英語講義【8】英語多義詞
隨著科技的突飛猛進以及電腦資訊的普及，科學術語、電腦詞匯與日俱增；即使同一個字，有時意思在增加，用途也在擴大。工業或行政上的 input 和 output 和電腦上的意思，哪會完全相同？小孩時期看到在地上跑的 mouse 和現在出現在電腦旁的 mouse，形狀相似，但意思也一樣嗎？
不說特殊用語，就是天天見面的常用字，不管是名詞、形容詞、動詞或副詞，十九都是多義詞，甚至是多種詞類的，既可當名詞、動詞，又可當形容詞，甚至副詞。
關于這點，《英語詞匯：意思和用法》一文中已舉例說明，大家應該記憶猶新，不再重復。
由于一詞多義在英語詞匯的運用上非常重要，這里不厭其煩地再舉一個家喻戶曉的常用字 break，以加強我對這點的重視。
作為動詞，break 有下列 12 個常用意思：
① 打破、斷，如：（a） If you drop the cup, you will break it. （b） The rope suddenly broke.
② 違反、違約，如：（a） Dont break the law. （b） Tom is notorious for breaking promises.
③ 傷、毀，如：（a） Tony broke Janes heart by not marrying her. （b） Judy dropped her watch and broke it.
④ 中斷、打斷，如：（a） The barking of the dog broke our sleep. （b） The stranger rushed in and broke our conversation.
⑤ 破曉，如：They arrived at the airport just as the day was breaking.
⑥ 放棄，如：It is hard to break the habit of smoking.
⑦ 開路，如：We sometimes saw voluntary workers help break paths in villages.
⑧ 毫無得失，如：He bought the sewing machine at $700 and sold it at the same price. He broke even on the deal.
⑨ 闖入，如：A thief broke into my neigbours house and ran away with some valuables.
⑩ 爆發，如：If a new world war breaks out, can you imagine the consequences?
11. 突破，如：The soldiers tried to break through the enemys line.
12. 停止，如：The meeting suddenly broke up.
當名詞時，break 有 5 個常見義，如下：
① 裂口：Please send for a plumber to repair the break in the water pipe.
② 拂曉：Fish mongers start work at the break of the day.
③ 吃茶點時間：A few of us have a tea-break at 11am every day.
④ 休息：There is one-hour break for lunch.
⑤ 變動：The bankrupt man has a break in his way of living.
隨著科技的突飛猛進以及電腦資訊的普及，科學術語、電腦詞匯與日俱增；即使同一個字，有時意思在增加，用途也在擴大。工業或行政上的 input 和 output 和電腦上的意思，哪會完全相同？小孩時期看到在地上跑的 mouse 和現在出現在電腦旁的 mouse，形狀相似，但意思也一樣嗎？
不說特殊用語，就是天天見面的常用字，不管是名詞、形容詞、動詞或副詞，十九都是多義詞，甚至是多種詞類的，既可當名詞、動詞，又可當形容詞，甚至副詞。
關于這點，《英語詞匯：意思和用法》一文中已舉例說明，大家應該記憶猶新，不再重復。
由于一詞多義在英語詞匯的運用上非常重要，這里不厭其煩地再舉一個家喻戶曉的常用字 break，以加強我對這點的重視。
作為動詞，break 有下列 12 個常用意思：
① 打破、斷，如：（a） If you drop the cup, you will break it. （b） The rope suddenly broke.
② 違反、違約，如：（a） Dont break the law. （b） Tom is notorious for breaking promises.
③ 傷、毀，如：（a） Tony broke Janes heart by not marrying her. （b） Judy dropped her watch and broke it.
④ 中斷、打斷，如：（a） The barking of the dog broke our sleep. （b） The stranger rushed in and broke our conversation.
⑤ 破曉，如：They arrived at the airport just as the day was breaking.
⑥ 放棄，如：It is hard to break the habit of smoking.
⑦ 開路，如：We sometimes saw voluntary workers help break paths in villages.
⑧ 毫無得失，如：He bought the sewing machine at $700 and sold it at the same price. He broke even on the deal.
⑨ 闖入，如：A thief broke into my neigbours house and ran away with some valuables.
⑩ 爆發，如：If a new world war breaks out, can you imagine the consequences?
11. 突破，如：The soldiers tried to break through the enemys line.
12. 停止，如：The meeting suddenly broke up.
當名詞時，break 有 5 個常見義，如下：
① 裂口：Please send for a plumber to repair the break in the water pipe.
② 拂曉：Fish mongers start work at the break of the day.
③ 吃茶點時間：A few of us have a tea-break at 11am every day.
④ 休息：There is one-hour break for lunch.
⑤ 變動：The bankrupt man has a break in his way of living.
