| 释义 |
▪ I. slight
obs. f. sleight n.1 and a.
▪ II. slight, n.|slaɪt|
Also 6–7 sleight.
[f. slight a. and v.]
†1. A very small amount or weight; a small matter, a trifle. Obs.
1549–62Sternhold & H. Ps. lxii. 9 The sonnes of men deceitfull are, on ballaunce but a sleight. 1601Sir W. Cornwallis Ess. ii. xxix. (1631) 35 No lawes being so excellent as those that..being slights produce the weightiest and best effects. 1647H. More Poems 130 The same sleights By turns do urge them both in their descents and heights. 1678Moxon Mech. Exerc. iv. 66 Yet it is but a sleight to those Practice hath inur'd the Hand to.
†b. In phr. to make a (etc.) slight (of). Cf. slight a. 5 d. Obs.
c1619R. Jones Serm. Resurrection (1659) 11 His Disciples were..such tall fellows with their weapons, that they made it but a sleight either to withstand or assault a whole multitude. 1704J. Pitts Acc. Moham. ix. (1738) 190 He made a slight of that. 1730Burdon Pocket Farrier 38 There is a Lameness..; Our Farriers make great Slight of it.
2. Display of contemptuous indifference or disregard; supercilious treatment or reception of a person, etc.; small respect for one.
1701Penn in Pennsylv. Hist. Soc. Mem. IX. 48 Pray don't hurt him by an appearance of neglect, less of slight. 1740–1Richardson Pamela IV. 268, I don't care that such a Proposal should be received with undue Slight. 1841D'Israeli Amen. Lit. (1867) 359 The subjects he has written on..incurred the slight of the cavillers of his day. 1867Howells Ital. Journ. 250 Treating him with good⁓natured slight. 1897― Landlord at Lion's Head 374 He knew too well his mother's slight for Whitwell to suppose that he could have influenced her.
3. An instance of slighting or being slighted.
1719D'Urfey Pills (1872) V. 57 This Slight bred sad domestic Strife. 1780Mirror No. 91, We see daily examples of men..who meet with slights where they demand respect. 1825Scott Jrnl. 23 Dec., He was kindly treated, but..suspected slights..where no such thing was meant. 1856Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. iii. 267 They revenged the studied slight which had been passed by Henry on themselves. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 123 He could hardly have passed upon them a more unmeaning slight.
▪ III. slight, a. and adv.|slaɪt|
Forms: α. 4 sliȝt, slyȝt, 4– slight (6 slighte), 7 slite; Sc. 6 slycht, slichte, 6– slicht. β. 4 sleȝt, 5 sleiȝte; 4–5 sleght, 4–7 sleight.
[ME. (orig. northern) slight, sleght, ad. OScand. *sleht- (ON. sléttr, Icel. sléttur, Norw. slett; Sw. slät, Da. slet), = OE. *sliht (only in eorðslihtes adv.), OFris. sliucht (WFris. sljucht), OS. sliht, MDu. and MLG. slecht, slicht (Du. slecht, LG. slicht, slecht), OHG. and MHG. sleht (G. schlecht, schlicht), Goth. slaihts; the relations of the stem are uncertain.]
A. adj.
1. Smooth; glossy; sleek. Obs. exc. dial.
a1300Cursor M. 4562 Me thoght..Þai i com in a medu slight. c1400Destr. Troy 3063 The slote of hir slegh brest sleght for to showe, As any cristall clere. 1483Cath. Angl. 344/1 A Sleght stone, lamina, licinitorium. 1530Palsgr. 324/1 Sleight or smothe, alis. 1535Coverdale 1 Sam. xvii. 40 He..chose fyue slighte stones out of the ryuer. 1596Harington Metam. Ajax 4 The contentments;..if we catch them they proue but like Eeles, sleight and slipperie. 1615Markham Eng. Housew. 33 Vpon the same place rubbe a sleight stone, and then with it sleight all the swelling. 1866T. Edmondston Shetl. & Orkn. Gloss. 108 Slight, smooth, unruffled, applied to the sea. 1868Atkinson Cleveland Gloss. 465. 1892 M. C. F. Morris Yorksh. Folk-Talk 372.
fig.a1300Cursor M. 26582 Noght wit wordes fayr and slight Agh þou for to plane þi plight.
2. Slender, slim, thin; of a small and slender form or build.
13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 190 Þat gracios gay..So smoþe, so smal, so seme[ly] slyȝt. c1400Rom. Rose 7257 Beggers..With sleight [MS. sleight] and pale faces lene. 1578Lyte Dodoens 28 The roote is sleight or single. 1683Brit. Spec. 46 They had only little Skiffs, the Keels and Footstocks whereof were made of slight Timber. 1810Scott Lady of L. i. xviii, E'en the slight hare-bell raised its head. 1849C. Brontë Shirley xxviii, Some fine slight fingers have a wondrous knack at pulverizing a man's brittle pride. 1877Mrs. Forrester Mignon I. 10 A slight dark girl is singing an old English Ballad.
b. slight falcon = falcon-gentle.
1591Fletcher Russe Commw. (Hakl.) 14 They have.. great store of hawkes, the eagle, the gerfaulcon, the slight-faulcon, the goshawke. 1615Latham Falconry (1633) 17 Although the Faulcons gentle, or slight Faulcons, are by nature all of one kind. 1725Fam. Dict. s.v. Hawk, The Long-wing'd, which last Hawks are the Faulcon or Slight-Faulcon. 1828Sebright Obs. Hawking 3 The slight falcon..and the goshawk..are the two species generally used in falconry.
3. Of light, thin, or poor texture or material; not good, strong, or substantial; rather flimsy or weak.
1393–4Rolls of Parlt. III. 322/2 [Dont les Leyns cressantz es ditz Countees sont unes maneres des Leyns appellez] sleght wolle. 1497Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 242, xxxv boltes of Sleght Canvas price of euery bolte xs. 1505Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. III. 80 Ane cheseb of rede chamlot to the Gray Freris of Air, with cors of slicht gold. 1558in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 17 Howe many maskes, and whether riche or slite. 1594Nashe Unfort. Trav. 18 He that could make a garment slightest and thinnest carried it away. 1601R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. 145 The soile of the countrey for the most parte is of a sleight sandie moulde. 1663Gerbier Counsel 91 For which price, but very slight work hath been furnished. 1790Bruce Source Nile I. 105 This slight structure of private buildings seems to be the reason so few ruins are found. 1807G. Chalmers Caledonia i. ii. I. 69 Their infantry were..armed..with slight shields, short spears, and handy daggers.
b. Lacking in solid or substantial qualities.
1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iii. xi. 90 b, The Turks do content themselues with slight meates and easily dressed. 1597Morley Introd. Mus. 180 The slightest kind of musick..are the vinate or drincking songes. 1603Drayton Odes i. 86 To those that with despight Shall terme these Numbers slight Tell them their Judgement's blind. 1653H. More Antid. Ath. iii. xi. §3 Slight Rhetorications, no sound Arguments. a1715Burnet Own Time iii. (1724) I. 414 He has published many books,..but all full of faults; for he was a slight and superficial man. 1736Butler Anal. ii. v. Wks. 1874 I. 211 This may be but a slight ground to raise a positive opinion upon. 1823Scott Quentin D. Introd., Every species of author-craft, slighter than that which compounds a folio volume of law or of divinity. 1886Manch. Exam. 3 Nov. 3/3 Fiction is represented by a good but rather slight story.
†c. Foolish, unwise. Obs.—1
1663Butler Hud. i. i. 775 But no Beast ever was so slight, For Man, as for his God, to fight.
4. Of persons:
†a. Of little worth or account; mean, low; humble in position. Obs.
c1460Towneley Myst. xvi. 235 Hard I neuer..that a knafe so sleght Shuld com..and refe me my right. 1586Lupton Notable Things (1675) 271 It would be a disparagement to him and to her to marry such a sleight fellow. 1588Reg. Privy Council Scot. IV. 268 Ane grite nowmer of slicht men and invyous personis. 1651Weldon Crt. K. Chas. I, 206 Otherwise it had been impossible so many grave Judges should have been over-ruled by such a slight and triviall fellow. a1700Evelyn Diary 8 Apr. 1685, Very meane and slight persons (some of them gentlemen's servants, clearkes, and persons neither of reputation nor interest).
†b. Unworthy of confidence or trust. Obs.—1
1607Tourneur Rev. Trag. iv. i, He that knows great men's secrets, and proves slight, That man ne'er lives to see his beard turn white.
†c. Loose in morals. Obs.— 1
1685Caldwell Papers (Maitl. Cl.) I. 159, I having..been suspicious of her being a slight person, would goe into no room with her.
5. Small in amount, quantity, degree, etc.
1530Palsgr. Introd. p. xvi, For the same cause, they gyve somtyme unto theyr consonantes but a sleight and remisshe sounde. 1588Lambarde Eirenarcha iii. iv. 368 By a sleight view and rehearsall of the most part. 1601Bp. W. Barlow Serm. Paul's Cross 48 That sleight feares make women shrike. 1663S. Patrick Parab. Pilgrim x. (1687) 58 If he knew that he conceived so much joy from such slight appearances and shadows of comfort. 1726Gay in Swift's Wks. (1841) II. 591, I have been very much out of order with a slight fever. 1746Francis tr. Horace, Epist. ii. i. 14 Their Toils could raise But slight Returns of Gratitude and Praise. 1815J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 111 The effect is very slight, and at thirty feet it would probably be altogether imperceptible. 1857Miller Elem. Chem., Org. ix. 581 It has also a slight, peculiar, but not unpleasant odour. 1871C. Davies Metric Syst. iii. 177 A slight attention will give thirds, sixths, and twelfths.
b. Unimportant, trifling.
a1548Hall Chron., Edw. V, 17, I doubt not some man wyl thynke this woman to be to slight to be written of emong graue and weyghtie matters. Ibid., Hen. VIII, 18 The lordes of Englande..made report to their capitain accordyng, whiche thought it verie sleight. a1656Bp. Hall Rem. Wks. (1660) 146 Are we furious upon every sleight occasion? 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 8 Slight is the Subject, but the Praise not small. 1828Scott F.M. Perth xiii, I do no injustice..when I say he is too slight to be weighed with the Douglas. 1847Tennyson Princ. iv. 109 O for such, my friend, We hold them slight. 1848Dickens Dombey xxxvi, Therefore I am glad to take this slight occasion—this trifling occasion,..to say that I attach no importance to them in the least.
c. Used emphatically in the superlative.
1599Shakes. Much Ado ii. i. 272, I will goe on the slightest arrand now to the Antypodes that you can deuise to send me on. 1750Student I. 57 The cautious father..was upon the watch..on every the slightest occasion. 1790Burke Fr. Rev. 244 Those loose theories to which none of them would chuse to trust the slightest of his private concerns. 1825Bentham Offic. Apt. Maximized, Indications (1830) 43 Of the extortion..not any the slightest intimation. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair lxv, He never had had the slightest liking for her. 1879R. K. Douglas Confucianism iii. 72 The Sage..pursues the heavenly way without the slightest deflection.
d. to make slight of, to regard or treat as of little importance or consequence.
1606G. W[oodcock] Hist. Ivstine ix. 39 But they..made slight of his defiance and hostile forces. a1632T. Taylor God's Judgem. ii. iii. (1642) 40 Though men make slite of these..butcheries. 1740tr. De Mouhy's Fort. Country Maid (1741) I. 53, I was startled, but my Governess and her Niece made slight of it. 1796J. Moser Hermit of Caucasus II. 58 He at first made slight of his indisposition.
e. Wanting in fullness or heartiness.
1660F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 237 The King..asking him what he was, received but a slight answer. 1706Hearne Collect. 27 Jan., Y⊇ Duke..receiv'd them after a slight manner. 1864Tennyson Aylmer's F. 238 Slight was his answer ‘Well—I care not for it’.
f. Performed with little exertion.
1667Milton P.L. iv. 181 He..in contempt, At one slight bound high overleap'd all bound Of Hill or highest Wall.
†6. Slighting, contemptuous. Obs. rare.
1632Massinger & Field Fatal Dowry ii. ii, Recant your stern contempt and slight neglect Of the whole court and him. 1688Col. Rec. Pennsylv. I. 245 Saying you may command the Judges,..and other slight and scornfull Expressions he vsed.
7. Comb., as slight-billed, slight-bottomed, slight-limbed, etc.; also slight-seeming.
1660Brett Threnodia viii, Slight-bottom'd Passion's quickly spent. a1697Aubrey Brief Lives (1898) II. 241 Sir John [Suckling] was but a slight timberd man, and of midling stature. 1703Lond. Gaz. No. 3942/4 A black slight Limb'd Mare,..narrow Ey'd. 1803Beddoes Hygëia ix. 196 How essential it is to check even slight-seeming nervous disorders in their commencement. 1847Tennyson Princ. vii. 249 If she be small, slight-natured, miserable, How shall men grow? 1895Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. IV. 117 The slight-billed parraquet,..the sole representative of its genus.
B. adv.
1. Poorly, slightly; contemptuously.
1606Shakes. Ant. & Cl. i. i. 56 Is Cæsar with Anthonius priz'd so slight? 1671Milton P.R. iii. 109 Think not so slight of glory. a1716Bp. O. Blackall Wks. (1723) I. 313 In this corrupt Age..perhaps Oaths are thought much slighter of than ever they were in former Times.
2. Slimly, slenderly. Chiefly in Comb.
1667Primatt City & Co. Builder 69 A plain Balconie,..made very slight, may not be worth above three pence half penny the pound. 1800Asiatic Ann. Reg. IV. 19/1 The Hindûs of the lower provinces are a slight made people. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. iv. iv, That other, his slight-built comrade, and craft-brother.
3. Slightly; to a small extent.
1671Milton Samson 1229 Come nearer, part not hence so slight inform'd. 1727–46Thomson Summer 1590 The neck slight-shaded, and the swelling breast.
▪ IV. slight, v.|slaɪt|
Forms: α. 4– slight, 7 slyght, 8– Sc. slicht; 4, 7 slite. β. 5 sleght, 7 sleight, slaight.
[In sense 1 f. slight a. 1, or a. OScand. *slehta (ON. and Icel. slétta, Norw. sletta, Sw. slätta, Da. slette). In sense 2 ad. Du. slechten, LG. slichten, or G. schlichten to level. In senses 3–4 f. slight a. 5.]
†1. trans. To make smooth or level. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 28026 Leuedis,..Quen yee yow-self sua slight and slike, Yee sai þat men you wille besuike. 1483Cath. Angl. 344/1 To Sleght, lucibrucinare. 1580Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Calendrer vne toile, to slighte a webbe, or linnen. 1613Markham Eng. Husb. i. i. ix. (1635) 51 You must not at any time sleight or smooth your Corne, but after a shower of Raine. 1620― Farew. Husb. (1625) 50 After your ground is sowne and harrowed, you shall then clotte it, sleight it, and smooth it.
2. To level with the ground; to raze (a fortification, etc.). Obs. exc. Hist. (common c 1640–80).
1640–4in Rushw. Hist. Coll. iii. (1692) I. 368 That the works may be slighted, and the places dismantled. 1667Temple Let. to Ld. Holles Wks. 1720 II. 37 When the Works were about half slighted,..came seven or eight hundred French Horse. 1698Froger Voy. 28 A Council was held to determine, whether the Fort should be kept or slighted. 1974Country Life 28 Mar. 747/3 In March 1645–46, Parliament gave orders that Corfe [Castle] should be slighted. 1976E. N. Luttwak Grand Strategy of Roman Empire ii. 57 It was standard practice to slight the defenses once the site was left. 1977Brit. Med. Jrnl. 24 Dec. 1619/1 Mrs Barbara Castle shattered the political confidence of consultants as effectively as Henry II slighted his opponents' strongholds.
fig.1646H. Lawrence Comm. Angels 187 Till you have overcome your enemie and sleighted his workes. 1676Cudworth Serm. 1 Cor. xv. 71 Christ our Lord..slighted and dismantled that mighty Garrison.
3. a. To treat with indifference or disrespect; to pay little or no attention or heed to; to disregard, disdain, ignore.
α1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, v. ii. 94 Heare your owne dignity so much prophan'd, See your most dreadfull Lawes so loosely slighted. 1619Drayton Odes xii. 22 The time I knew She slighted you, When I was in her fauour. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. ii. 131 The Count slighted his Excommunication, conceiving his Head too high for Church-Censures to reach it. 1727A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Indies II. l. 225 He..told me, that he had taken much Pains to serve me, but that I slighted his Service. 1780Cowper Progr. Error 419 We slight the precious kernel of the stone, And toil to polish its rough coat alone. 1847Emerson Repr. Men, Napoleon, He delighted in the conversation of men of science,..but the men of letters he slighted. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. iv, The confidences of lovely women are not to be slighted.
β1612Woodall Surg. Mate Wks. (1653) 84 Like him which in hast sleighted his good friends. 1652Needham tr. Selden's Mare Cl. 120 Neither is that to bee sleighted here which wee find in the letters of David. 1673Cave Prim. Chr. iii. iv. 333 Do my Souldiers think thus to Sleight my Royal Orders?
†b. To put off disdainfully. Obs.
1601Shakes. Jul. C. iv. iii. 5 Wherein my Letters, praying on his side,..was slighted off. 1627S. Ward Life of Faith 66 Many gulls and gallants we may heare sometimes slight off death with a iest, when they thinke it out of hearing.
†c. To throw contemptuously. Obs.—1
1598Shakes. Merry W. iii. v. 8 The rogues slighted me into the riuer with as little remorse, as they would haue drown'de a blinde bitches Puppies.
†d. intr. with at. To be indifferent. Obs.—1
1618Wither Juvenilia (1633) 538 When to bar me ought He sees it fit, He doth infuse a Mind to sleight at it.
4. To gloss or pass (a thing) over carelessly or with indifference. ? Obs.
1620R. Waller in Lismore Papers (1887) Ser. ii. II. 248 Though I coniectured the busynes yet I sleighted it ouer with a kinde of pretended ignorance. 1652Needham tr. Selden's Mare Cl. 470 This his Majestie takes for an high point of his Soveraigntie, and will not have it slighted over in any fashion whatsoever. 1656Phillips Purch. Pattern 144 But this must not alwayes be so slighted over, lest you run into great errour. 1824Scott Redgauntlet ch. x, I lodge a complaint before you as a magistrate, and you will find it serious to slight it over.
5. dial. To do (work) carelessly or negligently.
1854[see slipstring 2]. |