单词 | spontaneous |
释义 | spontaneousadj. 1. a. Of personal actions: Arising or proceeding entirely from natural impulse, without any external stimulus or constraint; voluntary and of one's own accord. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > free will > [adjective] > proceeding from free will selflyOE self-willOE willesOE needlessc1225 wilninga1250 wilfulc1374 voluntaryc1449 spontany1532 voluntarious1532 spontaneal1602 voluntaire1615 self-willing1625 ultroneous1637 unimposed1642 elective1643 spontaneous1656 contingent1660 unmechanic1709 volitient1844 unmechanical1865 the world > action or operation > doing > [adjective] > relating to or characterized by acts or deeds > without external impulse self-acting1605 spontaneous1656 1656 T. Hobbes Questions Liberty, Necessity & Chance 60 That all voluntary actions, where the thing that induceth the will is not fear, are called also spontaneous, and said to be done by a mans own accord. 1690 C. Ness Compl. Hist. & Myst. Old & New Test. I. 43 Her eating therefore was a spontaneous act. 1727 D. Defoe Ess. Hist. Apparitions i. 17 By Apparition also I am to understand such Appearances of these superior Beings as are Spontaneous and Voluntary. 1781 J. Moore View Soc. Italy (1790) I. ix. 91 The spontaneous respect paid to the antiquity of their families. 1839 H. Hallam Introd. Lit. Europe II. i. 39 The resemblance of natural disposition made it a spontaneous act of Muretus to fall into the footsteps of Cicero. 1868 M. Pattison Suggestions Acad. Organisation 6 The movement was by no means a spontaneous one on the part of the House. b. Of persons: Acting voluntarily and from natural prompting. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > free will > [adjective] > exercising or capable of free will freeeOE activea1398 indetermined1628 volent1654 undeterminate1668 free-willing1675 autexousious1678 free-willed1678 automatous1732 spontaneous1732 indeterminate1836 1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. ii. xxi. 133 It was needless to establish Professors..while there are so many spontaneous Lecturers in every corner of the Streets. 1829 I. Taylor Nat. Hist. Enthusiasm iv. 79 The ranks of a numerous body of men can never be filled up by spontaneous labourers of this sort. c. Of utterances, etc.: Coming freely and without premeditation or effort. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > intention > unintentional or unplanned character > [adjective] > unplanned suddena1300 unpremeditate1551 extemporal1570 unpurposed1570 unmeditated1576 extemporate1590 unpremeditated1597 unplotted1598 extemporary1610 extemporanean1621 extempory1623 impremeditate1647 unthought1648 unresolved1649 extemporate1651 incogitate1652 unprojected1653 indeliberate1655 extemporaneous1656 indeliberated1656 autoschediastical1662 casual1667 offhanda1668 undiscourseda1670 extemporany1673 unplanned1775 impromptu1789 on (also upon) the spur of the moment (or occasion, etc.)1801 autoschediastic1809 impromptuary1827 improvised1833 extemporized1856 spontaneous1856 unconsidered1876 undevised1894 lashed-up1920 ad-libbed1933 willy-nilly1933 off the cuff1948 1856 N. Brit. Rev. 26 52 The privileged visitor..would..have heard from him..similar spontaneous expositions of Scripture. 1870 J. H. Burton Hist. Scotl. to 1688 VII. lxxii. 63 A spontaneous thought which he could not help uttering. 1885 Manch. Examiner 9 Sept. 3/1 The fun is never strained or beaten out, but is always fresh, spontaneous, and luxuriant. 2. Of motion: Arising purely from, entirely determined by, the internal operative or directive forces of the organism. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > [adjective] > self-moving automatic1599 self-moving1600 autokinetical1642 self-movable1642 spontaneous1659 self-motive1671 self-movent1701 autokinetic1841 1659 H. More Immortality of Soul ii. ii. 126 Sense..must like~wise Imagine, Remember, Reason, and be the fountain of spontaneous Motion. 1695 J. Edwards Disc. conc. Old & New-Test. III. vii. 334 Things that had Sense and Spontaneous Motion. 1750 G. Hughes Nat. Hist. Barbados iii. 61 Animals are sensitive organic Bodies, endued with spontaneous Motion. 1807 J. E. Smith Introd. Physiol. & Systematical Bot. 2 Vegetables..have in some instances spontaneous, though we know not that they have voluntary, motion. 1844 W. B. Carpenter Animal Physiol. i. 17 These two functions,—sensibility and the power of spontaneous motion,—being peculiar to animals, are called the functions of animal life. 1880 C. E. Bessey Bot. 196 Living protoplasm has everywhere, under proper conditions, the power of spontaneous movement. 1882 S. H. Vines tr. J. von Sachs Text-bk. Bot. (ed. 2) 871 These movements were termed ‘spontaneous nutations’. 3. a. Of natural processes: Occurring without apparent external cause; having a self-contained cause or origin. In 19th cent. use esp. of chemical or physical changes: see quots. under (b). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > [adjective] > operating independently or spontaneously unprovoked1585 automatical1586 automatic1599 self-acting1605 self-active1642 self-acted1651 spontaneous1664 authentic1834 semi-automatic1890 shoot-from-the-hip1967 the world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > [adjective] byc1050 casualc1374 fortuitc1374 fortunelc1374 fortunousc1374 causelessc1386 adventurousc1405 accidental1502 fortunable1509 happya1522 chanceable1549 occasional1569 accidentary1581 emergent1593 streave1598 contingent1604 happening1621 incidental1644 lucky1648 sporadical1654 temerarious1660 spontaneous1664 incidentarya1670 chance1676 antrin?1725 fortuitous1806 sporadic1821 windfall1845 chanced1853 blind1873 happenchance1905 happenstance1905 (a) (b)1805 W. Saunders Treat. Mineral Waters (ed. 2) 338 The spontaneous changes which this water undergoes.1813 J. Thomson Lect. Inflammation 51 When inflammation occurs..without our being able to trace its production to the action of any obvious cause, it is termed spontaneous inflammation.1836–41 W. T. Brande Man. Chem. (ed. 5) 561 The aqueous solution..is subject to spontaneous decomposition.1861 J. R. Greene Man. Animal Kingdom II. 182 The mode in which spontaneous fission occurs among many other forms of Actinozoa.1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. ii. 117 The Spontaneous Dilatation and Elastick Rarefaction of that little remnant of Ayr. 1692 R. Bentley Confut. Atheism from Struct. & Origin Humane Bodies: Pt. II 9 A Spontaneous production of Mankind..may not possibly have been true. 1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 163. ⁋3 He expects every moment to be placed in regions of spontaneous fertility. 1765 Museum Rusticum 4 200 I suppose there was no corn on it of spontaneous growth. 1831 W. Scott Castle Dangerous v, in Tales of my Landlord 4th Ser. III. 302 The old man looked with horror at the spontaneous motion of the book. 1859 J. S. Mill On Liberty iv. 139 He suffers these penalties only in so far as they are..the spontaneous consequences of the faults themselves. 1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. 292 The spontaneous falling of the stones appeared more frequent this morning. ΚΠ 1675 J. Owen Nature Indwelling Sin (1732) ix. 105 A spontaneous Lassitude, or a causeless Weariness and Indisposition of the Body. 1732 J. Arbuthnot Pract. Rules of Diet iv. 378 Its Symptoms are a spontaneous Lassitude or Sensation of Weariness. 4. a. spontaneous generation n. the development of living organisms without the agency of pre-existing living matter, usually considered as resulting from changes taking place in some inorganic substance. (Cf. equivocal adj. 3)The possibility of such development, once generally accepted as a fact and subsequently rejected, has been a subject of debate in more recent times. ΘΚΠ the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > types of reproduction > [noun] > spontaneous spontaneous generation1656 equivocal generation1658 heterogeny1863 autogeny1867 abiogenesis1870 autogony1870 archebiosis1872 abiogeny1874 archigony1876 plasmogeny1876 plasmogony1904 biopoesis1953 1656 A. Cowley Pindaric Odes in Wks. (1710) I. Notes 278 The Generation of Serpents, which is Spontaneous sometimes. 1665 R. Hooke Micrographia 141 For the Sea..affords as many Instances of spontaneous generations as either the Air or Earth. 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Equivocation This Method of Generation, which we also call spontaneous, was commonly asserted and believed among the antient Philosophers. 1835 J. Duncan Nat. Hist. Beetles (Naturalist's Libr.: Entomol. II) 194 Admitting the doctrine of spontaneous generation, it was necessary [etc.]. 1857 A. Henfrey Elem. Course Bot. 543 The idea of a spontaneous generation of organic bodies is now exploded. 1882 S. H. Vines tr. J. von Sachs Text-bk. Bot. (ed. 2) 944 The first and simplest plants had no ancestors; they arose by spontaneous generation. b. spontaneous combustion n. the fact of taking fire, or burning away, through conditions produced within the substance itself; spec. the alleged occurrence of this fact in persons addicted to the excessive use of alcohol. ΘΚΠ the world > life > death > manner of death > [noun] > sudden death > by burning spontaneous combustion1795 the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > [noun] > going or setting on fire > going on fire > spontaneously needfire1531 spontaneous combustion1795 self-combustion1800 (a) (b)1795 Repertory of Arts 2 424 I shall not pass over in silence the spontaneous combustions of human bodies.1799 Jrnl. Nat. Philos. Oct. 305 (title) The apparently spontaneous combustion of living individuals of the human species.1832 D. Brewster Lett. Nat. Magic xiii. 321 The extraordinary phenomenon of the spontaneous combustion of living bodies.1853 C. Dickens Bleak House Pref. p. ix It was shown upon the evidence that she had died the death to which this name of Spontaneous Combustion is given.1882 New Sydenham Soc. Lexicon at Combustion Spontaneous combustion... In most of the cases recorded,..either they have been near a fire, or some suspicious circumstances suggestive of murder have been present.1809 Jrnl. Nat. Philos. Aug. 278 The spontaneous combustion of a large quantity of charcoal. 1863 H. Watts Dict. Chem. I. 1093 The spontaneous combustion..of masses of tow, cotton, or rags saturated with oil. 1876 G. E. Voyle & G. de Saint-Clair-Stevenson Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) 397/1 New~burnt charcoal, and particularly new ground charcoal, is very liable to spontaneous combustion. 5. a. Growing or produced naturally without cultivation or labour. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > wild and cultivated plants > [adjective] > wild or not cultivated wildc725 untameda1340 unsownc1374 unplanteda1382 savagea1500 natural1526 self-sowed1597 self-sown1608 maiden1616 voluntary1620 spontaneous1665 uncultivated1697 wilding1697 volunteer1794 uncultured1804 agrarian1851 self-raised1852 the world > existence and causation > creation > [adjective] > created or produced > natural or formed by nature > produced without human effort spontaneous1665 1665 R. Hooke Micrographia 214 Spontaneous Vegetables seeming a food proper enough for spontaneous Animals. 1684 Penn in Academy (1896) 11 Jan. 37/1 I have observed three sorts [of vines]... Thes are spontaneous. 1705 R. Beverley Hist. Virginia ii. iv. 30 Whence they had their Indian Corn, I can give no Account; for I don't believe that it was spontaneous in those Parts. 1725 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey II. ix. 125 Spontaneous wines from weighty clusters pour. 1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World I. 127 Spontaneous flowers take place of the finished parterre. 1805 W. Saunders Treat. Mineral Waters (ed. 2) 333 Except the turf, and some scanty heath, no spontaneous vegetation is to be seen. 1837 H. Martineau Society in Amer. II. 49 We passed ‘a spontaneous rye-field’. 1883 F. Day Indian Fish 8 Fish cured with salt-earth, or spontaneous but untaxed salt. b. Frequently with fruits, products, productions. ΚΠ a1727 I. Newton Chronol. Anc. Kingdoms Amended (1728) i. 183 These several colonies..fed on the spontaneous fruits of the earth. 1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 169. ⁋4 There are regions of which the spontaneous products cannot be equalled in other soils by care and culture. 1826 S. Smith Wks. (1859) II. 67/2 If the English were in a paradise of spontaneous productions, they would continue to dig and plough. 1839 H. Hallam Introd. Lit. Europe III. iv. 397 When men lived on the spontaneous fruits of the earth. 1872 J. Morley Voltaire i. 6 The self-raised spontaneous products of some miraculous soil. c. Produced, developed, coming into existence, by natural processes or changes. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > [adjective] > created or produced > natural or formed by nature wildc1175 naturalc1450 spontaneous1732 unbuilt1882 1732 J. Arbuthnot Pract. Rules of Diet ii. 290 Constitutions abounding with a spontaneous Alkali..ought to avoid alkaline Substances. 1779 Encycl. Brit. IV. 2671/2 Mr. Wilcke..distinguishes it by the name of spontaneous electricity. 1826 D. Booth Art of Brewing (ed. 2) 28 Leaving a portion of matter unattenuated, to produce briskness, and, consequently, spontaneous fineness and flavour. 1846 G. E. Day tr. J. F. Simon Animal Chem. II. 249 The urine which threw down a spontaneous sediment. 1862 G. P. Marsh Lect. Eng. Lang. (new ed.) iii. 59 All the gorgeous spontaneous hues of sun-lit cloud. 6. quasi-adv.= spontaneously adv. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > [adverb] > operating independently or spontaneously selfly1605 spontaneously1658 spontaneous1667 automatically1757 the world > plants > wild and cultivated plants > [adverb] > without cultivation spontaneouslya1682 spontaneous1780 the mind > will > intention > unintentional or unplanned character > [adverb] > in unplanned manner suddenly1340 of unwarninga1400 on, upon, rarely of, in (a) suddenty1469 casuallya1549 extemporea1556 of (upon) this sudden1572 extemporally1577 at (the or a) volley1578 on (or o') the volley1578 extrumpery1582 unpremeditately1607 extemporary1610 extempory1623 extemporarily1667 impromptu1669 ad aperturam libri1679 unpremeditatedly1694 impulsively1768 extemporaneously1791 promiscuously1791 spontaneously1799 on (also upon) the spur of the moment (or occasion, etc.)1801 spontaneous1810 promiscuous1826 improvisedly1851 off-handedly1876 at the first jet1878 off the cuff1927 off the top of one's head1939 off the wall1966 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vii. 204 Chariots wing'd..now came forth Spontaneous . View more context for this quotation 1720 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad V. xvii. 248 The stubborn Arms..Conform'd spontaneous, and around him clos'd. 1780 W. Cowper Progress of Error 364 But we, as if good qualities would grow Spontaneous, take but little pains to sow. 1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake i. 39 Till to her lips in measured frame The minstrel verse spontaneous came. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < adj.1656 |
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