喜樂美語

核心畫面

Think of the thick, heavy oil that goes into a truck's tank. It is oilier and stronger-smelling than petrol, and the engines that burn it are built for pulling heavy loads.

加進卡車油箱裡的那種又稠又重的油：比汽油黏、味道更嗆，燒起來力氣大，所以拖得動貨櫃車、巴士和火車。整個字的重心就在這…更多收起加進卡車油箱裡的那種又稠又重的油：比汽油黏、味道更嗆，燒起來力氣大，所以拖得動貨櫃車、巴士和火車。整個字的重心就在這桶油上，其他用法都是從它延伸出去的。

From the word’s history

The word is a person's name: Rudolf Diesel built an engine in Germany in the 1890s that burned this heavy oil instead of petrol. The fuel and the vehicles are still called after him.

這個字其實是一個人的姓：德國工程師 Rudolf Diesel 在 1890 年代做出一種不燒汽油、改燒這種重油的引擎，後來連燃料本身、連燒它的車都跟著叫他的名字。知道這一點就不會覺得拼字奇怪——它本來就不是英文自己長出來的字，而是一個人名被整個借去當東西的名字。

本筆 payload 的詞源欄：From German Diesel, named after inventor Rudolf Diesel (1892–1897)

One branch

從那桶油到燒它的車

兩個意思是同一條線：先有燃料，再有以那個燃料為記號的車。

diesel fuel · noun · C1

A thick oil that engines burn instead of petrol, used a lot in trucks, buses, and trains.

柴油

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。

dieselnoun/ˈdiːzəl/

  • 1

    A fuel derived from petroleum (or other oils) but heavier than gasoline/petrol. Used to power diesel engines which burn this fuel using the heat produced when air is compressed.

    • They were chagrined to see that the price of diesel had climbed past six dollars a gallon.
  • 2

    A vehicle powered by a diesel engine.

    • His next truck will be a diesel.
    • A group of overalled men at one of the dozen stained crueted tables looked up briefly as they came in and then resumed their low conversation. Relief crews for the Diesels, Bond guessed.
  • 3

    slangcyclinghobbieslifestyleA rider who has an even energy output, without bursts of speed.

  • 4

    slangSynonym of snakebite and black.

  • 5

    slangA particular cannabis hybrid.

dieselverb/ˈdiːzəl/

  • 1

    To ignite a substance by using the heat generated by compression.

  • 2

    automotivetransportvehiclesFor a spark-ignition internal combustion engine to continue running after the electrical current to the spark plugs has been turned off. This occurs when there's enough heat in the combustion chamber to ignite the air and fuel mixture without a spark, the same way that heat and pressure cause ignition in a diesel engine.

    • The only reason the VW bug has a solenoid is to prevent it from dieseling.

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。