| 释义 |
forˈget-me-ˌnot
[In sense 1, a translation of the OF. name ne m'oubliez mye, whence late MHG. vergiȥ mîn niht (mod.Ger. vergisz mein nicht), Sw. förgäta mig ej. In the 15th c. the flower was supposed to have the virtue of ensuring that those wearing it should never be forgotten by their lovers. (See quots. in Grimm Wb. s.v.) The application of the name to the ground-pine (sense 3) is app. exclusively Eng.; whether this plant was credited with the same magical properties as its namesake, or whether it was named ‘on account of the nauseous taste that it leaves in the mouth’ (Prior) is not ascertained.]
1. a. The name of various kinds of Myosotis, esp. M. palustris, a plant which flourishes in damp or wet soil, having bright blue flowers with a yellow eye. Also applied to the closely resembling species, M. azorica, M. arvensis, and others.
c1532G. Du Wes Introd. Fr. in Palsgr. 1024 A flour of forget me nat, une fleur de ne moubliez mye. 1817Coleridge Sibyll Leaves, Keep-sake 13 Hope's gentle gem, the sweet Forget-me-not. 1833Tennyson Poems 46 Eyes..Blue as the blue forget-me-not. 1840A. Strickland Queens Eng. III. 84 This royal adventurer..Lancaster, appears to have been the person who gave to the myosotis arvensis, or, ‘forget-me-not’, its emblematic and poetic meaning. 1880Ouida Moths III. 216 He laid on her knee some forget-me-nots.
b. Applied with qualifying words to other varieties of Myosotis (see quots.).
1865Gosse Land & Sea (1874) 235 The early scorpiongrass or hill forget-me-not. 1867Sowerby Eng. Bot. VII. 102 Alpine Forget-me-not, M. alpestris. Ibid., Creeping water Forget-me-not, M. repens. Ibid. 106 Dwarf Forget-me-not, M. collina. Ibid. 104 Wood Forget-me-not, M. sylvatica. Ibid. 108 Yellow and blue Forget-me-not, M. versicolor.
2. The Germander Speedwell (Veronica Chamædrys). [So also in German writers of 15–16th c.]
1853G. Johnston Nat. Hist. E. Bord. I. 151 Veronica chamædrys..often miscalled the Forget-me-not.
†3. The Ground Pine (Ajuga Chamæpitys).
1578Lyte Dodoens i. xviii. 28 Of Ground Pyne..There be three sortes..called..in English also Chamæpitys, Ground Pyne, Herbe Iue, Forget me not. 1597Gerarde Herbal ii. cxlii. §3. 422 Ground Pine is called in English herbe Iuie, Forget me not.
4. attrib. and Comb., as forget-me-not blue, forget-me-ˌnot brooch, forget-me-ˌnot eyes, forget-me-ˌnot ring; forget-me-not-hued adj.; also ellipt. for forget-me-not brooch or ring.
1836Dickens Sk. Boz II. 154 A small gold chain and a ‘Forget me not’ ring, the girl's property. 1844C. M. Yonge Abbeychurch vi. 118 Jane gave me the pretty forget-me-not brooch I wore yesterday. 1854― Heartsease I. i. v. 85 There—that forget-me-not—the first ring I ever had. 1863A. D. Whitney Faith Gartney xx. 131 There was the forget-me-not ring lying in her box of ornaments. Ibid. xxiv. 170 You must wear this, now, and keep the forget-me-not for a guard. a1877Ouida Tricotrin I. 522 The treacherous..glitter in her forget-me-not-hued eyes. 1887J. Ashby-Sterry Lazy Minstr. (1892) 148 A smart little crew..In ivory-white and forget-me-not blue. Ibid. 174 This sweet little lass, Raises two Forget-me-not eyes. 1894Daily News 22 June 6/6 Dressed in forget-me-not blue chené silk. |