| 释义 |
raffia|ˈræfɪə|
Also rafia.
[var. raphia, q.v.]
1. A palm of the genus Raphia. In quots. attrib.
1897M. Kingsley Trav. W. Africa 600 A slip of rafia palm drawn..across a notch in another piece of rafia wood. 1906Westm. Gaz. 26 Sept. 8/1 Mr. William H. Hunt..announced the discovery, in the leaves of the rafia palm, of a product which..may be classed between wax and gum. 1958C. Achebe Things fall Apart i. viii. 57 Obierika was sitting outside under the shade of an orange tree making thatches from leaves of the raffia-palm.
2. The soft fibre from the leaves of Raphia Ruffia and Raphia tædigera, largely employed by gardeners for tying up plants, cut flowers, etc. Also, extensively employed in the making of baskets, lamp-shades, mats, and similar articles.
1882J. Smith Dict. Econ. Plants 231 The cuticle of the leaves of this palm has of late years been imported into this country in considerable quantities for tying plants,..under the name of Raffia or Ruffia. 1897Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. Dec. 615 Raffia..is now largely imported for tying purposes. 1901M. White How to make Baskets ii. 11 It is a rare thing to find a material at once so soft and so strong as raffia. 1912Educ. Handwork Nov. 201/1 The materials most suitable for weaving are, wool, bast or raffia, and cane. 1937A. H. Crampton Raffia Work & Basketry 7 Raffia work although allied to the ancient craft of Basket Making, may be termed a modern craft. 1951‘R. Brinley’ Raffia Work i. 11 One of the chief advantages of working with raffia is the very low cost of the material. 1978P. Van Greenaway Man called Scavener vi. 84 He noticed a confusion of raffia, macramé and pieces of knitting.
3. attrib. and Comb., as (sense 2) raffia bag, raffia basket, raffia cloth, raffia fibre, raffia grass, raffia lace, raffia mat, raffia needle, raffia tape, raffia work, raffia workbag; raffia-embroidered adj.
1932S. Gibbons Cold Comfort Farm viii. 121 Raffia bags and linen bags embroidered with hollyhocks. 1960G. Durrell Zoo in my Luggage iii. 77, I bent down, picked up a raffia bag and held it aloft.
1914S. G. Fitzgerald Priscilla Juniors' Basketry Bk. 19 (heading) Handle for raffia basket. 1977G. Scott Hot Pursuit iii. 25 Dried fish, piled in raffia baskets, on the pavement.
1932D. C. Minter Mod. Needlecraft 59/1 Raffia work is really another form of embroidery... The materials for working on are..hessian, raffia cloth, and woven straw. 1967E. Short Embroidery & Fabric Collage iii. 84 Fabrics with unusual textures, raffia cloth, for instance, can be decorated with simple embroidery such as bands of drawn threads.
1904Daily Chron. 3 May 8/3 A pretty and attractive novelty..is the raffia embroidered cushion.
1906Westm. Gaz. 26 Sept. 8/1 The natives gather the rafia fibre. 1910M. T. Priestman Handicrafts in Home 207 Delicate strands of raffia fibre should be secured for this purpose.
1904Daily Chron. 3 May 8/3 The embroidery is worked with raffia grass dyed in various colours.
1906Queen 5 May 757/1 Raffia lace hats are the choicest things in headgear that ingenuity has ever devised out of vegetable fibre.
1914S. G. Fitzgerald Priscilla Juniors' Basketry Bk. 6 (heading) Woven raffia mat. 1953E. Simon Past Masters iv. 263 Raffia mats, cutlery and glasses defined the full number of places. 1976Daily Times (Lagos) 22 Sept. 16/4 To build a crib to store maize harvested from a one-hectare plot requires only six 12-ft (360-cm)-long bamboo poles; another six of such poles of 180 cm length each; 45 raffia mats; [etc.].
1914H. C. Walker Rafia Work 7 The reasons for urging the claims of rafia work are many... It requires no tools beyond rafia needles, wool needles..and knitting needles. 1932D. C. Minter Mod. Needlecraft 226/2 Use a small packing needle, or a raffia needle, and a backing of Helvellyn canvas with Persian, or Straight, or Shetland rug wool. 1979Dryad Catal. 89/3 Raffia needles..For coiled raffia basketry.
1907Daily Chron. 5 Jan. 9/1 Sometimes the flowers require staking, and this should be done..with stiff, straight wires or sticks, to which the stems should be fastened with West's Raffia Tape. 1939–40Army & Navy Stores Catal. 956/1 Raffia Tape..balls in coloured string nets.
1908M. E. Morgan How to dress Doll vii. 65 Little girls who know how to do raffia work can easily make such a hat. 1974C. Fremlin By Horror Haunted 88 He attended his own classes in Braille and raffia-work.
1928Chambers's Jrnl. 24 Mar. 261/1 From a corner of one of the baskets she unpacked her raffia workbag. |