unserviceableadj.

Brit.

/(ˌ)ʌnˈsəːvᵻsəbl/, U.S.

/ˌənˈsərvəsəb(ə)l/

Etymology: un- prefix¹ 1b

a. Of things: Not capable of being employed for their proper purpose.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > [adjective] > unserviceable

unbriche1303

unable1390

unserviceable1535

inserviceable1607

impracticable1717

condemned1798

unusable1825

unadoptable1843

dis1925

bung1930

u/s1942

inoperable1949

1535 Inventory Wardrobe Katharine of Arragon 33 in Camden Misc. (1855) III The thurde [chair] is broken and unservesable.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. xi. sig. L2^v The beast..His late wounded wing vnseruiceable found.

1600 in St. Papers, Dom. (1869) 437 The others [= signets] having become unserviceable from long use.

1663 R. Boyle Some Considerations Usefulnesse Exper. Nat. Philos. ii. App. 328 Besides a not despicable quantity of terrestrial and unserviceable matter.

1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. iii. 195 The supposition..is so..unserviceable to any part of our Knowledge.

1697 tr. L. D. Le Comte Mem. Journey China Pref. sig. A 7^v They might not be unserviceable to those who might..take up such a design.

1713 G. Berkeley in Guardian 21 Apr. 2/1 His Intellectuals, I observed, were grown unserviceable by too little Use.

1801 Farmer's Mag. Aug. 339 The horse I hire..may be in any degree serviceable or unserviceable.

1830 H. N. Coleridge Introd. Greek Poets 1 A perusal of these Introductions may not be unserviceable to many well educated readers.

1856 C. Dickens Little Dorrit (1857) i. xxxii. 281 What with her flapping cap, and..her unserviceable eye.

b. spec. Of ships, guns, etc.

ΚΠ

1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 35 The ships..so shaken with the tempest, that they became altogether unserviceable.

1618 in Essex Rev. (1908) 17 102 The moderne use doth altogether exclude the caliver as unservicable.

1707 London Gaz. No. 4362/2 10 Ships were destroyed.., and several others rendred wholly unserviceable.

1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. iv. 165 Three four pounders, which were altogether unserviceable.

1811 Gen. Regulations & Orders Army 91 The disposal of Unserviceable Arms.

1865 J. Cameron Malayan India 246 It is not that the forts are ungarrisoned,..but that they are unserviceable.

1876 G. E. Voyle & G. de Saint-Clair-Stevenson Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) 446/2 Unserviceable, the term is applied..to all stores which are no longer of use, being either obsolete or worn out.

a. Of persons: Unable to be of service; not rendering service or help; useless.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > [adjective] > specifically of persons

unserviable1544

unserviceablea1556

useless1646

sober1808

unconstructive1859

feckless1869

a1556 R. Chancellor in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1598) I. 240 You haue too much liuing, and are vnseruiceable to your prince, lesse will serue you.

1614 W. B. tr. Philosophers Banquet (ed. 2) ii. vi. 121 One that would be vnseruiceable to him, and vnprofitable to the Commonwealth.

1655 in E. Nicholas Nicholas Papers (1892) II. 217 I did long since tell you that poore man would be made onseruiceable to you.

1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. i. 13 Our sick are about the same;..McGary and Riley unserviceable.

1865 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend II. iii. ii. 15 I am an unserviceable friend of hers.

b. spec. Not capable of rendering military (or naval) service.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > armed forces > [adjective] > qualities

mainc1450

weak1488

unserviceablea1599

new-raised?1609

unrecruited1649

regulated1650

strongish1652

steady1670

mastering1711

undisciplined1718

unbroken1720

reduced1817

sticky1898

mechanicalized1901

u/s1942

a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 71 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) The Rebells..will turne away all their rascall people, whom they thinke unserviceable.

a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) iv. iii. 136 Fiue or sixe thousand, but very weake and vnseruiceable: the troopes are all scattered.

1681 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) I. 151 Poor souldiers rendred unserviceable by age, wounds, &c.

1786 E. Burke Articles of Charge against W. Hastings in Wks. (1842) II. 191 The country troops..would be ill-disciplined and unserviceable, if not worse.

1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple I. x. 124 Some of them were retained, but most of them sent on shore as unserviceable.

1881 B. Jowett tr. Thucydides Hist. Peloponnesian War I. 146 The Plataeans had already conveyed to Athens their wives,..with the rest of their unserviceable population.

in extended use.1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 707 Unserviceable ticket; this is made out in the same manner, and requires the same notations, as a sick-ticket.

3. Marked by disinclination to be of service.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > [adjective] > not

unhelply1408

helpless1593

unhelping1604

unserviceable1614

unhelpfula1616

unassisting1694

unaiding1716

unassistant1796

1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World v. vi. 657 Such men of note..as had any way discouered an vnseruiceable disposition towards the Romans.

4. Prejudicial, disadvantageous.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > [adjective]

unbeheveeOE

unprofitablec1350

thriftlessc1400

undisposingc1400

disprofitable1548

disadvantageous1550

incommodious1579

disadvantageable1587

unadvantageable1603

lossful1611

naught1620

disvantageous1622

disserviceable1645

incommodous1677

unserviceable1698

zero-sum1965

downside1983

the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > disadvantageousness > [adjective]

discommodious1540

disprofitable1548

disadvantageous1550

disadvantageable1587

inexpedient1608

disvantageous1622

unbeneficial1626

inconvenient1651

unserviceable1698

1698 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. IV. 386 To reform his Temper, which I'm afraid is more unserviceable to Religion than any Hypothesis of mine can be.

Derivatives

unserviceaˈbility n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > [noun] > unserviceableness

unserviceableness1611

inoperativeness1880

unserviceability1884

1884 Cyclists' Touring Club Gaz. Nov. 335/1 The unserviceability of the new substitute.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

单词	unserviceable
释义	unserviceableadj. Brit. /(ˌ)ʌnˈsəːvᵻsəbl/, U.S. /ˌənˈsərvəsəb(ə)l/ Etymology: un- prefix¹ 1b 1. a. Of things: Not capable of being employed for their proper purpose. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > [adjective] > unserviceable unbriche1303 unable1390 unserviceable1535 inserviceable1607 impracticable1717 condemned1798 unusable1825 unadoptable1843 dis1925 bung1930 u/s1942 inoperable1949 1535 Inventory Wardrobe Katharine of Arragon 33 in Camden Misc. (1855) III The thurde [chair] is broken and unservesable. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. xi. sig. L2^v The beast..His late wounded wing vnseruiceable found. 1600 in St. Papers, Dom. (1869) 437 The others [= signets] having become unserviceable from long use. 1663 R. Boyle Some Considerations Usefulnesse Exper. Nat. Philos. ii. App. 328 Besides a not despicable quantity of terrestrial and unserviceable matter. 1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. iii. 195 The supposition..is so..unserviceable to any part of our Knowledge. 1697 tr. L. D. Le Comte Mem. Journey China Pref. sig. A 7^v They might not be unserviceable to those who might..take up such a design. 1713 G. Berkeley in Guardian 21 Apr. 2/1 His Intellectuals, I observed, were grown unserviceable by too little Use. 1801 Farmer's Mag. Aug. 339 The horse I hire..may be in any degree serviceable or unserviceable. 1830 H. N. Coleridge Introd. Greek Poets 1 A perusal of these Introductions may not be unserviceable to many well educated readers. 1856 C. Dickens Little Dorrit (1857) i. xxxii. 281 What with her flapping cap, and..her unserviceable eye. b. spec. Of ships, guns, etc. ΚΠ 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 35 The ships..so shaken with the tempest, that they became altogether unserviceable. 1618 in Essex Rev. (1908) 17 102 The moderne use doth altogether exclude the caliver as unservicable. 1707 London Gaz. No. 4362/2 10 Ships were destroyed.., and several others rendred wholly unserviceable. 1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. iv. 165 Three four pounders, which were altogether unserviceable. 1811 Gen. Regulations & Orders Army 91 The disposal of Unserviceable Arms. 1865 J. Cameron Malayan India 246 It is not that the forts are ungarrisoned,..but that they are unserviceable. 1876 G. E. Voyle & G. de Saint-Clair-Stevenson Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) 446/2 Unserviceable, the term is applied..to all stores which are no longer of use, being either obsolete or worn out. 2. a. Of persons: Unable to be of service; not rendering service or help; useless. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > [adjective] > specifically of persons unserviable1544 unserviceablea1556 useless1646 sober1808 unconstructive1859 feckless1869 a1556 R. Chancellor in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1598) I. 240 You haue too much liuing, and are vnseruiceable to your prince, lesse will serue you. 1614 W. B. tr. Philosophers Banquet (ed. 2) ii. vi. 121 One that would be vnseruiceable to him, and vnprofitable to the Commonwealth. 1655 in E. Nicholas Nicholas Papers (1892) II. 217 I did long since tell you that poore man would be made onseruiceable to you. 1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. i. 13 Our sick are about the same;..McGary and Riley unserviceable. 1865 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend II. iii. ii. 15 I am an unserviceable friend of hers. b. spec. Not capable of rendering military (or naval) service. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > armed forces > [adjective] > qualities mainc1450 weak1488 unserviceablea1599 new-raised?1609 unrecruited1649 regulated1650 strongish1652 steady1670 mastering1711 undisciplined1718 unbroken1720 reduced1817 sticky1898 mechanicalized1901 u/s1942 a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 71 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) The Rebells..will turne away all their rascall people, whom they thinke unserviceable. a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) iv. iii. 136 Fiue or sixe thousand, but very weake and vnseruiceable: the troopes are all scattered. View more context for this quotation 1681 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) I. 151 Poor souldiers rendred unserviceable by age, wounds, &c. 1786 E. Burke Articles of Charge against W. Hastings in Wks. (1842) II. 191 The country troops..would be ill-disciplined and unserviceable, if not worse. 1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple I. x. 124 Some of them were retained, but most of them sent on shore as unserviceable. 1881 B. Jowett tr. Thucydides Hist. Peloponnesian War I. 146 The Plataeans had already conveyed to Athens their wives,..with the rest of their unserviceable population. in extended use.1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 707 Unserviceable ticket; this is made out in the same manner, and requires the same notations, as a sick-ticket. 3. Marked by disinclination to be of service. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > [adjective] > not unhelply1408 helpless1593 unhelping1604 unserviceable1614 unhelpfula1616 unassisting1694 unaiding1716 unassistant1796 1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World v. vi. 657 Such men of note..as had any way discouered an vnseruiceable disposition towards the Romans. 4. Prejudicial, disadvantageous. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > [adjective] unbeheveeOE unprofitablec1350 thriftlessc1400 undisposingc1400 disprofitable1548 disadvantageous1550 incommodious1579 disadvantageable1587 unadvantageable1603 lossful1611 naught1620 disvantageous1622 disserviceable1645 incommodous1677 unserviceable1698 zero-sum1965 downside1983 the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > disadvantageousness > [adjective] discommodious1540 disprofitable1548 disadvantageous1550 disadvantageable1587 inexpedient1608 disvantageous1622 unbeneficial1626 inconvenient1651 unserviceable1698 1698 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. IV. 386 To reform his Temper, which I'm afraid is more unserviceable to Religion than any Hypothesis of mine can be. Derivatives unserviceaˈbility n. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > [noun] > unserviceableness unserviceableness1611 inoperativeness1880 unserviceability1884 1884 Cyclists' Touring Club Gaz. Nov. 335/1 The unserviceability of the new substitute. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < adj.1535
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