牛津英語詞典（Oxford English Dictionary, 簡稱OED）最近在官方網站了公佈了
2020年4月的新增詞彙表。在全球抗擊新冠疫情的大背景下，眾多與抗疫有關的新詞及新用法也進入了牛津英語詞典編纂者的視野。除了一份21個詞的更新名錄之外，編輯部經理Fiona McPherson還撰文回顧了其中一些詞的歷史。下面我們就來看一下吧。
New word entries
首次收入OED的詞條
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…” 原詞coronavirus最早出現於1968年的《自然》雜誌上。
一種由冠狀病毒引起的人類急性呼吸道疾病，可引起嚴重的症狀和死亡，尤其是老年人…
2. infodemic n. 【危機時期的信息混亂】
“A proliferation of diverse, often unsubstantiated information relating to a crisis, controversy, or event, which disseminates rapidly and…” 本詞出現於“非典”時期。
與危機、爭議或事件有關的、通常未經證實的各種信息的擴散, 它能迅速傳播…
3. R0 n.【被1個病人感染的人群】
“The average number of cases of an infectious disease arising by transmission from a single infected individual, in a population that has not…”
由一個受感染的人傳染而引起的傳染病的平均病例數，在沒有感染的人群中…
4. self-isolate v.【自我隔離】
“To isolate oneself from others deliberately; (now) esp. to undertake self-imposed isolation for a period of…”
自動使自己與他人隔離; (現在)尤其是在一段時間內自我孤立。
5. self-isolated adj. 【自我隔離的】
“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…”
指一個人或一群人:為了避免感染或傳染，在一段時間內(通常是在家裡)進行自我隔離的。
6. self-isolating, adj. 【贊成自我隔離的】
“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…” 本詞最早出現於1841年，其義與今義相似。
一個人或一群人:為了避免傳染或傳染而自我隔離一段時間，通常是在家裡，堅持或促進自我隔離;(指一個人、群體或人群)在一段時間內自我孤立，現在尤指…
7. self-isolation, n.【自我隔離】
“The action, fact, or process of deliberately isolating oneself; an instance of this. Now esp.: self-imposed isolation undertaken in order to avoid…” 本詞最早出現於1834年，其義與今義相似。
孤立故意孤立自己的行為、事實或過程; 諸如此類。自我強加的隔離是為了避免……
8. self-quarantine, n. 【自我隔離】
“Self-imposed isolation undertaken in order to avoid catching or transmitting an infectious disease, or as part of a community initiative to inhibit…”
自我隔離是為了避免感染或傳播一種傳染病，或作為社區活動的一部分來抑制…
9. self-quarantine, v. 【自我隔離】
“To undertake self-imposed isolation in order to avoid catching or transmitting an infectious disease, or as…”
進行自我隔離以避免感染或傳播傳染病，或…
10. self-quarantined, adj. 【自我隔離的】
“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…”
為避免感染或傳播傳染病而進行自我隔離的人或群體，或作為…
11. shelter in place, n.【緊急避難所】
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.
在緊急情況下對生命或健康有緊迫威脅時使用的公共安全協議，指示人們在當前位置或周圍環境中找到一個避難所，並呆在那裡直到解除警報
12. shelter in place, v.【緊急避難】
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.
最初指在緊急情況下，生命受到迫在眉睫的威脅: 在目前的位置或周圍找到一個安全的地方，並呆在那裡直到解除警報。
13. social distancing, n.【保持肢體距離】
“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… 本詞最早出現於1957年，原指不與人交往，類似遁入陶淵明的世界。
與他人保持一定的物理距離，或限制人與人之間的接觸的行為 (尤指…另一層含義…)
14. social isolation, n.【戒絕交際往來】
“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…”
很少或不與他人接觸的狀態; (現在)尤其指一個人缺乏社會關係或無法接觸……
New sub-entries
詞條下新收錄的相關短語
15. to flatten the curve (at CURVE n.)【[醫]減少感染率】
“(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.”
(醫學上，特指流行病學): 採取措施，降低傳染病在流行期間的傳播速度，目的是降低每天新病例的高峰數量，延長新病例發生的時間。
Updated sub-entries
詞條下新修訂的相關短語
16. PPE n. (at P n.)【個人防護用品】
“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.).” 本縮寫出現於1977年，在本次疫情之前一直是醫療救助行業的專用語。
個人防護(或保護)設備:為穿戴者或使用者提供防護，使其免受有害物質或環境的侵害，或防止傳染病傳播而設計的服裝和設備(見個人防護設備)。
17. personal protective equipment n. (at PERSONAL adj., n., and adv.)【個人防護用品】
“(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.).”
(也指個人防護裝備)為穿戴者或使用者提供防護以對抗有害物質或環境，或防止傳染病傳播的衣物和裝備;縮寫PPE(見PPE n.)
18. social recession n. (at SOCIAL adj. and n.)【社會衰退期】
“a period of widespread deterioration in quality of life among members of a community, especially due to reduced interactions and weakened social bonds.”
社區成員生活質量普遍下降的時期，尤指由於交往減少和社會聯繫減弱而造成的。
Additions to unrevised entries
原詞條下待補充的新詞義、複合詞或短語
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.” 本詞首現於1981年，原義相當於運動員的擊掌相慶。
(a)用肘擊或打在肘部;由此造成的傷害;
(b)一種手勢(通常表示問候或告別)，其中兩個人用肘部輕輕碰在一起，以代替握手或擁抱，特別是為了減少傳播或感染傳染病的風險。
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.”
在家辦公，既可指臨時居家辦公，也可指長期居家辦公
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.”
在家辦公，既可指臨時居家辦公，也可指長期居家辦公
牛津英語詞典通常會每季度更新一份新詞表，即我們通常所說的“時代熱詞”，包括一些原來沒有的新詞、新的短語、原詞的新義。此次毫無例外全是與抗疫有關的內容，說明全球抗疫確實是時代大勢。
如果有興趣瞭解一下詞典編輯對近代以來進入日常用語的疫情用詞的演變，可以讀一下鏈接裡的這條英文介紹。
