喜樂美語

核心畫面

A crowned figure on a throne, and around them a stretch of years that belongs to them: while they sit there, they are the one in charge, and that whole period gets their name.

一個戴著王冠的人坐在王位上，而他坐著的這段年月整個歸在他名下。這個字有兩件事同時在裡面——一是「最高的權」（沒有人在…更多收起一個戴著王冠的人坐在王位上，而他坐著的這段年月整個歸在他名下。這個字有兩件事同時在裡面——一是「最高的權」（沒有人在他之上），二是「一段有頭有尾的時間」（他上位開始、他下台或過世結束）。所以英國人講 during the reign of Queen Victoria，不只是說她在管事，而是把那幾十年當成一整塊、以她命名的時期。後來這個字被借去講公司主管、球隊教練、甚至一種氣氛，用的都還是「某人／某事在這段期間居於最高位」的圖。

From the word’s history

From Latin regnum 'kingship, rule, kingdom', from rex 'king', ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h3reg- 'to rule, to make straight'.

來自拉丁文 rēgnum「王權、統治、王國」，源頭是 rēx「國王」，再往上是原始印歐語詞根 *h₃reǵ-「統治、使其筆直」。同一個詞根也長出了 regal（帝王的）、regime（政權）、royal（王室的）。有趣的是那個「使其筆直」的意思：古代的統治者是那個劃出直線、定下規矩的人，這也解釋了為什麼 reign 從來不是「參與管理」，而是「站在最上面」。

Wiktionary (English 'reign', etymology tree: Latin rēgnum < rēx < PIE *h₃rḗǵs / *h₃reǵ-)

Three branches

君王的統治

字面上的王位畫面，其他所有用法都是從這裡借出去的。

reign, rule as monarch · verb · C1

To rule a country, or a group of countries, as their king, queen, or emperor.

在位

借來講權力與名次

把王位的畫面搬到沒有王冠的地方：公司、球隊、學校裡那個最上面的位子，或是比賽裡目前的第一名。

reign, period in charge · noun · C1

The period when someone is in charge of a company, a team, a school department, or a similar group.

當權期

氣氛與局面的籠罩

把王位讓給一種抽象的東西：這段時間裡當家的不是人，而是某種感覺或狀態。

reign, prevail (a feeling) · verb · C1

If a feeling or quality reigns, it exists in a strong way for a period of time.

籠罩

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。

Reignname

  • 1

    A male given name.

reignnoun/ɹeɪ̯n/

  • 1

    The exercise of sovereign power.

    • England prospered under Elizabeth I's reign.
    • Throughout history, no single dictator has successfully upheld their reign forever, no matter how powerful they seemed to be.
  • 2

    The period during which a monarch rules.

    • The reign of Victoria was a long one.
  • 3

    The territory or sphere over which a kingdom; empire; realm; dominion, etc. is ruled.

    • And the Fox guileful, and most covetous; / That neither pleased was, to have the reign / Twixt them divided into even twain

reignverb/ɹeɪ̯n/

  • 1

    To exercise sovereign power, to rule as a monarch.

    • He reigned in an autocratic manner.
    • Both we will raigne as Conſuls of the earth, And mightie kings ſhall be our Senators.
  • 2

    rareTo reign over (a country)

    • The House of Piast reigned Poland from its foundation to 1385.
  • 3

    To be the winner of the most recent iteration of a competition.

  • 4

    To be a dominant quality of a place or situation; to prevail, predominate, rule.

    • Silence reigned.
    • Silence reigned, broken only by the hideous screeching of vultures and the sound of a lawn-mower being used in the hospital grounds.

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。