释义 |
neem|niːm| Also neemb, nim(b. [a. Hindī nīm, Skr. nimba.] a. An East Indian tree; the margosa. Also neem-tree.
1824Heber Jrnl. 1 Oct., A grove of neem-trees. 1846[see margosa]. 1876Cornh. Mag. Sept. 320 There was Beena..standing apart under a nim tree. 1885E. Arnold Secret of Death Introd. 3 Bright with fragrant blossoms, borne By neem and baubul. 1911J. Frazer Golden Bough: Magic Art (ed. 3) I. v. 293 In order to procure rain people of low caste in the Central Provinces of India will tie a frog to a rod covered with green leaves and branches of the nîm tree. 1937N. & Q. 8 May 338/1 The ‘nimb’ was used by Terence Mulvaney to make ‘a thundering big poultice av neem leaves..’. The Indian sais (or groom) still uses the neem leaf as a poultice for galls. 1949H. W. Florey et al. Antibiotics I. xiv. 586 The nim tree (Melia azadirachta, M. indica) has been cultivated throughout India on account of its medicinal properties. 1969T. H. Everett Living Trees of World 210/2 The neem or nim tree..common in India and Ceylon, is greatly valued for its bitter, antiseptic resin, which is used in medicines, soaps, lotions and toothpaste. Ibid. 211/1 The neem tree is a graceful evergreen, up to 50 feet tall; it thrives in dry climates. Its pinnate leaves have an odd number of curved, pointed, toothed, shiny leaflets. The numerous small, fragrant white flowers occur in loose panicles..followed by small yellow berries. 1971R. Russell tr. Ahmad's Shore & Wave i. 9 There were only tracks on Gipsies' Hill, winding their way through the trees of..bitter-leaved neem among rocks. b. attrib. with oil, bloom, etc.
1856Orr's Circ. Sci., Pract. Chem. 453 A solid fat called Neem oil, or Vaypum unnay, is obtained from the ripe fruit of the margosa tree. 1879E. Arnold Lt. Asia iv. iii, When the foot fell as though it trod on piles Of neem-blooms. |