喜樂美語

Picture something turned the wrong way round: a key that will not go in smoothly, an arm bending at the angle it doesn't like, a sentence that trips your tongue. Nothing is broken — it just doesn't run smoothly, and you can feel the friction. English uses that same feeling for bodies, objects, times, and moments between people.

可以想成：一樣東西被轉到不對的方向——鑰匙插不順、手臂彎到一個它不喜歡的角度、一句話講出來卡卡的。沒有壞掉，就是不順，而且那個「卡」你感覺得到。英文把這個感覺同時用在身體、物品、時間，還有兩個人之間的空氣上：都是「不對勁、走不順」的同一種摩擦感。

From the word’s history

From the old root awk (from Old Norse afugr 'turned backwards, wrong, contrary'). As an adjective from the 1510s it meant 'turned the wrong way'; 'clumsy, wanting ease and grace in movement' is recorded from the 1520s, and the social sense 'embarrassed, ill-at-ease' only from 1713 — so the physical picture came first and the feeling grew out of it.

字根是古字 awk，來自古北歐語 afugr「轉錯方向、反的、相反的」。1510 年代當形容詞時意思是「轉錯邊」，1520 年代開始指「動作笨拙、不流暢」，而「尷尬、不自在」這個社交意思要到 1713 年才出現。所以順序是先有身體上的卡，才有心裡的卡——今天最常用的「尷尬」其實是最晚長出來的一支。

Etymonline, 'awkward' — https://www.etymonline.com/word/awkward

登入就可以看每一支怎麼連回核心畫面。

同家族的字

原始詞典資料5 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，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。

awkwardadj/ˈɔːk.wəd/

  • 1

    Lacking dexterity in the use of the hands, or of instruments.

    • John was awkward at performing the trick. He'll have to practice to improve.
  • 2

    Not easily managed or effected; embarrassing.

    • That was an extremely awkward moment. Everyone was watching.
    • An awkward silence had fallen.
  • 3

    Lacking social skills, or uncomfortable with social interaction.

    • I'm very awkward at parties.
    • Things got awkward when my boss tried a cheesy pick-up line on me.
  • 4

    Perverse; adverse; difficult to handle.

    • He's a right awkward chap.
    • These cabinets are going to be very awkward when we move.

awkwardnoun/ˈɔːk.wəd/

  • 1

    Someone or something that is awkward.

    • Another important branch of deportment was to seat the awkwards stiffly on the extreme edge of a chair, fold the hands on the very precarious lap, droop the eyes in a pensive way.
    • 'What periods are you talking about?' / 'The monthly awkwards. Didn't the girls at Molyneux have them when you were managing director?' / The Rabbit leaned forward, sniffing the air in the immediate vicinity. 'Either you've been drinking or you've got some girl into trouble. Or am I being unfair to you and it's both?'

摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。