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.”
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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)
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures. Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 degrees Celsius. Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat. “We
It’s widely recognized that there are far more right-handed people than left-handed people in the world. Being right-handed simply means preferring to use one’s right hand for tasks that involve only one hand, such as writing and eating. But have you ever wondered about the possible reasons behind the global dominance of the right hand over the left? As with many complex biological questions, multiple factors appear to be at play. First, one reason seems to be genetics. __1__ Therefore, the global dominance of right-handedness is something that has been passed down through many generations of humans. Next,
A: What’s even more horrible is that the five suspects who purposely supplied ketamine to actor Matthew Perry were all his “friends.” B: Who exactly are the five suspects? A: They include Matthew’s two doctors, a broker, a drug dealer, and even his live-in assistant. B: Those scumbags should go to jail. A: Yeah, one of the doctors may be sentenced to up to 120 years in prison. A: 更可怕的是,提供男星馬修派瑞「K他命」的5人全是他的「朋友」。 B: 嫌犯是誰啊? A: 其中包括他的2位醫生、1位仲介、1位毒販、甚至他的同居助理! B: 那些人渣真該去坐牢。 A: 對啊,其中1位醫生可能面臨120年徒刑。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang Finally, cultural influence also plays a role in which hand people prefer. Historically, items that require physical manipulation have been designed for right-handed use. For example, tools like scissors and musical instruments are often constructed with right-handers in mind, making it difficult for left-handers to use them. __4__ While these factors offer some explanation, they remain speculative. The precise reasons for the global prevalence of right-handed people continue to be debated. Nevertheless, left-handedness will remain a phenomenon of great curiosity among scientists and researchers for many years to come. 最後,文化影響也在人們偏好哪一隻手上扮演一角。歷史上,需要用到肢體操作的物品都被設計來供右手使用。舉例來說,像是剪刀、樂器等工具常常就是考慮到右撇子而打造的,造成左撇子難以使用這些工具。因此,許多天生就是左撇子的人可能就必須透過學習使用右手來適應。 雖然這些因素都提供了一些解釋,但它們仍是推測而已。全球右撇子如此普及,確切的原因仍持續被爭論著。不過,在未來的許多年裡,左撇子依然會是科學家和研究人員相當好奇的一個現象。 What Did You Learn? (A) Specifically, different areas of