| 释义 |
‖ terra|ˈtɛrə|
[L. (and It.) terra earth.]
1. Used, with qualifying adjectives, to form the names of medicinal and other earths, boles, and the like, as terra alba, (a) pipe-clay; (b) pulverized gypsum used industrially; terra cariosa, tripoli or rotten-stone; terra chia, also chia terra, Chian earth, an astringent and cosmetic bole formerly obtained from the island of Chios; see also quot. 1615; terra foliata (tartari), = foliated earth of tartar, potassium acetate; terra merita = turmeric; terra nera [Ital. ‘black earth’], see quot.; terra nobilis, an old name for the diamond (Ogilvie, Annandale, 1882); terra ponderosa, barium sulphate, heavy spar. Also used similarly in some general expressions, as terra cognita [as opp. to terra incognita], fig., familiar territory; terra ignota = terra incognita; terra irredenta = irredenta. See also terra firma, Terra Japonica, etc.
1871G. H. Napheys Prev. & Cure Dis. i. ii. 79 The insoluble white clay known in commerce as *terra alba. 1905H. Ries Econ. Geol. vii. 143 Gypsum is also used..under the name of ‘Terra Alba’, as an adulterant of foods and medicinal preparations. 1917J. Shelton in G. Martin Industr. & Manuf. Chem. I. xxxi. 545 Under trade names, such as ‘terra alba’.., a certain amount of the purer forms of gypsum is employed by paint manufacturers for admixture with pigments. 1947J. C. Rich Materials & Methods of Sculpture iv. 65 Terra Alba, a finely pulverized raw gypsum powder may be used [as an accelerator in casting plaster of Paris.] 1963R. R. A. Higham Handbk. Papermaking iv. 93 The form containing no water of crystallization..is prepared by calcining the natural gypsum (CaSO4,2H2O), often referred to as terra alba.
1823Crabb Technol. Dict., *Terra cariosa..rotten stone; a species of non effervescent chalk, of a brown colour.
1615G. Sandys Trav. 12 It [Chios] hath..a certaine greene earth like the rust of brasse, which the Turkes call *Terra Chia: but not that so reputed of by the ancient Physitions. 1753Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v., Chia Terra, in the materia medica of the antients, an earth of the marle-kind, found in the island of Chio.
1962E. Snow Other Side of River (1963) xxxiii. 253 My last remark had put them back on *terra cognita and it would have been an appropriate moment to leave. 1975Publishers Weekly 21 July 66/3 But it's all the same old terra cognita to those who have read Gerold Frank, Anne Edwards et al.
1753Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v., *Terra foliata tartari. 1758Reid tr. Macquer's Chym. I. 122 This solution being evaporated to dryness leaves a matter in the form of leaves lying on each other; on which account it hath obtained the name of Terra Foliata.
a1925Ld. Curzon Leaves from Viceroy's Notebook (1926) vi. 231 The whole country of Annam seems to be almost a *terra ignota to our countrymen. 1977Times 12 Oct. 9/5 These records [at Greenwich Museum] are largely terra ignota to the outside world.
1934Webster, *Terra irredenta. 1936International Affairs XV. 39 A terra irredenta—that is to say, a territory, at present under foreign sovereignty, which, in the claimants' views, ought to be transferred to the sovereignty of his own State and to be incorporated (or re-incorporated) into his own national domain. 1965Listener 20 May 735/1 French Somaliland,..Ethiopian Somaliland, and..a strip of northern Kenya. These represent the Somalis' ‘terra irredenta’.
1753Chambers Cycl. Supp., *Terra merita,..a name given by some..to the curcuma, or turmeric-root.
1882Ogilvie, *Terra nera..a native, unctuous pigment, used by the ancient artists in fresco, oil, and tempera painting.
1794Sullivan View Nat. I. 250 *Terra ponderosa.
2. Science Fiction. (With capital initial.) The Earth.
1947E. F. Russell in Aldiss & Harrison Decade 1940s (1975) 157 This world..was ten times the size of Terra. But his weight didn't seem abnormal. 1952P. J. Farmer in Aldiss & Harrison Decade 1950s (1976) 215 It follows the moon around Terra..a much smaller and unseen satellite. |