曾有一則消息說英國《牛津英語大詞典》修訂組最新宣布，新修訂的一批單詞發布在牛津英語在線詞典上。其中，來自中國上海的常用詞“嗲（dia）”也在其中。我們常說哪個女主持人、女演員發“嗲”，那么你了解“嗲”這個詞嗎？讓我們一起來追溯一下它的歷史吧。

Are you a diaist?

Recently, the Chinese word "dia" made it into the Oxford English Dictionary Online, joining Wiki and Google as words appearing regularly in popular culture.

Pronounced in its pinyin form, the word makes sense to most Chinese people.

As a noun, it refers to someone who speaks and acts in such an over gentle way that others can't resist feeling charmed, or, frightened. As an adjective, it describes the extremely gentle quality of one's tone or actions.

The word originated in Shanghai in the first half of the 20th century. It is believed that "dia" was derived from the English word "dear".

When Shanghai people first embraced "dia" in their everyday talk in 1960s, a Shanghai newspaper launched a series of debates over it.

Conservatives held that "dia" described a woman who intentionally (故意地) plays up her feminine character to allure (引誘) men. They saw it as a negative word. However, others argued that the word could be used in a positive sense and should be accepted.

Now, the word can mean "good" or "wonderful", although it more often emphasizes a woman's appearance and inner qualities.

Related words

diaism: n.嗲主義，崇尚嗲的理念

diaist: n. 嗲人

diaistic: adj. 嗲的

superdiaistic: adj. 超級嗲的

over diaistic: 過于嗲的

（來源：21世紀英文報第747期 中山大學通訊員陳萌供稿 英語點津 Annabel 編輯）

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