社會裡長久的制度
把「立起來而且沒倒」從一棟建築搬到一套做法：婚姻、家庭、陪審團制度，沒有門牌也沒有員工，但同樣被人一代一代維持著。
social institution · noun · B2
A custom or system, such as marriage or the family, that has been an important part of society for a very long time.
制度
核心畫面
Picture something that was deliberately set up and then left standing: a bank, a university, a rule, a way of doing things. Somebody started it, and it outlived them — it now runs on its own and people simply expect it to be there. Institution covers both the thing standing and the act of putting it up.
可以想成：有人刻意「立」起一樣東西，然後它就一直站在那裡——銀行、大學、一條法規、一種做事的方式。當初的人走了，它還…更多收起
可以想成：有人刻意「立」起一樣東西，然後它就一直站在那裡——銀行、大學、一條法規、一種做事的方式。當初的人走了，它還在，久到大家覺得本來就該有。institution 同時可以指立起來的那個東西，也可以指「立起來」這個動作，這也是它跟動詞 institute（設立）的關係。From the picture
立起來的那個動作
把鏡頭拉回到最開始的那一刻：制度還沒站著，有人正在把它立起來。這個用法看的是動作而不是結果，所以後面常接 of。
institution (establishment) · noun · B2
The act of starting or bringing in something new, especially a law, rule, or official process.
設立；實施
固定說法：老字號、招牌人物
把「久到大家覺得本來就該有」這一點單獨拿出來當稱讚：一家開了五十年的麵店、一個每年都出現的老攤主，地位穩得像個機構。這是輕鬆的比喻用法，只在特定句型裡出現。
institution (beloved fixture) · noun · B2
Someone or something that has been such a well-known and loved part of a place for so long that everyone knows them.
招牌人物；老字號
Also in this word
organization (institution) · noun · B2
A large, important organization such as a bank, university, or hospital that does a particular kind of work.
機構
care institution · noun · B2
A place such as a home or hospital where people who need special care, like very old people or children without parents, are looked after.
安養／收容機構
原始詞典資料11 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。
institutionnoun/ˌɪn.stɪˈtʃuː.ʃən/
- 1
A long-established organization or type of organization, particularly one involved with education, public service, or charity work.
- The University of the South Pacific is the only internationally accredited institution of higher education in Oceania.
- […] these professors of Little Red Schoolhouse-education did not themselves remain in the isolated and handicapped little institution they glorify.
- 2
A custom or practice of a society or community.
- The institution of marriage is present in many cultures but its details vary widely across them.
- To the cynical observation that speech is given us to conceal our thoughts it might be added that eating and drinking enable us to hide our feelings. I think that is why food is an institution almost whenever human beings have anything to say to one another.
- 3
The building or buildings which house such an organization.
- He's been in an institution since the crash.
- 4
informalA mental institution.
- 5
Any facility where people (especially those who are mentally or physically disabled or sick, or who are prisoners) are committed (confined), where their freedom to leave is restricted.
- 6
informalAny long established and respected place or business.
- Over time, the local pub has become something of an institution.
- [quoting Giles Coren] "The Wykeham Arms [a pub] is destroyed. They have turned a great old English institution into a shameful clip-joint. It's a shuddering, howling tragedy."
- 7
informalA person long established in a place, position, or field.
- She's not just any old scholar; she is an institution.
- 8
The act of instituting something.
- The institution of higher speed limits was a popular move but increased the severity of crashes.
- Accordingly if we can show that a barbarous custom, like that of the priesthood of Nemi, has existed elsewhere; if we can detect the motives which led to its institution; if we can prove that these motives have operated widely, perhaps universally, in human society...
另外 3 個記錄的用法
- 9
ChristianityThe act by which a bishop commits a cure of souls to a priest.
- 10
obsoleteThat which institutes or instructs, particularly a textbook or system of elements or rules.
- 11
informalA correctional institution.
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。