| 释义 |
▪ I. subtile, a. (n.)|ˈsʌtɪl, ˈsʌbtɪl|
Forms: 4–6 subtyl, -yll, 4–7 -ill, (4 soubtil, -tiel, 5 subtille, 5–6 -tyle, 6 -tylle, Sc. -tel(l, sobtyll, suptel), 4– subtil, subtile.
[a. F. subtil (from 14th c.), latinized refashioning of OF. s(o)util subtle a.]
1. Chiefly of fluids: Not dense, thin, rarefied; penetrating, etc. by reason of tenuity; = subtle a. 1.
1390Gower Conf. III. 92 This soubtil water myhtely..The strengthe of therthe perceth ofte. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. iii. xvii. (1495) 63 Subtyl humour temprith and purith that that is in the lymmes of the syȝte. Ibid. v. xix. 124 The ayre and brethe drawen in by the mouth is amended and puryd, and made subtyll therin. a1425tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula etc. 59 If it be for humour, þat is..for it is scharp, or subtile, or watrye. 1509Fisher Funeral Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (1876) 304 It [sc. the risen body] shall be subtyle that it shall perce thorowe the stone walles. c1530Judic. Urines ii. xii. 41 b, It maketh the vryne subtyle and thynne. 1533Elyot Cast. Helthe 33 The rayne water..is most subtyl & penetratiue. 1590Spenser F.Q. iii. vii. 39 An Egle, that with plumy wings doth sheare The subtile ayre. 1616Surfl. & Markh. Country Farm 630 The..red-like wines which are of a thin and subtile substance. c1645Howell Lett. (1655) IV. l. 120 As if they had som subtile invisible Atomes wherby they [sc. thoughts] operat. 1661Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 150 The fat, is hot, subtile and better than the rest. 1742Lond. & Country Brewer iii. (ed. 2) 233 By the subtile Salts of the Lime, it will make its Way into the Pores..of the Wood. a1774Goldsm. Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776) II. 4 Some have thought that air is nothing more than earth or water expanded and assuming a more subtil form. 1784Cowper Task vi. 135 The vital energy that mov'd..the pure and subtile lymph Through th'imperceptible meand'ring veins Of leaf and flow'r. 1839Hallam Lit. Eur. iii. iii. §149 The belief in ghosts, or spirits of subtile bodies. 1858Sears Athan. xviii. 160 The luminiferous ether is still more subtile, and eludes the analysis of the chemist. 1872J. G. Murphy Comm. Lev. vii. 37 The fat and the flesh turned by the fire of the altar into a subtile fume.
transf.1642H. More Song of Soul ii. ii. iii. 18 Corporeall wight such subtile virtue never has. 1844Emerson Nature, Discipline Wks. (Bohn) II. 158 The air resembles the light which traverses it with more subtile currents.
fig.1681–6J. Scott Chr. Life (1747) III. 628 The Arguments of it would be too thin and subtil for vulgar Capacities. 1829I. Taylor Enthus. ii. (1867) 22 The region of abstract conceptions..has an atmosphere too subtile to support the health of true piety.
b. subtile matter: see matter n.1 5 b.
†c. Of a voice: Thin. Obs.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xix. cxxxi. (1495) 942 In subtyll voys the spyryte is not stronge.
2. Of fine or delicate texture; also, delicately formed or moulded; = subtle a. 2.
c1381Chaucer Parl. Foules 272 A subtyl couercheif of valence. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. iii. ix. (1495) 54 The soule that yeueth felynge hathe place in the moost subtill chambres of the brayne. 1474Caxton Chesse iii. i. (1883) 79 More subtile & more deyntous metes. 1481Caxton Myrr. ii. x. f viij, Trees the whiche in stede of leues bere wulle of whiche is made cloth right fair & subtyle. 1579Langham Gard. Health 535 Rose water..maketh the skinne subtill and thinne. 1599Sir J. Davies Nosce Teipsum ii. 12, I do distinguish plaine Each subtill line of her immortall face. Ibid. 11 Her subtile forme thou onely canst define. 1608B. Jonson Masques, Beauty Wks. (1616) 906 A thinne subtile vaile ouer her haire. a1648Digby Closet Opened (1677) 90 Strain the[m] clean through a subtil strainer. 1668Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. i. xiv. 33 A certain little lobe..compassed with a thin and subtile Membrane.
3. Of small thickness, thin, fine; = subtle a. 3.
a1425tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula etc. 68 Wolle y-tesed or subtile stupez of line. 1555Eden Decades (Arb.) 222 He putteth his toonge to one of the ryftes..being as subtyle as the edge of a swoorde. 1612Shelton Quix. (1620) I. iii. 18 Some slight and subtill wallets, which could scarce be perceiued. 1616B. Jonson Devil an Ass Prol. 5 Though you presume Satan a subtill thing, And may haue heard hee's worne in a thumbe-ring. 1665Boyle Occas. Refl. iv. iv. 69 The subtil threds of Silk-worms. 1742Pope Dunc. iv. 590 Arachne's subtile line.
fig.1870Lowell Among my Bks. Ser. i. (1873) 158 Every subtilest fibre of feeling.
†b. Of ships: Narrow, slender. Cf. OF. galere subtile. Obs.
c1489Caxton Blanchardyn 151, xxx grete shyppes and four score galeys subtyl. 1599Hakluyt Voy. II. i. 78 Gallies, aswell bastards as subtill mahonnets.
4. Of powder, etc.: Fine, minute; = subtle a. 4.
a1425tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula etc. 41 Þe moste subtile mele of barly. 1513Life Hen. V (1911) 110 Many heapes of sand, wch was so subtill and smale, that it mooued wth everie wynde. 1545T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde (1552) 136 b, Beynge fyrst beaten to subtyle powdre. c1600Chapman Iliad ix. 629 The subtile fruit of flax. 1683K. Digby Chym. Secrets 77 Take Antimony Mineral..in subtil Powder. 1697J. Headrich Arcana Philos. 30 Of this Marchasite..make a subtile Powder. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XI. 447/1 Beat your ore into a most subtile powder.
5. Involving careful discrimination or fine points; † difficult, abstruse; = subtle a. 5.
c1386Chaucer Man of Law's T. 80 Many a subtil resoun forth they leyden. 1390Gower Conf. III. 331 In proverbe and in probleme Sche spak, and bad he scholde deme In many soubtil question. 1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 14 It be sum part subtile to under⁓stand. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 13 b, Let vs not throughe a subtill interpretation accompt king Charles a Germaine. 1565Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Abstrusior, Disputatio abstrusior, a more subtill, hard, or obscure disputacion. 1598Stow Surv. 44 Halfe pence and Farthinges, the account of which is more subtiller then the pence. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. 352 [Odo] was committed to prison by a subtile distinction, as Earle of Kent, and not Bishop of Baieux. 1651Hobbes Leviathan i. xv. 79 This may seem too subtile a deduction of the Lawes of Nature, to be taken notice of by all men. 1664Comenius' Janua Ling. 755 The study of the Mathematicks is as profitable, as subtil (deep). 1788Reid Active Powers iii. iv. 162 There has been much subtile disputation in ancient and modern times.
6. Fine, delicate; = subtle a. 6.
1599Sir J. Davies Nosce Teipsum ii. Introd. xxiv, But of that clocke within our breasts we beare, The subtill motions we forget the while. 1625B. Jonson Staple of N. ii. iv. 164 Like a knitting needle, To serve by subtill turnes. 1634W. Tirwhyt tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. I.) 305 Those other more fine, and subtile vertues I cannot learne at Court. 1752Hume Pol. Disc. i. 3 Some principles..which may seem too refin'd and subtile for such vulgar subjects. 1858Longfellow M. Standish vi. 4 As if thought had the power to draw to itself..Whatsoever it touches, by subtile laws of its nature. 1871Edin. Rev. Apr. 428 The subtilest differences of perception and emotion. 1885F. B. Van Voorst Without a Compass 20 Those intricate questions that possess so subtile a charm. 1888E. Clodd Story Creation xi. 216 Their subtile shades of meaning.
†7. Of persons: Clever, dexterous, skilful; = subtle a. 7. Obs.
c1374Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 88 He was..subtill in þat Crafte. c1385― L.G.W. 672 Sche..made hire subtyl werkemen make a schryne. 1390Gower Conf. III. 114 It causeth yit A man to be soubtil of wit To worche in gold. c1450Merlin i. 21 This Blase was a nobill clerk and subtile. 1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 38 [He] was rycht subtile in spech of Latyn. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xi. 277 He was the subtillest nygramancer that ever was in the worlde.
†8. Cleverly devised; ingeniously contrived; ingenious; = subtle a. 8. Obs.
c1384Chaucer H. Fame 1188 Many subtile compassinges Babewynnes and pynacles Ymageries and tabernacles I say. 1390Gower Conf. III. 40 A wonder soubtil thing he wroghte. c1391Chaucer Astrol. ii. §40, I tok a subtil compas. 1484Caxton (title) Here begynneth the book of the subtyl historyes and Fables of Esope. 1577–87Holinshed Chron. III. 833/2 Blew veluet and cloath of siluer, all to cut in subtill knots. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. viii, By great artifice and subtill architecture builded. 1659J. Leak Waterwks. 23 A very Subtile Engin, to raise a standing Water, by means of the Sun.
9. Of persons, animals, their actions, etc.: Crafty, artful, sly, cunning; = subtle a. 10.
c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 2559 Be war ȝe wemen of ȝoure subtyl fo. 1386Rolls of Parlt. III. 225/1 Many wronges subtiles, and also open oppressions. 1390Gower Conf. I. 231 To voide with a soubtil hond The beste goodes of the lond And bringe chaf and take corn. 1513Douglas æneis vi. ii. 43 In subtell wordis of obscurite Involupand the trewth and verite. 1549Latimer Ploughers (Arb.) 32 He goeth aboute bi his sleyghtes and subtyle meanes, to frustrate the same. 1575Gascoigne Kenelworth Wks. 1910 II. 108 In sweetest flowres the subtyll Snakes may lurke. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. iv. ii. 95 Thou subtile, periur'd, false, disloyall man. 1611Bible Gen. iii. 1 The serpent was more subtill [Coverdale sotyller] then any beast of the field. 1628Feltham Resolves ii. ix. 23 Taken with the subtile cozenages of Vice. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 199 Their [crocodiles'] condition is subtile (such their bloudie teares when they haue deuoured a man proue them for). 1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. i. iii. (1686) 8 They are mocked into Error by subtiler devisors. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. 71 The Goats were so shy, so subtile, and so swift of Foot. 1814Southey Roderick x. 346 And with such subtile toils enveloped him. 1850Hare Mission Comf. 137 To overcome sin's fiercest and subtilest temptations.
†b. Of looks: Sly. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 277 Swich subtil lookyng and dissymelynges. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxxxiv. 35 Be subtill winkis, and thair desaitfull talis. 1513Douglas æneis vii. Prol. 100 Hir subtell blenkis sched and wattry lycht.
10. Characterized by sagacity or penetration; discriminating, discerning; = subtle a. 9.
1474Caxton Chesse ii. v. (1883) 65 Ther was a kynge of so subtyll engyne That [etc.]. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lvii. 194 Frenchemen are ryght subtyl in gyuyng of good counsell. Ibid., Gerames, who was subtyl, wel perceyued the mynde of the lady. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. i. iii. 79 She is too subtile for thee. 1611Bible 2 Sam. xiii. 3 Ionadab was a very subtill man. 1612Bacon Ess., Studies (Arb.) 11 Histories make men wise, Poets wittie, the Mathematickes subtill [1598 subtle]. 1691Ray Creation i. (1692) 71 How or why that should have such influence upon the Spirits..I am not subtil enough to discern. 1718Prior Solomon ii. 224 With subtil Wit and fair Discourse. 1741Betterton Hist. Engl. Stage iii. 34 This was a Nicety in Acting that none but the most subtile Player could so much as conceive. 1826Disraeli Viv. Grey v. vi. 200 The most subtile diplomatist. 1875Stedman Vict. Poets (1887) xi. 411 A subtile observer would perceive how truly he [sc. Shelley] represents his own time.
11. Of feeling, sense: Acute, keen.
1610J. Guillim Heraldry iii. v. (1660) 123 By reason that our sight is far more subtill and apprehensive than is our hearing. 1662J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 2 The stinch also offends it, and makes those heart-sick whose smelling is subtile. 1718Prior Solomon iii. 136 Pass we the slow Disease, and subtil Pain. 1721Bradley Philos. Acc. Wks. Nat. 54 In which I suppose there is contained their most Subtile sense of feeling. 1847Longfellow Evang. ii. iv, A secret Subtile sense crept in of pain. 1913Dorland Med. Dict. (ed. 7) 917/2 Subtile, keen and acute, as, a subtile pain.
12.
†a. Of weight, after tare has been deducted. Cf. subtle a. 12. Obs.
1502Arnolde Chron. (1811) p. xvi, The rekenynge of grocery, and weight sobtyll and grosse. 1660T. Willsford Scales Comm. 107 What those gross or subtile summes do make in pence.
†b. Of a quantity: Belonging to a lower denomination. Obs.
15..MS. Harl. 660 lf. 81 b, Euery subtylle grayne [doth] contayne 20 mytes. 1542Recorde Gr. Artes (1640) 120 Whatsoever thing is compared to other, if it be greater, and containeth many of them, it is a grosse denomination: but if it be lesser..then are they called the subtile denominations. 1579Digges Stratiot. i. vi. 10 Grosse to subtile by Multiplication, Subtile, to grosse by partition is perfourmed.
13. Comb., as subtile-pated, subtile-witted adjs.
1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. i. 25 The subtile-witted French. c1595Donne Sat. i. 62 Our subtile-witted antique youths. 1655W. Gurnall Chr. in Arm. i. 103 The subtilest-pated men.
†B. n. pl. Fluids. Obs. rare.
a1585Montgomery Sonn. lvi. 9 Suppose the solids subtilis ay restrantis.
▪ II. † subtile, v. Obs.
Also 6 suptyle.
[ad. med.L. subtīliāre (whence OF. soutillier, subtilier, It. sottigliare): see subtiliate v.]
1. trans. To make subtile or thin; to rarefy.
1471Ripley Comp. Alch. i. vii. in Ashm. (1652) 130 Lat the Body be sotelly fylyd With Mercury, as much then so subtylyd. 1495Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. xix. xi. 871 Whyte colour is gendrid for thynnynge and subtyllynge of partyes of the matere. 1528Paynell Salerne's Regim. Y j b, Heatynge, subtilynge & dissoluynge hit [sc. phlegm]. c1530Judic. Urines ii. viii. 33 b, Whan kynd hete hath more suptyld & maystred y⊇ mater than appereth. c1550Lloyd Treas. Health I viij, By subtyllynge the humore. 1605Timme Quersit. iii. 189 All the humours of our body are made thinne and subtiled.
2. To imagine craftily.
1537Instit. Chr. Man A 3 Charmes, wytche-craftes, or any other false artes subtiled and inuented by the dyuell. |