单词 | mecca |
释义 | Meccan. I. Compounds. 1. Mecca balsam n. (also balsam of Mecca, Mecca balm) a fragrant oleoresin obtained from the tree Commiphora opobalsamum (family Burseraceae) of Arabia and north-east Africa, formerly much used for incense and in medicine and perfumery. Also called balm of Gilead (cf. balm n.1 Phrases a(a)). Now chiefly historical. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > chemistry > polymer chemistry > resins and plastics > [noun] > balsams balsam1682 Mecca balsam1717 oleoresin1853 1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 17 June (1965) I. 368 As to the balm of Meccha, I will certainly send you some. 1721 London Gaz. No. 5939/2 Six Pots of Balsam of Mecca. 1814 F. B. Chaumeton Flore Médicale I. 187 Balsamier de la Mecque... Balsam-tree; Mecha balm-tree. 1823 G. Crabb Universal Technol. Dict. II. Mecca balsam, the balsam which flows from the Amyris gileadensis of Linnaeus. 1868 H. Watts Dict. Chem. V. 1060 Xylobalsamum, the commercial name of the odoriferous wood of Amyris gileadensis, which yields Mecca balsam. 1889 G. S. Boulenger Uses of Plants III. 151 Fragrant Oleo-resins and Gum-resins, including..Balm of Gilead or Mecca Balsam (B[alsamodendron] Opobalsamum, Kunth, or B. Berryi). 1946 Thorpe's Dict. Appl. Chem. (ed. 4) VII. 545/2 Mecca balsam, Balm of Gilead. Opobalsam, Arabian balsam... In the sixteenth century Mecca balsam became so scarce and costly that in 1571 Pius V allowed the substitution of Peru balsam for ritual purposes. 2. Designating a Shiraz prayer rug, esp. in Mecca rug, Mecca Shiraz. Cf. Kashgai n. 2. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > floor-covering > [noun] > carpet > Oriental > Persian or Iranian Persian carpet1583 Persian1653 Persian rug1844 Tabriz1859 Kirman1876 Mecca1892 Karadagh1900 Khorassan1900 Kirmanshah1900 Shiraz1900 Hamadan1901 Shah Abbas1901 garden carpet1908 mahal1911 vase carpet1915 Nain1953 1892 E. Stebbing Holy Carpet of Mosque at Ardebil ii. 15 The situation of Shiraz was in every way favourable to the carpet industry..especially to the so-called ‘Mecca’ rugs. 1922 A. F. Kendrick Handwoven Carpets I. ii. iv. 168 Shirvan Carpet..also known as Daghestan, Mecca, or simply as Persian. 1970 G. Savage Dict. Antiques 265/1 Mecca rugs. Wealthy Mohammedans took prayer-rugs of the finest quality on the pilgrimage to Mecca, after which they were presented to a mosque and hung upon the wall. Many were made at Shiraz, and are termed ‘Mecca Shiraz’. II. Simple uses. 3. A place regarded as supremely sacred or valuable, or where a faith, policy, truth, etc., originates. Also more generally: a place which attracts people of a particular group or with a particular interest; a resort of (also for) a certain group of people. ΘΚΠ the world > space > place > [noun] > sacred sanctuary1445 sanctum1577 holy of holies1641 Mecca1826 society > faith > artefacts > sanctuary or holy place > other > [noun] > Muslim mosque > at Mecca Kaaba1734 Mecca1826 1826 Lancet 25 Nov. 254/2 It [sc. Edinburgh] was consequently the ‘Mecca’, the ‘Delphic Oracle’, the ‘Vale of Egeria’, to which all studious pilgrims should resort to drink of the pure springs of knowledge. 1843 Southern Literary Messenger 9 641 Wander in thought with me o'er the Mecca of Protestants, and linger, for a moment, around the graves of Luther and Melancthon [sic]. 1850 G. H. Boker Anne Boleyn i. iii. 39 Make to the Mecca of our hopes, the king, A solemn pilgrimage. 1877 Spirit of Times 24 Nov. 440/3 This is the Mecca of hundreds who desire to regain shattered health, and to breathe the pure mountain air so invigorating to weak and consumptive invalids. 1905 Daily Chron. 27 Feb. 8/4 The mecca of the tailor-made girl is indeed Bond-street and its immediate neighbourhood. 1922 E. E. Cummings Enormous Room vii. 155 The Mecca of respectability, the great white throne of purity. 1936 Stage June 53 (caption) A mecca for merry movie mobs, a town of moods, to fit you; from Hokusai and suki-yaki to the honored jiu-jitsu. 1948 I. J. C. Brown No Idle Words 78 Art and Culture are the great Mecca-makers. 1961 20th Cent. Feb. 99 The architectural all-sorts of the actor's metropolitan Mecca. 1993 Westside News (Brisbane) 10 Feb. 17/1 Ashgrove is getting set to rival Paddington as a Mecca for diners and lovers of fine food. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < |
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