這個拼法是2個不同的字· 2 words spelled “scoff”

  1. 1
    scoff · mock, laugh at嘲笑;嗤之以鼻Picture a laugh that is pushed out at someone rather than shared with them.
  2. 2
    scoff · eat quickly狼吞虎嚥吃光A different word that happens to be spelled the same.
1

scoff · mock, laugh at

verb, noun

Picture a laugh that is pushed out at someone rather than shared with them. The chin lifts a little, the breath comes out through the nose, and the message is: your idea is beneath me. Nothing here is warm. The laugh is being used the way a hand is used to push a door shut, and the person on the other side of it knows exactly what it means.

scoff 可以想成「把笑聲當成推開對方的動作」。下巴微微抬起來,鼻子裡哼一聲,意思是:你這個想法不值得我認真看。裡面沒有任何溫度。這個笑不是跟對方一起笑,而是朝著對方笑。被笑的人馬上就知道自己被看扁了。動詞是這個動作,名詞就是這一聲笑本身。

From the word’s history

From Middle English scof, skof, probably of North Germanic origin; compare Old Norse skaup and Old Frisian skof 'insult, shame'.

來自中古英語 scof、skof,可能是北歐語系傳來的;可以比較古諾斯語 skaup 和古弗里西語 skof(羞辱、恥辱)。這條線索說明這個字從一開始就不是單純的「笑」,而是帶著讓人難堪的成分,跟今天的語氣完全接得上。

Wiktionary, "scoff" (etymology 1)

2

scoff · eat quickly

verb

A different word that happens to be spelled the same. Picture a plate that was full a moment ago and is now empty, and one person still chewing. The whole picture is speed: the food went in fast and there is none left. Nobody is being laughed at here.

這是另一個字,只是拼法剛好一樣。可以想成一個盤子前一刻還滿的,現在空了,旁邊的人還在嚼。整個畫面的重點是速度:東西很快進了嘴裡,而且常常一點不剩。這裡沒有人被嘲笑。文法上也分得很清楚:後面直接接食物,不加 at。

From the word’s history

A variant, attested since the mid nineteenth century, of scaff, of uncertain origin; compare scarf 'eat quickly'.

這是 scaff 的變體,十九世紀中葉起有紀錄,來源並不確定;可以比較同樣表示「快速吃掉」的 scarf。也就是說,它跟「嘲笑」那個 scoff 只是碰巧同形,並不是同一個字延伸出來的意思。

Wiktionary, "scoff" (etymology 2)