核心畫面

Mightily grows out of might — plain strength. Start with a body putting everything it has into something: against the tide, hauling stones, calling out across a valley. English then lets that same strength leak into feelings, so mightily relieved is relief with a whole body behind it and mightily proud is pride you can hear from across the room. The strength never leaves the word. It just stops being muscle and becomes emphasis.

mightily 可以想成「使出全身力氣」。先看一個人拚命逆流划船、拚命搬石頭、對著山谷用力喊人的樣子。英文再把那股更多收起mightily 可以想成「使出全身力氣」。先看一個人拚命逆流划船、拚命搬石頭、對著山谷用力喊人的樣子。英文再把那股力氣搬到感覺上:mightily relieved 就是整個人鬆掉,mightily proud 是隔著房間都聽得出來的得意。力氣沒有消失,只是從肌肉變成了語氣。

From the word’s history

The packet's Wiktionary etymology runs Middle English mightili, from Old English meahtiglice, from mihtig ('powerful, mighty') plus the adverb suffix -lice; mihtig goes back to Proto-Germanic *mahtiz, 'force, strength'. The strength in the modern word is the same strength that was there at the start.

證據包裡的字源是:中古英文 mightili ←古英文 meahtiglice ← mihtig(有力量的)加副詞字尾 -līċe;mihtig 再往前接到日耳曼語 *mahtiz(力量、能力)。今天字裡的那股「大」,就是最早那股力氣。

Wiktionary entry supplied in the evidence packet (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1026644018), etymology_text field.

Two branches

力氣本身:奮力地

這一家是畫面的原型:真的有人在出力。

r · C2

Using great strength or effort. This is a literary use: people labour, fight, row, strive or cry out mightily, putting everything they have into it.

奮力地;強而有力地

力氣變成語氣:非常

同一股力氣移到感覺上,用來把程度撐大。

r · C1

Very, or very much. Mightily goes in front of a word like impressed, relieved or pleased and pushes that feeling up several steps.

非常;極其