喜樂美語

核心畫面

For the verb, you can picture a hand on a wheel or a . The engine is not yours to control and the road ahead is already there — the one thing your hand decides is which way this thing points. Steer is never about power or speed; it is about direction, applied by small turns while everything keeps moving. (The 'young bull' noun is a different word that only happens to look the same.)

動詞的 steer 可以想成一隻手放在方向盤或舵柄上：引擎不歸你管，前面的路也已經在那裡了，你這隻手只決定一件事——…更多收起動詞的 steer 可以想成一隻手放在方向盤或舵柄上：引擎不歸你管，前面的路也已經在那裡了，你這隻手只決定一件事——這台東西往哪邊走。steer 講的從來不是力量或速度，而是方向，而且是在東西還在動的時候，靠一點一點的轉動去修。（名詞「小公牛」是另一個來源的字，只是長得一樣。）

From the word’s history

The verb goes back to Old English steoran, from Proto-Germanic *steurjanan, traced to the PIE root *sta- 'to stand, be firm' — the notion is probably the stiff upright post used to steer a boat. The noun 'young bull' is a separate word, Old English steor from PIE *steu-ro- 'larger domestic animal', related to Taurus.

動詞來自古英語 steoran，再往上是原始日耳曼語 *steurjanan，字根 *sta- 是「站著、穩固」的意思——很可能就是船上那根用來控制方向、立得直挺挺的舵柱。所以「一根固定的東西，用它來決定船往哪走」這個畫面，是這個字最早的樣子。名詞的「小公牛」則是完全另一個字（古英語 steor，字根意思是「比較大的家畜」，跟星座名 Taurus 同源）。

Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/steer

Four branches

手握方向：實際控制東西往哪走

核心家族：手真的碰到方向盤、舵，或碰到人的背，直接決定路線。

drive, control a vehicle · verb · B2

To control the direction a car, boat, or other vehicle is going, usually by turning a wheel.

駕駛；掌舵

把人或事情導向某個方向

方向盤變成看不見的：對話、決定、局勢也有「正在往某處走」的感覺，你只是輕輕修它的路線。

guide, direct · verb · B2

To guide someone's behaviour or the way a situation develops, often gently toward or away from something.

引導；導向

掌舵一個組織：帶著大家過難關

公司或團隊被看成一艘船，掌舵的人就是負責人；風浪越大，「誰在掌舵」這件事越明顯。

lead an organization · verb · B2

To be in charge of a team, company, or group and make decisions that help it succeed, especially in a difficult time.

領導；帶領度過

另一條來源：養來吃肉的小公牛

這個名詞跟掌舵沒有關係，是碰巧同形的另一個字，來自一個意思是「比較大的家畜」的古老字根。

young bull · noun · B2

A young male cow that farmers usually raise for meat.

閹牛；肉用小公牛

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。

Steername

  • 1

    A surname.

steerverb詞源 1/stɪə/

  • 1

    To guide the course of a vessel, vehicle, aircraft etc. (by means of a device such as a rudder, paddle, or steering wheel).

    • The boat steered towards the iceberg.
    • I steered homeward.
  • 2

    To guide the course of a vessel, vehicle, aircraft etc. (by means of a device such as a rudder, paddle, or steering wheel).

    • I find it very difficult to steer a skateboard.
    • When planning the boat trip, we had completely forgotten that we needed somebody to steer.
  • 3

    To be directed and governed; to take a direction, or course; to obey the helm.

    • The boat steers easily.
    • Where the wind / Veers oft, as oft [a ship] so steers, and shifts her sail.
  • 4

    To direct a group of animals.

  • 5

    To maneuver or manipulate a person or group into a place or course of action.

    • Hume believes that principles of association steer the imagination of artists.
  • 6

    To conduct oneself; to take or pursue a course of action.

  • 7

    To direct a conversation.

  • 8

    To direct or send an object into a specific place

    • Sterling, who scored the winners against Croatia and the Czech Republic in the group stage, steered in Luke Shaw's cross after 75 minutes to send England's fans, with more than 40,000 inside Wembley, into wild celebrations.

steernoun詞源 1/stɪə/

  • 1

    informalA suggestion about a course of action.

    • I tried to give you the steer, but I guess I didn't get it over. Everybody knew it but you.
  • 2

    obsoleteA helmsman; a pilot.

steernoun詞源 2/stɪə/

  • 1

    The castrated male of cattle, especially one raised for beef production.

    • He counted the cattle over and over. It diverted him to speculate as to how much weight each of the steers would probably put on by spring.

steerverb詞源 2/stɪə/

  • 1

    To castrate (a male calf).

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。