喜樂美語

核心畫面

One way to picture it: heavenly is the adjective form of heaven — belonging to the bright place above us. From that one word grow two directions: the sky we can actually see, and the perfect, blissful quality people imagine up there.

heaven（天）+ -ly（…的）——「屬於上面那個地方的」。而英文裡的 heaven 一直有兩層：抬頭看得見的那…更多收起heaven（天）+ -ly（…的）——「屬於上面那個地方的」。而英文裡的 heaven 一直有兩層：抬頭看得見的那片天空與星辰，以及宗教故事裡那個美好無缺的所在。heavenly 就從這一個字往兩邊長：一邊指向真實的天空，一邊指向那份「好到不像人間」的感覺。

From the word’s history

From Old English heofonlīċ ('heavenly, celestial'), formed from heofon ('heaven, sky') plus the adjective ending -līċ (modern -ly). English heaven has meant both the physical sky and the religious dwelling place since Old English, which is why heavenly still points in both directions.

來自古英語 heofonlīċ，就是 heofon（天空／天堂）加上形容詞字尾 -līċ（今天的 -ly）。值得注意的是：古英語的 heofon 從一開始就同時指「看得見的天空」和「宗教裡的天界」，並沒有分成兩個字。所以現代 heavenly 一邊講星辰、一邊講天堂，並不是後來硬接上去的，而是這個字從頭就帶著的雙面。

Wiktionary, 'heavenly' (Middle English hevenely ← Old English heofonlīċ, from heaven + -ly)

Two branches

屬於天界／天空

這是字面上的用法：heaven 在哪裡，heavenly 就指向哪裡。差別只在你把 heaven 讀成宗教裡的天堂，還是抬頭看到的那片天。

of heaven · adjective · C1

Existing in or belonging to heaven, the place above the earth in some religious stories.

天堂的

好到不像人間

從「屬於天堂的」滑到「有天堂那種美好」：不再是說東西真的來自天上，而是借天堂的完美當作誇獎的尺度。

wonderfully pleasant · adjective · C1

Extremely pleasant, enjoyable, or beautiful, used about smells, food, sounds, places, and other things that feel wonderful.

美妙

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。

Heavenlyname

  • 1

    A female given name.

heavenlyadj/ˈhɛvənli/

  • 1

    lifestylereligionOf or pertaining to Heaven, the eternal celestial abode of God or the gods.

    • Heavenly Father, I come to You as Your child, kicking and screaming.
  • 2

    Synonym of celestial: of or pertaining to the heavens, the sky regarded as the realm of the sun, moon, planets, and stars.

    • The other heavenly bodies are primarily controlled by the attractive force of the Sun.
  • 3

    Strongly or sublimely good, beautiful, or pleasurable.

    • Oh, that's absolutely heavenly. Gimme some more.
    • 1817, Charles Phillips (author-editor), Speech in the Case of O′Mullan v. M′Korkill, The Speeches of Charles Phillips, page 131, No doubt, you have all personally considered — no doubt, you have all personally experienced, that of all the blessings which it has pleased Providence to allow us to cultivate, there is not one which breathes a purer fragrance, or bears an heavenlier aspect than education.

heavenlyadv/ˈhɛvənli/

  • 1

    In a manner like that of heaven; by the influence or agency of heaven; divinely, miraculously.

    • by night [she] saw that God in her armes, saying moreover unto her, that the next day, the first man she met withall, should heavenly pay her her wages.
  • 2

    To a degree such as to elicit great pleasure.

    • Then, we taste the refried beans and the rice, and they are so heavenly delicious.

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。