| 释义 |
good night
(Also hyphened.)
[See good a. 10 c.]
1. A customary phrase used at parting at night or going to sleep; † orig. in full form have good night, (God) give you good night, etc. Also in various phrases, as to bid († give) good night, to make one's good nights, etc., and in fig. uses implying separation, leave-taking, or loss.
c1374Chaucer Troylus iii. 371 (420) Haue now good nyȝt & lat vs boþe slepe. c1420Sir Amadas (Weber) 187 My leve dame, have gud nyght! c1489Caxton Blanchardyn xv. 51 The captayne gaff the goode nyght to the damoyselle. a1553Udall Royster D. v. vi. (Arb.) 88 Good night Roger olde knaue. 1553Respublica v. ix. 32 Than goode night the laweiers gaine. 1570B. Googe Pop. Kingd. iv. 58 a, They..yielding up their dronken ghostes, doe bid their mates godnight. 1602Shakes. Ham. i. i. 16 Giue you good night. 1604Marston Malcontent ii. iv. D 2, When our beauty fades, godnight with vs. 1631Heywood Eng. Eliz. (1641) 87 And so gave them the good-night. 1652Bp. Hall Invis. World ii. viii, O my soul..art thou so loth to bid a cheerful good-night to this piece of myself. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxviii, Good-night, lady. 1820Scott Monast. xx, Having wished..to all others the common good-night. 1852Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 177 And now good-night; I am off to bed. 1881Scribner's Mag. XXII. 282/1 She promptly made her good-nights and vanished.
attrib.1816Byron Ch. Har. iii. lxxxvi, Or chirps the grasshopper one good-night carol more. 1868Holme Lee B. Godfrey lxv. 377 Give me a good-night kiss. 1871R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxiv. 382 In such prelude old, such good⁓night ditty to Peleus.
b. Phrases. (Of obscure origin.)
1572J. Jones Bathes of Bath To Rdr. b ij a, Al men..greedily gape after worldly gayne, whyles in the meane tyme the members and the mynde fall into such lappes as they neuer may recouer agayne, so that then good night at Algate. 1688in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. IV. 121 Pray my Lord let's have justice, or good night Nicholas.
2. dial. Used as an exclamation of surprise.
1893in Surrey Gloss.
3. transf. Any parting salutation at night. † Also, ? a composition improvised when going to sleep.
1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iii. ii. 343 A..sung those tunes to the ouer-schutcht huswiues that he heard the Car-men whistle, and sware they were his fancies or his good-nights. 184.Longfellow Excelsior vi, ‘Beware the awful avalanche!’ This was the peasant's last Good-night.
4. In certain names of plants.
1597Gerarde Herbal ii. cccxl. 791 Of Venice Mallowe, or Goodnight at noone..The Venice Mallow..openeth it selfe about eight of the clocke, and shutteth vp againe at nine. 1840Paxton Bot. Dict., Good night, Argyreia bona-nox.
Hence goodˈnight v. to say good-night to.
1835Beckford Recoll. 43 After good-nighting, and being good-nighted with another round of ceremony. |