poignant 復習
いじめを訴える文書をスマートフォンに残し、電車にはねられて８月に死亡した青森市の中学２年の女子生徒の遺族が１８日、女子生徒の氏名と写真を公開しました。
Family releases poignant photo of deceased bullying victim
KUROISHI, Aomori Prefecture--Go Kasai couldn't hold back the tears when he saw an award-winning photo of his daughter dancing in a local festival here taken on Aug. 15--10 days before apparently killing herself after being bullied.
“My daughter is smiling and dancing in the photo. It’s a marvelous photo,” said Kasai, 38.
Rima Kasai, 13, a second-year junior high school student, was struck and killed by a train on Aug. 25 after leaving a message on her smartphone, saying that she was the victim of bullying.
For Kasai, who was lost in grief, it was a wonderful gift when he learned that the photo, in which his daughter is wearing a colorful "yukata" and twirling an umbrella, won the top award of the festival photo contest organized by the Kuroishi Tourist Association on Oct. 11.
However, Kasai was driven to despair when he learned that the award was rescinded just two days after it was announced.
以下省略
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201610190065.html
今回取り上げる表現は、見出しにある“poignant”です。『ウィズダム英和辞典』(第３版、三省堂)を引いたところ、「痛切な、強烈な〈痛み・苦しみなど〉；感動的な〈話など〉」とありました。
確認のためにLDOCEを引いたところ、“making you feel sad or full of pity”と定義されていました。この意味で用いられる場合、後ろには“reminder / image / moment”などがよくくるようです。
“poignant”には「ぴりっとする、鼻につんとくる〈味・香り〉」という意味もあります。似た意味を持つ単語に“pungent”がありますが、どちらも「刺す」を意味するラテン語の“pungere”が語源であるようです。(Blue Sky)
