antediluvian 復習

Why airlines need more women pilots at the controls …

　Tammie Jo Shults is commercial aviation’s latest hero. So why aren’t there more pilots like her?
The Southwest Airlines captain, praised for her cool handling of an April 24 depressurization and emergency landing in Philadelphia after the Boeing 737’s engine blew apart mid-flight, is still an anomaly in the airline industry. …
　In an industry where Cathay Pacific Airways ditched a skirts-only rule for women flight attendants just last month and Singapore Airlines is still touting the “Mad Men”-esque charms of the “Singapore Girl,” it’s probably not all that surprising antediluvian attitudes persist. (Skip the rest)

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0004424043

　今回取り上げる語は、antediluvian /ˌantɪdɪˈluːvɪən/ です。記事の中に “surprising antediluvian attitudes persist” とあり、文脈から「驚くほどの古い考え方を貫く」と推測することができます。この語の語源がピンとこなかったので、それも踏まえて以下で確認していきます。
　まず意味を Cambridge Dictionary でみると、“extremely old-fashioned” とあり、OED には “Ridiculously old-fashioned” と定義されていました。
　次に語源を ONLINE ETYMOLOGY DICTIONARY でみると、“"before Noah's flood," 1640s, from Latin ante "before" (from PIE root *ant- "front, forehead," with derivatives meaning "in front of, before") + diluvium "a flood" (see deluge (n.)). Hence (humorously or disparagingly) "very antiquated" (1726). Coined by English physician Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682). As a noun meaning "person who lived before the Flood," from 1680s. Related: antediluvial (1823).” とありました。
　以上のことから、antediluvian は「ノアの大洪水以前の」という語義を持ち、それがおどけて「時代遅れの、古い」と使うようになったことがわかります。(OkaUchi)