man-eater
UK/ˈmæn iːtə(r)/US/ˈmæn iːtər/
释义
n.
食人者;食人动物(尤指虎、狮等)
词源
概述
该词为纯英语复合词,由两个简单明了的元素直接拼接而成。"man" 提供动作对象(被食者),"eater" 定义动作性质(捕食者),整体字面意为"食人者"。该词最初用于描述食人族部落,后通过隐喻扩展至指代以人类为猎食对象的顶级掠食者(如虎、狮、鲨鱼),生动体现了人类对自然界中反向捕食关系的原始恐惧。词义演变逻辑清晰,由字面到隐喻的过渡自然且极具画面感。
例句
“The villagers lived in fear of the man-eater that had taken several lives.”
村民们生活在食人虎的恐惧中,它已夺走数条人命。
“In some historical accounts, certain tribes were wrongly labeled as man-eaters.”
在一些历史记载中,某些部落被错误地贴上了食人族的标签。
“The great white shark is occasionally a man-eater, though such attacks are rare.”
大白鲨偶尔会食人,尽管这类攻击很少见。