| 释义 |
magnificent, a. and n.|mægˈnɪfɪsənt|
Also 7 erron. -ficient.
[a. OF. magnificent, f. L. magnificent-, altered stem (found in the comparative magnificentior, after benevolentior from benevolens = benevolus) of magnificus, lit. doing great deeds, f. magn-us great: see -fic. All the senses below were already approximately developed in Latin.]
A. adj.
1. Characterized by greatness of achievement or by the conduct befitting lofty position. Obs. exc. in the titular epithet the Magnificent (= L. magnificus) historically attached to the names of certain distinguished rulers, as Eadmund I of England, Sultan Solyman, Lorenzo de' Medici.
1513More in Grafton's Chron. (1568) II. 878 Yet the King [Hen. VII] of his magnificent minde, pardoned the innocent and rurall people. 1602Warner Alb. Eng. Epit. (1612) 356 Of whom many, and some of them heere-borne Incolents, became afterwards the most magnificent of the Emperors. 1656Blount Glossogr., Magnificent,..that atchieveth worthy acts,..acting great matters. 1717Hist. Acc. Hungary 332 This was formerly the Bulwark of Hungary, 'till taken by Soliman the Magnificent. 1795W. Roscoe (title) The Life of Lorenzo de' Medici, called The Magnificent. 1875Fortnum Maiolica xi. 107 Lorenzo the magnificent.
†b. As the rendering of the customary title (usually L. magnificus) of certain foreign officials and official bodies. Obs.
1763Ann. Reg. 86 The proceedings of the magnificent council [of Geneva].
†c. Proud, arrogantly ambitious. Obs.
1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 732 This Perenus was one of the greatest peeres of Hungarie, but of a most haughtie and magnificent mind.
2. Characterized by expenditure or munificence on a great scale; ‘royally’ lavish or munificent. Now rare.
1579G. Harvey Lett. to Spenser (1580) 65 Your lauishe, and magnificent liberalitie. a1586Sidney Arcadia ii. (1590) 169 b, If he were magnificent, he spent much with an aspiring intent. 1593R. Harvey Philad. Ded. 21 Thus trusting to your Lordships magnificent..fauour. 1631Massinger Emperor East ii. i, A Prince is neuer so magnificent, As when hee's sparing to inrich a few With th'iniuries of many. 1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. §126 Nor had his Heir cause to complain,.. though his Expences had been very magnificent,.. considering the wealth he left in Jewels, Plate, and Furniture. a1661Fuller Worthies (1840) II. 313 Hampton Court was built by..Cardinal Wolsey; once so magnificent in his expenses. 1667Milton P.L. ix. 153 Man he made, and for him built Magnificent this World, and Earth his seat. 1737Whiston Josephus, Antiq. xv. ix. § 5 Herod..bestowed presents on every one..using his magnificent disposition, so as his kingdom might be the better secured. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xi. III. 24 He received from the private bounty of the magnificent Chamberlain a pension equal to the salary which had been withdrawn. 1868Milman St. Paul's 332 He was munificent, almost magnificent.
3. Of conditions of life: Characterized by grandeur or stateliness. Of persons: Living in splendour; characterized by display of wealth and ceremonial pomp.
1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 203 Delapsed and commynge downe from his magnifycent glory. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. ix. 12 b, Such was the beginning of the magnificent estate of Cariedin Barberousse. 1706Phillips (ed. Kersey), Magnificent, that lives in great State; stately, noble, great, fine, costly, lofty. 1709Atterbury Serm. (Luke x. 32) 4 Whether we are not too Magnificent and Sumptuous in our Table and Attendance. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vii. II. 183 The magnificent king who, in more than one sense, represented France.
4. Sumptuously constructed or adorned; also, in wider sense, imposingly beautiful, splendid.
a1540Barnes Wks. (1573) 357 That magnificent Temple of Salomon. 1658Hist. Christina Alessandra Q. Swedland 109 Of a modern structure and one of the magnificentest fabriques of Europe. 1667Milton P.L. iii. 502 Farr distant hee descries Ascending by degrees magnificent Up to the wall of Heaven a Structure high. 1687T. Brown Lib. Consc. in Dk. Buckingham's Wks. (1705) II. 122 She did not delight in gaudy Liveries, and what the World calls a Magnificient Equipage. 1701Addison Let. fr. Italy 72 When Rome's exalted beauties I descry, Magnificent in piles of ruine lye. 1725De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 268 Two rooms..very magnificent in their way. 1756Burke Subl. & B. ii. xiii, A great profusion of things which are splendid or valuable in themselves, is magnificent. 1841Lane Arab. Nts. I. 107 She then arose, and attired herself in the most magnificent of her apparel. 1894J. T. Fowler Adamnan Introd. 51 Lord Dunraven's magnificent work entitled Notes on Irish Architecture.
5. Of immaterial things, conceptions, language, etc.: Imposing, exalted.
1639N. N. tr. Du Bosq's Compl. Woman i. 3 There needes but a pleasing voice, a magnificent tone, a sweet accent,..to charme those who hearken. 1665Boyle Occas. Refl. Disc. Occas. Medit. (1848) 76 Making good that magnificent Assertion of the Apostle, That all things work together for good to them that love God. 1701Stanley's Hist. Philos. Biog. 4 Thales was thought to deserve the Magnificent Title of Wise for his Noble Discoveries. 1748Hume Ess. ix. Brit. Govt. 72 These Considerations are apt to make one entertain a very magnificent Idea of the British Spirit and Love of Liberty. 1781Cowper Truth 412 The song magnificent—the theme a worm! 1781― Table-t. 593 Language..Was natural as is the flowing stream, And yet magnificent, a God the theme.
6. Used to express enthusiastic admiration: ‘Splendid’, wonderfully fine.
a1704T. Brown Praise of Drunkenness Wks. 1730 I. 37 Pray take notice of his belly, how plump and round it is, of what a magnificent circumference. 1704Yalden On Sir Willoughby Aston 348 Methinks I see a pompous tomb arise, Beauteous the form, magnificent the size. 1858Ruskin Arrows of Chace (1880) I. 130 All the drawings so kept are in magnificent preservation. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. xii. 90 The day was magnificent. 1867W. W. Smyth Coal & Coal-mining 91 At Lehigh Summit mine the great coal-bed is a magnificent seam of 50 feet.
B. n.
†1. An eminent personage. Obs.
1612W. Parkes Curtaine-Dr. (1876) 20 The Courts and mansions of the Potentates and Magnificents of the World.
2. pl. slang. A mood of haughty indignation.
1836Marryat Midsh. Easy xxvi, Nevertheless, Jack walked his first watch in the ‘magnificents’, as all middies do when they cannot go on shore.
Hence † magˈnificent v. (nonce-wd), trans. to make or proclaim great. magˈnificentness, the state or condition of being magnificent (1727 in Bailey vol. II).
1656S. H. Golden Law 2 His mercy is above all his works, and doth magnificent him.
Add:[A.] 7. attrib. and Comb. in the names of animals, esp. birds, having an imposing or splendid appearance (cf. superb a. 2 b), as magnificent scallop.
1990Scuba Times Mar.–Apr. 30/3 Red-lipped batfish, ‘yellow’ black coral, *magnificent scallops, red-spotted barnacle blennies, Galapagos sharks and endangered green sea turtles are only a few of the other marine anomalies you will encounter. 1991Sea Frontiers Mar.–Apr. 12/1 (caption) Bright blue eyes dot the mantle edges of a magnificent scallop (Lyropecten magnificus..), found in the Galapogos.
magnificent bird of paradise [tr. Fr.: see quot. 1776], the bird of paradise Diphyllodes magnificus.
[1776P. Sonnerat Voyage à la Nouvelle Guinée xii. 163 Le cinquieme oiseau de Paradis, ou celui que je nommerai le Magnifique, est d'un tiers moins gros que le précédent.] 1782J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds I. Plate XIX (caption) Magnificent Bird of Paradise. 1931L. S. Crandall Paradise Quest v. 100 Before the day was out we had received two more male six-plumes, as well as two or three of the species known as the magnificent bird of paradise. 1989Sci. Amer. Dec. 71/3 The polygymous magnificent bird of paradise.
magnificent frigate bird, the largest of the frigate birds, Fregata magnificens, found on the tropical and subtropical coasts of the Americas and on the Cape Verde Islands.
1956R. T. Peterson & J. Fisher Wild America xiii. 142 The *magnificent frigate-birds..numbered about eighty. 1992From the Land Fall 10/2 The presence of magnificent frigatebirds soaring overhead reminds us this is the tropics.
magnificent fruit dove = *wompoo n.
1976E. S. Gruson Checklist Birds of World 42 Ptilinopus magnificus. *Magnificent Fruit Dove.
magnificent fruit pigeon = *wompoo n.
1848J. Gould Birds Austral. (1848) V (plate 58 ), Carpophaga magnifica. *Magnificent Fruit Pigeon. 1940B. O'Reilly Green Mountains 111 An occasional wampoo—that miracle of purple and green, to which the naturalist..has given the vernacular name of magnificent fruit pigeon. 1966N. W. Cayley What Bird is That? (ed. 4) 23 Wompoo Pigeon... Also called Magnificent Fruit-Pigeon.
magnificent rifle bird, the rifle bird Ptiloris magnificus, of northern Queensland and New Guinea.
1855A. White Pop. Hist. Birds 58 If gorgeous plumage confer kingship on birds, the truly ‘*magnificent Rifle-bird (Ptiloris magnifica)..may be regarded as a king of its family. 1890Ibis II. 151 We came across the magnificent Rifle-bird (Ptilorhis magnifica) on Mount Kowald, as also on Mount Belford, at an altitude of 3000 feet and over. 1969E. T. Gilliard Birds of Paradise & Bower Birds ix. 118 The Magnificent Rifle Bird has the distinction of being one of the two species of birds of paradise which is shared by both New Guinea and Australia.
magnificent spider, the spider Dicrostichus magnificus of eastern Australia, noted for making spindle-shaped egg sacs several inches long.
1936K. C. McKeown Spider Wonders Austral. vi. 94 These spiders whose unobtrusive habits conceal behaviour perhaps unparalleled in the spider-world are the Magnificent Spider, her sister, the Hairy Imperial Spider, and the Orchard or Death's Head Spider. 1952W. A. Beatty Unique to Austral. 63 The Magnificent spider..has a beautiful mosaic pattern with a finely sculptured royal crown upon its back... This spider comes out at night to feed upon night-flying moths. 1969D. Clyne Guide Austral. Spiders 74 D. Magnificus..the Magnificent spider—is a rather lumpy-looking spider when at rest.
B. n. An animal, esp. a bird, with a common name beginning ‘magnificent’.
1931L. S. Crandall Paradise Quest v. 100 In the mountains, magnificents are the most abundant of the birds of paradise. 1931Times Lit. Suppl. 5 Nov. 859/3 The first day's work produced three six-plumes (Parotia lawesi lawesi) and two or three magnificents (Diphyllodes magnificus hunsterni)—the latter, a lovely little bird hardly as large as an American robin. 1989Sci. Amer. Dec. 69 (caption) Male and female magnificents..are similar in size. |