ferret
フェレット
解説 Definition
ferret は細長い体をした小型の哺乳類、フェレットという意味です。日本語の「フェレット」とほぼ同じ意味で、ペットとして飼われる動物を指すことが多いです。
A ferret is a small, long-bodied domesticated mammal related to the weasel. Ferrets are often kept as pets and are known for their curiosity, quick movement, and ability to enter narrow tunnels and spaces.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
細長い体で穴やトンネルをすばやく進む小型動物を思い浮かべ、pet ferret、care for a ferret、ferret cage を一組で覚えます。語源上「小さな泥棒」と説明される名は、隙間へ潜り込む機敏な姿とも結びつきます。動詞 ferret out は、その探索行動から「情報などを探り出す」の意味です。
Picture a small pet with a long body racing through a narrow tunnel. That image captures the ferret’s shape, movement, and historical use in driving animals from burrows. Learn the noun through practical combinations such as pet ferret, ferret cage, and care for a ferret. The traditional connection of its name with a “little thief” also suits its curious habit of slipping into tight spaces and carrying objects away, though that is a memory aid grounded in the word’s history, not a description of every animal. The verb phrase ferret out extends the animal’s searching behavior to discovering hidden information.
例文
A ferret needs a safe place to sleep.
フェレットには安全に眠れる場所が必要です。
The children watched the ferret run through a small tunnel.
子どもたちはフェレットが小さなトンネルを走り抜けるのを見ました。
Before buying a ferret, you should learn how to care for it.
フェレットを買う前に、世話の仕方を学ぶべきです。
ferret の類義語・関連語
派生語
紛らわしい語
ferret の語源・成り立ち Etymology
ferret は古フランス語 furet を経て中英語に入り、さらに後期ラテン語 furetus、ラテン語 fur「泥棒」にさかのぼります。穴にもぐって獲物を追い出す素早さから『盗人のような動物』と感じられた名で、関連語は furtive, furtiveness です。
Ferret came into Middle English through Old French furet, from a Late Latin form commonly reconstructed as fūrittus, “little thief,” related to Latin fur, “thief.” The name has traditionally been associated with the animal’s quick, stealthy movement into holes and its tendency to carry things away. The noun first referred to the domesticated hunting animal. Its burrow-searching behavior later produced the verb ferret and the phrase ferret out, meaning to search persistently and uncover something hidden.
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