核心畫面

One way to picture it: something so finely made, down to the smallest detail, that it feels sought out and singled out from everything ordinary — and the feeling it gives you is sharp, not vague.

有人把一樣東西「挑到極細」——細到最小的地方都還在講究。一條手工蕾絲、一只小小的刺繡口袋,你得靠近看才看得完,看完會更多收起有人把一樣東西「挑到極細」——細到最小的地方都還在講究。一條手工蕾絲、一只小小的刺繡口袋,你得靠近看才看得完,看完會忍不住吸一口氣。這個「細到極點」有兩個方向可以走:一個是東西本身做得細(做工、品味),另一個是感受本身細而尖銳(痛或快樂細細地、準準地刺進來)。

From the word’s history

From Latin exquisitus, the past participle of exquirere "to search out" (ex- "out" + quaerere "to seek") — literally something searched out, hence picked out as choice and refined.

來自拉丁文 exquīsītus,是 exquīrō「往外找、搜求」的完成被動分詞(ex-「向外」+ quaerō「尋找」),字面上就是「被特地找出來的」。這說明了為什麼 exquisite 不只是「漂亮」:它帶著「從一堆東西裡被挑出來、被求來」的味道,所以自然指向精挑細選之後才有的那種細緻。

Latin exquīsītus, perfect passive participle of exquīrō (as given in the entry's origin note)

Two branches

做工與品味的細

這一族走「東西/人的講究」這個方向:細緻被放在物件上,或放在一個人處理事情的方式上。

finely beautiful · adjective · C2

Extremely beautiful and made with very fine, small details, especially by someone with a lot of skill.

精緻

感受的尖銳

如果「細」不是指做工,而是指感覺的解析度呢?一種很細的感受,反而不是淡的,是尖的——像針尖那樣集中,所以強得不得了。這一族就從那裡長出來。

intensely felt (pain/pleasure) · adjective · C2

Used about pain or pleasure that is felt very strongly.

極度的

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。

exquisiteadj/ɪkˈskwɪzɪt/

  • 1

    Especially or extraordinarily fine or pleasing; exceptional.

    • They sell good coffee and pastries, but their chocolate is exquisite.
    • Sourav Ganguly scored an exquisite century in his debut Test match.
  • 2

    obsoleteCarefully adjusted; precise; accurate; exact.

  • 3

    Recherché; far-fetched; abstruse.

  • 4

    Of special beauty or rare excellence.

  • 5

    Exceeding; extreme; keen, in a bad or a good sense.

    • exquisite pain or pleasure
  • 6

    Of delicate perception or close and accurate discrimination; not easy to satisfy; exact; fastidious.

    • exquisite judgment, taste, or discernment
    • his books of Oriental languages, wherein he was exquisite

exquisitenoun/ɪkˈskwɪzɪt/

  • 1

    rareFop, dandy.

    • It is impossible to meet with a more finished coxcomb than a Broadway exquisite, or a “Broadway swell,” which is the designation attached to him on the spot.
    • When this bejewelled exquisite lounged through the streets playing on his flute, puffing at a cigar, and smelling at a nosegay, the people whom he met threw themselves on the earth before him and prayed to him with sighs and tears.

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