喜樂美語

核心畫面

Picture a line of metal rings, each one hooked through the next, so they form one long flexible line. Two things stand out: the rings are LINKED in a series (one leads to the next), and the whole thing can BIND or HOLD — you can pull with it or tie something down with it. Almost every other meaning grows from one of those two features: the series, or the binding.

可以想成一條金屬環串成的鏈子：每個環都勾住下一個環，連成一條長長、可彎曲的線。畫面裡有兩個重點：一是環環「相扣、成串…更多收起可以想成一條金屬環串成的鏈子：每個環都勾住下一個環，連成一條長長、可彎曲的線。畫面裡有兩個重點：一是環環「相扣、成串」（一個接一個），二是它能「拴住、束縛」（可以用來拉東西，也可以把東西綁死）。後面幾乎所有意思，都是從這兩個特徵之一長出來的。

Three branches

實體的鏈子

這一族是核心畫面最字面的樣子：看得見、摸得到的金屬鏈本身。

linked metal rings · noun · A2

A line of metal rings joined together, used to hold or pull things, or worn as jewelry.

鏈子、鎖鏈

相扣成串（連環）

把鏈子「環環相扣、一個接一個」這個特徵抽出來，用在抽象的東西上：事情、店家、人、房屋交易，只要是一個接一個串成一線，都借這個畫面。

series of events · noun · A2

A series of connected events or actions, where each one leads to the next.

一連串、一系列

用鏈拴住、束縛

這一族是鏈子「束縛」那一面變成動詞：把東西拴住，讓它跑不掉、離不開——先是字面的拴，再延伸到心理上的被困住。

fasten with a chain · verb · A2

To fasten someone or something to another thing using a chain, often so it cannot get away or be stolen.

用鏈子拴住、鎖住

原始詞典資料40 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。

Chainname

  • 1

    A surname.

chainnoun/ˈt͡ʃeɪn/

  • 1

    A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.

    • He wore a gold chain around the neck.
    • The anchor is connected to the boat with a 100-metre long chain.
  • 2

    A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.

    • wallet chain
  • 3

    A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.

    • And gainſt the General we will lift our ſwords And either lanch his greedie thirſting throat, Or take him priſoner, and his chaine ſhall ſerue For Manackles, till he be ranſom’d home.
  • 4

    A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.

    • the chains of habit
    • Driven down / To chains of darkness and the undying worm.
  • 5

    A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.

    • He put chains on my tires.
  • 6

    cyclinghobbieslifestyleA series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.

    • My bike needs a chain.
  • 7

    American-footballball-gamesfootballA series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.

  • 8

    A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.

    • His watch's chain was gold-plated.
另外 21 個記錄的用法
  • 9

    A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.

    • Get the key off my chain.
  • 10

    slangA series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.

    • They knocked him out and snatched his chain.
  • 11

    A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.

    • I couldn't open the door because it was on its chain.
  • 12

    geographynatural-sciencessurveyingA series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.

  • 13

    geographynatural-sciencessurveyingA series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.

  • 14

    geographynatural-sciencessurveyingA series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.

    • "But it's too far—must be a quarter of a mile—and I've a portmanteau to carry." […] "Garn!" shouted the guard. "Taint ten chain. […]"
  • 15

    nauticaltransportA series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.

  • 16

    A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal.

    • I saw a brilliant chain of lightning across the sky.
  • 17

    A series of interconnected things.

    • a chain of mountains
    • a chain of ideas, one leading to the next
  • 18

    A series of interconnected things.

    • We have to maintain chain of custody.
    • You mustn't break the chain of this chain letter.
  • 19

    A series of interconnected things.

    • That chain of restaurants is expanding into our town.
    • I love that place because it's not a chain.
  • 20

    A series of interconnected things.

    • Send it up the chain, so head office will have to deal with it.
  • 21

    economicssciencesA series of interconnected things.

    • cold chain, kill chain, supply chain, value chain
    • In public disclosures and press releases, the corporations perched atop the cobalt chain typically cite their commitments to international human rights norms, zero-tolerance policies on child labor, and adherence to the highest standards of supply chain due diligence.
  • 22

    businessmanufacturingtextilesA series of interconnected things.

  • 23

    A series of interconnected things.

  • 24

    businesscryptocurrenciescryptocurrencyA series of interconnected things.

  • 25

    A series of interconnected things.

  • 26

    chemistrynatural-sciencesorganic-chemistryA series of interconnected things.

    • side chain
    • When examined, the molecular chain included oxygen and hydrogen.
  • 27

    mathematicsorder-theorysciencesA totally ordered set, especially a totally ordered subset of a poset.

    • We first find an approximation of the chain partition, i.e. a small but not minimum size set of chains which cover all elements of the poset.
  • 28

    algebraic-topologymathematicssciencesA formal sum of cells in a CW complex of a certain dimension k (in which case the formal sums are called k'''-chains); a formal sum of simplices or cubes of a certain dimension in a simplical complex or cubical complex (respectively).

  • 29

    algebraic-topologymathematicssciencesAn element of a group (or module) in a chain complex.

chainverb/ˈt͡ʃeɪn/

  • 1

    To fasten something with a chain.

    • You should chain your bicycle to the railings to protect it from being stolen.
  • 2

    To connect as if with a chain, due to dependence, addiction, or other feelings

    • Sometimes I feel like I'm chained to this computer.
    • She's been chained to her principles since she was 18, it's unlikely you can convince her otherwise.
  • 3

    To link multiple items together.

  • 4

    To secure someone with fetters.

  • 5

    To obstruct the mouth of a river etc with a chain.

  • 6

    To obligate.

    • I miss when Game Of Thrones was wide open, but even then, the writers were chained to a narrative they didn’t yet know the ending of and feared straying too far from.
  • 7

    computingengineeringmathematicsTo relate data items with a chain of pointers.

  • 8

    computingengineeringmathematicsTo be chained to another data item.

    • You don’t need to maintain state, or partition execution into different objects that then you can chain together (one executes the other on completion — chained continuations).
另外 2 個記錄的用法
  • 9

    To measure a distance using a 66-foot long chain, as in land surveying.

    • As the line was surveyed - a sufficient length being first chained by a surveyor, who was followed by axemen - trees had to be felled and a certain width maintained, which was specified in the contract, for drays had to follow, and the trees might have fallen upon the line and broken it down at the very outset.
  • 10

    rarecomputingengineeringmathematicsTo load and automatically run (a program).

    • How do you get one program to chain another? I want to run DrawWorks2 then !Draw but as soon as you run Drawworks2 it finishes the batch file and doesn't go on to the next instruction! Is there a way without loading one of these automatic loaders?
    • You can do LOAD "" or CHAIN "" to load or chain the next program if I remember correctly (it's been a loooong time since I've used a tape on an Acorn!)

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。