門口的那塊墊子
這一支就是核心畫面本身，實物一件。
noun · A2
A thick, rough mat that lies just inside or just outside a door, so that people can rub the dirt off their shoes before they walk in.
門墊；腳踏墊
核心畫面
Picture the one object in a house that everybody steps on and nobody looks at. It lies at the door. Its job is to take the dirt so the floor stays clean, so it is made of rough material and nobody minds it wearing out. It never moves and it never complains. Both meanings of this word live in that picture: the thing itself, and the person who has ended up in the same position.
可以想成家裡那個人人踩、卻沒人會多看一眼的東西。它躺在門口。它的工作是把髒接走，好讓地板保持乾淨，所以做得粗粗的，舊…更多收起
可以想成家裡那個人人踩、卻沒人會多看一眼的東西。它躺在門口。它的工作是把髒接走，好讓地板保持乾淨，所以做得粗粗的，舊了也沒人在意。它不會動，也不會抗議。這個字的兩個意思都住在這個畫面裡：一個是那塊墊子本身，一個是處境變得跟它一樣的人。From the word’s history
Wiktionary gives the word as simply door + mat: the mat that belongs at a door. The compound names the position, and the position is where both meanings come from.
Wiktionary 說這個字就是 door 加 mat：屬於門口的那塊墊子。這個組合命名的是位置，而兩個意思都是從這個位置長出來的。
Wiktionary, 'doormat' etymology ('From door + mat'), as supplied in this packet (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1171157274)
Two branches
被人踩的那個人
把墊子的處境套在人身上：人人從他身上踩過去，他不出聲。這是比喻，不是這個字的另一個來源。
noun · B2
Someone who lets other people treat them badly, give them orders, or take what they want from them, and who never speaks up for themselves.
任人踩的人；任人欺負的人