| 释义 |
octogenarian, a. and n.|ˌɒktəʊdʒɪˈnɛərɪən|
[f. L. octogēnāri-us (see next) + -an.]
A. adj. Of the age of eighty years; also transf. of or belonging to a person eighty years old.
1818Byron Ch. Har. iv. xii, Blind old Dandolo! Th' octogenarian chief, Byzantium's conquering foe. 1843Prescott Mexico (1850) I. 73 His papers were recovered..and the octogenarian author began the work of translation from the Mexican. 1868Stanley Westm. Abb. iv. 280 The closing scene of Lord Palmerston's octogenarian career.
B. n. A person eighty years old.
1815Paris Chit-chat xvii. (1816) II. 35 Pity at least is due to a feeble octogenarian. 1841Miss Sedgwick Lett. Abr. I. 38 Three or four women, octogenarians. 1869J. Martineau Ess. II. 229 [They] astonish us..as the production of an octogenarian.
Hence octogeˈnarianism, the state of being eighty years old.
1883Congregationalist Nov. 902 My brother John and I have lived in the greatest amity for a period approaching octogenarianism. 1895Forum (N.Y.) May 272 The ripening quiet of octogenarianism. |