Mysteries of vernacular: Odd - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel

字源探秘：Odd - Jessica Oreck 與 Rachael Teel

Transcriber: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Jessica Ruby

譯者: Geoff Chen 審譯者: Marssi Draw

Mysteries of vernacular:

字源探秘：

Odd,

Odd

different from what is usual or expected.

意指「不尋常的事物」

Though the modern word odd has many meanings,

雖然現代 odd 這詞有多重用法

mathematical or not,

無論數學或其他

they can all be traced back

它們都可以追溯到

to the Indo-European root uzdho,

印歐語系的字根「uzdho」

meaning pointing upwards.

意思是「向上指」

Inspired by the idea

這個想法的靈感來自於

of a vertical-pointed object,

垂直指向的物體

speakers of Old Norse modified this root

古諾爾斯語 (Old Norse) 的使用者 把這個字根修改為

into a new word, oddi,

一個新的單詞「oddi」

which was used to refer to a triangle,

用來指三角形

the simplest pointed object

它是一個從幾何上說來

geometrically speaking.

最簡單的物體

A triangle with a long point,

有一個長點的三角形

like an arrow head

就像一個箭頭

or a piece of land jutting out into the sea,

或一塊伸入海洋的陸地

was recognized to have two paired angles

人們認識到 它有兩個成對的角度

and a third that stood alone.

和第三個單獨的角度

And over time, oddi began to refer

隨著時間的推移 人們開始以「oddi 」來指稱

to something that wasn't matched or paired.

那些不相同，或無法成對的東西

In Old Norse, oddi also came to mean

在古諾爾斯語中，oddi 也可以用來代表

any number indivisible by two.

任何一個無法用 2 相除的數字

And odda mathr, the odd man,

odda mathr 也就是 the odd man

was used to describe the unpaired man

被用來描述一個與眾不同的人

whose vote could break a tie.

他的票數能打破均勢

Though the English never called a triangle odd,

雖然英國人從來不以 odd 來指稱三角形

they did borrow the odd number

他們卻借來了 odd number (奇數) 的用法

and the odd man.

和 odd man (與眾不同的人)

And finally, in the 16th century,

最終到了 16 世紀

the notion of the odd man out

與眾不同之人的概念

gave rise to our modern meaning peculiar.

便賦予了其「怪異」的現代意義