【英语学习】【WOTD】emote 释义/词源/示例

emote v. [ih-MOHT]

激动地表达感情

Definition

: to give expression to emotion especially in acting
：表达情感，尤其是通过行动

Did You Know?

Emote is an example of what linguists call back-formation - that is, a word formed by trimming down an existing word (in this case, emotion). As is sometimes the case with back-formation, emote has since its coinage in the early 20th century tended toward use that is less than entirely serious. It frequently appears in humorous or deprecating descriptions of the work of actors, and is similarly used to describe theatrical behavior by nonactors. Though a writer sometimes wants us to take someone's "emoting" seriously, a phrase like "expressing emotion" avoids the chance that we will hear some snideness in the writer's words. 

词源/词根演化：emotion (n.) --> emote (v.)  [back-formation]

emote即是语言学家所称的单词逆构法的一个样例 --- 即，这个词来自于对既有单词（即emotion）的剪切变体。emote自从20世纪早期被创造出来时，它的意思倾向于不要用于太严肃的场合。所以emote常常用于对演员作品的幽默地或者嘲笑地描述，类似地，也用于描述非专业演员的夸张表演。尽管作者有时候希望我们能够严肃地对待某人的”emoting“，例如使用expression emotion（抒情）这样的短语可以避免我们错误地感觉作者正对其进行嘲笑。

注：back-formation：【词】逆构法，逆构词；coinage：创造新词，硬币，货币制度，造币；deprecating：声明不赞成，抨击，发对；theatrical：剧场的，夸张的；snideness：嘲笑

Examples

• "It's not always immediately obvious, but sometimes you fall in love with a band for the way the singers emote."
  --- James Reed, The Boston Globe, 24 Jan. 2012
  尽管不是总是那么明显直接，不过有时候人们的确可能会由于歌手们激情的表演而爱上这个乐队。
   
• "Aiming for a higher quality than masks allowed, the makeup artist John Chambers developed a new type of foam rubber and created facial appliances that allowed actors to talk and emote."
  --- Andrew R. Chow, The New York Times, 31 Dec. 2018
  为了达到比面具更好的效果，化妆师John Chamber创造了一种新的泡沫塑胶，设计了新的面部装备，使得演员可以说话和表现面部表情。