| 释义 |
Kru|kruː|
Also Kroo, Krou.
[W. African.]
attrib. or as adj. Of or pertaining to a Negro race so named on the coast of Liberia, very skilful as seamen. Also as n.
1835Marryat Pirate vii, These were Kroumen, a race of blacks..who inhabit the coast near Cape Palmas, and are often employed by our men-of-war. 1883Daily News 12 July 3/1 The Englishmen,..assisted by Krooboys, sallied out and put their assailants to flight. 1894Amanda Smith Autobiogr. xxv. 198 The kroomen..let a great wave break over us. 1897M. Kingsley W. Africa App. i. 646 The Kruboys, as the natives of the Grain Coast are called, irrespective of the age of the individual, by the white men. Ibid. 649 They speak their version of our own—Kru-English, or ‘trade English’, as it is called. 1957M. Banton W. Afr. City i. 5 Another important group was that of the Kru. They are members of a sea-faring tribe inhabiting part of what is now the Liberian coast. 1970P. Oliver Savannah Syncopators 41 The Kru speaking peoples of Liberia. 1973Times 17 Apr. (Liberia Suppl.) p. vi/5 Elizabeth Tonkin has recently been from Birmingham on a study of Kru linguistics.
b. (See quot.)
1884H. H. Johnston River Congo i. 26 There is a subtle distinction between Kru-boy and Kru-man, or, to use its Portuguese form, Krumano... The Kru-man is an artificial name given to the indigenous slaves of the country..men, for instance, of the lower Congo tribes, that are sold by their chiefs to European merchants. |