| 释义 |
decorum|dɪˈkɔərəm|
[a. L. decōrum that which is seemly, propriety; subst. use of neuter sing. of decōr-us adj. seemly, fitting, proper. So mod.F. décorum (since 16th c.).]
1. That which is proper, suitable, seemly, befitting, becoming; fitness, propriety, congruity.
†a. esp. in dramatic, literary, or artistic composition: That which is proper to a personage, place, time, or subject in question, or to the nature, unity, or harmony of the composition; fitness, congruity, keeping. Obs.
a1568R. Ascham Scholem. (Arb.) 139 Who soeuer hath bene diligent to read aduisedlie ouer, Terence, Seneca, Virgil, Horace..he shall easelie perceiue, what is fitte and decorum in euerie one. 1576Foxe A. & M. 990/1, I..lay all the wyte in maister More, the authour and contriuer of this Poeticall booke, for not kepyng Decorum personæ, as a perfect Poet should haue done. Ibid., Some wyll thinke..maister More to haue missed some part of his Decorum in makyng the euill spirite..to be messenger betwene middle earth and Purgatory. 1621Burton Anat. Mel. ii. ii. vi. iv, If that Decorum of time and place..be observed. 1644Milton Educ. Wks. 1738 I. 140 What the Laws are of a true Epic Poem, what of a Dramatic, what of a Lyric, what Decorum is, which is the grand master-piece to observe. 1686W. Aglionby Painting Illust. ii. 67 Simon Sanese began to understand the Decorum of Composition. Ibid. iii. 119 The second part of Invention is Decorum; that is, that there be nothing Absurd nor Discordant in the Piece. 1704Hearne Duct. Hist. (1714) I. 132 Neither is a just Decorum always observ'd, for he sometimes makes Blockheads and Barbarians talk like Philosophers. 1756J. Warton Ess. Pope I. i. 5 Complaints..[which] when uttered by the inhabitants of Greece, have a decorum and consistency, which they totally lose in the character of a British shepherd.
b. That which is proper to the character, position, rank, or dignity of a real person. arch.
1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xxiv. (Arb.) 303 Our soueraign Lady (keeping alwaies the decorum of a Princely person) at her first comming to the crowne, etc. 1594J. Dickenson Arisbas (1878) 87 The minde of man degenerating from the decorum of humanitie becomes monstrous. 1606Shakes. Ant. & Cl. v. ii. 17 Maiesty to keepe decorum, must No lesse begge then a Kingdome. 1683Cave Ecclesiastici, Athanasius 171 He was a Prince of a lofty Mind, careful to preserve the Decorum of State and Empire. a1715Burnet Own Time (1766) I. 130 He..did not always observe the decorum of his post. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 180 It was necessary to the decorum of her character that she should admonish her erring children.
c. That which is proper to the circumstances or requirements of the case: seemliness, propriety, fitness; = decency 1. arch.
1586T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. 171 A waie how to frame all things according to that which is decent or seemely, which the Latines call decorum. 1598J. Dickenson Greene in Conc. (1878) 147 She deemd it no decorum to blemish her yet-during pleasures with not auailing sorrow. 1677Gale Crt. Gentiles II. iv. 19 Temperance formally consistes in giving al persons and things their just decorum and measure. 1809Mathias in Gray's Corr. (1843) 16 There was a peculiar propriety and decorum in his manner of reading. 1858Trench Parables (1860) 126 They argue that it is against the decorum of the Divine teaching, that, etc.
2. Qualities which result from sense 1:
†a. Beauty arising from fitness, or from absence of the incongruous; comeliness; grace; gracefulness.
1613R. C. Table Alph. (ed. 3), Decorum, comelinesse. 1618Dekker Owles Almanacke, A coloured cloute will set the stampe of decorum on a rotten partition. 1635Swan Spec. M. vii. §3 (1643) 320 To shew the due decorum and comely beauty of the worlds brave structure. 1729G. Shelvocke Artillery v. 334 The Decorum and Gracefulness of any Pile, the making the whole Aspect of a Fabric so correct.
†b. Orderly condition, orderliness. Obs.
1610Healey St. Aug. Citie of God xii. xxv. 442 Whose wisedome reacheth from end to end, ordering all in a delicate decorum. Ibid. xxii. xxiv. 847 And brings the potentiall formes into such actuall decorum. 1684T. Burnet Th. Earth i. 132 The first orders of things are more perfect and regular, and this decorum seems to be observ'd afterwards.
†c. Orderly and grave array. Obs.
1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1638) 238 In this Decorum they march slowly, and with great silence [at a funeral].
3. Propriety of behaviour; what is fitting or proper in behaviour or demeanour, what is in accordance with the standard of good breeding; the avoidance of anything unseemly or offensive in manner.
1572tr. Buchanan's Detect. Mary M iij a, To obserue decorum and comely conuenience in hir pairt..sche counterfeiteth a mourning. a1628F. Greville Sidney (1652) 93 She resolved to keep within the Decorum of her sex. 1668Dryden Evening's Love Epil. 19 Where nothing must decorum shock. 1704F. Fuller Med. Gymn. (1711) 143, I can't see any breach of Decorum, if a Lady..should ride on Horse-back. 1791Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest iii, The lady-abbess was a woman of rigid decorum and severe devotion. 1803Med. Jrnl. IX. 442 A spirit of levity and wrangling, wholly inconsistent with the grave decorum due to the investigation and decision of a philosophical subject. 1814Jane Austen Mansf. Park (1851) 81 My father..would never wish his grown-up daughters to be acting plays. His sense of decorum is strict. 1866G. Macdonald Ann. Q. Neighb. xxvii. (1878) 475 If the mothers..are shocked at the want of decorum in my friend Judy.
4. (with a and pl.)
†a. A fitting or appropriate act. Obs.
1601A. C. Answ. to Let. Jesuited Gent. 114 (Stanf.) It had bin a decorum in them, to have shewd themselves thankful unto such kind office. 1692Dryden St. Evremont's Ess. 372 The Laugh, the Speech, the Action, accompanied with Agreements and Decorums. 1717Berkeley Tour Italy 21 Jan. Wks. 1871 IV. 532 The tragedy of Caligula, where, amongst other decorums, Harlequin..was very familiar with the Emperor himself.
b. An act or requirement of polite behaviour; a decorous observance; chiefly in pl., proprieties.
1601R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 245 The Spanish nation..using a certaine decorum (which they call an obeysance or..a compliment or cerimonious curtesie). 1676Wycherley Pl. Dealer i. i, Tell not me..of your Decorums, supercilious Forms, and slavish Ceremonies. 1706Estcourt Fair Examp. i. i, My Lady Stately longs to see you, had paid you a Visit but for the Decorums: She expects the first from you. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xxx, No decorums could restrain the impatience of his blushing mistress to be forgiven. 1865Merivale Rom. Emp. VIII. lxvi. 202 The dignity of his military character was hedged round by formalities and decorums. |