| 释义 |
affairn. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French affaire. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman afeire, afer, affair, affer, Anglo-Norman and Middle French afaire, affere, Anglo-Norman and Middle French, French affaire business, occupation (1139 in Old French), something which must be done (c1150), matter relating to a particular person or group, a person's concern (1155), quarrel, fight (12th cent.), situation or present circumstances of a person (late 12th cent.), subject under consideration (late 12th cent.), material object, (specifically) personal belonging (1215; frequently in plural), conduct, behaviour (c1240 or earlier), display, pomp, show (end of the 13th cent. or earlier), topic, subject (end of the 13th cent. or earlier), sexual relationship (c1350, originally euphemistically in avoir affaire à quelqu'un , literally ‘to have business with someone’), military engagement (late 14th and 15th cent. in a few isolated examples, subsequently from 1694), lawsuit, legal case (a1412 in Anglo-Norman), (in plural) commercial or economic activities (first half of the 15th cent.), political or military activities (second half of the 15th cent.) < à faire to do < à to + faire to do (see fact n.); compare ado n. Compare feir n., and also the later reborrowing affaire n.Compare Old Occitan afar something which must be done, business, behaviour, a person's situation or state in life, rural estate (13th cent. or earlier; also afaire ), Italian affare (beginning of the 13th cent. in sense ‘person's state in life’, a1294 in sense ‘something which must be done’; influenced semantically by French affaire , especially in later use). The French noun was also borrowed into other European languages; compare post-classical Latin affare , affarium real estate, farm business (13th cent.), Middle Dutch affāre , German Affäre (early 17th cent. as †Affaire ; now chiefly in senses ‘romantic or sexual relationship, often of short duration’ and ‘notorious judicial case or scandal’). In sense 3d after French affaire (1785 (in l'affaire du collier ; compare quot. 1823) or earlier; 1847 (in l'affaire Chaumontel , the title of a vaudeville play) or earlier followed by the name of a person involved); compare later l'affaire n. In sense 5a after Anglo-Norman and Middle French de grant afaire of high rank, powerful, influential (late 12th cent. or earlier in Old French), grand, splendid (beginning of the 13th cent. or earlier in Old French), Middle French de haut afaire of high rank (late 15th cent.). With sense 7a compare French affaire (undated in dictionaries), euphemistic use of affaire material object, thing (compare thing n.1 11c). I. Senses relating to activities or matters of any type. 1. society > occupation and work > duties > [noun] > a duty or piece of business the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair the world > action or operation > doing > a proceeding > [noun] c1390 MS Vernon Homilies in (1877) 57 255 And nomeliche þis Okereres [i.e. usurers], Þat ben Cursed for heore aferes. c1400 (?a1300) (Laud) (1952) l. 410 (MED) Olympyas..telleþ to Neptanabon Alle þe affers [a1425 Linc. Inn. aferis] of Amon. c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. vii. l. 152 (MED) Þer beþ meny felle frekus myne afferes to aspye. 1581 f. 50v Certane auffairis of his pastyme. 1603 W. Shakespeare i. ii. 173 But what is your affaire in Elsenoure? 1711 T. Hearne (1889) III. 109 I must confess that I am so religious in that Affair [sc. editing a manuscript], that I transcribe the very Faults. 1797 E. Burke 122 The affair of the establishment of a Government is a very difficult undertaking. 1809 M. R. Mitford Let. in A. G. L'Estrange I. iii. 79 I set about the grand affair of dressing. 1878 T. H. Huxley (ed. 2) Pref. 8 Seeing a book through the press is a laborious and time-wasting affair. 1908 Apr. 107/2 To devote himself with more hardihood and seriousness to the affair of writing. 1948 D. D. Eisenhower v. 88 Rough weather made the re-embarkation a difficult affair. 2001 T. Newlin ii. 53 Letter writing as a private affair constituted an interiorization of the written word. the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > affair, business, concern > [noun] a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer (Hunterian) (1891) l. 3455 Now goth wel thyn affere He shall to thee be debonaire. 1484 W. Caxton in tr. f. xxi Esope..in al their affayres & nede helpeth & counceylleth them. 1522 Bp. J. Clerk Let. in H. Ellis (1846) 3rd Ser. I. 314 John Matheo, secretary vnto the said Cardinall, and chief medillar in all affaires her' aboute the Pope. 1611 1 Chron. xxvi. 32 Rulers..for euery matter perteining to God, and affaires of the king. View more context for this quotation 1671 in W. Fraser (1888) III. 113 So..meaddule not yourself with that affeaire any more of his who is most desirous to remaine as formerly. 1715 R. Wodrow (1843) II. 38 The sub-committee brought in their overtures as to Mr. Simson's affair. I cannot resume them. 1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch I. 212 When the trouble about Cylon's affair was over. 1879 25 Oct. 1341/2 The Army and the Navy are now the affairs of the [Prussian] Empire. 1897 ‘Ouida’ xxxiv. 421 ‘I see you have sold your pictures!’ ‘Is that anybody's affair but mine?’ 1912 Sept. 910/1 Well, mayor,..how goes the professor's affair? 1951 S. H. Bell iii. ix. 284 It's no affair of ours, Sarah, why Mr Skillen doesna' want his son to keep company with Martha. 1995 D. G. Boyce (ed. 3) iv. 109 Irish politics were no longer the affair of an oligarchy. the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [noun] > occurrence or event 1550 T. Nicolls tr. Thucydides iii. i. f. lxxiii The affayre shuld be determyned by common aduyse. 1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti ii. iii. 182 Having grown to a capacity of penetrating into the good and bad of an affair. 1695 T. Brown tr. J. Le Clerc I. i. 48 The Queen prest this Affair very warmly to the Nuncio. 1720 J. Ozell et al. tr. R. A. de Vertot I. iv. 224 The Tribunes..wou'd not suffer the Peoples Votes to be gathered upon any Affair whatsoever. 1759 E. W. Montagu 372 The single, Veto, of one discontented senator, referr'd the decision of the most important affair to a wrong-headed, ungovernable populace. 1832 E. C. Brown III. xiii. 340 An affair of import brought his lordship to town, the nature of which was shortly after manifested. 1855 T. B. Macaulay III. 216 The strenuous opposition..offered to the government..in the affair of Wood's patent. 1892 A. Conan Doyle xi. 282 You remember that the affair of the blue carbuncle..developed into a serious investigation. 1911 C. A. Aikens xvi. 366 Nurses shall preserve as strictly private any affairs relating to patients which shall come to their knowledge in the course of their duty. 1959 9 Mar. 3/1 The second [half], largely an affair of forwards slugging away with barely diminished vigour. 2008 30 July 48/3 Iconoclasm was an affair of principle. 2. In plural, in specific senses. Cf. state of affairs n.society > occupation and work > business affairs > [noun] ?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre (1894) I. lf. 63v Thou fortune that haste socouryd me in alle myn affayres, socoure me in this present nede. 1529 Bp. S. Gardiner 25 June (1933) 18 Declared unto the Kinges Highnes in what astate and condition I left his affayres there. 1568 Ephes. vi. 22 Whom I haue sent vnto you for the same purpose, that ye myght knowe of our affaires. a1605 A. Montgomerie Opposition Court to Conscience in (1887) 128 Houbeit thou be behind thair bak No furtherer of thair effairs. 1685 R. Morden Ep. Ded. 1 Your..Affairs abroad have..given you a better knowledge and experience of Foreign Parts. 1734 I. Watts lxiv. 287 Must we spiritualize the Affairs of Larks, and Worms, and Squirrels? 1836 13 289 Mr. Puff..had become versant with all the private affairs of all the boroughs. 1842 R. W. Blackmore tr. A. N. Mouravieff v. 67 The bond of a family connection between the Great Princes promoted their accord in respect of the affairs of the Church. 1879 H. James I. i. 25 And in this way Miss Miller continued to converse upon the affairs of her family, and upon other topics. 1937 V. Woolf 110 She's got her own affairs to think about, he thought. 1974 K. Amis i. 7 If you took the slightest interest in the affairs of the household you wouldn't have to be told that. 2003 J. Mullaney 5 For anyone who has ever conspired against me, slagged me off behind my back,..or poked your nose into my affairs. society > occupation and work > business affairs > [noun] > commercial or professional ?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre (1894) II. lf. 254 At this courte Hector his eldest sone was not, ffor he was in the partyes of Pannonye on the affayres and certayn werkes of his fader. 1519 Sir T. Boleyn Let. 14 Mar. in H. Ellis (1824) I. 149 Amongs all his other things and great affaires he is so moch desirous to mete visite and see your Grace. 1600 i. 47 And there his tongue runs byas on affaires, No talke but of comodities and wares. 1642 tr. J. Perkins v. §342. 150 A woman shall be endowed of a Bayliwick..And so in like manner she shall be endowed of affaires. 1751 S. Johnson No. 142. ⁋7 He found himself when he took his affairs into his own hands the richest man in the county. 1762 O. Goldsmith 54 Mr. Nash's affairs being in the wane, he demanded the money of his lordship's heirs. 1796 12 Mar. 421 Mr. Pitt's statement of French financial affairs. 1815 W. Scott II. 244 This lady..made a general settlement of her affairs in Miss Lucy Bertram's favours. 1871 S. Smiles iv. 107 Men of affairs, trained to business. 1911 H. S. Harrison v. 57 Surface, by clever juggling of his books, had managed to ‘hold out’ a large sum of money in the enforced settlement of his affairs. 1958 16 June 9/4 A man ‘who knows his onions’ is a man wise in the ways of the world, shrewd in affairs, a tough bargainer. 1976 A. J. P. Taylor Let. 9 Nov. in E.H. Taylor (1991) 316 Every year I put my affairs in order so that everything will be simple if I die. 2006 C. Barrow xvii. 352 You can arrange your affairs in such a way as to have no tax bill. society > occupation and work > business affairs > [noun] > public society > authority > rule or government > politics > [noun] > sphere of politics or affairs of state 1481 W. Caxton tr. (1893) clxxxxi. 279 The barons deuysed the affaires of the cyte. 1531 T. Elyot iii. x. sig. bv Despechynge of sondry great affayres. 1581 J. Hamilton f. 4v [A man] of lang experience concerning the effaris of the common vealth. 1605 F. Bacon ii. sig. Dd2v The Chronicle..reed before Ahassuerus..contained matter of affaires . View more context for this quotation 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil 130 That in the Field; this in Affairs of State, Employ'd at home. View more context for this quotation a1715 Bp. G. Burnet (1724) I. 1 I had while I was very young a greater knowledge of affairs than is usual at that age. 1762 July 379 (heading) Affairs in Russia. 1797 at Secretary Secretaries of State: for the Home Department; for Foreign Affairs; the Colonies, etc. 1849 T. B. Macaulay I. 447 The general expectation was that he would be immediately placed at the head of affairs, and that all the other great officers of state would be changed. 1870 J. H. Burton VI. lxx. 491 He thus was chosen to settle the vexed affairs of Scotland. 1949 N. Mitford i. ix. 94 Lady Patricia now came and sat by Aunt Sadie and they chatted..about local affairs. 1959 Oct. 214 An interview given by the USSR Minister of Internal Affairs. 2006 D. Childs (ed. 6) xii. 272 Involving national parliaments more closely in the affairs of the EU. 1538 R. Taverner tr. Erasmus Sarcerius vi. f. xviii In mens affayres & doinges frewil is cause of chaunce or contingencie. 1559 W. Baldwin et al. Cade vi. 2 Medleth not with any worldes affaires. 1660 Bp. J. Taylor I. i. iv. 166 The affairs of the world..are..unconducing to the affairs of the spirit. 1705 13 But Fortune, who in all Affairs Of Human kind, play's fast, and loose. 1755 S. Pike & S. Hayward I. ii. 24 Whilst we are engaged in the Affairs of this Life, it will be often necessary for a Christian to mix with those that perhaps are not so. 1849 J. K. Paulding II. xi. 145 He became, in a great measure, abstracted from worldly affairs. 1869 J. Martineau 2nd Ser. 55 Practical sympathy with the..affairs of mankind. 1915 J. Orr 992/1 This interest of the departed saints in our earthly affairs. 2001 A. Rippin (2003) xiii. 210 The principle that true religion does not change but worldly affairs do. 3. Senses denoting a period of interaction or personal engagement. the mind > emotion > love > love affair > [noun] society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > [noun] > illicit intimacy 1700 W. Congreve i. i. 3 I got a Friend to..complement her with the Imputation of an Affair with a young Fellow, which I carry'd so far, that I told her the malicious Town took notice that she was grown fat of a suddain. 1732 G. Berkeley I. ii. iii. 75 In our Dialect a vicious Man is a Man of pleasure..a Lady is said to have an affair, a Gentleman to be gallant, a Rogue in business to be one that knows the World. 1762 W. Whitehead i. 10 Why, then, do you pursue your affair with Araminta; and not find some honourable means of breaking off with her? 1825 XX. 773/2 Ovid..discovered some incestuous affair in the imperial family, and was banished from Rome for life. 1888 E. Dowson 13 Nov. (1967) 18 I shall let the liaison run its course—it will be very amusing & not as costly as an affair with a regular horizontale. 1933 N. Coward i. 19 We could carry on a backstairs affair for weeks without saying a word about it. 1965 D. Lodge vii. 125 The story of his affair with Mother... It's hot stuff, as we used to say at school. 2005 Z. Smith 139 What kind of a sophisticated guy in his fifties doesn't have an affair? It's basically mandatory. society > armed hostility > armed encounter > [noun] > battle or a battle 1708 tr. 234 The Affair of Eckeren came very seasonable to comfort the King for the loss of so many Towns. 1741 C. Middleton (ed. 3) II. vii. 196 After the affair of Pindenissum, an exploit of more éclat and importance. 1816 W. Scott Old Mortality iv, in 1st Ser. III. 81 The enemy persevered in their attack,..the affair was fiercely disputed. 1827 B. Disraeli V. vii. xi. 165 Every ‘affair’ of any character during the late war, was fought over again in the tent. 1867 J. L. Motley III. xxi. 14 The payment of two months' wages to every soldier engaged in the affair. 1916 Aug. 433/1 It is now the tenth week of the affair. Over forty separate attacks have been made. 2008 D. L. Collins v. 199 The two sides fought a largely static affair for about three hours. society > leisure > social event > [noun] 1736 B. Verney Let. 15 July in M. M. Verney (1930) II. xxxvi. 141 I suppose your Grand Affaire is over, the morning I set out on my jorney I had an Impulse it would be the wedding day. 1763 17–19 Feb. 170/1 We have..the Spanish Ambassador's ball twice a week, which is an immense affair. 1848 17 Oct. This Convention... is not designed for a business meeting or a formal affair. 1874 J. S. Blackie 47 Dinner is a more serious affair. 1896 A. C. Gunter xvi. 200 Estrabon, you are the chief cook of this affair. Is not dinner in sight? 1922 J. Joyce ii. x. [Wandering Rocks] 224 The annual dinner you know. Boiled shirt affair. 1955 E. Blishen iii. 116 Billy's parties were jovial affairs, but they were completely orderly. 1992 20 Jan. 18/6 Lyle Alzado was looking forward to a black-tie affair at the Beverly Hilton. 2002 5 May 30/2 The exhibition would be a luncheon-on-the-grass (attired), Fragonard sort of affair, and daylong. the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > infamy or notoriety > [noun] > a scandal or infamous event or state of things 1823 tr. J. L. H. Campan II. i. 1 The celebrated affair of the necklace [Fr. cette fameuse intrigue du collier], purchased, as it was said, for the Queen, by the cardinal de Rohan. 1899 J. E. C. Bodley (ed. 2) Index 656/1 Dreyfus affair. 1957 D. W. Brogan v. 194 ‘The Affair’ is, in one sense, simple. Dreyfus..was a brilliant, promising and unpopular officer. 1984 F. Forsyth ii. 41 Back in 1962 and 1963 Roger Hollis had known almost from the outset of the business the full details of the Christine Keeler affair, as it came to be known. 1992 29 Sept. 11/1 That appears to be the end of the Sagawa affair, which once threatened to be Japan's biggest political bribery scandal. 2006 20 Apr. 996/1 The ‘Baltimore affair’, in which a researcher..accused her boss..of fraud and set off a national furore. †II. Senses relating to personal conduct or status. 4. the world > action or operation > behaviour > [noun] > in social intercourse a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) l. 11962 (MED) Ask him qui he þus-gat gers Vs hatted be for his afers [Gött. a-feres, Trin. Cambr. maneres]. ?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre (1894) I. lf. 9 As he beheld her affaires and werkes, he caste his eyen on her vertues that plesid hym so gretli. a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun (Nero) ix. l. 2125 Dame Anabil, Qweyn of Scotlande..Connande, curtasse in hir afferis [a1530 Royal efferis]. a1513 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen in (1998) I. 42 Than spak ane lusty belyf with lustie effeiris. the world > action or operation > behaviour > [noun] > demeanour or bearing 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour (St. John's Cambr.) vii. l. 126 Thai persauit be his spekyng, And his effer, he wes the kyng. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour (St. John's Cambr.) v. l. 608 The king persauit be thair effeir [1489 Adv. affer], That all wes suth men till hym tald. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour (Adv.) i. 361 He wes off full fayr effer, Wys, curtais, and deboner. [Cf. Vie S. Alexi 31, Il est home de boen afere, Douz et creable et debonere.] a1500 (1870) 3061 Most knychtly of affere. a1513 W. Dunbar (1998) I. 150 Frawart wes thair affeir. 1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius (1858) I. 299 Thair forwardnes and eik thair fresche effeir. 1575 in 73 That fre answerd with fayr afeir. a1513 W. Dunbar (1998) I. 166 Discirnyng all thair [sc. flouris] fassionis and effeiris. a1586 King Hart l. 98 in W. A. Craigie (1919) I. 257 Dame plesance had ane pretty place besyd With fresche effeir. the world > action or operation > doing > [noun] 1598 G. Chapman tr. Homer v. 503 Mars..with his best affair, Obey'd the pleasure of the Sun. 5. society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > [noun] 1480 W. Caxton tr. Ovid xiv. xii She was ryche and of grete affayre. 1481 W. Caxton tr. iii. xxi. sig. m. 5v Our lord god is moche myghty, & of a right hye affayre. 1485 W. Caxton tr. sig. cvii/2 In trouthe I haue grete pyte of thyn affaire. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour (St. John's Cambr.) x. l. 305 He sped him to the were, Till help his Eym and his effere. 1488 (c1478) Hary (Adv.) (1968–9) iv. l. 514 Thai..Chesyt a strenth quhar thai thar lugyng maid. In gud affer a quhill thar still he baid. a1550 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun (Wemyss) xx. l. 96 Off gouernance scho wes happy,..And couth weill se for hir effeire [a1500 Nero myster; a1530 Royal mystyre]. c1580 ( tr. (1927) III. ii. l. 6392 To Lyonell syne went thay all And asked him of his effere. 6. the mind > emotion > pride > ostentation > splendour, magnificence, or pomp > [noun] c1480 (a1400) St. Anastasia 320 in W. M. Metcalfe (1896) II. 416 Apolyna..þe cors..can ta, & in hir ȝard gert it entere, of gastly Ioy vith gret affere. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour (St. John's Cambr.) xx. l. 515 He..couth..his fais richt felonly Stonay..The quhethir of litill effer wes he. a1500 (1870) l. 2360 Sche gart bryng..With grete effere this knycht to hir presens. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour (St. John's Cambr.) vii. l. 30 Iohn of lorn, with gret effere [1489 Adv. affer]. 1488 (c1478) Hary (Adv.) (1968–9) xi. l. 206 [There were] Xl thowsand apon the Scottis to fair. With fell affer thai raissit wp rycht thair The Bruce baner. a1500 (1870) 985 Wich ware to few aȝaine the gret affere Of galiot. a1522 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil (1957) i. Prol. 253 The gret afferis of athir host and array. 1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian xi, in 2nd Ser. I. 309 This rising in effeir of war. 1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth iii, in 2nd Ser. I. 79 The tolling of the common bell, which calls us out bodin in effeir of war. III. An object, an item. 7. the world > life > the body > sex organs > [noun] 1749 J. Cleland II. 76 Her gallant..drew out his affair ready erected. 1762 T. Bridges I. iv. 192 That rogue on Ida, Thought your affair a span too wide. c1863 ‘Philo Cunnus’ II. 25 He withdrew his hand from my affair and bade me go on. 1868 tr. Martial 90 Titius has an affair as large as that worshipped by the ladies of Lampsacus. 1907 C. Prendergast I. v. 46 She seized my affair with her lips. the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > thing or material object 1763 J. Woodforde Diary 29 June in W. N. Hargreaves-Mawdsley (1969) 137 A Tin Affair to put my Letters of Orders in. 1776 M. Cutler 17 June (1888) I. 55 They made us several presents of the small affairs in the cabins, such as sweetmeats, cayenne-pepper, supple-jacks, [etc.]. 1801 M. Edgeworth Forester in I. 232 His wife..was no grand affair..a merchant's daughter. 1845 C. Darwin (ed. 2) viii. 142 The Plata looks like a noble estuary on the map; but is in truth a poor affair. 1879 H. Northcott in IV. 344/1 In this example the cone-headstock is a very small affair. 1919 H. Crane 22 Nov. (1965) 25 I wrote a short affair last night that I may hammer into shape. 1949 9 Nov. 16/4 Ginger Rogers wearing some sort of a pink affair on her head was also at La Rue. 2006 S. Caldwell vii. 108 The daughter is trying on her communion dress, a lacy affair with a long veil. the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > (a) means > equipment for any action or undertaking > a device or contrivance 1835 Jan. 58 I secured the affectionate old grimalkin to the cord, and attached to it the kite... Swinging the affair over the ballustrade, I let the small windlass slowly unrol. 1866 37 The affair [sc. a glider] falling over sideways, broke up the right-hand set of webs. 1903 H. G. Wells 11 He did not make the affair large enough to carry a man... The first flight of this first practicable flying machine took place over some fields near Burford Bridge. 1905 Sept. 127/1 There were holes for the eyes and strings that tied the affair and held it in place. 1990 T. McEwen (1991) i. 13 The blonde, composed mainly of teat and crimson lipstick, is bursting out of an affair of turnbuckles and rawhide straps. Phrases P1. 1574 B. Rich sig. Ivv He that were least practised in the affayres of loue. 1611 T. Heywood iii. sig. F Faire Sibilla, on thy life, I charge thee tell me..By all the hopes in Saturne thou hast stor'd, Our nuptiall pleasures, and affaires of loue. 1671 A. Behn ii. i. 22 I'le leave you; For I have a small affair of Love to dispatch. 1772 J. Entick (new ed.) Lovemonger,..one who deals in affairs of love. 1773 H. Chapone I. 182 If your friend should..intend to carry on an affair of love. 1847 E. Bennett v. i. 103 You have disturbed me in an affair of love; and who of you, gentlemen, has not at sometime had one of his own. 1904 W. P. Watson viii. 58 It is in the affair of love that their profoundest affections and conservatisms reside. 1997 67 420 Many authors began by basing their first novel on an experience that had happened to them or their friends, often an affair of love. 2004 J. Hillman iii. 175 A cultural clumsiness affects American relations with Aphrodite in the affairs of love and in the ways of war. P2. 1710 D. Manley II. 206 Before he could enquire into the affairs of the heart, her Charms left him not the liberty of his. 1852 Mar. 346/2 It has been also reported that an affair of the heart hastened his dissolution. 1965 47 481 There was also an affair of the heart suggested; a betrothal cruelly ended on the very wedding day. 2003 S. Mackay (2004) iii. 34 It is one thing to speak of affairs of the heart with a distinguished poet,..quite another to be patronised by an old loony. P3. society > armed hostility > armed encounter > [noun] > single combat or duel 1737 May 285/2 Prithee come to me immediately, to serve me in an Affair of Honour. 1753 J. Hanway II. xl. 257 The French..calling it [sc. duelling] an affair of honour. 1836 C. Dickens (1837) ii. 20 ‘I want your assistance..in an affair of honour,’ said Mr. Winkle. 1941 S. W. Patterson xiv. 280 The affair of honor was handsomely staged in the presence of distinguished witnesses. 1993 D. Wood viii. 196 The young hothead was persuaded to drop his affair of honour. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online June 2022). <  n.c1390 |
