那棵樹本身
這是整個字的起點，也是唯一講實體植物的一組。後面所有意思都從這片葉子出發。
noun · B2
A small evergreen tree or bush with smooth, shiny, dark green leaves that stay on the plant through the winter. The leaves have a strong smell when you break or rub them.
月桂樹
核心畫面
You can start with one plant: a small evergreen tree with stiff, shiny, very dark leaves that stay on through the winter and smell strong when you rub them. Because those leaves bend without breaking and never lose their colour, they can be woven into a ring and set on a person's head, and a ring of leaves worn that way has long been a way of showing that this is the one who won. From there the word stops being about a plant at all: the crown you can see comes to stand for the honour you cannot, and then for the whole pile of praise a success brings. Once the honour is something you own, English asks the obvious next question — what do you do with it? Lie down on it, or guard it?
可以從一棵樹開始想。月桂是常綠的小樹，葉子硬、有光澤、顏色很深，冬天也不掉，搓一下還有香氣。正因為這種葉子彎得動又不…更多收起
可以從一棵樹開始想。月桂是常綠的小樹，葉子硬、有光澤、顏色很深，冬天也不掉，搓一下還有香氣。正因為這種葉子彎得動又不褪色，它可以被編成一圈，戴在人的頭上。而頭上戴著一圈葉子的人，看一眼就知道是贏的那一個。接下來這個字就離開植物了：看得見的那頂環，拿來代表看不見的那份肯定，再擴大成一個人因為做成某件事而得到的全部稱讚。等到「榮譽」變成你手上握著的東西，英文自然就問下一個問題——你要躺在上面，還是要看好它？這兩個答案，剛好就是兩個很常用的說法。From the word’s history
Wiktionary gives laurel as inherited from Middle English laurer/laurel, from Anglo-Norman lorer, from Old French lorier, from Vulgar Latin *laurarius, from Latin laurus, 'laurel'. So the chain runs back to the name of the plant itself; the honour meanings are later growth in English, not part of the root.
詞源資料寫的是：中古英語 laurer／laurel，來自盎格魯-諾曼語 lorer，再上去是古法文 lorier、通俗拉丁文 *laurarius，最後是拉丁文 laurus，意思就是「月桂」。所以這條線從頭到尾都是那棵樹的名字。「榮譽」那幾層是後來在英語裡長出來的，不在字根裡。這裡要分清楚：把葉環和榮譽連起來是一個好用的想法，但那不是這個字的來源。
Wiktionary, entry 'laurel' (noun), etymology field supplied in packet; source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:320402965
Three branches
編成環戴在頭上，代表贏了
從葉子走到榮譽的那一步就發生在這裡：先有看得見的環，再有看不見的肯定。這是一個意思上的連結，不是歷史上的字源變化。
noun · C1
A ring of laurel leaves made to be worn on the head, given to someone to show that they have won something or done something great.
桂冠（月桂葉環）
已經拿到的榮譽，你怎麼對待它
這兩句話都把「榮譽」當成一個你手上握著的東西，然後給出兩個相反的動作：躺上去，或看好它。懂了 laurels＝已經贏到的肯定，兩句一起就通了。
noun · C1
If you rest on your laurels, you are so pleased with something you have already achieved that you stop working to achieve anything more. People also say sit on your laurels.
吃老本