| 释义 |
▪ I. untoward, a.|ʌntəˈwɔːd, ʌnˈtəʊəd|
[un-1 7.]
†1. Not having or showing inclination, disposition, or readiness to or for something; disinclined.
1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 42 b, Syth of our selfe we be insufficient & all vntowarde to all goostly thynges. 1575T. Vautrollier Luther on Ep. Gal. 252 If Satan did not vexe vs inwardly with spirituall tentations,..we should become vtterly careles, negligent, and vntoward to all good workes. 1594Carew Huarte's Exam. Wits i. (1596) 5 Those who are vntoward for one science, are very apt to another. 1628Wither Brit. Rememb. Pref. 713 Yea, so untoward was I to conforme My Will,..That [etc.]. 1665Manley Grotius' Low C. Wars 73 The Captains were yet not skilled in managing their Men, and the Men were untoward to be commanded.
†b. Showing lack of proficiency or aptitude; inept, slow. Obs. rare.
1557North Gueuara's Diall Pr. Prol. A ij, Greate travayle taketh a scole maister in teaching an untowarde scholler. 1592Nashe Four Lett. Confut. F 4 Lamentable, that an indifferent vntoward ciuill Lawyer..should be no more set by but..thrust aside.
2. Of persons (or animals), their disposition, etc.: Difficult to manage, restrain, or control; intractable, unruly, perverse.
In frequent use from c 1580 to c 1700.
1526Tindale Acts ii. 40 Save youre selves from this vntowarde generacion. 1548Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Luke i. 16 b, If the same commyng of y⊇ Lorde shoulde fynde the hertes of men slouthfully sluggyng, & vtterly vntowarde. 1587Norton's Calvin's Inst. iii. xxiv. 326 b, The vnchangeable decree of God concerning the destruction of the wicked is the ground of their vntoward disposition. 1624Gataker Good Wife 3 It is no small vexation for a man to find vntoward and vnfaithful cariage toward him in those..that feed at his boord. a1654― Antid. Errour (1670) 54 The verie prohibitions..of the Law..ar to mans untoward spirit, but as water to qick lime. 1656Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Pol. Touchstone (1674) 257 The very untoward Spanish Mules, who are so..given to lay about them with their heels. 1714Gay Sheph. Week v. 53 Th' untoward creatures to the stye I drove. 1771Mackenzie Man Feel. vii, The young man was so untoward in his disposition. 1789Belsham Ess. I. iii. 55 This..answer..mollified the untoward and uncourtly disposition of the House. 1814Jane Austen Mansf. Park ii, A most untoward gravity of deportment. 1817Byron Mazeppa viii, The devil!—I'm loth to do him wrong, It might be some untoward saint. 1865M. Arnold Ess. Crit. ix. (1875) 379 The untoward generation of metaphysical Article-makers.
transf.1809W. Irving Knickerb. i. i, The untoward planet pertinaciously continued her course, notwithstanding that she had..a whole university of learned professors opposed to her conduct.
b. Of things: Difficult to manipulate, work, deal with, or perform; stubborn, stiff.
1566Drant Sat. i. x. E vj, Why maye not we inquyre..if the matter to vntoward, hath made his style to harde. 1601B. Jonson Poetaster i. i, Nay looke, what a rascally vntoward thing this poetrie is. 1620Sanderson Serm. (1632) 101 God..out of mankinde, as out of an vntoward lumpe of clay,..maketh vp vessels for the vse of his Sanctuary. 1664Butler Hud. ii. ii. 293 A Vow Which afterward he found untoward, And stubborn to be kept. 1693Congreve Old Bach. iii. viii, Pish! This is the untowardest lock [of hair]. 1799J. Robertson Agric. Perth 278 A piece of untoward ground..cannot be improved with equal success in any other way. 1831Carlyle in Froude Life (1882) II. 203 A noisy, untoward lodging-house. 1833–5J. H. Newman Hist. Sk. Ser. iii. (1873) 49 Basil had to deal on all hands with most untoward materials. 1875Tait & Stewart Unseen Universe ii. (1878) 81 There is a periodicity even in such untoward phenomena.
†c. Awkward, clumsy; ungainly, ungraceful.
1590Spenser F.Q. i. viii. 31 But very vncouth sight was to behold, How he did fashion his vntoward pace. 1592Lyly Gallathea ii. i, I neither like my gate, nor my garments; the one vntoward, the other vnfit. 1628Ford Lover's Mel. v. i, I am..so poor and feeble, That my untoward joints can scarcely creep Unto the grave. 1632Lithgow Trav. x. 433 Their..Ploughes..are only fastned with Straw..to their bare Rumps, marching..three or foure in a Ranke, and as many men hanging by the ends of that vntoward Labour. 1658A. Fox Würtz' Surg. ii. xviii. 125, I will write now of Knees that are much pained..and grow untoward and unshaped. 1762H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1765) III. 65 His drawing even of the neck and shoulders..[was] incorrect and untoward. a1791Sir J. Reynolds in Boswell Johnson an. 1739, Accompanying his thoughts with certain untoward actions [ante ‘improperly called convulsions’].
3. Characterized or attended by misfortune, calamity, vexation, or annoyance; unlucky, unfortunate, ill-starred:
a. Of conditions, times, etc.
1570T. Wilson tr. Demosth. Orat. vii. 95 Thorowe the Lacedemonians vntowarde lucke. 1603Holland Plutarch's Mor. 238 The diseases, the debts, the hard usage of men to their owne wives, and the untoward life betweene them. 1782Wolcot (P. Pindar) Lyric Odes vii, The courtly Abington's untoward Star Wanted her reputation much to mar. 1805–6Wordsw. Char. Happy Warrior 68 Who, with a toward or untoward lot,..Plays, in the many games of life, that one [etc.]. 1868Rogers Pol. Econ. ii. (1876) 103 A man..should have a..reserve from which he can draw when the times are untoward. 1878Stubbs Const. Hist. III. xviii. 88 No untoward omen..threw a shadow over the second epoch of the war. 1898‘H. S. Merriman’ Roden's Corner xxx, Percy..looked back later to this as one of his most untoward hours.
b. Of occurrences, enterprises, etc.
Esp. with accident, circumstance, event, and in very frequent use from c 1800.
1632Lithgow Trav. x. 482 When Charles the fift returned from that vntoward voyage of Algier. 1638Sir T. Herbert Trav. (ed. 2) 92 The report of this vntoward massacre is soone knowne. 1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. iii. §1 An untoward, and in truth an unheard of accident, which brake many of the King's measures. 1760Sterne Tr. Shandy iii. xxiv, The foulmouth'd trumpet of Fame carried it from ear to ear, with this untoward circumstance along with it. 1798W. Hutton Autobiog. 115 An untoward trade is a dreadful sink for money. 1814Jane Austen Mansf. Park i, She could hardly have made a more untoward choice. 1833H. Martineau Berkeley i. ii, There were no untoward delays. 1893Liddon Life Pusey I. viii. 176 He felt anxious as to the untoward influence..of these books.
absol.1887Ruskin Præterita II. 120 Every soul of us has to do its fight with the Untoward, and for itself discover the Unseen.
4. Unfavourable or adverse to progress; unpropitious, unprosperous.
1621in Foster Eng. Factories Ind. (1906) I. 283 The wayes soe untoward that in the best season..they are unpassable for carts. 1662J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 391 Bridges, raised very high,..so untoward to pass over, that they put a man into a fright. 1725Portland Papers (Hist. MSS. Comm.) VI. 120 We came down by a very steep, untoward descent. 1731Capt. W. Wriglesworth MS. Log-bk. of the ‘Lyell’ 4 Mar., Wee have had a very untoward ugly Sea all these 24 Hours. 1791Smeaton Edystone L. 145 The weather being untoward, the short sea.. occasioned..a motion of the yawls. 1833H. Martineau Three Ages ii. 35 The present had been an untoward season, as regarded the nation's prosperity. 1849Grote Hist. Greece ii. xliv. V. 381 An untoward storm drove the vessel to the island. 1886C. Scott Sheep-farming 83 In untoward seasons..the lambs often do not exceed 100 per cent. of the ewes.
5. a. At variance with good conduct or propriety; indecorous, unseemly, improper; foolish.
1628–9Digby Voy. Medit. (Camden) 57 Because idlenesse should not fixe their mindes vpon any vntoward fansies. 1658T. White in Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. lxxiii. 17 They came to a very wicked man's house, where they had very untoward entertainment. 1695Woodward Nat. Hist. Earth iii. (1723) 179 Some Men there are who have made a very untoward Use of this. 1709Strype Ann. Ref. I. i. 44 The popish priests..took frequent occasion..to speak very untoward words against the Queen. 1802Wordsw. Resolution & Indep. 53 When I with these untoward thoughts had striven.
†b. Marked by lack of reason or fitness. Obs.
1682H. More Annot. Glanvill's Lux O. 95 If you para⁓phrase (me) thus, My Hypostasis consisting of my Humane and Divine Nature, it will be as untoward sence. 1701Norris Ideal World i. v. 225 It seems..untoward, to inquire whether a thing be,..before we know what it is we inquire about. 1733Berkeley Th. Vision Vind. §6 Such is the ill effect of untoward defences and explanations of our faith.
†6. Of taste: Disagreeable; unpleasant. Obs.—1
1662J. Davies tr. Mandelslo's Trav. 245 It had so untoward a taste, that the Sea-men would not take it for their..drink.
▪ II. † unˈtoward, prep. Obs.
[f. unto prep. + -ward. Cf. untilward.]
Toward; in the direction of.
1390Gower Conf. II. 20 Whanne I am mi ladi fro And thenke untoward hire drawe. Ibid. 215 Nevere for no worldes good Min herte untoward hire stod. Ibid. III. 127. |