ptarmigan

来自苏格兰盖尔语tarmachan,雷鸟。拼写受希腊语pt-辅音丛影响。

ptarmigan

ptarmigan: [16] Ptarmigan was borrowed from Scottish Gaelic tarmachan, a diminutive form of tarmach ‘ptarmigan’. There is no etymological justification for the spelling pt-. It was foisted on the word in the late 17th century in the erroneous belief that it had some connection with Greek pterón ‘wing’ (source of English pterodactyl).

ptarmigan (n.)

bird of the grouse family, 1590s, from Gaelic tarmachan, of unknown origin. The pt- spelling (1680s) is a mistaken Greek construction (perhaps based on pteron "wing").

1. A black fox came toward him, carrying a ptarmigan in his mouth.

一只黑狐狸朝他走了过来, 嘴里叼着一只松鸡.

2. But he could not stop, for the mother ptarmigan was running on.

不过他不能停下, 因为母松鸡正在向前跑.