| 释义 |
wild-fire, wildfire|ˈwaɪldfaɪə(r)|
[Cf. G. wildfeuer lightning, will-o'-the-wisp, erysipelas, etc.]
†1. Furious or destructive fire; a conflagration (in early quots. app. one caused by lightning: cf. 2 d). Obs. (as a specific use).
a1122O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1032 On þissum ᵹeare atywde þæt wildefyr, ðe nan mann æror nan swylc ne ᵹemunde. c1366Chronicon Brevius an. 1047 in Eulogium Hist. (Rolls) III. 294 Mortalitas in Anglia et ignis aereus, quæ dicitur wildfire, blada combussit in pago Derebiæ. a1400Morte Arth. 797 He hade weryede the worme by wyghtnesse of strenghte, Ne ware it fore the wylde fyre that he hyme wyth defendez. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 1870 How wild fyre was sloken sall be sene. 1538Bale God's Promises iii. B iv, Wylde fyre and brymstone shall lyght vpon them all. 1634S. R. Noble Soldier ii. i. C 4 b, You to quench a wild fire, Cast oyle upon it.
2. In various specific uses (wild often implying ‘natural, not artificially produced’, or ‘out of doors, not domestic’: cf. wild a. 1–4).
†a. The flames of spirituous liquor burning on some dishes, as plum-pudding, when served up. Obs. rare—1.
c1386Chaucer Pars. T. ⁋371 Swiche manere bake metes and dissh metes brennynge of wilde fir.
†b. A fire kindled out of doors for warmth. Obs. rare—1.
a1400Sir Perc. 855 Than wist Percyvelle by thatt, It servede hym of somwhatt The wylde fyre that he gatt.
c. Will-o'-the-wisp, ignis fatuus; also fig.
Also dialectally applied to other phosphorescent appearances: see Eng. Dial. Dict.
1663G. Wharton Cal. Carol. A 3 b, [They] wonder by what Wild fires they were led To feed on Thistles 'stead of wholsome Bread. 1683[see 2 e]. 1727P. Walker Life R. Cameron in Biogr. Presbyt. (1827) I. 243 Some Willies with the Wisps, or Spunkies of Wild-fire, seen mostly in boguish myrish Ground. 1814Scott Ld. of Isles vi. xxii, As springs the wild-fire from the moss. 1847Tennyson Princess v. 431 Tho' yourself Be dazzled by the wildfire Love to sloughs That swallow common sense. 1873C. M. Davies Unorth. Lond. (1876) 405 He taught..that intellectual culture without moral practice is a wildfire, and that conscience is the voice of God. 1885J. Payn Talk of Town vii, Led by wildfire of this sort to the brink of disappointment.
d. Lightning; esp. sheet lightning without audible thunder, ‘summer lightning’.
1795Burns Verses Destr. Woods Drumlanrig v, Or was 't the wil'fire scorch'd their boughs? 1888Tait in Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 330/1 What is called ‘summer lightning’ or ‘wild-fire’ is sometimes a rather puzzling phenomenon.
e. † Volcanic fire (obs.); fire-damp in coal-mines.
1683G. Sinclair Nat. Philos., Misc. Observ. 293 In some Coals,..there is a certain Fire,..and I judge, that from its resemblance to Ignis fatuus, which the Vulgar termeth Wild-fire, it hath the same name. 1692Ray Disc. i. iii. (1693) 12 If such Hills..may be, and have been elevated by subterraneous Wild-fire, Flatus or Earthquakes. 1883Gresley Gloss. Coal-mining, Wild-fire, an old term used by colliers for fire-damp.
3. A composition of highly inflammable substances, readily ignited and very difficult to extinguish, used in warfare, etc.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8485 Hii asailede þe toun mid þis tour wel uaste, & wilde fur wiþ pich & grece. 13..Coer de L. 5229 With trepeiettes they slungen alsoo,..And blewe wylde-fyr in trumpes of gynne. c1386Chaucer Wife's Prol. 373 Thou liknest wommenes loue..to wilde fyr The moore it brenneth the moore it hath desir. 1471Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 278 At Londone brige anodyr sawte thay made agayne, Wyth gunpowdir and wildefire and straw eke. a1490Botoner Itin. (Nasmith, 1778) 279 Destruxit per obcidionem civitatem per passeres cum wyldfyre ad eorum caudas ligata, volando ad civitatem. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. V, 56 Some set skalyng ladders to the wal, and other cast in wylde fyre. 1629Malthus Fireworks in Hodgkin Rariora (1902) III. iii. 16 Hand-granades, fiery Wheeles, a Shippe of wilde Fire, and a Petard. a1642Sir W. Monson Naval Tracts iii. (1704) 344/2 Pikes of Wild-fire to stick burning into a Ship's side. a1674Milton Hist. Mosc. i. Wks. 1851 VIII. 479 Then out of Mortar-pieces they shoot Wild-fire into the Air. 1742Wesley Jrnl. 26 Jan., The exceeding thick smoke, which was occasion'd by the wild fire and things of that kind, continually thrown into the room. 1783Justamond tr. Raynal's Hist. Indies (new ed.) I. 61 Chymistry was know'n; and wildfire had been invented. 1871Fireworks & How to make them 58 Port or Wildfires. Saltpetre 4 parts, mealpowder 6 parts, and sulphur 3 parts.
4. a. A name for erysipelas and various inflammatory eruptive diseases, esp. those in which the eruption spreads from one part to another.
c1000ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 114 Erysipila, wilde fyr. a1425tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. 40 It quenchiþ wele herisiplam, þat is wilde fire or few sawage. 1562Turner Herbal ii. 33 Lentilles..are good for..the wylde⁓fire and for the kybes. 1601Holland Pliny xxiii. Proeme II. 146 Shingles, ringworms, and such like wild-fires. 1614Markham Cheap Husb., Sheep ix. 72 This disease which is called the wildfire is a very infectious sicknesse, and will indanger the whole flocke. 1818–20E. Thompson tr. Cullen's Nosol. Method. (ed. 3) 331 Herpes; Ringworm; Shingles; Wildefire. 1841Dick Man. Vet. Sci. (1862) 175 Erysipelas in sheep appears in various slight modifications... Wildfire..generally shews itself at the beginning of winter... The skin inflames and rises into blisters. 1907‘Q’ Merry-Garden etc., Black Joke i, Wounds showing signs of inflammation and threatening to set up wildfire.
b. A leaf-spot disease of tobacco, caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas tabaci. Also attrib.
1918Jrnl. Agric. Res. XII. 451 The disease appeared so quietly, spread so rapidly, and affected the leaves so seriously that it was commonly given the appropriate designation ‘wildfire’. 1955Sci. News Let. 29 Jan. 73/2 Immunity to wildfire..was first transferred..from a wild tobacco species. 1971Nature 15 Jan. 174/1 Wildfire disease of tobacco is perhaps the most thoroughly studied of all toxin-mediated plant diseases.
5. a. fig. or in fig. allusions (usually from sense 3, sometimes 4), in reference to a destructive agency, or to excited, violent, or fervid feeling or utterance.
a1300Cursor M. 4314 Thoru þine ei þe sal be sent A flan, wit wild fire al brent, First to brin þin hert wit-in. c1425Cast. Persev. 2116 in Macro Plays 140 Belsabub..Bad me brenne þee with wyld fere. 1581J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 271 b, What thunderboltes and wildefire he [sc. the Pope] threw out of his bloudy turrettes agaynst Luther's life. 1593Nashe Christ's T. To Rdr., Neuer more let him looke to quench wilde fire with milke. 1612J. Davies Muse's Sacrifice Wks. (Grosart) II. 18/1 The wilde-fire of my Passions burnèd me. 1646J. Hall Poems 34 Admit no wildfire in Poetick rage. a1653G. Daniel Idyll. iv. 106 Caesar..Is but a Wild-fire to wast Senate Raggs, And silence Cato. 1736Neal Hist. Purit. III. 539 It was impossible to stop the impetuous wildfire of the army. 1765Ann. Reg., Char. 1 The wild-fire of applause or reproach is let off at the authors, in an undistinguishing blaze. 1825Scott Betrothed iii, That which will but warm your Flemish hearts, will put wildfire into Norman brains. 1888Doughty Trav. Arabia Deserta II. 148 There is a wild-fire in my heart which cannot be appeased till I be avenged.
†b. In imprecations (in sense 3 or 4). Obs.
c1350Will. Palerne 1188 Ho-so faileþ for feyntyce wild fur him for-brenne. c1386Chaucer Reeve's T. 252 A wilde fyr vp on thair bodyes falle. c1407Lydg. Reson & Sens. 3802 That she wolde, in her entent, In wilde fire that he were brent. 1520Calisto & Melib. (1536) B j, That a wyld fyre bren the, Celestena. c1622Rowley, etc. Birth of Merlin iii. vi, Wilde-fire and Brimstone eat thee! c1705Pope Jan. & May 641 So may some wildfire on your bodies fall.
c. Phr. like wildfire: with immense rapidity and effect; very swiftly and forcibly: usually with run, spread, etc.; hence occas. gen. forcibly, vigorously. (The commonest current use.)
[1593Shakes. Lucr. 1523 Whose words like wild fire burnt the shining glorie Of rich-built Illion.] 1699W. Dampier Voy. II. ii. 58 We set fire to it [sc. sedgy grass], which runs like Wild-fire. 1762Goldsm. Cit. W. xxx, Though I was at that time rich in fame—for my book ran like wild-fire—yet I was very short in money. 1837Disraeli Venetia i. xvi, The report..spread like wild-fire through the town. 1857Reade Course of True Love, Clouds & Sun. i, She would..go..and flirt like wild-fire for a fortnight. 188619th Cent. Dec. 883 With such thoughts running like wild-fire through her mind.
6. attrib.: in sense 3, as wildfire arrow, wild-fire ball, wild-fire plot; fig. (cf. 5), as wildfire blood, wild-fire zeal; wildfire rash, a disease of infants, a form of strophulus with a wandering eruption (cf. 4).
1706Phillips (ed. Kersey), *Wild-Fire Arrows, such as are trimmed with Wild-Fire.
1614Gorges Lucan vi. 222 Shoures of *wildefire balls.
1824Scott Redgauntlet ch. xviii, The *wildfire blood of Redgauntlet.
1641(title) A *Wild-fire Plot found out in Ireland, shewing how the Rebels would have consumed the City of Dublin with Wild-fire.
1822–7Good Study Med. (1829) V. 566 Children..liable to the strophulus volaticus, or *wild-fire rash.
1601Bp. W. Barlow Defence Ep. Ded., A *wilde-fire zeale. |