| 释义 |
▪ I. breast, n.|brɛst|
Forms: 1–4 breost, 3–8 brest; (also 4 Kent bryest, 4–5 breest, breste, 4–6 north. breist, 5–6 brist, birst), 6– breast.
[c gray][OE. bréost = OFris. briast, OS. briost, breost, ON. brjóst, (Sw. bröst, Da. bryst) neuter, answering to an OTeut. type *breusto(m): represented in Goth. by brusts fem. pl. (no sing.):—OTeut. *brust-s consonantal fem., ‘prob. originally inflected as a dual’ (Kluge), whence OHG. (MHG., mod.Ger.) brust fem., MLG. (MDu., Du.) borst fem. (with metathesis of r). The term is confined to Teutonic, there being no common Indo-Europ. name for the breast. As to the form and derivation, see below. OE. éo became normally ME. ē, ee, mod. ee (iː[/c]), and in Sc. and north dial. breast rimes with priest; but in Standard Eng., the e has been shortened before the two consonants; the spellings breast and brest run side by side from 16th to 18th c.; in current usage we spell breast and pronounce brest.
The difference of vowel in OTeut. *breust-, *brust- is explained by the fact that all monosyllabic consonantal stems had originally shifting stress, with corresponding ablaut (*breust-s, *brust-óz); the neuter gender in OE., OS., and ON. by the supposition that *breust-s was orig. inflected as a dual (the two breasts) of which the nom. and acc. *breustô- would later become *breust, bréost, which after the loss of the dual would naturally be treated as neuter pl., as in other known instances. Even in senses 2, 5, the plural was usual in OE., as exclusive in Gothic. *Breust- cannot be connected with berstan, brestan to burst: but it may be related to the OS. verb. brustian to bud, and be a root-noun from a vb. *breust-an (see Lexer under brust), a specialized derivative of *breut-an (i.e. *breut-stan, *breustan; cf. *brek-stan, brestan, f. brek-an). The ‘breasts’ would thus be orig. the mammæ or paps, likened to ‘buds’ or ‘sprouts’. See further Kluge Beiträge VIII. 510.]
I.
1. a. Each of the two soft protuberances situated on the thorax in females, in which the milk is secreted for the nourishment of their young; the mamma; also the analogous rudimentary organ of males, the mammilla. Hence, in phrases to give, have, put to, the breast; an infant at the breast, past the breast.
(Properly said of women, but sometimes of the lower animals.)
c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke xi. 27 Þa breost [Lindisf. titto, vel breosto] þe ðu suce. c1000Sax. Leechd. I. 182 Wiþ innoþes sare, & þæra breosta. a1300Sarmun lviii. in E.E.P. (1862) 7 Þat soke þe milk of maidis brest. c1305St. Kath. 249 in E.E.P. (1862) 96 Here breostes hi to-drowe Fram hire bodi mossel mele. 1387Trevisa Higden Rolls Ser. VII. 39 [The virgin Mary] took here brest [mamillam] out of here bosom. 1542–3Act 34 & 35 Hen. VIII, viii. §1 As womens brestes being sore. 1605Shakes. Macb. i. v. 48 Come to my Womans Brests And take my Milke for Gall. 1647W. Browne Polex. i. 237 When she was past the breast, he chose many young gentlemen of his Court to be of her guard. 1649Bp. Reynolds Hosea i. 1 The fruitfulness of the womb, and of the brests. 1688Lond. Gaz. No. 2371/4 His Majesty was pleased to order that the Breast should be given him. 1709Steele Tatler No. 15 ⁋2 One Country Milch-Wench, to whom I was..put to the Breast. 1843Macaulay Prophecy of Capys xiv, Thou, that..hast tugged at the she-wolf's breast. 1863Geo. Eliot Romola (1878) I. 122 An amulet worn close under the right breast.
b. Hence fig. Source of nourishment.
1611Bible Pref. 1 Upon whose breasts againe themselues doe hang to receiue the Spirituall and sincere milke of the word. 1611Speed Theat. Gt. Brit. xix. (1614) 37/1 Cambridge, the other brest and nurse-mother of all pious literature. 1788Wesley Wks. (1872) VII. 185 The sacraments are not dry breasts. 1872Yeats Growth Comm. 249 ‘Husbandry and cattle rearing’, he says, ‘are the two breasts whence France is nourished’.
2. a. The front of the thorax or chest, the fore-part of the body, lying between the neck and the belly. (In OE. usually in the plural, for original dual.)
Beowulf (Z.) 552 Beado hræᵹl broden on breostum læᵹ golde ᵹegyr[wed]. c1000Ags. Gosp. John xiii. 25 Þa he hlinode ofer ðæs hælendes breostum [Lindisf. G. onufa breost ðæs hælendes]. a1225Ancr. R. 34 Beateð ower breoste. c1380Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 27 He smote upon his breest. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xxxiii. (1495) 144 The breste is the ouer bony parte betwene the pappes and teetes. 1440J. Shirley Dethe K. James (1818) 23 The sayde hongman toke a rope, and knyt hit fast aboute thare birstes, undre thaire harmeholes. 1584D. Powel Lloyd's Cambria 97 On his backe or brest. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 252 You must cut this flesh from off his breast. 1634T. Johnson tr. Parey's Chirurg. xi. (1678) 270 Muskets..may be called Breast-guns, for that they are not laid to the cheek, but against the breast. 1678Bunyan Pilgr. i. 71 He threw a flaming Dart at his brest. 1843Macaulay Lake Regillus xxviii, Herminius smote Mamilius Through breast-plate and through breast.
b. The part of a garment or a piece of armour covering the breast.
1651Proc. Parliament No. 119. 1846, 310 backs with their brests, and 10 Head pots. a1678Clarendon Hist. Reb. (1703) II. vi. 31 To procure old Backs, and Breasts, and Pots, with Pistols. 1830Fraser's Mag. II. 436 Beruffled breasts and wrists were the order of the day.
c. The bosom.
1650T. Hubbert Pill Formality 15 It is a dangerous thing to harbor a Traytor within your brest.
†3. Occasionally extended to the whole upper portion of the body, the thorax or chest. Obs.
a1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 679 Þe body of þat tre þar-by Es þe brest with þe bely. 1661Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 302 The breast as to its anterior part hath two clavicles and the os pectoris..the posterior part hath two shoulders and twelve vertebra's. 1754–64Smellie Midwif. I. Introd. 33 A perforation must be made..into the cavity of the breast. 1766Chesterfield Lett. 404 IV. 241, I am glad to hear that your breast is so much better.
4. a. The corresponding part in the body of the lower animals.
a1400Chester Pl. i. (1843) 31 Upon thy breste thou shalte goe and eate the earth. c1440Promp. Parv. 49 Breeste of a beste, pectus. 1513Douglas æneis viii. iv. 181 The rouch byrsis on the brest and crest Of that..wilde beist. 1592Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 296 Broad breast, full eye, small head, and nostril wide. 1710Prideaux Orig. Tithes ii. 78 The wave brest and heave shoulder of the peace Offerings. 1826Kirby & Sp. Entomol. Lett. (1828) IV. 542 Nipping the breast will kill many small Lepidoptera.
b. As a joint or other piece of meat.
1530Palsgr. 910 The gygot, a brest, le gigot. 1710Addison Tatler No. 255 ⁋3 Antipathy..to a Cheshire Cheese, or a Breast of Mutton. 1832Fraser's Mag. V. 529 They were charged with stealing a breast of mutton.
5. a. fig. and transf. The seat of the affections and emotions; the repository of consciousness, designs, and secrets; the heart; hence, the affections, private thoughts and feelings. (Commonly pl. in OE.)
a1000Cædmon's Gen. (Gr.) 656 Mæᵹ ðin mod wesan bliðe on breostum. c1175Lamb. Hom. 183 Ihesu..Min bliþe breostes blisse. c1230Hali Meid. 7 Þe þat herest him þat al welt in wið in þi breoste. c1430Hymns Virg. (1867) 2 How y hadde ledde my lijf so zore, I putt it freischli in-to my brist. 1513Douglas æneis v. iv. 134 The fauorable fortoun..gan the breistis of the vther avance. 1600Chapman Iliad xv. 581 Their herdsmen wanting breasts To fight with lions. 1607Shakes. Cor. iii. i. 258 What his Brest forges, that his Tongue must vent. a1643W. Cartwright in Dodsley (1780) X. 221 That man of peace there, Hath been trusted with Kings breasts. 1667Milton P.L. ix. 730 Can envie dwell In heav'nly brests? 1711Steele Spect. No. 30 ⁋3 Our Statutes are..recorded in our own Breasts only. 1750Gray Elegy xv, Some village Hampden, that with dauntless breast The little tyrant of his fields withstood. 1839Thirlwall Greece II. 368 What motives were predominant in the breast of Pausanias.
†b. on breast: in or by heart. Obs.
a1560Rolland Crt. Venus i. 45 Maist part was my prayers to con Knowit on breist.
c. to make a clean breast: to make a full disclosure or confession.
1752Cameron in Scots Mag. (1753) Oct. 508/1 He pressed him..to make a clean breast, and tell him all. 1861Sat. Rev. 23 Nov. 524 A clean breast must be made of everything. 1878Black Green Past. xxiii. 184, I may as well make a clean breast of it.
†6. transf. The place where the lungs are situated; hence, breath, voice in singing. Obs.
1547J. Heywood Four P's in Dodsley (1780) I. 67, I have some syght in syngynge, But is your brest any thynge sweet? a1553Udall Royster D. (Arb.) 14 So loe, that is a breast to blowe out a candle. 1601Shakes. Twel. N. ii. iii. 19 By my troth the foole has an excellent breast. I had rather then forty shillings I had..so sweet a breath to sing, as the foole has. 1621Fletcher Pilgr. iii. vi. (N.) Let's hear him sing, he has a fine breast. 1711Strype Parker 9 (N.) Queristers, after their breasts are changed.
†7. A broad even front of a moving company; hence in, of, on (a) breast = abreast. Obs.
1647May Hist. Parl. iii. i. 10 A narrow Lane, where onely foure of a breast could march. 1653Urquhart Rabelais i. liii, Six men at armes..might together in a breast ride all up to the very top. 1686R. P. in Phil. Trans. XX. 382 The Current of Water came down..with a Breast as if it would have drowned the whole Towns. 1725Lond. Gaz. No. 6382/3 The Register, in Breast, with the Secretary. 1788Lond. Mag. 200 To admit the passage of three carriages and two horses on a breast. 1807Robinson Archæol. Gr. iv. xix. 405 The ships went three or more in a breast.
8. Applied to various surfaces or parts of things analogous in shape, position, etc. to the human breast; the forefront, face, swelling or supporting surface. † In military use, a breastwork; see breast v. 4.
c1400Destr. Troy 5930 In the brest of the batell þere buernes were thicke. 1601Shakes. Jul. C. i. iii. 51 The crosse blew Lightning seem'd to open The Brest of Heauen. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §96 The seas broke against the overhanging Breast of the rock. 1806Act 46 Geo. III, cliii, No pier, quay, wharf, jetty, breast, or embankment, shall be erected. 1812J. Wilson Isle of Palms i. 27 The waves that lend their gentle breast In gladness for her couch of rest. 1814Wordsw. Excurs. iv. 627 Upon the breast of new-created earth Man walk'd. 1872Jenkinson Guide Eng. Lakes (1879) 200 Along the tolerably smooth breast of the hill.
9. In various technical uses:
†a. Anat. A portion of the hand (see quot.).
b. Agric. The forward part of the mould-board of a plough.
c. Arch. (see quot. 1823); also, the part of a wall between a window and the floor; an obs. name of the torus of a column (spelt Brest by Bailey and Johnson).
d. Mining. (see quot. 1881); also, the wooden partition which divides the shaft of a coal-mine into two compartments.
e. The curve in a fork just above the prongs.
f. Mech. ‘A bush connected with a small shaft or spindle’; also, the swelling or bulging part of a nave or hub.
g. Carpentry. The under surface of a handrail, rafter, or rib of a dome. h. A large roller or cylinder in a carding-machine. Also attrib., as breast cylinder.
1541R. Copland Guydon's Quest. Chirurg., In the thyrde coniunction be foure bones longer than the other. And that coniunction is called the brest of the hande or pecten. 1727–51Chambers Cycl., Brest or Breast, in architecture, a term used by some for that member of a column otherwise called the tore. 1770Monthly Rev. 307 Placed just under the breast of the chimney. 1807Vancouver Agric. Devon (1813) 115 There is little apparent curve in its breast or mould-board. 1823P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 434 The solid parts of the walls, between the funnel or flues, and the rooms, are called the breasts of the chimnies. 1881Raymond Mining Gloss., Breast. 1. The face of a working. 2. In coal mines, the chamber driven upwards from the gangway, on the seam, between pillars of coal left standing, for the extraction of coal. 3. That side of the hearth of a shaft-furnace which contains the metal-notch. a1884T. Lister in W. S. B. McLaren Spinning (1884) x. 229 A breast large enough to entitle it to the name of a cylinder. 1884Implement & Mach. Rev. 1 Dec. 6701/2 The..plough..has, together with the ordinary mould board, a digging breast. 1888Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 659/1 Against the lickerin revolves the ‘angle-stripper’, the function of which is to remove the wool..and deliver it over to the great breast cylinder.
II. Combinations.
10. Comb. (attrib.) of obvious meaning; as breast-bow, breast-button, breast-cord, breast-girdle, breast-guard, breast-key, breast-milk, breast-piece, breast-pin, breast-pocket; breast-deep, breast-rending adjs.
1847Life Mrs. Sherwood vi. 87 She always wore a *breast bow to answer the bow on her cap.
1862Thackeray Philip II. 256 A certain *breast-button of his old coat.
1879E. Arnold Lt. Asia iv. (1881) 105 Took down the silver bit and bridle chains, *Breast-cord, and curb.
1588Shakes. Tit. A. v. iii. 179 Set him *brest deepe in earth, and famish him.
1388Wyclif Jer. ii. 32 Whethir..a spousesse schal forȝete hir *brest girdil?
1578Richmond. Wills (1853) 281 A budged, j male pinyen, and a *brestgard, ijs. 1840Penny Cycl. XVII. 241/1 Parapet..is termed in German Brustwehr, or breast-guard.
1803Bristed Pedest. Tour II. 122 Spilling an abundance of water upon her *breastkerchief, and wetting her bosom.
1813Sir. R. Wilson Diary II. 202 A person conversant in all matters..and who possesses the *breast-key of the magnates.
1650Jer. Taylor Holy Living (1727) 124 Fed with a little *breast-milk. 1785M. Garthshore in Med. Commun. II. 37 It was supported by breast milk.
1611Cotgr., Brichet, the brisket or *breast-peece.
1825Scott in Lockhart (1839) VIII. 120, I hate fine waistcoats and *breast pins upon dirty shirts.
1772Nugent Hist. Friar Gerund I. 172 In the *breast-pocket of his large cloak.
1625K. Long Barclay's Argenis iv. x, *Brest-rending care.
11. Special combs.: breast-backstays Naut., long ropes serving to aid in supporting the masts against an oblique headwind (cf. backstay); breast-band, a girdle or band passing round the breast; also spec. = breast-rope; breast-beating, an exaggerated and ostentatious demonstration of woe, remorse, etc.; † breast-brooch = breastplate 2; † breast-bundel, a breast-girdle; breast-casket = breast-gasket; breast-chain, a chain used for the same purpose as a breast-strap; † breast-clout, a bib; breast-collar, a broad pulling strap passing round the breast of a horse, used instead of a neck-collar; breast-cut, the cut of meat from the breast, brisket; breast-drill, a drill against which the workman bears his breast while drilling; breast-fast, ‘a large rope or chain, used to confine a ship's broadside to a wharf or quay, or to some other ship’ (Smyth Sailor's Word-bk.); breast-fed a., (of infants) fed at the mother's breast; so breast-feeding (opposed to bottle-feeding); breast-feed vb.; † breast-flap (see quot.); breast-gasket Naut., a rope, cord, or other piece of plaited stuff used to tie up the bunt of a sail, and secure it to the yard; breast-girth, (a) measurement around the breast; (b) (see quot. 1958); breast-glass (see quot.); breast-harness, harness in which a breast-band is used in place of a collar; breast-height, (a) the interior slope of a parapet in fortifications; (b) the height of a man's chest above ground-level, usually taken as 4 ft. 3 in. (in some countries 4 ft. 6 in.), the standard height used for measuring the ‘girth, diameter and basal area of standing trees’; breast-hoe, a hoe pushed by the breast; breast-hooks, ‘large pieces of compass-timber fixed within and athwart the bows of the ship, of which they are the principal security, and through which they are well bolted’ (Weale); breast-knees n. pl., timbers placed in the forward part of a vessel across the stem to unite the bows on each side; breast-knot, a knot or bow of ribbon, etc. worn on the breast; † breast-lap = breast-flap, breastplate 2; † breast-lin (Ormin), lit. breast-linen, linen breastplate; breast-line, the rope along which are ranged the pontoons of a military bridge, and to which they are fastened; breast-mill, a mill driven by a breast waterwheel; breast-moulding, moulding done upon the panel beneath a window; breast-pain, a disease in horses; breast-pang, the Angina pectoris; breast-peat (see quot.); † breast-pit, the hollow of the breast; † breast-probe, a probe for examining the cavity of the breast; breast-pump, an instrument for drawing milk from the breast by suction; breast-rail Naut., the upper rail of the balcony, or of the breastwork at the forepart of the quarter-deck; breast-roll, the cloth beam of a loom; breast-rope Naut., a rope for securing the yard-parrels; a rope for supporting the leadsman while sounding; breast-shore, each of a line of props transversely supporting a vessel in dry dock; breast-strap Harness, a strap fixed at one end to the collar and supporting the pole of the vehicle; breast-stroke Swimming, a stroke in which the breast is squarely opposed to the water, the arms are pushed forward and outwards in a wide arc, and the legs perform a frog-like action; also as v. intr.; so breast-swimming; breast-wall, a wall supporting a bank of earth, etc., a retaining wall; breast-weed, a herbaceous plant (Saururus cernuus) having broad heart-shaped leaves and small white flowers, the Lizard's tail; breast-wimble, a kind of gimlet or auger upon which the breast presses in working; breast-wood, collective name for young shoots of fruit trees trained on espaliers or against walls. Cf. also breast-high, -plate, -work, etc.
1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1789) E ij, *Breast-back-stays and after-back-stays; the intent of the former being to sustain the top-mast when the force of the wind acts upon the ship sidewise. 1840R. Dana Bef. Mast xxv. 82 Setting up the weather breast-backstays.
1837W. Irving Capt. Bonneville (1849) 135 *Breast-bands, saddle and crupper, are lavishly embroidered.
1952Granta 15 Nov. 10/1 There are times when the noise of *breast-beating and intellectual self-analysis sounds like a drum and fife band. 1969Nature 9 Aug. 550/2 A proper and urgent concern for the environment is overtaken by self-indulgent breast-beating.
1382Wyclif Ex. xxviii. 15 The *breest broche [1611 breastplate] forsothe of dom thou shalt make with werk of dyuerse colours.
― Jer. ii. 32 Whether forȝete shal..the womman spouse of hir *brest-bundle [1388 -girdil].
c1325Gloss W. de Biblesw. in Wright Voc. 143 Une bavere, a *brestclut.
1801W. Felton Carriages II. 156 Neck Collars, and Saddles instead of *breast Collars and housings.
1825S. & S. Adams Compl. Serv. 76 The Joints of Beef, according to the London method of cutting. Brisket or *Breast-cut.
1865Tylor Early Hist. Man. ix. 243 Known among the Oriental nations as the *breast-drill.
1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. vii. 30 A *Breast-fast is a rope..fastened to some part of the Ship forward on, to hold her head to a wharfe.
1903Daily Chron. 15 Jan. 5/2 The death rate was thirty times as high in children fed on cow's milk as in those *breast-fed. 1909Daily Chron. 3 June 6/4 This figure including those breast-fed by the mothers.
1928Daily Express 29 Feb. 3 Taken regularly—both before and after the birth—[it] enables nearly every mother to *breast-feed her baby.
1904Fabian News XIV. 25/1 The decline of *breast-feeding.
a1536Tindale Table Words Ex. I. 419 Breastlap, or *breastflap, is such a flap as thou seest in the breast of a cope.
1909Daily Chron. 3 June 3/3 ‘Weak heart’, or ‘insufficient *breast-girth’, or other physical defect. 1958J. Hislop From Start to Finish 167 Breast-girth, strap made of webbing which goes from one side of the saddle to the other (being attached to the girths) and stops the saddle from slipping back.
1880Syd. Soc. Lex., *Breast glass, a flattened glass vessel, with an opening large enough to receive the nipple, placed on the breast to catch..milk.
1932Forestry VI. 53 The common *breast-height form-factor, which represents the ratio between the volume of the tree and that of a cylinder with the same height and the same girth or diameter as that of the tree at breast height.
1787Winter Syst. Husb. 174 The intervals should be hoed with a running or *breast hoe of twelve inches broad.
1748Anson Voy. ii. iv. (ed. 4) 221 One *breast-hook was broken. 1840R. Dana Bef. Mast ii. 4 Her stern and breast-hooks dripping. 1860H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 68 What are the breast hooks for? To unite the sides of the ship together forward; they are generally made of iron.
1716Addison Freeholder No. 11 (1725) 69 The influence of this Beautiful *Breast-Knot. 1824Miss Mitford Village Ser. i. (1863) 119 A black lace tippet..parting at the middle, to display a gay breast-knot.
1535Coverdale Ecclus. xlv. 10 In the *brestlappe there was a goodly worke, wherin was fastened light and perfectnesse. 1581Marbeck Bk. of Notes 75 Those Vrim and Thumim, which the Priest bare in his breast lappe. 1577tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 334 The brest-lap of iudgement.
c1200Ormin 955 Off þatt preostess shulldrelin, & offhiss *breostlin baþe. Summwhatt icc habbe showedd ȝuw.
1674Petty Disc. R. Soc. 99 Seen in all *Breast- and Undershot-Mills. 1821R. Turner Abridgm. Arts & Sc. 266 Water-mills are of three kinds: undershot mills, breast mills, and overshot mills.
1844T. Graham Dom. Med. 324 Excepting in the case of *breast-pang, very active exercises daily.
1802Agric. Surv. Peebles 208 (Jam.) [He] digs the peat, by driving in the spade horizontally with his arms; this peat is designed *breast-peat.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. xxi, Sode in vinegre and leyde with a sponge to þe *breste pit.
1758J. S. Le Dran's Observ. Surg. (1771) 200 The Admission of the *Breast-Probe.
1861Mrs. Beeton Bk. Househ. Managem. 1036 Every mother..should be provided with a *breast-pump, or glass tube, to draw off the superabundance. 1924J. S. Fairbairn Gynæcol. with Obstetrics v. xxi. 406 The use of a breast-pump.
1831G. Porter Silk Manuf. 215 The cloth-beam or *breast-roll to which the ends of the warp are attached.
1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. v. 20 Parrels..with the helpe of the *Brest-rope doth keepe the Yard close to the Mast. 1825H. Gascoigne Nav. Fame 52 Forward he leans, and far the balance leaves, The Breastrope trusting while the lead he heaves. 1860H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 42 See the breast ropes properly secured.
1894W. H. White Man. Naval Archit. (ed. 3) 322 The shores under the bilges and bottom take part of the weight, and the ‘*breast shores’ assist in maintaining form.
1867C. Steedman Man. Swimming 93 There are four distinct kinds of motions for the arms, and the same number and kind for the legs, used in the common plain or *breast-stroke. 1922E. Raymond Tell England ii. vii. 237 Other flies fell into my tea, and did the breast-stroke for the side of the mug. 1928Daily Express 18 Feb. 5/1 He..breast-stroked away toward the setting moon.
1867C. Steedman Man. Swimming 106 Its [sc. side swimming's] superiority over *breast swimming.
1601Holland Pliny xvii. xv, The French Vibrequin or *brest-wimble, which gently and quickely boreth a hole, and hurteth not the wood.
1882Garden 354/2 To allow a free and unrestricted growth of *breastwood unto the middle of July.
Add:[II.] [11.] breast cancer, cancer of a woman's breast.
1915Surg., Gynecol. & Obstetr. XX. 72/2 The surgery of *breast cancer..can make sure advance only along the lines marked out by pathological research. 1985N.Y. Times 14 Mar. a1/4 A major new study indicates that many women with breast cancer in its early stages can be treated just as well by small-scale surgery with little disfigurement.
▸ breast implant n. (chiefly in pl.) a prosthesis (usually consisting of a flexible sac containing a gel-like material or fluid) which may be implanted underneath, or in place of, existing tissue of the female breast, in cosmetic surgery for breast enlargement or in reconstructive surgery following mastectomy.
1958Plastic & Reconstructive Surg. 21 289 The longest follow-up on our *breast implants is an examination eight years after operation. 1991Time 25 Nov. 81/1 It held hearings on the emotionally charged issue of the safety of silicone breast implants. 1994Sunday Times (Singapore) 2 Oct. 4/6 [She] said her {pstlg}2,500..silicone breast implants were crucial for her to win topless work. 1998Brit. Med. Jrnl. (Electronic ed.) 7 Feb. 316 In a nationwide study of over 7000 Swedish women with breast implants and a control group of over 3000 women who had undergone breast reduction surgery, we found no excess risk for connective tissue disease. 2001People (Electronic ed.) 3 June Strange but true. A stripper survived when a dissatisfied customer shot her in Florida—the bullet bounced off a silicone breast implant.
▪ II. breast, v.|brɛst|
[f. prec. n.]
1. trans. To apply or oppose the breast to (waves, wind, a steep ascent); to stem, face, meet in full opposition. to breast a fence, horse, etc.: to mount by springing so as to bring the breast over.
1599Shakes. Hen. V, iii. Prol. 13 Bresting the loftie Surge. 1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 128 It observes not a constant respect unto the mouth of the wind, but variously converting doth seldome breast it right. a1700Ballad ‘Fause Foodrage’ xxii. in Scott Minstr. Sc. Bord., You shall learn..Right well to breast a steed. 1870Morris Earthly Par. I. 171 The horse began to breast the hill. 1874Blackie Self-Cult. 79 A swimmer..breasting the big waves.
b. fig.
1850Prescott Peru II. 29 Prepared to breast the difficulties of the sierra. 1862Goulburn Pers. Relig. iv. (1873) 318 Breasting its perils..gallantly.
c. to breast oneself: to oppose one's breast to; so to breast it out (cf. face it out).
1815Hist. J. Decastro, &c. iii. 114 To breast it out against difficulties, dangers, sin, and the devil. 1863W. Phillips Speeches i. 6 Civil government breasting itself to the shock of lawless men.
d. to breast aside: to breast so as to push aside.
1853Kane Grinnell Exp. xliv. (1856) 406 We gradually force ahead, breasting aside the floes.
2. intr. To press forward with the breast.
a1700Red Squair in Ever Green (1824) II. 225 Breisting owre the Brae. 1786Burns Salut. to Mare xiv, Thou never lap, an' sten't and breastit, Then stood to blaw.
†3. trans. To give the breast to; fig. to nourish. Obs. rare.
1573Tusser Husb. (1878) 27 In good corne soile to nest thee, Where pasture and meade may brest thee.
†4. To defend in front or with a breastwork.
1591Lambarde Arch. (1635) 172 The Offenders, which were..so brested, sided, and backed with a many friends. 1624Capt. J. Smith Virginia iii. vi. 60 Their pallizadoed towne..brested about with brests very formally.
5. trans. To apply the breast to.
1820Keats Isabella lix. 470 She hurried back, as swift As bird on wing to breast its eggs again.
6. to breast up a hedge: to cut away the branches on one side so that the main upright stems are laid bare. |