喜樂美語

核心畫面

Think of a fire that has burned down low. There is still light in it and still some heat, so it is not out yet — but anyone looking can see it is going, and there is not much left. Dying always points at that stretch between still here and gone. Sometimes it is a life running down. Sometimes it is a game with two minutes left on the clock. Sometimes it is a craft that fewer and fewer people still practise. The thing is always present, and always on its way out.

「dying」的核心畫面可以想成一堆快燒完的火。火還在，還有光，也還有一點熱。所以它還沒結束。但你一眼就看得出來，它…更多收起「dying」的核心畫面可以想成一堆快燒完的火。火還在，還有光，也還有一點熱。所以它還沒結束。但你一眼就看得出來，它撐不了多久了。dying 講的就是「還在」和「沒了」中間的那一段。有時候那是一條慢慢流失的生命。有時候那是一場只剩最後幾分鐘的球賽。有時候那是一門會的人越來越少的手藝。中文會翻成「垂死的」「快結束的」「逐漸消失的」，看起來差很多，但底下都是同一團快燒完的火。

From the word’s history

The source records only this: dying is die plus the ending -ing, with the spelling ie changed to y (which also keeps it apart from dyeing, colouring cloth). That -ing is where the whole feeling comes from. It marks something in progress, so the word never lands on the end itself — it stays on the stretch of time leading up to it. That is why minutes and crafts can be dying too.

來源記的很單純：dying 就是 die 加上 -ing，拼字把 ie 換成 y（順便跟 dyeing「染色」分開）。整個感覺其實都來自 -ing 這個尾巴。-ing 表示「正在進行」，所以 dying 從來不是指終點本身。它一直停在走向終點的那一段路上。也因為這樣，時間和手藝也可以是 dying。

Wiktionary entry for dying (packet source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4), etymology_text: "From die + -ing."

Three branches

生命正在流失

這一家離核心畫面最近，幾乎就是畫面本身：火還在燒，只是快燒完了。差別只在你把它放在句子的哪個位置——當動詞、當形容詞、當一群人，還是當一段過程。

verb · A2

The -ing form of die. It is used with be to say that a person, an animal or a plant is losing their life right now or over a period of time, and that the end is coming close.

正在死去

死前的最後一刻

同一團火，但鏡頭往時間軸的最尾端推：不再是整段燒下去的過程，而是燈滅前的那一下。所以這一家講的都是「最後」——最後的話、最後的願望、最後的那一天。

adjective · B2

Used in front of a noun to talk about something a person says, wants, asks for or does in the last moments before they die, such as their dying wish, their dying words or their dying breath.

臨終的

數量或時間快沒了

畫面離開了生命，套到別的東西上。快燒完的不再是一條命，而是一門手藝的傳人、一種語言的使用者，或者比賽剩下的時間。共同點只有一個：還在，但正在往零走。

adjective · B2

Used in front of a noun to describe something that is slowly becoming fewer, rarer or less used, so that soon there may be none of it left at all.

逐漸消失的

原始詞典資料6 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。

dyingadj詞源 1/ˈdaɪ.ɪŋ/

  • 1

    Approaching death; about to die; moribund.

    • The dying dog was put out of his misery with a single shot!
    • a dying fire
  • 2

    Declining, terminal, or drawing to an end.

    • In the dying moments of daylight I glimpsed a sail on the horizon.
    • The dieselisation of this line has not been, as is sometimes the case, a means of reviving a dying branch, but an improving hand to a healthy service.
  • 3

    Pertaining to death, or the moments before death.

    • His dying words were of his mother.
    • until my dying day

dyingnoun詞源 1/ˈdaɪ.ɪŋ/

  • 1

    The process of approaching death; loss of life; death.

    • “I'm looking forward to the most fascinating experience in life, which is dying,” he said. “You've got to approach your dying the way you live your life—with curiosity, with hope, with fascination, with courage and with the help of your friends.”

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。