释义 |
unˈcouple, v. [un-2 4 b. Cf. MDu. ontcoppelen, -copplen, Du. ontkoppelen.] 1. a. trans. To release (dogs) from being fastened together in couples; to set free for the chase.
13..Guy Warw. (A.) 2512 A gret bore þai founden, y-wis, & hij uncopled her houndis. 1390Gower Conf. I. 119 The houndes weren in a throwe Uncoupled and the hornes blowe. c1410Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) xiii, Þe firste bolde houndes hunteth alle manere of beestes þat his maister will vncouple hym to. a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 43 The houndes were uncoupeled on hem, and chaced and bote hem spitously bi the eeres and thies. 1555Instit. Gentl. H vj b, Likewise huntyng in his kinde, as to fleshe a dogge, to vncupple houndes, to followe them [etc.]. 1576Turberv. Venerie 102 They shall place their houndes in some faire place.., forbidding the varlet that he uncouple them not without their knowledge. 1600Surflet Countrie Farme vii. xxv. 847 He must not vncouple any of his dogs; but onely marke the way that the Hart runneth. 1821Scott Kenilw. xii, Ere we had uncoupled the hounds, he..turns bridle..and leaves us to hunt at leisure by ourselves. 1842Mrs. Gore, etc. Fascination xi, Order the hounds to be uncoupled, and I will beat the underwood with three or four of the surest. b. absol. (Also in fig. use.)
c1386Chaucer Monk's T. 512 He maked hym so konnyng and so sowple That longe tyme it was er tirannye Or any vice dorste on hym vncowple. c1410Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) xxxv, Þe herte houndes..þat before haue be ladde by somme forster or parker þedur as þei shull vncouple. 1596Edward III, i. ii. 91 What, are the stealing Foxes fled and gone, Before we could vncupple at their heeles? 1599Shakes. Mids. N. iv. i. 112 My Loue shall heare the musicke of my hounds. Vncouple in the Westerne valley. 2. To unfasten, disconnect, detach.
a1533Ld. Berners Gold Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) N n j b, How far is our vnderstandyng vncoupled for thy thoughtes. 1548Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. John xiv. 87 b, That shall so couple you and vs together, that neyther lyfe nor death can vncouple vs. 1581Mulcaster Positions xxxv. (1887) 124 Being so neare companions in linke, and not to be vncoupled in learning. 1685Dryden Lucretius iii. 10 When our mortal frame shall be disjoyn'd, The lifeless Lump uncoupled from the mind, From sense of grief and pain we shall be free. 1786Jefferson Writ. (1859) II. 23 Congress have desired those States to uncouple the grants, so that each may come into force separately. 1858O. W. Holmes Aut. Break.-t. viii, Will nobody block those wheels, uncouple that pinion, cut the string that holds those weights? 1884Harper's Mag. July 273/1 The locomotive is uncoupled from the cars. 3. a. Biochem. To separate the processes of (phosphorylation) from those of oxidation.
1948Jrnl. Biol. Chem. CLXXIII. 808 These results indicate that DNP [sc. dinitrophenol] reversibly uncouples phosphorylation from oxidation. 1977D. E. Metzler Biochemistry vii. 366/1 Arsenate is said to uncouple phosphorylation from oxidation. b. Physics. To cause to cease to interact; to decouple (sense 2 a).
1980Chem. in Brit. XVI. 456/2 This excited state may return to groundstate or undergo a chemical reaction or may uncouple two electron spins (intersystem crossing) to yield a triplet state. Hence unˈcoupled ppl. a.1; unˈcoupler: spec. in Biochem., any agent that causes the uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation.
1687Dryden Pal. & Arc. ii. 236 Th' appointed Place In which th' uncoupl'd Hounds began the Chace. 1705Stevens ii, An Uncoupler, desuñidor. 1728Chambers Cycl., Decouple, in Heraldry, the same as Uncoupled, i.e. parted or sever'd. 1803Scott Cadyow Castle x, Steeds snort; uncoupled stag⁓hounds bay. 1954Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. XL. 919 Mitochondria suspensions taken from thyroxine-treated animals remain uncoupled. 1956Science 22 June 1107/1 The factor specifically inhibits phosphorylation without affecting the oxidation of β-hydroxybutyrate and thus simulates the action of 2,4-dinitrophenol and other known uncouplers. 1976Sci. Amer. June 44/3 Then we tried uncouplers: agents that allow electron transport to proceed but that in effect disconnect it from phosphorylation and thus from the ATP synthesis it usually accomplishes. 1979Nature 8 Feb. 486/1 We have found that the rapid efflux of Ca2+ brought about by collapse of the membrane potential by uncouplers or antimycin A..is not affected by tetracaine. 1981Plant Physiol. LXVIII. 1485/1 The light saturated rate of photosystem I-dependent electron transport..was increased by a high concentration of DCMU added to broken and uncoupled chloroplasts.
Add:4. intr. Of a couple: to separate at the end of a relationship; to ‘split up’. Occas. refl. colloq.
1942Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §360 Divorce,..uncouple. 1977Washington Post 19 June k1/4 The pace is very fast, punctuated with the required moments of taut emotions when friends and lovers conspire and deceive, couple and uncouple. 1978Chatelaine Dec. 42/1 Although a third of all marital partners uncouple themselves, 80{pcnt} will head back into marriage. 1989Boston Globe 9 Mar. 15/5 Husband and wife would decide in advance which would control the fate of their biological merger if they uncouple. |