| 释义 |
affluent, a. and n.|ˈæfl(j)uːənt|
[a. Fr. affluent (14th c. Godef.), ad. L. affluent-em, pr. pple. of affluĕre: see afflue.]
A. adj.
†1. Flowing toward a particular place. Obs.
1432–50tr. Higden Rolls Ser. I. 63 The stonys of whom as meltenge thro the veynes of salte mixte among theyme causethe an humor affluente. 1666Harvey Anat. Consump. (J.) These parts are..raised to a greater bulk by the affluent blood that is transmitted out of the mother's body. 1759Symmer Electr. in Phil. Trans. LI. 386 The effluent current must have just as great an effect in separating them, as the affluent can have in bringing or keeping them together.
2. Flowing freely or abundantly.
1816Southey Lay of Laureate Wks. X. 152 And o'er his shoulders broad the affluent mane Dishevell'd hung. 1828Miss Mitford Our Village iii. (1863) 30 The beautiful Loddon, always so affluent of water, had overflowed its boundaries. 1863Burton Bk. Hunter 403 In the centre..is an affluent fountain of the clearest water.
3. fig. Of the gifts of fortune, etc.: Flowing in abundance; abundant, copious, plenteous.
1413Lydg. Pylgr. Sowle i. xv. (1859) 15 Thy grace alwey hath ben affluent, decrecyng nought..though never so largely thou geue it. 1589Nashe Anat. Absurd. 30 Dilating on so affluent an argument. 1725Pope Odyss. xix. 135 Their affluent joys the grateful realms confess. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xxxii, My son was already possessed of a very affluent fortune. 1875Stubbs Const. Hist. II. xvii. 625 The graceful and affluent diversity of the Decorated [style].
4. Hence, Flowing or abounding in wealth; wealthy, rich. Also fig. Const. in, rarely of. Freq. in phr. affluent society.
1769Junius Lett. i. 9 No expense should be spared to secure to him an honourable and affluent retreat. 1806Wilberforce in Life (1838) III. xix. 246 Considering the number of affluent men connected with Pitt. 1831W. & M. Howitt Seasons 255 The orchards are affluent of pears, plums, and apples. 1837Disraeli Venetia iv. xiii. (1871) 287 Existence felt to her that moment affluent with a blissful excitement. 1846Prescott Ferd. & Isab. I. iv. 200 Commodities..beyond the reach of any but the affluent. 1855H. Reed Lect. Eng. Lit. v. (1878) 173 The language became affluent in expressions incorporated with it from the literature of antiquity. 1958J. K. Galbraith (title) The affluent society. 1958Listener 25 Sept. 449/2 Many economists have lifted their eyes..to the coming age of abundance; even more sociologists have inveighed vaguely against the affluent society. 1959Observer 1 Nov. 1/5 Mr. James Griffiths..attributed Labour's election defeat to its being the party of change at a time when Britain had entered the ‘affluent society’.
B. n. [The adj. used absol.; prob. after mod.Fr. affluent n.] A stream flowing into a larger stream or lake; a tributary stream; a feeder.
[Not in Todd 1818, Richardson 1836, Craig 1847.]1833Penny Cycl. I. 433 The great Missouri with its affluent the Mississippi. Ibid. The table-land in which the Mississippi and the affluents of Lake Superior rise. 1853Phillips Rivers of Yorksh. iii. 104 The only remaining affluent of importance on its northern banks, viz. the river Hull. 1878Huxley Physiogr. 4 As the Thames rolls along, it receives a number of these feeders, or affluents. |