| 释义 |
improvement|ɪmˈpruːvmənt|
Forms: see improve v.2
[a. AF. emprowement, empruement, f. emprower improve v.2 + -ment.]
†1.
a. The turning of a thing to profit or good account; profitable management or use; making the most of a thing for one's own profit; realization of the profits of anything; concr. profit. Obs. in lit. sense.
In early use, Anglo-Fr. and Eng., applied to the profitable cultivation of land by the owner, and to the collection of the proceeds of customs or imposts by the king's officers, as distinguished from the letting of land or taxes to a farmer, who managed them for his profit.
[c1320? Langtoft MS. Oxf. Fairf. 24 lf. 12 Car le pays est gaste si ne se asseure niant Au roy ne a sa meinie pur son empruement. a1400Lib. Custum. lf. 175 (Rolls) I. 220 Quil ieit une commune huche de la compaignie..en la quele les remembraunces et les enprowemenz de la compaignie soient mis en sauve garde. Ibid. 222 Soit le surpluis..mis en commune huche a lenprowement de la compaignie. 1402Act 4 Hen. IV, c. 24 Come nadgairs..ordeignez estoit..qe launage des draps..ne seroit mys a ferme, a graunt damage de nostre sieur le Roy annuelment, ordeignez est..qe le dit aunage purra estre commys a ferme ou en emprowement [Rolls of Parl. III. 508/1 en aprowement], solonc ladvys de Tresorer Dengleterre purle temps esteant. ]1453Rolls of Parl. V. 268/2 It is ordeigned be Statute made in the tyme of Harry the fourth that the aunage of Cloth withinne this Roialme may be committed to ferme or in emprowement, after the advis of the Tresorer of Englond for the tyme beyng. 1478J. Paston in Paston Lett. No. 811. III. 217 Mastyr Yotton had..desyred me..to se th' enprowment of syche profytes as ar growing of hys chapell in Caster that ye gave hym. 1523Fitzherb. (title) The Boke of Surueyeng and Improumentes. Ibid. 9 Rynning waters..as they be stored with fysshe, so dothe y⊇ profyte ryse to the lordes, wheder they go by way of improuement or set to ferme: wherof the bayly shall make accompte. Ibid. 10 And of mylnes there shall more be spoken of in the chapiter of waters, among the improwmentes.
†b. The profitable employment or investment of money; also (in religious use) of a ‘talent’. Obs.
1655Stanley Hist. Philos. iii. (1701) 75/2 His Father..left him four-score Minæ which being entrusted with a Friend for Improvement they miscarried. 1702Echard Eccl. Hist. (1710) 255 One who had made such good emprovement of his small portion of grace.
2. a. spec. The turning of land to better account, the reclamation of waste or unoccupied land by inclosing and bringing it into cultivation (obs.); hence, in later use, cultivation and occupation of land; merged at length in sense 5. Now (as in N.Amer., N.Z.), the turning of farmland to better account by the erection of buildings, fences, etc.
[1302Year-bks. 30–1 Edw. I (Rolls) 19 Le leu ou les avers furent pris est une Wastin, e lenpruement dil Wast apend a nous.] 1549–50Act 3 & 4 Edw. VI, c. 3 (title) An Acte concerninge the ymprovement of Comons and Waste Groundes. 1625Bacon Ess., Riches (Arb.) 235 The Improuement of the Ground, is the most Naturall Obtaining of Riches;..But it is slow. 1677A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. 115 In these delightful Countries, there is no waste Lands, but all under improvement. 1767A. Young Farmer's Lett. People 250 All improvement ceases to be such when more money is spent in it than the advantages will repay. 1769Quebec Gaz. 16 Feb. 3/1 The Possessors of such Concessions shall be entitled to such Part of them as shall be proportioned to the Improvements they have made thereon. 1888J. Inglis Tent Life Tigerland 301 The ‘grants’ were held under certain conditions of improvement clearly laid down and defined in the Waste Land Regulations. 1891R. Wallace Rural Econ. Australia & N.Z. xv. 225 Many [N.Z.] settlers naturally prefer the lease, as a perpetual leasehold is practically as good as a freehold, while it leaves a settler free to invest his capital in improvements. 1958New Yorker 6 Sept. 37, I remember it as it originally was, for my brother and I, aged eight and six, accompanied my father when he went out to make the first ‘improvements’.
b. concr. † A piece of land improved or rendered more profitable by inclosure, cultivation, the erection of buildings, etc. (obs. exc. in U.S. dial.). Now (in N. Amer., N.Z.), the buildings, fences, etc., themelves. (Now associated with senses 5, 6.)
1640in New Haven Col. Rec. 1638–49 (1857) 43 If they remove, to sell nothing butt improvements. 1666Plymouth Col. Rec. (1855) IV. 119. 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. i. i, My aunt's bell rings for our afternoon's walk round the improvements. 1776Twiss Tour Irel. 66 The gardens (termed improvements in Ireland, and policies in Scotland) are not extensive. 1800Addison Amer. Law Rep. 249 Bought for a trifle a small improvement, to wit some trees deadened. 1817J. Bradbury Trav. Amer. 291 To purchase from the Backwoodsman what he calls his improvement..The improvement consists in a log house, a peach, and perhaps an apple orchard, together with from ten to thirty or forty acres of land, inclosed, and partially cleared. 1841W. Deans Let. 25 Mar. in J. Deans Pioneers of Canterbury (1937) 33 Mr. Molesworth let a town acre of his for {pstlg}240..for 14 years, buildings and improvements to remain at the end of the lease. 1856‘J. Phoenix’ Phoenixiana (1859) xxxiii. 202 Three other small buildings, unoccupied, a fence, and a grave-yard, constitute all the ‘improvements’ that have been made at the ‘Playa’. 1908Indian Laws & Treaties (U.S.) III. 382 Any person who..shall be an actual resident upon any one such lot and the owner of substantial and actual improvements thereon. 1927Amer. Speech May 358 Improvements and land (noun phrase), a farm with its buildings and cleared land. 1930L. G. D. Acland Early Canterbury Runs viii. 180 The Studholmes had the Terrace Station... When they sold it about 1862..the only improvements on it were a shepherd's hut and a set of sheep yards. 1949Lubbock (Texas) Morning Avalanche 23 Feb. ii. 3 Good 8 inch irrigation well, large loan, good improvements, possession.
†c. fig. Bodily or mental cultivation or culture; also an item of such personal culture, an accomplishment. Obs. exc. as merged in 5, 6.
1711Steele Spect. No. 41 ⁋2, I am a mere Man of the Town, and have very little Improvement, but what I have got from Plays. a1716South (J.), I look upon your city as the best place of improvement: from the school we go to the university, but from the universities to London. 1734tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. xv. §15 (1827) VI. 231 The fifth is of soldiers whose only improvement is war. 1738Birch Milton M.'s Wks. 1738 I. 3 As well in voluntary Improvements, as in the perfecting of his School-exercises.
3. a. The making good use or turning to account of any person or thing (now obs. or U.S. dial.), or of any event or season; profitable use or employment.
c1611Chapman Iliad vi. 484 To lead in fight, and give no danger pass Without improvement. 1677W. Hubbard Narrative (1865) II. 89 What Benefit and Improvement was ever made thereof [Gorges's Patent for Maine] by his Agents or Successors. 1697W. Dampier Voy. I. 227, I have not heard of any improvement made of this commodity by our Countrymen anywhere. Mod. His prompt improvement of the opportunity was admirable.
b. The turning of anything to good account for spiritual or moral edification; spec. the profitable spiritual application of a text or incident.
1655J. Clerk Faithfull Steward 30 A sober use and faithfull improvement of these his mercies. 1677I. Mather Preval. Prayer (1864) 268 That is the special Improvement which should be made of what hath been discoursed. 1678R. L'Estrange Seneca's Mor. (1702) 519 A great part of the End of them is lost, without such an Emprovement. 1705Stanhope Paraphr. II. 4 The Improvement I design to make of this passage. 1818Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. iv. 447 Such is the doctrine; the practical improvement is obvious. 1842R. M. M'Cheyne in Mem. (1872) 269 Seek a right improvement of this bereavement.
†c. In more general sense: Use; practice. Obs. rare.
1686South Serm. (1727) V. i. 12 The Corruption of Men's Manners by the habitual Improvement of this vicious Principle. 1754Edwards Freed. Will ii. xi. (1762) 115 The good or bad State of the moral World depends on the Improvement they make of their moral Agency.
†d. In American use: Employment, occupation. (Cf. improve v.2 2 c, d). Obs.
1703S. Sewall Letter-bk. 22 Apr. I. 282 Very few gray hairs are to be found in the Colony, in civil or sacred improvement. 1705Ibid. 6 June 312, I have a good right to a third part of the said meadow, and am in the actual improvement of it. 1736in New Eng. Hist. Reg. (1850) IV. 112.
†4. The action or process of enhancing, making or becoming greater or more complete, or an instance of this:
a. Enhancement (of rent).
b. Increase, enlargement, growth, development, advancement.
c. Intensification or aggravation of evil. (See improve v.2 3, 4, 4 b.) Obs.
1548MS. Lansdowne 238, lf. 317 These great fines for landes and emprowment of rentes shall abate. 1607Hieron Wks. I. 436 Thus the enlargement of Gods mercy..is the greatest improuement of our sinne. 1617Ibid. II. 70 This was nothing but an addition to his vexation, and an improuement of his griefe. 1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. III. xvii. 149 The multiplication of Hares, which is by superfetation..or an improvement of a second fruit before the first be excluded. 1674tr. Scheffer's Lapland 34 A further cause of the little improvement of Christianity, is the vastness of the Country. 1727Philip Quarll (1816) 59 He went to see the improvement of his peas and beans, which he found increased to admiration. 1772Priestley Inst. Relig. (1782) I. 19 The earth itself is in a state of improvement. 1788V. Knox Winter Even. I. ii. xv. 212 Not entirely intelligible to children under twelve or fourteen, unless in rare cases of premature improvement and sagacity.
†d. quasi-concr. An advanced stage, developed form, development (of something). Obs.
1692South Serm. (1697) II. 60 Friendship is the Noblest and most Refined Improvement of Love. a1716Ibid. (1744) IX. iv. 105 A sin against this is the highest pitch, the utmost improvement, and..the ne plus ultra of provocation.
†e. concr. Increase, produce. Obs.
1705Stanhope Paraphr. III. 29 The greatest part of the Wealth and Improvement there consisted in Sheep. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. xix, The improvement, or annual production, being distributed to charitable uses.
5. The action or process of making or becoming better; advance or increase in value or excellence; betterment, amelioration.
(Only gradually separable from the earlier senses of beneficial cultivation (2), and advancement or development (4).)
1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. §15 For the improvement of his Education, and giving an ornament to his hopefull Person. 1662J. Davies tr. Mandelslo's Trav. 284 The quiet of the City, the wellfare of its Inhabitants, and the improvement of Trade. 1736Butler Anal. i. v. Wks. 1874 I. 98 This moral principle is capable of improvement, by proper discipline and exercise. 1783Blair Rhet. I. ii. 19 Exercise is the chief source of improvement in all our faculties. 1859Mill Liberty 128 We are eager for improvement in politics, education, even in morals. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 96 A good education tends to the improvement of body and mind.
6. With an and pl.:
a. An act of making or becoming better; a process, change, or addition, by which the value or excellence of a thing is increased; that in which such addition consists or by which anything is made better.
(In early use chiefly in reference to land; cf. 2 and 2 b.)
1697Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 122 Long Practice has a sure Improvement found, With kindled Fires to burn the barren Ground. 1705Stanhope Paraphr. II. 168 Religion is the highest Improvement of Humanity and Good-nature. 1739Chesterfield Lett. (1792) I. l. 181 You cannot imagine what alterations and improvements I expect to find every day, now that you are more than Octennis. 1774C. J. Phipps Voy. N. Pole 11 With the new chain-pumps..according to Captain Bentinck's improvements. 1776Adam Smith W.N. i. i. (1869) I. 11 Many improvements have been made by the ingenuity of the makers of the machines. 1796H. Glasse Cookery xxi. 330 It is a great improvement to add the juice of two Seville oranges. 1870Echo 16 Feb., Mr. Gladstone caused a general laugh by asking, ‘What is an improvement?’..the definition he gave seemed to meet with general approval—that it shall add to the letting value of the land, and must be suitable to the holding. 1888J. Inglis Tigerland 264 If the tan is occasionally rubbed into the pores of the skin it will be an improvement.
b. With on or upon: The production of something better or more perfect than (something previous), an advance upon; hence, the result of this, a thing that is better than (the former thing).
1712Addison Spect. No. 273 ⁋4 (ed. 2) The Parts of Sinon, Camilla, and some few others, which are fine Improvements on the Greek Poet. 1782Priestley Corrupt. Chr. I. iii. 301 An improvement was made upon this doctrine. 1878Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. cvi. 7 We fear the sons are no great improvement upon the sires. 1896Newsagents' Chron. 3 Oct. 3/3 The..Magazine for October is a decided improvement on its predecessors.
7. attrib. and Comb.; improvement lease, in the United States and Australia, a lease granted with conditions of improvement to be made by the lessee.
1840W. Sewall Diary 15 Aug. (1930) 218/1 Henry and myself repairing fence west side of improvement ditch. 1849E. Chamberlain Indiana Gazetteer (ed. 3) 34 They rented land on improvement leases, by which they were to have the use of from ten to twenty acres from seven to ten years, and often at the end of that time they were able to buy land for themselves. 1895Act (New South Wales) 58 Vict. no. 18 §26 (heading) Improvement leases. 1900Daily News 16 May 5/3 The new improvement undertakings of the Council. 1909Commonwealth Law Rep., High Court Australia VII. 1, Sec. 26 of the Crown Lands Act 1895..authorizes the Governor to grant ‘improvement’ leases of Crown lands which by reason of inferior quality, heavy timber, or other cause are not suitable for settlement until improved. 1909Daily Chron. 30 Apr. 6/4 The improvement values added by enterprise. Ibid. 7/7 Housing and improvement schemes. 1909Westm. Gaz. 19 May 2/2 The sale of sites in improvement areas. Ibid. 4/1 The trifling amount of improvement-sites which their predecessors have acquired. 1964Ann. Reg. 1963 128 Then..the Court decided that the Council of Ministers could not transfer municipal powers to improvement boards. 1972Guardian 15 June 14 Improvement grants..are overwhelmingly taken up by better-off owner-occupiers and speculative property developers. |