| 释义 |
considerable, a. (and n.)|kənˈsɪdərəb(ə)l|
[ad. med.L. consīderābil-is worthy to be considered, f. consīderā-re: see -ble. Cf. mod. F. considérable in Cotgr., It. considerabile (Florio 1598).]
A. adj.
†1. That may be considered; capable of being considered or viewed. Obs. rare.
c1449Pecock Repr. ii. i. 134 A treuthe considerable, or speculable, or biholdable oonli. 1652J. Audley Eng. Commw. 1 Man is considerable in a threefold capacity; of nature, of nation, and of religion. 1668Howe Bless. Righteous (1825) 25 God was considerable in relation to man, both in his innocency and apostasy.
†2. That should be considered; that calls for consideration; proper to be considered, taken into account, or noted; notable. Obs.
1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie ii. (Arb.) 111 [The sphere] hath three principall partes in his nature and vse much considerable. a1619Daniel Coll. Hist. Eng. (1621) 3 Moreover it is considerable how it made that transmigration, whether by sea or land? 1695Woodward Nat. Hist. Earth i. (1723) 24 And, which is very considerable, they are most exactly of the same specifick Gravity. 1707Curios. in Husb. & Gard. 160 What is yet more considerable; no ill Weather can hurt them.
3. Worthy of consideration or regard; important, of consequence. In later use passing into 5.
a1619Donne βιαθανατος (1644) 87 Neither was it much obligatory, or considerable, what it had decreed. 1674Ray Collect. Words To Rdr. 8 They may..give them occasion of making many considerable remarks. 1702Eng. Theophrast. 117 Difficult as it is to get a considerable place at Court. 1716Cibber Love makes Man 1, I have some considerable questions to ask you. 1796Pegge Anonym. (1809) 469 The invention of the most considerable methods of cure and medicine. 1865Pall Mall G. 12 May, This is the most considerable work that he has executed. 1872Yeats Growth Comm. 214 The town is still a very considerable place.
4. Of persons: Worthy of consideration or regard, important; of consequence or distinction; highly regarded or esteemed.
1641Milton Animadv. (1851) 196 Numbers of sober, and considerable men. 1742H. Walpole Corr. (ed. 3) I. xxix. 125 Many considerable people, particularly the Dukes of Montague and Richmond. 1790Beatson Nav. & Mil. Mem. I. 46 In Parliament, where Mr. Vernon had rendered himself very considerable, by loudly attacking the conduct of the Minister. 1818Hallam Mid. Ages (1841) I. iii. 362 Some of the most considerable citizens were banished. 1828W. Field Mem. Dr. Parr I. 373 The daughter of a considerable potter in that neighbourhood. 1875Bryce Holy Rom. Emp. (ed. 5) 405 Frederick II, certainly the most considerable man who has succeeded to a throne since Charles V.
5. Worthy of consideration by reason of magnitude; somewhat, rather, or pretty large in amount, extent, duration, etc.; a good deal of (any thing immaterial, as labour, pains, care, time). (The usual current sense.)
1651Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxix. 172 A very considerable part of the people. 1659B. Harris Parival's Iron Age 50 That considerable passage, called the streights of Gibraltar. 1711Addison Spect. No. 102 ⁋6 Heard at a considerable distance. 1747Wesley Prim. Physic (1762) p. xxiv, I have omitted a considerable number. 1792Anecd. W. Pitt I. v. 118 His share..was not to be so considerable as he had expected. 1802M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. iv. 22 A considerable sum of money. a1839Praed Poems (1864) I. 212 And gave his friends considerable trouble. 1873Black Pr. Thule 13 There was a considerable sea on.
6. U.S. colloq.
a. Used of things material: A large quantity of, as ‘considerable liquor’; also absol. much, a good deal.
1839Marryat Diary Amer. Ser. i. II. 225, I intend to write considerable. 1847J. M. Mackie Life Leibnitz 123 Leibnitz..did considerable towards diffusing an interest in these subjects. 1889Science XIV. 82/2 During the last two years considerable has been written. 1890Daily Times (Troy, N.Y.) 15 Feb. 3/3 The..speculators are purchasing considerable lumber at Rutland, to use in erecting buildings.
b. Freq. absol. followed by of. (Cf. B. 2 below.) U.S.
1685in Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. 4th Ser. V. 132 One more, of Long Island,..lost considerable of wheat and Indian corn. 1766M. Cutler in Parker & Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. (1888) I. 10 This morning..considerable of a shock of an earthquake was felt. 1779in Coll. New Hampsh. Hist. Soc. (1850) VI. 326 This is considerable of a village. 1816J. Pickering Voc. Words U.S., ‘He is considerable of a surveyor.’ ‘Considerable of it may be found in the country.’ 1835Southern Lit. Messenger I. 422 [It is] considerable of a place. 1856Trans. Mich. Agric. Soc. VII. 652 Considerable of the crop was, however, injured in quality by the frequent wettings it received. 1878J. H. Beadle Western Wilds xix. 302 In two days intercourse we had learned considerable of each other's views and experiences. 1903K. D. Wiggin Rebecca 132 Rebecca took her scolding..like a soldier. There was considerable of it. 1904N.Y. Even. Post 26 Mar., Considerable of the moisture for which farmers have been eagerly watching has fallen this past week over the wheat belt.
7. as adv. = considerably. Obs. or dial.
1657–83Evelyn Hist. Relig. (1850) I. 410 The Creeds..considerable differ. 1775tr. Scarron's Comic Rom. II. 130, I acknowledged myself considerable his debtor. 1799N. Drake in Beddoes Contrib. Phys. & Med. Knowledge 489 Blood taken from his arm, which, on cooling, proved considerable sizy. 1843Haliburton Sam. Slick in Eng., A wet day is considerable tiresome. 1849N. Kingsley Diary (1914) 54 The sea is considerable rough. 1862O. W. Norton Army Lett. (1903) 48, I presume I do have considerable more time for writing than you do. 1884‘Mark Twain’ Huck. Finn i, By-and-by she let it out that Moses had been dead a considerable long time.
¶ The compar. considerabler, and esp. the superl. considerablest, were common in 17th c.; they are now unusual.
1667Boyle Orig. Formes & Qual., In much considerabler heats then That needs..be expos'd to. 1693W. Freke Sel. Ess. xxvi. 155 Secrecy is one of the considerablest Branches of Wisdom. a1695Wood Life (1848) 199 The considerablest family in England. 1864Carlyle Fredk. Gt. IV. 608 Considerablest of all.
B. n.
†1. A thing to be considered; a point, etc. worth considering. Chiefly pl.; cf. valuables, etc. Obs.
1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. ii. x. 7 (D.) An exact account of all considerables therein. 1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 12 Statistes and Politicians, unto whom Ragione di Stato is the first considerable. 1677Gale Crt. Gentiles II. iv. 26 In fruition there are four considerables 1. Love. 2. Possession..3. Communion. 4. Delectation.
2. a. A fair amount, quantity, etc., of something. (Cf. 6 b above.) U.S.
1745in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. XLVIII. 300 A Considerable of Cannon shot [was] hove at them. 1780in Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. (1905) 7th Ser. V. 5 A considerable of a trade carried on. 1838Haliburton Clockm. 2nd Ser. ii. 10 I've been a considerable of a traveller in my day. Ibid. vii. 102 It's a considerable of a long story too. 1943W. Faulkner in Sat. Even. Post 13 Feb. 15/2 It was a kind of mixed hound, with a little bird dog and some collie and maybe a considerable of almost anything else.
b. A good deal.
1722in H. S. Nourse Early Rec. Lancaster, Mass. (1884) 200 He promising to Leve the hiway there Wider by Considerable then five Rods. 1837H. Martineau Society in Amer. I. 340 She has a widowed mother, and she ‘gets considerable’ by sewing. 1850N. Kingsley Diary (1914) 110 They had been detained a considerable on the passage. 1903N.Y. Sun 22 Nov., The new seal is not Nellie, not yet, by considerable; but it is already a great attraction. 1911J. C. Lincoln Cap'n Warren's Wards 178 The Boston papers had considerable about it. 1932Atlantic Monthly Feb. 188/2 Jim did considerable toward stirring up the farmers. |