核心畫面

A useful way to hold it: something that had no body — an idea, a rule, a spirit — is given one. It stops floating in the air as words and starts existing in a form you can point at: a person, an object, a document. Em- means 'put into', and -body is exactly that: a body.

本來沒有身體的東西——一個理念、一條原則、一種精神——被裝進了一個看得見的形體裡。它不再只是飄在空中的說法,而變成你更多收起本來沒有身體的東西——一個理念、一條原則、一種精神——被裝進了一個看得見的形體裡。它不再只是飄在空中的說法,而變成你可以用手指著說「就是這個」的東西:一個人、一件作品、一份文件。em- 是「放進去」,body 就是「身體」,合起來字面就是「賦予形體」。這個字最有意思的地方在於:被裝進去的抽象物並沒有消失,它是透過那個形體才終於被人看見的。

From the word’s history

Built from em- (a form of Latin-derived in-, 'into') plus body, from Old English bodig. The word is transparent: put into a body.

由 em-(來自拉丁 in-,「進入」,接在 b 前面時 n 變 m)加上 body(來自古英語 bodig,「身體」)組成。這個字的組合完全透明,字面就是「把某物放進一個身體裡」——理解了這一點,兩個看似不同的用法就都回到同一個動作:抽象的東西被安置進一個具體的容器,只是容器有時是人,有時是條文。

Entry origin note: em- (< Latin in-) + body (< Old English bodig)

Two branches

用人或物活出抽象

容器是活的:一個人、一支隊伍、一棟建築,讓看不見的特質變得看得見。

personify a quality · verb · C2

To be a very clear living example of an idea or a quality, so that people can see that idea in you or in a thing.

體現

寫進條文與設計

容器換成不會動的:一份合約、一部法律、一台機器。抽象的想法被寫進去、做進去,從此有了固定的形。

incorporate into · verb · C2

To include something as part of a plan, a rule, a product, or a piece of writing.

納入

原始詞典資料4 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。

embodyverb/ɪmˈbɒdi/

  • 1

    To represent in a physical or concrete form; to incarnate or personify.

    • As the car salesman approached, wearing a plaid suit and slicked-back hair, he seemed to embody sleaze.
    • The soul, while it is embodied, can no more be divided from sin.
  • 2

    To represent in some other form, such as a code of laws.

    • The US Constitution aimed to embody the ideals of diverse groups of people, from Puritans to Deists.
    • The principle was recognized by some of the early Greek philosophers who embodied it in their systems.
  • 3

    To comprise or include as part of a cohesive whole; to be made up of.

    • A shunting locomotive embodying an unusual form of power transmission has been developed for the National Coal Board.
    • With the exception of the Great Eastern Line, these embody the most complete systematisation of steam or diesel-operated main line services that has yet taken place in the country.
  • 4

    To unite in a body or mass.

    • Nay, my good friend—the people will remain / Embodied peaceably, till Parliament / Confirm the royal charter: tell your king so: / We will await the Charter's confirmation, / Meanwhile comporting ourselves orderly / As peaceful citizens, not risen in tumult, / But to redress their evils.
    • So when inclement winters vex the plain / With piercing frosts, or thick-descending rain, / To warmer seas the cranes embodied fly, / With noise, and order, through the midway sky;

資料來源:英文維基詞典 English WiktionaryCC BY-SA 4.0)。 原文照列,未經改寫。