| 释义 |
amiable, a.|ˈeɪmɪəb(ə)l|
Forms: 4 amiabul, 4–6 amyable, 5 aimiable, ameabill, 5–6 amyabil(l, 6– amiable.
[a. OFr. amiable:—L. amīcābil-em friendly, f. amīc-us a friend; afterwards confused with OFr. amable (mod. aimable):—L. amābilem lovable, f. amāre to love: see amicable and -ble. Occas. compared -er, -est.]
†1. (= Fr. amiable, L. amīcābil-em.)
a. Of persons: Friendly, amicable; kind (in action). Obs.
c1350Will. Palerne 586 Þat amiabul maide alisaundrine a hiȝt. c1374Chaucer Boeth. 61 Amyable fortune with hir flaterynges draweth mys wandrynge men fro the souereyne good. c1400Beryn 1657 He made hym chere, semeyng amyabill. 1491Caxton Vitas Patr. i. xix. (1495) 22 a/1 One namyd Phylemon whyche was moche amyable and debonayr to the peple.
b. Friendly, kindly disposed, favourably inclined (to a thing). ? Only in U.S.
1875Howells Foregone Concl. 72 That foreign eccentricity to which their nation is so amiable.
c. Of words, conduct, etc.: Friendly, kindly. (Now almost restricted to temper, mood, and so passing into 3.)
c1386Chaucer Melib. 10 With amyable wordes hire to recomforte. 1443Pol. Poems II. 210 Froward cheerys, pees makith amyable. 1598Shakes. Merry W. ii. ii. 243 Lay an amiable siege to the honesty of this Ford's wife. 1712Addison Spect. No. 459 ⁋12 Giving us more amiable Ideas of the Supreme Being. c1746Hervey Medit. & Cont. (1818) 87 In vain we strive to behold the features of amiable nature. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 602 The rebels..proceeded to Wells, and arrived there in no amiable temper.
†d. amiable numbers: see amicable 3 b.
†2. (= Fr. aimable, L. amābilem.) Worthy to be loved, lovable, lovely.
a. of persons. Obs. (exc. as restricted in 3.)
1535Coverdale Jud. x. 4 She was exceadinge amyable and welfauoured in all mens eyes. 1604Shakes. Oth. iii. iv. 59 While she kept it, 'T would make her Amiable, and subdue my Father. a1656Bp. Hall Invis. World ii. vi, The infinitely amiable and glorious Deity. 1711Addison Spect. No. 162 ⁋4 We..are amiable or odious in the Eyes of our great Judge. 1788New Lond. Mag. 572 Not more amiable for the beauty of her person than the accomplishments of her mind.
†b. of things. Obs. or arch. exc. in regard to personal human actions, in which it approaches 3.
1382Wyclif Phil. iv. 8 What euere thingis amyable, or able to be loued [Vulg. amabilia; Rhem. amiable; 1611 lovely]. ― Amos v. 11 Ȝe shuln plante most amyable vyne ȝerdis. 1513Douglas æneis xii. Prol. 151 Mayst amyabil waxis the emerant medis. 1535Coverdale Ps. lxxxiii. 1 How amiable are thy dwellinges, thou Lorde of hoostes? [Wyclif, looued; 1611 amiable]. 1578Lyte Dodoens i. xcvi. 138 Of savour and smell more amiable or pleasant. 1615Markham Eng. Housew. (1660) 101 Smoothing of the skinne, and keeping the face delicate and amiable. 1644Howell Lett. (1650) I. 470 They keep their churches so cleanly and amiable. 1715Burnet Own Time II. 297 It was no amiable thing to be a province to Spain. 1722Steele Consc. Lovers ii. i. (1755) 35 To tear his amiable Image from my Heart. 1802M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. xvi. 133 He should appear in a more amiable light. 1877M. Arnold Heine's Gr. Poems II. 258 This amiable home of the dead.
3. The ordinary modern meaning mixes senses 1 and 2, implying the possession of that friendly disposition which causes one to be liked; habitually characterized by that friendliness which awakens friendliness in return; having pleasing qualities of heart.
(A lovable person is viewed as wholly objective; an amiable person is the subject of friendly emotions, which make him the object of our friendly emotions.)
1749Fielding Tom Jones iii. vii. (1840) 30/2 The amiable temper of pity. 1776Gibbon Decl. & F. I. vi. 122 That amiable prince soon acquired the affections of the public. 1806–31A. Knox Rem. I. (1844) 67 The Church of England has produced numberless specimens of..the most amiable goodness. 1816Crabbe Synon. 74 An amiable disposition, without a lovely person, will render a person beloved. It is distressing to see any one who is lovely in person to be unamiable in character. 1866Carlyle Remin. I. 168, I remember her well, one of the amiablest of old maids. |