喜樂美語

A meets two things under this word — a king and a piece of plastic in a pencil case — and they look . One way to hold them together: a ruler is whatever keeps things straight. A person who rules keeps a country in line; the flat strip in your bag keeps a line straight on paper. Both are the thing that sets the line others follow.

這個字底下擺著兩樣看起來毫不相干的東西：一個國王，和鉛筆盒裡那條塑膠片。可以想成，ruler 是「把東西弄直、定住線的那一方」——統治者把一個國家管得照著他的線走，直尺則讓紙上的線走直。兩邊都是那個訂出線、別人照著走的東西。

From the word’s history

Both senses go back to Latin regula "straight stick, bar, ruler," figuratively "a pattern, a model," related to regere "to rule, straighten, guide." English rule kept both branches: the governing sense from c. 1200, and "strip with a straight edge used for making straight lines or measuring" from the mid-14th century. So the king and the plastic strip are not a coincidence — the straight stick is the older picture, and governing was the figurative use built on it.

兩個意思都回到拉丁文 regula「直的棍子、橫桿、量尺」，引申為「範式、樣板」，和 regere「統治、弄直、引導」同源。英文的 rule 兩條線都留著：管理統治的意思約在 1200 年前後，「一條有直邊、用來畫直線或量長度的條狀物」則出現在 14 世紀中葉。所以國王和那條塑膠尺不是巧合——直棍是比較老的畫面，統治是架在它上面的比喻用法。

Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), entries for "rule" and "ruler"

登入就可以看每一支怎麼連回核心畫面。

同家族的字

複數 rulers

意思相近

leaderstraightedgemonarchrulesovereignhead of stateemperor

意思相反

subject

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。

rulernoun/ˈɹuːlə/

  • 1

    A (usually rigid), flat, rectangular measuring or drawing device with graduations in units of measurement; a straightedge with markings.

    • Take this ruler. […] I want you to measure the glass of the lamp.
  • 2

    A person who rules or governs; someone or something that exercises dominion or controlling power over others.

    • The carcharhinids are unquestionably the rulers of the seas, because of their abundance, their strength and speed, and their unchallenged position as the number one predators in the marine ecosystem.
    • LIKE THE MANDARINS of old, the rulers of China live behind high walls. When they emerge, which they rarely do, they travel in cars with rear windows curtained like sedan chairs. They live in the Chung Nan Hai, a walled park adjacent to the Forbidden City from where ancient dynasties ruled the Celestial Empire.

rulerverb/ˈɹuːlə/

  • 1

    To beat with a ruler (as a traditional school punishment).

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。