forty-niner

/ˌfɔːti ˈnaɪnə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌfɔːrti ˈnaɪnər/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌfȯr-tē-ˈnī-nər/ (ame, mw)

forty-niner — noun

1. a person who traveled to California in 1849 hoping to find gold and become rich

1.名詞B2
釋義

a person who traveled to California in 1849 hoping to find gold and become rich in the early years of the Gold Rush era

例句

The museum exhibit shows what life was like for a forty-niner traveling west by wagon.

Many forty-niners arrived in California expecting to find gold nuggets lying on the ground.

historical term: 1849 Gold Rush participant

同義詞
  • gold seeker

    broader term for anyone looking for gold, not limited to 1849 California

  • prospector

    a person who searches for valuable minerals, including but not limited to gold

  • gold miner

    someone who works in a gold mine; a more general term for any era

文法句型

a forty-niner

the forty-niners

用法筆記

Always refers specifically to the gold seekers who rushed to California starting in 1849, not to gold prospectors of other eras. The term is derived from the year 1849 and is always used in a historical context.

常見錯誤

❌My great-grandfather was a forty-niner in Australia in the 1850s.
✅My great-grandfather was a gold prospector in Australia in the 1850s.
💡forty-niner applies only to individuals who joined the 1849 California gold rush, not to gold seekers in other places or times.

2. the well-known nickname of the San Francisco 49ers, a professional American foot

2.名詞B2
釋義

the well-known nickname of the San Francisco 49ers, a professional American football franchise that competes in the National Football League (NFL)

例句

The forty-niners won the conference championship by a narrow margin last season.

team name, always with 'the'

My uncle has supported the forty-niners since the team moved to San Francisco in the 1940s.

文法句型

the + Forty-Niners

the + 49ers

用法筆記

Often written as '49ers' in sports contexts. The team name honors the historical gold rush forty-niners of 1849. Always takes a plural verb (e.g. 'the 49ers are playing tonight'). When used as an adjective, the singular form is common ('the 49er defense').

常見錯誤

❌I saw the forty-niners play soccer at the stadium.
✅I saw the forty-niners play American football at the stadium.
💡The 49ers are an American football team, not a soccer team.
❌The forty-niners is my favorite team.
✅The forty-niners are my favorite team.
💡Team names ending in -s take a plural verb in American English.