| 释义 |
▪ I. sister, n.|ˈsɪstə(r)|
Forms: α. 1 sweostor, sweoster (swester, swæster, sw-, su-, soester); swostor, -tur; swustor, -tur, -ter; swystor, -tar, -ter, swistor, -ter. β. 1–7 suster (4 -tir, -tyr). γ. 3–4 soster (4 zoster). δ. 2– sister (4 -terre, -tre, -tur), 5, Sc. 5–6 sistir (5 -tire, 6 seister); 4 scyster, syister, 4–6 syster (4 -tre, 6 -tur), 4–5 systyr, 5–6 Sc. -tir; 4 cistir, 5 -ter, cyster, -tire, -tyr.
[Common Teut.: OE. sweoster, swuster, etc. (see above), = OFris. swester, OS. swestar (LG. swester), OHG. swester, swister (G. schwester), Goth. swistar; forms without w appear in OFris. suster, sister (WFris. sister, soster, EFris. süster, NFris. söster, sester, etc.), MDu. and MLG. suster (Du. zuster, LG. suster, süster), ON. and Icel. systir (Norw. and Sw. syster, Da. søster). Of the three ME. types, suster and soster represent OE. forms with the w absorbed, while sister appears to be from Scandinavian. The Teut. stem *swestr- stands for an original swesr-, and has cognates in OSlav. and Russ. sestra, Lith. sesů, Skr. svasā (svasr-), L. soror (:—*swesor), OIr. siur, Welsh chwair.]
I.
1. a. A female in relationship to another person or persons having the same parents. (Also applicable to female animals.)
Sometimes loosely used in the sense of half-sister, and in that of sister-in-law.
αa900O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 658, Hæfde hine Penda adrifenne..forþon he his swostor [Laud MS. swustor] anforlet. Ibid. an. 888, Sio wæs ælfredes sweostor cyninges. c925Ibid. an. 922, Þa ᵹefor æþelflæd his swystar æt Tame⁓worþiᵹe. c950Lindisf. Gosp. Luke x. 40 Ne is ðe ᵹemnise þætte soester min forleort mec [etc.]. c1000ælfric Gen. xii. 13 Seᵹe nu, ic þe bidde, þæt þu min swuster siᵹ. c1100O.E. Chron. (MS. D) an. 1067, Ða begann se cyngc..ᵹyrnan his sweostor him to wife. a1122Ibid. (Laud MS.) an. 1048, Þa..betæhte hy his swyster to Hwerwillon. Ibid. an. 1091, Eadgar..for to þam cynge..& to his swustor.
βa1122O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 604, Sæberht Ricolan sunu æðelberhtes suster. 1154Ibid. an. 1140, Eustace..nam þe kinges suster of France to wife. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 147 þo two sustres wepen for here broðres deað. c1200Ormin 6382 Þa susstress..Werenn Labaness dohhtress. c1350Will. Palerne 2643 Þat worþi mayden þat was Williams suster. c1400Mandeville (1839) xxviii. 288 Thei taken hire Doughtres and hire Sustres to here Wyfes. 1470–85Malory Arthur iii. ii. 101 By reson ye ar myn neuew, my susters sone. 1542Boorde Dyetary xxxvii. (1870) 298 He dyd kylle his wyfe, and his wyfes suster. 1562Child-Marriages 65, I have gevin her xx8; and I wilbe as good vnto my suster Katherine. 1610B. Jonson Alch. iii. iv, Gods will, my suster shall see him.
γ1275Lay. 25534 Þe fader weap a þane sone, soster o þan broþer. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 880 Morgan..of þe eldor soster was. c1320Sir Tristr. 720 Ȝour owhen soster him bare. 1390Gower Conf. II. 308 Fedra hire yonger Soster eke, A lusti Maide. Ibid., To sen hire Soster mad a queene.
δc1250Gen. & Ex. 3855 Ðor was moyses sister dead. a1300Cursor M. 2410 Þou art my sister and i þi broþer. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 2328 Þerfore y schal myn heritage Gyue þy sistres in mariage. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 51 He was cummyn off the offspryng Off hyr that eldest systir was. c1440Promp. Parv. 78/2 Cystyr, by þe faderys syde oonly, soror. c1449Pecock Repr. iii. iv. 298 That ech man ouȝte forbere ouer myche loue to..britheren and sistris. 1535Starkey Let. in England (1878) p. xx, The weyght of such maryage betwyx brother & systur. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. i. ii. 263 Her father..will not promise her to any man, Vntill the elder sister first be wed. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 579 The inheritance became divided among the sisters of the said John Tiptoft. 1665Manley Grotius' Low C. Wars 423 Prince Maurice, and his Sister, who was marryed to Count Hohenlo. 1741–2Gray Agrip. 118 Daughter, sister, wife, And mother of their Cæsars. 1794Coleridge To a Friend (Charles Lamb), I, too, a sister had, an only sister. 1821Scott Kenilw. xxix, I trust your honour will allow me to speak with my sister? 1877Tennyson Harold v. ii, There was more than sister in my kiss, And so the saints were wroth.
b. In older forms of the plural.
In OE. the plural had either the same forms as the singular, or appears as sweostra, -tru, etc. These subsequently assumed the pl. -n of weak nouns, and gave the common ME. forms sustren, sostren, sistren, etc. (cf. brethren). In general literary use these were finally discarded about 1550 in favour of the pl. in -s, which is found as early as c 1200.
αa900O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 718, Hiera swostur wærun Cuenburᵹ & Cuþburh. c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xiii. 56 Suoester [Rushw. swæster] his alle. c975Rushw. Gosp. Mark vi. 3 Ah ne swester her usih mið sindun? c1000Saxon Leechd. III. 62 Neoᵹone wæran Noðþæs sweoster. c1400Destr. Troy 8710 Miche bale hade his brether, and his blithe sister. Ibid. 10759 Myche pite was of Priam.., With sobbyng of syster, þat semly were euer. 1562Child-Marriages 65 One of my suster is maried alreadie.
βc950Lindisf. Gosp. Mark vi. 3 Ahne suoestro [c 1000 swustra, c 1160swustre] his her mið usic sint? c1100O.E. Chron. (MS. D) an. 1067, Mid his modor & his twam sweostran. [c1160Hatton Gosp. Mark iii. 35 Se is min moder & min broðer & mine swustren.] c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 435 Þat þou sum-ȝware þine sostrene do in-to ane nonnerie. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7560 His moder & is sostren tuo mid him sone he nom. 1340[see sense 5]. 1387–8T. Usk Test. Love iii. i. (Skeat) I. 93 As sustern in unitie they accorden. c1400Mandeville (1839) ix. 102 Sarra..and Melcha..weren Sustren to the seyd Lothe. c1420Chron. Vilod. 2077 Hurre sustron weptone. c1440Jacob's Well 49 Bretheryn or systerynes chylderyn arn in þe secunde degre. c1507Plumpton Corr. (Camden) 202, I recommend me to you,..and to all my brethren and sistren. 1553T. Wilson Rhet. 30 b, You have other parentes, other brethren, sisterne, and nephewes. 1580Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees, 1835) 432, I will that all the goodes be devyded equallye amongeste my Brethren and systeringe childringe.
1843–8[see 5]. a1849–[see 3 b]. 1859Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 2), Sistern, for sisters. A vulgar pronunciation sometimes heard from uneducated preachers at the West.
†c. Used to designate the mother-in-law of one's daughter. Obs.
1701Evelyn Diary 28 Mar., I went to the funeral of my sister Draper.
2. fig.
a. One who is reckoned as, or fills the place of, a sister. In mod. specific uses: (i) a (fellow) prostitute; (ii) a (fellow) feminist; (iii) among Blacks, a Black woman. sisters under the skin: see skin n. 6 j.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xii. 50 Min broðer & suoester [Rushw. swuster] & moder is [he]. c1200Ormin 15709 Weppmenn & wifmenn baþe Sinndenn till ure Laferrd Crist Full dere breþre & susstress. 1340Ayenb. 89 He is my broþer and my zoster and my moder. 1382Wyclif Prov. vii. 4 Sey to wisdam, My sister thou art. c140026 Pol. Poems 137 Thus sayde I..vnto wormes sekurly,..‘My systren all ye bene’. Ibid., I shall call hem sustres. 1604E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies v. xxiv. 394 The maidens..that day were called the Sisters of their god Vitzliputzli. 1831Scott Ct. Rob. Introd. Addr. ⁋19 What do they whisper, thou sworn sister of the Eummenides? 1847A. Harris Settlers & Convicts vi. 94 When ‘her sister’ (so they usually speak in the sisterhood of sorrow) came here, she came too. 1870Free Lance 16 Apr. 123/1 The working sisters of this great city are waking up to a sense of what they ought to do in making future provision for themselves. 1889Girl's Own Paper 28 Sept. 824/3 A better day..has dawned..on our sisters, the working girls of this country. 1899‘J. Flynt’ Tramping i. iv. 94 If he can only have some outcast woman, or ‘sister’, as he calls her..he is a comparatively happy fellow. 1912H. Ellis Task of Social Hygiene iii. 104 ‘La femme libre’..must be a woman of reflection and intellect who, having meditated on the fate of her ‘sisters’..shall give forth the confession of her sex..in such a manner as to furnish the indispensable elements for formulating the rights and duties of woman. 1912in C. McKay Songs of Jamaica 16 Me watch de vine dem grow, S'er t'row dung a de root. 1926L. Hughes Weary Blues 37, I got a railroad ticket, Pack my trunk and ride. Sing 'em sister! Got a railroad ticket, Pack my trunk and ride. 1935Z. N. Hurston Mules & Men (1970) i. vii. 164 De cow went bustin' on down de back-road wid de ole man till they met a sister he knowed. 1940J. Crad Traders in Women v. 130 Then she left her ‘selling position’ and it was immediately occupied by one of her ‘sisters’. 1944Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. ii. 36 Sister, n., a woman. W. N[orth] C[arolina]. 1968Ramparts May 12 Our sisters in Vietnam have taught us many lessons. 1973Black World June 90/2 Sister Williams breaks her book down into three major parts. 1976R. B. Parker Promised Land xix. 110 When the sisters call you... Talk to them of obligation and sororal affiliation. 1977C. McFadden Serial (1978) iii. 13/1 The sisters weren't invariably as supportive as she'd hoped they'd be. 1979Guardian 5 May 12/2 Becoming Britain's first woman Prime Minister is one [achievement], whatever the sisters may say, that can only change perceptions of what women can aspire to.
b. A female holding a similar position to another; a fellow-queen, etc.
1599Shakes. Hen. V, v. ii. 2 Vnto our brother France, and to our Sister, Health and faire time of day. 1821Scott Kenilw. xvii, If..it was needful to continue some restraint on the person of her unhappy sister of Scotland.
3. a. A female member of a religious order, society, or gild; spec. a nun.
Also with special designations as Sister(s) of Charity, Sister of Mercy, etc.
(a)c900tr. Baeda's Hist. iv. xxiii. (1890) 340 Sumu haliᵹu nunne..wæs..restende in sweostra slæperne. Ibid., Þa ᵹeseah heo oðere sweostor ymb heo restende. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 54 Þat vche mon schulde seye, Ich were suster of [ȝour] house. c1380Antecrist in Todd Three Treat. Wyclif (1851) 125 But take we heede to..nunnes and sustris & see hou þei folowen Crist for þe more partie. 1389in Eng. Gilds (1870) 3 To noriche more loue bytwene þe bretheren and sustren of þe bretherhede. c1440Alph. Tales 174 A sister of þe fraternitie of Oegniez. 1482in Eng. Hist. Rev. XXV. 122 Y⊇ kepar of oure y⊇ sistrenes librarie. 1530Test. Ebor. (Surtees) VI. 16, I bequeith..to the priorisse of Thikhid and hir systers iijs. 1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 205 The Sisteris gray, befoir this day, Did crune within thair cloister. 1603Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. iv. 18 One Isabell, a Sister. c1660in J. Morris Troubles Our Cath. Forefathers (1872) vi. 257 For Subprioress she appointed Sister Anne Tremaine, one of our old Sisters that came from St. Ursula's. 1796M. Robinson Angelina III. 24 The grey sisters were endowed with five hundred marks an hour, to say masses. 1816Southey Poet's Pilgr. Proem xvi, Behold the black Beguine, the Sister grey. 1844Mem. Babylonian Princess II. 16 Mass being concluded, each sister departs to pursue her particular employment. 1861M. Arnold Pop. Educ. France 112 They regard them..with far less indulgence than the schools of the Sisters.
(b)1841Penny Cycl. XXI. 181/2 There are a Roman Catholic church..and an establishment of the Sisters of Charity. 1871Carlyle in Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 180 We had sick-nurses..Catholic ‘Sisters of Mercy’. 1898C. Bell tr. Huysmans' Cathedral viii. 145 Sisters of the Visitation, Sisters of Providence, Sisters of Good Comfort,..all lived in hives close round Chartres.
b. A female fellow-member of the Christian Church as a whole, or of some body or association within this.
In quot. 1607 used allusively in bad sense. For the vocative use, which appears earlier, see 5.
c1449Pecock Repr. i. xiii. 63 Therbi [thou] enhauncidist thi silf aboue thi Cristen britheren and sistren. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 70 Wyllynge in his herte euery persone as his brother or syster in god, to haue the same graces and glory. 1533More Apol. iv. Wks. 849/2 Now was this word taken vp, & walked about abrode among the brethren & sistern. 1577Fulke Answ. True Christian 23 Our deare brethren and sistern begotten in Iesu Christ by the gospell. 1607Dekker & Webster Westw. Hoe ii. ii. Wks. 1873 II. 307 The Seruing-man [has] his Punke, the student his Nun in white Fryers, the Puritan his Sister. 1738Wesley Wks. (1872) I. 107 The rest of the day we spent with all the brethren and sisters. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xxix, This is one of the precious sisters, and we'll take her word. a1849H. Coleridge Ess. (1851) I. 375 We united brethren and sisteren of the three kingdoms. 1861N. A. Woods Tour Pr. Wales in Canada 261 The cortège had to be eked out with the Temperance Brethren and Sistren.
†c. sisters of the bank, prostitutes. Obs.
1550Crowley Inform. & Petit. 472 Immodeste and wanton gyrles haue hereby ben made sisters of the Banck (the stumbling stock of all frayle youth).
d. A member of a body of nurses; also spec. a head-nurse having charge of a ward in an infirmary or hospital. Also, prefixed as a title to the name of a nurse. Sister Dora [f. the name of the celebrated nurse Dorothy (‘Dora’) Pattison, 1832–78], a type of nurse's cap (see quot. 1971).
1860[see nursing vbl. n. 1 b]. 1873J. O. Brookfield Not a Heroine II. 158 Two ‘Nursing Sisters’, from an excellent institution,..took turns day and night to attend upon [him]. 1896Allbutt's Syst. Med. I. 424 The Matron..who is guided by the reports of the ‘sisters’ or ‘charge-nurses’. 1924‘R. Hall’ Unlit Lamp xlvi. 314, I made swabs at the Town Hall at Seabourne... I had a Sister Dora arrangement on my head; we all had, it made us look important. Some of the women wore aprons with large red crosses on their bibs. 1949N. Mitford Love in Cold Climate ii. viii. 276 Doesn't it seem funny to have talcum powder and..boring old Sister waiting..for somebody who doesn't exist? 1971J. Manton Sister Dora xvi. 266 [Dora Pattison] made herself up a new cap, still tied with a butterfly bow and streamers under the chin but folded smoothly back over her dark hair. It was to be known to generations of nurses as ‘a Sister Dora’. 1976C. Storr Unnatural Fathers iii. 34 Kind Sister Tucker..faithful in her professional code of discretion, bustled upstairs..to attend to her interesting patients. 1978Church Times 29 Dec. 11/3 The little white cap worn by nurses everywhere became known within the profession as ‘a Sister Dora’. 1979‘C. Aird’ Some die Eloquent i. 11 When Sister Casualty..had trouble-makers in her patch she would ring down to the police station. Ibid. iii. 37 Sister Stork's on the other phone to the delivery ward.
4. a. Used to designate qualities, conditions, etc., in relation to each other or to some kindred thing.
a1200Vices & Virtues 29 All ðat hire suster, ðe rihte ȝeleaue, hire seiȝeð, all hie [sc. hope] hit fastliche hopeð. c1230Hali Meid. 17 Ah wel is him þat folheð wit godes dohter for ha halt wið meidenhad þat is hire suster. a1300Cursor M. 9547 Þe first o þam was cald merci,..Pees þe feirth sister hight. 1399Langl. P. Pl. C. xii. 98 Ich shal þe kenne to clergie,..hue is sybbe to þe seuen ars and also my soster. 1443Lydg. in Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 212 In thes seven sustryn was no divisioun; Cheef of ther consayl was Humilitas. 1474Caxton Chesse iii. vi. (1883) 133 Virginite whiche is suster of angellis. 1599Shakes. etc. Pass. Pilgr. 104 If music and sweet poetry agree,..the sister and the brother. 1604N. D. 3rd Pt. Three Conversions Eng. 179 Vayne glory..with her other sisters, inobedience, boasting, &c. 1667Milton P.L. vii. 10 Thou with Eternal wisdom didst converse, Wisdom thy Sister. 1817Shelley Rev. Islam v. v, Science, and her sister Poesy, Shall clothe in light the..cities of the free! 1873Hamerton Intell. Life ii. ii. (1876) 58 Inspiration decidedly the sister of daily labor.
b. Applied to mythological or imaginary beings; esp. the (fatal or three) sisters, the Fates or Parcæ.
c1374Chaucer Troylus iii. 733 O fatale sustrin! which, or eny clothe Me shapyn was, my destyne me sponne. c1384― H. Fame iii. 1401 The myghty Muse..Caliope, And hir eighte sustren eke. 1402Lydg. Compl. Bl. Knt. 489 Or I was born, my desteny was sponne By Parcas sustren, to slee me, if they conne. c1449Pecock Repr. ii. iv. 155 This opinioun, that iij. sistris (whiche ben spiritis) comen to the cradilis of infantis, forto sette to the babe what schal bifalle to him. c1475Henryson Orpheus & Eurydice 388 Scho send hym doun vnto the sisteris thre. 1559Mirr. Mag. (1563) B ij, Whose fatall threde false fortune nedes would reele, Ere it were twisted by the susters thre. 1592Lodge Euphues Shadow (Hunterian Club) 79, I should be confirmed..euen to ouercome the insupportable trauailes of the sisters. 1605Shakes. Macb. i. v. 8 These weyward Sisters saluted me, and referr'd me to the comming on of time. 1637Milton Lycidas 15 Begin then, Sisters of the sacred well. 1744Akenside Pleas. Imag. ii. 59 The harmonious Muse And her persuasive sisters. 1859Habits of Gd. Society v. 194 Should the weird sisters, in a fit of bad temper [etc.]. 1871R. Ellis Catullus lxiv. 325 Hark on a joyous day what prophet-story the sisters Open surely to thee.
5. In the vocative, as a mode of address, chiefly in transferred senses. Also colloq. as a mode of address to an unrelated woman, esp. one whose name is not known.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 5 Leoue broðre and sustre ȝe hi-hered hu [etc.]. a1225Ancr. R. 68 Þis nis nout uor ou, leoue sustren, iseid ne uor oðer swuche. 1340Ayenb. 265 Sleȝþe zayþ..‘Now broþren and zostren y-hyreþ my red and yueþ youre’. 1451J. Capgrave Life St. Aug. 31 Þan schuld þei pley, as Wiclif disciples played, ‘Sistir me nedith’. c1545Coverdale Church in Denmark Wks. (Parker Soc.) I. 469 My right dear and entirely beloved brethren and sistern in Jesu Christ. 1584R. Scot Discov. Witchcr. xii. vii. (1886) 181 Thou shalt See sister underneath The grounde with roring gape. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. v. 75 Will you goe Sister? Shepheard ply her hard. 1603Dekker Batcheler's Banq. Wks. (Grosart) I. 202 Sister, good morrow, what newes I pray? 1761Gray Fatal Sisters 51 Sisters, weave the web of death. 1764― J.T. 5 ‘Lord! sister,’ says Physic to Law. 1780Mirror No. 98, And who taught you drinking songs, sister Juddy? 1843R. Carlton New Purchase I. 203 Brethurn and sisturn, it's a powerful great work, this here preaching of the gospul. 1848in Century Mag. (1882) Apr. 886 Pray for me, brethren! pray for me, sisteren. 1906H. Green At Actors' Boarding House 56 He got up and walked over to her bench. ‘You up agin it too, sister?’ he said, gently. 1926E. O'Neill Great God Brown i. iii. 40 Blessed are the pitiful, Sister! 1929W. Faulkner Sartoris ii. iii. 97 A voice in the other room boomed in rich rolling waves ‘Mawnin', sister,’ it said. 1934‘E. M. Delafield’ Provincial Lady in Amer. 60 Shouted at by a policeman who tells her: Put your lights on, sister! 1943Amer. Speech XVIII. 88 [New Zealand English] Sister is also used for a girl as a term of address. It is not..a recent adoption from American films, but a relic of the whaling slang of a century ago. 1944M. Laski Love on Supertax xi. 103 Just waiting for your boy friend, duckie..? You want the best, we got 'em, eh, sister? 1953H. Miller Plexus (1963) iii. 127 ‘He doesn't need advice,’ she replied. ‘He knows what he's doing.’ ‘O.K. sister, have it your way then!’ With this he turned abruptly to me again. 1976‘R. Boyle’ Cry Rape i. 6 Come on, sister... Why won't you stay and talk to me? I'm a nice guy.
6. pl. The seven chief stars in the constellation of the Great Bear. See also seven sisters.
c1450J. Metham Wks. (E.E.T.S.) 10/266 Hys bryght plowgh of sterrys, and eke the systyrrys at ther stent, The quyche he namyd the sterrys seuyn.
7. a. A thing having close kinship or relationship to another.
1613Dekker Strange Horse Race Wks. (Grosart) III. 327 There should you behold a Mine of Tynne, (sister to Siluer). 1622Bonoeil Art of Making Silke Title-p, The two renowned and most hopefull Sisters, Virginia, and the Summer-Ilands. 1736Gray Statius i. 54 The sun's pale sister, drawn by magic strain. 1752Young Brothers i. i, The days of life are sisters. 1789J. Williams Min. Kingd. I. 176, I am really concerned for the metropolis and her younger sisters. 1812Byron Ch. Har. i. xxxii, Where Lusitania and her Sister meet, Deem ye what bounds the rival realms divide? 1867J. L. Porter Giant Cities of Bashan 155 Olivet overtopping its sister [Mt. Moriah] three hundred feet. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 49 Sparta..in laws and institutions is the sister of Crete.
†b. pl. The strings of a staircase. Obs.—1
1518Lett. & P. Hen. VIII, II. ii. 1371 A block to set the systers of the stairs upon, 3 ft. long, 18 inches broad, 10 inches thick.
c. One of the cheeks of a cider-press.
1813T. Rudge Agric. Surv. Glouc. 225 The cheeks, or ‘sisters’, are two strong upright pieces of oak, kept to their places by being let into the ground. 1825J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 291 An improved cider-press..; B B the cheeks or sisters.
d. (See quot.)
1892Pall Mall G. 18 Feb. 1/3 The term ‘sister’ used for the stool on which the lace-makers place their pillows.
8. ellipt. for sister-line (see 10 b), -block.
1653R. Sanders Physiogn. 2 The same Signs, with the Sisters relating to the Lines. 1834Marryat P. Simple (1863) 29 ‘What blocks have we below—not on charge?’ ‘Let me see, sir, I've one sister, t'other we split in half the other day.’
II. attrib. and Comb.
9. The old uninflected genitive remained in common use down to the 16th cent. (latterly only in Sc.) in terms of relationship, esp. sister son; rarely in other uses, as sister bed, sister part.Now Obs. exc. arch. in sister-son.
(a)835Charter in O.E. Texts 448 Ðonne ann ic his minra swæstar suna. c900tr. Baeda's Hist. iv. xvi. [xviii.] (1890) 308 Se wæs his sweostor sunu. c1100O.E. Chron. (MS. D) an. 1054, His sunu Osbarn & his sweostor sunu Sihward. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 3525 King arthures soster sone þe king howel was. a1300Cursor M. 21130 Iacob..was our lauerd sistur sun. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 557 Modreyt his systir son him slew. 14..Lat.-Eng. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 575 Consobrini, systersones. 1480J. Warkworth Chron. (Camden) 3 One fayre ladye, suster-doughtere to the Kynge of Fraunce. 1483Cath. Angl. 341/1 A Syster husbande, sororius. 1529Rastell Pastyme (1811) 35 Albert..was slayne by his syster sonne. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 354 The empreouris sister douchtaris. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. 10 Dauid of Abirnethie, his sistir sone. 1680in Cloud of Witnesses (1871) 85 The Earl of Mar's mother and I being sister-bairns. 1955J. R. R. Tolkien Return of King vi. 255 Fréalaf, Helm's sister-son. a1973― Silmarillion (1977) xvi. 136 The King..looked with liking upon Maeglin his sister-son.
(b)c1440Alph. Tales 174 Sho purseyvid & saw a multitude of fendis rumyand abowte hur sister bed. 1793Statist. Acc. Scotl. VII. 584 The son got two merks, and the daughter one; hence the sister part, a common proverb in Shetland to this day.
10. Appositively, in the sense of ‘fellow’:
a. With designations of persons (or animals).
1687T. Brown Saints in Uproar Wks. 1730 I. 77 The kingdom..is ten times as populous as when the legend supposes you and your sister-trollops to have lived there. 1702Addison Dial. Medals Wks. 1766 III. 29 The Sister-Graces hand in hand Conjoin'd by love's eternal band. 1708Wycherley Let. to Pope 13 May, Her artful innocence..will..make her sister rivals of this age blush for spite, if not for shame. 1775A. Adams in Fam. Lett. (1876) 89 Spending the day with my namesake and sister delegate. a1786Burns Address to Unco Guid in Poems (1968) I. 53 Then gently scan your brother Man, Still gentler sister Woman. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xv, With my sister-nymphs I sport. 1820Shelley Prometh. Unb. iii. iii, To me Shall they become like sister-antelopes. 1839–54Bailey Festus 226 While six sister goddesses mazily tread The bright fields of air. 1856Dickens Dorrit (1857) xxvii. 243 A woman, who..has a perverted delight in making a sister-woman as wretched as she is. 1862Queen Victoria in Ld. R. Gower Rec. & Rem. (1903) 69 Pray express to all these kind sister widows the deep and heartfelt gratitude of their widowed Queen. 1939N. Marsh Overture to Death vii. 76, I have judged my sister-woman in my heart and condemned her.
b. With names of things.
1641Milton Reform. ii, We must..come from Schism to Unity with our neighbour reform'd Sister-Churches. 1653R. Sanders Physiogn. 57 When the sister line of the line of Life is short. 1680C. Ness Church Hist. 92 Those two sister-sins, adultery and idolatry. 1725Pope Odyss. v. 619 Alike their leaves, but not alike they smil'd With sister-fruits. 1727–46Thomson Summer 1410 The Sister-Hills that skirt her plain. 1777Rec. Early Hist. Boston (1887) XVIII. 285 We are sure, that very large, & much wanted Supplies, the Property of this State & expected here, are now ordered into some of the Sister States. 1787G. White Selborne ix, Wolmer, with her sister forest Ayles Holt. 1808Scott Marm. i. Introd. 22 Russet bare Are now the sister-heights of Yair. 1842Tennyson Day-Dream 4 Dreaming on your damask cheek, The dewy sister-eyelids lay. 1870W. Thornbury Tour rd. Eng. II. xx. 58 Nor did he forget the sister-seat of learning,..Oxford. 1888Bryce Amer. Commw. II. xlii. 114 Each State recognises the judgments of the courts of a sister State.
c. In collocations tending towards specialized uses, as sister art, sister dialect, sister island, sister isle, sister kingdom, sister language, sister science, sister ship, sister soul, sister tongue, sister university, or the plurals of these.
1695Dryden Parallel Poetry & Painting Ess. (ed. Ker) II. 135 At this time..Poetry is better practised than her *sister-art. 1768W. Gilpin Ess. Prints (1781) 54 The art of scraping mezzotintos is greatly more improved than either of its sister-arts. 1894Parry Stud. Gt. Composers, Mendelssohn 266 He entered fully into the enjoyment of the numberless masterpieces of the sister art.
c1645Howell Lett. ii. lix. (1892) 475 The *sister-dialects of the Italian, Spanish, and French. 1844Proc. Philol. Soc. I. 217 Similar forms may be found in the sister-dialects.
1816Coleridge Lay Serm. (Bohn) 324 The prospective measures in agitation respecting our *sister island. 1838Arnold Hist. Rome I. 427 The three sister islands of Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. 1936Discovery June 187/1 The waganga, who specialise in pepo-exorcism, go through a special training. The art is at its highest in Pemba, the sister-island of Zanzibar.
1838T. Langton in H. H. Langton Gentlewoman in Upper Canada (1950) 58 William Jones is from the *sister isle. 1939Joyce Finnegans Wake 51 A native of the sisterisle..by his brogue.
1779Mirror No. 30, Our frequent communication with the metropolis of our *sister kingdom [sc. England]. 1826W. Cobbett Rur. Rides (1885) II. 246 The Irish Bible-man,..whose family are so very well known in the most unfortunate sister-kingdom. 1846Prescott Ferd. & Isab. I. Introd. 29 The sister kingdom of Aragon.
1748Hartley Observ. Man i. iii. §1. 303 The Greek and Latin Tongues I consider as *Sister-Languages. 1842Prichard Nat. Hist. Man 246 Other great nations in India whose idioms are sister languages of the people of Tamul.
1901W. James Mem. & Stud. (1911) vii. 169 Whether his name [sc. F. Myers'] will have in psychology as honorable a place as their names [sc. Cuvier and Agassiz's] have gained in the *sister-science, will depend on whether future inquirers shall adopt or reject his theories.
1840Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. III. 325/2 The ‘Vernon’, a *sister ship.., made the voyage from Calcutta to Spithead..in 86 days. 1886Engineering 12 Mar., The Edinburgh, a sister ship to the Colossus. 1966N. Nicolson in Diaries & Lett. H. Nicolson (1966) 56 The airship, R.101, was contracted by the Government in 1925 as a sister-ship to R.100. 1974E. R. H. Ivamy Marine Insurance (ed. 2) xv. 216 This clause is known as the ‘sister ship’ clause and was introduced to state the legal position where two ships belonging to the same owner come into collision.
1897J. Waring tr. Balzac's Lily of Valley 74 Feeling now that we were twins of the same nurture, she could not conceive of semi-confidences between *sister souls that had drunk of the same spring. 1933Times Lit. Suppl. 16 Nov. 792/2 The influence of the visiting Cousin Nellie, who finds a sister-soul in the comfortable person of an Aug [sc. August visitor] of her own age.
1843Proc. Philol. Soc. I. 143 A *sister-tongue to those of which the Hebrew is the oldest literary type.
1679Fell in Gutch Coll. Cur. I. 270 If we are justified, the advantage will extend to our *Sister University. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 378 The emulation of the sister University was moved.
d. In scientific or technical terms, as sister-block, -cell (see quots.); sister chromatid Biol., each of a pair of chromatids derived from a common parent chromosome; sister-hook, -keelson (see quots.).
1794Rigging & Seamanship 156 *Sister-blocks are made of ash, similar to two single blocks, and are turned out of a solid piece,..one above the other. c1860H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 23 Take it..through the upper sheave of the sister block. 1863A. Young Naut. Dict. (ed. 2) 352 Sister-blocks, blocks or bull's-eyes seized between the top⁓mast shrouds, for the topsail lifts and reef tackles to lead through.
1882Vines Sachs' Bot. 920 A fertile sexual union of *sister-cells takes place regularly. 1887Bentley Man. Bot. (ed. 5) 788 By the division of an epidermal cell (the mother-cell) by a partition which extends across and divides the two daughter- or sister-cells.
1942Jrnl. Genetics XLIII. 195 A single chromatid may be broken and fail to rejoin, the chromatid fragment almost always remaining paired to its *sister chromatid. 1975Nature 13 Nov. 122/1 Techniques have been developed which distinguish between sister chromatids without using radioisotopes and autoradiography.
1875Knight Dict. Mech. 2191/2 *Sister hook, a double hook in which the shanks of the respective portions form mousings for the fellow portions. 1886R. C. Leslie Sea-painter's Log iv. 74 Un⁓knotted jibsheets fly out, sister-hooks rattle loose.
1846A. Young Naut. Dict. 176 *Sister keelsons are additional keelsons laid on the floors, one on each side of the main keelson, to afford additional strength and stability, especially to prevent the ship sagging by the weight of the masts. 1869E. J. Reed Ship-build. ii. 45 The forms of keelsons and sister-keelsons used in iron shipbuilding have been almost as various as the forms of keels.
11. Attrib., in sister-band, sister-love, sister-train, sister-triad, sister-twin; sister act (see quot. 1952); sister-fold, a sisterly embrace (poet.); † sister-right, a right of sisterhood; sister tutor, a nursing sister who teaches trainee nurses; sister-wife, a wife who is also the sister of her husband.
1908G. V. Hobart Go to It 56 Their names were Millie and Tillie, and they..did a *sister act. 1908Variety 18 Apr. 4/4 There may be a number of new ‘sister’ acts in vaudeville next season. 1952W. Granville Dict. Theatrical Terms 163 Sister act, a variety act performed by two or more sisters; e.g. the famous Dolly Sisters, the singing Green Sisters of the stage and radio.
1786Burns O Thou dread Pow'r, The beauteous, seraph *Sister-band. 1846C. G. Prowett Prometh. Bound 26 From out our sister-band thou'dst won thy bride.
1813Scott Trierm. iii. xxx, These maids enlink'd in *sister-fold.
1801Southey Thalaba iii. xxv, Was it *sister-love For which the silver rings Round her smooth ankles and her tawny arms, Shone daily brighten'd?
1467in Ripon Ch. Acts (Surtees) 233 De et super unum *suster right in Collegio S. Trinitatis Pontefract.
1743Francis tr. Hor., Odes iv. vii. 5 The elder Grace, with her fair *sister-Train, In naked Beauty dances o'er the Plain.
1871B. Taylor Faust ii. iii. (1875) II. 144 In our new *sister-triad what a beauty!
1968R. Rendell Secret House of Death vi. 62 An even temperature, that's one thing my *sister tutor always impressed on me. 1971P. D. James Shroud for Nightingale iv. 119 I'm not a qualified Sister Tutor. I was only deputizing.
1611Cotgr., Iumelle, a female twin, or *sister twin. 1818Shelley Rev. Islam vii. xxii. 3 We, on the earth, like sister twins lay down.
1743Francis tr. Hor., Odes iii. iii. 64 My Grecians shall victorious prove, By me led on to War, the *Sister-Wife of Jove. a1843Southey Comm.-pl. Bk. (1851) IV. 4 Mango Capac and Mama Oella his sister-wife. 1853H. N. Humphreys Coin-coll. Man. x. 118 Ptolemy VII married Cleopatra the sister-wife of his predecessor.
Add:[2.] c. Used by homosexual men to denote a fellow homosexual, esp. one who is a friend rather than a lover; a male homosexual. slang (orig. U.S.).
1941G. Legman Lang. of Homosexuality in G. W. Henry Sex Variants II. App. vii. 1176 Sister in distress, a homosexual male in trouble, usually with the police. 1972B. Rodgers Queens' Vernacular 181 A sister is sexually neutral with his comrades; he is a chum, not a lover. Sisters are in the same business, but only as competition. 1977Gay News 24 Mar. 33/3 A lot of your letters mention views about sister-gays. 1986Penrose & Freeman Conspiracy of Silence (1987) 51 Most of their mutual gay friends assumed that they had begun as lovers and then, in the parlance of the homosexual world, become sisters.
▪ II. ˈsister, v.
[f. prec.]
1. trans. To stand to (a person or thing) in the relationship of a sister or sisters. Chiefly fig.
1608Shakes. Per. v. Prol. 7 Her art sisters the natural roses. 1748Richardson Clarissa (1811) VI. 407 Whose misfortune [is] to be brother'd and sister'd by a couple of creatures, who are not able to comprehend her excellencies. 1854S. Dobell Balder xxiv. 158 Seven snowdrops Sister the pleiads.
2. To call (one) sister; to address as a sister.
1663Killigrew Parson's Wedding ii. iii, You have got one of the best hiders of such a business in the Town; Lord, how he would Sister you at a Play! 1753–4Richardson Grandison (1812) III. 251 How artfully..he reminds her of the brotherly character which he passes under to her. How officiously he sisters her! 1834M. Edgeworth Helen xxxv, Think what it must be..to be ‘dear sistered’ by such bodies as these in public.
3. To treat in a sisterly manner.
1871Mrs. Whitney Real Folks xiv, She could be mothered and sistered, as girls ought to be.
Hence ˈsistering vbl. n. (in sense 2).
1818Southey Lett. (1856) III. 97 By..such brothering and sistering he kept up his influence among his people. |