| 释义 |
paˈgoda-tree
1. Name given to several trees found or cultivated in India, China, etc.:
a. Sophora japonica, an ornamental leguminous tree with white or cream-coloured flowers, cultivated in China and Japan;
b. Plumeria acutifolia, a native of the West Indies, cultivated in India, with fragrant flowers;
c. Ficus indica, the Banyan-tree of India.
1876Treas. Bot. (new ed.) 836/1. 1884 Miller Plant-n.
2. fig. A mythical tree humorously feigned to produce pagodas (sense 3). to shake the pagoda-tree: to make a fortune rapidly in India.
1836T. Hook G. Gurney I. 45 The amusing pursuit of ‘shaking the pagoda-tree’ once so popular in our Oriental possessions. 1869Echo 6 Feb., The fruits of the pagoda tree are no longer to be had for the mere shaking. 1886Mrs. E. Lynn Linton Paston Carew III. ii, The service of John Company, under whose flag, as we know, the pagoda-tree was worth shaking. |