What is the etymology of 한눈팔다? I remember it as "one eye sold", which works great as a mnemonic device, but wondering if that's the actual etymology too.
1 Answer
한눈팔다 is a composition of 한눈 + 팔다.
한눈 is a noun which means 'glimpse'. 팔다 is a verb which has various meanings.
- 값을 받고 물건이나 권리 따위를 남에게 넘기거나 노력 따위를 제공하다(Selling something to another person)
- (주로 여성을 대상으로 하여)돈을 받고 윤락가나 윤락업을 하는 사람에게 넘기다(trafficking a human-being, especially a woman.)
- 주의를 집중하여야 할 곳에 두지 아니하고 다른 데로 돌리다 (Lose attention for a while)
In this case, the 3rd meaning, '주의를 집중하여야 할 곳에 두지 아니하고 다른 데로 돌리다' is used.
Thus, the word 한눈팔다 means losing one's attention and glance at something else for a while. Idiomatically, it also means 'cheating on one's own partner'.