| 释义 |
▪ I. ˈniffer, n. Sc.
[f. the vb.]
An exchange. to put in a niffer, to hazard.
1786Burns Addr. to Unco Guid iii, Ye see your state wi' their's compar'd, And shudder at the niffer. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xviii, I wad make the niffer,..I wad gie a' these grey hairs..for her life. Ibid. xx, He put his life in a niffer, to break the prison to let me out. 1888H. Wardrop Poems & Sk. 158 What could they gie as a niffer—This world has naething sae fine.
▪ II. niffer, v. Sc. and north. dial.|ˈnɪfər, ˈniːfər|
Also neifer, neiffer, -ar, neiver.
[Of obscure origin, perh. f. nief, nieve.]
1. trans. To exchange (a thing) for († with) another.
b. intr. in passive sense: To go in exchange.
1612in Ritchie Churches of St. Baldred (1880) 108 Efter that ye said cow wald not niffer. 1637Rutherford Lett. i. lxxviii, A market where we might barter or niffer our lazy ease with a profitable cross. 1816Scott Antiq. xxiii, I carried it for mony a year, till I niffered it for this tin ane. 1861Ramsay Remin. ii. 168 ‘Oh’, he said with great simplicity, ‘my master niffered me for a pony’.
2. To make a mutual exchange of.
1721Ramsay Answ. Burchet 24 Proud czar, I wadna niffer fame With thee. a1800Young Hyn Horn x. in Child Ballads I. 203/2 You must niffer clothes with me. 1863J. Nicholson Kilwuddie 74 Cuffs an' kicks they freely niffer't.
3. intr.
a. To make an exchange.
1785Ferguson's Prov. 17 He neiffers for the better. 1828Moir Mansie Wauch xxi, There being but small difference in the value of the cloths..I caused them to niffer. 1862A. Hislop Prov. Scot. 85 He's fond o' barter that niffers wi' auld Nick.
b. To bargain, haggle.
1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xvi, I'll no stand niffering wi' ye. 1855Robinson Whitby Gloss., Niffering or Niggling, making a bargain in a hard or haggling manner.
Hence ˈniffering vbl. n.
1541Aberd. Reg. (Jam.), Be way of nyffering, coffing, & excambium. 1637Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. xcvii. 248 God forbid it come to bartering or niffering of crosses. 1897Crockett Lad's Love iii, Profanin' the hoose o' God..wi' your cheep-dealin' and nifferin'! |