One way to hold this word: you put a layer in between, and something can no longer cross. Warmth cannot leave the room, cold cannot reach the pipe, electricity cannot jump off the wire, noise cannot get through the wall. The thing outside has not gone away. It simply cannot get in.
From the word’s history
From Latin insula, meaning island (or Late Latin insulatus, made into an island), the same root that gives isolate. To insulate something is, in the picture the word came from, to turn it into a small island with a gap all around it.
字根是拉丁文 insula（島），或晚期拉丁文 insulatus（被弄成島），跟 isolate 是同一個來源長出來的兩個字。所以 insulate 原本的畫面，就是把一樣東西變成一座小島，四周留出空隙，外面的東西過不來。這條線索直接對上今天的用法：不管包的是水管還是保護的是一個人，做的都是同一件事——在中間留一層，擋住通過。
Wiktionary, entry 'insulate' (verb), packet source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:822697335
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原始詞典資料3 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。
insulateverb/ˈɪnsjʊleɪt/
- 1
To separate, detach, or isolate.
- 2
To separate a body or material from others, e.g. by non-conductors to prevent the transfer of electricity, heat, etc.
- Ceramic can be used to insulate power lines.
insulateadj/ˈɪnsjʊleɪt/
- 1
Of pollen or spores, with superficial ornamentation grouped in circular or polygonal areas separated by grooves.
- Among nonwinged grains, the sexine is rugulate, insulate, or microverrucate.
- Pollen insulate when the elements are grouped in circular or polygonal areas separated by grooves.
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。