| 释义 |
mire-drum dial.|ˈmaɪədrʌm|
Forms: 4–8 myre-dromble, 4 mir-drommel, 5 myre-dromylle, 6 myr-drumnyl, 7 mire-drumbel, 7– mire-drum.
[ME. myre dromble, formed by substitution of mire n.1 for the first portion of some variant of the name for the bittern, which appears in OE. as ráradumbla, ráredumla.
The original form and etymology of the word are obscure, but the OE. form (with which cf. rárian to roar) seems to be more primitive than those in continental Teut., which have evidently been influenced by popular etymology. OHG. had horotumil (as if ‘mire-tumbler’, f. horo mire + stem of tumôn, tûmalôn to tumble) and horo tûbil (as if ‘mire-diver’). The MHG. rôrtumel, mod.G. rohrdommel, MDu. roesdommer, rosdomp, mod.Du. roerdomp, have the first element assimilated to the word for reed. MHG. and early mod.G. have several forms with inserted r in the second element, as roredrumbel, -drummel, -trummel, rardrümmel, etc. (see Diefenbach Gloss. s.v. Onocrotalus); the alteration may be of onomatopœic origin, and perh. arose independently in Ger. and Eng.]
The bittern.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xii. xxviii. (Tollem. MS.), The mirdrommel is calde onacrotalus. Ibid. xxxvi, A myre dromble, þat is a brid of þe marreyes. 1483Cath. Angl. 50 A Buttir, vbi myre dromylle. 1500Ortus Voc. in Cath. Angl. 50 note, Myrdrumnyl or a buture. 1668Charleton Onomasticon 103 The white, and spoon-bill'd Heron, or Shoveler, or Mire-drumbel. 1678Ray Willughby's Ornith. 282 The Bittour or Bittern or Mire-drum. 1794W. Hutchinson Hist. Cumbld. I. 18/2 The bittern... In the spring it makes a loud bellowing kind of noise. From which it is called in Cumberland Mire-Drum. 1866Inverness Courier 4 Jan., We refer to the bittern of British Zoology, provincially, the bog-bumper and miredrum. |