| 释义 |
Persian, a. and n.|ˈpɜːʃən|
Forms: 4 Percien, -sien, 5 -cynne, -syn, -sen; -san, -sante, 6– Persian, (7 -cian); pl. 6 -sience, -sianis.
[orig. ME. Persien, a. F. persien = It. persiano:—L. type *Persiān-us, f. Persia, name of the country, in Gr. Περσίς, OPers. Pārsa, mod.Pers. Pārs, Arab. Fārs. In 16th c. conformed to the Eng. type in -ian; sometimes also to F. persan.]
A. adj.
1. Of or pertaining to Persia (mod. Iran), or its inhabitants or language. Also, of or pertaining to a Persian cat.
a1400–50Alexander 2885 Þe pure propure name in percynne tonge. 1587Harrison England ii. xxii. (1877) I. 338 Our men are..become..through Persian delicacie crept in among vs altogither of straw. 1605Shakes. Lear iii. vi. 85, I do not like the fashion of your garments. You will say they are Persian. 1737Pope Hor. Epist. ii. ii. 265 Robes of Persian dye. 1841Elphinstone Hist. Ind. I. 287 In Persian poets..a long description of inanimate nature is rarely met with. 1889H. Weir Our Cats 28 Tabby is not a Persian colour. 1972Ing & Pond Champion Cats of World ii. 73 When the two varieties [sc. the Angora and the Persian] were mated together by the early fanciers it was found that the Persian characteristics were dominant, so gradually all the Longhairs were classified as ‘Persian’.
2. a. In the specific names of productions, natural or artificial, found in or imported from Persia, or attributed to that country or its people; e.g. Persian carpet, Persian (flower) pattern, Persian cyclamen, Persian iris, Persian jasmine, Persian lilac, Persian poplar, Persian ranunculus, etc.
Persian bed = divan 3; Persian berries, the unripe fruit of Rhamnus infectorius, coming from Persia; also commercially applied to those of other species grown in Southern Europe; Persian blinds = persiennes; Persian cat, a long-haired cat, formerly one belonging to a variety introduced from Persia, distinguished by broad, round heads, small ears, stocky bodies, and thick, rather woolly fur; Persian cord: see quot.; Persian drill, a hand drill operated by the movement of a nut backward and forward on the thread of a revolving screw, which carries the drill; Persian earth = Indian red (see Indian A. 4); Persian fire, Path. = anthrax 1 (Persicus ignis, in tr. Blancard's Phys. Dict. 1693); † Persian fruit (in Sylvester), opium; Persian insect-powder, an insecticide made of the flowers of Pyrethrum roseum; Persian lamb, the skin or pelt of the karakul lamb, which has a silky, tightly-curled appearance; a coat made from this fur; Persian lilac, a shrub, Syringa persica, of the family Oleaceæ, bearing panicles of fragrant, mauve or white flowers; Persian lily, a species of fritillary (Fritillaria persica); Persian lynx = caracal; Persian morocco, a kind of morocco leather, used in bookbinding, made from the skin of a hairy sheep called the Persian goat; Persian sheep, a southern African breed of sheep, kept for the meat it produces; also called the blackhead Persian; Persian silk = B. 4; Persian tick, a parasitic mite, Argas persicus, found in houses in some parts of Persia; Persian ware, name given to a variety of glazed pottery; Persian wheel, a wheel for raising water: (a) a bucket-wheel (see bucket n.1 6), a noria; (b) a wheel having chambers formed by curved or radial partitions, which lift up water as they are submerged and discharge it near the level of the axis; Persian Yellow (rose), a variety of the Austrian briar, Rosa foetida var. persiana, which bears fragrant, double, yellow flowers and was brought back to England from Persia by Sir Henry Willock in 1837.
1616T. Roe Jrnl. 11 Mar. in Embassy to Court of Gt. Mogul (1899) I. 143 Vnder foote it is layd with good *Persian Carpetts of great lardgnes. 1621J. Chamberlain Let. 10 Nov. in Mem. Amer. Philos. Soc. (1939) XII. ii. 406 The Moscovie ambassador..brought divers presents of ermins, sables, blacke foxe, Persian carpetts wrought with gold..besides a faire Persian tent. 1632B. Jonson Magn. Lady iv. iii, Spread on the sheets Under a brace of your best Persian carpets. 1844A. W. Kinglake Eothen xxvii. 394 A few Persian carpets (which ought to be called Persian rugs, for that is the word which indicates their shape and dimension,) are sometimes thrown about near the divan. 1969Times 12 Dec. (Kenya Suppl.) p. viii/3 A friend..drove all the way to Rhodesia, with her savings invested in a dozen Persian carpets supporting three dogs in the back of a station wagon. 1978Times 22 Nov. 2/1 Public auction sale of genuinely rare and valuable Persian Carpets on behalf of foreign creditors.
1821Byron Juan iii. xviii. 157 Two parrots, with a *Persian cat and kittens, He chose from several animals he saw. 1824M. R. Mitford Our Village I. 289 The white kitten..has succeeded to his lamented grandfather, our beautiful Persian cat. 1889H. Weir Our Cats 24 The Persian cat..differs somewhat from the Angora. 1894Lydekker Nat. Hist. I. 428 The most celebrated of all the Asiatic breeds is the Persian, or Angora cat... These cats are characterised by their large size, their long silky hair,..and the thick bushy tail. 1903F. Simpson Bk. of Cat vii. 98/1 In classing all long-haired cats as Persians I may be wrong, but the distictions between Angoras and Persians are of so fine a nature that I must be pardoned if I ignore the cat commonly called Angora, which seems gradually to have disappeared from our midst... It is my intention to confine my division of cats to long-haired or Persian cats, and short-haired or English and foreign cats. 1935E. B. Simmons Cats xxvii. 133 In the beginning there were Persian cats..and Angora cats... Interbreeding has made the two one. 1972Ing & Pond Champion Cats of World ii. 72 Eventually all Angora and Persian cats were referred to as Longhairs.
1873Young Englishwoman June 312/1 Two good merinos, one Russell or *Persian cord. 1882Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlework, Persian cord, a material for women's dresses, resembling rep, made of cotton and wool.
1875Knight Dict. Mech. 1671/2 A hand-drill..sometimes known as the *Persian drill..is frequently used for fine work and in dentistry.
1735Dict. Polygraph. II. Kk v b, Indian-red, or *Persian-earth, is what we improperly call English-red.
a1618Sylvester Panaretus 1303 That soft *Persian Fruit (so deer) Banefull at home, and little better here.
1889*Persian lamb [see lamb n. 5 b]. 1892,1899[see broadtail]. 1937J. Laver Taste & Fashion xv. 215 All kinds of combinations of furs were tried: squirrel collared with fox, Persian lamb trimmed with mink kolinsky. 1959J. Ludwig in Tamarack Rev. Summer 6 She..walks..not in her Persian lamb..but in that worn cloth coat. 1972C. Drummond Death at Bar v. 123 Mrs. Gaukroger, wearing a purple pyjama suit under her Persian lamb coat.
1640J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum 1468 This Persian Iasmine (or *Persian Lilac, whether you will) is a shrub, or shrubby plant. 1712[see lilac 1 b]. 1800Curtis's Bot. Mag. XIV. 486 The Persian Lilac is a shrub of much humbler growth than the common sort. 1847F. A. Kemble Let. 12 Dec. in Rec. Later Life (1882) III. 301 Her maid has been with me this morning, with..a bunch of delicious Persian lilac. 1861[see lilac 1 b]. 1959A. Moorehead No Room in Ark ii. 62 The incredibly sweet scent of Persian lilac hung in the air. 1975V. Nabokov Tyrants Destroyed 47 A bright breeze ruffled the Persian lilacs.
1597Gerarde Herbal i. xcv. 152 This *Persian Lillie..is nowe made.. a denizon in some fewe of our London gardens.
1870D. Rock Textile Fabrics p. lxvi, Though there be seen the ‘homa’, the ‘cheetah’, and other elements of *Persian patterns, still the discordant two-handled vase..betrays the textile to be not Persian, but Syrian. 1895Montgomery Ward Catal. Spring & Summer 37/2 Ladies' Shirt Waists... New fancy Persian patterns. 1971Guardian 30 Mar. 9/2 Printed Crimplene sweaters in a Persian flower pattern.
1912R. Lydekker Sheep & its Cousins x. 209 The *Persian fat-rumped sheep..is a well-known breed, which has been carried to Cape Colony and Rhodesia, where it is now bred to a considerable extent. 1932S. Zuckerman Social Life Monkeys xii. 206, I have seen Chacma baboons playing about and foraging in the midst of a flock of Persian sheep. 1966E. Palmer Plains of Camdeboo xvi. 256 ‘I guess it is a black-head Persian from the Karoo.’ ‘You're right,’ replied Sir Abe [Baily] with delight. ‘It is Karoo Persian.’ When he travelled he took with him live Persian sheep from the Karoo to be slaughtered when he needed them.
1696J. F. Merchant's Ware-ho. 34 There is one sort of Indian Silk more, called *Persian Silk, or Persian Taffety, which of all Silk that comes from the East Indies is of most use.
1903M. L. Solon Hist. Old French Faïence iv. 52 This..bears a distant likeness to the *Persian ware. 1971L. A. Boger Dict. World Pott. & Porc. 165/1 The earliest extant examples of Persian underglaze blue and white wares date from the 15th century. 1972H. Hodges Pottery 53 Throughout the twelfth century the larger part of Byzantine polychrome pottery is best seen as a poor copy of Persian wares.
1704Dict. Rust. et Urb., *Persian-Wheel..for overflowing of..Land lying on the borders or banks of Rivers or Streams. 1829Nat. Philos. I. ii. 6 (Usef. Knowl. Soc.). 1864J. A. Grant Walk across Afr. xvii. 403 The Persian wheel, with its hanging earthen jars, overhangs the river [Nile] and..raises the water to the heights of the fields and gardens.
1843Gardeners' Chron. 25 Feb. 121/1 The new *Persian Double Yellow Rose..is an entirely different variety from Rosa Harrisonii; it is very like the old double yellow. 1848W. Paul Rose Garden 97 Persian Yellow; flowers of the deepest yellow, large and full; form, globular... Introduced from Persia by Sir H. Willock in 1837. 1898M. A. von Arnim Elizabeth & her German Garden 17 The Persian Yellows look as though they intended to be big bushes. 1911E. Willmott Genus Rosa II. 271 It is easy to understand the popularity of the beautiful Persian Yellow Rose. 1971‘L. Black’ Death has Green Fingers iv. 37 Two other strains of roses were added to the family tree, one species called the Persian Yellow.
b. In names of colours associated with Persia or its products, e.g. Persian blue, Persian green, Persian red.
1869Bradshaw's Railway Manual XXI. 460/2 (Advt.), Reds..Persian Red..Venetian Red. 1873Young Englishwoman Aug. 390/1 Bright but delicate shades, such as sky blue, Persian green, and blush rose. 1886H. C. Standage Artists' Man. Pigments v. 51 Besides the Persian red obtained from the ochres, there is another which is a chromate of lead. 1903M. L. Solon Hist. Old French Faïence ix. 139 Some of the earliest pieces are painted upon Persian blue ground. 1934H. Hiler Notes Technique Painting ii. 116 Persian green, synonym for emerald green. 1951R. Mayer Artist's Handbk. ii. 57 Persian orange, lake made of aniline colour on a barytes or blanc fixe base. Not permanent. 1963tr. Kornerup & Wanscher's Handbk. Colour 177/1 Persian blue, the colour of Persian procelain... Before about 1912, this name referred to the colour of certain Persian fabrics dyed with indigo blue. Ibid. Persian orange, this name probably corresponds to Persian yellow, a pigment derived from a compound of arsenic and sulphur.
3. Arch. (See quots.)
1727–41Chambers Cycl., Persian, or Persic,..a name common to all statues of men, serving instead of columns, to support entablatures. Ibid. s.v. Order, Persian Order, is that which has figures of Persian slaves, instead of columns, to support the entablature.
B. n.
1. A native or inhabitant of Persia.
(In ME. also Perse.)
c1374Chaucer Boeth. ii. pr. ii. 35 Þe kyng of perciens. 1390Gower Conf. I. 27 Persiens gon under fote. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xxiv. 502 He..smote vpon the persans and dommaged theim sore. 1568Bible (Bishops') Dan. vi. 8 The lawe of the Medes and Persians whiche altereth not. 1776Gibbon Decl. & F. viii. (1788) I. 319 Zoroaster, the ancient prophet and philosopher of the Persians. 1841Lane Arab. Nts. I. 77 The tale..was related to me by a Persian.
2. The native language of Persia.
1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 170, I adde a little of their language..the English and Persian explayning one the other. 1777–80Richardson Persian Dict. Diss. p. viii, In Hindostan..two thirds of the Persian..is pure Arabic.
3. Arch. A male figure dressed in the ancient Persian manner serving instead of a column or pilaster to support an entablature: cf. A. 3.
1823P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 590.
†4. A thin soft silk, usu. used for linings. Also called Persia or Persian silk. Obs.
1696J. F. Merchant's Ware-ho. 34 There is of those Persians several lengths. 1704Lond. Gaz. No. 3992/3 East-India Goods,..consisting of..Persians, Pudisways, Paunches. 1777F. Burney Early Diary 7 Apr., She had an exceeding pretty..dress, made of pink persian. 1853Mrs. Gaskell Ruth I. ii. 39 Miss Hilton! where have you put the blue Persian? 1876J. R. Planché Cycl. Costume I. 394 Persian, a thin silk, used principally for lining coats, gowns, and petticoats, in the seventeenth century.
attrib.1710Lond. Gaz. No. 4700/4 Stolen.., A strip'd Persian riding Gown. 1818M. Edgeworth Let. 8 Sept. (1971) 85 Little Lady Louisa flying about with her green persian sash floating. 1838Dickens Nich. Nick. x, Green persian lining.
5. = persiennes.
Also pl. in Sp. form persianas, It. persiane (erron. -ani).
1786tr. Beckford's Vathek (1823) 75 Through blinds of Persian, they perceived large soft eyes. 1856Mrs. Browning Aur. Leigh vii. 662 The closed persiani threw Their long-scored shadows on my villa-floor. 1860Merc. Marine Mag. VII. 222 With green persianas or shutters. 1861Mrs. Browning Parting Lovers ii, Did I undo The persian?
6. = Persian cat in sense A. 2.
1871Graphic 22 July 75/3 A Persian, direct from Persia,..‘a very amiable beast’. 1879M. E. Braddon Vixen III. i. 52, I have a Persian who has been my attached companion for the last ten years. 1902A. Bennett Anna of Five Towns vii. 152 The Persian with one ear met them in the lobby, his tail flying. 1921C. Van Vechten Tiger in House i. 15 Jessie Pickens had a very remarkable brown tabby Persian. 1934M. V. Hughes London Child of Seventies x. 113 The parlour cats were Persians, sat on laps and best chairs. 1956G. Durrell My Family ix. 116 The consul was a great cat-lover, and he possessed three large and well-fed Persians to prove it. 1972Ing & Pond Champion Cats of World ii. 72 The fur texture also differed, that of the Angoras being soft, fine and silky, while the Persians were more woolly.
7. Other misc. ellipt. or substantival uses, esp. = Persian carpet in sense A. 2.
1897[see floral n. 2]. 1903W. D. Ellwanger Oriental Rug (1904) ii. 15 The Persians came first, and perhaps in the following order of excellence: Kirman, Sehna, [etc.]. 1905Daily Chron. 9 Sept. 3/2 ‘Persians’ and other East Indian skins are stripped of their original tannage, and then finished as morocco. 1915J. Webster Dear Enemy 43 New rugs on the floor (my own prized Persians). 1957M. McCarthy Memories Catholic Girlhood viii. 197 In the winter, she would have on her mink or her Persian or her squirrel or her broadtail. 1960News Chron. 12 Sept. 6/4 Persians can be geometric or floral. 1964House & Garden Dec. 42/3 The rugs are Persians and Kelims. 1970Times 12 May 11/8 The design of the print is a combination of paisley and persian.
C. Comb. as Persian-looking adj.; Persian-like a. or adv., like a Persian (in quot. a Parsee).
1679Confinement, a Poem 54 He never..rising Sun, can Persian-like adore. 1902Daily Chron. 1 Nov. 8/3 Persian-looking ribbon passementerie.
Hence Persiana |pəsɪˈɑːnə|, a dress material: see quot. 1882; ˈPersianist, a professed student of Persian, a Persian scholar; ˈPersianize v., trans. to make Persian in customs, language, etc.; intr. to act like or play the Persian.
1827Perils & Captivity (Constable's Misc.) 327 A velvet petticoat..of *Persiana. 1882Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlework, Persiana, a silk stuff decorated with large flowers.
1903Nation (N.Y.) 12 Mar. 212/1 The Arabist, in the rarest of cases, has been a *Persianist.
1816W. Taylor in Monthly Rev. LXXIX. 193 The Pythagoreans, as the *Persianizing Greeks were called. 1882Floyer Unexpl. Baluchistan 330 They are most of them half Persianized. |