喜樂美語

核心畫面

Built on 'effect' — the result something produces. 'Effective' describes a thing that actually produces the effect it's meant to: it works, it lands the result. From that 'it really produces its effect' core, the word stretches to a rule that has started producing its legal effect (it's now in force), and to what is true in real effect even if not on paper.

可以想成 effective 是建在 effect（效果、結果）上的：它形容一個東西「真的產生了它該產生的效果」——…更多收起可以想成 effective 是建在 effect（效果、結果）上的：它形容一個東西「真的產生了它該產生的效果」——管用、見效、達到了想要的結果。從這個「確實生出效果」的核心，再延伸到：一條規定「開始產生它的法律效果」（也就是生效了），以及「就實際效果而言是真的，哪怕紙面上不是這麼說」。

From the word’s history

From Latin 'effectivus', from 'efficere' (to work out, accomplish), from 'ex-' (out) + 'facere' (to make/do) — to make something come out, to produce a result; that is exactly the core 'it produces its effect'.

可以追到拉丁文 effectivus，源自 efficere（做成、完成）——由 ex-（出來）加 facere（做）組成，字面是「把某個結果做出來」。這正好就是核心畫面：effective 的東西，能把它該有的效果做出來。

Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), 'effective' / 'effect'

One branch

確實產生效果

三個意思都圍著「產生效果」這個核心：差別只在效果是哪一種——是「達到想要的結果」、是「法律效果開始算數」、還是「實際上發生的真實效果」。

working well · adjective · B2

Working well and really giving the result you wanted.

有效的

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。

effectiveadj/ɪˈfɛktɪv/

  • 1

    Having the power to produce a required effect or effects.

    • The pill is an effective method of birth control.
    • "Capital idea; we'll go together and complain: two will be more effective," suggested Mr. Belting.
  • 2

    Producing a decided or decisive effect.

    • The president delivered an effective speech!
    • Whosoever is an effective, real cause of doing his neighbour wrong, is criminal.
  • 3

    Efficient, serviceable, or operative, available for useful work.

    • How long does it take to make a bunch of civilians an effective military force?
    • My effective income after taxes and child support is $500 a month.
  • 4

    Actually in effect.

    • effective immediately
    • The curfew is effective at midnight.
  • 5

    geometrymathematicssciencesHaving no negative coefficients.

  • 6

    algebramathematicssciencesSuch that no group element acts trivially.

  • 7

    natural-sciencesphysical-sciencesphysicsapproximate; Not describing the fundamental dynamic changes in some system as they happen.

effectivenoun/ɪˈfɛktɪv/

  • 1

    governmentmilitarypoliticsa soldier fit for duty

    • The Army of the West reached Corinth sometime after the battle of Shiloh. We were 15,000 effectives, and brought Beauregard's effective force up to 45,000 men.

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。