| 释义 |
▪ I. ˈundermine, n.
[under- 4 d, 5 c. Cf. next.]
†1. An underground excavation. Obs.
1599Hakluyt Voy. II. 86 They put fire in the vndermines, weening to haue cast downe the wall. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. i. 650 Under-mines or caves of very great widenesse. 1629Descr. S'hertogenbosh 36 We made an vnder⁓mine through the walls of the Towne.
†2. A submerged mine. Obs.
1682Roxb. Ball. (1885) V. 519 But thou, buoy'd up with Providence Divine, Shall float above, and fear no undermine.
3. An undermining movement.
1898Daily News 12 May 8/4 The Bishop..said there was a very strong undermine of disloyalty to the Church.
▪ II. underˈmine, v.
Forms: α. 4–6 undermyne, 5– -mine, 7 -moine (also 4–6 vnder-, 4–5 vndir-, 5 vndyr-). β. 5 vndermynden, 6 -mynde, 6–7 vnder-, underminde, 7–8 (9 dial.) undermind.
[under-1 4 a + mine v. Cf. Du. ondermijnen, older Da. undermine; also MDu. ondermineren, Da. underminere, Sw. -era, G. unterminiren.
In 15th cent. texts undermyne or -mine is occasionally miswritten for undernim.]
1. trans. To dig or excavate beneath, to make a passage or mine under (a wall, etc.), esp. as a military operation; to sap.
α13..Coer de L. 4721 The Crystene the walles under⁓myne. 1382Wyclif Jer. li. 58 The wal of Babilon..with vndermynyng shal be vndermyned. c1450Contin. Brut 577 And after, [they] vndermynet þe walles and þe toures, and sette shores vndernethe. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. V, 45 Knowyng that their walles were vndermyned and shortely like to fal. 1582N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. ix. 22 It is a verye great Citie, placed..so that it cannot be undermined. 1616J. Lane Contn. Sqr.'s T. vii. 397 To lead his men safe to the walled towne, which vnder⁓moine hee shoold. 1618Bolton Florus (1636) 181 Under⁓mining their port Pireus, and more than six Walls of theirs. 1726Leoni Alberti's Archit. I. 68 When the foundation is..on a rock, it will be in vain to think of undermining it. 1776G. Semple Building in Water 40 We had no other Way to break it, but by undermining it, and then break it off in Pieces. 1834Marryat P. Simple xxi, We must under⁓mine the gate, O'Brien; we must pull up the pavement until we can creep under. 1848Dickens Dombey vi, Buildings that were undermined and shaking, [were] propped by great beams of wood.
βc1440Promp. Parv. 511/1 Vndermyndyn, idem quod vnderdelvyn. 1513Douglas æneid viii. xi. 38 Sum vnder⁓myndand the ground with a hoill. 1571Leslie Hist. Scot. (Bann. Cl.) 101 [They] under myndit the neddir sole of the yett of Dunbartane. a1644Spottiswoode Misc. (1844) I. 146 In the late warrs..the churches [were] undermynded and fired. 1828–in dial. glossaries (Yks., Linc., Surrey).
b. absol. To make excavations or mines.
1382Wyclif Exod. xxii. 2 If a theef brekynge an hows, or were foundun vndurmynynge. 1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy ii. 6335 Þei..turnen vp so doun Boþe wal & tour..Þat no þing stood, so þei vnder-myne. 1601Holland Pliny II. 467 Necessarie it is..to undermine a great way by candle⁓light, & to make hollow vaults under the mountains. 1646H. P. Medit. Seige 60 It is an usuall practice to under-mine, and when they have brought the Mine unto the Works, to blow it up with powder. 1685Travestin Siege Newheusel 34 This day we began to undermine on the side attackt by the Troops of Brunswick.
c. In fig. context.
c1400Beryn 3480 Ye wend..þat ye had hym engyned; But yee shul fele in every veyn þat ye be vndirmyned, And I-brouȝt at ground. 1559J. Aylmer Harborowe C ij b, These..be..the pik-axes to vnder mynde the state. 1601Shakes. All's Well i. i. 130 Man setting downe before you, will vndermine you, and blow you vp. 1668Dryden Tyrannic Love iii. i, Yet fierceness suits not with her gentle kind; They brave assaults, but may be undermined. 1794Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 254 As yet, the house is not fallen; but it is completely undermined. 1855Motley Dutch Rep. vi. i. III. 409 Religious fanaticism had undermined the bulwark almost as soon as reared. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 363 The fair superstructure falls because the old foundations are undermined.
2. a. Of water: To work under and wash away (ground, etc.).
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xv. lxxxii. (Bodl. MS.), Þe parties of ilondes beþ ywasted, & vndermyned wiþ betinge of watres. 1562Pilkington Expos. Abdyas Pref. 5 A strong heady streame, undermining great hygh bankes. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. 676 The riveret Alen..under⁓mineth the ground and once or twice hideth himselfe. 1707Mortimer Husb. 5 Alder makes an extraordinary Fence against Rivers and Streams, and preserves the Banks from being undermined by the Water. 1784Cook's Voy. iv. ix. II. 464 By undermining and washing away those parts that lie exposed to the surge of the sea. 1855Orr's Circ. Sci., Inorg. Nat. 155 The stream..relieving the gloom of the naked rocks, and at the same time tending to undermine them. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. xv. 101 The glacier..is incessantly undermined,..till at length the projecting mass..tumbles into the lake.
absol.1858Macdonald Phantastes xiii. 148 The springing waters were dammed back into his soul, where, finding no utterance, they..swelled, and undermined.
b. Of animals: To burrow under or in; to make insecure, to cause to fall, through burrowing; also, to form (a passage) by burrowing.
1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 55 Catche these lytell foxes, whiche with dyggynge of theyr dennes vndermyndeth our vynes. 1567J. Maplet Gr. Forest 92 He hath his cabbage [= den] in the yearth with two contrary wayes vndermined to enter into it. 1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 109 In a shorte space, there was a Towne in Spayne vndermined with Connyes. 1629Davenant Albovine iii. i, When she [sc. the mole] undermines the earth. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 355 Lizards..a dark Retreat Have found in Combs, and undermin'd the Seat. a1704T. Brown Declam. Adverbs Wks. 1720 I. 45 All Thessaly had in the twinkling of a Shoeing-horn been certainly undermin'd by Lobsters.
c. Path. To erode beneath the surface.
1879St. George's Hosp. Rep. IX. 254 Hip-joint..surrounded with œdema and undermined by sinuses. 1898Hutchinson's Arch. Surg. IX. 111 The chronic infective inflammations..which ulcerate to a slight extent whilst they undermine widely.
3. fig. (Cf. 1 c.) To work secretly or stealthily against (a person); to overthrow or supplant by underhand means.
α1430–40Lydg. Bochas iv. Prol. (1554) 99 b, Fortune could him vndermine That al hys wisedome stode in none auayle. 1535Coverdale Gen. xxvii. 36 He maye well be called Iacob, for he hath vndermined me now two tymes. 1561T. Norton tr. Calvin's Inst. iv. xviii, To beguile and vndermine an other man, al men know to be vnlawfull. 1633P. Fletcher Purple Isl. ii. xviii, Whose pleasing sweetnesse..Doth oft the Prince himself with witch'ries under⁓mine. 1678Wanley Wond. Lit. World v. i. §100. 468/1 Rodolphus..being undermined by his brother Matthias, was forced to surrender to him..Hungary and Bohemia. 1759Robertson Hist. Scot. iii. Wks. 1851 I. 237 Some of his rivals he secretly undermined. 1775Adair Amer. Ind. 91 The religious advantages and arguments by which the French used to undermine us with the Indians. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 197 Those who had assailed and undermined him began to struggle for the fragments of his power. 1876Holland Seven Oaks xiv. 200 Are you to sit tamely down and be undermined?
β1530Palsgr. 767/1 Medyll nat with hym,..for surely he wyll undermynde the. 1596Spenser F.Q. v. vi. 32 He was nothing valorous, But with slie shiftes and wiles did vnderminde All noble Knights. 1613Jackson Creed ii. vii. §7 Yet are they easily to be underminded by Sathan. 1663Gerbier Counsel 103 If he be a Master workman, whom they will..suspect to have a design to underminde and supplant them. 1869–in Eng. Dial. Dict. (Yks., Lanc., Linc.).
absol.1584Lyly Sappho i. iii. 26 Where we suspect, we vndermine. 1712Blackmore Creation vii. 349 The ambitious statesman labours dark designs, Now open force employs, now undermines.
†4. To underlie and spoil. Obs.—1
1430–40Lydg. Bochas i. x. (1544) 21 b, Some fresh floures haue a full bitter rote And lothsom gal can suger eke vnder⁓mine.
5. To persuade or win over, to tamper with or pervert, by subtle means. Also absol.
1457Harding Chron. in Eng. Hist. Rev. Oct. (1912) 747 His language..so benygne was and trewe it vndyrmyned Thair hertes hole to loue hym at thair myght. 1522Skelton Why not to Court? 434 So he dothe vndermynde, And such sleyghtes dothe fynde, That the kynges mynde By hym is subuerted. 1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 85 Ferardo..desired him to kepe silence, vntil he had vndermined hir by subtiltie. 1664Dryden Rival Ladies iv. iii, She undermin'd my Soul With Tears. 1671Milton P.R. i. 179 The Father..Ventures his filial Vertue, though untri'd, Against whate're may..Allure, or terrifie, or undermine.
†6.
a. To ascertain, or inquire, in a secret or underhand manner. Obs.
a1575tr. Pol. Verg. Eng. Hist. (Camden No. 36) 56 Cæsar undermining their counsels throughe his Captives. Ibid. 80 When as Agricola hadd..undermined the purpose of his adversaries. 1596Nashe Saffron Walden 82 He hath been noted..very suspitiously to vndermine, whither any man knew such a fellow.
†b. To question (a person) guilefully. Obs.
1581[A. Gilby] Test. 12 Patriarchs 58 b, He wil talke guilefully with thee, and vndermine thee to doe thee a shrewde turne. 1599Hakluyt Voy. II. i. 266 There was a Dutch Jesuite..sent vnto them, to vndermine and examine them.
7. To weaken, injure, destroy or ruin, surreptitiously or insidiously.
α1569(title), A Bull graunted by The Pope..to vndermyne..Allegeance to the Quene. a1596Sir T. More i. ii. 69, I pray ye,..Goe not aboute to vndermine my life. 1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. ii. 146 It is no fault..to under⁓mine fraud with fraud. 1699Burnet 39 Art. xviii. 174 Which strikes at the Foundation, and undermines the Truth of all Revealed Religion. 1732Berkeley Alciphr. i. §2 A dangerous sort of men that would undermine received principles and opinions. 1771Junius' Lett. lix. 272 Who is he, that has made it the study..of his life, to undermine and alter the whole system of jurisprudence? 1850Merivale Rom. Emp. ix. (1865) I. 384 The authority of the nobles as a class had been completely undermined. 1884Ruskin Pleas. Eng. 16 These controversies vexed and shook, but never undermined, the faith they strove to purify.
β1565Stapleton tr. Staphylus' Apol. 152 To vnderminde Christendom. 1694R. Burthogge Reason 110 The Ground of this underminded, and the nature of the Divine Omnipresence represented. 1726Cavallier Mem. Ded. p. iv, Their Civil and Religious Liberties, which after having been artfully underminded by several preceding Princes, were at last totally subverted.
b. To weaken or destroy (the health or constitution) by degrees; to sap.
1812Crabbe Tales ii. 417 Augmented pay procured him decent wealth, But years advancing undermined his health. 1843R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xxv. 319 Mercury may be given..in such a manner as gradually to undermine the constitution. 1860J. M. Carnochan Operat. Surg. 61 The constitution became..undermined [by ostitis].
Hence undermined ppl. a.
1844P. Parley's Ann. V. 13 The undermined bank of some river. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 801 On examination of the undermined skin and granulations. |