cowboy
カウボーイ
解説 Definition
cowboy は、主に牧場で牛の世話をする人、特にアメリカ西部の牧童を指します。日本語の「カウボーイ」とほぼ同じですが、英語では現代の牧場で働く人にも使われます。
A person who works on a ranch, especially one who tends or moves cattle and traditionally rides a horse. The word is strongly associated with the western United States but also describes modern ranch workers.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
cow「牛」＋ boy「若者」という透明な複合語で、もとは牛を扱う若者、現在は牧場で牛の世話をする牧童を指す。ride a horse、work with cattle、on a ranch という場面を一組で覚えるとよい。西部劇の人物だけでなく、現代の牧場労働者にも使われる点に注意する。
Split cowboy into the familiar words cow and boy. The original picture is straightforward: a young worker responsible for cattle. Build a fuller memory scene around the typical collocations—a cowboy rides a horse, works with cattle, and lives or works on a ranch. Although films often present cowboys as heroic figures from the historical American West, the noun can also refer to people doing ranch work today. Compare cowhand or ranch hand, which emphasize the job, and cowgirl, the corresponding term for a woman. Keeping the real ranch occupation separate from the film stereotype makes the word easier to use accurately.
例文
The cowboy rode across the field.
そのカウボーイは野原を馬で進みました。
A cowboy works with cattle on the ranch.
カウボーイは牧場で牛の世話をします。
The old photo shows a cowboy beside his horse.
その古い写真には、馬のそばにいるカウボーイが写っています。
cowboy の類義語・関連語
cowboy の語源・成り立ち Etymology
cowboy は cow＋boy。cow は古英語 cu「雌牛」、boy は中英語 boy「若者」からで、原義は「牛の世話をする若者」です。そこからアメリカ西部の牧童を指す語になり、related words は cowgirl, cowherd。
Cowboy is a compound of cow and boy. Cow comes from Old English cū, while boy has been used since Middle English for a male child, youth, or servant. The compound literally designated a boy or young man who tended cattle. It later became especially associated with mounted cattle workers in the western United States, although the practical occupation continues on modern ranches and is not limited to the historical frontier.
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