| 释义 |
▪ I. supple, n. Sc. and north. dial.|ˈsup(ə)l|
Also souple, suple, soople.
[app. var. of swupple, swouple, swipple, assimilated to supple.]
1. The part of a flail that strikes the grain in thrashing.
1634(8 Dec.) Rec. Baron Crt. Colstoun (MS.), Unlawes Pak. Nycolsone in eastmanis in 40s. for cutting and transporting tua soupellis furth of the lairds wode & geving tham to Pak. Ormistoun, confest. 1701Lady G. Baillie Househ. Bk. (1911) 9 For 2 sives and 2 ridles 1 li. 10 s. suples 8 s... i. 18. 0. For expence of selling 20 bolls oats, i. 6. 0. 1789Davidson Seasons 143 The scatter'd ears That frae the swingin supple spread afar. 1807Stagg Poems 14 A lang flail souple full'd his neif. 1844H. Stephens Bk. Farm III. 989 The flail consists of two parts, the hand-staff or helve..and the supple or beater. 1893–4Northumbld. Gloss., Soople, Souple, Swipple, the loose, swinging arm of a flail.
2. A cudgel.
1815Scott Guy M. xxv, A gude oak souple in his hand. 1827― Two Drovers i, ‘They had their broadswords, and I have this bit supple’, shewing a formidable cudgel.
▪ II. supple, a.|ˈsʌp(ə)l|
Forms: 3–7, 8–9 Sc. and north. dial. souple, (6 souble (?), soupil, Sc. soupill, sowpil, 6–7 suple, 7, 9 Sc. and north. dial. soople), 5– supple.
[a. OF. supple, sople, (mod.F.) souple:—L. supplicem, supplex lit. ‘bending under’, hence, submissive, suppliant, f. sup- = sub- 2 + plic-, root of plicāre to fold (cf. pliant).]
†1. Of soft or yielding consistency; not rigid; soft, tender. Obs.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4577 Þoru hauberc & þoru is coler þat nere noþing souple He smot of is heued. c1395Plowman's Tale 58 Of sondry sedes that ben sewe; It semeth that som ben unsounde. For some be grete growen on grounde, Som ben souple [ed. 1542 souble], simple and small. a1400Anc. Cookery in Househ. Ord. (1790) 442 Take swynes lire, and sethe hit, and hewe hit smalle,..ande make hit right souple.
2. a. That is easily bent or folded without breaking or cracking; pliant, flexible.
c1386Chaucer Prol. 203 His bootes souple, his hors in greet estaat. c1430Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 201 Hire pylche souple. 1513Douglas æneis xi. xiii. 7 The sowpill schaftis baldly sche On athir sydis thik sparpellis and leyt fle. 1583Leg. Bp. St. Androis 749 This poysoned preicheor of Godis word Is not vnlyk ane suple suord. a1586Sidney Arcadia ii. xi. (1912) 220 Her bellie..Like Alablaster faire and sleeke, But soft and supple satten like. 1657R. Ligon Barbadoes 109 They will wash and not shrinke in the wetting, and weare very long and soople. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 266 For his soft Neck, a supple Collar make Of bending Osiers. 1725Fam. Dict. s.v. Lentise, Their Ends and middle Veins are reddish, supple, and gluey. 1785Burns Scotch Drink iv, On thee aft Scotland chows her cood, In souple scones, the wale o' food! 1838Dickens Nich. Nick. xiii, A fearful instrument of flagellation, strong, supple, wax-ended, and new. 1871G. H. Napheys Prev. & Cure Dis. ii. vi. 581 The material [of the dress] should be soft and supple. 1872Black Adv. Phaeton xxxi. 411 Persistently whipping the stream with his supple fly-rod. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 670 The remedy should be rubbed in with sufficient frequency and in sufficient quantity to keep the skin supple and unctuous.
†b. transf. of the internal organs of the body.
c1400tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 70 Vse a lytel trauaill yn ridynge... It dryues out wyndys, comfortys þe body and makys hit souple. 1710T. Fuller Pharm. Extemp. (1719) 1 Middling Ale..scoureth..slimy Filth, from off the..Glands; turns it over the Pylorus, and leaves a balmy, benign Litus instead, to keep all supple and easy.
c. souple Tam, ‘a child's toy, which, being pulled by a string, shakes and seems to dance’ (Jamieson, 1825). Sc.
[1818Scott Rob Roy xxvii, It [a horse]'s a grand bargain... The stringhalt will gae aff when it's gaen a mile; it's a weel-ken'd ganger; they ca' it Souple Tam. ]1870R. Chambers Pop. Rhymes Scotl. 18 And ye'll get a coatie, And a pair o' breekies—Ye'll get a whippie and a supple Tam!
d. fig. Adaptable; elastic.
1781Cowper Hope 602 Some wiser rule..Supple and flexible as Indian cane, To take the bend his appetites ordain. 1879Farrar St. Paul (1883) 219 His supple address and determination saved Rome from a revolution. 1890Gladstone in Daily News 4 June 6/1 To make the human mind a supple, effective, strong, available instrument.
3. a. Of the body, limbs, etc.: Capable of bending easily; moving easily or nimbly.
1530Palsgr. 325/1 Souple, lythe, souple. 1610Shakes. Temp. iii. iii. 107, I doe beseech you (That are of suppler ioynts) follow them swiftly. 1625Bacon Ess., Custom & Educ. (Arb.) 371 The Ioints are more Supple to all Feats of Actiuitie. 1747Richardson Clarissa (1810) I. xviii. 132 Limbs so supple; will so stubborn! 1781J. Moore View Soc. It. xlix. (1790) II. 52 We all bowed to the ground; the supplest of the company had the happiness to touch the sacred slipper. 1827Scott Surg. Dau. iii, If he listed to tak some [dancing-] lessons, I think I could make some hand of his feet, for he is a souple chield. 1833Regul. & Instr. Cavalry i. 40 The Horse..will be rendered supple, active, and obedient. 1873Dixon Two Queens xix. i. IV. 4 Henry at thirty-five was still a young man in the flower of life: tall, fair, and supple.
b. supple knee: in reference to insincere or obsequious obeisance. Cf. 4.
1593Shakes. Rich. II, i. iv. 33 A brace of Dray-men bid God speed him well, And had the tribute of his supple knee. 1616R. C. Times' Whistle vi. (1871) 89 It cost him nothing but a supple knee, And oyly mouth & much observancie. 1667Milton P.L. v. 788 Will ye submit your necks, and chuse to bend The supple knee? 1742Young Nt. Th. vi. 294 Religion, public order, both exact External homage, and a supple knee. 1781Cowper Table Talk 127 Servility with supple knees, Whose trade it is to smile, to crouch, to please.
c. transf. of movements, etc.: Characterized by flexibility of body or limb.
1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iv. i. 102 Each part depriu'd of supple gouernment, Shall stiffe and starke, and cold appeare like death. 1778Earl Pembroke Equitation 63, I define the supple trot to be that in which the horse at every motion that he makes, bends and plays all his joints. 1809Roland Fencing 66 Keep a firm, steady, and supple position of the body. 1853C. Brontë Villette xxv, Her movements had the supple softness, the velvet grace of a kitten.
†d. Of wind: Gentle, soft. Obs. rare.
1652Crashaw Carmen Deo Nostro Wks. (1904) 194 Be they such As sigh with supple wind Or answer Artfull Touch.
4. fig. Yielding readily to persuasion or influence; compliant. Const. to.
c1340Hampole Prose Treat. 20 Forto breke downe the vnbuxomnes of the body..that itt myght be souple and redy, and not moch contrarious to the spirite in gostely wyrkynge. c1400Rom. Rose 3376 A feloun firste though that he be, Aftir thou shalt hym souple se. c1440Jacob's Well 281 For all þe herte, tunge, and dede, arn so harde as grauell-stonys,..but it arn supple ynow to þe world, to þe flesch, & to þe deuyll. 1607Shakes. Cor. v. i. 55 When we haue stufft These Pipes..With Wine and Feeding, we haue suppler Soules Then in our Priest-like Fasts. 1633G. Herbert Temple, Holy Bapt. ii. ii, Let me be soft and supple to thy will. 1668–9Pepys Diary 12 Jan., It being about the matter of paying a little money to Chatham Yard, wherein I find the Treasurers mighty supple. a1674Clarendon Hist. Reb. xiv. §1 Cromwell did not find the Parliament so supple and so much to observe his Orders, as he expected they would have been. 1735H. Walpole Let. to Ld. Harrington 2 Oct. in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. i. 261 His Lordship's supple and mild temper. 1807Crabbe Par. Reg. i. 715 Sad, silent, supple; bending to the blow, A slave of slaves. 1861Sat. Rev. 23 Nov. 528 The City Marshal of Baltimore has been arrested, and a suppler instrument fills his place. 1886Stevenson Kidnapped 4 Be soople, Davie, in things immaterial.
5. a. Compliant or accommodating from selfish motives; artfully or servilely complaisant or obsequious.
1607Shakes. Cor. ii. ii. 29 His assent is not by such easie degrees as those, who hauing beene supple and courteous to the People, Bonnetted, without any further deed, to haue them at all into their estimation, and report. a1700Evelyn Diary 27 Nov. 1666, By no means fit for a supple and flattering courtier. 1726Swift Paraphr. Hor. i. Ode xiv. 55 Like supple Patriots of the modern Sort, Who turn with ev'ry Gale that blows from Court. 1812Crabbe Tales v. 366 That servile, supple, shrewd, insidious throng. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 246 Cunning, supple, shameless, free from all prejudices, and destitute of all principles. 1884R. W. Church Bacon iii. 61 The shrewd and supple lawyers who hung on to the Tudor and Stuart Courts.
b. transf. Characterized by ingratiating or fawning complaisance.
1633Ford 'Tis Pity ii. ii, Call me not deare, Nor thinke with supple words to smooth the grosenesse Of my abuses. 1649Milton Eikon. iii. Wks. 1851 III. 354 By smooth and supple words..to make som beneficial use or other eev'n of his worst miscarriages. 1690Ld. Lansdowne Brit. Enchanters 689 We Britons slight Those supple arts which foreigners delight. 1818Scott Br. Lamm. xxi, The supple arts by which he had risen in the world. 1841Emerson Lect., Man the Reformer Wks. (Bohn) II. 236 The ways of trade are grown selfish to the borders of theft, and supple to the borders..of fraud.
6. Sc. Clever; cunning.
1715Ramsay Christ's Kirk Gr. ii. ix, A souple taylor to his trade. 1824Scott Redgauntlet let. xii, It's Gil Hobson, the souple tailor frae Burgh.
†7. Of oil: That renders pliant or flexible; suppling. Also in fig. context. Obs. rare.
1579–80North Plutarch (1595) 12 Bring..sowple oyle, his bodie for to baste. a1593Marlowe Ignoto Wks. 1850 III. 263, I cannot dally, caper, dance, and sing, Oiling my saint with supple sonnetting. 1600Heywood 2nd Pt. Edw. IV, Wks. 1874 I. 96 His defiance and his dare to warre, We swallow with the supple oil of peace.
8. Comb.: parasynthetic, as supple-chapped, supple-faced, supple-kneed, supple-limbed, supple-minded, supple-mouthed, supple-sinewed, supple-tempered, supple-thewed, supple-visaged; advb., as supple-sliding, supple-working adjs.
1602Marston Ant. & Mel. Induct., Wks. 1856 I. 3 A *supple-chapt flatterer.
1931V. Woolf Waves 100 The little men at the next table... *Supple-faced, with rippling skins.
1888J. Payn Myst. Mirbridge vii, This crowd of *supple-kneed dependents.
1844Kinglake Eothen xvii, The grisly old man at the helm..and the boy, *supple-limbed, yet weather-worn already. 1882‘Ouida’ Maremma I. 205 A large, sinewy, supple-limbed man.
a1586Sidney Arcadia (1622) 380 A verie gentle and *supple⁓minded Zelmane.
1598Marston Sco. Villanie 168 Some *supple mouth'd slaue..striuing to vilefie My dark reproofes.
1842Tennyson Locksley Hall 169 Iron-jointed, *supple⁓sinew'd, they shall dive.
1860― Sea Dreams 164 My eyes..Read rascal in the motions of his back, And scoundrel in the *supple-sliding knee.
1865J. R. Lowell Ode Recited at Commemoration vi. 27 They could not choose but trust In that sure-footed mind's unfaltering skill, And *supple-tempered will.
1959R. Graves Coll. Poems 317 Free from the cramps of yesterday, Clear-eyed and *supple-thewed.
1809Malkin Gil Blas ix. iii. ⁋2 The part of a *supple-visaged son-in-law sat upon me to perfection.
1387–8T. Usk Test. Love iii. vii. (Skeat) I. 103–4 The even draught of the wyr-drawer maketh the wyr to ben even and *supple-werchinge.
▪ III. supple, v.|ˈsʌp(ə)l|
Forms: 4–7, 8–9 Sc. and north. dial. souple, 7, 8–9 Sc. soople, (4 souplen, 5 supplyn, -on, -un, 6 soupil, sopel, sowple, 6, 9 suple, Sc. sowpel, 7 suppel), 6– supple.
[f. supple a., after OF. asoplir (mod.F. assouplir). See also supply v.3]
1. trans. To soften, mollify (the heart or mind); to cause to yield or be submissive; to make compliant or complaisant. Obs. or arch.
1390Gower Conf. III. 256 Thus this tirannysshe knyht Was soupled. c1400Rom. Rose 2244 And he, that pride hath hym withynne, Ne may his herte, in no wise, Meken ne souplen to servyse. 1532More Confut. Tindale Wks. 437/1 Menne are so supled and made humble in hert, yt they will willingly goe shew themselfe their own sinnes to the priest. 1583Golding Calvin on Deut. xiv. 81 Hee meekeneth and suppleth them as if a wilde beaste were tamed. 1625Donne Serm. 24 Feb. (1626) 45 Men soupled and entendred with Matrimoniall loue. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. ii. iii. §3 Suppled with Sicknesse, he confessed his Fault. a1703Burkitt On N.T. Luke xxiii. 42 How powerful must that grace be, which suppled that heart in a moment, which had been hardening in sin for so many years. 1760Sterne Serm. III. 212 To mollify the hearts and supple the temper of your race. 1815Scott Guy M. lv, When I conclude my examination of Dirk Hatteraick to-morrow—Gad, I will so supple him!
b. intr. and refl. To be submissive or compliant to. Obs. or arch.
c1440Jacob's Well 280 Here hertys arn so harde..þat it mowe noȝt brestyn ne supplyn to goodnes. 1742Richardson Pamela III. 392 Having a Spirit above suppling himself to an unworthy Mind for sordid Interest sake. 1748― Clarissa (1810) IV. xxxvi. 241 Then her family, my bitter enemies—to supple to them, or if I do not, to make her as unhappy as she can be from my attempts. 1877Tennyson Harold i. i. 80 And he hath learnt, despite the tiger in him, To sleek and supple himself to the king's hand.
2. To make (skin, leather, and the like) supple, pliant, or flexible.
1530Palsgr. 726/2, I shall sowple your gloves. 1542Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. VIII. 132 For twa barkit hors hidis,..xv. s. Item for sowpelling and grathing thairof, iiij. s. 1559Morwyng Evonym. 366 Wull vnskoured suppled in wine or vinegar. 1601Holland Pliny xxiii. viii. II. 171 Touching the bitter Almond tree, the decoction of the roots thereof, doth supple the skin and lay it even and smooth without wrinkles. 1638Davenant Madagascar 19 Rude, dull Mariners..this Oyntment use Not to perfume, but supple their parch'd Shooes. 1721Phil. Trans. XXXI. 168 After they have soaked the Hide for some time, they stretch and supple it. a1722Lisle Husb. (1757) 270 They may stand in some muck-hill, or moist place, in order to supple their claws. 1791Cowper Odyss. xxi. 215 When we have chafed and suppled the tough bow. 1839Ure Dict. Arts 767 When the skins have been sufficiently swelled and suppled by the branning, they may receive the first oil. 1863Morn. Star 1 Jan. 6 A Basle manufacturer, who uses fine silk, which is weighted or ‘supled,’ as the trade term goes. 1876in Textile Colourist III. 102 [Patent, Périnaud, for] Suppling re-dyed silks. 1915J. Buchan Hist. War iii. 90 Men lame from hard new boots not yet suppled by use.
b. intr. for pass.
1844Browning Garden Fancies ii. viii, And clasps were cracking and covers suppling!
†3. To reduce the hardness of, to soften. Also absol. Obs.
1545T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde 56 Hote and moyste thinges, whiche haue the properte to lenifye and sople. 1567J. Maplet Gr. Forest 88 His onely bloud being kept warme suppleth the Adamant stone. c1586C'tess Pembroke Ps. cxlvii. iii, The rayne..Supples the clods of sommer-scorched fields. 1598Chapman Iliad vi. [x.] 469 She that supples earth with blood. 1659Gentl. Calling (1696) 14 The Earth..must be mollified and suppled with their sweat, before it will become penetrable. 1710T. Fuller Pharm. Extemp. (1719) 2 The sweeter, softer and thicker Ale is, the more it suppleth, filleth and nourisheth. 1725Fam. Dict. s.v. Walnut, The Shells grow tender, especially, if you supple 'em a little in warm Cows Milk. 1728E. Smith Compl. Housew. (1750) 287 This medicine..will..soften the asperity of the humours..relaxing and suppling the solids at the same time.
†4. To soften or mollify (a wound, swelling, etc.) by applying an unguent, a fomentation, etc.; to anoint with oil. Also in fig. context. Obs.
1526Tindale Prologue to N.T., The Evangelion,..whych sowpleth, and swageth the wondes of the conscience. 1541Sarum Primer N iv (Dirige), Thou haste soupled myne heed in oyle; and my cup beynge full is ryght goodly. 1545T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde 56 Anoyntmentes wherwith ye may sople y⊇ priuy place. 1579Langham Gard. Health (1633) 315 Apply them to supple, mollifie, ripen, and dissolue all kindes of tumours hot or cold. 1590Spenser F.Q. iii. v. 33 She..Into his wound the iuyce thereof did scruze, And round about..The flesh therewith she suppled and did steepe. 1644Milton Areop. (Arb.) 77 All the faith and religion that shall be there canoniz'd, is not sufficient..to supple the least bruise of conscience. a1688Bunyan Accept. Sacrif. Wks. (Offor) I. 711 Wash me, Lord, supple my wounds, pour Thy wine and oil into my sore.
absol.1578Lyte Dodoens 201 With the floures of Lillies there is made a good Oyle to supple, mollifie & digest. 1612T. Taylor Comm. Titus ii. i. (1619) 336 He seeketh to wound and gall, but he healeth nor suppleth not. 1662Hibbert Body Div. i. 156 Pouring in oyl to supple and heal.
†b. transf. To rub (oil, etc.) on or into something so as to soften it. Obs. rare.
1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 334 b, He powreth out the oyle and suppleth it in.
5. To make (the limbs, the body, the person) supple or capable of bending easily; spec. of the training of saddle-horses (see quot. 1753).
1570Foxe A. & M. (ed. 2) I. 70/1 Contrary to thexpectation of men, his body was in the latter punishment and tormentes soupled and restored. 1613R. Harcourt Voy. Guiana 55 He..went..to the Bath, and washed..his hand..therein, which soopled his fingers in such manner, that..hee could stirre and stretch them out. 1638Mayne Lucian (1664) 373, I must think that the best and most proportionable exercise, which both supples the body, and renders it flexible, and pliant. 1652H. L'Estrange Amer. no Jewes 14 Oyle..such as he carried with him..to supple his joints and tired Limbs. 1749Chesterfield Let. to Son 15 May, Apply yourself diligently to your exercises of dancing, fencing, and riding,..to fashion and supple you. 1753Chambers' Cycl. Suppl. s.v., To supple a horse, in the manege, is to make him bend his neck, shoulders, and sides, and to render all the parts of his body more pliable. 1765Chesterfield Let. to Son 25 Oct., The hot bath..supples my stiff rheumatic limbs. 1847Infantry Man. (1854) 3 In order to supple the recruit,..he will be practised in the..movements. 1861J. Brown Horæ Subs. II. 256 Old broken-down thorough-breds that did wonders when soopled. 1881T. A. M'Carthy Calisth. & Drilling 17 This exercise is to strengthen the leg and upper arm, supple the shoulders, and expand the chest. 1897Kipling Capt. Cour. ii. 45 Manuel bowed back and forth to supple himself.
b. fig. and allusively.
1555Philpot in Coverdale Lett. Martyrs (1564) 240 Christ annoynt vs, that we may be suppled in these euil dayes to runne lyghtly, vnto the glory of the lord. 1638A. Cant Serm. in Kerr Covenants & Covenanters (1895) 101 His legs were soupled with consolation, which made him run. 1639Fuller Holy War iii. xviii. (1840) 147 His seven thousand whose knees were not suppled with the Baalism of that age. 1659J. Arrowsmith Chain Princ. 395 Cheerfulness supples the joynts of our hearts, and so rendereth them nimble and active in holy performances. 1893Stevenson Catriona vii, Ye'll have to soople your back-bone, and think a wee pickle less of your dainty self.
6. gen. (from 4 and 5): To make pliant, flexible, or smooth; also, to tone down, modify.
1530–1Tindale Jonas Prol., To sowple thy soule with the oyle of theyr swete blessynges. 1612Donne Lett. (1651) 91 That nothing hath soupled and allayed the D. of Lerma in his violent greatnesse, so much as the often libels made upon him. 1612T. Taylor Comm. Titus i. 4. (1619) 63 Nor all the baulme in Gilead can so supple their positions, that we may ioyne with them. 1614W. B. Philos. Banquet 75 Mint supples the sharpnesse of the Tongue. 1626Donne Serm. Easter-day (1640) 210 Some of them mollifie and souple the impossibility into a difficulty. 1642R. Harris Serm. Ho. Commons 20 There is no temptation so strong, but faith will conquer it: no affliction so great, but faith will supple it. 1742Young Nt. Th. ix. 2183 His balmy bath, That supples..The various movements of this nice machine. 1867M. Arnold Celtic Lit. 181 The hard unintelligence, which is just now our bane..must be suppled and reduced by culture. 1887Lowell Democracy, etc. 240 To set free, to supple and to train the faculties. 1901Mollison Poems 180 Come..souple thou my pen tae screed, A rhymin' line or twa.
▪ IV. supple
obs. and dial. f. supply. |