核心畫面

A picture worth holding: something already exists, and you add to it so that it now holds more of the good stuff. Not making it bigger — making it denser, fuller, worth more per unit than it was before.

一樣東西本來就在那裡,你往裡面加了些什麼,於是它「含量」變高了。注意重點不是變大,而是變濃、變厚、變得更有內容——同更多收起一樣東西本來就在那裡,你往裡面加了些什麼,於是它「含量」變高了。注意重點不是變大,而是變濃、變厚、變得更有內容——同樣一份土壤、同樣一段人生、同樣一杯牛奶,加了東西之後,每一份裡面「好東西」的比例都提高了。en-(使…)+ rich(富含)合起來就是「使某物富含某物」,而 rich 在英文裡本來就不只指錢,也指「含量高」(rich soil 肥沃的土、rich in vitamins 富含維他命)。抓住這一點,這個字的三種用法就串在一起了。

From the word’s history

Middle English enrichen, from Old French enrichir; by surface analysis simply en- ("to make") + rich. The core has never moved: to make something rich in something.

這個字的構造直接寫在臉上:en-(使)+ rich(富有、含量高),古法語 enrichir 就是這樣組起來的。所以與其記三個中文翻譯,不如記「使…變得富含」這一件事——差別只在於「富含什麼」:養分、金錢,還是可裂變的鈾。

Wiktionary, "enrich" (Middle English enrichen ← Anglo-Norman enrichir / Old French enrichier; surface analysis en- + rich)

Two branches

加東西進去,讓內容變厚

直接就是核心畫面:往裡面添加,使含量提高。

improve quality · verb · C1

To make something better in quality, especially by adding something extra to it.

使豐富

核燃料的濃縮

同樣是「提高有用成分的比例」,只是這個比例被寫進了物理與國際政治的專門術語裡。

enrich nuclear fuel · verb · C1

To increase the useful material in nuclear fuel so that it can produce more power.

濃縮

原始詞典資料7 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。

enrichverb/ɪnˈɹɪt͡ʃ/

  • 1

    To enhance.

  • 2

    To make (someone or something) rich or richer.

    • Hobbies enrich lives.
    • The choke in a car engine enriches the fuel mixture.
  • 3

    To adorn, ornate more richly.

  • 4

    To add nutrients or fertilizer to the soil; to fertilize.

    • European adventurers found themselves within a watery world, a tapestry of streams, channels, wetlands, lakes and lush riparian meadows enriched by floodwaters from the Mississippi River.
  • 5

    natural-sciencesphysical-sciencesphysicsTo increase the amount of one isotope in a mixture of isotopes, especially in a nuclear fuel.

    • The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog says US strikes on Iran fell short of causing total damage to its nuclear program and that Tehran could restart enriching uranium “in a matter of months,” contradicting President Donald Trump’s claims the US set Tehran’s ambitions back by decades.
  • 6

    To add nutrients to foodstuffs; to fortify.

  • 7

    chemistrynatural-sciencesphysical-sciencesTo make to rise the proportion of a given constituent.

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