核心畫面

Beaten is the mark left on something that has been hit, pressed, or trodden again and again — earth packed hard by many feet, metal by many hammer blows, a person worn down until nothing fights back. The picture is: repeated blows have shaped it.

beaten 可以想成「被反覆敲打、踩踏之後留下的樣子」:泥土被無數雙腳踏得又硬又實,金屬被鐵鎚一下一下打扁,人被打更多收起beaten 可以想成「被反覆敲打、踩踏之後留下的樣子」:泥土被無數雙腳踏得又硬又實,金屬被鐵鎚一下一下打扁,人被打到再也提不起勁。核心畫面比較像——一次次的打擊,已經把它「打成」現在這個形狀。

Three branches

走出來的路

「反覆踩踏」最直接的結果就是一條路:許多人走同一條線,把地面踏得又硬又清楚。這一組就是這個踏出來的路,以及由它長出的常見說法。

well-trodden path · adjective · B1

A beaten path or track is one that many people have made hard and clear by walking the same way.

踩出來的(小徑)

錘打成形

同樣是「一次次打擊改變一個東西」,只是這裡的打擊來自鐵鎚,改變的是金屬的形狀。

hammered flat · adjective · B2

Beaten metal has been hit with a hammer many times to make it flat, thin, or a certain shape.

錘打過的(金屬)

被打垮的人

把「反覆挨打」從東西移到人身上:一個人被生活或對手一次次擊打,最後被打到沒了希望、沒了鬥志——是核心畫面的比喻用法。

defeated, dejected · adjective · B1

A beaten person looks and feels defeated, with no hope or fight left in them.

挫敗的;頹喪的

原始詞典資料5 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法,原文照列,我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的;有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

beatenadj/ˈbiː.tən/

  • 1

    Defeated.

  • 2

    Repeatedly struck, or formed or flattened by blows.

    • a beaten path; beaten gold; the beaten victims of the attack
  • 3

    cookingfoodlifestyleMixed by paddling with a wooden spoon or other implement.

  • 4

    datedTrite; hackneyed.

這個拼法也被記錄為下列字的變化形:

資料來源:英文維基詞典 English WiktionaryCC BY-SA 4.0)。 原文照列,未經改寫。