petrelyoudaoicibaDictYouDict[petrel 词源字典]
petrel: [17] The petrel, a gull-like seabird, is alleged to have been named after the apostle Peter, supposedly inspired by the resemblance between the petrel’s habit of flying close to the surface of the sea and touching it with its feet, and Peter’s reported feat of walking on the water, as reported in Matthew 14:29 – ‘And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus’
[petrel etymology, petrel origin, 英语词源]
petrel (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
seabird, 1670s, pitteral, modern spelling first recorded 1703 by English explorer William Dampier (1651-1715), who wrote the bird was so called from its way of flying with its feet just skimming the surface of the water, which recalls the apostle's walk on the sea of Galilee (Matt. xiv:28); if so, it likely was formed in English as a diminutive of Peter (Late Latin Petrus). If this is folk etymology, the true source of the name is undiscovered. French pétrel (1760) probably is from English.