单词 | protean |
释义 | Proteanadj.n. A. adj. 1. Of or relating to Proteus, like that of Proteus. Hence in extended use: adopting or existing in various shapes, variable in form; variously manifested or expressed; changing, unpredictable. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > [adjective] > having many or all forms variformed1578 milliformc1581 Protean1594 multiform1603 shapeful?1615 omniform1642 polymorphean1656 diversiform1660 variform1662 multiformousa1670 proteiform1724 various1725 versiform1727 polymorphous1798 maniform?1811 polymorphic1816 pantomorphic1836 omniformal1848 polymorph1872 pluriform1938 the world > time > change > changeableness > [adjective] slidinga900 wankleeOE windyc1000 unsteadfastc1200 fleeting?c1225 loose?c1225 brotelc1315 unstablec1340 varyingc1340 variantc1374 motleyc1380 ungroundedc1380 muablea1393 passiblea1393 remuablea1393 changeablea1398 movablea1398 variablec1397 slidderya1400 ticklec1400 variantc1412 flitting1413 mutable?a1425 movingc1425 flaskisable1430 flickering1430 transmutablec1430 vertible1447 brittlea1450 ficklea1450 permutablec1450 unfirmc1450 uncertain1477 turnable1483 unsteadfast1483 vagrantc1522 inconstant1526 alterable?1531 stirringc1540 slippery1548 various1552 slid?1553 mutala1561 rolling1561 weathery1563 unconstant1568 interchangeable1574 fluctuant1575 stayless1575 transitive1575 voluble1575 changeling1577 queasy1579 desultory1581 huff-puff1582 unstaid1586 vagrant1586 changeful1590 floating1594 Protean1594 unstayed1594 swimming1596 anchorless1597 mobilec1600 ticklish1601 catching1603 labile1603 unrooted1604 quicksilvered1605 versatile1605 insubstantial1607 uncertain1609 brandling1611 rootless1611 squeasy1611 wind-changinga1616 insolid1618 ambulatory1625 versatilous1629 plastic1633 desultorious1637 unbottomed1641 fluid1642 fluent1648 yea-and-nay1648 versipellous1650 flexile1651 uncentred1652 variating1653 chequered1656 slideable1662 transchangeative1662 weathercock-like1663 flicketing1674 fluxa1677 lapsable1678 wanton1681 veering1684 upon the weathercock1702 contingent1703 unsettled?1726 fermentable1731 afloat1757 brickle1768 wavy1795 vagarious1798 unsettled1803 fitful1810 metamorphosical1811 undulating1815 tittupya1817 titubant1817 mutative1818 papier mâché1818 teetotum1819 vacillating1822 capricious1823 sensitive1828 quicksilvery1829 unengrafted1829 fluxionala1834 proteiform1833 liquid1835 tottlish1835 kaleidoscopic1846 versative1846 kaleidoscopical1858 tottery1861 choppy1865 variative1874 variational1879 wimbly-wambly1881 fluctuable1882 shifty1882 giveable1884 shifty1884 tippy1886 mutatory1890 upsettable1890 rocky1897 undulatory1897 streaky1898 tottly1905 tipply1906 up and down1907 inertialess1927 sometimey1946 rise-and-fall1950 switchable1961 the world > relative properties > relationship > variety > [adjective] sunderlyeOE manifoldeOE selcoutha1000 felefoldc1000 mislichOE alkinOE manykinOE fele-kync1175 serekina1300 sundera1325 sundrya1325 serea1340 divers1340 varyingc1340 variantc1380 muchfoldc1384 serelepesa1400 serelepya1400 multifaryc1460 sundryfoldc1460 multiplicate?a1475 variable?a1475 sundrilyc1480 diversea1542 particoloured1591 multifarious1593 Protean1594 daedal1596 choiceful1605 Daedalian1605 multiplex1606 variated1608 diversified1611 multiplicious1617 variousa1634 multivarious1636 mosaic1644 multiple1647 omnigenous1650 chequered1656 plurifarious1656 ununiform1660 variate1677 disuniform1687 Proteusian1689 unsteady1690 unequable1693 inequable1721 variegating1727 varied1733 multitudinous1744 multifold1806 polygeneous1818 unequalized1822 ruleless1836 varicoloured185. non-uniform1856 omnigener1857 polytypic1858 multiferous1860 variatious1871 variegated1872 polytypical1890 the world > time > change > change to something else, transformation > [adjective] > changing in form form-shifting1593 Protean1594 shape-changing1621 Proteusian1689 metamorphostical1722 metamorphic1816 proteiform1833 shape-shifting1884 1594 G. Chapman Σκìα Νυκτòς sig. Biv Sweet Protean dreames she sends of euery sort: Some taking formes of Princes, to perswade..Some clad in habit of deceased friends [etc.]. 1598 J. Marston Certaine Satyres in Metamorph. Pigmalions Image 47 I shall stand in doubt What sex thou art, since such Hermaphrodites Such Protean shadowes so delude our sights. 1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage viii. x. 664 He escaped by his Protean Arts; now appearing like an Eagle, the second time like a Tygre, the third like a Serpent. 1679 Established Test 3 Their Protean Faculties of Dissimulation, Perjury, and Putting on so many Shapes. 1700 T. D'Urfey Famous Hist. Rise & Fall Massaniello i. v. i. 45 So well I've plotted, I am unsuspected of the late Conspiracy—and now have formed another Protean plot, to seat myself securely. 1753 H. Jones Merit 21 The Protean Skill of Action we admire. The Eagle thus that wheels aloft in Air, Can sudden stoop..Then instant spring, and mount to Heav'n again. 1832 Times 31 Mar. 4/3 The Lord Chancellor, with all his Protean powers. 1845 J. Phillips & C. G. B. Daubeny Geol. in Encycl. Metrop. VI. 559/2 Its geological relations should always be consulted before deciding on the name of this Protean rock. 1859 C. Darwin Origin of Species ii. 46 Genera which have sometimes been called ‘protean’ or ‘polymorphic’, in which the species present an inordinate amount of variation. 1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xiv. 97 The scene had time to go through several of its Protean mutations. 1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 346 General paralysis is of necessity a protean malady. 1929 C. Aiken Sel. Poems 335 Her protean fiery body and lithe arms. 1978 I. Berlin Russian Thinkers 23 The many varied provinces of Pushkin's protean genius. 1991 R. Rendell Kissing Gunner's Daughter (1992) xii. 142 There was something protean about him, so that in certain lights and at certain angles you would have called him a sharp-featured man with a hard jawline, while at others his nose and mouth looked almost feminine. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > protozoa > class Sarcodina > [adjective] > resembling member of Sarcodina proteiform1724 Protean1813 1813 W. Bingley Animal Biogr. (ed. 4) III. 568 The Protean Vibrio..a species which has derived its name from its very singular power of assuming different shapes. 1835–6 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. I. 645/1 The Protean animals..do not undergo..any further metamorphosis. 1874 Amer. Naturalist 8 741 We have almost anticipated a definition of the Rhizopoda, of which the Amœba, or Protean animalcule, is the simplest form. 3. Theatre. Of a performance: having the same actors playing several parts in the same piece; (of a performer) playing several characters in the same piece, ‘quick-change’. Cf. sense B. 1b. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > actor > [adjective] > type of actor by performance tear-cat1606 Roscian1607 buffo1789 stickish1810 Protean1871 glimmery1892 hammy1929 ham1935 pixilated1959 society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > acting > [adjective] > other types of acting straight1895 Protean1946 1871 Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 2 May 1/1 Operettas, Protean Burlesque, Monologue and Duologue Pieces. 1892 Chicago Tribune 4 Aug. The academy is not so rich in Shakespearean scenery as in..appurtenances of the protean drama. 1897 Daily Tel. 10 Mar. 4/5 Few will deny that Leopoldi Fregoli..is..alert, versatile, neat in his business, quick as lightning in his changes, and..the best ‘protean’ entertainer that the oldest playgoer has ever seen. 1946 S. T. Felstead Stars who made Halls xiii. 132 This was nothing more than protean work; he had to play five characters a night and received thereby the munificent sum of twenty-five shillings a week. 1995 Advertiser (Adelaide) (Nexis) 14 Oct. The Protean extras transform from eunuch to soldier or slave in double-quick-change time. 4. Zoology. Of animal behaviour: unpredictable and confusing, thus providing a defence against predators. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > by habits or actions > habits and actions > [adjective] > unpredictable Protean1959 1959 Chance & Russell in Proc. Zool. Soc. 132 67 We therefore propose the term ‘Protean Displays’. The mythical Proteus frustrated would-be captors by constantly changing his shape, so that they had nothing systematic to which to react. 1970 Nature 6 June 968/1 We have surveyed the occurrence of such protean behaviours and defined them as behaviours which are sufficiently unsystematic in appearance to prevent a reactor predicting in detail the position and/or actions of the actor. 1993 Canad. Jrnl. Zool. 71 1562 We suggest that low-altitude erratic flight in moths is a protean insurance defence against bats. B. n. 1. a. A person who or thing which changes form, character, nature, role, etc., rapidly or frequently. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > equivocal quality, ambiguity > [noun] > deliberate > exploiter of Protean1598 equivocator1599 Janus face1654 straddle-bug1872 agnostic1885 the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > inconstant person or thing > inconstant person starter1519 changeling1539 flirt1577 Protean1598 weathercock1598 changerc1600 mooncalf1607 minute jacka1616 a nose of wax1821 sugar stick1825 wax-nosea1843 in-and-outer1905 brainstormer1907 1598 J. Marston Certaine Satyres in Metamorph. Pigmalions Image 38 These same Proteans, whose hipocrisie, Doth still abuse our fond credulity. 1664 T. Killigrew 2nd Pt. Thomaso v. i, in Comedies & Trag. 444 Switzers with two-colour'd Coats, Knaves of divers colours, black and white Knaves, such Proteans a Lady knows not when to love or hate them. 1918 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Jrnl.-Gaz. 17 Feb. iii. 4/1 The attack upon this most unfortunate of Proteans [sc. Nietzsche] has been partly due to the actions of his own countrymen. 1927 Zanesville (Ohio) Signal 10 Nov. 6/1 (title of poem) Proteans of the wild. 1971 W. R. Johnson Luxuriance & Econ. 26 Participles, those marvellously aspectual proteans, half-noun, half-adjective, that can..impersonate or describe whatever phenomenon a Greek sentence wants to sketch. 1999 S. Rushdie Ground beneath her Feet (2000) ix. 265 And once we've learned how to change our skins, we Proteans, sometimes we can't stop, we career between selves, lane-hopping wildly, trying not to run off the road and crash. b. An actor capable of performing a variety of parts, esp. one who plays several parts in the same piece (see sense A. 3). ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > actor > [noun] > actor playing specific type of part > actor playing two or more parts double1808 Protean1890 1890 Cent. Dict. Protean, an actor who plays a number of parts in one piece. 1953 M. Redgrave Actor's Ways & Means 19 There are ‘personality’ actors and the rest—the ‘Proteans’. 1969 Times 1 Oct. (Review section) iii./5 And there are Proteans—actors who get under the skin of a part and fit themselves into its furrows. 1994 Syracuse (N. Y.) Herald-Jrnl. 28 Sept. b5/4 The Proteans are particularly funny as soldiers under the command of Gloriosus and as the eunuchs in charge of Marcus Lycus' stable of lovelies. ΚΠ 1890 Cent. Dict. Protean, a salamander of the family Proteidæ. Derivatives ˈproteanism n. rare capacity for change, variability, unpredictability. ΘΚΠ the world > time > change > changeableness > [noun] unstablenessc1340 varyingc1380 uncertaintyc1384 brotelnessc1386 were1390 instabilityc1422 bricklenessa1425 changeability?a1425 changeableness1447 vertibility1447 mutability?a1475 variableness?a1475 inconstance1509 mutationa1542 fickleness1548 variety1548 unconstancy1563 mobility1567 unstability1572 vicissitude1576 variousness1607 inconstancy1613 slipperinessa1618 alterableness1633 versatilousness1640 bottomlessness1642 lability1651 brittlety1652 versatileness1654 fluctuancy1659 fugitivenessa1661 alterability1661 permutability1662 unfixedness1668 mutablenessa1677 flittingnessa1680 frailness1687 flittiness1692 versability1721 plasticity1727 variability1771 unestablishment1776 fluctuabilitya1786 changefulness1791 unsettledness1799 versatility1802 harlequinism1808 fluidity1824 fitfulness1825 sensitiveness1825 insubstantiality1848 contingency1858 rootlessness1859 shiftingness1866 ficklety1888 variancy1888 impredicability1906 proteanism1909 1909 Jrnl. Amer. Oriental Soc. 30 72 It is difficult for a mere European, brought up on a dictionary and accustomed to define everything accurately, to grasp the Proteanism, the fluidity, if I may so speak, of the Hindu divinity called for the most part simply Devi. 1951 R. Hargreaves This Happy Breed vii. 77 The proteanism of his endless duties knows no limitation. 1998 New Scientist 22 Aug. 32/3 Proteanism could also make sense of some of the more bizarre interactions between predators and prey. ˈproteanly adv. rare in a protean manner (in various senses). ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > [adverb] > in different forms proteanly1678 variformly1891 the world > time > change > change to something else, transformation > [adverb] transitively1577 proteanly1678 transformingly1866 1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. i. 36 Matter..only Proteanly transformed into different Shapes. 1962 MLN 77 353 The author had mistakenly identified the artists from the initials on the engravings, and he had no idea of how proteanly interchangeable text and illustration were. 1988 New Lit. Hist. 20 202 Croce and Derrida's shared historicist view of language as proteanly dynamic and creative. 2000 D. Carr Professionalism & Ethics in Teaching i. i. 10 Both concepts are proteanly resistant to precise formulations. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < |
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