| 释义 |
national, a. and n.|ˈnæʃənəl|
[a. F. national (16th c.), f. nation nation n.1 + -al -al1. Cf. It. nazionale, Sp. nacional.]
A. adj.
1. a. Of or belonging to a (or the) nation; affecting, or shared by, the nation as a whole.
1597Howson Serm. 24 Dec. 24 The Ciuill and Nationall lawes of anie Countrey. 1643Caryl Sacr. Cov. 26 That which promotes personall holinesse, must needs promote Nationall holinesse. 1678Marvell Growth Popery 39 This was a National Business if ever any were. 1730–1Bolingbroke Let. to Swift Jan., National corruption must be purged by national calamities. 1743Bolingbroke Remarks Hist. Eng. (1780) ii. 28 A Spirit of Liberty will be always and wholly concern'd about national Interests. 1790Burke Fr. Rev. (1898) 31 The spirit of caution which predominated in the national councils. 1835Thirlwall Greece vii. I. 253 The national festival of the Pambœotia was celebrated with games. 1856Froude Hist. Eng. I. ii. 161 Their angry jealousy refused to tolerate longer a national dishonour. 1871Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xvii. 72 In the end national unity and national freedom appeared again in more perfect shapes. 1914G. B. Shaw Dark Lady of Sonnets 132 The very stupid people who cannot see that a National Theatre is worth having for the sake of the National Soul. 1927‘A. Hope’ Memories & Notes xiv. 239, I went to Boston in company with Peter Dunne, whose ‘Mr. Dooley’ had already made him what the papers in the States call a ‘national figure’. 1931Hansard Commons 28 July 2217, I should take no exception to a small sum towards the preservation of such things as Hadrian's Wall and the other national monuments. c1935E. E. Cummings Let. 7 Jan. (1969) 134 Here lies a national hero (Who governed by fits and by starts). 1939Hansard Commons 2 Sept. 232 In the national interest, having in mind the great inroads that war must..make on the youth of our nation, we should see..that some of our youth are left to carry on in the future. 1966Tacheron & Udall Job of Congressman vii. 198 And then, you see, some of your friends back home say, ‘Why, he is becoming a national figure.’ 1966Oxf. Compan. Amer. Hist. 560/1 National monuments include buildings, statues, homesteads, battlefields, cemeteries, and sites of historic, scenic, or political significance. 1969Plano & Olton Internat. Relations Dict. vi. 128 When a state bases its foreign policy solely on the bedrock of national interest with little or no concern for universal moral principles, it can be described as pursuing a realistic in contradistinction to an idealistic policy. 1973Times 17 Dec. 15/3 The NUM..cannot be totally indifferent to the national interest. 1973N.Y. Times 22 June 35 One of the most successful codebreaking organizations of those post-war years was the National Security Agency. 1975Atlantic Monthly Jan. 32/2 The Department of Defense could give no adequate definition of ‘national security’.
b. Of troops, etc.: Maintained by a nation. (See also quot. 1802.)
1802James Milit. Dict., National troops, are those born in our own dominions, in opposition to foreigners. 1842Borrow Bible in Spain xxxvi, The bookseller..was an officer in the national cavalry. 1876Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. 269/1 The national defences of a country consist, besides her armies and reserves, of the navy [etc.].
c. Of or belonging to the French Government during the time of the first Republic.
1793Nelson in Nicolas Disp. (1845) I. 308 We..have taken nothing but a miserable National brig of eight guns. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. III. vi. i, Most chopfallen, blue, enters the National Agent this Limbo whither he has sent so many.
d. Designating a B.B.C. radio service which operated during the 1930s. Also ellipt.
1931Daily Express 22 Sept. 13/3 Tonight..on the National begin..the new poetry readings. 1938W. Goatman By-Ways of B.B.C. viii. 81 Control-Room engineers are responsible..for controlling three separate programmes—National, Regional, and Empire. 1956B. Paulu Brit. Broadcasting vii. 145 From 1930 to the outbreak of World War II, there was the National Service, uniform throughout the country, consisting mainly of London programs of national appeal. 1965A. Briggs Golden Age of Wireless 36 By 1934..there was more light entertainment on the National than on the Regional service. 1971D. G. Bridson Prospero & Ariel viii. 177 Back in the thirties, there had been two nation⁓wide broadcast programmes, the National and the Regional.
e. In the war of 1939–45 used to designate foodstuffs made to official specifications for nation-wide distribution, as national flour, national loaf, etc.
1940Hansard Commons 25 Jan. 810/2 All butter sold by the Ministry of Food is..described as ‘National Butter’. 1941New Statesman 16 Apr. 157 The bakers are equally reluctant to change their habits. They shake their heads with a mournful smile at mention of the national loaf. 1941Lancet 15 Nov. 605/1 When the Medical Research Council drew up its second memorandum on national flour in the spring of 1941 it offered the nation something new. 1943Daily Tel. 20 Dec. 3 National Milk-Cocoa—the new food drink evolved by the Ministry's scientific advisers—is already available to all factories and industrial undertakings in limited quantities. 1945ABC of Cookery (Ministry of Food) vi. 20 National Household Milk is dried skim milk. Ibid. xix. 69 The best foods for iron are liver, eggs,..national or wholemeal bread and oatmeal. 1956W. Thompson Time off my Life xix. 146, I couldn't stand the stuff they called ‘national loaf’ in the war.
2. a. Peculiar to the people of a particular country, characteristic or distinctive of a nation. † Also const. unto.
1625Carpenter Geog. Del. ii. xiv. (1635) 219 Who obserues not in all Nations certaine naturall or nationall vertues or vices. 1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 201 That an unsavoury odour is gentilitious or national unto the Jews. 1650Bulwer Anthropomet. 81 In Perviana also, a great Nose is in request and National. 1796H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) III. 236 They abjured the national prejudices which had rendered them..the enemies of other men. 1822B. W. Procter Diego de Montilla xlv. 7 The dances I have named are national. 1858Max Müller Chips (1880) III. i. 38 Truly national poetry exists only where there is a truly national life.
b. spec. national football (Austral.) = Australian rules; national game (see quots.: in quots. 1930 and 1963 the game is two-up.)
1828Oscotian (ed. 2) I. 35 The day or two previous..gave employment for our youth, in adjusting the arrangements, necessary for the noble and national game, of Cricket. 1869W. G. Beers (title) Lacrosse: the national game of Canada. 19..Primer Austral. Football (Austral. National Football Council) 1 Youngsters who are keen to learn and understand the fundamentals of their National Football. 1912Hilton & Smith Royal & Anc. Game of Golf 34 The Scots themselves have yielded to the softening influences of the South..and the change is reflected in their national game. 1930L. W. Lower Here's Luck 70 He had a small piece of wood in his hand, on which were balanced two pennies. The national game was in progress. 1958National football [see Australian rules]. 1963F. Hardy Legends from Benson's Valley 108 The demise of the bookmakers increased attendance at the Sunday sessions of Australia's national game.
†3.
a. Belonging to the same nation as oneself; compatriotic. Obs. rare—1.
1632Lithgow Trav. i. 20 In these parts a man can finde no worser enimie than his nationall supposed friend.
†b. Gentile; belonging to ‘the nations’, as opposed to the Jews. Obs. rare—1.
1662E. Pagitt Heresiogr. (ed. 6) 180 A National Saint, or a Saint of the Gentiles.
4. a. Patriotic; strongly upholding one's own nation.
1711Fingall MSS. in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 159 It showes in them an ingratitude to so national a man. 1797A. M. Bennett Beggar Girl (1813) II. 61 The fine old palace, the chamber,..were..severally explained by the national major. 1810S. Green Reformist I. 243 Amongst other prejudices natural to a national Scotchman, he bore an inveterate hatred to the Irish. 1871Daily News 7 Sept., He is intensely national... He believes that the Scots are the finest race in the world.
b. Devoted to the interests of the nation as a whole. Also Comb.
1801J. Adams Wks. (1854) IX. 585 Too strongly infected with the spirit of party, to give much encouragement to men who are merely national. 1889Spectator 9 Nov. 625/2 This signal encouragement to the national-minded Radicals of the United Kingdom.
5. In special collocations: National convention, national council, national debt, national synod (see the ns.); national anthem, the hymn ‘God save the King’; also, the words or music sung or played on similar occasions in other countries; National Assembly, an assembly consisting of representatives of a nation; spec. † (a) = General Assembly (see assembly 5 b); (b) a synod of the Church in a particular nation; (c) the first of the revolutionary assemblies of France, in session 1789–91; also applied at various later dates to the popular assembly, and now to the two houses, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, when in joint session; National Assistance, a form of welfare payment combining Unemployment Assistance and Public Assistance, begun in 1948, administered by the National Assistance Board, and replaced in 1966 by Supplementary Benefits; national bank, a bank associated with the national finances; U.S., a bank whose circulating notes are secured by United States bonds deposited with the government; national cake (see cake n. 7 b); national character, personality or cultural characteristics which seem to be wide-spread enough in a particular nation or racial group for generalizations to be made concerning either the whole group or individuals belonging to it; so national characteristic; national church, (a) a church consisting of a nation; (b) a church established by law in a particular nation; National Front, a political group in Britain with extreme reactionary views; National Government, a coalition government, esp. one in which party differences are subordinated to the national interest in times of crisis; also in the sense of a government free from external domination (see quot. 1943); national guard, an armed force existing in France at various times between 1789 and 1871; a member of this force; also (with capitals), in the United States, a militia force which may be used by its own state, e.g. for law enforcement, or by the Federal government as part of the U.S. army; national health, health as it concerns the nation as a whole; National Health Service, the comprehensive health service provided in Great Britain, initiated in 1946 and financed by taxation; freq. ellipt. as National Health; National Hunt Committee, the body which controls steeplechasing and hurdle-racing in Great Britain; freq. ellipt. and attrib. as National Hunt; national income: see income n.1 6 a; National Insurance = insurance 4 e; also attrib.; National Mark, a mark designating grade for use on British agricultural produce; also attrib.; national minority, a minority group, belonging historically to another nationality, which feels itself or is felt to be culturally or racially separate from the majority in a country; national park = park n. 2 b; national product, the monetary value of all goods and services produced in a country in one year; cf. gross national product (s.v. gross a. and n.4 A. 6 c); National Republicans U.S., an early name for the Whig party; National Savings, a method of saving through investment in British Government securities, started in the war of 1914–18 as National War Savings; also applied to similar schemes in other countries; so National Savings Certificate, etc.; national school, (a) a school conducted and supported to a greater or less extent by the state; (b) a school provided for under a system of state-aided education, esp. one of the type set up in Ireland after 1831 under the National System of Education; national service, a statutory obligation to serve in the armed forces for a specified period; hence national serviceman, one who is performing national service; National Socialism, the name adopted by Adolf Hitler for his doctrines of nationalism, racial purity, anti-Communism, and the all-powerful role of the State; so National Socialist, a member of the National Socialist Workers' Party led by Adolf Hitler after 1920; = Nazi n.; also attrib., of or pertaining to this party or to the doctrines of National Socialism; National Society, founded in 1811 to promote the education of the poor; national theatre (freq. with capital initials), a theatre endowed by the State; also ellipt., the National; National Trust, a trust for the preservation of places of historic interest or natural beauty in England, Wales, and N. Ireland, founded in 1893, incorporated in 1907, and supported by endowment and private subscription. Also national grid.
1819Shelley (title) A New *National Anthem. 1837Lockhart Scott (1839) I. 305 Drowning the National Anthem in howls and hootings. 1876Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. 269/1 The playing of the national anthem is only due to those personages who are entitled, under the regulations, to a royal salute.
16211st & 2nd Bk. Discipl. Ch. Scot. 89 The *Nationall Assemblies of the Countrey, called commonly the Generall Assemblies. 1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. ii. §8 That National or General Assemblies should be called only by the King's Authority. 1660R. Coke Power & Subj. 219 The Emperors and Kings did convoke..Provincial and National Assemblies and Synods. 1790Burke Fr. Rev. (1898) 47 This..would appear perfectly unaccountable, if we did not consider the composition of the National Assembly. 1839[see assembly 5 b].
1948Act 11 & 12 Geo. VI c. 29 §2 (title) *National Assistance Act, 1948. Ibid., The National Assistance Board (hereafter in this Act referred to as ‘the Board’) shall exercise their functions in such manner as shall best promote the welfare of persons affected by the exercise thereof. 1958New Statesman 27 Sept. 398/3 Few people are at a worse disadvantage than the man who is fresh from prison and is also homeless. National Assistance methods..must sometimes seem designed to assist such a man back into prison in the shortest possible time. 1959J. Braine Vodi viii. 124 There isn't any dole for him. It's bankruptcy first and then National Assistance. 1968J. Lock Lady Policeman xviii. 152 The National Assistance Board telephoned. 1969Listener 12 June 834/3 The women he has studied are the very poorest, depending almost entirely on National Assistance.
1838Democratic Rev. I. 52 That portion of the plan..which involved a present non-committalism on the question of a *National Bank. 1858Homans Cycl. Comm. 131/2 The directors of the National Bank proposed to the State banks a resumption of specie payments on the 21st February, 1817. 1896Daily News 27 July 7/5 Mr. Sewall..being a national banker..while they bitterly denounce national banks.
1778Hamilton Wks. (1886) VII. 542 It is of great consequence to preserve a *national character. 1863Home & Foreign Rev. III. 549 Next to those who form the national taste and fix the national character, the greatest geniuses are those who corrupt them. 1908Kipling Lett. of Travel (1920) 144 ‘Hustle’ does not sit well on the national character. 1967M. Argyle Psychol. Interpersonal Behaviour iv. 82 If the people from some cultural group are consistently aggressive, [etc.].., we can say that their norms are different; but it may be more useful to say that their level of motivation is different, and to regard this as a feature of their ‘national character’.
1960Duijker & Frijda National Character i. 4 The existence of a stereotype might give rise to a *national characteristic.
1651Baxter Inf. Bapt. 31 The Jews were a *Nationall Church. 1716M. Davies Athen. Brit. II. 335 He is Low-Church..; such a one is a poor begging Convert from Popery or Presbytery to the National Church. 1832Arnold in Stanley Life (1844) I. vi. 274, I cannot understand what is the good of a national Church if it be not to Christianize the nation.
1633Prynne 1st Pt. Histriom. 570, 54 ancient and moderne, generall, *nationall, provinciall Councels and Synodes.
1967Spearhead Nov.–Dec. 6 (caption) On October 7th there took place..an event which may well prove to have historic significance in British politics. This was the first Annual General Meeting of Britain's new party, The *National Front. c1970Facts: National Front 2/3 When the National Front comes to power it will know well how to deal with the murderer and the thug. 1973C. Mullard Black Brit. iii. viii. 91 White fascist groups like the National Front are lumped together with progressive, power-demanding groups like the Black People's Alliance.
1931J. Reith Diary 24 Aug. (1975) i. 106 A wire..informed me that the Labour government had resigned, that MacDonald was prime minister of a *National government. 1931Economist 17 Oct. 692/1 Sir John Simon..stated that..‘if the broad base National Government finds it [sc. a tariff] necessary, I am not going on that ground to refuse to support the National Government.’ 1936J. A. Spender Gt. Brit.: Empire & Commonwealth IV. xliii. 512 National Government [in 1915] was the logical corollary of the party-truce. 1943Ann. Reg. 1942 143 With the security of India threatened, we..should bring her people into full moral support..by conceding forthwith the demands for a ‘National Government’, with virtual independence of British authority. 1969T. A. Neal Democracy & Responsibility xviii. 223 Strong arguments may be marshalled to explain MacDonald's formation of the National Government. Ibid. xix. 230 In November of the same year [sc. 1935], the National Government was re-elected, with a total of 428 supporters in the House of Commons.
1793Observer 27 Jan. in M. Miliband Observer of 19th Cent. (1966) i. 4 The train moved on with a slow pace from the Temple to the Boulevards, which were planted with cannon, and beset with *National Guards, drums beating, trumpets sounding, and colours flying. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVI. 158/1 The citizens..enrolling themselves as a militia for general defence, under the appellation of the national guard. 1814Wellington in Gurw. Desp. (1838) XI. 490 Captain Pierre Penne of the French National guards, who was taken prisoner on the frontier. 1847Santa Fé (New Mexico) Republican 18 Dec. 3/1 Some National Guards that were at San Antonio had a small fight. 1848W. K. Kelly tr. L. Blanc's Hist. Ten Y. I. 182 He set out in the uniform of a national guard. 1868N.Y. Herald 4 July 6/1 The First division of the National Guard will parade. 1909World Today Oct. 1099 While many of the American states designate their amateur soldiery as ‘National Guards’, the venerable Bay State still sticks to the thoroughly Yankee caption of ‘militia’. 1966Oxf. Compan. Amer. Hist. 530/1 Militia, now officially termed the National Guard in the U.S., is the body of armed forces within the states, formed by enlistments. 1973Freedomways XIII. 14 The forces of state power (the police, the army, the National Guard) will be used.
1908National Health I. i. 18/2 (heading) The Women's *National Health Association of Great Britain. 1911Lloyd George Insurance of the People 2 A few weeks ago I had the honour of introducing in the House of Commons a measure dealing with proposals for securing the national health. 1935Economist 7 Sept. 456/2 The most important event..in the field of health during the reign was the creation of the scheme of National Health Insurance in 1912. 1946Act 9 & 10 Geo. VI c. 81 (title) National Health Service Act. 1952A. Christie Mrs. McGinty's Dead xii. 96 Nowadays even if you've got a chilblain you run to the doctor with it so as to get your money's worth out of the National Health. 1958J. Cannan And be a Villain i. 23 A doctor w'at was too taken up by 'is posh paying patients to trouble with a National 'Ealth kid. 1958R. Graves in Times Lit. Suppl. 15 Aug. p. x/5 What is even worse, any slight mania or differentiating oddness..they now take along to the National Health psychiatrist, pleading to be de-thinged. 1958Listener 30 Oct. 699/2 The workings of the National Health Service. 1966J. S. Cox Illustr. Dict. Hairdressing 102/1 National Health wig, a wig or other similar postiche of necessity supplied by a Wigmaker for a client whose health is said to be affected by lack of hair, to the order of the Ministry of Health. 1967M. Argyle Psychol. Interpersonal Behaviour ix. 174 This [sc. counselling] is the most widely practised kind of psychotherapy—it is given by National Health Service psychiatrists in England. 1967Melody Maker 27 May 5 With his bushy sideboards and National Health specs he resembled an animated Victorian watchmaker. 1973J. Porter It's Murder with Dover ii. 13 Gritting his National Health teeth, [he] limped off.
1866C., J., & E. Weatherby Racing Calendar for 1866. Races Past p. vi, Advertisements and reports of Steeple Chases under the Grand *National Hunt Rules are included in the Sheet Calendar. 1873C., J., E., & J. P. Weatherby Racing Calendar, Steeple Chases Past, for Season 1872–73 p. xiii, Any person running a horse in contravention of this Rule shall (at the discretion of the Grand National Hunt Committee) be disqualified from ever running a horse where these rules are in force. Ibid. p. xxv, The following form of certificate is that approved by the National Hunt Committee. 1898A. E. T. Watson Turf ix. 173 Horses are usually put to jumping because for some reason or another their career on the flat has ceased to look promising, it having been so continually proved that failures under Jockey Club Rules were brilliant successes under the Rules of the National Hunt. 1902Encycl. Brit. XXIX. 333/1 None other than thoroughbred horses are nowadays ever found in races run under the rules of the National Hunt Committee, the body which governs the sport of steeplechasing. 1935Encycl. Sports 590/1 National Hunt Rules fix the opening of the steeplechasing season as July 1. 1963Bloodgood & Santini Horseman's Dict. 152 Point-to-point, cross-country race for qualified hunters..ridden by amateurs..over a flagged natural hunting country; under the jurisdiction of the National Hunt (England). 1967Everyman's Encycl. VI. 482/2 In 1866, as a result of the efforts of Lord Suffolk, Lord Coventry and the duke of Beaufort, the National Hunt Committee was formed as the authoritative governing body over steeplechasing. 1975Oxf. Compan. Sports & Games 496/1 Over the years, the National Hunt season has gradually become longer, and the 1973–4 season began early in August and will end on 1 June.
1878Blackley in 19th Cent. Nov. 834 (title) *National Insurance: A cheap, practical and popular means of abolishing poor rates. 1911National insurance [see insurance 4 e]. 1913Q. Rev. Apr. 510 The labourer has gained something in a pecuniary sense from..national insurance. 1922Encycl. Brit. XXX. 998/2 A few doctors..had started a new organization in opposition to the British Medical Association, called the National Insurance Practitioners Association. 1931Times Lit. Suppl. 20 Aug. 626/3 The indebtedness of the national insurance fund has already risen. 1967E. Rudinger Wills & Probate 60 Matthew's father-in-law had also been receiving the state old age pension, or national insurance retirement pension, as it is properly called. 1968Brit. Med. Bull. XXIV. 207/1 National Insurance records giving the dates on which patients left and returned to work. 1973Times 13 Jan. 19/7 The National Insurance Scheme covers benefits payable by the State (through the Department of Health and Social Security) and covers pensions, widows' benefits, maternity benefits and sickness and unemployment benefits, together with certain minor benefits.
1928Times 8 Aug. 12/3 The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries has appointed a Committee, to be known as the *National Mark Committee,..empowered to authorize the use of grade designation marks. Ibid., An artistic and striking ‘National Mark’ has been designed,.. a silhouette map of South Britain with a circle inset bearing the words around the margin, ‘Produce of England and Wales’. 1929Daily Express 7 Nov. 3/4 There has been a greatly increased demand for British beef since the National Mark scheme was introduced. 1931Times 17 Nov. (Suppl.) p. xiv/1 One mark, the National Mark, which is a trade mark registered in the name of the Minister of Agriculture, is being used for all graded produce of England and Wales. 1934Daily Tel. 31 Dec. 14/4 The National Mark Scheme began eight years ago to encourage home producers. 1937Food Manufacture Oct. 340 The National Mark Scheme for Fruit Products..has now been extended to include..fruit juices.
1921R. W. Seton-Watson in H. W. V. Temperley Hist. Peace Conf. Paris IV. 266 *National minorities shall enjoy equal rights. 1934C. A. Macartney (title) National states and national minorities. 1945E. E. Brooke tr. Azcárate y Florez's League of Nations p. vii, When those responsible for reconstructing Europe find themselves once again confronted by the difficulties which national minorities have created in the past. 1970V. Van Dyke Human Rights, U.S. & World Community ii. v. 98 A recognition of ‘the right of members of national minorities to carry on their own educational activities’.
1868J. D. Whitney Yosemite Bk. i 22 The Yosemite Valley..has been made a *National public park and placed under the charge of the State of California. 1871[see park n. 2 b]. 1872Publ. Colonial Soc. Mass. VIII. 377 Congress, by an Act approved March 1, 1872, has set apart a tract of land near the head-waters of the Yellowstone River... The reservation so set apart is to be known as the ‘Yellowstone National Park’. 1903[see park n. 2 b]. 1933Discovery Feb. 68/2 The creation of the great American national parks..has saved the bison from extinction. 1949Act 12 & 13 Geo. VI c. 97 An Act to make provision for National Parks and the establishment of a National Parks Commission. 1950R. N. Hutchins National Parks & Access to Countryside Act i. i. 3 New Zealand..has 10 National Parks and over 200 reserves and public domains. Ibid., In England and Wales, the designation of a National Park will not affect the ownership of the land,..nor will any additional facilities for public access be made available merely by such definition. 1962Listener 1 Mar. 373/1 The Planning Board or committee in charge of a national park has a statutory duty..to ‘preserve and enhance’ the natural beauty of the landscape. 1974Times 1 Apr. (Yorkshire & Humberside Suppl.) p. ix/1 Within reasonable driving distance of the Humber the choice lies between three national parks, a noble sprinkling of country estates and several attractive cathedral cities.
1945S. Kuznets National Product in Wartime i. ii. 7 Estimates of peacetime *national product assume that economic activity is to produce goods to satisfy ultimate consumers; that production is for man, not man for production. 1962Listener 20 Dec. 1041/1 The French national product rose at a rate of no less than 8 per cent. a year. 1964Gould & Kolb Dict. Social Sci. 454/1 If a series of national product estimates for several years is divided by a price index, each year's national product being divided by the price index for that year, the resulting series is known as deflated or real national product.
1831H. Clay Priv. Corr. 308 By division between the Antis and the *National Republicans, the Jackson party may succeed. 1888Bryce Amer. Commw. II. iii. liii. 333 The National Republican, ultimately the Whig party, represented many of the views of the former Federalists.
[1917(title) National War Savings Committee... First annual report, in Parl. Papers 1917–18 (Cd. 8516) XVIII. 703.] 1919Saving 3 Dec. 138/2 The Model Schemes suggested by the *National Savings Committee are of various forms. 1922Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 369/2 The system of linking up National Savings certificates with local finance becomes, in effect, a national credit bank spread over the whole country. 1932Discovery Nov. 374/2 The much abused Post Office..has actually allowed it [sc. the Institute of Industrial Psychology] to redesign the National Savings Certificate. 1941Picture Post 3 May 35/3 Buy National Savings Stamps—they cost 6d. and 2/6 each... When you have the right amount you convert them into National Savings Certificates—15/- each. 1964A. Wykes Gambling x. 238 Offering a lottery ticket worth one mark..for every eight marks deposited in national-savings accounts. 1972Times 21 Nov. 19/6 Historically national savings have been treated as a poor relation to other investment media.
1819Gentl. Mag. LXXXIX. ii. 85 In 1812 there were 52 *National Schools. 1838Digest Evidence before Comm. Houses Lords & Commons, 1837, on National Syst. Educ. Ireland ii. 25 She was highly gratified; indeed she was astonished; she could not have believed that in the national school the Bible was used at all. 1880M. E. Braddon Just as I am li, My looks won't matter when I am a national school teacher. 1966New Statesman 27 May 774/3 But certain schools, to be called perhaps National Schools, should be placed directly under the Department of Education. 1968T. Kinsella Nightwalker 65 But the authorities Used the National Schools to try to conquer The Irish national spirit. 1972M. E. Collins Ireland Three vi. 49 The National Schools were free, but not compulsory... The National Schools, though in theory of mixed religion, were in practice, separate, and children of each religion went to their own schools.
1916R. Fry Let. 25 Jan. (1972) II. 393, I don't think Ha talked to me of *national service. 1916Hansard Commons 19 Dec. 1352 It is proposed to appoint at once a director of National Service, to be in charge of both the military and civil side of universal national service. 1939Ibid. 2 Sept. 240 National Service (armed forces) Bill, ‘to make provision for securing and controlling the enlistment of men for services in the armed forces of the Crown; and for purposes connected with the matter aforesaid, presented, accordingly, read the First time; and ordered to be printed. 1940Ann. Reg. 1939 397 The National Service (Armed Forces) Act, which rendered liable for service in the forces all male persons between eighteen and forty-one. 1940H. G. Wells Babes in Darkling Wood i. i. 21 Romeo and Juliet weren't called on for national service. 1942G. G. Slack Liability for National Service i. i. 1 The Government powers of control over persons are, in relation to their liability for National Service, exercised by the Minister of Labour. 1944J. S. Huxley On Living in Revolution 21 It is both probable and desirable that some form of National Service will continue after the war is over. 1958M. Kerr People of Ship Street iii. 29 The boys in between 18 and 20 are of course doing National Service. 1970M. Moorcock Chinese Agent xiii. 87 He had avoided being called up for his National Service for two years and, when he had been called up, he'd managed to desert.
1949Times 20 Oct. 5/5 The Secretary of State for War gave an assurance that no *national service man would be posted to the Far East with less than 18 weeks' service. 1957B.B.C. Handbk. 170 British National Servicemen. 1957C. Hunt Guide to Communist Jargon vii. 19 Those who have taken up soldiering as a profession as opposed to National Servicemen, who have not. 1973D. Lees Rape of Quiet Town vii. 113 A number of former national service men who had never heard a shot fired in anger.
1931Times Lit. Suppl. 16 Apr. 296/3 Such is the doctrine, not inaptly named *National Socialism, which by uniting Moscow and Paris in a common anathema has appealed at once to the quiet steady man and to the boisterous patriot. 1933J. J. Bronowski in Granta 19 Apr. 358/2 National Socialism pictures itself as persecuted, not only by the political world but by art, science and philosophy.
1923Times 23 Aug. 9/6 At the conclusion of a *National Socialist meeting last night Herr Hitler's storm troops..attempted to march through Munich. 1931Daily Tel. 21 May 13/1 The National-Socialists (Hitlerites) are now definitely committed to a Hohenzollern restoration. 1933J. J. Bronowski in Granta 19 Apr. 358/1 The National Socialist revolution in Germany is most deeply founded, has its most bigoted and best organised support in the German universities. 1942E. Barker Reflections on Govt. xiii. 369 We have here the ultimate roots of the National Socialist doctrines of the Leader and the Folk which he leads and expresses. 1942L. B. Namier Conflicts 40 The depression..everywhere brought new political forces to the surface, violent and brutal—National Socialists and National Radicals. 1967D. Eisenberg Re-emergence Fascism i. 59 The judge..hit out at Colin Jordan's National Socialist movement. 1973Black Panther 27 Oct. 8/3 On another occasion the National Socialist Party, also known as the ‘White People's Party’, passed out literature in front of her house pledging to ‘get rid of all the niggers’.
1848Bp. Wilberforce in Life (1881) II. i. 11 A most stormy meeting at the *National Society. 1861V. Lushington in Working Men's Coll. Mag. 144 The National Society..planted elementary schools here and there in the land.
1889G. B. Shaw London Music 1888–89 (1937) 150 Miss Reimers..upset even my gravity..by asking me..why the splendid, the intellectual, the free English people had no *national theatre. 1901Beerbohm Around Theatres (1924) I. 245 The offer made (or not made) by Mr. Carnegie to endow with us a national theatre has duly revived that periodic cry to which I have alluded. 1928G. Hughes Story of Theatre xiv. 215 The Burgtheater [in Vienna]..had been founded in 1741 as a Court Theatre..and changed in 1776..into a National Theatre (in imitation of the Comédie Française). 1961E. Waugh Unconditional Surrender 306 The foundation stone was solemnly laid for a National Theatre. 1972Listener 18 May 644/3 The new National Theatre rising on the South Bank. Until the coming of the National, the British theatre had survived..without the alien office of dramaturgs. 1974Country Life 24 Jan. 125 The National has been running successfully for ten years and plays generally to good houses.
1893Times 17 Nov. 9/6 ‘The *National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty’ is an association which held its first meeting yesterday. 1894Spectator 7 July 12/2 Men who love their glens and their hill-tops..would far rather see them go to the National Trust than be put up to auction. 1896O. Hill Let. 26 Oct. in C. E. Maurice Life O. Hill (1913) x. 538, I suppose you do not happen to know any gentleman likely to do for, and accept, our National Trust secretaryship? 1907Hansard Commons 21 Aug. 758 The following Bills received the Royal Assent:—..14. National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty. 1930J. S. Huxley Bird-Watching vi. 115 And he [sc. the bird-lover] can help by supporting such bodies as the National Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, which are saving wild bits of country from being built over or otherwise developed, or reserving them as actual sanctuaries, inviolate to the birds. 1934N. & Q. 16 June 415/2 East Riddlesden Hall..has just been publicly handed over to the the National Trust. 1938D. Garnett in T. E. Lawrence Lett. 873 His cottage at Clouds Hill now belongs to the National Trust. 1958Listener 9 Oct. 556/2 On the preservation of historic buildings many voices must obviously be heard:..art-historians and archivists, the National Trust. 1971P. Gresswell Environment 166 The National Trust..was founded..by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Canon Rawnsley.
B. n.
†1. A representative of a nation. Obs.
1653H. Cogan Scarlet Gown 100 The Pope..did at one and the same time promote both Mazzarino, and Montalto, as declared Nationals, and nominated by France and Spain.
†2. One who supports national interests as opposed to those of parties. Obs. rare.
1766Public Advertiser 10 Feb. 2/2 A noble Union of..Nationals in the true Sense of that Word, in contradistinction to any vile Combination of Party. 1768Woman of Honor III. 150 Some truly nationals, men of real worth.
3. A member of a national guard. rare—1.
1843Borrow Bible in Spain x, The national entered with the passport in his hand.
4. a. pl. In recent diplomatic use (after F. nationaux): Persons belonging to the same nation; (one's) fellow-countrymen.
1887Pall Mall G. 30 May 1 Each of these Consuls or Ministers has extensive powers over his own nationals. 1894Westm. Gaz. 31 July 2/1 The Chinese Resident..has a considerable number of his nationals to look after.
b. (See quot. 1904.)
1904J. Westlake Internat. Law I. 3 All the members of a state, whether sovereign, subjects or citizens, are denoted by the convenient name of its nationals. 1929Times 31 Jan., The official thanks of the German Government..for the rescue by aeroplane of their nationals in Kabul. 1931Times 22 Sept. 7/4 There is no evidence of any substantial export of capital by British nationals. 1953Stroud's Judicial Dict. (ed. 3) III. 1855 In English courts phrases which refer to the national law of a propositus are prima facie to be construed not as referring to the law which the courts of that country would apply in the case of its own nationals domiciled in its own country with regard..to property in its own country. 1955Times 3 June 6/2 The two Governments have agreed to take measures for the conclusion of a treaty for the purpose of settling questions of citizenship, and with regard to the repatriation of nationals of one contracting party residing in the territory of the other party. 1969Plano & Olton Internat. Relations Dict. xi. 266 Statelessness, the condition of an individual who is not recognized by any state as one of its nationals.
5. = Grand National: see grand a. 12.
1909Westm. Gaz. 26 Mar. 12/1 A horse that had never run a National. 1931Times 12 Mar. 5/1 Several National horses have been entered at Hurst Park. 1972L. P. Davies What did I do Tomorrow? ii. 26 The only time he backed horses was for the Derby or the National.
6. A national as opposed to a local newspaper; usu. pl.
1938C. Hunt You want to be a Journalist? iii. 29 It is when staff increase—on county papers, dailies published from the great cities, London nationals—that specialisation develops. 1960H. L. Lawrence Children of Light v. 68 Some of the nationals had rushed their own men to Keniston, but a flattering number had wired Johnny for coverage. a1966M. Allingham Cargo of Eagles (1968) i. 19 She must have sold the idea to the local papers because the nationals picked it up a year or two back. 1966Listener 28 July 129/3 In thirty years' time there could probably be only four nationals left. 1973J. Porter It's Murder with Dover iv. 36 We'll make the front page of the nationals with this!
Add:[A.] [4.] c. Freq. with capital initial. Used in the names of various (esp. right-wing) political parties or groups to designate adherence to, support for, or identification with the supposed national interest, spec. as National Party; cf. National Front, Government, Republicans, Socialism, etc., below.
1831[see sense 5 below]. 1847[see succumb v. 3 b]. 1876N.Y. Tribune 18 May 1/1 Two National and five State Conventions were held yesterday, namely: Those of the National Greenback and Prohibition parties [etc.]. 1938H. Nicolson Diary 1 Oct. (1966) 373, I have to speak at a luncheon of the local National Labour Group. 1958Economist 15 Nov. 612/1 The aim in most constituencies..is to gain first place among ‘national’ (that is, non-communist) candidates. 1966‘H. MacDiarmid’ Company I've Kept viii. 185, I took an active part in the formation of the National Party of Scotland. 1973W. Laqueur Dict. Politics 344 At the general election in Oct. 1931 the National Government (predominantly the Conservatives with National Labour and National Liberal) won over 60{pcnt} of the vote, and the Labour Party won two million votes less than in 1929. 1987Stock & Land (Melbourne) 12 Mar. 5/3 National Party MPs in Victoria and NSW will not permit their hands to be forced by the Queensland National Party and without their support the Coalition cannot be split on Tuesday.
[B.] Restrict † to sense 2 a. [2.] b. Usu. with capital initial. One who supports or represents a nationalist political group; spec. a member of a National Government or Party.
1792E. Wynne Diary 3 Aug. (1952) ix. 122 They cryed, they cursed the Nationals. 1853[see hardshell n. 3]. 1939G. B. Shaw Geneva i. 10 He got a clear majority over the Nationals and the Labor Party. 1940J. Reith Diary 19 Jan. (1975) v. 238, I was standing as a National for a Liberal–National seat. 1965A. J. P. Taylor Eng. Hist. 1914–1945 x. 326 The Conservatives..and Liberal Nationals..received slightly over 60 per cent. of the vote. 1987Stock & Land (Melbourne) 12 Mar. 5/3 The 12 Queensland Nationals will vote one way and the 14 southern Nationals the other.
c. (Usu. without art.) ellipt. for National Party. N.Z.
1938Dominion (Wellington, N.Z.) 10 Oct. 8 (Advt.), Will she have to pay poll tax? Under Labour..Yes! Boys and girls will have to pay... Under National..No! No boy or girl under 20 will pay Poll Tax or Wage Tax... Vote National. 1958Political Sci. (Wellington, N.Z.) X. ii. 23 The issue, as he defined it in each peroration, was simple: Socialism and restrictions and controls, or National and prosperity and a property-owning democracy. 1962A. Mitchell Waitaki Votes 9 The workers in the state and lower valuation housing areas..tend to support the Labour Party, while the business and professional people in the ‘better’ parts of town..support National. 1977N.Z. Herald 8 Jan. 1–6/4 In spite of all the pre-election talk about National's experience and expertise, New Zealand was in many respects in a worse position now than it was during Labour's period of office. 1983M. Gee Sole Survivor iii. 22 His parents—‘my old Mum and Dad’—had switched their vote to National before they died.
Add:[A.] [5.] national curriculum, a programme designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education; spec. in the U.K., a curriculum that state schools in England and Wales have been required to follow since 1990, involving the teaching of specified subjects and assessment (by testing) of pupils at specified ages.
1964P. Rosenbloom Mod. Viewpoints in Curriculum 37 The oldest *national curriculum project, the one which has inspired the others, is that of the Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC) to provide a new high school physics course. 1970West African Jrnl. Educ. Feb. XIV. 5/1 In October 1966 there was to have been a National Curriculum Conference under the auspices of the Nigeria Educational Research Council (N.E.R.C.) but it had to be postponed. From 8 to 12 September 1969 the Conference was held in Lagos. 1989Child Educ. Dec. 16/3 The successful head will recognise that if only written outcomes are expected, then assessment will be too narrow to satisfy the needs of the National Curriculum. 1992Artist's & Illustrator's Mag. Oct. 5/1 The final report of the National Curriculum Art Working Party..makes specific demands on teachers to educate children in the formal elements of art and design, critical and contextual studies, and the development of investigative processes.
▸ orig. and chiefly Brit. Relating to or designating a long-distance telephone call made to a number within the same country. Chiefly in national call, national rate. Cf. local call n. at local adj. and n. Compounds.
1984Times 6 Oct. 3/1 Telephone users will get between 20 per cent and 25 per cent more time on peak and standard rate national calls to distances over 56 kilometres. 1991Financial Times (Nexis) 25 Feb. 16 Many UK national telephone calls are up to 26 per cent cheaper on its system. 1999Which? June 11/3 We show the helpline hours during which you can get technical help and their call charge rates—whether free, local rate, national rate, premium rate or standard (ie. a normal phone number). 2002New Straits Times (Malaysia) (Nexis) 25 Nov. 15 A telecommunications company that promoted a scheme for fixed telephone lines, offering discounts of up to 60 per cent for local and national calls.
▸ National Vocational Qualification n. Educ. (in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland) a national qualification introduced in 1986 and gained chiefly in the workplace, in which successful candidates demonstrate competence in a range of work skills at any of three assessed levels (abbreviated NVQ); cf. GNVQ n. at G n. Additions.
1986Financial Times 3 Mar. 1/1 The establishment of an Education and Training Department..ties in with discussions over the new *national vocational qualification for pupils to meet industry's needs. 1993Brit.: Official Handbk. (H.M.S.O.) 415/1 National Vocational Qualifications..are based on national standards defining competence, knowledge and understanding that employers need. 2001Guardian (Electronic ed.) 30 Jan. A hairdressing salon where women can study for a National Vocational Qualification. |