A small piece cut from a plant — a short stem with a few leaves or little flowers still on it. Think of the tiny bit of green a restaurant puts on top of your plate, or the small branch of rosemary you drop into a pot of soup.

A small piece cut from a plant從植物上剪下來的一小段──a short stem with a few leaves or little flowers still on it一段短短的莖，上面還留著幾片葉子或幾朵小花。Think of想想 the tiny bit of green a restaurant puts on top of your plate餐廳放在你盤子上那一小撮綠色的東西, or the small branch of rosemary you drop into a pot of soup或你丟進一鍋湯裡的那一小枝迷迭香。

Two things make it a sprig rather than a branch: it is small enough to hold between your fingers, and it still has its leaves or flowers attached. A bare stick is not a sprig.

Two things make it a sprig rather than a branch有兩件事讓它算是sprig而不是branch：it它 is small enough to hold between your fingers小到可以夾在你的手指間, and而 it still has its leaves or flowers attached它還帶著葉子或花朵。A bare stick一根光禿禿的樹枝 is not a sprig不算sprig。

You meet the word most often in cooking (a sprig of mint, a sprig of parsley, a sprig of thyme) and in decorating (a sprig of holly at Christmas, a sprig of flowers pinned to a jacket). "A sprig of" is almost a fixed phrase — the word rarely appears alone.

You meet the word most often你最常遇到這個字 in cooking在烹飪裡 (a sprig of mint一小枝薄荷, a sprig of parsley一小枝荷蘭芹, a sprig of thyme一小枝百里香) and而 in decorating在裝飾裡 (a sprig of holly at Christmas聖誕節的一小枝冬青, a sprig of flowers pinned to a jacket別在外套上的一小枝花)。“A sprig of”「A sprig of」 is almost a fixed phrase幾乎是個固定片語──the word rarely appears alone這個字很少單獨出現。

There is also a verb, to sprig, meaning to decorate cloth with a small plant pattern, but you will almost never need it. The origin is not fully settled: it comes to us through Middle English and may be related to old Low German words for a thin dry twig, and to English spray in its "small branch" meaning.

There is also a verb還有一個動詞用法, to sprigto sprig, meaning意思是 to decorate cloth with a small plant pattern用小小的植物圖案裝飾布料, but you will almost never need it不過你幾乎用不到它。The origin這個字的來源 is not fully settled還沒有完全確定：it它 comes to us through Middle English是經由中古英文傳到我們手上, and而 may be related to可能跟 old Low German words for a thin dry twig古低地德文裡指細乾樹枝的字有關, and以及 to English spray in its “small branch” meaning英文裡spray「小樹枝」這個意思也有關。