核心畫面

Picture one concrete act that breaks the law and can be punished for it — a theft, an attack, a fraud. That single is the seed. From it 'crime' to lawbreaking as a whole, hardens into set phrases for particular kinds of crime, and finally into an everyday 'that's just wrong / what a shame'.

可以想成 crime 的核心畫面,是「一件具體、違法、會被法律處罰的壞事」——一樁竊案、一次傷害、一場詐騙。先抓住這更多收起可以想成 crime 的核心畫面,是「一件具體、違法、會被法律處罰的壞事」——一樁竊案、一次傷害、一場詐騙。先抓住這個「單一、可受罰的罪行」當種子,crime 才往外長:放大成『所有違法行為的總稱』,凝固成各種特定罪名的固定說法,最後在口語裡軟化成「這太不應該、太可惜了」。

From the word’s history

From Latin 'crimen' (charge, accusation, offence) — what someone is accused of, the chargeable wrong; this lines up with the core image of a single punishable act.

可以追到拉丁文 crimen(指控、罪名、過犯)——本來指「被指控的那件事、可以被告上去的過錯」,正好對上核心畫面裡那件「會被追究、受罰的具體罪行」。

Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), 'crime'

Three branches

違法行為本身

這一族是 crime 最素樸的用法:要嘛指一件具體的罪行,要嘛把許多罪行加總成『犯罪』這個整體概念。核心種子「一件可受罰的壞事」在這裡被原樣使用,或被放大成全體。

a criminal act · noun · B1

A single act that breaks the law and can be punished.

罪行 / 罪

特定罪名與情境(固定說法)

同一顆「罪行」種子,被裝進一個個固定片語裡,用來指某一種特定的犯罪型態或情境——生涯型的、瞞天過海型的、激情型的、滔天大惡型的。意思仍是罪行,只是被片語框定了範圍。

a life of crime · noun · B1

In the phrase 'a life of crime' — a way of living where someone keeps stealing and breaking the law to get money.

犯罪生涯

口語裡的「太不應該」

這一族把「罪行」整個拿來當比喻:講話的人並不是說真的犯了法,而是借「這簡直是罪過」來強調某事多麼不對、多麼可惜——語氣上的誇張,不是法律上的判定。

crime doesn't pay · noun · B1

In the saying 'crime doesn't pay' — used to warn people that breaking the law brings no real gain, because you get caught and punished.

惡有惡報

原始詞典資料8 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。

CRIMEname

  • 1

    computingengineeringmathematicsA particular security exploit against secret Web cookies over connections using the HTTPS and SPDY protocols that also use data compression. It relies on observing the change in size of the compressed ciphertext for various inputs.

crimenoun/kɹaɪm/

  • 1

    A specific act committed in violation of the law, especially criminal law.

    • the commission of a crime
    • The generative AI chatbot, ChatGPT, can be duped into providing detailed advice on how to commit crimes — ranging from money laundering to the export of weapons to sanctioned countries — a tech startup found.
  • 2

    Any great sin or wickedness; iniquity.

    • Those methods of saving money should be a crime.
    • No crime was thine, if 'tis no crime to love.
  • 3

    obsoleteThat which occasions crime.

    • the tree of life, the crime of our first father's fall
  • 4

    Criminal acts collectively.

    • an effort by the police to tackle crime in the city
    • Trump’s crimes are considered white collar, which are usually nonviolent and often include fraud and corruption, according to the FBI. White collar crime “isn’t thought of as threatening in the same way as street crime, and high-status white offenders are not as burdened by criminal stigma,” Western said.
  • 5

    The habit or practice of committing crimes.

    • Crime doesn’t pay.

crimeverb/kɹaɪm/

  • 1

    governmentmilitarypoliticsTo subject to disciplinary punishment.

    • Nevertheless, in the course of a few days he is again intoxicated, creates disturbance in his quarters, is confined by his sergeant, crimed, and brought before the commanding officer […]
  • 2

    To commit crime.

    • If, during the 1920s, the master criminal was a gamester, criming for self expression, during the 1930s he performed in other ways for other purposes.

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