English Collection

日頃目に付いた覚えたい英単語、慣用句などの表現についてのメモです。

gingerly

2009年10月07日 | 英語学習
Gilbertはアンに気があるようです。
Once, when nobody was looking, Gilbert took from his desk a little pink candy heart with a gold motto on it, "You are sweet," and slipped it under the curve of Anne's arm. Whereupon Anne arose, took the pink heart gingerly between the tips of her fingers, dropped it on the floor, ground it to powder beneath her heel, and resumed her position without deigning to bestow a glance on Gilbert.
この "gingerly" 今までに他の本でも何回も見かけ、従って何回も辞書で意味を確認した事は覚えていますが、どうも食べるジンジャーばかり頭に浮かんでしまう単語です。
OneLook Quick Definitions: adverb: in a gingerly manner ("Gingerly I raised the edge of the blanket"); adjective: with extreme care or delicacy ("They proceeded with gingerly footwork over the jagged stones")
Dictionary.com: cautious, careful, or wary.
語源辞典を見ると:
1519, "elegantly, daintily," perhaps from O.Fr. gensor, comp. of gent "dainty, delicate," from L. gentius "(well)-born." Meaning "extremely cautiously" is from 1607.
とありました。 "gentle" と関係がある様だが、"gingerly" が出てきて "gentle" を思い浮かべられるようなら苦労はしないのですが。
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