English Collection

日頃目に付いた覚えたい英単語、慣用句などの表現についてのメモです。

sans licence

2013年07月30日 | 英語学習
今日はReader's Digest 6月号のMy Storyの記事にあった言葉を覚えたい。
When I was 16, I desperately wanted to learn to drive; to be 17 and sans licence was unthinkable. I'd done a couple of hours around the local streets where we lived, but I was still pretty nervous. I was the first to admit that I felt more comfortable stuck in a book than behind the wheel of a car.
"sans licence" あるいはこの "sans" なる単語は初めて見るものです。 辞書で "sans" の項を見ます。
・Collins Dictionary: an archaic word for without: Five years ago, in a major rehearsal for the Queen Mother's death, Peter Sissons turned up at the White City studios sans black tie.
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: without: my love to thee is sound, sans crack or flaw ? Shakespeare: anyone sans shirt will not be allowed in the restaurant
由来については次ぎの注がありました。
C13: from Old French sanz, from Latin sine without
古いフランス語から来ているのですか。ところで、ラテン語の "sine" で以前に覚えた "sinecure" (閑職)を思い出しました。すると "sinecure" の中の "sine" にも withoutの意味があったのかなと気になったので、 "sinecure" をVocabulary.comで見直すと次ぎの説明がありました。
If you have a cushy job ? one that pays, but involves minimal work ? then you have a sinecure. "Because he was the brother of the CEO, he was offered a sinecure in the company: he showed up each day and collected a pay check, but others actually did his work."
The noun sinecure comes from the Latin root words sine cura meaning "without care." It originally was used to describe a church position that did not include caring for the souls of parishioners, but that meaning is considered archaic now. The word is now usually associated with political appointments.
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