喜樂美語

The of having no one there. Not simply being by yourself — the empty, unhappy feeling that opens up when there is nobody to talk to.

房間裡只有你，而你希望不是這樣。重點不在「一個人」這個事實，而在那個空下來的、不好受的感覺——想講話卻沒有人可以講，想被理解卻沒有人在。alone 只是描述人數，loneliness 描述的是那個人數在心裡留下的痛。這個字的四種用法，都是同一種空，只是分別附在人身上、時間上、社會上、和地方上。

From the word’s history

loneliness = lonely + -ness; lonely itself is lone + -ly, and lone is a worn-down form of alone, which was originally all one — completely by oneself. The suffix -ness turns the quality into the felt state.

這個字是拆得開的：lonely + -ness。再往回，lonely 來自 lone，而 lone 是 alone 磨短的形式；alone 更早其實是 all one 兩個字——「完完全全就一個」。所以字面上這個字說的是「全然是一個人」的那個狀態。有意思的是，-ly 和 -ness 一層層加上去之後，重心就從「幾個人」滑到「什麼感覺」：alone 講事實，lonely 講心情，loneliness 把那個心情變成一個可以談論、可以研究、可以說「我最近有很多 loneliness」的東西。

Wiktionary, "loneliness" (English noun): from lonely + -ness; lonely < lone (aphetic form of alone < all one)

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

意思相近

isolationdesolationemptinesssocial isolationremotenessalonenesssolitude

原始詞典資料4 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。

lonelinessnoun/ˈloʊnlinəs/

  • 1

    A feeling of depression resulting from being alone or from having no companions.

    • The loneliness resulting from the loss of loved ones, lack of purpose in life, and social discrimination is a real inner hell.
    • Cecilia proposed to her the society of Henrietta, which, glad to catch at any thing that would break into her loneliness, she listened to with pleasure […]
  • 2

    The condition or state of being alone or having no companions.

    • Hitherto all things that have bin nam’d, were approv’d of God to be very good: lonelines is the first thing which Gods eye nam’d not good […]
    • 1657, Richard Ligon, A True & Exact History of the Island of Barbados, London: Humphrey Moseley, Dedicatory letter to the Bishop of Salisbury, [I] was designing a piece of Landscape […] wherein I meant to expresse […] the beauties of the Vegetables, that do adorn that place, in the highest perfection I could: But presently after, being cast into Prison, I was deprived both of light and lonelinesse, two main helpers in that Art […]
  • 3

    The state of being unfrequented or devoid of human activity (of a place or time).

    • 1794, Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho, London: G.G. & J. Robinson, Volume 4, Chapter 3, p. 50, […] as she sat at her bed-side, indulging melancholy reveries, which the loneliness of the hour assisted […]
    • In addition, the very loneliness of the road had its charm for him; since only at rare intervals is house seen by its side, and rarer still living creature encountered upon it.
  • 4

    obsoleteA desire to be alone; disposition to solitude.

    • […] I see The mystery of your loneliness, and find Your salt tears’ head: now to all sense ’tis gross You love my son […]

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。