かすかに
解説 Definition
かすかに、微かに。弱く、ぼんやりと。はっきりしない様子で。
Faintly means in a very weak, light, or unclear way. It is commonly used for sounds, smells, light, or feelings that are present but not strong.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
faintly は faint + -ly。「気を失いそうだ」の faint を知っていれば、そこから「力がなく弱い」「輪郭がぼんやり」の感覚に広げると定着します。光・音・匂い・記憶がはっきり届かず、かろうじて感じられる場面でよく使い、faintly hear music, faintly visible, faintly smile が定番。slightly は量が少し、vaguely は内容が曖昧、weakly は弱々しく、なので faintly は「感覚としてかすかに」と結ぶと混同しにくいです。
Build it from `faint` + `-ly`. If something is `faint`, it is weak or barely noticeable, so `faintly` means in a weak, slight, hard-to-notice way. Think of common uses like `faintly hear`, `faintly visible`, or `faintly smile`.
例文
She faintly remembered the event from her childhood.
彼女は子ども時代の出来事をかすかに覚えていた。
The music could be heard faintly in the distance.
音楽は遠くからかすかに聞こえた。
He smiled faintly at the memory.
彼はその記憶を思い出して、かすかに微笑んだ。
faintly の類義語・関連語
faintly の語源・成り立ち Etymology
faintly は faint + -ly で、faint は古フランス語 feint を通じてラテン語 fingere「形づくる・装う」にさかのぼります。輪郭だけがぼんやり見える感覚から、「かすかに」「弱々しく」の意味へ伸びたと考えると覚えやすいです。feign や fiction が同根です。
Faintly comes from faint plus -ly. Faint came into English through Old French and goes back to Latin fingere, meaning "to shape" or "to pretend." Over time the word developed senses of weakness, dimness, or something not fully clear, which led to the adverb meaning "slightly" or "weakly." Related words from the same root include feign and fiction.
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