| 释义 |
▪ I. answer, n.|ˈɑːnsə(r), æ-|
Forms: 1 and-, ondswaru, -suaru, 2 ondswore, 2–3 andsware, -swere, 3 ændswere, ænsware, enswere, 3–4 onswere, 3–5 answare, 3–7 answere, -uer(e, 4 answar, -suar, vnswere, (on-, ansquare, -quer), 5 on-, aunsware, 5–6 aunswer(e, 6 answeare, 4– answer.
[OE. ˈandswaru, cogn. with OS. antswôr, OFris. (ontswer) ondser, ON. andsvar, annsvar, Dan. and Sw. ansvar, OTeut. *andswarâ-; f. and- against, in reply + *swarâ- affirmation, swearing, f. OTeut. *swarjan, Goth. swaran, OE. swęrian to affirm, swear. The original meaning was thus a solemn affirmation made to rebut a charge.]
1. A reply made to a charge, whereby the accused seeks to clear himself; a defence. spec. in Law, The counter-statement made in reply to a complainant's bill of charges.
1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 5779 Of whilk þai sal þan answer gyf. c1360Mercy in E.E.P. (1862) 120 Let seo what vnswere constou make. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 401 To dampne a man with-oute answere [v.r. aunswer, ansuere] or word. a1400Cov. Myst. 18 Ded men xul rysyn..And ffast to here ansuere thei xul hem dyth. 1580Baret Alv. A 433 The answere of the defendant, Intentionis depulsio. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, ii. i. 203 Call these foule Offendors to their Answeres. 1611Bible 2 Tim. iv. 16 At my first answer no man stood with me. [So Rhem.; Tindale, Genev., answerynge; Wyclif, Revised, defence.] 1694W. Brown (title) The Clerk's Tutor in Chancery, giving true Directions how to draw affidavits, petitions..bills, answers. 1809Tomlins Law Dict. s.v. Chancery, An answer generally controverts the facts stated in the bill, or some of them. 1876J. Parker Paraclete i. xiii. 201 To the charge that Christianity takes a low view of human nature, the cross of Christ is the answer of God.
2. A reply to an objection rebutting its force; a reply in writing or debate, setting forth arguments opposed to those previously advanced.
1534More (title) The Answer to the First Part of the Poysoned Booke. 1578Timme Calvin on Gen. 214 If any man object..the aunswere is easy to be made. 1612Woodall Surg. Mate Wks. 1653 Pref. 13 A loving answer to all such as shall hereafter find fault with his Book. 1798Wolcott (P. Pindar) Tales of Hoy Wks. 1812 IV. 425 An answer is inserted, he answers the answer with blacker inventions. 1846L. Lockhart (title) An Answer to the Protest of the Free Church. a1884Mod. A sufficient answer to all your objections.
3. A reply (spoken, written, or otherwise given) to a question. (The most common use.)
a800Beowulf 5713 Grim andswaru. c950Lindisf. Gosp. John xix. 9 Se hælend ondsuare ne salde him [Rushw. ondswora]. c1000Ags. G. ibid., Him ne sealde nane andsware. c1160Hatton G., Nane andswere. c1230Ancr. R. 8 Him þuncheð wunder..of swuch onswere. c1325Leg. Rood (1871) 111 Þe messagers him gaf ansquare. 1375Barbour Bruce ii. 60 Quhen thai hard nane mak ansuer, Thai brak the dur. 1580J. Frampton Joyf. Newes, in James I's Counterbl. (Arb.) 82 Geuing them continually doubtfull answeares. 1601Shakes. All's Well ii. ii. 42, I will bee a foole in question, hoping to bee the wiser by your answer. 1714Spect. No. 625 ⁋1 The following Letter of Queries, with his Answers to each Question. 1850Lynch Theoph. Trin. 5 To this question there is no answer.
4. a. A reply to an appeal, address, remark, letter, etc.; anything said or written in reference to, or acknowledgement of, what another has said or written; a response, rejoinder.
c1200Ormin 12016 Alls iff þe Laferrd ȝæfe þuss Anndsware onnȝæn þe deofell. 1382Wyclif Prov. xv. 1 A nesshe onswere breketh wrathe. 1388Ibid. A soft answere brekith ire. 1400Ld. Grey in Ellis Orig. Lett. ii. i. I. 5 An other lettre that I have send to hym agayn of an Answare. a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 106 So plesaunt of ansuere unto her husbonde. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. ii. vii. 72 Had you beene as wise as bold..Your answere had not beene inscrold. 1611Bible Job xix. 16, I called my seruant, and he gaue me no answere. 1771Junius Lett. liv. 281 His letter to me does not deserve an answer. 1859Tennyson Enid 995 He flung a wrathful answer back.
b. answer-back: a rejoinder or repartee; also fig.
1924J. A. Thomson Sci. Old & New xvi. 90 First there is the gall—an answer-back which the plant makes to the irritation which follows when the gall-midge lays an egg in the soft tissue. 1925― Sci. & Relig. vi. §9. 194 The struggle for existence is a formula covering all the answers-back that organisms make to environing difficulties.
c. In catch-phr. —'s answer to (..): applied (often ironically) to something or someone promoted by one place, group, etc., as a rival to a celebrated example from elsewhere.
[1940B. I. Evans Short Hist. Eng. Lit. xiii. 208 The Quarterly Review (1809) began publication as a Tory answer to the Edinburgh.] 1966N. Rorem Paris Diary xi. 226 For years she's been Europe's answer to Louella Parsons. 1970T. Wood Bright Side Billy Wilder xv. 167 Erich Maria Remarque..was then editor of Die Dame, Ullstein's answer to Vogue Magazine. 1973Times 30 May 11/4 A ghastly talent-spotting show with smirking juveniles being mobilized by a Seattle's answer to Harry Lauder. 1974Maclean's Mag. Apr. 94 Calling a magazine Success doesn't necessarily make it one, either. At last report, Canada's answer to Playboy and Penthouse was close to folding. 1986Daily Tel. 29 Apr. 15/1 Norway has had enough of the man described..as Norway's answer to Kim Philby.
5. The reply to an implied question; decision upon a point at issue.
1466Mercers' Accts. in Blades Caxton 151 As for yor desire of aunsware of the lordes intent. 1599Shakes. Mids. N. iv. i. 143 Is not this the day That Hermia should giue answer of her choice? a1842Tennyson Two Voices 309 There must be answer to his doubt. 1875Maine Hist. Inst. ii. 42 The Responsa Prudentum—the accumulated answers (= judgments in Brehon law) of many successive generations of famous Roman lawyers.
6. a. The solution of a problem of any kind; and, by extension: Any work solving a problem or performing an exercise set to test knowledge.
1592R. Field (title) Firste Booke of Arithmeticke; sheweing the ingenius inventions and figurative operations by whiche to calculate the true Solution or Answers to Arithmeticall Questions. 1686I. Speidel (title) An Arithmetical Extraction; or, a Collection of 800 Questions with their Answers. 1742Bailey, Answer..the Solution of a Mathematical Question, an ænigma, &c. 1881L. Hensley (title) The Scholar's Arithmetic, with Answers to the Examples.
b. to know all the answers, to be fully knowledgeable or expert; to be worldly-wise or experienced. (Cf. similar colloq. phrases s.v. know v. 15.)
1933G. Laven Rough Stuff p. ix, To know all the questions and answers, to know your way about. To be clever in things relating to crime and law-breaking. 1935G. & S. Lorimer Heart Specialist v. 128 ‘You may be one of these carefully reared dames,’ he said with a trace of doubt in his voice, ‘but you sure know all the answers.’ 1937C. Boothe The Women in Famous Plays 1937 622 Miriam. Getting wise, aren't you? Mary. Know all the answers. 1940J. Thurber Fables for Our Time xii. 30 It is better to ask some of the questions than to know all the answers. 1955A. L. Rowse Expansion Eliz. Eng. x. 408 The positive old lady in the garden, who knew all the answers and could not be told anything, had not ceased to be a marvellous politician. 1956A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes ii. iii. 367 She'd been a glamour girl, but she knew all the answers.
7. A practical reply; anything done in return; a responsive, corresponding, or resulting action. In Fencing, the return hit.
1535Coverdale Gen. xli. 16 God shall geue Pharao a prosperous answere. 1602Shakes. Ham. v. ii. 280 If Hamlet give the first or second hit, or quit in answer of the third exchange. 1611― Cymb. v. iii. 79 Great the slaughter is Heere made by 'th' Romane; great the answer be Britaines must take. 1845Darwin Voy. Nat. iv. 64 The answer was given by a volley of musketry.
8. A re-echoing or reproduction of sounds.
1869Ouseley Counterpoint, &c. xix. 152 Essentially the answer may be regarded as a transposition of the subject. 1880Grove Dict. Mus. I. 69/2 An answer in music is, in strict counterpoint, the repetition by one part or instrument of a theme proposed by another.
9. Comb. answer-jobber, one who makes a trade of writing answers; answer print Cinemat. (see quot. 1940).
1711Swift Barrier Treaty (J.) This race of *answer-jobbers..have no sort of conscience in their dealing. 1940Chambers's Techn. Dict., *Answer print, the first print from the edited negative, shown to the producers of the sound-film for final approval before release. 1959Halas & Manvell Technique Film Anim. xix. 234 The studio manager..records deadline dates for line-tests, rough cuts and answer print screenings.
▸ the answer to one's prayers and variants: the occurrence of an event for which one has prayed; (hence) a greatly desired solution. Cf. the answer to a maiden's prayer at maiden n. 1b.
1848New Englander (New Haven, Connecticut) Oct. 604/2 In 1831, the church shared largely in the quickening movement which made that year memorable..; and he saw the success of his labors and the answer to his prayers. 1901Fitchburg (Mass.) Daily Sentinel 9 Nov. 3/4 As it must happen in this world, the answer to our prayers comes in a way and at a cost we little dream of. 1947V. Davies Miracle on 34th St. xvi. 106 This guy Kringle's the answer to our prayers! 1988M. Gold And Hannah Wept v. 115 For other couples, in vitro fertilization can be the answer to their prayers for a child. 2000Daily Mail (Nexis) 24 June 65 But with ever increasing pressure on manufacturers worldwide to deliver greater fuel efficiency, the IVT appears to offer an irresistible answer to their prayers.
▪ II. answer, v.
Forms: 1 and-, ond-, -swarian, -suarian, -sworian, -swerian, 2 ænd- andswarien, -erien, 2–3 an- onswerien, 3 andswaren, -eren, ond- onswere(n, un- onsquare, 3–4 answere(n, 4 an- on- unswar(e, answer-n, ansuerye, 4–5 ansuere, aunswar(e, 4–7 answere, 5 unswer, 5–7 aun-, awnswer(e, 7 answeare, 4– answer.
[OE. andswar-ian, direct deriv. of n. andswaru (see prec.). Thus, orig. used of rebutting a charge or accusation; its extension to the common sense of reply is parallel to that of the Gr. ἀποκρίν-εσθαι, f. ἀπό off + κρίν-ειν to judge, condemn, i.e. to get oneself off from judgement; and the L. re-spondēre, f. re- back, undoing + spondēre to pledge oneself, undertake a liability, hence to rebut a liability or legal obligation.]
Gen. sign. I. To make a statement in reply to a legal charge; to meet a charge of any kind; to be liable so to do, or to suffer the consequences, to atone, pay the penalty. II. To speak (write) or act, in reply to a question, remark, or expression of will or opinion, or in response to a mere sound or sign. III. To act in response to an act, imitatively, suitably, consequently; to be so constituted as to imitate, fit, suit; to be in physical or mental conformity or logical consequence to anything. Originally intr., with dat.; but through various elisions and levelling of inflexions at length also used trans. in nearly every sense.
I. To answer to a charge.
1. intr. To speak in reply or opposition to a charge or accusation, to make a rebutting statement, defend oneself.
a. simply.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Luke xxi. 14 Ne ᵹie fore-ðencᵹæ huu ᵹie ondsuariᵹa [Rushw. ondsworiᵹað]. c1000Ags. G. ibid., Hu ᵹe andswarian. c1160Hatton G., Andswerien. 1297R. Glouc. 194 We þe setteþ day of þys nexte yere, At Rome uorto ansuerye. c1400Beryn 2092 Graunte me day til to morow, that I myȝt be avisid To answere forth. 1599Shakes. Much Ado iv. ii. 25 How answer you for your selues? 1601F. Tate Househ. Ord. Edw. II, §51 (1876) 35 He..shall aunswere before the steward..if any complaint be made. 1687Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) I. 403 Then he was ordered immediately to answer over. 1768Blackstone Comm. III. 397 That the defendant do answer over, respondeat ouster; that is, put in a more substantial plea. Mod. To answer at the bar of public opinion.
b. with for. To answer charges in regard to; to be responsible or accountable for.
1384Wyclif De Eccles. viii. Wks. III. 357 He shal answere for þes soulis þat his children leesen. 1582Lyly in 4 Cent. Eng Lett. 39 Before whome for my speache I shal aunswer. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. v. i. 13 We that haue good wits, haue much to answer for. 1711Steele Spect. No. 263 ⁋1, I have no outrageous Offence against my own excellent Parents to answer for. 1838Lytton Leila i. 6, I answer alone to Allah for my motives.
2. intr. To speak or make a statement in behalf of another; to undertake responsibility for. spec. To stand sponsor (for a child).
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 17 Here godfaderes sullen for hem andswerie bifore þe prest ate fanstone. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour iij b, How euery good woman ought to ansuere for her lord in al thinge. 1611Bible Gen. xxx. 33 So shall my righteousnesse answere for mee. 1762H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) IV. 71 The late king and queen, then prince and princess, answered for his son.
3. intr. To undertake a responsibility, to guarantee, give an assurance. Const. for.
1728Pope Dunc. Advt., I cannot answer but some mistakes may have slipt into [this edition]. 1866Mrs. Gaskell Wives & Dau. II. xxi. 326 ‘I'll answer for it Mrs. Goodenough saw Molly’..When Miss Browning ‘answered for it’ Miss Phoebe gave up doubting. 1881Daily Tel. 27 Dec., A musical monarch, whose tunefulness is answered for by Mr. Henry Nordblom.
4. a. trans. To make a defence against (a charge); hence, b. To give a satisfactory answer for, to justify. arch.
1552Huloet, Answer an action, or plaint, Dicere causam. c1590Marlowe Faust. (2nd vers.) 124 We were best look that your devil can answer the stealing of this same cup. c1680Beveridge Serm. (1729) I. 307 How they will answer it..at the last day I know not. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §125 The Proprietors could not answer it to the public..if they kept me in waiting.
5. To reply to, meet, or rebut an objection or argument.
†a. intr. Obs.
b. trans.
c1305St. Kath. (in E.E.P. 1862) 33 Mid oþer reisouns of clergie Þat maide preouede also þat here godes noþing nere..Þemperour stod and ne couþe answerie in non wise. c1374Chaucer Boeth. v. iv. 161 Whan I haue..ansewered to þo resouns by whiche þou art ymoeued. c1526Frith Disput. Purg. (1829) 107 Let us see how he answereth the argument. 1581Charke in Confer. iv. (1584) F f b, You haue so often chalenged vs to answere you an argument. 1635A. Stafford Fem. Glory (1869) 81, I determined to answeare his Forgeries. Mod. So far as I know, that protest has never been answered. No attempt has been made to answer my objections. Some theologians of Queen's College essayed to answer Locke.
6. To meet the charge in regard to (an act) practically; to suffer the consequences, atone for, make amends.
a. intr. Const. for (to obs.).
1297R. Glouc. 53 Ȝef ys neuew hadde mysdo..he scholde Onswere to eche mon. 1601Shakes. Jul. C. iii. ii. 85 If it were so, it were a grievous fault And grievouslie hath Caesar answered for it. 1710W. Mather Yng. Man's Comp. (1727) 122 The Husband must answer to his Wive's Faults; if she wrong another..he must make Satisfaction.
†b. trans., esp. with it as obj. Obs.
1594Shakes. Rich. III, iv. ii. 96 Stanley looke to your Wife: if she conuey Letters to Richmond, you shall answer it. 1625Donne Serm. cl. Wks. VI. 61 Whosoever is dead in that family by thy negligence, thou shall answer the King that subject. 1754Sherlock Disc. (1759) I. i. 31 If you receive not the Light you must answer it.
7. To satisfy a pecuniary claim.
†a. intr. To be responsible for payment of the claim. Const. of, for. Obs.
1480Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxxv. 230 The lordes of euery toun wher suche thyng shold be taxed..shold ansuere to the kyng therof. 1628Coke On Litt. 54 a, Tenant in dower..shall answer for the waste done by a stranger.
†b. trans. To account to or satisfy (a person) of or for the claim; to repay, recompense. Obs.
1413Lydg. Pylgr. Sowle i. xvii. (1859) 18 By whiche caucyon he myght bynd hym self for to ansuere me yf that his accyon be desalowyd. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cccviii. 467 We wolde demaunde good hostages and sufficient, to answere vs of our horses agayne. 1577Holinshed Chron. II. 240 The emperour declared plainlie that he would be answered for such summes of monie as king Richard had taken. 1641Baker Chron. (1679) 231/1 That King Richard should yearly pay and answer the Duke of all the revenues.
c. trans. To satisfy (the claim), discharge (a debt), pay (the sum legally demanded); hence, to be sufficient for, meet (a pecuniary liability).
1581Lambarde Eiren. ii. iv. (1588) 177 Their armour and weapon shall be prised, and the same answered to the use of the Queenes Maiestie. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, i. iii. 185 This proud King, who studies..To answer all the Debt he owes vnto you. 1608Yorksh. Trag. i. ii, His fortunes cannot answer his expense. a1626Bacon Max. & Uses Com. Law 60 The third part must descend to the heire to answer guardship. 1710in Lond. Gaz. mmmmdclxxiii/3 Officer for any refusal or neglect of his Duty, to answer Damages. 1770Langhorne Plutarch's Lives (1879) I. 386/1 A fine which his circumstances could not answer. 1832H. Martineau Hill & Valley i. 6 A few shillings..to answer any sudden occasion.
¶ In senses 8–11 the idea of compensation is linked with that of correspondence; cf. III.
†8.
a. trans. To prove a satisfactory return or equivalent for (an expenditure); to repay, recoup. Obs.
1596Bp. Barlow 3 Serm. Ded. 81 Yet did they not answer either the threshers labour, or the owners measure. 1673Ray Journ. Low Countr. Pref., Nothing..which might answer their trouble and expence. 1731Swift Corr. II. 649 The maid will..sell more butter and cheese than will answer her wages. 1780W. Coxe Russ. Discov. 7 No crop..sufficient..to answer the pains and expence of raising it.
†b. To repay, pay (a person). Obs. rare.
1587Fleming Cont. Holinshed's Chron. III. 415/1 The said countries, which with their riches by common estimation answered the emperour Charles equallie to his Indies.
c. intr. To be advantageous, or servicable to.
1850Lytton Wks. II. viii. iii. 15 If Beatrice di Negra would indeed be rich, she might answer to himself as a wife. 1865Carlyle Fredk. Gt. V. xiii. viii. 90 He was in the way of making such investments..and found them answer to him.
9. trans. To satisfy or fulfil (wishes, hopes, expectations, etc.).
1653Walton Angler i. 2, I shall almost answer your hopes. 1673Cave Prim. Chr. i. i. 3 This he well foresaw and the event truly answered it. 1765Wilkes Corr. (1805) II. 137 Were you here with me, my fondest wishes would be answered. 1878R. B. Smith Carthage 126 The result answered his expectations.
10. a. trans. To fulfil or accomplish (an end); to suit (a purpose).
1714Grove Spect. No. 588 ⁋2 In both Cases the Ends of Self Love are equally answered. 1749Fielding Tom Jones vii. xiii, I applied a fomentation..which highly answered the intention. 1790Paley Hor. Paul. i. 8 My design will be fully answered. 1877Mozley Univ. Serm. ii. 33 Less severity would not have answered his purpose.
b. trans. To fulfil, satisfy the requirements, etc. of (a person); to suit.
1816Scott Antiq. xvi. (1829) 105 He offered him a beast he thought wad answer him weel eneugh.
11. intr. (ellipt.). To serve the purpose, attain the end, succeed, prove a success. Also (with suitable qualification): To turn out (well or ill).
1783Cowper Lett. 19 Jan., Their labour was almost in vain before, but now it answers. 1785T. Jefferson Writ. (1859) I. 488 If they find our timber answer. 1856Froude Hist. Eng. I. 27 It answered better as a speculation to convert arable land into pasture. c1865J. Wylde in Circ. Sc. I. 314/1 Boxwood charcoal answers best for this purpose.
II. To answer a question, remark, etc.
12. To speak or write in reply to a question, remark, or any expression of desire or opinion; to reply, respond, rejoin; also To reply to an implied question, to solve a doubt.
Const. a. simply; b. to a person; c. a person as indirect (dat.) obj.; d. to or unto the question, etc.; e. the question, etc., as obj.; spec. in Horse-racing, to answer (the question): (of a horse) to respond to a call made by the jockey (cf. to ask the question, ask v. 2 b); † f. (combining c and d) a person to his question; g. (combining c and e) a person his question; h. with the answer as subordinate objective sentence, or clause introduced by that; i. with the answer as simple obj., n. or pron.; j. (combining b or c and h); k. (combining b or c and i); l. (combining d and h); m. (combining d and i).
a.c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 129 He answerede þus, que⁓ðinde. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 437 The byschop hard him swa ansuer. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. ii. ii. 195 Why prat'st thou to thy selfe, and answer'st not? 1765H. Walpole Cast. Otranto v. (1798) 79 Thou answerest from the point. a1842Tennyson Miller's Dau. 118 Will she answer if I call?
b.c1230Ancr. R. 10 O þisse wise answerieð to þeo þet askeð ou of ower ordre. c1400Apol. Loll. 68, I þe Lord schal ansuere to him. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour iij b, No good woman ought to ansuere to her husbond whan he is wrothe. 1607Shakes. Cor. iii. iii. 61 Answer to us. 1842Tennyson Love & Duty 28 To that man My work shall answer.
c.c950Lindisf. Gosp. John xviii. 22 Ondsuæræstu suæ ðæm biscobi. c1000Ags. G. ibid., Andswarast ðu swa ðam bisceope. c1160Hatton G. ibid., ændswerest þu swa þam biscoppe. a1300Cursor M. 1304 Mildely he him þam vnsquerede. 1450Myrc 930 Unsware thow me. 1601Shakes. Jul. C. iv. iii. 78 Should I haue answer'd Caius Cassius so? 1611Bible Prov. xxvi. 4 Answer not a fool according to his folly. 1791Cowper Iliad iv. 490 Whom with a frowning brow, the brave Tydides answer'd. 1859Tennyson Elaine 286 Lancelot spoke And answered him at full.
d.c1400Destr. Troy xxxiv. 13266 To all thing he answarit abilly. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. v. 35 Is thy newes good or bad? answere to that. 1699Bentley Phal. Pref. 68 Mr. B. here answers to a Question, that never was ask'd him. 1881N. T. (Revised) Luke xiv. 6 They could not answer again unto these things.
e.1722De Foe Plague 67 To answer their question directly. 1864Tennyson Aylmer's F. 465 My lady's cousin Answered all queries touching those at home. 1894H. Custance Riding Recoll. vi. 88, I..asked ‘King Lud’ the question. He answered in the most generous manner possible,..and won. 1894Idler June 545 The certain winner of the Derby—if he is able to answer the question I am going to put to him.
f.c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 2079 Ariadne in this manere Answerde [v.r. ansuerd] hym to his profre. 1526Tindale Luke xiv. 6 They coulde not answer him agayne to that. 1611Bible Ibid. They could not answere him againe to these things. 1605Shakes. Macb. iv. i. 60 Answer me To what I aske you.
g.1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iii. iii. 238 Ere thou go, but answer me one doubt. Mod. Answer me this question.
h.a1300Cursor M. 1095 He onsquared [v.r. ansuerd, vnswerd]..Quen was I keper of þi childe. 1340Ayenb. 190 He ansuerede þet he ne hedde bote þri pans. 1611Bible Acts xxii. 8, I answered, Who art thou, Lord? 1733Pope Mor. Ess. i. 84 Wks. 1735 II. ii. 5 The mighty Czar might answer, he was drunk. 1860O. Meredith Lucille i. iv. xxi, Who can answer where any road leads to?
i.1382Wyclif Matt. xxvii. 12 Whanne he was acusid..he answerid nothing. c1460Towneley Myst. 196 Fyrst wold I here, What he wold answere. 1860Dickens Uncomm. Trav. xv. (1866) 109/1 Chips answered never a word.
j.c1175Lamb. Hom. 45 Paul him onswerde, Lauerd ic biwepe þas monifolde pine. c1250Gen. & Ex. 4107 God hem andswerede, ‘iosue Ic wile ben loder-man after ðe.’ 1596Spenser F.Q. v. ii. 11 To whom he aunswerd wroth, ‘loe there thy hire.’ 1611Bible Acts xxv. 16 To whom I answered, It is not the maner of the Romanes, etc.
k.c950Lindisf. Gosp. Mark xiv. 40 Ne wiston huæd scealdon onsuæreᵹa him. c1160Hatton G. ibid., Nyston hwæt hyo him andswereden. c1230Ancr. R. 96 Ne answerie ȝe him nowiht. 1611Bible Job xxiii. 5 The words which he would answere me. ― Matt. xxii. 46 No man was able to answere him a word.
l.1382Wyclif Acts xxv. 16 To whiche I answerid that, etc. 1756Burke Subl. & B. Wks. I. 269 To this I answer that admitting, etc.
m.1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iv. vi. 45 What answeres Clarence to his Soueraignes will?
13. Coupled with say. Sometimes without preceding question. (A Hellenism of the N.T.) arch.
c1000Ags. Gosp. John iii. 9 Ða andswarode Nichodemus & cwæð. Hu maᵹon þas þing þus ᵹeweorðan? c1160Hatton G. ibid., Ða andswerede N. & cwæð. c1220Hali Meid. 3 Ho mei onsweren & seien. c1420Chron. Vilod. 466 Unswered þe monk, and sayde ryȝt þus. 1526Tindale Luke xiii. 25 He shall answer and saye vnto you: I knowe you not. 1611Bible Mark xi. 14 And Jesus answered, and said vnto it, No man eate fruit of thee hereafter.
14. To make a rejoinder to anything authoritative or final, or where silence or acquiescence would be proper; to reply impertinently. Also, to answer back.
1526Tindale Tit. ii. 9 The servauntes exhort..to please in all thynges, not answerynge agayne. [So 1611; Wyclif, aȝeinseiynge]. 1853Lytton My Novel i. xiii. 53 Mrs. Hazeldean (observing Frank colouring, and about to reply).—Hush, Frank, never answer your father. a1884Mod. You should never answer back. 1904Stanislaus Joyce Dublin Diary (1962) 52 She is obstinate and inclined to answer back a great deal. 1926Sat. Rev. 20 Mar. 376/1 In dialogue the characters do not answer so much as answer back. 1929H. G. Wells King who was King ii. §4. 66 The King receives him coldly and admonishes him with evident severity... Against all etiquette he answers back. 1937F. Stark Baghdad Sketches 172 One who, after many years of patient trampling upon, suddenly answers back. 1948Daily Herald 7 Aug. 2/2 This sort of person is compensating himself for not being allowed to Answer Back as a child.
15. trans. or absol. To solve a problem put in the form of a question; to perform the exercises or ‘questions’ set in an examination paper.
1742Bailey, To Answer..to solve a Proposition or Question in Arithmetick or Geometry, &c. by declaring what the Amount is. 1868M. Pattison Acad. Organ. 294 The student himself will tell you that he answered such a paper ‘out of Grote,’ and such another ‘out of Maine’ or ‘Austin.’ Ibid. 296 No candidate would be expected in three hours to answer all the thirteen [questions]. a1884Mod. You have answered very well.
16. to answer to a name: lit. to answer when addressed by that name, and thus to acknowledge it as one's own; to have the name of.
1599Shakes. Much Ado v. iv. 73, I answer to that name, what is your will? 1607― Cor. v. i. 12 Coriolanus He would not answer to: Forbad all names. 1758Johnson Idler No. 12 ⁋5 A spaniel..that answers to the name of Ranger.
17. To say or sing antiphonally.
1611Bible 1 Sam. xviii. 7 The women answered one another, as they played. 1697Dryden Virg. Ecl. vii. 4 Both alike inspir'd To sing, and answer as the Song requir'd.
18. To make a responsive sound, as an echo.
c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 2193 The holwe rokkis answerden hire a-gayn. 1596Spenser F.Q. ii. xii. 33 The rolling sea, resounding soft, In his big base them fitly answered. 1667Milton P.L. x. 862 With other echo late I taught your Shades To answer. 1709Pope Summer 16 The woods shall answer, and their echo ring. 1847Tennyson Princ. Prol. 66 Echo answer'd in her sleep From hollow fields.
19. a. To reply favourably to (a petitioner), or conformably to (his petition). Cf. 9.
1593Shakes. Lucr. 1606 At length addressed to answer his desire. 1611Bible Ps. xxvii. 7 Haue mercie also vpon mee, and answere me. 1648Milton Ps. lxxxvi. 24 Thou wilt..Answer what I prayed. 1689Col. Records Penn. I. 313 With reluctancy to answer my Request. 1864Tennyson Boadicea 22 The Gods have heard it, O Icenian!..Doubt not ye the Gods have answer'd.
†b. To give or administer (anything) in answer to petition. Obs. rare.
1586J. Hooker Girald. Irel. in Holinsh. II. 151/2 Hir maiesties principall and high courts, to answer the law to all sutors throughout the whole realme.
20. To reply to what is practically a request, as a knock at the door, a bell, or other signal.
a. intr.
1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, i. i. 6 Knock but at the gate, and he himself will answer. 1722De Foe Plague 51 They knocked at the door, but nobody answered.
b. trans. To answer the door, the bell, etc.
1862Mrs. H. Wood Channings II. 349 He answers all the rings at the yard bell. 1866W. Collins Armadale III. 205 The woman had left us to answer the door. 1878Halliwell Dict. s.v., At a farm-house near South Petherton, a maidservant was recently asked why she did not answer the door. The girl replied..‘Why—why—why, if you plaze, mim, I—I—I did'n hear'n speak.’
21. To make a sign of any kind in response to, or acknowledgement of, any signal.
a. intr.
b. trans.
1805E. Berry in Nicolas Disp. (1846) VII. 117 At daylight I made the Private Signal which was not answered. a1884Mod. He gave a nod; I answered with a wink.
III. To answer in similarity, to correspond.
22. trans. To act in conformity with (any indication of will or law), to obey; esp. of a ship: to answer the helm.
1610Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 190, I come To answer thy best pleasure. 1637Milton Comus 888 Bridle in thy headlong wave Till thou our summons answered have. 1738J. Keill Anim. Œcon. Pref. 11 That the Indications..are right, or such as, if answered, would cure the Disease. 1854G. Richardson Univ. Code v., 2578 = Will not answer her helm.
23. intr. To act in sympathy with, or in response (to), action on the part of another.
1684R. Waller Ess. Nat. Exper. 6 The former immediately answer to the least change of the Air. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 274 The Glebe will answer to the Sylvan Reign, Great Heats will follow, and large Crops of Grain. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. i. 2 The girl instantly answered to the action in her sculling.
24. trans. To repeat the action of, correspond to.
1599Shakes. Hen. V, iv. Prol. 8 Fire answers fire. 1603― Meas. for M. v. i. 415 Haste still paies haste, and leasure answers leasure.
25. trans. To give back in kind, to return, render.
1576Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 231 They bee so ready..not to aunswere, but to offer, force and violence, even to Kings and Princes. 1596Spenser F.Q. v. i. 24 Well did the squire perceive himselfe too weake To aunswere his defiaunce in the field. 1601Cornwallyes Seneca (1631) 44 Able to answere feast with feast. 1793Holcroft Lavater's Physiog. xxxi. 163 To answer wit with reason is like endeavouring to hold an eel by the tail. 1827Keble Chr. Y. 24 S. Trin. iv. 2 Answering love for love.
†26. trans. To return the hostile action of (a person), meet in fight, encounter. Obs.
c1400Destr. Troy xx. 8274 Or hit auntrid hym to aunsware Ector agayne. 1468J. Paston in Lett. 585 II. 317 My Lord the Bastard, took upon hym to answere xxiiij. knyts and gentylmen..at jostys of pese. 1586J. Hooker Girald. Irel. in Holinsh. II. 155/1 His Gallowglasses were good men to incounter with Gallowglasses, and not to answer old souldiers.
27. intr. To correspond in number, shape, size, position, appearance, fitness, or other characteristics. Const. to (against, with, obs.).
c1230Ancr. R. 94 Euerichones mede þer scal onswerien aȝein þe swinc..þet heo her uor his luue edmodliche þolieð. c1391Chaucer Astrol. ii. §10. 22 Whiche bordure is answering to the degrees of the equinoxial. 1471Ripley Comp. Alch. i. (in Ashm. 1652) 130 Every Burgeon answereth to his owne Seed. 1563J. Shute Archit. D iij b, The Proiecture of Them doth answer iustly with the thicknes of the pillor. 1611Bible Gal. iv. 25 This Agar..answereth to Ierusalem, which now is. 1794Paley Nat. Theol. xi. §1 (1819) 169 The right arm answers accurately to the left both in size and shape. 1878R. B. Smith Carthage 420 It answers to the description of Strabo.
†28. trans. To correspond with (as in prec.), come up to. Obs. or arch.
1577Hanmer Anc. Eccl. Hist. (1619) 133 So many..as now the number of all sorts cannot answer. 1671Milton Samson 1090 If thy appearance answer loud report. 1690Locke Hum. Und. iii. v. (1690) 241 The Terms of our Law..will hardly find Words that answer them in the Spanish, or Italian. 1775Sheridan Duenna ii. ii, I wish she had answered her picture as well. 1789Smyth tr. Aldrich's Archit. (1818) 146 Opposite to these..the rooms for the wine presses answered the baths.
†29. causal. To cause to correspond or agree to.
1713Swift Caden. & Van. Wks. 1755 III. ii. 18 He could not answer to his fame The triumphs of that stubborn dame. |