| 释义 |
bea·ver
I. \ˈbēvə(r)\ noun
(plural beaver or beavers)
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English bever, from Old English beofor; akin to Old High German bibar beaver, Old Norse bjōrr, Latin fiber, Lithuanian bebrus beaver, Sanskrit babhru large ichneumon, babhru reddish brown — more at brown
1.
a. : either of two large semiaquatic rodents having webbed hind feet and a broad flat tail, feeding chiefly on bark and twigs, being remarkable for ingenuity in the construction of lodges and dams, and yielding valuable fur and castor:
(1) : an Old World rodent (Castor fiber) formerly abundant over much of northern Europe and Asia
(2) : a New World congener (C. canadensis) whose skins were a major factor in the exploration and settlement of much of No. America and served in early times as a basic standard of exchange
b. : any of certain other rodents that resemble beavers; especially : mountain beaver
2.
a. : the fur or pelt of the beaver
b. : the fur or pelt of any of various animals processed to resemble that of the beaver — often used with a qualifying word
3.
a. : a hat with a tall approximately cylindrical crown made of beaver fur or a fabric imitation of beaver
< tall men wearing beavers >
b. : silk hat
4. also beaver cloth
a. : a thick woolen coating in twill weave made with a deep nap to resemble beaver fur
b. : a cotton cloth for clothing napped on both sides
c. : plush used for millinery
5.
a. : made-beaver
b. : one of the 5-dollar or 10-dollar gold coins with the picture of a beaver on the obverse that were issued by the state of Oregon in 1849
6. or beaver brown : a grayish brown that is yellower, less strong, and slightly lighter than chestnut, less strong and slightly yellower and lighter than coconut, and less strong and slightly lighter than new cocoa — called also mushroom, starling
7. usually capitalized [approximate translation of Beaver Tsattine, literally, dwellers among the beavers]
a. : an Athapaskan people of the Peace river valley in Alberta
b. : a member of such people
8. : the language of the Beaver people
9.
a. : a full beard
b. : a man wearing a full beard
c. : a game in which one shouts “beaver” when he sees a bearded man
10. : eager beaver
II. noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English baviere, from Middle French, beaver, bib, from bave slobber — more at bavardage
1. : a piece of armor protecting the lower part of the face
2. : a helmet visor
< saw you not his face? O, yes, my lord; he wore his beaver up — Shakespeare >
 [B beaver 1]
III. noun
Etymology: beaver (I)
: the pudenda of a woman — usually considered vulgar
IV. \ˈbēvə(r)\ intransitive verb
(beavered ; beavered ; beavering \-v(ə)riŋ\ ; beavers)
Etymology: from the proverbial energy of the animal
chiefly Britain : to work diligently — usually used with away
< my subconscious, beavering away independently, suddenly came up with that dazzlingly brilliant punch line — Yorkshire Post > |