fink
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覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
fink は米語のくだけた動詞で、典型的には fink on someone「人を密告する」の形を取ります。警察や教師などに仲間の秘密を漏らす場面を思い浮かべ、より一般的な inform on や snitch on と結び付けましょう。侮蔑的で古風に響くことがあるため、使用場面には注意が必要です。
Learn fink with the preposition on: to fink on someone means to report or betray that person, usually to an authority. Link it with the more familiar expressions inform on, tell on, and snitch on. Imagine a member of a group secretly giving the police information about the others. The word is strongly informal and insulting, and it may sound dated, so it is more useful for understanding dialogue than for neutral reporting. Do not confuse fink with finch, the ordinary name of a small bird.
fink の類義語・関連語
fink の語源・成り立ち Etymology
19世紀末の米語スラングで、ドイツ語の「Fink（フィンチ）」が語源。捕らえやすい小鳥のイメージから転じて密告者を指し、動詞化した。接辞分解はなく、同系語はドイツ語原型のみだが、鳥を密告者に例える隠語文化と通じる。
The verb fink developed in American English from the earlier slang noun fink, meaning an informer or contemptible person. The noun appeared in the late nineteenth century, while the verb is recorded later. Its deeper origin is uncertain, though it has traditionally been compared with German Fink, literally “finch,” and with related German slang uses. Because the historical connection is disputed, the secure formation is simply the conversion of the English slang noun into a verb.
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