醫學上的繃緊：肌肉與病名
這一支最靠近字源。主詞是肌肉、是病名，語氣中性，醫院今天照用。
adjective · C1
In medicine, describing muscles that tighten on their own and will not let go, so the person cannot relax or control them, and describing the conditions caused by this.
痙攣的
核心畫面
One way to hold this word is a muscle that pulls tight and will not let go. Everything else on the page is that one picture moved somewhere else: onto a whole person, and then into a playground insult.
spastic 可以想成「一條繃緊、鬆不開的肌肉」。它跟 spasm（痙攣）同一個字根，原本就是在講這個狀態。這個字…更多收起
spastic 可以想成「一條繃緊、鬆不開的肌肉」。它跟 spasm（痙攣）同一個字根，原本就是在講這個狀態。這個字後來的每一步，都是同一張畫面被搬到別的地方：先搬到一個人身上，變成舊時候對腦性麻痺者的稱呼；再搬進操場上的嘲笑，變成罵人笨手笨腳的話。愈往後搬，離肌肉愈遠，傷人愈重。From the word’s history
Borrowed from Latin spasticus, from Ancient Greek spastikos, 'drawing in'. By surface analysis it is spasm + -tic, which is why the muscle picture sits at the centre.
資料上寫的是：借自拉丁文 spasticus，再往前是古希臘文 spastikós，意思是「拉進來、抽緊」。從字面拆也是 spasm（痙攣）加上 -tic。所以「繃緊」這個畫面不是後來想出來的比喻，它本來就在字裡面。
Packet Wiktionary etymology for 'spastic' (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:924411471:11514): 'Learned borrowing from Latin spasticus, from Ancient Greek σπαστικός (spastikós, "drawing in"). By surface analysis, spasm + -tic.'
Two branches
搬進操場的罵人話
最後一步是把那個標籤丟向任何一個跌倒、掉東西的人。畫面已經不在肌肉上了，剩下的只有嘲笑。
adjective · C1
A cruel word for someone who drops things, trips over, seems slow or silly, or cannot keep still. It is used most by children, and in Britain and Ireland it is treated as a serious insult.
（侮辱）笨手笨腳的