Mysteries of vernacular: Sarcophagus - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel

字源探秘：Sarcophagus - Jessica Oreck 與 Rachael Teel

Transcriber: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Jessica Ruby

譯者: Geoff Chen 審譯者: Shelly Wang

Mysteries of vernacular:

字源探秘：

Sarcophagus,

Sarcophagus

a stone coffin typically adorned

意指石棺

with decorative carvings or inscriptions.

通常是附有雕飾或題字的石棺

The history of the word sarcophagus

Sarcophagus 這字的歷史

is so skin-crawlingly grotesque,

是令人毛骨悚然的詭異

it seems to come right out

它似乎來自於

of a low-budget horror film.

一部低成本的恐怖片

Rather than having a B-movie origin, however,

然而它並不屬於 B 級片

its roots can be traced back to the early Roman Empire

它的根源其實可以追溯到 早期羅馬帝國

where the Greek word sarkophagus

的希臘文 Sarkophagus

was used to describe the limestone

被用來描述石灰石

that a coffin was made of,

它是製作棺材的材料

not the coffin itself.

而不是描述棺材本身

According to the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder,

根據羅馬學者老普林尼 (Pliny the Elder)

citizens of the Empire believed

帝國公民相信

that limestone from a quarry near Troy

特洛伊附近礦場的石灰石

would dissolve flesh.

可以分解肉身

For this reason, it was quite desireable

因此，它被認為非常適合

in the construction of coffins.

拿來製作棺材

Though it's unclear if the belief was widespread

雖然人們不清楚 這種想法是否普遍

or even accurately reported by Pliny,

甚至無從考證 普林尼的說法是否準確

what is certain is that sarkophagus

但可以肯定的是

came from the Greek words sark,

Sarkophagus 來自於希臘語 Sark

meaning flesh,

意指肉身

and phagein,

而 Phagein

a verb meaning to eat.

是吃的動詞

From flesh-eating stone

從肉食性石頭

to stone coffin,

到石頭棺材

it's a fitting etymology

這是死者長眠之地

for the final resting place of the deceased.

的恰當詞源學