gun的词源

英文词源

gun

gun: [14] Gun probably comes, unlikely as it may seem, from the Scandinavian female forename Gunnhildr (originally a compound of gunnr ‘war’ and hildr ‘war’). It is by no means unusual for large fearsome weapons to be named after women (for reasons perhaps best left to psychologists): the huge German artillery weapon of World War I, Big Bertha, and the old British army musket, Brown Bess, are cases in point.

And it seems that in the Middle Ages Gunnhildr or Gunhild was applied to various large rock-hurling seige weapons, such as the ballista, and later to cannon. The earliest recorded sense of gun (on this theory representing Gunne, a pet form of Gunhild) is ‘cannon’, but it was applied to hand-held firearms as they developed in the 15th century.

gun (n.)

mid-14c., gunne "an engine of war that throws rocks, arrows or other missiles from a tube by the force of explosive powder or other substance," apparently a shortening of woman's name Gunilda, found in Middle English gonnilde "cannon" and in an Anglo-Latin reference to a specific gun from a 1330 munitions inventory of Windsor Castle ("... una magna balista de cornu quae Domina Gunilda ..."). Also compare gonnilde gnoste "spark or flame used to fire a cannon" (early 14c.). The woman's name is from Old Norse Gunnhildr, a compound of gunnr and hildr, both meaning "war, battle." First element from PIE *gwhen- "to strike, kill" (see bane); for second, see Hilda. The identification of women with powerful weapons is common historically (such as Big Bertha, Brown Bess, Mons Meg, etc.). Or perhaps directly from Old Norse gunnr "battle." The word was perhaps influenced by or confirmed by (or possibly from) Old French engon, dialectal variant of engin "engine."

Meaning grew with technology, from cannons to firearms as they developed 15c.; popularly applied to pistols and revolvers from 1744. In modern military use the word is restricted to cannons (which must be mounted), especially long ones used for high velocity and long trajectory. Hence great guns (1884 as an exclamation) distinguished from small guns (such as muskets) from c. 1400. Meaning "thief, rascal" is from 1858. For son of a gun, see son. To jump the gun (1912, American English) is a figurative use from track and field. Guns "a woman's breasts" (especially if prominent) attested by 2006.

[G]un covers firearms from the heaviest naval or siege guns (but in technical use excluding mortars and howitzers) to the soldier's rifle or the sportsman's shotgun, and in current U.S. use even the gangster's revolver. In the other European languages there is no such comprehensive word, but different terms for the small or hand gun of the soldier or sportsman (even these, sometimes differentiated) and the heavy naval guns or artillery pieces .... [Buck, 1949]

gun (v.)

"shoot with a gun," 1620s, from gun (n.). Related: Gunned; gunning. The sense of "accelerate an engine" is from 1930, from earlier phrase give (her) the gun (1917), which appears to have originated in pilots' jargon in World War I; perhaps from the old military expression give a gun "order a gun to be fired" (c. 1600).

中文词源

gun（枪）：温莎城堡上的巨型弩炮

英语单词gun（枪）来源于14世纪时部署在英国的温莎城堡上的巨型弩炮的名称Lady Gunilda（根尼尔达夫人）。而Gunilda这个名字又来自古北欧语中一个女子姓氏Gunnhildr，由gunnr + hildr构成，而这两个词在北欧语中都是“战争”的意思。由于温莎城堡上的这架巨型弩炮十分著名，因此其他各种能够发生弩箭、石块的类似武器都被称为gunne，源自Lady Gunilda。后来，各种手持枪械问世后，沿袭了gunne的叫法，只是拼写形式进一步缩略为gun。

gun：[gʌn] n.枪，枪状物vt.向……开枪，开大油门vi.用枪射击，开大油门快速行驶

该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版：gun 词源，gun 含义。

gun：枪，炮

词源不详，可能来自妇女名Gunilda, 字面意思为战斗，击打。gun, 击打，词源同bane, offend. hilda, 砍，杀，词源同gladiator.