| 释义 |
▪ I. lubricate, a. rare—1.|ˈl(j)uːbrɪkət|
[ad. L. lūbricāt-us, pa. pple. of lūbricāre: see next and -ate2.]
Slippery; smooth and oily.
1848Lytton Harold iv. vii, A fat priest with a lubricate and shining nose. 1882Ogilvie, Lubricate, slippery. (Rare.)
▪ II. lubricate, v.|ˈl(j)uːbrɪkeɪt|
[f. L. lūbricāt-, ppl. stem of lūbricāre, f. lūbric-us lubric.]
1. a. trans. To make slippery or smooth; to render smooth the motion or action of (something) by applying a fluid or unguent.
1623Cockeram, Lubricate, to make slipper. 1732Arbuthnot Rules of Diet 425 Relaxing and lubricating the passages and quieting the Spasms by Opiates. 1806Med. Jrnl. XV. 574 A fluid which serves to lubricate the canal for the passage of the fæces. 1835–6Todd Cycl. Anat. I. 307/1 There are two glands which secrete a fluid to lubricate the ball of the eye. 1862Tyndall Mountaineer. vi. 43 The liquid appeared to lubricate every atom of my body. 1866Tate Brit. Mollusks iv. 68 All molluscous animals secrete a mucous fluid to lubricate the skin.
b. To apply oil or some other substance to (a machine) in order to minimize the friction and make it run easily.
1742Young Nt. Th. ix. 2186 Man's..balmy bath, That supples, lubricates, and keeps in play, The various movements of this nice machine. 1789E. Darwin Bot Gard. i. (1791) Notes 21 He used oil or grease to..lubricate the cylinder. 1863Tyndall Heat i. §9 (1870) 8 We are careful to lubricate the axles of our railway carriages.
c. gen. To oil or grease.
1791Cowper Odyss. xvii. 105 Wash'd and lubricated with fresh oils. 1866Livingstone Last Jrnls. (1873) I. xii. 315 Dark brown fat which they use to ‘lubricate’ their hair.
d. Photogr. To cover (a print) with a glazing agent as a preliminary to burnishing.
1892Woodbury Encycl. Photogr. s.v. Burnisher, The face of the mounted print is lubricated with soap.
2. transf. and fig.
a. In general use.
1784Cowper Task iv. 65 Here rills of oily eloquence in soft Meanders lubricate the course they take. 1833Coleridge Table-t. 6 July, Fine music..has a sensible effect in..animating and as it were, lubricating my inventive faculty. 1856Emerson Eng. Traits xvii. Wks. (Bohn) II. 130 There seemed a pool of honey about his heart, which lubricated all his speech and action with fine jets of mead.
b. slang. To ply with drink; also intr. to drink (Farmer Slang 1896).
1900Daily Express 26 June 7/3 His late employers..had..dismissed him for..‘lubricating the police’.
c. To grease the palm of; to bribe.
1928Daily Express 12 July 1/1 He made specific charges. One was that taxicab proprietors have to ‘lubricate’ Scotland-yard before their taxicabs are passed for licensing.
3. absol. or intr. To act as a lubricant.
1726Leoni tr. Alberti's Archit. II. 11/1 Between the Axis and the Circle in which it turns, there shou'd be some⁓what to lubricate. 1739S. Sharp Operat. Surg. 77 The Patient is..relieved by..the Mucilaginous, the Saponaceous, &c. [remedies], some of which lubricate, and others both lubricate and stimulate. |