喜樂美語

Standing in the gap that has exactly two things on its two sides — one on this side, one on that side, and you in the middle of the two. Everything else stretches that 'in the space of two' picture into time, ranges, links, and relationships.

可以想成站在一道「兩邊各有一個東西」的縫隙裡：這一側一個、那一側一個，你夾在這兩者中間。核心畫面比較像被兩樣東西左右夾住的那段空間——後面所有用法，都是把這個「兩者之間」的畫面拉到時間、範圍、連結和關係上。

From the word’s history

From Old English 'betweonum' = be- (by) + tweonum 'by twos, two each' (from the root for 'two'). The word literally bakes in 'two': it is the space defined by exactly two sides — which is still the heart of every modern use.

源自古英語 betweonum：be-（by，在……旁）＋ tweonum（成雙、每兩個，來自「二」的字根）。這個字本身就把「二」寫進骨子裡——它指的是「由恰好兩邊所界定的那段空間」。這正是所有現代用法的核心：永遠牽涉到兩者。

Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), 'between'

登入就可以看每一支怎麼連回核心畫面。

意思相近

in the middle offrom...toconnectingversusamidranging fromlinkingcompared withduringanywhere fromagainstin the period of+8

意思相反

outsidebeyond

原始詞典資料8 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。

betweenprep/bɪˈtwiːn/

  • 1

    In the position or interval that separates (two things), or intermediate in quantity or degree. (See Usage notes below.)

    • John stood between Amy and Mary.    Let’s meet between two and three.
    • I want to buy one that costs somewhere between forty and fifty dollars.
  • 2

    Done together or reciprocally.

    • conversation between friends
    • She mixed furniture with the same fatal profligacy as she mixed drinks, and this outrageous contact between things which were intended by Nature to be kept poles apart gave her an inexpressible thrill.
  • 3

    Shared in confidence.

    • Between you and me, I think the boss is crazy.  Let's keep this between ourselves.
  • 4

    In transit from (one to the other, or connecting places).

    • He's between jobs right now.  The shuttle runs between the town and the airport.
    • [If] you don’t want to flip the channels between Biden and Trump, join [the] live chat, [which is covering] both town halls.
  • 5

    Combined (by effort or ownership).

    • Between us all, we shall succeed.  We've only got £5 between us.
    • Between the leaky taps and the peeling wallpaper, there isn't much about this house to appeal to a buyer.
  • 6

    One of (representing a choice).

    • You must choose between him and me.
    • Some colour-blind people can't distinguish between red and green.
  • 7

    Taking together the combined effect of.

    • Between the food and the card games, this proved to be the best birthday party I have ever had.

betweennoun/bɪˈtwiːn/

  • 1

    A kind of needle, shorter than a sharp, with a small rounded eye, used for making fine stitches on heavy fabrics.

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。