| 释义 |
▪ I. meek, a.|miːk|
Forms: 3 meoc, muk, 3–4 mec, 3–5 mek, meok(e, muke, 3–6 meke, 4–5 mieke, meyk, myke, (superl. mekerst(e), 4–7 meeke, (6 myck), 5–7 Sc. meik(e, 4– meek.
[Early ME. meoc, a. ON. miúk-r soft, pliant, gentle (Sw. mjuk, Da. myg); related by ablaut to Goth. *mūk-s in mūka-mōdei meekness (Gr. πραότης); also to early mod.Du. muik soft (:—*mūko-).
According to some scholars the same root is found in ON. myki (see muck) and, outside Teut., in OIrish mocht (:—*mukto-) soft, Welsh mwytho to soften.]
1.
†a. Gentle, courteous, kind. Of a superior: Merciful, compassionate, indulgent. Obs.
c1200Ormin 2501 Eȝȝþerr [sc. Mary and Joseph] wass wiþþ oþerr mec. 1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 12254 Newe þy shryfte euer ylyke, hyt makeþ Iesu cryst to þe meke [v.r. myke]. c1350Will. Palerne 412 Haue here þis bold barn & be til him meke. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 150 Þeiȝ ȝe ben miȝty to mote beþ meke of ȝour werkis. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 390 Quhen he wes blyth, he wes lufly, And meyk and sweyt in cumpany. c1400Destr. Troy 215 It Ioyes me, Iason, of þi just werkes, Þat so mighty & meke & manly art holdyn. c1450Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 201 Every man..Be meke and lowe the pore man to. 1530Palsgr. 318/2 Meke pityfull, clement. 1557N. Grimalde in Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 97 Then, for our loue, good hope were not to seek: I mought say with myself, she will be meek. 1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 115 The Lord is meik, and mercyfull is he. 1601Shakes. Jul. C. iii. i. 255, I am meeke and gentle with these Butchers. 1609Bible (Douay) Ps. lxxxv. Comm., He is meeke to remitte offences.
b. As connoting a Christian virtue (= Vulgate mansuetus, Biblical Gr. πρᾶος): Free from haughtiness and self-will; piously humble and submissive; patient and unresentful under injury and reproach.
c1200Ormin 667 Godess enngell iss full meoc, & milde, & soffte, & bliþe. a1225Leg. Kath. 103 Ðeos milde meke meiden. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 47/14 He [Edward the Martyr] was meoke and milde inouȝ. c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 460 Crist..was porerste man of lif & mekerste & moost vertuous. 1382― Matt. xxi. 5 Loo! thi kyng cometh to thee, homly [gloss] or meke, sittynge on an asse. a1400Transl. N.T. (Selwyn MS.) 2 Tim. iii. 4 (Paues 119) Incontynent, noȝ[t] muke, with-outen benygnyte. c1491Chast. Goddes Chyld. xxii. 60 He that is not meke is proude. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 10 b, With a clene herte & meke spiryte. 1535Coverdale 1 Pet. iii. 4 A meke & a quyete sprete. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. ii. i. 33 Patience vnmou'd, no maruel though she pause, They can be meeke, that haue no other cause. 1637Milton Lycidas 177 In the blest Kingdoms meek of joy and love. 1667― P.L. iii. 266 His words here ended, but his meek aspect Silent yet spake. 1766Fordyce Serm. Yng. Wom. (1767) II. xiii. 227 A proud Character was never a meek one. 1838Lytton Alice 31 ‘God is good to me’, said the lady, raising her meek eyes. 1860J. W. Warter Sea-board II. 158 Bold bad men far outnumber the meek ones of the earth.
absol.c1200Ormin 9613 Drihhtin hateþþ modiȝ mann, & lufeþþ alle meoke. 1382Wyclif Luke i. 52 He puttide doun myȝty men fro seete, and enhaunside meke. 1535Coverdale Matt. v. 5 Blessed are the meke: for they shall inheret the erth. 1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 96 Till slay the meik and Innocent. c1580Sidney Ps. xxv. vi, The meeke he doth in judgment leade. 1798Porteus Lect. Matt. vi. (1802) 139 These [blessings], I apprehend, are the peculiar portion and recompence of the meek.
c. Submissive, humble (occas. † const. to). In unfavourable sense: Inclined to submit tamely to oppression or injury, easily ‘put upon’; now often in a tone of ironical commendation, with allusion to 1 b.
1340–70Alisaunder 953 Hee..made all þe menne meeke too his wyll. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. x. 83 Drede is such a Mayster Þat he makeþ Men Meoke and Mylde of heore speche. c1386Chaucer Clerk's T. 85 Hir meeke preyere and hir pitous cheere. a1400–50Alexander 1747 Made to be meke malegreue his chekis. c1450Bk. Curtasye 179 in Babees Bk., Be not to meke, but in mene þe holde, For ellis a fole þou wylle be tolde. 1536R. Beerley in Four C. Eng. Lett. (1880) 34 My lowly and myck scrybulling. c1560A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) ii. 142 Than every man gaif Will a mok, And said he wes our meik. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. x. 44 He humbly louted in meeke lowlinesse. 1741Richardson Pamela (1824) I. 180 When I have asked thee, meek-one, half a dozen questions together, I suppose thou wilt answer them all at once! 1835Lytton Rienzi i. i, The boy was of a meek and yielding temper. 1868Browning Ring & Bk. i. 976 He feels he has a fist, then folds his arms Crosswise and makes his mind up to be meek. 1884W. C. Smith Kildrostan 92, I hate Your meek and milky girls that dare not kiss A burning passion, clinging to your lips. 1891Spectator 4 July, [They] put up with angry opposition in a way which, if English statesmen did it, would be denounced as ‘meek’.
d. Proverbial phr. (in the various senses above) as meek as a lamb, a maid, etc., as Moses.
c1330Spec. Gy de Warewyke 260 He þat was woned to be Meke as a lomb, ful of pite. c1386Chaucer Miller's T. 16 He was..lyk a mayden meke for to see. c1470Henry Wallace ix. 1937 In tym off pes, mek as a maid was he. 1860Geo. Eliot Mill on Fl. i. xii, Mr. Glegg,..though a kind man..was not as meek as Moses.
†e. Used as adv. = meekly.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 167 Ageyn R. he ferd, to fote he felle fulle meke. a1425Cursor M. 18982 (Trin.) Boþe on mon & wommon eke Of prophecie shul þei speke meke. 1605Shakes. Macb. i. vii. 17 Besides, this Duncane Hath borne his Faculties so meeke.
2. Of animals: Tame, gentle, not fierce.
c1200Ormin 1312 Forr lamb is soffte & stille deor, & meoc, & milde, & liþe. c1325Metr. Hom. 158 Douf a ful mec fuel is. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxxiii. (George) 278 He folouyt hyre as it had bene Þe mekeste quhelpe wes euir sene. c1450Holland Howlat 240 Thir ar na fowlis of reif,..Bot mansweit,..manerit and meike. 1500–20Dunbar Poems xlviii. 111 The meik pluch ox. 1530Palsgr. 318/2 Meke nat wylde, doulx.
†3.
a. In physical applications: Not violent or strong; mild, gentle. Obs. or arch.
c1420Pallad. on Husb. xii. 192 His translacion The pynys fruyt [wol] esy make and meke [L. fructum pineum translatione mitescere]. 1525Ld. Berners Froiss. II. ii. 6 It was in the monethe of Maye, whan the waters be peaseable and meke. 1564P. Moore Hope Health ii. xii. 49 Then must that superfluous humour be pourged out..with a meke medicine. 1781Cowper Conversat. 268 Venus..with a quiet, which no fumes disturb, Sips meek infusions of a milder herb. 1824S. E. Ferrier Inher. xlv, A meek, gray, autumnal day.
†b. meek mother (tr. pia mater): see mother.
4. Comb. chiefly parasynthetic adjs., as meek-browed, meek-eyed, meek-faced, meek-hearted (hence meek-heartedness), meek-mild, meek-spirited, meek-swarded; also adverbial, as meek-dropt adj.
1863I. Williams Baptistery i. ii. (1874) 22 The *meek-brow'd child of truth, Humility.
c1829Mrs. Hemans Child's Last Sleep 14 Love..hath press'd Thy *meek-dropt eyelids and quiet breast.
1629Milton Hymn Nativity iii, But he her fears to cease, Sent down the *meek-eyd Peace. 1818Byron Ch. Har. iv. cxvi, The meek-eyed genius of the place.
1871J. G. Whittier Miriam 29 That lean, fierce priest..*Meek-faced, barefooted. 1933W. de la Mare Fleeting 92 Meek-faced, they snuff the air.
1535Coverdale Ps. cxlix. 4 The Lorde..helpeth the *meke-harted.
1849Rock Ch. of Fathers II. 309 In her *meek-heartedness, the royal ædilthryda desired, and was buried in a wooden coffin.
1951W. de la Mare Winged Chariot 23 *Meek-mild as chickweed.
1535Coverdale Ps. xxxvi. 11 The *meke spreted shal possesse the earth. 1759Sterne Tr. Shandy I. x. (1760) 40 A meek-spirited jade of a broken-winded horse.
1953C. Day Lewis Italian Visit i. 24 Immortal landscape of a day..*Meek-swarded, comely pastoral.
Hence † ˈmekelac (meocleȝȝc, meokelec) [see -laik], meekness, gentleness, lowliness.
c1200Ormin 2535 Annd soþ meocleȝȝc wass opennliȝ Inn hire anndswere shæwedd. a1225Leg. Kath. 1240 Þæt he þæt ouercom mon, were akast þurh mon, wið meokelec & liste, nawt wið luðer strencðe. c1230Hali Meid. 676 (Titus MS.) For mi lauerd biseh his þufftenes mekelac.
▪ II. † meek, v. Obs.
Forms: 3–4 meoke(n, 3–6 meke, 4–6 meeke, (4 mike, myke, 5 mekyn, 6 Sc. meik), 6–7 meek.
[f. meek a.]
1. trans. To make meek in spirit, to humble; occas. to appease, mollify.
c1200Ormin 9385 Forr swa to meokenn þeȝȝre lund & teȝȝre modess wille. a1300Cursor M. 4299 Strenger þen euer sampson was, Þat luue ne mai him mike wit might. 1370Robt. Cicyle 62 He ete and laye with howndys eke, Thogh he were prowde, hyt wolde hym meke. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 27 By þat word he meked [MS. γ mykede] so þe kynges herte, þat was to swolle for wrethe, þat [etc.]. c1400Rom. Rose 3394 To preve if I might meke him so. c1450tr. De Imitatione i. xiii. 14 Temptacions are ofte tymes riȝt profitable to man,..for in hem a man is mekid, purged & sharply tauȝt. 1528Tindale Obed. Chr. Man Pref. 5 b, To humble, to meke and to teach him Gods wayes. 1680Mrs. Eliz. Nimmo Diary in W. G. Scott-Moncrieff Narr. J. Nimmo (1889) Introd. 16 There was much of the Lord's goodness to be seen in supporting her, and in meeking her spirit.
b. To ‘bring low’, abase, humiliate.
a1340Hampole Psalter xvii. 30 All that dyes in thaire pride he [god] mekis thaim in til the lawe pitt of hell. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 38/1 By cause she synned in pryde he meked her seyeng Thou shalt be under the power of man. 1554–9in Songs & Ball. (1860) 12 Withe miche soar hongger our bodis that he meikys.
c. refl. (also to meek one's heart, soul, mind, etc.): To humble or abase oneself.
c1200Ormin 13950 All forr nohht uss haffde Crist Utlesedd fra þe defell, Ȝiff þatt we nolldenn mekenn uss To follȝhenn Cristess lare. a1225Ancr. R. 278 O þisse wise makieð edmod & meokeð our heorte. a1300Cursor M. 17578 For him to find qua will him seke, Þair mode til him þai most meke. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. iv. 81 Þenne Meede Meokede hire And Merci bi-souhte. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 423 Þe kyng meked hym and ȝeede barfoot. c1400Rom. Rose 2244 He that pryde hath, him withinne, Ne may his herte, in no wyse, Meken ne souplen to servyse. c1450tr. De Imitatione iii. lii. 124 Þou woldist meke þiself unto þe erþe. 1508Fisher 7 Penit. Ps. vi. Wks. (1876) 19 The lyon..wyll not hurte the beest that falleth downe and meketh hymselfe vnto hym. 1509Barclay Shyp of Folys (1570) 186 O men meke your mindes. 1533More Apol. xiii. Wks. 873/1, I wisse tyll you meeke your selfe and amende [your conditions], thys anger of your husband will neuer be well appeased. 1563–83Foxe A. &. M. 148/1 But the sayde Constantine meeked himselfe so lowly to the King, that [etc.].
2. trans. To tame (an animal).
c1450Mirour Saluacioun 5067 Thow meked the felle pantere. 1526Tindale Jas. iii. 7 All the natures off beastes and off byrdes and off serpentes and thynges of the see ar meked and tamed off the nature off man. 1653H. Whistler Upshot Inf. Baptisme 50 The generation of Vipers and other sort of cruel beasts, meeked with Infants at the Ensign of Christ's Kingdom.
3. intr. To become meek, to be meek.
a1300E.E. Psalter xxxiv. 14 Als wepand, and als dreri, Swa meked I witterli. a1300Cursor M. 12373 Þe bestes mekand knaus me. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xx. 35 Ac nede is next hym for anon he meketh, And as low as a lombe for lakkyng of þat hym nedeth. c1400Rom. Rose 3541 His herte is hard, that wole not meke, Whan men of mekenesse him biseke. c1400Destr. Troy 1952 He mekyt to þat mighty, and with mowthe said His charge full choisly, chefe how he might.
Hence † ˈmeeked ppl. a., † ˈmeeking vbl. n.
a1340Hampole Psalter liv. 21 Noght anly that i pray for my heghynge bot alswa that i pray for mekynge of thaim. c1400Prymer in Maskell Mon. Rit. II. 147 Meekid boonys [L. ossa humiliata] shulen ioie to the lord. c1450tr. De Imitatione ii. ii. 42 To þe meke man he grauntiþ gret grace, and after his meking liftiþ him in glory. Ibid. iii. lvii. 135 Þou hast neuere despised þe contrite & þe meked [L. humiliatum] herte. |