| 释义 |
▪ I. ransom, n.|ˈrænsəm|
Forms: α. 3–4 ransun, (4 -coun, -cun-e, -scun, -scon), 4–6 ransoun, 4–7 ranson, (5, 7 -sone); 4 raunsun, (-scun, -ceoun, -zoun, etc.), 4–5 raunson, -soun (also 4 ron-, 5 rawn-, rawun-, etc.). β. 4 rans(o)um, -scum, -scome, 6–7 ransome, (7 randsom), 4– ransom, (4 rauns(o)um, 4–6 rawnsom-e, 4–6 raunsom, 6 -some, raundsom, -sum). γ. 4 raymson, 4–5 raumso(u)n, 4–6 ramson. δ. 5 raen-, reanson, reaunceoune.
[a. OF. rançon, ran-, raunson, raençon, -son, ra(a)nceun, rampçon, etc. (see Godef.):—*re(d)empçon:—L. redemptiōn-em: see redemption. For the change of -on to -om, which appears quite early, cf. randon, random.]
1. The action of procuring the release of a prisoner or captive by paying a certain sum, or of obtaining one's own freedom in this way; the fact or possibility of being set free on this condition; the paying of money to this end.
In older use freq. in phrases † to make ransom, † to let or take to ransom. In the 19th c. the sense appears to have been revived by Scott, and now occurs chiefly in the phr. to hold to ransom.
a1300Cursor M. 9772 (Cott.) Angel ne might wit na resun Mak for adam his ranscun [Gött. raunsum]. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 2834 ‘In helle’, he says, ‘es na raunceon’. For na helpe may be in þat dungeon. 1375Barbour Bruce xiii. 72 Slayand thame without ransoune. c1430Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 102 Whan he for man the raunsom on hym tooke. 1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 60 Four consules, the quhilkis the inymyes wald nocht lat to ransoun. c1489Caxton Blanchardyn 89 He wolde take to raenson þe knyght that was a straunger. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 295 They slue many a man that could not come to raunsome. 1819Scott Ivanhoe xxvii, An honourable imprisonment..as is due to one who is in treaty for ransom. Ibid. xxxii, Let us put the Jew to ransom. 1859Jephson Brittany xvi. 261 Gwesklen, taken prisoner by Chandos, was held by him to ransom.
2. a. The sum or price paid or demanded for the release of a prisoner or the restoration of captured property. a king's ransom, a large sum. † man of ransom, one able to pay ransom, or for whom ransom will be paid.
a1225Ancr. R. 124 A mon þet leie ine prisune, & ouhte muche raunsun. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6046 Þis folc bisette kaunterbury..& gret raunson of hom wiþinne esste. c1350Will. Palerne 1251 Y am prest as þi prisoun to paye þe my ransum. 1390Gower Conf. III. 220 A gaz made gret beheste Of rancoun which he wolde yive. c1470Henry Wallace ii. 150 His kyn mycht nocht him get..Mycht thai hawe payit the ransoune of a King. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 163 b, Thei had been leat..without any peny of raunsome paiyng to escape. c1590Marlowe Faust. vi, I'll not speak another word for a King's ransom. 1636Massinger Bashf. Lover ii. vii, I know him: he's a man of ransom. 1697W. Dampier Voy. (1729) I. 145 Here we staid till the sixth day, in hopes to get a Ransom for the Town. 1718Lady M. W. Montagu Lett. (1887) I. 239 Her brother..sent the sum of four thousand pounds sterling as a ransom for his sister. 1802M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. 208 Like all..prisoners of war, she must..pay her ransom in gold. 1829A. M. Hall Sketches Irish Char. I. 75, I couldn't look upon the babby's face for a king's ransom. 1882Ouida Maremma I. 11 The stranger had been waiting for a ransom to be sent.
b. fig., in religious use, of Christ or His blood.
a1300Cursor M. 21731 On cros godd boght ur saul liues Þar-on he gaf him-seluen ranscun. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 290 b/2, O crosse..which only were worthy to bere the raunson of the world. a1569A. Kingsmill Confl. Satan (1578) 37 Looke, Christe is called a ransome, that is, a price of redemption. 1667Milton P.L. x. 61 Sending thee..his Mediator..Both Ransom and Redeemer voluntarie. a1711Ken Christophil Poet. Wks. 1721 I. 511 A Price inestimable paid, The Blood of God our Ransom made. a1854H. Reed Lect. Eng. Lit. vii. (1878) 236 A soul..not unworthy the awful ransom of the Redeemer's blood.
†c. A large sum. Obs. rare—1.
a1400–50Alexander 1665 Besands to þe bischop he bed out of nounbre, Reches him of rede gold ransons many.
d. Sc. An exorbitant price, rent, etc.
1816Scott Antiquary I. iii. 59 Could a copy [of Caxton's ‘Game of Chess’] now occur..Lord only knows what would be its ransom. 1824–7Moir Mansie Wauch i, Grannie..sold the milk..at the ransom of a ha'penny the mutchkin. 1875W. Alexander Sk. Life among my Ain Folk viii. 133 Some said Sandy Mutch had taken the farm ‘at a ransom’. 1932A. J. Cronin Three Loves ii. xviii. 352 But the price of things... It's shameful. Everything a ransom now.
†e. The thing ransomed. Obs. rare—1.
a1300Cursor M. 28023 Fra godd his ful dere ranscon yee stele, Þat es þat ilk saul þat he Cost wit his ded.
†3.
a. The action or means of freeing oneself from a penalty; a sum of money paid to obtain pardon for an offence; a fine, mulct. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 1970 Qua þat slas or man or wijf þar gas na ransun bot liue for lijf. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 329 Som gaf raunson after þer trespas. c1386Chaucer Wife's Prol. 411, I wolde no lenger in the bed abyde... Til he had maad his raunson vn to me. 1491Act 7 Hen. VII, c. 22 §1 To abyde in prisone therfor unto the tyme he have made fyne and raunsom for the same. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 42 Pardons payeth most properly the raunsom of payne due in purgatory. c1585Faire Em iii. 768 Thy death should pay the ransom of thy fault. 1647N. Bacon Disc. Govt. i. xxxix. (1739) 59 Then might that Penance be reduced to a Ransom (according to the grain of the offence). 1769Blackstone Comm. IV. 373 This is the reason why fines in the king's court are frequently denominated ransoms.
†b. A sum paid as a tax or tribute. Obs.
c1320Sir Tristr. 935 Mani man wepen sare For ransoum to yrland. Marke schuld ȝeld..þre hundred pounde of gold. a1327Poem Time Edw. II 302 in Pol. Songs (Camden) 337 If the King in his lond maketh a taxacioun, And everi man is i-set to a certein raunzoun.
4. A ransom bill or bond (see 5 b).
1747Col. Rec. Pennsylv. V. 75 The St. Christopher arrived, whose Crew..had taken and dismissed on a Ransome for Four thousand Dollars an English Frigate.
5. attrib. and Comb., as ransom-free adj.; ransom demand, ransom-gift, ransom-gold, ransom-money, ransom package, ransom-payer, ransom-price, ransom purchase.
1976R. L. Boyer Giant Rat of Sumatra (1977) x. 150 None of the staff..were aware of the *ransom demand.
c1560A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xxxvi. 76 Thy haly grave, Quhilk makis ws *ransome fre. 1715Tickell Homer 8 Till Ransom-free the Damsel is bestow'd.
1848Buckley Iliad 107 My sire will bestow on thee countless *ransom-gifts.
1815Scott Ld. of Isles v. xxiv, He proffer'd *ransom-gold to pay.
1722De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 198 We bilked the captain of his *ransom money. 1848Buckley Iliad 351 Two men contended for the ransom-money of a slain man. 1969B. Malamud Pictures of Fidelman iii. 69 The insurance company..would at once kick in with the ransom money. 1976T. Heald Let Sleeping Dogs Die vii. 130 These particular villains were interested in ransom money, not selling.
1974Aiken (S. Carolina) Standard 24 Apr. 5-a/3 Police said a dummy *ransom package with a note asking the alleged abductors for more time was delivered according to the instructions Dantzler said his kidnapers had given him.
1645Rutherford Tryal & Tri. Faith (1845) 186 You shame the glory of the *ransom-payer.
1872J. H. Ingraham Pillar of Fire 329 The King may be redeemed..with a vast *ransom-price.
1865Bushnell Vicar. Sacr. v. (1868) 113 To be the *ransom purchase of others.
b. ransom-bill, -bond, an engagement to redeem or pay ransom, in later use esp. for a vessel captured by the enemy; ransom note, a letter sent by a kidnapper or kidnappers to interested parties demanding ransom money or other satisfaction, and specifying the consequences should this not be forthcoming.
1575Churchyard Chippes (1817) 7 Releasing many of his fellow-captives, on his own ransom-bond. 1764Ann. Reg. 138 The ransom bills for preserving Manilla from pillage. 1767Blackstone Comm. III. 436 The privileges of embassadors, hostages, or ransom-bills. 1896Daily News 29 Feb. 6/2 The Alabama burned fifty-seven ships besides releasing on ransom-bond a great many with neutral cargo on board. 1935M. M. Atwater Murder in Midsummer xiv. 135 Maybe it's a kidnapping, but there's no ransom notes. 1975D. Pitts This City is Ours viii. 28 That ship might explode if it's tampered with. That's what the ransom note says, and I believe it.
▪ II. ransom, v.|ˈrænsəm|
Forms: see the n. (also 4 raunsene, 5 rampsoum, 6 ramsion, Sc. ransson; pa. tense 4 raunsede).
[a. OF. ransonner, -çonner, etc. f. ranson: see prec.]
1. trans. To redeem (from captivity or punishment); to procure the release of (a person) or restoration of (a thing) by payment of the sum or price demanded. Also fig.
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. x. 420 A robbere was yraunceouned, rather than thei alle. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 211 Withbrandes kyng of Longobardes..raunsoned [v.r. raunsede] þe relikes of seint Austyn. c1470Henry Wallace viii. 452 Quha ȝeildis him, sall neuir ransownd be. 1513Galway Arch. in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 395 That no dweller of this towne become suertie for no gent of the countrey, ne ramson none of them. 1624Capt. Smith Virginia vi. 215 Their Canowes..they ransomed for Beuer skinnes. 1667Sprat Hist. R. Soc. 434 To randsome the minds of all mankind from Slavery. 1839Thirlwall Greece VI. 73 They were obliged to ransom not only their prisoners but their dead. 1868Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) II. viii. 280 His wife ransomed him at a heavy price.
b. To redeem, deliver, in religious sense.
a1300Cursor M. 9784 If godd had wroght anoþer man For to ransun wit adam. 1414Brampton Penit. Ps. (Percy Soc.) 28 Cryist, that deyid up on the rood, To raunsoun synfull creature. 1557N. T. (Genev.) Epistle **j, He was solde to ransom vs. 1667Milton P.L. iii. 297 His Brethren, ransomd with his own dear life. 1784Cowper Tiroc. 128 We..learn with wonder how this world began, Who made, who marr'd, and who has ransom'd man. 1859Tennyson Guinevere 677 Poor sick people, richer in His eyes Who ransom'd us..than I.
c. To purchase (life or liberty) by a ransom.
1630Dekker 2nd Pt. Honest Wh. Wks. 1873 II. 170 If my life May ransome thine, I yeeld it to the Law. 1697W. Dampier Voy. (1729) I. 75 The Men..made them send ashoar for Cattle to ransom their Liberties. 1801Lusignan III. 82 The design she had long meditated..of endeavouring to ransom his liberty.
d. To atone or pay for, to expiate; † to procure respite of (time); to bring into by ransoming.
a1300Cursor M. 14427 Þat he suld flexs take..For to ranscun wit adam sin. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxxiii. (George) 77 To ransone þe tyme & to sauf þame fra his venyme. c1600Shakes. Sonn. xxxiv, Those tears..are rich and ransom all ill deeds. 1604― Oth. iii. iv. 118 Nor my Seruice past, nor present Sorrowes,..Can ransome me into his loue againe. 1796Jefferson Writ. (1859) IV. 152 Its moments of extasy would be ransomed by years of torment and hatred.
2. a. To permit to be ransomed; to admit to ransom; to set free on payment of a sum of money; † to fix one's ransom at a certain sum.
1375Barbour Bruce ii. 466 Off othir, that war takyn than, Sum thai ransownyt, sum thai slew. 1442in Proc. King's Council Irel. (Rolls) 274 He..put him in great duresse of prisoun, and rampsoumed him at c. marcs. 1494Fabyan Chron. vii. 348 That he were streyght put in pryson, and not to be raunsomyd nor delyuered tyll the Kyngys pleasure were forther knowen. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 228 Stewin Bull ranssonat the skiparis, and held money of the marienaris presonaris. 1599Breton Will of Wit iii. i. Wks. (Grosart) 37/2 The souldiours entred, slewe a number, some they raunsommed. 1819Scott Ivanhoe x. Leaving it with your nobleness to retain or to ransom the same, according to your pleasure.
b. To demand ransom from or for; to exact payment from; † hence, to oppress with exactions. Also absol.
c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 66 Many..ben dede bi þe weie, what wiþ traueile & cold..& enemyes & ofte raunsonyd. a1400Morte Arth. 100 Why thow has redyne and raymede, and raunsound þe pople. 1495Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 9 Preamble, People..be..caried into Scotland and their raunsomed to ther..utter empoverysshing for ever. 1525Ld. Berners Froiss. II. 3 All suche landes as he had rule of, he raunsomed them..greuously, and wolde taxe the men two or three tymes in a yere. 1590Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons 7 b, By fleecing and ransoming of their soldiers being men of wealth. 1819Scott Ivanhoe xix, Who is it that rifle, and ransom, and make prisoners in these parts. 1888in Times 17 Aug. 7/6 These gentlemen contend that unfortified towns will never be bombarded or ransomed.
3. To pay ransom to (a person). Also absol., to pay ransom for oneself. rare— 1.
1722Capt. Ogle in Lond. Gaz. No. 6091/2 They had all ransomed at the Rate of eight Pounds Weight of Gold each; an English Ship, for refusing to ransom the Pyrates had been burnt. |