释义 |
stretched, ppl. a.|strɛtʃt| [f. stretch v. + -ed1.] 1. Extended to the full length, not bent or flexed. Of a limb: Thrust out from the body. Also with out, forth.
1518H. Watson Hist. Oliver of Castile (Roxb.) Q 1, He..ranne to hym with stratched armes and embraced hym. 1535Coverdale Ps. cxxxv. 12 With a mightie hande and a stretched out arme. a1566R. Edwards Damon & Pithias (1571) D iv b, A pledge you did require.., For which, with heart and stretched handes, most humble thankes I geue. 1656R. Flecknoe Diarium 28 Now Chantecleer with stretcht⁓out wings, The glad approach of Phœbus sings. 1692Sir W. Hope Fencing-Master 148 Keep a streight point towards his face with a stretched arme. 1697Dryden æneis iii. 320 At length rebuff'd, they leave their mangled Prey, And their stretch'd Pinions to the Skies display. 1760R. Lloyd Actor 97 The sudden whirl, stretch'd leg, and lifted staff, Which please the vulgar. 1846Trench Miracles 459 The stretched forth hands are the hands extended upon either side on the transverse bar of the cross. 1847Tennyson Princess ii. 356 Jewels five-words long That on the stretch'd forefinger of all Time Sparkle for ever. 1856Miss Warner Hills Shatemuc vi, He yielded his brother's [letter] again to her stretched-out hand. 2. Of the neck, throat: Extended or expanded unduly or abnormally. Also with out.
1557T. Phaer æneid vii. (1558) V viiij, As swannes..With stretchid neckes, their melody they yelde. 1659W. Chamberlayne Pharonnida iii. i. 306 An ill-boding Note Sent from a fatal Ravens stretcht-out Throat. 1666W. Spurstow Spiritual Chym. 89 Gospel Mysteries, which Angells with stretched out necks have more desire to pry into, then ability perfectly to understand. 1780Cowper Progr. Error 380 The gosling pair, With awkward gait, stretch'd neck, and silly stare. 1845Browning How they brought the Good News vi, For one heard the quick wheeze Of her chest, saw the stretched neck and staggering knees. 3. a. Of material, a line, etc.: Extended, spread out, drawn out so as to be tight. Hence fig. of a receptacle: Strained in capacity, filled to the utmost.
1605Drayton Poems, To Virginian Voy. 10 Britans..quickly aboard bestowe you, And with a merry gale swell your stretch'd sayle. c1681Duke Review 96 [He] Swell'd his stretch'd coffers with o'er-flowing gold. 1832Brewster Nat. Magic viii. 193 If..we strew the sand over a stretched membrane, the sand will form itself into figures. 1840in Newton's Lond. Jrnl. Conj. Ser. XVI. 361 When India rubber is introduced, it is in the stretched or non-elastic state. 1889Brinsmead Hist. Pianoforte 40 The vibrations of stretched strings. 1906Westm. Gaz. 28 July 6/3 You walk the stretched rope. b. Of the senses: Tense.
1800Ht. Lee Canterb. T. (ed. 2) III. 34 That profound stillness under which the stretched senses seem to ache. 4. a. Of language, ideas, prerogative, etc.: Strained beyond natural or proper limits.
c1600Shakes. Sonn. xvii. 12 So should..your true rights be termd a Poets rage, And stretched miter of an Antique song. 1674N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 71 If this answer seems harsh or stretched, we shall easily slacken and soften it by a clearer Instance. a1711Ken Psyche Poet. Wks. 1721 IV. 225 Say, if your stretch'd Imaginations find More horrid Monsters than foul human kind. 1790Burke Fr. Rev. 95 They therefore take up, one day, the most violent and stretched prerogative, and another time the wildest democratic ideas of freedom. 1833Lamb Elia, Product. Mod. Art, They satisfy our most stretched and craving conceptions of the glories of the antique world. b. Of life: Drawn out beyond the normal period.
1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 61 And thou [Nestor] most reuerend for thy stretcht-out life. 5. Of an aircraft, engine, etc.: increased in size or operating capacity; based on a smaller or less powerful design. Cf. stretch v. 21 e.
1960New Scientist 30 June 1639/2 The Super-VC 10, which BOAC has just ordered off the drawing-board, is an example of a ‘stretched’ aeroplane. 1966Wall St. Jrnl. 13 Jan. 1 Their orders of ‘stretched’ jets—conventional models expanded to carry more passengers—will also have to be carefully considered. 1967Economist 8 July p. xxvi/3 Operators are suspicious of ‘stretched’ engines. 1972Daily Tel. 26 Sept. 6/7 The car is a stretched version of the latest Daimler Double-Six, itself developed from the Jaguar XJ12. 1978Ibid. 23 Feb. 6/8 Improvements in technology mean that the British Hovercraft Corporation's ‘stretched’ SRN-4 is likely to be used on some of the established 100–150 mile European routes. |