The Proto-Indo-European root *gene- (to give birth, to beget) gave birth to a whole family tree of words related to giving birth, natural origin, reproduction, descent through family lineage and anything pertaining to generation or birth.
Genealogy means the study of family trees, from the Greek genea (generation, descent) together with the suffix –logy, meaning “the study of something.”
The Latin word generalis (relating to all, of a whole class, generic) derives ultimately from *gene-, too, and begets the English adjective “general,” originally from around 1200, meaning “of wide application, affecting or involving all.”
Photo: Wikimedia Commons 照片:維基共享資源
The adjective “genital” (pertaining to (sexual) reproduction), dating to the late 14th century, comes from the Latin genitus, the past participle of gignere, from the root *gene-.
The Latin gignere also gives genuinus, meaning “native, natural or innate,” which bequeathed us the English adjective “genuine” (natural, not acquired), in the 1590s.
An interesting alternative etymology to genuine is that it comes from the Latin genu (knee). Apparently, there was an ancient custom in which a father would place a newborn on his knee as a way to acknowledge paternity. From around the 1660s, the word genuine has been used to mean “really proceeding from its reputed source.”
(Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)
原始印歐語字根「*gene–」(生育、成為…之生父)衍生出一整個譜系的詞彙,包括與生產、自然起源、繁殖、家族後裔,以及任何與世代或生育有關的詞。
「genealogy」(系譜學)一字意為對家譜之研究,是由希臘文「genea」(世代、後裔)以及後綴「–logy」組合而城,表示對某種事物的研究。
拉丁文「generalis」(與全部有關、屬於整類、通稱)最早也是源自「*gene-」這個字根,並衍生出英文形容詞「general」,在西元一二○○年左右出現,意思是「廣泛適用、影響或涉及全部」。
形容詞「genital」(生殖的、與(性)生殖有關),可追溯到十四世紀末,來自拉丁文「genitus」,即「gignere」之過去分詞,源頭也是「*gene-」這個字根。
拉丁文「gignere」也演變出「genuinus」,意為本地的、自然的或固有的,在一五九○年代衍生出英文形容詞「genuine」(自然的、非後天取得的)。
關於「genuine」之來源的另一種有趣說法,是說它來自拉丁文「genu」(膝)。顯然有種古老的習俗,父親將新生兒抱到膝上以承認父子關係。「genuine」一字現今之意義「確實出自其宣稱之來源/名副其實/真品」,大約始自一六六○年代。
(台北時報林俐凱譯)
A: Wow, three Taiwanese restaurants just won the 2024 “Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants” awards. B: Awesome! Which three restaurants? A: Taipei’s Logy at No. 22 and MUME at No. 34, and Taichung’s JL Studio at No. 33. B: Actually, there are many more great establishments in Taipei. How about other Asian cities? A: Singapore claimed nine spots this year, making it Asia’s new “food capital.” A: 2024「亞洲50最佳餐廳」名單揭曉了,台灣有3家餐廳上榜。 B: 好厲害,哪3家? A: 台北的Logy和MUME分獲第22和34名,台中的JL Studio獲第33名! B: 其實台北還有很多好餐廳,那其他的亞洲城市呢? A: 新加坡今年入選9家,可說是亞洲美食之都。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Let’s explore another delicacy primarily known to Tainan locals: floating milkfish in thick soup. Despite its peculiar name, this dish is another Tainan specialty that showcases the popularity of milkfish, which is made into fish paste and served in thick soup. Unlike the version with tutuo fish, which also adds other ingredients to its thick soup, the floating milkfish version primarily features the “floating fish” itself in its thick soup, ensuring that the fish paste remains the star of the dish. 讓我們來探索另一道台南人熟悉的美食:浮水魚羹。這道菜名奇特的美食,再再展現了台南虱目魚料理的多樣。浮水魚羹是用虱目魚漿做成的羹品,雖然和𩵚魠魚羹一樣是羹湯,但不像𩵚魠魚羹會在湯中加入其他食材,而是讓虱目魚漿成為這道料理的主角。 peculiar (adj.) 獨特的;古怪的 The belly of a milkfish is considered the most
The practice of freezing embryos as part of in vitro fertilization (IVF) was thrown into chaos in Alabama this year, when the state supreme court ruled that such embryos should be considered children, exposing clinics to wrongful death claims in the event they are destroyed in the thawing process. In 2021, more than 80 percent of US IVF procedures involved the transfer of frozen embryos, according to a recent report by the US Department of Health and Human Services. HOW IS EMBRYO FREEZING USED IN IVF? IVF uses high doses of hormones to stimulate ovaries to produce as many eggs as possible. Once
A situation puzzle is a game in which one person describes a scenario and asks the players to explain it. The situation is deliberately lacking in details, but the players may acquire more information by asking questions — however, these can only be answered with “yes” or “no.” A player wins by describing the approximate events that led up to the situation. To do so, they must use a blend of logical and lateral thinking. A famous example of this is sometimes known as “Turtle Soup.” Here’s the riddle: “A man in a restaurant orders turtle soup, tastes it