| 释义 |
peerage|ˈpɪərɪdʒ|
[f. peer n. + -age.]
1. The body of peers.
a. in the United Kingdom.
1454Rolls of Parlt. V. 242/1 The..obeissaunce that I owe to doo..to you the Perage of this lande. 1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. §11 Having so great an Influence upon the Body of the Peerage, that [etc.]. 1765Blackstone Comm. I. ii. 157 A bill passed the house of lords, and was countenanced by the then ministry, for limiting the number of the peerage. 1848Thackeray Bk. Snobs xxi, We have said Bull knows nothing: he knows the birth, arms, and pedigree of all the peerage.
b. in reference to France.
1667Milton P.L. i. 586 When Charlemain with all his Peerage fell By Fontarabbia. 1875Stubbs Const. Hist. II. xv. 183 The very limited peerage which in France co⁓existed with an enormous mass of privileged nobility.
c. in generalized sense: Nobility, aristocracy.
1725Pope Odyss. i. 355 Convoke the Peerage, and the Gods attest. 1817J. Taylor in Paulding Lett. fr. South (1835) I. 213 The peerage of knowledge or abilities..can no longer be collected and controlled in the shape of a noble order. a1854H. Reed Lect. Brit. Poets vi. (1857) 229 The peerage of Pandemonium stood mute in expectation of Satan's voice.
2. The rank or dignity of a peer.
1671F. Phillips Reg. Necess. 434 The Viscounts, a Title no longer ago than the Reign of King Henry the sixth,..turned into a Dignity Titular, or Peerage. 1771Junius Lett. lxvii. (1772) II. 308 My humble congratulations upon the glorious success of peerages and pensions, so lavishly distributed. 1841Peel in Croker Corr. II. 410 The satisfaction of answering a letter which..does not apply for a baronetage or a peerage. 1885Freeman in Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 458/2 The peerage differs from nobility strictly so called, in which the hereditary privileges..pass on to all the descendants of the person first created or..acknowledged as noble. 1892Gladstone Let. to Lyon Playfair 13 Aug., If it is agreeable to you I should have sincere pleasure in submitting your name to her Majesty for a peerage.
fig.1692R. L'Estrange Fables clxxxviii. (1714) 202 When a Reasonable Soul descends to Abandon the whole Man to the Sensuality of Brutal Satisfactions, he forfeits his Peerage, and the very Privilege of his Character and Creation.
†b. The territory or fief of a peer: = peerdom 2.
1759Robertson Hist. Scot. vii. Wks. 1813 I. 539 Many of the abbeys and priories had been erected into temporal peerages.
3. A book containing a list of the peers, with their genealogy, history, connexions, titles, etc.
[1709A. Collins (title) The Peerage of England.] 1766A. Jacob (title) A Complete English Peerage, containing a Genealogical and Historical Account of the Peers of this Realm, together with the different branches of each family. 1856G. J. Whyte-Melville Kate Cov. xvii, His name was in the Peerage.
†4. Equality. Obs. rare—1.
1681J. Flavel Meth. Grace xiv. 279 He had a peerage or equality with his father in glory.
5. attrib. and Comb., as peerage-book, peerage-maker.
1727–41Chambers Cycl. s.v., The twelve peers created at once in the late reign, was a main argument in behalf of the peerage bill. 1736–7Savage Volunteer Laureat No. 6, Wks. 1775 II. 224 No—trust to honour! that you ne'er will stain From peerage-blood, which fires your filial vein. a1823J. Penney Linlithgowshire (1832) 90 note, This peerage-maker, is however, mistaken. 1863Thackeray Round. Papers, Carp at Sans Souci, A pedigree as authentic as many in the peerage-books. |