| 释义 |
prepay, v.|priːˈpeɪ|
[f. pre- A. 1 + pay v.1 Cf. OF. prepayer, 1305 in Godef.]
trans. To pay (a charge) beforehand; esp. to pay (the postage of a letter or parcel) before dispatching it (as by affixing a postage stamp). Also transf. with the letter, etc., as object.
1839Treasury Minute 12 Nov. (L.), All letters and packets exceeding the weight of one ounce to be prepaid, and delivered in at the window; if not so prepaid, and delivered, to be charged double postage. 1858R. S. Surtees Ask Mamma lxxviii, Pre-paying a letter..used to be thought little short of an insult. 1899A. E. W. Mason Miranda of Balcony xv. 216 He wires me..and prepays the reply. a1908Mod. The school fees must be prepaid. The subscription for each half-year must be prepaid. The parcel was sent by passenger-train, carriage prepaid. 1973Philadelphia Inquirer (Today Suppl.) 7 Oct. 42/2 He'll be in to prepay.
Hence preˈpaid ppl. a. (also as n. = prepaid letter or parcel); preˈpayable a., that may or must be prepaid; preˈpayment, the act of prepaying, payment in advance; also attrib.
1854Fonblanque in Life (1874) vi. 508 In a lecture on education, Dr. Whewell..cites the word *prepaid, now in common and barbarous use... ‘Prepaid’ was introduced with the penny postage. 1885Act 48 & 49 Vict. c. 54 §15 Every notice..sent through the post in a prepaid registered letter. 1926C. Connolly Let. Sept. in Romantic Friendship (1975) 172, I..sent a prepaid wire. 1977Modern Railways Dec. 465/2 Urgent introduction of a wide-ranging system of pre-paid bus tickets.
1899Westm. Gaz. 16 Jan. 4/1 Letters sent from this country to her Majesty's ships in any part of the world are now *prepayable at the rate of 1d. per half ounce.
1838in Rep. Sel. Comm. Postage 62 The distinctive feature of your [R. Hill's] plan..is the compulsory *pre-payment and one rate of postage. 1876Grant Burgh. Sch. Scotl. ii. xiii. 469 Some parents refused prepayment [of school fees]. 1899Westm. Gaz. 28 Sept. 9/1 The pioneer of the prepayment gas-meter. 1903Rep. West Ham Gas Co., The Prepayment Meter System of Supply has been put in operation. 1906Prepayment [see coin-box]. 1970Which? Mar. 90/1 Fire meters had defective prepayment mechanisms. 1977Wandsworth Borough News 16 Sept. 14/3 Cash from pre-payment meters, believed to be {pstlg}107, was stolen from the home. |