核心畫面

Picture one flat plate on the ground. You leave from it, you go all the way around, and nothing you did counts until you come back and touch it again. The plate itself is nothing special — what matters is that it is both the starting point and the point you have to return to.

可以想成地上那一塊板子:你從這裡出發,繞一整圈,回到這裡踩一下,這一趟才算數。板子本身沒什麼特別,重點在它同時是「出更多收起可以想成地上那一塊板子:你從這裡出發,繞一整圈,回到這裡踩一下,這一趟才算數。板子本身沒什麼特別,重點在它同時是「出發點」和「一定要回來的點」。這個畫面是幫忙記憶用的聯想,不是在說這個詞的來源。

Two branches

球場上的那一點

這一族就是畫面本身:一塊真的板子,看得到、踩得到。來源把它標記為美式英文,也說它等於 home plate。

noun · B2

In baseball, the place where a batter stands to hit the ball, and the base a runner must get back to in order to score. Another name for home plate.

本壘

出發與回來的據點

把板子的角色搬到真實生活的地點上:人一樣是出去再回來,只是換成一整天或一整趟旅程。板子在球場上是唯一的定點,這裡的據點也一樣通常只有一個,所以幾乎都用單數。

noun · B2

The place a person or group works out of and keeps coming back to — to rest, to learn what is new, or to pass information to each other before going out again.

大本營