1. 1

    An undertaker is a person whose job is to arrange funerals — to collect and prepare the body, supply the coffin, handle the paperwork, and manage the ceremony for the family. The word is standard British English and still widely used and understood, though the trade itself prefers 'funeral director', which sounds more professional and less blunt; in American English 'mortician' and 'funeral director' are the usual terms. All three name roughly the same work.

    An undertaker殯葬業者 is是 a person whose job is to arrange funerals工作是安排喪禮的人 — to collect and prepare the body, supply the coffin, handle the paperwork, and manage the ceremony for the family負責接運和整理遺體、提供棺材、處理文書,並為家屬打理整場儀式. The word is standard British English and still widely used and understood這個字是標準英式英語,現在仍然普遍在用、大家也都懂, though the trade itself prefers 'funeral director', which sounds more professional and less blunt不過業界本身比較愛用聽起來更專業、沒那麼直白的「funeral director」, in American English 'mortician' and 'funeral director' are the usual terms美式英語裡常用的則是「mortician」和「funeral director」. All three name roughly the same work這三個字指的大致是同一種工作

    'Undertaker's' also names the business or the shop: 'we went to the undertaker's on Monday.' The word has a slightly heavy, old-fashioned feeling in English — undertakers turn up in ghost stories and jokes about gloomy people, and 'he has the manner of an undertaker' means someone solemn and dressed in black. There is an old general sense, now mostly dead, of an undertaker as anyone who undertakes a task or a business venture; you meet it only in old books and legal documents.

    'Undertaker's' also names the business or the shop「undertaker's」也可以指殯葬業者的店或公司: 'we went to the undertaker's on Monday.'像是「我們星期一去了殯儀館」. The word has a slightly heavy, old-fashioned feeling in English這個字在英語裡帶點沈重、老派的感覺: undertakers turn up in ghost stories and jokes about gloomy people殯葬業者常出現在鬼故事和拿陰沉的人開的玩笑裡, and 'he has the manner of an undertaker' means someone solemn and dressed in black而「他有殯葬業者的樣子」意思是這人一臉嚴肅、穿一身黑. There is an old general sense, now mostly dead, of an undertaker as anyone who undertakes a task or a business venture還有一個現在幾乎已經消失的舊用法,泛指任何承接某項任務或事業的人, you meet it only in old books and legal documents只會在舊書和法律文件裡遇到

    Because death is a delicate subject, choose your word for your listener: with a grieving family, 'funeral director' is the kinder, more respectful choice.

    Because death is a delicate subject因為死亡是個敏感的話題, choose your word for your listener要看對象選用字: with a grieving family, 'funeral director' is the kinder, more respectful choice面對正在哀傷的家屬,用「funeral director」會是比較溫和、尊重的選擇

    例句逐字對照、搭配詞、易混淆字

    這一義的完整解析還沒打開。訂閱後可以看到例句怎麼拆、常跟哪些字一起出現, 以及容易跟它搞混的字。

    看看訂閱內容

組成undertake (to take on a job, to agree to do something) + -er (the person who does it). So literally 'one who takes on the task' — an old, vague business word that narrowed down to this one particular business.

同家族的字

  • undertakethe verb it is built from — to take on a task
  • undertakingsame verb, meaning a task, or a formal promise
  • caretakersame 'take' + -er shape, someone who takes care of a building

原始詞典資料4 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。

undertakernoun/ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkə(ɹ)/

  • 1

    A funeral director; someone whose business is to manage funerals, burials and cremations.

  • 2

    historicalA person receiving land in Ireland during the Elizabethan era, so named because they gave an undertaking to abide by several conditions regarding marriage, to be loyal to the crown, and to use English as their spoken language.

    • In 1588, Edmund Spenser became an undertaker in the first Elizabethan plantation, receiving the forfeited Irish estate of Kilcolman Castle.
  • 3

    historicalA contractor for the royal revenue in England, one of those who undertook to manage the House of Commons for the king in the Addled Parliament of 1614.

  • 4

    rareOne who undertakes or commits to doing something.

    • A company shall not be appointed to be a water undertaker unless it is a limited company or a statutory water company and shall not be appointed to be a sewerage undertaker unless it is a limited company.
    • The undertaker of the enterprise is usually known today by the French term entrepreneur because we have surrendered the English word to the undertakers of funerals.

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