喜樂美語
  1. 1

    A word or short phrase that a person, a company, or a group repeats as the thing that guides them — the one idea they want everyone to keep in mind. 'Safety is the watchword on this site' means: whatever else you do, think about safety first. It is usually a single word or a very few words, and it usually appears in the pattern 'X is the watchword' or 'the watchword is X'. The feel of it is formal and a bit old-fashioned, common in speeches, editorials, and company statements rather than in daily talk; a friend would say 'the rule here is' or 'the main thing is'. Its history explains the shape: a watchword was originally the secret word you gave to the guard on watch to prove you belonged — a password. That older meaning is gone from everyday English, but it leaves behind the sense of a word that is passed around a group and shared by all of them. Close relatives are 'slogan' (which is for selling and persuading, and can be a whole sentence) and 'motto' (which is fixed and belongs officially to a school or family). A watchword is looser than a motto and more serious than a slogan.

    口號、信條、（做事的）最高原則

    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watch (a period of guard duty, or the guard himself) + word. Originally the word you said to the sentry to be let past — a password — and from there the word a whole group holds in common.

同家族的字

  • passwordthe same original idea — a word that proves you belong
  • watchmansame 'watch' meaning guard duty — the person you said it to
  • keywordsame 'word' pattern — the word that matters most

原始詞典資料2 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。

watchwordnoun/ˈwɒt͡ʃwɜː(ɹ)d/

  • 1

    A word used as a motto, as expressive of a principle, belief, or rule of action; a rallying cry.

    • "How this perpetual gaiety," exclaimed Louis, "jars upon the ear! Good Heaven! is farewell to be said so gladly? I sometimes start when I think upon the hollowness of all that surrounds me. I often wish my eye had the power of searching the inmost depths of the bosoms whose watchword is my name."
    • For-ward! be our watchword, Steps and voices joined; / Seek the things before us, Not a look behind.
  • 2

    governmentmilitarypoliticsA prearranged reply to the challenge of a sentry or a guard; a password or signal by which friends can be known from enemies.

    • a Watchword sufficient for him that is wiſe

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。