| 释义 |
▪ I. vex, n.
[f. the vb.]
1. Sc. A cause (or state) of vexation or grief.
1815Scott Guy M. xxxvi, It was a sair vex and grief to a' her kith and kin. 1824― St. Ronan's ii, That is another vex to auld folk such as me. 1877G. Macdonald Marquis of Lossie iii, Her man's in a sair vex. 1882― Castle Warlock xlix, A sair vex it wad be to mony a puir body like mysel' to lowse the richt o' 't.
2. Distressing or vexing commotion.
1862R. S. Hawker in Life (1905) xvii. 393 The Vex of the coming Confirmation is now great. 1866Alger Solit. Nat. & Man iv. 412 Let trust sink in peace beneath the struggling vex of mortality.
▪ II. vex, ppl. a. Black English (chiefly W. Indian).|vɛks|
Also bex |bɛks|.
[Repr. local pronunc. of vexed ppl. a.]
Vexed; angry, annoyed.
1888C. C. Jones Negro Myths 44 Buh snake..gone to him house in de swamp berry bex case de man..gone back on eh prommus. 1896Jrnl. Amer. Folklore IX. 122 Ratta come up, den tell him say da Puss tek it. A Nancy was mad bex. 1927R. E. Kennedy Gritny People 101 But Gawd mus' bin vex wid me. 1941E. A. Mittelhölzer Corentyne Thunder xxxiii. 192 Beena get vex, an' say she na want none o' de money. 1975T. Callender It so Happen 56 Brome used to get vex if he hear that another man even look at Maysie. 1982Holm & Shilling Dict. Bahamian Eng. 215 Vex.., angry: That woman vex with me for nothing! (Eleu[thera]). Ibid. In the Bahamas vex is of a far higher frequency than is vexed in Britain or the US.
▪ III. vex, v.|vɛks|
Also 5–7 vexe, wex (5 uex, wix).
[a. OF. (also mod.F.) vexer, ad. L. vexāre to shake, agitate, disturb, etc., whence also It. vessare, Pg. vexar, Sp. vejar.]
I.
1. trans. To trouble, afflict, or harass (a person, etc.) by aggression, encroachment, or other interference with peace and quiet.
1426Paston Lett. I. 26, I have nought trespassed ageyn noon of these iij,..and yet I am foule and noysyngly vexed with hem, to my gret unease. c1440Alphabet of Tales 333 So on a day hym happend to com vnto a place þer a damysell was vexid with a fend. 1487Munim. de Melros (Bann. Cl.) 618, I sall neuer inquiet, vex, nor distrubil þe said Abbot and conuent. 1535Coverdale 2 Macc. viii. 32 They slewe Philarches that wicked personne, which was with Timotheus, and had vexed many Iewes. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 184 b, He,..to thend he might vex the Turkes in an other quarter, was fully resolved to go foreward. 1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 383 By whose meanes I am so molested, vexed, & disquieted. 1617Moryson Itin. ii. 95 His Lordship hereupon had called the Counsellors to Tredagh,..to deliberate how the Army might be imployed most to vex Tyrone. 1651Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxvi. 142 He does unjustly, and bewrayeth a disposition rather to vex other men, than to demand his own right. 1738Wesley Psalms ii. v, Then shall He in his Wrath address, And vex his baffled Enemies. 1821Shelley Adonais xxxv, Let me not vex, with inharmonious sighs, The silence of that heart's accepted sacrifice. 1845Polson in Encycl. Metrop. II. 723/1 When intestine divisions vex a state. 1850Tennyson In Mem. xxix, With such compelling cause to grieve As daily vexes household peace. 1887Bowen æneid vi. 111 A thousand arrows, that vexed our flight as we came, Safe from the ranks of the foemen.
b. Const. with (some action, etc.).
a1540Barnes Wks. (1573) 246/1, I wyll bryng you S. Augustines wordes, the which was vexed of the Donatistes wyth thys same reason. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. IV, 16 b, It was not sufficient.., this realme to be..vexed with the craftie practices and invencions of the Frenche men. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 126 They never ceased to vexe the Britans with skirmishes and in-roades. 1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. i. 40 So did hee vexe the Church with various and interchangeable pomp of sufferances. 1667Milton P.L. ii. 801 These yelling Monsters..bursting forth Afresh with conscious terrours vex me round. 1827Pollock Course of Time iii. (1869) 62 Whom she praised to-day, Vexing his ear with acclamations loud.
c. To worry (one) out of something. rare—1.
1878Prodigal Son iii. 103 Such openhanded fellows are not often to be found. So we must fasten on him, till we have stolen and vexed him out of all he has.
2. Of diseases, etc.: To afflict or distress physically; to affect with pain or suffering. Now poet.
1489Caxton Faytes of A. iii. xxi. 219 To putte in pryson a man that is vexed with suche a maladie what a valyauntnes were it. 1509Fisher Funeral Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (1876) 300 To endure the moost paynful crampes soo greuously vexynge her. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 179 b, He was so sore vexed with the gout that he refused all suche solempnities. 1596L. Mascall Cattle 208 Although they [sc. sheep] are housed, they are oftentimes vexed with cold. a1614Donne βιαθανατος (1644) 147 After the persecutors had beat out her teeth, and vexed her with many other tortures. 1746Francis tr. Horace, Epist. i. vi. 42 Would You not wish to cure th' acuter Pains, That rack thy tortur'd Side, or vex thy Reins? 1784Cowper Task i. 582 Feigning sickness oft, They swathe the forehead, drag the limping limb, And vex their flesh with artificial sores. 1817Keats On the Sea 9 Oh ye! who have your eye-balls vex'd and tir'd, Feast them upon the wideness of the Sea.
transf.1601R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 22 It is most certaine, that Flaunders and Brabant are more vexed with colde and yce then England. 1718Pope Iliad iii. 5 When inclement winters vex the plain With piercing frosts, or thick-descending rain. 1820Shelley Prometh. Unb. i. 169 Lightning and Inundation vexed the plains.
absol.a1641D. Dyke Myst. Self-deceiving 42 The stone..so bedded in the bladder, that it cannot greatly vexe.
3. To afflict with mental agitation or trouble; to make anxious or depressed; to distress deeply or seriously; to worry with anxiety or thought.
1423Jas. I Kingis Q. clxxiv, Though that my spirit vexit was tofore In sueuenyng, alssone as euer I woke, By twenty fold it was in trouble more. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxix. 12, I walk, I turne, sleip may I nocht, I vexit am with havy thocht. 1535Coverdale Dan. v. 9 Then was the kynge sore afrayed,..and his lordes were sore vexed. 1596Spenser F.Q. vi. v. 6 She..day and night did vexe her carefull thought, And euer more and more her owne affliction wrought. 1605Shakes. Lear v. iii. 313 Vex not his ghost, O let him passe. 1651C. Cartwright Cert. Relig. i. 83 Thus doe we see Christ to be on all sides so vexed, as being over-whelmed with desperation. 1806Wordsw. Horn Egremont Castle 55 It was a pang that vexed him then; And oft returned, again, and yet again. 1847Helps Friends in C. i. viii. 154 Most of us know what it is to vex our minds because we cannot recall some name, or trivial thing, which has escaped our memory for the moment. 1880Watson Prince's Quest (1892) 15 There fell a sadness on him, thus to be Vext with desire of her he might not see, Yet could not choose but long for.
b. refl. (In later use passing into sense 4.)
c1440Alphabet of Tales 128 Þis preste gretlie blamyd hym for his syn,..& þis man wexid hym [= himself] gretlie and slew hym. 1526Tindale John xi. 33 He groned in his spret and vexed hym silfe and sayde: Where have ye layed hym? 1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 148 Not to eate our heartes: that is, that wee shoulde not vexe our selues with thoughts. 1611Bible 2 Sam. xii. 18 How will he then vexe himselfe, if we tell him that the childe is dead? a1653Binning Serm. (1845) 123 Ye toil and vex yourselves and spend your time about that body and life. 1832J. J. Blunt Sk. Reform. Eng. ii. 35 He vexes himself because he cannot make a hundred watches go by his own. 1873‘Ouida’ Pascarel I. 41 Why will you vex yourself about your father?
c. To trouble, exercise, or embarrass in respect of a solution.
1612Brerewood Lang. & Relig. 68, I could produce other forceable reasons, such as might..vex the best wit in the world to give them just solution. 1871W. Markby Elem. Law §531 No subject has vexed English judges more than the question, what remedy a debtor has for a wrongful..sale by a creditor of property which he holds as security.
4. To affect with a feeling of dissatisfaction, annoyance, or irritation; to cause (one) to fret, grieve, or feel unhappy.
a1450Mirk's Festial 57 Þe forme woman Eue vexude God more þen dyd man. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 33 This wexit him mair nor all the troubillis that he had of befoir, and [he] was the mair crabbit with him sellffe [etc.]. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. iv. iv. 66 Away, I say: stayest thou to vexe me here? 1613― Hen. VIII, ii. iv. 130 They vexe me past my patience. 1662in Verney Mem. (1907) II. 182 It vexes my very soul to heare how the base bumpkins triumph. 1676Hobbes Iliad i. 312 Which, angry as he is, will vexe him worse. 1710Swift Lett. (1767) III. 37 The bishop..complains of my not writing; and what vexes me, says he knows you have long letters from me every week. 1714Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to W. Montagu (1887) I. 95 Your letter very much vexed me. 1809Malkin Gil Blas x. viii. (Rtldg.) 358 Nothing vexes me, but that Antonia has not a thumping fortune to bring with her. 1835Politeness & Gd.-breeding 28 This boy or girl..who never sneers at or jeers you, or tries to vex your feelings. 1892Law Rep., Weekly Notes 188/1 The defendant had been maliciously making noises for the mere purpose of vexing and annoying the plaintiffs.
b. In pa. pple., freq. const. at or with.
c1460Towneley Myst. xxi. 187 Sir, ye ar vexed at all, And perauentur he shall here after pleas you. 1555T. Phaer æneid ii. 31 For amends to Pallas wrath, so vext with sore offence. 1611Cotgr., Se Marrir, to grieue, or sorrow for,..be sad, or vexed at. 1664in Verney Mem. (1907) II. 204 I am slepy and vexet, and now I fear I have vexed you. 1711Addison Spect. No. 165 ⁋6 The Curate.., upon the reading of it, being vexed to see any thing he could not understand. 1736Butler Anal. i. iii. Wks. 1874 I. 55 That inward feeling, which,..in familiar speech, we call being vexed with oneself. 1783Johnson in Boswell Life 15 May, I would have knocked the factious dogs on the head, to be sure; but I was not vexed. 1833H. Martineau Briery Creek ii. 26 He was amused at some of his foibles, vexed at others. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. v, A little vexed that she had spoken precipitately. 1885‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay i, I am always vexed with people who don't care what they eat.
c. To irritate or tease (an animal).
a1700Evelyn Diary 19 Sept. 1657, 2 Virginian rattlesnakes,..when vexed, swiftly vibrating and shaking their tailes. 1770Langhorne Plutarch (1851) II. 1002/2 She vexed and pricked it [an asp] with a golden spindle till it seized her arm. 1835Lytton Rienzi i. iv, Vex not too far the lion, chained though he be.
5. intr. To be distressed in mind; to feel unhappy or dissatisfied; to fret or grieve. Also const. at.
Common in the 17th cent.; now rare or Obs.
1592Greene Groat's W. Wit Wks. (Grosart) XII. 122 A yong Gentleman,..vexing that the sonne of a farmer should be so preferred, cast in his minde by what meanes..he might steale away the Bride. 1598Marston Scourge of Villanie iii. viii. (1599) 214, I doe sadly grieue, and inly vexe, To viewe the base dishonour of our sexe. 1621Lady M. Wroth Urania 346 If..we should faile, I should hate my selfe, and vexe incessantly at my fortune. 1663Bp. Patrick Parab. Pilgr. xxxiii. (1687) 412 It makes us vex if we be crossed in the least of our desires. a1672Wilkins Nat. Relig. 257 Men usually vex and repine at that which is extraordinary and unusual. 1770Mrs. Thrale Lett. to Johnson (1788) I. 31 Mr. Thrale particularly vexes lest you should not see Matlock on a moon-light night. 1804C. Smith Conversations, etc. I. 137 But since it is so,..I must not vex about it.
II.
6. trans. To disturb by causing physical movement, commotion, or alteration; to agitate, toss about, work, belabour or tear up, etc.
1627Hakewill Apol. (1630) 151 Even there where they [the minerals] are most vexed and wrought upon, yet are they not worne out. 1666Dryden Ann. Mirab. ccvii, Some English wool, vex'd in a Belgian Loom, And into Cloth of spungy softness made. 1697― Virg. Past. iv. 40 And sharpen'd Shares shall vex the fruitful ground. 1759Mills tr. Duhamel's Husb. i. viii. 20 Clay... In these cases laxatives are to be prescribed,..and continually vexing it with the spade or plow. 1775Burke Sp. Concil. Amer. Wks. 1842 I. 186 No sea but what is vexed by their fisheries. 1817Shelley Rev. Islam vii. vii, Some calm wave Vexed into whirlpools by the chasms beneath. 1861T. A. Trollope La Beata II. xviii. 213 Well sheltered from the blasts that even in summer vex the upper Apennine. 1879J. D. Long æneid vii. 905 His followers they, who vex The Massic glebe, so fruitful of the vine.
b. To disturb by handling; to twist. rare.
1673[R. Leigh] Transp. Reh. 35 He exalts his superciliums and vexes his formal beard.
c. fig. To press, strain, or urge.
1678Marvell Def. J. Howe Wks. (Grosart) IV. 191, I would not too much vex the similitude. a1680Butler Rem. (1759) I. 218 Distinctions,..By b'ing too nicely overstrain'd and vext, Have made the Comment harder than the Text.
7. To subject (a matter) to prolonged or severe examination or discussion; to debate at excessive length.
a1614Donne βιαθανατος (1644) 20 The best way to finde the truth in this matter, was to debate and vexe it. a1648Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 243, I shall now come to the business of the Divorce; so much vexed by our Writers. 1869Blackmore Lorna D. xli, Be that as it may; and not vexing a question (settled for ever without our votes), let us own that he was, at least, a..gentleman. 1877R. F. Burton in Athenæum 3 Nov. 569/1 Upon this point I must join issue with him, with Stanley, and with others who have vexed the subject.
▪ IV. vex
obs. form of wax v. |