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 plump, verb, plop down · plump, round and full

1

plump

v

核心畫面

One way to hold it: something soft dropping in one heavy motion and landing with a dull 'plop' — the word the sound. The weight goes down all at once, without care and without grace.

一個有重量的東西「啪」地一下整個落下去,沒有緩衝、沒有講究,落地時發出悶悶的一聲。這個動詞其實是狀聲詞——plump更多收起一個有重量的東西「啪」地一下整個落下去,沒有緩衝、沒有講究,落地時發出悶悶的一聲。這個動詞其實是狀聲詞——plump、plop、plonk 是同一家人,聲音本身就是意思。所以它的重點不在「移動」,而在那個「一次到位、砰的一下」的乾脆感:不是慢慢坐、慢慢放,是整個交出去讓重力接手。

From the word’s history

The verb comes from Middle English 'plumpen', related to Middle Dutch 'plompen' and German 'plumpsen' — all imitative of the dull sound a heavy soft thing makes when it drops into water or onto a surface. The sound is the meaning.

這個動詞來自中古英語 plumpen,和中古荷蘭語 plompen、德語 plumpsen 同源,全都是模仿「重物落下」發出的那個悶響。也就是說,這個字是聲音變成的:先有那一聲「噗通」,才有「一屁股坐下」「隨手一放」。這也解釋了為什麼它聽起來一點都不優雅——它本來就是在描述聲音,而那個聲音就是不優雅的。

Wiktionary, 'plump' (verb, from Middle English plumpen; akin to Middle Dutch plompen, German plumpsen — imitative)

Two branches

整個重重落下

這一支就是那個「噗通」的聲音本身:重量一次交出去,落點在哪就在哪。

plump, verb, plop down · verb · C2

To sit down suddenly and heavily, as if your whole body falls into the seat.

一屁股坐下

讓東西鼓起來、變飽滿

這一支和「重重落下」不是同一條路:它借的是形容詞 plump(飽滿)的畫面,指的是「使某物變得飽滿」,而不是那個噗通的聲音。英語裡這兩層剛好長成同一個拼字,理解時分開放比硬接在一起清楚。

plump, verb, fluff up cushions · verb · C2

To hit cushions or pillows in a soft way so they become rounder and softer.

拍鬆

A second word, same spelling

2

plump

a

核心畫面

One way to picture it: something filled out from the inside until it is round and softly firm — a cushion you have just fluffed, a grape about to burst. Full, not hard; rounded, not sharp.

某個東西從裡面被填滿了,撐得圓圓的、軟軟的、有彈性——剛拍鬆的抱枕、飽水的葡萄、烤好膨起來的麵包。重點是「由內往外撐更多收起某個東西從裡面被填滿了,撐得圓圓的、軟軟的、有彈性——剛拍鬆的抱枕、飽水的葡萄、烤好膨起來的麵包。重點是「由內往外撐出來的飽滿」:它不是硬的,你按下去會凹,但它會彈回來;它也不是尖的、瘦的、有稜角的,而是每一處線條都往外鼓。這個字看什麼東西都帶著一種舒服的感覺,因為飽滿在人的眼裡通常代表健康、充足、剛剛好。

From the word’s history

The adjective was borrowed into Middle English from Middle Dutch/Middle Low German 'plomp/plump', which originally meant blunt, clumsy, coarse — the opposite of sharp or fine. English kept the 'not sharp, rounded out' half of that and dropped the insult, so the modern word describes fullness rather than crudeness.

這個形容詞是中古英語向中古荷蘭語/中古低地德語借來的 plomp/plump,原意是「鈍的、笨拙的、粗糙的」——也就是「不尖銳、不細緻」。英語留下了「不尖、圓鈍」這一半,把「粗魯」那一半丟掉了,於是變成今天描述「飽滿」的字。知道這個來源,就能理解為什麼 plump 永遠不會用來形容線條俐落的東西:它從一開始就站在「尖」的反面。

Wiktionary, 'plump' (adjective, from Middle English plump/plompe, borrowed from Middle Dutch plomp or Middle Low German plump)

One branch

圓而飽滿的外形

這一支直接就是核心畫面:從裡面撐出來的圓潤。差別只在於眼前的東西是物,還是人。

plump, round and full · adjective · C2

Round and full in a way that looks attractive, used about things such as fruit, cushions, or pillows.

飽滿

原始詞典資料15 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。

Plumpname

  • 1

    A surname from German.

plumpadj詞源 1/plʌmp/

  • 1

    Having a full and rounded shape; chubby, somewhat overweight.

    • a plump baby; plump cheeks
    • The god of wine did his plump clusters bring.
  • 2

    Sudden and without reservation; blunt; direct; downright.

    • We are averse to plump queries, but we are going to ask our readers a plain, simple question Did you ever see a paper y'clept "The Yankee Blade?"
    • After the plump statement that the author was at Erceldoune and spake with Thomas.
  • 3

    beveragesfoodlifestyleOf a wine: giving the sensation of filling the mouth.

    • A plump wine, with an abundance of plum and berry characteristics and soft, round tannins. Easy to drink; ready on release.

plumpverb詞源 1/plʌmp/

  • 1

    To grow plump; to swell out.

    • Her cheeks have plumped.
  • 2

    To make plump; to fill (out) or support; often with up.

    • to plump oysters or scallops by placing them in fresh or brackish water
    • to plump up the hollowness of their history with improbable miracles
  • 3

    To give a plumper (kind of vote).

  • 4

    To give (a vote), as a plumper.

  • 5

    To favor or decide in favor of.

    • A recent poll by the New York Times found that although most Brazilians plump for arch-rival Argentina as the team they most want to lose, the second-biggest group want Brazil itself to stumble.

plumpverb詞源 2/plʌmp/

  • 1

    To cast or let drop (something) all at once, suddenly and heavily.

    • to plump a stone into water
  • 2

    To drop or fall suddenly or heavily, all at once.

    • September 24, 1712, The Spectator No. 492, letter from a prude Dulcissa plumps into a chair.

plumpadv詞源 2/plʌmp/

  • 1

    Directly; suddenly; perpendicularly.

    • I suppose then, that going plump on a flying whale with your sail set in a foggy squall is the height of a whaleman’s discretion?

plumpnoun詞源 2/plʌmp/

  • 1

    The sound of a sudden heavy fall.

    • As she beheld her, poor Mrs. Mack's heart fluttered up to her mouth, and then dropped with a dreadful plump, into the pit of her stomach.

plumpnoun詞源 3/plʌmp/

  • 1

    obsoleteA knot or cluster; a group; a crowd.

    • a plump of trees, fowls, or spears
    • To visit islands and the plumps of men.
  • 2

    A group of ducks or geese migrating, or sometimes other groups of birds.

    • What Descartes called res cogitans is not a defined res but a network, a swarm, a cloud, much like a plump of geese flying south or ants foraging around their woodlands.
    • A great example of professionalism in aviation: on the afternoon of January 15, 2009, in the middle of wintertime, a big plump of geese were flying south, getting off of the strong cold weather.

資料來源:英文維基詞典 English WiktionaryCC BY-SA 4.0)。 原文照列,未經改寫。