喜樂美語

核心畫面

Looking down on someone from above and deciding they are simply not worth taking seriously — not anger, but the judgement that something has no value at all.

你站在高處，低頭看著某個人或某件事，然後心裡下了一個判斷——「這個不值得我認真對待」。重點不是生氣，也不是討厭；生氣…更多收起你站在高處，低頭看著某個人或某件事，然後心裡下了一個判斷——「這個不值得我認真對待」。重點不是生氣，也不是討厭；生氣是你還把對方當回事，contempt 卻是把對方整個從「值得尊重的清單」上劃掉。所以它的表情常常不是吼叫，而是嗤之以鼻、翻白眼、一句話都懶得回。可以說，這是一種「把價值判到零」的往下看。

From the word’s history

From Latin contemptus, from contemnō (con- intensifier + temnō "to despise") — literally "to look down on thoroughly", the same judgement of worthlessness the modern word carries.

來自拉丁文 contemptus，動詞 contemnō 是 con-（加強語氣）＋ temnō（輕視、看不起）。字源本身就是「狠狠地看不起」，跟現代的核心畫面幾乎重疊——這個字從一開始講的就是「把對方判為不值得」，而不是憤怒或仇恨。

Wiktionary entry for "contempt" (Latin contemptus ← contemnō ← com- + temnō)

Three branches

看不起人

最直接的核心：往下看，判定對方不值得尊重。

scorn · noun · C2

A feeling of looking down on someone or something, as if they deserve no respect.

輕蔑

對權威不放在眼裡

還是那個往下看的動作，只是對象換成法庭這個機構：你的態度等於在說「這個權威不值得我服從」。特別的是，法律把這種態度制度化了，所以它從一種感覺變成一個罪名。

contempt of court · noun · C2

The act of showing no respect for a court of law, or of not following an order the court has made.

藐視法庭

不把危險當回事

往下看的對象從「人」換成「危險」：把威脅判定為不值得畏懼，於是恐懼就沒有立足點。這是同一個判斷動作用在另一種東西上。

no fear of danger · noun · C2

A complete lack of fear about something that could hurt you or go wrong.

無懼

原始詞典資料4 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。

contemptnoun/kənˈtɛmpt/

  • 1

    The state or act of contemning; the feeling or attitude of regarding someone or something as inferior, base, or worthless; scorn, disdain.

    • And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them.
    • Transport Minister Marples, meanwhile, used arrogant rhetoric and showed his personal contempt for railways when confirming in Parliament that a third of the network was to be closed even before the survey results were known.
  • 2

    The state of being despised or dishonored; disgrace.

  • 3

    lawOpen disrespect or willful disobedience of the authority of a court of law or legislative body.

    • The panel voted unanimously on Tuesday to recommend charging Mr. [Stephen K.] Bannon with criminal contempt of Congress for defying its subpoena, sending the issue to the House.
    • Justice Merchan has yet to issue a ruling on whether to find Mr. Trump in contempt.

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 Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。