| 释义 |
▪ I. treat, n.1|triːt|
Forms: 4–6 trete, (5 trett, treet, treyte), 5–6 (9 Sc.) tret, 6 Sc. treit, 6–7 treate, (7 trait, trayte), 6– treat.
[In branch I, f. treat v.; in II. from F. trait, or other derivative of the same stem.]
I. Senses arising out of treat v.
†1. The action or an act of treating, or discussing terms; parley, negotiation; agreement; treaty.
1375Barbour Bruce x. 125 Schir alexander of Argill..send tretis to þe king, And com his man but tarying. Ibid. xi. 35 [He] tald quhat tretis he had maid, And quhat day he thame [the English] gevyn had. c1380Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. II. 248 In þis failen many men in tretes and acordis makynge. 1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy i. 2222 With-out assaut þe castel were y-ȝolde;..in swyche case longe trete were in veyne. 1448Paston Lett. I. 75 That comynycasyon and trete schold be had betwyxt hys counsayle and myne. 1529Registr. Aberdon. (Maitl. Cl.) I. 396 We þe saidis prowest bailȝeis consall and communite riplie auisit..be lang tret conuening togidder. 1590Spenser F.Q. iii. viii. 16 [He] Bad that same boaster,..To leave to him that lady for excheat, Or bide him batteill without further treat.
†2. An entreaty, a beseeching. Obs.
1601Weever Mirr. Mart. D iv, The King..Then vowes, prayes, treates; vowes, treates, and prayers vaine, From prayers, treates, and vowes he doth refraine. 1632Vicars æneid iv. 105 But none of all her treats or bitter teares Remove his thoughts. a1660Contemp. Hist. Irel. (Ir. Archæol. Soc.) II. 133 By word of mouth [he] made faire promises mingled with many treates.
†3.
a. = treatment 1; an instance of this. Obs.
1671Butler Ode to Du-Val iii, France..That serves the ruder Northern Nations With Methods of Address and Treat. 1702C. Mather Magn. Chr. ii. iv. (1852) 123 Those harsher and harder treats, which he sometimes had from the frowardness of not a few. a1711Ken Hymnotheo Wks. 1721 III. 286 All..Who had from him receiv'd injurious Treat.
†b. Treatment of guests or visitors; reception, entertainment. Obs.
1689Andros Tracts I. 107 After a very unkind Treat, we humbly prayed his Excellency [etc.]. 1698Vanbrugh æsop ii. i, I don't know how I shall return your friendly treat. c1710C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 148 Mr. Wm. Allen..gave me a very civil treate, being an acquaintance of my Brother.
4. concr. An entertainment of food and drink, esp. one given without expense to the recipient; a feast, refection, collation. Obs. or merged in b.
1651Evelyn Char. Eng. (1659) 32 They drink their crowned Cups roundly,..daunce after the Fiddle, kiss freely, and tearm it an honourable Treat. 1705Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) V. 536 According to the late acts, no money is to be spent or treats made upon account of elections. 1725De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 260 A very handsome table, covered with a cold treat of roasted mutton and beef. 1736Drake Eboracum i. viii. 379 He performed all the exercises and gave the usual treat for the degree of doctor in divinity. 1819Wordsw. Waggoner ii. 46 Our treat shall be a friendly bowl.
b. Hence, An entertainment of any kind given gratuitously, esp. to children; a pleasure party or the like.
1683Kennett tr. Erasm. on Folly 156 For a concluding Treat you expect a formal epilogue. 1791Burke App. Whigs Wks. VI. 131 The Bastile could inspire no horrours into them. This was a treat for their betters. 1841Thackeray Gt. Hoggarty Diam. ii, I had promised a dozen of them a treat down the river. 1885L'pool Daily Post 23 Apr. 5/2 Vanloads of happy urchins, bent on enjoying their Sunday school treat.
c. The action of treating or entertaining; one's part or turn to treat; an invitation to eat or drink.
1690Crowne Eng. Friar v. Wks. 1874 IV. 120 The bride is my kinswoman, so the treat to-night is mine, and I invite all this good company. 1888W. D. Lighthall Yng. Seigneur 135 ‘Shut up, Potdevin!’ said the only man who understood English, fearful lest the second treat should go astray.
d. to stand treat: to bear the expense of a treat.
1837Marryat Dog-fiend lv, Neither she nor the corporal would stand treat. 1841Thackeray Gt. Hoggarty Diam. ix, We had a very merry party at Vauxhall, Gus insisting on standing treat. 1885‘Mrs. Alexander’ Valerie's Fate i, That stingy old thing..would not go into a cake-shop, though I offered to stand treat.
5. a. Something highly enjoyable; a great pleasure, delight, or gratification. Also rarely applied to a person as an emotional expression of commendation (quot. 1825). colloq.
1770J. Wedgwood Let. 13 Oct. (1965) 98 Your stay here..was a most agreeable treat to us and all your friends in this part of the world. [1802Paley Nat. Theol. xix. (ed. 2) 373 Carrion is a treat to dogs, ravens, vultures, fish.] 1805E. Dayes Wks. 127 Here the admirer of nature will receive a high treat, from..woods, sinking into deep glens [etc.]. 1823Jefferson Writ. (1830) IV. 385 Her ‘Few Days in Athens’..has been a treat to me of the highest order. 1825Lady Granville Lett. (1894) II. 13 Lord Dudley is a treat, and deserves his cutlets for the admirable despatch he wrote. 1880McCarthy Own Times III. xxx. 4 His speeches were an intellectual treat. 1887–9T. A. Trollope What I remember II. 267 The excursion..was another-guess sort of treat. 1901T. J. Alldridge Sherbro xxiii. 237 An open shed-kitchen, so clean that it was quite a treat to look at it.
b. a treat (adv. and adj.): so as to gratify highly; extremely well; also (gen. or ironically) extremely, excessively. colloq.
1898[see duke n. 7]. 1899Daily News 8 May 4/2 This air makes yer liver work a fair treat. 1910Ibid. 24 Dec. 4 I've begun with a white-washing job. It pays out my arms a treat. 1942R.A.F. Jrnl. 18 Apr. 10 We..set light to a..dump of Iraqi petrol which went up a fair treat. 1959A. Sillitoe Loneliness of Long-Distance Runner iii. 185 The sports ground looked a treat: with big tea-tents all round and flags flying. 1960Guardian 23 Dec. 7/2 He had a stroke..but he's come on a treat. 1984New Yorker 17 Sept. 56/1, I knew this floor had life left in it... It's come up a treat.
II. Various obsolete or dialectal senses, not directly from the verb.
†6. In phr. on (in) treat, (a) ? at full length; in a series; (b) ? continuously, uninterruptedly, at length, at leisure. Obs. [Cf. OF. à trait ‘lentement, posément, a loisir’ (Godef.).]
a1400Morte Arth. 3655 The marynerse..Towyne trvsselle one trete, trvssene vpe sailes. c1450Myrc Par. Priest 1174 Hath þy herte be wroth or gret When goddes serues was drawe on tret? c1460Towneley Myst. xxx. 130, For wysely he spekys on trete.
†7. Med. A plaster or ointment spread on a cloth. Obs. [? Aphetic for entrete, OF. entrait adhesive plaster.]
c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 132 Take .iiij. partis of rosyn, & þe .v part of wex, & drawe abrood þat treet on a clooþ, & leie it on þe wounde. a1450Stockh. Med. MS. 87 For to make trete þat ys callyd playster of plombe. Ibid. 111 A tret for iche wound sanatyf. 1483Cath. Angl. 393/1 Trett, tractura, emplastrum. 1562Turner Herbal ii. 30 b, Wyth a cerote or treat made of waxe. 1639T. de la Grey Compl. Horsem. 304 This is a most soveraign treate or salve.
†8. = treatise n. 1, b, c. Obs. [? A curtailed form of tretis, treatise, the -is being taken as pl. suffix. But cf. also F. traité treatise.]
c1400tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 87 We shhall determyn after by a short trete, of propertez & vertuz of herbes. c1440Promp. Parv. 502/2 Trete (H., P. tretye or tretyce, A. tretyng), tractatus. c1450Holland Howlat 307 At the forsaid trist quhar the trete tellis. c1485Digby Myst. iv. 3 Rede this treyte. 1536Bellenden Cron. Scotland (1821) I. p. liv, To schaw the auld maneris of Scottis..under ane compendius treit. 1548Gest Pr. Masse in H. G. Dugdale Life (1840) App. 72 Thys matteir..I have chosen..too entreate upon, in respecte ye treate therof is..avaylable and nedeful. a1555Philpot Exam. & Writ. (Parker Soc.) 340 Let us proceed unto another treate of Florebell's.
†9. = trace n.2 1, 2: chiefly in pl. traces. Obs. rare. [a. F. traits, earlier traiz, trais, whence Eng. trays, trace (taken as sing., with pl. traces).]
1611Cotgr., Traict,..a team-trace, or trait; the cord or chaine that runs betweene the horses, etc. 1613Markham Eng. Husbandman i. i. viii. (1635) 45 The Treates by which the Horses draw, being strong cords made of the best Hempe. 1620― Farew. Husb. ii. xiii. (1668) 61 To the big end of this harrow you shall fix a strong rope with a swingle-tree with Treats, Coller, and Harness. [c1880Elworthy Let. to Editor, Traces of rope, by which horses drag the plough. Still called traites in Dorsetsh. to distinguish from chain-traces.]
†10. A feature, lineament: = tract n.3 7; cf. trait 4. Obs.
1721Ramsay Tea-t. Misc., O'er Bogie iii, There a' the beauties do combine Of colour, treats and air.
11. attrib. † treat net, some kind of fishing net; ? a drag-net (obs.).
1584in Descr. of Thames (1758) 63 Treat Nets, Peter Nets, must be two Inches large in the Meish.
▪ II. treat, treet, n.2 Now dial.
Also 7 treate, 9 trait, -e; (in sense 2) 3–4 trait, 3–5 tret, treyt, 5–7 trayt, 7 treate, trete.
[Origin uncertain; perh. F. trait, traite pa. pple. drawn, withdrawn, extracted: but no sense ‘bran’ appears in F.]
1. The second of the three qualities of bran removed by bolting from wheaten meal.
(Halliwell has ‘Trait, the coarser meal, Cornw.’; but this is not given in any of the Cornwall Glossaries.)
1641Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 105 In every bushell of meale that commeth from the mill there is very neare a pecke of chizell drossed out; which, hereaboutes, is called treate, in the South-country, branne. 1829Brockett N.C. Words, Bye-bootings, or Sharps, the finest kind of bran; the second in quality being called Treet, and the worst Chizzel. 1894Northumbld. Gloss., Treet, the second quality of bran. The finest quality is called ‘sharps’ and the coarsest ‘chizzel’. a1905S. Hewett MS. Collect. (Devon) in Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v. Trait(e, Near Barnstaple I heard a farmer's wife say—‘Yu ant atuked the traite out fine enough; there's a gude dayle o' the cuse bran long wi' this yer’ [You haven't taken the treat out fine enough; there's a good deal of the coarse bran along with this here].
†2. Here app. belongs the denomination
bread of trete (AF. pain de trayte, med. (Anglo-)L. panis de trete, treit), also simply trayt, the second lowest and cheapest quality of bread specified in the Statute of Bread and Ale, 51 Hen. III, 1266; the name remained in use down to the 15th c.
Also discussed by the legal antiquaries of the 17th c. and later (in many cases with erroneous guesses: e.g. in Blount Law Dict. 1670, Phillips (ed. Kersey) 1706, Jamieson Sc. Dict. s.v. Trayt, etc.).
The Statute of 1266 specified three (or four) varieties of bread of fine flour, of which the standard form was the wastel (OF. gastel, F. gâteau), and three qualities of inferior bread, viz. bread of whole wheat, bread of trete, and bread of any kind of grain; the farthing loaf of trete was to weigh twice the weight of wastel, on account of the bran left in it.
1266Act 51 Henry III, Stat. Bread & Ale, Quando quarterium frumenti venditur pro xij. d. tunc panis quadrantis de Wastello..ponderabit sex libras & sexdecim solidos..Panis vero de trait [v.r. tret] ponderabit duos Wastellos. c1290Fleta ii. ix. §1 [quoting prec.] Panis de Treyt. a1325(Eng. tr.) MS. Rawl. B. 520 lf. 43 b, Of al hol bred þe furþingwort sal weie a Coket ant an half. Bred of trait sal weie tuuei wasteles. Bred of alle kunne corne sal weie tuuei cokettes. 14..Ipswich Domesday in Blk. Bk. Adm. II. 175 Summe [bakers] maken wastel, ferst coket, and trayt all oonly; and summe symnel and trayt. 1420Marescalcia Prioris in Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 359 Non panem album nec tret, non pondera. 1425Ibid. 371 Panis albus ob' minus per iij s. & panis de tret. 14..Iter Camerarii c. 9 in Acts Parl. Scot. (1844) I. App. iv. 697 Tercio quod non panificant quodlibet genus panis ut lex burgi requirit, videlicet quachetum, wastellum, Symnellum, panem alsamyn, purum panem, et panem mixtum de treyt. 1609Skene Chalmerlane Air ix. in Reg. Maj. 150 b, Baksters sould be challenged that..4 They make not all kindes of bread, as law requyres; that is ane fage, symmell, wastell, pure cleane breade, mixed breade, and bread of trayt. 1607Cowell Interpr. s.v., Breade of treate, anno 51 H. 3, Statute of breade, &c., what it signifieth, I cannot learne. Ibid. s.v. Cocket, In the statutes of bread and ale, made anno 51 H. 3..you have mention of bread coket, wastell bread, bread of trete, and bread of common wheate. 1674S. Jeake Arith. (1696) 74 Bread of Treet seems to be Houshold-Bread of the best Wheat unravelled, or ravelled through the coursest Boultel. 1863Chambers' Bk. Days 15 Jan. I. 119/2 Trete bread, or bread of trete,..made of wheat meal once bolted, or from which the fine flour at one sifting had been removed. This was also known as ‘bis’ or brown bread, and probably owed its name to..bran being so largely its constituent.
▪ III. treat, v.|triːt|
Forms: 3–6 trete, 4–5 treete, 4–6 tret, (5 treite, trette, treatte), 5–6 trayte, traict(e, Sc. trait, 5–7 treate, 5–8 Sc. treit, (6 treact, traite, Sc. traitt), 6– treat. pa. tense and pple. treated (4–6 treted(e, etc.); also contr. 5 trete, 6 Sc. treit, trett, 6–7 Sc. treat, 6– Sc. and n. dial. tret.
[a. OF. tretier, traitier (12th c. in Godef.), F. traiter:—L. tractāre to drag, frequentative (intensive) of trahĕre to draw, pa. pple. tractus; cf. Pr. tractar, Sp. tratar, It. trattare.
The chronological order of senses in Eng. does not agree with that of L. tractāre or even of F. traiter. Senses 5 and 7 come nearest to the primary notion of tractāre.]
1. a. intr. To deal or carry on negotiations (with another) with a view to settling terms; to discuss terms of settlement; to bargain, negotiate.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 10383 Þe verste day of octobre þis conseil bigan, Vor to trety of is lond þer was mani a man. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xi. (Symon & Judas) 178 Or ellis ger þi fays be Rycht wondir fayne to tret with þe. 1390Gower Conf. I. 250 And aftir that of Mariage Thei trete and axen of hir wille. c1430Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 150 Begyn no trouble whan men trete of pees. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 302 They treated for a peace betweene the two kinges, but nothing came to effect. 1617Moryson Itin. i. 195, I..was forced to treat with unknowne Merchants for taking money upon exchange. 1647Sprigge Anglia Rediv. iii. ii. (1854) 140 The governor beat a parley, desiring to treat. 1795Ld. Auckland Corr. (1862) III. 353 My private opinion has ever been, that it is right in war to treat at all times. 1838–42Arnold Hist. Rome III. xlv. 306 They began to treat with Marcellus for the surrender of Syracuse. 1895Times 16 Jan. 14/2 The railway company..served upon Lord Gerard a notice to treat for certain land.
†b. trans. To handle or discuss (an affair) with a view to settlement; to negotiate, arrange, plan; rarely in bad sense, to plot (quot. 1622). In early use also with obj. clause. Obs.
1357Lay Folks Catech. (T.) 46 Oure fadir the Ercebishop..Has treted and ordayned for commune profet, Thurgh the consaile of his clergie, That ilkane that vndir him has kepynge of saules,..Teche and preche. 1375Barbour Bruce iv. 177 Quhen þis cunnand þus tretit wes. 1406Rolls of Parlt. V. 417/1 Come for to trete Pees or Trieues. 1485Caxton Paris & V. 52 He trayted that she shold haue of two barons that one. 1533Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. VI. 154 Passing to the Newcastell to treit the peace. 1622Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. ii. 154 Which of vs two treats falsehood, which intends diceit? 1658Bramhall Consecr. Bps. v. 133 That these things should be treated, and concluded, and executed all at one meeting. a1715Burnet Own Time an. 1673 (1823) II. 30 He was treating a marriage with the archduchess.
c. With advb. extension: To bring or get (into or out of some position or condition) by negotiation.
141426 Pol. Poems xiii. 139 While ȝe trete, ay þey gete. Ȝe trete ȝoure self out of ȝoure riȝt. c1440Lovelich Merlin 6554 A gret partye of the lond they hadden j-treted jnto here hond. 1681Moores Baffled 3 They..advanced to besiege Tanger, but were violently repulsed, say some; others say, fairly treated off by the Portuguezes. 1882Schouler Hist. U.S. II. 111 Eaton..indulged in some indiscreet reflections upon the administration for treating out himself and Hamet.
2. a. intr. To deal with some matter in speech or writing; to discourse. (In quot. 1509 transf. of pictorial representation.) Const. of, formerly also on, upon.
c1374Chaucer Troylus i. 686 (742) Man maketh ofte a yerde With which þe makere is hym self beten In sondry maneres as þis wyse treten. 1382Wyclif 1 Kings iv. 33 [Solomon] tretyde of the beestis, and foulis. 1390Gower Conf. II. 215 To trete upon the cas of love,..I finde write a wonder thing. 1509Hawes Past. Pleas. iv. (Percy Soc.) 17 The hall was hanged,..With cloth of arras..That treated well of a ful noble story. 1579Fulke Heskins' Parl. 527 The Sixtieth Chapter treateth vpon this text. 1652Needham tr. Selden's Mare Cl. 150 Objections..brought out of Writers treating of other matters. 1676Moxon Print Lett. 3 The Roman Capitals have..been treated of. 1681tr. Belon's Myst. Physick Introd. 46 The Author of this Discourse..having already..sufficiently..treated on that point. 1732Berkeley Alciphr. i. §3 Certain writings of our divines that treat of grace. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xx, What subject did you treat upon? a1873Deutsch Rem. (1874) 173 This book..treating of a most abstruse subject.
b. trans. To deal with (a subject) in speech or writing; to discuss. In mod. use often with mixture of sense 10: to deal with in the way of literary art.
c1325Song of Yesterday 155 in E.E.P. (1862) 137 Ensaumple here of i wol ȝou trete. c1380Wyclif Last Age of Chirche p. xxiii, Aftir þe opynioun of hem þat trete þis matir. 1382― Mark ix. 32 What tretiden ȝe in the weie? c1425Craft of Nombrynge (E.E.T.S.) 3 Þis boke tretys þe Craft of Nombryng. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. i. 1, I syr John Froissart, wyll treat and recorde an hystory of great louage and preyse. 1590in Fuller Ch. Hist. (1655) ix. vii. §27 That he [Thos. Cartwright] with others in some..Conference..or..Assembly..did treat, and dispute..these six Articles. 1734tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. (1827) I. Pref. 2, I have already treated them at some length. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. xii. 86 Questions which shall be treated under their proper heads. Mod. I wonder how he will treat the subject.
†3.
a. To entreat, beseech, request (trans. and absol.); in quot. 1500–20, to get by entreaty. Obs.
c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xliv. (Lucy) 16 Hir modyr..Scho tretyt with hire for to ga. c1400Sowdone Bab. 1923 Thus thay treted him to and fro; At the laste he sayde, he wolde. c1470Golagros & Gaw. 1047, I trete for na favour. Ibid. 1066 Schir Gawyne tretit the knight to turn his entent. 1500–20Dunbar Poems xvi. 14 Giftis fra sum ma na man treit. 1515Barclay Egloges iv. (1570) D j/2 To treate a tiran it is but thing in vayne. 1601[see treat n.1 2]. 1630J. Taylor (Water P.) Laugh & be Fat Wks. II. 74/2 He from thy labour treats thee to giue o're.
†b. trans. To speak to, address. Obs. rare.
c1400Destr. Troy 5309 Then Teutra þo triet men tretid o þis wise:—‘Ye worshipfull weghes, well be you euer’. Ibid. 12844 Tretis hom truly all with tried wordes.
†4. To deal with, apply oneself to, work at, carry on, manage (something). Obs.
1375Barbour Bruce i. 35 Off þaim I thynk þis buk to ma; Now god gyff grace þat I may swa Tret It, and bryng It till endyng. c1450tr. De Imitatione iii. iii. 67 Write my wordes in þin herte, and trete hem diligently. 1500–20Dunbar Poems xx. 42 With all thy hart treit bissines and cure. 1562Winȝet Cert. Tractatis ii. Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 21 He intendit to offer the signe onelie, and ȝe, to treit the veritie self of the sacrifice off the Kirk.
†5. To handle (in literal sense); in quot. 1607, ? to operate upon. Obs. rare.
1382Wyclif Col. ii. 22 Nether ȝe schulen touche, nether taste, nether trete with hondis tho thingis. c1440Pallad. on Husb. i. 75 Loke yf hit be glewy, tough to trete. 1485Caxton Chas. Gt. iii. 35 In especyall were ordeyned xij persones..whych shold treate & see the relyques. 1607Markham Caval. i. xix. (1617) 83 Those barbarous..Horsemen, which with distempered hands, rough brackes, or t[w]ownd snaffles, doe treate and breake their horses mouthes.
†6. To manage, rule, govern (a person); to lead, induce (to some course of action); refl. to conduct oneself, behave. Obs.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 335 Þis Lanfrank tretede [MS. tredede] and bylad kyng William conquerour by an holy craft, nouȝt wiþ grym chidynge. 1425Paston Lett. I. 21 The seyd priour and his brether, and I also, willen gladdely in these matieres by treted by yow. 1436Rolls of Parlt. IV. 501/2 The more sufficient that men be of liflode..þe more unlikly they are..to be treated or moeved to perjurie. 1496Dives & Paup. (W. de W.) i. xlii. 82/1 We may not treaten god ne put hym to no lawes. a1550in Dunbar's Poems (S.T.S.) 309/34 Treit weill thy self, and stand content.
7. a. To deal with, behave or act towards (a person, animal, etc.) in some specified way; to ‘use’ (well, ill, properly, reverently, etc.).
c1374Chaucer Troylus v. 134 And þat ye me wolde as youre broþer trete. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 222 Alas! þat folk, þat euir wes fre,.. War tretyt þan sa wykkytly, Þat þar fays þar Iugis war. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 552 Sho walde haue trete him all a mys. 1572Satir. Poems Reform. xxx. 79 Thy houshald trim and treit weill, thay confest. 1632Lithgow Trav. vii. 332 There are many Turkish and Moorish slaues, very rudely treat. 1711Steele Spect. No. 53 ⁋2 That Mahometan Custom..of treating Women as if they had no Souls. 1746Francis tr. Horace, Epist. i. ii. 15 Paris treats this Counsel with Disdain. 1816J. Wilson City of Plague i. iv. 299 Treat his grey hairs with reverence. c1850Arab. Nts. 604 The caliph..spoke to the young man, whom he had seen treat his mare so ill.
†b. intr. To deal with in a specified way. Obs.
c1400Rule St. Benet 441 Þai þat wil hir lare despise..With þam aw hir for to trete With preson & with penance grete. 1707Curios. in Husb. & Gard. 242 He treats with Aristotle, as one might do with Moses.
c. trans. To consider or regard in a particular aspect and deal with accordingly. (Often with as.)
1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 122 Gif thare be ony thing..possible to be done, he sall nocht trait it to be impossible. 1844Thirlwall Greece VIII. lxii. 147 The loss of so many captives was treated as a happy riddance. 1868M. Pattison Academ. Org. ii. 35 The clergy are often treated as obstacles to the diffusion of knowledge. 1886Law Times LXXXII. 94/1 Rules of judicial discretion..are not to be treated as hard and fast rules that can never be broken.
d. Colloq. phr. to treat 'em rough, to manhandle (people, etc.), to treat harshly or aggressively. As a motto: see quot. 1918. Also (hyphened) as attrib. phr. Chiefly U.S.
1918W. H. Allen Stories of Americans in World War 162 The men in the tank service have chosen ‘Treat 'Em Rough’ as their slogan, and a huge black cat as the emblem and mascot. Any cat that looks black enough and fierce enough is apt to be kidnapped and adopted by some tank battalion. 1930Amer. Speech VI. 83, I never have the same girl twice; I take 'em young and treat 'em rough. 1962Times 6 July 15/4 A treat-'em-rough warden of the old school.
†8. spec. To deal kindly with; to show kindness or respect to; to indulge, favour; to honour. Obs.
c1440Alphabet of Tales 128 Þe thrid confessur hard hym mekelie & spak frendlie vnto hym, & tretid hym. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxxvii. 60 Hir for to treit thai sett thair haill ingyne. 1549Compl. Scot. xi. 92 He vil tret, cheris, and promes grit reches til ony of ȝou that vil adhere til hym. 1556Lauder Tractate 27 To ponysche Vice, and treit virtew. 1581Satir. Poems Reform. xliii. 134 Gif he did gud, God wald he sould be tret. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. ii. (S.T.S.) I. 136 He mekle delyted in hunting..he trett mekle the seikeris of wylde beistes.
9. a. To entertain, esp. with food and drink; to show hospitality to; to regale, feast, esp. at one's own expense, by way of kindness or compliment, or spec. of bribery, as at an election (see treating vbl. n. 5).
1500–20Dunbar Poems lxxxii. 64 Thairfoir strangeris and leigis treit, Tak nocht ouer meikle for thair meit. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. xx. (S.T.S.) I. 91 Schir patrick gray satt downe to his denner and the erle treatit him and maid him guid cheir. 1644Evelyn Diary 27 Feb., At an inn in this village is an host who treats all the greate persons in princely lodgings..but they pay well for it. 1682Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) I. 162 The Morocco ambassadors attendants were treated yesterday by sir Thomas Boles, in Graies Inn. 1695Prior Prol. in Westminster Sch. 16 Our generous scenes are for pure love repeated, And if you are not pleas'd, at least you're treated. 1709Steele Tatler No. 95 ⁋1 She had been searching her Closet for something very good to treat such an old Friend as I was. 1839Thackeray Fatal Boots Feb., They gave me plenty of cakes and barley-sugar..I'd no need to spend my own money, for they would insist upon treating me. 1848― Van. Fair xxxvi, Rebecca..ordered a bottle of sherry and a bread cake..to treat the enemy's lawyers.
b. to treat (a person, etc.) † with or to: To entertain with (food or drink, or any enjoyment or gratification); also fig. (sometimes ironically).
a1550in Dunbar's Poems (S.T.S.) 308/6 Sa mony ar thair ladeis treitis With triumphand amowres balleitis, And dois thair bewteis pryiss so he. 1662J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 168 Some of the Caravan had been so treated with Aquavitæ, that being all dead asleep [etc.]. 1711Budgell Spect. No. 161 ⁋3 The Squire..treats the whole Company..with a Hogshead of Ale. 1712Arbuthnot John Bull iii. viii, I treated the Lawyers, their wives, and daughters, with fiddles, hautboys, drums, and trumpets. 1735Johnson Lobo's Abyssinia, Descr. xiv. 134 He treated us with the most opprobrious Language. 1852Thackeray Esmond iii. iii, I treated her to the fiddles twice. 1897‘Tivoli’ (H. W. Bleakley) Short Innings xiv, Dick had treated himself to two ices and a strawberry squash.
c. absol. or intr. To give, or bear the expense of, a treat or entertainment; to stand treat.
1710Swift Jrnl. to Stella 11 Oct., I dined to-day with Dr. Garth and Mr. Addison, at the Devil Tavern, by Temple Bar, and Garth treated. 1720Prior Prol. to Orphan 6 Our generous scenes for friendship we repeat; And if we don't delight, at least we treat. 1771Smollett Humph. Cl. 23 June, The ladies treat with tea in their turns.
10. trans. To deal with in the way of art (literary, pictorial, musical, etc.); to handle or represent artistically, esp. in a specified manner or style.
1695Dryden Observ. Art Paint. Wks. 1822 XVII. 493 Zeuxis and Polygnotus..treated..their subjects in their pictures as Homer did in his poetry. 1762–71H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) II. 134 Familiar subjects..treated with great lustre and fullness of colouring. 1848A. Jameson Sacr. & Leg. Art (1850) 318 The life of St. Stephen..has been treated in mural frescoes. 1889Parry in Grove Dict. Mus. IV. 27/1 The choral part [of Beethoven's 9th Symphony]..treats the theme in the form of variations apportioned to the several verses of the poem.
11. To deal with in order to some particular result.
a. To deal with or operate upon (a disease or affection, a part of the body, or a person) in order to relieve or cure. Const. with a remedy or remedial process, for a disease, etc.
1781Med. Jrnl. Mar. 150 The second class [of symptoms] are to be treated in the manner just now directed. Ibid. June 427 Seven patients in this disorder treated with mercury. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XI. 347/1 A new-born infant, instead of being treated with syrups, oils, etc., ought to be allowed to suck the mother's milk. Ibid. 352/1 Cutaneous eruptions have been successfully treated with electrization. 1800Misc. Tracts in Asiat. Ann. Reg. 327/2 The most adviseable method of treating the bite of a serpent. 1843R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xxviii. 359 We were treating the woman for the pains I have..alluded to. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 12 If his eyes are to be cured, his head must be treated. 1912Times 19 Oct. 8/2 Making the necessary allocation of the insured persons to the doctors who will treat them.
b. To subject to chemical or other physical action; to act upon with some agent.
1816Accum Chem. Tests (1818) 66 To treat the mineral water with the re-agents. 1845McCulloch Taxation (1852) 334 Potato-starch when treated with sulphuric acid becomes sugar. 1903Times 7 Mar. 7/5 These roads..should..be treated with a steam roller.
Hence ˈtreated ppl. a. in various senses of the vb.
1710Steele Tatler No. 195 ⁋5 Three Times in Four the treated Persons have been Males. 1893Outing (U.S.) XXII. 113/2 A glossy black substance,..which I concluded was highly treated asphaltum. 1897Daily News 5 July 3/3 They were similar in all respects, except that one was made of ‘treated’ timber and the other of ordinary timber. 1905Daily Chron. 10 Feb. 8/3 It is in shades that these treated metals are most effective. |