ambiguousadj.

Brit.

/amˈbɪɡjʊəs/, U.S.

/æmˈbɪɡjəwəs/

Forms: late Middle English ambiguouse, 1500s ambyguous, 1500s ambyguouse, 1500s– ambiguous; also Scottish pre-1700 ambiguouss, pre-1700 ambyguous.

Origin: A borrowing from Latin, combined with an English element. Etymons: Latin ambiguus , -ous suffix.

Etymology: < classical Latin ambiguus undecided, doubtful, wavering, of which the issue is in doubt, of double or mixed form, hybrid, indeterminate, having more than one possible meaning, untrustworthy, unreliable ( < ambigere to dispute, quarrel, contend, to be undecided or uncertain, doubt, to call in question, argue about ( < ambi- ambi- prefix + agere act v.) + -uus : see -uous suffix) + -ous suffix.Compare Middle French, French ambigu (1405), Catalan ambigu (1457), Spanish ambiguo (1490), Italian ambiguo (a1294).

a. Originally and chiefly of language: having different possible meanings; open to more than one interpretation.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > equivocal quality, ambiguity > [adjective]

double?c1225

uncertainc1384

equivoquea1450

amphibille?1450

ambiguousc1487

indifferent?1531

forked1551

amphibological1587

equivocal1601

double-meaning1605

left-handed1610

dilogical1616

two-edgeda1625

biviousa1644

equivocating1645

amphibolous1647

yea-and-nay1648

amphibolical1652

bifarious1656

double-handed1661

squibbling1674

ambigual1683

equivocous1701

ambiguea1734

double-edged1791

multivocala1834

grey1835

amphibolic1873

ambivalent1923

c1487 J. Skelton tr. Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheca Historica ii. 128 He ansuerde vnder this forme derkely intryked with ambiguouse sence.

1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xxii. 217 Such ambiguous termes.., as if one should say Thomas Tayler saw William Tyler dronke, it is indifferent to thinke either th'one or th'other dronke.

1671 R. McWard True Non-conformist 122 The Church-policie..only holdeth out indirect, unstraight and ambiguous rules, applicable to any forme.

1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 390. ⁋1 Would she not be much more modest without that ambiguous Suffusion [i.e. a blush], which is the Livery of both Guilt and Innocence?

1722 W. Strahan tr. J. Domat Civil Law I. p. xlvi/1 There is no better Rule for explaining obscure and ambiguous Laws.

1869 A. J. Ellis On Early Eng. Pronunc. I. i. i. 25 The Welsh alphabet..having only one ambiguous letter, y.

1921 Outlook 27 July 507/1 Was Mr. Beecher a scholar? The answer depends upon the meaning attached to that somewhat ambiguous word.

1970 Science 30 Jan. 711/1 We searched for AI resonances in our samples but our results were ambiguous.

2005 Brit. Jrnl. Hist. Sci. 38 310 The term ‘eugenicist’ was highly ambiguous and used to describe a myriad of conflicting aims.

b. Of a person, god, etc.: able to be understood or interpreted in more than one way, esp. as a result of using language with different possible meanings; (in later use more generally) imprecise, vague.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > equivocal quality, ambiguity > [adjective] > of persons, speech

ambiguous1560

meal-mouthed1570

mealy-mouthed1571

mealy1573

mealmouth1575

Janian1598

equivocant1609

bird-mouthed1610

equivocating1645

Janus-like1656

Janus-faceda1682

equivocatory1821

Samsonian1861

weasel1912

weasel-worded1923

stuttery1937

bet-hedging1971

1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries ix. f. cxiv^v In his wrytyng he is ambiguous, and with his eloquence practyseth a kynde of Tyraunye.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis vi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 366 Th' ambiguous God, who rul'd her lab'ring Breast.

1725 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey I. i. 490 Antinous..Constrain'd a smile, and thus ambiguous spoke.

1786 J. Gillies Hist. Anc. Greece I. x. 369 Ambiguous oracles..had hitherto deterred Mardonius from venturing a general engagement.

1865 A. C. Swinburne Atalanta in Calydon 67 What mutterest thou with thine ambiguous mouth?

1965 New Eng. Q. 38 108 Remaking Hawthorne in our modern image as a complex, dark, and ambiguous writer.

2006 B. Werth 31 Days (2007) xviii. 193 He was ambiguous about whether he had requested that such an order be given.

†a. Not known or decided; uncertain. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > insecure knowledge, uncertainty > [adjective] > obscure, vague

cloudyc1400

indeterminatec1400

diffuse1430

diffused?1456

obscure?a1475

infinite1520

ambiguous1529

indistincta1530

nubilous1533

dark1557

undetermined1588

undefinite1589

undeterminate1603

indetermined1611

undefined1611

suspense1624

umbrageous1635

clouded1641

undeterminated1641

fuliginous1646

implicit1660

vague1690

diffusive1709

nubilose1730

foggy1737

unliquidated1780

hazy1781

indecisive1815

nebulous1817

penumbral1819

aoristic1846

scumbled1868

nubiform1873

out-of-focus1891

fuzzy1937

soft focus1938

1529 T. More Dyaloge Dyuers Maters i. f. xcix/2 Yf yt were now dowtful and ambyguouse whyther y^e chyrch of Cryst were in the ryght rule of doctryne or not.

1574 Earl of Morton Let. 23 Jan. in D. Laing Wodrow Soc. Misc. (1844) 289 Cairfull for the gude ordour..of the Kirk in thingis ambiguouss.

1642 J. Bond Parl. & Londons Prepar. for his Majesties Return sig. A3 The prefixed time when his Majesty will certainly return for that is very ambiguous.

b. Not clearly defined; indistinct; imprecise.

ΚΠ

1551 S. Gardiner Explic. Catholique Fayth f. 44 We should..see what they saye in expoundyng the speciall place, without contencion, & not what they vtter in the heat of their disputacion, ne to serch the darke & ambiguous places.

1658 T. Carwell Labyrinthus Cantuariensis ii. 14 He cuts out a number of ambiguous Distinctions.

1748 London Mag. Dec. 564/1 The dawn's ambiguous light.

a1806 H. K. White Remains (1807) I Faint ambiguous shadows fall.

1906 Illuminating Engineer 1 66/1 The loose and ambiguous manner in which the various terms expressing light-measurements are used.

1948 Times 11 May 5/6 In 1825, Canada and Newfoundland drafted an ambiguous boundary line in general terms.

1998 R. Tavernor On Alberti & Art of Building iv. 36/1 He may or may not be wearing a skullcap as the lines are ambiguous.

†3. Of a person: uncertain of one's course of action; hesitating, wavering. rare. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > state of uncertainty, suspense > [adjective]

suspensec1440

suspensed1526

on hovec1540

ambiguous1550

staggeringa1577

suspended1576

in suspense1583

halting1585

suspensory1611

suspensive1614

(to stand or sit) on or upon the fence1828

1550 T. Nicolls tr. Thucydides Hist. Peloponnesian War vi. xvii. f. clxxv People that be ambiguous [Fr. ambigues] or doubtefulle.

1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης xxviii. 239 Thus shall they be too and fro, doubtfull and ambiguous in all thir doings.

4. Able to be classified in different (often apparently contradictory) ways; possessing changeable or contradictory characteristics; not easy to identify or categorize. Also with reference to morality: dubious, suspect.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > insecure knowledge, uncertainty > [adjective] > of indeterminate character

neither fish nor flesh (nor good red herring)1528

ambiguous1603

yea-and-nay1648

yea and nayish1777

borderline1937

1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. ii. xii. 304 Mungrell and ambiguous shapes betweene a humane and brutish nature.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vii. 473 Ambiguous between Sea and Land The River Horse and scalie Crocodile.

1762 D. Hume Hist. Eng. to Henry VII II. xx. 354 His [sc. Henry VI's] character became fully known..and was no longer ambiguous to either faction.

1839 R. I. Murchison Silurian Syst. 418 Stratified rocks of ambiguous character.

1887 Sunday School Times 5 Mar. 152/1 With ominous haste and ambiguous purpose [Esau] began his march towards him.

1913 Biblical World Nov. 279/2 James's wholesale condemnation of the empirical order as morally ambiguous..seems..somewhat overwrought.

1965 M. Bradbury Stepping Westward (1979) vii. 316 They became deeply ambiguous men, who looked at the world with two faces.

2009 New Yorker 27 Apr. 64/3 A Canadian musician who..presented herself as a sexually ambiguous performance artist.

†5. Of an event, course of action, etc.: that has an uncertain outcome or conclusion; that could unfold in a number of different ways. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > unreliability > [adjective]

unsicker?c1225

uncertaina1382

unsadc1384

untristya1387

untrustya1387

unsurec1412

falliblec1425

slipperc1430

ficklea1450

frivol1488

slidder?a1500

casuala1535

slippery1548

slippy1548

failable1561

doubtful1562

lubricious1584

slope1587

queasy1589

unconfirmedc1592

nice1598

catching1603

loose1603

precary1606

ambiguous1612

treacherous1612

unsafe1615

unsureda1616

precarious1626

lubric1631

dubious1635

lubricous1646

unestablished1646

unfixed1654

unsecure?a1685

unreliable1810

unproven1836

untrustworthy1846

shady1848

wobbly1877

Kaffir1899

independable1921

dodgy1961

temperamental1962

1612 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes Don-Quixote: Pt. 1 ii. v. 90 That she do favour and protect him in that ambiguous Trance [= danger] which he undertakes.

1640 J. Gower tr. Ovid Festivalls ii. 44 Th' event's ambiguous, yet we'll throughly try't: That she shall see. Fate helps the vent'rous sprite.

1734 tr. C. Porée Oration 8 What was the Success of it? That which is usually found in ambiguous Battles.

1813 W. Scott Rokeby i. xiii. 19 The eddying tides of conflict wheeled Ambiguous.

1850 E. B. Browning tr. Æschylus Prometheus Bound (rev. ed.) in Poems (new ed.) I. 184 Do not cast Ambiguous paths, Prometheus, for my feet.

1916 M. de Meyer Nadine Narska ii. 4 The difficult and ambiguous road of unsanctioned love.

†6. Not reliable; inconsistent. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > unreliability > [adjective] > unpredictable

contingentc1400

casualc1460

whimsical1654

precarious1687

ambiguous1759

incalculable1796

uncalculable1848

chancy1860

impredicable1864

fluky1880

aleatoric1921

contingency1931

iffy1937

1759 E. Burke Philos. Enq. Sublime & Beautiful (ed. 2) Introd. 15 The Taste, that most ambiguous of the senses.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2020; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	ambiguous
释义	ambiguousadj. Brit. /amˈbɪɡjʊəs/, U.S. /æmˈbɪɡjəwəs/ Forms: late Middle English ambiguouse, 1500s ambyguous, 1500s ambyguouse, 1500s– ambiguous; also Scottish pre-1700 ambiguouss, pre-1700 ambyguous. Origin: A borrowing from Latin, combined with an English element. Etymons: Latin ambiguus , -ous suffix. Etymology: < classical Latin ambiguus undecided, doubtful, wavering, of which the issue is in doubt, of double or mixed form, hybrid, indeterminate, having more than one possible meaning, untrustworthy, unreliable ( < ambigere to dispute, quarrel, contend, to be undecided or uncertain, doubt, to call in question, argue about ( < ambi- ambi- prefix + agere act v.) + -uus : see -uous suffix) + -ous suffix.Compare Middle French, French ambigu (1405), Catalan ambigu (1457), Spanish ambiguo (1490), Italian ambiguo (a1294). 1. a. Originally and chiefly of language: having different possible meanings; open to more than one interpretation. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > equivocal quality, ambiguity > [adjective] double?c1225 uncertainc1384 equivoquea1450 amphibille?1450 ambiguousc1487 indifferent?1531 forked1551 amphibological1587 equivocal1601 double-meaning1605 left-handed1610 dilogical1616 two-edgeda1625 biviousa1644 equivocating1645 amphibolous1647 yea-and-nay1648 amphibolical1652 bifarious1656 double-handed1661 squibbling1674 ambigual1683 equivocous1701 ambiguea1734 double-edged1791 multivocala1834 grey1835 amphibolic1873 ambivalent1923 c1487 J. Skelton tr. Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheca Historica ii. 128 He ansuerde vnder this forme derkely intryked with ambiguouse sence. 1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xxii. 217 Such ambiguous termes.., as if one should say Thomas Tayler saw William Tyler dronke, it is indifferent to thinke either th'one or th'other dronke. 1671 R. McWard True Non-conformist 122 The Church-policie..only holdeth out indirect, unstraight and ambiguous rules, applicable to any forme. 1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 390. ⁋1 Would she not be much more modest without that ambiguous Suffusion [i.e. a blush], which is the Livery of both Guilt and Innocence? 1722 W. Strahan tr. J. Domat Civil Law I. p. xlvi/1 There is no better Rule for explaining obscure and ambiguous Laws. 1869 A. J. Ellis On Early Eng. Pronunc. I. i. i. 25 The Welsh alphabet..having only one ambiguous letter, y. 1921 Outlook 27 July 507/1 Was Mr. Beecher a scholar? The answer depends upon the meaning attached to that somewhat ambiguous word. 1970 Science 30 Jan. 711/1 We searched for AI resonances in our samples but our results were ambiguous. 2005 Brit. Jrnl. Hist. Sci. 38 310 The term ‘eugenicist’ was highly ambiguous and used to describe a myriad of conflicting aims. b. Of a person, god, etc.: able to be understood or interpreted in more than one way, esp. as a result of using language with different possible meanings; (in later use more generally) imprecise, vague. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > equivocal quality, ambiguity > [adjective] > of persons, speech ambiguous1560 meal-mouthed1570 mealy-mouthed1571 mealy1573 mealmouth1575 Janian1598 equivocant1609 bird-mouthed1610 equivocating1645 Janus-like1656 Janus-faceda1682 equivocatory1821 Samsonian1861 weasel1912 weasel-worded1923 stuttery1937 bet-hedging1971 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries ix. f. cxiv^v In his wrytyng he is ambiguous, and with his eloquence practyseth a kynde of Tyraunye. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis vi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 366 Th' ambiguous God, who rul'd her lab'ring Breast. 1725 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey I. i. 490 Antinous..Constrain'd a smile, and thus ambiguous spoke. 1786 J. Gillies Hist. Anc. Greece I. x. 369 Ambiguous oracles..had hitherto deterred Mardonius from venturing a general engagement. 1865 A. C. Swinburne Atalanta in Calydon 67 What mutterest thou with thine ambiguous mouth? 1965 New Eng. Q. 38 108 Remaking Hawthorne in our modern image as a complex, dark, and ambiguous writer. 2006 B. Werth 31 Days (2007) xviii. 193 He was ambiguous about whether he had requested that such an order be given. 2. †a. Not known or decided; uncertain. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > insecure knowledge, uncertainty > [adjective] > obscure, vague cloudyc1400 indeterminatec1400 diffuse1430 diffused?1456 obscure?a1475 infinite1520 ambiguous1529 indistincta1530 nubilous1533 dark1557 undetermined1588 undefinite1589 undeterminate1603 indetermined1611 undefined1611 suspense1624 umbrageous1635 clouded1641 undeterminated1641 fuliginous1646 implicit1660 vague1690 diffusive1709 nubilose1730 foggy1737 unliquidated1780 hazy1781 indecisive1815 nebulous1817 penumbral1819 aoristic1846 scumbled1868 nubiform1873 out-of-focus1891 fuzzy1937 soft focus1938 1529 T. More Dyaloge Dyuers Maters i. f. xcix/2 Yf yt were now dowtful and ambyguouse whyther y^e chyrch of Cryst were in the ryght rule of doctryne or not. 1574 Earl of Morton Let. 23 Jan. in D. Laing Wodrow Soc. Misc. (1844) 289 Cairfull for the gude ordour..of the Kirk in thingis ambiguouss. 1642 J. Bond Parl. & Londons Prepar. for his Majesties Return sig. A3 The prefixed time when his Majesty will certainly return for that is very ambiguous. b. Not clearly defined; indistinct; imprecise. ΚΠ 1551 S. Gardiner Explic. Catholique Fayth f. 44 We should..see what they saye in expoundyng the speciall place, without contencion, & not what they vtter in the heat of their disputacion, ne to serch the darke & ambiguous places. 1658 T. Carwell Labyrinthus Cantuariensis ii. 14 He cuts out a number of ambiguous Distinctions. 1748 London Mag. Dec. 564/1 The dawn's ambiguous light. a1806 H. K. White Remains (1807) I Faint ambiguous shadows fall. 1906 Illuminating Engineer 1 66/1 The loose and ambiguous manner in which the various terms expressing light-measurements are used. 1948 Times 11 May 5/6 In 1825, Canada and Newfoundland drafted an ambiguous boundary line in general terms. 1998 R. Tavernor On Alberti & Art of Building iv. 36/1 He may or may not be wearing a skullcap as the lines are ambiguous. †3. Of a person: uncertain of one's course of action; hesitating, wavering. rare. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > state of uncertainty, suspense > [adjective] suspensec1440 suspensed1526 on hovec1540 ambiguous1550 staggeringa1577 suspended1576 in suspense1583 halting1585 suspensory1611 suspensive1614 (to stand or sit) on or upon the fence1828 1550 T. Nicolls tr. Thucydides Hist. Peloponnesian War vi. xvii. f. clxxv People that be ambiguous [Fr. ambigues] or doubtefulle. 1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης xxviii. 239 Thus shall they be too and fro, doubtfull and ambiguous in all thir doings. 4. Able to be classified in different (often apparently contradictory) ways; possessing changeable or contradictory characteristics; not easy to identify or categorize. Also with reference to morality: dubious, suspect. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > insecure knowledge, uncertainty > [adjective] > of indeterminate character neither fish nor flesh (nor good red herring)1528 ambiguous1603 yea-and-nay1648 yea and nayish1777 borderline1937 1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. ii. xii. 304 Mungrell and ambiguous shapes betweene a humane and brutish nature. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vii. 473 Ambiguous between Sea and Land The River Horse and scalie Crocodile. View more context for this quotation 1762 D. Hume Hist. Eng. to Henry VII II. xx. 354 His [sc. Henry VI's] character became fully known..and was no longer ambiguous to either faction. 1839 R. I. Murchison Silurian Syst. 418 Stratified rocks of ambiguous character. 1887 Sunday School Times 5 Mar. 152/1 With ominous haste and ambiguous purpose [Esau] began his march towards him. 1913 Biblical World Nov. 279/2 James's wholesale condemnation of the empirical order as morally ambiguous..seems..somewhat overwrought. 1965 M. Bradbury Stepping Westward (1979) vii. 316 They became deeply ambiguous men, who looked at the world with two faces. 2009 New Yorker 27 Apr. 64/3 A Canadian musician who..presented herself as a sexually ambiguous performance artist. †5. Of an event, course of action, etc.: that has an uncertain outcome or conclusion; that could unfold in a number of different ways. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > unreliability > [adjective] unsicker?c1225 uncertaina1382 unsadc1384 untristya1387 untrustya1387 unsurec1412 falliblec1425 slipperc1430 ficklea1450 frivol1488 slidder?a1500 casuala1535 slippery1548 slippy1548 failable1561 doubtful1562 lubricious1584 slope1587 queasy1589 unconfirmedc1592 nice1598 catching1603 loose1603 precary1606 ambiguous1612 treacherous1612 unsafe1615 unsureda1616 precarious1626 lubric1631 dubious1635 lubricous1646 unestablished1646 unfixed1654 unsecure?a1685 unreliable1810 unproven1836 untrustworthy1846 shady1848 wobbly1877 Kaffir1899 independable1921 dodgy1961 temperamental1962 1612 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes Don-Quixote: Pt. 1 ii. v. 90 That she do favour and protect him in that ambiguous Trance [= danger] which he undertakes. 1640 J. Gower tr. Ovid Festivalls ii. 44 Th' event's ambiguous, yet we'll throughly try't: That she shall see. Fate helps the vent'rous sprite. 1734 tr. C. Porée Oration 8 What was the Success of it? That which is usually found in ambiguous Battles. 1813 W. Scott Rokeby i. xiii. 19 The eddying tides of conflict wheeled Ambiguous. 1850 E. B. Browning tr. Æschylus Prometheus Bound (rev. ed.) in Poems (new ed.) I. 184 Do not cast Ambiguous paths, Prometheus, for my feet. 1916 M. de Meyer Nadine Narska ii. 4 The difficult and ambiguous road of unsanctioned love. †6. Not reliable; inconsistent. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > unreliability > [adjective] > unpredictable contingentc1400 casualc1460 whimsical1654 precarious1687 ambiguous1759 incalculable1796 uncalculable1848 chancy1860 impredicable1864 fluky1880 aleatoric1921 contingency1931 iffy1937 1759 E. Burke Philos. Enq. Sublime & Beautiful (ed. 2) Introd. 15 The Taste, that most ambiguous of the senses. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2020; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < adj.c1487
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