喜樂美語

Picture the working-out itself, held still and given a name: the numbers on the page, the steps in between, the answer at the bottom. Calculation is what you get when the act of working something out is treated as a thing you can point at, do, check or make a mistake in. Move that same working-out into someone's head, with no numbers in sight, and the word still fits.

可以想成把「算」這個動作定格下來、給它一個名字：紙上的數字、中間的步驟、底下那個答案。calculation 就是把「推算」當成一件可以指著看、可以做、可以檢查、也可以出錯的事情。把同樣這段推算搬進一個人的腦袋裡，畫面上一個數字都沒有，這個字照樣用得上——只是這時候被算的不是金額，是後果。

From the word’s history

Recorded in English from the late 14th century as calculacioun, 'the art, manner, or practice of computing by numbers', and also 'the process of making a horoscope'. From Late Latin calculationem, from calculare 'to reckon, compute', from Latin calculus 'pebble used in counting', a small form of calx 'limestone' (the same family as chalk). By the early 15th century it also meant 'the result of reckoning, the solution to a problem'.

英文最早在 14 世紀末寫成 calculacioun，指「用數字推算的技藝與做法」，同時也指「排命盤這件事」。它來自晚期拉丁文 calculationem，源頭是 calculus——「拿來計數的小石子」，是 calx（石灰石，跟 chalk 粉筆同一家）的小稱。到 15 世紀初，它又多了「算出來的結果、問題的解」這一層。值得注意的是，「算命盤」這個用法從一開始就在：拿已知的條件去推還沒發生的事，那條「盤算未來」的線，比我們想像中更早就長在這個字裡了。

Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), entry 'calculation (n.)'

登入就可以看每一支怎麼連回核心畫面。

容易混在一起的字在訂閱裡。容易混在一起的字需要訂閱帳號。

同家族的字

複數 calculations

意思相反

spontaneityimpulsivenessrashness

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。

calculationnoun/ˌkælkjuˈleɪʃn̩/

  • 1

    mathematicssciencesThe act or process of calculating.

  • 2

    mathematicssciencesThe result of calculating.

    • As a check on these calculations we note that the total probability for 0, 1, 2, or 3 successes must be one since there are no other possibilities.
    • Some of the most beautiful and thus appealing physical theories, including quantum electrodynamics and quantum gravity, have been dogged for decades by infinities that erupt when theorists try to prod their calculations into new domains. Getting rid of these nagging infinities has probably occupied far more effort than was spent in originating the theories.
  • 3

    Reckoning, estimate.

    • By my calculation, we should be there by midnight.
  • 4

    An expectation based on circumstances.

  • 5

    board-gameschessgamesThe act or process of imagining sequences of potential moves and responses without actually moving the pieces.

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。