喜樂美語

核心畫面

You can picture 'disease' as a named illness that has taken hold inside a living body — a specific sickness with its own causes and symptoms, working away in a person, animal or plant. From that concrete picture of an organism being , the word stretches to anything that is 'sick' in the same way: a society, or the way someone thinks, that has something deeply and harmfully wrong with it.

可以把 disease 想成一種已經在活體裡紮根的、有名字的病——一個有自己成因和症狀的具體疾病，在人、動物或植物身…更多收起可以把 disease 想成一種已經在活體裡紮根的、有名字的病——一個有自己成因和症狀的具體疾病，在人、動物或植物身上發作。從「某個生命體生病了」這個具體畫面出發，這個字延伸到任何「像生了病一樣」的東西：一個社會、或某種思考方式，深處有什麼嚴重而有害的毛病。

From the word’s history

From Old French 'desaise' = 'des-' (lack of) + 'aise' (ease) — literally 'lack of ease', dis-ease, the absence of comfort/wellness that an illness brings.

源自古法文 desaise，由 des-（缺乏）加 aise（安適）組成，字面就是「缺乏安適」——dis-ease，也就是生病時那種不舒服、不安適的狀態。這正好對上「身體生病」這個核心畫面。

etymonline (disease < Old French desaise, dis- + aise 'ease')

Two branches

生命體的疾病

這一家就是核心畫面本身：一個具體的病，在人、動物或植物體內發作。

an illness · noun · B1

An illness in a person, animal, or plant, usually one with its own name and cause.

疾病

社會或思想的「病」

把「身體生病」這個畫面搬到非生命體上：社會、人的想法或行為若有嚴重而有害的毛病，就被說成像生了病一樣。

a harmful social problem · noun · B1

Something that is badly wrong with a society or with the way someone thinks or acts.

弊病 / 痼疾

原始詞典資料5 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。

diseasenoun/dɪˈziːz/

  • 1

    medicinesciencesAn abnormal condition of a human, animal or plant that causes discomfort or dysfunction; distinct from injury insofar as the latter is usually instantaneously acquired.

    • The tomato plants had some kind of disease that left their leaves splotchy and their fruit withered.
    • The exposed workers had some kind of disease that left their skin splotchy and their faces withered.
  • 2

    Any abnormal or harmful condition, as of society, people's attitudes, way of living etc.

    • War is not man's great and terrible disease; war is a symptom, a result. The real disease is the virus of national sovereignty.
  • 3

    A lack of ease; uneasiness; trouble; vexation; disquiet.

    • To ſhield thee from diſeaſes of the world, […]

diseaseverb/dɪˈziːz/

  • 1

    To infect with a disease.

  • 2

    obsoleteTo cause unease; to annoy, irritate.

    • Whyll he yett ſpeake there cam won from the rulers off the ſynagogis houſſe which ſayde to hym: Thy doughter is deed diſeaſe not the maſter.
    • […]mote he ſoft himſelfe appeaſe, And fairely fare on foot, how euer loth; His double burden did him ſore diſeaſe.

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。