释义 |
gnatter, v. Obs. exc. dial.|ˈnætə(r)| 1. a. trans. To nibble. Also with away. b. intr. To nibble at.
1747Mason Musæus 65 Tityrus [i.e. Chaucer]..thus in antique guise short talk did hold..Old Time..Gnawen with rusty tooth continually, Gnattrid my lines, that they all cancrid ben. 1757E. Darwin Let. 24 Dec. in Life (1879) 22 Here Time with his long Teeth had gnattered away the remainder of this Leaf. 1882Lanc. Gloss. s.v., ‘He's olus gnatterin' at his finger-nails.’ 2. intr. a. To ‘rattle on’ in talk; to talk fretfully, grumble. b. (See quot. 1888.)
1806–7J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) Post. Groans xxxv, Gnattering and chattering with all his might, by way of treble to the running bass of my horse-laugh. 1888Sheffield Gloss., Gnatter, to grumble, to complain, to be peevish or querulous. Ibid., Gnatter, to rattle. |