| 释义 |
liquid, a. and n.|ˈlɪkwɪd|
Forms: 4 liquyd, 5–6 li-, lyquide, -yde, (5 lyquet, 6–7 liqued), 6– liquid.
[a. OF. liquide, ad. L. liquid-us, f. liquēre to be liquid, cogn. with liquāre liquate v., līquī to be liquid, lī̆quor liquor.]
A. adj.
I.
1. a. Said of a material substance in that condition (familiar as the normal condition of water, oil, alcohol, etc.) in which its particles move freely over each other (so that its masses have no determinate shape), but do not tend to separate as do those of a gas; not solid nor gaseous. Hence, composed of a substance in this condition.
1382Wyclif Ezek. xliv. 30 Alle liquyd [1388 moist] sacrifices, or fleetynge, as oyle, and hony, and syche. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 203 Fleuma vitreum was liquide fleuma, & wiþ cooldnes it is congilid. 1494Fabyan Chron. vii. 373 Rosyn, grece, and other lyquet & brynyng stuffe. 1544T. Phaer Regim. Lyfe (1560) O iv b, Another devine medecine, in a liquide-fourme. 1562Turner Herbal ii. 29 Rosin of y⊇ larche tre..is moyster or more liqued. 1590Spenser F.Q. ii. ii. 6 Which feedes each living plant with liquid sap. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. i. i. 211 Decking with liquid pearle, the bladed grasse. 1610Willet Hexapla Dan. 202 Windes doe not blowe so much vpon the solid earth, as vpon the liquid sea. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 601 Down from his Head the liquid Odours ran. 1760–2Goldsm. Cit. W. cvi. ⁋4 The whole is liquid laudanum to my spirits. 1800tr. Lagrange's Chem. II. 113 Add a very small quantity of water, in order that the mixture may form a paste somewhat liquid. 1849R. V. Dixon Heat i. 21 Liquid thermometers, may be applied to measure temperatures considerably above those at which the liquid filling them boils in the open air. 1863M. Howitt F. Bremer's Greece II. xi. 1 With the taste of Nectar and colour of liquid gold.
b. In poetical and rhetorical lang. often used for: Watery.
1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 40 And anon behold The strong ribb'd Barke through liquid Mountaines cut. 1611Coryat Crudities 559, I will returne againe to my liquid iourney betwixt Mentz and Franckford vpon the river Mænus. 1657Bp. H. King Poems (1843) iii. xiii. 103 All the Ship-wracks, and the liquid graves. 1725Pope Odyss. x. 58 Meanwhile our vessels plough the liquid plain. 1819Wordsw. Waggoner Concl. 36 While Grasmere smoothed her liquid plain The moving image to detain. 1856Emerson Eng. Traits, Voy. Eng. Wks. (Bohn) II. 11 The good ship..gliding through liquid leagues. 1879J. Burroughs Locusts & W. Honey (1884) 82 It [the strawberry] is the product of liquid May touched by the June sun.
c. occas. Of the eyes: Filled with tears.
1598Rowlands Betray. Christ 57 Her liquid eies stroue each t'exceed the other,..by teares her woe appeares. 1873Black Pr. Thule iii. 36 Poems, over which fair eyes had grown full and liquid.
II. In various transf. and fig. senses.
2. Of light, fire, the air: Clear, transparent, bright (like pure water). [Cf. L. liquidus in poetry.]
1590Spenser F.Q. iii. iv. 49 And with her pineons cleaves the liquid firmament. 1653H. More Antid. Ath. ii. ii. (1712) 41 Though the Earth move floating in the liquid Heavens. 1688Prior Exodus iii. v, Why does he [the Sun] wake the correspondent Moon, And fill her willing Lamp with liquid Light? 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 378 They That wing the liquid Air, or swim the Sea. 1742Gray Ode on Spring iii, The insect youth are on the wing, Eager to..float amid the liquid noon. c1800K. White Poems (1837) 73 The liquid lustre of her fine blue eye. 1850Kingsley Alt. Locke xiii. (1879) 163 The dark hazel eyes shone with a more liquid lustre. 1884St. James's Gaz. 10 May 6/2 A youthful forehead and a pair of liquid eyes.
3. Of sounds: Flowing, pure and clear in tone; free from harshness or discord. Also in Phonetics, Of the nature of a ‘liquid’ (see B. 2).
a1637B. Jonson Eng. Gram. (1640) 47 It [R] is sounded firme in the beginning of the words, and more liquid in the middle, and ends: as in rarer, riper. 1646Crashaw Steps to Temple, etc. 105 Bathing in streames of liquid melodie. 1697Dryden æneid Ded., The many Liquid consonants are plac'd so Artfully, that they give a pleasing sound to the Words. 1733Pope Hor. Sat. ii. i. 31 Lull with Amelia's liquid name the Nine. 1752Hume Ess. xxi. Wks. 1854 III. 229 The Italian is the most liquid, smooth, and effeminate language that can possibly be imagined. 1797Mrs. Radcliffe Italian xi. (1824) 586 The liquid cadence, as it trembled and sank away, seemed to tell the dejection of no vulgar feelings. 1847Tennyson Princess ii. 404 Make liquid treble of that bassoon my throat. 1855H. Spencer Princ. Psychol. (1872) I. ii. i. 149 Tones which are alike in pitch..are distinguishable by their..ringing or their liquid character. 1879J. Burroughs Locusts & W. Honey (1884) 86 The liquid and gurgling notes of the bobolink. 1888Sweet Eng. Sounds §21 But those ‘vowellike’ or ‘liquid’ voiced consonants which are unaccompanied by buzz are often also syllabic.
†4.
a. Of proofs, exposition, etc.: Clear, evident, manifest. Obs.
1610Donne Pseudo-martyr 17 With vs it is euident and liquid enough. a1619M. Fotherby Atheom. ii. iii. §3. (1622) 219 But vnto those that be learned, it is cleare enough and liquid. 1620Wotton in Reliq. (1672) 519 You had suspended your Judgement till more liquid proofs. a1657R. Loveday Lett. cxxx. (1659) 236 My most liquid discoveries, as I thought, of undoubted truths, have so oft been confuted. 1657W. Morice Coena quasi κοινὴ xxii. 222 S. Augustine impressed himself especially to fight against [the Donatists], as is liquid through the whole torrent of his writings. 1685H. More Paralip. Prophet. 462 This is the clear and liquid reason why [etc.]. 1726Ayliffe Parergon [305], I have robbed my self of liquid Proof by my own Act.
b. Of an account or a debt: Undisputed. Now only in Scots Law, said of a debt that has been ascertained and constituted against the debtor, either by a written obligation, or by the decree of a court.
1660Howell Dict. s.v., To make accounts liquid, or cleer, liquider, arrester les comptes. 1681Rycaut tr. Gracian's Critick To Rdr., A Debt of One hundred thousand Pieces of Eight, which his Catholic Majesty owed unto my Father: The Demand was unquestionable, for the Account was liquid, and clearly stated by the Councel of the Exchequer. 1682J. Scarlett Exchanges 120 To Discount..is good and sufficient payment, if it be of a due and liqued Debt. 1726Ayliffe Parergon 135 Nor does it admit of any delay tho' the Debt be entirely Liquid. 1731Liquid sum [see liquidation 1]. 1754Erskine Princ. Sc. Law (1809) 253 Inhibition may proceed..upon a liquid obligation. 1884Sir R. Collier in Law Times Rep. LI. 581/2 A claim by way of compensation is admissible when it is for a demand which is termed liquid.
5. Not fixed or stable. Of movement: Facile, unconstrained.
1835I. Taylor Spir. Despot. iv. 165 The liquid or convertible state in which we find the designations of office in the New Testament. 1867Deutsch Rem. (1874) 13 The liquid nature, so to speak, of its technical terms. They mean anything and everything. 1877Pauer Pianoforte Playing 16 The task of rendering the five fingers of each hand fluent, or, as we may say, liquid.
6. Of assets, securities, etc.: Capable of being promptly converted into cash.
1879Daily News 26 May, Liquid Securities, or in other words, those easily convertible into cash when necessity arises. 1884Pall Mall G. 5 May 7/2 A company with sufficient capital to take over the bank's liquid assets. 1930J. M. Keynes Treat. Money II. xxv. 67 On the other hand, bills and call loans are more ‘liquid’ than investments. 1962C. H. Kreps Money i. i. 12 The assets categorized as near money are those that are highly liquid; that is, they are convertible into money quickly, easily, and without loss. 1974Times 12 Nov. 14/4 These small engineering businesses..are now..low on liquid assets.
7. Comb.: liquid air, air in a liquid state; liquid compass, a form of magnetic compass used in ships in which the card and needle are mainly supported by floating in a bowl filled with liquid; liquid controller Electr. = liquid rheostat; liquid crystal Physical Chem. [tr. G. flüssiger krystall (O. Lehmann 1890, in Ann. d. Physik und Chem. XL. 404)], a turbid liquid that exhibits double refraction (indicative of internal anisotropy and hence some degree of ordering in its structure, as in an ordinary crystal) and exists as a distinct state of certain pure substances between the melting point and some higher temperature, at which it becomes an ordinary liquid; liquid crystal display, a visual display, esp. of segmented numbers or letters, in which liquid crystals are made visible by temporarily modifying their birefringence by electrical or other means and hence the way they reflect and scatter ambient light; abbrev. LCD s.v. L 7; liquid extract (occas. as one word) Pharm. = fluid extract s.v. fluid a. 1 a; liquid fire, any very ‘fiery’ (in taste) or highly combustible liquid, now esp. one that can be sent as a burning jet in warfare; liquid fuel, fuel that is a liquid, now esp. as used in rocketry; so liquid-fuelled a.; liquid glue, glue that keeps a liquid form till applied; liquid lunch colloq., a midday meal at which drink rather than food is consumed; liquid manure Hort., a water extract of manure used as a fertilizer; liquid oxygen, oxygen in a liquid state; liquid paraffin Pharm., an almost tasteless and odourless oily liquid that consists of hydrocarbons obtained from petroleum and is used as a laxative and in dressings; liquid petrolatum N. Amer. = liquid paraffin; liquid rheostat Electr., a rheostat which uses an electrolyte solution as the resistive element; liquid soap, soap in liquid form; liquid-solid a. (see quot.); liquid starter, a liquid rheostat used as a starter of an electric motor.
1899McClure's Mag. XII. 397 (heading) *Liquid air. A new substance that promises to do the work of coal and ice and gunpowder, at next to no cost. Ibid. 399/1 A liquid-air engine, if powerful enough, will compress the air and produce the cold in my liquefying machine exactly as well as a steam engine. 1901Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 6 Oct. 3/4 The most sensational thing in the scientific world today is liquid air. 1925E. F. Norton Fight for Everest, 1924 91 Waiting for us with hot soup in a liquid-air flask. 1946Nature 20 July 105/1 A laboratory liquid-air plant utilizing Freon-12 as a pre-cooling fluid has been designed and is now being constructed.
1865Rep. Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci. 1864 14 The distinctive peculiarities of the *liquid compass are an air-tight metallic case, within which is placed the magnetic needle, and of such size and weight as to be of very nearly the same specific gravity as the liquid in which it is intended to float. 1959E. C. Goldsworthy Seamanship & Navigation iii. 41 This liquid compass is preferred to the dry-card compass where there is much vibration, as the liquid damps the oscillations of the card caused by the movements of the vessel.
1916C. C. Garrard Electr. Switch & Controlling Gear v. 357 The rating of the *liquid controller is, therefore, based upon the maximum horse-power dissipated. 1957W. J. John Mod. Electr. Engin. II. iii. 58 (caption) A liquid controller of the type shown here provides smooth control from normal down to crawling speed.
1891Jrnl. Chem. Soc. LX. i. 250 *Liquid crystals, when heated between cover glasses slightly above the point where they pass into ordinary liquids, retain on cooling the original direction of their optical axes. 1938Ann. Reg. 1937 352 Tobacco mosaic virus is a nucleoprotein of special character, existing as mesomorphic fibres in the cell sap and spontaneously forming liquid crystals of gigantic cell-size when isolated. 1962Times 30 Apr. 7/1 When detergents are mixed with a limited amount of water, several distinct ‘mesomorphic’ phases may be formed. These phases are also known as ‘liquid crystals’ because some of their properties are akin to those of a solid while others are characteristic of a liquid. 1972Physics Bull. May 279/1 These fascinating compounds can no longer be regarded as freaks of nature, for out of every two hundred organic compounds at least one may be a liquid crystal.
1968Electronics World Nov. 58/3 Compared with whiteness of bond paper, the *liquid-crystal displays have an efficiency of 50 to 60 percent. 1973Electronics 16 Aug. 33/1 Field-effect liquid-crystal displays may give the electronic watch a big boost. 1983Listener 14 July 38/2 The Japanese are already working on flat-screen television sets which use a liquid crystal display on a matrix of light-emitting diodes. 1985Which Computer? Apr. 35/1 It has the advantage of being flat, like liquid crystal displays, but is also clear and crisp.
1864Brit. Pharmacopœia 219 (heading) *Liquid extract of Bael. 1930J. W. Cooper Pharmacy xiii. 115, 1,000 grm. of couch grass is used to produce 1,000 mil. of liquid extract. 1935Liquidextract [see fluid a. and n. A. 1 a]. 1968Biol. Abstr. XLIX. 1161/1 This liquid extract [from the bark of Oroxylon indicum] lowered the vascular permeability of rats sensitized with egg protein.
1604Shakes. Oth. v. ii. 280 Whip me ye Diuels..Wash me in steepe-downe gulfes of *Liquid fire. 1667Milton P.L. i. 229 If it were Land that ever burn'd With solid, as the Lake with liquid fire. 1815J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 579 It is in this way that the various kinds of cordial waters are prepared... The term liquid-fire has not unaptly been given them. 1838E. Eden Let. 28 Nov. in Up Country (1866) I. xxvi. 282 Runjeet produced some of his wine, a sort of liquid fire. 1862Temple Bar July 512 Ordinary phosphorus is readily soluble in bisulphide of carbon: when thus in solution constituting the liquid denominated by Captains Disney and Norton ‘liquid fire’. 1915Illustr. London News 13 Mar. 321 The enemy attacking a trench into which they had sent liquid fire.
1889Groves & Thorp Chem. Technol. I. 293 (caption) *Liquid fuel. 1912W. S. Churchill Let. 11 June in World Crisis 1911–14 vi. 32 This liquid fuel problem has got to be solved. 1913Chem. Abstr. VII. 3827 One of the principal differences between solid and liquid fuels is in the proportion of C combined with H. 1920Conquest Nov. 47/2 In the near future liquid fuel will have to be ‘rationed’ again. 1935Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XXXIX. 507 Germany consumes two million tons of liquid fuel per year. 1946Jrnl. Brit. Interplanetary Soc. VI. i. 2 At first the research was conducted with powder rockets, but after a few years a change was made to liquid fuel. This was at first tried out on a test bench, and then, in July, 1929, what is claimed to be the first liquid-fuel rocket to take-off was launched near Worcester—but it exploded at 900 feet. 1963Bird & Hutton-Stott Veteran Motor Car 75 Daimler's ‘high-speed’ liquid-fuel engine. 1966Electronics 17 Oct. 35 For the next decade, at least, liquid fuel will propel United States astronauts into space. 1969Times 3 June (Suppl.) p. ii/4 Goddard launched on March 16, 1926, the world's first liquid fuel rocket.
1960Times 18 Oct. 13/6 The Minuteman cannot carry as large a warhead as the *liquid-fuelled i.c.b.m.s. 1967Technology Week 20 Feb. 3/2 The hardened, storable liquid-fueled Titan carries the largest U.S. missile warhead and can also reach targets beyond the range of the current Minuteman I.
1875E. Spon Workshop Receipts 41/1 *Liquid glue... Soft water, 1 quart; best pale glue, 2 lbs.; [etc.]. 1927Knight & Wulpi Veneers & Plywood xxv. 276 Probably the general public..thinks of liquid glues, whenever glue is mentioned, but such preparations are in no way typical of manufacturing materials or procedures. 1966McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. VI. 219/2 Liquid glue is commonly made from fish collagen because this has little tendency to gel, but it can also be made from animal glue by treatment with acid or certain salts to inhibit gelation.
1970G. F. Newman Sir, You Bastard ii. 65 The caretaker, aroused from his post-*liquid-lunch slumber, confirmed that the couple had parted. 1972B. Everitt Cold Front vii. 55 He..refused all offers of liquid lunches and bore me off..for a great deal of solid pasta.
1837C. W. Johnson (title) On *liquid manures. 1842J. C. Loudon Suburban Horticulturist iii. 59 Arrangements should be made for collecting all the liquid manure into two adjoining tanks. 1869S. R. Hole Bk. about Roses vi. 83 The rich extract, full of carbonate of ammonia..may be used..as liquid manure in the Rosary. 1911O. Onions Widdershins 247 The hares and foxes were down four days ago, and the liquid-manure pumps like a snow man. 1914J. London Let. 21 Sept. (1966) 429, I have a fairly decent brood-barn, with liquid-manure tank attached. 1973R. Genders Epicure's Garden ii. 167 An occasional application of liquid manure will also prove beneficial.
1878Jrnl. Chem. Soc. XXXIV. 10 A jet of *liquid oxygen escaping from the tube when the pressure was taken off. 1885[see refrigerant n. 3]. 1919Chem. Abstr. 791 Spontaneous explosion of the charcoal in liquid-oxygen containers. 1954Economist 11 Sept. 12/1 Rocket motors do not need atmospheric oxygen, although they frequently carry liquid oxygen, and rocket power is, unlike jet power, effective in outer space. 1956Spaceflight Oct. 5/1 Propellants which are in common use to-day (e.g. liquid oxygen and petrol) yield exhaust velocities of the order of 2½ km./sec.
1884Jrnl. Chem. Soc. XLVI. 1073 The ‘*liquid paraffin’ of the German Pharmacopœia, is an oily liquid consisting of a mixture of hydrocarbons of the methane series. 1943J. B. Priestley Daylight on Saturday ii. 6 She was a dark girl with a long sad nose, and dosed herself with liquid paraffin. 1962Which? Jan. 26/2 Liquid paraffin is the only common lubricant laxative.
1905Pharmacopœia U.S. 336 *Liquid Petrolatum, a mixture of hydrocarbons, chiefly of the methane series, obtained by distilling off most of the lighter and more volatile portions from petroleum, and purifying the liquid residue. 1926Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 20 Jan. 7/3 (Advt.), Liquid petrolatum, heavy, special at 53¢. 1951A. Grollman Pharmacol. & Therapeutics xix. 386 Liquid petrolatum is also available in the form of a flavored emulsion.
1905P. Dawson in M. Maclean Mod. Electr. Pract. VI. v. iv. 214 Amongst the advantages claimed for *liquid rheostats may be mentioned the gradual variation of the resistance, their compactness and cheap first cost, and the absence of damage from sparking when the current is interrupted. 1957W. J. John Mod. Electr. Engin. II. iii. 59/1 A common method of providing resistance is by means of a liquid rheostat, consisting of a tank of electrolyte containing two electrodes, one fixed and one movable.
1600*Liquid sope [see soap n. 2]. 1907Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 536/3 Moline, a liquid soap, delicately perfumed for the toilet. 1920A. Keane tr. Deite's Man. Toilet Soap-Making (ed. 2) 236 The liquid soaps are mostly solutions of potash soaps in glycerine, sugar, or alkali and strong alcohol solutions. 1966J. S. Cox Illustr. Dict. Hairdressing 90/2 Liquid soap shampoo. The base is usually green soft soap and sometimes in addition either cocoanut oil, olive oil or eucalyptus oil.
1862H. Spencer First Princ. ii. xiii. §100 (1875) 292 A *liquid-solid aggregate, or, as we commonly call it, a plastic aggregate, will admit of internal redistribution with comparative facility.
1907G. W. O. Howe tr. Thomälen's Text-bk. Electr. Engin. 453/1 (Index), *Liquid starter. 1916C. C. Garrard Electr. Switch & Controlling Gear v. 353 The liquid starter, in which a solution of caustic soda or washing soda replaces the resistance wire or grids as used in the ordinary form of starter, is the most rugged of all forms of starting gear. 1932E. Molloy Pract. Electr. Engin. IV. 1319/2 Liquid starters are best suited for medium and large-size motors which require to be started infrequently.
B. n.
1. a. A liquid substance (see A. 1). In pl. often = liquid food.
Liquids and gases are classed together as fluids: see fluid.
1708J. Philips Cyder i. 31 Be it thy Choice..To sit beneath her leafy Canopy, Quaffing rich Liquids. 1725Watts Logic i. vi. §4 Juice includes both substance and liquid. 1773–83Hoole Orl. Fur. xxii. 88 E'er his lips essay'd The moistening liquid. 1805Med. Jrnl. XIV. 125 He refused to swallow liquids. 1839R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Eng. 161 Steam when in contact with the liquid from which it is formed. 1842A. Combe Physiol. Digestion (ed. 4) 36 Thirst, or a desire for liquids. 1875Fortnum Majolica vi. 58 The liquid of the bath must be thin. 1879Thomson & Tait Nat. Phil. I. i. §320 We shall designate a mass which is absolutely incompressible, and absolutely devoid of resistance to change of shape, by the simple appellation of a liquid. 1895Zangwill Master ii. iii. 157 Popping corks and gurgling liquids.
b. Dutch liquid: see Dutch a. 3 b.
2. Phonetics. A name applied to the sounds denoted by the letters l, m, n, r, or (by some writers) only to those denoted by l and r.
The name (L. liquidæ, sc. litteræ) is a literal translation of the Gr. ὑγρά (sc. στοιχεῖα) applied to λ, µ, ν, ρ, on account of their flowing and easy sound as compared with other consonants, or perh. as having an indeterminate or unstable character between consonant and vowel (cf. the application of ὑγρός to a vowel of variable quantity; also the term ἡµίϕωνα ‘semi-vowels’, applied to the ‘liquids’ and σ). A somewhat analogous term is the F. mouillé lit. ‘wet’, used to denote the palatalized pronunciation of l and some other consonants.
1530Palsgr. Introd. 23 Theyr consonantes be devyded in to mutes & liquides or semivocalles. 1611Florio, Líquide, liquids, as L. M. N. R. a1637B. Jonson Eng. Gram. (1640) 47 It [L] melteth in the sounding, and is therefore called a liquid, the tongue striking the root of the palate gently. 1710Addison Tatler No. 163 ⁋7 There is scarce a Consonant in it; I took care to make it run upon Liquids. 1751Johnson Rambler No. 88 ⁋3 By tempering the mute consonants with liquids and semi-vowels. 1817Byron Beppo xliv, With syllables which breathe of the sweet South, And gentle liquids gliding all so pat in.
3. attrib. and Comb., as liquid-cooled, liquid-filled adjs.; liquid-cooling; liquid-drop, used attrib. in Physics to denote a theoretical model in which an explanation of the properties and behaviour of the atomic nucleus is sought by likening it to a droplet of liquid, as regards the forces between its constituents; liquid-liquid a., pertaining to or involving two different liquids, or liquids in two different ways; † liquid vessel, receptacles for liquids.
1931Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XXXV. 180 The developments to be described are..applicable to all water or *liquid-cooled engines. 1967Jane's Surface Skimmer Systems 1967–68 25/1 The power plant..comprises a 240 hp Rolls-Royce LV-8 liquid-cooled eight-cylinder engine.
1933J. D. Frier Aero Engines I. vii. 94 A great advantage of *liquid cooling is that..the engine temperature is limited to the boiling-point of the liquid employed. 1960McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. IV. 604/2 In liquid cooling, the engine and radiator may be separated and each placed in the optimum location.
[1939Meitner & Frisch in Nature 11 Feb. 239/1 On account of their close packing and strong energy exchange, the particles in a heavy nucleus would be expected to move in a collective way which has some resemblance to the movement of a liquid drop.] 1939Bohr & Wheeler in Physical Rev. LVI. 426 On the basis of the *liquid drop model of atomic nuclei, an account is given of the mechanism of nuclear fission. 1955R. D. Evans Atomic Nucleus xi. 365 The liquid-drop model is the antithesis of the independent-particle models. The interactions between nucleons are assumed to be strong instead of weak. 1970D. F. Jackson Nucl. Reactions ii. 17 The static liquid drop model of the nucleus..was the first successful nuclear model and was used to describe the bulk properties of nuclei such as nuclear masses and binding energies.
1960E. L. Delmar-Morgan Cruising Yacht Equipment & Navigation ii. 33 The *liquid-filled ‘dead-beat’ instrument [sc. compass] has now taken its place. 1967Karch & Buber Offset Processes iv. 128 Modification of copy is effected simply by liquid-filled cylindrical lenses or prisms in front of the copy or film.
1940Glasstone Text-bk. Physical Chem. x. 725 (heading) Distribution in *liquid-liquid systems. 1951,1952[see gas-liquid adj. (gas n.1 7)]. 1958Chambers's Techn. Dict. 991/1 Liquid-liquid extraction, process whereby two non⁓mixing liquids are brought together for an exchange of substances dissolved in them. 1968Coulson & Richardson Chem. Engin. (ed. 2) II. xii. 486 The separation of the components of a liquid mixture with a solvent in which one or more of the desired components is preferentially soluble is known as liquid-liquid extraction. This process has been..very extensively applied to the separation of hydrocarbons in the petroleum industry.
1649New Haven Col. Rec. (1857) I. 458 The wormes would eat it [timber] so as it would be vnserviceable for making of *liquid vessell.
Hence ˈliquidless a., without liquid.
1826Blackw. Mag. XX. 397 Coleridge's patent inkstand stood liquidless as a sand-bottle.
Add:[A.] [6.] b. Of a corporation, etc.: characterized by a high proportion or substantial quantity of assets in liquid form.
1930Economist 24 May 1178/2 Marks and Spencer, being a ‘cash and carry’ concern, is liquid in every respect. The turnover is large and stock in trade represents only 115 percent of the net profit. 1947J. W. Kearns in Amer. Bar. Assoc. Proc., Section of Corporation, Banking & Mercantile Law 46/1 The origin of the ‘lease-back deal’ is probably traced back to high taxes, high taxes coupled with the desire of almost any corporate manager to see a liquid balance sheet with very few fixed assets on it. 1962L. Namier Crossroads of Power xvi. 182 Even a surplus will not, as a rule, render the position of the farmer more liquid. 1976J. Archer Not Penny More x. 96 His bank now held very few shares as he..had suspected that the Dow Jones Index would collapse and had therefore gone almost entirely liquid. 1982Financial Times 21 Jan. 30/1 Panic spread like wildfire, and investors in even the most liquid companies fell into the rush. 1988Ibid. 18 Apr. (Survey section) p. vii/3 Most big Italian companies are highly liquid.
[7.] Liquid Paper, a proprietary name in the U.S. for a type of correction fluid; more generally (also with lower-case initials), any correction fluid.
1968Trade Marks Jrnl. 23 Oct. 1810/1 (figure) *Liquid Paper correction fluid. Ibid., Registration of this Trade Mark shall give no right to the exclusive use of the words ‘Liquid Paper’. 1969Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 25 Mar. tm146/1 Liquid Paper... For liquid correction fluid... First use May 18, 1967. 1981N.Y. Times 8 Feb. (Long Island Weekly Section) 18/2 At the entrance, the visitor is invited to pick up a wire mesh fragment on which liquid paper has been allowed to dry. 1990Daily Tel. 22 Feb. 17/1 Since neither liquid paper nor crossings out are appropriate on such documents, the Crown Office had to draw up a second document.
▸ liquid measure n. a unit for measuring the volume of liquids; contrasted with dry measure.
1618L. Roberts Merchants Mappe of Commerce xv. 69 Their [sc. the Tunisians'] *liquid measure is a Mettor,..by which is sold honey, wines, and such like liquid commodities. 1752Philos. Trans. 1749–50 (Royal Soc.) 46 65 The Gallon is also a liquid Measure raised from a Pound. 1858P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products at Steekkan, Stechkanne, A Dutch liquid-measure, the 12th part of a barrel. 1910Amer. Jrnl. Semitic Langs. & Lit. 27 34 The ephah was a dry measure equal to about 77 American pints... The corresponding liquid measure was called bath. 2005Vancouver Sun (Nexis) 23 Mar. c5 Never use liquid measures to measure dry ingredients.
▸ liquid smoke n. chiefly N. Amer. a type of artificial flavouring used to give food a smoky taste.
1899Gettysburg (Pa.) Compiler (Electronic text) 21 Mar. On the tenth day it is ready for smoking or *liquid smoke can be applied, which a great many use with satisfaction. 1945J. West Plainville, USA 46 The father in a household cures the meat, often nowadays by applying commercial ‘liquid smoke’, which is gradually replacing the traditional method of actually smoking hams. 2003Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 13 July x. 29/2 Combine sugar, cumin, red and white pepper, garlic and liquid smoke in the bowl of a blender or mini food processor. |