| 释义 |
preparatory, a. and n.|prɪˈpærətərɪ|
[ad. med.L. præparātōrius (Digest), f. præparātor a preparer: see -ory2. In quot. 1413, prob. ad. F. préparatoire (1322 in Hatz.-Darm.).]
A. adj.
1. a. That prepares or serves to prepare for something following; preliminary, introductory.
1413Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) v. viii. 99 This feste was but as an assaye and preparatory as an exampler to these other feestes. 1649Jer. Taylor Gt. Exemp. iii. Ad Sect. xv, Considerations of some preparatory accidents before the entrance of Jesus into his Passion. 1686Goad Celest. Bodies ii. i. 152 The Sun and Moon alone..cannot be the Causes preparatory or determinant of a Showre. 1745J. Mason Self Knowl. i. viii. (1853) 61 The previous steps and preparatory Circumstances. 1838Dickens Nich. Nick. xv, [He] had indeed swallowed a preparatory glass of punch. 1868Ouseley Harmony iv. (1875) 61 The leading note would be simply a preparatory note, introducing a Scale of the compass of a hexachord.
b. quasi-adv. = preparatorily. Const. to.
1649Evelyn Diary 10 June, I receiv'd the Blessed Sacrament preparatory to my journey. 1810Coleridge Lett., to T. Poole (1895) 557, I will, preparatory to writing.., consider whether it can be treated popularly. 1877A. Brassey Voy. Sunbeam xiv. (1878) 240 They were weighing it preparatory to sending it to town.
2. a. U.K. Applied to a junior school in which pupils are prepared for a higher school or college. U.S., applied to a (usu. private) school in which pupils are prepared for college entrance.
1822M. Edgeworth Let. 23 Jan. (1971) 328, I have asked all your questions my dear mother about the preparatory school for Pakenham... Mr. Malthus and Dr. Batten declared that they should prefer having a boy sent to them from the Charter-House to having him from any lesser preparatory school. 1828E. Irving Last Days 87 The children of the rich are sent to preparatory schools. 1848Thackeray Bk. Snobs v, The Reverend Otto Rose, D.D., Principal of the Preparatory Academy for young noblemen and gentlemen,..took this little Lord in hand. 1848Indiana Gen. Assembly Doc. (1849) II. 279 Connected with the Institution is a flourishing Grammar School, which serves the double purpose of a Normal School and a Preparatory Department. 1851C. Cist Sk. Cincinnati in 1851 iii. 69 The Classes in the course of study in the Preparatory Department, are divided among the Adjunct Professors of Mathematics and Languages and the Professor of Modern Languages. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. ii. i, The streets being for pupils of his degree the great Preparatory Establishment in which very much that is never unlearned is learned without and before book. 1879Scribner's Monthly Dec. 207 The Johns Hopkins is seeking..to penetrate downward into the preparatory schools. 1903World's Work (N.Y.) Sept. 3884/1 The preparatory school..take[s] boys from twelve to fourteen years of age to fit them in from three to six years for entrance to our best colleges. a1909Mod. Scholarships won by pupils of the Oxford Preparatory School. 1924Granta 25 Apr. 361/2 At the age of eight, he arrived at his Preparatory School, ‘The Wick’, in Sussex. 1949Manch. Guardian Weekly 20 Jan. 5/2 The son of a bishop, he went through a fashionable preparatory (that is, public) school. 1954A. S. C. Ross in Neuphilol. Mitt. LV. 26 School-boys at their preparatory school..should be addressed as Master. 1963[see junior college s.v. junior a. (n.) 5]. 1969Listener 9 Jan. 41/3 Such a young man..can often command a tiny handout to tide him over by entering the profession of preparatory schoolmaster, purely as a temporary measure. 1972Lebende Sprachen XVII. 35/2 US preparatory school—BE private secondary school. 1976Southern Even. Echo (Southhampton) (Advt. Suppl.) 6 Nov. 7/6 Resident matron required for January for Boys' Preparatory School.
b. U.S. Applied to a scholar at a preparatory school, or engaged in a preparatory course of study.
B. n.
1. a. = preparative B. 1. Now rare or Obs.
1620Brent tr. Sarpi's Counc. Trent v. 420 He..would bee sure of the necessary preparatories, that the desired fruit might succeede. 1691Norris Pract. Disc. 196 The best Preparatory for Heaven. 1785J. Trusler Mod. Times I. 105 To a villain it was a good preparatory to his arraignment at the Old Bailey. 1824Southey Bk. of Ch. (1841) 321 After these preparatories the fiery process began.
b. = preparative B. 1 b. ? Obs.
1756C. Lucas Ess. Waters III. 164 The simplest and best preparatory..is..water.
2. Short for preparatory school: see A. 2.
1907Athenæum 20 Apr. 472/1 He ought to have attacked..the ‘preparatories’ where the little dears have Turkey carpets for their small feet and port for their small stomachs. |