| 释义 |
▪ I. uncle, n.|ˈʌŋk(ə)l|
Forms: α. 3–7 vncle (5 wncle), 4– uncle (5–6 oncle). β. 4, 6–8 unkle (vn-) 6–7 unckle (vn, 7 wn-). γ. 4 unkel, 5 vnkel, 6 unkell (vn-), 5–6 vn-, unkil(l, -kyll (5 hunckyl, oncyll, ownkyll, 6 onkill); 5 vn-, uncull, 6 unckall. See also nuncle.
[a. AF. uncle, OF. uncle, oncle (mod.F. oncle, whence G., Da., Sw. onkel), = Pr. oncle, avoncle, Roum. unchiu:—L. avunculus mother's brother.]
1. a. A brother of one's father or mother; also, an aunt's husband (= uncle-in-law).
αc1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 20/27 To his vncle he gan go, Þe Erchebischop of caunterburi. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1937 Þre vnclen is moder adde. c1380Sir Ferumb. 169 Þe duk..drow ys swerd anon, & wolde ys vncle þar-wiþ herte. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 389 Alisaundre exiled dwelled awhile wiþ his uncle in Epirus. 1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy i. 3751 Iason..gan his vncle in ful lowe maner First to þanke. 1475Bk. Noblesse (Roxb.) 15 Henry the vte..made Thomas Beauford then erle Dorset hys oncle capteyn of yt. c1500Melusine xix. 97 For neuer I shall ete tyl that ye be hanged with your vncle. c1520Barclay Jugurth vi. (1557) 6 b, Se that ye worshipe and loue this Jugurth your worthy vncle. 1581G. Pettie tr. Guazzo's Civ. Conv. iii. (1586) 120 b, In families there are the Uncle and the Nephew, the Father in law and the Sonne in law [etc.]. 1653W. Ramesey Astrol. Restored 109 [This] signifieth..also the Uncle or Ant of the Querent by the fathers side. 1725Ramsay Gentle Sheph. v. iii, At last he spak and won, And hopes to be our honest uncle's son. 1756–7tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) IV. 214 Offering him the immediate payment of a debt due to his uncle. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) III. 353 If the son, in this case, die without issue, and his uncle enter into the land. 1866Geo. Eliot F. Holt i, Your uncle thought I ought to have you to myself in the first hour or two.
βc1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 475 How may oure hyȝe prestis..be grettur worldly lordis þen..kyngus unklis ande kyngus sonys? 1565Cooper Thesaurus, Auunculus, the vnkle on the mothers side. 1584Knaresb. Wills (Surtees) I. 145 Ric. Roundell ther unckle. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 696 King Edward the Fifth his Unkle by the mothers side. a1699A. Halkett Autobiog. (Camden) 32 Pretending his wife was dead,..and that her unckle Sir Ralph S. had assured them both of itt. a1727Newton Chronol. Amended ii. (1728) 239 Orus, with his mother Isis,..and unkle Typhon. 1779Johnson L.P., Pope Wks. IV. 15 She was obliged to converse only with those from whom her unkle had nothing to fear.
γ1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 235 Herodias, þat was afterwarde Phelip his wif, þat was Aristobolus his eme and unkel. 1415Sir T. Grey in 43 Deputy Keeper Public Records 585 Þe Erle of Somerset zowr uncull. 1451Paston Lett. I. 202 On of myn unkyll men..told it myn unkill. 1472Ibid. III. 41 Item, as for myn ownkyll William, I have spook with hym. 1539Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) 407 For as mych as my sayd unkyll ys well willyng. 1540Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) II. 255 A true copie of your unckall ys testament and last will. 1570Levins Manip. 126 An Vnkil, auunculus.
b. uncle-in-law, the husband of one's aunt.
1561Child-Marriages 3 All the premisses this deponent knowis to be true, bie cause he is Vncle-in-lawe to the said Homfrey. 1667Duchess of Newcastle Life Duke of N. (1886) i. 2 These two brothers were partly bred with Gilbert, Earl of Shrewsbury, their uncle-in-law. 1779Mirror No. 53 ⁋8 Among the rest was my uncle-in-law's partner.
c. In allusive use.
In the first two quots. directly from French usage.
1578H. Wotton Courtlie Controv. 275 Wheras other men accustome to visite their vncle when they determine to take truce for a time with their amorous trauailes. 1611Cotgr. s.v. Oncle, He is my neerest friend that fills my bellie; or he is my kindest vncle who doth feed me. 1678Ray Prov. 227 She is one of mine Aunts that made mine Uncle go a begging. 1785Grose Dict. Vulgar T. s.v., He is gone to visit his uncle, saying of one who leaves his wife soon after marriage.
d. Welsh uncle (see later quots.).
1747T. Carte Hist. England I. 210 Aeddon, who was welsh-uncle to Rydderch, made his escape to the Isle of Man. 1820Southey Wesley II. 108 He was placed under the care of the husband of his father's first cousin; which remote relationship comes under the comprehensive term of a Welsh Uncle. 1868Freeman Norm. Conq. II. App. 645 A ‘Welsh uncle’, that is the first cousin of a parent.
e. Dutch uncle (see quots.).
1838J. C. Neal Charcoal Sk. 201 If you keep a cutting didoes, I must talk to you both like a Dutch uncle. 1853N. & Q. 1st Ser. VII. 65/2 In some parts of America, when a person has determined to give another a regular lecture, he will often be heard to say, ‘I will talk to him like a Dutch uncle’; that is, he shall not escape this time. 1869East Anglian III. 350 There were the squires on the bench, but I took heart, and talked to 'em like a Dutch uncle. 1873Helps Anim. & Mast. v. 131 Milverton..began reasoning with the boys; talking to them like a Dutch uncle..about their cruelty.
f. In B.B.C. Radio: formerly, a male announcer or story-teller for children's programmes. Cf. sense 2 b and auntie b (b).
1923Wireless Weekly 8 Aug. 183/3 The Director of Programmes received me into the actual studio, where he and the other Uncles have so much fun over the Children's Hour. 1981S. Briggs Those Radio Times 12/1 Long before the Corporation was called ‘Auntie’..it had dozens of ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’ on its staff. 1985Times Lit. Suppl. 22 Mar. 330/3 Knight began to broadcast..after the war, becoming extremely popular as Uncle Max on the children's programme Nature Parliament.
g. universal uncle: see universal a. 9 b.
h. A male friend or lover of a child's mother.
1962Listener 31 May 935/2 His mother has never been married, has lived for some years at a time with a series of ‘uncles’ who have been the fathers of these siblings. 1968Ibid. 1 Aug. 155/2 The play is a simple tale of a boy who, lacking a resident father, grows up under the influence of various temporary ‘uncles’.
2. a. Used in addressing or designating one's uncle.
c1374Chaucer Troylus ii. 210 Nay blame haf I, my vncle, quod she þenne. 1547Edward VI in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. i. II. 148 Derest Vncle,..we have at good length vnderstanded..the good success [etc.]. c1570Bugbears v. vii. 97 O good vncle Donatus, ther is cawse I shold love you. 1598Shakes. Merry W. iii. iv. 49 Pray you Vncle, tel Mist. Anne the iest how my Father stole two Geese out of a Pen, good Vnckle. 1640Brome Antipodes iii. v, Beg. Sir excuse me... Gal. Yet good unkle. 1656Stanley Hist. Philos. Ded., The gratitude of, Dear Uncle, Your most affectionate Nephew. 1700N. Rous in Jrnl. Friends' Hist. Soc. (1912) IX. 184 With mine and Wifes..kind respects to Unckle and Aunt Abrams,..I rest [etc.]. 1793E. Inchbald Midn. Hour ii, Do not be alarmed, uncle; force is seldom used but to her that is willing. 1828Scott F.M. Perth xxiii, Uncle, you are a good huntsman. 1850Tennyson In Mem. lxxxiv, When..boys of thine Had babbled ‘Uncle’ on my knee.
b. Used as a form of address to non-relatives, esp. to elderly men (local and U.S.). Also in senses 1 f, h.
1793Gentl. Mag. Dec. 1083/2 It is common in Cornwall to call all elderly persons Aunt or Uncle, prefixed to their names. 1830S. P. Holbrook Sketches by Traveller 111 In many families..the children are taught to address the older servant as uncle or auntee, and this is sometimes more than a figure of speech. 1835J. H. Ingraham South West II. 241 Nor are planters indifferent to the comfort of their gray-headed slaves... They always address them in a mild and pleasant manner as ‘Uncle’ or ‘Aunty’. 1853Lowell Wks. (1890) I. 16 Formerly, every New England town had its representative uncle. 1855Kingsley Westw. Ho! xx, ‘Put this coat on your back, uncle,’ says some one. 1859Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 2) 492 Uncle, used in the Middle and Southern States in accosting an elderly colored man. 1876‘Mark Twain’ Tom Sawyer xxviii. 216 He let's [sic] me, and so does his pap's nigger man, Uncle Jake. 1923Radio Times 28 Sept. 11/2 Children's Stories—Uncle Donald and Auntie Betty. 1937Partridge Dict. Slang 337/1 Her children call him ‘Uncle’. 1945T. Rattigan Love in Idleness i. 280 Oh, don't call him sir, Michael. Call him—I know—call him Uncle John. 1962W. Faulkner Reivers ii. 30 His wife..was Delphine, Grandmother's cook. At that time he was ‘Uncle’ Ned only to Mother. I mean, she was the one who insisted that all us children..call him Uncle Ned.
transf.1847Emerson Repr. Men, Plato ad fin., Plain old uncle as he [Socrates] was,..the rumour ran, that [etc.].
c. Uncle Sam, the government (or people) of the United States of America.
The history of the expression has been traced by A. Matthews in Proc. Amer. Antiq. Soc. XIX. 21–65; see also R. H. Thornton Amer. Glossary 916. The suggestion that it arose as a facetious interpretation of the letters U.S. is as old as the first recorded instances, and later statements connecting it with different government officials of the name of Samuel appear to be unfounded.
1813Troy Post 7 Sept. (Matthews), Loss upon loss, and no ill luck stir[r]ing but what lights upon Uncle Sam's shoulders. 1839N. Hawthorne in Longfellow Life (1891) I. 334 Uncle Sam is rather despotic as to the disposal of my time. 1850N. Hawthorne Scarlet L. Introd. (1852) 3 The thirteen stripes turned vertically,..thus indicating that a civil..post of Uncle Sam's government is here established. 1884Harper's Mag. June 48/1 To cheat Uncle Sam in revenue matters is regarded as a..venial sin.
(b) ellipt. spec. (the members of) a federal agency.
1849Placer Times (Sacramento, Calif.) 1 Sept., Two Express Lines have been established between our City and San Francisco. Our old Uncle will have to ‘stir his stumps’ else his ‘regular’ arrangements will become a dead letter. 1950H. E. Goldin Dict. Amer. Underworld Lingo 231/1 Uncle... (Plural) G-men; agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 1953W. Burroughs Junkie x. 98 ‘He belongs to Uncle, now,’ said the [police] captain to my wife as they left the house. 1966T. Pynchon Crying of Lot 49 i. 17 The well-known portrait of Uncle that appears in front of all our post offices. 1971G. V. Higgins Friends of Eddie Coyle ii. 14 That's not working for uncle, Eddie. You got to put your whole soul into it. 1978‘P. Mann’ Steal Big ii. 8 The nerve I had. Uncle had made me prove it time and again.
d. Uncle George, King George III.
1829Marryat F. Mildmay iii, We make uncle George suffer for the stores.
e. Uncle Tom Cobleigh (or Cobley) and all: a name given to the last of a long list of persons (see quot. c 1800 for the ballad alluded to); a whole lot of people.
c1800Widdicombe Fair in G. Bantock One Hundred Songs of Eng. 72 Tom Pearce's old mare doth appear gashly white Wi' Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, Peter Gurney, Peter Davy, Dan Whiddon, Harry Hawk, old Uncle Tom Cobleigh and all, Old Uncle Tom Cobleigh and all. 1933E. A. Robertson Ordinary Families xiii. 287 When Dru..repeated to Margaret some gossip about an engagement, Margaret said casually, ‘Oh, and to Uncle Tom Cobley an' all, I suppose!’ 1941J. D. Carr Case of Constant Suicides iv. 55 They're all here: the Fiscal, and the law-agent..and Uncle Tom Cobleigh and all. 1963L. Klein Fabian Tract No. 349 i. 2 We..are exhorted to pant along behind the industrious Germans, Japanese, Russians, Americans and Uncle Tom Cobley. 1966Guardian 10 Sept. 14/8 It seems clear that a compromise, half-way solution had equally been ruled out by Government, Opposition, economists, press, TV, Uncle Tom Cobleigh and all. 1981D. Boggis Time to Betray xxv. 130 Stupid little man, dragging in old Uncle Tom Cobley and all.
f. Uncle Ned (Rhyming slang), (a) bed (also ellipt. as uncle); (b) head.
1925Fraser & Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 294 Uncle Ned, bed. 1955F. Brown Martians, go Home! ii. iii. 68 Hi got to speel or there's no weeping willow for my Uncle Ned. 1964Listener 31 Dec. 1053/1, I have spent an hour fixing the big, loose curls on top of my Uncle Ned. 1974J. Gardner Corner Men xiv. 194 Get out of that Uncle Ned, slide into your threads, and come down the nick with us. 1982J. Scott Uprush of Mayhem x. 105 ‘You did right, shoving him back in his uncle.’.. Uncle. Uncle Ned, Cockney rhyming slang for bed.
3. slang. A pawnbroker.
Usually preceded by a possessive pronoun.
1756W. Toldervy Hist. 2 Orphans IV. 113 The next week carried the new cloaths, which they bought at Bath, to their uncle's (if Humphry's expression may be used). 1796Grose The Olio 230 A shirt and hose I'd at my uncle's lodg'd. 1807E. S. Barrett Rising Sun II. 131 The bed⁓furniture was carefully preserved by my uncle, and when..I had gained a bed, and money enough to redeem the furniture, I put them up. 1855Thackeray Newcomes xii, ‘Dine in your frock,..if your dress-coat is in the country.’ ‘It is at present at an uncle's.’ 1869M. Collins Ivory Gate II. i. 19 You may want to take it to your uncle, you know, now that your secretaryship is about to be abolished.
4. to cry (holler, say, etc.) uncle, to acknowledge defeat, to cry for mercy. N. Amer. colloq.
1918Chicago Herald-Examiner 1 Oct. 11 Sic him Jenny Jinx—make him say ‘Uncle’. 1939Amer. Speech XIV. 267 ‘He hollered ‘calf rope’ or ‘He hollered ‘uncle’,’ are publishments of his defeat. 1941B. Schulberg What makes Sammy Run? vi. 139 Kit was the one who did him some good. ‘Okay,’ I said. ‘I'll cry uncle.’ 1962W. Stegner Wolf Willow iii. iii. 237 With good hay land and good range [we can] make this God darned country holler uncle. 1972D. Delman Sudden Death v. 122 ‘Stop it, darling, please.’ ‘Say uncle.’ ‘Uncle.’ 1980Amer. Speech 1976 LI. 281 Most American schoolboys are..familiar with the expression cry uncle or holler uncle, meaning ‘give up in a fight, ask for mercy’. Uncle in this expression is surely a folk etymology, and the Irish original of the word is anacol (anacal, anacul) ‘act of protecting; deliverance; mercy, quarter, safety’, a verbal noun from the Old Irish verb aingid ‘protects’... My unscientific sampling of English speakers in Britain a few years ago indicated that cry uncle is not familiar in England or Scotland.
5. appositive and Comb., as uncle devil, uncle father, uncle-figure, uncle-guardian, uncle-marquis; uncle-given adj.
1602Shakes. Ham. ii. ii. 393 My Vnckle Father, and Aunt Mother are deceiu'd. 1638Ford Fancies ii. ii, Our great uncle-marquis, Disabled from his cradle. 1789M. Madan tr. Persius II. 292 note, The relish or savour of morose uncle-guardians. 1828Lights & Shades I. 27 At the very first uncle-given dinner. 1897M. Kingsley W. Africa 93 Any leg or arm I saw that uncle devil pulling out to place within reach of the crocodiles; 1959Listener 10 Sept. 375/1 To a majority of Americans, Adlai Stevenson is an uncle-figure—‘good old Uncle Adlai’. 1975Times 8 Mar. 7/4 Such an uncle-figure as Johnny Carson..on late night television.
Hence ˈunclehood; rare—1; ˈuncle-ish a.
1846B. Barton Select. (1849) 100 Those five uncles of mine..grew not up to mature uncle-hood. 1928A. Huxley Point Counter Point x. 160 An occasional chaste uncle-ish kiss on the forehead. 1981P. Dickinson Seventh Raven xii. 166 He'd get much more mileage out of seeming friendly and uncle-ish.
Add:[1.] [g.] For def. read: fig. One regarded as having the kindly, protective qualities traditionally associated with an uncle; a benevolent adviser, protector, or patron; universal uncle: see universal a. 9 b.
1937H. G. Wells Star Begotten v. 85 There may or may not be these sane and mature watchers over human destiny, these Celestial Uncles, these friends in the midnight sky. 1959Listener 30 July 179/1 Jack London is forgotten as Hemingway's literary uncle. 1977J. Carey in New Rev. May 49/1 They were backed by various other ‘uncles’ and protectresses like Norman Douglas and Emerald, Lady Cunard. 1985Fortune 16 Sept. 107/2 The U.S. provides Jamaica with around $150 million a year in aid, but it is an unreliable uncle.
[2.] g. Uncle Joe, Joseph Stalin (see Stalinism n.), as the personification of Soviet communism. Now Hist.
1943W. S. Churchill in W. F. Kimball Churchill & Roosevelt Compl. Corr. (1984) II. 245 The castigation we have both received from Uncle Joe under date of June 11th was naturally to be expected. 1958P. Kemp No Colours or Crest (1960) vii. 142 A tall, heavily-built Kossovar, with a thick, black ‘Uncle Joe’ moustache. 1979T. Wiseman Game of Secrets i. 14 Churchill..was confidently expecting to be called upon again to save Europe—this time from the egregious embrace of Uncle Joe. 1986Lancashire Life Jan. 34/2 Once, passing a group of people, I was upset to the point of tears when one called out ‘Polish Fascist! Uncle Joe will finish the job for us!’
▪ II. ˈuncle, v.
[f. prec.]
1. trans. To address (one) as uncle.
1593Shakes. Rich. II, ii. iii. 85 Grace me no Grace, nor Vncle me, I am no Traytors Vnckle. 1872B. Taylor in Life & Lett. (1884) II. 592, I am ‘uncled’ from morning till night. 1884J. T. Trowbridge Farnell's Folly I. xix. 196 ‘Uncle! uncle!’ chattered old Carolus,..‘don't uncle me!’
†2. To cheat or swindle (of something). Obs.
Perhaps originally implying a pretence of being uncle to the person victimized; but the association with cozen v. and n., which appears in the quots., makes it also possible that uncle is merely a punning variation of cousin.
a1592Greene Selimus (1594) H ij, This is some cousoning conicatching crosbiter, that would faine perswade me he knowes me, and so vnder a tence of familiaritie and acquaintance, vncle me of victuals. 1606Sir G. Goosecappe v. i, And Neece tho you have cosind me in this, Ile uncle you yet in an other thing. 1608Dekker Belman of London Wks. (Grosart) III. 127 If the Cozen be such an Asse to goe into a tauerne, then he is sure to be vnckled.
†b. To deprive (an uncle) of life. Obs.—1
1602Chettle Hoffman i. (1631) C 3, Vncle, ile vncle thee of thy proud life. |