核心畫面

One picture carries this whole word: something is thrown out, hits a hard surface, and is beaten back — and then beaten back again from the next surface. A shout in an empty pool does this, and so does a decision made in one office. The thing happens once; what you go on receiving are its returns, arriving from every direction and taking time to die away.

「reverberate」可以用一個畫面撐起來:東西被丟出去,撞上硬表面,然後被打回來,接著又從下一個表面被打回來一更多收起「reverberate」可以用一個畫面撐起來:東西被丟出去,撞上硬表面,然後被打回來,接著又從下一個表面被打回來一次。在空游泳池裡喊一聲是這樣。在一間辦公室裡做的一個決定也是這樣。事情只發生一次,可是回來的東西一波一波,從四面八方到,而且要很久才散。

From the word’s history

The packet's source entry derives the word from Latin reverberare: re- meaning again, plus verberare, to beat or lash, from verber, a rod or whip. The literal idea is being beaten back again and again — which is exactly the picture the modern uses still trade on.

來源資料把這個字追到拉丁文 reverberāre:re-(再一次)加上 verberāre(鞭打、擊打),而 verber 是鞭子、棍子。字面上就是「一再被打回來」。可以想成:今天無論講聲音還是講影響,用的都還是這個「被打回來、還在回彈」的畫面。

packet wiktionary etymology_text for reverberate, etymology 1 (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1238087168)

Two branches

聲音被打回來

這一組是核心畫面的字面版本,差別只在鏡頭對準誰:對準聲音,還是對準裝著聲音的那個空間。

verb · C1

If a loud sound reverberates, it keeps on being heard after it is made, because it bounces back off walls, hills or other hard surfaces.

回盪、回響

事情的影響被打回來

把同一個畫面借去講不是聲音的東西:事情發生一次,影響卻一波一波回來。這是比喻上的連結,不是說這個意思在歷史上比較晚才長出來。

verb · C1

If an event, decision or idea reverberates, its effects keep being felt — they spread to many people and last for a long time after the thing itself is over.

(影響)持續擴散、餘波盪漾