喜樂美語

核心畫面

You can picture the flat of your foot — the one surface that carries your whole weight and meets the ground all day. From that flat, ground-facing plate, English also names the flat of a shoe, and even a flat fish that lies on the sea floor shaped rather like a .

可以想成腳掌貼著地面的那一面：一整天的體重都壓在那塊平平的皮上，走久了會發燙、會痛。從這塊「貼著地的平面」出發，鞋子…更多收起可以想成腳掌貼著地面的那一面：一整天的體重都壓在那塊平平的皮上，走久了會發燙、會痛。從這塊「貼著地的平面」出發，鞋子貼地的那一面也叫 sole，連那種扁扁的、攤在海底像一隻涼鞋的魚，英文也叫 sole。

From the word’s history

Two look-alike words sit under one spelling. The noun sole (bottom of the foot, early 14c.) comes via Old French from Latin solea 'sandal, bottom of a shoe', related to solum 'bottom, ground, foundation' — and the flatfish (mid-13c.) is the same solea, named for its sandal-like shape. The adjective sole 'only, alone' (late 14c.) comes from Old French soul, from a different Latin word, solus 'alone, only, single'.

一個拼法底下其實藏著兩個不同的字。名詞 sole（腳底，14 世紀初）經由古法文來自拉丁文 solea「涼鞋、鞋子的底」，跟 solum「底部、地面、基礎」同源；那種比目魚（13 世紀中）也是同一個 solea，因為牠扁扁的樣子像一隻涼鞋。形容詞 sole「唯一的」（14 世紀末）則來自古法文 soul，源頭是另一個拉丁字 solus「單獨的、唯一的」。所以「腳底」和「唯一」長得一樣，卻不是同一個字。

Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), entries “sole (n.1)”, “sole (n.2)”, “sole (adj.)”

Three branches

貼著地的那一面

這一家都是同一塊平面：先是腳的底，再是鞋的底，再到把鞋底換掉這個動作。

sole of the foot · noun · C1

The bottom part of your foot that you stand and walk on.

腳底

扁得像鞋底的那種魚

同一個拉丁字 solea（涼鞋）：這種魚扁扁一片攤在海底，形狀就像一隻鞋底，所以拿同一個字來叫牠。

sole (fish) · noun · C1

A flat sea fish that people cook and eat.

比目魚

唯一的、只有一個的

這一家跟腳底沒有關係，只是拼法撞在一起。它來自另一個拉丁字 solus（單獨的），跟 solo、solitary、solitude 是一家人——記這條線比硬要從「腳底」想過來容易得多。

only / single · adjective · C1

Being the only one; there is no other.

唯一的

原始詞典資料22 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。

Solename

  • 1

    A sea area, corresponding to the Sole Bank, to the north of FitzRoy

soleadj詞源 1/səʊl/

  • 1

    Only.

    • He saw now clearly that the sole crew of the vessel was these two dead men, and though he could not see their faces, he saw by their outstretched hands, which were all of ragged flesh, that they had been subjected to some strange exceptional process of decay.
  • 2

    lawUnmarried (especially of a woman); widowed.

  • 3

    Unique; unsurpassed.

    • The sole brilliance of this gem.
  • 4

    With independent power; unfettered.

    • A sole authority.

solenoun詞源 2/səʊl/

  • 1

    anatomymedicinesciencesThe bottom or plantar surface of the foot.

  • 2

    The bottom of a shoe or boot.

    • The Caliga was a military Shoe, with a very thick Sole, tied above the instep with leather Thongs.
  • 3

    obsoleteThe foot itself.

    • Hast wandred through the world now long a day;Yet ceasest not thy wearie soles to lead
    • But the doue found no rest for the sole of her foote, and she returned vnto him into the Arke: […]
  • 4

    biologynatural-scienceszoologySolea solea, a flatfish of the family Soleidae; a true sole.

    • The fishermen crowding in the cafés were also waiting for the end of the storm, when the fish, reassured, would rise to the surface after the bait. Soles, hog fish and skate were returning from their nocturnal expeditions. Day was now breaking.
  • 5

    A flatfish resembling those of the family Soleidae.

  • 6

    The bottom or lower part of anything, or that on which anything rests in standing.

  • 7

    The bottom or lower part of anything, or that on which anything rests in standing.

  • 8

    The bottom or lower part of anything, or that on which anything rests in standing.

另外 5 個記錄的用法
  • 9

    The bottom or lower part of anything, or that on which anything rests in standing.

  • 10

    governmentmilitarypoliticsThe bottom or lower part of anything, or that on which anything rests in standing.

  • 11

    nauticaltransportThe bottom or lower part of anything, or that on which anything rests in standing.

    • The rudder remains to be repaired, and is unshipped for the purpose; the sole of it is entirely gone
  • 12

    nauticaltransportThe bottom or lower part of anything, or that on which anything rests in standing.

  • 13

    businessminingThe seat or bottom of a mine; applied to horizontal veins or lodes.

soleverb詞源 2/səʊl/

  • 1

    To put a sole on a shoe or a boot.

solenoun詞源 3/səʊl/

  • 1

    obsoletedialectalA wooden band or yoke put around the neck of an ox or cow in the stall.

solenoun詞源 4/səʊl/

  • 1

    dialectalA pond or pool; a dirty pond of standing water.

soleverb詞源 5/səʊl/

  • 1

    dialectalTo pull by the ears; to pull about; haul; lug.

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。