核心畫面

Picture something being lifted out of the ordinary flow of life and set down to one side, behind a line nobody may cross. It has not been destroyed, and it has not been given away. It is simply being held apart, where nothing can reach it and it can reach nothing, for as long as the situation lasts. That one picture is enough for every use: the thing set aside can be a group of people, a cloud of carbon, a bank account, or a line in a national budget.

可以想成有樣東西被從日常的流動裡抬出來,放到旁邊,旁邊還劃了一條誰都不准跨過的線。它沒有被毀掉,也沒有被送給誰。它只更多收起可以想成有樣東西被從日常的流動裡抬出來,放到旁邊,旁邊還劃了一條誰都不准跨過的線。它沒有被毀掉,也沒有被送給誰。它只是被扣在那裡:外面碰不到它,它也碰不到外面,直到這件事情結束為止。這一個畫面就夠用了。被放到旁邊的,可能是一群人,可能是一團碳,可能是一個銀行帳戶,也可能是國家預算裡的一行數字。

From the word’s history

The Wiktionary evidence in this packet traces sequester through Old French sequestrer to Late Latin sequestrō, 'separate, give up for safekeeping', from Latin sequester, 'mediator, depositary'. The old picture is a disputed thing handed to a neutral third party to hold, which is exactly the modern shape: separated, kept safe, out of everyone's reach.

資料裡的字源說 sequester 經由古法文 sequestrer,來自晚期拉丁文 sequestrō(分開、交給人保管),再往前是拉丁文 sequester(居中的人、保管人)。古早的畫面是:有爭議的東西先交給一個中立的第三者保管。這正好就是今天的形狀——分出來、放好、誰都碰不到。

Wiktionary extract supplied in this packet (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:699952814:20865): 'from Late Latin sequestrō (separate, give up for safekeeping), from Latin sequester (mediator, depositary)'.

Three branches

把人隔在外界之外

被放到線後面的是人;擋掉的是消息、壓力和別人的意見。

verb · C1

To keep a person or a group of people away from everyone else for a period of time, so that no news, no pressure, and no outside contact can reach them.

隔離;把人隔開

把東西抽出來鎖好

這次被放到旁邊的不是人,而是物質;重點從「不被影響」變成「跑不掉」。

verb · C1

To take something out of the place where it can move about freely and hold it somewhere safe, so that it stays shut away and cannot escape or react. It is most often used about carbon.

封存

法律與預算:把錢扣在一邊

同一條線,這回是法律畫下的;被擋在外面的是原本可以動用這筆錢的人。

verb · C2

In law, to take money or property out of its owner's hands and hold it, so that the owner cannot use it, until a debt is paid or a court case is settled. British English also says sequestrate.

扣押;查封

原始詞典資料13 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。

sequesterverb/sɪˈkwɛs.tə/

  • 1

    To separate from all external influence; to seclude; to withdraw.

    • The jury was sequestered from the press by the judge's order.
    • when men most sequester themselves from action
  • 2

    To separate in order to store.

    • The coal burning plant was ordered to sequester its CO₂ emissions.
    • There has been some investigation into the potential of seaweeds as a carbon store, and although more is needed, one study says that seaweed habitats are believed to be the most productive of all coastal vegetated ecosystems, and suggested that the world’s seaweed sequesters as much carbon as all the planet’s seagrass meadows, saltmarshes and mangroves combined.
  • 3

    To set apart; to put aside; to remove; to separate from other things.

    • I had wholly sequestered my thoughts from civil affairs.
  • 4

    chemistrynatural-sciencesphysical-sciencesTo prevent an ion in solution from behaving normally by forming a coordination compound.

  • 5

    lawTo temporarily remove (property) from the possession of its owner and hold it as security against legal claims.

  • 6

    To cause (one) to submit to the process of sequestration; to deprive (one) of one's estate, property, etc.

    • c. 1694, Robert South, sermon XXIV It was his tailor and his cook, his fine fashions and his French ragouts, which sequestered him.
  • 7

    governmentlawpoliticsTo remove (certain funds) automatically from a budget.

    • The Budget Control Act of 2011 sequestered 1.2 trillion dollars over 10 years on January 2, 2013.
  • 8

    To seize and hold enemy property.

另外 2 個記錄的用法
  • 9

    To withdraw; to retire.

    • to sequester out of the world into Atlantic and Utopian politics
  • 10

    datedTo renounce (as a widow may) any concern with the estate of her husband.

sequesternoun/sɪˈkwɛs.tə/

  • 1

    sequestration; separation

    • A sequester from liberty , fasting , and prayer
  • 2

    lawA person with whom two or more contending parties deposit the subject matter of the controversy; one who mediates between two parties; a referee

  • 3

    medicinesciencesA sequestrum.

資料來源:英文維基詞典 English WiktionaryCC BY-SA 4.0)。 原文照列,未經改寫。