释义 |
▪ I. † inˈfest, n. Obs. Used (in pl.) by Turberville to render L. inferiæ, funeral offerings or expiations.
1567Turberv. tr. Ovid, Heroid. xii. K vij, O wronged Syre reioyce: ye men of Colche Be glad: and of my brothers ghost receiue Th' infests. ▪ II. † inˈfest, a. Obs. [ad. L. infest-us unsafe, hostile. But in sense 2 perh. short for infested.] 1. Hostile. Const. to, against, towards.
1513Douglas æneis xi. iii. 51 Drances, that had full gret envy At ȝyng Turnus, all way to him infest. 1548Hall Chron., Hen. V (1809) 65 Now approched the fortunate faire daie to the Englishmen and the infest and unlucky daie to the French Nobilitee. 1612T. James Jesuits' Downf. 30 The Iesuits proued no lesse infest foes against the late Princesse. 1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. i. 23 Two great and signall Historians give in evidence against him, how infest an enemy he was to Christians. 2. Molested, attacked. rare—1.
1601R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 177 While time passeth, the neighbouring nations provide (if not infest) for their owne safetie. ▪ III. † inˈfest, v.1 Obs. rare—1. [f. in-1 + fest, fast v.1, after L. infigĕre.] trans. To fasten or fix in something.
a1340Hampole Psalter lxviii. 18 Out take me of þe lare þat i be not infestid [L. ne infigar]. ▪ IV. infest, v.2|ɪnˈfɛst| [a. F. infester (1390 in Hatz.-Darm.), or ad. L. infestāre to assail, molest, f. infestus unsafe, hostile.] 1. trans. To attack, assail, annoy, or trouble (a person or thing) in a persistent manner; to molest by repeated attacks; to harass. Said a. Of persons, animals, hurtful things. Now rare.
1477Sir J. Paston in P. Lett. No. 797 III. 191, I shalle nott trowble ner infete [? read infeste] them therein. 1533Bellenden Livy ii. (1822) 130, I sal never infest nor trubil you ony forthir with sic desiris. 1548Hall Chron., Hen. V 38 Outward enemitie or foreyn hostilitie not halfe so muche infested, greved or troubled the valiaunt Brittons as their owne. 1563–87Foxe A. & M. (1684) I. 229/2 He sought all manner of ways to infest the Emperor. 1646Gaule Cases Consc. 38 The Divell now infesting them, if they grow slacke to infest others. 1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. §198 They would not have endured..the Rain and the Wind to infest them. 1726Leoni Alberti's Archit. I. 70/1 Deep roads..unsafe upon account of the ground which lies above them, from whence any enemy may be prodigiously infested. 1846Landor Imag. Conv. Wks. II. 9, I am infested and persecuted and worried to death by duns. 1850Neale Med. Hymns (1867) 160 Cold and sorrow Him infest. †b. Of diseases, perverse opinions, errors, etc.; (sometimes confused with infect, sense 4). Obs.
1542Boorde Dyetary xxxii. (1870) 294 The sycknes wyll infeste [v.r. infecte] them more there than in any other place. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. xi. 6 That mightie rage Wherewith the martiall troupes thou doest infest, And hartes of great Heroes doest enrage. 1650Bulwer Anthropomet. 189 Their children are more rarely infested with this infirmity. 1732Arbuthnot Rules of Diet (J.), No disease infests mankind more terrible in its symptoms and effects. a1754Fielding Covent Gard. Jrnl. Wks. 1784 X. 64 That complication of political diseases which infests the nation. 2. To trouble (a country or place) with hostile attacks; to visit persistently or in large numbers for purposes of destruction or plunder; to haunt with evil intent, so as to render unsafe or unpleasant; to swarm in or about, so as to be troublesome. Said of persons (e.g. robbers, pirates), animals (e.g. wolves, vermin, insects), diseases or other evils.
1602Warner Alb. Eng. Epit. (1612) 368 England..dilacerate and infested aswell by the Saxons themselues as by the Danes. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 610 The Turkish Pyrats, which..infested al those Seas. 1615G. Sandys Trav. 38 The plague for the most part miserably infesteth this City. 1651C. Cartwright Cert. Relig. To Rdr., Popery is the grand evill that doth infest the Church. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 358 Wasps infest the Camp with loud Alarms. 1718Bp. Nicolson in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. IV. 318 A country said to be much infested with a set of barbarous and pilfering Tories. 1765A. Dickson Treat. Agric. i. xiii. (ed. 2) 106 Some [weeds]..infest the land that is in tillage, and others the land that is in grass. 1796Scott Chase note, An aerial hunter, who infested the forest of Fountainebleau. 1863Lyell Antiq. Man 207 Over lands covered with glaciers, or over seas infested with icebergs. Hence inˈfested ppl. a., inˈfesting vbl. n. and ppl. a.
1676tr. Guillatiere's Voy. Athens 39 This way of infesting of Ships is ordinary among them. 1881Daily News 14 Sept. 3/1 A clearance of infesting borders, hedges, and poor timber is wanted. 1893Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. Dec. 821 Infested barley heads present a very characteristic appearance. |