| 释义 |
blue
I. \ˈblü\ adjective
(usually -er/-est)
Etymology: Middle English bleu, blew, from Old French blo, blou, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German blāo blue, Old Norse blār dark blue, livid; akin to Latin flavus yellow, Old English bǣl fire, pyre — more at bald
1.
a. : of the color blue
< blue violets >
< as blue as a sapphire >
b. : having the color of the clear sky or the deep sea
< the blue firmament >
< the blue ocean >
2.
a. : tinged with blue : bluish
< the blue haze of tobacco smoke >
< blue as a vein >
< the blue mountains >
< the milk was blue >
< the candle burned blue >
< blue lightning >
b. of the skin : livid especially with cold or from a blow
< a face blue from the damp — T.B.Costain >
c. of the coat of an animal : bluish gray
< a short-haired blue cat >
3.
a. : low in spirits : melancholy, depressed
< she was blue and lonesome and half sick — J.B.Benefield >
b. : productive of low spirits : unpromising, depressing
< things looked blue for them >
4.
a. : wearing blue
< the painting is called “The Blue Boy” >
b. : having blue as a distinguishing color
< the blue team defeated the red team >
c. : of or relating to a blue lodge of Freemasons
< blue Masonry >
5. of a woman : really or affectedly learned : intellectual
< the ladies were very blue and well-informed — W.M.Thackeray >
6. : characterized by or derived from rigid morals : puritanical
< a blue Sunday city by local option — James Street >
7.
a. : characterized by indecency or obscenity : off-color, risqué
< the same joke each time — and a bit bluer than anything Charlie had ever heard before in mixed company — J.B.Priestley >
b. : characterized by or filled with cursing and swearing : profane
< blue language >
< shop owners turned the air blue at a mass meeting — Time >
8. : extreme, complete — used as an intensive
< the very name … put her in a blue fear — R.L.Stevenson >
9. : relating to, suggesting, or suited to blues singing or playing
< blue-voiced >
< a blue song >
•
- blue in the face
II. noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English bleu, blew, from bleu, blew, adjective
1.
a. : a color whose hue is that of the clear sky or that of the portion of the color spectrum lying between green and violet
b. : the one of the four psychologically primary hues that is evoked in the average normal observer under normal conditions by radiant energy of the wavelength 475 millimicrons
c. : one of the six psychologically primary object colors
2.
a. : any of certain varieties of gray having a bluish appearance — used especially of pelage or plumage colors in dogs, cats, and poultry
b. : an animal having a coat of such a blue
3.
a. : a pigment or dye that colors blue
b. : bluing 2
4.
a. : blue clothing or cloth
< the boys in blue >
b. : one wearing blue or belonging to an organization or party whose uniform or badge is blue
< next time you see the blue ashore — Rudyard Kipling >
5.
a.
(1) : sky
< boomerangs that were once hurled into the blue — A.J.Toynbee >
(2) : the far distance : space
< chuck up Seville and go off somewhere into the blue — William Sansom >
b. : sea, ocean
< the Marianas were right out in the blue — Fletcher Pratt >
6. : an object that is blue in color or that belongs to a group whose characteristic color is blue
< pieces of Nanking blue >
< the poker player bought a stack of blues >
7. [by shortening] : bluestocking
8.
a. : a student who represents Oxford or Cambridge University in athletic contests and is awarded the right to wear the university color
< was an Oxford blue in cricket >
b. : the right to wear such a university color
< won his blue in tennis at Cambridge >
9. : any of numerous small chiefly blue butterflies of the family Lycaenidae
10.
a. : the blue third circle of an archery target
b. : a shot that hits such a circle
11. : first place or first prize : blue ribbon
< won the blue at the horse show >
12. : blue cheese
13. Australia : an argument or fight
< he got mixed up in a blue >
•
- out of the blue
III. verb
(blued ; blued ; blueing or bluing ; blues)
Etymology: blue (I)
transitive verb
1. : to make blue in color: as
a. : to dye or paint blue
b. : to apply bluing to
c. : to make blue (as steel, rifle barrels, or razor blades) by heating in air, steam, or appropriate chemicals — see blue heat
2. slang Britain : to spend lavishly or wastefully : squander
< while they've got money they blue it — Ngaio Marsh >
intransitive verb
: to turn blue |