finch
フィンチ
解説 Definition
finch は小型の鳥の一種で、フィンチという意味です。日本語でもカタカナで「フィンチ」と言いますが、英語では特定のペット名ではなく、スズメに似た小鳥の仲間を広く指します。
A finch is a small songbird, typically with a short, strong beak adapted for eating seeds. The name applies broadly to several related kinds of birds rather than to a single individual pet or one particular species.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
finch はスズメに似た小型の種子食鳥を広く指し、日本語の「フィンチ」と対応する。small, strong beak「小さく丈夫なくちばし」を目印に、a finch on the fence の場面で覚えるとよい。sparrow は別の鳥群なので、見た目が似ていても同義語とは考えない。複数形は finches。
Think of finch as the English bird-group name behind the Japanese loanword フィンチ. Picture a small bird perched on a fence, using its short, strong beak to crack seeds. The useful features are small size, songbird appearance, and a seed-eating bill. Learn the plural finches, with an extra syllable, /ˈfɪntʃɪz/. Do not treat finch as another word for sparrow: the birds may look similar to a casual observer, but the terms refer to different groups. Familiar combinations include a house finch, a yellow finch, and Darwin’s finches.
例文
A finch sat on the fence.
フィンチが柵の上にとまっていました。
The finch has a small, strong beak.
フィンチには小さくて丈夫なくちばしがあります。
We watched a yellow finch in the garden.
私たちは庭にいる黄色いフィンチを観察しました。
finch の類義語・関連語
finch の語源・成り立ち Etymology
古英語 finc に由来し、ゲルマン祖語 *finkiz に遡る。鳴き声を模した擬音語が起源とされる。ドイツ語 Fink も同根。小型の種子食鳥類の総称で、ダーウィンのガラパゴスフィンチが進化論研究で有名。
Finch comes from Old English finc and has close relatives in other Germanic languages, including German Fink and Dutch vink. These forms descend from a common Germanic bird name. The deeper origin is uncertain; it has sometimes been associated with imitation of a bird’s call, but that explanation is not firmly established. In modern English, finch is a broad common name for small, often seed-eating songbirds, including the well-known birds associated with Darwin’s observations in the Galápagos.
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