“拜访;登门造访”(较正式或略显旧式的说法),指去某人家里或某处探访、访问。也常见形式 pay a call on someone(拜访某人)。
/peɪ ə kɔːl/
I’ll pay a call on Mrs. Lee this afternoon.
我今天下午会去拜访李太太。
After arriving in the city, he paid a call on his former professor to express his gratitude and share his plans.
到达那座城市后,他登门拜访了以前的教授,以表达感谢并分享自己的计划。
pay 原义有“支付、付出”的意思,在某些搭配中引申为“付出(时间/礼节)以示尊重”,如 pay attention(给予注意)。call 在较早的英语里可指“短暂拜访”。合起来 pay a call 就是“以礼节性拜访来表示尊重/关照”,因此语气偏正式、带一点传统社交色彩。