| 释义 |
▪ I. ransack, n.|ˈrænsæk|
[f. the vb. Cf. ON. rannsak.]
The act of ransacking.
1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie ii. xi[i]. (Arb.) 118 In the ransacke of the Cities of Cartagena and S. Dominico. 1635Quarles Embl. iv. xii. (1818) 241 What unwonted way Has 'scap'd the ransack of my rambling thought? 1649Earl of Monmouth tr. Senault's Use Passions (1671) 137 His Choler committed no less ransack. 1887Blackmore Springhaven (ed. 4) III. xv. 208 ‘There are no official papers here’, he said, after another short ransack.
▪ II. ransack, v.|ˈrænsæk|
Forms: 3–7 ransake, (3 -en, 5 -yn; 4 ron-, 5 ? raun-; also 5 ransek, ? runsik, 6 ransik, -sike), 5–7 ransacke, (8 -sac), 6– ransack.
[a. ON. rannsaka (Sw. ransaka, Da. ransage), f. rann house (= Goth. razn, OE. ærn) + -saka, ablaut-var. of sœ́kja to seek; cf. saka to blame, accuse, harm. Guernsey dial. ransaquer, Gael. rannsaich are from Eng. or ON.
ON. rannsaka is esp. used in the legal sense of searching a house for stolen goods: cf. senses 1 and 2 below.]
†1. trans. To search (a person) for something stolen or missing. Obs.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 1773 Ðu me ransakes als an ðef. Ibid. 2323 He gan hem ransaken on and on, And fond it ðor sone a-non. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xix. 122 Filius..flegh..To ransake that rageman and reue hym hus apples. 1493Festivall (W. de W. 1515) 22 They..sayd it was not so, and he [Joseph] ransaked them by and by.
2. To make thorough search in or throughout (a place, receptacle, collection of things, etc.) for something (in early use, something stolen: cf. 1). Also (rarely) with up.
a1300Cursor M. 4893 (Gött.) Ȝon er theues..Foluis þaim and ransakis [Cott. ripe] þair ware. 1530Palsgr. 679/1 He hath ransaked all the chystes I have for his beades. 1532More Confut. Tindale Wks. 595/2 He sayth..that the woman had lost her money, though by ransaking vp her howse and seking she founde it at last agayne. 1592Greene Art Conny catch. 30 The Knight sat downe with him and fell a ransacking his budget. 1644H. Parker Jus Populi 42 We have ransacked the bosome of Nature for all species of Power. 1739Cibber Apol. (1756) II. 80, I am ransacking my memory for..scraps of theatrical history. 1805Wordsw. Prelude v. 255 She scratches, ransacks up the earth for food. 1867Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) I. iii. 135 The Latin language is ransacked for strange and out-of-the-way terms.
b. absol. To make thorough search. Now rare.
c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 147 To ransake in the tas of bodyes dede..The pilours diden bisinesse and cure. c1440York Myst. xlvi. 215, I shall renne and reste not to ransake full right. 1598Sylvester Du Bartas i. v. 749 We..ransack deeply in her bosom tender. 1732Neal Hist. Purit. I. 253 This raised a clamour as if the Queen intended to ransack into mens consciences.
3. To examine thoroughly, to subject to close scrutiny; to overhaul and investigate in detail.
a1300E.E. Psalter lxiii. 6 Þai ransaked wicnesse, and iuel thinge. a1400Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 684/40 Hou schulde a leche this mon releeve But ȝif he miȝte ronsake the wounde. c1440Jacob's Well 109 Þere is no man, & he raunsake his conscyens, but he schal fynde..manye [sins], to schryuen him of. 1470–85Malory Arthur xiii. xiii, Anone he ransakyd hym & thenne he saide vnto syr galahad I shal hele hym of this wounde. 1533More Apol. xlii. Wks. 912, I purpose not to ransake and rebuke either the tone lawe or the tother. 1612T. Taylor Comm. Titus i. 9 Reade then this book..and thou shalt ransacke the affections, yea and consciences of the hearers. 1684J. Goodman Old Relig. (1848) 160 Ransacking a man's own heart in secret. 1850Hawthorne Scarlet L. xx. (1852) 207 She ransacked her conscience..and took herself to task..for a thousand imaginary faults. 1872Ruskin Eagle's Nest §66 In astronomy, the fields of the sky have not yet, indeed, been ransacked by the most costly instruments.
†b. fig. of things: To search, explore, penetrate. Also intr. Obs.
1562T. Phaer æneid ix. Bb iij b, The sword..Had ransakt through his ribs. 1579Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 38 One dramme of Eeleborus ransackes euery vaine. 1590Spenser F.Q. iii. v. 48 The mightie ill, which, as a victour proud, gan ransack fast His inward partes.
4. To search (a place, person, etc.) with intent to rob; hence, to rob, plunder, pillage (of).
1390Gower Conf. II. 331 He can the packes wel ransake,..Thus Robberie goth to seke. 1465Marg. Paston in P. Lett. II. 251 They stode uppon the hey awter, and ransackyd the images and toke a way such as they myght fynd. 1522More De quat. Noviss. Wks. 94 In what painefull plight they shall lye a dying, while theyr executours afore their face ransake vp theyr sackes. 1638R. Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. II) 110 Hee hath beene robbed and ransacked in France. 1686tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 145 That poor country had been pillag'd, plunder'd and ransack'd by the Persians. 1755J. Shebbeare Lydia (1769) II. 413 Those whose houses are ransacked by invading enemies. 1809Malkin Gil Blas vii. xv. ⁋4 They rob, ransack, and devour me. 1878R. B. Smith Carthage 109 The palaces were ransacked of their valuables and then ruthlessly set on fire.
absol.1598Barret Theor. Warres v. iii. 179 To robbe..and ransack, whereby to sustaine themselues. 1642Lancash. Tracts Civil War (Chetham Soc.) 46 The Souldier hath ransakt and pillag'd..in the country thereabouts. 1726Leoni tr. Alberti's Archit. II. 53 A furious and insolent enemy ransacking among the Sepulchres of their Ancestors.
b. To search for and take (away) or carry off as plunder. Also with up. Now rare.
c1400Beryn 3652 Hanybald shall..delyvir the good ageyn, þat from ȝewe was ransakid. 1523[Coverdale] Old God & New (1534) F ij b, The nations dyd ransake away whatsoeuer thinges they myght. 1621Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 463 To spoyle the whole Countrey: and rake and ransake vp all things that are for mans vse. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 57 Refined gold, which greedy Antiochus thought to haue ransackt. 1867M. E. Herbert Cradle L. viii. 218 Even scented soap and toilette-vinegar..were ransacked from his stores.
†5. To visit with harshness or violence; to assail, drag, shake, etc. roughly. Obs.
c1375Cursor M. 15825 (Fairf.) Forþ his maister þai drogh & ronsaked him vnrekenli baþ ouer hil & seogh. c1400Laud Troy Bk. 7967 Many a knyȝt fel to the grounde. Ful sorily he hem ransaked. c1422Hoccleve Learn to Die 92 A yong man..Whom deeth so ny ransakid had, & soght. |