| 释义 |
insipid, a. (n.)|ɪnˈsɪpɪd|
[ad. late L. insipidus tasteless, f. in- (in-3) + sapidus well-tasted, wise, prudent, sapid: cf. F. insipide (15th c. in Hatz.-Darm.). Sense 3 is found in med.L. and the Romanic langs., whence app. in Eng.]
1. Without taste, tasteless; also, having only a very slight taste; without perceptible flavour or flavour sufficient to gratify the palate.
1620Venner Via Recta vii. 109 There are also some Apples that are insipid, or without taste. 1626Bacon Sylva §632 There be Plants that haue their Roots very Hot and Aromaticall; And their Seeds rather Insipide; As Ginger. 1756C. Lucas Ess. Waters I. 82 No water can be pure that is not quite insipid. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) IV. 23 The tame rabbits are larger than the wild ones..but their flesh is not so good, being more insipid and softer. 1811A. T. Thomson Lond. Disp. (1818) 103 Good and recent yellow wax has a slight odour of honey, is insipid. 1822J. Imison Sc. & Art II. 87 The rest of the earths are insipid, and are scarcely at all soluble in water.
b. Path. insipid diabetes (diabetes insipidus), a form of the disease, distinguished from saccharine diabetes (diabetes mellitus): see diabetes.
1879–89J. M. Duncan Lect. Dis. Wom. xiii. (ed. 4) 87 In this kind of retention there is frequently, and probably always, a kind of insipid diabetes present.
2. fig. Wanting the qualities which excite interest or emotion; uninteresting, lifeless, dull, flat.
(In many early quotations it is doubtful whether the sense meant was 2 or 3.)
16..Evelyn Diary 18 Aug. 1649, In y⊇ coach..went Mrs. Barlow, the King's mistress and mother to y⊇ Duke of Monmouth, a browne, beautifull, bold, but insipid creature. 1710–11Swift Lett. (1767) III. 89 This was an insipid snowy day, no walking day. 1723Ormond ibid. II. 33, I am still such an insipid correspondent. 1753Hogarth Anal. Beauty vi. 36 How soon does a face that wants expression, grow insipid, tho' it be ever so pretty. 1845Disraeli Sybil (1863) 153 Mr. Mountchesney and Lord Milford poured forth several insipid compliments. 1858Lytton What will he do? i. i, Kisses, though pleasant in private, are insipid in public.
†3. Devoid of taste, intelligence, or judgement; stupid, foolish, dull. Obs.
1651Baxter Inf. Bapt. 185, I am sorry..that you should glory in such insipide arguing. 1662Pepys Diary 29 Sept., ‘Midsummer Night's Dream’..is the most insipid ridiculous play that ever I saw. 1665― Ibid. 15 Jan., To church, where a most insipid young coxcomb preached. 1688Ld. Delamere Wks. (1694) 20 Words and Phrases with⁓out Sense Tickle the Ears of insipid people. 1784Cowper Task iii. 642 Without it [elegance], all is gothic as the scene To which th' insipid citizen resorts.
†B. as n. An insipid person or thing; one who is deficient in sense, spirit, or taste. Obs.
a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Insipids, Block-heads. 1727De Foe Syst. Magic i. iv. (1840) 114 Whether the flights of their insipids are ecstacies of the adored, or of the horrid. 1781P. King Mod. Lond. Spy 24 It was therefore agreed to class me as an insipid. a1834Lamb Final Mem. i. To Coleridge 192 'Tis better not to think of present possibles, that we may not be out of humour with present insipids. |