| 释义 |
pincushion|ˈpɪnˌkʊʃən|
1. A small cushion used for sticking pins in, to keep them ready for use.
1632Sherwood, A pinne-case, pinne-pillow, or pinne-cushion. 1658A. Fox Würtz' Surg. ii. xv. 121 One leaning on a Pin-cusion, a needle run into his Finger, and a piece of it broke off. 1729Mrs. Delany in Life & Corr. (1861) I. 209, I have got her pincushion to stick for her. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. ii. i, A little pincushion, a little housewife, a little book, a little workbox.
2. Local name for plants of the genus Scabiosa; also for the Guelder Rose and other plants: from the appearance of the flower-heads.
1886in Britten & Holland Eng. Plant-n. 1898Britton & Brown Illustr. Flora Northern U.S. III. 290 Field Scabious..[is also called] blue caps, gypsy- or egyptian-rose, pincushion. 1965Austral. Encycl. VII. 118/2 Pincushion, Australian, or blue pincushion, the popular name for Brunonia,..low herbaceous perennials, bearing blue flowers in very effective long-stalked heads; the projecting styles resemble pins sticking in a cushion.
3. sea pincushion: a large kind of starfish.
1863G. S. Brady in Intell. Observ. IV. 253 Goniaster equestris, the Sea-pincushion, as it is called by our northern fishermen..the large fleshy mass of the animal is covered thickly with round bosses or tubercles of the size of a large pin's head.
4. a. attrib. and Comb., as pincushion-box, pincushion-flower (= sense 2), pincushion-maker.
1706Lond. Gaz. No. 4206/4 Stolen.., a Pincushion-Box. 1758–65Goldsm. Ess., Adv. Strolling Player, He to sell his puppets to the pincusion-makers in Rosemary Lane. 1856Delamer Fl. Gard. (1861) 103 Scabiosa atro-purpurea... Pincushion Flower. 1911W. R. Guilfoyle Austral. Plants 201 Hakea laurina ‘Pin Cushion Flower’ (evergreen shrub or tree, 10 to 30 ft.), f[lowers] crimson—W. Aust. 1917L. H. Bailey Stand. Cycl. Hort. VI. 3106/1 (caption) Scabiosa atropurpurea.—The mourning bride or pin-cushion flower. 1938T. Y. Harris Wild Flowers Austral. 25 Pincushion Flower (Hakea laurina)... Pink blossoms with cream stigmas projecting for some distance and the flowers in globular heads have earned the name for this most attractive plant. 1967A. M. Blombery Guide Native Austral. Plants iii. 265 H[akea] laurina. Pincushion Hakea. A large bushy shrub with flat, lanceolate, greenish-red leaves and pink pincushion-like flowers. 1972F. Perry Flowers of World 101/1 S[cabiosa] caucasica, the Pincushion Flower, was introduced to Britain in 1591 and has become a favourite for border and cut⁓flower work.
b. pincushion distortion, a form of optical distortion in which a square is reproduced with sides curved inwards.
[1886J. H. Dallmeyer Choice & Use Photogr. Lenses 22 If the stop is placed at the same distance behind the lens..the result is the opposite kind, or ‘pincushion’-shaped distortion.] 1892A. Brothers Photography i. iii. 48 The effect consists..in the curvature of the images of straight lines produced by marginal rays causing barrel-shaped or ‘pincushion distortion’. 1903,1953[see barrel distortion s.v. barrel n. 11]. 1965Wireless World July 58 (Advt.), No oscilloscope is better than its tube. Build in all the circuit refinements you like, if the tube suffers from..pin-cushion distortion..your efforts are in vain. 1972Williams & Becklund Optics viii. 188 An aperture stop located between a positive lens and the image increases pincushion distortion.
Hence (nonce-wds.) ˈpinˌcushioned a. or pa. pple., pierced, like a pincushion with pins; ˈpinˌcushiony a., resembling a pincushion.
1860Thackeray Lovel iv, Her heart was pincushioned with his filial crimes. 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xiii, A little, short, round, pincushiony woman stood at the door. |