Mysteries of vernacular: Sarcophagus - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel

词源揭秘：Sarcophagus — 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：

Sarcophagus,

“Sarcophagus”，

a stone coffin typically adorned

一座石质棺材，通常带有

with decorative carvings or inscriptions.

雕刻和铭文做装饰。

The history of the word sarcophagus

“Sarcophagus”一词的历史

is so skin-crawlingly grotesque,

是如此令人毛骨悚然，

it seems to come right out

以至于它好像是从低成本

of a low-budget horror film.

恐怖电影中出来的一样。

Rather than having a B-movie origin, however,

不过它并不是从B级电影中出来的，

its roots can be traced back to the early Roman Empire

它的源头可以追溯到罗马帝国早起。

where the Greek word sarkophagus

当时希腊语单词“sarkophagus”

was used to describe the limestone

用来描述制作棺材的

that a coffin was made of,

石灰岩，

not the coffin itself.

不是棺材本身。

According to the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder,

据罗马学者老普林尼说，

citizens of the Empire believed

帝国的公民相信

that limestone from a quarry near Troy

特洛伊附近采石场出产的石灰岩

would dissolve flesh.

能分解肉体。

For this reason, it was quite desireable

正因如此，该材质很适合

in the construction of coffins.

用来制作棺材。

Though it's unclear if the belief was widespread

说法是否普遍，以及普林尼的记载

or even accurately reported by Pliny,

是否准确并不清楚，

what is certain is that sarkophagus

但可以确定的是，“sarkophagus”

came from the Greek words sark,

来自希腊语“sark”，

meaning flesh,

意思是肉体，

and phagein,

和“phagein”，

a verb meaning to eat.

动词，意思是吃。

From flesh-eating stone

从吃肉的岩石

to stone coffin,

到石质棺材，

it's a fitting etymology

这个语源倒是与

for the final resting place of the deceased.

逝者的最后栖息地相符。