common cold:普通感冒;一种由多种病毒(最常见为鼻病毒)引起的上呼吸道感染,通常症状较轻,如流鼻涕、打喷嚏、咽喉痛、咳嗽等。(与流感 flu 不同,流感往往更重。)
/ˌkɑːmən ˈkoʊld/
I think I caught a common cold.
我觉得我得了普通感冒。
The doctor said it was just a common cold, but it still left him coughing for weeks because of his asthma.
医生说这只是普通感冒,但由于他有哮喘,咳嗽还是持续了好几个星期。
common 意为“常见的、普遍的”,cold 在这里不是“寒冷”,而是指“感冒”(这种用法在英语里沿用已久)。合在一起 common cold 强调“最常见的那类感冒”,用来与更严重或更特定的疾病区分。