| 释义 |
▪ I. whirr, whir, n.|hwɜː(r)|
Forms: 5 Sc. qwirre, 6 Sc. quhir, 6–7 whurre, 7 whirre, 7–8 whur, 8–9 whurr, 9 whirr, whir.
[See next.]
†1. Violent or rapid movement, rush, hurry; the force or impetus of such movement. Obs.
Sometimes approaching sense 2; but in early use the stress is on the movement rather than the sound.
a1400–50Wars Alex. 560 All flames þe flode as it fire were,..And þan ouer-qwelmys in a qwirre. Ibid. 1854 In a qwirre [v.r. whirre] as þe quele turnes. 1513Douglas æneis xii. v. 114 The sovir schaft flaw quhisland wyth a quhir. a1553Udall Royster D. i. iii. (Arb.) 20 No haste but good,..for whip and whurre The olde prouerbe doth say, neuer made good furre.
†b. fig. Commotion of mind or feeling; a mental or nervous shock. Obs.
1628Feltham Resolves ii. [i.] xl. 121 Knowing himselfe chollericke, and in that whirre of the mind, apt to rush vpon foule transgression. 1702Vanbrugh False Friend v. i, I'm mightily muddled with a Whur—round about in my head. 1728Vanbr. & Cib. Prov. Husb. ii. i, They slupt the Door full in my Feace, and gave me such a whurr here—I thought they had beaten my brains out!
2. A continuous vibratory sound, such as that made by the rapid fluttering of a bird's or insect's wings, by a wheel turning swiftly, or by a body rushing through the air.
1677N. Cox Gentl. Recr. ii. 168 Whur is the rising and fluttering of Partridge or Pheasant. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1824) II. 346 The Goat-sucker..makes a loud singular noise, like the whirr of a spinning-wheel. 1829Southey All for Love ii. x, A whirr of unseen wings he heard. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. ii. ii. iii, The wide simultaneous whirr of shouldered muskets. 1847Longfellow Ev. i. i. 23 Shuttles..Mingled their sound with the whir of the wheels. 1887Hall Caine Son of Hagar iii. v, Between the whirrs of the wind he heard the tinkle of the signal bell. 1893T. F. Tout Edw. I, xi. (1896) 196 The king's horse took fright at the whirr of the sails of a windmill.
fig.1874Meredith Let. to Capt. Maxse 5 Aug., I do not see my way out of the encircling whirr of work.
▪ II. whirr, whir, v. (adv., int.)
Forms: 5 Sc. quirr(e, quir, quhir, 5–7 whirre, 6 Sc. quhirr(e, quhyrr(e, 7 whurre, 7, 9 whurr, 8 whur, 7– whirr, whir.
[The early occurrence of this vb. and the related n. in northern texts makes a Scandinavian origin probable; cf. Da. hvirre:—*hvirve, Norw. kvirra, Sw. dial. hvirra, app. assimilated forms of a verb *hvirfa (cf. ON. hverfa wharve v.), related to hvirfill, hvirfla whirl. In later use the Eng. verb has been reinforced by onomatopœia.]
1. trans.
†a. To throw or cast with violence and noise; to fling, hurl. Obs.
a1400–50Wars Alex. 2226 Othire athils of armes Albastis bendis, Quirys [v.r. whirres] out quarrels. 1605Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iii. Captains 516 The formost Ranks it [sc. hailshot] whirr'd Upon the next, the second on the third.
b. To carry or hurry along, to move or stir, with a rushing or vibratory sound. (In mod. use causal from 2.)
1608Shakes. Per. iv. i. 21 A lasting storme, whirring me from my friends. 1909Nation 27 Nov. 363/1 They whirred their wings. 1921A. F. Robertson Story of Pam ix, As he was ‘whirred’ through the night.
2. intr. To move swiftly in some way (rush, fly, dart, flutter, turn, etc.) with a continuous vibratory sound, as various birds, rapidly revolving wheels, bodies flying quickly through the air, etc.
a1400–50Wars Alex. 1556 All þe cite..felowis him eftir, Quirris [v.r. whirrez] furth all in quite. 1513Douglas æneis xii. xiv. 96 Furth flaw the schaft..And quhirrand smait him throw the thee. 1605Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iii. iii. Law 779 As the poor Partridge, cover'd with the net, In vain doth strive,..For, the close meshes..Suffer the same no more to whurre aloft. 1606Chapman Gentl. Usher iii. ii. 14 The great wheeles, Turning but softly, make the lesse to whirre About their businesse. 1728–46Thomson Spring 692 With stealthy wing,..Amid a neighbouring bush they silent drop, And whirring thence,..deceive The unfeeling school-boy. 1830Lytton Paul Clifford xii, The distant wheel of a carriage whirred on the ear. 1859H. Kingsley G. Hamlyn xxviii, Through the grassy flat, where the quail whirred before them. 1864Skeat tr. Uhland's Poems 356 Hark! arrows are whirring, swords clash in the fray. 1899Werner Captain of Locusts 25 The locusts whirred up round his horse's hoofs.
3. Without implication of onward movement: To make or emit a vibratory sound.
1804A. Wilson in Poems & Lit. Prose (1876) II. 359 The squirrel chipped, the tree frog whirred. 1886Stevenson Kidnapped xxii, Grasshoppers whirring in the grass. 1899J. L. Williams Stolen Story etc. 154 The telephone bell whirred. 1905A. C. Benson Upton Lett. 83 The casements whirr, the organ speaks.
b. dial. To snarl or growl; to purr.
1706Phillips (ed. Kersey), To Whur, to snarl, as a Dog does. 1843J. Ballantine Gaberlunzie's Wallet 209 At your feet..Whurrs your wee catty. 1847Halliwell, Whurr, to growl, as a dog.
4. The verb-stem as int. or adv., expressing a sudden or rapid movement with vibratory sound.
1600Dr. Dodypoll iii. D 4 b, Whirre, I haue strooke him vnder the shorte ribs. a1625Fletcher Fair Maid Inn v. i, You demand if I am guilty, whir says my cloak by a trick of Legerdemain, now I am not guilty. 1826Disraeli Viv. Grey vi. i, Whirr! the exploded cork whizzed through the air. 1836T. Hook G. Gurney v. (1850) I. 87 Whurr went the pheasants—bang went the barrels. 1844Kinglake Eothen i, Whirr! whirr! all by wheels!—whiz! whiz! all by steam! 1858Thackeray Virgin. xxxix, Whirr came the wheels—the carriage stopped at the very door. |