核心畫面

Think of a label that English sticks onto a country name: Argentina plus -ian, meaning belonging to that place. Once the label exists it can go on almost anything from there — a dish, a song, a team, a book, a piece of history — and it can also go on a person, and then it stands alone as the name for them. One word, one idea, two jobs in the sentence.

可以想成英文在國名上貼了一張標籤:Argentina 加上 -ian,意思是「屬於那裡的」。標籤做好以後,幾乎什麼都更多收起可以想成英文在國名上貼了一張標籤:Argentina 加上 -ian,意思是「屬於那裡的」。標籤做好以後,幾乎什麼都能貼——一道菜、一首歌、一支球隊、一本書、一段歷史。也可以貼在人身上,這時候它就自己站著,變成那個人的稱呼。同一個字、同一個意思,在句子裡做兩種工作。

From the word’s history

The supplied source gives Argentin(a) plus -ian, and traces the country name's element back through Latin argentum, silver. That explains the shape of the word; it is not an account of how the country was named.

所附資料給的是 Argentin(a) 加 -ian,並把國名裡的成分一路接回拉丁文 argentum(銀)。這說明的是字怎麼組成,不是在解釋國名的由來。

Wiktionary entries supplied in this packet: etymology_text on 'Argentinian' noun and adj (source_refs kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:265778106 and :265784562)

One branch

屬於阿根廷的:東西,還有人

兩個意思其實是同一張標籤。差別只在它貼在東西上,還是貼在人身上;貼在人身上時,它就自己當名詞用。

adjective · B1

Belonging to Argentina, or connected with Argentina and the people who live there. You use it for things from that country, such as its food, music, teams, cities, writers and history.

阿根廷的