| 释义 |
▪ I. sooth, n. Now arch.|suːθ|
Forms: 1–2 soð, 1, 3–5 soþ (3 soh, seoþ, 4 soiþ, sooþ), 4–6 soth (4 sotht), 5– sooth; 3 soðe, 4–5 soþe, 4–6 sothe, southe, 5–6 soothe; Sc. (and north.) 4–8 suth (6 swth), 5–7 suith (6 soyt, soith, suythe, suitht, 7 suithe).
[OE. sóð neut., = OS. sóđ (cf. ON. sannr, saðr masc.), f. the adj.: see next.]
In common use down to the first half of the 17th cent.; after this app. obsolete (except perh. in sense 4 c) until revived as a literary archaism, chiefly by Scott and contemporary writers.
I. Without article.
1. Truth, verity. (Cf. sooth a. 2 a.) Also personif.
Beowulf 1700 Se þe soð and riht fremeð on folce. c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt., Int. 1/13 Ᵹif..soð [L. veritas] is to soeccenna of moniᵹum. a1000Elene 307 (Gr.), Swa ᵹe modblinde mengan ongunnon liᵹe wið soðe. a1122O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1091, Se eorl..litel soðes..of heora forewarde onfand. c1200Ormin 14208 To flittenn Fra woh till rihht, fra læs till soþ. a1250Owl & Night. 950 Þe heorte..so uorleost al his lyht Þat ho ne syhþ soþ ne riht. c1300Havelok 36 He louede god..And holi kirke, and soth, ant ricth. a1340Hampole Psalter v. 11 Vndire colour of soth bryngand in falshed. a1400Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. II. 577 Wraþþe destruyeþ monnes wit, Whon soþ may not beo seiȝene. c1400Destr. Troy 188 Hit was said oft sythes and for sothe holden. 1593Nashe Christ's Tears To Rdr., Wks. (Grosart) IV. 8 They shall be prouided for sumptuously, when sooth and verity may walke melancholy in Marke Lane. 1610Heywood Gold. Age ii. i, Simplenesse and sooth, The harmlesse Chace, and strict Virginity Is all our practise. 1875Tennyson Holy Grail 709 Was there sooth in Arthur's prophecy?
b. Used as object to the verbs say, speak, or tell; freq. in the parenthetic phrases sooth to say, etc. (Cf. 5 b.)
(a)a900Cynewulf Crist 1306 Hwæþer..mon soð þe lyᵹe saᵹaþ on hine sylfne. c1055Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia VIII. 300 Ac we heom secgað soð tosoðe. a1200Vices & Virtues 9 Me ne net me noht te forsweriȝen, ac soð te seggen of ðan ðe ic am bicleped. a1250Owl & Night. 217, Vle, heo seyde, seye me soþ, hwi dostu þat vnwihtes doþ. c1300Havelok 2008 Quoth Ubbe, ‘Bernard, seyst þou soth?’ 1390Gower Conf. II. 285 Tell me soth And sei the trouthe, if [etc.]. c1450Merlin i. 7 Ye seyde me soth that my suster set but lytill prise of me. 1484Caxton Fables of æsop v. xii, My broder, thow sayst soothe, wherfore I thanke the moche. 1594Greene & Lodge Looking Gl. G.'s Wks. (Rtldg.) 132 Say sooth in secret, Radagon, Is this thy father? 1625Milton Death Fair Infant 51 Or wert thou that just Maid who once before Forsook the hated earth, O tell me sooth. 1642Jer. Taylor Episc. (1647) 196, I am sure I have said sooth, but whether or no it will be thought so, I cannot tell. 1819Scott Ivanhoe xxviii, ‘Thou art speaking but sooth, Rebecca,’ said Isaac. 1897E. L. Voynich Gadfly (1904) 51/1 So long as I keep to the particular set.., I may speak sooth if the fancy takes me.
(b)c1320Sir Tristr. 2206 Tristrem lepe, ywis, Þritti fete, soþ to say. c1386Chaucer Wife's Prol. 601 He was, I trowe, a twenty wynter oold, And I was fourty, if I shal seye sooth. 1508Dunbar Gold. Targe 198 The salt was all the sarar, suth to sayn. 1577tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 653 And to saie sooth, they doe not worship God at all. 1626R. Harris Hezekiah's Recovery (1630) 6 To speake sooth, most of us have small reason to glorie in our prayers. 1808Scott Marm. i. xxvi, And, sooth to tell, He murmur'd on till morn. 1813Hogg Queen's Wake 24 The wine was served, and, sooth to say, Insensibly it stole away. 1855H. Rogers Ess. (1874) II. vii. 323 Sooth to tell, the narrative of the achievements here and there draws largely on our faith.
†c. to come to sooth, to come true, be fulfilled.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4831 After seint austines day to soþe come al Þis [prophecy]. Ibid. 6740 Al to soþe it is icome þat sein dunston gan telle.
†2. Used adverbially in the genitive singular sooths: Of a truth, truly. Obs.
c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. v. 26 Soþes ic secge þe [etc.]. a1240Ureisun in O.E. Hom. I. 185 Nis nan blisse soþes i nan þing þet is utewið þet ne beo to bitter aboht. Ibid., Ȝe soþes. Ibid. 187 Nai soþes, nai. Ne wene hit neuer no mon.
3. In prepositional phrases or constructions having an adverbial force: In truth, truly, really. (See also forsooth adv.)
†a. to (..) sooth. Obs.
Beowulf 51 (Gr.), Men ne cunnon secgan to soðe..hwa þæm hlæste onfeng! c1000Ags. Ps. (Thorpe) cxviii. 144 Syle me ða to soðe, and ic syþþan lifiᵹe. c1200Ormin 10900 Þatt wass, witt tu to fulle soþ, Fullfremedd herr⁓summnesse. a1225Ancr. R. 190 Wute ȝe þet to soðe þet [etc.]. c1305St. Kenelm 277 in E.E.P. (1862) 55 Þo þe pope to soþe wiste what was þe tokninge [etc.].
†b. mid or with (..) sooth. Obs.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. x, Ne meaht þu no mid soðe ᵹetælan þine wyrd. 971Blickl. Hom. 17 He him ᵹehet his æriste, swa he þa mid soðe ᵹefylde. c1205Lay. 2181 To gædere comen mid soðe..Locrin & Camber. a1250Owl & Night. 264 Lust hw ich con me bitelle Mid rihte soþe wiþ vte spelle.
c. in sooth.
1390Gower Conf. I. 315 The Mirour scheweth..As he hadde al the world withinne, And is in soth nothing therinne. 1592Lodge Euphues Shadow C 1 b, Who so thou be that vertue wilt ensew, More sweete in sooth then show in true releefe. 1670Moral State Eng. 62 b, And to shew this is in sooth, I bite this green wax with my Tooth. 1812Byron Ch. Har. ii. lxiii, So sings the Teian, and he sings in sooth.
4. In phrases used expletively or parenthetically to strengthen or emphasize an assertion.
a. in (or † to) sooth.
c1300Beket 2118 ‘To Sothe,’ quath this holi man, ‘prest ich am therto’. c1400Mandeville (1839) xxiii. 251 And in soothe, o man allone in this Contree wil ete more in a day, than [etc.]. a1450Pol., Rel., & L. Poems (1903) 78 In sothe too me the matire queynte is; For as too hem i toke none hede. 1586A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1625) 61 To deliuer..what hee saw meetest to the purpose, and that in sooth with so deliberate..resolution, as [etc.]. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. i. 259. 1605 Camden Rem. 190 But if I haue any skill in South-saying, (as in sooth I haue none). a1652Brome Damoiselle ii. i, Ver[mine]. What canst thou be? Phil[lis]. Insooth a Gentlewoman. 1771Beattie Minstr. i. xxviii, In sooth t'was almost all the shepherd knew. 1808Scott Marm. i. xv, Or was the gentle page, in sooth, A gentle paramour? 1871B. Taylor Faust (1875) II. ii. 141 I've never seen their like, in sooth.
b. in good or very sooth. Also with ellipsis of in.
1577Harrison England ii. v. (1877) i. 132 In good sooth I cannot tell. 1586B. Young tr. Guazzo's Civ. Conv. iv. 220 b, Know thou my good gossip, how in good sooth this night my hog is stolen awaie. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. ii. ii. 129 Good troth you do me wrong (good-sooth you do). 1656Sanderson Serm. (1689) 92 Say now I beseech you in good sooth..at whose door lieth the Superstition? 1808Scott Marm. i. xx, ‘Now, in good sooth,’ Lord Marmion cried. a1839Praed Poems (1864) I. 6 Or the Dragon had been, in very sooth, No insignificant charmer. 1849James Woodman xi, Good sooth, I know nothing of life. 1872Longfellow Wayside Inn iii. Emma & Eginhard 73 In good sooth, Its mystery is love.
c. by my, your, etc. (good) sooth. Also with ellipsis of by.
a1400–50Alexander 2286 ‘Sirres, by my sothe,’ quod þe segge, ‘Sitiles I hiȝt’. 1526Skelton Magnyf. 354 Fan. I trowe, by our lady, I had ben slayne... Magn. By your soth? 1596Harington Metam. Ajax (1814) 125 By my good sooth. a1779D. Graham Young Coalman's Courtship ii. (1787) 14 Be me suth it will be the last thing I'll part wi'. 1786Burns To a Louse v, My sooth! right bauld ye set your nose out. 1789― Willie brew'd iii, But, by my sooth, she'll wait a wee! 1822Scott Nigel xiv, My sooth, they will jump at them in Edinburgh like a cock at a grosart.
II. With article (or pronoun).
5. a. the sooth, the truth; the real or actual facts, circumstances, etc.
Common from c 1300 to c 1560; now arch.
c897K. ælfred tr. Gregory's Past. C. xlvi. 347 Ne flitað mid eowrum leasungum wið ðæm soðe. a1000Sal. & Sat. 182 (Gr.), Wyrs deð se ðe..ðæs soðes ansæceð! c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 71 We shule..no þing seien þere þat les beo and no þing of þe soðe forlete. c1250Gen. & Ex. 2036 Ðe wite is hise, ðe right is hire, God al-migtin ðe soðe shire. a1300Cursor M. 777 Þe south fra ȝow wil I noght hide. c1386Chaucer Wife's T. 75 He goth ful neigh the soth. c1400Mandeville Trav. (1839) xxi. 224 Natheles the Sothe is this, that [etc.]. c1450Merlin ii. 37, I will knowe the soth, what-so-euer it coste. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 72 It is yll iestyng on the soothe. a1592Greene Jas. IV, iii. iii, Mark the sooth and listen the intent. 1616W. Haig in J. Russell Haigs (1881) vii. 163 How far my accuser is from the sooth in charging me with this imputation. 1868Morris Earthly Par. (1870) I. i. 235 In his face the sooth they might behold.
b. With the verbs say, speak, tell, etc.; freq. in parenthetic phrases. (Cf. 1 b.)
(a)a1225Leg. Kath. 153 Sone se hire sonde com aȝein, & seide hire þe soðe, heo [etc.]. a1300Cursor M. 3855 Sir, þe soth i wil þe tell. 13..Meditations Lord's Supper 95 The soþe to ȝou y seye, One of ȝow shal me betraye. c1440Generydes 507 Telle me the sothe. c1475Rauf Coilȝear 52 Sen thow speiris, I the tell All the suith hale. a1568Coverdale Ghostly Psalms Wks. (Parker Soc.) II. 587 Though God make the to saye the soth. 1609Skene Reg. Maj., Treat. 74 The assisours sal sweir..that they sall the suth say, and na suth conceill.
(b)1338R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 28 He ligges at Wynchestre, þe soth it is to seie. a1366Chaucer Rom. Rose 1463 Spryngyng in a marble stone Had nature set, the sothe to telle, Under that pyn tree a welle. c1400Sowdone Bab. 897 This day haue we a ful ille afraye, To saie the south and not to lye. 1513Bradshaw St. Werburge Prol. 40 Some in contemplacyon, the sothe to say, Some in abstynence [etc.]. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 166 To bee a thyng out of perauentures hard to dooe, yea and (the south to saye) vtterly vnpossible. 1599Shakes. Hen. V, iii. vi. 151 To say the sooth,..My people are with sicknesse much enfeebled. 1805Scott Last Minstr. i. Introd. 57 He thought even yet, the sooth to speak, That, if [etc.].
c. Const. of something.
1390Gower Conf. I. 75 Sche tolde unto hir housebonde The sothe of al the hole tale. 1423Jas. I Kingis Q. 137 The warld..is so double and inconstant, Off quhich the suth is kid be mony assayes. a1500Lancelot 1213 Ther the suth may we Knaw of this thing. c1550Rolland Crt. Venus iii. 358 Schaw me the suith of this now gif ȝe can. a1592Greene Jas. IV, i. i. 359 To scorne the sooth of science with contempt. 1870Morris Earthly Par. III. iv. 202 The old man doubted not the sooth Of what he said.
†6. A true thing or saying; a truth. Obs.
sing.c1200Ormin 13706 Forr þatt he wollde winnenn Off Cristess muþ summ openn soþ Off hiss goddcunnde mahhte. c1305St. Andrew 39 in E.E.P. (1862) 99 If þu woldest þat soþe ihure, and if þu riȝt vnderstode. c1386Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 166 This is a verray sooth withouten glose. c1430Pilgr. Lyf Manhode i. xliv. (1869) 26 Jrous folk..mown not discerne cleerliche a sooth for here trowblede vnderstondinge. 1603Harsnet Pop. Impost. 112 The hunting of the Witch heere [is] no fabulous apprehension but a good Catholique Sooth. 1609Skene Reg. Maj., Burrow Lawes 136 That they sall suth..say, and na suth conceill. 1640–1Kirkcudbr. War-Comm. Min. Bk. (1855) 141 That ilk ane of thame shall the right suithe say and nae suithe conceal.
plur.13..Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. lv. xxv. 1 Whon alle soþes ben souht and seene. c1386Chaucer Melib. ⁋211 Thou schalt rather..flee fro the swete wordes of flaterers, then fro the egre wordes of thy frend that saith the thi sothes. a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 124 To telle hym his sothes & trouthe withoute flaterie.
†b. A certainty of a matter. Obs. rare.
c1374Chaucer Troylus v. 1295 Thorugh whiche thow shalt wel bryngen it aboute To knowe a soth of that thow ert in doute. Ibid. 1309.
†c. A proverb or adage. Obs.—1
1655Vaughan Silex Scint. ii. 179 ‘Hedges have ears,’ saith the old sooth.
†7. Soothsaying; prognostication. Obs.
1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. Dec. 87 Tryed time yet taught me greater thinges..: The soothe of byrds by beating of their wings. 1582Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 85 Post to this prophetesse, let her help and sooth be required.
III. †8. Associated with senses of the verb soothe: Blandishment, flattery; a smooth or plausible word or speech. Also personif. Obs.
1593Shakes. Rich. II, iii. iii. 136 That ere this tongue of mine, That layd the Sentence of dread Banishment On yond prowd man, should take it off againe With words of sooth. 1608― Per. i. ii. 44 When signior sooth here does proclaime peace, He flatters you, makes warre vpon your life. 1609B. Jonson Sil. Woman v. ii, With a sooth or two more I had effected it.
▪ II. sooth, a. Now arch.|suːθ|
Forms: 1–3 soð (2 sod), 1, 3–5 soþ (3 soh, 4 soiþ, zoþ), 5 sooþ; 3–5 soth, 4–7, 9– sooth (5 south); 3 soþe (seohðe, 4 zoþe), 4–6 sothe; Sc. and north. 4–6 suth(e, 5–6 suith (6 soith), suythe, 6 swth.
[OE. sóð, sóþ, = OS. sóđ, ON. sannr, saðr (Sw. sann, Da. sand):—*sǫnþ- (pre-Teut. sont-), related by ablaut to Goth. sunjis true, sunja truth, and Skr. satyas true, real.
After the first half of the 17th cent. only as a literary archaism, chiefly introduced by Scott and his contemporaries (cf. the note to sooth n.).]
†1. True, veritable, real, genuine:
a. Of things or qualities. Obs.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. vii. §3 ælc soþ wela and soþ weorþscipe sindan mine aᵹne þeowas. 971Blick. Hom. 25 Mid ælmes-weorcum, & mid soþre hreowe. c1000Sax. Leechd. (Rolls) I. 376 Þis is soð læcæcræft. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 191 Swo doð þe werse, þenne he auint mannes heorte emti of rihte bileue and of soðere luue. c1275Moral Ode 362 in O.E. Misc., He is soþ sunne and briht and day bute nyhte. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1264 Vor siker þis is þe soþe wei wiþ oute eni mis-wrenche. 1340Ayenb. 12 In zoþ & guode byleaue. Ibid. 126 He his to-delþ..be uour þinges þet zoþ loue makeþ.
†b. Of persons, esp. of the Deity. Obs.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. John vii. 40 [Hia] cuoedon ðes is soð uitᵹa. Ibid. xvii. 3 Ðas..is uutudlice ece lif þætte on⁓ᵹeattað ðec enne soð god. 971Blickl. Hom. 33 He wæs soþ man,..swylce he wæs soþ God. a1200Vices & Virtues 25 Fader & sune & hali gast is an soþ almihti godd. c1320Cast. Love 648 Ysayȝe..clepede him wonderful for þon, Þat he is soþ God and soþ mon.
2. True; in accordance with truth; not false or fictitious:
a. In predicative use.
Not always clearly distinguishable from sooth n. 1.
c825Vesp. Psalter xviii. 10 Domas godes [sind] soðe. c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxviii. §2 Ic eom ᵹeþafa þæt þæt is soð þæt ðu ær sædest. 971Blickl. Hom. 53 Soþ is þæt ic eow secgge. c1100O.E. Chron. (MS. F) an. 995, Ealla þa wisuste menn..þa cuðan Þat soðuste seggan [etc.]. c1175Lamb. Hom. 55 Þet is al soð ful iwis. c1250Gen. & Ex. 2842 He nam so forð, soð it is. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 3 Louerd, he seide, ȝif it is soth þat þou man and god beo. 13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 482 Ȝyf hyt be soth þat þou conez saye. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 14 For, god wot, thing is neuer the lasse sooth, Thogh euery wight ne may it nat y-see. c1450Bk. Curtasye 211 in Babees Book, A schort worde is comynly sothe Þat fyrst slydes fro monnes tothe. a1500Chester Pl. xi. 70 Therfore, as it was a-misse, I haue written that souther is. c1550Rolland Crt. Venus i. 564 Thay ar richt suith and ar of sentence fow. 1605Shakes. Macb. v. v. 40 If thy speech be sooth. 1642Jer. Taylor Episc. (1647) 260 Wee shall find all this to be sooth, and full of order. 1813Byron Br. Abydos ii. x, I have a tale thou hast not dream'd, If sooth— its truth must others rue. 1840A. Strickland Queens Eng. (1864) I. 160 The kings knew her words to be sooth. 1879Butcher & Lang Odyssey 59 The ancient one of the sea, whose speech is sooth.
phr.13..Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. xxiii. 796 To seke men is ȝiue þorwh þe An hele, soþ as gospelle. c1386Chaucer Merch. T. 23 As soth as God is king. c1440Partonope 153 And that hit were as sothe as gospell.
b. In attributive use.
c1205Lay. 4652 Sonden commen bi-twenen, Þe soðe word me seiden. c1250Gen. & Ex. 17 Cristene men oȝen ben so faȝen..ðan man hem telled soðe tale. 13..Cursor M. 12146 (Gött.), Quarfor þan wil ȝe noght trow, Sother þinges þat i tell ȝu? 1375Barbour Bruce i. 9 And suth thyngis that ar likand Tyll mannys heryng, ar plesand. c1400Destr. Troy 11 Sothe stories ben stoken vp, & straught out of mind. 1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 126 The contrair is the suth opynioun. 1530Palsgr. 325/1 Sothe, trewe, veritable. 1847M. Howitt Ballads 238 This book which I had from thee contains the soothest lore. a1869C. Spence Poems (1898) 137 The following tale Shall stand a witness, sooth and leal.
prov.1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 72 Sooth bourd is no bourd, in ought that mirth doothe. 1591Harington Orl. Fur. Apol. Poet. P vj, As the old saying is, (sooth boord is no boord). 1721Kelly Scot. Prov. 3.
3. Of persons, etc.: Telling or speaking the truth; truthful. Also const. in (speech, etc.), of (one's word).
For the ME. phr. soð cnawes beon see know n.1
a1250Owl & Night. 698 Vor Alured seyde þat wel cuþe, Euer he spak mid soþe muþe. a1300Cursor M. 24078 Fair he was and fre, mi child, Soth in speche, in maner mild. c1386Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 13 Pitous and Iust, and ever-more y-liche, Sooth of his word, benigne and honurable. a1568Montgomerie Misc. Poems i. 13, I haif hard oft-tymis suith men say. 1634Milton Comus 823 Melibœus.., The soothest Shepherd that ere pip't on plains. 1757Dyer Fleece i. 630 Hoar-headed Damon.., soothest shepherd of the flow'ry vale. 1810Scott Lady of L. i. xxiv, Announced by prophet sooth and old. 1894Blackw. Mag. July 14, I ken a sooth face from a leeing ane.
4. poet. Soothing, soft; smooth.
1819Keats To Sleep 5 O soothest Sleep! if so it please thee, close In midst of this thine hymn my willing eyes. 1820― St. Agnes xxx, A heap Of candied apple.., With jellies soother than the creamy curd.
▪ III. sooth, adv. Now arch. and rare.|suːθ|
Forms: 1 soðe, soþe, 5 sothe; 3–4 soþ, 4 soth, 5 sooþ, Sc. suth, 6–7, 9 sooth.
[OE. sóðe, sóþe, f. the adj.: see prec.]
Truly; truthfully; in truth.
Beowulf 524 Beot eal wið þe sunu Beanstanes soðe ᵹelæste. c1000Ags. Ps. (Thorpe) cxviii. 15 Swa ic þine soðfæstnysse soðe ᵹetreowe. c1200Ormin 18591 Uss wrat & seȝȝde sikerr soþ Johan þe Goddspell wrihhte, Þat [etc.]. Ibid. 19729 Forrþi seȝȝdenn þeȝȝ full soþ Þatt Crist [etc.]. a1300Cursor M. 14529 Cayphas spak þus in his spa,..And said wel sother þan he wist. c1386Chaucer Pard. T. 174 Thou schalt say soth thin othes, and not lye. c1470Henry Wallace ii. 293 And so he told..Quhilk hapnyt suth in mony diuers cace.
b. Used interjectionally.
a1300Cursor M. 7739 ‘Es þat,’ he said, ‘mi sun daui?’ ‘Ya, soth,’ said dauid, ‘it es i’. 1470–85Malory Arthur xvii. xvi. 712 Sothe, sayd he, I am hole of body, thanked be our lord. 1590Spenser F.Q. iii. iii. 13 And sooth, men say that he was not the sonne Of mortall Syre. 1601Shakes. Twel. N. ii. i. 11 An. Let me yet know of you, whither you are bound. Seb. No sooth sir. 1604― Oth. iii. iii. 52 Oth. Went he hence now? Des. I [= Ay] sooth. 1834Whittier Mogg Megone i. 400 And sooth, 'T were Christian mercy to finish him. 1872K. H. Digby Ouranogaia I. xii. 264 And, sooth, the company that take this way No man or woman can for aye admire. |