keep at bay
keep at bay は英検1級レベルの英単語で、「寄せ付けない」という意味があります。発音記号は /ˌkiːp ət ˈbeɪ/ です。
寄せ付けない
解説 Definition
脅威や危険なものを近づけないようにすること。抑え込んで遠ざけておく。
To keep something or someone at bay means to stop them from coming closer or causing trouble. It is often used for threats, danger, illness, or unwanted people or feelings.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
keep を「その状態に保つ」、at bay を「すぐ近くまでは来させない位置で」と語順ごと覚えると定着しやすい表現です。ポイントは、脅威を消すのでなく、痛み・不安・敵・病気などを一定距離に押しとどめる感覚。keep away が単に遠ざける、hold off が延期や撃退にも広いのに対し、keep ... at bay は「じわじわ迫るものを寄せ付けない」ときに使いやすいです。例: keep fear, infection, the enemy at bay.
Remember `keep` as maintain, and `at bay` as not too close. Together, it means keeping danger, fear, or illness at a distance. Unlike completely removing something, this expression suggests continued pressure that you are still holding back.
例文
Regular exercise helps keep heart disease at bay.
定期的な運動は心臓病を寄せ付けないのに役立つ。
The castle walls were designed to keep invaders at bay for months.
城壁は侵略者を何ヶ月も寄せ付けないように設計されていた。
She drinks herbal tea every evening to keep stress at bay.
彼女はストレスを寄せ付けないために、毎晩ハーブティーを飲んでいる。
keep at bay の類義語・関連語
keep at bay の語源・成り立ち Etymology
keepは古英語cepan『見張る・守る』、bayは古フランス語abai『猟犬の吠え声』。もとは獲物を追い詰めて吠え立てる距離に置く情景で、危険を寄せ付けない意になった。keeperやbayingも同根で、音から緊張感が見える。
Keep comes from Old English cepan, meaning "to watch, guard, or hold," and bay comes from Old French abai, meaning the barking of hunting dogs. The original picture was of keeping a dangerous animal at the distance where the dogs had cornered it and were barking. From that, the phrase came to mean holding trouble, danger, or an enemy away.
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