| 释义 |
assumption|əˈsʌmʃən|
Also 4–6 -cyon, -tyowne, etc.
[ad. L. assūmptiōn-em, n. of action f. assūmĕre: see assume v. and -tion. Cf. also OF. asompsion 13th c., assomption 16th c. As with other such words (cf. advent, annunciation), the specific ecclesiastical use was the earliest in Eng.]
I. The action of taking to oneself; reception, adoption.
1. The action of receiving up into heaven; ascent to or reception into heaven.
1577Hanmer Anc. Eccl. Hist. (1619) 21 The wonderfull resurrection of our Saviour, and his assumption into the heavens. 1627tr. Bacon's Life & Death (1651) 15 He..lived after the Assumption of Elias, sixty yeares. 1850Tennyson In Mem. lxxiii, Can hang no weight upon my heart In its assumptions up to heaven.
b. esp. The reception of the Virgin Mary into heaven, with body preserved from corruption, which is a generally accepted doctrine in the Roman Catholic Church. Also the feast held annually on the 15th of August in honour of this event.
1297R. Glouc. 570 After þe Assumption þe vifte day iwis, He dude him in þe se at Douere. c1430Hymns to Virg. (1871) 474 Þat holi assumpcioun Of his blessid modir. a1520Myrr. Oure Ladye 5 From tyme of her sonnes passyon vnto her assumpcyon. 1674Brevint Saul at Endor 143 Her other Solemn and great Feast, which they call the Assumtion. 1884Addis & Arnold Cath. Dict. s.v., The denial of the Blessed Virgin's corporal assumption into heaven, though by no means contrary to the faith, is still so much opposed to the common agreement of the Church, that it would be a mark of insolent temerity.
†2. Elevation to office or dignity. Obs.
1642Jer. Taylor Episc. (1647) 160 A distinction of orders..and assumptions to them respectively. 1687N. Johnston Assur. Abb. Lands 94 The news of..the Assumption of Queen Mary to the Crown.
3. Reception into union or association; incorporation, inclusion; adoption. arch. or Obs.
1617Collins Def. Bp. Ely ii. x. 425 How the flesh and humane nature of Christ may be worshipped, by the priuiledge of their assumption into his Godhead. 1661Origen's Opin. in Phœnix (1721) I, Those Parts of Matter..in their innumerable Assumptions and Adoptions into other Bodies. 1774Warton Eng. Poetry xlv. (1840) III. 151 It is evident that the prose psalms of our liturgy were chiefly consulted..by the perpetual assumptions of their words. 1811L. M. Hawkins C'tess & Gertrude 244 The assumption into Lady Luxmore's confined house..of Mr. Sterling.
†4. The taking of food, etc. into the body. Obs.
1599B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum. iii. iii. 43 The most gentlemanlike use of tabacco..the delicate sweete formes for the assumption of it. c1645Howell Lett. I. v. 9 (T.) To the nutrition of the body there are two essential conditions required, assumption and retention.
II. The action of taking for or upon oneself.
5. The taking upon oneself of a form or character; formal taking of office or position.
1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 238 The assumption of humane shape, had proved a disadvantage unto Sathan. 1768H. Walpole Hist Doubts 108 Before Richard's assumption of the crown. 1866Rogers Agric. & Prices I. v. 121 The festival following the assumption of the Bachelor's degree.
b. The form or character assumed.
1871Athenæum 15 Apr. 471 Madame Pauline Lucca..has appeared in two of her best assumptions.
6. Law. A promise or undertaking, either oral or in writing not sealed.
1590Swinburn Testaments 229 The promise or assumption made by the testator. 1853Wharton Pa. Digest 75 A principal is not liable for the assumptions of an agent who exceeds his authority.
7. The action of taking possession of, appropriation. arms of assumption = assumptive arms.
1754Erskine Princ. Sc. Law (1809) 53 Particular localities were assigned in every benefice, to the extent of a third, called the assumption of thirds. a1832Mackintosh Revol. of 1688 Wks. 1846 II. 313 The assumption of the whole legislative authority. 1870R. Ferguson Electr. 7 Steel therefore has a force which..resists the assumption of magnetism.
8. The action of laying claim to as a possession, unwarrantable claim, usurpation.
1647Crashaw Steps to Temple (1858) 79 We to the last Will hold it fast, And no assumption shall deny us. 1796Burke Regic. Peace Wks. 1842 II. 287 This astonishing assumption of the publick voice of England. 1872Black Adv. Phaeton xvi. 216 That calm assumption of the virtues of meekness and patience was a little too much.
9. A taking too much upon oneself, a laying claim to undue importance; arrogance.
1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. ii. iii. 133 In selfe-assumption greater Then in the note of judgement. 1814Scott Wav. xlix, His usual air of haughty assumption. 1856R. Vaughan Mystics (1860) I. 97 On consideration of his services to priestly assumption.
10. The taking of anything for granted as the basis of argument or action.
1660Stanley Hist. Philos. (1701) 145/2 He used Arguments not by Assumption, but by Inference. 1794Sullivan View Nat. II. 74 It steers clear of the fatal assumption of physical elements, merely upon the grounds of mathematical conclusions. 1874Sayce Compar. Philol. vi. 254 The assumption of pronominal roots..might mean anything or nothing.
11. That which is assumed or taken for granted; a supposition, postulate.
a1628F. Greville Sidney (1652) 58 He had no hope of bringing these curious assumptions to pass. 1693Dryden Juvenal x. (J.) Hold! says the Stoick, your assumption's wrong. 1798Wellington in Gurwood Disp. I. 4 This assumption is directly at variance with the general tenor of the public records. 1856Froude Hist. Eng. II. viii. 201 Language which was only pardonable on the assumption that it was inspired.
12. Logic. The minor premiss of a syllogism.
1588Fraunce Lawiers Log. i. iii. 19 The assumption was this, ‘But Paris is idle.’ 1628T. Spencer Logic 276 Here we haue the..assumption vniversally affirmatiue. 1837–8Sir W. Hamilton Logic xv. (1866) I. 281 The other premise, which enounces the application of the general rule..is called the Minor Premise, the Minor Proposition, the Assumption, or the Subsumption. |