「処女航海（maiden voyage）」「処女作（maiden work）」といった言葉に苦言を呈するフェミの方々が現れると、決まって「『船』や『ペン』が女性名詞だから『処女』が付くだけなのにそんなことも知らないのか」と得意げに反論をする人たちが出てくるのだが、はたしてこの「女性名詞説」は本当に正しいのだろうか。

「maiden」の語源

まずは「処女」すなわち「maiden」の語源を確認しよう。

Etymology
From Middle English mayden, meiden, from Old English mæġden (“maiden, virgin, girl, maid, servant”), diminutive of mæġþ, mæġeþ (“maiden, virgin, girl, woman, wife”) via diminutive suffix -en, from Proto-West Germanic magaþ, from Proto-Germanic magaþs (“maid, virgin”). Equivalent to maid +‎ -en.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/maiden
語源
中世英語の「mayden」「meiden」は、古英語「mæġden」（「未婚の若い女性」「処女」「少女」「女中」「召使い」）に由来し、それは「mæġþ」「mæġeþ」に指小語尾「-en」がついた指小辞であり、それは西ゲルマン祖語の「magaþ」に由来し、さらにはゲルマン祖語の「magaþs」にまで遡る。「maid +‎ -en」に相当する。

maiden (adj.)
c. 1300, "virgin, unmarried," from maiden (n.). The figurative sense of "new, fresh, untried; first" (as in maiden voyage) is by 1550s. In horse-racing (1760) it denotes young horses that have never run before.
https://www.etymonline.com/word/maiden
maiden（形容詞）
13世紀。「処女の」「未婚の」。maiden（名詞）から。1550年代には「新しい・新鮮な・試されていない・最初の」という比喩的な意味（「処女航海」のように）で使われるようになった。競馬では（1760年）一度も走ったことのない若い馬を表す。

つまり、古英語（5世紀から 12世紀ごろ）からあった「maiden（処女）」という名詞が、13世紀ごろに「maiden（処女の）」という形容詞としても使われるようになり、さらに1550年代になって比喩的に「maiden（最初の）」といった意味の形容詞としても使われるようになった、ということだ。

そして、古英語のころにはあった男性名詞・女性名詞の区別が、中世英語（11世紀から 15世紀ごろ）では失われていることから考えると、1550年代に生まれた「『最初の』という意味の形容詞maiden」が女性名詞にしか使えなかったとは考えにくいだろう。

そもそも「船」は女性名詞なのか？

英語「ship」→区別なし（古英語では中性名詞）
ドイツ語「schiff」→中性名詞
フランス語「navire」→男性名詞
イタリア語「nave」→女性名詞
ラテン語「navis」→女性名詞

当たり前の話だが、同じ意味の単語でも、それが男性名詞か女性名詞かは、言語によってバラバラである。英語「ship」と独語「schiff」は共にゲルマン祖語に由来するようだが、どちらも中性名詞である。仏語「navire」と伊語「nave」はどちらも羅語「navis」に由来しているのだろうが、ラテン語とイタリア語では女性名詞なのに、フランス語では男性名詞となっている。

女性名詞説の人たちはしばしば「『船』はラテン語で女性名詞だったから」などと言うのだが、仮に英語の「maiden」が女性名詞に付くとしても、なぜ古英語などではなく、いきなりラテン語が基準になるのだろうか。「maidenは女性名詞に付く」という結論ありきで、「船」を女性名詞とする言語を探してきているだけではないのか。

女性名詞説の「処女作は『ペン』が女性名詞だから」というのもおかしな話で、普通に考えれば「作品」や「本」が女性名詞かどうかを考えるべきだろうに、なぜ「ペン」を持ち出してくるのかといえば、ラテン語で「ペン」が女性名詞だったことを探してきたからだろう。

英語「work」→区別なし（古英語では中性名詞？）
ドイツ語「werk」→中性名詞
フランス語「œuvre」→女性名詞
イタリア語「opera」→女性名詞
ラテン語「opus」→中性名詞

英語「book」→区別なし（古英語では女性名詞？）
ドイツ語「buch」→中性名詞
フランス語「livre」→男性名詞
イタリア語「libro」→男性名詞
ラテン語「liber」→男性名詞

英語「pen」→区別なし（古英語では？）
ドイツ語「feder」→女性名詞
フランス語「plume」→女性名詞
イタリア語「penna」→女性名詞
ラテン語「penna」→女性名詞

英語でも船を「she」と呼ぶ？

女性名詞説の人たちがもうひとつ頼みとするのが「英語でも船をsheと呼ぶ」ということである。つまり「船をsheと呼ぶのは船が女性名詞だったことの名残である」というのである。

これについては以下のページに詳しい。

これは古英語にあった文法性とは無関係です．乗り物や国名を女性代名詞で受ける英語の慣習は中英語期以降に発生した比較的新しい「擬人性」というべきものであり，古英語にあった「文法性」とは直接的な関係はありません．そもそも「船」を表わす古英語 scip (= ship) は女性名詞ではなく中性名詞でしたし，bāt (= boat) にしても男性名詞でした．古英語期の後に続く中英語期の文化的・文学的な伝統に基づく，新たな種類のジェンダー付与といってよいでしょう．
http://user.keio.ac.jp/~rhotta/hellog/2019-04-22-1.html

「OED によると船を受ける代名詞としての she の初例は1375年である」らしいが、最初にも述べたとおり、英語に男性名詞・女性名詞の区別が残っていたのは古英語（5世紀から 12世紀ごろ）までである。また、これも先述のとおりだが「古英語 scip (= ship) は女性名詞ではなく中性名詞」というのだから、女性名詞説の人たちの主張はまったくの誤りということになるだろう。

まとめ

1. 英語の「maiden」は、そのあとを受ける名詞が男性名詞か女性名詞かに関係なく、「新しい」「最初の」という意味の形容詞として使われている。

2. その「新しい」「最初の」という形容詞としての用法が生まれたのは、英語から男性名詞・女性名詞の区別が失われた後のことである。

3. 英語で船を「she」と呼ぶのは、男性名詞・女性名詞とは無関係である。

Permalink | 記事への反応(4) | 13:48

2022-07-26

■

If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Who is your hero?

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

What is your biggest fear?

What is your favorite family vacation?

What would you change about yourself if you could?

What really makes you angry?

What motivates you to work hard?

What is your biggest complaint about your job?

What is your favorite book to read?

What makes you laugh the most?

What was the last movie you went to? What did you think?

What did you want to be when you were small?

If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be?

What would you sing at Karaoke night?

How would your friends describe you?

What are your hobbies?

36. What is the best gift you have been given?

37. What is the worst gift you have received?

40. Where do you see yourself in five years?

42. If you were a super-hero, what powers would you have?

43. What would you do if you won the lottery?

44. What form of public transportation do you prefer? (air, boat, train, bus, car, etc.)

45. What's your favorite zoo animal?

46. If you could go back in time to change one thing, what would it be?

48. How many pillows do you sleep with?

49. What's the longest you've gone without sleep (and why)?

52. How often do you buy clothes?

53. Have you ever had a secret admirer?

54. What's your favorite holiday?

55. What's the most daring thing you've ever done?

56. What was the last thing you recorded on TV?

57. What was the last book you read?

58. What's your favorite type of foreign food?

59. Are you a clean or messy person?

60. Who would you want to play you in a movie of your life?

61. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?

62. What kitchen appliance do you use every day?

63. What's your favorite fast food chain?

64. What's your favorite family recipe?

65. Do you love or hate rollercoasters?

66. What's your favorite family tradition?

67. What is your favorite childhood memory?

68. What's your favorite movie?

69. How old were you when you learned Santa wasn't real? How did you find out?

70. Is your glass half full or half empty?

71. What's the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of love?

72. What three items would you take with you on a deserted island?

73. What was your favorite subject in school?

74. What's the most unusual thing you've ever eaten?

75. Do you collect anything?

76. Is there anything you wished would come back into fashion?

77. Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

78. Which of the five senses would you say is your strongest?

79. Have you ever had a surprise party? (that was an actual surprise)

80. Are you related or dis tantly related to any one famous?

81. What do you do to keep fit?

82. Does your family have a “motto” – spoken or unspoken?

83. If you were ruler of your own country what would be the first law you would introduce?

84. Who was your favorite teacher in school and why?

85. What three things do you think of the most each day?

86. If you had a warning label, what would yours say?

87. What song would you say best sums you up?

88. What celebrity would you like to meet at Starbucks for a cup of coffee?

89. Who was your first crush?

time clocks alarms appointments schedules tan sign up form team volunteers meeting black recruitment recruiting need sign up form 5k marathon running race marathon green shoes sign up form

90. What's the most interesting thing you can see out of your office or kitchen window?

91. On a scale of 1-10 how funny would you say you are?

92. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

93. What was your first job?

94. If you could join any past or current music group which would you want to join?

95. How many languages do you speak?

96. What is your favorite family holiday tradition?

97. Who is the most intelligent person you know?

98. If you had to describe yourself as an animal, which one would it be?

99. What is one thing you will never do again?

100. Who knows you the best?

Permalink | 記事への反応(0) | 05:58

2022-05-27

■anond:20220527135650

燃え尽きよ！燃え尽きよ！ちびた蝋燭め！命とは歩き回る影なり！

ｂｙオレ増田（なおトイック９１０点）

あと Row Row Row Your Boat Gently Down The Stream と節が似ていると感じた

あれも最後にＬｉｆｅ　ｉｓ　ｂｕｔ　ａ　ｄｒｅａｍっていう

Permalink | 記事への反応(1) | 15:20

2021-01-09

■anond:20210109201502

一般的に英語ではブレスとか強調の位置で意味が変わりうるというのは分かりますが、アゲンとアゲインで意味が違う？本当ですか？
何よりトランプ自身が、アゲーンと少し長めに発音することはあっても、アゲインとは発音してなくないですか？あなた、たとえば boat と bought と bot の発音の違い分かってます？

Permalink | 記事への反応(1) | 20:48

2020-09-04

■anond:20200904101022

Hey,Are you Boat?

Permalink | 記事への反応(0) | 10:15

2018-07-18

■anond:20180718140823

peasesを「ピーズ」って読まないだろって突っ込んでほしかったんだよ…

分かったよ、半端にボケてゴメンな。最初からpees boatって書けばよかったな…

Permalink | 記事への反応(1) | 14:11

2017-10-14

■Two years have passed since I moved to a developed country

ほらよ。

https://anond.hatelabo.jp/20171014071350

I am working as an engineer in the IT area, but I managed to hold it for some 2 years.

I do not have confidence yet, and I feel even more confident about my confidence for the rest of my life, the excellence of my colleague.

If I do not desperately do it I am working everyday with feelings that it is not amusing even if I receive a notification outside the fighting strength.

Still, in Japan, I think that Japan has much better skill than CTO in that area.

In the future I thought that if I could return to Japan and contribute to the Japanese society, Japan that is visible from the outside is bad.

What is bad, first aspect of politics.

Politics

The point that democracy is not fully functioning against the fact that there are stupid citizens who blind the LDP, such as Abe's descent.

That other party is also not good. Hope party? What is that lady like that disciple of Ru Ooshiba? Rou Koike?

The more you do not have it, the stupid will be clouded in katakana and psychology. You idiots, you guys say this. I love Katakana anyway, I love psychology, 100% I do not say big things. What is Y's Spending. Do not fix what you normally call katakana.

Since the political system is over in the first place, I think that it is the cause of failure of not receiving popular people, especially elderly people, only short-term and useless policies absolutely. So we will not attack only the LDP.

It is too fatal that politics is not rational and it is impossible to include the policy that should be done. Because it ends with poppiness if I can not vote.

Unfortunately, the trend of changing the political system probably will not happen if it fails.

In recent decades, politicians have accelerated the declining birthrate and aging society to a distortion with outlook on the preferential treatment for the elderly + measures against the declining birthrate.

The decline in Japan's birthrate and birthrate is partly spontaneous, but the world's low birthrate and aging society is not caused by natural phenomena.

There is not any future that putting all the energy to surrender the tax to the old man by tax free over medical care. It was already late when we were discussing whether a large amount of tax would be used due to politicians' old elderly votes or ten years ago, so it was already late, we have not corrected the orb it again so far I am going to polit ate on the same route.

An aged politician does not think about a short-circuiting policy, the future. Citizens delight in the immediate economic policy.

Grass grows now, as the nation 's collapse has become a reality.

If the declining birthrate and the aging population advanced at this pace as it is, the Japanese boat will sink in 20 years. Two years ago I thought I would have 30 years.

I gave up completely to Japan's politics. Defeated entertainment is not funny. I'm saying that it is japanese, but I do not dis like it. To give up means to accept failures.

Next is the aspect of business.

business

Did you have a business anywhere other than bidding? I do not have pieces of creativity. There is no further ethics.

What is it, Mercari or DeNA or moral business or something is a social sin. I just confused society, did not I? The country and the country came to know not ethics.

Ethics of the Japanese are lower than the Japanese think.

Although I derail for a while, accident happens in front of my eyes, the idiots who take pictures with smaho are not minorities at all National ity is bad.

Even though there is service only where money is involved, do not say hospitality as if it were the national character of the Japanese.

It is not a minority to be a completely individualist society and people are troubled and help people.

At this time new creative business is born from one to the next. It is at an unthinkable pace in Japan. Of course, there are many doubtful businesses as to whether it will become money, but it is better than Japanese society where there is no brain except copying the business of another company at all.

So almost no company wants to work in Japan.

And the fall of the company. Almost no international competitiveness. Even large corporations will be crushed.

With this aging birthrate and declining birthrate, you can not contribute even to domestic demand with the elderly who can not see the future if it is full of old people.

There are no people with a declining birthrate. It seems that young people are supporting the LDP by thinking positively as being a seller's market completely.

There is only one person who is not merely a policy of an aging population declining birthrate. Your future is pitch dark.

Were I so stupid as to whom I thought of going back to Japan? What? It is certain that at least the field of view and experience has been much lower than it was now.

If I see myself two years ago, I feel mercy only now.

Indeed it is visible that it will collapse in another few decades Indeed it will not be possible to return to Japan.

Why do I have to board a sinking ship? Parents are the only team to surrender, only you are to protect yourself.

Originally I decided not to make children from the uncertain future of society, not myself. I think that choice was right.

Politician Now, if you are not stupid, it means that you are doing intentional bankruptcy activities.

It is good that you are only interested in being inspected. I do not know any more.

At the very least, please try to make Japanese citizens work in the world. If the hurdle of labor visa goes down, then you will be able to do it if you have English proficiency.