laurel
/ˈlɒrəl/ (bre, ipa) · [lˈɔrəl] /ˈlɔːrəl/ (ame, ipa) · [lˈɔrəl] /ˈlȯr-əl ˈlär-/ (ame, mw)
laurel — 名詞
- laurelsingular
- laurelsplural
1. a plant that keeps its leaves in every season and has smooth foliage, dark berri
月桂樹
常綠且葉子有香氣的樹或灌木
a plant that keeps its leaves in every season and has smooth foliage, dark berries, and a strong smell.
The cook crushed a dried laurel leaf into the winter soup.
廚師把一片乾燥的月桂葉壓碎，放進冬天的湯裡。
laurel leaf used in cooking
A laurel bush beside the gate stayed green through the dry summer.
大門旁的一叢月桂樹在乾燥的夏天裡仍然保持翠綠。
Salma planted a young laurel near the wall for shade and scent.
Salma 在牆邊種了一株幼小的月桂樹，想要它的陰影和香氣。
Tiny black berries hung under the laurel outside the old library.
老圖書館外面的那棵月桂樹下垂著細小的黑色果實。
- bay tree
used especially when talking about the culinary plant
- evergreen shrub
broader term that describes the plant type, not this exact species
文法句型
a laurel tree/bush
laurel leaves
用法筆記
This sense names the plant itself. In cooking, people also use 'laurel leaf' for the dried aromatic leaf put into soups or stews.
2. honour or admiration that people give someone after an impressive success or ach
桂冠
因傑出表現而得到的榮耀
honour or admiration that people give someone after an impressive success or achievement.
The young singer won fresh laurels after her first stadium tour.
那位年輕歌手完成第一次體育場巡演後，又贏得了新的桂冠。
win fresh laurels
The film's quiet success earned the director new laurels abroad.
這部電影低調的成功，讓導演在海外再添桂冠。
After the rescue, local papers showered the firefighter with laurels.
救援行動結束後，地方報紙把許多桂冠都給了那位消防員。
Winning the science prize brought Mei laurels across the whole school.
贏得科學獎，讓 Mei 在整個學校都獲得了桂冠。
- acclaim
stresses enthusiastic public praise
- honour
broader and often more formal
- recognition
can be more neutral and less emotional
文法句型
win/earn laurels
bring someone laurels
用法筆記
Mostly appears in formal writing or in reports about success. Unlike sense 3, this sense focuses on the praise people give you, not the past success you may later rely on.
3. the success you have already won, especially when people warn you not to depend
功績
已經贏得的成就與名聲
the success you have already won, especially when people warn you not to depend on it too much or lose it.
After one bestseller, he rested on his laurels and stopped revising.
出了一本暢銷書後，他就躺在自己的功績上，不再認真修改作品。
rest on your laurels
With two faster runners in the final, Tara knew she must look to her laurels.
決賽裡有兩位更快的跑者，所以 Tara 知道自己得守住原有的功績。
The coach warned the team not to live only on last year's laurels.
教練警告全隊，不要只靠去年的功績過日子。
Past laurels will not help the company if its next phone fails.
如果下一款手機失敗了，過去的功績也幫不了這家公司。
- achievements
plain modern word for what someone has already accomplished
- honours
stresses awards and public distinction more strongly
- reputation
can include past success, but it is wider than this idiomatic sense
- obscurity
lack of public success or known achievement
文法句型
rest on your laurels
look to your laurels
用法筆記
Almost always appears as plural 'laurels' in fixed expressions. Distinguish it from sense 2: sense 3 means the success itself, especially when it becomes something you rely on.
常見錯誤
laurel — 動詞
- laurelpresent simple I / you / we / they
- laurels3rd person singular
- laureling-ing form
- laureledpast simple
1. to place a wreath of laurel on someone as a sign that they have won or deserve h
授桂冠
以月桂冠表彰得勝者
to place a wreath of laurel on someone as a sign that they have won or deserve honour.
Priests laureled the winning poet before the crowd entered the square.
群眾走進廣場前，祭司先為得勝的詩人授上桂冠。
laurel + the winning poet
The festival laureled its oldest actor with a wreath of fresh leaves.
那個影展用新鮮葉編成的花冠，為最年長的演員授上桂冠。
In the school play, the guards laureled the hero after the battle.
在學校的戲劇表演裡，衛兵在戰後為英雄授上桂冠。
The city formally laureled the chess champion at the spring parade.
那座城市在春季遊行上，正式為西洋棋冠軍授上桂冠。
- strip
remove ceremonial symbols instead of giving them
文法句型
laurel + winner/person
用法筆記
Rare and literary or historical. In ordinary modern English, people more often say someone was 'crowned' or 'honoured' instead of using this verb.