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atavism

2023年05月29日 | 英単語
先週末は二つもコンサートを聴きに行ったので忙しかった。 初めて行った池袋の東京芸術劇場はモダンなデザインのパイプオルガンが正面にある見事な劇場でした。 コンサートは吹奏楽でパイプオルガンではありませんでしたが、素晴らしい演奏でした。
さて、W. Somerset Maughamの "The Moon and Sixpence" を読んでいます。 'XLIX' の章から引用します。

They may spend their whole lives aliens among their kindred and remain aloof among the only scene they have ever known. Perhaps it is this sense of strangeness that sends men far and wide in the search for something permanent, to which they may attach themselves. Perhaps some deep-rooted atavism urges the wanderer back to lands which his ancestors left in the dim beginnings of history.

"atavism" の意味を辞書で調べます。

・Collins Dictionary: appearance in an individual of some characteristic found in a remote ancestor but not in nearer ancestors: Atavism can also be seen in humans who possess large teeth, like those of other primates.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: a feeling or reaction that comes from long ago in human history, rather than being necessary or appropriate in modern times: There is something disconcerting about the seeming atavism of demonstrators carrying torches.
・Vocabulary.com: Atavism is a return to a previous way of doing, saying, or seeing things. It can be casual, like wearing retro clothing and listening to vinyl records, or committed, like living in a straw hut without electricity.
It makes sense that atavism comes from a Latin word meaning “forefather,” since it refers to a way of doing things like our ancestors did them. It’s often used negatively, though, to refer to behavior the speaker finds primitive or unacceptable. Atavists are often called "throwbacks." In biology, the term atavism or “evolutionary throwback” is used when animals are born with features that had disappeared, such as legs on a whale.

先祖返りと言う感じでしょうか。

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