| 释义 |
▪ I. vein, n.|veɪn|
Forms: α. 3–7 veyne (4–5 weyne, 6 ueyne), 4, 7 veyn; 4–7 veine (4 vene), 7– vein. β. 4–7 vayne (5 wayne), 5 vayn (wayn), 6–7 vain(e. γ. 5, 6–7 Sc., vane (5, 6 Sc., wane).
[a. OF. veine, vaine (F. veine):—L. vēna (cf. vene), whence also Prov., Sp., It. vena, Pg. veia († veya, vea).]
I.
1. a. One or other of the tubular vessels in which the blood is conveyed through the animal body; in later use spec. one of those by which the blood is carried back to the heart from the extremities (opposed to artery).
Many veins are distinguished by special epithets, as alar, auricular, axillary, basilic, cardiac, etc.: see these words.
α13..K. Alis. 1175 (Laud MS.), Þe kynges veynes wexen chelde. Ibid. 2414 Þer was..many veyn leten blood. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 59 For betynge of veynes is bettre i-knowe in þe vttre parties of bodies þan ynward and in þe myddel wiþynne. 1422Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. 229 Tho men whych haue the neke abowte and the temples, grete ruddy weynes, bene wrothy and hugely angry. c1450Mirk's Festial 291 Þe prest blessuth a ring..and duth hit on hur fyngur þat haþe a veyne to hure herte. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 254 For y⊇ whiche his senewes and veynes brast. 1559Morwyng Evonym. 359 This oyll anoynted upon the pulsing veynes, where they appeare moste, as of the temples,..delivereth..from all poysons. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iv. iii. 15, I haue a faint cold feare thrills through my veines. 1631R. Bolton Comf. Affl. Consc. (1635) 199 When a veine is broken and bleeds inwardly,..the Physition is wont to open a veine in the arme so to divert the current of the blood. c1673Traherne Poet. Wks. (1906) 180 Veins wherein blood floweth, Refreshing all my flesh, Like rivers. 1727De Foe Eng. Tradesm. vi. (1841) I. 44 Being drawn off, like the blood let out of the veins. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VI. 388 With us and quadrupedes the blood goes from the veins to the heart. 1804Abernethy Surg. Obs. 21 The superficial veins appear remarkably large. 1840Thirlwall Greece lvi. VII. 197 Demosthenes now felt the poison in his veins. 1871T. R. Jones Anim. Kingd. (ed. 4) 227 All these veins terminate in two large venous canals.
βc1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 1908 [If] ilka vayne of þe mans body Had a rote festend fast þarby. c1400Destr. Troy 5829 The gret vayne of his gorge. 1422Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. 240 The blode rynnyth into the waynys throgh al the body. 1480Caxton Myrr. ii. xix. (1913) 109 Alle in lyke wyse as the blood of a man gooth and renneth by the vaynes of the body. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §50 Some men vse to let them bloudde vnder the eye in a vaine. 1582J. Hester Secr. Phiorav. i. xxiv. 28 When the bloud is alterated of that putrefaction, it goeth to the vaines. 1603J. Davies (Heref.) Microcosmos Wks. (Grosart) I. 67/1 Seas of Blood..Might still haue kept the Chanells of the Vaynes. 1647Hexham i, A Vaine, een Ader... Great Vaines or Arteres, Groot Aderen.
γc1450in Vicary's Anat. (1888) App. ix. 229 Thy ryght hande has I. wane, in fay, Thy litill fynger hath yt aye. 1487Barbour's Bruce vii. 173 Quhen the vanys fillit ar, The body vorthis hevy euirmar. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxxii. 35 Blude birst out at every vane. c1560A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) ix. 34 Ane hairt of ȝouris bayth vane and nervis. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. 95 A vane..cuttit in his body, al the blude of his body is lattne outbleid at the samyn. 1655in Verney Mem. (1907) I. 557, I had only a vomitt..and breathed a vane.
†b. lacteal vein, lacteous vein, or milky veins, = lacteal n. 1. Obs.
1656J. Smith Pract. Physick 4 Obstruction of the Vessels, especially of the Pancreas, and fault of the milky veins. 1664Power Exp. Philos. i. 66 The stomach and guts, and their appendent Vessels, the lacteal Veins. 1704Ray Creation (ed. 4) i. 29 The Food..is further subtiliz'd and render'd so fluid and penetrant, that the thinner and finer part of it easily finds its way in at the streight Orifices of the lacteous Veins.
c. fluid vein, a separate flow of blood in a larger vein. (Cf. 6 c.)
1897Allbutt's Syst. Med. IV. 659 The formation of innumerable small fluid veins. 1898Ibid. V. 502 This change in the continents sets up fluid veins in the contained blood.
2. In phrases and figurative uses:
†a. to taste, or feel, one's vein(s, to feel the pulse. to die in a vein, to die through loss of blood. Obs.
13..Seuyn Sages (W.) 1048 The yonge man segh the childes peyne, And tasted his senewe, and his veyne. 1390Gower Conf. III. 315 This noble clerk with alle haste Began the veines forto taste. c1440Alph. Tales 74 Þis Joseph was passand connyng in grapyng of þer vaynys at war seke, and he come vnto hym & felid his vaynys. 1547–64Baldwin Mor. Philos. (Palfr.) 35 Seneca..supposing that to dye in a veyne was the easiest kinde of death, desired to be let bloud in the veynes of his arme.
b. In various fig. uses.
1382Wyclif Job iv. 12 To me is seid a woord hid, and as theefli myn ere toc the veynes [L. venas] of his gruching. c1530Tindale Prophete Jonas Prol. A ij, The fleshly minded ypocrites stoppe upp the Vaynes of life which are in y⊇ scripture. 1583Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 24 Now the cloth being thus stretched forth in euery vaine, how is it possible either to endure or hold out? 1606J. King Serm. Sept. 47 By all princely meanes to put bloud into the veines of the Church againe. 1651in M. Sellers Eastland Co. (Camden) Introd. 75 In equity and reason the benefitt of trade should be equally disposed into all the vaines of the Commonwealth. 1719W. Wood Surv. Trade 73 It is a true Sign, that our foreign Traffick has since convey'd Spirits and Nourishment into each Vein of the Body Politick. 1831Carlyle Sart. Res. ii. iii, Here, too, as in the Euphrates and the Ganges, is a vein or veinlet of the grand World-circulation of Waters. 1864Lowell Fireside Trav. 303 Great poets..crowding the happy veins of language again with all the life..that had been dribbling away. 1866B. Taylor Poet's Jrnl. 58 As ardent veins of summer heat Throb thro' the innocence of spring.
c. In miscellaneous fig. phrases.
(a)c1400Rom. Rose 3459 If he were touchid on somme good veyne, He shuld yit rewen on thi peyne. 1589Pasquil's Ret. C iij b, Vetus Comædia beganne to pricke him..in the right vaine. 1677Gilpin Demonol. (1867) 59 Satan..makes it his next care..to strike in the right vein; for he loves to have his work easy and feasible.
(b)1587Stanyhurst Descr. Ireland 34/2 in Holinshed, Let him with all the veines of his heart beseech God. 1589Cooper Admon. 215 There were many of them that would haue bene glad with all the veines in their heartes. 1589R. Harvey Pl. Perc. (1590) 10, I see the vaine is vp in the forhead, and Martin shall haue as good as he brings. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ iii. iv. §6 A kinde of a breaking of vein in which the salt water was conveyed up and down the body of the earth.
3.
†a. A sap-vessel in plants. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Prol. 3 Whan that Aprille..hath..bathud every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertue engendred is the flour. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. i. (Bodl. MS.), Þei [trees] haue weyes and veynes in þe whiche kinde moisture is ikepte and passeþ þerbi fro þe erþe into alle þe parties abowte. 1513Douglas æneid xii. Prol. 255 Welcum support of euery rute and vane, Welcum confort of alkynd fruyt and grane.
b. Bot. A slender bundle of fibrovascular tissue forming an extension of the petiole in the parenchyma of a leaf.
In early use less specific in sense. Some botanists have restricted vein to branches of the midrib, in contrast to nerves proceeding from the base of the leaf.
1513Douglas æneid xii. vii. 76 The herb sweit, Of levis rank,..With sproutis, sprangis, and vanis our allquhair. 1553Eden Treat. New Ind. (Arb.) 18 These [leaves] are somewhat grosser and fatter, with small vaynes running betwene on the contrarye side. 1731P. Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Leaves, They..consist of a very glutinous Matter, being furnished every where with Veins and Nerves. 1793Martyn Lang. Bot. s.v. Venosum, When it has no veins,..it is called Folium Avenium, a veinless leaf. 1812New Botanic Gard. I. 42 The leaves,..with a network of veins underneath. 1832Lindley Introd. Bot. 88 Till within a few years the distribution of veins in the leaf had not received much attention. 1866Treas. Bot. 1206/2 Costal or primary veins are such as spring from the midrib; external veins are those next the edge. 1880Bessey Bot. 145 The disposition of the veins in a leaf depends largely upon its mode of growth. Usually several veins form early.
c. Ent. A nervure of an insect's wing.
1817Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xxiii. II. 347 French naturalists use this term (nervure) for the veins of wings. 1834McMurtrie Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. 326 The wings..are traversed in various directions by more or less numerous nervures,..now forming a net-work, and then simple veins. 1855Orr's Circle Sci., Org. Nat. II. 336 Each wing is found to consist of a double membrane, between which a variable number of veins, or nervures, ramify in different directions.
†4. Sc. A slender stripe of a different colour or material on a garment. (Cf. vein v. 1 a.) Obs.
1539Inv. R. Wardr. (1815) 34 Ane coit of fresit claith of silvir vanit with ane small inset vane of gold. 1542Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. VIII. 74 To jeit the cote witht thre vanis aboute the taill.
5. a. A marking or an appearance suggestive of a vein; esp. an irregular stripe or streak of a different colour in marble or other stone.
1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iii. xiv. 189 The red veins in the marble may seem to blush at the falshoods written on it. 1688Holme Armoury ii. 40/1 The Absistos is..marvellous weighty and black of colour, bestroked with red Veins. 1712Addison Spect. No. 414 ⁋2 Those accidental Landskips of Trees, Clouds and Cities, that are sometimes found in the Veins of Marble. 1799G. Smith Laboratory I. 178 When [the paint is] dry, you may with the point of a needle open fine veins or other embellishments. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. vii. 54 The blue veins of the glacier are beautifully shown. 1861B. Silliman Physics 378 The beautiful play of colors seen upon mother of pearl is caused by the delicate veins with which the surface is covered.
b. A streak or seam of a different material or texture from the main substance.
1663Gerbier Counsel 28 The Mason must work no Stone with Sandy veines. 1815J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 7 Wrought iron may be hardened..by ignition and plunging in water, but the effect is confined to the surface; except..the iron contain veins of steel. 1831Brewster Optics x. 85 The spectrum formed by a fine prism of flint glass, free of veins. 1869E. J. Reed Ship-build. xviii. 384 Angle-irons have to be free from veins and cracked holes, and rivet-iron has to be free from cracks and veins when laid up and finished.
c. A fibre (in metal). rare—1.
1715Leoni Palladio's Archit. (1742) I. 4 It will be a sign of its Goodness, if being made into Bars, its veins are continu'd strait..; because the streightness of its veins shews the Iron to be without knots.
II.
6. a. A small natural channel or perforation within the earth through which water trickles or flows; a flow of water through such a channel. Also transf. (quot. 1598).
c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 318/639 Wellene comiez of grete wateres and muche del of þe se þoruȝ veynes al vnder eorþe:.. For þare beoz ase it veynene weren onder eorþe mani on. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 662 In þe veines of þe water, as þe water deþ vp walle He let closy fur in metal. 1390Gower Conf. III. 93 For riht as veines ben of blod In man, riht so the water flod Therthe of his cours makth ful of veines. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 382/2 Lete us al praye unto our lord that he opene to us..here the vaynes of a fontayn or of a welle. 1594Kyd Cornelia ii. 370 Perceiue we not a petty vaine, Cut from a spring by chaunce or arte, Engendreth fountaines. 1598Sylvester Du Bartas ii. i. Handycrafts 492 A burning Mountain from his fiery vain An yron River rowls along the Plain. 1601R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 12 These mountaines are full of bathes and veines of warme water. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 227 The rapid current,..through veins Of porous Earth with kindly thirst up drawn. 1789Brand Newcastle I. 442 There is an order of common-council for cutting off a vein of water which had lately been discovered and brought into the town. 1858Lardner Hand-bk. Nat. Phil. 90 A feeding reservoir placed above that from which the invariable vein flows. 1864Bryant Sella 487 She taught The skill to pierce the soil and meet the veins Of clear cold water winding underneath.
fig.1382Wyclif Jer. xvii. 13 For thei forsoken the veyne of lyuyng watris [1388 the Lord, a veyne of quyk watirs]. c1430Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 62 O welle of swetnes replete in every veyne, That al mankynd preserved has fro dethe. 1602Marston Antonio's Rev. Prol., Wks. 1856 I. 71 The rawish danke of clumzie winter ramps The fluent summers vaine. 1609Bible (Douay) Jer. xvii. 13 They have forsaken the vaine of living waters. 1640Gauden The Love of Truth, etc. 7 Then doth the ray or veyn of truth flow aright from God to us.
†b. A streamlet or rivulet; a current. Obs.
1600Pory tr. Leo's Africa iii. 158 Through the midst of these gardens, they deriue some small vaine of the riuer. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 705 When hee entred into the Streits, he encountred a great veine of redde water, extending it selfe from Aden as farre as they could see from the Ships tops.
c. Physics. A slender body of water or other liquid. (Cf. 1 c.)
1843Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. VI. 39/2 The impulse of a ‘vein’ of fluid falling perpendicularly, is equal to the weight of a column whose base is the area of the vein.
7. Min. A deposit of metallic or earthy material having an extended or ramifying course under ground; a seam or lode; spec. a continuous crack or fissure filled with matter (esp. metallic ore) different from the containing rock.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 15 Þe water þat renneþ and passeþ by veynes of certayn metal takiþ in his cours grete hete. c1460J. Metham Wks. (E.E.T.S.) 149 The fourthe day ys gode..to seke spryngys for wellys off water, to seke also veynys off metel. 1530Palsgr. 698/2 Al this yerth, so farre as this vayne goth, savoureth of brimstone. 1555Eden Decades (Arb.) 211 Although golde be founde in maner euery where in these regions of golden Castile..the myne or veyne whiche owghte to be folowed, ought to bee in a place whiche may stande to saue muche of the charges of the labourers. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. 247 In Clidisdale war funde in Craufurd mure vndir the erd sum vanes ful of golde. 1617Moryson Itin. iii. 136 The inward parts abound with a rich vaine of Mettals, where wonderfull quantitie of most pure Tinne is digged up. 1670Pettus Fodinæ Reg. 2 When the Miners by these Shafts or Adits do strike or threed a Vein of any Metal..then the Metal which is digged from those Veins is called Oar. 1709T. Robinson Nat. Hist. Westmoreld. 24 These Fissures, by the Miners, are called Dykes, Rakes, Riders, or Veins, according to the Nature of those Classes of Matter they pervade. 1747Hooson Miner's Dict. O 2, Ore is the very Vein itself, all other Signs of Ore or Vein are not comparable to it; yet this is allowed, that two Sides and Soil between them, formes a dead Vein. 1793[Earl Dundonald] Descr. Estate Culross 15 At that time the vein of Roch Salt in Cheshire had not been discovered. 1813Bakewell Introd. Geol. (1815) 274 Veins of quartz, and also of slate and granite, and various earthy minerals..frequently intersect granitic and schistose rocks. 1836–41Brande Chem. (ed. 5) 586 Metals are chiefly found in the earth in veins which traverse the granitic, schistose, and limestone rocks. 1875Dawson Dawn Life ii. 13 Strata often diversified with veins..of crystalline minerals.
fig.a1667Cowley Death Mr. Jordan Poems (1905) 22 Like those that work in Mines for others gain. He..had much more to do, To search the Vein, dig, purge, and mint it too. 1875Whitney Life Lang. ix. 171 These are telling indications of an original relationship among all the groups of languages mentioned: outcroppings, as it were, of a vein which invites further exploration.
8.
†a. A strip or limited stretch of ground or soil, esp. one having a particular character or quality. Obs.
1555W. Watreman Fardle Facions ii. ii. 119 The whole contrie (excepte a litle vaine of sandie grauelle) is fertile. 1580Tusser Husb. (1878) 48 Each soile hath no liking of euerie graine, nor barlie and wheat is for euerie vaine. 1611Coryat Crudities 49, I saw in divers places very fat and fruitfull veines of ground as goodly meadowes, very spatious champaigne fieldes [etc.]. 1624Capt. Smith Virginia 144 The most plantations were placed straglingly and scatteringly, as a choice veine of rich ground inuited them. 1693Evelyn De la Quint. Compl. Gard. I. 19 Some Earths are much better than others in every Climate, nay even sometimes in a small Compass of Ground, vulgarly term'd Veins of Earth.
b. A channel or lane of water.
1606S. Gardiner Bk. Angling 1 He prouideth himselfe a ship, keele, or cocke-boat, out of which he may lay out and take in his nets, and be in the vaine and way where the best doing is. 1673H. Stubbe Further Vind. Dutch War App. 131 The King of Sweden..hath also several districts, channels, or veins Royal in his Seas, which are appropriated to his particular use. 1820Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. I. 229 A lane, or vein, is a narrow channel of water in packs, or other large collections of ice. Ibid. 269 Whenever a vein of water appears in the required direction, it is if possible attained. 1835[see lane n. 2]. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Vein, the clear water between the openings of floes of ice. The same as ice-lane.
c. A current of wind; the track in which this moves.
1792J. Belknap Hist. New Hampsh. III. 24 The next day a whirlwind began..and directed its course toward the east, in a vein of near half a mile wide. 1860Maury Phys. Geog. xv. §677 Lieutenant Jansen has called my attention to a vein of wind which forms a current in the air as remarkable as that of the Gulf Stream is in the sea. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Vein,..a very limited current of wind—a cat's-paw.
d. Whaling. (See quot.)
1851H. Melville Whale II. ii. 5 When making a passage from one feeding-ground to another, the sperm whales, guided by some infallible instinct,..mostly swim in veins, as they are called, continuing their way along a given ocean⁓line with..undeviating exactitude.
III. fig.
9. a. A strain or intermixture of some quality traceable in personal character or conduct, in a discourse or writing, etc.
1565Stapleton tr. Staphylus' Apol. 153 With the like vaine of euangelicall sincerite. 1587Holinshed Chron. III. 1266/1 Bicause it is a veine of godlie deuise, and tending to a verie honorable purpose. 1680W. Allen Peace & Unity 16 ‘Let all your things be done with Charity’: a line and vein of this should run through all. 1690C. Nesse Hist. Myst. O. & N.T. I. 117 This is a fear of faith, which hath always a vein of love running along with it. 1701W. Wotton Hist. Rome 389 A vein of Superstition ran through all his Actions. 1773Burke Corr. (1844) I. 446 There is a vein of natural good sense in him, from which a good deal might be expected. 1820Examiner No. 612. 11/2 A fine vein of sentiment runs through it. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 20 An English Dominican..with some learning and a rich vein of natural humour. 1867Freeman Norm. Conq. (1877) I. 331 There is a vein of bitter sarcasm in the way in which the tale is told.
b. A line or course of thought, etc.; a source of information.
1704Swift T. Tub ii, I have..collected out of ancient authors this short summary of a body of philosophy and divinity, which seems to have been composed by a vein and race of thinking very different from any other systems. 1751Johnson Rambler No. 169 ⁋12 Delay opens new veins of thought. 1824W. Irving T. Trav. I. 217 In the midst of a vein of thought or a moment of inspiration. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) II. 6 He professes to open a new vein of discourse. 1887C. A. Moloney Forestry W. Africa 32 The many gentlemen who make the Science of Botany a lifelong study, and who have so many veins of information.
†10.
a. The tenor or general character of something. Obs.—1
1555R. Taylor in Coverdale Lett. Martyrs (1564) 171, I doe belieue that the Religion set forth in King Edwardes dayes was accordyng to the vayne of the holy Scripture.
†b. A kind or species. Obs. rare.
1568Bp. Cheny in Strype Ann. Ref. (1709) I. lii. 525 These young men, which are of a lower vein,..be not men perfect, as they seem. 1652–62Heylin Cosmogr. (1673) iii. 29/1 Other Commodities of this Island are..Honey as good as any the world affordeth; and a vein of most delicious vines.
11. A natural tendency towards, a special aptitude or capacity for, the production of literary or artistic work; a particular strain of talent or genius:
a. With possessives. (The common use.)
1577Grange Golden Aphrod. N ij b, If I had Virgilles vayne to indite, or Homers quill. 1581Sidney Apol. Poetrie (Arb.) 21 They beeing Poets, dyd exercise their delightful vaine in those points of highest knowledge. 1624Wotton Arch. Reliq. (1672) 57 Artizans have not only their Growths and Perfections but likewise their Vains and Times. 1697Evelyn Numismata viii. 286 Vittoria Colonna,..whose extraordinary Vein in Poetry was equal with Petrarchs. 1729T. Cooke Tales, etc. 63 Indulge, my Friend, thy modest Vein;..Prospects, gay smiling, aid the Strain. 1762Kames Elem. Crit. (1833) 336 The fertility of Shakspeare's vein betrays him frequently [etc.]. 1837Lockhart Scott I. iv. 122 His boyish addiction to verse, and the rebuke which his vein received from the Apothecary's..wife.
b. With a, that, etc.
1580G. Harvey Three Lett. Spenser's Wks. (1912) 628 They sauour of that singular extraordinarie veine and inuention, whiche I euer fancied moste. 1599B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. iii. i, You must prove the aptitude of your genius; if you find none, you must hearken out a vein, and buy. 1601Holland Pliny I. 72 All the fabulous veine, and learning of Greece, proceeded out of this quarter. 1656Bramhall Replic. ii. 78, I doe not take my self to have so happy a vein, that all that I utter should be a definition. 17..Philips Epistle in Steele's Poet. Misc. (1714) 37 Why then, in making Verses should I strain For Wit, and of Apollo beg a Vein? 1732Berkeley Alciphr. iii. §15 For the coffee-houses and populace, we have declaimers of a copious vein. 1820Hazlitt Lect. Dram. Lit. 2 To these might be added others not less learned, nor with a scarce less happy vein.
12. A special or characteristic style of language or expression in writing or speech:
a. With possessives.
1548Udall Erasm. Par. Pref. C j b, Though euerie translatour folowe his owne veine of turnyng the Latin into Englishe. 1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. Oct. 23 To restraine The lust of lawlesse youth with good aduice: Or pricke them forth with pleasaunce of thy vaine. 1597Return fr. Parnass. iv. i. 1166 Lett mee heare Chaucer's vaine firste. I love antiquitie, if it be not harshe. 1605Bacon Adv. Learn. i. iv. §2 Then grew the flowing and watery vein of Osorius, the Portugal bishop, to be in price. 1641Brome Joviall Crew i, What say, Sir, to our Poet Scribble here? Spr. I like his vain exceeding well. 1818Scott Provinc. Antiq. Scotl. (1826) 119 After adorning it with an inscription, somewhat in the vein of Ancient Pistol. 1902G. Sampson Newman's Sel. Ess. Introd. p. xxxvi, They [sc. these words] are not in Blougram's vein.
b. With a, this, etc.
1576N. R. in Gascoigne's Steele Glas Wks. 1910 II. 138 Thus divers men with divers vaines did write, But Gascoigne doth in every vaine indite. 1598Barret Theor. Warres ii. i. 29 To haue a sweet vaine in speech. 1620–6Quarles Div. Poems, Hadassa Pref., A Sober vaine best suits Theologie. a1704Locke Cond. Underst. Posth. Wks. (1706) 18 Many a good poetick Vein is buried under a Trade. 1746Francis tr. Horace, Sat. i. iv. 133 Such Rancour this, of such a poisonous Vein, As never, never, shall my Paper stain. 1850Kingsley A. Locke ix, Is it not noteworthy also, that it is in this vein that the London poets have always been greatest? 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 276 The answer, Meno, was in the orthodox solemn vein.
c. With his, etc., and qualifying term.
1865Kingsley Herew. xii, To which Hereward answered, in his boasting vein, that he would bring home that mare. 1873Dixon Two Queens xx. i. IV. 61 Writing a letter in his smoothest vein to Wolsey. 1877‘H. A. Page’ De Quincey I. xi. 213 The following shows him in his best vein.
†13.
a. A particular course of action or conduct; a habit or practice. Obs.
1597Morley Introd. Mus. 124 The composers of that age..followed only that vaine of wresting in much matter in small boundes. 1615Lieut. of Tower's Sp. in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) III. 319, I was much addicted to that idle Vein of Gambling. 1616R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) 62 Thus he runs on his course, til 's drunken vaine Ruines his substance. c1725Swift Serm. x. Wks. 1841 II. 164/1 Hence it is become an impertinent vein among people of all sorts to hunt after what they call a good sermon.
†b. An inclination or desire, a tendency, towards something specified. Obs.
1587Harrison England ii. iii. (1877) 88, I perceiue the abbeie lands haue fleshed you and set your teeth on edge, to aske also those colleges... As you loue your welfares therfore, follow no more this veine, but content your selues with that you haue alreadie. 1625Bacon Ess., Of Envy (Arb.) 513 Adrian the Emperour, that mortally Enuied Poets, and Painters, and Artificers, in Works, wherein he had a veine to excell. 1673Temple Ess. Ireland Wks. 1720 I. 109, I suppose the Vein I have had of running into Speculations of this kind..have cost me this present Service.
14. a. Personal character or disposition; also, a particular element or trait in this.
1565Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Vena, To know the naturall disposition and veyne of euery man. 1575Gascoigne Glasse Govt. Wks. 1910 II. 6 No Terence phrase:..The verse that pleasde a Romaine rashe intent, Myght well offend the godly Preachers vayne. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. iv. iv. 83 It is no shame, the fellow finds his vaine, And yeelding to him, humors well his frensie. 1639N. N. tr. Du Bosq's Compl. Woman i. 17 They have need of somewhat more than a pleasant veyne, and..at least they have as much discretion as vertue. a1660Contemp. Hist. Irel. (Ir. Archæol. Soc.) II. 145 The veine of those petty Bourkes..may seeme strange to any that is both well affected and fully acquainted with them. 1774Goldsm. Retal. 59 So provoking a devil was Dick, That we wished him full ten times a day at Old Nick; But, missing his mirth and agreeable vein, As often we wished to have Dick back again. 1819Shelley Cenci i. ii. 28 You have a sly, equivocating vein. 1820Lamb Elia i. Oxford in Vacation, When the peacock vein rises, I strut a Gentleman Commoner. 1854Kingsley Lett. (1878) I. 433, I am afraid I have a little of the wolf-vein in me, in spite of fifteen centuries of civilization.
b. A temporary state of mind or feeling; a humour or mood.
1577–82Breton Toys Idle Head Wks. (Grosart) I. 28/2 For who continues in this vaine Of setting still,..in the ende he shall be faine To leaue it. 1588Marprel. Epist. (Arb.) 34, I am hardly drawn to a merie vaine from such waightie matters. 16022nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. ii. iv. 699 Ile take the Gentleman now, he is in a good vayne, for he smiles. 1640Brome Sparagus Gard. iv. vii, Could I get her In a marriage vaine, but she'll not look Upon a man not she. 1723Pope Lett. Wks. 1737 VI. 146 The merry Vein you knew me in, is sunk into a Turn of Reflection. 1760–72H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) IV. 113 Harry was in no manner of vein..for entertaining. 1825Scott Talism. vi, He knew not how to pursue the pleasing theme, so as to soothe and prolong the vein which he had excited. 1863Geo. Eliot Romola i. iv, If thou art in a classical vein, put myrtle about his curls and make him a young Bacchus.
c. in the vein, in a fit or suitable mood for something.
1593Shakes. Rich. III, iv. iii. 122 Thou troublest me, I am not in the vaine.
1865M. Arnold Ess. Crit. iii. (1875) 119 To produce constantly, to produce whether in the vein or out of the vein. 1879Meredith Egoist xxxiv, I like to hear them when I am in the vein. 1905R. Bagot Passport xix. 176 Nobody can be more amusing when she is in the vein.
†d. A fit of laughter. Obs.—1
1734tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. (1827) VII. 29 He burst into a loud vein of laughter.
IV.
15. attrib. and Comb. a. In sense 1, as vein-blood (also = blood-letting), vein-healing adj., vein-pipe, vein-streaked adj., vein-work.
c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1889 That nother veyne blod, ne ventusyng, Ne drynk of herbes may ben his helpyng. c1425St. Christina ix. in Anglia VIII. 123/16 She lete her blode ful often of mykel veyne blode. 1528Paynell Salerne's Regim. b iiij, Hit is nat clere nor flowynge, but more lyke to veyne bludde. 1545T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde 17 b, Vayne blood and artire blood. 1590Spenser Muiopot. 197 Veyne-healing Veruen, and hed-purging Dill. 1594T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. II. To Rdr., The coole refreshing it hath from the lungs, or the veine-pipes proceeding from the liuer. 1890Le Gallienne G. Meredith 32 The human form disappears beneath nets of veinwork and muscle. 1894M. Dyan Man's Keeping (1899) 118 Urquhart..saw the vein-streaked hand gripping the pipe⁓stem tremble.
†b. In sense 6 b, as vein-riveret. Obs.—1
1656Heylin Surv. France 34 A veine riveret of the Seine.
c. In sense 7, as vein fissure, vein-form, vein-formation, vein-gallery, vein-granite, vein marble, etc.; vein-gold, gold occurring in a vein or veins.
1855J. R. Leifchild Cornwall 105 The general course of the mineral *vein fissures in these localities.
1883Science 9 Feb. 18/1 A *vein-form similar to the terrestrial veins commonly known as filons en cocardes.
1877Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 115 The creeks and gulches..cutting channels through this *vein-formation.
1897P. Warung Tales Old Régime 96 The chamber..into which the *vein-galleries..opened.
1848W. Colton Jrnl. 6 Nov. in Three Years Calif. (1850) xxiii. 312 *Vein-gold in these rocks is as uncertain and capricious as lightning. 1956G. Taylor Silver i. 2 The bankets of Witwatersrand, in which vein-gold and alluvial deposits are mixed. 1979Econ. Geol. LXXIV. 1420 (heading) Fluid inclusion and geochemical studies of vein gold deposits.
1833Lyell Princ. Geol. III. 355 The *vein-granite of Cornwall very generally assumes a finer grain, and frequently undergoes a change.
1862Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 2430, Its great strength, ten times that of *vein marble and statuary, renders it safe from breakage.
1872Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 19 Quartz or quartzite predominating as *vein-matrix, and compact limestone as foot-wall.
1874Ibid. 329 The *vein-matter in the westerly portion..is of quite a different nature.
1875J. H. Collins Metal Mining 47 In *vein mining trial borings are not often made. 1877Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 131 The active vein-mining counties of California.
Ibid. 213 The *vein-system consists in most part of a series of nearly parallel veins.
1778Pryce Min. Cornub. 42 Pyritæ are to be met with..*vein-wise.
d. In sense 3 b, as vein-banding, a symptom of some virus diseases of plants, characterized by a change of colour along the main veins of leaves; freq. attrib.
1930Bull. Kentucky Agric. Exper. Station No. 309. 481 Veinbanding is a common disease of tobacco in locations where potatoes have been grown. 1957Phytopathology XLVII. 139 (heading) Effects of insecticides and physical barriers on field spread of pepper veinbanding mosaic virus. 1979Jrnl. Horticultural Sci. LIV. 23/1 Gooseberry vein banding virus..is aphid transmitted..and, although it is widespread in Europe.., little is known of its economic importance.
▪ II. vein, v.|veɪn|
Forms: 6 veyne, 6–7 veyn, 7 veine, 7– vein; 6 Sc. vane, 6–7 vaine (Sc. uaine, wayne), 7 vain.
[f. prec. Cf. F. veiner in sense 1 b.]
1. trans.
†a. Sc. To ornament (a garment, etc.) with narrow stripes of some suitable material. Obs.
1502Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. II. 200 For ij elne wellus to veyne the samyn cote, iiij li. 1505Ibid. 332 For ane elne wellus to veyn the said cote. 1549Ibid. IX. 351 Ane elne tannye welwote to vane the said goun. 1654Burgh Rec. Glasgow (1881) II. 297 Ane covering of grein cloathe uained [printed named] with gallowne lace.
b. To ornament with coloured, incised, or impressed lines or streaks suggestive of veins. Also with in.
1686[see veining vbl. n. 1]. 1687Miége Gt. Fr. Dict. ii. s.v., To vein a Mantle-piece, to paint it Marble-like with Veins. 1707Mortimer Husb. (1721) II. 25 They often vein it by Art, especially for Gun stocks and such uses, by steeping of filings of Iron in Aqua Fortis. 1755Johnson, To Marble, v.a., to variegate, or vein like marble. 1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, Vein, to stripe or mottle, to marble, etc. 1895Rowe Chip-Carving 40 In veining in the marginal lines of a box or blotter, a ruler is often of great assistance. 1896Daily News 9 June 9/6 The tinted petals are passed up to another room, where they are ‘veined’ by being squeezed into a sort of mould.
2. refl. To diffuse like a vein. rare—1.
1681T. Flatman Heraclitus Ridens No. 19 (1713) I. 129 This is Vox Populi, this is Plato Redivivus, this is Hunt⁓scrap Mr. Petyt,..and indeed veins it self through all the late Pamphlets and Libels.
3. trans. Of things: To extend over or through (something) after the manner of veins.
1807J. Barlow Columb. x. 226 Proud Mississippi..Flings forth..Ten thousand watery glades; that, round him curl'd, Vein the broad bosom of the western world. 1844Mrs. Browning Drama of Exile 399 Yon spectacle of cloud Which seals the gate up to the final doom, Is God's seal manifest... The unmolten lightnings vein it motionless. 1847Tennyson Princ. iv. 522 All the gold That veins the world. 1889Rider Haggard Cleopatra ii. x, Half Hercules and half a fool, with a dash of genius veining his folly through.
†4. intr. To put oneself into a particular ‘vein’ or mood. Also with it. Obs.
1589Warner Alb. Eng. vi. xxxi. (1612) 154 But her, not coy I found so chast, as saue a kisse or twaine, I nothing got, although in all I vained to her vaine. 1592Ibid. ix. xlvi. 217 Hence Citizens with Courtiours so do vaine it for the time, That with their paper Ladders they euen stately Castels clyme.
†5. refl. To injure (oneself) in a vein. Obs.
Cf. self-vein'd in Warner Albion's Engl. (1602) x. lix. 263.
1631G. Markham Country Contentm. (ed. 4) i. xix. 117 If your Cocke haue in his fight veined himselfe eyther by narrow striking, or other crosse blow, you shall find out the wound.
▪ III. vein
obs. Sc. form of ween v. |