eureka的词源
英文词源
- eureka
- eureka: [16] The Greek mathematician Archimedes (c. 287–212 BC) was commissioned by King Hiero II of Syracuse to find out whether the goldsmith who had made a new crown for him had fraudulently mixed some silver in with the gold. In order to do so, Archimedes needed to ascertain the metal’s specific gravity. But how to do this? According to Plutarch, he decided to take a bath to ponder the problem.
He filled the bath too full, and some of the water overflowed – and it suddenly occurred to Archimedes that a pure-gold crown would displace more water if immersed than one made from an alloy. Elated at this piece of lateral thinking, Archimedes is said to have leapt out of the bath shouting heúrēka! ‘I have found!’, the perfect indicative of Greek heurískein ‘find’ (source of English heuristic [19]).
The earliest occurrence of the word in an English text as an exclamation of delight at discovery is in John Dee’s Preface, but there it appears in Greek characters; the first English author to fully naturalize it was probably Henry Fielding in Joseph Andrews 1742; ‘Adams returned overjoyed cring out “Eureka!”’ (The goldsmith, incidentally, had adulterated the gold.)
=> heuristic - eureka
- c. 1600, from Greek heureka "I have found (it)," first person singular perfect active indicative of heuriskein "to find" (see heuristic). Supposedly shouted by Archimedes (c. 287-212 B.C.E.) when he solved a problem that had been set to him: determining whether goldsmiths had adulterated the metal in the crown of Hiero II, king of Syracuse.
中文词源
来自PIE*were, 找到，词源同heuristic. 可能进一步来自PIE*wen, 追寻，渴求，词源同 Venus,wish, win. 据说最早来自古希腊物理学家阿基米德，国王给他一顶金冠让他判断是否纯金，阿基米德苦思不得，一次在泡澡时通过浮力原理找到了方法，因而大喊该词。
该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版：eureka 词源，eureka 含义。
关于其由来，有一则有趣的传说。古代叙拉古( Syracuse，古时为希腊城市)国王海叶罗(Hiero)请金匠做一顶金冠，怀疑其中掺加了别的金属，要数学家、物理学家阿基米德测出王冠含金的纯度，但又不能损伤王冠。阿基米德冥思苦想，一直没想出来。在淋浴时，他突然从浴盆溢出的水得到了启发，发现了浮力定理，并据此测定了金子的纯度。据说当时他从澡盆中跳了出来，连衣服都忘了穿，边跑边喊“Eureka!"。该词相当于英语“I have found it．“（我发现了）。从16世纪以来，eureka在英语及其他一些语言里一直被用作因重大发现而发的惊叹语。eureka是希腊语，严格地说应作heureka，源自heuriskein‘find’。始用于19世纪的heuristic 一词亦源于此，它之所以被赋予“启发（式）的”一义与eureka的来历恐怕是不无联系的。
eureka（找到了！）：阿基米德解决难题后的欢呼声
阿基米德（Archimedes）是古希腊著名的大学问家。有一回，西西里岛上的叙拉古国王请他解决一道难题：如何判断一顶黄金王冠有没有掺假而又不损坏王冠。阿基米德冥思苦想了好几天。终于有一天，当他躺在浴盆里洗澡时，他发现浴盆里的水被身体排了出去。他突然意识到，利用这个方法可以测量出王冠的体积，再与等重黄金的体积进行比较就可以判断王冠里面有没有掺假。想到这个方法后，阿基米德兴奋地从浴盆里一跃而起，一边大叫着“heureka”，一边跑去报告国王。heureka的意思就是“找到了”，是希腊语动词heuriskein（寻找）的第一人称完成式。在英语中，不发音的字母h被去掉了，heureka变成了eureka。人们在绞尽脑汁终于找到难题的解决方法后，常常使用这个词来表达自己的兴奋之情。
20世纪80年代，面对美国、日本日益激烈的竞争，西欧国家制定了一项在尖端科学领域内开展联合研究与开发的计划，称为“尤里卡计划”（EURECA），是“欧洲研究协调机构”（European Research Coordination Agency）的英文缩写。该名称源自单词eureka。
eureka：[jʊ'rikə] int.找到了！有了！
heuristic：[hjʊ'rɪstɪk] adj.启发式的，探索的n.启发式教育法
