| 释义 |
▪ I. cowage, cowhage|ˈkaʊɪdʒ|
Also cow-itch, (7–8 couhage, 8 cow edge).
[A perversion of the Hindī name kiwāṅch, kawāṅch, contr. kawāch.]
The stinging hairs of the pod of a tropical plant, Mucuna pruriens, family Leguminosæ, formerly used as an anthelmintic; also the plant, or its pods.
‘The pods are 4 or 5 inches long, shaped like the letter ʃ, and clothed with a thick coating of short stiff brittle hairs of a bright brown colour, the points of which are notched or finely serrated, and easily penetrate the skin, causing intolerable itching’ (Treas. Bot. 1866).
1640Parkinson Theat. Bot. 1056 The hairy kidney bean called in Zurrate where it groweth Couhage. 1665R. Hooke Microgr. 145 Of Cowage..call'd commonly, though very improperly, Cow-itch. 1678Butler Hud. iii. i. 319 With cow-itch meazle like a leper, And choak with fumes of Guiney-pepper. 1794–6E. Darwin Zoon. (1802) III. 80 The sharp spiculæ or hairs, which are found on the pods of cowhage, have been recommended in worm cases. 1841J. T. J. Hewlett Parish Clerk I. 142 Methods of annoyance adopted by boys towards ushers and teachers, such as putting cowage between their sheets. 1859R. F. Burton Centr. Afr. in Jrnl. Geog. Soc. XXIX. 107 In the dense jungle the cowhage..and the stiff reeds..annoy the half-naked porters. 1879Garrod Materia Med. 234 Cowhage has been used as an anthelmintic.
b. creeping cowage, a twining euphorbiaceous shrub, Tragia volubilis, having hairy capsules.
1750G. Hughes Barbadoes 206 Cow-Itch. This is a long scandent vine. 1756P. Browne Jamaica 336 The creeping Cowhage..well known on account of its sharp itching hairs.
c. cowage cherry, a shrub of Central America, Malpighia urens; = Barbados cherry.
1725Sloane Jamaica II. 106 Cowhage Cherry. The leaves have..their under surface very thick set with very small sharp prickles lying along close to the leaf, which fills one's hands or flesh coming to touch it, full of prickles. 1756P. Browne Jamaica 230 The Cowhage Cherry. This weakly shrub..is remarkable for the itchy setæ upon its younger leaves. 1878Smiles Robt. Dick v. 41 He found a specimen of the cowitch shrub.
▪ II. ˈcowage, cowhage, v.
[f. prec. n.]
trans. To cover or sprinkle with cowage.
1840New Monthly Mag. LVIII. 527 Having cowaged his bed the preceding night. |