| 释义 |
Caledonian, a. and n.|kælɪˈdəʊnɪən|
[f. Calēdonia, Roman name of part of northern Britain, in modern times applied poetically or rhetorically to Scotland, or the Scottish Highlands, ‘Caledonia, stern and wild’ (Scott).]
A. adj.
1. Of ancient Caledonia; of Scotland.
1656Blount Glossogr., Caledonian, belonging to Scotland, formerly called Caledonia. 1785Warton Milton's Silv. Lib. (T.) Tinged with Caledonian or Pictish woad. Mod. Used in titles, as ‘the Gentlemen of the Caledonian Hunt’, ‘the Caledonian Railway’.
2. Geol. Designating or pertaining to the great mountain-building episode of late Silurian and early Devonian times in Britain and Scandinavia; also applied to contemporary mountain-building elsewhere. Hence ˈCaledonoid a., of or pertaining to the direction assumed by the Caledonian mountain-folds, generally from north-east to south-west.
1903Geikie Text-Bk. Geol. (ed. 4) I. iii. i. iii. 394 In north-western Europe, the prevalent line along which terrestrial plications took place during the earlier half of Palæozoic time was from S.W. or S.S.W. to N.E. or N.N.E.—the Caledonian chain of Professor Suess. 1906Sollas tr. Suess's Face of Earth II. iii. ii. 82 These pre-Devonian mountains, which proceed from Norway and form the whole of Scotland..we call the Caledonian mountains. 1913C. Lapworth in G. A. Auden Handbk. for Birmingham 598 The trend..N.E., S.W...which suggests that trend characteristic..of the ‘Caledonian Movement’ becomes..naturally referred to as the Caledonoid Trend. 1929L. J. Wills Physiogr. Evol. Brit. ii. vi. 76 ‘Caledonian’ implies a fold produced during the post-Silurian orogeny, but ‘Caledonoid’ refers to a south-west to north-east fold of any age.
B. n. A native of ancient Caledonia; humorously = Scotchman.
1768J. Macpherson (title) Critical Dissertations on the Origin of the Ancient Caledonians. 1781(title) The Unfortunate Caledonian in England. 1813J. Grant (title) Account of the Picts, Caledonians, and Scots. 1883Daily News 4 Sept. 5/6 Those who go ‘through’ with the volatile Caledonian [Flying Scotchman]. |