| 释义 |
▪ I. loss, n.1|lɒs, -ɔː-|
Forms: 1–3 los (only in dat. lose, in Lay. occas. written leose), 4–5 los, loos, (5 loose, 6 Sc. lois), 4–7 losse, (5 losce), 4– loss.
[Prob. two distinct formations. The OE. los (? neut.), found only in the phr. tó lose (weorðan, ᵹedón), corresponds to ON. los neut., ‘breaking up of the ranks of an army’ (Vigf.):—OTeut. *loso-m (a parallel formation with OE. lor lore n.2:—OTeut. *lozo-m), f. *lus-, wk. grade of the root *leus-, *laus-: see leese v., lease a., loose a. (The etymological sense may be rendered by ‘dissolution’; cf. the ON. use.) As this word occurs in OE. and early ME. only in the dative (which if it had survived would have normally become lōse with voiced s), it cannot, unless the uninflected cases were preserved unrecorded, account for the mod. form. The word in its later use as a noun of action to leese, lose vbs., appears first in the middle of the 14th c., and may have been a back-formation from the pa. pple. lost; cf. lost n., which is of contemporary date.]
1. Perdition, ruin, destruction; the condition or fact of being ‘lost’, destroyed, or ruined. Now only with mixture of other senses; cf. lose v.1 2 b.
c897K. ælfred Gregory's Past. xxxvi. 249 Ðonne ᵹe to lose weorðað. c1205Lay. 3903 Heore lif heom eode al to leose [for lose; riming with neose = nose]. c1275Ibid. 22844 And so hi solle go to lose. 1483Caxton Cato G j b, Whan they seken..the losse and the dethe of yonge chyldren. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VI 115 Bothe her body and soule, wer gotten again out of eternall losse and perdicion. 1605Shakes. Lear iii. vi. 102 His life With thine, and all that offer to defend him, Stand in assured losse. 1667Milton P.L. iii. 308 Thou hast..quitted all to save A World from utter loss. 1743Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 104 The Loss of the Ship, was the Loss of him. 1784Cowper Tiroc. 166 Describe a Saviour's cross As God's expedient to retrieve his loss. 1839Macaulay Ess., Gladstone on Ch. & State (1880) 481 Is not the loss of one soul a greater evil than the extinction of many lives?
2. The fact of losing (something specified or contextually implied). See the senses of lose v.1 Const. with of or objective genitive.
a. The being deprived of, or the failure to keep (a possession, appurtenance, right, quality, faculty, or the like).
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xix. 287 Losse of worldely catel. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vi. v. (1495) 193 Chyldren wepe more for the losse of an apple than for the losse of theyr herytage. 1562–3Act 5 Eliz. c. 14 §12 Persons that shall so offende..shall have Imprisonement, losse of Eares, slytting and searing of Nose. 1620T. Granger Div. Logike i. xxxvii. 109 The losse of power, and vertue in all liuing things..is the privation thereof. 1671Milton Samson 67 O loss of sight, of thee I most complain! 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 180 William the Conqueror..punished such as were convicted of killing the wild boar in his forests, with the loss of their eyes. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 194 The Papists of Ireland attributed to him the loss of their lands. 1864Trevelyan Compet. Wallah (1866) 299 The words, ‘loss of caste’, convey to an English gentleman's mind no more terrible idea than that of marrying his laundress. 1896J. H. Clarke Cold-Catching, Cold-Preventing, etc. 66 Among the sequelae of a cold in the head..may be mentioned loss of taste and smell.
b. loss of life: the being put to death (as a punishment). Also, in generalized sense, the destruction or ‘sacrifice’ of human lives.
c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1685 Vp peyne of los of lyf. 1582N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. viii. 20 Not willing they should..susteine crueltie, or losse of lyfe. 1595Shakes. John iv. iii. 106, I lou'd him, and will weepe My date of life out, for his sweete liues losse. 1611Bible Acts xxvii. 22 There shall be no losse of any mans life among you. 1898Daily News 12 Apr. 3/3 These men estimate the loss of life—that is, the ruthless waste and destruction of human life during the sixteen years that the Khalifa has ruled—at seventy-five per cent. of the entire population.
c. The being deprived by death, separation, or estrangement, of (a friend, relative, servant, or the like). Often contextually, the death (of a person regretted).
a1450Myrc 1279 For los of frendes or of any þynge. c1645Howell Lett. I. vi. xlv. 237 Ther be many sad hearts for the loss of my Lord Robert Digby. 1692R. L'Estrange Fables (1708) I. 543 The Case of a Lady that kept her Bed for the loss of a Favorite Puppy she had. 1710Steele Tatler No. 198 ⁋1 Affliction for the Loss of her Mother. 1798Monthly Mag. VI. 309 [Died] John Case Browne, esq. whose loss will be severely felt..by the whole neighbourhood. 1805J. Quincy in Life 74 The loss of Mr. Griswold from the national legislature. 1831Brewster Newton (1855) II. xxi. 269 Newton had to mourn the loss of his earliest and best friend.
d. The losing of or being defeated in (a battle, game, or contest). † Formerly also without specific mention of the object: The state of being a loser, defeat (obs.).
13..E.E. Allit. P. C. 174, I lovne þat we lay lotes on ledes vchone, & who-so lympes þe losse, lay hym þer-oute. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 136 Of the takyng of the Kyng their Master, and of the losse of the feld. 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iv. iv. 4 What losse of some pitcht battell Against Warwicke? 1611― Cymb. ii. iii. 2 Your Lordship is the most patient man in losse, the most coldest that euer turn'd vp Ace. 1744Ozell tr. Brantome's Sp. Rhodomontades 205 As a great many Captains have done after the Loss of a Battle. 1822Shelley Calderon's Magico Prodig. i. 151 The battle's loss may profit those who lose.
e. Failure to take advantage or make good use (of time, etc.).
c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 997 Dido, It nere but los of tyme. 1535Coverdale Exod. xxi. 19 He shal paye the losse of his tyme. 1593Shakes. Lucr. 1420 But for losse of Nestors golden words, Its seem'd they would debate with angrie swords. 1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 29 She without losse of time, buried the Poyniard up to the hilts. 1709Addison Tatler No. 131 ⁋10 To..take to some honest Livelihood without Loss of Time. 1814Scott Wav. xxxi, Instant reimbursement for loss of time. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. xi. 75 This error caused us the loss of an hour.
f. Failure to gain or obtain. (Cf. lose v.1 7.)
a1614D. Dyke Myst. Self-deceiving (ed. 8) 41 A word that signifieth..losse of victory. Mod. I do not wish to risk the loss of my train.
†3. occas. Cause or occasion of ruin or deprivation. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Wife's Prol. 720 Womman was the los of al mankynde. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VI 130 The negligence of the kynges counsaill..was the losse of the whole dominion of Fraunce.
4. a. In particularized sense: An instance of losing. Also, a person, thing, or amount lost.
c1369Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 1302 That was the losse..that I had lorne. 1463–4Coldingham Priory Papers (Surtees) 191 Our grete lossez in plee for Coldyngham. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 406 b, That those which had bene faithfull to him, and therfore had chaunced into extreme miserie, should first be recompensed their losse. 1599Shakes. Much Ado iv. ii. 87 A rich fellow enough, goe to, and a fellow that hath had losses. 1685Evelyn Mrs. Godolphin 150 Thus ended this incomparable Lady: our never to be sufficiently lamented losse. 1718Freethinker No. 1 ⁋6 It is not possible to trade to much Advantage without some Losses. 1883R. W. Dixon Mano ii. viii. 95 But soon 'twas heard (a loss of little woe) That he had stolen away the gallant quean. 1891Law Times XC. 283/2 The company wrote off the loss as a bad debt.
b. spec. (Path.) A loss of blood by uterine hæmorrhage.
1901Brit. Med. Jrnl. No. 2089. 86 The patient gave a history of having had a loss a few days previously.
c. to cut one's loss(es): to cease carrying on a losing transaction.
1912Q. Rev. Jan. 287 It is now made the basis of the argument that England should ‘cut her loss’, and Ireland be sent adrift. 1926T. E. Lawrence Seven Pillars (1935) viii. xciv. 519 Feisal had..made one of his lightning decisions to cut the loss; a wise decision, though it hurt us sorely. 1927Daily Express 13 July 8/2 The only reasonable thing is for Great Britain to..cut her losses, and bring the whole matter to an end. 1939‘G. Orwell’ Coming up for Air ii. vii. 123 The trouble over Joe aged Father a great deal. To lose Joe was merely to cut a loss, but it hurt him. 1944A. Bryant Yrs. of Victory ii. 39 Bonaparte..saw that he was beaten and, like the great man he was, cut his losses. 1969Listener 28 Aug. 269/1 For this reason the CIA is cutting its losses, reducing its labyrinthine commitments.
5. a. Diminution of one's possessions or advantages; detriment or disadvantage involved in being deprived of something, or resulting from a change of conditions; an instance of this. (Opposed to gain.)
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. Prol. 195 Better is a litel losse than a longe sorwe. 1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 212 Drede of worldly shame & loos. c1400Destr. Troy 1719 Of þe harmys þat we haue & þe hoge lose. Ibid. 9781 Me is leuer for to lyue with losse þat I haue. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VI 141 b, Gain is not alwaies perdurable, nor losse alwaies continuall. 1603Shakes. Meas. for M. iii. i. 181 No losse shall touch her by my company. 1611Bible Phil. iii. 7 What things were gaine to me, those I counted losse for Christ. 1627Milton Vac. Exerc. 9 Small loss it is that thence can come unto thee. 1686tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 8 No wonder if their Trade decrease, and turn to loss rather then profit. 1784Cowper Task vi. 750 Nor can the wonders it records be sung To meaner music, and not suffer loss. 1841Trench Parables xix. (1877) 341 Earthly losses are remedies for covetousness. 1848Newman (title) Loss and gain. 1866C. M. Yonge Dove in Eagle's Nest I. 76 No matter..'Tis only her loss [refusing to drink].
b. to have a (great) loss in (or of): to suffer severely by losing (usually, a person).
1680Aubrey Lives, E. Davenant (1813) II. 300 He was not only a man of vast learning, but of great goodness and charity; the parish and all his friends will have a great losse in him. 1757E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances (1767) IV. 15 What a Loss shall I have of him! 1824Jekyll Corr. (1894) 144, I feel a sad loss of poor dear Mr. Stanley. 1836Moore Mem. (1856) VII. 164 As the time approaches for the departure of our dear little Nell, we begin to feel more and more the loss we shall have of her. 1881Trollope Dr. Wortle's School iv. xi, She had a certain charge..as to the school..; and very well she did her work. I shall have a great loss in her.
¶c. a (great, etc.) loss (in this sense) is often idiomatically predicated of the person or thing lost, where in strictness the subject of the sentence should be the loss or deprivation of this. (The more correct expression, as in quot. 1605, is obsolete.) dead loss: see dead a. 30.
[1605Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. iii. §4 For apophthegms, it is a great loss of that book of Cæsar's.] a1903Mod. Our opponents are welcome to their new convert; he is no loss. 1940W. Faulkner Hamlet i. i. 16 Major De Spain's barn taken fire and was a total loss. 1943Scrutiny XI. 288 If you apply serious standards, then P. G. [Wodehouse] is a total loss.
d. one person's loss is another's gain: a semi-proverbial expression. Also with non-personal subject and complement.
1914G. B. Shaw Misalliance 41 It civilizes them. And it uncivilizes us. Their gain. Our loss. 1925New Yorker 22 Aug. 9/1 When the fighting was over she remained... Our loss was their gain. 1949B. A. Botkin Treas. S. Folklore ii. i. 147 What is history's loss is folklore's gain. 1973Times 22 Jan. 9/5 (heading) Newcastle's loss is Doncaster's gain.
6. Mil. The losing (by a commander or an army) of men by death, wounds, or capture; also (sing. and pl.) the number of men so lost.
a1400–50Alexander 3171 Ȝit me is better..in bataile be slayne, Þan se þe lose of my ledis. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VI 130 Trustyng..shortly to be lorde of the citee and towne, without any greate losse or battaill. 1840Gresley Siege Lichf. 45 The loss of each army..was about equal. 1846Grote Greece (1869) II. ii. viii. 446 They were repulsed with loss. 1899Sir G. White Disp. to Buller 16 Dec., The loss of 12,000 men here would be a heavy blow to England.
†7. Lack, default, want. in the loss of question: provided there is no dispute. Obs.
1603Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. iv. 90 As I subscribe not that, nor any other, But in the loss of question. 1632Lithgow Trav. iii. 85 The Villages for losse of ground are all built on the skirts of Rockes.
†8. Real Tennis. A lost chase (see chase n.1 7).
1591[see chase n.1 7]. 1619Drummond of Hawthornden Convers. B. Jonson xvii. (1842) 30 A Lord playing at Tenis, and having asked those in the gallerie Whither a strock was Chase or Losse? A Brother of my Lord Northumberland's answered, it was Loss.
9. at a loss, † at loss. Of a hound: Having lost the track or scent; at fault. Hence of persons: At fault; utterly uncertain what to say or do (often with indirect questions introduced by how, what, etc.); unable to understand, imagine, discover, explain, etc. at a loss for: unable to discover or obtain (something needed).
1592Warner Alb. Eng. vii. xxxvi. (1612) 175 The Hound at losse doth ouer-giue. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. Induct. i. 23 He cried vpon it at the meerest losse, And twice to day pick'd out the dullest sent. 1663South Serm. (1823) III. 424 The justness of his government left them at a loss for an occasion [sc. of rebellion]. 1668Hale Pref. to Rolle's Abridgm. b j b, Many that are much conversant in subtilties of Logick..are at a loss in it, and can make little of it. 1671Milton P.R. iv. 366 Satan now Quite at a loss, for all his darts were spent, Thus to our Saviour with stern brow reply'd. 1699Bentley Phal. 332 His wonderfull Learning was at a loss. 1711Steele Spect. No. 53 ⁋8, I stood utterly at a loss how to behave my self. Ibid. No. 157 ⁋1, I am very much at a loss to express by any Word that occurs to me in our Language, that which is understood by Indoles in Latin. 1773Life N. Frowde 23 If they were at a Loss for any thing, I cry'd out, can I find it, Sir? 1781Cowper Hope 345 All speakers, yet all language at a loss. 1823J. Badcock Dom. Amusem. 33 We are at a loss, however, for any direct knowledge of the means used by them. 1827Hallam Const. Hist. (1876) I. vi. 302 They were at a loss how to obtain his release. 1863F. A. Kemble Resid. Georgia 17, I therefore am at a loss to understand what made her hail the erection of one [mill] at Charleston as likely to produce such..happy results.
10. attrib. and Comb. loss leader Comm., an article put on sale at a non-profit-making price in order to attract potential buyers of other articles; also transf.; hence loss-leading vbl. n.; loss-maker, a business, etc., consistently working at a loss; loss-making vbl. n., the making of a loss (in business, etc.); also as ppl. a., that makes a loss.
1922Hayward & White Chain Stores vii. 109 Many chains have a fixed policy of featuring each week a so-called ‘*loss leader’. That is, some well known article, the price of which is usually standard and known to the majority of purchasers, is put on sale at actual cost to the chain or even at a slight loss..on the theory..that people will be attracted to this bargain and buy other goods as well. Loss leaders are often termed ‘weekly specials’. 1942H. Levy Retail Trade Assoc. xviii. 211 Prohibitions on ‘loss leaders’. 1958Times 15 Dec. 9/3 No doubt price cutting in individual lines often goes beyond the point where it is justified by reduction in direct cost: it is in part the loss-leader technique. People are attracted into a shop by some very low prices, and buy many other articles which give a handsome margin. 1969Daily Tel. 7 Mar. 19 Sir Stanley Raymond, chairman of the Gaming Board, said yesterday he was convinced that Bingo was often used as a ‘loss leader’ to induce housewives into ‘hard’ gambling. In many cases Bingo provided only half of the takings in clubs. 1970Ibid. 15 May 21/5 Some would like to see bank charges on personal accounts reduced or abolished, as a ‘loss leader’ to the existing personal customers. 1971New Scientist 21 Jan. 102/1 The ranks of loss leaders and unrepeatable offers.
1964New Statesman 28 Feb. 343/1 This concession was necessary to get any bill past his own back-benchers; and there are a few more..concessions..in particular a ban on *loss-leading. 1968Daily Tel. 12 Nov. 17/8 Only a madman or a company making a genuine attempt at loss leading would reduce rates.
1971Guardian Weekly 23 Jan. 22 What happens when two companies, both *lossmakers, merge into one? The answer, as often as not, is one big loss-maker. 1973Times 24 Aug. 17/2 The company declined to give reasons for its withdrawals except to say that the bookstalls did not fit into its ‘economic pattern’ or plans for the future. It said the stalls were not lossmakers.
1971Sunday Times 15 Aug. 41 He started by picking up a 40{pmil} stake in the *lossmaking Carson's chocolate business in March 1964. 1974Times 7 Mar. 19/6 The company has been loss-making since 1971.
▪ II. † loss, n.2 Obs.
Also 5–6 losse, (5 lossem), 6 los, 7 loz.
[a. MDu. los = OE. lox, OHG., MHG. luhs (mod.G. luchs); akin to Sw. lo of the same meaning. Caxton's lossem represents the unexplained variant lossen of the Du. original.]
A lynx.
1481Caxton Reynard xxxviii. (Arb.) 105 The rulers and kepars of the felde was the lupaert and the losse. Ibid. xli. 111 The kepars of the felde, the lupaerd and the lossem. 1598Florio, Lince, a beast like vnto a woolfe,..called a los or linx. Lince,..Also a losse, or a linx. 1624T. Heywood Gunaikeion vii. 329 The beast called a Loz or Lynx.
▪ III. † loss, v. Sc. Obs.
Also 5–6 los, 6–7 loiss.
[a. Du. lossen (whence G. löschen, Da. losse, Sw. lossa), f. los adj., loose (:—OTeut. *lusso-), cogn. w. loos (:—OTeut. *lauso-: see loose a.).]
trans. To unload (a vessel), discharge (goods from a vessel). Also absol. of a ship: To unload.
1482Charters Edinb. (1871) 168 Of ilk stane bait cumand and losand in the havin id. Ibid. 169 That na..stapill gudis of strangearis remane..langare in Leith eftir it be dischargit and losit than [etc.]. 1537Burgh Rec. Edinb. (1871) II. 86 Jhone Sleith..confessit that he loissit the pok of forest woll pertening to Mungo Tennend efter that the samyn wes schippit and stowit in his schip. 1565Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 332 Nane of thame sall brek bouk,..quhill the tyme that thair gudis be housit, and the schip lost, and avysit with the conservatour how the marcat is. 1609Burgh Rec. Glasgow (1876) I. 302 Be making of mercat thairof [sc. goods]..befoir they be lossit.
▪ IV. loss(e
var. Sc. f. lose v.1; var. lose n.1 Obs., praise; obs. f. loose. |