释义 |
▪ I. moisture, n.|ˈmɔɪstjʊə(r), ˈmɔɪstʃə(r)| Also 4–7 moysture, 5 mostour, 5–6 moystour, -er, 6 moistur, -er. [a. OF. moistour (mod.F. moiteur), f. moiste moist a.] †1. Moistness; the quality or state of being moist or damp. Obs.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xxiv. (Bodl. MS.) lf. 13 b/1 Hoossenes of þe voice comeþ of the moisture of þe wosen and of þe lunges. 1477Norton Ord. Alch. v. in Ashm. (1652) 54 Moisture, and Drines, be qualityes Passive. 1575Laneham Let. (1871) 20 The weather enclynde too sum moyster & wynde. 1597A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 42 b/2 Through the humiditye or moyster therof, it may soacke through the Escara. 1604E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies v. xviii. 379 At such time as the fountaines, springs, and rivers, did increase by the moistures of the weather. 1625N. Carpenter Geog. Del. ii. ii. (1635) 22 In the Earth are ingendred the foure ferst qualities of Heate, Cold, Drouth, and Moisture. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VII. 94 Seldom venturing out, except when the moisture of a summer's evening invites them abroad. 1777Watson Philip II (1839) 247 Alva had..applied to Philip for liberty to leave the Low Countries, on account of the bad state of his health, occasioned by the moisture of the climate. 1794S. Williams Vermont 61 Another remarkable effect is an alteration in the moisture or wetness of the earth. 2. a. Water or other liquid diffused in small quantity through air as vapour, or through a solid substance, or condensed upon a surface.
a1366Chaucer Rom. Rose 1424 Through moisture of the welle swete Sprange up the sote grene gras. c1386― Pars. T. ⁋146 God shal destroie the fruyt of the erthe as fro hem; ne water ne shal yeve hem no moisture, ne the Eyr no refresshyng, ne fyr no light. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) vii. 23 Þai hafe na moisture bot þat þe forsaid ryuer ministers. 1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy (E.E.T.S) ii. 990 It [ebony] wil..nat corrupte with water nor moysture. 1483Cath. Angl. 244/1 A Mostour, fluor, humor. 1599Davies Immort. Soul xxx. xviii. (1714) 94 The Moisture, which the thirsty Earth Sucks from the Sea. 1611Bible Luke viii. 6 Some fell vpon a rocke, and assoone as it was sprung vp, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 387 For Moisture then abounds, and Pearly Rains Descend in silence to refresh the Plains. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. 123 The Earth having had no Rain after the Seed was sown, it had no Moisture to assist its Growth. 1783Burke Sp. Fox's E. India Bill Wks. IV. 78 In that country the moisture..is given but at a certain season. 1803Med. Jrnl. IX. 231 Oxydated muriatic gas mixed with different other gasses..is easily changed into acid by the moisture of the flesh. 1843Borrow Bible in Spain xxx, No moisture was wrung from his tanned countenance. 1878Huxley Physiogr. 64 Snow is not the only solid form in which atmospheric moisture is precipitated. 1885Manch. Exam. 6 Apr. 5/2 The breeze is more balmy, with a touch of moisture in the air. b. with reference to tears.
1597Shakes. Lover's Compl. 323 That infected moysture of his eye. 1838Dickens Nich. Nick. vii, Nicholas Nickleby's eyes were dimmed with a moisture that might have been taken for tears. 1897‘H. S. Merriman’ In Kedar's Tents vi, With, as it were, a small solution of sympathy, indicated by a moisture of the eye, for the family..in their bereavement. †c. The liquid part or constituent of a body. In Mediæval philosophy, the humours or humid property, naturally inherent in all plants and animals. Also radical moisture: see radical a. 1. Obs.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vii. xxxi. (1495) 245 A Feuer Etyk..wastith the substancyall moisture of the body. c1450Lydg. Secrees 1259 Yif purgacyons Be necessarye..Solve flewm brennyng or moysture To kepe a mene. 1471Radical moisture [see radical a. 1]. 1521Fisher Serm. agst. Luther ii. Wks. (1876) 323 The trees whan they be wydred..and all the moystour shronke into the rote & no lust of grenenes nor of lyfe appereth outwardly. 1547Boorde Brev. Health cclxxxiv. 94 This matter [sc. spittle] doth come of the humiditie or moisters of bloude. 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, ii. i. 79, I cannot weepe: for all my bodies moysture Scarce serues to quench my Furnace-burning hart. 1732Arbuthnot Rules of Diet in Aliments, etc. i. 406 When the worms are large they will consume the moisture. d. transf. and fig.
1426Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 2618 The soule..may profyt neuer a dele To bere frut..Of vertu,..ffor that yt lakketh moysture Off grace. 1622Malynes Anc. Law-Merch. 64 Gaine was the radicall moisture of commerce. 1871Morley Crit. Misc. Ser. i. Carlyle (1878) 173 A cloud of sedulous ephemera still suck a little spiritual moisture. †e. A noxious exhalation or humidity. Obs.
1542Boorde Dyetary iv. (1870) 239 To drye up the contagyous moysters of the walles. 1542–5Brinklow Lament. (1874) 81 Oh Lorde God,..when they be in troble or plaged rightfullye of the, eyther be drught, moysture, or pestilence, or anye suche like. †3. Liquid in general. Obs.
1530Palsgr. 585/1, I hysse,..as a hote thyng whan one putteth to any moysture. 1555[see bulwark n. 1 b]. 1592Kyd Sol. & Pers. i. iii. 80 The earth is my Countrey, As..the marine moisture To the red guild fish. 1697Dryden Virg. Past. iii. 172 Now dam the Ditches, and the Floods restrain: Their Moisture has already drench'd the Plain. 1713Addison Cato iii. v, When you..offer'd the full helmet up to Cato, Did he not dash th' untasted moisture from him? 1741J. Martyn Virg. Georg. i. (1811) 80 Their wives..boil away the moisture of the sweet must over the fire. 4. attrib. and Comb., as moisture-seal, moisture supply; moisture-bearing, moisture-charged, moisture-holding, moisture-laden, moisture-loving, moisture-proof (hence moisture-proofness) adjs.; moisture-proofing vbl. n.; moisture content, the proportional amount of moisture in any substance; moisture cream, a cosmetic cream which keeps the skin moist; a type of face-cream; cf. moisturizer; moisture lotion, a liquid preparation for moisturizing the skin; moisture meter, an instrument for indicating the moisture content of a substance (commonly by measuring its electrical resistivity).
1922W. G. Kendrew Climates of Continents 290 The rainfall increases steadily towards the east and south. An irregularity is caused by the Appalachians,..within range of the moisture-bearing winds from both the Gulf and the Atlantic.
1895F. A. Swettenham Malay Sk. 281 Plains and slopes of green on which the moisture-charged clouds unceasingly pour fatness.
1923H. M. Bunbury Destructive Distillation of Wood iii. 20 The moisture content of the limbs or branches is also greater than that of the trunk. 1936Burlington Mag. Nov. 229/2 It was necessary to bring the panels to the agreed moisture-content before these repairs were put in hand. 1952L. M. Thompson Soils & Soil Fertility x. 159 Increasing the moisture content of soils increases the up⁓take of phosphorus. 1971Materials & Technol. II. 601 The moisture content of coke may..be high because of its high porosity.
1957New Yorker 2 Nov. 61/2 (Advt.), Tussy Moisture Cream and Lotion..won't let your skin dry out. 1961Which? Mar. 58/1 Basically, like other types of face cream moisture creams are emulsions of oils, fats or waxes, with water.
1952A. G. L. Hellyer Sanders' Encycl. Gardening (ed. 22) 407 Culture of Pears: Soil, well drained and well supplied with humus to improve moisture-holding capacity. 1959Times 7 Dec. (Agric. Suppl.) p. viii/5 The moisture-holding properties of old clay wastings.
1896Allbutt's Syst. Med. I. 252 The moisture-laden monsoon.
1957Moisture lotion [see moisture cream above]. 1974Country Life 28 Nov. 1694/3 Their own products include moisture lotion..eye shadow and lipsticks.
1827–35Willis May 19 Dews for the moisture-loving flowers. 1911E. M. Clowes On Wallaby x. 272 A thick grove of moisture-loving palms. 1949V. G. Childe Prehist. Communities Brit. Isles (ed. 3) viii. 135 The land molluscs of this period are..no longer the moisture-loving woodland species found in the neolithic camps. 1974Country Life 28 Feb. 443/2 The moisture-loving hydrangeas.
1952Sci. Amer. Sept. 61 (caption) Moisture meter..senses moisture in textile yarn by electrical conductivity and controls the speed of the drying drum by feedback. 1970Harrods Catal. May 20/2 Moisture meter indicates condition of soil... 47/–.
1904Electr. Rev. (N.Y.) XLV. 422/1 These transformers are mounted in moistureproof iron cases and may be operated either dry or with oil. 1929U.S. Patent 1,737,187 4/1 By the term ‘moistureproof’..we mean the ability to resist the diffusion of water vapor to an extent at least as great as..that displayed by ordinary waxed papers.. and functioning to resist the penetration of water vapor therethrough. 1960Farmer & Stockbreeder 19 Jan. (Suppl.) 27/1 The birds being vacuum packed in moisture-proof bags. 1975Sci. Amer. July 123/1 The cell that supports the mirror is also made of moistureproof plywood.
1929U.S. Pat. 1,737,187 4/1 A sheet or film of regenerated cellulose combined with a moisture-proofing composition. 1971J. F. Hanlon Handbk. Package Engin. x. 8 For moisture protection a layer of asphalt between two layers of paper is generally used. It is the least expensive moistureproofing, but in cold weather it becomes stiff.
1929U.S. Pat. 1,737,187 4/1 The product..is one which has all of the desired properties of moistureproofness, flexibility,..and lack of odor. 1962Punch 22 Aug. 256/1 We have improved on the moisture-proofness of Cellophane.
1960Moisture-seal [see crisper b].
1878K. Johnston Africa ii. 26 There is naturally a marked difference in the moisture supply north and south of the Atlas. ▪ II. † ˈmoisture, v. Obs. Forms: 5–7 moysture, 6 moster, moystre, 6 moisture, 6–7 moister. [f. moisture n.] 1. trans. To moisten; to water, make wet or damp.
1471Ripley Comp. Alch. iii. viii. in Ashm. (1652) 141 Therwith dyd Hermes moysture hys Tre. 1545T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde i. xi. (1552) 24 b, Moystrynge al that parte, as it were wyth a dewe. 1554Coverdale Hope Faithf. xxxi. (1574) 221 They water and moisture all things, and make them fruteful. 1584Lyly Sappho iii. iii. 18 Will you haue any of this Syrope, to moysture your mouth? 1610Markham Masterp. i. xxxi. 60 It proceedeth only from flegme, cold and grosse, which moysturing the braine too much, causeth heauinesse. 2. intr. a. to moisture away: to decay from damp. b. To shed moisture.
1519in Fabric Rolls York Minster (Surtees) 268 Item the amendynge of the dalmatykes for ye Advent & Septuagesym myghte be done wt a litile cost, whiche nowe mosters away & not occupied. Item the lettron wherupon the gospell is red is moistered away & faullyn downe. 1610G. Fletcher Chr. Vict. i. xl, Heau'n stole it selfe from earth by clouds that moisterd vnder. |