racer 的词源

“竞赛者”或“竞赛物”，1640年代指人，1660年代指马，1793年指车辆，到了1809年在美式英语中还用来指一种蛇。这些都是从 race（动词）派生出的名词。

WHEN a lad, I lived with my father in the then province of New Jersey, where the black snake, with a white throat, commonly called the racer, as well as the rattle snake, and other serpents, are frequently met with ; and I never remember to have heard any one dispute the power of charming belonging to several species of serpents, but more common to the black snake, called the racer, which I have twice seen in the operation. ["Extract from a letter from Samuel Beach, dated Whiting, July 24, 1795," in appendix to Samuel Williams, "The Natural and Civil History of Vermont," 2nd ed., 1809]

我年轻时，和父亲一起生活在当时的新泽西省，那里的黑蛇，白喉部分常被称为“竞赛者”，还有响尾蛇和其他蛇类经常能见到；我从来没有听说过有人质疑某些蛇类的魅惑能力，尤其是黑蛇，也就是“竞赛者”，我曾两次亲眼看到它们在施展这种能力。[摘自塞缦·比奇的信件，日期为1795年7月24日，收录于塞缦·威廉姆斯的《佛蒙特州的自然与民事历史》，第二版，1809年]