pitfalln.

Brit.

/ˈpɪtfɔːl/, U.S.

/ˈpɪtˌfɔl/,

/ˈpɪtˌfɑl/

Forms: see pit n.¹ and fall n.¹

Origin: Apparently formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: pit n.¹, fall n.¹

Etymology: Apparently < pit n.¹ + fall n.¹, although apparently subsequently reanalysed as < pit n.¹ + fall n.²

†1. Unfavourable terrain in which an army may be surrounded and captured. Cf. pitfold n. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device to trip or obstruct people or horses > [noun]

caltropa1300

pitfalla1350

pitfold1575

trip1862

a1350 in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 12 (MED) Þer hy were knulled y þe put-falle, Þis eorles ant barouns & huere knyhtes alle.

†2. A trap for catching birds, in which a trapdoor falls over a cavity or hollow. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > hunting > fowling > fowling equipment > [noun] > trap or snare

panter1299

linesc1325

pitfalla1382

gilderta1400

pantle?a1450

shrape1532

pitfold1575

strap1584

scrape1620

pole trap1879

teagle1908

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1969) Jer. v.27 As a pit-falle [a1425 L.V. a net, ether a trap] [L. decipula] ful of briddis, so þe hous of hem ful of treccherie.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) Ecclus. xi. 32 As þe partrich is broȝt in in to þe pit falle [a1425 L.V. a trap ether net; L caveam] & as a capret in to þe grene, so & þe herte of proude men.

Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 402 Pytfalle, decipula, avicipula.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 254/2 Pytfall for byrdes, trebovchet.

1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares 89 b Foules of the ayre, though neuer so empty stomackt, flye not for foode into open Pit-fals.

1604 W. Terilo Friar Bacon's Prophesie 331 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1866) IV. 280 Now pitfalls are so made, That small birdes cannot know them.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Trebuchet, a pitfall for birds.

1764 Anti-times 25 A mouse when caught, shall 'scape the cage, Or bird from pitfall disengage.

1795 N. Cox Fowler 67 Every Boy know how to take the Robin Red-Breast in a Pit-fall.

3. A (usually concealed) pit into which animals, etc., may fall, esp. one constructed as a trap.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > hunting > equipment > trap or snare > [noun] > pit trap

pitOE

pitfalla1387

trapfall1596

trap-pit1652

trap-ditch1657

pit trap1751

well trap1819

downfall1856

hopo1866

piskun1892

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 155 Þey..drewe vp nayles þat helde vp holow þe benches vnder þe Pictes, and þe Pictes sodenliche an vnware fel ouer þe hammes into a wonder putfalle [?a1475 anon. tr. holoo places vnder the seetes].

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 285 A caue oþer a diche is y-made vnder erþe, as it were, a putfalle in þe elephantes weye, and vnware he falleþ þer Inne.

c1475 (c1420) J. Page Siege of Rouen (Egerton) (1876) 4 (MED) The bottom of the diche with yn Was pyttefallyd ij fote evyr bytwyn, And every pyttefalle a spere hyghthe.

1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. ii. f. 96^v The dogge tyger chaunsed fyrste into this pitfaul.

1638 R. Brathwait Surv. Hist. 186 A young Elephant following his Damme, fell downe by chance into one of those Pit-falls, purposely made by Hunters, to surprise them.

1678 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 82 The way was..so full of Pits, Pitfalls, deep holes and shelvings down there.

1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 171 I resolv'd to try a Pit-fall, so I dug several large Pits in the Earth, in Places where I had observ'd the Goats used to feed, and over these Pits I plac'd Hurdles.

1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth IV. 290 These animals are sometimes taken in pit-falls, covered with green branches, laid in those paths which the Rhinoceros makes.

1832 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. (1868) II. iii. xlv. 521 Open fissures often serve as natural pitfalls in which herbivorous animals perish.

1877 W. Greenwell Brit. Barrows 742 A pack of wild dogs co-operating with priscan men in driving a herd of wild cattle..along a track in which a pitfall had been dug.

1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 456/2 They hunt game with poisoned arrows, with pitfalls and springes set everywhere.

1990 Canad. Indian (Dept. Indian & Northern Affairs Canada) 30/1 The Plateau Indians made widespread use of pitfalls.

4. figurative. (a) A trap or device intended to lure the unwary into error. (b) A hidden or unsuspected danger, difficulty, or opportunity for error.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [noun] > instance or cause of > hidden

pitfallc1390

wevet1499

a pad in the straw1530

shelf1560

trapfall1596

snake1611

trapdoor1648

mantrap1798

death-trap1828

nigger in the woodpile1852

—— in the woodpile1857

the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [noun] > a wile or cunning device > designed to trap or catch

gina1325

pitfallc1390

train?a1400

catch1799

c1390 in C. Horstmann Minor Poems Vernon MS (1892) i. 145 (MED) For synne i [read is] cald þe deueles schakel, His net, his tool, his takyng takel; Wiþ lust he eeseþ his put-falle To gylen wiþ cristene soules alle.

1582 G. Whetstone Heptameron Ciuill Disc. iv. sig. N.i^v The Prieste of the Parrishe..smelt out the Fryers counning, and was glad to take one of those Beggers in a Pitfall.

1641 J. Milton Reason Church-govt. 13 The Papists,..by this very snare and pitfall of imitating the ceremonial law, fel into that..superstition.

1680 J. Dryden Kind Keeper i. i. 4 Wood. Are they very alluring, say you? very wanton? Saint. You appear exalted, when I mention those Pit-falls of Iniquity.

1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 175. ⁋11 Unless he is taught by timely precepts.., and shewn at distance the pitfals of treachery.

1797 R. Tyler Algerine Captive I. ii. 40 Marriage was the ocasion that the Devil tooke to caste his firy darts, and lay his pit falls of temptation, to catche frale flesh and bloode.

1827 H. Hallam Constit. Hist. Eng. II. xvi. 641 We..walk amidst the snares and pitfalls of the law.

1861 Sat. Rev. 23 Nov. 533 He may be merely a blundering student, who has tumbled into a theological pitfall in the dark.

1877 J. C. Cox Notes on Churches of Derbyshire II. Introd. 8 The procuring of a full transcript has saved me from numerous pit-falls.

1915 C. P. Gilman Herland in Forerunner Aug. 211/1 This period of courtship was full of the most unsuspected pitfalls.

1980 Observer 12 Oct. 13 I hope not to fall into the pitfalls of fame.

Compounds

pitfall trap n. a (usually concealed) pit used as a trap (cf. sense 3); (later also) a cup-like device set into the ground to trap insects or other small creatures.

ΚΠ

1865 Sci. Amer. 15 July 33 It would be tedious to attempt to recapitulate the variety of gin traps,..pit-fall traps,..[etc.] included in the number exhibited.

a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) II. 1271 Pitfall-traps must have appeared very early, and refuges of various kinds were doubtless prepared when the risks [from wild animals] were great.

1996 Farmers Weekly 22 Nov. 60/3 Pitfall traps are used to check for insect problems.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	pitfall
释义	pitfalln. Brit. /ˈpɪtfɔːl/, U.S. /ˈpɪtˌfɔl/, /ˈpɪtˌfɑl/ Forms: see pit n.¹ and fall n.¹ Origin: Apparently formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: pit n.¹, fall n.¹ Etymology: Apparently < pit n.¹ + fall n.¹, although apparently subsequently reanalysed as < pit n.¹ + fall n.² †1. Unfavourable terrain in which an army may be surrounded and captured. Cf. pitfold n. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device to trip or obstruct people or horses > [noun] caltropa1300 pitfalla1350 pitfold1575 trip1862 a1350 in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 12 (MED) Þer hy were knulled y þe put-falle, Þis eorles ant barouns & huere knyhtes alle. †2. A trap for catching birds, in which a trapdoor falls over a cavity or hollow. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > hunting > fowling > fowling equipment > [noun] > trap or snare panter1299 linesc1325 pitfalla1382 gilderta1400 pantle?a1450 shrape1532 pitfold1575 strap1584 scrape1620 pole trap1879 teagle1908 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1969) Jer. v.27 As a pit-falle [a1425 L.V. a net, ether a trap] [L. decipula] ful of briddis, so þe hous of hem ful of treccherie. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) Ecclus. xi. 32 As þe partrich is broȝt in in to þe pit falle [a1425 L.V. a trap ether net; L caveam] & as a capret in to þe grene, so & þe herte of proude men. Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 402 Pytfalle, decipula, avicipula. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 254/2 Pytfall for byrdes, trebovchet. 1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares 89 b Foules of the ayre, though neuer so empty stomackt, flye not for foode into open Pit-fals. 1604 W. Terilo Friar Bacon's Prophesie 331 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1866) IV. 280 Now pitfalls are so made, That small birdes cannot know them. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Trebuchet, a pitfall for birds. 1764 Anti-times 25 A mouse when caught, shall 'scape the cage, Or bird from pitfall disengage. 1795 N. Cox Fowler 67 Every Boy know how to take the Robin Red-Breast in a Pit-fall. 3. A (usually concealed) pit into which animals, etc., may fall, esp. one constructed as a trap. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > hunting > equipment > trap or snare > [noun] > pit trap pitOE pitfalla1387 trapfall1596 trap-pit1652 trap-ditch1657 pit trap1751 well trap1819 downfall1856 hopo1866 piskun1892 a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 155 Þey..drewe vp nayles þat helde vp holow þe benches vnder þe Pictes, and þe Pictes sodenliche an vnware fel ouer þe hammes into a wonder putfalle [?a1475 anon. tr. holoo places vnder the seetes]. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 285 A caue oþer a diche is y-made vnder erþe, as it were, a putfalle in þe elephantes weye, and vnware he falleþ þer Inne. c1475 (c1420) J. Page Siege of Rouen (Egerton) (1876) 4 (MED) The bottom of the diche with yn Was pyttefallyd ij fote evyr bytwyn, And every pyttefalle a spere hyghthe. 1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. ii. f. 96^v The dogge tyger chaunsed fyrste into this pitfaul. 1638 R. Brathwait Surv. Hist. 186 A young Elephant following his Damme, fell downe by chance into one of those Pit-falls, purposely made by Hunters, to surprise them. 1678 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 82 The way was..so full of Pits, Pitfalls, deep holes and shelvings down there. View more context for this quotation 1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 171 I resolv'd to try a Pit-fall, so I dug several large Pits in the Earth, in Places where I had observ'd the Goats used to feed, and over these Pits I plac'd Hurdles. 1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth IV. 290 These animals are sometimes taken in pit-falls, covered with green branches, laid in those paths which the Rhinoceros makes. 1832 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. (1868) II. iii. xlv. 521 Open fissures often serve as natural pitfalls in which herbivorous animals perish. 1877 W. Greenwell Brit. Barrows 742 A pack of wild dogs co-operating with priscan men in driving a herd of wild cattle..along a track in which a pitfall had been dug. 1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 456/2 They hunt game with poisoned arrows, with pitfalls and springes set everywhere. 1990 Canad. Indian (Dept. Indian & Northern Affairs Canada) 30/1 The Plateau Indians made widespread use of pitfalls. 4. figurative. (a) A trap or device intended to lure the unwary into error. (b) A hidden or unsuspected danger, difficulty, or opportunity for error. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [noun] > instance or cause of > hidden pitfallc1390 wevet1499 a pad in the straw1530 shelf1560 trapfall1596 snake1611 trapdoor1648 mantrap1798 death-trap1828 nigger in the woodpile1852 —— in the woodpile1857 the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [noun] > a wile or cunning device > designed to trap or catch gina1325 pitfallc1390 train?a1400 catch1799 c1390 in C. Horstmann Minor Poems Vernon MS (1892) i. 145 (MED) For synne i [read is] cald þe deueles schakel, His net, his tool, his takyng takel; Wiþ lust he eeseþ his put-falle To gylen wiþ cristene soules alle. 1582 G. Whetstone Heptameron Ciuill Disc. iv. sig. N.i^v The Prieste of the Parrishe..smelt out the Fryers counning, and was glad to take one of those Beggers in a Pitfall. 1641 J. Milton Reason Church-govt. 13 The Papists,..by this very snare and pitfall of imitating the ceremonial law, fel into that..superstition. 1680 J. Dryden Kind Keeper i. i. 4 Wood. Are they very alluring, say you? very wanton? Saint. You appear exalted, when I mention those Pit-falls of Iniquity. 1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 175. ⁋11 Unless he is taught by timely precepts.., and shewn at distance the pitfals of treachery. 1797 R. Tyler Algerine Captive I. ii. 40 Marriage was the ocasion that the Devil tooke to caste his firy darts, and lay his pit falls of temptation, to catche frale flesh and bloode. 1827 H. Hallam Constit. Hist. Eng. II. xvi. 641 We..walk amidst the snares and pitfalls of the law. 1861 Sat. Rev. 23 Nov. 533 He may be merely a blundering student, who has tumbled into a theological pitfall in the dark. 1877 J. C. Cox Notes on Churches of Derbyshire II. Introd. 8 The procuring of a full transcript has saved me from numerous pit-falls. 1915 C. P. Gilman Herland in Forerunner Aug. 211/1 This period of courtship was full of the most unsuspected pitfalls. 1980 Observer 12 Oct. 13 I hope not to fall into the pitfalls of fame. Compounds pitfall trap n. a (usually concealed) pit used as a trap (cf. sense 3); (later also) a cup-like device set into the ground to trap insects or other small creatures. ΚΠ 1865 Sci. Amer. 15 July 33 It would be tedious to attempt to recapitulate the variety of gin traps,..pit-fall traps,..[etc.] included in the number exhibited. a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) II. 1271 Pitfall-traps must have appeared very early, and refuges of various kinds were doubtless prepared when the risks [from wild animals] were great. 1996 Farmers Weekly 22 Nov. 60/3 Pitfall traps are used to check for insect problems. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.a1350
随便看	uncompanied uncompanionable uncompanioned uncomparable uncomparably uncomparatively uncompared uncompassable uncompassed uncompassionate uncompassionated uncompassionately uncompassionateness uncompassionating uncompassioned uncompeered uncompellable uncompelled uncompelling uncompellingly uncompensable uncompensated uncompetence uncompetent uncompetible