空間裡沒有人
最靠近核心畫面的一組：說的都是某個地方，裡面沒有人佔著。差別只在那個地方有多大，以及「佔住它」的是一個客人還是一支軍隊。
adjective · B1
If a seat, room, house or other space is unoccupied, nobody is in it and nobody is using it at that time.
空著的（沒人）
核心畫面
Picture a chair with nobody on it. To occupy something is to come in and take up the space and hold it; un- lifts that person straight out again. What is left is a place waiting for someone: the seat is still there, the furniture is still there, only the person is missing. Stretch that empty place in two directions and you have the whole word — shrink it to one chair or grow it to a whole country, and turn the place into a person's time, where nothing has come in to fill the hours either.
可以想成一張沒有人坐的椅子。occupy 是有人走進來，把這個位置佔住、用起來；前面加上 un-，就等於把那個人直接…更多收起
可以想成一張沒有人坐的椅子。occupy 是有人走進來，把這個位置佔住、用起來；前面加上 un-，就等於把那個人直接抬走。留下來的畫面是一個等著誰來的位置：椅子還在，家具也還在，少的只有人。這個「沒有人佔住」的畫面可以往兩個方向拉。往大處拉，一張椅子變成一整座城市，走進來佔住它的就不是客人而是軍隊。往內裡拉，位置變成一個人的時間和雙手，沒有事情走進來把它填滿，那個人就閒著。From the word’s history
Middle English unoccupied, formed from un- plus occupied.
中古英語就有 unoccupied 這個形式，結構是 un-（沒有）加 occupied（被佔用的）。這條線索跟今天的用法完全對得上：先有「被佔住」的畫面，再用 un- 把它取消掉。
Wiktionary entry for unoccupied (kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1292894926:18796): From Middle English unoccupied; equivalent to un- + occupied.
Two branches
人沒有被事情佔住
同一個「沒被佔住」的畫面，從空間搬到一個人身上。要被佔住的不再是座位，而是他的時間和雙手。
adjective · B2
If a person is unoccupied, they have nothing to do at that moment, because no work, task or activity is filling their time or their hands.
閒著的／沒事做的