," from Anglo-French coeverfu (late 13c.), from Old French cuevrefeu, literally "cover fire" (Modern French couvre-few), from cuevre, imperative of covrir "to cover" (see cover (v.)) + feu "fire" (see focus (n.)). The medieval practice of ringing a bell at fixed time in the evening as an order to bank the hearths and prepare for sleep. The original purpose was to prevent conflagrations from untended fires. The modern extended sense of "periodic restriction of movement" had evolved by 1800s.
中文词源
curfew（宵禁）：晚间按时灭火熄灯就寝的规定
在古代中国，在夜里到了某时刻，敲更人就会敲钟报时，并提醒大家小心火烛。在中世纪的欧洲也有类似做法，即到了夜里规定时刻，就会有人敲钟，提醒大家扑灭灯火，按时就寝，其目的是避免无人照看的灯火在夜里引发火灾。这种做法在古法语中被称为cuevrefeu，字面意思就是cover fire（扑灭灯火）。英语单词curfew就来源于此，并在19世纪时衍生出“宵禁”之意。
curfew： ['kɜːfjuː] n.宵禁，宵禁令，晚钟，敲晚钟时刻
该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版：curfew 词源，curfew 含义。
来自古法语cuevrefeu, 来自cuevr, 同cover,遮盖，feu, 同focus, 火，火炉，焦点。
中世纪在欧洲某些地区法令规定一到夜间某个时刻晚钟敲响之后就得灭火熄灯就寝。公元1066年操法语的诺曼人征服了英国，1068年威廉一世下令将打晚钟的时刻定为8时。晚间定时灭火熄灯就寝的这一规定，“灭火熄灯”就寝的这种晚钟就是curfew一词的原始意义。究其根源curfew并非固有的英语词，它源自古法语couvrefew‘cover- fire’。我们如今使用的curfew已不再作此义解，其词义已引申为“戒严”，“宵禁”。
cur和cover（覆盖）同源，你可以把它看做cover的简化，类似地，handkerchief（手帕）中的ker也表“覆盖”；few和法语feu（火）同源，和英语fuel（燃料）同源。该词字面义“盖灭火焰”，中世纪欧洲有规定：夜间某个时刻晚钟敲响后须灭灯就寝，是为宵禁。
