environmentn.

Brit.

/ᵻnˈvʌɪrə(n)m(ə)nt/,

/ᵻnˈvʌɪrn̩m(ə)nt/,

/ɛnˈvʌɪrə(n)m(ə)nt/,

/ɛnˈvʌɪrn̩m(ə)nt/, U.S.

/ənˈvaɪrə(n)m(ə)nt/,

/ənˈvaɪ(ə)rnm(ə)nt/,

/ɛnˈvaɪrə(n)m(ə)nt/,

/ɛnˈvaɪ(ə)rnm(ə)nt/

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: French environnement ; environ v., -ment suffix.

Etymology: Originally < Middle French environnement (French environnement : see below) action of surrounding something (1487; earlier in senses ‘proximity’ (first half of the 12th cent. in Anglo-Norman as avirounement ) and ‘surroundings, periphery’ (c1200 in Anglo-Norman as envirunement )) < environner , envirunner environ v. + -ment -ment suffix. In later use < environ v. + -ment suffix. Compare earlier environ n., environing n., environry n.French environnement is rare after the early 18th cent., and is now found chiefly (as a reborrowing < English) in the specific senses 2b (1921) and 3 (second half of the 20th cent. or earlier).

†1. The action of circumnavigating, encompassing, or surrounding something; the state of being encompassed or surrounded. Cf. environ v. 3, 2. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surrounding > [noun]

girdingc1400

umbesetting1543

environing1586

engirting1599

circumtension1603

environment1603

cincture?1615

encompassing1629

encircling1632

begirding1641

circumsession1652

circumambience1720

circumscription1858

circumjacence1884

encirclement1919

1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 1009 I wot not what circumplexions and environments [Fr. enuironnements; Gk. περιελεύσεις].

1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II An Environment, an encompassing Round.

1843 T. Shen tr. Rambles of Ching Tĭh II. xxxviii. 205 On witnessing the number of the rebels, and their strict environment of the city.

1888 Cent. Mag. July 432/2 A similar blow on the other side, or a close environment of the heavy guns of the other ships, would have captured or sunk the ram.

a. The area surrounding a place or thing; the environs, surroundings, or physical context. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surrounding > [noun] > that which surrounds > a surrounding space or area > totality of surroundings or environment

circumstancea1340

encompassure1600

environry1600

vironry1600

attendment1646

circumambiency1646

ambience1648

environment1725

circumjacency1751

environ1762

environage1831

setting1841

enshrinement1849

entourage1850

milieu1854

surroundings1861

ambiente1862

mise-en-scène1871

surround1922

Umwelt1964

1725 J. Sedgwick New Treat. Liquors xviii. 345 If we examine into Anatomy, we shall find a perfect Environment of Glands and Emunctories all around the Neck, both internally and externally, which attract and drain off the imperfect and excretory juices.

1828 T. Carlyle in Edinb. Rev. 48 288 Literature was, as it were, without any local environment; was not nourished by the affections which spring from a native soil.

1830 T. Carlyle in Foreign Rev. & Continental Misc. v. 34 Baireuth, with its kind picturesque environment.

1862 J. Skelton Nugæ Criticæ 278 What is poetic in the story is disengaged from its casual environment.

1872 J. S. Blackie Lays of Highlands Introd. 37 The environment of this loch put me in mind of Grasmere.

1903 Bull. U.S. Geol. Surv. No. 212. 68 The foregoing account of the Gulf Coastal Plain has been given in some detail in order that the geologic environment of the oil pools might be readily understood.

1989 B. Alberts et al. Molecular Biol. Cell (ed. 2) xix. 1102 The detection of small movements produced by forces acting in the environment of the ear's sensory cells.

b. The physical surroundings or conditions in which a person or other organism lives, develops, etc., or in which a thing exists; the external conditions in general affecting the life, existence, or properties of an organism or object.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > circumstance or circumstances > [noun] > environment, setting, or background

setting1841

scenics1842

background1854

milieu1854

environment1855

conditions1856

surroundings1861

medium1865

ambient1902

1855 H. Spencer Princ. Psychol. iii. vii. 391 The division of the environment [sc. of a plant] into two halves, soil and air.

1874 H. Sidgwick Methods of Ethics v. 167 The organism is continually adapted to its environment.

1902 H. de Vries in Science 9 May 726/2 Whether a mutation is or is not better adapted to the environment than the parent species.

1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xix. 220 Crystals are characterised by a regular marshalling of the atoms, which are distributed on a series of inter-penetrating space-lattices in such a way that each similar point in the crystal has an identical environment.

1964 L. H. Van Vlack Elements Materials Sci. (ed. 2) vii. 178 A change in environment may cause a reversal of the reaction, or depolymerization.

1990 C. Paglia Sexual Personae xxiv. 660 In biology, neoteny is the protraction of juvenile traits into adulthood or the premature development of adult sexual traits in a hostile environment.

2008 Daily Tel. 6 May 9/1 (advt.) These smart planthouses create the perfect environment to harden-off young plants and nurture seedlings and cuttings.

c. With modifying word: a particular set of surroundings or conditions which something or someone exists in or interacts with.

ΚΠ

1887 Science 17 June 228/1 The ancient builders were stimulated to the best use of the exceptional materials about them..by the difficult conditions of their semi-desert environment.

1930 Biol. Bull. 58 46 The development of different parasites..make it impossible to obtain a normal growth of the colonies beyond ten days, under ordinary laboratory conditions or in a natural marine environment.

1968 New Eng. Jrnl. Med. 11 Jan. 80/1 It is possible that the static, acid environment of the spleen provides a further degree of metabolic punishment to the already straitened deficient cell by creating a further reduction in glycolysis.

1990 Protein Engin. 4 109/1 There are two ways a protein can adapt its structure to the requirements of a lipid environment: by making apolar α-helices or by making Β-sheets or barrels with an apolar external surface.

2002 Nat. Home Nov.–Dec. 82/2 Brick ovens..cook food in three distinct ways: convection (the warm air environment of the oven), conduction..and radiation.

d. Frequently with the. The natural world or physical surroundings in general, either as a whole or within a particular geographical area, esp. as affected by human activity.

ΚΠ

1948 Sci. Monthly Feb. 133/2 With this outside help, man's impact on the environment..becomes much greater than that of other mammalian species.

1956 P. S. Sears in W. L. Thomas Man's Role in changing Face of Earth ii. 473/1 The situation is clouded by a widespread confidence that this impact of man upon environment can continue indefinitely.

1967 K. Mellanby Pesticides & Pollution ii. 31 Perhaps the most obvious way in which man has contaminated his environment is by polluting the air with smoke.

1988 Business Rev. Weekly 8 Apr. 6/2 For the past 10 years or so smokestack industries have been unpopular because they have been seen as pollutors of the environment.

2007 Guardian 25 Jan. (G2 section) 18/2 The greater the energy use, the greater the carbon footprint, and the worse for the environment a product is.

3. Phonetics. The context in which a speech sound occurs.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > [noun] > context

circumstance1549

context1577

coherence1583

coherent1607

contexture1608

connection1724

environment1874

1874 A. J. Ellis Pract. Hints Quantitative Pronunc. Lat. Contents p. xiii Variable pronunciation according to environment, in French and Dutch.

1934 Yuen-Ren Chao in Bull. Inst. Hist. & Philol. Academia Sinica 4 366 Psychological and physiological factors other than those of phonetic environment.

1960 Medium Ævum 29 27 There was evidently a phonemic distinction between forms which ultimately had the assibilated consonant and those which did not, even in the environment of front vowels.

2003 Lang. in Society 32 460 The /ay/ nuclei followed by voiceless obstruents..are..in a generally higher and more fronted position than those in other phonological environments.

4. The social, political, or cultural circumstances in which a person lives, esp. with respect to their effect on behaviour, attitudes, etc.; (with modifying word) a particular set of such circumstances.

ΚΠ

1936 A. Huxley in G. K. Hibbert New Pacifism ii. 39 Humanism was once a favourable environment for pacifism.

1946 S. A. Hayakawa in W. S. Knickerbocker 20th Cent. Eng. 47 In accounting for human behavior it postulates the ‘neuro-semantic environment’—the environment, that is, of dogmas, beliefs, creeds, knowledge, and superstitions to which we react as the result of our training.

1960 Times Rev. Industry July p. ii/2 Ergonomics..is devoted to the study of man and his working environment.

1983 D. Ravitch Troubled Crusade v. 153 Intensive individualized instruction in an encouraging, supportive environment—in other words, good education.

2006 Sydney Morning Herald 18 Nov. 47/2 Singapore's stable political, social and economic environment is no high-stakes gamble.

5. Computing. The overall physical, systematic, or logical structure within which (a part of) a computer or program can operate; the particular combination of operating system, software tools, interface, etc., through which a user operates or programs a system.

ΘΚΠ

society > computing and information technology > software > [noun] > operating environment

environment1961

1961 Communications ACM 4 23 (heading) CL-1, an environment for a compiler.

1978 Computing Surv. 10 70/1 Several programming methods in a Lisp environment can be summarized as involving the use of superimposed languages.

1986 Micro Decision Oct. 34/2 Windows and GEM are bundled with the machine, giving the user a choice of environments.

2005 Dr. Dobb's Jrnl. Oct. 14/1 The EFI spec defines an interface that hands off system control from the preboot environment to the operating system.

6. Art. A large three-dimensional artwork designed to be experienced from within.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > work of art > [noun] > types of > executed in specific manner

perspective1597

grotesque1643

al fresco1756

gesso1759

polychrome1801

transfer1839

rangoli1884

trompe l'œil1889

retardataire1903

environment1962

CAD1965

photo work1981

Georgiana1989

1962 Listener 5 Apr. 603/3 Last summer, at the Martha Jackson gallery in New York, there was an exhibition of ‘environments, situations, places’.

1977 Times 19 Aug. 12/5 In the jargon of modern art, an environment is a work of environmental art: a form of art that encompasses the spectator instead of confronting him with a fixed image or object.

2006 Time Out N.Y. 26 Oct. 7/2 Along with other art works, this ‘immersive environment’ will be featured as a part of a Halloween-themed festival.

Compounds

C1. General attributive and objective (chiefly in sense 2b), as environment area, environment control, environment manipulation, etc.

ΚΠ

1913 W. G. Rose Success in Business ii. vi. 89 The passive man gradually comes to submit to all the influences that surround him. He becomes the subject of environment control.

1947 E. Harms Handbk. Child Guidance 351 The latter..includes treatment by a psychiatrist, by a physician, and by the various types of environment manipulation.

1963 Daily Tel. 28 Nov. 16/2 The future pattern of cities should be conceived as a patchwork of ‘environment areas’ of residence, commerce or industry from which traffic other than that concerned with the area would be excluded.

1995 Accounting Rev. 70 460 Structured firm managers were clearly not less sensitive than unstructured firm managers in perceiving the environment manipulation.

2008 New Straits Times (Malaysia) (Nexis) 3 Jan. 10 An air pump, a filtration system, and a heater that provides precise environment control.

C2. General attributive (in sense 2d). Cf. environmental adj. 2, 3a.

environment commission n.

ΚΠ

1968 Winnipeg Free Press 4 May 6/7 Legislation to establish a clean environment commission for pollution control in Manitoba was given first reading.]

1969 Times (San Mateo, Calif.) 22 Nov. 11/1 (headline) Environment commission plan.

2003 Lat. Amer. Perspectives 30 57 The former environment minister..presided over the Environment Commission.

environment commissioner n.

ΚΠ

1971 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 17 Sept. 1/4 The appointment of Lufkin as environment commissioner threatens the existence of..a watchdog organization founded by Lufkin nearly two years ago.

2007 N. Gingrich & T. L. Maple Contract with Earth ix. 168 Canada's environment commissioner..said in 2006 that her country has ‘done too little and acted too slowly’ in addressing climate change.

environment department n.

ΚΠ

1969 Stars & Stripes 2 June 7/4 (headline) Sen. to seek ‘environment’ department.

2007 C. Hamilton Scorcher iv. 47 Climate change was seen as primarily an environmental issue, and the environment department urged action commensurate with the scale of the problem.

environment editor n.

ΚΠ

1970 Chicago Tribune 5 Feb. 5/1 Casey Bukro, 34, was named environment editor of the Chicago Tribune yesterday... In the newly created post, Bukro will devote full time to coverage of environmental problems facing the nation.

2007 M. Hogarth 3rd Degree Prol. p. viii My last media job, as an environment editor, took me to the landmark Kyoto climate summit.

environment minister n.

ΚΠ

1970 Observer 4 Oct. 1 (headline) Environment Minister in new Cabinet.

2007 S. Jackson Koala 132 The Queensland environment minister..raised reports of kangaroos taking part in boxing matches at a circus.

environment ministry n.

ΚΠ

1970 Observer 31 May 8/7 It is not the full review of the pollution problem that Mr Anthony Crosland's new ‘environment Ministry’ was expected to produce.

2007 J. Cowie Climate Change 396 At the time of the UN's Stockholm conference, the number of nations with environment ministries numbered no more than 10, whereas by 1992 it was around 100.

environment movement n.

ΚΠ

1970 Washington Post & Times Herald 15 Mar. 4/3 She has joined the environment movement to..force the big industrial polluters, like chemical companies, to hire more blacks.

2008 Observer 27 Apr. 27 GM crops represent everything that the environment movement has come to hate, though it was not the technology itself that originally made greenies froth at the mouth.

environment officer n.

ΚΠ

1968 Guardian 9 Dec. 1/5 Environment officer suggested as a possible coordinator of local government departments in helping to improve the looks of the North-west.

2002 R. F. Dasmann Called by Wild xix. 191 A friend of ours..was now working in Noumea as the environment officer for the South Pacific Commission.

environment policy n.

ΚΠ

1968 Daily Rev. (Hayward, Calif.) 6 Dec. 36 (headline) Washington senator urges ‘U.S. environment policy’.

2007 M. Reynolds Living Politics viii. 120 In the campaign I also focused on environment policies, highlighting my anti-uranium stance.

environment secretary n.

ΚΠ

1970 Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News 10 Dec. 6 c/5 Peter Walker, environment secretary, announced that it might cost the average motorist up to $240 to modify his car to meet new antinoise and antifume regulations.

2009 M. Glass Ultimatum 198 Whatever damage had already been done by yesterday's confrontation over the emissions scenario would be made ten times worse if his environment secretary walked out.

environment spokesman n.

ΚΠ

1971 Guardian 20 May 1/8 Although Mr Walker said there would be less interference from Whitehall, Mr Crosland, Labour's environment spokesman, said that there would be more.

2001 P. Strangio No Toxic Dump 162 The ALP's Environment Spokesman..wrote to Wyndham Council and WRATD announcing that he shared local concerns about the proposed CSR facility's impact on the Ramsar-protected wetlands.

C3.

environment agency n. (a) a means of connecting the immortal soul with the present, physical world; (b) a government agency with responsibility for the management and protection of the natural environment.Sense (a) apparently represents an isolated use.

ΚΠ

1913 H. Holley Mod. Social Relig. vi. 192 Body and mind serve only as environment agencies to soul, which has no need of them beyond this life.

1964 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 17 Sept. 21 (headline) Environment agency urged.

2008 Guardian 15 Sept. 39/1 In 2006, the Environment Agency published a poll of its top 100 eco-heroes of all time.

environment committee n. (a) a committee which oversees or investigates the environment of someone or something; (b) a committee with responsibility for matters relating to the natural environment.

ΚΠ

1935 Jrnl. Criminal Law & Criminol. 26 35 The environment committee is composed of representatives of those groups interested in the welfare of children from the point of view of home and community environment.

1971 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 20 Feb. 7/5 Bills designed to reduce litter..were opposed by industry spokesmen Friday at a hearing before the Environment Committee of the General Assembly.

2004 C. B. Carter & J. W. Lorsch Back to Drawing Board 109 Many resources and chemical companies create environment committees, because a serious mistake in this area could have catastrophic consequences.

environment-conscious adj. (originally) sensitive to the state of the surrounding environment; (now usually) = environmentally sensitive adj. (c) at environmentally adv. Compounds.

ΚΠ

1932 Rotarian June (verso front cover) The Drake [Hotel] pleases those who are environment conscious.

1959 N.Y. Times 20 June 20/5 Society..must be especially environment-conscious, where children are concerned, during the summer months when schools are closed.

1969 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 11 Dec. 30 It is an out-of-doors, environment conscious country, becoming aware that the basic assumption of man-in-the-world has been turned around.

2001 G. Halevi Handbk. Production Managem. Methods 150 The principle of environment-conscious manufacturing is to adopt those processes that reduce the harmful environmental impacts of manufacturing.

environment-friendliness n. the quality of being environment-friendly; = environmental friendliness n. at environmental adj. Compounds.

ΚΠ

1982 Proc. 6th Ann. Symp. Computer Applic. in Med. Care 658/1 Microcomputers have five characteristics which make them vital tools for nurse researchers: user-friendliness; environment friendliness; low cost; [etc.].

1992 Independent (Nexis) 11 Aug. 24 In the final analysis it must be economy and environment-friendliness rather than any temporary tax advantages that will guarantee the permanent spread of diesel power across Europe.

2008 V. Beekman in C. Coff et al. Ethical Traceability & Communicating Food x. 245 These concerns thus warrant regulatory enforcement of certain minimum standards of animal welfare, environment-friendliness and fair trade.

environment-friendly adj. = environmentally friendly adj. at environmentally adv. Compounds; (also of design, buildings, etc.) sensitive to and in harmony with aspects of the (external or human) environment.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > safety > [adjective] > safe or not dangerous > safe or harmless > to the environment

environmentalist1968

environmentally sound1969

environmentally friendly1971

friendly1971

low-impact1972

sustainable1976

environmental1977

environmental friendly1977

sustainability1980

eco-sensitive1982

environment-friendly1982

nature-friendly1984

ozone-friendly1988

earth-friendly1989

eco-friendly1989

1982 Economist 17 Apr. 6/4 I have relished the thought that Fortresses America and Albion may prove unable or unwilling to keep out such ‘abominations’ as ‘environment-friendly packaging’ or ‘citizen-friendly legislation’.

1988 Grocery Update June 39/1 A closer look at an environment friendly non-aerosol anti-perspirant spray.

1994 Dog World Feb. 91/2 The expo is a celebration of environment-friendly healthy life-style sports, outdoor fun and adventure.

2007 G. John et al. Stadia xiv. 250 Environment-friendly design incorporates all the factors noted in this chapter.

environment group n. (a) a class of things which are categorized as environmental; (b) an organization devoted to the study or protection of the natural environment.

ΚΠ

1919 C. W. Littlefield Beginning & Way of Life 402 These symptoms may be classed under three groups: 1. Mind Group; 2. Body Group; 3. Environment Group.

1960 Los Angeles Times 5 June d9/6 (headline) Environment group to meet.

1992 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing 92 No. 1. 28/2 As far as task categories went, the only one related with job satisfaction was the environment group.

2008 T. Ha Austral. Green Consumer Guide xiv. 167 For the sake of declining river health, some environment groups in Australia are pushing to restore some of the water flows.

environment issue n. (a) an issue relating to the surroundings or conditions in which a person or thing lives, works, or exists; (b) the general concern about protection of the natural environment from the harmful effects of human activity; (also) a particular issue relating to this.

ΚΠ

1968 Admin. Sci. Q. 13 185 The lack of clarity in regard to the environment issue is related to another shortcoming of the study... Other environmental pressures..and intra-industry variations in orientation and practice are largely ignored.

1969 Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) 15 Sept. 3/1 The Democrats must come up with a candidate who has a strong anti-war record and must be prominently identified with the environment issue.

1995 N. A. Fouad & R. P. Bingham in W. B. Walsh & S. H. Osipow Handbk. Vocational Psychol. (ed. 2) x. 349 It is important for career counselors to take a broad approach to career issues... These may be cognitive issues, social or emotional issues, behavioral concerns, environment issues.

2002 T. L. Gutner Banking on Environment iii. 52 The 1960s gave birth to active environmental movements in the West, reflecting a sharp increase in popular concern about environment issues.

environment-minded adj. mindful of the need to protect the natural environment from the harmful effects of human activity.

ΚΠ

1969 Winona (Minnesota) Daily News 30 Oct. 6/1 There has been vast encouragement for pollution controls, a highly popular theme with environment-minded Minnesotans.

2001 P. Hoffmann Tomorrow's Energy (2002) i. 7 Environment-minded scientists..and even some farsighted politicians have been thinking of and supporting the concept of hydrogen as an almost ideal chemical fuel.

environment variable n. Computing a variable used to describe some property of a particular environment, which is stored by the operating system and which can be accessed by any process which requires it.

ΚΠ

1982 B. H. Mayoh Probl. Solving with ADA vi. 162 Because the program P can use environment variables and types, the primitive translate must know—the address of the cells assigned to environment variables—how many cells to assign to a variable of environment type.

2009 M. Lutz Learning Python (ed. 4) iii. 70 Type the full path to the Python executable, or add its path to your path environment variable.

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

单词	environment
释义	environmentn. Brit. /ᵻnˈvʌɪrə(n)m(ə)nt/, /ᵻnˈvʌɪrn̩m(ə)nt/, /ɛnˈvʌɪrə(n)m(ə)nt/, /ɛnˈvʌɪrn̩m(ə)nt/, U.S. /ənˈvaɪrə(n)m(ə)nt/, /ənˈvaɪ(ə)rnm(ə)nt/, /ɛnˈvaɪrə(n)m(ə)nt/, /ɛnˈvaɪ(ə)rnm(ə)nt/ Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: French environnement ; environ v., -ment suffix. Etymology: Originally < Middle French environnement (French environnement : see below) action of surrounding something (1487; earlier in senses ‘proximity’ (first half of the 12th cent. in Anglo-Norman as avirounement ) and ‘surroundings, periphery’ (c1200 in Anglo-Norman as envirunement )) < environner , envirunner environ v. + -ment -ment suffix. In later use < environ v. + -ment suffix. Compare earlier environ n., environing n., environry n.French environnement is rare after the early 18th cent., and is now found chiefly (as a reborrowing < English) in the specific senses 2b (1921) and 3 (second half of the 20th cent. or earlier). †1. The action of circumnavigating, encompassing, or surrounding something; the state of being encompassed or surrounded. Cf. environ v. 3, 2. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surrounding > [noun] girdingc1400 umbesetting1543 environing1586 engirting1599 circumtension1603 environment1603 cincture?1615 encompassing1629 encircling1632 begirding1641 circumsession1652 circumambience1720 circumscription1858 circumjacence1884 encirclement1919 1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 1009 I wot not what circumplexions and environments [Fr. enuironnements; Gk. περιελεύσεις]. 1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II An Environment, an encompassing Round. 1843 T. Shen tr. Rambles of Ching Tĭh II. xxxviii. 205 On witnessing the number of the rebels, and their strict environment of the city. 1888 Cent. Mag. July 432/2 A similar blow on the other side, or a close environment of the heavy guns of the other ships, would have captured or sunk the ram. 2. a. The area surrounding a place or thing; the environs, surroundings, or physical context. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surrounding > [noun] > that which surrounds > a surrounding space or area > totality of surroundings or environment circumstancea1340 encompassure1600 environry1600 vironry1600 attendment1646 circumambiency1646 ambience1648 environment1725 circumjacency1751 environ1762 environage1831 setting1841 enshrinement1849 entourage1850 milieu1854 surroundings1861 ambiente1862 mise-en-scène1871 surround1922 Umwelt1964 1725 J. Sedgwick New Treat. Liquors xviii. 345 If we examine into Anatomy, we shall find a perfect Environment of Glands and Emunctories all around the Neck, both internally and externally, which attract and drain off the imperfect and excretory juices. 1828 T. Carlyle in Edinb. Rev. 48 288 Literature was, as it were, without any local environment; was not nourished by the affections which spring from a native soil. 1830 T. Carlyle in Foreign Rev. & Continental Misc. v. 34 Baireuth, with its kind picturesque environment. 1862 J. Skelton Nugæ Criticæ 278 What is poetic in the story is disengaged from its casual environment. 1872 J. S. Blackie Lays of Highlands Introd. 37 The environment of this loch put me in mind of Grasmere. 1903 Bull. U.S. Geol. Surv. No. 212. 68 The foregoing account of the Gulf Coastal Plain has been given in some detail in order that the geologic environment of the oil pools might be readily understood. 1989 B. Alberts et al. Molecular Biol. Cell (ed. 2) xix. 1102 The detection of small movements produced by forces acting in the environment of the ear's sensory cells. b. The physical surroundings or conditions in which a person or other organism lives, develops, etc., or in which a thing exists; the external conditions in general affecting the life, existence, or properties of an organism or object. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > circumstance or circumstances > [noun] > environment, setting, or background setting1841 scenics1842 background1854 milieu1854 environment1855 conditions1856 surroundings1861 medium1865 ambient1902 1855 H. Spencer Princ. Psychol. iii. vii. 391 The division of the environment [sc. of a plant] into two halves, soil and air. 1874 H. Sidgwick Methods of Ethics v. 167 The organism is continually adapted to its environment. 1902 H. de Vries in Science 9 May 726/2 Whether a mutation is or is not better adapted to the environment than the parent species. 1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xix. 220 Crystals are characterised by a regular marshalling of the atoms, which are distributed on a series of inter-penetrating space-lattices in such a way that each similar point in the crystal has an identical environment. 1964 L. H. Van Vlack Elements Materials Sci. (ed. 2) vii. 178 A change in environment may cause a reversal of the reaction, or depolymerization. 1990 C. Paglia Sexual Personae xxiv. 660 In biology, neoteny is the protraction of juvenile traits into adulthood or the premature development of adult sexual traits in a hostile environment. 2008 Daily Tel. 6 May 9/1 (advt.) These smart planthouses create the perfect environment to harden-off young plants and nurture seedlings and cuttings. c. With modifying word: a particular set of surroundings or conditions which something or someone exists in or interacts with. ΚΠ 1887 Science 17 June 228/1 The ancient builders were stimulated to the best use of the exceptional materials about them..by the difficult conditions of their semi-desert environment. 1930 Biol. Bull. 58 46 The development of different parasites..make it impossible to obtain a normal growth of the colonies beyond ten days, under ordinary laboratory conditions or in a natural marine environment. 1968 New Eng. Jrnl. Med. 11 Jan. 80/1 It is possible that the static, acid environment of the spleen provides a further degree of metabolic punishment to the already straitened deficient cell by creating a further reduction in glycolysis. 1990 Protein Engin. 4 109/1 There are two ways a protein can adapt its structure to the requirements of a lipid environment: by making apolar α-helices or by making Β-sheets or barrels with an apolar external surface. 2002 Nat. Home Nov.–Dec. 82/2 Brick ovens..cook food in three distinct ways: convection (the warm air environment of the oven), conduction..and radiation. d. Frequently with the. The natural world or physical surroundings in general, either as a whole or within a particular geographical area, esp. as affected by human activity. ΚΠ 1948 Sci. Monthly Feb. 133/2 With this outside help, man's impact on the environment..becomes much greater than that of other mammalian species. 1956 P. S. Sears in W. L. Thomas Man's Role in changing Face of Earth ii. 473/1 The situation is clouded by a widespread confidence that this impact of man upon environment can continue indefinitely. 1967 K. Mellanby Pesticides & Pollution ii. 31 Perhaps the most obvious way in which man has contaminated his environment is by polluting the air with smoke. 1988 Business Rev. Weekly 8 Apr. 6/2 For the past 10 years or so smokestack industries have been unpopular because they have been seen as pollutors of the environment. 2007 Guardian 25 Jan. (G2 section) 18/2 The greater the energy use, the greater the carbon footprint, and the worse for the environment a product is. 3. Phonetics. The context in which a speech sound occurs. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > [noun] > context circumstance1549 context1577 coherence1583 coherent1607 contexture1608 connection1724 environment1874 1874 A. J. Ellis Pract. Hints Quantitative Pronunc. Lat. Contents p. xiii Variable pronunciation according to environment, in French and Dutch. 1934 Yuen-Ren Chao in Bull. Inst. Hist. & Philol. Academia Sinica 4 366 Psychological and physiological factors other than those of phonetic environment. 1960 Medium Ævum 29 27 There was evidently a phonemic distinction between forms which ultimately had the assibilated consonant and those which did not, even in the environment of front vowels. 2003 Lang. in Society 32 460 The /ay/ nuclei followed by voiceless obstruents..are..in a generally higher and more fronted position than those in other phonological environments. 4. The social, political, or cultural circumstances in which a person lives, esp. with respect to their effect on behaviour, attitudes, etc.; (with modifying word) a particular set of such circumstances. ΚΠ 1936 A. Huxley in G. K. Hibbert New Pacifism ii. 39 Humanism was once a favourable environment for pacifism. 1946 S. A. Hayakawa in W. S. Knickerbocker 20th Cent. Eng. 47 In accounting for human behavior it postulates the ‘neuro-semantic environment’—the environment, that is, of dogmas, beliefs, creeds, knowledge, and superstitions to which we react as the result of our training. 1960 Times Rev. Industry July p. ii/2 Ergonomics..is devoted to the study of man and his working environment. 1983 D. Ravitch Troubled Crusade v. 153 Intensive individualized instruction in an encouraging, supportive environment—in other words, good education. 2006 Sydney Morning Herald 18 Nov. 47/2 Singapore's stable political, social and economic environment is no high-stakes gamble. 5. Computing. The overall physical, systematic, or logical structure within which (a part of) a computer or program can operate; the particular combination of operating system, software tools, interface, etc., through which a user operates or programs a system. ΘΚΠ society > computing and information technology > software > [noun] > operating environment environment1961 1961 Communications ACM 4 23 (heading) CL-1, an environment for a compiler. 1978 Computing Surv. 10 70/1 Several programming methods in a Lisp environment can be summarized as involving the use of superimposed languages. 1986 Micro Decision Oct. 34/2 Windows and GEM are bundled with the machine, giving the user a choice of environments. 2005 Dr. Dobb's Jrnl. Oct. 14/1 The EFI spec defines an interface that hands off system control from the preboot environment to the operating system. 6. Art. A large three-dimensional artwork designed to be experienced from within. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > work of art > [noun] > types of > executed in specific manner perspective1597 grotesque1643 al fresco1756 gesso1759 polychrome1801 transfer1839 rangoli1884 trompe l'œil1889 retardataire1903 environment1962 CAD1965 photo work1981 Georgiana1989 1962 Listener 5 Apr. 603/3 Last summer, at the Martha Jackson gallery in New York, there was an exhibition of ‘environments, situations, places’. 1977 Times 19 Aug. 12/5 In the jargon of modern art, an environment is a work of environmental art: a form of art that encompasses the spectator instead of confronting him with a fixed image or object. 2006 Time Out N.Y. 26 Oct. 7/2 Along with other art works, this ‘immersive environment’ will be featured as a part of a Halloween-themed festival. Compounds C1. General attributive and objective (chiefly in sense 2b), as environment area, environment control, environment manipulation, etc. ΚΠ 1913 W. G. Rose Success in Business ii. vi. 89 The passive man gradually comes to submit to all the influences that surround him. He becomes the subject of environment control. 1947 E. Harms Handbk. Child Guidance 351 The latter..includes treatment by a psychiatrist, by a physician, and by the various types of environment manipulation. 1963 Daily Tel. 28 Nov. 16/2 The future pattern of cities should be conceived as a patchwork of ‘environment areas’ of residence, commerce or industry from which traffic other than that concerned with the area would be excluded. 1995 Accounting Rev. 70 460 Structured firm managers were clearly not less sensitive than unstructured firm managers in perceiving the environment manipulation. 2008 New Straits Times (Malaysia) (Nexis) 3 Jan. 10 An air pump, a filtration system, and a heater that provides precise environment control. C2. General attributive (in sense 2d). Cf. environmental adj. 2, 3a. environment commission n. ΚΠ 1968 Winnipeg Free Press 4 May 6/7 Legislation to establish a clean environment commission for pollution control in Manitoba was given first reading.] 1969 Times (San Mateo, Calif.) 22 Nov. 11/1 (headline) Environment commission plan. 2003 Lat. Amer. Perspectives 30 57 The former environment minister..presided over the Environment Commission. environment commissioner n. ΚΠ 1971 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 17 Sept. 1/4 The appointment of Lufkin as environment commissioner threatens the existence of..a watchdog organization founded by Lufkin nearly two years ago. 2007 N. Gingrich & T. L. Maple Contract with Earth ix. 168 Canada's environment commissioner..said in 2006 that her country has ‘done too little and acted too slowly’ in addressing climate change. environment department n. ΚΠ 1969 Stars & Stripes 2 June 7/4 (headline) Sen. to seek ‘environment’ department. 2007 C. Hamilton Scorcher iv. 47 Climate change was seen as primarily an environmental issue, and the environment department urged action commensurate with the scale of the problem. environment editor n. ΚΠ 1970 Chicago Tribune 5 Feb. 5/1 Casey Bukro, 34, was named environment editor of the Chicago Tribune yesterday... In the newly created post, Bukro will devote full time to coverage of environmental problems facing the nation. 2007 M. Hogarth 3rd Degree Prol. p. viii My last media job, as an environment editor, took me to the landmark Kyoto climate summit. environment minister n. ΚΠ 1970 Observer 4 Oct. 1 (headline) Environment Minister in new Cabinet. 2007 S. Jackson Koala 132 The Queensland environment minister..raised reports of kangaroos taking part in boxing matches at a circus. environment ministry n. ΚΠ 1970 Observer 31 May 8/7 It is not the full review of the pollution problem that Mr Anthony Crosland's new ‘environment Ministry’ was expected to produce. 2007 J. Cowie Climate Change 396 At the time of the UN's Stockholm conference, the number of nations with environment ministries numbered no more than 10, whereas by 1992 it was around 100. environment movement n. ΚΠ 1970 Washington Post & Times Herald 15 Mar. 4/3 She has joined the environment movement to..force the big industrial polluters, like chemical companies, to hire more blacks. 2008 Observer 27 Apr. 27 GM crops represent everything that the environment movement has come to hate, though it was not the technology itself that originally made greenies froth at the mouth. environment officer n. ΚΠ 1968 Guardian 9 Dec. 1/5 Environment officer suggested as a possible coordinator of local government departments in helping to improve the looks of the North-west. 2002 R. F. Dasmann Called by Wild xix. 191 A friend of ours..was now working in Noumea as the environment officer for the South Pacific Commission. environment policy n. ΚΠ 1968 Daily Rev. (Hayward, Calif.) 6 Dec. 36 (headline) Washington senator urges ‘U.S. environment policy’. 2007 M. Reynolds Living Politics viii. 120 In the campaign I also focused on environment policies, highlighting my anti-uranium stance. environment secretary n. ΚΠ 1970 Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News 10 Dec. 6 c/5 Peter Walker, environment secretary, announced that it might cost the average motorist up to $240 to modify his car to meet new antinoise and antifume regulations. 2009 M. Glass Ultimatum 198 Whatever damage had already been done by yesterday's confrontation over the emissions scenario would be made ten times worse if his environment secretary walked out. environment spokesman n. ΚΠ 1971 Guardian 20 May 1/8 Although Mr Walker said there would be less interference from Whitehall, Mr Crosland, Labour's environment spokesman, said that there would be more. 2001 P. Strangio No Toxic Dump 162 The ALP's Environment Spokesman..wrote to Wyndham Council and WRATD announcing that he shared local concerns about the proposed CSR facility's impact on the Ramsar-protected wetlands. C3. environment agency n. (a) a means of connecting the immortal soul with the present, physical world; (b) a government agency with responsibility for the management and protection of the natural environment.Sense (a) apparently represents an isolated use. ΚΠ 1913 H. Holley Mod. Social Relig. vi. 192 Body and mind serve only as environment agencies to soul, which has no need of them beyond this life. 1964 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 17 Sept. 21 (headline) Environment agency urged. 2008 Guardian 15 Sept. 39/1 In 2006, the Environment Agency published a poll of its top 100 eco-heroes of all time. environment committee n. (a) a committee which oversees or investigates the environment of someone or something; (b) a committee with responsibility for matters relating to the natural environment. ΚΠ 1935 Jrnl. Criminal Law & Criminol. 26 35 The environment committee is composed of representatives of those groups interested in the welfare of children from the point of view of home and community environment. 1971 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 20 Feb. 7/5 Bills designed to reduce litter..were opposed by industry spokesmen Friday at a hearing before the Environment Committee of the General Assembly. 2004 C. B. Carter & J. W. Lorsch Back to Drawing Board 109 Many resources and chemical companies create environment committees, because a serious mistake in this area could have catastrophic consequences. environment-conscious adj. (originally) sensitive to the state of the surrounding environment; (now usually) = environmentally sensitive adj. (c) at environmentally adv. Compounds. ΚΠ 1932 Rotarian June (verso front cover) The Drake [Hotel] pleases those who are environment conscious. 1959 N.Y. Times 20 June 20/5 Society..must be especially environment-conscious, where children are concerned, during the summer months when schools are closed. 1969 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 11 Dec. 30 It is an out-of-doors, environment conscious country, becoming aware that the basic assumption of man-in-the-world has been turned around. 2001 G. Halevi Handbk. Production Managem. Methods 150 The principle of environment-conscious manufacturing is to adopt those processes that reduce the harmful environmental impacts of manufacturing. environment-friendliness n. the quality of being environment-friendly; = environmental friendliness n. at environmental adj. Compounds. ΚΠ 1982 Proc. 6th Ann. Symp. Computer Applic. in Med. Care 658/1 Microcomputers have five characteristics which make them vital tools for nurse researchers: user-friendliness; environment friendliness; low cost; [etc.]. 1992 Independent (Nexis) 11 Aug. 24 In the final analysis it must be economy and environment-friendliness rather than any temporary tax advantages that will guarantee the permanent spread of diesel power across Europe. 2008 V. Beekman in C. Coff et al. Ethical Traceability & Communicating Food x. 245 These concerns thus warrant regulatory enforcement of certain minimum standards of animal welfare, environment-friendliness and fair trade. environment-friendly adj. = environmentally friendly adj. at environmentally adv. Compounds; (also of design, buildings, etc.) sensitive to and in harmony with aspects of the (external or human) environment. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > safety > [adjective] > safe or not dangerous > safe or harmless > to the environment environmentalist1968 environmentally sound1969 environmentally friendly1971 friendly1971 low-impact1972 sustainable1976 environmental1977 environmental friendly1977 sustainability1980 eco-sensitive1982 environment-friendly1982 nature-friendly1984 ozone-friendly1988 earth-friendly1989 eco-friendly1989 1982 Economist 17 Apr. 6/4 I have relished the thought that Fortresses America and Albion may prove unable or unwilling to keep out such ‘abominations’ as ‘environment-friendly packaging’ or ‘citizen-friendly legislation’. 1988 Grocery Update June 39/1 A closer look at an environment friendly non-aerosol anti-perspirant spray. 1994 Dog World Feb. 91/2 The expo is a celebration of environment-friendly healthy life-style sports, outdoor fun and adventure. 2007 G. John et al. Stadia xiv. 250 Environment-friendly design incorporates all the factors noted in this chapter. environment group n. (a) a class of things which are categorized as environmental; (b) an organization devoted to the study or protection of the natural environment. ΚΠ 1919 C. W. Littlefield Beginning & Way of Life 402 These symptoms may be classed under three groups: 1. Mind Group; 2. Body Group; 3. Environment Group. 1960 Los Angeles Times 5 June d9/6 (headline) Environment group to meet. 1992 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing 92 No. 1. 28/2 As far as task categories went, the only one related with job satisfaction was the environment group. 2008 T. Ha Austral. Green Consumer Guide xiv. 167 For the sake of declining river health, some environment groups in Australia are pushing to restore some of the water flows. environment issue n. (a) an issue relating to the surroundings or conditions in which a person or thing lives, works, or exists; (b) the general concern about protection of the natural environment from the harmful effects of human activity; (also) a particular issue relating to this. ΚΠ 1968 Admin. Sci. Q. 13 185 The lack of clarity in regard to the environment issue is related to another shortcoming of the study... Other environmental pressures..and intra-industry variations in orientation and practice are largely ignored. 1969 Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) 15 Sept. 3/1 The Democrats must come up with a candidate who has a strong anti-war record and must be prominently identified with the environment issue. 1995 N. A. Fouad & R. P. Bingham in W. B. Walsh & S. H. Osipow Handbk. Vocational Psychol. (ed. 2) x. 349 It is important for career counselors to take a broad approach to career issues... These may be cognitive issues, social or emotional issues, behavioral concerns, environment issues. 2002 T. L. Gutner Banking on Environment iii. 52 The 1960s gave birth to active environmental movements in the West, reflecting a sharp increase in popular concern about environment issues. environment-minded adj. mindful of the need to protect the natural environment from the harmful effects of human activity. ΚΠ 1969 Winona (Minnesota) Daily News 30 Oct. 6/1 There has been vast encouragement for pollution controls, a highly popular theme with environment-minded Minnesotans. 2001 P. Hoffmann Tomorrow's Energy (2002) i. 7 Environment-minded scientists..and even some farsighted politicians have been thinking of and supporting the concept of hydrogen as an almost ideal chemical fuel. environment variable n. Computing a variable used to describe some property of a particular environment, which is stored by the operating system and which can be accessed by any process which requires it. ΚΠ 1982 B. H. Mayoh Probl. Solving with ADA vi. 162 Because the program P can use environment variables and types, the primitive translate must know—the address of the cells assigned to environment variables—how many cells to assign to a variable of environment type. 2009 M. Lutz Learning Python (ed. 4) iii. 70 Type the full path to the Python executable, or add its path to your path environment variable. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1603
随便看	to step on etc the gas to step on hit the gas to step on it to step on it her to step on one's cock to step on one's dick to step on the gas to step on the juice to step or tread on the toes of to step out to step out of to step out of line to step out of one's box to step over to step short to step the light fantastic to step to to step to the plate to step together to step up to step up a gear to step up to the plate to step upon to stern to stew in one's own gravy