| 释义 |
demarcate, v.|ˈdiːmɑːkeɪt|
[Back-formation on demarcation; see -ate3: cf. Sp. and Pg. demarcar.]
trans. To mark out or determine the boundary or limits of; to mark off, separate, or distinguish from; to mark or determine, as a boundary or limit; to define. a. lit. in reference to spatial limits, as of territory.
1816Keatinge Trav. (1817) I. 214 The marine deposits..appear to demarcate its extreme undulation here. 1882St. James's Gaz. Apr., The region thus demarcated is..the only part of Wales described..in Domesday. 1884Pall Mall G. 9 June 11/1 An Anglo-Russian Commission will proceed.. to demarcate the northern frontier of Afghanistan.
b. fig. in reference to other than spatial limits.
1858Lewes Sea-Side Stud. 314 How shall we demarcate Reproduction from Growth? 1883Athenæum 20 Jan. 79 Sharp distinctions of national flavour which demarcate one European literature from another.
Hence ˈdemarcated, ˈdemarcating ppl. adjs.
1840Gladstone Ch. Princ. 34 For the preservation of the demarcating lines. 1862H. Spencer First Princ. ii. xxi. §169 The demarcated grouping which we everywhere see. |