| 释义 |
excavator|ˈɛkskəveɪtə(r)|
[f. excavate v. + -or; cf. F. excavateur.]
1. One who excavates:
a. gen. (Const. of).
b. spec. A labourer employed to dig out earth.
1815[Todd refers to an advertisement of Jan. 2]. 1837Whittock Bk. Trades (1842) 197 (Engineer) To the ‘excavators’, as they are called, the digging is let. 1848Dickens Dombey vi, So the Excavator's House of Call had sprung up from a beer shop. 1880Echo 18 Sept. 3/4 A number of excavators were engaged upon the foundations for a block of model dwellings. 1882Century XXV. 303 A more thorough and comprehensive sifting of the Assos ruins by the same able excavator.
c. Said of inanimate agents.
1870Emerson Soc. & Solit., Farming Wks. (Bohn) III. 59 The railroad dirt-cars are good excavators. 1870Echo 10 Jan., Such is the testimony of Mr. Peach to the power of ocean as an excavator.
2. spec.
a. A machine for digging out earth, etc.
b. An instrument for removing the carious parts in a tooth previous to filling.
1843Niles' Weekly Reg. 25 Nov. 200/1 With this excavator he is levelling hills. 1848Rep. Comm. Patents 1847 (U.S.) 72 Two patents have been granted for excavators. 1874Knight Dict. Mech. I. 814/1 The excavator is mounted on a carriage which traverses on a temporary track. 1884Syd. Soc. Lex., Dental Excavator.
Hence excavatorial |ɛkskævəˈtɔərɪəl|, a., pertaining to excavation, or to the work of the excavator. excavatory |ɛksˈkævətərɪ|, a. = prec.
1849Freeman Archit. 80 Egyptian and Indian architecture are two separate products of the excavatory process. 1855Fraser's Mag. LI. 271 A long list of brilliant excavatorial successes. 1887Ruskin Præterita II. x. 358, I got no outlet..for my excavatory fancy. |