核心畫面

Picture someone counting things up on paper — an innkeeper at the end of a long stay, going down the list item by item and drawing a line at the bottom. Two different things are happening at once. One is the counting: a number is being produced, and it can be rough or exact. The other is what the number is for: once the total is there, somebody has to face it. Every meaning of this word sits somewhere between those two — the count, and the moment the count is handed over.

可以想成有人在紙上一筆一筆算帳。像旅店老闆在客人住了很久之後,把每一項列下來,最後畫一條線寫上總數。這個畫面裡同時有更多收起可以想成有人在紙上一筆一筆算帳。像旅店老闆在客人住了很久之後,把每一項列下來,最後畫一條線寫上總數。這個畫面裡同時有兩件事在發生。一件是「算」:一個數字被算出來,可能粗略,也可能精確。另一件是「這個數字要幹嘛」:總數一出來,就有人得面對它。這個字的每個意思,都落在這兩件事之間。有的偏算出來的那個數,有的偏把帳單端上桌的那一刻。

From the word’s history

It is the verb reckon turned into a noun with -ing: 'the counting'. Its close relatives, Dutch rekening and German Rechnung, still mean 'bill' or 'account' today, which shows how near the counting and the paying have always been in this word.

它就是動詞 reckon 加 -ing 變成的名詞,字面是「算這件事」。它的近親荷蘭文 rekening 和德文 Rechnung,到今天還是「帳單、帳目」的意思。這說明在這個字裡,「算」和「結帳」從以前就靠得很近。

Wiktionary, entry “reckoning”: “Gerund of the verb reckon, from reckon + -ing. Compare Dutch rekening, German Rechnung.” (packet source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:845650218)

Three branches

算出來的那個數

這一族停在畫面的前半段:帳還在算,重點是算出來的結果本身。

noun · B2

A number or judgement that you work out for yourself from what you know, rather than from exact information. It is uncountable, and it appears most often in the phrase by my reckoning.

估算;推算出來的數字

帳單端上桌的那一刻

這一族走到畫面的後半段:數字已經算完,現在有人得面對它。

noun · B2

The time when someone is judged or punished for what they have done, or when the results of their actions finally reach them. It is usually singular, and very often in the phrases the day of reckoning and in the final reckoning.

算總帳的時刻;最後的檢視

被算進名單裡的人

同樣是有人在數,只是這次數的不是錢,是「還有誰有機會」。

noun · C1

Counted, or no longer counted, among the people or teams who could still win something or be chosen for something. It belongs to British English and is heard most in sports reporting.

還在(或已不在)競爭名單內

原始詞典資料8 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。

reckoningnoun/ˈɹɛkənɪŋ/

  • 1

    The action of calculating or estimating something.

    • By that reckoning, it would take six weeks to go five miles.
    • So saying, he called for a reckoning for the wine, and throwing down the price of the additional bottle which he had himself introduced, rose as if to take leave of us.
  • 2

    An opinion or judgement.

    • day of reckoning
  • 3

    A summing up or appraisal.

    • My mother's father was a small-town school teacher, an occupation with somewhat more status (teachers are petit bourgeois by the standard reckoning) which nevertheless provided little more income than on my father's side.
    • The research presented in this paper is the most comprehensive and up-to-date reckoning of an expanding set of portmanteau terms based on the word English.
  • 4

    The settlement of accounts, as between parties.

  • 5

    The working out of consequences or retribution for one's actions.

  • 6

    archaicThe bill (UK) or check (US), especially at an inn or tavern.

  • 7

    archaicRank or status.

這個拼法也被記錄為下列字的變化形:

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