rubber
ゴム
解説 Definition
rubber は、弾力のある素材のゴムという意味です。日本語の「ラバー」は恋人を指すこともありますが、英語の rubber は主に素材やゴム製品を指します。
Rubber is a flexible, elastic material obtained naturally from latex or manufactured synthetically. It is used in products such as tires, balls, seals, gloves, and shoe soles because it can bend, stretch, resist water, and return toward its original shape.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
rubber は rub「こする」＋ -er「もの」が出発点で、鉛筆の跡をこすって消せる素材から「ゴム」の意味になりました。made of rubber「ゴム製」、rubber soles「ゴム底」のように、弾力があり曲がる素材を思い浮かべましょう。lover「恋人」とは発音も綴りも意味も別です。
Link rubber with the verb rub. The material received its English name because pieces of it could rub out pencil marks, which also explains why British English uses rubber for an eraser. For the material sense here, picture an elastic ball or the flexible soles of shoes and remember combinations such as made of rubber, rubber soles, and a piece of rubber. Do not connect it with the Japanese use of ラバー for a romantic partner: English lover has that meaning, whereas rubber mainly names the elastic material or objects made from it.
例文
This ball is made of rubber.
このボールはゴムでできています。
The shoes have rubber soles.
その靴にはゴムの靴底がついています。
We need a piece of rubber for the repair.
修理にはゴム片が必要です。
rubber の類義語・関連語
rubber の語源・成り立ち Etymology
動詞 rub（こする）に動作主接尾辞 -er がついた語。16世紀に「こするもの」の意で生まれ、18世紀に天然ゴムが鉛筆の跡を「こすって消せる」ことから素材名になった。同根語に rub（こする）がある。
Rubber was formed from the verb rub and the suffix -er, originally describing something used for rubbing. In the eighteenth century, the word became associated with natural latex because the material could be used to rub out pencil marks. From the object used for erasing, the name extended to the elastic substance itself. Modern rubber may be natural or synthetic, but the historical link with rubbing remains visible in the spelling.
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