蓋章放行：批准與認可
章蓋在「可以」那一面：權威正式表示同意，事情因此站得住腳。
sanction, noun, official approval · noun · C2
Official permission, approval, or acceptance from a person or group that has power.
許可
核心畫面
One way to hold this word: an authority puts its official stamp on something. The stamp settles the matter — from now on this is allowed, and the rule behind it is binding. But the same stamp has two faces. Pressed on your plan, it means yes, go ahead. Pressed on the penalty clause, it means this is what happens to you if you break the rule. Same act of authority; opposite feel.
「有權力的一方蓋下一個章」。這個章一蓋，事情就定了：這件事被正式認可，背後的規矩也跟著生效。關鍵在於——同一個章有正…更多收起
「有權力的一方蓋下一個章」。這個章一蓋，事情就定了：這件事被正式認可，背後的規矩也跟著生效。關鍵在於——同一個章有正反兩面。蓋在你的計畫上，是「准了，去做吧」；蓋在罰則那一頁上，是「你違規的話，這就是後果」。這正是為什麼 sanction 這個字在英文裡出了名地矛盾：它既可以是批准，也可以是制裁。兩邊其實是同一個動作，只是章蓋在不同的地方。理解這個字的訣竅不是背兩個相反的意思，而是記住：它講的一直都是「權威正式表態」，至於是放行還是壓下去，看語境。From the word’s history
Sanction comes through Middle French from Latin sanctio, 'the making of a law binding, a decree' — from sancire 'to make sacred, to ratify', the same root as sacred and saint. A Roman sanctio was the clause of a law that made it stick, typically by stating the penalty for breaking it. Both modern branches sit inside that one word: the act of ratifying, and the penalty that gives the ratification teeth.
sanction 經中古法文來自拉丁文 sānctiō，意思是「使法律具有約束力的那道程序、法令」，動詞是 sancīre「使神聖、批准」——跟 sacred（神聖的）、saint（聖人）同根。羅馬法裡的 sānctiō，具體指的是一條法律最後那一段：規定違反的人要受什麼罰。這一點正好解釋了現代英文的分裂——「批准」是那道程序本身，「懲處」是那道程序裡讓法律有牙齒的部分。兩個看似相反的意思，在拉丁文裡本來就住在同一個字裡。
Wiktionary / Online Etymology Dictionary (sanction < Middle French sanction < Latin sānctiō 'decree, the clause of a law that fixes its penalty' < sancīre 'to make sacred, ratify')
Two branches
蓋章壓下：罰則與制裁
章蓋在「後果」那一面：同樣是權威在正式表態，但表的是「違反就會怎樣」——這正是拉丁 sānctiō 原本指的那一段條文。
sanction, noun, a penalty · noun · C2
A punishment that can be used when someone does not follow a rule or a law.
懲處
原始詞典資料6 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。
sanctionnoun/ˈsæŋkʃən/
- 1
An approval, by an authority, generally one that makes something valid.
- The whalers had been operating in the contested waters off the island with sanction from the Japanese government.
- The idea that it was more comfortable in the house than out of it, did much towards reconciling his lordship. He felt positively glad that, as his wife had acted without his sanction, she should be subject to all possible inconvenience, as if such could be felt in Henrietta's state of mind.
- 2
A penalty, punishment, or some coercive measure, intended to ensure compliance; especially one adopted by several nations, or by an international body.
- The United States enacted a new round of sanctions against the apartheid regime of South Africa.
- 3
A law, treaty, or contract, or a clause within a law, treaty, or contract, specifying any of the above.
sanctionverb/ˈsæŋkʃən/
- 1
To ratify; to make valid.
- 2
To give official authorization or approval to; to countenance.
- The school's inaction further sanctions this misbehavior.
- Many of the most earnest Protestants were business men, to whom lending money at interest was essential. Consequently first Calvin, and then other Protestant divines, sanctioned interest.
- 3
To penalize (a state etc.) with sanctions.
- The generative AI chatbot, ChatGPT, can be duped into providing detailed advice on how to commit crimes — ranging from money laundering to the export of weapons to sanctioned countries — a tech startup found.
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。