释义 |
▪ I. † rex1 Obs. Also 7 recks. [Of obscure origin: see reaks. In sense 2 evidently associated with L. rex, but the evidence does not show clearly that this is the source.] 1. = reaks. Usu. to play..rex, to play pranks.
1566–76[see revel n.1 4]. 1596Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 659/2 To suffer such a caytiff to play such Rex. 1615R. Armin Val. Welshm. (1663) C iv b, The Bastard plays his Rex, whose ancient sore Begins to fester. a1638Mede Wks. (1672) 657 Another [king]..should bring down or humble three Kings, and play those recks which follow in the Text. 1642Rogers Naaman 304 The Lord Jesus will one day judge you for your prankes and rex that you haue plaid in your Services. 2. to play rex, to act as lord or master; to domineer.
1578Foxe in Bk. Chr. Prayers 28 b, Needs would haue..an Italian stranger, the Bishop of Rome to play Rex ouer them. 1597Beard Theatre God's Judgem. (1612) 529 The Scots that were so curbed in his fathers dayes, now played rex through his negligence. 1608Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iv. Decay 412 Then playes hee Rex: tears, kils, and all consumes. 1651N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. ii. xxxvii. (1739) 168 The Prelacy..played Rex all the while with the people. 1692Washington tr. Milton's Def. People Pref., Consider with your selves,..who it was, that but lately began to play Rex in your Country. b. So to play the rex.
1570Foxe A. & M. (ed. 2) 67/1 This Theodorius..began to playe the rex, placing and displacing the Bishops at hys pleasure. 1593G. Harvey Pierce's Super. Wks. (Grosart) II. 128 Roome for a roister,..that will suffer none to play the Rex, but himselfe. ▪ II. rex2 [L. rex.] 1. a. A king. Also attrib.
1617Moryson Itin. i. 284 They had Rex groats so called of the Kings of England, after they had the stile of Kings of Ireland. a1653G. Daniel Idyll ii. 101 'Tis not the fatall Rex, doth only Sting; A Commonwealth's a Tirant, as a King. 1883Besant All in Garden fair i. xii, He will be the leader, dictator, rex, imperator. b. (With capital initial.) Used, during the reign of a king, esp. in law reports, to designate the prosecution in criminal proceedings. Cf. Regina.
1657Reports of Edward Bulstrode i. 96 Dominus Rex, and Sir William Fitzwilliams against Ives. 1717W. Salkeld Reports of Cases Court of King's Bench 324 Rex versus Bear. 1792W. Boscawen Treat. Convictions on Penal Statutes 48 This was one of the points in the case of Rex v. Hall, last cited. 1848E. W. Cox Reports of Cases in Crim. Law II. 423 Rex v. Webb is no authority for that distinction. 1976Law Reports Queen's Bench Div. 373 Rex v. Bishop of Lincoln (1637). 2. A rabbit or mouse belonging to a variety so called, distinguished by a genetic mutation in which the guard hairs are reduced and wavy or completely lacking, giving the fur a soft, plushy texture; also, the characteristic mutation itself. Also attrib.
1929Jrnl. Heredity XX. 192 Rex rabbits produce only rex offspring when bred with each other. 1935Nature 14 Sept. 434/2 During the years 1927–29..a new class of rabbit, namely the ‘Rex’, with fur like the mole..was imported from France and Germany. 1939Ibid. 23 Sept. 557/1 The rex mouse has a coat somewhat similar to that of the same character in the rabbit... Rex is an autosomal dominant to normal. 1956C. Auerbach Genetics in Atomic Age iv. 16 The Rex rabbit..has a mole-like fur. 1977West Briton 25 Aug. 34/2 (Advt.), Rabbits: Breeding pairs and young. Rex, dwarf, English and Dutch. 3. (Often with capital initial.) A cat belonging to the breed so called, developed in Cornwall and Devon during the 1950s and 1960s, and distinguished by short curly or wavy fur. Also attrib.
1960News Chron. 28 July 6/3 There's going to be a Rex kitten. This is the curly-coated kitten—a new breed which experimental breeders are trying to establish. 1965Observer (Colour Suppl.) 31 Jan. 4/3 A new sort of highly exclusive curly-coated cat called a Rex. 1972M. Babson Murder on Show x. 125 The Devon Rex and the Cornish Rex. Strange, friendly, fantasy creatures, with curly astrakhan coats and great butterfly ears. 1977D. S. Richards Handbk. Pedigree Cat Breeding vii. 107 No rex cats should be mixed with other breeds. ▪ III. rex obs. f. recks, reck v. |