| 释义 |
▪ I. kitten, n.|ˈkɪt(ə)n|
Forms: 4 kitoun, ketoun, 4–5 kyton, 5 kytton, 7– kitten.
[ME. app. a. AFr. *kitoun, *ketun = OF. chitoun, cheton, obs. var. of F. chaton kitten.
The F. form chitoun occurs in Gower Mirour de l'omme 8221: Teut ensement comme du chitoun, Qi naist sanz vieue et sanz resoun.]
1. a. The young of the cat; a young cat (not full-grown).
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. Prol. 190 Þere þe catte is a kitoun þe courte is ful elyng. c1400Master of Game ix. (MS. Digby 182) Þei beer hir kitouns..as oþer cattes, saue þei haue not but two ketouns at ones. c1450Merlin 665 He caste his net into the water, and drough oute a littil kyton as blakke as eny cool. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. i. 129, I had rather be a Kitten, and cry mew, Then one of these same Meeter Ballad-mongers. 1776Whitehead Variety 9 The Kitten too was comical, She play'd so oddly with her tail. 1852Miss Mulock Agatha's Husb. i, Carrying not only the real black kitten, but the..allegorical ‘little black dog’ on her shoulder.
b. transf. Applied to the young of some other animals.
1495Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. xviii. lxxiv. (W. de W.) 829 The wesell..nouryssheth her kyttons [MS. Bodl. (c 1450) ketelinges] in howses and bereth them fro place to place. 1899Blackw. Mag. Jan. 41/1 Each beaver-plew of full-grown animal or ‘kitten’ fetched six to eight dollars overhead. 1957J. H. F. Stevenson Mink in Britain (ed. 2) v. 18 Once the kittens, or kitts as they are called, are able to fend for themselves, they do so. 1964R. M. Lockley Private Life Rabbit iv. 54 It was possible to handle and weigh week-old kittens without causing their desertion by the doe. 1972R. Adams Watership Down xlii. 356 Clover's had her litter. All good, healthy kittens. Three bucks and three does.
c. fig. Applied to a young girl, with implication of playfulness or skittishness. In extended use: a girl-friend; a young woman; often as a form of address.
1870D. J. Kirwan Palace & Hovel xliii. 612 The ‘Kitten’ is a blonde, with black eyes, a pretty, babyish face,..a profusion of golden hair. 1894H. Nisbet Bush Girl's Rom. 74 After fishing all she could, artful, artless little kitten that she is. 1908W. De Morgan Somehow Good xii. 119 ‘Kitten,’ said Sally's mother to her suddenly, ‘I think I shall go away to bed.’ 1938W. G. Hardy Turn back River iii. 28 ‘You'll have to go, kitten,’ Clodia whispered hurriedly... For an instant she held her sister close. 1961‘E. Lathen’ Banking on Death (1962) vii. 59 He..accepted a sherry from June with a somewhat absent, ‘Thanks, Kitten.’ 1970G. Greer Female Eunuch 266 There are the cute animal terms like..kitten and lamb [to signify a woman].
2. Short for kitten-moth: see 3.
1874Newman Brit. Moths 210 The Alder Kitten.
3. attrib. and Comb., as kitten days, kitten face; kitten-like adj.; kitten-hearted a., faint-hearted, timorous; kitten-moth, a collector's name for the bombycid moth Cerura furcula; also for species of Dicranura, as D. bifida (poplar-kitten), D. bicuspis (alder-kitten).
1821Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 166 The gamesome plays That mark'd her happy *Kitten-days.
1813Sketches Character (ed. 2) I. 157, I see her *kitten face looking about, trying to understand what's going forwards.
1831T. Attwood 19 Sept. in Life xi. (1885) 171 The tame *kitten-hearted slaves.
1838Dickens Nich. Nick. xxxiv, Pouncing with *kitten-like playfulness upon a stray sovereign.
1819G. Samouelle Entom. Useful Comp. 248 Cerura Vinula (puss moth), Cerura Furcula (*kitten moth).
4. Slang phr. (orig. U.S.), to have kittens: to lose one's composure; to get into a ‘flap’.
1900Dialect Notes II. 44 Kitten. In phrases ‘get kittens’, ‘have kittens’. 1. To get angry. 2. To be in great anxiety, or to be afraid. 1937Times 15 Feb. 13/4 Mr. Partridge allows ‘jitters’..but not ‘having kittens’. 1940K. M. Knight Rendezvous with Past xx. 141 If he knew what I know about you he'd have kittens. 1943Hunt & Pringle Service Slang 38 Having kittens, perturbed. ‘The Colonel is having kittens’—the Colonel is upset and he is very, very angry. 1950M. Kennedy Feast ii. ix. 42 She's been having kittens all day because Mrs. Siddal says she's got to empty slops. 1952W. Plomer Museum Pieces xxv. 210 My doctor nearly had kittens when I suggested my being dropped to the maquis by parachute. 1959‘A. Gilbert’ Third Crime Lucky ii. 28 Gertrude was going to have kittens when she discovered that extravagance. 1967N. Freeling Strike Out 76 When one of the horses has something wrong with it—then everybody has kittens.
Hence ˈkittendom, ˈkittenhood, the state or condition of being a kitten.
1886Besant Childr. Gibeon ii. xxii, A man whom they [the cats] had known and respected since kittendom. a1843Southey Nondescripts i. 50 Thou art beautiful as ever cat That wanton'd in the joy of kittenhood.
▸ kitten heel n. a relatively low, pointed heel on a shoe; a shoe, etc., with this type of heel.
1959Tri-City Herald (Pasco, Washington) 1 Mar. 15/2 (advt.) The lower ‘*kitten’ heel for a truly dressy active living walker. 1995Guardian 19 July (Weekend Suppl.) t8/1 A low-slung kitten heel a mere two inches off the ground is the latest thing. 1997Sunday Mirror (Electronic ed.) 23 Feb. Gucci has brought new life to this favourite fashion classic by teaming brightly-coloured skirts with kitten-heel ankle boots. 2002D. Aitkenhead Promised Land xx. 194 There must have been about 200 people, gays, straights, black and white, in kitten heels and army boots, miniskirts and combat trousers.
▸ kitten-heeled adj. (of a shoe, etc.) having a kitten heel; (of a person) wearing shoes, etc., with kitten heels.
1991Best 6 June 8 Wear these striking, cropped trousers with strappy *kitten-heeled shoes to show off your legs to best effect. 1998Independent on Sunday (Electronic ed.) 8 Mar. 9 I've got a pair of Miu-Miu kitten-heeled mules waiting for them. 2003Guardian (Nexis) 22 Feb. 8 The kitten-heeled moderniser who warned last year's Conservative conference they were viewed as ‘the nasty party’ was on a hit-list.
▪ II. ˈkitten, v.
[f. prec. n.]
Of a cat: To bring forth kittens; also of some other animals: To bring forth young, to litter. (intr. and trans.) Hence ˈkittening vbl. n.
1495Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. xviii. lxxiv. (W. de W.) eevj/1 Theyr opynyon is false..that wesels conceyue atte mouth and kytneth [MS. Bodl. whelhiþ] att the eere. 1597Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. i. 19 If your Mothers Cat had but kitten'd. 1824Miss Mitford Village Ser. i. (1863) 191 Two as fine litters of rabbits as ever were kittened. 1859Mrs. Gaskell Round the Sofa 335 My cat has kittened, too. |