重傷に至らず ― superficial

ごくごく基本的な単語"superficial"です。表面的、といった訳語は言わずもがなでしょうか。


The shooting in Harlem started after a fight broke out at a crowded party that had spilled from a park into the streets on Sunday morning. When it was over, 50 bullets had been fired, one man was dead, and six others, including two police officers, were wounded.

Shariff Spencer, center, a witness to the shooting, said that his friend, Angel Alvarez, said to be the gunman, was not armed.

Forty-six of the bullets were fired by four police officers; about 20 or so apparently struck a man who the police said had fired at officers after fatally shooting a man. He was expected to survive. The two wounded officers were not seriously hurt; one of them, who was in a plainclothes unit, had been shot in the chest by another officer. The wound was superficial, but could have been far worse had the bullet not struck the officer’s bullet-resistant vest. Police officials said that shooting probably resulted from an errant bullet, not a case of mistaken identity.
(After 50 Shots in Harlem, One Dead and 6 Hurt. The New York Times. August 8, 2010.)


翻訳の薀蓄を垂れるつもりはないのですが、辞書を引くと"superficial"に、”浅手”という訳語も見えます。

浅手、深手、という日本語でも昔ながらの表現です。傷が浅い、深いは、重傷度を指していますが、"superficial"とは表面の話であり、結果”重傷に至らなかった”ということです。

記事のURLはこちら。