pockmark 復習
連日報道されている阿蘇山の噴火についてです。
Japan's Largest Volcano Erupts And Covers Cities In Ash
Residents of the city of Aso, where much of the ash fell, spent the day after the eruption washing off buildings, plants and streets. Ash was reported as far away as western Japan and approximately 29,000 households temporarily lost power due to the eruption.
Mount Aso also erupted in September of 2015, sending an ash column ~6,300 feet into the air. The volcano is one of the largest active volcanoes in the world. The northernmost crater has been actively erupting for the last 70 years almost on a yearly basis. Mount Aso has a large caldera, which the city of Aso lies within, and is the remnants of massive eruptions 90,000 to 300,000 years ago. The caldera formed as the magma chamber collapsed after eruption, leaving a pockmark crater in the ground.
Even though the volcano will likely continue to erupt, regular eruptions limit the build up of pressure and magma within the chamber and lessen the likelihood of a major eruption.
（一部抜粋）
今回取り上げる単語は、pockmarkです。
Oxford Dictionary of English (Second Edition Reserved, Oxford University Press)によると、 “a pitted scar or mark on the skin left by a pustule or spot”と定義されておりました。
『ジーニアス英和辞典』（第五版，大修館）で調べたところ、「（天然痘などの跡の）あばた；あばた状のもの」と載っておりました。pockのみでも同様の意味で使用されるようです。
記事内では “leaving a pockmark crater in the ground.”となっていることから、「地面にはあばた状のくぼみ（クレーター）が残った」のように解釈できるかと思います。（Gomez）
