喜樂美語

核心畫面

Picture your eyes moving steadily across something wide — a crowd at the station, a shelf of books, a page of names — sweeping from one side to the other so that no part is skipped. That sweep is the whole word. Whether it is your eyes, a machine at the airport, or the scanner on a desk, something passes over a surface bit by bit and takes in what is there.

可以想成：眼睛沿著一個範圍慢慢掃過去，從這頭到那頭，一格一格不漏掉——像在月台的人群裡找人、在書架上找書、在一頁名字…更多收起可以想成：眼睛沿著一個範圍慢慢掃過去，從這頭到那頭，一格一格不漏掉——像在月台的人群裡找人、在書架上找書、在一頁名字裡找一個名字。scan 的各種用法，就像都是從這個「掃過去」的動作長出來的：掃的可能是眼睛，也可能是機場的機器或桌上的掃描器，但動作永遠是「有東西經過整個表面，把上面有什麼收進來」。

From the word’s history

English took scan in the late 14th century from Late Latin scandere 'to scan verse' (in classical Latin 'to climb'). The oldest English sense was marking off a line of poetry foot by foot; by the 1540s that step-by-step way of going over something had widened to 'examine point by point', and only by 1926 did the quick-skim sense appear. The poetry use is not an odd offshoot — it is the parent.

scan 來自晚期拉丁文 scandere（古典拉丁文原意「攀爬」，後來指「分析詩的格律」）。英文十四世紀末借進來時，第一個意思就是把一行詩一個音步一個音步標出來；到了十六世紀中葉，這種「一格一格走過去」的做法擴大成「逐點檢查」，而「快速瀏覽」要到 1926 年才出現。所以看似冷門的詩律用法，其實是這個字的源頭，不是分支。

Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), entry "scan"

Three branches

眼睛掃過去

這一組就是核心動作本身：用眼睛把一個範圍走過一遍。差別只在掃的速度與目的——有時是仔細找人，有時是快速找一個資訊。

look over carefully · verb · A2

To look at every part of something carefully, often because you are looking for a particular person or thing.

掃視；仔細察看

機器掃過去

同一個「一格一格經過整個表面」的動作，只是執行的人換成機器：機器的光束或訊號在物體上（或身體裡）來回走一遍，把走過的東西轉成一張圖。

examine with a scanner · verb · B1

To examine the inside of a person's body, a bag, or an object using a special machine that makes a picture.

掃描（用機器檢查內部）

詩句一步一步量格律

這其實是 scan 最老的用法，也是「一格一格走過去」這個動作最原始的樣子：把一行詩按音步切開，看節拍對不對。後來的掃視、掃描都是從這裡擴出去的。

have correct poetic rhythm · verb · C1

If a line of poetry scans, it has the correct rhythm or beat when you read it out loud.

（詩句）符合格律、唸起來順口

原始詞典資料14 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。

scanverb/skæn/

  • 1

    To examine sequentially, carefully, or critically; to scrutinize; to behold closely.

    • She scanned the passage carefully but could not find what she was looking for.
    • He scanned the horizon.
  • 2

    computingengineeringmathematicsTo examine sequentially, carefully, or critically; to scrutinize; to behold closely.

    • to scan the hard drive for errors
  • 3

    To look about for; to look over quickly.

  • 4

    computingengineeringmathematicsTo look about for; to look over quickly.

  • 5

    computingengineeringmathematicsTo create an image of something with the use of a scanner.

    • to scan a photograph
    • to scan internal organs by means of computed tomography
  • 6

    computingengineeringmathematicsTo read with an electronic device.

    • to scan a barcode
    • to scan a QR code
  • 7

    obsoleteTo mount by steps; to go through with step by step.

    • But ere these matchless heights I dare to scan, / There is a spot should not be pass'd in vain,— / Morat ! the proud, the patriot field ! where man / May gaze on ghastly trophies of the slain,[…]
  • 8

    communicationsjournalismliteratureTo read or mark so as to show a specific metre.

    • In such cases as these, almost any one with a good ear will "scan" the verse correctly enough without instruction. It is not proposed to give here a list of Shakspere's slurred and contracted words; […]
另外 1 個記錄的用法
  • 9

    communicationsjournalismliteratureTo conform to a metrical structure.

    • You're right, sir, it doesn't scan very well in the English, but in the Gaelic it's sheer poetry. Have you the Gaelic?

scannoun/skæn/

  • 1

    A close investigation.

  • 2

    A close investigation.

  • 3

    computingengineeringmathematicsAn instance of scanning.

    • The operators vacated the room during the scan.
    • In the dispute with the RMT about scanning tickets, Jackson said it was the right thing to do to pay conductors something to scan tickets. Northern pays two pence per scan, Jackson noted, adding that ticket scanning helps to cut fraud and increase staff visibility.
  • 4

    computingengineeringmathematicsThe result or output of a scanning process.

    • The doctors looked at the scans and made a diagnosis.
  • 5

    A higher-order function that applies a binary operation to a sequence of values, starting with an accumulator, and returns a new sequence with the results.

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。