| 释义 |
limpet|ˈlɪmpɪt|
Forms: 1 lempedu, 4–7 lempet(t, (7 lampert, lympit, -pot), 7–9 limpit, (8 limpid), 8–9 Sc. lampit, lempeck, 7– limpet. See also limpin.
[OE. lęmpedu, a. late L. lamprēda limpet, also lamprey.]
1. a. A gasteropod mollusc of the genus Patella, having an open tent-shaped shell and found adhering tightly to the rock which it makes its resting-place.
c1050Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 438/17 Lemprida, lempedu. 1312–13Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 10 In lempetis. c1560A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) v. 33 Lapstaris, lempettis, mussillis in schellis. 1602Carew Cornwall 30 Of shell fish, there are Wrinkles, Limpets, Cockles [etc.]. 1673Sir W. Scroggs Let. to Ld. Hatton in H. Corr. (1878) 117 Those lympitts yt wer never seene in England lack wine to make 'em tast. 1684Bucaniers Amer. (1698) II. 155 Every day we had plenty of Lamperts and Mussels of a very large size. 1685Phil. Trans. XV. 1284 And tast as well as Lympots or Winkles. 1726Swift Gulliver iv. xi. 168, I continued three Days feeding on Oysters and Limpits, to save my own Provisions. 1748H. Ellis Hudson's Bay 171 Shells are seldom met with; the only ones I saw were Limpids, Muscles, and Periwincles. 1842Johnston in Proc. Berw. Nat. Club II. No. 10. 36 The Limpet or Lempecks. These have a rather thin shell of a greenish colour.
b. fig. and allusive, esp. of officials alleged to be superfluous but clinging to their offices. Also attrib.
1824Scott St. Ronan's xxxi, He..stuck like a lampit to a rock. 1875Tennyson Q. Mary iii. i, Be limpets to this pillar, or we are torn Down the strong wave of brawlers. 1905Westm. Gaz. 9 Mar. 2/2 Lord Spencer..had some pertinent criticisms to make of the Limpet Government. 1922Daily Mail 22 Nov. 8 He is rationing the departments and ejecting the ‘limpets’. Ibid. 23 Nov. 10 Ministries are multiplying their accumulation of limpets and paying them too well. 1927Carr-Saunders & Jones Survey Social Struct. Eng. & Wales 54 After the war, attempts were made to rouse our animosity against ‘limpets’.
c. attrib. and Comb., as limpet rock, limpet shell; limpet-shaped, limpet-shelled adjs. limpet-hammer, a stone tool believed to have been used by prehistoric peoples to knock limpets off rocks.
1577Harrison England ii. xiii. (1877) i. 255 The worke⁓men happened oftentimes upon lempet shels. 1786Burns Earnest Cry & Prayer vii, Triumphant crushin't like a mussel Or lampit shell. 1818Keats Ep. to Reynolds 88 The first page I read Upon a Lampit rock of green sea-weed Among the breakers. 1822–34Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) IV. 477 Limpet-shelled blain. 1885S. Grieve Great Auk 57 We were puzzling ourselves as to what could be the use of the numerous oblong stones we met with among the [limpet] shells, and..he..informed us they were limpet-hammers. Ibid., Subsequent enquiries have only helped to confirm us in the opinion that the large oblong stones found at Caistealnan-Gillean are really limpet-hammers. 1897M. Kingsley W. Africa 17 The hat..a large limpet-shaped affair made of palm leaves.
2. A type of explosive device that is attached magnetically to a ship's hull; so limpet bomb, limpet charge, limpet mine.
1942W. S. Churchill Secret Session Speeches (1946) 50 Explosions occurred in the bottoms of the Valiant and Queen Elizabeth, produced by limpet bombs fixed with extraordinary courage and ingenuity. 1949F. Maclean Eastern Approaches ii. iii. 202 We fixed a couple of ‘limpets’ to her stern. These were half-spheres of metal, made to contain a pound or so of high explosive and fitted with a magnetic device to hold them to the side of the ship. 1955J. Thomas No Banners xix. 175 He wanted permission to use six limpet charges. 1959Chambers's Encycl. IX. 428 Midget submarines placed these limpet mines which, being magnetized, clung to the hull and were fired by a time fuze. 1962G. Weller All about Submarines (1963) viii. 115 The German officers were sure that limpet mines had been attached to the keel of their battleship. 1971D. Bagley Freedom Trap ix. 198 What do we use instead of a limpet?.. I can't invade her in the middle of the Grand Harbour. |