全球疫情带来英语词汇大爆发
牛津英语词典（Oxford English Dictionary, 简称OED）最近在官方网站了公布了2020年4月的新增词汇表。
在全球抗击新冠疫情的大背景下，众多与抗疫有关的新词及新用法也进入了牛津英语词典编纂者的视野。除了一份21个词的更新名录之外，编辑部经理Fiona McPherson还撰文回顾了其中一些词的历史。下面我们就来看一下吧。
New word entries
首次收入OED的词条
1. Covid-19 n. 【新冠病毒】
“An acute respiratory illness in humans caused by a coronavirus, which is capable of producing severe symptoms and death, esp. in the elderly and…” 原词coronavirus最早出现于1968年的《自然》杂志上。
一种由冠状病毒引起的人类急性呼吸道疾病，可引起严重的症状和死亡，尤其是老年人…
2. infodemic n. 【危机时期的信息混乱】
“A proliferation of diverse, often unsubstantiated information relating to a crisis, controversy, or event, which disseminates rapidly and…” 本词出现于“非典”时期。
与危机、争议或事件有关的、通常未经证实的各种信息的扩散, 它能迅速传播…
3. R0 n.【被1个病人感染的人群】
“The average number of cases of an infectious disease arising by transmission from a single infected individual, in a population that has not…”
由一个受感染的人传染而引起的传染病的平均病例数，在没有感染的人群中…
4. self-isolate v.【自我隔离】
“To isolate oneself from others deliberately; (now) esp. to undertake self-imposed isolation for a period of…”
自动使自己与他人隔离; (现在)尤其是在一段时间内自我孤立。
5. self-isolated adj. 【自我隔离的】
“Of a person or group: that has undertaken self-imposed isolation for a period of time, typically at home, in order to avoid catching or transmitting…”
指一个人或一群人:为了避免感染或传染，在一段时间内(通常是在家里)进行自我隔离的。
6. self-isolating, adj. 【赞成自我隔离的】
“That adheres to or promotes self-isolation; (of a person, group, or population) undertaking self-imposed isolation for a period of time, now esp. in…” 本词最早出现于1841年，其义与今义相似。
一个人或一群人:为了避免传染或传染而自我隔离一段时间，通常是在家里，坚持或促进自我隔离;(指一个人、群体或人群)在一段时间内自我孤立，现在尤指…
7. self-isolation, n.【自我隔离】
“The action, fact, or process of deliberately isolating oneself; an instance of this. Now esp.: self-imposed isolation undertaken in order to avoid…” 本词最早出现于1834年，其义与今义相似。
孤立故意孤立自己的行为、事实或过程; 诸如此类。自我强加的隔离是为了避免……
8. self-quarantine, n. 【自我隔离】
“Self-imposed isolation undertaken in order to avoid catching or transmitting an infectious disease, or as part of a community initiative to inhibit…”
自我隔离是为了避免感染或传播一种传染病，或作为社区活动的一部分来抑制…
9. self-quarantine, v. 【自我隔离】
“To undertake self-imposed isolation in order to avoid catching or transmitting an infectious disease, or as…”
进行自我隔离以避免感染或传播传染病，或…
10. self-quarantined, adj. 【自我隔离的】
“Of a person or group: that has undertaken self-imposed isolation in order to avoid catching or transmitting an infectious disease, or as part of a…”
为避免感染或传播传染病而进行自我隔离的人或群体，或作为…
11. shelter in place, n.【紧急避难所】
A public safety protocol invoked during an emergency in which there is an imminent threat to life or health, instructing people to find a place of shelter in their present location or immediate surroundings, and stay there until an all-clear is given.
在紧急情况下对生命或健康有紧迫威胁时使用的公共安全协议，指示人们在当前位置或周围环境中找到一个避难所，并呆在那里直到解除警报
12. shelter in place, v.【紧急避难】
Originally during an emergency in which there is imminent threat to life: to find a place of safety in one’s present location or immediate surroundings and stay there until an all-clear is given.
最初指在紧急情况下，生命受到迫在眉睫的威胁: 在目前的位置或周围找到一个安全的地方，并呆在那里直到解除警报。
13. social distancing, n.【保持肢体距离】
“The action of practice of maintaining a specified physical distance from other people, or of limiting access to and contact between people (esp…” plus one more sense… 本词最早出现于1957年，原指不与人交往，类似遁入陶渊明的世界。
与他人保持一定的物理距离，或限制人与人之间的接触的行为 (尤指…另一层含义…)
14. social isolation, n.【戒绝交际往来】
“The state of having little or no contact with other people; (now) esp. a condition in which an individual lacks social connections or has no access…”
很少或不与他人接触的状态; (现在)尤其指一个人缺乏社会关系或无法接触……
New sub-entries
词条下新收录的相关短语
15. to flatten the curve (at CURVE n.)【[医]减少感染率】
“(Medicine, spec. Epidemiology) : to take measures designed to reduce the rate at which infection spreads during an epidemic, with the aim of lowering the peak daily number of new cases and extending the period over which new cases occur.”
(医学上，特指流行病学): 采取措施，降低传染病在流行期间的传播速度，目的是降低每天新病例的高峰数量，延长新病例发生的时间。
Updated sub-entries
词条下新修订的相关短语
16. PPE n. (at P n.)【个人防护用品】
“personal protective (or protection) equipment: clothing and equipment designed to provide the wearer or user protection against hazardous substances or environments, or to prevent transmission of infectious diseases (see personal protective equipment n.).” 本缩写出现于1977年，在本次疫情之前一直是医疗救助行业的专用语。
个人防护(或保护)设备:为穿戴者或使用者提供防护，使其免受有害物质或环境的侵害，或防止传染病传播而设计的服装和设备(见个人防护设备)。
17. personal protective equipment n. (at PERSONAL adj., n., and adv.)【个人防护用品】
“(also personal protection equipment) clothing and equipment designed to provide the wearer or user protection against hazardous substances or environments, or to prevent transmission of infectious diseases; abbreviated PPE (see PPE n.).”
(也指个人防护装备)为穿戴者或使用者提供防护以对抗有害物质或环境，或防止传染病传播的衣物和装备;缩写PPE(见PPE n.)
18. social recession n. (at SOCIAL adj. and n.)【社会衰退期】
“a period of widespread deterioration in quality of life among members of a community, especially due to reduced interactions and weakened social bonds.”
社区成员生活质量普遍下降的时期，尤指由于交往减少和社会联系减弱而造成的。
Additions to unrevised entries
原词条下待补充的新词义、复合词或短语
19. elbow bump n. (at ELBOW n.)【碰肘（以代替握手致意）】
“(a) a blow with or to the elbow; an injury resulting from this; (b) a gesture (usually of greeting or farewell) in which two people lightly tap their elbows together as an alternative to a handshake or embrace, esp. in order to reduce the risk of spreading or catching an infectious disease.” 本词首现于1981年，原义相当于运动员的击掌相庆。
(a)用肘击或打在肘部;由此造成的伤害;
(b)一种手势(通常表示问候或告别)，其中两个人用肘部轻轻碰在一起，以代替握手或拥抱，特别是为了减少传播或感染传染病的风险。
20. WFH n. (at W n.)【居家工作】
“working (or work) from home, either as a regular or permanent alternative to office work or on an occasional or temporary basis.”
在家办公，既可指临时居家办公，也可指长期居家办公
21. WFH v (at W n.)【居家工作】
“to work from home, either as a regular or permanent alternative to office work or on an occasional or temporary basis.”
在家办公，既可指临时居家办公，也可指长期居家办公
牛津英语词典通常会每季度更新一份新词表，即我们通常所说的“时代热词”，包括一些原来没有的新词、新的短语、原词的新义。此次毫无例外全是与抗疫有关的内容，说明全球抗疫确实是时代大势。
如果有兴趣了解一下词典编辑对近代以来进入日常用语的疫情用词的演变，可以读一下链接里的这条英文介绍。
https://public.oed.com/blog/the-language-of-covid-19/