| 释义 |
▪ I. flesh, n.|flɛʃ|
Forms: 1 flǽsc, flǽc, (2 flec, flesce), 3 flæsce, flæs(h, flexs(s, fless(e, 4 south. vlesse, 3–4 fles, flei(e)s, fle(y)hs, 4–5 fleisch, 3–5 fle(c)che, flesch(e, 3 south. vlesche, (3 flashe, fleschs, 4 fleschsch), 3–6 flessh(e, (4 fleisshe), 4–6 fleshe, (6 fleash, flehsse, fleszhe, 9 dial. flash), 4– flesh.
[Com. WGer. and Scandinavian: OE. flǽsc str. neut. corresponds to OFris. flâsk, OS. flêsk (Du. vleesch), OHG. fleisc (MHG. vleisch, mod.Ger. fleisch), of the same meaning, ON. flesk with shortened vowel (Sw. fläsk, Da. flesk), swine's flesh, pork, bacon:—OTeut. *flaiskoz-, -iz- (or possibly þl-).
No satisfactory cognates have been discovered either in Teut. or in the related langs. Some have supposed that the specific Scandinavian sense, which exists in some Eng. dialects where ON. influence is out of the question (see, e.g., the West Cornwall Glossary), is the original meaning of the word, and that the occasional OE. form flǽc represents the primary word elsewhere replaced by a derivative with suffix -sk-. On this hypothesis the word might be related to OE. flicce, flitch. But general analogy rather indicates the priority of the wider sense found in Eng. and German; and it is most likely that the OE. flǽc is an inaccurate spelling, or at most a dialectal phonetic alteration, of the ordinary flǽsc. The shortening of the OE. long vowel before s followed by another cons. is normal.]
I. As a material substance.
1. a. The soft substance, esp. the muscular parts, of an animal body; that which covers the framework of bones and is enclosed by the skin. raw flesh: that exposed by removal or fissure of the skin.
c1000ælfric Gen. ii. 23 Ðis ys nu ban of minum banum & flæsc of minum flæsce. c1250Gen. & Ex. 2089 Fugeles sulen ði fleis to-teren. 1398Trevisa Barth. de P.R. v. i. (1495) 100 The heed hath lytill flessh and lytyll fatnesse. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 218 If he be strong & ful of fleisch. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. iii. i. 54, I am sure if he forfaite, thou wilt not take his flesh. 1611Bible Lev. xiii. 10 If..there be quicke raw flesh. a1688Bunyan Heavenly Footman (1886) 164 His..sins, that stick as close to him as the flesh sticks to the bones. 1750Lady Luxborough Lett. to Shenstone 13 May, One [wound] just above my knee..New flesh must grow there. 1819Shelley Cenci iii. i. 22 It..eats into my sinews, and dissolves My flesh to a pollution.
b. Often in connexion with or contrast to bone, fell, or skin.
c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke xxiv. 39 Gast næfþ flæsc & ban. c1220Bestiary 136 His fel he ðer leteð; his fles forð crepeð. a1300Cursor M. 17288 + 449 (Cott.) Spirit has nauther flesch ne bone. 1382Wyclif Lev. ix. 11 The flesh forsothe, and the skynne of it [calf]..he brent. a1400Prymer (1891) 79 With skyn and fleschsches thou clothedest me. a1577Gascoigne Wks. (1587) 36 To search between the fel and the flesh for fardings. 1611Bible Ezek. xxxvii. 8 The sinews and the flesh came vp vpon them [bones], and the skin couered them aboue.
c. flesh and fell: the whole substance of the body; hence as quasi-advb. phrase: entirely. (to raise or rise) in flesh and fell, rarely in flesh and bone: in bodily form. Cf. Fr. en chair et en os. (fair) of flesh and fell: in form and complexion. Obs. exc. arch.
c1000ælfric Exod. xxix. 14 Þæs cealfes flæsc and fell..þu bærnst. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 287 He was..vayr of fless & felle. a1300Cursor M. 26564 (Cott.) To rise in flexss and ban. c1375Lay Folks Mass Bk. (MS. B.) 223 Vp he rose in flesshe & felle þo thryd day. a1440Sir Eglam. 29 Crystyabelle, A feyre thynge of flesche and felle. 1605Shakes. Lear v. iii. 24 The good yeares shall deuoure them, flesh and fell. 1840Browning Sordello ii. 300 Men burned Taurello's entire household, flesh and fell.
d. proud flesh: the overgrowth of the granulations which spring upon a wound. Also fig.
1578Lyte Dodoens vi. lxviii. 746 The same [oakgalls] doth..consume away superfluous and prowde fleshe. 1649Lovelace Poems 28 The anger of her eye, Had wrought some proud-flesh by it. 1686W. Harris tr. Lemery's Course Chym. (ed. 2) 171 This Sublimate..eats proud flesh and cleanses old Ulcers. 1848Carpenter Anim. Phys. 302 The sprouting forth of a rapidly-growing tissue commonly known as proud-flesh.
e. phr. to make one's flesh creep, etc. Also with crawl (cf. crawl v.1 6).
1727,1840[see creep v. 6]. 1725Ramsay Gent. Sheph. i. i, A..dream..That gars my flesh a' creep yet with the fright. 1834Medwin Angler in Wales II. 252 A cold—a creeping of the flesh—like that. 1876‘Mark Twain’ Tom Sawyer 61 It makes my flesh crawl to hear you.
f. In, or with reference to, the Biblical phrase ‘a heart of flesh’, i.e. a heart capable of feeling, opposed to ‘a heart of stone’.
1382Wyclif Ezek. xxxvi. 26, I shal take awey a stonen herte..and I shal ȝeue to ȝou an herte of fleshe. 1784Cowper Task ii. 8 There is no flesh in man's obdurate heart. 1814Scott Ld. of Isles vi. xxix, Are your hearts of flesh or stone?
g. In euphemistic phrases with reference to sexual intercourse.
a1300Cursor M. 28475 (Cott.) Wit womman knaun and vnkend, I haue my fles wit þam blend. 1611Shakes. Wint. T. iv. iv. 285 She wold not exchange flesh with one that lou'd her. 1620Ballad ‘As I was ridinge’ 18 in Furniv. Percy Folio (1867) App. 29.
h. to go after or follow strange flesh: a Biblical expression referring to unnatural crime.
1382Wyclif Jude 7 Sodom and Gomor..goyng aftir other flesch. 1526Tindale ibid., Folowed straunge flesshe [similarly in the later versions].
2. transf. The soft pulpy substance of fruit, or a plant; that part which is enclosed by the rind, and encloses the core or kernel, esp. when eatable. So Gr. σάρξ, L. caro, Fr. chair.
1573Baret Alv. F 649 Fleash, the substance vnder the pille or rinde of herbs, &c. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. (1586) 110 b, Reedes for the most parte have no fleshe at all. 1672J. Josselyn New Eng. Rarities 57 The seeds are black, the flesh or pulpe exceeding juicy. 1779Mrs. Boscawen in Mrs. Delany's Life & Corr. Ser. ii. II. 489 The seeds are found in several parts of the flesh. 1846Proc. Berw. Nat. Club ii. No. 14. 174 (Agaric) Flesh thick, solid and firm. 1895Seed Catal. (Potato) Flesh white, fine and floury.
3. Put for: Quantity or excess of flesh; hence, plumpness, good condition, embonpoint, esp. in phrases, to get, († get oneself in), lose flesh; also (to be) in flesh: in good condition, corpulent. Cf. Fr. être en chair.
1548Hall Chron., Edw. IV, 234 A beautefull Prince, beginninge a littel to growe in flesh. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. v. i. 84 Buy food, and get thy selfe in flesh. 1608Bp. Hall Char. Virtues & V. 103 Hee is a slave to envie, and loseth flesh with fretting. 1677Holyoke Lat. Dict., To get flesh, pinguesco. 1684R. H. School Recreat. 26 If he be low of Flesh..add a third part of clean old Beans. 1707Lond. Gaz. No. 4350/4 A bay Gelding, well in Flesh. 1757Franklin Lett. Wks. 1887 II. 527, I..have not yet quite recovered my strength, flesh, or spirits. 1762Goldsm. Cit. W. lxxi, The widow, being a little in flesh, as warmly protested against walking. 1774J. Bryant Mythol. II. 452 Oxen that were in flesh and well fed. 1885E. Garrett At Any Cost ii. 27 Its [a face's] once noble outlines were blurred by too much flesh.
4. a. The muscular tissue, or the tissues generally, of animals, regarded as an article of food. Exc. when otherwise defined by the context, always understood as excluding fish (see fish n.1), and in recent use primarily suggesting ‘butchers' meat’, not poultry, etc. (cf. ‘fish, flesh, and fowl’). Somewhat arch., the current word being meat (it survives however in some northern dialects).
a800Corpus Gloss. 2135 Viscera tosta, ᵹebreded flaesc. a1154O.E. Chron. an. 1137 Þa wæs corn dære & flec. c1205Lay. 19693 Neoþer flæs na no fisc no nanes cunnes drænc. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 12/374 To rosti ase men doth fersch flesch. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 266 Sche schal drinke no wijn ne ete no fleisch. 1472Presentments Juries in Surtees Misc. (1890) 23 We desyer a remedy of our buschers for sellynge of thar flech. 1562–3Act 5 Eliz. c. 5 §11 No maner of person shall eate any Fleshe on the same [Fishe] daye. 1599Nashe Lenten Stuffe Wks. (Grosart) II. 273 The puffin that is halfe fish, halfe flesh. 1676Wood Life (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) II. 341 Not eat a bit of flesh from Shrove Tuesday till Easter Day. 1732Pope Hor. Sat. ii. ii. 70 The stomach (..a tomb of boil'd and roast, and flesh and fish). 1772Johnson Lett. to Mrs. Thrale 19 Oct., Flesh is likewise very dear. 1802Fosbrooke Brit. Monachism (1843) 70 Neither do they eat of fat or flesh.
b. With the name of the animal or other defining word attached; also † in pl. to signify what is derived from various animals.
c825Vesp. Psalter xlix. [l.] 13 Ah ic eotu flesc ferra. c1250Gen. & Ex. 1013 Bred, kalues fleis, and flures bred. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 175 Þe comon of þe oste bouht þam hors flesch, Or mules or assis roste. 1486Bk. St. Albans C j b, Thees sayd fleshes bene goode to mewe an hawke. 1528Paynel Salerne Regim. E ij b, Goottis fleshe..oxe fleshe.. be melancolye fleshes. 1685P. Henry Diaries & Lett. (1882) 341, I am careful wt I eat, not Fishes & Fleshes. 1865Baring Gould Were-wolves xv. 264 When a wolf has once tasted human flesh, he desires to taste it again.
†c. phr. neither flesh nor fish: neither one thing nor the other. Cf. fish n. 4 c. Obs.
1528Roy Rede me (Arb.) 117 Wone that is nether flesshe nor fisshe, At all tymes a commen lyer. 1661Baxter Mor. Prognost. i. xciii. 22 Men of no Zeal, neither Flesh nor Fish.
d. strange flesh: unusual or loathsome food. rare.
Perh. an echo of the Biblical use Jude 7, though the meaning is different (see 1 h).
1606Shakes. Ant. & Cl. i. iv. 67 On the Alpes, It is reported thou did'st eate strange flesh. 1819Shelley Cenci iii. i. 48 Beatrice..whom her father..pens up naked in damp cells..and starves her there, Till she will eat strange flesh.
†e. collect. Cattle intended for food. Obs.
16..Robin Hood & Butcher 16 in Furniv. Percy Folio I. 20 A proud butcher Came driving flesh by the way. 1709Strype Ann. Ref. I. xvi. 199 That no butcher should kill flesh, upon pain of a great fine.
† f. (See quot.) Obs.
1569in J. Mackenzie Gen. Grievances Orkney & Shetland 17 Item, the Comptare charges him with the third of the flesh of the Bishoprick of Orknay. 1859Oppress. 16th C. in Orkney & Zetland Gloss., Flesh, Rent paid in Cattle, generally estimated by Weight, 15 Meils = an ox, 10 Meils = a cow, 4 Meils = a sheep.
5. a. The visible surface of the body, with reference to its colour or appearance. Cf. flesh-colour.
1606Shakes. Ant. & Cl. i. ii. 17 Sooth. You shall be yet farre fairer then you are. Char. He meanes in flesh. 1657Lust's Dominion i. ii. 9 Although my flesh be tawny, in my veines, Runs blood as red, as royal, as the best..in Spain.
b. ellipt. for flesh-colour.
1852Meanderings of Mem. I. 157 Air coloured, scarcely carnate, or a flesh. 1882Garden 14 Oct. 341/1 The names of the best varieties..are.. Perfection, flesh.
6. Short for flesh-side (of a skin); see 13.
1839Ure Dict. Arts 378 It [the leather] is then..slicked upon the flesh with a broad smooth lump of glass. 1851Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 443 The skin is ‘split’..into two portions. That known as the ‘grain’..The other portion, the ‘flesh’. 1870Eng. Mech. 11 Feb. 534/2 Oil them [skins], flesh and grain.
II. Extended and figurative uses (chiefly of Biblical origin).
7. one's (own) flesh: one's near kindred or descendants. Now rare exc. in flesh and blood. Also, one flesh: said (after Gen. ii. 24, 1 Cor. vi. 16) of husband and wife to express the closeness of the relation created by marriage.
c1000ælfric Gen. xxxvii. 27 He ys ure broþor & ure flæsc. c1300Harrow. Hell 196 Mi leve moder wes Boren and shaped of thi fleyhs. 1382Wyclif Isa. lviii. 7 Thi flesh thou shalt not despise. 1553T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 71 Your grace, lackyng twoo suche portions of your owne fleshe [your two sons]. 1555Eden Decades Pref. to Rdr. (Arb.) 50 Owre brootherne, owre flesshe, & owre bones. 1694Congreve Double Dealer ii. i, Marriage makes man and wife one flesh. 1819Shelley Cenci i. iii. 104 What, if we..were his own flesh, His children and his wife?
8. That which has corporeal life. all flesh, † each flesh (omnis caro, Vulg. = Hebraistic Gr. πᾶσα σάρξ): all animals; in narrower sense, all mankind. So † no flesh: nobody on earth. † a piece of flesh: a human being, sample of humanity.
c1000Ags. Ps. cxxxv[i]. 26 He eac afedeð flæcsea æᵹhwylc. c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke iii. 6 ælc flæsc ᵹesihð godes hæle. c1250Gen. & Ex. 591 Ðo was ilc fleis on wer[l]de slaȝen. a1300E.E. Psalter cxliv. 21 Blisse sal alle flesche withal Unto hali name es hisse. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. II. 400 But ȝif þes daies shulen be abreggid þer shulde not be saved ech fleish. c1450tr. De Imitatione iii. lxii, Þou art flesshe and non aungell. 1535Coverdale Jer. xvii. 5 Cursed be the man..that taketh flesh for his arme. 1599Shakes. Much Ado iv. ii. 85 As pretty a peece of flesh as any in Messina. 1611Bible Dan. ii. 11 The gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. 1630Prynne Anti-Armin. 124 What flesh, what person could be saued? a1632T. Taylor God's Judgem. i. ii. xli. (1642) 367 Julius Cesar, one of the most..valiant pieces of flesh that ever was. 1662–3Pepys Diary 17 Feb., He had a great secret to tell me, such as no flesh knew but himself. 1774J. Bryant Mythol. II. 195 All flesh died. 1847Emerson Repr. Men, Plato Wks. (Bohn) I. 297 He..visits worlds which flesh cannot enter.
9. a. The physical or material frame of man; the body. Obs. exc. in Biblical allusions. † to be free of one's flesh: to expose oneself boldly in battle.
In the 16th c. versions of the Apostles' Creed the earlier expression ‘the resurrection of the flesh’ (= resurrectio carnis) was changed to ‘the resurrection of the body’.
Beowulf 4840 No þon lange wæs feorh æþelinges flæsce bewunden. c1175Lamb. Hom. 63 Gif..to þe flesce scrud and clað. 12..Creed in Rel. Ant. I. 282 Hie hleve in..arysnesse of flesse & eche lif. a1300Cursor M. 22785 (Gött.) Þat ilke flesh þat we haue nu, þan sal we haue. c1400Prymer (1891) 78 In my fleysch y schal se god my saueour. c1500Melusine xxxvi. 250 He deffended vygourously his flesshe. 1556Aurelio & Isab. (1608) E viij, The grete colde penetrethe youre delicat fleshes. 1607Marston What you will v, A true magnanimous spirit should..with his own flesh dead his flesh. 1634Habington Castara (Arb.) 133 My frighted flesh trembles to dust. 1724De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 132 They..were as free of their flesh as we.
b. in (the) flesh: in a bodily form, in a corporeal nature or state; also, in life, living. after the flesh: in bodily appearance or likeness.
1382Wyclif 2 Cor. v. 16 If we knowen Crist vp [1388 aftir] the fleisch [Tindale 1526after the flehsse. Similarly in later versions]. 1382― Phil. i. 23 For to be with Crist, it is moche more bettere; forsoth for to dwelle in fleisch, it is nedeful for ȝou. c1449Pecock Repr. i. xv. 83 That we schulen rise in fleisch aftir oure deeth. 1651Hobbes Leviath. iii. xlii. 273 To preach Christ come in the flesh. 1727De Foe Hist. Appar. i. (1840) 14 St. Paul..did speak there of seeing Christ in the flesh. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. iv. vi, The minutes passing on, and no Mrs. W. in the flesh appearing. 1874Morley Compromise (1886) 162 We all know in the flesh liberal catholics and latitudinarian protestants, who [etc.].
c. The body (of Christ) regarded as spiritually ‘eaten’ by believers; also applied mystically to the bread in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
c1000Ags. Gosp. John vi. 55. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 97 Þat husel þe ȝe understonden is his holi fleis and his blod. a1300Cursor M. 15234 (Gött.) Takes and ete of þis bredd, for flesse þan es it mine. c1380Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. II. 110 Ȝif ȝe eeten þe fleish of mannis sone, and drynke his blood. 1558Bp. White Serm. in Strype Eccl. Mem. III. App. lxxxi. 279 Adore the same flesh in substance. 1651C. Cartwright Cert. Relig. i. 59 Saint Remigius &c. affirme the flesh of Christ to be in the Sacrament. 1875Hymms A. & M., ‘Now, my tongue’ iv, True bread He maketh By His Word His Flesh to be.
†d. As a profane oath, God's flesh! Hence in 17–18th c. in ejaculations, as flesh! flesh and fire! Cf. odds-flesh. Obs.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. xi. 212 Godis flessh & his fet & hise fyue woundis Arn more in his mynde þan þe memorie of his foundours. 1695Congreve Love for L. iii. xv, Flesh, you don't think I'm false-hearted, like a Land-Man. 1701Cibber Love Makes Man ii. i, Flesh and Fire! do but speak to her, Man. 1728Vanbr. & Cib. Prov. Husb. i. i. 29 Flesh! I thought we should never ha' got hither!
10. a. The animal or physical nature of man; human nature as subject to corporeal necessities and limitations.
c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxvi. 41 Witudlice se gast in hræd, and þæt flæsc ys untrum. a1225Ancr. R. 132 Ine bitternesse of flesche, bereð Godes rode. c1300Beket 259 The here he dude next his liche, his flesches maister to beo. c1384Chaucer H. Fame i. 49 But that our flessh ne hath no myght To understond hyt aryght. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. iv. 59 Hit is bote frelete of flesch. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 8 b, They must despyse..all delectacyons of the flesshe. 1559Mirr. Mag., Jack Cade iv, Flesh is soft And yeldes it selfe to pleasure that it loueth. 1602Shakes. Ham. iii. i. 63 The Heart-ake, and the thousand Naturall shockes That Flesh is heyre too. 1634Habington Castara (Arb.) 129 Flesh is loath By meditation to fore see How [etc.]. 1853Kingsley Hypatia xxx, But though she had found trouble in the flesh, her spirit knew none. 1883Froude Short Stud. IV. i. iii. 40 The archbishop retired to his see to afflict his flesh with public austerities.
b. In expressions relating to the Incarnation. the days of his flesh: the period of his earthly life.
c1000Ags. Gosp. John i. 14 Þæt word wæs flæsc ȝeworden. c1200Ormin 19201, & Godess Word iss makedd flæsh. a1250Orison our Lord 6 in O.E. Misc. 139 Þi goddede wes ihud in fleysse. a1300Cursor M. 14342 (Cott.), I haf tan flexs emang mine aun. 1382Wyclif Heb. v. 7 The which in the dayes of his fleisch offringe preieris and bisechingis to God. 1642Rogers Naaman 2 Our Lord Jesus himselfe all the daies of his abasement and flesh endured them.
11. The sensual appetites and inclinations as antagonistic to the nobler elements of human nature. In theological language (after St. Paul's use of σάρξ) applied more widely to the depraved nature of man in its conflict with the promptings of the Spirit. sins of the flesh: esp. those of unchastity.
c1200Vices & Virtues (1888) 23 And folȝeð hire flesches wille. a1300Cursor M. 10103 (Cott.) Ic am..wit thrin fas bi-thrett, þis werld, my fleche, þe warlau als. 1382Wyclif Rom. viii. 8 Thei that ben in fleisch, mown not plese to God. c1386Chaucer Pars. T. ⁋279 If þat a man wiþstonde..þe firste entisynges of his fleisshe. c1500New Not-br. Mayd 237 in Hazl. E.P.P. III. 11 The devyll, his flesshe, The worlde all fresshe, Provoke hym day and nyght. 1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. v. ix. 391, I know what Flesh will object. a1729Clarke Serm. 1 Cor. xiii. 3 Wks. (1738) xlviii. 300 Disapproving the opinions of those whom a man sincerely thinks to be in the wrong, is not a work of the Flesh. 1823Shelley Hellas 156 By..conquering penance of the mutinous flesh. 1882Farrar Early Chr. II. 423 Things which tend to the gratification of the flesh.
III. attrib. and Comb.
12. General relations:
a. simple attrib. (sense 1), as † flesh-budget, flesh-bunch, flesh-burden, flesh-burst, flesh-case, flesh-creep, flesh-disguise, flesh-flower, flesh-frame, flesh-hotpot (nonce formation on fleshpot), flesh-pimple, flesh-pistol (fig. of a person), flesh-rind, flesh-rose, flesh-scape, flesh-scent, flesh-stuff; (sense 4), as † flesh-axe, † flesh-broth, flesh-diet, † flesh-kind, † flesh-kit, † flesh-market, flesh meal, † flesh-pie, flesh-provision, † flesh-stall, flesh-victual; (sense 5), as flesh-tint, flesh tone; (sense 9), as flesh-kinsman; (sense 10, 11), as flesh-delight, flesh-lust.
1424in Kennett Par. Antiq. (1818) II. 255 Et in magna secure vocat. *fleschaxe xv. den.
1676Wiseman Surgery ii. xii. 204 Her Leg being extreamly emaciated..I advised the bathing it with *Flesh-broth.
1592Nashe P. Penilesse Wks. (Grosart) II. 72 That surfit-swolne Churles..might bee constrained to carrie their *flesh budgets from place to place on foote.
1841Browning Pippa Passes Introd. 90 Plump as the *flesh-bunch on some Turk bird's poll.
1605Sylvester tr. Nove's Profit Imprisonm. 627 Here below this fraile *flesh-burden tyes him.
1876G. M. Hopkins Wr. Deutschland (1918) 60 How a lush-kept plush-capped sloe Will, mouthed to *flesh-burst, Gush!
1922Joyce Ulysses 189 For years in this *fleshcase a shesoul dwelt.
1904Daily Chron. 17 Dec. 3/3 The fight between Tyler and the huge ape is worth the money, and Mr. Fritz Bergen's illustrations of it will throw in several extra *flesh-creeps.
1605Sylvester tr. Nove's Profit Imprisonm. 218 Mid the *flesh-delights to rust in idle ease.
1731Arbuthnot Aliments i. vi. vi. §5 Acidity in the Infant may be cur'd by a *Flesh-Diet in the Nurse.
1910J. Masefield Ballads & Poems 64 Arrayed in some new *flesh-disguise.
1862G. M. Hopkins Vision of Mermaids (1929) Diadem'd Like an Assyrian prince, with buds unsheath'd From *flesh-flowers of the rock. 1922Joyce Ulysses 560 Her sleeve, falling from gracing arms, reveals a white fleshflower of vaccination.
1839Bailey Festus xix. (1848) 210 Some, that Christ Received His *flesh-frame of the elements.
1860Farrar Orig. Lang. vi. 130 Language is the *flesh-garment of thought.
1922Joyce Ulysses 502 *Fleshhotpots of Egypt to hanker after.
1712W. Rogers Voy. 357 A good Quantity of Bread and Sweetmeats..but little of *Flesh-kind.
c1300Cursor M. 20068 (Edin.) Iohan þat was his *fles kinseman.
1575Richmond. Wills (Surtees) 255, I *fleshe kytt, ijd.
a1300Cursor M. 17227 (Gött.) Mi *fless lust to fulfill.
1535Coverdale 1 Cor. x. 25 What soeuer is solde in the *fleshmarket that eate. 1766Wesley Jrnl. 13 June, I began preaching in the flesh⁓market.
1748Anson's Voy. iii. ii. 313 Instead of one reasonable *flesh-meal, they were now scarcely satisfied with three.
1616–61B. Holyday Persius 336 I'm pleas'd now Upon the people to bestow a doal Of oile and *flesh-pies.
1587L. Mascall Govt. Cattell i. (1653) 13 Barbes, which..will grow and hang like *flesh-pimples under his tongue.
1608Machin Dumb Knight iii. in Hazl. Dodsley X. 164 My noble firelock of a *flesh pistol.
1795Burke On Scarcity Wks. VII. 411 Another cause..tended to produce a scarcity in *flesh provision.
1593Nashe Christ's T. Wks. (Grosart) IV. 173 It had stript his soule foorth of his *fleshe rinde.
1955C. Tomlinson Necklace 21 It moves with equal certainty Through a register of palm-greens and *flesh-rose.
1949S. Spender Edge of Being 21 A *fleshscape woven of fiery fleece.
1923D. H. Lawrence Birds, Beasts & Flowers 41 The *flesh-scent of this wicked tree.
14..Medulla in Cath. Angl. 135 note, Laniatorium, a *fflessh stal.
1855Browning By the Fireside xxiv, Your soul..Piercing its fine *flesh-stuff. 1935G. Barker Janus 42 His face..no more than a mounding of flesh-stuff.
1838Dickens Nich. Nick. x, A bright salmon *flesh-tint. 1967E. Short Embroidery & Fabric Collage iv. 97 In figure work they depicted form with line rather than shading, and avoided naturalistic flesh tints.
1931H. Read Meaning of Art ii. 128 Flowers and the flower-like *flesh-tones of a woman's or a child's body.
1562–3Act 5 Eliz. c. 5 §11 In sparing and encrease of *Fleshe Victuall of this Realme.
b. objective, as flesh-creeper, flesh-eater, flesh-former, flesh-maker, flesh-pleaser, † flesh-tawer, † flesh-vourer ns.; flesh-pleasing vbl. n.; flesh-amazing, flesh-consuming, flesh-creeping, flesh-devouring, flesh-eating, flesh-enraging, flesh-mangling, flesh-pleasing, † flesh-tawing, flesh-transpiercing ppl. adjs.
1679Keach Glorious Lover ii. v. 285 Hark! dost not hear that *flesh-amazing cry?
1603J. Davies Microcosmos (Grosart) 63/1 Streight away they weare..With *flesh-consuming fleshly fraile delight.
1887H. Baumann Londinismen 56/1 *Flesh-creeper, scherzhaft: Schauerroman Gruselgeschichte. 1932T. S. Eliot Sel. Essays 321 He is a little of the religious spell⁓binder..the flesh-creeper, the sorcerer of emotional orgy. 1959Times 14 Feb. 9/7 The moving Funérailles which he played simply as a flesh-creeper.
1896Westm. Gaz. 17 Mar. 3/1 The *flesh-creeping announcement that our old friend Osman Digna, who has died so often, is advancing with a considerable force in the direction of Kassala. 1936Times Lit. Suppl. 7 Mar. 195/3 Mr. Burke gets the right flesh-creeping quality into some of the scenes.
1609J. Davies Holy Roode (Grosart) 22/1 The Monster *Flesh-deuouring Death. 1936R. Campbell Mithraic Emblems 28 The flesh-devouring bird of time.
1616J. Lane Contn. Sqr.'s T. x. 433 Not Diomedes horse (*fleshe eatr of men) had e'ar th'obedience this atchiv'd o're them. 1862H. Spencer First Princ. ii. xiv. §110 (1875) 315 Among animals the flesh-eaters cannot exist without the plant-eaters.
1592Nashe P. Penilesse Wks. (Grosart) II. 73 We are such *flesh-eating Saracens. 1953J. S. Huxley Evol. in Action iii. 72 One original tiny flesh-eating creature.
a1618J. Davies Wittes pilgrimage (Grosart) 39/2 *Flesh-enraging Lust.
1873E. Smith Foods 6 The division of foods into the two great classes of *flesh⁓formers and heat-generators.
1550Bale Eng. Votaries ii. E ij b, Callynge bothe hym & his masmongers pulpifices, that is to saye, *fleshe-makers.
1813Shelley Q. Mab viii. 179 The *flesh-mangling scourge.
1586Whetstone Eng. Mirror 63 One of these *fleshpleasers was the heretique Corinthius.
1647Trapp Comm. Epist. 176 His watchfull soul, displeased deeply with that *flesh-pleasing force.
1677A. Horneck Gt. Law Consid. iv. (1704) 128 He..is enticed to idleness, to *flesh-pleasing. c1050Suppl. ælfric's Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 189 Lanio, uel lanista, uel carnifex..flæctawere [sic MS.].
1609J. Davies Holy Roode (Grosart) 11/1 On his virgin skin..*Flesh-tawing Whips engrosse the deeds of Hate!
Ibid. 13/1 *Flesh-transpiercing Thornes.
1533Tindale Supper of Lord C v, Thys carnall *fleshe vowerer and fleshly Jewe.
c. instrumental, etc., as flesh-bound, flesh-clogged, flesh-clouded, flesh-freed, flesh-gorged, flesh-manured, flesh-petalled, flesh-smelling, flesh-untrammelled, flesh-winged.
1877G. M. Hopkins Poems (1918) 31 Man's spirit will be *flesh-bound when found at best, But uncumbered. 1909W. James Pluralistic Universe vi. 252 Turn your face toward sensation, that flesh-bound thing which rationalism has always loaded with abuse.
1847Craig, *Flesh-clogged. 1869W. P. Mackay Grace & Truth 215 This will ever be..the longing of my flesh-clogged soul.
1647H. More Cupids Conflict lx, Earthly minds..Discern not this *flesh-clouded Deity.
c1599Sylvester Epit. Death B. Nicolson Wks. (Grosart) II. 339/1 Friends..Whose *flesh-freed Souls are henceforth free from sinning. 1878Browning La Saisiaz 437 A touch..lifts his spirit where, flesh-freed, Knowledge shall be rightly named so.
1804J. Grahame Sabbath (1808) 45 The croak of *flesh⁓gorged ravens.
1593Nashe Christ's T. Wks. (Grosart) IV. 94 A newe storie of *flesh-manured earth haue they cast vpon it.
1949S. Spender Edge of Being 36 This *flesh-petalled tree.
1627May Lucan vi. (1635) K vij b, Their ashy garments, and *flesh-smelling coales.
1917J. Masefield Lollingdon Downs 57 Bodiless joy of *flesh-untrammelled mind.
1947S. Spender Poems of Dedication 53 Legendary heroes..On *flesh-winged ships fluttered from their island.
d. similative, as flesh-fragrant, flesh-like, flesh-rosy adjs.; flesh-pink, flesh-red adj. and quasi-n. Also flesh-coloured a.
1923D. H. Lawrence Birds, Beasts & Flowers 15 Gods..half-sinisterly *flesh-fragrant As if with sweat.
1552Huloet, *Fleshlike..carnarius. 1653Walton Angler 166 Carps have..a piece of flesh-like-fish in their mouth like a tongue.
1882Garden 17 June 432/1 In colour it is a beautiful *flesh-pink.
1819J. G. Children Chem. Anal. 380 A faint *flesh red colour. 1843Portlock Geol. 219 Crystals..of a yellowish-white or light flesh-red.
1957L. Durrell Bitter Lemons 102 There was a fine fire of *flesh-rosy carob wood.
13. Special comb.: flesh-bag (slang), a shirt; † flesh-baste v. (see quot. 1611); also (after baste v.3) to beat about the body; flesh-beam = fleshing-beam; flesh-bird, one that lives upon flesh; a carnivorous bird; † flesh-board, ? = fleshing-board; † flesh-brand, a mark burnt into the flesh; hence † flesh-branded pa. pple.; † flesh-bred a., thoroughly trained (in crime); † flesh-broker, slang (see quots.); so † flesh-brokery; flesh-brush, a brush used for rubbing the surface of the body, in order to excite the circulation; † flesh-company, sexual intercourse; † flesh-crook, ? a kind of fork with hooked prongs; cf. flesh-hook; flesh-crow, a dialect name for the carrion crow (Corvus corone); † flesh-day, a day on which flesh may be eaten; † flesh-dresser, ? applied to the beadle who flogged prostitutes; flesh-fallen a., emaciated; † flesh-father, a father ‘after the flesh’, an earthly father; flesh-flea, the chigoe, Sarcopsylla penetrans (Cent. Dict.); † flesh-fonding, the act of gratifying fleshly appetites or desires; flesh-fork, a fork for removing meat from the pot; flesh-germ, a synonym of Sarcophyte (Syd. Soc. Lex. 1884); flesh-glove, a glove used to stimulate the circulation by rubbing the flesh; † flesh-glue = sarcocolla; † flesh-hold, flesh enough to be held with the teeth; flesh-juice, ‘the reddish, acid liquid which is contained in dead muscle’ (Syd. Soc. Lex. 1884); flesh-knife = fleshing-knife; † flesh-leech, a physician for the body; † flesh-marked pa. pple., having a mark on the body (cf. flesh-branded); flesh-quake [after the analogy of earthquake], a trembling of the body; flesh side, the side of a skin that was nearest the flesh (see 6); ‘the rough side of a leather belt’ (Lockwood); † flesh-spades (humorous), the fingernails; flesh-split, that part of a split hide or skin which is nearest the flesh; † flesh-string, a muscle; † flesh-tailor, humorously, one who sews up wounds; a surgeon; flesh-taster, an officer appointed to test the wholesomeness of meat; † fleshtimber, corporeal matter; † flesh-time, a time when flesh may be eaten; flesh-traffic, ‘the slave trade’ (Adm. Smyth); flesh-wound, a wound that does not extend beyond the flesh.
1812J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., *Flesh-bag, a shirt. 1820London Mag. I. 29 They are often without a flesh-bag to their backs.
1611Cotgr., Glacer..to *flesh-bast, or stitch downe the lyning of a garment, thereby to keepe it from sagging. 1639Shirley Maid's Rev. iv. ii, We were going to flesh-baste one another.
1796Coleridge To Yng. Man of Fortune Poems (1863) 263 O'er his uncoffined limbs The flocking *flesh-birds screamed.
1411Nottingham Rec. II. 86, j. *fleschbord.
1646Gaule Cases Consc. 105 Whether all Witches have Corporall Markes, or diabolicall *Flesh-brands.
1675Lond. Gaz. No. 999/4 A Chesnut Sorrel Gelding..with I.S. *flesh branded on the Shoulder.
1513More in Grafton Chron. (1568) II. 804 A felow *flesh bred in murther before time.
a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, *Flesh-broker, a Match-maker; also a Bawd. Ibid., Spiritual-flesh-broker, a Parson.
a1643W. Cartwright Ordinary v. iv. (1651) 86 She..that is So expert grown in this *flesh Brokery.
1704F. Fuller Med. Gymn. (1718) 197 Chafing of the Skin, or..the Use of the *Flesh-Brush. 1884Cassell's Family Mag. Feb. 143/2 Friction with rough towels and flesh-brush.
1522World & Child in Hazl. Dodsley I. 273 The Son of God sickerly Took flesh and blood of the Virgin Mary, Without touching of man's *flesh-company.
1465Reg. Gild Corp. Chr. York (1872) 295 Et j fustinula vocata *fleschcroke. 1576E. Johnson in Durham Depos. (Surtees) 312 If ther were a hundrethe devils of hell..with fleshe croks in their hands..he wold run throughe them all to hir.
1885Swainson Prov. Names Brit. Birds 82 Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), so called from the bird's habit of feeding on the flesh of dead animals; whence also..*Flesh crow.
c1440Anc. Cookery in Househ. Ord. (1790) 429 Tempur hom, on fyssheday wyth wyn, and on *flesheday with broth of flesh. 1584–5Act 27 Eliz. c. 11 §4 To utter and sell all maner of Sea Fish upon any Flesh Daye in the Weeke. 1674J. Josselyn Voy. New Eng. 13 Three flesh dayes in the week.
1620Melton Astrolog. 32 Tom Todd and his fellow *flesh-dressers.
1876Tennyson Harold i. i, Am I not Work-wan, *flesh-fallen? 1876Whitby Gloss., Flesh-fallen, bodily pined.
13..Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. xxxii. 240 Ȝe hedde boþe on *flesch-fadur.
1558N. Grimalde Cicero's Offices Pref. to Rdr., In ryotting and banketing or in outragious *flesh⁓fondinges.
1662South Serm. (1823) I. 109 To scour the *flesh-forks. 1879G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk., Flesh⁓fork, a long, two-pronged iron fork for getting up meat out of a pot or caldron.
1818Sporting Mag. II. 225 Rubbing..my body..with the mohair *flesh-glove.
1659Rowbotham Gate Lang. Unl. xi. §124 Frankincense, mastick, rosin, *flesh-glue are the juices and gums of certain trees.
1621Sanderson 12 Serm. (1637) 369 There was *flesh-hould enough for the riming Satyrists..whereon to fasten the sorest and the strongest teeth they had.
1881Leicestersh. Gloss., *Flesh-knife, the knife used by tanners to scrape or pare the flesh from the hide on the ‘fleshing-beam’.
c1340Cursor M. 27382 (Fairf.) Riȝt as *flesshe leche salle dele wiþ diuerse saluis to saris hele.
1682Lond. Gaz. No. 1723/4 A large bay Nag.. *Flesh-markt on the off Shoulder.
1631B. Jonson New Inne To himselfe 6 They may, blood-shaken then, Feel such a *flesh-quake to possesse their powers, As they shall cry like ours. 1820L. Hunt Indicator No. 26 (1822) I. 201 The fever of the soul..renders us liable to our most terrible ‘flesh-quakes’.
1630Charter in Maitland Hist. Edin. iv. (1753) 298 That none of the Trade presume to brock sheep-skins on the Rim or *Flesh-side. 1792J. Belknap Hist. New-Hampshire III. 159 Skins..with the flesh sides together.
1749Fielding Tom Jones xi. viii, The injury, done to the beauty of her husband by the *flesh-spades of Mrs. Honour.
1897C. T. Davis Manuf. Leather (ed. 2) 429 *Flesh splits are splits which are finished on the flesh side. The usual weight of the flesh splits is from 1½ to 3½ pounds. 1904Goodchild & Tweney Technol. & Sci. Dict. 37/2 s.v. Bag hides, The lower or Flesh Split is used for insoles and stiffeners in boots.
1587Golding De Mornay xiv. 225 Wee see in mans body..a greate nomber of sinewes, *Fleshstrings, and knitters.
1633Ford 'Tis Pity iii. vii, Here's a stitch fallen in my guts; oh for a *flesh-tailor quickly.
1766Entick London IV. 403 Four aleconners, and four *flesh-tasters. 1860W. White All round Wrekin xx. (ed. 2) 195 The ‘hardware village’, as folk called it [Birmingham], with..an ale-taster and a flesh-taster among its functionaries.
a1225Leg. Kath. 1188 Nes nawt iteiet to þe treo þer he deide upon, to drahen, buten *fleschtimber.
c1450Holland Howlat 696 In *flesche tyme, quhen the fische war away flemyt. 1611Cotgr., Charnaut, flesh-time.
a1674Clarendon Hist. Reb. xiv. (1704) III. 397 Poor Wogan..receiv'd upon a Party an ordinary *flesh wound. 1856Kane Arct. Expl. I. xxix. 398, I hit..one of our dogs..luckily a flesh⁓wound only.
▪ II. flesh, v.|flɛʃ|
[f. prec. n.]
1. trans. To reward (a hawk or hound) with a portion of the flesh of the game killed, in order to excite his eagerness in the chase. Hence in wider sense, to render (an animal) eager for prey by the taste of blood.
1530Palsgr. 551/2 Flesshe, as we do an hounde, whan we gyve him any parte of a wylde beest to encourage hym to ronne wel. 1576Turberv. Venerie 131 Those rewardes..will much better flesh and encourage the houndes. 1609Holland Amm. Marcell. xxviii. xiii. 346 Ravening foules made more cruell and eagre with the tast of bloud that had so fleshed them. 1633T. Adams Exp. 2 Peter ii. 4 An old bitten cur, that being fleshed to the game, will not be staved off. a1743Savage Valentine's Day 7 No crocodile there flesh'd with prey appears. 1751Smollett Per. Pic. (1779) I. viii. 70 Before they had fleshed the hounds, he recollected himself.
2. transf. and fig.
a. To initiate in or inure to bloodshed or warfare.
1530Palsg. 416/2 He his fleshed and accustomed to kyll men lyke shepe. a1611Forman Diary 8 Simon would not shrink for a bluddi nose with any boye, for he was then thorowly fleshed. 1646J. Temple Irish Rebell. 86 Flesht and blooded in the slaughter of many thousands of the English nation. 1704J. Blair in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Coll. Ch. I. 110 Soldiers well fleshed in blood..can't endure to be reduced to private life again. 1826E. Irving Babylon I. ii. 143 France..had been well fleshed in the work of blood by maiming and wounding herself. 1863Kinglake Crimea (1877) II. iv. 41 He fleshed his troops by indulging them with enterprises against the enemy's posts.
†b. Hence, To initiate in, inure or habituate to any practice; to render inveterate, harden (in wrong doing). Also, to render (errors or vices) inveterate.
1581Savile Tacitus' Hist. iii. xv. (1591) 123 To the ende that the souldiers..might be enured and fleshed in ciuill spoile. 1597–8Bp. Hall Sat. iv. vi. 52 When he is once fleshed to the Presse..He sends forth thraues of Ballads to the sale. 1664H. More Myst. Iniq. xii. 153 Were not this a mere method of fleshing men in leudness and wickedness. 1665Glanvill Scepsis Sci. x. 53 Yet others [Errors] are so flesht in us, that they maintain their interest upon the deceptibility of our decayed Nature. 1704Swift T. Tub Wks. 1760 I. 53 Fleshed at these smaller sports, like young wolves, they grew up in time to be nimble.
c. To inflame the ardour, rage, or cupidity of (a person) by a foretaste of success or gratification (cf. flush); to incite, animate. ? Obs.
1573G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 28 Being flesshid and animatid as he was bi his tutors preamble. c1600Distracted Emp. v. i. in Bullen O. Pl. III. 242 There is no devyll in me..That could have flesht me to thy violent deathe. 1612–5Bp. Hall Contempl., O.T. viii. iv, The Israelites were so fleshed with their former victorie, that now they think no walls..can stand before them. 1660T. M. Hist. Independ. iv. 56 The newes of this victory so fleshed our bloodhounds that they began to boast above measure. 1671Shadwell Humourist iv, This..Bully..was flesh'd, and would needs show his valour upon my shoulders. 1700Dryden Fables, Ajax & Ulysses 137 Him, flesh'd with slaughter, and with conquest crown'd.
3. a. To plunge (a weapon, etc.) into the flesh. Also (originally with allusion to 1 or 2 a), to flesh one's (maiden, virgin) sword: to use it for the first time upon flesh, to fight one's first battle.
1590Marlowe 2nd Pt. Tamburl. iv. i, He..Beats down our foes, to flesh our taintless swords. 1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iv. v. 133 The wilde Dogge Shall flesh his tooth in euery Innocent. 1622Dekker Virg. Martir i. Wks. 1873 IV. 8 Antonius, so well hath flesh'd his maiden sword. 1725Pope Odyss. xx. 461 Impatient strait to flesh his virgin-sword. 1866Cornh. Mag. May 630 These rude retainers..sometimes finish by fleshing their knives to the haft in each other. 1867F. Francis Angling iv. (1880) 113 The barbs of the hooks not being fleshed in them.
b. transf. and fig.
a1592Greene Selimus Wks. 1881–3 XIV. 231 To see the brethren disinherited, To flesh their anger one vpon another. 1695Blackmore Pr. Arth. iv. 575 [He] flesht his Courage first in Saxon Blood. 1814Byron Corsair ii. i. 17 All..seek To flesh their glowing valour on the Greek. 1852Dickens Bleak Ho. i, Clerks have been in the habit of fleshing their wit upon it. 1870Lowell Among my Bks. Ser. i. (1873) 372 The poor youth, just fleshing his maiden pen in criticism.
c. To gratify (lust or destructive rage).
1601Shakes. All's Well iv. iii. 19 This night he fleshes his will in the spoyle of her honour. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. lii, He intended to..break into Butler's peaceful habitation, and flesh at once his appetite for plunder and revenge.
4. a. To clothe (a skeleton) with flesh; to embody in flesh. Also with out, over. Chiefly fig.
a1661Fuller Worthies i. (1662) 2 This bare Sceleton of Time, Place, and Person must be fleshed with some pleasant passages. 1862N. Brit. Rev. May, 519 The strong imagination has difficulty enough to get fleshed..so as to dwell in common human forms. 1879Blackw. Mag. Aug. 212 The making of man—a skeleton gradually fleshed over. 1886G. Allen Maimie's Sake xi, A dainty bit of..word-painting, fleshed out and rendered thinkable.
b. To make fleshy; to fatten.
a1682Sir T. Browne Tracts 115 To restore and well Flesh them, they commonly gave them Hogs Flesh. 16822nd Plea for Nonconformists 16 The Rooks, the Informers,..hope to flesh themselves by picking the bones of the Nonconformists. 1909H. G. Wells Tono-Bungay ii. i. 103 We've fleshed ourselves a bit, eh? a1909Century Mag. (Webster), A rangy bay that ought to be fleshed for six months.
fig.a1627Middleton Spanish Gipsy iv, Flesh me with gold, fat me with silver.
5. Leather-manuf. To remove the adhering flesh from (a skin or hide).
1777[see fleshing 2]. 1880Times 27 Sept. 12/6 Unhairing, fleshing, and scudding all kinds of skins. 1885A. Watt Leather Manuf. x. 120 After the hair is removed the hides are fleshed.
6. To paint flesh-colour.
1861Mayhew Lond. Labour III. 209/1 For colouring we [photographers] charge 3d more..We flesh the face..and blue the coat and colour the tablecloth. |