| 释义 |
unˈbend, v.
[un-2 3 and 7.]
I. trans.
1. To release or relax (a bow) from tension; to unstring.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 483 Lamech wið wreðe is knape nam, Vn-bente is boȝe, and bet, and sloȝ. c1290St. John 331 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 412 Þare-aftur sone he nam is bouwe, and unbende it ase he couþe. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints v. (John) 481 Þar-for he his bow vnbent. Þane sad sancte Iohne: ‘tel þi entent, quhy þu vnbent þi bow sa sone’. 1390Gower Conf. I. 108 Thanne was I furthest ate laste, And as a foll my bowe unbende. 141326 Pol. Poems 53 Pray we god his bowe of wraþþe vnbende. c1440Alph. Tales 274 Þe apostell askid hym whi it was vnbendid. 1503–4Act 19 Hen. VII, c. 4 Yf..servauntes..shote with their Crosebowe otherwyse than..to unbend the same. 1530Palsgr. 766/1 Unbende your bowes, syrs, nowe you come in to the towne. 1614Purchas Pilgrimage vi. v. (ed. 2) 590 Others 3. times vnbent their bows, & thrice again bent them whiles their horses ran. 1627Drayton Agincourt 61 Their bloody swords they quietly had sheath'd, And their strong bowes already were unbent. 1825Scott Talism. xii, Unbend thy arblast, and come into the moonlight.
†b. To uncock (a fire-arm). Obs.—1
1632Lithgow Trav. viii. 351 Holding vp my hand, and imploring for our liues.., they vnbend their fire-locks, and..did me homage.
†2. To slacken or weaken. Obs.
1605Shakes. Macb. ii. ii. 45 You doe vnbend your Noble strength, to thinke So braine-sickly of things. 1611― Cymb. iii. iv. 111 Why hast thou gone so farre To be vn-bent? 1831James Phil. Augustus vi, My curse upon time! for he..saps our castles, and unbends our sinews.
3. fig. To relax, to give relaxation to (one's mind, etc.); to free from serious occupations.
1594Southwell M. Magd. Funeral Teares (1823) 139 Unlesse thou wilt unbend her thoughts, that her eyes may fully see thee. 1604Marston Malcontent iii. ii. E j b, Thou that..Vnbendst the feebled vaines of sweatie labour. 1656Cowley Pindar. Odes, To Dr. Scarborough vi, Unbend sometimes thy restless care. 1725Pope Odyss. i. 335 Social mirth unbent his serious soul. 1753Hanway Trav. vii. xcviii. (1762) I. 459 In this palace..the king most unbends his mind. 1839Hallam Hist. Lit. iii. vi. §5 The extemporaneous comedy had always been the amusement..of all who wished to unbend their minds. 1856N. Brit. Rev. XXVI. 217 The mind of the reader is unbent, he puts aside for a time his own cares.
refl.1672Wycherley Love in Wood v. ii, Men in office too, that adjourn their cares and businesses, to come and unbend themselves at night here. 1711Addison Spect. No. 93 ⁋10 The Mind never unbends itself so agreeably as in the Conversation of a well chosen Friend. 1791Boswell Johnson Ded., Dr. Clarke..was unbending himself with a few friends in the most playful and frolicksome manner. 1891L. Falconer Mlle. Ixe ii. 38 A very different person from the Mademoiselle Ixe who unbent herself with Evelyn.
4. Naut. To unfasten, untie, undo (a cable, line, or sail).
1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. vii. 30 [To] vnbend the Cable, is..to take it away, which we vsually doe when we are at Sea. 1720De Foe Capt. Singleton (1906) 220 We immediately unbent all our sails,..and set up seven or eight tents with them. 1745P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 27 We split the Foresail and unbent it, and bent another. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §158 We found it equally difficult to get the bridle chain unbent from the swivel. 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxvi, We unbent the mainsail, and formed an awning with it. 1875Board of Trade Instr. Saving Life by Rocket, Unbend the Rocket Line from the Warp. 1882Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 124 What ropes are bent and unbent from the sail?
5. To allow or cause (the brow) to relax from a serious, severe, or frowning aspect.
1718Prior Henry & Emma 6 Wilt thou awhile unbend thy serious Brow? Ibid. 138 A softer Look unbends his op'ning Brow. 1811Lamb Hogarth Wks. 1909 I. 110 The..joke which has unbent his care-worn hard-working visage. 1816Byron Parisina xx, But never..smile his brow unbended.
6. To straighten from a bent or curved position; to unfold. Also refl.
1663Bp. Patrick Parab. Pilgr. xxx, They are the Souls whose Prayers God hears, who employ their hands as soon as they have unbent their knees. 1817Kirby & Spence Entomol. xxiii. II. 315 These [spines] are of great use in pushing them off when the legs are unbended. 1834–6P. Barlow in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) VIII. 99/2 A spring, which, in order that it may exert any force or give motion to a Machine, must first unbend itself. 1886N. Zealand Herald 8 Nov. 6/5 Three nets were unbent and a number of opening games played.
absol.1816Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xxiii. (1817) II. 315 They bend their legs like the grasshoppers, and then unbending kick them out with violence.
II. intr. or absol.
†7. To abandon an effort or attempt. Obs. rare.
a1400–50Alexander 1744 (Dubl. MS.) For-þi is better vnbende & of þi brathe leue. Ibid. 1974 For-þi it wer better vnbenden or þou bale suffre.
8. a. To free oneself from constraint or ceremony; to act in an unconstrained or genial manner; to relax one's seriousness or severity.
1746Francis tr. Horace, Epist. i. xviii. 106 Yet oft at home you can unbend, And even to trifling Sports descend. 1784Cowper Tiroc. 608 Ev'n in his pastimes he requires a friend, To warn, and teach him safely to unbend. 1831D. E. Williams Life & Corr. Sir T. Lawrence II. 351 note, He seemed to unbend, and give way to his humour. 1869Freeman Norm. Conq. vii. (1877) II. 28 In private company though he never forgot his rank, he could unbend.
b. Of the features: To lose severity; to relax.
1818Scott Rob Roy xviii, His hard features gradually unbent. 1897A. Dobson Poems, Tale of Polypheme xviii, Soon the Child Filled the lone shore with louder merriment, And e'en the Cyclops' heavy brow unbent.
c. To relax in purpose.
1877C. Geikie Christ xxxv. (1879) 413 His soul never unbent from its grand enthusiasm.
9. To alter from a bend or curve; to become straight or less curved.
1815J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 35 The spring, by unbending at the same time, loses a part of its power. 1861Geo. Eliot Silas M. xii, But the complete torpor came at last: the fingers lost their tension, the arms unbent. 1867A. J. Wilson Vashti xxx, The brow wore its heavy cloud, and the arch of the lip had not unbent. |