cranny
小さな割れ目
解説 Definition
壁や岩などにできた小さなひび割れや隙間。「every nook and cranny」で隅々までの意。
A cranny is a very small narrow space, crack, or opening. It is often used to describe tiny places where things can be hidden or hard to reach, especially in the phrase "nooks and crannies."
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
単体よりも「nook and cranny」のまとまりで覚えると定着しやすい語。nook が「隅」、cranny が「小さな裂け目・すき間」で、合わせて「隅から隅まで」。大きな hole や gap ではなく、壁や岩の表面にある細く入り込んだすき間を思い浮かべるとよい。crack は「ひびそのもの」、cranny はその結果できた“細いすき間”寄り、と区別すると覚えやすい。
This word is easiest to remember in the fixed phrase `nook and cranny`. That whole expression means every small corner and narrow space. Think of a `cranny` as smaller and tighter than a `gap`, more like a little crack-space in a wall or rock.
例文
The explorers searched every nook and cranny of the ancient cave.
探検家たちは古代の洞窟の隅々まで調べた。
Small plants had taken root in every cranny of the old stone wall.
古い石壁のあらゆる小さな割れ目に小さな植物が根を張っていた。
The mouse disappeared into a cranny between the floorboards.
ネズミは床板の間の小さな隙間に消えた。
cranny の類義語・関連語
cranny の語源・成り立ち Etymology
crannyは中英語cranyを経て、古フランス語cran「切れ込み・裂け目」にさかのぼるとされる。大きな穴ではなく「刻み目ほどのすき間」という感覚が、小さな割れ目の意味を生んだ。関連語にcrenel、crenellation。
Cranny comes from Middle English crany and is thought to come from Old French cran, meaning a notch or crack. The word kept the idea of a very small cut or split rather than a large opening. That is how it came to mean a narrow gap or tiny space. It is related to words like crenel and crenellation.
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