核心畫面

One way to hold this word: something wide, thin and flat, spread out. That is sheet. The ending -ing can pull in two directions, and this word goes both ways: it can name the flat stuff itself, sold in rolls and cut to length, or it can name the act of something becoming flat layers. So one spelling covers the plastic over a roof, the cloth for a bed, the boards against a bank of earth, the factory step that rolls material out flat, and the rock that splits into curved layers by itself.

可以想成:一片薄薄的、攤得很開的東西。那就是 sheet。加上 -ing 之後,這個字可以往兩個方向走,而且兩邊都真更多收起可以想成:一片薄薄的、攤得很開的東西。那就是 sheet。加上 -ing 之後,這個字可以往兩個方向走,而且兩邊都真的走了。一邊指那個「一整片的料」:成捲賣、要多少裁多少。另一邊指「變成一片一片」這件事本身:材料被壓平,或岩石自己裂成薄層。所以同一個拼法,可以是屋頂上的塑膠布、做床單的布料、貼在土坡上的板子、工廠把材料壓平的那道工序,還有岩石一層層剝落的風化作用。看到它先問一句:這裡講的是「那片東西」,還是「變成片的過程」。

From the word’s history

From sheet plus -ing. The base word supplies the flat, spread-out picture; the ending supplies either the material taken as a mass, or the action of forming into sheets.

由 sheet 加上 -ing 構成。sheet 提供「平平一大片」的畫面,-ing 決定往哪邊走:一邊變成「那種料」,一邊變成「變成片的過程」。這個字之所以看起來意思很雜,其實就是這兩條路各自走遠而已。

Wiktionary entry for sheeting, etymology_text 'From sheet + -ing.' supplied in this packet (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1439710969:4122)

Two branches

攤開的一大片料

-ing 指向「那種材料」。共同點有三個:不可數、成捲或成片供應、前面先講材質。差別只在它被放到哪裡——蓋在上面、裁成床單,或是立起來頂住土。

noun · B2

Wide flat material, such as plastic or metal, that is laid or fixed over something to cover it and keep off rain, dust or damage.

覆蓋用的材料(塑膠布、金屬板等)

變成一片一片的過程

-ing 這次指向動作。同樣是「變平、變成薄片」,差別只在誰在動手:一邊是機器把材料壓開,一邊是岩石自己裂開。

noun · C1

The step in making something in which a material is pressed or rolled out into flat sheets.

壓片、成形(製程)

原始詞典資料5 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。

sheetingnoun

  • 1

    Fabric used to make sheets (bedding).

  • 2

    The process of forming material into sheets.

  • 3

    engineeringnatural-sciencesphysical-sciencesA lining of planks or boards for protecting an embankment.

  • 4

    geographygeologynatural-sciencesA weathering process in which rock breaks into sheets after compressional stress on it is removed.

這個拼法也被記錄為下列字的變化形:

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