| 释义 |
▪ I. ultimate, a. and n.|ˈʌltɪmət|
[ad. late L. ultimāt-us, pa. pple. of ultimāre to be at the end, f. ultimus last, final: see ultime a.]
A. adj.
1. Of ends, designs, etc.: Lying beyond all others; forming the final aim or object.
1654Jer. Taylor Real Pres. i. 10 The faithful and pious communicants receive the ultimate end of his presence, that is, spiritual blessings. 1664Power Exp. Philos. i. 67 In the obtainment of which he hath come to the ultimate design of his endeavours. 1675Baxter Cath. Theol. i. i. 61 God is this ultimate End of man,..to which all are means. a1721Prior Dial. Dead iii. Wks. 1907 II. 258 The beginning, Progress, and Ultimate end of Thought. 1758Johnson Idler No. 1 ⁋3 To be idle is the ultimate purpose of the busy. 1782Priestley Corrupt. Chr. I. Pref. p. xiii, If my proper and ultimate object be considered. 1847G. Harris Life Ld. Hardwicke I. iv. 354 A far higher and nobler reward is their ultimate aim. a1871Grote Eth. Fragm. iv. (1876) 72 They would..esteem different agents in proportion as they tended to assist these same ultimate purposes. 1892H. Lane Differ. Rheum. Dis. (ed. 2) vi. 119 The ultimate goal of all our investigations and observations.
2. a. Coming at the end of a process, course of action, etc., or as the last in a succession or series; arrived at as a final result or in the last resort.
1660R. Coke Justice Vind. 8, I am content with Aristotle's definition of the will,..That it is the ultimate resolution, end, or determination of counsel. 1671Milton P.R. iii. 210 My harbour and my ultimate repose, The end I would attain, my final good. 1755Young Centaur ii. Wks. 1757 IV. 159 All agree, that several goods being proposed for our ultimate enjoyment, it is impossible in our nature not to chuse the best. 1785Paley Mor. Philos. vi. xii. (1818) II. 426 Containing that which in peace and war is equally unjustifiable—ultimate and gratuitous mischief. 1827Faraday Chem. Manip. ii. (1842) 30 The oscillations..will be found to be quick and the beam will soon take its ultimate state of rest. 1841Miall in Nonconf. I. 2 Ultimate success will require union, patience, persevering energy. 1860Ruskin Unto this Last (1862) 8 No man ever knew, or can know, what will be the ultimate result to himself, or to others, of any given line of conduct. 1890H. Lane Differ. Rheum. Dis. 5 Not to exhaust the subject, nor even to lead the way to the ultimate hope of eradicating the source and the origin of the evil.
b. Of resolves, etc.: Final, determinate, absolute.
1687Miége Gt. Fr. Dict. ii. s.v., This is the ultimate Resolution. 1779J. Moore View Soc. France (1789) I. i. 4, I have now formed an ultimate resolution against gaming. 1786Jefferson Writ. (1859) I. 570 An ultimate opinion should not be formed till we see Mr. Randall. 1803in Gurw. Wellington's Desp. (1837) II. 138 note, I consented to wait till then for their ultimate decision.
c. Putting an end to further continuance, development, or action; final, decisive.
1755Johnson, End,..ultimate state; final doom. 1781Cowper Hope 640 Nature opposes..This riving stroke, this ultimate divorce. 1803Malthus Popul. (1817) I. 17 The ultimate check to population appears then to be a want of food. 1827Pollok Course T. vi. 365 Some disaster great and ultimate. 1838Prescott Ferd. & Is. Introd. ii. I. 79 To protect the subject from the oppressions of the crown and its officers, over all which cases it possessed original and ultimate jurisdiction. 1870Mozley Univ. Serm. iii. (1877) 60 The natural philosopher is practically assured from the concurrence of data before him, of a result, before the ultimate test is got.
d. Forming a final stage, point, or limit; beyond which there is no advance or progress.
1794G. Adams Nat. & Exp. Philos. I. v. 204, I informed them that the creatures [larvæ] before us were not in their ultimate state, but were the produce of the bee-fly. 1815J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 34 This salt..causes the hair to contract itself, until it has attained the ultimate limit of its contraction. 1869Rankine Mach. & Millwork 497 The ultimate shearing strength, or modulus of resistance to shearing. 1878B. Taylor Deukation iii. v. 127 Why should I conceal The ultimate barrier where I needs must pause?
e. Applied to the values of a mechanical property corresponding to fracture or breakage of the object concerned.
1858W. J. M. Rankine Man. Appl. Mech. ii. iii. 273 The Ultimate Strength of a solid is the stress required to produce fracture in some specified way. 1869― Man. Machinery & Millwork 485 The column headed ‘Ultimate Extension’ gives the ratio of the elongation of the piece, at the instant of breaking, to its original length. 1876[see stress n. 5 c]. 1922Glazebrook Dict. Appl. Physics I. 156/2 The ultimate stress was in some cases greater when the extension was fast than when it was slow. 1962Read & Watson Introd. Geol. viii. 446 The properties which control the reactions of rocks are..the values of the elastic limit and the ultimate strength.
f. ultimate Frisbee U.S., a form of the game of Frisbee (see Frisbee, frisbee).
1972in Amer. Speech 1974 (1976) XLIX. 301 In ultimate Frisbee, two seven-man teams play on a field 60 yards by 40 yards each game lasting 48 minutes. 1980Boston Globe 7 Mar. 32 The game of Ultimate Frisbee now is included on the list of activities accepted for academic credit at prestigious Worcester Polytechnic Institute, one of the nation's top five suppliers of engineers. 1984New Yorker 9 Apr. 36/1 Ultimate Frisbee..bears only a slight resemblance to the mellow..Frisbee played on beaches.
3. a. Beyond which no advance can be made by investigation or analysis; forming a limit or final stage in respect of nature or quality; fundamental or elemental.
1659Pearson Creed ii. 147 We must acknowledge that the actuall giving of salvation to us, is the ultimate and conclusive ground of the title Saviour. 1681Ess. Peace & Truth Ch. 9 Man therefore is justly defined to be a Rational Religious Creature, therein consisting the formal ultimate difference from a Brute. 1739Hume Hum. Nat. Introd. (1874) I. 308 Any hypothesis, that pretends to discover the ultimate original qualities of human nature. 1749Hartley Observ. Man II. 32 Since God is the ultimate Author of all Motion, we must suppose him to be immaterial. 1792N. Chipman Rep. (1871) 53 The King was, in view of the law, the ultimate owner of all lands within his dominions. 1808Jebb in Knox & Jebb's Corr. (1834) I. 453 There are ultimate truths, far above human ken. 1836J. Gilbert Chr. Atonem. iv. (1852) 113 The ultimate law of moral agents must be the will of God. 1850McCosh Div. Govt. iii. i. (1874) 295 In the inquiry into virtue and vice, we come back to ultimate principles, on which all morality rests. 1880Sayce Introd. Sci. Lang. (1890) I. 113 The sentence, in short, is..the ultimate starting-point of all our linguistic inquiries.
b. Of material things, esp. of the component particles of matter.
1808Barclay Muscular Motions 273 These fibres, composed of the fibres that are called ultimate, are seldom seen extending from the one extremity of a muscle to the other. 1815J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 303 All that can be affirmed of the state in which the ultimate particles of matter exist, is only the result of conjecture. 1836–41Brande Chem. (ed. 5) 1053 Although the ultimate principles of vegetable substances are few in number. 1857Miller Elem. Chem., Org. 11 To determine the relative proportion in which each of the ultimate elements exists. 1871Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (1879) II. vi. 81 This formative power,..ready to..build the ultimate particles of matter into definite shapes.
transf.1831T. P. Jones New Convers. Chem. xxviii. 282 When we decompose them [sc. proximate principles], to ascertain how much they contain of each of the simple bodies, the operation is called ultimate analysis. 1857Miller Elem. Chem., Org. 6 The determination of the proportions..furnishes an illustration of what is meant by ultimate organic analysis.
c. Math. ultimate ratio, the final limiting ratio between two variable quantities which simultaneously approach definite fixed values or limits. (Correl. to prime ratio: see prime a. 9 d.)
1729A. Motte tr. Newton's Principia I. 46 The ultimate ratio of the arc, chord, and tangent, any one to any other, is the ratio of equality. 1749Hartley Observ. Man II. 32 According to the mathematical Doctrine of ultimate Ratios, not even an infinite Series..could remove it. 1818Vince Fluxions (ed. 5) 16 The ingenious..Author of the Analyst..went upon the term ultimate ratio, assuming equality where it was never intended. 1842Brande Dict. Sci., etc. 974/2 They are called prime ratios, or ultimate ratios, according as the ratios of the variables are considered as receding from, or approaching to, the ratios of the limits.
4. Not followed by another; last. rare—1.
1728Morgan Algiers II. iv. 292 Returning home, he bad farewel to the fluid Element; this being his ultimate Expedition.
5. Forming a result or conclusion of a character different from the starting-point or present state; eventual, resultant.
1777Priestley Disc. Philos. Necess. Ded. p. ix, All seeming discord is real harmony, and all apparent evil, ultimate good. 1795Burke Th. Scarcity Wks. 1842 II. 253 The quiet of the town is purchased by the ruin of the country, and the ultimate wretchedness of both. 1832H. Martineau Homes Abroad ix. 127 One yields temporary benefit to a few at the expense of ultimate injury to the many. 1874Green Short Hist. iv. §1. 161 Neither trick nor conquest could shake the firm faith of the Celt in the ultimate victory of his race.
6. Final, last; occurring in, or falling on, the last syllable of a word.
1837G. Phillips Syriac Gram. 28 If the ultimate syllable be perfect without the terminating consonant. 1862Marsh Lect. Eng. Lang. 380 The great frequency of ultimate and penultimate accentuation.
7. Most remote in space or position. rare—1.
1848Johnston in Proc. Berw. Nat. Club II. 297 The ultimate [joint] armed with a long curved..claw.
B. n.
1. The final point or result; the end or conclusion; the last step. the ultimate (const. in), the best that can be achieved or imagined; the ‘last word’.
1681Rycaut tr. Gracian's Critick 113 Ordinary Toyes, applauded by a Castilian, for but being his own, with praises as might befit the ultimate of all Perfection. 1718J. Fox Wanderer 72, I.. once hoped I might attain to the very Ultimate of what you propos'd by Sunday last. 1728Eliza Heywood tr. Mme. de Gomez's Belle A. (1732) II. 2 Thelamont,..having now obtain'd the ultimate of his Desires, appear'd more bright and gay than ever. 1794Hutton Philos. Light, etc. 211 A proper fulminating composition, which seems to be the ultimate to which we may proceed. 1820Shelley Ess. & Lett. (1852) II. 225, I shall write to you the ultimates of my Commission in my next letter. 1852Bailey Festus (ed. 5) 534 Ends and beginnings mingle at the last; All ultimates are foreordained. 1890Booth Darkest Eng. ii. iv. 230 They carried their principles of freedom and license to the logical ultimate. 1958S. J. Perelman Most of S. J. Perelman 343 The Central Hotel,..advertised as the ultimate in gaiety and chic. 1971Hi-Fi Sound Feb. 67/1 In the medium-cost category our ideal is a system in which the most attractive ‘top’ features are recognisable while the ultimate in power handling or ‘monitoring’ capability has been lost. 1981P. Davies Edge of Infinity viii. 168 The ultimate in elaborate organization is the human body and mind. 1981Monitor (McAllen, Texas) 8 July iii. 1/1 Shop for your man on the first floor and yourself on the second. They have the ultimate in fashions.
2. The point at which investigation or analysis stops; a final or fundamental fact or principle.
1709Mrs. Manley Secret Mem. (1720) IV. 101 It was not her Fault that she became not Mistress of the great Secret, the Ultimate of Chymistry. 1774J. Bryant Mythol. I. p. xii, The Deluge..was esteemed..the ultimate of Gentile history. Ibid. II. 267 The ancient Poet..spoke of him as the father of mankind. In short he was the ultimate, to which Grecian history referred. 1841Blackw. Mag. XLIX. 152 Mind seems as it were to be getting loose upon space. It reposes upon no religious ultimates. 1862H. Spencer First Princ. ii. iii. §50 (1875) 169 We come down then finally to Force, as the ultimate of ultimates. 1866E. P. Whipple Character & Characteristic Men 268 If he calls his notion Law and makes law an ultimate, beyond which the human reason cannot go.
▸ ultimate fighting n. orig. and chiefly N. Amer. a form of one-on-one fighting, staged as a spectator sport, in which there are few rules and the participants fight in an octagonal cage using a variety of wrestling and fighting techniques (a proprietary name in the United States); cf. extreme fighting n. at extreme adj. and adv. and n. Additions.
1993Multichannel News (Nexis) 6 Sept. 22 Semaphore Entertainment group..has signed a number of sponsors for its Nov. 12 *Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view event. 1999M. Foley Have a Nice Day xix. 333 Dan never really could make the transition from ultimate fighting to sports-entertainment.
▪ II. ultimate, v.1|ˈʌltɪmeɪt|
[f. prec. or L. ultimāt-, ppl. stem of ultimāre (cf. It. ultimare, Sp. and Pg. ultimar to finish).]
1. trans. To carry to an end; to complete.
1849E. H. Sears Regeneration iii. i. (1859) 131 Works are filled and vitalized by that angelic benevolence which is not complete until clothed and ultimated in action. 1866Bessie R. Parkes Vignettes 399 My parents had seen my education ultimated in practical life. 1881E. S. Holden Sir W. Herschel 53 His researches on the construction of the heavens would have been made; those were in his brain, and must have been ultimated.
refl.1860Emerson Cond. Life viii. 169 It is the soundness of the bones that ultimates itself in a peach-bloom complexion. 1880Howells Undisc. Country iii. 50 A ferment of the kind he speaks of in the world of spirits would be more apt to ultimate itself here in the mind than in the stomach. 1885L. Oliphant Sympneumata 14 The moral forces which ultimate themselves dynamically in the actions of men.
2. intr. To result finally; to end (in something).
c1834A. H. Stephens in Johnston & Browne Life (1878) 95 How the thing will ultimate I cannot tell. 1868L. Oliphant Let. in Life (1891) viii. II. 41 We have no place here for those who like to meditate, unless the meditation ultimates in useful work. 1887Pop. Sci. Monthly Aug. 564/2 Believing that they..must ultimate..in an increase of egoism.
▪ III. ˈultimate, v.2 rare.
[Back-formation from ultimatum n.]
trans. = ultimatum v.
1892Black & White 30 Jan. 135/2 President Harrison has at last ‘ultimated’ Chili, as the Americans will probably soon be saying. 1898Pall Mall G. 28 Sept. 2 At last the four Powers are going to ultimate the Sultan about the Turkish troops in Crete. |