| 释义 |
greenness|ˈgriːnnɪs|
Forms: see green a.; also 1 grénes, 4–6 grenes, greness(e, grennes, (4 grenis, 6 greenes, grienesse), 7 greeness(e.
[OE. grénnes, f. gréne green: see -ness.]
The quality or condition of being green.
1. a. The green colour of growing vegetation. Hence concr. or semi-concr. Verdure.
c900tr. Bæda's Hist. iii. viii. [x.] (1890) 180 Þære stowe grennis [v.l. grenes] & fæᵹernis. a1300Cursor M. 8034 Passed war a thusand yere, Sin þai war planted in þat place, In grenes ai wit godds grace. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. ix. xxxii. (1495) 369 Pentecoste is tyme of myrth and of grenesse for namly thenne herbes ben grene. c1450Mirour Saluacioun 1071 In aarons ȝerde we fynde of braunches the grennesse. 1561T. Norton Calvin's Inst. i. xvi. (1634) 82 Out of seeds warmed in the bosome of the grounde, he draweth a budding greennesse. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 209 Here is store of box trees, whose growth and greennesse, affoord profit and delight. 1712J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 143 The little Greenness it affords..makes it seldom used in Gardens. 1821Lamb Elia Ser. i. New Year's Eve (1860) 46 Sun and sky..and the greenness of fields. 1825Cobbett Rur. Rides 469 There never yet was a summer..when the downs did not retain their greenness to a certain degree.
b. Green colour of the sea and other things.
a1300Cursor M. 9987 Þe grennes lastand euer in ay Bitakens end o þat maiden. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvi. lxviii. (1495) 574 Marbyll hyghte Marmor & hath yt name of Grekys: for grenesse [L. a viriditate vocatur] as Ysido[r] sayth. 1561J. Daus Bullinger on Apoc. (1573) 65 Grennes signifieth the everlastyngnesse of God, and that he quickeneth and kepeth all thynges alyue. 1597A. M. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 29/2 Ther remayneth somtimes a viriditye or greenes about the apertione. 1661Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 259 When they bite, there followeth great..greennesse or blacknesse of the wound. 1756–7tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) I. 231 The contrast of the white foam, with the natural greenness of the water, has a charming effect. 1824Miss Mitford Village Ser. i. 226 She used to accuse my French greys of blueness..and my greens of their greenness. 1871Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (1879) I. vi. 226 The greenness of the sea is physically connected with the matter which it holds in suspension.
2. a. Unripeness (in fruits, etc.) as indicated by green colour.
c1450Lydg. & Burgh Secrees 1942 Looke they be rype and of good swetnesse, Strong in substance, no grenness let be sene. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 183 Bananas or Plantanes..They will ripen though you first plucke them in their greenesse. 1719London & Wise Compl. Gard. 161 Care must be had not to uncover them till they have attain'd their proper size, and begin to lose the great Greenness they had.
b. Immaturity or tenderness (of age).
a1420Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 964 In grenesse Of youthe. 1557Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 167 The grenes of my youth cannot therof expresse The proces. 1579Fenton Guicciard. i. 18 What with the greennes of his yeares aspiring nowe to xxij. 1631Weever Anc. Funeral Mon. 225 Considering the greennesse of his age. 1753Smollett Ct. Fathom (1784) 17/2 The greenness of his years secured him from any suspicion of fallacious aim. 1762A. Murphy Life Fielding 14 (F.'s Wks. 1771 I.), Considering the greenness of his years, the sensibility of his temper, and the warmth of his imagination.
c. gen. Immaturity, crudity.
1574J. Studley tr. Bale's Pageant Popes 37 Antichrist as it were appearing aboue the grounde: who grewe still forwarde from grenenesse to ripenesse. 1617Hales Serm. in Gold. Rem. (1673) 10 If..St. Paul required diligent reading, and expressly forbad greenness of Scholarship. 1641Milton Reform. i. (1851) 12 The greennesse of the Times, the weake Estate which Qu. Mary left the Realme in. 1856–81H. O. Conant Eng. Bible xxvi. 216 The prelates were seeking to conceal the greenness of their new church from the popular eye under this garb of antiquity. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 148 The greenness of our argument will ludicrously contrast with the ripeness of our ages.
d. Rawness, inexperience.
e. Simplicity, gullibility.
1548Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Mark iv. 26–9 The grenenes of innocencie. 1740Dyche & Pardon Dict., Greenness..also the rawness, unskilfulness, or imperfection of any person in a trade, art, science, &c. 1838J. Grant Sk. Lond. vi. 205 Instances of perfect simplicity or ‘greenness’. 1848Thoreau Maine W. (1894) 17 A Province man was betraying his greenness to the Yankees by his questions. 1853De Quincey Autobiog. Sk. Wks. I. 61, I had an opportunity of displaying my exemplary greenness. 1875tr. Comte de Paris' Hist. Civ. War Amer. I. 228 When McDowell alleged the greenness of his troops, as they say in English.
f. Of horses: want of training. (See green a. 8 c.)
1900Daily Mail 30 Apr. 4/3 They were due to the greenness of many of the horses, to the fact that they were not acclimatised. 1927Ibid. 30 June 13 The failure of Mrs. Whitburn's colt at Ascot may have been due to greenness.
3. The vigour or freshness of growth; vitality.
a1649Drummond of Hawthornden Poems Wks. (1711) 53/1 With fragrant greenness of Thy grace Our blasted souls of wounds release. 1675Traherne Chr. Ethics App. 561 Enmities and disgraces..fall like storms and showers upon budding vertues in their spring and greeness. a1716South Serm. (1744) X. ii. 44 The hypocrite's hope..for a while gives growth and greenness to his comforts. 1843P. Parley's Ann. IV. 249 The affection of a child gives a greenness to old age.
4. a. Freshness, newness. ? Obs.
1553Brende tr. Q. Curtius K iv, Through y⊇ grene⁓nesse of their woundes they felt litle paine. 1616Surfl. & Markh. Country Farme 635 There is great difference betwixt that tartnesse or sowrenesse, which is an accidentall vice or fault in wines, and that greenenesse or sharpenesse, which is a naturall tast and relish in them. 1651tr. Bacon's Life & Death 5 This ..preserves them [Grains] also in that Greennesse, that they are fit and serviceable to make Bread.
†b. The condition of being fresh from child-bearing. Obs.
1624Heywood Gunaik. iv. 169 Canace by reason of her greenenes and weake estate, not able to make her escape.
Add:5. Of a person or group: the state or condition of being ecologically aware or committed to conservation; also, the extent of this. Of a product, etc.: the capacity of not harming the environment, ecological acceptability.
1987Financial Times 29 May i. 9/1 While welcoming the legitimising of Green issues, the party has a healthy cynicism about its opponents' actual intentions. ‘The other parties' greenness is just shiny green icing on a mouldy cake,’ says Julia Wakelam. 1989Brit. Business 18 Aug. 18/2 Recent months have seen a marked increase in the marketing of products on the basis of their ‘greenness’, with many major retail outlets emphasising the environmental theme. 1990Vitamin Connection Nov./Dec. 5/1 You now have access to a new 24-hour service providing comprehensive information on the ‘greenness’ of a wide range of grocery and household products. 1991Green Mag. Feb. 23/1 After your carrots are pesticide-free, your eggs are free range and you're seen chauffeuring sacks of newspapers to the collection points..the repercussions of going to the next stages of Greenness are just plain numbing. |