| 释义 |
proliferation|prəʊlɪfəˈreɪʃən|
[a. F. prolifération, f. prolifère proliferous: see -ation.]
1. a. Pathol., etc. The formation or development of cells by budding or division.
1867H. Maudsley Physiol. Mind 402 This proliferation of connective tissue with destruction of the nerve elements has..been already observed. 1869E. A. Parkes Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 266 There is proliferation and rapid cell-growth. 1905Daily Chron. 2 Dec. 6/3 The theory of the Imperial Cancer Research Committee that cancer is entirely due to the proliferation of cancer cells, and that to stop this proliferation would be to cure cancer.
b. Zool. The production of zooids, esp. of sexual zooids, by some hydrozoans.
1894Prudden in Harper's Mag. Mar. 633 Bacteria..are very sensitive in the matter of growth and proliferation to the conditions under which they are placed.
c. transf. Enlargement or extension; an increase in number (of); now esp. of nuclear weapons.
1920H. G. Wells Outl. Hist. II. 641/2 The British and French were at first the leading peoples in this great proliferation of knowledge. 1955Sci. Amer. May 88/2 With the proliferation of cults came a tendency to worship privately without the intercession of priests. 1966Listener 4 Aug. 177/3 One of the most noticeable results of setting up a Royal Commission has been the proliferation of proposals for legal solutions to industrial relations problems. 1966Schwarz & Hadik Strategic Terminol. 89 Proliferation, in the context of nuclear strategy the increase of the number of states possessing independent national control over nuclear weapons, by the acquisition and development of the necessary technological capacity and industrial capabilities. 1967Observer 5 Mar. 13/5 The issue is whether proliferation of bombs can be prevented without fettering peaceful nuclear developments. 1972Sci. Amer. Feb. 15/3 Most of the problems are related to the fact that a large proliferation of microwave devices would make heavy demands on part of the electromagnetic spectrum. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 21 Aug. 5/3 Is the United States' role..so dominant in the nuclear field that we could stop proliferation if our own policies were strict and consistent?
2. Bot. The condition or fact of being proliferous (3 a); = prolification 2 a.
1858Mayne Expos. Lex., Proliferatio,..applied by Link to the appearance of a bud or flower upon a part of the plant which has not been accustomed to bear such: proliferation. 1886in Cassell's Encycl. Dict.; and in later Dicts. |