| 释义 |
▪ I. stumble, n.|ˈstʌmb(ə)l|
Also 6 stomble.
[f. stumble v.]
1. An act of stumbling.
a. A missing one's footing, a partial fall.
c1645Howell Lett. (1650) I. iii. xxxi. 92, I was told of a Spaniard, who having got a fall by a stumble, and broke his nose, rose up, and in a disdainfull manner said,..This is to walk upon earth. 1743Wesley Jrnl. 20 Oct., Many endeavour'd to throw me down, while we were going down-hill on a slippery path to the town... But I made no stumble at all, nor the least slip 'till I was intirely out of their hands. 1825Scott Talism. xxii, The horse of the knight made such a perilous stumble as threatened to add a practical moral to the tale. 1890D. Davidson Mem. Long Life ix. 224 Douglas Graham's horse had stumbled in the soft bed of the nullah, and that stumble saved his rider's life.
fig.1547J. Harrison Exhort. in Compl. Scot. (1872) 222 This is a greete stomble at the thressholde of the dore: for it is plain by histories, that Lusitania, was not called Portyngale, almost by a M. yeres, after this supposed tyme. 1639Fuller Holy War iv. xx. 203 A Prince, who in the race of his life met with many rubs, some stumbles, no dangerous falls.
†b. An ineffectual attempt. Obs.
a1635Corbet Nonsence Poems (1807) 221 Or lyke to rhyming verse that runs in prose, Or lyke the stumbles of a tynder box.
c. A blunder, slip.
1607Harington Nugæ Ant. (1804) II. 49 Maister Vaghan examined him..and found him but shallow, and not very ready in the Roman tongue, his frend having been fayn to help him up, in two or three fowle stumbles, both of language and matter. a1641Bp. R. Montagu Acts & Mon. (1642) 379 A prosecution of the former Paragraph, with a stumble of Baronius. 1687Settle Refl. Dryden 68 By the damnable stumbles Mr. Notes makes in them, he is quite different from Aretine in his Preface. 1736Hervey Mem. Geo. II (1848) I. 408 Sir Robert, finding the stumble his brother had made [in making this suggestion]..joined in the laugh against him. 1901Scotsman 1 Mar. 7/4 The significant stumble made by the right hon. gentleman in his reply.
†d. A taking offence. Obs.
1674Bunyan Light for them in Darkness (1675) 35 This their stumble might arise either; 1. From the cruelty of Herod: Or, 2 From their own not observing and keeping in mind the Alarum that God gave them at his Birth.
e. A moral lapse.
1702Engl. Theophrastus 186 One stumble is oftentimes enough to deface the character of an honourable life. 1876H. K. Wood Highw. Salvation v. 57 His stumbles and his transgressions are his sorrow.
f. A stumbling or coming by accident upon something.
1865Holland Plain Talk iv. 122 There are exceptions to this rule in the lucky Stumbles that are made upon extraordinary deposits of the precious stones and metals.
2. In generalized sense: The action of stumbling.
1641Milton Ch. Govt. i. 4 How much lesse can we believe that God would leave his..Church..to the perpetuall stumble of conjecture and disturbance. 1692L'Estrange æsop's Fables Life ix. 10 The Clown, after a little Stumble within himself,..says..If it be the Custome of the Family, 'tis not for me to be against it. 1880Blackmore Mary Anerley I. x. 135 Buoys, nets, kegs,..lay about..here and there and everywhere, upon this half-acre of slip and stumble, at the top of the boat-channel down to the sea.
†3. A stumbling-block. Obs.
1651H. More Second Lash To Rdr., in Enthus. Tri., etc. (1656) M 2 b, And truly..that Book which hath proved so mischievous a scandal, I intended onely for a stumble to wake you.
▪ II. stumble, v.|ˈstʌmb(ə)l|
Forms: 4 stomble, stumbill, -bul, 5 stombel, -byl, stomel(e, stomle, stoomel, stumbylle, stumle, stummel, 9 dial. stummle, 4– stumble.
[Early 14th c. stomble, stumble (the b is euphonic; the original stomle, stumle, is not recorded till the 15th c.) corresponds to Norw. stumla to grope and stumble in the dark (Ross), Da. dial. stumle, Sw. dial. stomla; perh. repr. an unrecorded ON. *stumla, synonymous with the cognate stumra to stumble (Norw. stumra): see stummer v. The root is an ablaut-variant of *stam-: see stammer v.]
1. intr. To miss one's footing, or trip over an obstacle, in walking or running, so as to fall or be in danger of falling.
c1325Gloss. W. de Bibbesw. in Wright Voc. 143 Ke il ne ceste ne ne chece [glossed stumble ne falle] En la bowe ne messece. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 12435 He [the giant] stombled, & gaf a cry. 1338― Chron. (1810) 55 A seruitour þer was, þat serued at þe mete, He stombled at a chance, & felle on his kne. a1340Hampole Psalter xix. 8 Proude horsis that will stumbill and gere vs breke oure neke. 1388Wyclif John xi. 10 If he wandre in the niȝt, he stomblith [Vulg. offendit]. c1450Brut ii. 378 And þanne þeȝe Frenschmen come prikkyng doun as þei wolde haue ouyr-rydyn alle oure meyne; but God and our archers made hem sone to stomble. 1523–34Fitzherb. Husb. §92 The cordes is a thynge that wyll make a horse to stumble, and ofte to fall. 1659in Verney Mem. (1907) II. 147 The horse stumblinge threw them both. 1746Francis tr. Hor., Epist. i. x. 63 Our Fortunes and our Shoes are near allied; We're pinch'd in strait, and stumble in the wide. 1810Scott Lady of L. i. ix, But, stumbling in the rugged dell, The gallant horse exhausted fell. 1846A. Marsh Father Darcy II. xix. 321 A sort of broken gallop, as of horses forced forward, yet faltering and stumbling at every step, was now heard. 1900Bp. W. How Lighter Moments 37 His horse stumbled in a lane and fell with him.
b. with const. at, over.
a1450Le Morte Arth. 115 His hors stomelyd at a stone. c1450J. Capgrave Life St. Gilbert xliii. 123 Sche stombeled at a blok whech was hid with straw and þus fel sodeynly. 1538Elyot Dict., Offensaculum, that which is layd in a mans waye, whereat he stumbleth. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. v. iii. 122 How oft to night Haue my old feet stumbled at graues. a1707Prior Duke of Ormond's Pict. 13 His steed..stumbles o'er the Heap. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxxiii, Give me the torch,..and take care you don't stumble over anything that lies in your way. 1824Scott Redgauntlet ch. xv, Stumbling at every obstacle which the devotion of his guide, Richard, had left in the path, he [etc.]. 1833H. Martineau Briery Creek iii. 58 As sure as one walks in the dark, one stumbles over a pig. 1845Ford Handbk. Spain i. 52 Having stumbled over a stone. 1894Miss L. Alma-Tadema Wings of Icarus 158, I turned from the window and stumbled over something; I lighted a candle.
c. To fall in consequence of a stumble.
14..Sir Beues (Pynson) 2454 There was a wel,..And Beuys stumbled ryght therin. 1907Connoisseur Apr. 275/2 Here are men fighting.., there a horse is stumbling to his knees.
d. To knock or jostle against (a person or thing) involuntarily.
c1440Promp. Parv. 481/1 Stummelyn, or hurtelyn a-ȝen a stole, or clogge, or oþer lyke, impingo. 1822Shelley Faust ii. 21 Every step One stumbles 'gainst some crag. 1835Politeness & Gd.-breeding 28 This boy or girl..who never..tries to vex your feelings, but if they happen so much as to stumble against you, or hurt you in any way, say immediately, ‘I am sorry for it.’ 1865Kingsley Herew. xli, ‘I am out,’ quoth Hereward, as the man almost stumbled against him; ‘and this is in.’
e. Of an inanimate thing: To strike unexpectedly on. ? nonce-use.
1702Secret Mercury 23– 30 Sept. 2/1, I press'd her to discover her Lodgings, but in vain; for the Boat just stumbled on the Stones and parted us. 1822Shelley tr. Calderon's Mag. Prodig. ii. 60 It [that sad ship] strikes—..It stumbles on a jaggèd rock.
f. Phrase, to stumble at (on) the threshold. Chiefly fig., to fail, take offence, meet with an ominous check at the beginning of an enterprise.
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. v. 357 He stumbled [So several MSS.; but see thrumble v.] on the thresshewolde. 1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. May 230 Tho went the pensife Damme out of dore And chaunst to stomble at the threshold flore. 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iv. vii. 11. 1699 T. Baker Refl. Learn. xvi. 200 This is no very great mistake, but it is always ominous to stumble at the threshold. 1725N. Bailey Erasm. Colloq. (1733) 209, I lately began to read Seneca's Epistles, and stumbled, as they say, at the very Threshold. 1877Froude Short Stud. (1833) IV. i. iv. 49 He stumbled on the threshold, and had almost fallen, but recovered himself.
2. fig. in various uses.
a. To trip morally.
1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 6521 Ful many on stumble vp and down Of þe greces of syre glotown. a1340Hampole Psalter xxv. 1, I shal not be seke [Vulg. non infirmabor] þat is, I shal noght stumbul. c1400Destr. Troy 2928 Soche stirrynges ger stumble, þat stidfast wold be. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. i. ii. 3 Jul. Would'st thou then counsaile me to fall in loue? Luc. I Madam, so you stumble not vnheedfully. a1692Shadwell Volunteers i. i. (1693) 7 That Mother in Law of thine is..I believe given to stumble much; there is an odd fellow keeps her Company. 1851Thackeray Eng. Hum., Swift (1858) 31 They sinned and stumbled..with debt, with drink.
b. To make a slip in speech or action; to blunder through inadvertence or unpreparedness.
1450–1530Myrr. Our Ladye 51 Yf yt happe..that any..fayle or stomble, or be dystracte from saynge or hering of any worde, or verse, or psalme, etc. 1607Rowlands Diogines Lanth. 44 T'is better stumble with thy feet Then stumble with thy tongue. 1611Bible Transl. Pref. ⁋6 But yet as men they [the LXX] stumbled and fell, one while through ouersight, another while through ignorance.
c. To come on or upon by chance and unexpectedly; to come in or into (a place) by chance.
1555Eden Decades (Arb.) 337 He that speaketh much shal sumtimes stumble on the truth. c1575G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 158 It was mie illuck to stumble on sutch cumpany to Walden warde, that I could not possibely cumpas mie purpose, unles [etc.]. 1579Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 30 Some Archplayer or other that hath read a litle, or stumbled by chance vpon Plautus comedies. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. ii. 53. 1632 Lithgow Trav. i. 33 It was my lucke to stumble in here againe. 1682N. O. Boileau's Le Lutrin ii. 164 Thus trudg'd he nimble: Whom should he stumble next on, But that tough stick of Wood, Boirude the Sexton? 1706E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 36 You shall sometimes stumble upon a Lieutenant..of a very different Make. 1781Cowper Conversat. 280 He..had a world of talk With one he stumbled on, and lost his walk. 1815Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xiii. (1818) I. 417 note, Some time after making this experiment I stumbled upon a passage in Redi. 1838W. C. Harris Narr. Exped. S. Africa 17 In the course of our perambulations..we stumbled upon a waggon discharging a cargo of oranges. 1840Dickens Old C. Shop xix, They were not the fittest companions she could have stumbled on. 1874L. Stephen Hours in Libr. (1892) i. i. 10 The founders..appear to have stumbled upon their discovery by a kind of accident. 1877Mrs. Oliphant Makers Florence viii. 211 The curiously accidental and fortuitous way in which real excellence sometimes stumbles into recognition. 1902S. S. Sprigge Industr. Chevalier vii. 165 Now and again they stumble upon prizes which they cannot appreciate.
d. To take offence; to find a stumbling-block or obstacle to belief. Chiefly with const. at.
1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 11 b, Here perauenture the scrupulous persone wyll stomble, & say [etc.]. 1593Bilson Govt. Christ's Ch. 410, I see no cause for others to stumble at it. 1647N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. xv. 46 In case the Prelacy for England should stumble at the Supremacy of Rome. 1687J. Renwick in A. Shields Life Biogr. Presbyt. (1827) II. 287 Stumble not, because Religion is mocked at. 1782Priestley Corrupt. Chr. I. i. 21 The circumstance at which mankind..stumbled the most. 1860Pusey Min. Proph. 92 Those who rebel against the law of God, stumble, in divers manners, at the ways of God. They stumble at God Himself,..they stumble at His attributes; they stumble at His Providence, at His acts [etc.]. 1882Pitman Mission Life Greece & Palestine 326 These two peoples stumble at one ‘stumbling stone’, even Christ.
†e. Proverb.
1530Palsgr. 736/2 Thou lepest over a bloke and stomblest at a strawe. 1547Homilies, Works D iv, They were of so blynd iudgemente, that they stombled at a strawe, & leped ouer a blocke. 1653W. Ramesey Astrol. Restored To Rdr. 17 To skip over blocks, and stumble at straws.
3. To walk unsteadily and with frequent stumbles.
c1435Torr. Portugal 660 Stomlyng thurrow frythe and fen, Tyll he com to a depe glen. 1577Grange Golden Aphrod. N ij b, But who so bolde as blinde Bayarde? for he mistrusting nought, comes stumbling forth at will. 1627May Lucan iii. F 1, He seeing his Sonne fall with trembling step Stumbling along came to that side the ship. 1667Milton P.L. iii. 201 But..blind be blinded more, That they may stumble on, and deeper fall. 1697W. Dampier Voy. I. xv. 408 By this unreasonable custom they [the Chinese women] do in a manner lose the use of their Feet, and instead of going they only stumble about their Houses. 1831Scott Cast. Dang. ix, She kept talking all the while as she stumbled onward. 1869H. F. Tozer Highl. Turkey I. 292 We stumbled along behind him by the light of the stars, over very rough places. 1878Browning La Saisiaz 59 What a load he stumbles under through his glad sad seventy years. 1883Stevenson Treas. Isl. xx, And with a dreadful oath he stumbled off, ploughed down the sand,..and disappeared. 1902S. E. White Blazed Trail iv, He dressed, shivering, and stumbled down stairs to a round stove.
b. transf. Of an inanimate thing: To move by jolts or falls. rare.
1873Miss Thackeray Old Kensington ii. (ed. 2) 9 Staring..at the luggage as it comes bumping and stumbling off the big ship.
c. fig. To proceed, speak, or act in a blundering or hesitating manner.
c1394P. Pl. Crede 591 Now mot a frere studyen & stumblen in tales. 1589R. Harvey Plain Percival Ded., As farre as Will Solnes stuttring pronunciation may stumble ouer at a breath. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 316 My tongue should stumble in mine earnest words. 1598Marston Sco. Villanie To iudiciall Perusers B 4 b, Yet both of them [Juvenal and Persius] goe a good seemely pace, not stumbling, shuffling. 1862Stanley Jew. Ch. (1877) I. xiii. 246 Through a succession of failures, they stumbled into perfection. 1868Tennyson Lucretius 123, I have forgotten what I meant: my mind Stumbles, and all my faculties are lamed. 1884Harper's Mag. Nov. 912/2 I'll stumble through the driest scientific treatise you have. 1891Farrar Darkn. & Dawn xv, Seneca blushed, and his smooth tongue stumbled, as he attempted to express his gratification.
4. trans. (causatively).
a. To trip up, bring to the ground, overthrow. lit. and fig. ? Obs.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 13050 Stedes slayn, stumbled & failled. 1382Wyclif Eccles. x. 12 The lippis of the vnwise shuln stumblen hym doun [Vulg. præcipitabunt eum]. 1592Soliman & Pers. iv. i. 222, I, now occasion serues to stumble him That thrust his sickle in my haruest corne. 1652Brough Sacred Princ. (ed. 2) 449 Stumble not an Vpright foot, with a visible Block of offence.
b. To puzzle; to give pause or offence to; to embarrass, nonplus.
1605L. Hutten Aunswere 5 But the Treatiser thought it more for his aduantage,..to set down his argument confusedly, the more to stumble the vnskilfull Reader. 1621Burton Anat. Mel. ii. iv. i. i. (1624) 297 A common ague sometimes stumbles them all [sc. the apothecaries], they cannot so much as ease. 1653W. Ramesey Astrol. Restored 22, I think good for the clearing of all what hath been already said (least some may be stumbled thereat) to deliver my minde as touching their influence thus. 1669S. Simmons Milton's P.L. To Rdr., A reason of that which stumbled many others, why the Poem Rimes not. 1682Bunyan Holy War 381 To question Election is..to stumble the faith of the Town of Mansoul. 1724A. Shields Life J. Renwick Biogr. Presbyt. (1827) II. 144 By these and the like Reproaches, many were stumbled at his Testimony. 1784Cowper Task iv. 533 In days like these..when Virtue is so scarce, That to suppose a scene where she presides..stumbles all belief. 1893W. G. Collingwood Life Ruskin I. 172 The proud possessor of a cut-and-dry creed will be stumbled by this new milestone in Mr. Ruskin's intellectual pilgrimage. 1901Church Quarterly July 425 He [a Chinaman] is much stumbled that..the claims of a man's wife take precedence of those of his elder brother.
†c. To shake (a resolve, an opinion). Obs.
1607Markham Cavel. iii. vii. 34 There is nothing dooth so much stumble mens mindes, and make them affraide of keeping hunting horses, as the verie remembrance and charge of keeping them. 1646Hamilton Papers (Camden) 134 The small appearance he findes that his message will be satisfactory to you there hath much stumbled his resolution of sending it to London. 1651N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. ii. xxv. 192 Nor was it wisdome for Kings that sate loose in their Thrones, to stumble the good Opinions of so considerable [a] party towards them.
†d. To act as an obstacle to, to hinder, prevent.
1606Warner Alb. Eng. xvi. ciii. 406 What stumbleth our Banes-bidding, pra? cause Peg forsooth will be A Gentle⁓woman.
Hence ˈstumbled ppl. a.
1548Cooper Elyot's Dict., Titubatus, tripped, stumbled. 1848S. Wilberforce in Ashwell Life (1880) I. xi. 499 Though to anonymous public slanderers I would give no answer, yet to a stumbled Christian friend I ought even to humble myself to reply to a surmise so degrading to my character even as this. |