倫敦地鐵站怪名字的由來

看看倫敦地鐵站名字的起源無異于挖掘其各個地名的來歷。一邊乘著地鐵一邊逛，會有不少和語言相關的事實供你消磨時間。如下是語言學上最為有趣的一些站名。

Turnpike Lane登碧里站

Its a historical term for a toll gate， though it was originally a spiked barrier—thus a sense of pike meaning “a spiked staff or stick”.

“登碧里”是收費站的史稱，盡管最初它指的是帶刺的障礙物——因而pike有“帶刺拐杖或棍子”之意。

Kings Cross St Pancras國王的十字圣潘克洛斯站

This tube station services Kings Cross and St Pancras National Rail stations. The former is now perhaps best known for being Harry Potters entrance to Hogwarts， but the king in question is King George IV （who reigned 1820-1830）， and the cross is a monument that was demolished in 1845. St Pancras was born around 289， and beheaded for his Christian faith when he was 14 years old.

這個地鐵站監管國王的十字和圣潘克洛斯國家火車站。前者現在因作為哈利波特通往霍格沃茨的車站而廣為人知，但引人熱議的國王是指國王喬治四世（1820-1830年執政），而十字則指毀于1845年的一座紀念碑。圣潘克洛斯出生于289年左右，14歲時因其基督信仰而被斬首。

Hanger Lane漢格巷站

The lane is named after Hanger Hill. “Hanger” comes from the Old English “hangra”， meaning “a wood on a slope”.

這條巷子根據漢格山命名。“漢格”來自古英語“hangra”，意為“斜坡上的樹林”。

Baker Street貝克街站

The most famous resident of Baker Street is， of course， Sherlock Holmes. You might think that it was named after a maker of cakes of pastries， but its namesake is actually William Baker， a builder who laid out the street in the second half of the 18th century.

貝克街最著名的居民自然是夏洛克·福爾摩斯。或許你覺得這名字是以蛋糕點心師傅的名字起名的，但事實上與它同名的是建筑師威廉·貝克，18世紀下半葉，貝克對這條街做了布局規劃。

Bank班克站

Bank is named after the Bank of England. Incidentally， it was voted the most disliked tube station in 2013.

班克（英語中“銀行”的音譯為“班克”）取自英格蘭銀行。順便一提，2013年班克站被投票選為最令人討厭的地鐵站。

Canary Wharf金絲雀碼頭站

Canary Wharf takes its name from a warehouse， built for the Mediterranean and Canary Islands fruit trade.

金絲雀碼頭的名字取自一間倉庫，倉庫是為地中海和金絲雀島嶼水果貿易而建。

Hainault海諾特站

This unusual name comes from the Old English “Hyneholt” or “Henehout” and means “wood belonging to a religious community”.

這個非同尋常的名字來自古英語的“Hyneholt”或者“Henehout”，意為“宗教社區的樹木”。

Angel天使站

Its named after a former coaching inn on the Great North Road called the Angel， dating from the 17th century.

這個站名以過去一家在大北方路上名為“天使”的驛站而命名，可以追溯到17世紀。

Swiss Cottage瑞士小屋站

This area owes its unusual name to a local inn. The Swiss Tavern， built in 1803-1804， was in the style of a Swiss chalet—later renamed to the humbler Swiss Cottage.

這片地區名字獨特是因為當地的一家小旅館。“瑞士酒店”，建于1803至1804年間，是瑞士小木屋風格——后來重新命名為更低調的“瑞士小屋”。

Oxford Circus牛津環站

The oldest sense of circus is “a large building， surrounded with rising tiers of seats， for the exhibition of public spectacles” but in this instance， it is simply a “circular open space at a street junction”.

circus最古老的意思是“一幢大樓，由層層座椅圍繞著，可以作展覽和公開表演之用”，但在這里，它就是“十字路口圓形空地”的意思。