| 释义 |
niceness|ˈnaɪsnɪs|
[f. nice a. + -ness.]
The quality or condition of being nice.
†1. Folly, foolish or wanton conduct, light behaviour, wantonness. Obs.
c1530Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 70 Though I shewe thus vnto you my nysenes, I pray you think no folye in it. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 32 He banished out of his Court nicenesse and wantonnesse. 1583Stubbes Anat. Abus. i. (1879) 158 Was it.. to stirre vp filthie lust in them selues, or for nicenes onely, as our daunces bee.
†2. Luxury, effeminacy, delicacy; delicate or luxurious living. Obs.
1540Morysine Vives' Introd. Wysd. C vj b, Cleane kepinge of the bodye (delicate nisenes of meates and drinkes leyed aparte). 1596Spenser F.Q. iv. viii. 27 That age despysed nicenesse vaine, Enur'd to hardnesse and to homely fare. 1615W. Lawson Country Housew. Gard. (1626) 49 A man..degenerate cleane from his naturall feeding, to effeminate nicenesse. 1650W. Brough Sacr. Princ. (1659) 423 So niceness of life ends often in retchlesnesse of conversation. 1697Collier Ess. Mor. Subj. i. (1709) 58 This Niceness, though it renders them Insignificant to the great Purposes of Life, yet it polishes their Complexion.
†b. Elegance (in dress). Obs. rare—1.
1693Southerne Maid's last Prayer ii. i, What you call handsomely, is a niceness wou'd..ill become me.
†3. Inclination to idleness. Obs. rare—1.
a1557M. Basset tr. More's Treat. Passion M.'s Wks. 1366/1 If we growe so feble, that we wax lothe to goe foorth any further, and of slouthe and nycenesse begynne to stagger and stande styl.
†4. Reserve, shyness, coyness. Obs.
1567–9Jewel Def. Apol. (1611) 167 Therefore leaue this nicenesse, M. Harding, and tell vs plainely [etc.]. 1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 51 The Gentlewoman, whether..for nicenesse, or for niggardnesse of courtesie, gaue him..a colde welcome. 1631Celestina vii. 91 What it is I will not tell you, because you make your selfe such a piece of nicenesse. a1700Dryden (J.), Unlike the niceness of our modern dames, Affected nymphs, with new affected names.
5.
†a. Subtlety; over-refinement. Obs.
1592Puckering in Ld. Campbell Chancellors xlvi. (1857) II. 304 Seek not advantages to trip one of you the other by covin or niceness. 1611Bible Transl. Pref. ⁋16 Nicenesse in wordes was alwayes counted the next step to trifling. 1664Evelyn Pomona v. (1729) 67 The Royal Society approves more of Plainness and Usefulness than of Niceness and Curiosity.
b. Precision, accuracy, exactness.
1677Moxon Mech. Exerc. 34 If the Nut be not to be cast in Brass,..this niceness is not so absolutely necessary. 1696Whiston The. Earth (1722) 3, I shall wave that niceness, and set them down indifferently. 1726Leoni Alberti's Archit. II. 17/1 All the lines and angles..fit one another to the greatest niceness. 1764Harmer Observ. i. §15. 38 The niceness of Russell's observations will not allow us to doubt the truth of what he says.
c. Delicacy, difficulty.
1642in Rushw. Hist. Coll. iii. (1692) I. 715 This is commonly the last Point in Treaties betwixt Princes, and of the greatest Niceness. 1689Popple tr. Locke's 3rd Let. Toleration L.'s Wks. 1727 II. 408 Niceness and Difficulty there is, to hit that just Degree of Force. 1716Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 193 He excused it a little from the importance of what was before us, and the niceness and tenderness of some things we had been on.
6. Fastidiousness; tendency to be over particular, susceptible, or squeamish.
1612T. Taylor Comm. Titus iii. 1 The wisedome of godly teachers wil be not too much to yeeld vnto the nicenes of their hearers. 1650J. Cotton Sing. Ps. 56 It were a sacrilegious nicenesse, to thinke it unlawfull lively to expresse all the artificiall elegancies of the Hebrew Text. 1705Berkeley Cave of Dunmore Wks. 1871 IV. 508 Neither need any one's niceness be offended on account of the bones. a1791Wesley Wks. (1872) VIII. 321 Warn them all against niceness in hearing. 1851Helps Comp. Solit. vi. 113 Clerical niceness and over-sanctity.
†b. Fastidious taste or care. Obs. rare—1.
1698Phil. Trans. XX. 59 He remarks the Niceness of the Ancients, in having their Resemblances taken by none but exquisite Masters. 1714J. Macky Journ. thro' Eng. (1724) I. iii. 57 The late King William..hath adorn'd it [Hampton Court], with all the Niceness imaginable.
7. Agreeableness, pleasantness.
1809Malkin Gil Blas x. iii. ⁋8 The reason of its extreme niceness was that Don Cæsar..took pleasure in improving and ornamenting it. 1840Marquis of Londonderry in New Monthly Mag. LX. 106 Sugared cakes of peculiar niceness, sweetmeats and grapes. 1871Whitney Real Folks xx, They are in a fair way of learning the niceness of being nice. |