| 释义 |
boa|ˈbəʊə|
Also 5 boua, 5–6 boas, 6 boath. Pl. boas (occas. in Lat. form boæ).
[a. L. boa (Pliny N.H. viii. xiv), of unknown origin: Pliny and St. Jerome derived it from bos an ox, for different reasons.]
1. Zool. A genus of serpents native to the tropical parts of S. America, distinguished for their large size and immense muscular strength. They are destitute of poison fangs, and kill their prey by constriction or compression. Popularly the name is extended to all the large serpents of similar habits, including the Pythons of the Old World.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. ix. (1495) 759 Enidris that is a water adder..many men call it Boua, for the dyrte of an oxe is remedy therfore. Ibid. 761 Boas..hath that name Boas of Bos: an oxe..and settyth hymselfe gylefully to the vdders of the beestys that ben full of mylke and suckyth and sleeth them. 1623Cockeram iii, Boa, a Serpent of that bignesse, that being found dead, there was a childe found whole in his belly. 1804Phil. Trans. XCIV. 71, I was shown..in the Hunterian Museum, two colubers, and three boæ. 1815Moore Lalla R., Veiled Proph. iii, Not the gaunt lion's hug, nor boa's clasp. 1836Penny Cycl. V. 20/2 The Boæ have a spur on each side of the vent. 1860Gosse Rom. Nat. Hist. 123 The American species belonging to the genus Boa, and those of Africa and Asia to Python.
fig.1822W. Irving Braceb. Hall (1849) 93 It was the lion of trees perishing in the embraces of a vegetable boa.
†2. Her. The representation of a serpent used as a device or portion of a ‘charge’. Obs.
1572J. Bossewell Armorie ii. 63 P. beareth, Gold, a Boath, Sable, betwene two barres Gemewes Azure. ‘Boas’ is a Snake in Italie, great of bodye.
3. A snake-like coil of fur worn by ladies as a wrapper for the throat.
1836Dickens Sk. Boz (1850) 225/1 Ladies' boas, from one shilling and a penny half-penny. 1837Hawthorne Twice-told T. (1851) II. xii. 190 Red cheeks set off by quilted hoods, boas, and sable capes. 1870Yeats Nat. Hist. Comm. 276 The tail is used in the manufacture of boas.
4. Comb., as boa-form a., of the shape of a boa.
1849M. Somerville Phys. Geog. (1862) 459 Known species of serpents..Fresh-water 33, Boaform 15.
Hence boa'd ppl. a., provided with, or wearing a lady's boa.
1831Blackw. Mag. XXX. 967 Furred, muffed, and boa'd, Mrs. Gentle adventures abroad. |