據(jù)1979年版《辭海》，第925頁在“洪”的字條下有對“洪荒”一詞的解釋。

【洪荒】謂混沌、聣昧的狀態(tài)，也指遠(yuǎn)古時代。謝靈運《三月三日侍宴西池》詩：詳觀記牒，洪荒莫傳。

這不是現(xiàn)代人發(fā)明的詞匯，但洪荒之力這個詞卻是近幾年因為一部網(wǎng)絡(luò)熱播古裝劇而火起來的，大意就是指是如天地初開之時這種足以毀滅世界的力量。

聽到這里，學(xué)習(xí)英語的各位同學(xué)認(rèn)為應(yīng)該如何翻譯呢？

報紙China Daily的報道中，是這樣寫的：

When asked whether she held back for the final， Fu replied， \"No， I utilized my' prehistorical' power.\" What she meant was that she had spared no efforts in the semifinal.

根據(jù)話，洪荒之力被翻譯成“prehistorical power”，基本是根據(jù)字典意思進行的直譯。而CCTV NEWS的記者也采用了這種翻譯，只不過改變了時態(tài)。在微博中，記者寫道：

A new Internet meme has emerged after Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui reacted exaggeratedly to her personal best performance in Rio 2016 women's backstroke semi-final.\" I've been utilizing prehistorical powers，\" she told CCTV reporter. Her comment has also become part of the meme.”