Think of a set of scales with two pans sitting level, and a hand pressing down on one of them. Nothing is broken. One side has simply been given more weight, so the whole thing can no longer hold itself up. That is unbalance: a knock, a push, or an extra load moves the weight to one side, and steadiness goes. The same picture is then used for things you cannot touch, like a friendship, a report, or a person's mind.
From the word’s history
Wiktionary records unbalance as un- plus balance, and traces balance back through Old French to Latin bilanx, a scale with two pans. The idea of two sides that must weigh the same is inside the word from the start, and un- simply undoes it.
Wiktionary 記載 unbalance 是 un-(相反)加 balance,而 balance 可以經由古法文一路追到拉丁文 bilanx,也就是「有兩個秤盤的天平」。「兩邊要一樣重」這個畫面本來就在字裡面,un- 做的事就是把它推掉。
Wiktionary etymology tree supplied in packet (kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1536770802:7695): un- + balance; balance < Old French balance < Vulgar Latin *bilancia < Latin bilanx
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原始詞典資料1 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。
unbalanceverb/ʌnˈbæləns/
- 1
To cause to be out of balance.
- If you put that weight on the edge of the tray, it will unbalance it and dump all of the dishes on the floor.
- Or, finally, might our awful situation prey upon and unbalance our minds? A group of insane folk upon a dead world!
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。