pickup truck 復習

愛知県警は、18日の4時40分ごろ男性を車ではね、さらには現場から約1.8キロも引きずり遺体を放置して逃げたとして、70歳の男性を逮捕しました。

70-year-old man arrested over hit-and-run death

Police in Nagoya have arrested a 70-year-old man over the hit-and-run death of a 44-year-old man with his pickup truck.
According to police, Susumu Mori, a self-employed resident of Obu City, hit Katsuji Kawano at around 4:40 a.m. on Saturday, Sankei reported. After hitting Kawano, Mori kept going, dragging the victim for about 1.8 kilometers. He then left the scene.
Police said an eyewitness reported seeing a pickup truck dragging someone. Street surveillance camera footage and the damage to Mori’s truck led to his arrest.
Mori is currently denying the charge, police said. He was quoted as saying, “I knew I hit something, but I didn’t know it was a person.”

http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/70-year-old-man-arrested-over-hit-and-run-death

今回取り上げるのは、“pickup truck”という表現です。The Free Dictionary by FARLEXで調べてみると、“A light truck with an open body and low sides”と定義が載っていました。さらに『ジーニアス英和辞典G4 大修館書店』には、「｟主に米｠（無蓋の）小型トラック」という意味が見つかりました。また、この表現は“pickup”という省略形でも用いられます。ちなみに語源を調べてみると、“pickup truck”には荷台に屋根が付いておらず、「荷物を拾い上げて、投げ入れ、簡単に運ぶことができる」というところから来ていると分かりました。(ninetails)