| 释义 |
Democritean, a.|dɪˌmɒkrɪˈtiːən|
[f. L. Dēmocritē-us (or -īus, Gr. Δηµοκρίτει-ος) of or pertaining to Democritus + -an.]
Of, pertaining to, or after the style of Democritus, a Greek philosopher of the 5th century B.C. (known as ‘the laughing philosopher’), or of his atomistic or other theories.
So † Deˈmocrital a., Demoˈcritic a. [L. Dēmocritic-us], † Democritish a., in same sense; † Demoˈcritical a., after the style or theories of Democritus; Democritean stories (fabulæ Democriticæ), incredible stories of Natural History; † Deˈmocritism, the practice of Democritus in laughing at everything.
a1617Bayne Diocesans Tryall (1621) 80 As all but Morelius and such Democritall spirits doe affirme. 1650Bulwer Anthropomet. Ep. Ded., To summon Democritical Atomes to conglobate into an intellectual Form. 1656Blount Glossogr., Democritick, mocking, jeering, laughing at every thing. 1668H. More Div. Dial i. xxvi. (1713) 53 The Existence of the ancient Democritish Vacuum. 1672Sir T. Browne Lett. Friend xxiv. (1881) 143 His sober contempt of the world wrought no Democritism or Cynicism, no laughing or snarling at it. 1678Cudworth Intell. Syst. Pref., The Democritick Fate, is nothing but The Material Necessity of all things without a God. 1725Bailey Erasm. Colloq. (1877) 394 (D.) Not to mention democritical stories, do we not find..that there is a mighty disagreement between an oak and an olive-tree? 1845Maurice Mor. & Met. Philos. in Encycl. Metrop. II. 627/1 The Democritic concourse of atoms. 1855Milman Lat. Chr. (1864) IX. xiv. iii. 137 The Democritean notions of actual images which..pass from the object to the sense. 1888J. Martineau Study Relig. I. ii. i. 214 A physiologist so Democritean as Haeckel. |