| 释义 |
monolith, n. and a.|ˈmɒnəlɪθ|
Also monolithe.
[a. F. monolithe adj. and n., or ad. L. monolith-us adj., a. Gr. µονόλιθος made out of one stone, f. µόνο-ς mono- + λίθος stone.]
A. n.
1. A single block of stone, esp. one of notable size, shaped into a pillar or monument.
[1827G. Higgins Celtic Druids 214 The monolithoi or single stones.] 1848Chamb. Inform. People I. 433/2 Twenty-four colossal monolithes, representing Indian gods, are placed in separate divisions. 1851D. Wilson Preh. Ann. (1863) I. v. 166 The giant monoliths of Salisbury plain. 1862R. H. Patterson Ess. Hist. & Art 411 Several remarkable monoliths, or temples carved out of single rocks. 1875Encycl. Brit. II. 390/2 The obelisks of Egypt are generally huge monoliths of red granite or syenite.
2. transf. and fig. A person or thing resembling a monolith; esp. (after Russ. monolít; cf. monolítnost′ monolithic unity of the party) a political or social structure presenting an indivisible or unbroken unity.
1934H. Nicolson Curzon: Last Phase xi. 323 M. Stamboliisky, the peasant Prime Minister of Bulgaria, was also granted an audience... Curzon was attracted towards this solid, somewhat helpless, monolith. He always felt at his ease with entirely self-made people. 1940Auden Another Time 117 The monolith Of State. 1953Manch. Guardian 6 Apr. 4/1 The ‘monolith’ of Soviet power is stirring. 1957Economist 7 Sept. 766/2 A growing diversity in the economic scene is liable to lead to cracks in the political monolith. 1959P. H. Johnson Unspeakable Skipton xxiii. 203 If the Commissioners of Inland Revenue ever caught up with her, she would undoubtedly bring tears to their eyes, reducing them from monoliths to simple, sentimental men with mothers of their own. 1962J. Wain Strike Father Dead 115 She was a woman of few words, as thick round the middle as an oak, with strong limbs and a big head and shoulders. She wasn't talkative, but..you just wouldn't expect to get a flow of words out of a monolith like that. 1966Listener 12 May 700/3 His [sc. Bruckner's] symphonies are towering monoliths. 1975Times 4 Jan. 13/3 State run monoliths whose inspiration would owe more to the opportunism of Benito Mussolini than to idealism.
B. adj.
1. = monolithic 1.
1850J. Leitch tr. C. O. Müller's Anc. Art §310 (ed. 2) 352 Monolith colossal statues. 1864Pusey Lect. Daniel i. (1876) 32 Monarchs who transported a monolith obelisk from Armenia. a1878Sir G. G. Scott Lect. Archit. (1879) II. 48 The side doorways were found to have monolith jambs.
2. fig. = monolithic a. 4.
1922E. Blunden Shepherd 53 Between great monolith trees.
Add:[A.] n. [1.] b. Engin. A large solid block, generally of concrete, sunk in water, used esp. as a foundation in the building of a harbour or dock wall.
1878Min. Proc. Inst. Civil Engin. LII. 17 These [concrete] blocks are much heavier than those which form the outer breakwater of the harbour of Marseilles..but they are very much less than the monolith, which was moved at Wick. 1904B. Cunningham Princ. & Pract. Dock Engin. v. 210 The monoliths..were made entirely of concrete in the proportion of 7 to 1—viz., 5 parts river ballast, 2 parts broken limestone..and 1 part Portland cement. 1928F. M. Du-Plat-Taylor Design of Docks vii. 99 Monoliths may be built up of concrete blocks, of mass concrete, of brickwork, or any other suitable material. 1959Chambers's Encycl. IV. 569/1 Walls composed of monoliths are usually constructed at sites where a mass wall is impracticable owing to the unstable qualities of the substrata. 1992San Diego Union 12 July g2/4 Monoliths at the mouth of Cabo San Lucas harbor mark the southernmost tip of Baja California. |