| 释义 |
Vulcan, n.|ˈvʌlkən|
[ad. L. Vulcān-us, the god of fire, son of Jupiter and Juno. Cf. F. Vulcain, † Vulcan.]
I.
1. Rom. Mythol. The god of fire and of metal-working, corresponding to the Greek Hephæstus.
The lameness of Vulcan, and the infidelity of Venus towards him, are occas. the subject of literary allusions.
1513Douglas æneid viii. vii. 122 Quhilk forgeis bene Vulcanus duelling call, And eftir Vulcane that cuntre nemyt all. 1579Lodge Def. Poetry 20 Al lame men are not Vulcans, nor hooke nosed men Ciceroes. 1634Milton Comus 655 Though he and his curst crew Feirce signe of battail make, and menace high, Or like the sons of Vulcan vomit smoak, Yet will they soon retire, if he but shrink. 1725Pope Odyss. viii. 314 Stung to the soul, indignant through the skies To his black forge vindictive Vulcan flies. 1753Chambers' Cycl. Suppl., Vulcanalia, among the Romans, a festival in honour of Vulcan. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. I. iii. v, His wig and gown are his Vulcan's panoply, his enchanted cloak of darkness. 1851Borrow Lavengro lxxxiii, I never associate Vulcan and his Cyclops with the idea of a forge.
b. An image or picture of the god.
1638Junius Paint. Ancients 160 There were in old times neere all Chimneys almost some earthen Vulcans set up, seeing that God was the president of these Arts wrought by fire. a1700Evelyn Diary 10 Nov. 1644, In one of the chambers hang two famous pieces of Bassano, the one a Vulcan, the other a Nativity!
c. fig. A lame slow-moving person.
1682Sir T. Browne Chr. Mor. iii. §20 (1716) 109 Many, who are sinistrous unto Good Actions, are Ambi-dexterous unto bad, and Vulcans in virtuous Paths, Achilleses in vitious motions.
2. a. transf. A blacksmith; an iron-worker.
1638Sir T. Herbert Trav. (ed. 2) 55 Cingis-chan..was at first by profession a Vulcan or Black-smith. 1693Dryden Juvenal x. (1697) 255 His Sire, the blear-ey'd Vulcan of a Shop. 1704R. North Let. 20 Aug., in Lives (1890) III. App. 252 This bearer is the Vulcan of our village, and one of the eaters of us farmers. 1831Carlyle Sart. Res. i. vi, Those jingling sheet-iron Aprons, wherein your otherwise half-naked Vulcans hammer and smelt. 1890W. J. Gordon Foundry 15 Here the modern Vulcans, in shirt-sleeves and with unbroken legs, are still casting thunderbolts.
†b. A miner. Obs.—1
1662J. Bargrave Pope Alex. VII (1867) 121 When we came into the vast high vaults, where hundreds and hundreds of men or Vulcans were at work, one of the overseers..would have let us see their art by blowing up a part of the mine by gunpowder.
3. A hypothetical planet supposed to have its orbit between the Sun and Mercury.
1870Proctor Other Worlds iii. 58, I would willingly pay some attention here to the story of Vulcan..were it not for the great doubt in which the existence of the planet seems enshrouded. 1879Newcomb & Holden Astron. 310 They comprise Venus, Mercury, and, in the opinion of some astronomers, a planet called Vulcan.
II.
†4. A volcano. Obs. (Cf. volcan.)
In Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 319 and Maundeville (1839) 55 Vlcane and Wlcanes occur as a name for the Lipari Islands: cf. Vulcanian a. 3.
1578T. N. tr. Conq. W. India 160 Then appeared the vulcan and concavitie which was about halfe a league in compasse. Ibid. 161 This vulcan is like unto the vulcan of Cecilia. 1604E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. ii. 119 Of those which are in the Vulcans or mouths of fire at the Indies..I will speake in their order. 1648Gage West Ind. xiii. 69 But they were not gone farre, when the Vulcan began to flash out flames of fire. a1691Boyle Hist. Air xi. (1692) 41 The number of these may..be much increased by those Vulcans, that have open Vents to discharge their Fumes. 1707W. Funnell Voy. v. 111 These Vulcans send out Smoke sometimes.
†b. Const. of (the matter ejected). Obs.
1647A. Ross Mystag. Poet. iii. (1675) 72 A Hill, on the top whereof were Lions and Vulcans of fire. 1648Gage West Ind. 179 The Town standeth on the backside of the Vulcan of water. 1680Morden Geog. Rect., New Spain (1685) 553 The other Vulcan of Fire is more unpleasant.
5. Fire; a fire. Chiefly poet.
1674J. Josselyn Voy. New Eng. 138 They make their Vulcan or fire near to a great Tree, upon the snags whereof they hang their kettles. 1708Philips Cyder ii. 142 Altho' Devonia much commends the Use Of strengthning Vulcan. 1728Pope Dunciad iii. 81 There rival flames with equal glory rise, From shelves to shelves see greedy Vulcan roll.
Hence † Vulcan v. trans., to make into a Vulcan; to cuckold. Obs.
1623Massinger Bondman i. ii, Corisca. To me You are a young Adonis. Gracculo. Well said, Venus! I am sure she Vulcans him. |