| 释义 |
▪ I. ensemble, adv. and n.|ɑ̃sɑ̃bl|
Also 5 insamble.
[a. Fr. ensemble:—late L. insimul, f. in in + simul at the same time.]
A. adv. Together, at the same time.
c1440Anc. Cookery in Househ. Ord. (1790) 457 And when hit is boylet ensemble in the settynge doune, put therto a lytel vynegur. 1494Fabyan vii. 482 The .ii. cardynallys ensemble sped theim vnto Parys. Ibid. vii. 574 Vpon the .vii. daye in lyke wyse played insamble an Henauder, and one Iohn Standysshe, esquyer. a1528Skelton Sp. Parrot 417 For ffrantiknes and wylfulnes and braynles ensembyll, The nebbis of a lyon they make to trete and trembyll. 1861G. Meredith Let. 19 Nov. (1970) I. 115 Before dinner we all bathed in Como, ladies and gentlemen ensemble. 1966Auden About House 44 He, she, or both ensemble Emerge from a private cavity to be reborn.
‖B. n. (Only as Fr.)
1. a. All the parts of anything taken together so that each part is considered only in relation to the whole; the general effect (of a person's appearance, a whole work of art, etc.). Also tout ensemble |tut ɑ̃sɑ̃bl| [Fr. tout all] in same sense.
1703Tate Portrait-Roy. H.M. Picture Notes 22 There must be, what Painters call, an agreement of the Tout Ensemble. 1750Chesterfield Lett. (1792) III. 70 All these trifling things..collectively form that pleasing je ne sçais quoi, that ensemble which they are utter strangers to. 1782T. Pownall Antiq. 81 The ensemble of the piece will be hid from us and unintelligible. 1802M. Berry Jrnl. 16 Mar. (1866) II. 137 A long pas de deux was performed with such a perfect ensemble and precision, that [etc.]. 1823Byron Juan xiv. xl, The ‘tout ensemble’ of his movements wore a Grace. 1833H. Martineau Briery Cr. v. 108 One might almost call his ensemble slovenly to-day. 1855H. Spencer Princ. Psychol. (1872) II. vi. ix. 126 The proportions of its body and limbs in their ensemble and details, are nearly the same. 1879Beerbohm Patagonia iii. 37 A shaggy beard and moustache completed the toutensemble of his really striking face. 1915M. E. Perugini Art of Ballet iii. xxxiii. 293 There had hardly been, perhaps, quite that unity and perfection of ensemble which the coming of a dancer of superb technique made possible.
b. A woman's dress, hat, etc., as a complete whole.
1927Weekly Dispatch 6 Nov. 16 A simple ensemble..in shades of brown. Ibid., The afternoon ensemble is by no means dead. 1930Daily Express 8 Sept. 5/5 White rabbit, brocade, velvet..add considerable chic to the evening ensemble. 1969J. C. Penney Catal. Fall & Winter 105 A coat and dress ensemble made of Orlon acrylic knit.
2. Mil. (See quot.)
1853Stocqueler Mil. Encycl., Ensemble, together; the exact execution of the same movements, performed in the same manner, and by the same motions.
3. a. Mus. The united performance of all voices or all instruments in a piece of concerted music, or of a chorus and orchestra; also, the manner in which this is done; the musicians comprising such a concert group or orchestra.
In quot. 1951 applied to the united performance of voices in an operatic chorus.
1844Musical Examiner 28 Sept. 809 It was really possible for five principal vocalists to achieve a perfect ensemble. 1880Grove Dict. Mus. II. 659/2 A feeling of carelessness..which the conductor must be quick to detect lest the ensemble be marred thereby. 1915Musical Q. I. 83 We must put up with ensemble when we want to talk of that part of music, which is produced by the co-operation of several performers. Ibid., Much care is required to secure a good ensemble in a vocal piece. 1927Observer 27 Nov. 14/4 The ensemble between pianoforte and violoncello was good. 1929Encycl. Brit. VIII. 616/2 The ‘ensemble numbers’ of an opera (trio, quartet and so forth). By extension the term is applied to the process of combining in this manner and to the skill with which it is accomplished. Thus in this sense it may be said that the ensemble of a choir or of a quartet was poor. 1934S. R. Nelson All about Jazz iv. 71 His band can rank with the world's finest symphony orchestras in precision..and all those other attributes which go to make the finest musical ensembles. 1946Penguin Music Mag. I. 20 The present management of Covent Garden..will cordially welcome occasional visits from complete foreign ensembles. 1947A. Einstein Mus. in Romantic Era xvi. 242 Here again are ensembles like the quintet at the end of the first half of the last act, even though it is no dramatic Mozartian ensemble. 1951Auden & Kallman Rake's Progress iii. 45 At the end of the ensemble, the voices of Rakewell and Shadow are again heard from the street. 1970N.Y. Times 8 Nov. 84/5 The New York Rock Ensemble.
b. In ballet, musical comedy, or variety, a ‘chorus’ of dancers; a dance performed by such a group.
1915M. E. Perugini Art of Ballet iii. xxxiv. 303 ‘Ship Ahoy!’ a nautical one-scene divertissement... The final ensemble, when the lady passengers..danced beneath the soft glow of the swinging lanterns was a particularly novel, pretty and inspiriting picture. 1921Wodehouse Jill the Reckless xi. 161 The ladies of the ensemble were changing their practice-clothes after a particularly strenuous rehearsal. 1922Beauclerk & Evrenov tr. Svetlov's Thamar Karsavina 61 Karsavina's rôle is..devoid of incident and overwhelmed by the too brilliant and confusing ensemble that surrounds her. 1930T. Karsavina Theatre Street II. xvi. 213 The ensemble lagged; Fokine..suddenly..flew at me. ‘How can I blame the corps de ballet if the star herself gives a bad example.’ 1933A. G. Macdonell England, their England vii. 102 Complete with.. hand-made smocks for ye gaffers..and aluminium Eezi-Milk stools for the dairymaids (or Ladies of the Dancing Ensemble). 1936A. Haskell Prel. Ballet x. 50 Instead of one brilliant individual and a mechanical group in the background there must now be an ensemble of dance artists, whose function it is to interpret instead of merely being occupied in keeping time and keeping line. 1958Times 11 Sept. 4/5 Lifar's opening Noir et Blanc made an impressive stage spectacle as it put the company through its paces in a series of testing solos and ensembles.
4. Math. A collection or combination of systems of identical constitution but in possibly differing states.
1902J. W. Gibbs Statist. Mech., p. xi, We consider especially ensembles of systems in which the index..of probability of phase is a linear function of the energy. Ibid. 116 A microcanonical ensemble of systems. Ibid. 169 The time-ensemble, or ensemble of phases through which a single system passes in the course of time. Ibid. 190 A grand ensemble is therefore composed of a multitude of petit ensembles. 1938R. C. Tolman Princ. Statist. Mech. xiii. 524 The properties of a thermodynamic system..may be studied with the help of the average properties of an appropriately chosen representative ensemble of systems. 1965D. Middleton Topics Communication Theory i. 1 We are concerned not with the transmission and reception of just one particular ‘message’, but rather with the set, or ensemble, of all possible messages for the purpose at hand.
5. attrib.
1929[see sense 3 a]. 1938G. Ffrangcon-Davies in R. D. Charques Footn. Theatre iv. 241 One gathers from contemporary records that ‘ensemble’ playing as we know it to-day was non-existent. 1939W. Hobson Amer. Jazz Music 204 Do Your Duty has an ensemble introduction after which Bessie sings thirty-two bars with a loose ensemble background. 1958A. Miller Coll. Plays 16, I saw the productions of the Group Theatre..the brilliance of ensemble acting. 1958Spectator 27 June 831/3 The Youth Theatre concerns itself with ensemble playing, not with turning out miniature stars.
▪ II. enˈsemble, v.
[a. OF. ensemble-r in same sense. Cf. assemble.]
trans. To bring together, assemble; also refl. and intr. for refl.
a1300Leg. St. Gregory 982 Þe cardinals al togider come, Ensembled þai were alle þo. c1380Sir Ferumb. 5467 Þay ensemblede þanne to-gadre anon. 1491Caxton Vitas Patr. (1495) 11 By very charite were they [the hermits] ensembled, alied and unyed. 1533More Apol. xlvii. Wks. 920/2 Openly by day they ensembled themselfe together to the noumber of an hundred. 1966Observer 20 Mar. 11/1 Our driver carefully changed his bowler for the modish Cossack tea-cosy, ensembled with string gloves. |