stocky

生前退位についての記事はいくつかブログでも取り上げられていますが、今回の記事は皇太子について書かれています。

Who is Naruhito, Japan's likely next emperor?

Japanese Emperor Akihito’s video message this week, though subtle, suggested that he wishes to abdicate, and the attention now goes to his elder son, the first in line to Japan’s Chrysanthemum throne.

In his 10-minute recorded message Monday, Akihito primarily cited his old age and concerns that it may become difficult for him to fulfill his duties, but some palace watchers say a hidden reason for his desired abdication might be his successor.

Like his father, the son, Naruhito, is a soft-spoken and smiley man. A bit stocky at age 56, he’s married to a Harvard-educated former diplomat, Masako, who has been ill for more than a decade and seldom appears in public. But she is better known abroad and his presence is often eclipsed whenever she comes out.

Having a father who has tried to break down Japan’s ancient imperial traditions to bring his cloistered family closer to the nation, Naruhito was raised as a new breed of royals who grew up in a family seen as a model for the nation. His name in Chinese character means a person with heavenly virtues.

His mother, Michiko, the first commoner to become empress, helped to bring in fresh changes to the palace in child-rearing and education. The couple eliminated a wet nurse for Naruhito, born Feb. 23, 1960, and his two younger siblings. When they went on official trips and left Naruhito behind, they handed his nannies a list of rules for the then-prince in what was known as a “Naru-chan Kempo,” or “Constitution.”
Naruhito attended Gakushuin, a private school for former aristocrats. After graduating from college, he studied at Oxford University, living in a dorm for two years for the first time while earning a master’s degree in Thames River water transport systems.

（以下省略）

http://www.japantoday.com/smartphone/view/national/who-is-naruhito-japans-likely-next-emperor

今回取り上げる単語は、stockyです。性格を表す単語だと予想しました。

Oxford Dictionary of English (Second Edition Reserved, Oxford University Press)によると、 “broad and sturdily built”とのことでした。

また『ジーニアス英和辞典』（第五版，大修館）で調べたところ、「〈人・体格が〉がっしりした，ずんぐりした」と書かれておりました。同じような単語で、thickestもあるようです。こちらも「ずんぐりした」という意味になります。

個人的に皇太子の体形はわりと標準だと思っていたので、stockyの意味を知ってす少し驚きました。（Gomez）