lodestone『磁石；天然磁石；吸鐵石』的運用

Word of the Day：April 16， 2021

lodestone

磁石；天然磁石；吸鐵石

noun LOHD-stohn

wd20210416

wd20210416

02：04

未知來源

Definition

1：magnetite possessing polarity

具有極性的磁鐵。

2：something that strongly attracts

有強烈吸引的東西

Examples

“… the city was a lodestone of rock-and-roll and rhythm-and-blues innovation。” — John Beifuss， The Memphis （Tennessee） Commercial Appeal， 2 Nov。 2020

這座城市是搖滾樂和節奏藍調創造的“天然磁場”。

“［Britney］ Spears … became a vessel for our intense emotions， but in the process， she would also become a lodestone for criticism of an entire generation‘s tastes and habits。” — Craig Jenkins， Vulture， 17 Feb。 2021

［Britney］ Spears …成為了我們情感強烈的容器，但在這個過程中，她會成為一整代人品味和喜好評判的“磁場”。

Did You Know?

Lodestone is made up of distinctly English components， ones that have been part of our language since before the 12th century。 Lode comes from the Old English lād， which means “way， journey， course。” The word stone derives from the Old English stān， which had the same meaning as the modern term stone。 When the two ancient words were combined to form lodestone in the early 16th century， the new term referred to magnetite， a magnetic iron ore。 Just as a new business district might be a magnet for entrepreneurs， or a poor soul a magnet for bad luck， lodestone sees similar figurative use describing things with a seeming power to attract。

Lodestone 是由英語組成的，自12世紀前就成為我們語言的一部分。Lode 來自古英語lād，意思是“way， journey， course『道路、旅程、路線』”。stone一詞來源於古英語stān，與現代英語中的stone含義相同。兩個古老的詞早在16世紀初結合成為lodestone，新術語稱為magnetite『磁鐵礦』，a magnetic iron ore『磁性鐵礦』。就像一個新的商業區吸引企業家，或者一個貧窮的靈魂吸引運氣一樣，lodestone 也看到了類似的比喻，這種事物似乎具有吸引人的能力。

Test Your Vocabulary

What “stone” word can refer to a crowning achievement？