你知道”咳嗽”、”頭痛”、”打噴嚏”這些詞在古代英語(yǔ)中怎么說(shuō)嗎？下面就來(lái)學(xué)習(xí)幾個(gè)有意思的古英語(yǔ)表達(dá)。

1.Meldrop

Derived from Scandinavian roots, meldrop was originally a drop of foam from a horse’s mouth as it chomped on the bit—the metal crossbar held in a horse’s mouth, the Old Norse word for which was mel. According to the English Dialect Dictionary, however, it came to have additional meanings in 16th-century Scots: Meldrop can be used to refer to both a drip of water from the tip of an icicle and a pendulous droplet on the tip of a person’s nose.
Meldrop的詞根源于斯堪的納維亞語(yǔ)，最初是指馬戴著馬嚼子而從嘴里留出的一滴唾沫（馬嚼子是馬嘴里戴著的金屬橫條），而古斯堪的納維亞語(yǔ)中mel表示馬嚼子的意思。然而，根據(jù)《英語(yǔ)方言詞典》，Meldrop在16世紀(jì)的蘇格蘭語(yǔ)中有了其他含義：既可以用來(lái)指冰柱頂端的一滴水，也可以用來(lái)指人鼻尖上的一滴鼻涕。

2.Snirl

Besides being a long-forgotten dialect word for the nose—or for the metal hoop pierced through a bull’s nostrils—snirl or snurl is an old 18th-century dialect word for a stuffy head cold.
Snirl或snurl是一個(gè)過(guò)時(shí)已久的方言詞，表示鼻子或穿過(guò)公牛鼻孔的金屬環(huán)，在18世紀(jì)方言詞中形容感冒鼻塞。

3.Kiffle

To kiffle is to cough because you have a tickle in the throat. To hosk, meanwhile, is to cough harshly or painfully; to boke is to cough violently, according to the English Dialect Dictionary; and to wirken is to cough or choke, likely because you’re eating too quickly. A tissick, likewise, is a dry, tickling cough.
Kiffle表示因喉嚨發(fā)癢而輕咳。此外，hosk表示劇烈或痛苦的咳嗽；根據(jù)《英語(yǔ)方言詞典》，boke是劇烈咳嗽；而wirken指因?yàn)槌缘锰斓榷鴨芸?。而tissick表示發(fā)癢干咳。

4. Fox’s Cough

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, this is a hoarse, scratching cough that refuses to clear up, apparently so-called because the fox’s call is so raucous.
根據(jù)《牛津英語(yǔ)詞典》解釋，F(xiàn)ox’s Cough是一種嘶啞的、刺撓的、持續(xù)的咳嗽，這么說(shuō)顯然是因?yàn)楹偟慕新暦浅４潭?/p>

5. Sternutament

Sternutation is a 16th-century medical word for the act of sneezing, which makes sternutament an equally ancient word for a single sneeze.
Sternutation是16世紀(jì)的醫(yī)學(xué)術(shù)語(yǔ)，表示打噴嚏這個(gè)動(dòng)作，而Sternutament在古代英語(yǔ)中表示一個(gè)噴嚏。

6. Presenteeism

The opposite of absenteeism is presenteeism—a term coined in the early 1930s for the act of turning up to work, despite being unwell.
Presenteeism是absenteeism的反義詞，是20世紀(jì)30年代初出現(xiàn)的一個(gè)術(shù)語(yǔ)，用來(lái)表示盡管身體不適，但仍堅(jiān)持上班的行為。

7.Headwarch

Waerc was an Old English word for pain (which derives from the same ancient root as work). That makes headwarch an equally ancient word for a headache.
Waerc在古英語(yǔ)中表示疼痛（它與work源自同一古英語(yǔ)詞根）。因此，headwarch在古代就是頭痛的意思。

來(lái)源：Mental Floss
編輯：董靜