rarefyv.

Brit.

/ˈrɛːrᵻfʌɪ/, U.S.

/ˈrɛrəˌfaɪ/

Forms: Middle English 1600s– rarefy, Middle English– rarify, 1500s rerefy, 1500s–1600s rarefie, 1500s–1600s raryfy, 1600s rerify. N.E.D. (1903) also records a form late Middle English rerefy.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French rarefier; Latin rārēfacere.

Etymology: < Middle French rarefier to make less dense (a1365), to become less dense (c1400; French raréfier ) and its etymon classical Latin rārēfacere to make less solid (Lucretius), in post-classical Latin also to cut off, reduce (6th cent. or earlier), to refine (from 13th cent. in British sources) < rārus rare adj.¹ + -facere (see -fy suffix); the form in Latin (rather than expected *rārifacere ) is perhaps by analogy with ārefacere arefy v. Compare Old Occitan rarificar (14th cent.), Catalan rarificar (first half of the 15th cent.), Spanish rarificar (first half of the 15th cent.), Italian rarefare (14th cent.), rarificare (a1320).The first vowel of this word was originally short (Middle English ă), but was subsequently altered as a result of association with rare adj.¹

a. transitive. To make (esp. air) thin, usually by expansion; to make looser or less dense in texture. Also intransitive: †to bring about rarefaction (obsolete rare).

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > constitution of matter > lack of density > make less dense [verb (transitive)]

thinc1000

laska1375

rarefya1398

subtilea1425

subtiliate1551

extenuate1559

assubtiliate1582

assubtile1589

attenuate1594

subtilize1597

thinnify1693

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > diseases of tissue > disorders of bones > affect with bone disorder [verb (transitive)] > decay

rarefya1398

cariate1702

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 104 Þis matere þat is now rarefied & þinne schal be cloþid in fourme & schappe of fire.

?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 148^v After þat þe akyng disesyng, be þer preparate a baþ eucratum in which be decocte mollificatyuez temperately rarefying [?c1425 Paris þat maken temperatly þenne; L. temperate rarificantia] & cesyng þe akyng.

a1500 (c1477) T. Norton Ordinal of Alchemy (BL Add.) (1975) 2222 Ayre condensid turned in to Rayne, And watir Rarified becom ayre agayne.

1523 J. Skelton Goodly Garlande of Laurell 651 The clowdis gan to clere, the myst was rarifiid.

1659 W. Chamberlayne Pharonnida iii. iv. sig. Q3 Whilst choice musick rarifies the aire.

1686 W. Harris tr. N. Lémery Course Chym. (ed. 2) i. xiv. 276 A Coral rarefied, and opened by the Spirit of Vinegar.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 66 As Rains condense, and Sun-shine rarifies .

1709 T. Robinson Ess. Nat. Hist. Westmorland & Cumberland 9 Until the atmospherial heat rarifies the nitrous part of the fog.

1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters i. 44 Higher degrees of heat rarefy and expand water.

1819 C. Grotz Art of making Fireworks 5 A large portion of air and water, which are now violently rarified by the heat.

1871 J. Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (1879) I. v. 135 The hot wire rarefied the air in contact with it.

1903 Proc. Royal Soc. 72 359 Having sealed up the upper orifice in the flame—rarefying as we do so the air in the interior of the capsule by the application of warmth—we shake up the contents.

1993 R. D. Luce Sound & Hearing ii. 21 A vibrating tuning fork..compresses and then rarefies the air, thereby creating a longitudinal pressure wave.

b. intransitive. To become less dense or substantial; to undergo rarefaction.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > constitution of matter > lack of density > become less dense [verb (intransitive)]

rarefya1658

thin1834

fine1839

a1658 J. Cleveland Committee in Wks. (1687) 209 Bodies at the Resurrection are On Wing, just rarifying into Air.

1750 tr. C. Leonardus Mirror of Stones 132 When it is kindled by fire, it rarifies, and is violently dilated.

1847 T. De Quincey Spanish Mil. Nun in Wks. (1862) III. 57 Like the mist sometimes rarefying into sunny gauze.

1917 G. M. Stratton Theophrastus & Greek Physiol. Psychol. 179 As the air rarefies, the odour becomes more dense.

1987 Nature 14 May 90/3 As the shell continues to expand and rarefy, astronomers may eventually be able to see characteristic gamma rays from the radioactivity within.

2. Extended uses.

a. transitive. To make thinner or less material; to refine, purify.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > improvement > [verb (transitive)] > purify or refine

slick1340

filec1400

polishc1400

burnish1526

polite1535

extirpate1548

purify1548

soften1579

purgea1582

refine1592

mellow1593

civilize1596

rarefy1600

incivilize1603

sublimate1624

alembicate1627

chastise1627

sublime1631

calcine1635

gentilize1635

ennoble1636

subtilize1638

deconcoct1655

sublimizea1729

smooth1762

absterge1817

decrassify1855

sandpaper1890

the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > immateriality > immaterial [verb (transitive)] > render immaterial

rarefy1600

immaterializea1711

unearth1765

unsense1895

dematerialize1899

1600 B. Jonson Every Man out of his Humor ii. i. sig. F^v You see..how their wits are refin'd and rarefi'd .

1626 T. Hawkins tr. N. Caussin Holy Court I. 24 Raryfying the most grosse thoughts, as the sun-beames doth the vapours of the earth.

1652 E. Benlowes Theophila sig. C2^v Art..rarifies the Soul, and makes it rise.

1720 R. Welton tr. T. Alvares de Andrade Sufferings Son of God I. xi. 282 It is Prayer that..rarifies his Soul into an Essence of Divine Love.

1792 J. Penn Serm. Var. Subj. I. v. 67 That medium, which with refracted rays caused merely a reflex twilight upon their minds, was not yet rarified by the sun of righteousness.

1817 W. Hazlitt Characters Shakespear's Plays 146 Love is a gentle flame that rarefies and expands her whole being.

1887 T. Hardy Woodlanders III. vii. 129 Her regard for Winterborne had been rarefied.

1926 Amer. Speech 1 318 Courses in ‘ectoplasy’..or in ‘levitation’..might rarify, if not clarify, the present rather murky atmosphere of the classroom.

1944 J. R. R. Tolkien Let. 24 Dec. (1995) 105 Frodo will naturally become too ennobled and rarefied by the great achievement of the great Quest.

1988 S. Deshpande That Long Silence I. 34 When I saw his father he was old and frail, with a face thinned and rarified into asceticism.

2005 Archit. Mag. (Nexis) 15 Mar. Beauty rarifies the mundane from within.

†b. transitive. To extenuate or mitigate (a fault). Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > excuse > excuse (a person or fault) [verb (transitive)] > extenuate

whiteOE

gloze1390

colourc1400

emplasterc1405

littlec1450

polish?c1450

daub1543

plaster1546

blanch1548

flatter1552

extenuate1570

alleviate1577

soothe1587

mincea1591

soothe1592

palliate1604

sweeten1635

rarefy1637

mitigate1651

glossa1656

whitewash1703

qualify1749

1637 H. Sydenham Serm. Solemn Occasions 212 There is something in this way, which may rarifie or extenuate an offence, nullify it cannot.

†c. transitive. To make (an idea, argument, etc.) more subtle, esp. to its detriment. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > discernment, discrimination > discern [verb (transitive)] > employ subtlety > excessively

rarefy1667

1667 R. Allestree Causes Decay Christian Piety ix. 253 The plainest, and most simple proposition, when it falls into the hands of these Artists, is mangled and disjointed, is rarified, exalted, and refin'd.

a1699 E. Stillingfleet Serm. in Wks. (1709) IV. 53 Plain truths lose much of their weight when they are rarify'd into subtilities.

1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 149 In some parts of the argument the abstraction is so rarefied as to become..fallacious.

d. intransitive. To talk in a lofty or exalted manner.Apparently an isolated use.

ΚΠ

1928 E. Blunden Undertones of War iv. 44 I remember how Limbery-Buse and myself chirped and rarefied over some crayfish and a great cake.

†3. transitive. To reduce the number of (trees) in an area; to thin (a wood). Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > [verb (transitive)] > thin out

rarefy1650

to weed out1721

1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine iii. 411 Cedars were so rarified in Libanus, that modern travellers saw but four and twenty in their passage over this mountain.

a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Sussex 101 There needed no Iron-mills to rarify the Woods of this County.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	rarefy
释义	rarefyv. Brit. /ˈrɛːrᵻfʌɪ/, U.S. /ˈrɛrəˌfaɪ/ Forms: Middle English 1600s– rarefy, Middle English– rarify, 1500s rerefy, 1500s–1600s rarefie, 1500s–1600s raryfy, 1600s rerify. N.E.D. (1903) also records a form late Middle English rerefy. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French rarefier; Latin rārēfacere. Etymology: < Middle French rarefier to make less dense (a1365), to become less dense (c1400; French raréfier ) and its etymon classical Latin rārēfacere to make less solid (Lucretius), in post-classical Latin also to cut off, reduce (6th cent. or earlier), to refine (from 13th cent. in British sources) < rārus rare adj.¹ + -facere (see -fy suffix); the form in Latin (rather than expected rārifacere ) is perhaps by analogy with ārefacere* arefy v. Compare Old Occitan rarificar (14th cent.), Catalan rarificar (first half of the 15th cent.), Spanish rarificar (first half of the 15th cent.), Italian rarefare (14th cent.), rarificare (a1320).The first vowel of this word was originally short (Middle English ă), but was subsequently altered as a result of association with rare adj.¹ 1. a. transitive. To make (esp. air) thin, usually by expansion; to make looser or less dense in texture. Also intransitive: †to bring about rarefaction (obsolete rare). ΘΚΠ the world > matter > constitution of matter > lack of density > make less dense [verb (transitive)] thinc1000 laska1375 rarefya1398 subtilea1425 subtiliate1551 extenuate1559 assubtiliate1582 assubtile1589 attenuate1594 subtilize1597 thinnify1693 the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > diseases of tissue > disorders of bones > affect with bone disorder [verb (transitive)] > decay rarefya1398 cariate1702 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 104 Þis matere þat is now rarefied & þinne schal be cloþid in fourme & schappe of fire. ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 148^v After þat þe akyng disesyng, be þer preparate a baþ eucratum in which be decocte mollificatyuez temperately rarefying [?c1425 Paris þat maken temperatly þenne; L. temperate rarificantia] & cesyng þe akyng. a1500 (c1477) T. Norton Ordinal of Alchemy (BL Add.) (1975) 2222 Ayre condensid turned in to Rayne, And watir Rarified becom ayre agayne. 1523 J. Skelton Goodly Garlande of Laurell 651 The clowdis gan to clere, the myst was rarifiid. 1659 W. Chamberlayne Pharonnida iii. iv. sig. Q3 Whilst choice musick rarifies the aire. 1686 W. Harris tr. N. Lémery Course Chym. (ed. 2) i. xiv. 276 A Coral rarefied, and opened by the Spirit of Vinegar. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 66 As Rains condense, and Sun-shine rarifies . View more context for this quotation 1709 T. Robinson Ess. Nat. Hist. Westmorland & Cumberland 9 Until the atmospherial heat rarifies the nitrous part of the fog. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters i. 44 Higher degrees of heat rarefy and expand water. 1819 C. Grotz Art of making Fireworks 5 A large portion of air and water, which are now violently rarified by the heat. 1871 J. Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (1879) I. v. 135 The hot wire rarefied the air in contact with it. 1903 Proc. Royal Soc. 72 359 Having sealed up the upper orifice in the flame—rarefying as we do so the air in the interior of the capsule by the application of warmth—we shake up the contents. 1993 R. D. Luce Sound & Hearing ii. 21 A vibrating tuning fork..compresses and then rarefies the air, thereby creating a longitudinal pressure wave. b. intransitive. To become less dense or substantial; to undergo rarefaction. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > constitution of matter > lack of density > become less dense [verb (intransitive)] rarefya1658 thin1834 fine1839 a1658 J. Cleveland Committee in Wks. (1687) 209 Bodies at the Resurrection are On Wing, just rarifying into Air. 1750 tr. C. Leonardus Mirror of Stones 132 When it is kindled by fire, it rarifies, and is violently dilated. 1847 T. De Quincey Spanish Mil. Nun in Wks. (1862) III. 57 Like the mist sometimes rarefying into sunny gauze. 1917 G. M. Stratton Theophrastus & Greek Physiol. Psychol. 179 As the air rarefies, the odour becomes more dense. 1987 Nature 14 May 90/3 As the shell continues to expand and rarefy, astronomers may eventually be able to see characteristic gamma rays from the radioactivity within. 2. Extended uses. a. transitive. To make thinner or less material; to refine, purify. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > improvement > [verb (transitive)] > purify or refine slick1340 filec1400 polishc1400 burnish1526 polite1535 extirpate1548 purify1548 soften1579 purgea1582 refine1592 mellow1593 civilize1596 rarefy1600 incivilize1603 sublimate1624 alembicate1627 chastise1627 sublime1631 calcine1635 gentilize1635 ennoble1636 subtilize1638 deconcoct1655 sublimizea1729 smooth1762 absterge1817 decrassify1855 sandpaper1890 the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > immateriality > immaterial [verb (transitive)] > render immaterial rarefy1600 immaterializea1711 unearth1765 unsense1895 dematerialize1899 1600 B. Jonson Every Man out of his Humor ii. i. sig. F^v You see..how their wits are refin'd and rarefi'd . View more context for this quotation 1626 T. Hawkins tr. N. Caussin Holy Court I. 24 Raryfying the most grosse thoughts, as the sun-beames doth the vapours of the earth. 1652 E. Benlowes Theophila sig. C2^v Art..rarifies the Soul, and makes it rise. 1720 R. Welton tr. T. Alvares de Andrade Sufferings Son of God I. xi. 282 It is Prayer that..rarifies his Soul into an Essence of Divine Love. 1792 J. Penn Serm. Var. Subj. I. v. 67 That medium, which with refracted rays caused merely a reflex twilight upon their minds, was not yet rarified by the sun of righteousness. 1817 W. Hazlitt Characters Shakespear's Plays 146 Love is a gentle flame that rarefies and expands her whole being. 1887 T. Hardy Woodlanders III. vii. 129 Her regard for Winterborne had been rarefied. 1926 Amer. Speech 1 318 Courses in ‘ectoplasy’..or in ‘levitation’..might rarify, if not clarify, the present rather murky atmosphere of the classroom. 1944 J. R. R. Tolkien Let. 24 Dec. (1995) 105 Frodo will naturally become too ennobled and rarefied by the great achievement of the great Quest. 1988 S. Deshpande That Long Silence I. 34 When I saw his father he was old and frail, with a face thinned and rarified into asceticism. 2005 Archit. Mag. (Nexis) 15 Mar. Beauty rarifies the mundane from within. †b. transitive. To extenuate or mitigate (a fault). Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > excuse > excuse (a person or fault) [verb (transitive)] > extenuate whiteOE gloze1390 colourc1400 emplasterc1405 littlec1450 polish?c1450 daub1543 plaster1546 blanch1548 flatter1552 extenuate1570 alleviate1577 soothe1587 mincea1591 soothe1592 palliate1604 sweeten1635 rarefy1637 mitigate1651 glossa1656 whitewash1703 qualify1749 1637 H. Sydenham Serm. Solemn Occasions 212 There is something in this way, which may rarifie or extenuate an offence, nullify it cannot. †c. transitive. To make (an idea, argument, etc.) more subtle, esp. to its detriment. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > discernment, discrimination > discern [verb (transitive)] > employ subtlety > excessively rarefy1667 1667 R. Allestree Causes Decay Christian Piety ix. 253 The plainest, and most simple proposition, when it falls into the hands of these Artists, is mangled and disjointed, is rarified, exalted, and refin'd. a1699 E. Stillingfleet Serm. in Wks. (1709) IV. 53 Plain truths lose much of their weight when they are rarify'd into subtilities. 1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 149 In some parts of the argument the abstraction is so rarefied as to become..fallacious. d. intransitive. To talk in a lofty or exalted manner.Apparently an isolated use. ΚΠ 1928 E. Blunden Undertones of War iv. 44 I remember how Limbery-Buse and myself chirped and rarefied over some crayfish and a great cake. †3. transitive. To reduce the number of (trees) in an area; to thin (a wood). Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > [verb (transitive)] > thin out rarefy1650 to weed out1721 1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine iii. 411 Cedars were so rarified in Libanus, that modern travellers saw but four and twenty in their passage over this mountain. a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Sussex 101 There needed no Iron-mills to rarify the Woods of this County. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < v.a1398
随便看	to be within shouting distance of to be within the mark to be wondered at to be wont to be wooded to be wormwood to be worried, or worry oneself, on to be worse for liquor to be worse than one's word to be worth it to be worth man to be worth one's ears to be worth one's salt to be wreaked to be wreathed in smiles to be written all over to be written all over a person to be written all over a thing to be written all over one's face to be wrong in one's garret to be yesterday's news to be yourself to be yourselves to be —— enough to stop a clock to be, arrive etc safe