crank

英 [kræŋk] 美 [kræŋk]
  • n. 曲柄;奇想
  • adj. 易怒的
  • vt. 装曲柄
  • n. (Crank)人名;(英)克兰克

助记提示


1. crank 其实与 crinkle, cringe 是同源的。
2. from Proto-Germanic *krank- "bend, curl up", probably from PIE root *ker-/*sker- "turn, bend".
3. 同源音变,含义分化。
4. 乱七八糟、弯七拐八的想法特多、想法弯七拐八地变来变去。
5. 由“弯曲”,引伸出“方向不定弯来弯去而多变、摇摆、怪异”。
6. 谐音“嗑卵客、咳卵客”-----喜欢吃卵子的人、咳出卵子来的人----这些都是“怪人”。

中文词源


crank 曲柄,古怪的人

来自PIE*ger, 转,弯,围,词源同cramp, crook. 即脑袋打弯的,跟别人想的不一样的。

英文词源


crank
crank: [OE] There appears to be a link between the words crank, cringe, and crinkle. They share the meaning element ‘bending’ or ‘curling up’ (which later developed metaphorically into ‘becoming weak or sick’, as in the related German krank ‘ill’), and probably all came from a prehistoric Germanic base *krank-. In Old English the word crank appeared only in the compound crancstoef, the name for a type of implement used by weavers; it is not recorded in isolation until the mid-15th century, when it appears in a Latin-English dictionary as a translation of Latin haustrum ‘winch’.

The adjective cranky [18] is no doubt related, but quite how closely is not clear. It may derive from an obsolete thieves’ slang term crank meaning ‘person feigning sickness to gain money’, which may have connections with German krank. Modern English crank ‘cranky person’ is a backformation from the adjective, coined in American English in the 19th century.

=> cringe, crinkle
crank (n.)
"handle for turning a revolving axis," Old English *cranc, implied in crancstæf "a weaver's instrument," crencestre "female weaver, spinster," from Proto-Germanic base *krank-, and related to crincan "to bend, yield" (see crinkle, cringe). English retains the literal sense of the ancient root, while German and Dutch krank "sick," formerly "weak, small," is from a figurative use. The 1825 supplement to Jamieson's Scottish dictionary has crank "infirm, weak, etc."

The sense of "an eccentric person," especially one who is irrationally fixated, is first recorded 1833, said to be from the crank of a barrel organ, which makes it play the same tune over and over; but more likely a back-formation from cranky (q.v.). Meaning "methamphetamine" attested by 1989.
crank (v.)
1590s, "to zig-zag," from crank (n.). Meaning "to turn a crank" is first attested 1908, with reference to automobile engines. Related: Cranked; cranking.

双语例句


1. Just crank up your hearing aid a peg or two.
把助听器调高一两个刻度就可以。

来自柯林斯例句

2. The Prime Minister called Councillor Marshall "a crank"
首相称马歇尔议员为“怪人”。

来自柯林斯例句

3. He looked like a crank.
他看上去像个怪人。

来自柯林斯例句

4. He was called a crank at first.
一开始他被叫做思想怪异者.

来自《简明英汉词典》

5. It's time to crank up the air conditioning.
该打开空调了.

来自《简明英汉词典》

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