释义 |
▪ I. hush, n.1|hʌʃ| A local Sc. name for the Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus). Also hush-bagaty, hush-padle (cf. cock-paddle).
a1605Polwart Flyting w. Montgomerie 746 Hush padle, lick ladle. 1808–18Jamieson, Hush, the Lump, a fish. ▪ II. hush, n.2|hʌʃ| [f. hush v.1 Rare before the 19th c., but then (perhaps following Byron) in extensive use in prose and poetry.] 1. a. Suppression of sound, imposed or enforced; silence (where noise has been or might be); stillness, quiet.
1689in Magd. Coll. & Jas. II (O.H.S.) 274 At the very instant was a hush. 1724Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) III. 285 Where the shrill trumpets never sound, But one eternal hush goes round. 1816Byron Ch. Har. iii. lxxxvi, It is the hush of night. 1835Lytton Rienzi x. v, A dead hush lay like a heavy air over the multitude. 1870Dickens E. Drood xii, A certain awful hush pervades the ancient pile, the cloisters, and the churchyard. 1877Black Green Past. xxvi, The hush of evening had fallen over the birds. 1897Westm. Gaz. 24 Dec. 3/1 There are moments of solemn hush between the verses of the hymn. b. Suppression of discussion; the hushing-up of a scandal, etc. Also attrib. and Comb.
1898Daily News 1 Feb. 3/5 The distinguishing feature of the Board was a policy of ‘Hush’. 1917T. E. Lawrence Home Lett. (1954) 336, I wonder what the censor will make of this letter?.. There is a ‘Hush’ policy over the Red Sea and Arabia. 1917H. G. Wells Let. Nov. in Exper. Autobiogr. (1934) II. ix. 711 In Britain and France ‘hush’ in the interests of diplomacy is being organized with increasing violence. 1919H. F. B. Wheeler War in Underseas 317 Mighty ‘hush’ ships which lived and moved..on the surface of great waters. 1920Argus (Melbourne) 29 May 6 Time seems to have left..no surviving link between the frigate of Trafalgar and the ‘hush-boat’ of to-day. 1930Publishers' Weekly 31 May 2735/2 Youngsters that are reared on the ‘hush plan’. 1968Guardian 31 July 6/6 It's still a source of Labour amazement that the Harry Nicholas scheme didn't leak in advance of the coup. Nicholas ringleaders maintained unique hush, and may do so again. 2. An utterance of ‘hush!’
1871L. Stephen Playgr. Europe xii. (1894) 282 A scarce audible hush seems to be whispered throughout the region. 3. Phonetics. The sibilant |ʃ| or |ʒ|. Also attrib. and Comb.
1933L. Bloomfield Lang. vi. 100 These hushes or abnormal sibilants are separate phonemes [š, ž], as in shin [šin], vision [ˈvižṇ]. 1953Archivum Linguisticum V. ii. 68 The distinction between hiss- (Fr. sifflantes) and hush-sibilants (Fr. chuintantes) emerges..between the ‘complementary’ Indo-European types Latvian and Lithuanian. 1964E. Palmer tr. Martinet's Elem. Gen. Ling. iii. 64 We obtain the following classes:..‘apical’ t d n; ‘hiss’ s z; ‘hush’ š ž. ▪ III. hush, n.3 north. dial.|hʌʃ| [Echoic. Goes with hush v.2 Cf. Ger. husch sudden or swift motion, sudden shower of rain.] 1. The sound made by water flowing swiftly but smoothly.
1868G. Macdonald R. Falconer I. 242 In his ears was the hush rather than rush of the water over the dam. 2. A gush or rush of water; spec. in Lead-mining, an artificial rush of water from a dam, to wash away the surface, etc.: see hush v.3 Hence hush-dam, hush-gutter: see quot. 1821.
1821W. Forster Treat. Strata Newcastle to Cross Fell (ed. 2) 283 Where the sloping ground to be hushed, is of any considerable length, from the hush-dam down to the bottom of the slope, the reservoir must contain a considerable quantity of water..to carry down the great quantity of rubbish which the water will raise in a long hush-gutter. 1825–80Jamieson, Hush, a sudden bursting out of water, a gush. Ettr. For. 1861Durham Chron. 13 Sept., The ‘hushes’ from the lead mines, which had done so much harm to the fish. 1893Heslop Northumbld. Gloss., Hush, a great rush of water. This is produced artificially..so as to bare the surface of the rock in order to discover indications of ore in the face of a hill side. ▪ IV. hush, a.|hʌʃ| [A later modification of husht a., after the introduction of hush v.1 and int.] a. Silent, still, quiet, hushed. arch.
1602Shakes. Ham. ii. ii. 508 The bold windes speechlesse, and the Orbe below As hush as death. 1607Rowlands Diog. Lanth. 22 At night when all was hush. 1666Pepys Diary 22 July, Walked through the House, where most people mighty hush, and, methinks, melancholy. 1702Mouse grown a Rat 31 You..are hush in his Cause, that you may be able to speak in your own. 1813Scott Rokeby vi. iii, The owl has seen him, and is hush. 1841Longfellow Frithiof's Homestead 29 Hush sat the listening bench. b. Secret. Cf. hush-hush. This use merges with hush n.2 1 b attrib.
1944H. Croome You've gone Astray xxii. 218 A tremendous journalistic job..something important and hush. 1945N. Streatfeild Saplings i. 10 ‘I've got some new gadgets to make...’ ‘What sort of things?’ ‘It's all a bit hush.’ 1957‘J. Wyndham’ Midwich Cuckoos vi. 50, I don't know what goes on at The Grange, but I do know that it is very hush. 1966Economist 9 July p. xxvi/1 Volkswagen..is keeping very hush about its solution to the pollution problem. ▪ V. hush, v.1|hʌʃ| Also 7 whosh. [Found first in 16th c.; app. in its origin a back-formation from husht a., which was in much earlier use, and appears to have been, from its final t, at length treated as a pa. pple.: see hushed. A verb husht (q.v.) of the same form as the adjective is recorded in 16th c. dicts.] 1. a. trans. To make silent, still, or quiet; to impose silence upon; to silence, quiet.
1546Supplic. Poore Commons in 4 Supplic. (E.E.T.S.) 83 Yf they were of God, they woulde..not be hushed wyth an acte in parliament. 1601Shakes. Twel. N. v. i. 110 My dutie hushes me. 1643Milton Divorce ii. xvii, Which..(like the Word of God) in one instant hushes outrageous tempests into a sudden stillness and peaceful calm. 1725Pope Odyss. xiii. 3 A pause of silence hush'd the shady rooms. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xv, To..hush the sailor's fearful groan. 1832W. Irving Alhambra II. 152 The very birds..hushing their own strains, listened in charmed silence. 1852Dickens Bleak Ho. xxxi, The little child awoke..Charley..began to walk about hushing it. 1883Stevenson Silverado Sq. 35 Hushing their talk. b. with up, down, as intensive additions.
1682Bunyan Holy War (ed. Cassell) 21 Thus would Diabolus hush up and quiet the town of Mansoul. 1858Froude Hist. Eng. xii. III. 4 If he would hush down the waves of heresy as he had restored peace to the waters of the Mediterranean. 1870Rossetti Poems, Dante at Verona xiv, Pages hushed their laughter down. c. to hush one's mouth: to be quiet, stop talking; so hush my mouth!, used as an exclamation of surprise. U.S. dial.
1903Dialect Notes II. 317 ‘Hesh your mouth,’ i.e. stop talking. 1931Amer. Speech VII. 29 Hush mah mouf. 1972G. Baxt Burning Sappho ii. 42 Pat..glared at him. ‘You hush your mouth Malcolm.’ 2. transf. and fig. To reduce to tranquillity, to suppress (anything disturbing or disquieting); to allay, lull, pacify. Also with up.
1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 178 The matter was whosht up with the conclusion of the marriage. 1682Otway Venice Pres. i. i, Wilt thou then Hush my cares thus? 1784Mann in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 427, I do sincerely congratulate you, that the disturbance is hushed. 1819Byron Juan i. lviii, There's a rumour which I fain would hush. 1874Green Short Hist. v. §3. 233 The quarrel between the baronage and the Church..was hushed in the presence of a common danger. 3. Usually in phr. to hush up. To suppress talk, mention, or discussion of; to procure silence concerning; to keep from getting known.
1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 125 Resolved to have all things husht up. 1709Steele Tatler No. 59 ⁋5 It had indeed cost him a Hundred Pounds to hush the Affair. 1727Swift Gulliver ii. v, The thing was hushed up, and never known at court. 1798T. Jefferson Writ. (1859) IV. 207 Either the Envoys have not written..or their communications are hushed up. 1812Sporting Mag. XL. 165 What is vulgarly called hushing the transaction. 1893Law Times XCV. 225/2 Opportunities for a suspicious matter being improperly hushed up. 4. intr. To become or be silent, quiet, or still. Also colloq. with up.
1561[see hushing ppl. a.]. 1580Sidney Ps. xxxix. v, But I doe hush, why do I say thus much? a1634Randolph Amyntas iii. ii. Wks. (1875) 318 All hush to bed. 18..Lowell Sonnets xx, Let praise hush. 1855Lynch Rivulet xvii. iv, O, let us hush and hear His holy word. 1860Bartlett Dict. Amer., To hush up, to cease speaking, to be silent, to hush. 1895Westm. Gaz. 17 Feb. 3/3 Mr. Gladstone rose as Leader of the House, and everyone hushed to hear his decision. Hence husher (in 7 whoosher), one who hushes or quiets.
1659Torriano, Ninnatrice, a rocker, a stiller, a luller, a whoosher or a dandler of children asleep. ▪ VI. hush, v.2 Now dial. [A modification of the natural utterance sh!: cf. shoo. Cf. Ger. huschen in same sense.] trans. To scare or drive off (birds, etc.) with cries of ‘hush!’ or ‘sh!’.
1613–16W. Browne Brit. Past. ii. iii, She husht him thence, he sung no more, But..flew tow'rds the shore. 1675Brooks Gold. Key Wks. 1867 V. 409 Whilst David was hunted up and down like a partridge, and hushed out of every bush. 1880Antrim & Down Gloss., Hush, to drive a flock of fowl, saying at the same time, ‘Hush, hush’. Sometimes Whush, or Wheeshoo. ▪ VII. hush, v.3 north. dial. [Echoic. Cf. hush n.3] trans. To send or let forth (water) with a rush; spec. in Lead mining, to send a rush of water over a sloping surface, in order to uncover ore, and separate it from the earth and stones in which it is embedded, or for similar purposes. Hence hushing vbl. n., also attrib.
1750Phil. Trans. XLVI. 364 Which gives it [the River] the Colour of Water hushed from Lead-mines. 1799Mining lease in Barnewall & Cressw. King's B. Rep. IX. 507 With full power..to do all other things (hushing only excepted) as might be necessary. 1821W. Forster Treat. Strata Newcastle to Cross Fell (ed. 2) 282 note, Considerable quantities of float ore have been procured at Greengill mine, in Alston-moor by Hushing. 1828Craven Dial., Hush, to detach, by force of a running stream, earthy particles from minerals. 1878Cumberld. Gloss., Hush,..to wash away soil from mines or quarries by a rush of water. 1886W. M. Egglestone Weardale Names 73 The earliest method of searching for lead ore was by collecting the water in dams and hushing the surface of the ground where metalliferous veins existed. 1887North Star 28 Oct., [He] had promised..that he would have a stop put to the hushing process. ▪ VIII. hush, int.|hʌʃ| [app. a later form of husht int.1: cf. sh! It might also be taken as imperative of hush v.1] A command to be silent or quiet; silence! = Sc. whisht!
1604R. Cawdrey Table Alph., Hush, Husht, peace, or be still. 1611Shakes. Cymb. v. iv. 94 No more you petty Spirits of Region low Offend our hearing: hush. 1700T. Brown tr. Fresny's Amusem. Ser. & Com. 125 ‘They employ'd themselves while the Bills were reading, about—’ ‘Hush, hush’. 1797Mrs. Radcliffe Italian xii, ‘Hush, they are pilgrims’, whispered Viraldi. 1873Symonds Grk. Poets vii. 225 Silence! Hush! what noise was this? |