| 释义 |
▪ I. feel, n.|fiːl|
Also 3, 5 fele, 5–6 Sc. feill.
[f. next vb.]
1. a. The action of feeling; an instance of this, in senses of the vb.; in quots. † a sounding of a person's intentions, etc. (obs.); the perceiving (something) by sensation. rare.
1461Paston Lett. No. 415 II. 50, I dede a gode fele to enquer..whan the seid Yelverton shuld go to London. 1832L. Hunt Sonn. Poems (1832) 208 Catching your heart up at the feel of June.
†b. A tentative suggestion, hint. Obs.
a1470Henry Wallace x. 923 Off Gyane, thus, quhen Wallace hard a feill, ‘No land’, he said, ‘likit him halff so weill.’
†2. Sc. and north.
a. Consciousness, sensation.
b. Apprehension, sense, understanding, knowledge.
a1240Wohunge in Cott. Hom. 285 Þe muchele swetnesse of þe reaues me fele of pine. a1300Cursor M. 547 (Cott.) Man has his fele, O thyng man liks, il or welle. a1400–50Alexander 850 Has þou na force in þi fete ne fele of þi⁓selfe? c1470Henry Wallace ii. 14 Thocht Inglis men thar of had litill feille. c1500Lancelot 2854 That..was knycht that had most feill. 1560Rolland Crt. Venus i. 467 Of that Text thow hes bot litill feill. 1603Philotus cxxvii, Hes thow not tint thy feill.
3. The sense of touch. Now only in to the feel.
a1300Cursor M. 17017 (Cott.) Hering, sight, smelling and fele, cheuing er wittes five. 1812Sir H. Davy Chem. Philos. 180 It is harsher to the feel. 1874Contemp. Rev. XXIV. 433 A rough texture to the feel. 1883G. C. Davies Norfolk Broads xxxi. (1884) 237 It [the bed-eel]..is firm to the feel.
4. A feeling or sensation, mental or physical. (For quot. 1966, cf. feeling vbl. n. 7 c.)
1737H. Walpole Corr. (1820) I. 16 With all sorts of queer feels about me. 1788F. Burney Diary & Lett. IV. iv. 194, I put aside the disagreeable feel of exciting that wonder. 1818Keats in Life & Lett. I. 120 Among multitudes of men I have no feel of stooping. 1833H. Martineau Tale of Tyne vi. 117 To tell by the feel when the sun was going down. 1879Browning Ivan Ivanovitch 225 The feel of the fang furrowing my shoulder! 1891F. W. Bain Antichrist v. 216 The skilful batter, in cricket, plays every ball as it comes to him in a slightly different way: and he cannot tell another man how to do it because it is not in his idea, but in his feel. 1939I. Baird Waste Heritage i. 3 It sounded hysterical, as though it had picked up the feel of what was going on around it. 1962A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio viii. 140 It is worth while practising with this and getting the feel of the timing. 1966Observer 10 July 6/3 He can't, he [sc. a stockbroker] says, ‘get the feel of the market’.
5. As a quality of a material object: The kind of (tactual or vague organic) sensation which it produces.
1739S. Sharp Surg. xxvii. 135 We must judge then by the Feel of the Surface of the Bone. 1789Mrs. Piozzi Journ. France II. 376 The general feel of the air is very mild. 1794G. Adams's Nat. & Exp. Philos. I. App. 543 Fixed oils..possess..2. An unctuous feel. 1805W. Saunders Min. Waters 40 That rough and harsh feel to the fingers and tongue, which characterises the insipid hard waters. 1864Mrs. Gatty Parables fr. Nature Ser. iv. 155 Twinette was on the cold pavement. But she didn't like the feel of it at all. 1882Edna Lyall Donovan xx, It reminded him of the feel of little Dot's tiny fingers. 1931Economist 4 Apr. 720/2 The coxswain on duty at the moment of emergency had not had the opportunity to learn the ‘feel’ of the ship. 1958Which? I. ii. 25/2 The car's steering..was slightly ‘numb’, with undesirably little road feel. 1962Times 4 Jan. 3/5 Angus played a neat, economical game, appearing to have the feel of the court.
6. slang. An instance of ‘feeling up’ (cf. feel v. 1 f). Also Comb.
1932J. T. Farrell Young Lonigan vi. 228 Wouldn't it have been nice to have had her there..and have a feel⁓day. 1934J. O'Hara Appointment in Samarra (1935) vi. 168 And that husband of hers, that Harvey. Trying to give me a feel under the table. 1939Joyce Finnegans Wake 95 Fine feelplay we had of it mid the kissabetts frisking in the kool kurkle dusk of the lushiness. 1969‘J. Fraser’ Cock-pit of Roses xviii. 143 She let me have a quick feel. 1970‘Zeno’ Grab iv. 35, I gave her a feel, and she pulled away.
7. Comb. of the vb. stem, as feel-horn (rare—1) = feeler 3 [after Ger. fühlhorn].
1770J. R. Forster tr. Kalm's Trav. N. Amer. I. 134 Their antennæ or feel-horns were as long as their bodies.
▸ A talent or aptitude; an (intuitive) understanding or awareness. Chiefly in to get (also have, etc.) a feel for. Cf. sense 2b.
1921N.Y. Times 3 Feb. 25/7 (advt.) A woman has proven her ability to cater to the middle and better class clientele, has a feel for style and knows the ready-to-wear market. 1959P. Frank Alas, Babylon iv. 70 He had a feel for it, the capacity to stir a headful of unrelated facts until they congealed into a pattern arrowing the future. 1972Times 15 May 14/4 In the non-Russian republics one can get a ‘feel’ for the way people react to russification. 1986R. Sutcliff Flame-coloured Taffeta i. 8 He spoke of Peter having a feel for the land. 2002Which? Feb. 31/2 Specialist property and lifestyle magazines..are a good way to get a feel for what's available in your budget range.
▪ II. feel, v.|fiːl|
pa. tense and pa. pple. felt |fɛlt|. Forms: inf. 1 félan, 3–4 felen, (5 feelen), 3–5 fell, 3, 5–6 Sc. feil(l, (6 feild), 3–6 fele, 3–4 south. vele, 4–5 felyn, feyle, (5 feyll), 4–7 feele, (6 feale, 8 feell), 4, 6– feel. pa. tense and pa. pple. 3 feild, fielde, 3–6 feld(e, 4–5 fe(e)lid, felyd(e, 4–6 feeled, 3–7 felte, 3– felt. Also with prefix (esp. in pa. tense and pa. pple.) 1–2 ᵹe-, 2–3 i-, y-.
[Com. WestGer.; OE. félan (also ᵹefélan) corresponds to OFris. fêla, OS. gifôlian (Du. voelen), OHG. fuolen to handle, grope (MHG. vüelen, mod.G. fühlen to feel), Da. föle to feel (prob. adopted from some LG. source):—WGer. type *fôljan, f. root fôl:—OAryan pā̆l-, pl-, occurring in OE., OS. folm, OHG. folma hand, Gr. παλάµη, L. palma, Skr. pāṇi, OIr. lám (:—*plāma).]
I. To examine or explore by touch.
1. a. trans. To handle (an object) in order to experience a tactual sensation; to examine by touching with the hand or finger.
c893K. ælfred Oros. i. vii. (Sweet) 38 Þysþernes..swa ᵹedrefedlic þæt hit man ᵹefelan mihte [tenebras crassitudine palpabiles]. 1388Wyclif Gen. xxvii. 22 Whanne he hadde feelid hym, Isaac seide [etc.]. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 208 If þou felist þe place wiþ þi fyngir. 1548Hall Chron. 195 b, By king Edward, which loved well both to loke and to fele fayre dammosels. 1611Bible Judg. xvi. 26 Suffer mee, that I may feele the pillars. 1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 15 You neede feele no other pulse than my heart. 1662J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 108 He was felt, and found to be Circumcis'd. Ibid. 409 The maids..were not shy of being seen, nor of having their hair felt. 1776Trial of Nundocomar 33/1, I felt his pulse. 1828Scott F.M. Perth xvii, ‘Let me feel your pulse, dear Ramorny.’
b. In wider sense: to try by touching, e.g. with a stick or the foot; to move or lift gently and cautiously by way of trial.
1833Regul. Instr. Cavalry (1844) 48 By feeling the bit gently with the bridle-hand, the horse is to be made to step back. 1867F. Francis Angling vii. (1880) 279 Feeling the fish..consists in raising the point of the rod so as to tighten the line sufficiently to enable you to feel the ‘tug, tug, tug’, made by the fish in detaining the worm. 1883Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining, Feel (S.S.), to examine the roof of a thick seam of coal with a long stick or rod by poking and knocking upon it. 1886R. C. Leslie Sea-painter's Log 161 Feeling first one line and then another for a bite.
c. to feel († out) one's way: to find one's way by groping; to proceed by cautious steps. lit. and fig.
1436Polit. Poems (Rolls) II. 165 Kynge Edwarde..felde the weyes to reule well the see. 1638Chillingw. Relig. Prot. i. ii. §144. 108 While we have our eyes, we need not feele out our way. 1688Miege Fr. Dict. s.v. Feel, A blind Man that feels his Way with a Stick. 1818Byron Ch. Har. iv. lxxxi, We but feel our way to err. 1862G. Macdonald D. Elginbrod ii. xxviii, An aging moon was feeling her path somewhere through the heavens. 1879Froude Cæsar xiv. 217 Cæsar..feeling his way with his cavalry.
d. to feel out: to ascertain the configuration of (something) as if by touch. Also, to search out, to ascertain, by feeling or testing.
1835A. B. Longstreet Georgia Scenes 242 These [chills] I had to bear for the space of a minute or two before I could feel out my hat. 1892H. R. Mill Realm of Nature xi. 188 The form of the floor of the ocean has thus been gradually felt out point by point. 1928Publishers' Weekly 9 June 2376, I cannot stress enough..the necessity of feeling out the possibilities of a book before giving a large order.
†e. To grope after. fig. (Merely a literalism of translation). Obs.
1382Wyclif Acts xvii. 27 To seke God, if perauenture thei felen [L. attrectent] hym eyther fynden. 1535Coverdale Acts xvii. 27 That they shulde seke the Lorde, yf they mighte fele and fynde him.
f. slang. To caress the genital parts of (a person). Usu. const. up. Cf. feel n. 6.
1930J. Dos Passos 42nd Parallel i. 75 She's awful hot. Jez I thought she was going to feel me up. 1957J. Kerouac On Road (1958) ii. xi. 175 We used to get next to pretty young daughters and feel them up in the kitchen. 1968M. Richler Cocksure xvi. 92 He literally bumped into Ziggy feeling up the prettiest girl at the party in a dark damp corner. 1970S. Ellin Man from Nowhere i. 9 We're supposed to be married. He might wonder about it if I let him feel you up in front of me without showing I didn't like it.
2. absol. and intr.
a. To use the hand or finger as an organ of touch. Const. at, of (now only dial. and U.S.), † to.
1599Shakes. Hen. V, ii. iii. 26 Then I felt to his knees, and so.. vpward, and all was..cold. 1626Bacon Sylva §352 The part [of Wood] that shineth, is..somewhat soft, and moist to feel to. 1751R. Paltock P. Wilkins xlvii. (1883) 140/2 There were many large heaps of ore lying, which I felt of. 1780C. A. Burney in F. Burney's Early Diary (1889) II. 289 One Character came to feel of it [his mask]. 1864E. Sargent Peculiar II. 262 Josephine..felt of the bosom of Clara's dress till [etc.]. 1878N. H. Bishop Voy. Paper Canoe 99 Crowds of people came to feel of the canoe.
b. To search for something with the hand (or other tactile organ); to put out the hands, etc. to discover one's position or find one's way; to grope. Const. after, for. Also with about.
1382Wyclif Isa. lix. 10 As withoute eȝen we han felid. 1530Palsgr. 547/2 Fele this way alonge by the wall, tyll you come to the wyndowe. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. (1586) 133 Take the Taile, and feele betwixt every joint. Ibid. iii. 136 Let him..feele for the blaines, or blisters. 1611Bible Acts xvii. 27 If haply they might feele after him, and finde him. 1726Adv. Capt. R. Boyle 22 Putting my Hand in my Pocket to feel for something else. 1771E. Griffith tr. Viaud's Shipwreck 192, I searched all my pockets..opened all our parcels..and looked and felt in every fold of them. 1838T. Beale Sperm Whale 46 Moving the tail slowly from side to side..as if feeling for the boat. 1864Tennyson En. Ard. 774 Feeling all along the garden-wall, Lest he should..tumble. 1868J. H. Blunt Ref. Ch. Eng. I. 294 The king began to feel about for further augmentations of his revenue. 1904P. F. Warner How we recovered Ashes xiii. 253 He again got Clem Hill feeling for the ball.
†c. to feel of: ? to handle, administer. to feel together: to come into contact. Obs.
c1400Apol. Loll. 30 It is necesari to hem..to fele of þe sacraments of God. c1450Merlin 38 As soone as these dragons felen to-geder thei will fighten strongely.
3. With subord. clause: To try to ascertain by handling or touch. † Formerly sometimes also with material obj.
a1300Cursor M. 3693 (Cott.) Latte me fele, If þou be he i luue sa wele. Ibid. 18695 (Cott.) Thomas þou fele and se Quer I me self or noght it be. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 270 Þou miȝt fele in what place þei goon in. 1611Bible Gen. xxvii. 21 Come neere..that I may feele thee..whether thou bee my very sonne Esau, or not. 1648J. Beaumont Psyche iii. lix, Three times he..felt How to unbuckle his out-shined Belt. Mod. The surgeon felt if any bones were broken.
4. fig. To test or discover by cautious trial; to ‘sound’ (a person, his feelings or intentions).
a1300Cursor M. 2902 (Cott.) Mani man, for ouer-wele, Þam-self can noþer faand ne feil. c1460Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 174 Bot yit some fawt must we feylle, Wherfor that he shuld dy. 1465Paston Lett. No. 520 II. 221 Fele what he menyth. 1476Ibid. No. 771 III. 154, I shall ffele hym. 1548Hall Chron. 213 b, Thei had felte the myndes and ententes, of the rude people. 1581Savile Tacitus' Hist. ii. lxiii. (1519) 90 Adding..that to that purpose he had felt the cohort. 1605Shakes. Lear i. ii. 94 He hath writ this to feele my affection to your Honor. 1664Sir C. Lyttelton in Hatton Corr. (1878) 41 To feele the French how they will concerne themselves between us and y⊇ Dutch. 1938N. Coward Operette i. ix. 87 Play slowly at first until you feel the house.
5. Milit.
a. trans. To examine by cautious trial the nature of (the ground), the strength of (an enemy).
b. intr. to feel for: To try to ascertain the position or presence of.
a.1793Bentinck in Ld. Auckland's Corr. III. 47, I mentioned my wish of feeling that ground to Ld. Loughborough. 1839Napier Penins. War vi. vii. (Rtldg.) I. 316 Loison felt the Portuguese at Pezo de Ragoa. 1848J. Grant Adv. Aide-de-camp vii, Order Colonel Kempt to throw forward the whole of his light infantry..to ‘feel’ the enemy.
b.1839Napier Penins. War vii. ii. (Rtldg.) I. 334 Syveira..had orders to feel..for the enemy. 1847Infantry Man. (1854) 96 An advanced guard..must proceed with..precaution if feeling for an enemy.
II. To perceive, be conscious.
6. a. trans. To have the sensation of contact with; to perceive by the sense of touch.
1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xx. 145 Al þat þe fyngres and þe fust..felen and touchen. 15..Frere & Boye 91 in Ritson Anc. Pop. Poetry 38 Whan he the bowe in honde felte. 1538Starkey England i. i. 20 Thos thyngys wych we se, fele, or her. 1545Brinklow Compl. 19 The lawyer can not vnderstond the matter tyl he fele his mony. 1580J. Frampton Monarde's Dial. of Yron 155 b, Pouder..that being taken between the fingers is [not] felt between them. 1638Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. I. 67, I am glad..that I can lay hold of something, I can feele. 1724R. Falconer Voy. (1769) 52 It shaked its Tail to and fro..all the while it felt the water. 1771E. Griffith tr. Viaud's Shipwreck 86, I felt under my naked foot..some hard substance or other. 1869Tennyson Pelleas & Ettarre 428 Back as a hand that pushes thro' the leaf To find a nest and feels a snake, he drew.
b. In wider sense: To perceive, or be affected with sensation by (an object) through those senses which (like that of touch) are not referred to any special ‘organ’; to have a sensation of (e.g. heat or cold, a blow, the condition of any part of the body, etc.). Slang phr. to feel the draught: to be seriously incommoded; to feel insecure, esp. financially.
a1000Riddles xxvi. 9 (Gr.) Heo..feleð sona mines ᵹemotes. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 185 Þo kyng Arture yt [þe dunt] yuelde. a1605Montgomerie That his hairt is woundit 17, I the force thairof [a darte] did feild. 1639tr. Du Bosq's Compl. Woman ii. 82 We feele a wound, not knowing the hand which strikes us. 1662J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 63 We..felt not the cold. 1665Hooke Microgr. 142 A Nettle is a Plant so well known..that it needs no description; and there are very few that have not felt as well as seen it. 1705W. Bosman Guinea (1721) 394 A stiff Gale, which prevents our feeling the Heat of the Sun. 1840F. D. Bennett Whaling Voy. II. 265 The hand holding the inflated animal, feels a constant boring motion of the spines. 1925Westm. Gaz. 27 Apr., When the wind changed it might be the Conservative Party which would be feeling the draught. 1941N. Marsh Surfeit of Lampreys vii. 103 ‘Did he go bust?’..‘I don't think so, Curtis. Must have felt the draught a bit.’ 1966Listener 9 June 831/2 With only so much national advertising to go round.., the oldest commercial stations are feeling the draught as well. 1970Financial Times 13 Apr. 13/3 If the BSC or the bigger firms in the private sector felt the draught and turned their attention to smaller orders, the lesser firms could suffer badly—to the point of extinction.
c. with clause, or obj. with inf. (not preceded by to) or complement: To know by sense of touch or organic sensation.
c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 362 The deth he feleth thurgh his herte smite. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. ix. viii. (Tollem. MS.), Watres of depe pittes..beþ felid more hoot in wynter þan in somer. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 119 Whan we may fele our pulses bete quikly. 1534Tindale Mark v. 29 She felt in her body that she was healed of the plage. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 274 When the Genowayes felt the Arrowes pearcyng thorough their heades, armes and breastes. 1726Adv. Capt. R. Boyle 13 He felt the blood trickle about his Legs. 1753Chambers Cycl. Suppl. s.v., In the manage, they say to feel a horse in the hand; that is, to observe that the will of the horse is in the rider's hand. 1771E. Griffith tr. Viaud's Shipwreck 239 One of the men..cried out that he felt him still warm. 1839T. Beale Sperm Whale 65 A Sardinian captain bathing..felt one of his feet in the grasp of one of these animals.
d. to feel one's feet, legs, wings: fig. to be conscious of one's powers; to be at one's ease.
1579E. K. in Spenser's Sheph. Cal. Ep. Ded., So flew Virgile, as not yet well feeling his wings. 1881Daily Tel. 27 Dec., It was not until the last act that he ‘felt his legs’. 1889Farmer's Mag. Dec. 217 Trees put in now cannot be expected to succeed as well as those that are already beginning to ‘feel their feet’.
e. absol. and intr. To have or be capable of sensations of touch, etc.
1340Ayenb. 154 Þet ech serui of his office..Ase þe eȝen to zyenne; þe yearen, to hyere..þe honden and al þet body to vele. 1601Holland Pliny x. lxxi, Even oisters and the earth-wormes, if a man touch them, doe evidently feele. 1631D. Widdowes Nat. Philos. (ed. 2) 49 About this time [at thirty dayes] the Childe beginneth..to feele. 1643J. Steer tr. Exp. Chyrurg. iii. 8 The under skinne..hardly feeleth, though it bee pricked with a Lancet. 1800Wordsw. Hart-leap Well ii. xxi, The meanest thing that feels. 1887W. James in Mind Apr. 184 If the skin felt everywhere exactly alike.
f. to feel into (see quots.).
1912[see empathy]. 1919M. K. Bradby Psycho-Analysis xviii. 239 He feels himself into the mind of the man or woman..he is studying. 1933H. Read Art Now i. 50 We do not necessarily humanise the rising column or the graceful vase which we contemplate: we feel into their shape..and react to..its rhythmic convolution; and so we invent the word empathy.
g. to feel no pain: to be insensibly drunk. slang.
1947C. Morley Ironing Board (1950) 116 At the table with three men who were feeling no pain. 1965B. Sweet-Escott Baker St. Irreg. iii. 94 There were a great many Anglo-Russian parties, a vast quantity of vodka was drunk, and twice I saw senior Russian officers being carried out of the room evidently feeling no pain.
7. To perceive by smell or taste. Obs. exc. dial.
c1220Bestiary 510 Whan he it felen, he aren faȝen. a1300Cursor M. 3695 (Gött.) Quen he had felt his smell and clath. Ibid. 23456 (Cott.) In this lijf has man gret liking..suete spiceri to fell and smell. c1350Will. Palerne 638 Haue ȝe..feled þe sauor. 1393Gower Conf. III. 281 He shall well felen ate laste, That it is sowre. c1460Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 43 Com nere son and kys me, That I may feyle the smelle of the. 1535Coverdale Dan. iii. 27 There was no smell of fyre felt vpon them. 1575J. Still Gamm. Gurton i. ii, To feele how the ale dost tast. 1604Jas. I Counterbl. (Arb.) 112 By his own election he would rather feele the sauour of a Sinke. 1624Capt. J. Smith Virginia i. 2 They felt a most dilicate sweete smell. 1706W. Storr in Yorksh. Archæol. Jrnl. VII. 51 It was a very lothsome smell to feell all over the lordship. 1782Sir J. Sinclair Observ. Scot. Dial. 83 You complain much of that tannery, but I cannot say I feel it. 1846J. Taylor Upper Canada 101 My conductor exclaiming, ‘I feel the odour of the spring’. 1861E. Waugh Birtle Carter's Tale 7 There's that bit o' pickle i' th cubbort..Fotch it eawt, an' let him feel at it. 1870Ramsay Remin. (ed. 18) 118, I feel a smell of tea. 1884Eastern Morn. News 19 Apr., He felt a nasty smell.
†8. To perceive mentally, become aware of. Obs. [After L. sentire.] Const. as in 6 b, c.
a1000Riddles vii. 8 (Gr.) Hi þæs felað. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 29 And whan ich fele þat folke telleþ my furste name is sensus. a1400–50Alexander 3257 Þi wale gode þat..fully feld all þe fare þat fall suld on erthe. 1463Paston Lett. No. 467 II. 126 As I feele hym disposed I schall send your maystreship answer. c1470Henry Wallace ii. 435 With full glaid will to feill thai tithings true. Ibid. vi. 289 The queyne feld weill how that his purpos was. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 340/4 Whanne he [Bede] felt [printed fete] this He reuoked hit in his rectractions.
9. a. To be conscious of (a subjective fact); to be the subject of, experience (a sensation, emotion), entertain (a conviction).
c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 76/196 Grete feblesse he fielde. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 106 In myn herte I feele yet the fire, That made me to ryse er yt wer day. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 88 Þanne þe sike man schal fele to greet heete & brennynge. c1435Torr. Portugal 2537 Off care no thyng they ffeld. 1535Coverdale 2 Chron. vi. 29 Yf eny man fele his plage and disease. 1592Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 311 [She]..scorns the heat he feels. 1634W. Tirwhyt Balzac's Lett. 309, I have not at all felt the emotion I shewed. 1717Pope Eloisa 366 He best can paint 'em [woes] who shall feel 'em most. 1798Ferriar Illustr. Sterne ii. 25 Francis I. felt a curiosity to hear his book read. 1816Byron Ch. Har. ii. lxxxiii, Mankind have felt their strength. 1876J. H. Newman Hist. Sk. I. i. i. 44 Timour..felt some misgivings about his past course.
b. with clause, or obj. with infinitive or complement.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 93 Gif he feleð þat he is wurðe þerto þenne understonde he þat husel. a1225St. Marher. 7 Ne felestu þi flesch al toloken. c1325Metr. Hom. 30 He asked him hou he him felid. c1325Song Know Thyself 45 in E.E.P. (1862) 131 Ȝif þou fele þe syker and sounde. c1449Pecock Repr. 243 Ech of these men feelid weel in himsilf that he hadde nede for to have help and reuling. 1583Hollyband Campo di Fior 37 Feelest thou thy selfe well? c1590Marlowe Faust. Wks. (Rtldg.) 99/1, I feel Thy words to comfort my distressed soul! 1600E. Blount tr. Conestaggio 42 Feeling himselfe die by degrees. 1732Pope Ep. Cobham i. 263 You..Shall feel your ruling passion strong in death. 1771E. Griffith tr. Viaud's Shipwreck 49 We felt ourselves warm and comfortable. 1810Bentham Packing (1821) 173 He would..feel himself running counter to that which [etc.]. 1881C. Gibbon Heart's Problem iii. (1884) 33 Maurice felt his eyes dazzled by a blaze of light.
c. intr. (for earlier refl.) with compl. To have the sensation of being (what is predicated); to be consciously; to regard oneself as. to feel (quite) oneself: to seem to oneself to have one's accustomed health or powers. to feel up to (one's work, etc.): see up.
1816J. Wilson City of Plague i. i. 89 Now, that your soul feels strong, let us proceed. 1847Marryat Childr. N. Forest xvii, I feel indebted to you for the service you have rendered me. 1865Mrs. H. Wood Mildred Arkell I. ix, I don't feel myself. 1878Besant & Rice Celia's Arb. xl. (1887) 295, I, for my part, felt small. 1884Graphic 30 Aug. 231/1, I did not feel up to much fatigue.
d. intr. with adv. or adj. To entertain a certain sentiment, be in a particular frame of mind. Also with as if ―, like.
a1340Hampole Psalter cxxx. 3 Si non humiliter senciebam..if i not mekly felyd: bot i heghid my soul. That is if i had not meke felyng. 1771E. Griffith tr. Viaud's Shipwreck 58 While we were asunder, we felt as if a limb was wanting. 1801Southey Thalaba i. iv, She felt like one Half-waken'd from a midnight dream of blood. 1819Shelley Cenci iv. ii. 18 How feel you to this work? 1839T. Beale Sperm Whale 174 The captain felt certain that he was going to ‘sound’.
e. In various expressions, colloq. or vulgar. to feel like (doing something): to have an inclination for (? orig. U.S.; now common). to feel to (do something): (a) to feel or imagine that one does; (b) U.S. to feel inclined to do.
1829Virginia Lit. Museum 30 Dec. 458 Like..is also used, as follows, in the south: ‘I do not feel like eating’. 1836Going to Service xii. 141 People would take liberties with her, and I should feel to have to take care of her. 1864Bartlett Dict. Amer. 144 To feel to do a thing. 1865Grant in Century Mag. Nov. (1889) 142/2, I now feel like ending the matter..before we go back. 1891A. Forbes in 19th Cent. Dec. 1018 In reading which one feels to hear the turmoil of the battle. 1944M. Laski Love on Supertax viii. 82 I'll go straight home. I don't feel exactly like a street-corner meeting. 1970W. J. Burley To kill a Cat ii. 45 They had a drink together, then Helen said that she felt like bed.
10. To have passive experience of, undergo consciously. † Also intr. const. of (in OE., genitive case; see quot. a 1000 in 6 b).
a1225Ancr. R. 178 Ȝif eni ancre is þet ne veleð none uondunges. a1300Cursor M. 19372 (Gött.) Þat þai moght of na torfer fele. c1300Beket 2250 Lutel ese he miȝte vele. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 304 He wes worth na seyle, That mycht of nane anoyis feyle. 1393Gower Conf. II. 32 So feleth he ful ofte guile [i.e. finds himself deceived], Whan that he weneth siker to stonde. c1430Hymns Virg. (1867) 106 Let þi neiȝhebor..of þi frendschupe fele. c1440York Myst. x. 78 This is a ferly fare to feele. c1475Rauf Coilȝear 97 So fell ane wedder feld I neuer. 1563J. Pilkington Burn. Paules Ch. A iij, They haue felde great calamities. 1614Bp. Hall Recoll. Treat. 398 Wee fell upon a Cappucine novise..His head had now felt the razor, his backe the rodde. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 93 [He] had his head cut off, and felt a terrible reward for his Apostasie. 1767Byron's Voy. r. World 6 The inhabitants feel little inconvenience from heat and cold. 1818Shelley Revolt of Islam viii. vii. 8 The stings Of death will make the wise his vengeance feel. 1840F. D. Bennett Whaling Voy. I. 5 We felt the first influence of the N.E. trade-wind, in lat. 21° N.
absol.1548Hall Chron. 14 So the comon Proverbe was verified, as you have done, so shall you fele.
11. To be consciously affected in condition by (a fact or occurrence); to be sensibly injured or benefited by.
a. simply.
†b. with obj. and complement.
1375Barbour Bruce xiii. 13 Thair fais feld thair cummyng weill. c1430Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 756, I wil doo my parte, ye shul it fele. a1440Found. St. Bartholomew's 53 Hym ȝe shall feill most prompte helper In this present perill. c1470Henry Wallace v. 514 He is on lyff, that sall our natioune feill. 1883Manch. Guardian 18 Oct. 4/7 The storm of Tuesday appears to have been felt very severely on the Western coasts.
12. transf. and fig. Of inanimate objects: To be influenced or affected by; to behave as if conscious of. Of a ship: to feel her helm (see quot. 1867).
1559W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 11 Or descending to lowe, th' earth of heat shall fele the flame. 1591Raleigh Last Fight Rev. (Arb.) 19 The shippe could neither way nor feele the helme. 1601Holland Pliny II. 628 Orites..will abide the fire and feele no harme therby. 1611Bible Ps. lviii. 9 Before your pots can feele the thornes, he shall take them away. 1660Sharrock Vegetables 12 The lesse of the winter the Cabbage..feels, the more subject 'tis to caterpillars. 1694Acc. Sev. Late Voy. ii. (1711) 33 The Ships do not feel these smaller Waves but only the great ones. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 448 Earth feels the Motions of her angry God. 1732Pope Ess. Man i. 167 That never air or ocean felt the wind. 1822Shelley Faust ii. 12 The hoar pines already feel her breath. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Feel the helm, To have good steerage way, carrying taut weather-helm, which gives command of steerage. Also said of a ship when she has gained headway after standing still and begins to obey the helm.
13. To be emotionally affected by (an event or state of things).
1600E. Blount tr. Conestaggio 271 They doe feele with greater griefe an other mans profite, then their owne losse. 1726Adv. Capt. R. Boyle 1, I was too young to feel my loss. a1774Goldsm. Epit. T. Parnell 3 What heart but feels his sweetly moral lay. 1861M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 38 Rudolf..felt deeply the tragical loss of his favourite son. 1882M. E. Braddon Mt. Royal II. ix. 171 It was her candour which he felt most keenly.
14. intr. To have the sensibilities excited; esp. to have sympathy with, compassion for (a person, his sufferings, etc.).
1605Shakes. Macb. iv. iii. 7 It resounds As if it felt with Scotland. 1613Beaum. & Fl. Honest Man's Fort. iv. ii, How heavy guilt is, when men come to feel! 1761Churchill Rosciad (ed. 3) 638 Those who would make us feel, must feel themselves. 1809Wellington in Gurw. Desp. IV. 525 No man can see his army perish by want without feeling for them. 1815Byron Stanzas for Music, ‘There's not a joy’, Oh! could I feel as I have felt or be what I have been. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vii. (ed. 5) 213 A moderate party..had always felt kindly towards the Protestant Dissenters. 1893Speaker 20 May 557/2 The Archbishop..and his colleagues feel very strongly on the subject of the attack upon the Welsh Church.
15. Expressing a belief or judgement. Const. either with direct object, subord. clause, or obj. with complement or infinitive (preceded by to.)
†a. generally. To believe, think, hold as an opinion. After L. sentire. Obs.
1382N. Hereford, etc. in Lewis Life Wyclif (1820) 257 We were required to seyne what we felyde of diverse conclusions. c1400Apol. Loll. 87 Iuel þei felid of God, tenting to idols. c1449Pecock Repr. iii. xix. 412 Thouȝ y feele thus, that the clergie, etc. 1482Monk of Evesham (Arb.) 47 What schulde y thinke or fele of hym more worthior than not for to pray for him. 1544Bale Chron. Sir J. Oldcastell in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) I. 260 That I should other⁓wyse fele and teach of the sacramentes. Ibid. 262 How fele ye thys artycle?
b. Now only with notions derived from other senses: To apprehend or recognize the truth of (something) on grounds not distinctly perceived; to have an emotional conviction of (a fact).
1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, iv. ii. 91 Garlands..which I feele I am not worthy yet to weare. 1807Crabbe Par. Reg. II. i. 142 Phœbe..felt she gave delight. 1853I. Taylor Spir. Despot. vi. 245 They felt that a religion..demanded a watchful control. 1861Trollope Barchester T. xxxii, She felt that she might yet recover her lost ground. Mod. The proposed legislation was felt to be inexpedient.
III. 16. Used (like taste, smell) in quasi-passive sense with complement: To be felt as having a specified quality; to produce a certain impression on the senses (esp. that of touch) or the sensibilities; to seem.
1581G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. ii. (1586) 92 The hande..feeling to bee rough. 1665Hooke Microgr. 139 The substance of it feels..exactly like a very fine piece..of Chamois leather. 1694Acc. Sev. Late Voy. ii. (1711) 165 If it feels heavy..then we give him more Rope. 1768J. Byron Narr. Patagonia 263 The weather was extremely cold, and felt particularly so to us. 1825A. Caldcleugh Trav. S. Amer. II. xvii. 185 The air felt chilly. 1844Lady G. C. Fullerton Ellen Middleton ix, It felt to me as if the air had grown lighter. 1862Mrs. Browning Poems, Mother & Poet vi, Then one weeps, then one kneels! God, how the house feels! 1885E. Garrett At Any Cost iv. 66 Not then could she under⁓stand how it felt to lie wakeful at nights.
▪ III. feel
obs. form of veal.
c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 275 He mai ete fleisch of .iij. daies poudringe & he mai ete feel. |