這個拼法是2個不同的字· 2 words spelled “lop”

  1. 1
    lop · chop off a branch砍掉、剪掉One way to hold this word: a tree with one branch reaching out further than the rest.
  2. 2
    lop · hang down loosely垂下、耷拉A second picture under the same spelling: something that could stand up has gone soft and dropped to one side.
1

lop · chop off a branch

v

One way to hold this word: a tree with one branch reaching out further than the rest. Someone swings once, and that branch is on the ground. The tree is still standing and still growing; the only thing that changed is the part that stuck out. Two things in that scene carry over everywhere the word goes — one stroke rather than slow work, and a piece taken off something that stays.

可以想成:一棵樹,有一根枝伸得比別的都遠。有人揮了一刀,那根枝就落到地上了。樹還站著,也還會繼續長。改變的只有那根突出來的枝。這個畫面裡有兩件事會跟著這個字跑到每個用法去:一是一刀下去,不是慢慢磨;二是被拿走的只是一塊,主體留著。

From the word’s history

The packet's source gives Middle English loppe, a bough, with the verb formed back from the noun: the branch came first and the action was named after it.

packet 的詞源說 lop 來自中古英語 loppe,意思是「樹枝」,動詞則是從這個名詞逆推出來的。也就是先有「枝」,才有「把枝弄下來」這個動作。所以這個字天生就帶著樹的畫面,後來才被借去砍數字。

Wiktionary, "lop" (etymology 1)

One branch

砍掉伸出來的那一截

登入就可以看這一支怎麼連回核心畫面。

chop off a branch · verb

To cut something off with one quick, strong stroke, especially a branch from a tree or the end of a plant.

砍掉、剪掉

2

lop · hang down loosely

v

A second picture under the same spelling: something that could stand up has gone soft and dropped to one side. A rabbit's ears lie flat along its head; a wet flag will not leave the pole; a head tips over while someone listens. Nothing is cut here — the thing is whole, it just will not hold itself up. The same picture is visible inside lopsided, where one side has settled lower than the other.

同樣的拼法底下,還有第二個畫面:本來可以立著的東西軟掉了,往一邊垂下去。兔子的耳朵貼著頭平放。濕掉的旗子離不開旗桿。聽故事的時候頭慢慢歪向一邊。這裡沒有人在砍什麼。東西是完整的,只是撐不住自己。lopsided 這個字裡看得到同一個畫面:一邊沉得比另一邊低。