Psephology
发表于 ： 05 11月 2024, 05:44
今天 Merriam - Webster 词典给我推送了一个很应景的新单词 -- Psephology: the scientific study of elections (选举学)
Psephology is from the Greek word psēphos, meaning "pebble." (One relative of psephology is psephomancy, meaning "divination by pebbles.") Psephology merited election as the name for the work of analysts of elections, or psephologists, because pebbles were used by the ancient Greeks in voting. Similarly, the word ballot was an excellent choice for a means of voting since it is derived from balla, the Italian word for "ball," and Italians placed balls in a container to cast votes.
俺学了一辈子英文，直到现在还经常碰到陌生的单词：只能怪英语构词方式太不友好了。在这方面汉语有无与伦比的优势；随便哪个人，只要认识“选”、“举”、“学”这仨字，首次见到“选举学”也能大体猜出它的含义。