| 释义 |
hu·mor
I. \ˈ(h)yümə(r)\ noun
(-s)
Usage: see -or
Etymology: Middle English humour, from Middle French humeur, from Medieval Latin & Latin; Medieval Latin humor humor of the body, from Latin humor, umor moisture, fluid; akin to Middle Dutch wac damp, wet, Old Norse vökr damp, Latin humēre, umēre to be moist or damp, uvidus damp, moist, Greek hygros wet, Sanskrit ukṣati he sprinkles, he moistens
1.
a.
(1) : a normal functioning fluid or semifluid of the body (as the blood, lymph, or bile) especially of vertebrates
(2) : a secretion that is itself an excitant of activity (as certain hormones) — see neurohumor
b.
(1) in medieval physiology : a fluid or juice of an animal or plant; specifically : one of the four fluids entering into the constitution of the body and determining by their relative proportions a person's health and temperament — see black bile, blood, phlegm, yellow bile
(2) : constitutional or habitual disposition, character, or bent : temperament
< are you an agreeable person? Have you a pleasant humor? — Alfred Buchanan >
< every word they spoke … attested to their mutual love, the combining of their humors — Djuna Barnes >
< the women were horrified or admiring, as their humor moved them — Edith Wharton >
(3) : temporary state of mind : temper, mood
< not in a humor to hear you further — Thomas Hardy >
< in excellent humor >
< after the execution … the humor of the court involuntarily changed — Francis Hackett >
(4) : a sudden, unpredictable, or unreasoning inclination : caprice, whim, fancy
< a very frolicsome and tricky creature … full of wild fantastic humors — W.H.Hudson †1922 >
< conceived the humor of impeaching casual passerby … and wreaking vengeance on them — Charles Dickens >
< victims of nature's cataclysmic humors, dust storms and drought — Julian Dana >
(5) humors plural : actions revealing the oddities or quirks of human temperament : whimsical or fantastic actions : vagaries
< the humors and small details of ordinary life — John Erskine †1951 >
c. obsolete : moisture, vapor
< the humors of the dank morning — Shakespeare >
2.
a. : that quality in a happening, an action, a situation, or an expression of ideas which appeals to a sense of the ludicrous or absurdly incongruous : comic or amusing quality
< the humor of his plight >
< the delightful humor of a book >
b. : the mental faculty of discovering, expressing, or appreciating ludicrous or absurdly incongruous elements in ideas, situations, happenings, or acts : droll imagination or its expressions
< the man is completely without humor >
— compare wit
c. : the act of or effort at being humorous : something (as an action, saying, or writing) that is or is designed to be humorous
< his heavy humor fell completely flat >
< never read any humor above the so-called comics — Ellie Tucker >
< a humor magazine >
Synonyms: see mood, wit
•
- out of humor
II. transitive verb
(humored ; humored ; humoring \-m(ə)riŋ\ ; humors)
Usage: see -or
1. : to comply with the humor of : soothe or content by indulgence or compliance : indulge
< one must discover and humor his weaknesses — H.M.Parshley >
2. : to comply with the nature of : adjust matters to the peculiarities or exigencies of : adapt oneself to
< yielding to, and humoring the motion of the limbs and twigs — William Bartram >
Synonyms: see indulge |