Mesopotamia的词源

英文词源

Mesopotamia

ancient name for the land that lies between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (in modern Iraq), from Greek mesopotamia (khora), literally "a country between two rivers," from fem. of mesopotamos, from mesos "middle" (see medial (adj.)) + potamos "river" (see potamo-).

In 19c. the word sometimes was used in the sense of "anything which gives irrational or inexplicable comfort to the hearer," based on the story of the old woman who told her pastor that she "found great support in that comfortable word Mesopotamia" ["Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable," 1870]. The place was called Mespot (1917) by British soldiers serving there in World War I. Related: Mesopotamian.

中文词源

Mesopotamia（美索不达米亚）：两条河流之间的　　　

在西亚的阿拉伯半岛北部有两条主要河流：幼发拉底河和底格里斯河。两条河流之间土地肥沃、灌溉便利，诞生了人类早期文明之一——两河文明。这片区域在希腊语中称为mesopotamia，由mesos（中间）和potamos（河流）组合，字面意思就是“两条河流之间的”。英语单词Mesopotamia（美索不达米亚）就来源于此。美索不达米亚的位置就是现代的伊拉克，“美索不达米亚文明”指的就是两河流域诞生的古代文明。

　　Mesopotamia：[,mesəpə'teimiə] n.美索不达米亚

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

Mesopotamia：美索不达米亚地区

meso-,在中间，-potam,河流，词源同hippopotamus,potamology.即在河流中间的，用于指伊拉克两河流域中间的地带。