| 释义 |
pyrotechnic, a. and n.|paɪərəʊˈtɛknɪk|
[f. Gr. πυρο- pyro- + τεχνικ-ός, f. τέχνη art; or f. pyrotechny + -ic.]
A. adj. Pertaining to pyrotechny.
†1. Of or pertaining to the use of fire in chemistry, metallurgy, or gunnery. Obs.
1704J. Harris Lex. Techn. I, Pyrotechnick-Art, is the Art of Chymistry, so called..because Fire is the chief Instrument the Chymist makes use of in the separating..the purer Substances of mixt Bodies. 1731Bailey vol. II, Pyrotechnick, Pyrotechnical, of or pertaining to Pyrotechny [1736 (folio) adds or the art of gunnery].
2. a. Of or pertaining to fireworks, or the art of making or managing them; of the nature of a firework. Also more widely, capable of being ignited for technical or military purposes.
1825C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I. 64 The pyrotechnic artiste. 1837Sir F. Palgrave Merch. & Friar Ded. (1844) 11 The pyrotechnic cases in which the powder is to be contained. 1869H. Ainsworth Hilary St. Ives ii. xviii, The glories of extinct Vauxhall pale the modern pyrotechnic displays. 1873Board of Trade Notice in Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. iii. (1875) 68 The Pyrotechnic Light, commonly known as a Blue Light, every 15 minutes. 1919H. B. Faber Military Pyrotechnics I. i. v. 45 In the latter part of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth, there was great activity on the part of those enthusiastic over pyrotechnic devices as war instruments. 1922A. St. H. Brock Pyrotechnics iii. 13 Pyrotechnic compositions and gunpowder are inextricably mixed together in early European records. 1953Kirk & Othmer Encycl. Chem. Technol. XI. 324 In addition to illuminating and signal compositions there are many other types of pyrotechnic compositions such as smoke, incendiary, whistle, dark-fire, tracer, and igniter compositions. 1970Guardian 18 Apr. 1/1 The astronauts fired the pyro-technic bolts that connect the command ship and the service module. 1974Encycl. Brit. Micropædia VII. 186/2 Napalm is also employed in formulating a pyrotechnic gel containing gasoline.., powdered magnesium, and sodium nitrate.
b. fig. Resembling or suggesting fireworks; esp. said of a brilliant or sensational display of wit, rhetoric, etc.
1849Miss Mulock Ogilvies xxiv, Sending forth his bon⁓mots in a perfect shower of scintillations, so that his conversation became quite a pyrotechnic display. 1897‘Ian Maclaren’ (J. Watson) Bonnie Brier Bush, Dr. Old School iv. 133 This was considered to be rather a pyrotechnic display of Elspeth's superior memory than a serious statement.
B. n.
1. = pyrotechnist. rare.
1817Blackw. Mag. I. 470 Like the fiery wheel of some skilful Pyrotechnic.
2. pl. pyrotechnics.
a. = pyrotechny 1, 3.
1729G. Shelvocke Artillery iii. 169 The whole Excellence..of Pyrotechnics doth not consist in the Construction of Rockets. 1834De Quincey Autob. Sk. Wks. 1853 I. 41 All subjects..from the Thirty-nine Articles..down to pyrotechnics, legerdemain..thaumaturgy and necromancy.
b. A display of fireworks; also transf. of lightning; in quot. 1840, the juggler's trick of pretending to eat fire.
1840Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. i. Leech Folkest., He was eating fire!..the attention of the multitude was absorbed by the pyrotechnics of Mr. Merryman. 1850B. Taylor Eldorado i. (1862) 10 Broad scarlet flashes of lightning, surpassing any celestial pyrotechnics I ever witnessed. 1861N. A. Woods Pr. Wales in Canada 108 The long deferred fireworks for the people came off at last. The pyrotechnics were very fine. 1884Roe Nat. Ser. Story ix, A great black cloud..was the background for the electric pyrotechnics.
c. fig. Brilliant displays. (Cf. A. 2 b.)
1901Spectator 17 Aug. 220/1 Orchestral pyrotechnics can be infinitely more exciting. 1905Daily Chron. 16 Aug. 3/1 An Edinburgh graduate, in the period illuminated there by the kindling pyrotechnics of Professor Blackie. 1921F. Scott Fitzgerald Let. a 12 Dec. (1964) 150 The cruel Hebrew God, against whom such writers as even Mark Twain..have delivered violent pyrotechnics from time to time. 1970S. Schoenbaum Shakespeare's Lives vii. x. 686 Such pyrotechnics of rationalization must be a Baconian's envy. 1977Rolling Stone 7 Apr. 44/2 No emotional pyrotechnics for him, just calm, deathly calm.
3. A device or material which can be ignited to produce light, smoke, or noise, e.g. for purposes of display or illumination.
1919H. B. Faber Military Pyrotechnics I. 7 The art of manufacturing military pyrotechnics. 1948W. Haynes Amer. Chem. Industry IV. ix. 130 When demand shrank to peacetime uses, chiefly in matchheads and pyrotechnics.., European manufacturers..began cutting prices. 1953Kirk & Othmer Encycl. Chem. Technol. XI. 332 Commercial pyrotechnics mainly having to do with sound include cannon crackers..and trick cigars. 1957Spaceflight I. 51/2 A Fifth-of-November rocket or catherine wheel is a pyrotechnic, and modified forms of these have been used to ignite liquid propellant rockets. 1964F. G. W. & M. G. Jones Pests of Field Crops xvi. 355 Smokes are made by combusting a mixture of pesticide and a suitable pyrotechnic. 1972Materials & Technol. IV. xix. 732 The chemical reactivity of the ingredients and their particle size have very significant effects on the ignition characteristics and burning rates of pyrotechnics. |