meteor

meta( beyond )-aoros( lifted, hovering in air )

n. 流星

 

字源:Gk. meteoros = meta + aoros,原指 celestial phenomena

 

 

 

meteoric

meteor-ic

adj.流星的 [of, pertaining to, or consisting of meteors.]

ex. meteoric shower

adj.流星似的;曇花一現的 [resembling a meteor in transient brilliance, suddenness of appearance, swiftness, etc. .]

ex. his meteoric rise in politics

 

meteoric:constancy

 

 

 

 

meteorology

meteor-ology

n. 氣象學 [the science dealing with the atmosphere and its phenomena, including weather and climate.]

 

字構:雖然在後來meteor指的是流星,但在希臘時期,meteor的意思是天體的現象,所以meteorology的意思是研究氣象的意思。

 

 

 

 

metrical

meter-ical

adj.韻律的 [Of, relating to, or composed in poetic meter: metrical verse; five metrical units in a line. ]

 

The meter usually depends on acoustic properties of the spoken words, such as the length or stress of their syllables, independently of their meaning. The sound attributes that determine the meter may vary from language to language, and sometimes between poetic traditions.

在西方人的觀念中,詩(verses)的meter是指:字讀出來的聲音,像是 有幾個音節、重音在哪裡、字的長度 。中文的話,可以翻作韻律。

在wiki上有個例子是這樣的,

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

 

scan(v. 符合格律):metrical

 

 

 

 

methodical

method-ical

adj.有條理的;秩序井然的 [performed, or acting in a systematic way]

ex.The police made a methodical search of the house.
警察仔細地搜查了房子。

adj.講究方法的 [painstaking, esp. slow and careful; deliberate.]

 

 

 

 

meticulous

adj.過分精細的 [taking or showing extreme care about minute details]

ex. It was a vast, meticulous, costly, outrageous trick.

 

音:馬匹Q樂死。 你對馬太好了(showing extreme care),馬匹Q樂死。

字源:meticulous這個字的源頭跟fear有關,你可以想像古代人要上奏給皇帝時,都一定要小心翼翼的,深怕一個不小心就會說錯話,meticulous就是這樣的感覺。

careful:meticulous
細心:十分小心細心

 

 

 

metropolis

metr( meter; mother )-o-polis( city )

n.大都市;首都  [A major city, especially the chief city of a country or region: Chicago, the metropolis of the Midwest. ]

ex. New York is the metropolis of North America.
紐約是北美的大都市。

 

 

metropolitan

meter-o-poli s -an

adj.大都市的  [Of, relating to, or characteristic of a major city]

n.大都市的居民 [A citizen of a metropolis]