constellation

參見：constellâtion

英語

外語每日一詞 – 2026年1月9日

詞源

原始印歐語詞
*ḱóm

星座獵戶座的照片（左），附有希臘神話中該星座所代表的獵人俄里翁的插圖。

繼承自中古英語 constellacioun、constillacioun (“(占星術) 月亮或行星相對於黃道上升星座的位置；星盤；(天文學) 恆星的形成，星座；(天文學) 太陽的高度或位置”) [以及其他形式]，^[1] 借自古法語 constellation（現代法語 constellation），或直接借自其詞源晚期拉丁語 cōnstēllātiōnem，^[2] cōnstēllātiō (“被認為對人類事務產生影響的星群，星座”)的賓格單數，源自拉丁語 con- (前綴表示將多個物體聚集在一起) + stēlla (“恆星；流星；行星”)（最終源自原始印歐語 *h₂stḗr (“恆星”)） + -ātiō (構成名詞的後綴)。

發音

英語發音：kŏnstəlā'shn'、國際音標^(幫助): /ˌkɒn.stəˈleɪ.ʃən/、[ˌkɒn.stəˈleɪ.ʃn̩]
音頻 (南英格蘭)： (檔案)
英語發音：kän'stəlā'shən、國際音標^(幫助): /ˌkɑn.stəˈleɪ.ʃən/、[ˌkɑn.stəˈleɪ.ʃn̩]
韻部：-eɪʃən
斷字：con‧stel‧la‧tion

名詞

constellation (複數 constellations)

(天文學) 星群，星座（被視為一個圖形（尤指神話中的人物）或圖案的任意組成的恆星群，或者是包含這些恆星的天空區域，特別是被天文學家正式認可的區域）
- 1611，The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version)，London： […] Robert Barker, […]，→OCLC，Isaiah 13:9–10，第 2 列：
  Behold, the day of the Lord commeth, cruell both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land deſolate; and he ſhall deſtroy the ſinners thereof out of it. For the ſtarres of heauen, and the conſtellations thereof ſhall not giue their light: the ſunne ſhalbe darkened in his going forth, and the moone ſhall not cauſe her light to ſhine.
  耶和華的日子臨到，必有殘忍、忿恨、烈怒，使這地荒涼，從其中除滅罪人。天上的眾星群宿都不發光，日頭一出就變黑暗；月亮也不放光。（和合本）
- a. 1631 (date written)，J[ohn] Donne，“An Epithalamion, or Mariage Song on the Lady Elizabeth, and Count Palatine being Married on St. Valentines Day”，Poems, […] with Elegies on the Authors Death，London： […] M[iles] F[lesher] for Iohn Marriot, […]，出版於 1633，→OCLC，stanza III，第 119 頁：
  Up, up, faire Bride, and call, / Thy ſtarres，from out their ſeverall boxes, take / Thy Rubies, Pearles, and Diamonds forth, and make / Thy ſelfe a conſtellation, of them All.
  起身，起身，美麗的新娘，呼喚 / 妳的群星，離開她們各自的盒子，拿出 / 妳的紅寶石、珍珠和鑽石，讓 / 妳自己成為一個星座，由她們全部組成。
  比喻用法。
- 1675，en:Marcus Manilius，譯者 en:Edward Sherburne，The Sphere of Marcus Manilius Made an English Poem: […]，London： […] Nathanael Brooke, […]，→OCLC，第 25 頁：
  Next the cold Bears, (the Cauſe t' himſelf beſt knovvn) / Shines forth a kneeling Conſtellation. / Behind vvhoſe Back Arctophylax appears, / The ſame Boötes call'd, becauſe yoak'd Steers / He ſeeming drives; vvho through the rapid Skies / (Bearing Arcturus in his Boſome) hies.
  接下來是寒冷的大熊座，（原因只有他自己最清楚）/ 閃耀著一個跪著的星座。/ 在其背後出現了「大角星的守護者」（牧夫座），/ 也被稱為「趕牛人」，因為他似乎 / 趕著負軛的公牛；他穿過湍急的天空 /（懷裡抱著大角星）疾馳。
- 1824，“Illustrations of the Tenth Plate. Taurus.—Orion.—Gemini.—Canis Minor.—Harpa Georgii.”，Astronomical Recreations; or Sketches of the Relative Position and Mythological History of the Constellations，Philadelphia, Pa.：Anthony Finley, […]，→OCLC，第 73 頁：
  Harpa Georgii, or the Harp of George, is a new constellation introduced on the maps by one of the German astronomers, in honour of the late king of England, George III。
  Harpa Georgii，或喬治國王豎琴座，是一位德國天文學家在地圖上引入的新星座，以紀念已故的英國國王喬治三世。
- 1837 August 31，Ralph Waldo Emerson，“The American Scholar. An Oration Delivered before the Phi Beta Kappa Society, at Cambridge, August 31, 1837.”，Nature, Addresses, and Lectures (Emerson’s Complete Works; I)，第Riverside版，London：The Waverley Book Company，出版於 1883，→OCLC，第 84 頁：
  Who can doubt that poetry will revive and lead in a new age, as the star in the constellation Harp, which now flames in our zenith, astronomers announce, shall one day be the pole-star for a thousand years?
  誰能懷疑詩歌將會復興並引領一個新時代，就像天文學家宣佈現在在我們天頂燃燒的豎琴座中的那顆星，總有一天會成為一千年內的北極星一樣？
- 2005年6月9日，Francis Reddy，“Spitzer Finds Supernova’s Echo”，Astronomy‎^[1]，Waukesha, Wis.：Kalmbach Publishing Company，→ISSN，→OCLC，原文存檔於2023-04-06，image caption：
  Located 11,000 light-years away in the northern constellation Cassiopeia, Cas A is the remnant of a once massive star that died in a violent explosion 325 years ago.
  Cas A 位於距離北方星座仙后座 11,000 光年處，是 325 年前一次猛烈爆炸中死亡的一顆曾經巨大的恆星的殘骸。
- 2019年2月21日，Rick Barrett，“Dairy farmers are in crisis—and it could change Wisconsin forever”，USA Today‎^[2]，McLean, Va.：Gannett Co.，→ISSN，→OCLC，原文存檔於2023-04-10：
  There was a time when the soft glow of barn lights dotted Wisconsin’s rural landscape like stars in a constellation, connecting families who labored into the night milking cows, feeding calves and finishing chores.
  曾幾何時，穀倉燈柔和的光芒像星座中的星星一樣點綴著威斯康辛州的鄉村景觀，將那些勞作到深夜擠奶、餵養小牛和完成雜務的家庭聯繫在一起。
1. (現代天文學) 國際天文學聯合會正式認可的88個天空區域之一，包含該區域內的所有恆星和天體。（自20世紀20年代起）
(比喻義) 相關事物的組合或分組
- 2010，Jason B. Ohler，“Becoming Digital: The Road to Digital Citizenship”，Digital Community, Digital Citizen，Thousand Oaks, Calif.; London：Corwin, SAGE，→ISBN，part I (The Call to Digital Citizenship)，第 15 頁：
  [T]he program AppleWorks for the Apple IIe was released circa 1984. It combined a spreadsheet, database, and word processing program into one easy-to-use, low-cost integrated software package. This software constellation persists today as Microsoft Office, the most popular software tool set in history.
  […] 適用於 Apple IIe 的程式 AppleWorks 於 1984 年左右發佈。它將電子表格、數據庫和文字處理程式結合到一個易於使用、低成本的集成軟體包中。這個軟體組合延續至今，即 Microsoft Office，歷史上最受歡迎的軟體工具組。
1. 薈萃（廣泛且看似無限的彙集）
  a constellation of possibilities
  無限的可能性
  - 1665，Robert Boyle，“Occasional Reflections. Reflection VIII. Upon a Child that Cri’d for the Stars。”，Occasional Reflections upon Several Subiects. Whereto is Premis’d a Discourse about Such Kind of Thoughts，London： […] W. Wilson for Henry Herringman, […]，→OCLC，section V，第 172–173 頁：
    Theſe amorous Perſons may be, I grant, very much delighted vvhen they first gaze upon a Conſtellation of fair Ladies, but the Heart commonly pays dear for the Pleaſure of the Eye, […]
    我承認，這些多情的人第一次注視著一群美女時可能會非常高興，但為了眼睛的愉悅，心靈通常要付出高昂的代價 […]
  - 2006September，Edwin Black，“Power Struggle”，Internal Combustion: How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives，New York, N.Y.：St. Martin’s Press，→ISBN，第 17 頁：
    Throughout the 1500s, the populace roiled over a constellation of grievances of which the forest emerged as a key focal point. The popular late Middle Ages fictional character Robin Hood, dressed in green to symbolize the forest, dodged fines for forest offenses and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But his appeal was painfully real and embodied the struggle over wood.
    在整個 16 世紀，民眾對一連串的冤屈感到憤怒，其中森林成為了一個關鍵的焦點。中世紀晚期受歡迎的虛構人物羅賓漢身穿綠色衣服象徵森林，他躲避森林犯罪的罰款，劫富濟貧。但他的吸引力是痛苦而真實的，體現了對木材的爭奪。
2. (比喻義) 痕跡或物品的陣列
  He had a constellation of bruises on his side.
  腰側有一連串的瘀青。
  
  A constellation of blood had sprayed onto the wall.
  一片血跡噴濺在牆上。
3. (精神分析學) complex (“情結，即由被壓抑的情緒引起的觀念集合，會導致異常的心理狀態”)之同義詞
4. (性慾) 處於多重伴侶關係中的人之間的連結網絡，例如一個人、其伴侶以及該伴侶的伴侶之間的關係
5. (太空科學) 衛星群（用於同一目的的一組衛星）
  The Iridium satellite constellation provides data and voice information coverage to satellite phones and other communication devices over the entire surface of Earth.
  銥衛星群為覆蓋地球整個表面的衛星電話和其他通信設備提供數據和語音信息。
  - 2021年12月13日，Molly Ball，Jeffrey Kluger，Alejandro de la Garza，“2021 Person of the Year: Elon Musk”，w:時代雜誌‎^[3]，New York, N.Y.：時代公司，→ISSN，→OCLC，原文存檔於2023-08-14：
    With its Starlink program, SpaceX hopes to launch a constellation of as many as 42,000 satellites to provide Internet service to the world.
    憑藉其星鏈計畫，SpaceX 希望發射一個由多達 42,000 顆衛星組成的衛星群，為世界提供網際網路服務。
(占星術，棄用)
1. 星位，星象（行星在特定時間──特別是某人出生時──的排列，被認為會影響地球上的事件）
  - 1531，Thomas Elyot，“The Diuision of Ingratitude and the Dispraise therof”，The Boke Named the Governour […]，London： […] Tho[mas] Bertheleti，→OCLC：
    But alas such peruerse constellation nowe reigneth ouer men, that where some be aptely and naturally disposed to amitie, and fyndeth one, in similitude of studie and maners, equall to his expectation, and therfore kendeleth a feruent loue towarde that persone, puttinge all his ioye and delite in the praise and auauncement of him that he loueth, it hapneth that he which is loued, beinge promoted in honour, either of purpose neglecteth his frende, therby suppressynge libertie of speche or familiar resorte; or els esteming his mynde with his fortune onely, and nat with the suertie of frendship, hideth from him the secretes of his harte, and either trusteth no man, or els him whome prosperous fortune hath late brought in acquaintaunce.
    但唉，這種乖戾的星象現在統治著人類，......
  - 1862 July – 1863 August，George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans]，“First Impressions”，Romola. […]，第 I 卷，London：Smith, Elder and Co., […]，出版於 1863，→OCLC，book I，第 72 頁：
    [H]e was born under the constellation that gives a man skill, riches, and integrity, whatever that constellation may be, which is of the less consequence because babies can't choose their own horoscopes, and, indeed, if they could, there might be an inconvenient rush of babies at particular epochs.
    […] 他出生在賦予人技能、財富和正直的星象下，不管那個星象可能是什麼，這並不重要，因為嬰兒無法選擇自己的星盤，而且，如果他們能選擇，在特定的時期可能會出現嬰兒蜂擁而至的麻煩事。
2. 一個人的性格或傾向
  - c. 1601–1602（写稿日期），威廉·莎士比亚，“Twelfe Night, or What You Will [第十二夜]”，Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio（第一对开本）)，伦敦： […] Isaac Iaggard和Ed[ward] Blount，出版於 1623，→OCLC，[Act I, scene iv]，第 257 頁，第 2 列：
    I knovv thy conſtellation is right apt / For this affayre: […]
    我知道你的性格正適合 / 這件事：......