| 释义 |
▪ I. † reˈlent, n. Obs. rare.
[f. the vb.]
1. Slackening of speed.
1596Spenser F.Q. v. vii. 24 She forward went..Ne rested till she came without relent Unto the land of Amazons.
2. Relenting, giving way.
1590Greene Orl. Fur. Wks. (Rtldg.) 97/2 Fear of death enforceth still In greater minds submission and relent. 1616W. Forde Serm. 40 If vertue, if pietie, could worke any relent in death. 1686Goad Celest. Bodies i. xii. 56 Those [days] which are absolutely Cold and Freezing, without the least Sign of Relent or Yielding.
▪ II. † reˈlent, pa. pple. Obs. rare.
[f. L. re- re- + lent-us viscous, soft: see next, and cf. F. relent musty.]
a. Loosened, loose.
b. Softened.
c1420Pallad. on Husb. iv. 928 The bee..On titymalle and elmes gynneth pike That bitter be, wherof anoon relent Ther wombes are. c1485Digby Myst. (1882) iv. 620 Who shall gife me water sufficient,..That I may wepe my fill with hart relent..?
▪ III. relent, v.1|rɪˈlɛnt|
Also 5 pa. pple. relente.
[Ultimately f. L. re- re- + lent-us tough, sticky, viscous, slow, etc.; but the immediate source is not clear: cf. L. relentescĕre to grow slack (Ovid), F. ralentir to slacken (16th c.), † relentir, ‘to smell mustie, grow fustie’ (Cotgr.).]
†1. intr. To melt under the influence of heat; to assume a liquid form; to dissolve into water. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 725 He styred þe coles til relente gan The wex agayn þe fuyr. c1410Lydg. Reas. & Sens. 4179 The wexe with hete wil relente. 1471Ripley Comp. Alch. ii. vii. in Ashm. (1652) 136 Behold how Yse to Water doth relent. 1530Palsgr. 684/2 Se howe this snowe begynneth to relent agaynst the sonne. c1586C'tess Pembroke Ps. cxlvii. vi, Ice in water flowes,..The streames relenting take their wonted way. 1653H. More Antid. Ath. iii. xvi. §3 Were those Musical accents frozen there for a time, and..the Air relenting and thawing became so harmoniously vocal? 1670Clarke Nat. Hist. Nitre 84 The Coal keepeth the Nitre very dry, that it may not relent and moisten by the Air. 1704Pope Spring 69 All nature mourns, the Skies relent in show'rs. 1764Morris in Phil. Trans. LIV. 174 On leaving it exposed to the air, the brown matter attracted moisture from it and relented into a thick brown liquour.
fig.c1475Lament. Mary Magd. lxx, Myne herte alas relenteth all in paine, Whiche will brast both senewe and vaine. c1485Digby Myst. (1882) iv. 153 To haue seyn hir, a harte of stone For ruthe wold haue relente. 1784Cowper Tiroc. 112 Preserved from guilt by salutary fears, Or guilty, soon relenting into tears.
†b. To become soft or moist; also of colours, to give way, fade. Obs.
1531Elyot Gov. iii. xix. (1880) II. 318 The colours beynge nat suerly wrought,..by moystnesse of wether relenteth or fadeth. 1573Tusser Husb. (1878) 63 Both saltfish and lingfish..from rotting go saue: Least winter with moistnes doo make it relent. 1594Plat Jewell-ho. ii. 32 Keepe these leaues..neere a chimney, or stoue, least otherwise by the damp of the aier they relent again. 1620Markham Farew. Husb. ii. xviii. (1668) 95 Beans after they are once dryed..will thaw, give again or relent.
c. To grow less tense or rigid, to relax. rare—1.
1854S. Dobell Balder xxiv. 172 The painful limbs, contract with pangs, Relented.
2. To soften in temper; to grow more gentle or forgiving; to give up a harsh intention or inclination to severity. † Also const. with inf. (quot. 1604).
1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 256 b, It myght not swage the malyce of the iewes ne cause theyr hertes to relent. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 163 Nothyng relentynge of their wonted rygour. 1588Shakes. Tit. A. ii. iii. 165, I powr'd forth teares in vaine,..But fierce Andronicus would not relent. 1604Bacon Apol. Wks. 1879 I. 436/2 If she once relented to send or visit, those demonstrations would prove matter of substance for my lord's good. 1631R. Bolton Comf. Affl. Consc. (1635) 232 He seemes now when he sees his misery to relent and to be touched with remorse. 1671Milton Samson 509 Perhaps God will relent, and quit thee all his debt. 1708Pope Ode St. Cecilia 85 Stern Proserpine relented, And gave him back the fair. 1788Gibbon Decl. & F. xlv. IV. 430 The conqueror paused and relented. 1817Shelley Rev. Islam iv. xxii, Her foes relenting turn, And cast the vote of love. 1882Ouida Maremma I. 25 The carabinier on his right side, relenting, held the wine towards his mouth.
†b. To yield, give way; to give up a previous determination or obstinacy. Also const. to. Obs.
1528Gardiner in Pocock Rec. Reformation I. 115 We do not yet relent, but stick still to have the Commission after the first form. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 31 If thou wylte persever thus obstinatlye in thine opinion, and not relent, the Emperour wyll bannishe thee. 1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xxiv. (Arb.) 299 Princes..must be suffred to haue the victorie and be relented vnto. 1624Burton Anat. Mel. ii. iii. vii. (ed. 2) 288 Two refractory spirits will never agree, the onely meanes to ouercome is to relent. 1667Milton P.L. vi. 790 To convince the proud what Signs availe, Or Wonders move th' obdurate to relent?
†c. To slacken, abate; to cool. Obs. rare—1.
c1560Ingelend Disobed. Child C iij b, As for my loue yt doth neuer relente, For of you I do dreame. 1589Rider Bibl. Schol. 1206 To Relent as heate, tepesco.
†3. trans. To dissolve, melt, soften. Obs.
c1420Pallad. on Husb. iii. 1142 In water first this opium relent, Of sape vntil hit ha similitude. c1450M.E. Med. Bk. (Heinrich) 161 Let do hem to þe fuyre aȝen, tyl þey ben relented. 1509Hawes Conv. Swearers xl, Lyke as Phebus dothe the snowe relente. 1547Boorde Introd. Knowl. viii. (1870) 147 Butter is good meate, it doth relent the gall. 1612Woodall Surg. Mate Wks. (1653) 28 This Emplaster..dissolved or relented with oyl of roses or elders [etc.]. 1661Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 50 Fractures..may be helped by Calves glue, relented in water.
†b. To soften (one's heart, mind, etc.); to cause (a person) to relent. Obs.
1509Hawes Past. Pleas. xxxii. (Percy Soc.) 159 These men..A maydens herte coude ryght sone relente. 1590Spenser F.Q. iii. vi. 40 Yet pitty often did the gods relent. c1614Sir W. Mure Dido & æneas ii. 543 How dar he this his enterprise reveale To furiows Dido? how her minde relent? 1787Burns Young Peggy iii, Were Fortune lovely Peggy's foe, Such sweetness would relent her.
†4. To abate, lessen; to slacken. Obs.
1535Lyndesay Satyre 391, I am bot schent, Without scho cum,..My heauie langour to relent. 1590Spenser F.Q. ii. xi. 27 Oftentimes he would relent his pace, That him his foe more fiercely should poursew. Ibid. iii. iv. 49 Nothing might relent her hasty flight.
†b. To relinquish, abandon, give over. Obs.
1556J. Heywood Spider & F. liii. 40 To here him speak, ere he his life should relent. 1565Stapleton tr. Bede's Hist. Ch. Eng. 54 b, After the death of their father they began..openlie to folowe idolatrie, which while their father liued, they seemed somewhat to have relented. 1586A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 142 The disgrace that quickly you shall sustaine, if betimes you relent not these euils. 1684Bunyan Pilgr. ii. 181 There's no Discouragement Shall make him once Relent His first avow'd Intent.
†c. To depart this life. Obs. rare—1.
1587Mirr. Mag., Albanact lv, My father..Perceau'd hee must by sicknesse last relent.
†5. To repent (an action, etc.). Obs. rare—1.
1590Spenser F.Q. iii. vi. 25 Shee inly sory was, and gan relent What shee had said.
†b. refl. To repent (oneself) of a thing. Obs.—1
1640Sanderson Serm. II. 175 We shall not have much cause to relent us of our choice.
†c. To pity. Obs. rare—1.
1622Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. i. 18 Shee that kept the house, seeming to relent her paine, and to be much grieued for it..sorrowfully reply'd.
†d. To bewail (a thing) to a person. Obs.—1
1655tr. Com. Hist. Francion iii. 74, I could find nothing at all, and relenting my misfortune to my companion [etc.].
Hence † reˈlented ppl. a. Also † reˈlentance; † reˈlentful a.
c1420Pallad. on Husb. iv. 105 In the roote Relented dong yputte on, doth hit boote. a1586Sidney Arcadia ii. (1613) 164 [She] with a relented countenance thus sayd vnto him. 1611Heywood Gold. Age iii. i. Wks. 1874 III. 42 The heauens That make me their relentfull minister. 1634T. Johnson Parey's Chirurg. xxi. iv. (1678) 465 The relented bloud of such beasts as feed upon Scammony..purgeth violently. 1635Jackson Creed viii. xii. §9 This may be the probable reason of his relentance.
▪ IV. † reˈlent, v.2 Obs. rare—1.
[Of obscure formation.]
intr. To return.
c1485Digby Myst. (1882) ii. 259 But now, serys, lett vs relente Agayne to caypha and anna, to tell this chaunce. |