ptarmigan: [16] Ptarmigan was borrowed from Scottish Gaelic tarmachan, a diminutive form of tarmach ‘ptarmigan’. There is no etymological justification for the spelling pt-. It was foisted on the word in the late 17th century in the erroneous belief that it had some connection with Greek pterón ‘wing’ (source of English pterodactyl).
ptarmigan (n.)
bird of the grouse family, 1590s, from Gaelic tarmachan, of unknown origin. The pt- spelling (1680s) is a mistaken Greek construction (perhaps based on pteron "wing").
实用例句
1. A black fox came toward him, carrying a ptarmigan in his mouth.
一只黑狐狸朝他走了过来, 嘴里叼着一只松鸡.来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命
2. But he could not stop, for the mother ptarmigan was running on.
