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Brave — but with an old, noble flavour, and usually about someone facing something very hard or dangerous. It sounds like knights, soldiers and old stories, so in modern everyday speech people say brave instead.
Brave勇敢 — but with an old, noble flavour但帶著古典、高貴的味道 and usually about someone facing something very hard or dangerous通常是在講某人面對非常困難或危險的處境 It sounds like knights, soldiers and old stories它聽起來像騎士、軍人和古老的故事 so in modern everyday speech people say brave instead所以現代日常口語裡大家會改說brave
Where valiant really lives now is in one very common pattern: a valiant effort, a valiant attempt, a valiant fight. And there is something worth noticing there — when people say 'a valiant effort', they very often mean the person tried hard and but did not succeed. 'They made a valiant attempt to save the building' usually means the building burned down. That shade of gentle, respectful failure is not in the dictionary line, but native speakers hear it.
Where valiant really livesvaliant現在真正還活著的地方 is in one very common pattern是在一個很常見的句型裡 a valiant effort, a valiant attempt, a valiant fight像a valiant effort（英勇的努力）、a valiant attempt（英勇的嘗試）、a valiant fight（英勇的奮戰） And there is something worth noticing there這裡有一件值得注意的事 when people say 'a valiant effort'當有人說'a valiant effort' they very often mean the person tried hard and admirably but did not succeed他們很常是在說這個人努力得令人敬佩，但最後沒有成功 'They made a valiant attempt to save the building''They made a valiant attempt to save the building'（他們英勇地嘗試搶救那棟建築） usually means the building burned down通常意思是那棟建築最後還是燒掉了 That shade of gentle, respectful failure那種帶著溫和敬意的「雖敗猶榮」語感 is not in the dictionary line不會寫在字典的定義裡 but native speakers hear it但母語者聽得出來
Used about a person directly — 'a valiant soldier', 'her valiant struggle with illness' — it is warm and full of respect, and it is common in news writing about serious illness or disaster. It has a related noun, , and an adverb, valiantly, which is even more common than the adjective: 'she fought valiantly'.
Used about a person directly直接用在一個人身上時 — 'a valiant soldier', 'her valiant struggle with illness' —像'a valiant soldier'（英勇的士兵）、'her valiant struggle with illness'（她與病魔英勇搏鬥） it is warm and full of respect語氣是溫暖又充滿敬意的 and it is common in news writing about serious illness or disaster在講重病或災難的新聞報導裡很常見 It has a related noun, valour它有一個相關的名詞valour（英勇） and an adverb, valiantly還有一個副詞valiantly which is even more common than the adjective而這個副詞其實比形容詞更常見 'she fought valiantly'像'she fought valiantly'（她英勇奮戰）
組成From Old French vaillant, the -ing form of valoir 'to be worth, to have value', from Latin valēre 'to be strong, to be worth'. So the old idea inside it is not fearlessness but strength and worth — a person who is worth something when it matters.
原始詞典資料3 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。
valiantadj/ˈvæliənt/
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Possessing or showing courage or determination; brave, heroic.
- A valiant man’s look is more than a coward’s sword.
- For by readyng of hiſtories fyrſte we know how longe time mightie empyres, great kyngedomes, famous common weales and citees haue floriſhed: how many yeres noble prynces, valiant capitaynes, and wyſe gouernours haue reigned: in what age they were, which was before other, and how farre diſtante in tyme one from an other.
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Characterized by or done with bravery or valour.
- another valiant attempt at rescue
- She is a theame of honour and renowne, / A ſpurre to valiant and magnanimous deeds, / Whoſe preſent courage may beate downe our foes, / And fame in time to come canonize us, [...]
valiantnoun/ˈvæliənt/
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obsoleteA person who acts with valour, showing hero-like characteristics in the midst of danger.
- Cowards dye many times before their deaths, / The valiant neuer taſte of death but once: [...]
- O yee Angells, yee Champions and valiants of the court of heauen, and ſtout ſoldiers of Chriſt your King, who euerie one ſingle is able to encounter and to defeat the greateſt armie that euer was ſeene on earth, where are you?
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。