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Mayhem is an extremely confused situation in which people are very or wildly : shouting, running, things breaking, nobody in charge. News reports use it for storms, crashes, and crowds out of control; everyday talk uses it for a kitchen full of children, or a stadium after a goal.
Mayhem Mayhem is是 an extremely confused situation一種非常混亂的場面 in which people are very frightened or wildly excited裡面的人不是很害怕就是興奮到失控: shouting又叫, running又跑, things breaking東西被打破, nobody in charge沒有人能掌控局面。News reports新聞報導 use it會用這個字來形容 for storms暴風雨, crashes車禍, and crowds out of control還有失控的人群; everyday talk uses it日常說話則會用它來形容 for a kitchen full of children擠滿小孩的廚房, or a stadium after a goal或是進球後的體育場。
It is a strong word. A bit of noise is not mayhem; the scene has to feel as if order has fallen apart.
It這 is是 a strong word一個語氣很重的字。A bit of noise一點點吵鬧 is not還不算是 mayhem mayhem; the scene has to feel場面必須讓人感覺 as if order has fallen apart秩序已經整個崩潰。
Though actually, the word began as a legal term for violently someone so badly that they lost the use of a body part — a close relative of . It comes from Late Middle English mayehem / maihem, a late form of maym, (‘, injury’), from Anglo-Norman mahaim, mahainne and Old French mehaing, meshaing (‘bodily harm, loss of a limb’).
Though actually不過其實, the word began as這個字最初是 a legal term一個法律用語 for violently injuring someone指用暴力傷害某人 so badly that they lost the use of a body part嚴重到使對方失去某個身體部位的功能 —— a close relative of maim跟 maim 是近親。It它 comes from來自 Late Middle English晚期中古英文的 mayehem / maihem mayehem／maihem, a late form of是……的後期形式 maym, maim maym、maim ('disfigurement, injury')（意思是「毀容、傷害」）, from再往前追溯自 Anglo-Norman盎格魯－諾曼語的 mahaim, mahainne mahaim、mahainne and和 Old French古法文的 mehaing, meshaing mehaing、meshaing ('bodily harm, loss of a limb')（意思是「身體傷害、失去肢體」）。
The law meaning still exists in some places, but most people now mean total chaos. In ordinary English it is a noun: there was mayhem.
The law meaning法律上的意思 still exists in some places在某些地方還存在, but most people now mean但現在大部分人講這個字指的是 total chaos完全的混亂。In ordinary English在一般英文裡, it is它是 a noun一個名詞: there was mayhemthere was mayhem（當時一片混亂）。
組成From Late Middle English mayehem, maihem, a late form of maym, maim (‘disfigurement, injury’), from Anglo-Norman mahaim, mahainne and Old French mehaing, meshaing (‘bodily harm, loss of a limb’). Later stretched from legal maiming to wild disorder.
同家族的字
- maimsame origin; to injure so badly that a body part is damaged or lost
原始詞典資料6 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。
mayhemnoun/ˈmeɪhɛm/
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historicalThe criminal offence of maiming (“seriously wounding”) a person such that their ability to defend or protect themselves is weakened or completely removed; (countable) an instance of this.
- to commit mayhem
- A man's limbs, (by vvhich for the preſent vve only underſtand thoſe members vvhich may be uſeful to him in fight, and the loſs of vvhich only amounts to mayhem by the common lavv) are alſo the gift of the vviſe creator; to enable man to protect himſelf from external injuries in a ſtate of nature. […] [W]hatever is done by a man, to ſave either life or member, is looked upon as done upon the higheſt neceſſity and compulſion. Therefore if a man through fear of death or mayhem is prevailed upon to execute a deed, or do any other legal act; theſe, though accompanied vvith all other the requiſite ſolemnities, are totally void in lavv, […]
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The criminal offence of maiming a person by depriving them of the use of any of their limbs.
- There is a story told of a case where a notorious character was charged with the unusual crime of "mayhem"—biting off another man's finger. The defendant's counsel secured adjournment after adjournment—no one knew why. […] He [the defendant] had not a tooth in his head. The delay had been advantageously employed.
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Often preceded by to cause or make: great confusion, destruction, disorder, or trouble; chaos, turmoil; (countable) an instance of this.
- In all the mayhem, some children were separated from their parents.
- What if the legendary hero Robin Hood had been born into the mayhem of the 20th century?
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Violent conduct, especially the violent infliction of injury on a person or thing.
- The fighting dogs created mayhem in the flower beds.
- This same man, after failing through intimidation to elicit from me the names of our editorial contributors, against giving which he knew me to be pledged, beat himself weary upon me with a raw hide, I not resisting, and then pantingly threatened me with permanent disfiguring mayhem, if ever again I should introduce his name into print, […]
mayhemverb/ˈmeɪhɛm/
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archaiclawTo commit the criminal offence of mayhem (noun sense 1) on (someone); to maim.
- It is a gentle holineſſe […] to riſe vp in routes and fight againſt chriſten men, and deſtroy […] many a good religious houſe, ſpoyled, meyhemed, ⁊ ſlaine many a good vertuous man, robbed, polluted, and pulled downe manye a goodly church of Chriſt.
- The breache of the Peace that may be practiſed againſt the perſon, climbeth to the deſtruction of the perſon, by ſundry degrees: as by Threates, Affray or aſſault, and violent and malicious ſtriking, and beating, vvounding, mayheming and killing.
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archaicTo violently inflict injury on (someone); to injure, to wound.
- The law had regarded them [black people] as mere chattels; and it had passed into a proverb in the nation, that they had "no rights which white men were bound to respect." To buy, to sell, to task, to whip, to mayhem this race at will, had been from immemorial days a right which the now subjugated people [the Confederate States of America] had claimed and exercised, and which had been conceded and admitted in their previous union with their conquerors [the Union].
- Outside the enclosures a parade of pugs went solemnly through their exercises—skipping rope, mayheming the punching bags, pawing the air at invisible opponents.
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。