| 释义 |
visible, a. and n.|ˈvɪzɪb(ə)l|
Forms: 4 visibil(e, 4–6 visyble, 5–6 vysyble, 4– visible (5 visibal, visebill, 6 viscible, Sc. vissabill).
[a. OF. visible (12th c.; F. visible = Sp. visible, Pg. visivel, It. visibile), or ad. L. vīsibilis f. vīs- ppl. stem of vidēre to see.]
A. adj.
1. a. Capable of being seen; that by its nature is an object of sight; perceptible by the sense of sight.
a1340Hampole Psalter ix. 1 Bot i sall loue þe in all þi werkis, and tell all þi wondirs: þat is bath þat ere sen & þat ere noght sene, visibiles & invisibils. Ibid. xxxiv. 3 Multiply vengaunce agayns my foes visibils & invisibils. c1383in Eng. Hist. Rev. Oct. (1911) 744 The sacrament of þe auteer which is whiȝt & round visible & palpable. 1426Audelay Poems (Percy Soc.) 22 Use vertuys, and leve visibal vayne and vaneté. 1483Caxton Cato C j b, One onely god..the whyche hath myght and preemynence upon alle thynges vysyble and unuysyble. c1532G. Du Wes Introd. Fr. in Palsgr. 920 Colour is lyght incorporate in a body visyble pure & clene. 1550Coverdale tr. Calvin's Treat. Sacram. Pref. A ij b, He was neuer visyble to the mortall eye, and yet wyll they make him appere at euerie knaues requeste that wyl..paye theyr..shote. 1597Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lviii. §1 It was of necessitie that words..should be added vnto visible elements. 1601B. Jonson Poetaster v. ii, A humane soule made visible in life. 1651Hobbes Leviath. i. x. 46 Put some eminent and visible mark upon the Crest of their Helmets. 1667Milton P.L. i. 62 Yet from those flames No light, but rather darkness visible Serv'd only to discover sights of woe. a1721Prior Ess. Opinion ⁋2 All Visible and Audible objects are properly within their Connoissance. 1764Reid Inquiry vi. §8 The mathematical consideration of visible figure, which we shall call the geometry of visibles. 1803J. Imison Sci. & Art I. 1 Some sorts of matter are visible, or capable of being seen. 1851Robertson Serm. Ser. iv. x. (1876) 124 The visible world presents a different aspect to each individual man. 1871Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (1879) I. ii. 46 The sun's invisible rays far transcend the visible ones in heating power.
transf.1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. i. ix. 36 Painters who are the visible representers of things..are not inculpable herein.
b. Of actions, processes, etc.
1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 221 Of baptisme, which they saye is a visible and an outward sygne. 1615T. Adams Two Sonnes 69 Onely service hath neither ease nor concealment allotted to it, because it consists in a visible action. 1653W. Ramesey Astrol. Restored 214 [It] denoteth such accidents as are visible in this World. 1664Jer. Taylor Dissaus. Popery i. 5 This method is the best, the most certain, visible and tangible. 1782J. Brown View Nat. & Rev. Relig. IV. iii. 362 The Holy Ghost in a visible manner descended upon him at baptism. 1878Stewart & Tait Unseen Univ. iii. §114. 127 The conversion of visible energy into heat.
c. Of association, organizations, etc., spec. of the Church (see church n. 4 c).
1590R. Alison (title), A Plaine Confutation of a Treatise of Brownisme,..entitled, a Description of the Visible Church. 1651C. Cartwright Cert. Relig. i. 109 For Visibility, it is granted that ordinarily the Church is visible, i.e. that there is a visible company of such as professe the truth. 1691G. Keith (title), The Presbyterian and Independent Visible Churches in New England. 1739Butler Serm. Wks. 1874 II. 217 It pleased God to unite Christians in communities or visible churches. 1841Myers Cath. Th. iv. §29. 315 The first establishment of a visible monarchy. 1839J. Yeowell Anc. Brit. Ch. iv. (1847) 35 The Christian Church was intended to be a visible Society. 1879A. W. Haddan Apost. Succession Ch. Eng. iv. 97 That the Church to which Christians are ‘to be added’ was a visible organized body upon earth.
d. visible speech, (a) the distinctive name of a system of phonetic notation devised by A. Melville Bell, consisting of characters or symbols intended to represent the actual position of the vocal organs in the production of speech-sounds; also attrib.; (b) speech rendered into a visible record by spectrography.
1865A. M. Bell (title), Visible Speech: a new fact demonstrated. 1883Science I. 474/1 An important immediate use might be made of a few of the Visible-speech symbols. 1886Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. II. 379/2 Each letter of the Visible Speech Alphabet..is a picture of the vocal organs placed in the proper position for producing the sound indicated. 1947R. K. Potter et al. Visible Speech i. 4 A sound spectrographic record for the words ‘Visible Speech’ is shown... The pattern is a new form of visible speech, a system of natural phonetic symbols translated from speech itself. 1953[see sonograph 1].
†e. Similar or comparable in appearance to something. Obs.—1
1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy i. 290 Eke of her eyen þe lokys moste horible To a furneis the stremys wer visyble.
2. a. That may be mentally perceived or observed; clearly or readily evident or perceptible; apparent, manifest, obvious.
In earlier use sometimes passing into the sense ‘very great, eminent, etc.’
a1613Sir T. Overbury A Wife, etc. (1638) 95 His courting language, visible bawdy jests. 1672Baxter Bagshaw's Scand. ii. 16 His next subject..is one of the visiblest lyes that ever I saw written by a man. 1676D'Urfey Mme. Fickle iv. ii, 'Tis above the common rate of wonders, and doubtless portends some visible Calamity that threatens the Nation. 1710Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) VI. 597 The majority being so visible, as at least two to one, they declined insisting thereon. 1764Harmer Observ. i. §15. 38 There is a visible opposition betwixt this account..and those words of our Lord [etc.]. 1796H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) II. 391 Whatever charms may appear in..the human figure, there is no visible reason why it's physical effect should exert an influence over animals. 1835T. Mitchell Acharn. of Aristoph. 445 note, A visible decrease in the offences which had been previously committed. 1908Animal Managem. 313 Pneumonia..may..arise without any visible cause.
†b. In the phr. it is visible followed by clause.
1693Evelyn De la Quint. Compl. Gard. I. 38, I..say, That in case such a Place full of ill Earth, were too low,..it is visible that half the Expence would be sav'd. 1712Swift Rem. Barrier Treaty 9 To which if we add the many Towns since taken, [etc.].., it is visible what Forces the State may be able to keep. 1716Addison Freeholder No. 32 ⁋2 It is visible that great Numbers of them have of late eloped from their Allegiance. 1751R. Paltock P. Wilkins xix. (1883) 56/1 So that it was visible he could never fly.
c. Of means, or revenue.
1779Mirror No. 45 ⁋7 But all these things a man of fashion can do, without possessing any visible revenue what⁓ever. 1824Act 5 Geo. IV, c. 83 §24 Every Person wandering abroad..not having any visible Means of Subsistence..shall be deemed a Rogue and Vagabond. 1895S. R. Hole Tour America xv. 210 He ought to have been apprehended as a vagrant having no visible means of support.
3. a. That can be seen under certain conditions, at a certain time, or by a particular person; in sight; open or exposed to sight or view.
visible horizon: see horizon 1.
1667Milton P.L. xi. 321 On this Mount he appeerd, under this Tree Stood visible. a1677Barrow Serm. Jer. li. 15 Wks. 1686 II. 92 As for example, what would an eye..signifie, if there were not light prepared to render things visible thereto. 1704J. Harris Lex. Techn. I. s.v. Horizon, The Sensible or Visible Horizon, is that Circle which limits our Sight. 1713Steele Englishm. No. 55. 353 This elevated Machine was visible to all the People. 1784Cowper Task iii. 232 Philosophic tube, That brings the planets home into the eye Of observation, and discovers, else Not visible, his family of worlds. 1812–16Playfair Nat. Phil. (1819) II. 281 The disturbance of Jupiter might have so altered its original orbit, as to render the Comet for a time visible from the Earth. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. ii. 21 The whole glacier was visible to us from its origin to its end. 1868Lockyer Elem. Astron. §330 When a star is so situated that it is just visible on the eastern horizon.
b. Comm. Of stocks or supply: Actually in hand or to be seen.
1882Times 22 Feb., If the statistics relating to the visible supply of grain are to be trusted. 1891Daily News 3 Dec. 2/3 Messrs...report deliveries of copper in England and France last month as 2,095 tons in excess of the supplies, and ‘visible’ stocks are reduced accordingly.
c. Econ. Descriptive of or denoting actual goods exported or imported, as opposed to ‘invisible’ items such as services rendered or received (cf. invisible a. 1 d).
1882R. Giffen Use of Import & Export Statistics vii. 58 As to the increase of our shipping business as a means of accounting for the non-increase of our apparent exports. It is because our invisible exports have been increasing so enormously, that there is less increase of the visible. 1917J. A. Todd Mech. Exchange xiv. 184 Visible and invisible exports alike go to the debit side of the account. 1957A. C. L. Day Outl. Monetary Econ. xxviii. 365 In this way we get a balance of visible trade: quite literally ‘visible’, because it only includes goods that can actually be seen as they are put on board ship. 1976Economist 16 Oct. 22/2 In August, 1976, Britain ran a visible trade deficit at an annual rate of {pstlg}3½ billion, compared with a 1970 deficit of {pstlg}25m.
d. visible index: an index so arranged that each item is visible.
1916E. R. Hudders Indexing & Filing (1919) ii. 26 It is not anticipated that the visible index in any of its forms will ever supersede the card index. 1955V. George in W. Ashworth Handbk. Special Librarianship iii. 45 The system most usually employed..is some form of visible index.
4. a. Of persons: Capable of being seen or visited; accessible to others; now esp., disposed or prepared to be seen or visited, ‘at home’ to visitors. (Cf. F. visible.)
1722De Foe Plague (1754) 224 Spreading from that House to other Houses, by the visible unwary conversing with those who were sick. 1772H. Barnes Pract. Cas. C.P. (ed. 2) 322 Objected, on the Part of Defendant, That he was a publick visible Man, and Plaintiff had not endeavoured to arrest him. 1835Lytton Rienzi ii. i, A foreign signor is with him—but to you he is of course visible. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair lxvii, Jos wasn't up yet; Becky not visible (though she looked at them through the blinds). 1889F. M. Crawford Sant' Ilario ix, He..inquired if he could see the princess. The porter replied that she was not visible, and that the prince had gone out.
b. Of a way of life: Free from any concealment or mystery.
1885‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay vii, He has been pretty steady in his attendance at the Bourse, and done well in a quiet way, but his life has been visible and regular.
5. visible direction, in Optics, the apparent direction in which an object is seen.
1829Nat. Philos., Optics 42/2 (U.K.S.) These perpendiculars must all pass through one point, which may be called the centre of visible direction.
6. fig. In a position of public prominence; well-known. Cf. visibility 1 d.
1977Chicago Tribune 2 Oct. ii. 28/1 (Advt.), National leader in health care field has highly visible position available on its corporate headquarters consulting staff. 1978Guardian Weekly 12 Feb. 14/2 The Wilmington Ten affair makes Chavis the most visible of American political prisoners today.
B. n.
1. a. A visible thing or entity. Chiefly in pl.
1614Jackson Creed iii. xxvii. §5 Our bodily sight, which sees diuers visibles all immediately, not one after, or by another. 1650H. More Observ. in Enthus. Tri., etc. (1656) 77 For it is alike easie to see visibles without eyes, as to see invisibles with eyes. a1674Traherne Poet. Wks. (1903) 18 All that in visibles is good Or pure, or fair, or unaccurst. 1721R. Keith tr. T. à Kempis, Solil. Soul xii. 200 When thou..beholdest the visibles of this whole Creation. 1748Richardson Clarissa (1811) III. 248 That the most charming woman on earth..can excel the meanest in the customary visibles only. 1871W. H. Gillespie Argt. Being & Attrib. Absolute One iii. §2 (ed. 5) 54 Narrow is their horizon: within it, themselves the only visibles. 1872Ibid. (ed. 6) 188 The things which are seen, were not made of phenomenal visibles. 1895Zangwill Master iii. i. 277 The flux of centuries, the visibles of Art, the invisibles of Religion.
b. pl. Visible exports or imports.
1962H. O. Beecheno Introd. Business Stud. xv. 143 A country which is running an adverse balance of trade may still have a favourable balance of payments because the gain on ‘invisible’ items exceeds the loss on ‘visibles’. 1968Economist 23 Mar. 64/1 The current account (that is on ‘visibles’ and ‘invisibles’ but leaving out movements of investment funds).
2. the visible, that which is visible, esp. the visible world.
1742Young Nt. Th. vi. 246 The visible and present are for brutes, A slender portion! and a narrow bound! 1836J. Gilbert Chr. Atonem. iv. (1852) 102 In his operations in the material universe, God has seen fit..to make known to us the invisible by the visible. 1851Mrs. Browning Casa Guidi Wind. i. 1159 The last chain-link By which he had drawn from Nature's visible The fresh well-water.
3. The visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
1962[see Nernst a]. 1973Williams & Fleming Spectrosc. Methods Org. Chem. (ed. 2) i. 21 The n→π* transitions of α-diketones in the diketo form give rise to two bands, one in the usual region near 290 nm..and a second..which stretches into the visible in the 340–440 nm region. |