| 释义 |
under foot, underˈfoot, adv.
Also underfeet.
[under prep. 4 (cf. foot n. 33), under-2. Cf. MDu. ondervoet(e.]
1. Beneath the foot or feet; on the ground:
a. With vbs., esp. tread. (Also in fig. use: cf. 2.)
αc1200Ormin 2561 Forr ȝho tradd deofell unnderrfot Þwerrt ut onn alle wise. c1400Hymns Virg. (1867) 12 To felle oure foomen vndir foote. c1475Mankind 199 in Macro Plays 8 Yt doth my soull myche yll, To se þe flesch prosperouse, & þe soull trodyn wnder fote. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 30 b, Yet is not theyr authoritie so decaied herby that euery man may treade it vnder foote. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. v. ii. 122 Katerine, that Cap of yours becomes you not, Off with that bable, throw it vnderfoote. 1603Dekker Wonderfull Yeare Wks. (Grosart) I. 107 His lockes that hang wantonly dangling, troden in durt vnder⁓foote. 1678Wanley Wonders Little World iv. viii. 374 His Wife..overthrew the Table, and tumbled down all the Provision under-foot. 1708T. Ward Eng. Ref. iv. (1815) 429 [He] Stamp'd underfoot a crucifix, As Hollanders are wont to do When on Japonian shore they go. 1802Mrs. Guthrie Tour through the Taurida 64 Instead of effecting this adhesion by the pressure of cylinders, it is done..by treading them underfoot for a few hours. 1868Morris Earthly Par. (1870) I. i. 349 A fair ivory image of the god That underfoot a golden serpent trod.
β1539Bible (Great) Isaiah xiv. 19 As a dead coarse that is troden vnder fete. c1620Moryson Itin. iv. (1903) 496 The Empire..of the Greekes..hath beene vtterly abolished, and the people haue beene troden vnderfeete. 1641Burroughs Sions Joy 33 They sought to cast shame upon the Saints,..trampling them underfeete as dirt. 1760Impostors Detected ii. ii. I. 170 Sacred relicks trampled under feet! 1857Holland Bay Path xxix, Her memory..trodden under feet by malice, prejudice, and superstition.
b. In other constructions.
1599E. Wright Voy. Earl Cumbld. 22 in Cert. Errors Navig., Some licked with their tongues..the boardes vnder feete. 1603Holland Plutarch's Mor. 1225 Lysitheus mounting upon the boord, laied him along on the floore, and there under-foot dispatched him. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 700 Underfoot the Violet, Crocus, and Hyacinth with rich inlay Broiderd the ground. 1802Mrs. Guthrie Tour through the Taurida 203 They [sc. skins] are next worked under-feet in an infusion of oak-leaves in warm water. 1850Tennyson In Mem. xcv, By night we linger'd on the lawn, For under⁓foot the herb was dry. 1880L. Wallace Ben-Hur i. i, Dried leaves in occasional beds rustled underfoot.
c. Naut. (See foot n. 33 b.)
d. Down below; underneath; underground.
1840Carlyle Heroes iii. (1904) 96 The obscure sojourn of dæmons and reprobate is underfoot. 1886Stevenson Kidnapped xxvi, Coming to the edge of the hills [we] saw the whole Carse of Stirling underfoot.
2. fig. In (to) a state of subjection or inferiority.
c1205Lay. 11693 For þis lond..he hit hæ fde al vnder fot. a1225Ancr. R. 40 Ȝif me worpen mid him al þe world under vet. c1290Beket 1995 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 163 Ake nolde it god þat holi churche onder fote were so. 1340Ayenb. 85 Ac uirtue arereþ þane man an heȝ, and him deþ þe wordle onderuot. 1390Gower Conf. I. 7 Tho was the vertu sett above And vice was put under fote. 1422Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. 172 He ne holdyth hym not y-lowet ne vndyrfote of the dyssayses whyche he hathe escapid. 1508Fisher 7 Penit. Ps. xxxviii. Wks. (1876) 52 She enhaunced herselfe ferre aboue the derknes of synne puttynge vnderfote thoccasyon of it. 1583Golding Calvin on Deut. cxxxvi. 833, I sawe that that man was nothing vnder foote, and as for myselfe I was in extreeme neede. 1891Meredith One of our Conq. xxxiii, No, not he the man to have pity of women underfoot!
†3. Below the real or current value. Obs.
1594Death of Usurie 12 The man beeing driuen to distresse, sels his corne farre vnder foote. 1600Holland Livy 591 The very same plot of ground whereon hee was encamped, happened at the same time to be sold: not under⁓foot, but at the full price. a1654Selden Table-T. (Arb.) 64 When men did let their Land underfoot, the Tenants would fight for their Landlords.
4. Quietly, secretly. rare—1.
1860Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. III. cxxxiv. 102 But it is not the same with the minor martyrdoms. A store of these is cherished under foot.
5. Of a person or persons: about one's feet, constantly (and irritatingly) present; ‘in the way’. colloq.
1891Harper's Mag. June 62/1 He muttered something about children being underfoot and staring at such times. 1922S. Lewis Babbitt xviii. 230 Kenneth Escott and she were always under foot. 1959M. Scott White Elephant i. 3 It has been a trying month for her too, with Deryk always underfoot. 1981‘S. Woods’ Dearest Enemy i. 38 It's really too much of a nuisance having him always underfoot when I'm trying to prepare my own meals. |