| 释义 |
Arabian, a. and n.|əˈreɪbɪən|
[f. prec. + -an.]
A. adj. Belonging to Arabia. Arabian bird: the phœnix, fig. a unique specimen. Arabian horse = Arab n. 2. Arabian nights: fabulous stories.
1606Shakes. Ant. & Cl. iii. ii. 12 Oh Anthony, oh thou Arabian Bird! 1737S. Berington Mem. G. di Lucca 47 The Arabian Horses are the best in the World, tho' not very large. 1771Sheridan Aristænetus xii. vii, Her kisses, like Arabian gales, The scent of musky flowers impart. 1807‘Cervantes Hogg’ Rising Sun III. xvi. 166 The prince,..mounted on an Arabian horse as fleet as the wind, followed with the utmost eagerness. 1808Syd. Smith Plymley's Lett. Wks. 1859 II. 180/2 To cram him with Arabian-night stories about the Catholics.
B. n.
a. A native of Arabia; also, one of a sect that arose in Arabia in the 3rd century, holding that the soul died with the body, and rose again with it at the resurrection.
c1391[see Arabic]. 1526Tindale Acts ii. 11 Grekes and Arabians. 1670G. H. Hist. Cardinals i. 11. 52 [The] Arabians..were in a short time suppress'd by the industry of St. Origen.
b. = Arabian horse.
1770H. Brooke Fool of Qual. V. 299 Her six spotted Arabians. 1792A. Young Trav. in France 16 There are all kinds of horses, but chiefly Arabian, Turkish and English. Three years ago four Arabians were imported. 1824M. R. Mitford Our Village I. 101 That gay, gallant boy, on the gallant white Arabian. 1966R. Stout Death of Doxy (1967) ix. 94 She liked horses and had four Arabians.
▸ Arabian cowrie n. a cowrie, Cypraea arabica, whose shell is streaked and mottled with a brown pattern on a pale background, found widely in the Indo-Pacific region.
1952S. W. Tinker Pacific Sea Shells 140 The *Arabian cowry is a large and heavy shell which is somewhat inflated and margined at the base. 1974S. P. Davie Encycl. Shells 88/2 Cypraea arabica Linnaeus... Arabian Cowry.
▸ Arabian jasmine n.after post-classical Latin Iasminum Arabicum (M. Caccini 1606, in C. Clusius Curae Posteriores (1611) 3; compare earlier Gelsiminum Arabicum (P. Alpinus De Plantis ægypti Liber (1592) 29)) a tall evergreen climbing shrub, Jasminum sambac (family Oleaceae), probably of Asian origin but widely naturalized elsewhere, which has dark glossy leaves and clusters of sweetly fragrant white flowers; (also) the scent of these flowers; a perfume obtained from these flowers.
[1688R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. iii. 71/2 The double Pipe-tree, or Iasmine of Arabia, hath the Flowers double.] 1728R. Bradley Dict. Bot. II Syringa Arabica flore duplici.., the double white Pipe Tree, or double white *Arabian Jasmine. 1835J. H. Ingraham South-west xxii. 231 Around the semi-circular flight of steps..stood, in large green vases, a variety of flowers, among which I observed..the dark foliaged Arabian jasmine silvered with its opulently-leaved flowers redolent of the sweetest perfume. 1962‘Bryher’ Heart to Artemis 117, I inhaled the studio turpentine as if it were Arabian jasmine. 2003Cosmetics Internat. (Nexis) 14 Mar. 10 Eau Torride is described as a ‘return to simplicity’, with cool notes of mandarin..balanced by the warmth of Arabian jasmine and sandalwood.
▸ Arabian oryx n. a small, chiefly white oryx with nearly straight horns, Oryx leucoryx, originally found in desert areas of the Arabian and Sinai peninsulas and now existing chiefly in captivity; also called white oryx.
1909Geogr. Jrnl. 33 327 Mr Carruthers' primary object is zoology, and he hopes to obtain a specimen of the rare *Arabian oryx. 1935D. Carruthers Arabian Adventure vii. 158, I do not gather what the ‘correct locality’ of the Arabian Oryx was believed to be, but if it was now considered to be Bushire, it was of course nearer the mark than Bombay. 2000Sciences May–June 14/2 The Arabian oryx..was reintroduced into the Middle East beginning in 1982 (though poaching has since depleted its numbers again). |