【英语学习】【WOTD】ephemeral 释义/词源/示例

Podcast

ephemeral podcast

ephemeral adj. [ih-FEM-uh-rul]

短暂的；暂时的

Definition

1: lasting a very short time
1：持续很短一段时间

2: lasting one day only
2：仅持续一天时间

Did You Know?

The mayfly (order Ephemeroptera) typically hatches, matures, mates and dies within the span of a few short hours (though the longest-lived may survive a record two days); poets sometimes use this insect to symbolize life’s ephemeral nature. When ephemeral (from the Greek word ephēmeros, meaning “lasting a day”) first appeared in print in English in the late 16th century, it was a scientific term applied to short-term fever, and later, to organisms (such as insects and flowers) with very short life spans. Soon after that, it acquired an extended sense referring to anything fleeting and short-lived, as in “ephemeral pleasures.”

词源词根演化：ephēmeros (“lasting a day”) —> ephemeral (adj.)

蜉蝣（mayfly, Ephemeroptera目，意思是“短暂的有翅”)通常在短暂的几个小时内完成孵化，成熟，交配到死亡的整个过程 （尽管有最长的活过两天的记录）；诗人们有时使用这种昆虫来比喻生命的短暂特点。当ephemeral （来自于希腊单词 ephēmeros，意思是“持续一天”）最初出现在16世纪的英文印刷品中时，是一个科学术语，表示“短暂的发烧”，后来用于生命非常短暂的有机物（例如昆虫与花朵）。此后不久，这个词就用于更加广泛的场景，指代任何短暂的或者短命的事物，例如在 ephemeral pleasure (转瞬即逝的快乐)中。

注：mayfly：蜉蝣；
图片来自 The National Wildlife Federation

Examples

• The young YouTube star’s fame was ephemeral but surprisingly lucrative while it lasted.

  这个年轻的YouTube新星的名声转瞬即逝了，但是在此期间，却令人惊异地获利颇丰。

  注：lucrative ['luːkrətɪv]：合算的，获利的

• “After winter, the garden comes to life with the planting of spring-blooming ephemeral bulbs such as naturalizing daffodils, crocus, tulips, snowdrops and hyacinths that appear before the tree canopy ‘leafs out’ and perennials burst forth… .”
  — The Parry Sound (Ontario) North Star, 6 Mar. 2019
  冬天过后，花园里的瞬间恢复了生机，主要是那些春天开花的短暂球茎植物，例如黄水仙，藏红花，郁金香，雪花莲和风信子，他们要赶在大树与多年生植物枝叶繁茂之前…。

  注：daffodil [['dæfədɪl] ]：黄水仙花
  
  crocus：番红花，藏红花
  
  tulip：郁金香
  
  snowdrop：雪花莲
  
  hyacinth ['haɪəsɪnθ]：风信子