| 释义 |
New ˈAge, n.
1. a. A new era of human history; spec. a name given to the Age of Aquarius which (according to astrological progression) the world has recently entered or is due to enter in the 21st cent., and which is believed to signal the beginning of a new spiritual awareness and collective consciousness. Cf. Aquarius n. 3 and Concordium n.
In the specific sense orig. heralded in theosophical and mystical writings of the late 19th cent., and from the 1970s associated more generally with a popular ‘alternative’ culture which involves a rejection of many modern Western-style values in favour of a more integrated or ‘holistic’ approach combining aspects of astrology, Christianity, and other religious and philosophical thought, and extending into such additional areas as medicine and ecology.
1843(title) The new age, concordium gazette and temperance advocate. 1894(title) The new age: a weekly record of Christian culture, social service, and literary life. 1908New Age Mag. I. 377/2, I am the Glory of the Glad New Age; I sing of Freedom and of Power. 1944A. A. Bailey Discipleship in New Age i. 32 This will usher in The New Age wherein five kingdoms in nature will be recognised as existing side by side on earth. 1971D. Spangler Revelation (1976) xi. 108 We are now leaving one age and entering another; hence, the scientific basis for calling this a New Age. 1973W. I. Thompson Passages about Earth 172 We may relate to this new material immediately through mysticism and experience the New Age. 1977G. Trevelyan Vision of Aquarian Age vii. 65 It is thus dependent on us when and where the New Age manifests. But the moment we learn how to open ourselves and invoke them, the New Age energies begin to flow. 1988Sydney Morning Herald 14 May 65/1 The New Age is booming. Australians spend $50 million a year on it—from crystals to float tanks. 1991She May 84/1 Together we mapped out the liberated relationships with men we'd have in an about-to-dawn New Age.
b. [absol. use of 2.] New Age philosophy or culture; New Age music.
1984New Yorker 26 Mar. 39/1 New-age is taking things, often old things, and making them applicable to the solving of problems in the environment today. 1985Newsweek 13 May 68/1 New Age is a loosely defined school that encompasses the lyrical jazz/folk of 20 Windham Hill artists, the airy harp fantasies of Vollenweider, the spacey synthesizer noodlings of Japanese artists. 1987Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 15 Nov. 3/1 New-age is a yuppie cliche to describe the repackaging of old genies in glossy new bottles: a dash of Eastern philosophy here, a sprinkling of self-help there,..a hint of magic, a twist of yoga. 1989Penguin Encycl. Pop. Mus. 850/2 Brian Eno's white noise and Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells are antecedents of New Age, as is the meditative sound of Spectrum Suite '74 by Stephen Halpern.
2. a. attrib. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the New Age; advocating or following the ‘alternative’ culture of this age. Esp. as New Age movement.
1949A. A. Bailey Destiny of Nations 46 Consequent New Age concepts are playing upon the sensitive minds of the race. 1971D. Spangler Vision of Findhorn 5 Findhorn strengthens this movement, sometimes called the ‘New Age movement’, and becomes a cornerstone of the universal foundation of new, inspired consciousness. 1976N.Y. Times 8 Aug. 13/2 Their Cape Cod center..has itself turned into such a popular attraction, a New Age Mecca of sorts, that the New Alchemists have restricted public visits. 1987Sunday Express Mag. 23 Aug. 31/3 They are very keen on New Age technology—windmills and solar energy. Also dolphins, whom they believe to be more intelligent than they are. They could well be right. 1991A. D. Foster Catalyst xxi. 325 Would the scientists, New Age freaks, and numerous other and diverse sensation seekers now please kindly go away.
b. Special Comb. New Age music, a style of modern music influenced by New Age ideas, which characteristically seeks to develop a mood of relaxation in the listener by reproducing sounds from the natural world, and by the use of light melodic harmonies and improvisation, played esp. on such instruments as the piano, harp, and synthesizer.
1985Daily News (N.Y.) 16 June 20/1 He could have been talking about New Age music, a supremely mellow movement that has mushroomed in recent years as more Americans have sought a balance with nature and a sanctuary from stressful life styles. 1987Sunday Express Mag. 23 Aug. 30/2 Most of them listen to New Age music—waves lapping, whales calling, amplified heartbeats and so on. None of them listen to the Beach Boys. 1990Folk Roots Aug. 45/1 Kennedy's [songs] are nebulously jazzy, like vocal New Age music mainly without discernible tunes or content and incredibly low-key.
Hence New ˈAger n., one who advocates the principles or culture of the New Age.
1979M. Satin New Age Politics xxvii. 294 Makes use of many untranslated German New Agers' writings. 1985Nation (N.Y.) 31 Aug. 146/2 Most New Agers favor replacing nuclear and fossil fuels with ecologically sound solar power which represents a kind of marriage between technology and spirit. 1990N.Y. Rev. Bks. 19 July 55/2 (Advt.), Ethnicity unimportant but, please, no religious enthusiasts, Republicans, astrologers, psychics or other New Agers. |