| 释义 |
ˈwhip-lash, n.
Also whiplash.
[f. whip n. 1 + lash n.1 2.]
1. The lash of a whip. Also allusively and fig.
1573–80Tusser Husb. (1878) 36 Whiplash wel knotted, and cartrope ynough. 1774Pennsylv. Gaz. 9 Feb. Suppl. 2/3 Silk whip-lashes. 1838Dickens Nich. Nick. xxxii, He let out his whip-lash and touched up a little boy on the calves of his legs. 1891Kipling Light that Failed iv, ‘He wants the whip-lash.’ ‘Lay it on with science, then.’ 1894Athenæum 11 Aug. 195/2 Nothing escapes the whip⁓lash of the ‘college wit’. 1915M. B. Saunders Captain the Curé v, Listening to the sharp whip-lash of furious voices in the room below.
2. transf. An object resembling the lash of a whip, as the vibraculum of certain polyzoans; spec. a species of seaweed with long narrow fronds.
1850Miss Pratt Comm. Things of Sea-side ii. 124 The two species of Sea Whiplash,..One kind of this whiplash (Chorda filum) grows attached to rocks and stones. 1857Gosse Omphalos 146 The long and tough whip-lash in which the point of each leaf terminates. 1865― Land & Sea 225 In the Scuparia..there are some special organs of defence... One of these is called the vibraculum, or the whiplash.
3. An injury to the head, neck, or spine caused by the head's being dashed to and fro on the less mobile trunk when a seated person is jerked forwards or backwards, as in a car accident. Usu. attrib., esp. in whiplash injury.
1955Jrnl. Amer. Med. Assoc. 5 Nov. 983/2 Poor seat-design accounts for thousands of so-called whiplash injuries. 1962Times 23 Jan. 5/5 They discount arguments that ‘whiplash’ injury is common among safety belt wearers. 1971H. Pacy Road Accidents i. 21 In damage to rear of vehicle think of whiplash. 1975Year Bk. Ear, Nose & Throat 14 This article documents another useful study regarding the effects of cervical spine trauma, or ‘whiplash’ trauma. 1977Woman's Day (Austral.) 24 Oct. 47/1 My husand had a car accident at the beginning of last year and received a whiplash injury. 1983Which? Sept. 402/3 If no effective head restraint is provided, the head tends to get left behind, causing major bending and straining of the neck—‘whiplash’ injuries. |