| 释义 |
faintness|ˈfeɪntnɪs|
[f. as prec. + -ness.]
The state or condition of being faint.
1. The state or condition of being without strength or exhausted; exhaustion, feebleness.
a1440Sir Eglam. 901 For feyntnes sche myght not speke a worde. 1494Fabyan Chron. vi. cxcvi. 201 He bled so sore that for fayntnes he fyll from his horse. 1548Hall Chron. 60 b, This miserable famyne..encreasyng so..that the stout souldiour for faintnes could skase welde his weapon. 1625Hart Anat. Ur. ii. iv. 72 There followeth a..faintnesse of their ioynts. 1672Sanderson in Walton Life M ij a, A great bodily weakness and faintness of spirits. a1717Bp. O. Blackall Wks. (1723) I. 63 'Tis this faintness of their Desire which is the Cause of it's being successless. a1871Grote Eth. Fragm. i. (1876) 14 The faintness or potency of the feeling.
†b. transf.
1543–4Act 35 Hen. VIII, c. 10 For fayntnes of the springes..the accustomed course of the waters..diminished. 1548Hall Chron. 226 To them he explaned..the fayntnesse & lenenesse of hys treasure.
†c. Of flesh: Want of firmness or solidity.
1599Minsheu Dial. Sp. & Eng. (1623) 56 Of this fertilitie proceeds the faintnesse of the flesh there.
2. The state of being faint in spirit; dejection, timorousness; inertness, slackness, sluggishness. Obs. exc. in faintness of heart, etc.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xii. xxvii. (1495) 430 For his feyntnes and cowardnes the kite is ouercome of a birde that is lesse than he. c1485Digby Myst. iii. 280 In feyntnes I falter, for þis fray fell. 1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, iv. i. 107 The palenesse of this Flower, Bewray'd the faintnesse of my Masters heart. 1645Milton Tetrach. Introd., They..have neglected through faintnesse the onely remedy of their sufferings. 1851Gallenga Italy 301 Faintness of heart and infirmity of purpose must naturally..be found in so vast a mass.
3. The feeling of being faint or ready to swoon.
1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 253 b, He fell downe for feyntness and weyknes. 1791Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest xx, The faintness is already gone off. 1828Scott F.M. Perth xxxiv, The faintness which seemed to overpower him. 1874L. Carr Jud. Gwynne I. i. 29 Sudden faintnesses at the last moment.
4. The quality or fact of being faint or of feebly affecting the senses; dimness or feebleness (of light, colour, outline, etc.).
1651Davenant Gondibert iii. iv. 50 It [the emerald]..will, when worn by the neglected wife, Shew when her absent Lord disloyal proves, By faintness. 1732Berkeley Alciphr. iv. §8 Littleness or Faintness..seem to have no necessary connexion with greater Length of Distance. 1824L. Murray Eng. Gram. (ed. 5) I. 40 The faintness of the sound of this letter. 1883F. M. Crawford Dr. Claudius ix. 169 The faintness of the gathering twilight. |