petrel的词源

英文词源

petrel: petrel: [17] The petrel, a gull-like seabird, is alleged to have been named after the apostle Peter, supposedly inspired by the resemblance between the petrel’s habit of flying close to the surface of the sea and touching it with its feet, and Peter’s reported feat of walking on the water, as reported in Matthew 14:29 – ‘And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus’
petrel (n.): seabird, 1670s, pitteral, modern spelling first recorded 1703 by English explorer William Dampier (1651-1715), who wrote the bird was so called from its way of flying with its feet just skimming the surface of the water, which recalls the apostle's walk on the sea of Galilee (Matt. xiv:28); if so, it likely was formed in English as a diminutive of Peter (Late Latin Petrus). If this is folk etymology, the true source of the name is undiscovered. French pétrel (1760) probably is from English.

可能来自Peter,圣彼得，-el,小词后缀。字面意思即小彼得，来自圣经中记载的耶稣门徒圣彼得水上行走的神迹，后因这种鸟掠过水面的姿势如同圣彼得水上漂而得名。

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