Part of Speech: verb
Pronunciation: ['bahg-gêl]
Definition: (1) To startle or be startled, to shy away from fearfully; (2) to bungle, botch, or fumble; (3) to overwhelm with amazement.
Usage: The intransitive use is still available, "The horse boggled at a barbed wire fence and threw its rider to the ground." The sense of botching retains its usefulness, too, "He boggled (sense 2) through the match, then clinched his position in infamy with a shot into his own goal, which boggled (sense 3) everyone in the stadium." So, don't let this verb boggle your imagination—deploy it generously in the glory of all its meanings.
Suggested Usage: Today's word has almost penned itself up in one word, "mind-boggling（令人难以置信的）." Historically, however, this verb has mostly been used intransitively with the preposition "at" or "about," as in, "He would never boggle at a bungee jump or two." An interesting noun from the second meaning of today's word is boggledy-botch "a complete mess, foul up," as in "You've made a complete boggledy-botch of the party with your lampshades and karaoke!"
Etymology: Of the various names "bogle," "boggard," "bogy" attached to English-speaking goblins, "bogle" has been around the longest, since around 1500. Although these words seem obviously related, their relationship is unclear. They may derive from bogge or bog "hobgoblin, ghost" which, in turn, are probably variants of "bugge" or "bug," seen in current "bugaboo" and "bugbear." "Bug" in this sense may be borrowed from Welsh bwg (= bug) "ghost, hobgoblin." The forms "bogle" or "boggle" could be ancient diminutives of these words or they, too, might come directly from Welsh bwgwl (= bugul) "terror, terrifying.” Who knows?
0 评论:
发表评论