外博词典，懂英语单词快速记忆法的在线英语词典
场景例句
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地板很平。
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他总是唱低了音。
《牛津词典》
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她把她的单元房间保持得很整洁。
《牛津词典》
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同义词辨析
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词根： -flat- 平
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flatter [ˈflætɚ] vt. 奉承；谄媚；使高兴
flatter: -flat(t)-平 + -er 动词后缀，反复 → 引申词义俯伏在地 → 拜倒，奉承
单词家谱
flat （公寓）：楼房中一个独立居住单元
无论是在中国还是在外国，人们住的一般都是独立的房屋。但是随着城市的出现，越来越多的人聚居在城市里。由于城市土地价格随着城市经济的发展而提高，中低收入阶层无力支付独立房屋的费用，此时就出现了多户人家共同居住在一栋建筑的情况。这种供多户人家居住的建筑就是公寓。
在古罗马时代，罗马城中就出现了这种公寓，拉丁语中称为insulae。据记载，在罗马帝国晚期，罗马城中就已经有5000座最高7层、20米高的insulae。据阿拉伯地理学家Al-Muqaddasi描述，在10世纪的埃及开罗，大部分人口都居住在高层的公寓中，每一栋公寓能容纳200多口人。
在英国，公寓出现得很晚。人们习惯居住在独立的房屋中。直到19世纪末期，这种观念才有所转变。随着城市化进程和人口增加，伦敦城中传统的独立房屋的价格日益昂贵，越来越多的人负担不低，特别是对于年轻的未婚男女。因此，公寓楼的概念应运而生。这张楼房由多层构成，每一层都是单独的一套居住单位，人们可以购买或租用楼房中的一层。在英语中，人们管这种楼房中的一套居住单位称为flat，本意是“一层，一个平面”，而一栋公寓楼则称为a block of flats。flat中的一个房间称作apartment，意思是flat中的一个part（部分）。但到了美国，美国人逐渐用apartment来表示整个flat。但是在英国、香港、新加坡等英联邦国家中，人们还是使用flat来表示一套公寓。
flat 平坦的；扁平的；平淡的，乏味的
来源于古印欧语pelə-/pla-(平直伸展)，进入史前日耳曼语为flataz，经由古斯堪的纳维亚语flatr进入中古英语为flat。pelə-/pla-在希腊语中产生了platus(宽阔的)，为英语place，plaice和platypus的词源，在拉丁语中产生了planus(平坦的)，为英语plane和plain的词源。pelə-/pla-产生的英语词汇有plant和flan。flat用作“单层公寓”意义时，其词源仍是史前日耳曼语flataz，但是经由苏格兰语flet(房子的内部)进入英语的。
同源词：place，plaice，platypus，plane，plain，plant，flan
flat 平的，小套间
来自PIE*pele，平的。词源同plan，plane. 引申词义套间，公寓。
flat (adj.)
c. 1300, "stretched out (on a surface), prostrate, lying the whole length on the ground;" mid-14c., "level, all in one plane; even, smooth;" of a roof, "low-pitched," from Old Norse flatr "flat," from Proto-Germanic *flata- (source also of Old Saxon flat "flat, shallow," Old High German flaz "flat, level," Old High German flezzi "floor"), from PIE root *plat- "to spread."
From c. 1400 as "without curvature or projection." Sense of "prosaic, dull" is from 1570s, on the notion of "featureless, lacking contrast." Used of drink from c. 1600; of women's bosoms by 1864. Of musical notes from 1590s, because the tone is "lower" than a given or intended pitch. As the B of the modern diatonic scale was the first tone to be so modified, the "flat" sign as well as the "natural" sign in music notation are modified forms of the letter b (rounded or square).
Flat tire or flat tyre is from 1908. Flat-screen (adj.) in reference to television is from 1969 as a potential technology. Flat-earth (adj.) in reference to refusal to accept evidence of a global earth, is from 1876.
flat (n.)
1801, "a story of a house," from Scottish flat "floor or story of a house," from Old English flett "a dwelling, hall; floor, ground," from Proto-Germanic *flatja-, from suffixed form of PIE root *plat- "to spread." Meaning "floor or part of a floor set up as an apartment" is from 1824. Directly from flat (adj.) come the senses "level ground near water" (late 13c.); "a flat surface, the flat part of anything" (1374), and "low shoe" (1834).
flat (adv.)
1550s, "absolutely, downright;" 1570s, "plainly, positively," from flat (adj.). Flat-out (adv.) "openly, directly" is from 1932, originally in motor racing, picked up in World War II by the airmen; earlier it was a noun meaning "total failure" (1870, U.S. colloquial).
flat (v.)
c. 1600, "to lay flat;" 1670s in music, from flat (adj.). Related: Flatted; flatting.
