喜樂美語

核心畫面

Picture things pressed together until the gaps are gone: soil trodden hard, a suitcase sat on to close it. Nothing was removed — the same amount now takes up less room. Praise that arrangement and you get 'neat and space-saving'; name the small objects built that way and you get the powder case, the little camera, the small car. One sense in this entry, the formal agreement, comes from a different Latin word entirely.

可以想成：東西被壓到縫隙都不見了——被踩實的泥土、被人坐上去才關得起來的行李箱。沒有東西被拿掉，只是同樣的量現在佔的…更多收起可以想成：東西被壓到縫隙都不見了——被踩實的泥土、被人坐上去才關得起來的行李箱。沒有東西被拿掉，只是同樣的量現在佔的空間變小了。誇獎這種安排，就是「小而不擠」；把照這個原則做出來的小東西命名，就有了粉盒、小相機、小型車。至於「協定」，來路完全不同，是另一個拉丁字。

From the word’s history

Etymonline gives two separate origins. The dense/packed word is from Latin compactus, past participle of compingere 'to fasten together, construct' (com- 'together' + pangere 'to fix, fasten'). The agreement word is from Latin compactum 'agreement', from compacisci 'come to agreement' (com- 'together' + pacisci 'to covenant, contract'). Same modern spelling, two different Latin verbs.

Etymonline 列出兩個不同的來源。「密實、壓緊」那個來自拉丁文 compactus，是 compingere「釘合、組裝」的過去分詞（com-「一起」加 pangere「固定、釘牢」）。「協定」那個則來自拉丁文 compactum「約定」，出自 compacisci「達成協議」（com-「一起」加 pacisci「立約」）。今天拼法一樣，底下是兩個不同的拉丁動詞。

Etymonline, entries "compact (adj./v.)" and "compact (n., agreement)" (etymonline.com/word/compact)

From the picture

小，但東西都收得好

把「沒有浪費空間」這一點拿來當優點講：東西還是那麼多，但收得整齊，所以佔的地方小。這一支帶著讚許的語氣。

compact (small and efficient) · adjective · A2

Small, but with everything arranged neatly so that the space is used well.

小巧的；緊湊的

照這個原則做出來的小東西

形容詞直接變成物品的名字：因為它們的賣點就是「小而不減功能」，久了大家就用這個特點來稱呼那樣東西。

compact (powder case) · noun · B1

a small flat case with a mirror, holding powder for a person's face.

粉盒

Also in this word

compact (densely packed) · adjective · B1

packed or put together firmly and closely.

緊密的；密實的

compact (compress) · verb · B1

To squeeze the parts of something closer, making it smaller or firmer.

壓緊；壓實

compact (formal agreement) · noun · B2

a formal agreement between countries or people.

協定；契約

原始詞典資料15 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。

compactnoun詞源 1/ˈkɒmˌpækt/

  • 1

    An agreement or contract.

    • President Biden laid out an ambitious agenda on Wednesday night to rewrite the American social compact by vastly expanding family leave, child care, health care, preschool and college education for millions of people to be financed with increased taxes on the wealthiest earners.
    • After taking over this month as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, a nonpartisan coalition of city mayors, he urged members to sign a “crypto compact” calling on the federal government to eschew overly aggressive regulation of the industry.

compactverb詞源 1/kəmˈpækt/

  • 1

    To form an agreement or contract.

    • In return for the sovereign's protection, they compacted to police the content of public literature.

compactadj詞源 1/kəmˈpækt/

  • 1

    archaicAgreed, contracted.

    • O Gorice XI., most glorious King of Witchland, and O Lord Goldry Bluszco, captain of the hosts of Demonland, it is compact betwixt you, and made fast by mighty oaths whereof I, the Red Foliot, am keeper, that ye shall wrastle three falls together on these conditions, […]

compactadj詞源 2/kəmˈpækt/

  • 1

    Closely packed or densely constituted; having much material in a small volume.

    • glass, crystal, gems, and other compact bodies
  • 2

    Having all necessary features fitting neatly into a small space.

    • a compact laptop computer
  • 3

    Brief and pithy; not verbose.

    • a compact discourse
  • 4

    mathematicssciencestopologyOf a topological space:

  • 5

    mathematicssciencestopologyOf a topological space:

  • 6

    obsoleteJoined or held together; leagued; confederated.

    • Thou fooliſh Frier, and thou pernicious woman / Compact with her that's gone:
    • a pipe of seven reeds, compact with wax together
  • 7

    obsoleteComposed or made; with of.

    • A wandering fire, / Compact of unctuous vapor.

compactnoun詞源 2/ˈkɒmˌpækt/

  • 1

    A slim folding case, often featuring a mirror, powder and a powder puff, small enough to fit in a woman's purse, handbag, or pocket.

  • 2

    An automobile that is larger than a subcompact but smaller than an intermediate.

  • 3

    A broadsheet newspaper published in the size of a tabloid but keeping its non-sensational style.

    • The Dundee Courier has announced the newspaper will be relaunching as a compact later this week. Editor Richard Neville said a "brighter, bolder" paper would appear from Saturday, shrunk from broadsheet to tabloid size.

compactverb詞源 2/kəmˈpækt/

  • 1

    To make more dense; to compress.

    • You need to excavate and remove the topsoil, line the subsoil with a geotextile, then lay and compact hardcore.
  • 2

    To unite or connect firmly, as in a system.

    • The whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth.

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。