確率についての入門書、"The Drunkard's Walk" by Leonard Mlodinowを読んでいます。 確率はともかく、読み始めて直ぐに引っ掛かった英語が次ぎの文にあります。
The images show, too, that the amygdala, which is also linked to our emotional state, especially fear, is activated when we make decision couched in uncertainty.
私が気になったのは難しい単語 "amygdala" ではありません。とは言っても何だか分からないと文の意味が分からないで "amygdala" も調べます。
"amygdala": The region of the brain, located in the medial temporal lobe, believed to play a key role in the emotions, such as fear and pleasure, in both animals and humans.（扁桃体）
さて、"amygdala" より気になったのは "couched in" です。 "couch" で直ぐに連想するのは "couch potate" ですが、この文の "couch" とは全く関係がなさそうです。
・American Heritage Dictionary: To word in a certain manner; phrase: couched their protests in diplomatic language.
・Macmillan Dictionary: to be expressed a particular way; Couched in generalities, the report named no one responsible for the incident.
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: to phrase or express in a specified manner (the comments were couched in strong terms)
うーん、 "couch" が動詞としてこんな意味も持っているのですか。
動詞の意味の語源を見ると：
c.1300, "to overlay with gold, inlay," from O.Fr. couchier "to lay down, place; go to bed, put to bed," from L. collocare "to lay, place, station, arrange," from com- "together" (see com-) + locare "to place" (see locate). Meaning "to put into words" is from 1520s.
以前、どこかの古墳で出土した剣に金で文字が埋め込まれていたの見た事を思い出しました。
The images show, too, that the amygdala, which is also linked to our emotional state, especially fear, is activated when we make decision couched in uncertainty.
私が気になったのは難しい単語 "amygdala" ではありません。とは言っても何だか分からないと文の意味が分からないで "amygdala" も調べます。
"amygdala": The region of the brain, located in the medial temporal lobe, believed to play a key role in the emotions, such as fear and pleasure, in both animals and humans.（扁桃体）
さて、"amygdala" より気になったのは "couched in" です。 "couch" で直ぐに連想するのは "couch potate" ですが、この文の "couch" とは全く関係がなさそうです。
・American Heritage Dictionary: To word in a certain manner; phrase: couched their protests in diplomatic language.
・Macmillan Dictionary: to be expressed a particular way; Couched in generalities, the report named no one responsible for the incident.
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: to phrase or express in a specified manner (the comments were couched in strong terms)
うーん、 "couch" が動詞としてこんな意味も持っているのですか。
動詞の意味の語源を見ると：
c.1300, "to overlay with gold, inlay," from O.Fr. couchier "to lay down, place; go to bed, put to bed," from L. collocare "to lay, place, station, arrange," from com- "together" (see com-) + locare "to place" (see locate). Meaning "to put into words" is from 1520s.
以前、どこかの古墳で出土した剣に金で文字が埋め込まれていたの見た事を思い出しました。
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