真正的那塊布
這一家就是核心本身，沒有比喻。你可以摸到它、摺起來、收進櫃子裡。先把這個畫面看清楚，後面兩家才會自然。
noun · C2
A large piece of cloth, usually heavy and dark, that is spread over a coffin (the box holding a dead body) at a funeral.
棺罩；靈柩布
這個拼法底下其實是2個不同的字，意思沒有關係， 只是長得一樣。下面分開列出來。跳到 棺罩；靈柩布 · 失去新鮮感；令人生膩
1
pall
n核心畫面
Picture someone taking one big piece of heavy cloth and spreading it right over the top of something. The cloth reaches the edges and hangs down. Whatever was underneath is now out of sight, and no light gets in. That single movement — cover it, and let it stay covered — is what every use on this page is doing. Only the cloth and the thing under it keep changing: real cloth over a coffin, smoke over a valley, a heavy mood over a of people.
可以想成有人拿起一大塊厚布，整個攤開蓋在某樣東西上面。布蓋到邊緣，還垂下來。底下的東西看不見了，光也進不去。這一頁上…更多收起
可以想成有人拿起一大塊厚布，整個攤開蓋在某樣東西上面。布蓋到邊緣，還垂下來。底下的東西看不見了，光也進不去。這一頁上的每個用法，做的都是這一個動作：蓋上去，然後停在那裡。變的只是「布」和「底下那樣東西」。有時候是真的布蓋在棺木上。有時候是煙蓋在整個山谷上。有時候是一股沉重的氣氛蓋在一屋子的人身上。From the word’s history
Wiktionary traces this noun from Middle English pal/palle, from Old English pæll, from Old French paile and Latin pallium 'cloak; covering', probably from palla 'a piece of cloth worn as apparel'. So the covering cloth is not a later metaphor — it is where the word starts.
資料把這個名詞一路追到中古英文 pal／palle，再到古英文 pæll，再到古法文 paile 和拉丁文 pallium（斗篷、覆蓋物），源頭可能是 palla（當衣服穿的一塊布）。所以「一塊蓋上去的布」不是後來才加上的比喻，而是這個字一開始的樣子。後面的煙、氣氛，都是這塊布往外借的。
Wiktionary via local kaikki extract, entry pall (etymology 1, noun), source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:621764649 — "From Middle English pal, palle, from Old English pæll, from Old French paile and Latin pallium ('cloak; covering')…"
Three branches
蓋住天空的煙塵
布換成了煙、灰或塵土，被蓋住的東西從一具棺木換成一整個地方。動作完全沒變：一層東西停在上面不走，底下就暗了。這就是為什麼英文在這裡用 pall 而不用 cloud——雲會飄走，pall 會停著。
noun · C2
A thick, dark cloud of smoke, dust or ash that hangs in the air over a place and blocks the light. Usually singular.
（濃煙、塵土的）罩幕
蓋住心情的那一層
布再往裡走一層：這次蓋住的不是東西，是人的心情或一個地方的氣質。英文要你把看不見的感覺當成有厚度的東西，所以它可以 hang、可以 fall、可以被 cast，動詞跟講煙的時候一模一樣。
noun · C2
A feeling of sadness, fear or worry that spreads over an event or a group of people and takes away the good mood. Most often in the pattern cast a pall over something.
（籠罩的）陰影、低氣壓
A second word, same spelling
2
pall
v核心畫面
Picture a bottle of something fizzy left open all night. Nothing has spilled and nothing has broken, but the life has gone out of it, and the first mouthful tastes of nothing much. One of the oldest examples in the record is exactly that — ale that has palled. This verb does the same thing to a pleasure: the holiday, the new game, the new job are unchanged, but the taste has quietly drained away because you have had them too many times.
可以想成一瓶有氣泡的飲料，開著放了一整晚。沒有打翻，也沒有壞掉，可是氣跑光了，第一口喝起來什麼味道都沒有。資料裡最早…更多收起
可以想成一瓶有氣泡的飲料，開著放了一整晚。沒有打翻，也沒有壞掉，可是氣跑光了，第一口喝起來什麼味道都沒有。資料裡最早的例子講的正是這件事：放到走味的麥酒。這個動詞對「樂趣」做的就是同一件事。假期、新遊戲、新工作本身都沒變，但你已經經歷太多次，味道就這樣悄悄流掉了。From the word’s history
Wiktionary derives this verb by aphesis from appal/appall ('to make pale; to weaken; to lose flavour or become stale'), or alternatively from Middle English pallen ('to diminish, impair, weaken; to become faint; to become stale'), and explicitly calls the noun pall unrelated, saying only that its figurative meaning may have influenced this word.
資料說這個動詞是從 appal／appall 掉了開頭的音變來的，那個字的舊義包含「變蒼白、變弱、走味」；另一條可能是中古英文 pallen（減弱、變淡、走味）。更重要的是，資料明講那個表示「布」的名詞 pall 跟它無關，只說那個名詞的比喻義可能影響過它。所以這個動詞的畫面不是被布蓋住，而是味道和力氣自己跑掉。
Wiktionary via local kaikki extract, entry pall (etymology 3, verb), source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:621788945 — "Formed by aphesis from appal, appall … possibly under the influence of the figurative meaning of the unrelated noun pall. Alternatively … from Middle English pallen …"