喜樂美語

核心畫面

Two layers that do not match. On top is whatever people meet first — a face, a voice, a shopfront, a set of figures. Underneath is how things really are. When the top layer sends the wrong message about the layer below, English says it belies it. One way to hold the word: the top layer is telling a small lie on behalf of the thing it covers.

可以想成兩層疊在一起。上面那層是別人先碰到的：一張臉、一個語氣、一面店門、一組數字。下面那層才是實情。當上面那層送出…更多收起可以想成兩層疊在一起。上面那層是別人先碰到的：一張臉、一個語氣、一面店門、一組數字。下面那層才是實情。當上面那層送出的訊息跟下面對不上，英文就用 belie。就像那層外表替底下的東西撒了個小謊——be- 加上 lie，字面上剛好就是「對某件事說謊」。

From the word’s history

Old English belēogan meant to deceive by lying: be- (about) plus lie (to deceive). German belügen still means to lie to someone. The modern uses keep the lying but change who does it — a smile or a figure now does it instead of a person.

古英語 belēogan 的意思是「用謊話騙人」，由 be-（對著）加上 lie（說謊）組成；德文的 belügen 到今天還是「對某人說謊」。現代的用法保留了「說謊」這件事，只是換了主角：不再是人在說謊，而是笑容、外表或數字在替真相說謊。

Wiktionary entry for belie, etymology 2, as supplied in this packet (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:787351330)

Two branches

上面那層跟底下對不上

這一組就是核心畫面本身：兩層擺在一起，對不上。兩個意思的差別只在讀者被要求看哪一邊。

verb · C2

If one thing belies another, it gives a false impression of it: the part people meet first does not match what is really there. It is used about faces, voices, manners, buildings and figures — a calm voice that belies fear, a young face that belies someone's real age. It does not say that anyone is lying on purpose; the outside layer simply misleads.

掩蓋真相；給人假象

直接說某人的謊話（古語）

這是這個字最早、也最字面的一支：說謊的還是人，還沒有搬到外表上去。來源資料把它標成 archaic，今天只在舊文本裡讀得到。

verb · C2

In older English, to belie someone is to tell lies about them — to say untrue things that damage their name. The object is usually a person, and the person doing it is doing it on purpose. You will meet this use in Shakespeare, in old ballads and in older Bible translations, but not in writing today.

造謠中傷（古語）

原始詞典資料10 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。

believerb詞源 1/bɪˈlaɪ/

  • 1

    datedTo lie around; encompass.

    • When little worlds collide, I'm trapped inside my embryonic cell / And flashing memories are cast into the never-ending well / The name that scorns the face / The child that never sees the cause of man / The deathly darkness that / Belies the fate of those who never ran
    • but I… have, you know… But whenever China does something, whenever China figure out something, I… they always very quickly figure out to commercialize it, and commodify it, to make it significantly affordable. And, I think that's what's gonna happen here, and I think that's… a lot of the copium belies kinda the deep American anxiety of China catching up. What is your take on that Dr. Powell?
  • 2

    obsoleteTo surround; beleaguer.

believerb詞源 2/bɪˈlaɪ/

  • 1

    archaicTo tell lies about.

    • Thou do’ſt bely him Percy, thou doſt bely him; / He never did encounter with Glendower:
  • 2

    To give a false representation of.

    • Her smooth complexion and dark hair belie her actual age.
    • Should I do ſo I ſhould bely my thoughts, / Comfort's in heauen, and we are on the earth[…]
  • 3

    To contradict, to show (something) to be false.

    • Her obvious nervousness belied what she said.
    • Their trembling Hearts bely their boaſting Tongues.
  • 4

    rareTo call a liar; to accuse of falsehood.

    • They haue belyed the Lord, and ſaid; It is not he, neither ſhall euill come vpon vs, neither ſhal we ſee ſwoꝛd noꝛ famine.
  • 5

    rareTo fill with lies; to lie to.

    • No, ’tis Slander, / Whoſe edge is ſharper then the Sword, whoſe tongue / Out-venomes all the Wormes of Nyle, whoſe breath / Rides on the poſting windes, / and doth belye All corners of the World.
    • Three belied you, three betrayed you! One you betrayed was three times true! Lord Voryn Dagoth, Dagoth Ur, steadfast liegeman, faithful friend, bids you come and climb Red Mountain!
  • 6

    To conceal the contradictory or ironic presence of (something).

    • His calm demeanor belied his inner sense of guilt.
    • The rosy outlook belies a struggle to achieve statewide eradication that has persisted since the insect first crossed the border from Mexico around 1892.
  • 7

    To show, evince or demonstrate (something) to be present, particularly something deemed contradictory or ironic.

    • A host of evidence is adduced by the accused, evidence whose sometimes self-contradictory nature belies a certain desperation
    • […] a low, flat, boring building that belies its past as an IRS facility […]
  • 8

    obsoleteTo mimic; to counterfeit.

    • Which durſt with horſes hoofs that beat the ground / And Martial brass bely the thunders ſound.
    • The Shape of Man, and imitated beſt; / The Walk, the Words, the Gesture cou'd ſupply, / The Habit mimick, and the Mien bely[…]

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