| 释义 |
thenadv.conj.adj.n. Etymology: Old English þanne , þǫnne , þænne , þenne , Middle English þenne , þan , þen , = Old Frisian thenne , thanne , than , Old Saxon thanna , than (Middle Dutch danne , dan , Dutch dan ), Old High German danne , denne (Middle High German danne , denne , German dann ); compare also Gothic þan ; adverbial formations from the demonstrative root þa- : compare that pron.1, adj.1, adv., and n., the adj., pron.2, and n.1See also than conj., originally the same word, which in both senses varied in Middle English and 16th cent. between then and than. So Modern German now has dann adverb ‘then’, denn conjunction ‘than’. Dutch has dan in both senses. The history in Old Germanic presents many points of difficulty: see Per Persson in Indog. Forsch. II. 206, Van Helten in Paul & Br. Beitr. XXVIII. 564–5. Signification. I. Demonstrative adverb of time. 1. the world > time > relative time > different time > [adverb] > at that time 898 an. 894 Swa hit þonne fierdleas wæs. OE 1455 Næs þæt þonne mætost mægenfultuma, þæt him on ðearfe lah ðyle Hroðgares. c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 4200 Wha se þanne [at doomsday] wurrþiȝ beoþ. To takenn eche blisse. c1330 R. Mannyng (1810) 2 In Westsex was þan a kyng, his [name] was Sir Ine. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) l. 14506 Biscops war þai þan [Trin. Cambr. þo] a-bute. 1424 in J. A. Picton (1883) I. 22 That we should go with him to Liverpull, then as the said congregation and riots were ordained to be. c1449 R. Pecock (1860) 55 The al hool Bible was not thanne. 1582 W. Allen sig. C1v Naming one but newly cummen then into the realme. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) i. vii. 49 When you durst do it, then you were a man. View more context for this quotation 1632 W. Lithgow x. 492 Sir Walter Aston, then Leiger Ambassadour there. 1763 J. Brown v. 67 Melody had then its greatest Power, when the Melody was most confined in its Compass. 1796 C. Lamb Let. 13 June in (1975) I. 28 I hope to be able to pay you a visit (if you are then at Bristol) some time in..August. 1857 H. T. Buckle I. xiii. 717 History, as it was then written. c1485 ( G. Hay (2005) 118 The autoritee of the grete officer ryale slokis as than..the autoritee of the smallare officer. 1488 (c1478) Hary (Adv.) (1968–9) i. l. 375 Off that labour as than he was nocht sle. 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart I. cccxiii. 480 I vnderstode so as then. 1619 E. M. Bolton tr. Florus (1636) 163 A province untoucht in a manner, and new to us as till then. a1639 H. Wotton View Life & Death Duke of Buckingham in (1651) 77 Who was then as yet in possession of the king's heart. 1653 H. Holcroft tr. Procopius War with Vandals i. 15 in tr. Procopius He could not get John punished as then. the world > time > relative time > the present (time) > [adverb] > at this time or at the time referred to 1340 R. Rolle 468 Þan has a man les myght þan a beste When he es born. c1485 ( G. Hay (2005) 112 Jt folowis nocht, na the vertu of force..js alswele jn his curage than as before. 1567 J. Maplet Pref. sig. Avij As it is with yse which dissolueth, then when it vanisheth away. a1644 F. Quarles (1645) Soliloquy xii. 61 Give him the firstlings of thy strength, even than When fading Childehood seeks to ripen man Vpon thy downy cheeks. 1772 A. M. Toplady (hymn) vii When we in darkness walk,..Then is the time to trust our God. 1908 E. Fowler 43 Then is the time to turn our backs upon the sun. 1436 IV. 498 Ye said William..putte hir in a stronge chaumbre till nyght; and yen yere..felonousely..ravysshed ye said Isabell. 1442 V. 42/1 Which entre..was thenne and there graunted. 1587 in J. A. Picton (1883) I. 63 It was then and there concluded by a general consent. 1600 Abp. G. Abbot 220 To be brought to the pits brinke, and then and there to be stayed. 1825 W. Scott Betrothed xv, in II. 313 The Constable De Lacy..was then and there to deliver to the Flemings a royal charter of their immunities. 1889 J. K. Jerome 212 We had insisted..that the things should be sent with us then and there. the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [adverb] > sometimes or occasionally c1275 [see δ. forms]. 1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville (Bodl.) xi. vii. lf. 108 b/2 It [rain]..comeþ doune thanne and thanne. a1400 (a1325) (Fairf. 14) l. 1848 Þai..wende ay þan and þan to droun. ?c1450 (1891) l. 1467 He walde it tell' þan and þan. c1550 R. Bieston B iij The ryche peraduenture oppresseth nowe and than. a1555 J. Philpot tr. C. S. Curione Def. Authority Christ's Church in R. Eden (1842) (modernized text) 334 If that those at any time, then and then, be deceived. 1670 J. Eachard 26 Now and then in an Age, one miraculously, beyond all hopes, proves learned. 1763 C. Johnstone (new ed.) II. 239 She listened to him.., asking him every now and then such questions as should [etc.]. a1825 R. Forby (1830) Than.. loses the aspirate in one phrase only, ‘now and tan’ for ‘now and then’. 1894 S. Baring-Gould II. 245 Restive, now sullen, then in boisterous revolt. II. Of sequence in time, order, consequence, incidence, inference. 3. the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > succession or following in time > [adverb] > next in order or then 971 21 Se mon se þe gód onginneþ & þonne ablinneþ. OE 216 Bæl bið onæled. Þonne brond þeceð heorodreorges hus, hreoh onetteð fealo lig feormað ond fenix byrneð. ?c1225 (?a1200) (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 30 Þenne fal adun & seggeð. criste audi nos. 1362 W. Langland A. xii. 139 And þanne I kneled on my knes and kyste her wel sone. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) l. 3904 Rachell bare..First ioseph, þan beniamin. a1400–50 95 Þen Anec onane riȝt efter þire wordis, A lowde laȝter he loȝe. c1440 196 And þe bisshop sayd; ‘Nay, son, þer is none now in all þis land’..And þan þis Malchus: ‘In þis I hafe a great mervayle, ffor [etc.]’. c1515 Ld. Berners tr. (1882–7) lxxxvii. 277 He..sayd how he wolde slee Huon, & than haue Esclaramounde to his wyfe. 1526 Mark iv. f. xlix First the blad, then the eares, after that [R.V. 1881 then] full corne in the eares. 1627 G. Hakewill iii. v. 202 He cast high in the aire, then receiued it againe in his armes. 1689 R. Milward 20 First we Fast, and then we Feast. 1776 23/1 He was at first very ill, then got better; he is now worse. 1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in 16 Then Yniol, ‘Enter therefore and partake [etc.].’ 1895 73 21/2 The annuity was regularly paid up to 1878, then Mr. Harle got into difficulties. the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > succession or following in time > [adverb] > next in order or then > in a series c1290 St. Michael 511 in I. 314 Þat fuyr is hext,..þe eir is þanne next bi-neothe. 1297 (Rolls) 64 Viue & þritti ssiren..Barcssire, & hamptessire, & þanne middelsex. 1588 R. Parke tr. J. G. de Mendoza Comm. Notable Thinges in tr. J. G. de Mendoza iii. xxvi. 406 Then forwards on there are other two small kingdoms. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) ii. i. 352 First,..my house within the City Is richly furnished..then at my farme I haue a hundred milch-kine. View more context for this quotation 1652 M. Nedham tr. J. Selden 32 Then, it is added next, concerning the West-border [etc.]. 1707 G. Farquhar i. 4 Aim [well]. ..What other Company have you in Town? Bon[niface]. A power of fine Ladies, and then we have the French Officers. 1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth vi, in 2nd Ser. I. 154 Then there are the minstrels, with their romaunts and ballads. 1847 C. Brontë II. i. 14 And then she had such a fine head of hair. 4. the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > circumstance or circumstances > [adverb] > then or in that case 695–6 c. 26 gif man frigne man..gefo, þanne wealde se cyning ðreora anes [etc.]. 971 41 gif ge þonne gelyfaþ..þonne biþ hit eow nyt geseald. c1175 137 Ðenne bið þes monnes wile ibeht mid þere elmisse. a1250 508 (Cott.) Wane þi lust is ago, Þanne is þi song ago also. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon (Calig.) (1963) l. 4747 Þænne beoð hit þe wurse. c1374 G. Chaucer ii. 536 (585) Be ȝe wys as ȝe ben fayr to se, Wel in þe ringe than is the ruby set. c1440 iv. 69 An ye do, then shall ye dye. 1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen sig. Ei Forquhy if [printed is] he is owr fader thane ar we his barnis and aris. 1594 W. Shakespeare sig. D2 O had they in that darkesome prison died, Then had they seene the period of their ill. View more context for this quotation a1676 M. Hale (1677) i. iii. 86 Then he could never have ridden out an eternal period. 1782 F. Burney III. vi. ii. 237 Suppose you..had never a farthing but of your own getting; where would you be then? 1826 D. Booth (ed. 2) 203 The screw is sometimes made of wood, and then it is mostly nine or ten inches diameter. 1925 L. Abercrombie i. 8 We have busied ourselves, if not on our own account, then vicariously in the newspapers, with the appreciation of these poets in their several qualities. 1956 A. J. Ayer i. 7 Can it reasonably be held that knowledge is always knowledge that something is the case? If knowing that something is the case is taken to involve the making of a conscious judgment, then plainly it cannot. 1972 M. Kline li. 1194 This is the principle of reductio ad absurdum. In words, if the assumption of p implies that p is false, then p is false. 1445 tr. Claudian's De Consulatu Stilichonis in (1905) 28 279 But than thi soule..right benygne to othir, A Juge grevous for shamefastnes is felt vnto thi selfe. 1600 W. Shakespeare v. i. 197 He is then a Giant to an Ape, but then is an Ape a Doctor to such a man. View more context for this quotation 1672 Duke of Buckingham iii. 21 It is not very necessary to the Plot..But then it's as full of Drollery as ever it can hold. 1774 O. Goldsmith VI. 286 The Fishing Frog..very much resembles a tadpole or young frog, but then a tadpole of enormous size. 1826 B. Disraeli I. i. iv. 23 There was..some difficulty in keeping all things in order, but then Vivian Grey was such an excellent manager! 1887 A. Birrell Obiter Dicta 2nd Ser. in (1899) I. 182 Pope knew next to no Greek, but then he did not work upon the Greek text. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour (Adv.) i. 217 Gud knychtis..For litill enchesoune or than nane, Thai hangyt be the nekbane. 1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil i. vi. 43 Quhiddir thou be Dyane,..Or than sum goddes of the nymphis kynd. 1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie (1888) I. 7 Verie conuenient to feid horse or nout, or flockis of scheip or gait or than grett harte and hyne. 1634 S. Rutherford (1848) xlvi. 84 Pray him to tarry, or then to take us with him. 1636 S. Rutherford (1848) lxxi. 128 They are..valuing him at their unworthy halfpenny; or else exchanging and bartering Christ with the miserable old fallen house of this vain world; or then..they lend him out upon interest. 1825 J. Jamieson Suppl. (at cited word) Come hame sune, or than I'll be angry. the world > existence and causation > causation > effect, result, or consequence > [adverb] 971 39 Us is þonne mycel nedþearf þæt we gebugon to him. c1230 5 Nis ha þenne sariliche..akast & in to þewdom idrahen. 1297 (Rolls) 2491 Sire graunte me þanne..As moche place as mid a þuong ich may aboute tille. a1400 (a1325) (Gött.) l. 5987 Wend on þann, siþen ȝe wil ga. c1475 (?c1400) (1842) 4 It is certayn þan, þowe he be his seruaunt. 1539 2 Sam. iii. 18 Now then do it. 1546 sig. A.iiii Why shoulde it then be taken awaye frome vs. 1602 W. Shakespeare ii. ii. 36 Fal. Good den faire wife. Quic. Not so ant like your worship. Fal. Faire mayd then. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. iii. 174 Well then, take a good heart, and counterfeit to be a man. View more context for this quotation 1669 J. Milton (new ed.) Verse sig. a4 This neglect then of Rime so little is to be taken for a defect..that [etc.]. 1773 O. Goldsmith v. 93 Hast. This is a riddle. Tony. Riddle me this then. 1821 W. Scott II. viii. 203 ‘Ha!’ said the Countess, hastily; ‘that rumour then is true, Janet.’ 1884 W. C. Smith 86 We give up our cruise, then, after all? III. As relative or conjunctive adverb of time. the world > time > particular time > [adverb] > when or at the time that 971 17 Þonne se mona wanað, þonne tacnað he ure deaþlicnesse. c1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker (1884) I. 102/13 Swyþe waxgeorn eart þu, þonne [L. cum] þu ealle þingc etst. 1056–66 Orm..bohte scs Gregorivs minster ðonne hit wes æl tobrocan & tofalan. c1175 35 Ne beo he nefre swa riche, forð he scal þenne is dei cumeð. c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 8401 He wass þanne he þiderr for Neh off an ȝeress elde. a1250 420 (Cott.) Þu forbernest welneȝ for onde Þane ure blisse cumeþ to londe. c1300 (MS. E.) 37 Þan ihesu hadde spilt his blod For our sinnes on þe rode, He nam him þe riȝt way Vnto helle. c1425 4 Than hir lord hit herde, he was ther-of tened swith stronge. a1440 286 Then hys howndys began to baye, That harde [= heard] the jean there he laye. IV. As noun or adjective. 7. the world > time > relative time > different time > [noun] > by) that time or (since) that time 1340 R. Rolle 4647 Fra þan Til þe day of dome. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) l. 10953 Als he forwit [Gött. bifore] þan was wont. a1400 (Rolls) App. G. 258 King belin after þan to þis lond gan wende. c1430 143 By þenne was þe hermyte go in-to þe wode. 1509 J. Fisher (de Worde) sig. Aiv v Ye matynes of our lady, whiche kepte her to then. 1667 J. Milton i. 93 Till then who knew The force of those dire Arms? View more context for this quotation 1794 A. Radcliffe IV. iv. 56 All the time between then and now seems as nothing. 1884 26 Apr. 197/2 I used your Soap Two Years ago; since then I have used no other. 1905 5 Jan. 6 The little man..had by then recovered himself. ?a1400 99 By than that endyd was the fight, The fals were feld. 1470–85 T. Malory i. x. 49 By than they were redy on horsbak, there were vij C knyghtes. c1500 1737 By than the yere was all agone, He had no man but twayne. 1637 J. Milton 19 This evening late by then the chewing flocks Had ta'ne their supper on the savourie herbe..I sate me downe. 1788 T. Taylor tr. Proclus (1792) I. 12 By then he was twenty-eight years of age he composed a multitude of works. 1863 C. Reade I. v. 157 By then he had folded and addressed it, she returned. 1906 29 Dec. 892/1 By then ye've been church-cried, I'll be in t' chimney corner like any proper old gaffer. the world > time > relative time > different time > [noun] 1550 W. Paget Let. 22 Feb. in J. Strype (1721) II. App. II. 116 The tyme is tourned: Then was then, and now is now. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iii. ii. 60 When thou canst get the Ring vpon my finger, which neuer shall come off,..then call me husband: but in such a (then) I write a Neuer. View more context for this quotation 1674 N. Fairfax 161 God could bring forth the world at that then, wherein or when he had cast with himself the world could afterwards be made. 1843 W. Thom in 5th Ser. 114 Companion of my happy then! 1901 19 Mar. 6/3 He reveals a corresponding contrast between the then and the now. 9. 1653 R. Baxter (new ed.) ii. vi. §2 257 That the extirpation of Piety was the then great design. 1827 W. Scott Highland Widow in 1st Ser. I. ix. 181 The then unwonted circumstance..of a passenger being seen on the high road. 1870 J. R. Lowell (1873) 1st Ser. 6 The trivium..and the quadrivium..of the then ordinary university course. 1888 J. Bryce II. xlvi. 204 The then existing Constitution. the world > time > relative time > the past > antecedence or being earlier > [adjective] 1584 ? Sir P. Sidney Disc. Def. Earl of Leicester in (1829) 263 He saith they are no gentlemen, affirming, that the then duke of Northumberland was not born so. 1620 367 To the then Bishop of Rome. a1647 P. Pette in (1796) 12 255 The most noble prince, my then master. 1765 W. Blackstone I. ii. 157 A bill..was countenanced by the then ministry, for limiting the number of the peerage. 1876 L. Stephen I. 203 In the then state of critical enquiry. Compounds1626 G. Sandys tr. Ovid viii. 165 Whose waues..That then-vnited masse of earth dis-ioyne. 1650 Bp. J. Hall xxxv. 223 The expectation of the then-instant appearing of Christ. 1750 S. Richardson 4 June (1964) 161 From robbery to robbery they proceeded, till they had enlarged their den so as to take in the greatest part of the then-known world. 1848 C. C. Clifford tr. Aristophanes 40 Without the leave Of the then-ruling powers. 1905 G. B. Shaw 28 Sept. (1972) II. 563 She subscribed to the philosophy of a then-current song, ‘I Want What I Want When I Want It’. 1976 24 Dec. (Weekend Suppl.) 3/2 The military republic of Julius Caesar that ruled the then-known world. 1978 5 Mar. c 24/5 (advt.) The interest..will be recalculated..at the then-current regular passbook interest rate. C2. attributive. the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > syntactic unit or constituent > [noun] > clause > conditional clause 1927 G. A. Grierson I. i. Suppl. I. 376 If the conditional sentence is such a one as we would require the use of ‘would’ or ‘would have’ in English, the word sik is appended to the apodosis, or then-clause. 1962 22 Feb. 188/3 Would is often used to express a wish..as in..the then-clause of a conditional sentence, as in ‘You would enjoy it if you went’. the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [noun] > belonging to a particular time 1602 W. Warner Epitome Hist. Eng. in (rev. ed.) 387 The said Edmund (whom the Dukes faction for a then-Skill surnamed Crooke-backe). the world > time > relative time > the past > [noun] 1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas (new ed.) ii. iii. 61 While the then-Times hideous face and forme Boads them (alas) nothing but wracke and storme. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2022). > see alsoalso refers to : † thennethenadv. <  adv.conj.adj.n.695see also |
