辛勞本身(名詞)
這一條就是核心畫面:身體倒出來的辛勞,以及由此延伸到「供應這份辛勞的人」。
hard work · noun · C1
Work, especially hard work done with your hands or body.
勞動、勞力
You can picture labour as hard effort poured out from the body — sweat, strain, work done with hands and back. Almost everything the word does grows from that single image: the effort itself, the people who supply it, the body's hardest effort of all (giving birth), and effort that drags because it is so heavy.
From Latin labor 'toil, exertion, trouble, hardship' — effort that costs you something. The English word keeps that weight: not light work, but work that strains.
源自拉丁文 labor「勞苦、費力、艱辛」——讓你付出代價的力氣。英文這個字保留了那份沉重:不是輕鬆的活,而是會讓人吃力的活。
Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), 'labor (n.)'
Four branches
辛勞本身(名詞)
這一條就是核心畫面:身體倒出來的辛勞,以及由此延伸到「供應這份辛勞的人」。
hard work · noun · C1
Work, especially hard work done with your hands or body.
勞動、勞力
身體最極致的辛勞(分娩)
生孩子是身體所能承受的最重一場使勁——母親一次次拼盡全力把孩子推出來,所以英文直接把這場辛勞叫做 labour。核心的「拼力氣」在這裡推到極點。
childbirth · noun · C1
The process of giving birth to a baby, when a mother pushes the baby out.
分娩、生產
辛勞的特定說法(片語)
同一份辛勞,被框進固定片語裡:一種是「甘心吃的苦」,一種是「一段長時間的努力(及其成果)」。畫面還是辛勞,只是換了包裝。
a labour of love · noun · C1
In the phrase 'a labour of love': work that is hard but that you do because you love it.
出於熱愛的辛勞
賣力與吃力(動詞)
把名詞的辛勞變成動作:賣力去做。再延伸出兩種「吃力」——心智上卡在錯誤想法裡走不出來,以及身體拖著重量勉強前進。
work very hard · verb · C1
To work very hard, often for a long time.
辛勤工作、賣力做
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。
labournoun詞源 1/ˈleɪ.bə/
An effort expended on a particular task; toil, work.
That which requires hard work for its accomplishment; that which demands effort.
Workers in general; the working class, the workforce; sometimes specifically the labour movement, organised labour.
A political party or force aiming or claiming to represent the interests of labour.
medicineobstetricssciencesThe act or process of a mother giving birth.
The time period during which a mother gives birth.
nauticaltransportThe pitching or tossing of a vessel which results in the straining of timbers and rigging.
historicalA traditional unit of area in Mexico and Texas, equivalent to 177.1 acres or 71.67 ha.
rareA group of moles.
labourverb詞源 2/ˈleɪ.bə/
To toil, to work.
To belabour, to emphasise or expand upon (a point in a debate, etc).
To be oppressed with difficulties or disease; to do one's work under conditions which make it especially hard or wearisome; to move slowly, as against opposition, or under a burden.
To suffer the pangs of childbirth.
nauticaltransportTo pitch or roll heavily, as a ship in a turbulent sea.
這個拼法也被記錄為下列字的變化形:
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。