| 释义 |
▪ I. breaker1|ˈbreɪkə(r)|
Also 2–6 breker, (5–6 Sc. -ar).
[f. break v. + -er1.]
He who or that which breaks (in various senses of verb.).
1. a. One who breaks, crushes, or destroys; so breaker off, etc.; and with defining n. as house-breaker, ship-breaker, etc., q.v.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 83 Ne mihte nawiht brekere bon icloped. c1535G. Du Wes Introd. Fr. in Palsgr. 1040 The peas..is..breker of strife. 1563Homilies ii. Fasting ii. (1859) 288 A breaker of his fast. 1597T. Payne Royal Exch. 14 They become eyther breakers or banckerers. a1649Drummond of Hawthornden Cypress Grove Wks. 118 Death..is the reasonless breaker off of all actions. 1840Carlyle Heroes iv. 193 A Breaker of Idols. 1847Tennyson Princ. ii. 143 Horn-handed breakers of the glebe.
b. spec. One who cards wool. (cf. break v. 2 c.)
1514Act 6 Hen. VIII, ix. §1 The Breaker or Kember to deliver again..the same Wooll so broken and kembed. 1764Burn Poor Laws 156 Three weavers and spoolers, two breakers, etc.
c. One who makes known (tidings, etc.).
1864Tennyson Aylmer's F. 594 A breaker of the bitter news from home.
2. a. One who transgresses or violates a law, oath, convention, etc.
1382Wyclif 2 Macc. xiii. 7 It bifelle the breker of lawe for to die. 1483Cath. Angl. 42 A Breker or tryspaser; preuaricator, transgressor. 1535Coverdale Ezek. xvi. 38 A breaker of wedlocke and a murthurer. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, i. ii. 132 He [Falstaff] was neuer yet a Breaker of Prouerbs: He will giue the diuell his due. 1765Blackstone Comm. I. 350 Constables..may apprehend all breakers of the peace. 1864H. Spencer Illustr. Univ. Progr. 61 Some courageous breaker of conventions.
b. In comb. with defining n., as covenant-, law-, sabbath-breaker, etc., q.v.
3. One who subdues, tames, or trains. Also breaker in, and in comb., as horse-breaker.
1552Huloet, Breaker of horse, or other beast brutysh. 1828Scott F.M. Perth I. 23 The breaker of mad horses—the tamer of wild Highlandmen. 1834Fraser's Mag. IX. 93 A breaker-in of dogs. 1860Encycl. Brit. XX. 220 Whenever the dog in advance points, it is the breaker's duty to make all the rest that acknowledge the scent to point.
4. a. That which breaks; as a break-water (obs.), a harrow (see quot. 1799). In many comb., as coal-, ice-, rock-breaker, q.v.
1661Hickeringill Jamaica 47 There is no landing..by reason of the fury of the waves (not pacified by any Breakers). 1799J. Robertson Agric. Perth 96 Some [harrows] are made large enough to be a draught for two horses, which are distinguished by the name of Breakers.
b. spec. The name of various machines for crushing the dried stems of flax or hemp, and for performing the first operation in carding cotton, etc.
1817Parl. Deb. 1059 The stems of flax and hemp..are passed through two machines, the first called a breaker, the second a rubber. 1875Ure Dict. Arts I. 972 After passing through the first or ‘breaker card’, the cotton is put through the ‘finisher’. 1879Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 274/2 The slivers produced by the breakers, as the first set of engines is called.
c. In paper-manufacture, a machine in which rags, etc., are washed and partly pulped. Also attrib., as breaker-plate.
1880J. Dunbar Pract. Papermaker 71 It may be mentioned that the breaker-plate ought to be sharp when starting to blottings. 1902Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 456/1 The next step is that of washing and ‘breaking in’, which takes place in an engine called the ‘breaker’. 1963R. R. A. Higham Handbk. Papermaking ii. 23 Different types of breakers are available for use with rag, wood pulp sheets, waste paper and broke.
d. In anthracite mining, an apparatus for breaking, sizing, and cleaning coal for the market.
1885Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 501/2 The ‘breaker’, an anthracite invention and a monster of destruction, is an edifice of wood and iron 100 feet high,..with rollers set with teeth to crush the larger lumps, with bolting screens to separate the sizes. 1900Coal & Metal Miners' Pocket-bk. (ed. 6) 574 Breaker Boy, a boy who works in a coal breaker.
e. In cheese-making, an implement for breaking the curd into small pieces.
1844Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. V. i. 88 The first process of breaking down the curd in the cheese-tub is..performed by a breaker or curd-cutter.
5. A heavy ocean-wave which breaks violently into foam against a rocky coast or in passing over reefs or shallows. Breakers ahead! ‘the common pass-word to warn the officer of broken water in the direction of the course’.
1684I. Mather Remark. Provid. (1856) 43 If the Providence of God had not by the breakers given them timely warning they had been dashed to pieces. 1740Woodroofe in Hanway Trav. (1762) I. iv. lix. 275 When there is any sea, the breakers are visible. 1845Darwin Voy. Nat. xiv. (1852) 305 The great wave broke in a fearful line of white breakers. 1864Tennyson En. Ard. 51 Along that breaker-beaten coast. Ibid. 549 Till hard upon the cry of ‘breakers’ came The crash of ruin. 1879Beerbohm Patagonia 3 Suddenly we heard a shout of ‘Breakers ahead!’ and every one turned pale.
†6. A kind of firework. Obs.
1630J. Taylor (Water P.) Wks. iii. 118/1 Rackets, Crackers, Breakers and such like, giues blowes and reports without number. 1635J. Babington Pyrotechn. xxxvi. 43 Your reports or breakers for this work shall be made as follows.
7. A horse that breaks (break v. 38 c). orig. U.S.
a1867H. Woodruff Trotting Horse in Amer. (1868) xxiii. 201 Although a trotter of remarkably fine speed and power, he was such a bad breaker. 1965Weekly News (N.Z.) 8 Dec. 59/2 Breaking horses have always been a problem...There is an alarmingly high percentage of breakers.
Add:8. One who interrupts the conversation of others on a Citizens' Band radio channel, indicating that he or she wishes to transmit a message; hence, any CB radio user. Citizens' Band Radio slang (orig. U.S.).
1963Time 11 Jan. 39/2 Sophie: 10-4, Marcie... Oh-oh, here's a breaker; come in, breaker, and identify yourself. 1975Harper's Weekly 6 Oct. 6/4 Break one-oh, break one-oh! Go ahead, breaker. Smokey in the Eastbound at exit three-two. 1981Times 2 Nov. 2/3 Citizen's band radio, the new personal radio communication service, becomes legal in Britain today... CB enthusiasts, known as breakers, held a rally in London yesterday. 1985Truck & Driver June 29/3 Brian's currently searching for a CB buff to set up shop in the cafe to repair broken sets and sell replacement ones to passing breakers.
▪ II. breaker2 Naut.|ˈbreɪkə(r)|
[Commonly believed to be a corruption of Sp. bareca or barrica; cf. bareca, barrico.]
A small keg or cask.
1833Marryat P. Simple xxxiii, A breaker or two (that is, small casks holding about seven gallons each) of water was put into each boat. 1835― Jac. Faithf. xx, The purser sent a breaker of spirits on shore. 1875Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. vi. (ed. 2) 227 They will be found very useful for carrying both provisions and water, and stow better than breakers. |