释义 |
pick·le I. \ˈpikəl\ noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English pekille, probably from Middle Dutch pekel, peekel; perhaps akin to Middle Dutch picken, pecken to prick, pick — more at pick 1. a. : a salt-and-water solution for preserving or corning fish or meat : brine b. : plain or spiced vinegar for preserving vegetables, fruit, fish, eggs, oysters c. : a bath usually of sulfuric acid and salt for treating skins after bating in chrome tanning d. : a bath of dilute sulfuric or nitric acid used to cleanse or brighten the surface of castings or other articles of metal e. : a solution of caustic soda or other antiseptic used for cleaning wort or beer pipes f. : any of various solutions (as of alcohol or formaldehyde) in which organic substances are soaked for preservation 2. a. : an unpleasant or difficult situation or condition : plight, predicament, trouble b. chiefly Britain : a state of disorder : mess < small boy who had … left a bathroom in a pickle — C.S.Lewis > 3. a. : an article of food (as a cucumber) that has been preserved in brine or in vinegar < sour as a pickle > b. dialect : a fresh cucumber 4. a. Britain : a mischievous or troublesome person b. : a person with a forbidding face or unsociable disposition Synonyms: see predicament • - in pickle II. transitive verb (pickled ; pickled ; pickling \-k(ə)liŋ\ ; pickles) 1. a. : to steep in a solution of salt or vinegar for preservation < pickle herring > < pickle fruit in syrup and vinegar > b. : to soak in a chemical solution in order to cleanse < pickle steel castings > or condition < pickled leather > < pickled seeds to induce sprouting > c. : to steep or soak (as seed) in a fungicide for the control of seed-borne diseases d. : to hold (cut flowers) under refrigeration for an extended period of time with or without the use of a material in order to lengthen the life 2. a. : to give an antique appearance to — used of copies or imitations of paintings by the old masters b. : to give a light finish to (as a piece of furniture) by bleaching or painting and wiping < paneled in pickled pine > 3. : to rub salt or salt and vinegar on (a wound made by flogging) III. verb Etymology: Middle English pikelen, from piken to pick + -len -le 1. chiefly Scotland : to pick a little at a time : eat sparingly or mincingly 2. chiefly Scotland : trifle, dawdle 3. chiefly Scotland : pilfer IV. noun (-s) Etymology: perhaps from pickle (III) 1. : grain, kernel 2. dialect : a small quantity or amount — usually with no preposition following < get my pickle meal — Sir Walter Scott > |