| 释义 |
▪ I. improvise, v.
(ɪmprəʊˈvaɪz, now usu. ˈɪmprəʊvaɪz)
[a. F. improvise-r (1642 in Hatz.-Darm.), ad. It. improvisare (now improvv-) ‘to sing or say extempore’ (Florio), f. improv(v)iso improviso.]
1. trans.
a. To compose (verse, music, etc.) on the spur of the moment; to utter or perform extempore.
1826Disraeli Viv. Grey ii. i, He possessed also the singular faculty of being able to improvise quotations. Ibid. iv. ii, You must not improvise parliamentary papers. 1858Doran Crt. Fools 251 His happy facility of improvising rhymes. 1874Symonds Sk. Italy & Greece (1898) I. vi. 115 The..funeral chant, improvised by women at funerals over the bodies of the dead.
b. spec. of Old English verse.
1915W. W. Lawrence in PMLA XXX. 400 A thane of the king, skilled in story..entertains the company, improvising a song in honor of Beowulf. 1948P. F. Baum in Mod. Philology XLVI. 76 The minstrel..begins by improvising in verse an account of Beowulf's adventures which he had just learned about and had had little opportunity to work up beforehand. This..presupposes something different from the Beowulf, which certainly does not give the impression of improvising.
2. To bring about or get up on the spur of the moment; to provide for the occasion.
a1854E. Forbes Lit. Papers viii. (1855) 206 If a number of both sexes happen to assemble at the same house a dance is improvised. 1859Dickens Lett. to Miss D. 13 June (1880) II. 95 A tent improvised this morning.
3. intr.
a. To compose, utter, or perform verse or music impromptu; to speak extemporaneously; hence, to do anything on the spur of the moment.
1830H. N. Coleridge Grk. Poets (1834) 42 A noted English wit of the present day can improvise in rhyme even in our language. 1845E. Holmes Mozart 22 He sang, played, and composed extempore, played and transposed at sight..improvised on a given bass. 1880V. Lee Italy iv. i. 147 He had the honour of improvising before cardinals and princesses.
b. spec. of Old English verse.
1892J. Earle Deeds of Beowulf 136 The minstrel did not merely narrate, but improvised in alliterative verse. 1961W. Whallon in PMLA LXXVI. 310 The oral poet cannot pause; he must improvise continuously with no apparent effort.
Hence ˈimprovising vbl. n.; also attrib.
1832W. Irving Alhambra, Journey (1896) 10 This talent of singing and improvising is frequent in Spain, and is said to have been inherited from the Moors. 1853Jerdan Autobiog. III. ii. 20 [He] was..in superb trim to answer the calls for various improvising interludes.
▪ II. improˈvise, n. rare.
[f. prec. vb.]
An improvised composition; an improvisation.
1820M. W. Shelley in Dowden Shelley (1887) II. 360 Go to the theatre and hear the Improvise of Sgricci. 1821Shelley Hellas Pref., The poem..is a mere improvise. |