| 释义 |
▪ I. vulgar, n.|ˈvʌlgə(r)|
Also 5–6 vulgare.
[Absolute use of vulgar a., after similar uses of med.L. vulgaris, OF. vulgaire (also vulgar), It. volgare.]
†1. The common or usual language of a country; the vernacular. Obs.
1430–40Lydg. Bochas ix. xxxvi. (MS. Bodl. 263) 441/1 Whos kyngdom hool, as maad is mencioun, In that vulgar..Of Malliogres pleynli bar þe name. c1450Chaucer's Compl. Pite (Harl. MS.) heading, Geffrey Chaucier þe aureat Poete þat euer was fonde in oure vulgare to fore [t]hees dayes. 1501Douglas Pal. Hon. ii. xvii, Ȝit saw I thair..Geffray Chaucier, as a per se sans peir In his vulgare. 1586Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 1 An Epistle therefore is that which vsually we in our vulgar doe tearme a Letter. 1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie ii. iv. (Arb.) 86 Before Sir Thomas Wiats time they were not vsed in our vulgar. 1611Bible Transl. Pref. ⁋8 For the behoofe and edifying of the vnlearned..they prouided Translations into the vulgar. 1665G. Havers P. della Valle's Trav. E. India 144 The Canara-Language, which is the vulgar in Ikkeri and all that State.
2.
†a. pl. Persons belonging to the ordinary or common class in the community, esp. the uneducated or ignorant. Obs.
1513Bradshaw St. Werburge Prol. 84 Some small treatyse to wryte breuely To the comyn vulgares theyr mynde to satisfy. 1549Chaloner Erasm. on Folly G j, He preferred also the Ideote and simple vulgars, before other learned and reputed persons. 1598R. Bernard tr. Terence, Eunuch ii. ii, I can nothing at all away with these vulgars, wherein there is no excellencie of beautie. 1615Chapman Odyss. vi. 425 For these vile vulgars are extreamly proud, And fouly languag'd. 1678Butler Hud. iii. i. 1129 He therefore sent out all his Senses, To bring him in Intelligences. Which Vulgars out of ignorance Mistake, for falling in a Trance.
b. A person not reckoned as belonging to good society.
pl.1763G. Williams in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1843) I. 264, I have named you those whom you know; the rest are numerous, but vulgars. 1766― Ibid. II. 32 Lord Lincoln exhibited his person yesterday on the Stein, to the surprise of all the vulgars. 1796Wolcot (P. Pindar) Pindariana, Ode to Sun viii, The great retire from routs..And cry,..‘Vulgars! that never wax-lights handle!’ 1815Zeluca I. 339, I think I told you there was quite nothing but vulgars at the two last balls. 1828Landor Imag. Conv. III. 147 She associated and assimilated with the very worst in the polar circle of both vulgars.
sing.1767Lady S. Bunbury in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1843) II. 191 A Mr. Brereton (a sad vulgar). 1781Burgoyne Ld. of Manor ii. i, It would be as low to accept the challenge of a vulgar as to refuse it to an equal. 1825C. Westmacott Eng. Spy II. 97 The mobbing a vulgar, the hoaxing a quiz,..All these were among Jekyl's early peculiarities.
3. the vulgar, the common people. Also with a.
1590Spenser F.Q. iii. xii. 4 To the vulgar beckning with his hand, In signe of silence, as to heare a play. 1591― Teares Muses 194 All places they with follie haue possest, And with vaine toyes the vulgare entertaine But me haue banished. 1614Gorges Lucan ii. 66 The vulgar most to Pompey bends. Ibid. marg., The vulgar do more affect Pompey then Cæsar. 1665Glanvill Def. Van. Dogm. 57 Which saying holds not only in Morals, but in all things else which the Vulgar use to judge in. 1692Bentley Boyle Lect. ii. 46 This is directly levell'd against the gross Idolatry of the Vulgar. 1738Gentl. Mag. VIII. 77/1 Her enlightened Horn is turn'd towards the Horizon, or, as the Vulgar speak, The Moon lies on her Back. 1783Ld. Hailes Antiq. Chr. Ch. vi. 182 note, The heathen vulgar might have inferred the likelihood of an approaching apotheosis. 1827Hallam Const. Hist. ii. (1876) I. 86 The mysteriousness of an unknown dialect served to impose on the vulgar. 1828Scott F.M. Perth Introd., We talk of a credulous vulgar, without always recollecting [etc.]. 1855Milman Lat. Chr. ix. vii. IV. 126 Nor was this the suspicion of the vulgar alone; it seems to have been shared by the clergy. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 824 The growths..render the patient a remarkable and hideous object, exhibited for gain to the gaze of the vulgar.
transf.1697Dryden æneid i. 266 The Leaders [of the herd] first He laid along, and then the Vulgar pierc'd.
†b. A common sort or class (of persons). Obs.—1
1645Milton Tetrach. Wks. 1851 IV. 262 There is a vulgar also of teachers, who are blindly by whom they fancy led, as they lead the people.
†4. pl. Sentences or passages in English to be translated into Latin as a school-exercise. Obs.
1520Whitinton Vulg. (1527) 25 b, Hast thou wryten all the vulgares that our mayster hath given vnto vs this mornynge. 1545–7in Archaeologia (1852) XXXIV. 41 The thrid forme..hath throwgh the weke overnyght a verbe set up to be examyned in the mornyng, and makith vulgares upon yt. 1580T. M. in Baret's Alv. To Rdr. xiv, A booke for such, that can peruse it right, Of profite great, when they their Vulgars write. 1612Brinsley Lud. Lit. 148, I haue giuen them vulgars, or Englishes, such as I haue deuised, to be made in Latine.
†b. A vernacular or common expression. Obs.
1532Gower's Conf. Ep. Ded. aa ij b, For the plenty of englysshe wordes and vulgars,..whiche olde englysshe wordes and vulgars no wyse man, because of theyr antiquite, wyll throwe asyde.
†5. = Vulgate n. 1 b. Obs. (Cf. vulgar a. 2 b.)
1613Day Festivals v. (1615) 110 So the Vulgar doth read it to, Nisi baptisentur, etc. 1647Trapp Comm. Rom. ix. 25 God calls the Church, the beloved of his soul, or (as the Septuagint and Vulgar reade it) his beloved soul. 1699T. Baker Refl. Learn. xvi. 201, I should be as glad, and would go as far to meet with the Ancient Vulgar of the New Testament, as any Man should do; but [etc.]. Ibid. 202 St. Jerome's manner of reforming the Ancient Vulgar was, by comparing and reducing it to the Greek Original. 1711G. Hickes Two Treat. Chr. Priesth. (1847) II. 62 Which expression is also wanting both in the original and in our translation, and in the vulgar.
†6. Common or mean character. Obs.—1
1655tr. Sorel's Com. Hist. Francion i. 17 The Gentleman told his bed-fellow, that his gallant Garb and Countenance, wherein he perceived nothing of Vulgar, was the charm that had won his affection.
▪ II. vulgar, a.|ˈvʌlgə(r)|
Also 4–6 vulgare, 6 Sc. vlgare, wlgair -ar; vulguar, wulguar, voulger, 7 vulger.
[ad. L. vulgār-is, f. vulg-us the common people. Cf. OF. and F. vulgaire, Sp. and Pg. vulgar, It. volgare.]
I.
1. Employed in common or ordinary reckoning of time, distance, etc.; esp., in later use, vulgar era, the ordinary Christian era.
c1391Chaucer Astrol. ii. §9 The day vulgare, that is to seyen, from spring of the day vn-to verrey nyht. Ibid., The same manere maistow worke to knowe the quantite of the vulgar nyht. 1617Moryson Itin. i. 142 The way from Rome to Sienna is thus vulgarly noted..In all..ninetie sixe miles. I will follow my Italian consorts..who doe not much differ from this vulgar number of miles. 1655Stanley Hist. Philos. i. (1687) 2/2 They..confound..the true Epocha of the Olympiads with the vulgar. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ i. iii. §1 The vulgar account of years from the beginning of the world. 1716Prideaux Connect. O. & N.T. i. i. 1 The vulgar era, by which we now compute the years from his incarnation. a1727Newton Chronol. Amended i. (1728) 80 Seven hundred forty and seven years before the Vulgar æra of Christ. 1788Priestley Lect. Hist. iii. xiv. 117 The vulgar Christian Aera answers the same purpose as effectually. 1839J. Yeowell Anc. Brit. Ch. (1847) App. i. 169 The fifty-seventh year of the vulgar computation. 1882Nature XXVI. 345 Owing to constant migrations..throughout the fourth and fifth centuries of the vulgar era.
b. vulgar fraction: see fraction n. 5 a.
1674S. Jeake Arith. (1696) 279 Simple Cossical Fractions..are expressed like Vulgar Fractions. 1706Phillips (ed. Kersey), Vulgar Fractions, the ordinary Sort of Fractions, distinguished from Decimal Fractions. 1728Chambers Cycl. s.v. Fraction, Vulgar Fractions, called also Simple Fractions, are always express'd by two Numbers, the one wrote over the other, with a Line between them. 1798Hutton Course Math. (1806) I. 51 Of Vulgar Fractions. 1826Encycl. Metrop. (1845) I. 441/2 Rules are also given for the reduction of vulgar to decimal fractions by a simple proportion. 1873J. Hamblin Smith Arith. (ed. 6) 83 A Vulgar Fraction may be converted into a Decimal Fraction.
†c. vulgar arithmetic, ordinary arithmetic as opposed to decimal. Obs. rare.
1653N. Bridges (title), Vulgar Arithmetique, explayning the Secrets of that Art. 1694J. Selden (title), The Tradesman's Help. An Introduction to Arithmetick both Vulgar, Decimal, and Instrumental. c1728De Foe Compl. Eng. Gent. (1890) 220 How many noble artists have we in the greatest and best branches of the Mathematicks (viz.), in Astronomy, in Geometry, in Arithmetick as well vulgar as decimal.
2. In common or general use; common, customary, or ordinary, as a matter of use or practice.
c1430Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 87 Isys in Egipt fonde a diversite Of sundry lettres parted in tweyne; First to pristes, and to the comunalte Vulgar lettres he dide also ordeyne. 1552Huloet, Vulgar, or much vsed, uulgatus. 1594Blundevil Exerc. i. xxvii. (1597) 33 b, As minutes, seconds, thirds, fourthes,..marked with streekes and vulgare numbers. 1597Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxv. §11 Wee neither omit it..nor altogether make it so vulgar as the custome heretofore hath bene. 1610J. Guillim Heraldry ii. i. 40, I could produce many examples euen to this day; were not the vse heereof so vulgar. 1659H. Thorndike Wks. (1846) II. 458 The solemn times..cannot..have been settled till Christianity was grown very vulgar. 1693Locke Educ. §175 Another thing very ordinary in the vulgar Method of Grammar-Schools there is, of which I see no Use at all. 1729T. Innes Anc. Inhab. N. Brit. I. 18 So the vulgar version of Ziphilin's abridgment of Dio hath it. 1795Burke Th. Scarcity Wks. 1842 II. 252 Compelling us to diminish the quantity of labour which in the vulgar course we actually employ. 1826Disraeli Viv. Grey iv. ii, We talk..as often about our enemies, at least those who have any; which, in my opinion, is the vulgarest of all possessions.
†b. Used to designate the Vulgate version of the Bible. Obs. (Cf. vulgar n. 5.)
1535Joye Apol. Tindale (Arb.) 46 T[indale]..ministreth a shrewd occasion..by vntrwly translating this sentence et unicuique seminum dat deus suum or proprium corpus (as hathe the vulgare texte). 1538Coverdale New T. (title-p.), After the vulgare text communely called S. Jeroms. 1583Fulke Def. Tr. Script. xvii. 447 That S. Hieronyme was author of the vulgar Latine interpretation, of the olde Testament. 1652Needham tr. Selden's Mare Cl. 31 So they are expressed in the vulgar Edition, out of the Hebrew Original, which is lost. 1674Owen Holy Spirit i. iv. §6. 71 The Vulgar Latine in this Place renders the Word by Ornatus eorum. 1677― Justif. iv. 185 All which things prefer the Complutensian, Syriack, and Arabick, before the vulgar reading of this place. 1691tr. Emilianne's Frauds Rom. Monks (ed. 3) 51 Contrary to the express words of the Vulgar Translation. 1823A. Small Rom. Antiq. Fife v. 102 The vulgar Latin [reads] thus.
3. Of language or speech: Commonly or customarily used by the people of a country; ordinary, vernacular.
In common use c 1525–1650; now arch.
a1513Fabyan Chron. i. xvii. 16 Whiche felde or Countre where y⊇ sayd Morgan faughte..is to this daye called Glanmorgan, whiche is to meane in our vulgare tunge, Morgan hys lande. 1530Palsgr. 17 Suche as writte farcis & contrefait the vulgare speche. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iv. xix. 133 b, They celebrate their office..in the Armenian tongue,..[and] the standers by..answere them in the same vulgare language. c1610E. Bolton Hypercritica iv. §2 Mr. Hooker's Preface to his Books of Ecclesiastical Policy is a singular and choice Parcel of our vulgar Language. 1653W. Ramesey Astrol. Restored 84 To treat..of this noble Art..in a plain manner, and our vulgar tongue. 1709Steele Tatler No. 141 ⁋11 To be instructed in their Duties in the known or vulgar Tongue. 1707J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. i. iii. vii. (1710) 204 There were..more good, and more bad Books printed and published in the English Tongue, than in all the vulgar Languages in Europe. 1855Milman Lat. Chr. ix. viii. IV. 185 They read the Gospels, they preached, and they prayed, in the vulgar tongue. 1873Hale In His Name ii. 8 Bits of Paul or Matthew or Luke which had been translated into the vulgar language.
b. Used to qualify the name of the language.
1483Caxton Knt. de la Tour Prol., To translate & reduce this said book out of frenssh into our vulgar Englissh. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage vi. xii. 530 They are much addicted to Poetrie, and make long Poems of their warres, huntings, and loues,..in rithme, like the vulgar Italian Sonnets. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 102 Though several of them understand Italian, yet their usual Language is the vulgar Greek, which is for the most part but the literal Greek corrupted. 1699Bentley Phal. 404 Which we are sure..continued to be pure and Vulgar Syriac for 2000 Years. 1717Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to Pope 1 Apr., The vulgar Turk is very different from what is spoken at court. 1766Compl. Farmer s.v. Surveying 7 E 2/2 This in vulgar English may be called a corner. 1818Hallam Mid. Ages ix. (1868) 591 We cannot..ascertain in what degree the vulgar Latin differed from that of Cicero or Seneca. a1873Deutsch Lit. Rem. (1874) 358 The Samaritan Dialect, a mixture of vulgar Hebrew and Aramean.
†c. In predicative use; also const. to. Obs.
1565Jewel Reply Harding (1611) 383 Hebrew, Greek, and Latine,..as they were once natiue, and vulgar to those three peoples, so now to none be they natiue, and vulgar. 1612Brerewood Lang. & Relig. 2 The Greek tongue..although it belonged originally to Hellas alone, yet in time it became vulgar to these also. 1668Wilkins Real Char. i. i. §4. 5 After the Captivity the pure Hebrew ceased to be Vulgar, remaining onely amongst learned men. 1699T. Baker Refl. Learn. ii. 13 The Greek Tongue had the same Fortune with the Latine, tho it continu'd vulgar longer. 1712Swift Let. Eng. Tongue Wks. 1755 II. i. 183 Neither was that [sc. the Latin] language ever so vulgar in Britain, as it is known to have been in Gaul and Spain.
4.
†a. Written or spoken in, translated into, the usual language of a country. Obs.
1513Douglas æneid i. Prol. 498 Thair may be na compair Betwixt his versis and my style wlgair. Ibid., Ane Exclamatioun 37 Go, wlgar Virgill, to euery churlich wycht Say, I avow thou art translatit rycht. 1556Recorde Cast. Knowl. Contents, With sundry..newe demonstrations not Written before in any vulgare woorkes. 1599G. Sandys Europæ Spec. (1632) 115 They have called all vulgar Bibles streightly in againe. 1617Moryson Itin. iii. 30, I had some skill in that Language, especially for vulgar speeches. 1662J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 79 Never learning anything but reading and writing, and certain vulgar prayers.
b. Of words or names: Employed in ordinary speech; common, familiar.
1676Hobbes Iliad Pref. (1686) 1 Forein words, till by long use they become vulgar, are un[in]telligible to them. 1776Sir D. Dalrymple Ann. Scot. I. 3 note, I suspect that Lulach was rather his vulgar sirname, than his name. 1785Martyn Lett. Bot. Introd. (1794) 2 These plants had a different vulgar name in every province. 1800T. Bewick (title), Figures of British Land Birds, to which are added, a few Foreign Birds, with their Vulgar and Scientific Names.
5. Common or customary in respect of the use or understanding of language, words, or ideas.
1553Wilson Rhet. 94, I might tary a longe tyme in declaryng the nature of diuerse Schemes, whiche are woordes or sentencies altered..contrarie to the vulgare custome of our speache without chaungyng their nature at all. 1612T. Bodley in Macray Ann. Bodleian (1880) 410, I make request yt all my words be construed directly and in vulgar sense. 1634Documents agst. Prynne (Camden) 48 My expressions too (at least in my intention, opinion, and vulgar acceptacion), are innocent and sincere. 1696Whiston The. Earth ii. (1722) 161 By a Month, in the vulgar way of speaking, is meant 30 Days. 1727De Foe Syst. Magic i. i. (1840) 25 The people called magicians, in the present vulgar acceptation of the word. 1754Edwards Freed. Will i. iii. (1762) 14 The word Necessity, in its vulgar and common Use, is relative. 1798Bay Amer. Law Rep. (1809) I. 85 The vulgar meaning of the words dying without issue. 1862Burton Bk. Hunter (1863) 5 The vulgar everyday-world way of putting the idea. 1878Stewart & Tait Unseen Univ. i. §39. 57 The doctrine of the resurrection in its vulgar acceptation could not possibly be true.
6. Commonly current or prevalent, generally or widely disseminated, as a matter of knowledge, assertion, or opinion:
a. Of sayings, statements, facts, etc.
1549Compl. Scot. Epist. 7 Fra this exempil cummis ane vlgare adagia. 1591Savile Tacitus, Hist. ii. lxxviii. 99 Neither was there any thing more vulgare in euery mans mouth. 1607T. Rogers 39 Art. Pref. §26 Bookes, and open speeches..made vulgar within a yeare, and little more after his happy ingresse into this kingdome. 1653W. Ramesey Astrol. Restored To Rdr. 6 But I shall answer in that vulgar and rustical Proverb, it is a good Horse that never stumbles. 1693Dryden Persius' Sat. i. 244 note, The Story is vulgar, that Midas King of Phrygia, was made judge betwixt Apollo and Pan, who was the best Musician. 1830Sir W. Hamilton Discuss. (1852) 72 One vulgar passage from the writings of that philosopher. 1892Daily News 19 Dec. 5/4 It set the seal, however, on his vulgar, as distinct from his professional, fame.
b. Of discourse, rumour, etc.
1590Shakes. Com. Err. iii. i. 100 If by strong hand you offer to breake in,..A vulgar comment will be made of it. 1595Locrine iv. i. 138 What would the common sort report of me, If I forget my loue, and cleaue to thee? Loc. Kings need not feare the vulgar sentences. c1600Shakes. Sonn. cxii, Your loue and pittie doth th' impression fill, Which vulgar scandall stampt vpon my brow. 1617Moryson Itin. ii. 20 Of late (according to vulgar speech) he had displeased the Earle of Essex. 1691Wood Ath. Oxon. I. 323 The then vulgar talk was, the Devil came to take away Oliv. Cromwell, who then lay on his death-bed. 1818Shelley Julian 362 Believe that I am ever still the same,..Nor dream that I will join the vulgar cry. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xix. IV. 302 They did not join in the vulgar cry against the Dutch.
c. Of knowledge, opinions, notions, etc.
a1548Hall Chron., Edw. IV, 210 b, Notwithstandyng the vulgare opinion..the wisedome of this world is folishenes before God. 1605Verstegan Dec. Intell. vii. (1628) 199 To giue the reader some knowledge more then is vulger. c1610Sir J. Melvil Mem. (1683) 125 He was become careless, following in many things the vulgar opinion. 1655Culpepper, etc. Riverius xi. iv. 33 That vulgar difficulty which is controverted by almost all Writers. 1701Swift Contests Nobles & Comm. v, This is a truth of vulgar knowledge and observation. 1794Hutton Philos. Light, etc. 127 According to the vulgar notions of things, cold is considered as absolutely subsisting in bodies, in the same manner as heat. 1832Palmerston Opin. & Pol. (1852) 219 Taking the merest and vulgarest view of the matter. 1854Milman Lat. Chr. iv. i. II. 10 Mohammedanism..a stern negation..of the vulgar polytheism which prevailed among the ruder Arab tribes. 1865M. Arnold Ess. Crit., Spinoza (1875) 375 This mode of interpreting Scripture is fatal to the vulgar notion of its verbal inspiration.
d. Of errors, prejudices, etc.
1630R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 546 This is but a vulgar errour. 1670W. Perwich Desp. (Camden) 91 A vulgar mistake of the death of the Duke of Lorraine instead of that of the Great Duke of Florence. 1691T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. p. xxiii, The idle conceit of the Fish Remora, which mens sottishness hath made a vulgar one. 1785Reid Intell. Powers i. i. 221 May natural judgement not be a vulgar error? 1798Ferriar Illustr. Sterne vi. 165 Mr. Shandy has passed a similar condemnation on some English names, to which vulgar prejudices are attached. 1845Ford Handbk. Spain i. 5 One of the old vulgar superstitions in Spain. 1856Kane Arct. Expl. I. xxix. 392, I satisfied myself that it was a vulgar prejudice to regard the liver of the bear as poisonous. 1879McCarthy Own Times I. v. 104 One of the vulgarest fallacies of statecraft.
†7. Of common occurrence; not rare. Obs.
1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts 111 Other things I omit concerning this beast [the cony], because as it is vulgar, the benefits thereof are commonly known. 1657S. Purchas Pol. Flying-Ins. 7 The Chameleon, a vile (and in many Countries a Vulgar) Creature.
8. Of or pertaining to the common people.
1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, i. iii. 90 An habitation giddy and vnsure Hath he that buildeth on the vulgar heart. 16051st Pt. Jeronimo 436, I will buze Andreas landing, Which, once but crept into the vulger mouthes, Is hurryed heer and there, and sworne for troth. 1622Peacham Compl. Gent. i. 13 Those [apples] of Hesperides, golden, and out of the vulgar reach. 1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. i. v. 17 Though a weaknesse of the Intellect, and most discoverable in vulgar heads, yet hath it sometime fallen upon wiser braines. 1697Dryden æneid xii. 5 The more he was with vulgar hate oppressed, The more his fury boiled within his breast. 1783W. Thomson Watson's Philip III, vi. (1793) II. 152 A veil of pomp..concealed from the vulgar eye the symptoms of its decay. 1796Bp. Watson Apol. Bible 209 You have merely busied yourself in exposing to vulgar contempt a few unsightly shrubs. 1810Scott Lady of L. iii. xxvi, Grey Superstition's whisper dread Debarr'd the spot to vulgar tread. Ibid. v. xxx, With like acclaim, the vulgar throat Strain'd for King James their morning note. 1855Poultry Chron. II. 561/1 He was in a coop protected from the vulgar gaze, by a covering of green baize. 1870Jevons Elem. Logic xxvii. 237 All observations..negative the idea that there can be any such influence as the vulgar mind attributes to the moon.
II.
9. Of persons: Belonging to the ordinary or common class in the community; not distinguished or marked off from this in any way; plebeian: a. With collective terms, as people, sort.
1530Palsgr. 369 Septante, octante, and nonante, be never used of the voulger people. 1551T. Wilson Logike A 3 b, Diuerse learned men..haue with most earnest trauaile made euery of them familiar to their vulgare people. 1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 193 To circumuent the common people, he spared no coloured pretence to allure the vulgar sort. 1609Bible (Douay) Jer. xxvi. 23 He cast forth his carcasse in the sepulchers of the base vulgar people. 1632Lithgow Trav. i. 26 They of the vulgar kind are both ignorant, sluttish and greedy. 1649Milton Eikon. 13 The last Will of Cæsar being read to the people, and what Legacies he had bequeath'd them, wrought much in that Vulgar audience to the avenging of his death. 1705Stanhope Paraphr. I. 34 Instead of numerous Guards, and triumphal Chariots, and costly Preparations, we find only the Attendance of a Vulgar and despised Crowd. 1718Prior Solomon i. 681 One [elder], in whom an outward Mien appear'd, And Turn superior to the vulgar Herd. 1820Hazlitt Lect. Dram. Lit. 12 He [Shakspeare] was not something sacred and aloof from the vulgar herd of men. 1821Byron Sardan. v. i, 'Tis easy to astonish or appal The vulgar mass which moulds a horde of slaves.
b. With individual designations (in sing. or pl.).
1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iv. ix. 121 The vulgare Arabians doe cal it Rabach. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. i. 127 Rather let my head Stoope to the blocke,..Than stand vncouer'd to the Vulgar Groom. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 188 If any vulgar fellow meet them, they presently shake and vibrate their swords vpon their Shields, crying aloud Nayroe. a1699J. Beaumont Psyche xxi. 11 Thou seest with what exact Obedience all My vulgar Subjects on their shoulders take My heavyest yokes. 1709Strype Ann. Ref. I. xxxix. 406 This letter..may deserve an English translation of it, for the sake of vulgar readers. 1765H. Walpole Otranto i, Some of the vulgar spectators had run to the great church which stood near the castle and came back open-mouthed. 1779Johnson L.P., Milton Wks. II. 168 The vulgar inhabitants of Pandæmonium, being incorporeal spirits, are at large..in a limited space. 1798S. & Ht. Lee Canterb. T. II. 300 Credulity is..the characteristic of the vulgar Italians. 1813Shelley Q. Mab v. 140 How many a vulgar Cato has compelled His energies..To mould a pin, or fabricate a nail!
transf.1667Milton P.L. iii. 577 Where the great Luminarie Alooff the vulgar Constellations thick..Dispenses Light from farr.
†c. Holding an ordinary place in a certain class; esp. of soldiers. Obs.
1607–12Bacon Ess., Marr. & Single Life (Arb.) 268 Despising of Marriage amongest the Turkes, maketh the vulgar Souldiour more base. 1651Howell Venice 129 The greatest prisoners were Achmet and Mahomet..with thirty thousand vulgar soldiers. 1794Chalmers Ruddiman 90 The magistrates [in 1660] steadily prohibited the vulgar schoolmasters from teaching Latin.
†d. the vulgar world, the world at large. Obs.
1632Lithgow Trav. A 4 My three Voyages, which are now layd open to the Vulgar World.
10. Of the common or usual kind; of an ordinary commonplace character; exhibiting no special or distinguishing quality:
†a. Of material things.
1555Eden Decades (Arb.) 70 Hauinge .xii. other of their vulgare cotages placed abowte the same. Ibid. (Arb.) 159 Of this is made the more vulgar or common breade. 1602Shakes. Ham. i. ii. 99 For, what we know must be, and is as common As any the most vulgar thing to sence, Why should we..Take it to heart? 1617Moryson Itin. iii. 63 Copper mettall, adorned with vulgar precious stones. 1656Beale Heref. Orchards (1657) 16 That the setlings might gather root as well in that vulgar ground, as also in the finer mould. 1694Salmon Bate's Dispens. (1713) 42/2 First comes the Flegm, then the volatile Spirit; lastly, the Oil, or vulgar Spirit. 1744Berkeley Siris §10 This vulgar tar, which cheapness and plenty may have rendered contemptible, appears to be an excellent balsam. 1776Med. Obs. & Inq. (1784) VI. i. 14 Punch, made with a maceration of black currants in our vulgar corn spirit, is a liquor that agrees remarkably well with him.
†b. Of plants, animals, etc. Obs.
c1586C'tess Pembroke Ps. (1823) civ. vi, The vulgar grasse, whereof the beast is faine, The rarer herb man for him self hath chose. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts 731 A vulgar weasell being kept very old and drunke in Wine, to the quantity of two drams, is accounted a present remedy against the venome or stings of serpents. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 543, I mean not those vulgar birds which in other places are highly esteemed. 1665–76Rea Flora (ed. 3) 17 The other sorts..you will find..among Greens more vulgar. a1682Sir T. Browne Tracts (1684) 62 Bellonius..observed not the vulgar Oak in those parts. 1782–3W. F. Martyn Geog. Mag. 704 Those of an inferior rank make use of the foliage of some more vulgar tree. 1803G. Ellis Let. to Scott 3 Oct., We possess a vulgar dog (a pointer), to whom it is intended to commit the charge of our house during our absence.
c. Of qualities, actions, etc.
1559Knox First Blast App. (Arb.) 60 Neyther yit wold I that ye should esteam that mercy to be vulgar and commone which ye haue receaued. 1561Eden Arte Nauig. Pref., I thynke that he was a man of no vulgare iudgement. 1596Edward III, ii. i. 314 These are the vulgar tenders of false men, That neuer pay the duetie of their words. 1602Ld. Cromwell iii. iii. 9 Thou art a man differing from vulgar forme. 1622Bacon Hen. VII, 144 Many Lawes were made, of a more priuate and vulgar nature then ought to detaine the Reader of an Historie. 1649F. Roberts Clavis Bibl. 512 Here are not vulgar but extraordinary Histories. 1716Gay Trivia ii. 302 Yet let me not descend to trivial song, Nor vulgar Circumstance my verse prolong. 1754Gray Progr. Poesy 122 Yet shall he mount, and keep his distant way Beyond the limits of a vulgar fate. 1795Burke Th. Scarcity Wks. 1842 II. 248 Philosophical happiness is to want little. Civil or vulgar happiness is to want much, and to enjoy much. 1848W. K. Kelly tr. L. Blanc's Hist. Ten Y. I. 366 That is assuredly a very vulgar policy, and one within the scope of the most ordinary capacities. 1867Maurice Patriarchs & Lawg. v. (1877) 104 A history which exhibits God as an actual personal Being, without whom the vulgarest affairs of men are unintelligible and anomalous.
†d. Of persons. Obs.
1570Dee Math. Pref. *ij, Vulgar Practisers haue Numbers, otherwise, in sundry Considerations. 1609Bible (Douay) 1 Chron. i. comm., We wil present to the vulgar reader, certaine cleare and ordinarie rules, by which the learned Divines do reconcile such apparent contradictions. 1664Power Exp. Philos. i. 43 We need not so much wonder with the Vulgar Philosophers, how so clear and glorious a body..should be made of so durty..Materials. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 653 No vulgar god Pursues thy crimes, nor with a common rod. 1729T. Innes Anc. Inhab. N. Brit. I. Pref. p. vii, These considerations..made me..resolve to..leave to others the invidious task of reforming our vulgar historians. 1752Hume Pol. Disc. x. 224 The most vulgar slave cou'd yield by his labour an obolus a day, over and above his maintenance. 1794Burke Let. to Dk. Portland (1844) IV. 235 It will not do for you to be vulgar, common⁓place ministers.
11. Of an ordinary unartificial type; not refined or advanced beyond the common.
1580G. Harvey Let. to Spenser S.'s Wks. (1912) 631/2 It is the vulgare and naturall Mother Prosodye, that alone worketh the feate. 1638Rawley tr. Bacon's Life & Death (1651) 1 Omit for the present, all Astrological Observations..: Onely insist upon the vulgar and manifest Observations; as whether they were born by Night or by Day. 1671J. Webster Metallogr. i. 1 As also the whole Band of the Chymists, both mystical and vulgar, do sufficiently testifie. 1725Watts Logic i. iii. §4 Ideas are either vulgar or learned. A vulgar Idea represents to us the most obvious and sensible Appearances that are contained in the Object of them. 1748Hartley Observ. on Man i. i. §1. 35 Medicinal Bodies appear, from Observations both philosophical and vulgar, to be endued with more active Properties than common Aliments.
†b. Adapted to ordinary minds or comprehensions. Obs.
1643Sir T. Browne Relig. Med. i. §45 Unspeakable mysteries in the Scriptures are often delivered in a vulgar and illustrative way. 1651Hobbes Govt. & Soc. Ep. Ded., If it be sound, if it be useful, if it be vulgar; I humbly offer it to your Lordship. a1652J. Smith Sel. Disc. vi. 183 Speaking to the weakest sort of men in the most vulgar sort of dialect.
†12. Common in respect of use or association. Obs. rare.
1595Shakes. John ii. 387 I'de play incessantly vpon these Iades, Euen till vnfenced desolation Leaue them as naked as the vulgar ayre. 1602― Ham. i. iii. 61 Be thou familiar; but by no meanes vulgar.
13. Having a common and offensively mean character; coarsely commonplace; lacking in refinement or good taste; uncultured, ill-bred.
a. Of actions, manners, features, etc.
1643J. M. Soveraigne Salve 13 Are not such instances [of time-serving] as vulgar as the spirits that furnish us with them? 1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. ii. §86 To Intangle all those..who were transported with those vulgar and vile Considerations. 1699Pomfret Past. Ess. 134 Nay, all affronts so unconcerned she bore,..As if she thought it vulgar to resent. 1797Jane Austen Sense & Sens. xxi, The vulgar freedom and folly of the eldest left her no recommendation. 1797Monthly Mag. III. 201 So, the word vulgar now implies something base and groveling in actions. 1846A. Marsh Father Darcy II. i. 17 There is something very coarse and vulgar in their countenances. Ibid. II. iv. 90 His features were vulgar, his lips thick and coarse. 1853Maurice Proph. & Kings i. 7 This would be a low, paltry, vulgar way of accounting for his acts. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 315 The vulgar sort of trade which is carried on by lending money.
b. Of persons.
1678Marvell Growth Popery 40 The mean malice of the same Vulgar Scribler, hired by the Conspirators at so much a sheet. 1778F. Burney Evelina xvii, Miss will think us very vulgar..to live in London and never have been to an Opera. 1809Malkin Gil Blas iii. iv. ⁋7, I see the vulgar dog in an almshouse. 1835Willis Pencillings I. ii. 18 A vulgar Marseilles shopkeeper. 1865Ruskin Sesame i. §28 It is in the blunt hand and the dead heart, in the diseased habit, in the hardened conscience, that men become vulgar. 1881‘Rita’ My Lady Coquette iii, How hot and vulgar she looks with all that colour.
c. Of the mind, spirit, etc.
1764Goldsm. Trav. 225 In wild excess the vulgar breast takes fire, Till, buried in debauch, the bliss expire. 1766[Anstey] Bath Guide iii. 4 A Grace, an Air, a Taste refin'd, To vulgar Souls unknown. 1809–10Coleridge Friend (1865) 113 It is so stimulant to the pride of a vulgar mind, to be persuaded that it knows what few others know. 1844Kinglake Eothen v, In all baseness and imposture there is a coarse, vulgar spirit. 1882Bain Jas. Mill vi. 288 Executions and death-scenes are great things for vulgar minds.
d. Of language, etc.
1716Gay Trivia i. 187 Let not such vulgar tales debase thy mind. 1813Salem (Mass.) Gaz. 12 Mar. 2/4 To pronounce him a friend to Great-Britain; or, in their language of vulgar abuse, a British Tory. 1865M. Arnold Ess. Crit., Joubert 224 Saugrenu is a rather vulgar French word, but, like many other vulgar words, very expressive. 1891Farrar Darkn. & Dawn x, They said..that—you—were—dare I speak the vulgar word?—a Christian.
e. Of material things.
1812H. & J. Smith Rej. Addr. xii. 75 I've heard our front that faces Drury Lane Much criticised; they say 'tis vulgar brick work. 1817Chalmers Astron. Disc. ii. (1852) 45 While all the vulgar grandeur of other days is now mouldering in forgetfulness. 1905G. Thorne Lost Cause iv, A wilderness of mean little houses and vulgar streets.
14. Comb., as vulgar-like, vulgar-looking, vulgar-reasoning, vulgar-sounding; vulgar-minded, vulgar-spirited, vulgar-viewed adjs.; vulgar-wise adv.; also quasi-adv. in † vulgar plain.
1563Foxe A. & M. 1050/1 A certayn seuere & graue grace, which I wished oftentymes to haue bene more popular & *uulgarlike in him.
1815Scott Guy M. xxxix, What that *vulgar-looking fellow said after the funeral.
1816Remarks Eng. Mann. 37 Not discriminating between real gentlemen who require no such hint, and *vulgar⁓minded men who do. 1846Hare Mission Comf. (1850) 398 The vulgarminded in all ages have been incapable of conceiving that a man can be actuated by any but personal feelings. 1869Geo. Eliot in Cross Life III. 100 The most vulgar-minded genius that ever produced a great effect in literature.
1554–9Songs & Ball. Phil. & Mary (Roxb.) 6 Good maners unto all degrese Ys mete for to be *vulgar playne.
1654Whitlock Zootomia 321, I am none of those *vulgar-Reasoning Despisers of that Sex.
1797A. Seward Lett. (1811) IV. 302 His *vulgar-sounding word, beleaguered, once used in the Paradise Lost, offends us continually in this new epic.
1628Earle Microcosm. (Arb.) 70 A *vulgar-spirited Man Is one of the heard of the World. 1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. vi. §134 The passions, and affections of the Vulgar-spirited.
1852Meanderings of Mem. I. 149 She was not *vulgar-viewed, her thinkings took The selfsame tenor.
1828P. Cunningham N.S. Wales (ed. 3) II. 21 One bird roasting aristocratically upon a wooden spit, and the other, broiling *vulgar-wise, upon the embers. |