喜樂美語

You can think of 'decent' as a line of 'good enough to be acceptable'. Something or someone reaches the line that ordinary, reasonable people would expect — not , not below standard, just properly up to the mark. The same line works for quality (a decent meal), for behaviour (a decent person), and even for being properly dressed.

可以把 decent 想成一條「過得去、上得了檯面」的標準線。不管是東西、行為、還是一個人，只要達到一般、講道理的人會期待的那條線，就算 decent——不是頂尖、也不是不及格，就是「夠格、不失禮、說得過去」。同一條線可以用在品質（一頓不錯的飯）、為人（一個正派的人），甚至用在「衣服穿得體面」上。

From the word’s history

From Latin 'decēns / decēre', meaning 'to be fitting, to be proper'. The modern core — reaching the standard that is fitting and proper — sits right on this root.

來自拉丁文 decēns / decēre，意思是「合宜、得體、符合分寸」。現代 decent 的核心——達到「該有的、合宜的」那條標準線——正好就站在這個字根上：本來就是在講「合不合分寸」。

Online Etymology Dictionary, 'decent' (← Latin decēns, decēre 'to be fitting')

同家族的字

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。

decentadj詞源 1/ˈdiː.sənt/

  • 1

    Appropriate; suitable for the circumstances.

  • 2

    Having a suitable conformity to basic moral standards; showing integrity, fairness, or other characteristics associated with moral uprightness.

    • Zohran Mamdani is a decent man for not accepting the pay rise he’s entitled to, as he wishes to see that money go to the poor of New York.
  • 3

    informalSufficiently clothed or dressed to be seen.

    • Are you decent? May I come in?
  • 4

    Fair; acceptable; okay.

    • He's a decent saxophonist, but probably not good enough to make a career of it.
    • A canister of flour from the kitchen had been thrown at the looking-glass and lay like trampled snow over the remains of a decent blue suit with the lining ripped out which lay on top of the ruin of a plastic wardrobe.
  • 5

    Significant; substantial.

    • There are a decent number of references out there, if you can find them.
  • 6

    Conforming to perceived standards of good taste.

    • I had a cup of tea - the last decent cup of tea for many days; and in a room that most soothingly looked just as you would expect a lady’s drawing-room to look, we had a long quiet chat by the fireside.
  • 7

    obsoleteComely; shapely; well-formed.

    • And ſable ſtole of Cipres Lawn, Over thy decent ſhoulders drawn.

這個拼法也被記錄為下列字的變化形：

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。