| 释义 |
operate, v.|ˈɒpəreɪt|
[f. L. operāt-, ppl. stem of operārī to work, labour, take pains, bestow pains on; in late L., also, to have effect, be active, produce by working, cause, f. opus, oper- work.]
I. Intransitive senses.
1. To be in working, exercise force or influence, produce an effect, act, work.
1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. v. iii. 108 Th' effect doth operate another way. 1611― Cymb. v. v. 196 Mine Italian braine Gan in your duller Britaine operate Most vildely. 1671Blagrave Astrol. Physic 21 The..Influence of the Moon unto any planet doth begin to opperate when she is within ten degrees aspecting any planet. 1794Paley Evid. (1825) II. 418 Religion operates most upon those of whom history knows the least. 1818Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. ix. 713 The whole force of the motives,..which operate to their appointment, must operate likewise to connivance at their faults. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 407 The revolutionary spirit, ceasing to operate in politics. 1874Morley Compromise (1886) 119 Though themselves invisible to the outer world, they [convictions] may yet operate with magnetic force..upon other parts of our belief.
2. Of persons: To bring force or influence to bear on or upon; † formerly also simply, to exert oneself to do something.
1650Howell Giraffi's Rev. Naples i. 82 The Archbishop..did desire His Excellence wold operate to bring to a period that solemn ceremony. 1783Watson Philip III (1793) II. v. 100 They endeavoured to counteract its effects by operating upon his natural ambition. 1790Beatson Nav. & Mil. Mem. I. 246 He knew the Highland chieftans well, and how to operate on them. 1833Act 3 & 4 Will. IV, c. 46 §61 An account to be opened in the name of the commissioners, and to be operated upon by the treasurer for the time.
3. To produce the intended or proper effect; esp. of drugs and medicines, as cathartics, etc.: To act.
1706Phillips, To operate, to work or stir the Humours of the Body, as Physick does. 1783J. C. Smyth in Med. Commun. I. 142 The bolus has operated four or five times. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §307 Everything, regarding the light, operated in a proper manner. 1804Abernethy Surg. Obs. 186 He had taken purging medicine..which had operated. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 582 The Act of Attainder was a remedy which could not operate till all danger was over.
4. a. To perform a practical operation or series of operations: see operation 5. Const. on, upon.
1674R. Godfrey Inj. & Ab. Physic Pref., I by diligent observance, by Operating,..having gain'd the knowledg of some Injuries in Physick. 1832Porter Porcelain & Gl. ix. 239 It is necessary to operate upon both sides of the plate. 1870Jevons Elem. Logic ii. 9 Instruments with which we must operate in reasoning. 1882Rep. to Ho. Repr. Prec. Met. U.S. 271 An arrastra is now being built to operate upon the ores of the Wayup.
b. Surg.: see operation 6.
1799Med. Jrnl. II. 157 Vesalius,..in his ‘Chirurg. magn.’..describes the whole process of operating. 1826A. C. Hutchison Pract. Obs. Surg. 314 note, A boy was operated upon in Haslar hospital, and recovered. 1894Westm. Gaz. 4 July 2/3 The phrase ‘When in doubt, operate’, was, I believe, first made use of by Sir William Lawrence with regard to the methods to be adopted in treating cases of strangulated hernia.
c. Mil. and Naval. To carry on warlike operations: see operation 7. Also transf., of a gambler, criminal, etc.
1808[see operating ppl. a.]. 1863P. Barry Dockyard Econ. 137 Against no Power whatever could we operate successfully on the coast with our Minotaurs, our Valiants, or our Warriors. 1883Sweet & Knox On Mexican Mustang through Texas (1884) i. 16 This high-toned and honorable desperado ‘operated’ in one of the inland cities of Texas two years ago. 1885Manch. Exam. 22 June 5/4 A Russian army operating against India..could be assailed on the flank. 1901‘J. Flynt’ World of Graft 19 The West Side grafters..who have ‘operated’ in Chicago. 1955D. W. Maurer in Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. XXIV. 30 There are the lone wolves, who are professionals, but who operate predominantly alone, without the support of a mob,..for example, jewel thieves of some types, swindlers, expert forgers. 1975T. Allbeury Special Collection xi. 73, I set up a network for him dealing with industrial espionage. It operated into West Germany.
d. To deal or speculate in stocks or shares; to buy and sell commodities as a broker.
1859Athenæum 23 July 113 A bull in the same jargon, is one who operates for a rise. 1868E. Seyd Bullion 480 If between these he sees profits he operates. 1889Harper's Mag. Aug. 448/1 Do you think all men who are what you call operating around are like that? 1961in Webster.
e. To function, to fulfil a function, to act. (Closely related to sense 4 a.)
1931J. T. Adams Epic of Amer. viii. 221 There were..a thousand boats operating regularly on the Mississippi. 1932[see cylinder n. 6]. 1932N. M. Butler Looking Forward xi. 117 Government officials operating in all parts of the country. 1971Gloss. Electrotechnical, Power Terms (B.S.I.) i. iii. 13 A relay operates when it completes its designed function in a specified output circuit(s). 1972Daily Tel. 16 Nov. 7/1 Extra buses and Underground trains will operate on most routes. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 2 Oct. 18/3 Rudderless and without a keel, the 195-foot craft operates similar to a flat-bottomed fishing boat.
II. Transitive senses.
5. To effect or produce by action or the exertion of force or influence; to bring about, accomplish, work.
1637Saltonstall Eusebius' Constantine 160 Tis an generall position that that which..hath no being cannot operate, or effect any thing. 1642Milton Argt. conc. Militia 12 Now plotting to operate the ruine of the Protestant Religion. 1799N. Drake in Beddoes Contrib. Phys. & Med. Knowl. 478 The digitalis was supposed to have operated a cure. 1889Nature 19 Sept. 510/2 Energy in the form of light operates changes in the surface of bodies.
6. To cause or actuate the working of; to work (a machine, etc.). Chiefly U.S.
1864Webster s.v., To operate a machine. 1872Omaha Bee in Times 28 Nov. 7/3 The monster [steam snow plough]..will be operated by three of the heaviest engines on the road. 1876Preece & Sivewright Telegraphy 285 Every current sent on that circuit operates each instrument alike and simultaneously. 1886Troy (U.S.) Daily Times 24 Dec. 3 Estimates of the cost of operating the cars..by the motor will be furnished. 1888Scribner's Mag. Aug. 187/1 The number of arc lamps which are nightly operated by the different electric lighting companies in the city of New York is probably over five thousand.
7. To direct the working of; to manage, conduct, work (a railway, business, etc.); to carry out or through, direct to an end (a principle, an undertaking, etc.). orig. U.S.
1880Travellers' Off. Guide U.S. & Canada July 91 The Roads owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad. 1883F. A. Walker Pol. Econ. 432 State railways and private companies' lines were operated side by side. 1887Lit. World (U.S.) 6 Aug. 248/1 How long is it to be before the government of the United States will operate the telegraph system of the country as it operates the mails? 1891Leeds Merc. 19 Sept. 11 The..Company operate a large foundry. 1948‘N. Shute’ No Highway i. 19 C.A.T.O. are operating five or six of them [sc. aircraft] on the Atlantic route. 1971D. Potter Brit. Eliz. Stamps xii. 130 Cambrian Airways..took over the operation of some internal routes previously operated only by bea. 1974Anderson (S. Carolina) Independent 20 Apr. 2A/1 Joe King, who operates a hardware store 13 miles south of Greenville on S.C. 25, fired four bullets into their car as they fled.
8. Surg. To operate on. (See sense 4 b.)
1908Practitioner Sept. 423, I know of two cases of pyelitis which were operated in mistake for appendicitis. 1915W. Owen Let. 1 Mar. (1967) 324 Dr Denucé (who operated Sarah Bernhardt—and Charlie). 1925Simmons & Fishbein Art & Pract. Medical Writing v. 43 ‘Operate’ means, and is generally synonymous with, ‘to work’: the terms nearly always may be used interchangeably. The surgeon who would hesitate to say ‘I worked this patient’ says, without a blush, ‘I operated this patient.’ 1930Amer. Speech V. 289 Of those questioned 26½ per cent used ‘operated him’, 40 per cent used ‘operated on’, and 33½ per cent used ‘operated upon him’.
Add:III. 9. The infin. used attrib., in the sense ‘operating’, to designate that which causes or enables something to operate, or a period during which a thing is operative.
1954Brit. Jrnl. Psychol. XLV. 219 For cycling, the operate key is set in the upward position. 1969Rev. Electr. Communication Lab. (Tokyo) XVII. 809/2 The operate time is defined as the value from the time the voltage is applied to the relay to the time the armature reaches x = x0. 1971Gloss. Electrotechnical, Power Terms (B.S.I.) i. iii. 15 Operate current, minimum current which, when applied in the same direction and immediately following removal of saturation current, will cause the relay to operate. 1985–86Hasler Rev. Winter XVIII. 89/1 The Hasler electronic time measuring unit ELZE..is specially designed for the measurement and adjustment of relay operate times and release times. |