核心畫面

Picture a place to sit whose whole point is the window beside it. The chair itself does not matter much; what matters is that when you sit down, the outside is right there. On a plane or a bus the view slides past you. In a room the view stays still and you stay with it. Same two words, and the room you are in tells you which one someone means.

可以想成「一個位子,重點在旁邊那扇窗」。椅子長什麼樣不重要,重要的是坐下去就看得到外面。在飛機或公車上,窗外的景色一更多收起可以想成「一個位子,重點在旁邊那扇窗」。椅子長什麼樣不重要,重要的是坐下去就看得到外面。在飛機或公車上,窗外的景色一直往後跑。在房子裡,景色不動,是你待著不動。兩個意思用的是同樣兩個字,靠場景就分得出來。

From the word’s history

Wiktionary records the compound simply as window + seat.

維基詞典把這個詞記成 window + seat,就是字面上的「窗+座位」,兩個用法都貼著這個字面走。

Wiktionary entry for window seat, etymology_text: From window + seat (packet source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1529660888:4553)

Two branches

移動中的窗邊位

窗戶在旁邊,而且景色會動——這是核心畫面被放進交通工具裡的版本。

noun · A2

A seat next to the window on a plane, bus, train, or other vehicle, so that the person sitting there can look out at what goes past.

靠窗座位

房子裡的窗下長椅

一樣是「窗邊的位子」,只是這次不動的是景色,你可以待上一整個下午。

noun · B2

A seat built into the wall directly under a window inside a building, set back in the space of the window and often covered with a soft cushion.

窗邊座椅