“watchman” 指“守夜人;看守;巡逻警卫”,负责在夜间或特定区域观察、警戒并防止危险或盗窃等。(也可泛指“守望者/监视者”,引申为负责留意情况的人。)
/ˈwɑːtʃmən/
The watchman locked the gate at midnight.
守夜人在午夜把大门锁上了。
As the storm grew louder, the watchman stayed by the pier, scanning the dark water for any sign of trouble.
风暴声越来越大时,守夜人守在码头边,盯着漆黑的水面寻找任何麻烦的迹象。
“watchman” 由 “watch(守望、警戒)+ man(人)” 组成。早期英语里 “watch” 常与夜间巡守、城门警戒相关,因此 “watchman” 最常见的传统含义就是“夜间看守/巡夜者”。