uponとは意味・読み方・使い方

語源

From Middle English upon, uppon, uppen, from 古期英語 upon, uppon, uppan (“on, upon, up to, against, after, in addition to”), equivalent to up (“adverb”) +‎ on (“preposition”). Cognate with Icelandic upp á, upp á (“up on, upon”), Swedish på (“up on, upon”), Danish på (“up on, upon”), Norwegian på (“up on, upon”).

発音

• (Received 発音) IPA^(key): /əˈpɒn/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /əˈpɑn/, /əˈpɔn/
• ハイフネーション: up‧on
• 韻: -ɒn

前置詞

upon

1. Physically above and in contact with.

   Place the book upon the table.

   • 1899, Hughes Mearns, Antigonish:

     Yesterday, upon the stair / I met a man who wasn’t there / He wasn’t there again today / I wish, I wish he’d go away …

2. Physically directly supported by.

   The crew set sail upon the sea.

   She balanced upon one foot.

3. Being followed by another so as to form a series.

   hours upon hours, years upon years, mile upon mile of desert

   • c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene i]:

     No news of them? Why, so: and I know not what's spend in the search: why thou loss upon loss! the thief gone with so much, and so much to find the thief; and no satisfaction, no revenge: nor no ill luck stirring but what lights on my shoulders; no sighs but of my breathing; no tears but of my shedding.

4. At (a prescribed point in time).

   The contract was rendered void upon his death.

5. On.
   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., OCLC 222716698:

     Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, the consciousness dawning upon him that his eccentricity was not receiving the ovation it merited.

   • 1914, Louis Joseph Vance, chapter I, in Nobody, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, published 1915, OCLC 40817384:

     Little disappointed, then, she turned attention to "Chat of the Social World," gossip which exercised potent fascination upon the girl's intelligence.

使用する際の注意点

A somewhat elevated word, upon is common in poetic or legal contexts, but the simpler, more general term on is generally interchangeable, and more common in casual American speech.

同意語

• (all senses): on
• (time): at

派生語

• hereupon
• thereupon
• whereupon
• once upon a time
• 'pon
• set upon

副詞

upon (not comparable)

1. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) Being the target of an action.

   He was set upon by the agitated dogs

派生語

• chance upon

アナグラム

• Puno

形容詞

up on (not generally comparable, comparative more up on, superlative most up on)

1. (idiomatic, colloquial) Well-informed concerning.

   The tour guide was certainly up on his history.

   • 1986, Aliens:

     Maybe you aren't up on current events, but we just got our asses kicked, pal