acquiescence 復習
Donald Trump has done such a good job making America great again that nobody in their right mind wants to visit it any more. Tourism has experienced a so-called Trump Slump; with international visitors decreasing significantly since No 45 took office. …
Slowly but surely Trump and the views that he represents are being normalised. Trump is so skilled at creating news and distraction that we are losing our capacity for shock; he is exhausting us into acquiescence. But it’s imperative that we don’t let this new expansion of extreme vetting get through without a fight. (Skip the rest)
今回取り上げる語は、acquiescence /ækwiésns/ です。“he is exhausting us into acquiescence.” は文脈から「トランプ氏は我々を疲労させて黙認するよう仕向けた」と推測することができます。意味等を以下で確認していきます。
まず意味を LDOCE でみると、“to do what someone else wants, or allow something to happen, even though you do not really agree with it” とあり、Cambridge Dictionary には “to accept or agree to something, often unwillingly” と定義されていました。
次に語源を OED でみると、“1630s, "rest, quiet, satisfaction," from Middle French acquiescence, noun of action from acquiescer "to yield or agree to; be at rest" (see acquiesce). Meaning "silent consent, passive assent" is recorded from 1640s.” とあります。
以上のことから、acquiescence は「(不本意ながら)同意すること」と訳をつけることができます。(OkaUchi)
