quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- anthrax[anthrax 词源字典]
- anthrax: [14] In Greek, anthrax means ‘coal’ (hence English anthracite [19]). The notion of a burning coal led to its being applied metaphorically to a very severe boil or carbuncle, and that is how it was first used in English. It was not until the late 19th century that the word came into general use, when it was applied to the bacterial disease of animals that had been described by Louis Pasteur (which produces large ulcers on the body).
=> anthracite[anthrax etymology, anthrax origin, 英语词源] - anthrax (n.)
- late 14c., "any severe boil or carbuncle," from Latin, from Greek anthrax "charcoal, live coal," also "carbuncle," which is of unknown origin. Specific sense of the malignant disease in sheep and cattle (and occasionally humans) is from 1876.