| 释义 |
phoenixn.1 Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Partly a borrowing from French. Etymons: Latin phoenīx; French fenix. Etymology: Originally < classical Latin phoenīx (in post-classical Latin also fenix, phenix: see below); subsequently reinforced by Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French fenix, fenis (French phénix, phœnix) the mythical bird (early 12th cent.), excellent person (1176), heraldic emblem (mid 15th cent.), name of a constellation (1671) < classical Latin phoenīx < ancient Greek ϕοῖνιξ the mythical bird (of unknown origin: see note below). Compare Old Occitan fenis, fenics, fenix (mid 12th cent.; Occitan fènix), Catalan fènix (1399), Spanish †fenis (1240–50), fénix (1270), Italian fenice (a1250 as fenise); also Middle Dutch fenix (Dutch feniks), Middle Low German Fēnix, Middle High German fēnix, fēnis (German †phenix, Phönix), Swedish fenix special person (1620), the mythical bird (1671).The ancient Greek writer Herodotus learnt the legend of the phoenix at Heliopolis in Egypt, where, he stated, the cult of the mythical bird was as old as the city. Some modern scholars derive ancient Greek ϕοῖνιξ ‘phoenix’ from ancient Egyptian bnw , a type of heron widely known as a symbol in Egyptian religion, but the resemblance is not clear. More recently a Semitic, possibly Phoenician, origin for the word has been proposed. It has also been suggested that the name of the bird derives from ancient Greek ϕοῖνιξ red (see Phoenician n. and adj.), with reference to the prevailing colour of its body (Herodotus 2. 73: τὰ μὲν χρυσόκομα τῶν πτερῶν, τὰ δὲ ἐρυθρὰ ἐς τὰ μάλιστα , its plumage is partly golden and partly red). For ancient speculation connecting the mythical bird with the date palm see note at phoenix n.2 The English spelling was in 16th cent. assimilated to the classical Latin spelling. The form fenyce is perhaps after Italian. The use of the Latin genitive case form as postmodifier in star names (see sense 4) is a practice that originated in post-classical Latin. the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > mythical creature or object > [noun] > types of mythical bird > phoenix society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > heraldic representations of creatures > [noun] > heraldic birds OE 86 Ðone wudu weardaþ wundrum fæger fugel feþrum strong, se is fenix haten. lOE Homily: De Sancto Iohanne (Vesp. D.xiv) in R. D.-N. Warner (1917) 147 Þu glitenest swa read gold, ealra fugela king, Fenix gehaten. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add.) f. 147 Fenix is a bridde wiþoute make and lyueþ þre hundred or fyue hundred ȝere. ?a1425 (c1400) (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 30 (MED) In Egipt is the citee of Elyople..the cytee of the sonne. In þat cytee þere is a temple..the foul þat is clept Fenix..cometh to brenne himself vpon the awtere of þat temple at the ende of v hundred ȝeer. a1530 W. Bonde (1531) iii. f. CCiiv There is one byrde called a Fenyce, & but onely one of that kynde in the worlde. 1595 W. Shakespeare i. iv. 36 My ashes like the Phœnix maie bring forth A bird that will reuenge it on you all. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny I. xiii. iv. 387 The bird Phœnix, which is supposed to haue taken that name of this Date tree (called in Greeke ϕοῖνιξ) for it was assured to me, that the said bird died with that tree, and reuiued of it selfe as the tree sprung againe. 1661 R. Lovell Isagoge sig. A6v Birds..the fabulous are, the Gryphin, harpie,..phœnix, cinnamologus. 1700 J. Dryden tr. Ovid Of Pythagorean Philos. in 525 All these receive their Birth from other Things; But from himself the Phœnix only springs: Self-born, begotten by the Parent Flame In which he burn'd, another and the same. 1761 tr. P. de Charlevoix I. vii. 199 The antients had their Phenix and Pegasus. 1809 Ld. Byron 961 And glory, like the phœnix 'midst her fires, Exhales her odours, blazes, and expires. 1882 F. W. Farrar I. 103 He [sc. Clemens Romanus] illustrates [the] possibility [of the Resurrection] by natural analogies, especially by the existence and history of the Phœnix! 1956 M. Dickens 159 The birth of Joe Colonna's wife, rising like Phœnix from the ashes. 1992 M. Blonsky (1993) ii. 67 She has been, like the phoenix, reborn from her own ashes a dozen times in her lifetime. 2. In extended use. the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [noun] > excellent person or thing c1400 (?c1380) 430 (MED) We leuen on Marye þat grace of grewe..for synglerty o hyr dousour, We calle hyr Fenyx of Arraby. c1450 ( G. Chaucer 982 Trewly she was to myn ye The soleyn fenix of Arabye. 1548 f. xxxiiiv This Prince [sc. Henry V] was almost the Arabicall Phenix. 1582 T. Watson 11 O Goulden bird and Phenix of our age. 1603 R. Knolles Ep. Ded. Her late sacred Maiestie,..the rare Phœnix of her sex, who now resteth in glorie. 1669 S. Sturmy vi. iii. 128 The Phœnix of Astronomy Ticho-Braghe. 1775 J. Wesley (1872) IV. 50 He seems to think himself a mere Phenix. 1837 H. Hallam I. iii. 285 Picus..so justly called the phœnix of his age. 1881 A. Trollope I. ix. 163 This man..was the very phoenix of school assistants. 1957 J. Braine (1960) 128 Here it was; a human being perfect of its kind, a phoenix amongst barnyard fowls. 1984 D. Lessing ii. 505 I'm that phoenix the old-fashioned family doctor. I'm pure gold, a prize. the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > succession or following in time > [noun] > successor a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. vii. 93 From their ashes shal be reard A Phœnix that shall make all France affear'd. View more context for this quotation 1672 H. Herbert Narr. in (1990) XXX. 317 Leige..out of the ashes has sprung up the Phœnix of all these countries. 1710 W. Congreve 832 From Semele's Ashes a Phænix shall rise, The Joy of this Earth, and Delight of the Skies. 1843 W. M. Thackeray 17–18 Dec. (1945) II. 134 It is a comfort to think that there is a decent income arranged for 1844..and actually a prospect of saving money at the year's end. What a phoenix of a year 1845 will be! 1867 H. Macmillan (1870) xvi. 329 The phœnix of new institutions can only arise out of the conflagration and ashes of the old. 1882 Jan. 433/2 From the ashes of the ‘Squirrel’ sprang the nondescript phoenix ‘Scutifer’. 1989 30 Mar. 40/1 Delhi has been a phoenix too frequent, arising seven times from the ashes of history. c1500 (?a1475) (1896) 810 (MED) A fenyx on hys helme stood. 1561 in J. Robertson (1863) 30 Ane bed of crammosie veluot enriched with phenixes of gold. 1723 R. Izacke 68 The Painters give Azure a Cheuron between 3. Phenixes heads. 1887 24 Oct. 13/2 The button is surrounded by seven gold phœnixes, of which each is inlaid with seven large and twenty-one small pearls and a cat's eye. 1909 A. C. Fox-Davies xiv. 240 The Phœnix..is always represented as a demi-eagle issuing from flames of fire. 1999 (Nexis) 4 Oct. The central element on the red shield is a gold Chinese ‘feng Huang’ or phoenix. the world > the universe > constellation > Southern constellations > [noun] > Phoenix 1674 J. Moxon (ed. 3) i. iii. §10. 19 Twelve Constellations..added by Frederico Houtmanno..who..named them as follows, 1 The Crane, 2 The Phenix, 3 The Indian [etc.]. 1774 M. Mackenzie i. v. 51 When it appears in a horizontal Line with the Foot of the Cross, or the Head of the Phenix. 1799 S. Vince II. 513 (table) α Phœnicis. 1869 E. Dunkin 184 They are respectively the principal stars in Grus, or the Crane, Pavo, or the Peacock, and Phoenix. 1984 20 July 275/3 ζ Phoenicis..is a bright binary with an orbital period of 1.67 days. 1996 (Nexis) 2 Dec. 6 In the northern sky the familiar Summer constellations of Aries, Taurus and Gemini can be found... The western sky contains Aquarius, Grus, Phoenix and Cetus. Compounds C1. a. General attributive in sense ‘of, belonging to, or relating to the phoenix’. 1592 N. Breton C'tess Penbrookes Loue in sig. L 4 Oh let my soule, beseech her sacred rest, But in the ashes of the Phœnix nest. 1766 J. Cunningham 16 Appears amongst the tufted trees A Phœnix nest on fire. 1838 W. Tennant (new ed.) i. 6 Ne'er smelt a Phoenix-nest so sweet. 1985–92 P. Lamantia (1997) 134 Whole past burnt into a phoenix nest. 1594 M. Drayton sig. G4v Vnto her veynes, the onely Phoenix plume. 1630 tr. G. Botero (rev. ed.) 113 The Pope himselfe shall gratifie him with a Phenix plume. 1789 D. Hume V. 413 He openly exulted in the present of a phœnix plume. 2000 D. Kheridian 40 I have a phoenix plume hat made of red gold. 1906 at Phœnix1 Phoenix pride. a1631 J. Donne Canonization in (1633) 203 The Phoenix ridle hath more wit By us, we two being one, are it. 1988 35 274 In search of the key To the labyrinth, the answer to the Phoenix riddle. a1586 Sir P. Sidney (1590) ii. xi. sig. V8 The Phœnix wings are not so rare For faultlesse length, and stainelesse hewe. a1684 J. Evelyn anno 1657 (1955) III. 199 Habits..of curiously colourd & wrought feathers: particularly that of the Phoenix Wing, as tradition gos. 1787 H. J. Pye II. ii. 148 Or of thy Phoenix wing a rival own Save the Mæonian Prodigy alone. 1955 E. Pound iii. 170 Hark to the phoenix-wings at heaven's gate. 2003 (Nexis) 12 Jan. Completing her costume was a 5-foot backpiece in the shape of phoenix wings. b. Parasynthetic. 1596 C. Fitzgeffry sig. B5 Into whose Soule sweete Sidney did infuse The essence of his Phœnix-featherd Muse. 1925 C. H. Brewitt-Taylor tr. xxxii. 335 For he was..a lambkin dressed as a tiger, Merely a coward chicken, phoenix-feathered but spurless. 2003 (Nexis) 11 Jan. 7 First came Harry Potter. With a stroke of his phoenix-feathered wand, the boy wizard broke down the barriers. c. In sense ‘as or of a phoenix’, ‘like that of a phoenix’. 1881 A. Webster 38 Of the upsoaring Phoenix birth from sleep Among the ashes of an ended Past. 1977 10 Nov. 617/1 His radio ballads, combining actuality voices, music and sound effects were a phoenix birth at a dark hour. a1628 F. Greville Cælica xcvi, in (1633) 243 A liuing-dead thing, till it be new borne, A Phenix-life. a1957 R. Campbell tr. F. G. de Quevedo y Villegas On Lisi's Golden Hair in (1960) III. 83 Out of their ash to fan new phoenix-lives. 1651 T. Stanley 6 Rich odours, which from the Panchean groves He steals, as by the Phenix pyre he moves. 1834 M. Howitt 11 And in the halls of princes, And on the Phoenix-pyre. 1962 E. Sitwell 38 The words poor kindling on that Phoenix pyre. 1958 10 Apr. 12 It is no accident that has made The Four Seasons the most performed of Vivaldi's works in these few years of his phoenix resurrection. 1939 R. Campbell iii. 74 So their black chaos is but welcome fuel And phoenix-tinder to this fierce renewal. d. Appositive. a1631 J. Donne (1633) 119 Up then faire Phoenix Bride, frustrate the Sunne. 1814 J. West II. 289 The Earl..was too austere, cold, and misanthropic to be a meet companion for his Phœnix bride. 1806 T. S. Surr II. vi. 141 That phœnix family the Rosevilles—alias the Dickenses. 1973 31 May 4 The unique exhibition of how much the Royal Navy and Britain owe to a single, phoenix family. 1936 R. Campbell 50 True phoenix-fuel whom no burning mars. 1673 J. Flavell xi. 136 Faith is the Phœnix grace, as Christ is the Phœnix mercy. a1711 T. Ken Edmund vii, in (1721) II. 194 In Princes, Chastity's a Phoenix Grace. 1673 J. Flavell xi. 136 Faith is the Phœnix grace, as Christ is the Phœnix mercy. 1919 E. L. Masters 10 The Phoenix moon rising from the ashes of day. 1934 L. B. Lyon 29 The phoenix moon with molten breast. 1906 at Phœnix1 Phoenix opinion. 1906 at Phœnix1 Phoenix parson. 1583 P. Stubbes sig. B8 Such a vertuous Ladie and Phenix Queene. 1650 A. Bradstreet 202 She was a Phoenix Queen, so shall she be, Her ashes not reviv'd more Phoenix she. a1700 J. Dryden (1885) XI. 96 Our phoenix-queen was pourtrayed too so bright. 1906 at Phœnix1 Phoenix sect. 1995 E. L. Bergmann & P. J. Smith 38 The ‘phoenixsect’ of the Borges story must be constituted through that ultimate act of ‘male bonding’, anal penetration. a1720 J. Sheffield (1729) I. 132 That Phenix-She deserves to be beloved. a1839 J. Bethune (1840) 181 And he saw a phoenix-world arise From the grasp of the whelming waves. 1944 W. Temple 22 Feb. (1963) 147 The reforms necessary for the arising of that brave new phoenix-world on which we have set our hearts. C2. the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > coldness > extinguishing fire > [noun] > fire-fighting > fireman 1699 B. E. Phenix-men, the same as Fire-drakes. [Fire-drakes, men with a Phenix for their Badge, in Livery, and Pay from the Insurance-Office, to extinguish Fires.] 1992 S. Holloway xv. 128 (caption) Above A rare bargeboard from one of the Phoenix Company's fire boats, showing two Phoenix watermen-firemen, the Thames and the City of London in the background. 1992 8 June 15 The two collapses caused concern at Westminster about ‘phoenix’ firms which rise from the ashes of failed businesses with the same managers. 1993 5 Sept. (Business section) 14/1 Insider trading, share price manipulation, phoenix companies, bribery, forgery of share certificates and official bungling go back many decades. 1995 7 Sept. 10 (heading) Qld. clamp on ‘phoenix’ scams. 1997 (Electronic ed.) 6 June Labour's ‘get tough’ policy..will focus on ‘phoenix’ directors, who flee the ruins of collapsed businesses..and then reappear elsewhere. Derivatives the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or extraordinary > [noun] > fact of being unparalleled or unique 1886 G. B. Shaw (1889) 268 She, poor girl! cannot appreciate even her own phœnixity. 1590 T. Lodge 71 Amids these paines, all Phoenix like I thriue, Since Loue that yeelds me death, may life reuiue. 1654 R. Whitlock 544 Abraham saw..a Phœnix-like Resurrection of his Son, as possible with God. 1754 S. Fielding & J. Collier III. iv. x. 85 I should soon have built my funeral pile after the example of my favourite Dido; and phoenix-like been consumed in my own fires. 1822 J. Welsh 11 June (1970) 129 The Phœnix-like renovation of my faculties. 1994 J. Edwards (1995) vii. 177 The term anglo-conformity seems more apt, in America, Canada and Australia, than some metaphor of a crucible in which all would be mixed, and from which would emerge, phoenix-like, a new culture. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022). phoenixn.2 Origin: Either (i) a borrowing from Latin. Or (ii) a borrowing from Greek. Etymons: Latin phoenix; Greek ϕοῖνιξ. Etymology: < classical Latin phoenix date palm (or perhaps date) (Pliny) or its etymon ancient Greek ϕοῖνιξ the date palm, a date < Φοῖνιξ Phoenician (see Phoenician n. and adj.), as the tree was of Middle Eastern origin. In later use after scientific Latin Phoenix, genus name (Linnaeus Genera Plantarum (1737) 354).According to Pliny (see quot. 1601 at phoenix n.1 1) the mythical bird was named after the date palm; other ancient writers held that the tree was named after the bird (see Isidore Origines 17. 7. 1, and the Carmen de ave phoenice, attributed to Lactantius (a325), a major source of the Old English Phoenix (compare quot. OE at main sense)). See also quot. a1398 at main sense, and the following:1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) 679 In the south countree is a manere palme that is alone in that kynde: and none other spryngeth ne comyth therof: but whan this palme is so olde that it faylyth all for aege: thenne ofte it quyknyth and spryngyth ayen of itself; therfore men trowe that Fenix that is a byrde of Arabia hath the name of this palme of Arabia, for he dieth and quiketh efte as the foreseide palme dothe, as Plinius seith.1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Hence the Phœnicians gave the Name Phœnix to the Palm-Tree, by reason when burnt down to the very Root, it rises again fairer than ever. Modern scholars do not consider the two Greek words to be connected (see phoenix n.1). the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > non-British trees or shrubs > palm trees > [noun] > date-palm the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fruit-tree or -plant > [noun] > trees or plants bearing stone fruit > date-palm OE 174 Ðær he heanne beam on hottwuda wunað ond weardað, wyrtum fæstne under heofum hrofe [read heofunhrofe], þone hatað men Fenix on foldan, of þæs fugles noman. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add.) f. 239 Palma is a tree..by liknesse of þe bridde ffenix þat lyueþ longe tyme sche hatte ffenix among þe grees. 1597 W. Burton tr. Achilles Tatius 29 For there God hath named it by the surname of a plant, for it is an Iland of the the [sic] Phænicians, for Phœnix (which word signifieth a date tree) is a plant. 1829 T. Castle v. 175 The tribe of palms is an entirely natural and very distinct order... Phoenix, cocos, &c. 1898 159 In October, 1897, Mr. W. J. Hesser, a large importer and grower of palms, sent to the Garden leaves of Kentia and Phoenix affected by unrecognized fungi. 1937 99 400 A number of other species of Phoenix have also been introduced into the United States. 1969 T. H. Everett 80 Phoenixes are easily recognized because they are the only feather-leaved palms with leaflets pointed at the tips and folded downwards along the centers. 1984 9 377/2 The genus Phoenix (Palmae) is diagnosed, among other features, by the basal spines of the leaf rachis. Compounds 1895 18 Apr. 1/3 To sit under the waving feathers of the date and phœnix palms. 1631 W. Lisle x. 164 In Canopee Met close aboue with boughs of Phoenix tree. 1835 G. Darley 9 I woke, hard by the Phenix tree That with shadeless boughs flamed over me. 1993 P. Ackroyd 51 The phoenix tree which blooms for an hundred years and imparts an odour more perfumed than musk or civet or ambergris. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022). <  n.1OE n.2OE |
/fiːˈnɪsɪs/, U.S.