喜樂美語

核心畫面

Picture something being brought in, set down in its proper place, and connected up so that from now on it works from there — a boiler bolted to the wall, an app landing on your phone, a bishop seated in his own chair. The word is always about putting a thing (or a person) into position and leaving it there, ready to do its job.

可以想成：某樣東西被搬進來、放到它該在的位置、接好線，從此以後就在那裡運作——熱水器鎖上牆、應用程式落進手機、主教被…更多收起可以想成：某樣東西被搬進來、放到它該在的位置、接好線，從此以後就在那裡運作——熱水器鎖上牆、應用程式落進手機、主教被安坐在屬於他的位子上。install 講的一直是同一件事：把一個東西（或一個人）安置到位，留在那裡，隨時可以開始運作。

From the word’s history

Install comes from Medieval Latin installare (in- 'in' + stallum 'stall'), and its earliest English use, in the early 15th century, was seating a churchman in his own stall in the choir — placing him, physically, in the seat that was his office. Only from 1882 was the word used for setting up machinery. The ceremonial sense is the older one; the boiler and the app came later.

install 來自中世紀拉丁文 installare（in-「進去」＋ stallum「座位、席位」）。它在英文最早的用法出現在十五世紀初，指的是把神職人員安坐到唱詩席裡屬於他的那個位子上——把人實際放進代表職位的座位。一直到 1882 年，這個字才開始用在機器的架設上。所以「就職」是老的用法，熱水器和手機 App 是後來才搭上這班車的。

Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), entry "install"

Two branches

把設備裝到定位

核心畫面用在東西上：放好、接上、可以用了。

set up equipment · verb · A2

To make equipment ready to use by fixing it in position and connecting it.

安裝；裝設

把人安置到職位上

同樣是「放到定位」，只是被放的是人，位置是職位；這其實是這個字最早的用法。

appoint to office · verb · B2

To formally give someone a new job or an official position, often in a special ceremony.

任命；使就職

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。

installverb/ɪnˈstɔːl/

  • 1

    To connect, set up or prepare something for use

    • Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an "explosion."
    • Each TBM installs two-metre-wide rings made up of seven precast concrete segments produced on-site. Each ring takes approximately 45 minutes to one hour to install.
  • 2

    computingengineeringmathematicsTo connect, set up or prepare something for use

    • I haven't installed the new operating system yet because of all the bugs.
  • 3

    To admit formally into an office, rank or position.

    • He was installed as Chancellor of the University.
    • My husband rented a small, comfortable house, and I was installed as its mistress.
  • 4

    To establish or settle in.

    • I installed myself in my usual chair by the fire.
    • At Kiwi, 40 miles from Nelson [New Zealand], eight women installed themselves in the goods shed, taking with them their knitting, and a supply of food and magazines. The demolition crew was unable to pull the building down without injuring them.

installnoun/ɪnˈstɔːl/

  • 1

    informalcomputingengineeringmathematicsAn installation: the process of installing a software application.

    • The install takes a long time, but you can run it in the background while working on other things.
  • 2

    informalcomputingengineeringmathematicsAn installation: a software application that has been installed.

    • I've customized my local install; the out-of-the-box version looks a bit different.

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。