喜樂美語
  1. 1n/ˈleɪmən/non-expert外行人／一般人

    Someone who has no special training or knowledge in a particular subject or job, especially when you are comparing them with an expert in it.

    layman 不是「笨」，而是「沒受過那一行訓練的人」，而且這個字永遠在跟專家對照著看：醫生對病人、工程師對客戶。最常見的是 in layman's terms（用一般人聽得懂的話說）和 to the layman（對外行人來說）。用了這個字，讀的人會知道說話的人正在把專業的東西翻成日常語言，語氣是體貼，不是看不起。

    示範例句 · Example

    Could you explain the results in layman's terms, please?

    中文翻譯你可以用外行人的用語解釋那些結果嗎，拜託？

    常見搭配

    • in layman's terms

      用白話說

      using ordinary words instead of technical ones

      Can you explain in layman's terms how my computer works?

    • to the layman

      對外行人來說

      from the point of view of someone who is not an expert

      To the layman, all these plants look pretty similar.

    • the average layman

      一般的外行人

      an ordinary person without special knowledge

      The average layman cannot read a legal contract easily.

    意思相近

    laypersonnon-expertoutsideramateurnovice

    用法接近

    beginneramateurthe public

  2. 2n/ˈleɪmən/ordinary church member平信徒

    正式A member of a church who is not a priest or minister, but who may still take part in the work of the church.

    這是 layman 比較舊、也比較原始的意思：教會裡沒有神職身分的一般信徒。它跟「外行人」那個意思的關係很清楚——先有「不是神職人員」，才延伸出「不是那一行的專家」。這個用法今天多半出現在教會或歷史的文章裡，日常英文很少碰到；跟它對照的字是 priest 和 clergy。

    常見搭配

    • a layman in the church

      教會裡的平信徒

      a church member who is not a priest

      He served for years as a layman in his local church.

    • laymen and priests

      平信徒與神職人員

      church members without and with holy orders, mentioned together

      The meeting was open to laymen and priests alike.

    意思相近

    laypersonlay memberparishioner

原始詞典資料6 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，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。

Laymanname

  • 1

    A surname.

laymannoun/ˈleɪmən/

  • 1

    Layperson, someone who is not an ordained cleric or member of the clergy.

  • 2

    Someone who is not a professional in a given field.

    • Carmen is not a professional anthropologist, but strictly a layman.
    • Let me explain it to you [[in layman's terms|in layman's terms]].
  • 3

    A common person.

  • 4

    A person who is untrained or lacks knowledge of a subject.

    • should he be held to be just a layman, or does he have some art?
  • 5

    Lay-sister or lay-brother, person received into a convent of monks, following the vows, but not being member of the order.

摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。