Mysteries of vernacular: Bewilder - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel

词源揭秘：Bewilder — 杰茜卡·奥列克和雷切尔·蒂尔

Transcriber: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Jessica Ruby

翻译人员: Yixiong Zhu 校对人员: Geoff Chen

Mysteries of vernacular:

词源揭秘：

Bewilder, to confuse or puzzle completely.

Bewilder，使完全迷惑、困惑。

The root of the word bewilder

“Bewilder”的词根

can be traced back to the Old English word wilde,

可以追溯到古英语单词“wilde”，

which was used to refer to something

意思是指处于

that was in a natural state,

天然状态，

uncultivated,

未经耕作，

or undomesticated.

未经驯养的东西。

Over time, the word wild was often linked

随着时间的推移，“wild”一词经常

to the Old English word deor.

与古英语“deor”相联系。

Deor, which was derived

“Deor”，源自

from an early Indo-European root

一个意思是“呼吸”的

that meant breathe,

早期印欧语系词根，

was initially used to describe

其最早是用于描述

any untamed animal or beast.

未经驯服的动物和野兽。

This eventually morphed into the modern word deer,

这个词后来变体成了现代单词"deer"，

meaning a ruminant of the family Cervidae.

指鹿科动物中的一种反刍动物。

The two Old English words,

这两个古英语单词

when mashed together,

结合在一起，

became wilderness,

就是“wilderness”，

meaning a tract of uncultivated land,

指一片未经开垦的土地，

primarily inhabited by undomesticated beasts.

上面生活着未经驯服的野兽。

From the word wilderness,

从“wilderness”这个词里，

the word wilder was born.

“wilder”诞生了。

To wilder someone was to lead him astray

“Wilder”某人意思就是带领他走失，

or lure him into the woods.

或者是引诱他到树林中。

In the 1600's, the prefix be,

17世纪，前缀“be”，

meaning thoroughly,

意思是完全的，

was compounded with wilder

跟“wilder”相结合，

as a way of tacking on a little extra punch.

加重了词的含义。

Someone who was bewildered

某人如果被“bewildered”，

was thoroughly lost in the wild.

就是完全迷失在也野外里。

From this winding background,

经过千绕万绕，

bewilder eventually evolved into our current definition,

“bewilder”终于演化成了我们如今的含义，

to be completely confused.

使完全迷惑。