| 释义 |
▪ I. acacia1|əˈkeɪʃ(ɪ)ə|
[a. Lat. acacia, a. Gr. ἀκακία, of uncertain origin; perh. containing ἀκή a point, in reference to its thorns.]
1. Bot. A genus of Leguminous shrubs or trees, of the Mimosa tribe, found in the warmer regions of the Old World; several species of which yield Gum Acacia or Gum Arabic, Catechu, and other products; they form in Australia thickets called scrubs.
1543Traheron Vigo (1586) 429 Acacia is a thorny tree growing in Egipte. 1712Pomet Hist. of Drugs I. 17 He raised several Acacias, which are very prickly. c1854Stanley Sinai & Palest. (1858) i. 20 The wild Acacia (Mimosa Nilotica) everywhere represents the ‘seneh’ or ‘senna’ of the Burning Bush. 1866Lindley & Moore Treas. Bot. 5 The aspect of an Acacia scrub, which is one of the characteristic features of Australian vegetation.
2. pop. The North-American Locust-tree, called also False-Acacia (Robinia pseud-Acacia), with sweet-scented white flowers, grown as an ornamental tree in England.
1664Evelyn Sylva (1776) ii. iv. 358 The Acacia..deserves a place among our Avenue Trees. 1816Shelley Alastor 437 The ash and the acacia floating hang Tremulous and pale. 1855Tennyson Maud i. xxii. 45 The slender acacia would not shake One long milk-bloom on the tree.
3. Med. The inspissated juice of the unripe fruit of species of Acacia and Mimosa, used as a drug.
1601Holland Pliny (1634) II. 194 There is a kind of Thorne, whereof commeth Acacia..found in Egypt. 1769Hill Fam. Herbal. (1812) 2 German acacia is the juice of unripe sloes evaporated. 1853Mayne Exp. Lex. s.v. Acacia..the pharmacopœial name for gum-Arabic..the concrete juice of Acacia vera, etc.
▪ II. † acacia2 Obs.
‘Something resembling a kind of roll or bag, seen on medals in the hands of several of the consuls and emperors, from the time of Anastatius.’ Chambers Cycl. 1751. ‘Filled with earth{ddd}to remind him of his frailty and mortality.’ Chambers Suppl. |