會爬的人和動物
最直接的一組：真的在用手腳往上爬的活物。
noun · B1
Someone who climbs mountains, rock faces or climbing walls as a sport or a hobby.
攀登者；攀岩者
核心畫面
Picture something making its way upward and holding on as it goes: hands on rock, on bark, a green shoot a fence. Climber names whatever is doing that. The -er ending is the whole trick, because it does not care what kind of thing you point it at. Point it at a person on a mountain and you get the sport. Point it at a monkey and you get an ability. Point it at a plant and you get a garden category. Point it at someone working their way up through people, and you get the sharpest use of all.
可以想成一個往上移動、而且一路抓著東西的畫面：手扣在岩壁上、爪子抓著樹皮、一條綠色的芽纏上籬笆。climber 就是…更多收起
可以想成一個往上移動、而且一路抓著東西的畫面：手扣在岩壁上、爪子抓著樹皮、一條綠色的芽纏上籬笆。climber 就是在指「正在做這件事的那一個」。關鍵在 -er 這個字尾。它不挑對象。指向山上的人，就成了一項運動。指向猴子，就成了一種本事。指向植物，就成了園藝的分類。指向在人際關係裡一路往上攀的人，就成了最帶刺的那個用法。From the word’s history
Wiktionary records climber as Middle English clymbere, from climben plus the agent suffix -er, and analyses the modern word as climb + -er. The suffix is exactly what lets one word cover people, animals and plants.
字典記錄 climber 來自中古英語的 clymbere，也就是動詞 climben 加上表示「做這個動作的人或物」的字尾 -er，現代拼法就是 climb + -er。正因為這個字尾不限定對象，同一個字才能同時涵蓋人、動物和植物。
Wiktionary entry for climber, noun, etymology 1 (supplied in evidence packet): "From Middle English clymbere, clymber ... from climben + -er, -ere (suffix forming agent nouns)."
Three branches
攀著東西往上長的植物
-er 不限於會動的東西，所以「往上並且抓著」的畫面也能落在一株植物身上。
noun · B2
A plant that grows upwards by holding on to a wall, a fence or another plant, instead of standing up on its own.
攀緣植物
在人際關係裡往上攀的人
這一組把要爬的東西換成了社會層級。這是理解上的連結，不是在說歷史上由登山的用法生出來。
noun · C1
A person who keeps trying to move into a richer or more powerful social group, choosing friends, clubs or jobs mainly for who they will be seen with; the word shows that the speaker does not think well of them.
往上攀關係的人