核心畫面

Picture a surface pressed down so one part sinks lower than everything around it — a dip. Every other sense of depression is something 'pressed low': mood sinks, the economy sinks, the air pressure sinks.

可以想成一塊表面被往下壓,某一處就凹得比周圍低——一個凹坑。depression 其他所有意思,都是某樣東西被「壓低更多收起可以想成一塊表面被往下壓,某一處就凹得比周圍低——一個凹坑。depression 其他所有意思,都是某樣東西被「壓低」了:心情往下沉、經濟往下掉、氣壓變低。

From the word’s history

From Latin deprimere 'to press down', de- 'down' + premere 'to press'. Whether it is ground, mood, the economy or the air, depression is the same action: something pressed down and made lower.

來自拉丁文 deprimere「往下壓」,由 de-(下)+ premere(壓)組成。不論主角是地面、心情、經濟還是空氣,depression 都是同一個動作:被往下壓、變低。

Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com/word/depression, /word/depress)

From the picture

心情被壓低

把「凹陷」的畫面搬到心裡:情緒被一股重量往下壓、整個人沉下去。

low spirits · noun · B2

A feeling of deep sadness and of having no hope.

消沉/低落

經濟被壓低

同一個「壓低」放到整個國家的經濟上:生意冷清、失業的人多,經濟曲線往下掉並且長期爬不起來。

economic slump · noun · B2

A long time when a country's business is very slow and many people have no jobs.

經濟蕭條

氣壓變低

主角換成空氣:一塊空氣的壓力比周圍低,就是被「壓下去、變低」的另一種版本。

low-pressure system · noun · B2

An area of air with low pressure that usually brings rainy weather.

低氣壓

Also in this word

hollow, dip · noun · B2

A dip in a surface, lower than everything around it.

凹陷/窪地

原始詞典資料9 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。

Depressionname

  • 1

    Synonym of Great Depression.

depressionnoun/dɪˈpɹɛʃən/

  • 1

    human-sciencespsychologysciencesA state of mind producing serious, long-term lowering of enjoyment of life or inability to visualize a happy future; any of several mental disorders with this state of mind as a central feature.

    • I used to suffer from depression, but now I'm mostly content with my life.
    • It is that Mr. Levi's death could not be dissociated from the major depression with which he was afflicted, and that indeed his suicide proceeded directly from that illness.
  • 2

    human-sciencespsychologysciencesA period of low morale or unhappiness (a period of experiencing the above-mentioned state of mind) which lasts longer than several weeks and may include ideation of self-inflicted injury or suicide.

    • […] your illness reflects the textbook description of bipolar disorder (euphoric, grandiose, manic highs followed by deep depressions,[…]
    • His first major breakdown occurred when his son was five years old; he continued to go to pieces periodically, with a particularly deep depression that lasted from the time Bill was in sixth grade until the time he finished junior high[…]
  • 3

    geographynatural-sciencesAn area that is lower in topography than its surroundings.

    • It was not far from the house; but the ground sank into a depression there, and the ridge of it behind shut out everything except just the roof of the tallest hayrick. As one sat on the sward behind the elm, with the back turned on the rick and nothing in front but the tall elms and the oaks in the other hedge, it was quite easy to fancy it the verge of the prairie with the backwoods close by.
    • These large [mazes] led to smaller ones which were constructed to hold in the hand, usually in the form of a circular tray. In these a marble was contained which had to be manipulated to roll into a depression in the centre.
  • 4

    climatologymeteorologynatural-sciencesAn area of lowered air pressure that generally brings moist weather, sometimes promoting hurricanes and tornadoes.

  • 5

    economicssciencesA period of major economic contraction.

  • 6

    economicssciencesA period of major economic contraction.

    • The Great Depression was the worst financial event in US history.
  • 7

    The act of lowering or pressing something down.

    • Depression of the lever starts the machine.
  • 8

    biologymedicinenatural-sciencesA lowering, in particular a reduction in a particular biological variable or the function of an organ, in contrast to elevation.

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