Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

> 上海 in another context should mean something like "get onto the sea".

Wait, does that mean that "shanghaiing" someone is actually a literal description rather than just a reference to a prototypical destination?




Shanghai 伤害 is a Chinese verb meaning "hurt". Would that mean that "shanghaiing" someone is "actually" a euphemistic reference to the injury suffered by enslaved sailors?

It's an English word; it's got nothing to do with Chinese.


I was asking after the etymology, actually; were whoever coined the term aware of the meaning in Chinese? (Compare eg pagerank or bakers' chocolate elsewhere in thread - named after a proper noun, but the term as used is a description - but in this case it would be the reverse - named after a description, but the term as used references a proper noun.) Rereading I agree that wasn't obvious, though.




Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: