| 释义 |
coolness|ˈkuːlnɪs|
[f. prec. + -ness.]
1. lit. The condition of being or feeling cool; cool quality or sensation.
c1000Ags. Ps. lxv. 11 And ðu us on colnesse clæne ᵹelæddest. 1530Palsgr. 207/1 Colenesse, freschevr. 1575Laneham Let. (1871) 53 The..delectabl coolnes of the foountain. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 386 The Coolness of the Night. 1795Southey Joan of Arc i. 523 The thunder-shower Fell with refreshing coolness on my head. 1859Tennyson Merlin & V. 755 Then paced for coolness in the chapel-yard.
2. fig. Freedom from excitement; calmness.
1651H. More 2nd Lash of Alazonom. 79 Eugenius, will you venture, in Philosophic Coolness, to say, etc. 1782Priestley Corrupt. Chr. I. i. 5, I wish..my readers may attend me with..coolness. 1805Capt. Blackwood in Nicolas Desp. Nelson (1846) VII. 224 After performing wonders by his example and coolness, Lord Nelson was wounded by a French Sharp-shooter. 1823Lamb Elia Ser. i. i. (1865) 3 Old house! there is a charm in thy quiet:—a cessation—a coolness from business..which is delightful. 1874Green Short Hist. viii. 526 Only Hampden's coolness and tact averted a conflict.
3. Want of fervour or enthusiasm; absence of friendly warmth.
a1674Clarendon (J.). They parted with such coolness towards each other, as if they scarce hoped to meet again. 1753W. Melmoth Cicero's Lett. i. iv. (R.), As being unwilling it should appear..that any coolness had arisen between us. 1767J. Penn Sleepy Serm. 24 Inattention in hearing the Word of God, generally produces a Coolness for sacred Worship. 1880L. Stephen Pope ii. 55 A coolness had sprung up between Pope and Addison.
4. Calm and unabashed assurance.
1751Johnson Life of Cheynel Wks. IV. 516 Who with his usual coolness and modesty, took possession of the lodgings soon after by breaking open the doors. 1863Mrs. C. Clarke Shaks. Char. xi. 280 He comes there, and takes possession of the territory with all the coolness of a usurper.
5. Jazz. A ‘cool’ quality or style (see cool a. 4 d). orig. U.S.
1950Flair May 28 Coolness..has moved into the special language of the jazz world. 1955R. Horricks in A. J. McCarthy Jazzbook 1955 30 At times the dilution of pure emotion into an approach of coolness has been overdone. 1957M. Butcher in S. Traill Concerning Jazz 102 Then Stan changed his tactics a little, combining his coolness with elements of what he called ‘stomping tenor’. |