| 释义 |
precipitous, a.|prɪˈsɪpɪtəs|
[ad. obs. F. precipiteux (16th c. in Godef.) = It., Sp., Pg. precipitoso, ad. late L. or Com. Rom. *præcipitōsus, f. præceps, præcipit-em headlong: see -ous.]
I.
†1. Acting, or done, with excessive or undue haste; rash, headstrong: = precipitate a. 4. Obs.
1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. i. v. 18 The attempts of some have been precipitious. 1689Shadwell Bury F. v. i, I should be censur'd for being too precipitous. a1734North Exam. iii. vii. §78 (1740) 564 This Discharge..was precipitous.., and done on Purpose to stop that Indictment.
†2. Coming on or passing very rapidly; very sudden or abrupt: = precipitate a. 3. Obs.
1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. iii. vi. 117 The small and slender time of the Beares gestation,..lasting but few dayes,..the exclusion becomes precipitous, and the young ones consequently informous. 1666Evelyn Kal. Hort. (ed. 2) 4 How precious the time is, how præcipitous the occasion, how many things to be done in their just Season.
3. Rushing headlong onwards; violently hurried or hurrying: = precipitate a. 2. rare.
1774Pennant Tour Scot. in 1772, 33 The waters are discharged with a rapid precipitous current. 1817Shelley Rev. Islam i. viii, A course precipitous, of dizzy speed, Suspending thought and breath. 1833Lamb Elia Ser. ii. Barrenness Imag. Faculty, Precipitous, with his reeling Satyr rout about him,..Bacchus..flings himself at the Cretan. 1864Tennyson En. Ard. 588 The sweep Of some precipitous rivulet to the wave.
II.
4. Of the nature of a precipice; having a vertical, overhanging, or very steep face, as a rock or cliff; consisting of or characterized by precipices. (The usual sense: taking the place of the earlier precipitious.)
1806Gazetteer Scotl. (ed. 2) 449 Salisbury Craig..is noted chiefly for its steep precipitous front. 1817Moore Lalla R. (1824) 271 Down the precipitous rocks they sprung. 1846McCulloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) I. 245 In the first part the shore is bold, precipitous, and picturesque. 1856Stanley Sinai & Pal. viii. (1858) 324 Up the precipitous ravines of Jericho and Ai.
b. Falling with extreme rapidity.
1897Allbutt's Syst. Med. II. 360 The descent of the temperature is then rapid, even precipitous, falling 3° to 5° F. or more in a single night. |