| 释义 |
midway, n., a., adv. and prep.|ˈmɪdweɪ, mɪdˈweɪ|
[f. mid a. + way. Cf. MDu. middewech; also Da. midtvei.]
A. n.
†1. The middle of the way or distance. Obs.
c897K. ælfred Gregory's Past C. li. 399 Ðonne bið ðæt swa swa Segor stod on midweᵹe betweox ðæm muntum & ðæm merscum ðe Sodoma on wæs. a1400Morte Arth. 2682 Sir Wychere, Sir Walchere, theis weise mene of armes,..Mett him in the mydwaye. c1400Mandeville (1839) iv. 31 Fro Calabre or fro Cecyle to Akoun, be See, is 1300 Myles of Lombardye. And the Ile of Crete is right in the myd weye. 1586T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. 68 The studie of letters is..so long and uneasie a journey, that they which thinke to finish it, oftentimes staie in the midwaie. 1677W. Hubbard Narrative (1865) I. 36 Newhaven..seated near the Midway betwixt Hudsons River and that of Connecticut. 1770King in Phil. Trans. LXI. 256 She mentioned a very steep shelf, or descent, in the midway.
†2. A medium; a middle course. Now rare.
1599Shakes. Much Ado ii. i. 8 Hee were an excellent man that were made iust in the mid-way betweene him and Benedicke. 1606― Ant. & Cl. iii. iv. 19 No midway 'Twixt these extreames at all. a1656Bp. Hall Rem. Wks. (1660) 168 Our sorrow must walk in a mid-way betwixt neglect and excess. 1677Govt. Venice 56 The Senat having chosen the midway, which in great dangers, and doubtful, is always the worst. 1847Emerson Poems (1857) 39 Nor mount, nor dive; all good things keep The midway of the eternal deep.
3. U.S. Freq. with capital initial. At an exhibition, fair, or the like: a central avenue along which the chief exhibits or amusements are placed; hence, any cheap place of amusement; slang, a hall. Also attrib.
The use originated in the inclusion of the ‘Midway Plaisance’ of Chicago in the grounds of the exposition held there in 1893.
1893Outing Dec. 208/1 The waiters were the hardiest set on the Midway. 1901World's Work Aug. 1097/2 Nowadays we frankly admit that the Midway is the strongest magnet of a big fair. 1901Everybody's Mag. Oct. 424 Can I arrange with you for placing a first-class Midway on your grounds? Ibid. 427/1 A mile and a half of kerwhango and clash—That is the Midway show. 1927K. Nicholson Barker 149 Midway Confab, news column in the Billboard, the weekly trade paper for outdoor show-folk. 1932Evening Sun (Baltimore) 9 Dec. 31/5 Midway, a hall. 1949Sat. Even. Post 17 Sept. 25/1, I have worked in..big-time railroad shows whose midways had the glitter of a handful of diamonds. 1956H. Gold Man who was not with It (1965) i. 3 There he is on the midway, Grack the Frenchie, talking for his Countstore.
B. adj.
1. Situated in the middle of the way, occupying the middle. rare exc. poet.
1605Shakes. Lear iv. vi. 6 The Crowes and Choughes, that wing the midway ayre Shew scarce so grosse as Beetles. 1742Young Nt. Th. ix. 1218 In Mid-way Flight Imagination tires. 1879Geo. Eliot Theo. Such 221 The midway parting of his crisp hair. 1898G. Meredith Odes Fr. Hist. 29 No more at midway heaven.
2.
†a. Medium, moderate. Obs.
1573Tyrie Refut. Knox To Rdr., Als conuenient to begyle the simple reader, as to impesche and trauel men of gude ingyne and midway knawlage, to cum to the vnderstanding of the veritie. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. vii. 43 He was of midway stature. 1675G. R. tr. Le Grand's Man without Passion 59, I confess that I understand not that competent or midway knowledg by him found out.
b. Of an opinion: Mediating. rare.
1905J. Orr Problem Old Test. ix. 327 The midway theory advocated by Nöldeke.
C. adv.
1. In the middle of the way or distance; half-way. Also U.S. const. of.
a1225Ancr. R. 412 A sunedei midwei bitweonen þet and ester. 1577–87Holinshed Chron. III. 1116/1 Lithquo, midwaie betwixt Sterling and Edenburgh. 1608Shakes. Per. v. i. 48 She..would..make a battrie through his defend parts, which now are midway stopt. 1692R. L'Estrange Fables cxxxiii. 123 The Hare lay'd himself down about Mid-way. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho iv, The vapours floated mid-way down the mountains. 1812J. J. Henry Accurate Acct. Heroes Campaign against Quebec 192 About midway of the horn [of the moose],..there is a broad flat part. 1868C. M. Yonge Cameos (1879) I. xxvii. 225 Midway in the strait he met the French fleet. 1896Howells Impressions & Exp. 197 The band..playing in the afternoon midway of the long veranda. 1903Nation (N.Y.) 17 Sept. 234 He died midway of his 70th year. 1927Sat. Even. Post 24 Dec. 44/3 She stopped midway of her sentence.
2.
†a. In a medium manner, tolerably. Obs.
1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. i. 117 Nathir sulde ony mervel heirof, quhen na man, quha leiues bot midway temperat, in the tounes of Scotland, is nocht sune rich.
D. prep. In the middle of. rare.
185.Maury in Olmsted Journ. Cotton Kingd. (1861) I. 143 Norfolk [Virginia] is..midway the coast. 1868Swinburne Ess. & Stud. (1875) 374 A boat is moored, and women..are about to enter it: one is already midway the steps of the pier. |