tsunami: [19] Japanese tsunami means literally ‘harbour waves’, a reference to the devastating effect Pacific tsunamis have had on Japanese coastal communities. For most of the 20th century the term was largely restricted to the specialized vocabulary of oceanographers and earth scientists, lay people preferring the more familiar tidal wave (a misnomer: strictly speaking, a tidal wave is one caused by the movement of the tide, whereas a tsunami is specifically generated by an undersea earthquake), but the disastrous inundation of southern Asian coasts at the end of 2004 lodged it firmly in the language’s everyday lexicon.
tsunami (n.)
1896, in reference to the one that struck Japan that year on June 15, from Japanese tsunami, from tsu "harbor" + nami "waves."
雙語例句
1. Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan ( AP ).
大地震觸發(fā)了日本的海嘯預警.
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2. We just did a tsunami exercise, even ( though ) that's less likely.
盡管海嘯發(fā)生的可能比較小, 但我們剛舉行了一次演習.
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3. Derek : Have you heard of any benefit concert for the tsunami?
你有沒有聽說要為這次海嘯開公益音樂會的?
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4. John: Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.
約翰: 大海嘯把印度洋沿岸地區(qū)都淹沒了.
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5. May 22 , 1960, the Chilean sea tsunami waves of 25 meters.