释义 |
▪ I. doff, v.|dɒf| Pa. tense and pple. doffed |dɒft|. [Coalesced form of do off: see do v. 47. Cf. also daff v.2 In ordinary colloquial use in north of England (not in Scotl.). Elsewhere, since 16th c., a literary word with an archaic flavour. Ray noted it as a northern provincialism; Johnson, as ‘in all its senses obsolete, and scarcely used except by rustics’. In 19th c., from the time of Scott, very frequent in literary use.] 1. trans. To put off or take off from the body (clothing, or anything worn or borne); to take off or ‘raise’ (the head-gear) by way of a salutation or token of respect.
c1350Will. Palerne 2342 Dof blive þis bere skyn. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xxv. 120 He doffez his hatte. 1401Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 107 The sacred host..to whiche we knele and doffe our hodes. 1483Cath. Angl. 103/1 To Doffe, exuere. 1595Shakes. John iii. i. 128 Thou weare a Lyons hide! doff it for shame. 1596Spenser F.Q. vi. ix. 36 Calidore..doffing his bright armes, himselfe addrest In shepheards weed. 1621G. Sandys Ovid's Met. xiii. (1626) 259 Then made him d'off those weeds. 1714Gay Sheph. Week iv. 21 Upon a rising Bank I sat adown, Then doff'd my Shoe. 1768Beattie Minstr. i. xxxv, The little warriors doff the targe and spear. 1808Scott Marm. vi. xi, Doffed his furred gown, and sable hood. 1859Tennyson Enid 1444 The..Earl..cast his lance aside, And doff'd his helm. †b. Const. off; also intr. with with. Obs. rare.
a1400Morte Arth. 1023 Þow doffe of thy clothes, And knele in thy kyrtylle. 1643[see doffing vbl. n.]. 1764Foote Mayor of G. ii. Wks. 1799 I. 186 If you will doff with your boots, and box a couple of bouts. c. absol. To raise one's hat (to a person). rare.
1674N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. To Rdr., To look full on a Great man standing in my way, and not to vouchsafe him worth Doffing to. 1833Tennyson Goose 19 The grave churchwarden doff'd, The parson smirk'd and nodded. 2. refl. To undress oneself, put off one's clothes. Also fig. Now only dial.
1697De la Pryme Diary (Surtees) 150 The quaker doffs him stark naked, and takeing a burning candle in his hand he goes to the church. [1838J. Scholes Lanc. Witches in Harland L. Lyrics (1865) 133 ‘Hie thi whoam an' doff thi.’] 3. transf. and fig. To put off as a dress or covering; to throw off, lay aside; hence (in wider sense), to do away with, get rid of (anything associated with oneself). † Also with off (obs.).
1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. ii. 47. 1599 B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum. v. v, He..oftentimes d'offeth his owne nature and puts on theirs. 1605Shakes. Macb. iv. iii. 188 Your eye..would create Soldiours, make our women fight, To doffe their dire distresses. 1628Earle Microcosm., Vp-start Countrey Knt. (Arb.) 38 He ha's doft off the name of a Clowne. 1854–6Patmore Angel in Ho. i. ii. x. (1879) 237 Love..doffed at last his heavenly state. 1867Bp. Forbes Exp. 39 Art. ii. (1881) 29 The Word is said to have donned human nature, never more to doff it. †4. To put (any one) off (with an excuse, etc.); to turn aside: cf. daff v.2 2. Obs.
1622Shaks. Oth. iv. ii. 176 (Qo. 1) Euery day thou dofftst [Fol. i. dafts] me with some deuise, Iago. a1637B. Jonson Sad Sheph. i. ii, They..strew tods' hairs, or with their tails do sweep The dewy grass, to do'ff the simpler sheep. 1658–9Burton's Diary (1828) IV. 67 They doffed us off as long as they could, and then locked up their doors. 5. Textile Manuf. a. To strip off the slivers of wool, cotton, etc., from the carding-cylinders. b. To remove the bobbins or spindles when full to make room for empty ones. See doffer.
1825[see doffing vbl. n. b]. 1851Art Jrnl. Catal. Gt. Exhib. p. iv **/2 This..instrument doffs the cotton in a fine transparent fleece. 1864R. A. Arnold Cotton Fam. 33 Spinners..have, in technical language..to ‘doff the cops’; in other words..to remove and relieve the spindles of the spun yarn. 1879Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 356/2. ▪ II. † doff, n. Obs. rare—1. [f. prec. vb.] An act of doffing; a ‘put off’.
1606Wily Beguiled in Hazl. Dodsley IX. 276 Lelia has e'en given him the doff here. |