释义 |
detergent, a. and n.|dɪˈtɜːdʒənt| [ad. L. dētergēnt-em, pr. pple. of dētergēre: see deterge. Cf. mod.F. détergent (1611 in Cotgr., in Dict. Acad. from 1835).] A. adj. Cleansing, purging.
1616Surfl. & Markh. Country Farme 581 By vertue and force of a detergent facultie, wherewith barley is greatly furnished. 1718Quincy Compl. Disp. 80 Sage is undoubtedly a very good Cephalick, of the detergent kind. 1805W. Saunders Min. Waters 434 Sufficient to give it a very soft soapy feel, and to render it more detergent than common water. 1875H. C. Wood Therap. (1879) 648 A detergent antiseptic in various ulcerated..conditions of the mouth. B. n. A cleansing agent; anything that cleanses. Now esp., any of various synthetic solids or liquids which are soluble in or miscible with water, which resemble soap in their cleansing properties, but which differ from it in not combining with the salts present esp. in hard water; also, any of various oil-soluble substances which have the property of holding dirt in suspension in lubricating oils; so detergent oil, an oil containing such a substance. Also attrib. and Comb.
1676Wiseman Surgery ii. vi. (R.), If too mild detergents caused the flesh to grow lax and spongy, then more powerful driers are required. 1718Quincy Compl. Disp. 127 Detergents differ only in Degree of Efficacy from the former Class. 1888Cave Inspir. O. Test. v. 274 He believes in a possible Divine detergent. 1938Encycl. Brit. Bk. of Yr. 1938 331/1 Word came of a new process for rapid saponification; the ‘Igepals’ are new detergents of German origin. 1941Ann. Rep. Prog. Chem. 1940 102 A large number of synthetic substances used during recent years as detergents. 1941Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XLV. App. 141 [It] has a viscosity index of approximately 100—nearly twice that previously available in special detergent oils. 1951Good Housek. Home Encycl. 45/2 Once a week use hot water and soapless detergent to remove all traces of grease. 1952M. Laski in Observer 26 Oct. 5/2 Detergent-packets..almost always fall over and spill. 1957G. I. Brown Introd. Org. Chem. xviii. 223 Synthetic detergents..are usually more soluble in water than soap is; they do not form a scum in hard water; they enable water to spread and penetrate more fully over or through an article being cleaned. 1957Technology July 168/4 Detergents usually contain a surface active agent, alkylbenzenesulphonate, which influences surface adsorption and, incidentally, causes the familiar foaming (of doubtful utility). 1958Engineering 21 Mar. 353/3 Detergent powders..which are bought by a large section of the population. 1958Spectator 4 July 12/1 Like detergent foam in a millrace. 1958Sunday Times 23 Nov. 28/3 He's..detergent-white and very cuddly. 1959Engineering 16 Jan. 96/1 Improved performance has followed the use of heavy-duty and detergent oils. 1959Which? Sept. 105/1 ‘Detergent’ is often used—loosely—as a synonym for ‘synthetic detergent’. Ibid., A good detergent is one which removes dirt easily from the clothes, holds the dirt in suspension in the washing-water, so that it can be rinsed away and will not get re-deposited on the clothes, and—in the process—does them no damage. 1960V. B. Guthrie Petroleum Products Handbk. ii. 34 The use of detergents in oils has introduced additional demands on oxidation inhibitors. 1966McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. IV. 81/2 Soap..was the principal detergent until superseded in production in 1954 by synthetic detergents. |