喜樂美語

核心畫面

You can picture generate as bringing something into being that was not there a moment ago — a machine, a mind, or a situation acts and out comes something new: an idea, a sum of money, a job, a spark of electricity.

可以想成「無中生有地把某個東西弄出來」：本來沒有的東西，經過某種運作之後就冒出來了——可能是一個點子、一筆錢、一份工…更多收起可以想成「無中生有地把某個東西弄出來」：本來沒有的東西，經過某種運作之後就冒出來了——可能是一個點子、一筆錢、一份工作，也可能是一股電流。重點在那個「從沒有到有」的產出動作。

From the word’s history

From Latin generare 'to beget, produce', from genus 'birth, kind' (the same root behind generation and gene). The oldest sense is literally 'to give birth to' — which is why to generate still feels like bringing something new into existence.

源自拉丁文 generare（生育、產生），來自 genus（出生、種類），和 generation（世代）、gene（基因）同源。最早的意思就是「生出後代」，所以 generate 到今天都還帶著「讓某個新東西誕生出來」的味道。

etymonline.com/word/generate

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。

generateverb詞源 1/ˈd͡ʒɛn.ə.ɹeɪt/

  • 1

    To bring into being; give rise to.

    • The discussion generated an uproar.
    • The Ecclesiastical Commission was generated by Sir Robert Peel and bore the marks of Peel’s personality; bureaucratic, capable and cold.
  • 2

    To produce as a result of a chemical or physical process.

    • Adding concentrated sulphuric acid to water generates heat.
  • 3

    To procreate, beget.

    • They generated many offspring.
  • 4

    mathematicssciencesTo form a figure from a curve or solid.

    • Rotating a circle generates a sphere.
  • 5

    To appear or occur; be generated.

    • Mrs. Fennel, seeing the steam begin to generate on the countenances of her guests, crossed over and touched the fiddler's elbow and put her hand on the serpent's mouth.

generateadj詞源 2

  • 1

    rareGenerated, not self-existent.

    • But neither is one time generated in another; for if the preſent be generated in the future, the future muſt be present; and if in the paſt, the paſt. The ſame may be ſaid of other times; therefore one time is not generated in another. Now if time be neither generated in itſelf, nor one time in another, it is not generate at all. But that it is not ingenerate, we ſhewed also. Therefore ſeeing it is neither generate nor ingenerate, it is not at all; for every Beeing muſt either be generate or ingenerate.
    • It poses the thorny problem of the status of the Logos. Is he generate or ingenerate?.. Justin replies that he is generate—but in a special sense.

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。