| 释义 |
negligence|ˈnɛglɪdʒəns|
Forms: 4–6 neclyg-, (4 necc-, 6 necke-), neclig-, (4 necc-), 6 necleg-; 4 necglig-, -lyg-, 5 negclig-; 4–6 neglyg-, 4– negligence. Also 4–6 -ens, 4 -ense.
[a. OF. negligence (12th c.), or ad. L. neg-, necligentia, -legentia, f. neglegĕre etc. to neglect.]
1. Want of attention to what ought to be done or looked after; carelessness with regard to one's duty or business; lack of necessary or ordinary care in doing something.
a1340Hampole Psalter xlix. 8 We take not his saghe wiþ necgligens, bot wiþ besynes. c1380Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 96 Bi..necligence of prelatis is mannis lawe medlid wiþ Goddis lawe. c1420Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1626 By hys owne neglygence takyn prysonere. 1483Caxton Cato F vij b, Lucan sayth that alle delayeng and neglygence oughte to be sette a parte. 1530Palsgr. 181, I impute that to the neglygence or rather ignorance of the printers. 1577tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 153 It is abhominable to see the negligence of maisters in teaching their schollers. 1617Moryson Itin. i. 115 The Haven of this City..by negligence is growne of no use. 1676Temple Let. Wks. 1720 II. 410, I believe, it may have been only Negligence. 1736Butler Anal. i. iv. Wks. 1874, I. 80 By their own negligence and folly in their temporal affairs. 1784Cowper Task ii. 800 Those whose negligence or sloth Exposed their inexperience to the snare. 1834H. Martineau Demerara iv. 55 Robert was slightly punished for negligence. 1884Ld. Esher in Law Times Rep. LXXIII. 616/2 note, The deceased was also guilty of negligence or of want of reasonable care contributing to the accident.
†b. Neglect of something. Obs.
c1340Hampole Prose Tr. 28 In als mekill als þou will noghte tente to thaym for neclygence of þi-selfe. 1482Monk of Evesham (Arb.) 78 The..peynys that thes thre ware in, was for the neglygens of soulys the whiche they had cure of. 1638Rawley tr. Bacon's Life & Death (1650) 11 To finde out a Rule..is very difficult, by reason of the negligence of observations. 1729Butler Serm. Wks. 1874 II. 16 There is a manifest negligence in men of their real happiness.
c. Disregard (of a thing or person); neglect.
1602Shakes. Ham. iv. v. 134 Both the worlds I giue to negligence, Let come what comes. 1778F. Burney Evelina lxviii, It was impossible for negligence to be more pointed, than that of Lord Merton to me.
2. An instance of inattention or carelessness; a negligent act, omission, or feature.
c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 537 A ful grete necgligence Was yt to the..That thou forgate hire in thi songe to sette. 1509Bury Wills (Camden) 108 Prayng my ordinary to excuse my conscyens for alle necclygencys. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de. W. 1531) 133 b, O, how they wyll wayle and wepe theyr negligences. a1800Blair (Ogilvie), Remarking his beauties,..I must also point out his negligences and defects. 1865C. J. Vaughan Plain Words xi. (1866) 199, I speak not of those daily negligences which belong to another subject.
3. A careless indifference, as in appearance or costume, or in literary or artistic style; in later use esp. with suggestion of an agreeable absence of artificiality or restraint.
c1430Stans Puer ad Mensam 33 (Lamb. MS.) Drinke not bridelid for haste ne necligence. c1440Partonope 2772 Grete negligence Was neuer founden in his persone. 1665Boyle Occas. Refl. Pref. (1848) 10 Most of the following Papers, being written for my own private Amusement, a good deal of Negligence in them may appear..pardonable. a1680Butler Rem. (1759) I. 149 T'affect the purest Negligences In Gestures, Gaits, and Miens. 1711Addison Spect. No. 119 ⁋2 Nothing is so modish as an agreeable Negligence. 1741Middleton Cicero II. x. 445 The coldness and negligence with which it is drawn. 1843Whittier Ego 12 Hence my pen unfettered moves In freedom which the heart approves, The negligence which friendship loves.
So ˈnegligency. rare.
1800Wellesley in Owen Desp. (1877) 653 The loss sustained by their negligencies or errors. 1841–4Emerson Ess. Ser. i. ix. (1876) 235 The negligency of that trust which carries God with it.
Add:[1.] d. Law. Omission to do something that a reasonable person would do; breach of a legally imposed duty of care, want of reasonable care. contributory negligence: see contributory a. 2.
1696P. Ventris Reports I. 191 The Court inclined strongly for the Defendant, there being not the least negligence in him. 1741Modern Reports (Cases Court of King's Bench) (ed. 2) XII. 152 It is found to have been by his Negligence. 1823W. P. Taunton Rep. Cases Court of Common Pleas VIII. 145 The only question in the cause was, whether the Defendants had conducted themselves with gross negligence. 1884Ld. Esher in Law Times Rep. LXXIII. 616/2 (note), The deceased was also guilty of negligence or of want of reasonable care contributing to the accident. 1949C. H. S. Fifoot Hist. & Sources Common Law viii. 164 By the beginning of the eighteenth century the judges were familiar with the name and idea of negligence... It was, however, too early to speak boldly of an action of negligence. 1987Which? Aug. 400/1 We drafted a letter for Mr Larsen to send to the other driver's insurance company saying that the accident was clearly caused by negligence on the part of their insured. |