释义 |
▪ I. buzzing, vbl. n.1|ˈbʌzɪŋ| [f. buzz v.1 + -ing1.] The action of the verb buzz. 1. A sibilant humming.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. xii. (1495) 768 Tyll one bee wake them all with twyes bussyng or thryes. c1540Pilgrym's Tale 66 in Thynne's Animadv. (1865) 79, I herde a bussinge..I thought yt had beyn the dran be. 1657S. Purchas Pol. Flying Ins. i. v. 12 Two or three loud buzzings. 1865Blackmore Maid of Sk. xxvi. 155 He had..a kind of a buzzing in one ear. 1869Ruskin Q. of Air §35 The buzzing of the fly [is] produced..by a constant current of air through the trachea. 2. Confused or mingled utterance; busy murmuring, muttering; murmur, busy talk, rumour.
1532More Confut. Tindale Wks. (1557) 408/2 The..obseruaunces of the churche, which he calleth..howling, buzsing, and crying oute. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, ii. i. 148 A buzzing of a Separation Betweene the King and Katherine. 1827Carlyle Libussa, Transl. (1874) 94 The hum of the multitude, the whispering and buzzing. 1882H. Merivale Faucit of B. II. ii. i. 151 The buzzings of the Agnostics. ▪ II. ˈbuzzing, vbl. n.2 Thieves' cant. [f. buzz v.3 + -ing1.] Pocket-picking.
1819J. H. Vaux Mem. I. xii. 140, I had not been accustomed to buzzing. 1884Pall Mall G. 29 Dec. 4/2 Descending somewhat in the scale of crime, we come to simple ‘buzzing’, or the picking of pockets. ▪ III. ˈbuzzing, ppl. a. [f. buzz v.1 + -ing2.] 1. Making, or characterized by, a sibilant humming.
1556J. Heywood Spider & F. ii. 13 What is this buzzynge blumberinge trow we: thunder? 1600Maydes Metam. i. in O. Pl. (1882) I. 113 Bees..Whose buzing musick..shall her sences greet. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 239 A fierce loud buzzing Breez. 1727Thomson Summer 231 In a corner of the buzzing shade. 1827–8Lamb in Poems (Chandos) 559. 1843 Macaulay Lays, Virginia 25 Where'er ye shed the honey, the buzzing flies will crowd. b. Said of sounds.
1635Swan Spec. M. v. §2 (1643) 117 A kind of buzzing noise. 1844Dufton Deafness 85 Pains over the forehead..succeeded by a buzzing noise. 2. Whispering, muttering; busily talking, full of busy talk.
1577Holinshed Chron. III. 840/1 A companie of bussing monks. 1618Barnevelt's Apol. B iv, Buzzing whisperer, tell mee, etc. 1735Somerville Chase ii. 306 The buzzing Multitudes. 1818Byron Ch. Har. iv. cxlii, Where buzzing nations choked the ways. Hence ˈbuzzingly adv.
1861Dickens Gt. Expect. x, The pupils..buzzingly passed a ragged book from hand to hand.
▸ colloq. (orig. U.S.). Lively, exciting; busy, popular.
1882Atlantic Monthly Aug. 175/2 The mournful notes were fit to wring one's heart, breaking in as they did upon the careless life of the buzzing streets. 1927News (Frederick, Maryland) 28 May 4/5 Such a buzzing town and livewire populace. 1975Newsweek (Nexis) 10 Mar. 25 An outbreak of anti-Chinese disturbances led fearful Chinese merchants to shutter their shops,..leaving the normally buzzing neighborhood ghostly still. 2001Middle East Times (Egypt ed.) 7–13 Apr. 6/1 Dubai..has a buzzing nightlife. |