| 释义 |
▪ I. bridle, n.|ˈbraɪd(ə)l|
Forms: 1 brídel, 3–4 bridel, -il, 3–6 brydel, 4 briddle, brydille, 4–5 bridell, 4–6 brydell, -il, -ill, 5 bridelle, -ill, -ulle, -yl(le, brydylle, 6 brydle, 4– bridle.
[OE. brídel for earlier *briᵹdel (cf. brigdils Erf. Gl. 127, O.E. Texts 44) has various corresp. forms in WGer.: cf. OFris. bridel, MLG., MDu. breidel (bredel), Du. breidel, OHG., MHG. brittel; formed with instrumental suffix like hand-le, saddle, etc., from root of bregd-an to pull, twitch (see braid); cf. Ger. zügel from ziehen to draw.]
1. a. The head-gear of the harness of a horse or other beast of burden, consisting of a head-stall, bit, and rein, by which the animal is controlled and guided. to give a horse the bridle: to abandon control of him; so to lay the bridle on his neck. to keep a horse up into his bridle: to keep him up to the full speed allowed by the degree of restraint in which he is held by the bridle. to go up well to his bridle: to be a free goer, not to hang back at the pressure applied.
a1000Rune Poem xxi. (Gr.) Se brimhengest bridles ne ᵹymeð. a1225Ancr. R. 74 Bridel nis nout one iðe horses muðe. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. iv. 20 Hong on him an heui Bridel to bere his hed lowe. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 1208 The fomy brydil with the bit of gold Governyth he. c1450Merlin xxii. 407 He hilde the reyne of his bridill in his lefte arme. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 160 Whether he sholde haue also the sadell and brydell with the horse. 1601Bp. Barlow Serm. Paules Crosse 59 A bridle hath raines and a bit. 1674Ch. & Court of Rome 8 It being proverbial, That 'tis a greater shame to bring home the Bridle than steal the Horse. 1882Illust. Sporting News 4 Feb. 502/2 Come on at a good canter—not too fast, but keep them well up into their bridles. 1884E. Anderson Mod. Horsemanship i. v. 17 In the double bridle we have the curb bit and the snaffle.
b. Occas. applied to the bit alone; also fig.
c1400Rom. Rose 3299 Take with thy teeth the bridel faste. 1579Fulke Confut. Sanders 657 She commaunded his bridle to be made of one nayle. 1602Warner Alb. Eng. ix. xlvii. 222 More eagerly than earst I on the brydell byte.
c. fig. with conscious reference to a horse.
1401Pol. Poems (1859) II. 85 Who wil not amenden him, Ȝeue him the brydil. 1580North Plutarch (1676) 362 Giving the bridle to a desperate man. 1583Golding Calvin on Deut. ii. 8 Gods deliuering of the Children out of the Bondage of Egypt was not to lay the brydle in their necke that they might go when they listed. 1796Burke Let. Noble L. 41 Calais the key of France, and the bridle in the mouth of that power. 1833Wordsw. Warning, O for a bridle bitted with remorse To stop your leaders in their headstrong course.
2. fig. A restraint, curb, check. Mil. A fortress keeping an enemy in check (cf. bridle v. 2 b).
1340Ayenb. 254 Zete ane brydel to þine couaytises. c1430Lydg. Bochas ii. xv. (1554) 55 a, Sensualitie Holdeth the bridle of lecherous insolence. 1530Rastell Bk. Purgat. iii. xv. 4 Man hath nede to have both a brydel of lawe..& also a brydell of the drede of God. 1535Coverdale 2 Sam. vii. 1. 1624 Bacon New Atl. (1677) 257 The reverence of a mans self is, next religion, the chiefest Bridle of all Vices. 1662Fuller Worthies (1840) III. 488 Thy [castles]..were first intended as bridles to their country. 1791Burke Th. on Fr. Affairs Wks. VII. 37 The blind reverence they bear to the sanctity of the Pope, which is their only bridle. 1879Froude Cæsar xv. 233 He kept his tongue under a bridle.
3. = branks1 1.
1623Macclesfield Corp. Rec. in Ormerod Hist. Cheshire III. 385 A Brydle for a curste queane. 1658Worcester Corp. Rec. in Brushfield Obs. Punishm. (1858) i. 7 note, Paid for mending the bridle for bridleinge of scoulds, and two cords for the same..js. ijd. 1753Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v., In Staffordshire they have a bridle for correcting scolding women. 1858Brushfield Obsol. Punishm. i. 16 Another Bridle..is a very handsome specimen, being surmounted with a decorated cross.
4. The gesture described under bridle v. 3.
1748Richardson Clarissa (1811) V. xxviii. 287 ‘Miss Howe’..repeated she, with a scornful bridle, but a very pretty one. 1781Cowper Hope 344 The flirted fan, the bridle, and the toss.
5. Applied technically or descriptively to various things resembling a horse's bridle in their form or use: esp.
a. Naut. A stout cable, or ‘fast’, by which a vessel is secured to moorings; also, the short piece of rope by which the bowline is attached to the leech or edge of the sail.
1626Capt. Smith Accid. Yng. Seamen 15 The maine bowling and bridles. 1627― Seaman's Gram. v. 27 The Boling knot is.. fastened by the bridles into the creengles of the sailes. 1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1789) Cc iij b, To this swivel-link are attached the bridles, which are short pieces of cable, well served, whose upper ends are drawn into the ship, at the mooring-ports, and afterwards fastened to the masts, or cable-bits. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §259 We came to and got in the bridle and swivel.
b. Phys. A ligament or membrane serving to check the motion of a part, or bind one part to another; a frænum; ‘a narrow slip of living structure interposed between two orifices or the opposing walls of an abscess; a band stretching across a cicatrix’ (Syd. Soc. Lex.); † the septum of the nose (obs.).
1697W. Dampier Voyages (1729) III. i. 351 Pinching the Bridle of the Nose with its points, it hangs dangling from thence. c1720W. Gibson Farrier's Guide i. ii. (1738) 15 An appendage called the Frænum, or Bridle, which runs..almost to the root of the yard. 1758J. S. Le Dran's Observ. Surg. (1771) Dict. B b 7 b, Frænulum, the Bridle of the Tongue. Ibid. 199 The Cystis Hernialis..was much contracted, forming four of five strong Bridles. 1805Med. & Phys. Jrnl. 1 Aug. 97 Two cases of children losing their lives in consequence of cutting what is called the bridle of the tongue. 1835–6Todd Cycl. Anat. & Phys. I. 603/2 Those bridles which are such frequent causes of deformity after the healing of extensive burns.
c. Mech. A metal strip or band uniting two parts of a machine, or limiting their motion; also, the flanges which keep a slide-valve in position.
1667Wilmslow Churchw. Acc. in Earwaker E. Cheshire I. 115 Paid for the bridle of the clocke, and several other things about the clock and quarters. 1833J. Holland Manuf. Metals II. 302 The massy cast-iron frames are fastened with screws and also with wrought iron bridles. 1846Print. Apparatus Amateurs 10 The pressure is applied to the front of the press by a lever, which is jointed to the upper extremity by a long bridle.
d. Agric. A bent piece of iron on the end of a plough-beam, to which the draught-tackle is attached; a clevis.
1840Penny Cycl. XVIII. 275/1 The end of this iron, which is called a bridle, has several projecting hooks..on which an iron ring is hung at different heights.
e. The cord or other work which strengthens or tightens the sides of a net.
c1838C. Bathurst Nets 34 If it be too large, the bridle would, instead of forming a straight line along the sides of the net, hang down loosely in loops.
f. Fire-arms. A small plate of metal in the interior of a gunlock, which holds the sear and tumbler in position.
1844Regul. & Ord. Army 100 Bridle [of musket]..0s. 9d. 1875Ure Dict. Arts II. 383 The lock, inside..showing all the parts..d, the tumbler; e, the bridle.
g. (See quot. 1906.)
1899C. F. Marvin in Yearbk. U.S. Dept. Agric. 1898 211 The one-point attachment of bridle..is better suited to strong than light winds. 1906A. F. Collins Man. Wireless Telegr. 209 Bridle, a cord attached to a kite that holds the latter at the proper angle in the wind; the kite-cord is attached to the bridle.
6. Comb., as bridle-maker; also bridle-arm (cf. bridle-hand); bridle-bridge, a bridge fit for the passage of a horse, but not for vehicles; bridle-cable (see quot.); bridle-chain (Mining), one of the ‘safety-chains to support a cage if the link between the cage and rope should break’ (Raymond Mining Gloss.); † bridle-cull (Thieves' cant), a highwayman; bridle-cutter, a bridle-maker; bridle-gate, a gate leading into a bridle-path; bridle-hand, the hand which holds the bridle in riding, the left hand; bridle-path, -road, -way, a path fit for the passage of a horse, but not of vehicles; bridle-pin, the pin which helps to secure the bridle of a gunlock; bridle-port, a port or port-hole in a ship's bow through which ‘bridles’ (see 5) may be run, or chase-guns fired. Also bridle-bit, -rein.
1833Regul. Instr. Cavalry i. 116 Resting the blade upon the *bridle-arm.
1882Proc. Berw. Nat. Club IX. 446 The approach to the Castle..has been from a curious old *bridle-bridge.
1793Smeaton Edystone L. §139 note, When a vessel is moored by laying down a cable upon the ground, with an anchor at each end, then another cable attached to the middle of the ground cable, is called the *Bridle Cable.
1743Fielding J. Wild i. v. (D.) A booty of {pstlg}10 looks as great in the eye of a *bridle-cull..as that of as many thousands to the statesman.
1697Lond. Gaz. No. 3081/3 *Bridle-Cutters..and all other Makers, Dressers, or Workers in Leather. 1720Ibid. No. 5912/4 John Rest..Bridle-Cutter.
1868Holme Lee Bas. Godfrey lxvii. 395 The horses..stopped at a *bridle-gate.
1580Sidney Arcadia ii. (R.) In the turning one might perceive the *bridle-hand something gently stir. 1833Regul. Instr. Cavalry i. 39 To govern his horse by the aid of his legs and bridle-hand. 1855Smedley Harry Coverdale v. 27 Remember to..keep your bridle hand low.
1652Wadsworth tr. Sandoval's Civ. Wars Spain 139 One Calahorra, and with him a *Bridle-maker. 1876Grote Eth. Fragm. v. 136 The end of the bridle-maker is subservient to that of the horseman.
1811Nat. Hist. in Ann. Reg. 470/2 The only roads..are narrow *bridle-paths winding through the recesses of the mountains.
1881Greener Gun 263 Unscrew the *bridle-pins and remove the bridle.
1832Marryat N. Forster xlvii, Two-and-twenty guns besides her *bridle-ports.
1833Lyell Princ. Geol. III. p. xxvii, Rocks, which are seen to the left of a small *bridle-road. 1868G. Duff Pol. Surv. 53 The bridle roads across the mountains..are quite enough for camels and mules.
1760Chron. in Ann. Reg. 67/1 Was finally determined..the cause..concerning the legality of a carriage and *bridle way through the park.
▪ II. bridle, v.|ˈbraɪd(ə)l|
Forms: 1 brídlian, 2–3 bridlenn (Orm.), 3 bridlen, 4 bridele, brydelen, 5 brydelle, brydelyn, brydyl, 5–6 brydel, 6 bridill, brydell, brydil, brydle, 6–7 bridel, 5– bridle.
[OE. brídlian, ᵹebrídlian, f. brídel, bridle. Cf. OHG. brittolôn, MHG. britteln.]
1. a. trans. To put a bridle on (a horse), to furnish with a bridle; also (obs.), to guide or control with a bridle.
1393Gower Conf. I. 110 Som prick her horse aside, And bridlen hem now in now oute. c1440Promp. Parv. 50 Brydelyn, freno. 1530Palsgr. 939 To bridel, brider. 1833Regul. Instr. Cavalry i. 42 The Recruits are to be taught to saddle and bridle.
b. To furnish with a bridle in other senses.
1758J. S. Le Dran's Observ. Surg. (1771) 332 The Membranes which cover the Muscles, and might bridle that Part of the Wound. c1838C. Bathurst Nets 34 A net is bridled at its four outer margins when it is desirable to keep the meshes square. 1858Brushfield Obsol. Punishm. 13 She [a scold] was ordered to be bridled and to be led through the town.
c. (See bridle n. 5 g.)
1899C. F. Marvin in Yearbk. U.S. Dept. Agric. 1898 210 Two methods of bridling the kite.
2. fig.
a. To curb, check, restrain, hold in.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxi, Bridla þe he þa ᵹesceafta nu mid ᵹebridlode hæfþ. c1200Ormin 11664 Sone iss þe bodiȝ bridledd. a1225Ancr. R. 74 Ȝif eni..ne bridleð nout his tunge. 1382Wyclif Isa. xlviii. 9 In my preissing I shal bridele thee, lest thou die. 1548Udall Erasm. Par. Pref. 6 Also to bridle the insolencie. 1634Milton Comus 887 Rise, rise..And bridle in thy headlong wave. 1713Young Last Day i. 274 He bridles in the monsters of the deep. 1725De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 41, I bridled my passion with all my power. 1756C. Lucas Ess. Waters II. 145 How is the action of iron bridled by sulphur? 1827Hallam Const. Hist. (1876) III. 64 To bridle the clergy. 1878R. B. Smith Carthage 397 Scipio bridled his indignation.
b. In military sense: To hold in check, control.
1615E. Grimstone Hist. World 86 They are bridled of all sides..by a great number of strong places. 1690Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) II. 105 Fortifyeing Thonon, a small place on the lake of Geneva, which will bridle that citty. 1761Hume Hist. Eng. III. lvi. 99 Forts were erected in order to bridle Rochelle. 1876Green Short Hist. ii. §6 (1882) 85 Scotland..was bridled by the erection of a strong fortress at Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
3. To throw up the head and draw in the chin, (as a horse does when reined in), expressing pride, vanity, or resentment; to assume a dignified or offended air or manner:
a. trans. and refl.
c1480Ragman Roll 129 in Hazl. E.P.P. 75 Ful feire brydelyn ye your cowntenaunce, And propirly unto the brest adowne. 1606Day Ile of Gulls ii. iv. (1881) 52 Then doe I bridle my head like a malt-horse. 1752Fielding Amelia Wks. (1775) X. 303 ‘Is she,’ said my aunt, bridling herself, ‘fit to decide between us?’ 1848A. Brontë Tenant of Wildfell Hall I. iv. 71 She bridled her long neck and smiled.
b. intr. (See bridling vbl. n. 3.)
c1460J. Russell Bk. Nurture in Babees Bk. (1868) 135 Brydelynge with brest vppon your crawe. c1550Jack Juggler in Hazl. Dodsley II. 117 She minceth, she bridleth, she swimmeth to and fro. 1706Reflex. upon Ridicule, 89 Whenever you tell her she is handsom, she bridles. 1748Mrs. Dewes in Mrs. Delaney's Corr. (1861) II. 485 Pauline..bridles very well. 1807Opie Lect. Art iv. (1848) 330 Smirking damsels..flaunting and bridling in all the tawdry dresses and fashionable airs of the time. 1876M. E. Braddon J. Haggard's Dau. II. 87 The spinsters bridled, taking this as in somewise a personal affront.
†c. Formerly also to bridle it. Obs.
1590R. Harvey Pl. Perc. 18 You shal haue a lame Iade, bridle, and brag it vp and downe Smithfield..as though hee could stand on no ground for lustines. 1624Bp. M. Smyth Serm. 172 Shall we bridle it or bristle it against him?
d. Now commonly to bridle up (occas. back).
1748Smollett Rod. Rand. (1812) I. 343 She..bridled up, assumed an air of disdain. 1759Goldsm. Bee No. 5 Reverie, She instantly bridles up and feels the force of the well-timed flattery. 1760–2― Cit. W. lxxvi, Sometimes she..would bridle back, in order to inspire us with respect as well as tenderness. 1840Dickens Old C. Shop (C.D. ed.) 19 Everybody bridled up at this remark.
†e. to bridle upon (a thing).
1748Richardson Clarissa (1811) II. xviii. 119, I can not indeed but say, bridling upon it, that I have heard famous scholars often and often say very silly things. 1754― Grandison IV. xv. 110 She took to herself, and bridled upon it, the praises and graces this adroit manager gave her.
4. intr. of a horse: to rise to or answer the bridle.
1929Daily Express 5 Jan. 7/5 Mr. Wroughton's horse never bridled well at the fence... It slipped and brushed through the fence, hardly rising. |