| 释义 |
▪ I. en, n.|ɛn|
The name of the letter N. In Printing, the half square, formerly of the type n, used as a unit for measuring the amount of printed matter in a line, page, etc. Also attrib., esp. in en quad, en quadrat, a block of metal half the width of the em quad (see also quot. 1967); en rule, a dash of the width of an en. Cf. N I 1 b.
1793,1808[see em]. 1875J. Southward Dict. Typogr. (ed. 2) 32 En dash.—A dash..half the length of the em of the fount to which it belongs. 1888Pall Mall Gaz. 10 Sept. 11/2 The ‘justifier’..spaces out the lines with great regularity and in so short a time that 20,000 ens per hour is about the average output. 1891Printers' Register 7 Dec., 49,000 American ems, equal to 98,000 English ens. 1893Hart Rules for Compositors 21 En rules are to be used in such cases as 1880–1, and not hyphens or em rules. 1904Goodchild & Tweney Technol. & Sci. Dict. 204/1 En quads, spaces exactly half of an em. 1921Glasgow Herald 22 Feb. 10 The first scale paid to linotype operators was 3d. per thousand ‘ens’. 1967En quad [see em].
▪ II. ‖ en, prep.|ɑ̃|
[Fr., = in; as (a).]
en attendant, in the meantime, while (one is) waiting; en avant, forward; en axe (see quot.); en barbette (see barbette n.); en beau, in a favourable manner; en brosse, of hair, cut short, giving a bristly effect; en cabochon (see cabochon and quot. 1940); en casserole (see casserole 2); en clair, in ordinary language (not in cipher); en cœur, in dressmaking, heart-shaped, V-shaped; en coquille (see quot. 1882); en déshabillé, in undress; also fig. (see dishabille); en évidence, in evidence, in the forefront, conspicuous(ly); en face, from the front, facing forward, (Bibliogr.) opposite; en famille, in or with the family, as one of the family, at home; en fête, in festival array, keeping holiday; en garçon, as a boy, as a bachelor; en grand seigneur, like a lord; en grande tenue, in full dress; en gros, in general, in broad terms; en l'air, ‘in the air’; (of troops) unsupported; en noir, on the black side; en pantoufles, lit. ‘in slippers’, hence, in a free and easy atmosphere; en pension, as a boarder in lodgings; en permanence, permanently; en pointe(s) Ballet, on the extremity of the toe(s); en poste, of a diplomat, in an official position (at a specified place); en prince, like a prince, in a princely manner; en principe, in principle; en prise Chess etc., in a position to be taken; en rapport (see rapport n. 3 and as separate entry); en regard Bibliogr. = en face; en règle, in due form; en retraite, in retirement, on half pay; en revanche, in return, as a quid pro quo; en route (see route n. 5); en secondes noces, by a second marriage; en suite (see suite 5 and en suite); en train, in progress; concerned, occupied (usu. const. with); en ventre sa mère [legal Fr.], in the womb, unborn; en ville, away from home. See also en bloc, en masse, en passant, en plein, en tout cas.
1743H. Walpole Let. 12 Oct. (1903) I. 389, I hope in time to have poems upon him... En attendant, I have sent you some pamphlets to amuse your solitude. 1793Gibbon Let. 25 Nov. (1956) III. 365 Leave to go abroad to-morrow and to go out of town when I please en attendant the future measures of a radical cure. 1801M. Edgeworth Belinda xii, En attendant here are your two hundred guineas. 1931N. & Q. CLXI. 73/2 We are still waiting..for his work to be accessible in English. They [sc. our readers] may, en attendant, like to know of an article..in the current number of the Dublin Review.
1815J. Simpson Visit to Flanders iii. 122 The man who, when the lives of others were concerned, could only cry, ‘en avant, en avant’. 1823Byron Let. 22 Apr. in Moore Lett. & Jrnls. (1830) II. 641 But never mind—en avant! live while you can. 1836tr. Bourrienne's Mem. N. Bonaparte xiv. 176 ‘Very well,’ said the chief consul, ‘en avant—let us proceed.’ 1845R. Ford Handbk. Spain I. ii. 218/2 The easy victories of the French over the Spaniards were mainly owing to their dashing en avant charges.
1901R. Sturgis Dict. Archit. 178/2 A monument is said to be en axe with a street when the centre line of the street passes through the centre of the monument. Two rooms are said to be en axe, or an opposite window or door, or two opposite doors, are said to be en axe when the axis of the room, pavilion, wing, or whole building passes through them, or even when they are centred upon one another with deliberate care to bring them exactly opposite.
1818Edin. Rev. XXX. 315 We have every reason certainly to be satisfied with the account she gives of us... We are certainly painted en beau. 1832Mill Let. 27 Dec. in Wks. (1963) XII. 132 A sketchy kind of book,..intended to throw light upon France, painting it & all it contains en beau. 1875Contemp. Rev. XXVI. 553 Painted en beau by the Ins or en noir by the Outs.
1901‘L. Malet’ Hist. Sir R. Calmady vi. ii. 500 Zimmermann, the colossal Swiss-German courier, with his square, yellow beard and hair en brosse. 1909H. G. Wells Tono-Bungay ii. iii. 192 Ewart had returned with his hair cut en brosse. 1924M. Kennedy Constant Nymph i. 15 He..wore his dark hair en brosse. 1957R. Mason World Suzie Wong ii. viii. 239 The familiar shape of the head under the en brosse hair.
1889N.E.D. s.v. cat's-eye, A precious stone..which, when cut en cabochon [etc.]. 1910J. Buchan Prester John (1922) xi. 150 There were fifty-five rubies in it... In shape they were oval, cut on both sides en cabochon. 1940Chambers's Techn. Dict. 294/2 En cabochon, a style of cutting used in the case of certain gemstones, notably garnets... Such stones are not facetted, but a smooth-domed surface is produced, the plan of the stone being circular or oval.
1897En clair [in use at the Foreign Office]. 1920‘Taffrail’ H.M.S. Anonymous ix. 189 The German commandant..made the following wireless signal ‘en clair’ to the British men-of-war. 1928Daily Tel. 17 July 10/7 Making ‘en clair’ wireless signals. 1960C. Mackenzie Greece in my Life 53 He went back to the Chancery and sent off a rousing telegram to the Foreign Office en clair.
1873Young Englishwoman Feb. 78/1 A dinner dress..with corsage open en cœur. 1874Echo 30 Dec. 2/2 These bodies [sc. corsages] may be..opened en cœur or square. 1882Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlework, En cœur.
1878Cassell's Fam. Mag. Apr. 295/1 The skirt is..bordered with a flounce en coquille. 1882Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlework, En Coquille, the French term to denote ‘shell-shaped’. The ribbon or lace is laid like a succession of scallop-shells, one above or over the other, in groups of threes.
1699M. Lister Journey to Paris 35 A young Gentleman in a Fur Cap en dishabille. 1808Edin. Rev. Oct. 133 A powerful mind en deshabille, and free from the fetters of study. 1877C. Reade Woman Hater I. vii. 172 Let me catch her en déshabille, with her porter on one side, and her lover on the other.
1818Lady Morgan Fl. Macarthy II. i. 6 Mr. Crawley now placed himself en evidence at his window. 1858Lytton What will he do with It? II. v. x. 226 George Morley and his fair cousin walked boldly, en évidence, before the prying ghostly windows. 1888S. Buxton Handbk. Pol. Quest. Day (ed. 7) 153 The anxiety of members to keep themselves en évidence. 1911E. M. Clowes On Wallaby vi. 162 The lack of courtesy, of patience, and consideration is all fully en évidence.
1768Sterne Sent. Journ. I. 41, I..eyed him as he walk'd along in profile,—then en face. 1931Periodical (Suppl.) Dec., The first edition text is printed with a transcript of the manuscript en face. 1936Burlington Mag. Mar. 117/2 She has turned slightly to the right and is looking at the spectator, her head en face.
1726A. Pope Let. June (1956) II. 380, I shall be much pleased to see you here en famille, but pray tell me the time..it being else a great uncertainty whether I may not..have strangers with me. 1787P. Beckford Italy (1834) II. 55 We passed the day quite en famille at Belem with a whole legion of Marialvas. 1843Thackeray Misc. (1857) IV. 86 It was vary kaind of you to come upon us en famille, and accept a dinner sans cérémonie. 1915P. Jones War Lett. (1918) 140 Flemish is almost always used by the people en famille. 1926D. H. Lawrence Plumed Serpent i. 14 How could any man's coat-collar look so home⁓made, so en famille! 1965C. D. Eby Siege of Alcázar (1966) iv. 82 A quiet luncheon en famille, and a nap in an olive grove.
1865‘Ouida’ Strathmore I. xi. 120 The city was in its spring-tide gaiety, the dense crowds were sweeping down towards the barrières of the west, Paris was en fête. 1888Lancs. Even. Post 3 Feb. 2/4 Haslingden Liberalism..is to be en fête this evening on the occasion of its annual soirée. 1942G. Mitchell Laurels are Poison xvii. 185 The whole of the College was prepared to be en fête.
1802C. Wilmot Let. 13 Mar. in Irish Peer (1920) 51 The little girls, till they are eleven or twelve years old most frequently dress ‘en garçon’. 1811L. M. Hawkins C'tess & Gertr. I. xv. 248 He soon settled himself again, en garçon, in chambers. 1866Mrs. H. Wood Elster's Folly xvii, He was living quite en garçon, with only one man. 1929S. McKenna Happy Ending ii. i. 129 Mark Tollesbury will be in London en garçon. 1968‘M. Innes’ Appleby at Allington i. i. 9 He had invited Appleby to dinner—en garçon, since he was a bachelor and since Lady Appleby would not get back from London until next day.
1805T. F. Fremantle Let. 24 July in Wynne Diaries (1940) III. 185 If I succeed in my band, I shall indeed be en grand Seignieur [sic]. 1831Disraeli Yng. Duke iv. i, [It] prevented him from receiving his friends en grand seigneur in his hereditary castle. 1887G. B. Shaw Don Giovanni Explains in Wks. (1932) VI. 109 Speaking to her..en grand seigneur, I bade her do instantly whatever she was told.
1834H. Greville Diary 27 Nov. (1883) I. 41 A farce at which all the Court en grande tenue was obliged to attend. 1872W. Chaffers Keramic Gallery I. 59 A lady in the costume of Louis XIV., en grande tenue. 1927Blackw. Mag. June 749/2 He found the Rissaldar-major en grande tenue just back from a wedding. 1953C. Day Lewis Italian Visit iii. 42 Garish Campagna knocks at the back door, Rome calls en grande tenue.
1727M. W. Montagu Let. 23 June (1966) II. 77, I was glad to hear Mr. Remond's History from you, thô the newspaper had given it me en gros and my Lady Stafford in detail some time before. 1831Lady Eliz. Grosvenor Let. (1965) iv. 98 In some few things it might be advantageously altered, but en gros he is well pleased with it. 1904W. James Coll. Ess. & Rev. (1920) 446 Taking it [sc. a book] en gros, what strikes me most in it is the great sense of concrete reality with which it is filled.
1706P. Siris tr. Feuillet's Art of Dancing vi. 9 A Bending and Springing Step, with a Foot en l'Air. Ibid. Pl. xv. 39 Forwards en l'Air, and afterwards falling on the same Leg. 1808Wellington Disp. (1838) IV. 130 Its retreat to the sea should be considered in some degree en l'air. 1853C. Brontë Villette II. xxvii. 280 What had a person devoted to a serious calling..to do with Counts and Countesses, hotels and châteaux? To him, I seemed altogether ‘en l'air’. 1891‘L. Malet’ Wages of Sin v. i, I wait on circumstances. My plans are rather distractingly en l'air every way just at present. 1918Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms 204 En l'air... Said of troops when too far from the main body, either to render assistance or to receive support. 1964W. B. Pemberton Battles of Boer War vi. 164 The extreme right of the Boers was practically en l'air and deserted.
1860E. Eden Semi-attached Couple II. iii. 40 Perhaps I see things en noir today. 1875En noir [see en beau]. 1905Mrs. H. Ward Marriage W. Ashe ii. xi. 197 She must know that everything she does is seen there en noir. 1912A. Lang Shakes., Bacon & Gt. Unknown xiii. 282 No wonder that he turned to tragedy..and saw life en noir.
1921J. Conrad Wks. XVIII. p. viii, The only thing that will not be found amongst those Figures and Things that have passed away will be Conrad en pantoufles. 1930Time & Tide 2 May, His secretary..had a little work up his sleeve, all ready to be printed and published on the morrow of France's burial, in which he was to be exposed ‘en pantoufles’. 1955Times 12 May 13/4 The authority and erudition he can pack into eight pages on ‘The North-East in the Eighteenth Century’..is yet one more proof that he is never en pantoufles.
1816En pension [see pension n. 6 c]. 1889Athenæum 14 Sept. 351/1 The persistence with which Mrs. Markenfeld..remains en pension in a gloomy house with such abominable company.
1848Thackeray Van. Fair liii. 474 There were dirty trays, and wine-coolers en permanence. 1872E. Braddon Life in India v. 178 His Lares and Penates are erected en permanence. 1934A. J. Toynbee Study Hist. III. 12 To make themselves at home upon it en permanence.
1955Times 29 Aug. 10/5 Juliet expresses her character, and especially her emotional agitation, en pointes. 1959Times 1 Sept. 11/3 Miss Doris Lainë..did a wonderfully neat hop en pointe.
1932N. Mitford Christmas Pudding ix. 137 He..since being en poste at Cairo, had interested himself mainly in Egyptology. 1962John o' London's 31 May 517/1 While he was en poste in Paris he gathered much of the material.
a1700Evelyn Diary 16 Jan. an. 1679 (1955) IV. 162 A french Merchant, who had his house furnish'd en Prince. 1885‘L. Malet’ Col. Enderby's Wife I. ii. iv. 143, I was assured that you would be treated en prince. 1954E. Jenkins Tortoise & Hare vii. 69 When her father was alive they did a lot of racegoing... He used to do it en prince.
1928T. S. Eliot For Lancelot Andrewes v. 88 For Mr. Symons there is, at least en principe, a ritual..of ‘vice’ or ‘sin’. 1959Encounter XIII. 87, I agree en principe with most.
[1750Chess made Easy p. ix, When one Piece can take another, that other is said to be in Prise of the first.] 1821Kaleidoscope 13 Mar. 294/2 [He] had the privilege of taking such of the pieces..as might be en prise. 1902Encycl. Brit. XXVIII. 758/2 B moves anywhere not en prise. 1960R. C. Bell Board & Table Games ii. 48 Alquerque... If another piece is then en prise it is taken in the same move by a second short leap.
1909I. Bywater Aristotle on Art of Poetry p. xxxiii, I give it as rendered into Latin by Dr. Margoliouth..with the Greek of Ac en regard for purposes of comparison. 1959T. S. Eliot tr. St.-J. Perse's Anabasis 13, I have always refused to publish the translation except in this way, en regard with the French text.
1816T. L. Peacock Headlong Hall vi. 83 You are right, Miss Graziosa: your taste is correct—perfectly en règle. 1833C. MacFarlane Lives of Banditti & Robbers l. 63 Many of these Calabrians were banditti..and afterwards became robbers en règle. 1880L. Fagan Panizzi I. 42 Panizzi's passport being perfectly en règle. 1893G. B. Shaw Widowers' Houses i. 4 On the steamboat a little négligé was quite en règle. 1936C. S. Lewis Allegory of Love i. 6 A treatise, with rules and examples en règle for the nice conduct of illicit loves.
1848Thackeray Pendennis i, Specimens of the costume of a military man en retraite. 1860W. H. Russell Diary in India I. 57, I receive as a reward for my services..a post, with which I am well satisfied. I live in it for years. I use all my energies in it, and for me there is no future except en retraite.
1827E. Belgrave in G. Huxley Lady Eliz. & Grosvenors (1965) vii. 134 Dinner..is rather a long proceeding. But, ‘en revanche’, they are a very short time at dessert. 1841C'tess Blessington Idler in France I. 308 She offers him, en revanche, a cane, buttons, or a pin—in short, some present. 1883L. Oliphant Altiora Peto vii. 125 She gave a comical look at that lady's waist and elbows, which was evidently en revanche for the well-bred stare to which she had been subjected.
1891W. James Let. 25 Aug. (1920) I. 316 My Cousin Elly Emmet..is about to marry en secondes noces a Scotchman. 1909Mrs. H. Ward Daphne vi. 142 The Duchess had been..married en secondes noces..by an epicurean duke. 1961P. Green tr. Oldenbourg's Massacre at Montségur vi. 192 Petronilla, already married en secondes noces to Nuno Sanche.
1778H. Walpole Let. 27 Nov. (1904) X. 349 You cannot justly expect him to be very punctual at first, till he is got en train. 1803E. Wynne Diary 9 Sept. (1940) III. 90 We found the Ball already en train by the time we arrived. 1855Mrs. Gaskell Let. ? July (1966) 360, I am en train for applying to Miss ‘Temple’. 1891E. Simcox in K. A. McKenzie E. Simcox & G. Eliot (1961) ii. 56 The Miners had another big Congress at Paris, when I was en train with Babylonian weights and measures.
1772Ruffhead & Morgan Jacob's New Law Dict. s.v. Infant, II. Who are minors, and how far the law regards infants in ventre sa mere... An infant in ventre sa mere, or in the mother's womb, is supposed in law, to be born for many purposes. 1848Wharton Law Lex. 9/2 A child en ventre sa mère is..a life in being. 1891Law Times XC. 461/2 Beyond all question, for many purposes, a child en ventre sa mère is considered as being alive.
1860Once a Week 11 Feb. 152/1 She was so huffy that I told Blot I would dine en ville for a short time. 1884F. Boyle On Borderland 336 The horrid cookshops which send dinners en ville.
▪ III. en
early ME. variant of in. |