bats
コウモリ
解説 Definition
bats は bat（コウモリ）の複数形です。夜に飛ぶ哺乳類を複数まとめて指すときに使います。
Bats are two or more flying mammals that are generally active at night and often rest during the day. This form is the regular plural of bat when the word refers to the animal.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
bats は bat「コウモリ」に複数語尾 -s を付けた形です。bat の末尾は無声音 /t/ なので、-s は /z/ ではなく /s/ と発音し、全体は /bæts/ になります。Bats sleep during the day や many bats のように、複数の夜行性哺乳類をまとめて語る場面と結び付けましょう。
Start with the singular bat, one flying mammal, and add the regular plural ending -s to make bats. Because bat ends in the voiceless sound /t/, the ending is pronounced /s/, not /z/: /bæt/ becomes /bæts/. Picture several bats leaving a bridge after sunset; that image naturally requires the plural. Useful patterns include bats sleep during the day, many bats, and we saw bats near the bridge. Remember that bat can also mean a piece of sports equipment, so the surrounding words tell you whether bats are animals or pieces of equipment.
例文
Bats sleep during the day.
コウモリは昼間に眠ります。
We saw bats near the old bridge.
古い橋の近くでコウモリを見ました。
Many bats came out after sunset.
日が沈んだあと、たくさんのコウモリが出てきました。
bats の語源・成り立ち Etymology
bats は bat「コウモリ」の複数形で、中英語 bakke にさかのぼります。古スウェーデン語 natbakka など北欧語の近縁語と比べられ、夜にひらひら羽ばたく姿が語の核と考えられるため、「コウモリ」のイメージにそのままつながります。関連語は batty。
Bats is the regular plural of bat, formed by adding -s. The animal name bat is recorded in Middle English in forms such as bakke. It has been compared with related Scandinavian words, including Old Swedish natbakka, although its deeper origin is not completely certain. In modern English, the spelling change is simple: bat plus -s gives bats, while the final plural ending is pronounced /s/ after the voiceless /t/.
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