church mousen.

Brit.

/ˈtʃəːtʃ maʊs/, U.S.

/ˈtʃərtʃ ˌmaʊs/

Forms: see church n.¹ and adj. and mouse n.

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: church n.¹, mouse n.

Etymology: < church n.¹ + mouse n. Compare German Kirchenmaus, Kirchmaus (found in similar proverbial use from the 18th cent.).Attested much earlier (apparently in figurative use: see main sense) as a nickname: Robertus chirchmus (1166).

A mouse which lives in a church. Also figurative and allusive: a person likened to such a mouse (in terms of its proverbial attributes), esp. in being impoverished or quiet.

ΚΠ

1566 J. Barthlet Pedegrewe Heretiques f. 58 The Church Mice..may eate the flesh and drinke the bloud of Christ in the sacrament, being holyer and purer than the wicked are.

1664 Bp. J. Taylor Disswasive from Popery i. v. 45 Whether all the Bakers bread be turned into the body of Christ? Whether a Church Mouse does eat her Maker?

1709 W. Oldisworth Dial. Timothy & Philatheus I. i. 209 'Tis probable his Servants won't presently run away,..nor his Cheese be devour'd by revengeful Church-Mice.

1764 Oxf. Sausage 160 Croak, all ye Ravens, round the Bier, And all ye Church-mice, squeak!

1841 Amer. Monthly May 436 Near to a pew that was newly lined, Sat an old church mouse, who had not dined.

1885 Catholic World Jan. 499 He might be more careful with his money. I don't want him to be a church-mouse, Aurore, like you.

1953 A. Baron Human Kind 35 He would tell her—this respectable little church mouse—some of his coarser stories.

2000 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 21 May 76/5 A ‘quiet little churchmouse’ at junior school.

2003 L. Terry Heartwarming Hymn Stories 21 The organ was rendered unplayable by a church mouse that had eaten a hole in the bellows.

Phrases

Used in comparisons, similes, and proverbial phrases, esp. in as poor as a church mouse: very poor, impoverished.

ΚΠ

1659 J. Howell Prov. Eng. Toung 13/2 in Παροιμιογραϕια As hungry as a Church-mouse.

1682 T. D'Urfey Royalist iv. i. 43 I'll..drill him from Court to Court, till he's as poor as a Church-Mouse, or an honest Attorney.

1755 Gentleman's Mag. Sept. 420/1 Like church-mouse, half-starved and thin.

1798 C. Smith Young Philosopher III. 12 Honest fellows who never do any thing but fight, or play, or love, or drink, and who are as poor as church mice.

1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xxiii. 195 The young couple are as poor as church mice.

1871 J. Hoskins Life-buoy ii. i, in Brit. Drama 5 252 Getting fat, while your comrades are as lean as church mice.

1905 Current Lit. July 400/2 He had no more pluck than a church mouse.

1963 M. Orr Women must Weep 10 If we didn't talk about Mr. Lincoln and General Lee and the war, we'd sit as silent as church mice.

1991 F. King Ant Colony (1992) x. 78 He's as poor as a church mouse but he still possesses some lovely pieces.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	church mouse
释义	church mousen. Brit. /ˈtʃəːtʃ maʊs/, U.S. /ˈtʃərtʃ ˌmaʊs/ Forms: see church n.¹ and adj. and mouse n. Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: church n.¹, mouse n. Etymology: < church n.¹ + mouse n. Compare German Kirchenmaus, Kirchmaus (found in similar proverbial use from the 18th cent.).Attested much earlier (apparently in figurative use: see main sense) as a nickname: Robertus chirchmus (1166). A mouse which lives in a church. Also figurative and allusive: a person likened to such a mouse (in terms of its proverbial attributes), esp. in being impoverished or quiet. ΚΠ 1566 J. Barthlet Pedegrewe Heretiques f. 58 The Church Mice..may eate the flesh and drinke the bloud of Christ in the sacrament, being holyer and purer than the wicked are. 1664 Bp. J. Taylor Disswasive from Popery i. v. 45 Whether all the Bakers bread be turned into the body of Christ? Whether a Church Mouse does eat her Maker? 1709 W. Oldisworth Dial. Timothy & Philatheus I. i. 209 'Tis probable his Servants won't presently run away,..nor his Cheese be devour'd by revengeful Church-Mice. 1764 Oxf. Sausage 160 Croak, all ye Ravens, round the Bier, And all ye Church-mice, squeak! 1841 Amer. Monthly May 436 Near to a pew that was newly lined, Sat an old church mouse, who had not dined. 1885 Catholic World Jan. 499 He might be more careful with his money. I don't want him to be a church-mouse, Aurore, like you. 1953 A. Baron Human Kind 35 He would tell her—this respectable little church mouse—some of his coarser stories. 2000 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 21 May 76/5 A ‘quiet little churchmouse’ at junior school. 2003 L. Terry Heartwarming Hymn Stories 21 The organ was rendered unplayable by a church mouse that had eaten a hole in the bellows. Phrases Used in comparisons, similes, and proverbial phrases, esp. in as poor as a church mouse: very poor, impoverished. ΚΠ 1659 J. Howell Prov. Eng. Toung 13/2 in Παροιμιογραϕια As hungry as a Church-mouse. 1682 T. D'Urfey Royalist iv. i. 43 I'll..drill him from Court to Court, till he's as poor as a Church-Mouse, or an honest Attorney. 1755 Gentleman's Mag. Sept. 420/1 Like church-mouse, half-starved and thin. 1798 C. Smith Young Philosopher III. 12 Honest fellows who never do any thing but fight, or play, or love, or drink, and who are as poor as church mice. 1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xxiii. 195 The young couple are as poor as church mice. 1871 J. Hoskins Life-buoy ii. i, in Brit. Drama 5 252 Getting fat, while your comrades are as lean as church mice. 1905 Current Lit. July 400/2 He had no more pluck than a church mouse. 1963 M. Orr Women must Weep 10 If we didn't talk about Mr. Lincoln and General Lee and the war, we'd sit as silent as church mice. 1991 F. King Ant Colony (1992) x. 78 He's as poor as a church mouse but he still possesses some lovely pieces. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1566
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