| 释义 |
▪ I. piercing, vbl. n.|ˈpɪəsɪŋ|
[f. pierce v. + -ing1.]
The action of the verb pierce; perforation, boring, penetration, etc.: see the verb.
c1386Chaucer Sir Thopas 151 Ouer that an haubergeon ffor percynge of his herte. c1440Promp. Parv. 393/2 Peercynge, or borynge,..perforacio. 1610J. Guillim Heraldry ii. vii. 70 Piercing is a Penetration or Perforation of things that are of solid substance: and it is threefold: That is to say Round, Losengwaies, Quadrate. 1611Bible Prov. xii. 18 There is that speaketh like the pearcings of a sword. 1685Dryden Hor. Odes iii. xxix. 4 Make haste to meet the generous wine, Whose piercing is for thee delay'd. 1776G. Semple Building in Water 17 Borings or Piercings into the Bed of the River. 1897Daily News 23 Apr. 3/3 The piercing of the bed of coal at the Shirebrook Colliery.
b. A hole or perforation.
1887E. Peacock in Athenæum 9 July 54/2 These ornamental piercings..were like church windows. 1894Blackmore Perlycross 4 The tower was famous..for..height, and proportion, and piercings.
c. attrib. and Comb.
1792Osbaldistone Brit. Sportsm., Farriery 255 Make the nails..answerable to the piercing-holes. 1833J. Holland Manuf. Metal II. 195 The plate..having been prepared by rolling and planishing..is brought to the piercing-shop. 1875Knight Dict. Mech. 1699/2 Piercing-file, a sharp and narrow file to enlarge a narrow drilled hole. Piercing-saw, a thin blade fastened by screw-clamps in a light frame, and used for piercing gold and silver smiths' works.
▪ II. piercing, ppl. a.|ˈpɪəsɪŋ|
[f. as prec. + -ing2.]
That pierces in various senses: see the verb.
1. Perforating, penetrating, as a sharp-pointed instrument or weapon.
1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy i. vi. (MS. Digby 230) lf. 42/2 Harded with stele trenchaunt or percinge. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 157 Their Armour made full of sharp pricks or piercing piked Nailes. 1742Gray Eton 70 Sorrow's piercing dart.
b. Having a physical effect resembling or suggesting the action of a pointed instrument; sharp, keen and penetrating; esp. of cold and sound.
1423Jas. I Kingis Q. ciii, With the stremes of ȝour percyng lyght. 1593G. Harvey Pierce's Super. 12 Not with..the trickling water of Helicon, but with piercing Aqua fortis. 1615W. Lawson Country Housew. Gard. (1626) 21 There is nothing more hurtfull for yong trees than piercing drought. 1767Sir W. Jones Sev. Fountains Poems (1777) 34 Ten comely striplings..Blew piercing flutes. 1855Robinson Whitby Gloss., Pearching, cold to a degree of intensity. 1884Pae Eustace 8 A piercing shriek rang through the silent..air.
c. Having an analogous effect on the feelings or mind; penetrating; keenly or painfully affecting; deeply distressing.
1509Hawes Past. Pleas. xxvii. (Percy Soc.) 132, I made mine othe with percing influence, Unto them all for to remayne full true. c1586C'tess Pembroke Ps. (1823) lxix. iv, The shott of piercing spight. 1657Sparrow Bk. Com. Prayer (1661) 71 This most humble and piercing Supplication. 1791E. Inchbald Simp. Story IV. 142 A state of the most piercing inquietude. 1832J. Hodgson in J. Raine Mem. II. 283 Piercing misfortunes and troubles.
2. Able to ‘see into’ a thing; having penetration; sharp, keen. Said of the eyes, sight, or mind (formerly also of a person or animal); also of the appearance or expression of the eyes.
1423Jas. I Kingis Q. clv, The percyng lynx. 1583Babington Commandm. iv. (1637) 31 If the pearcing eyes of the living God should prie into us. a1586Sidney Arcadia (1622) 243 Wherein he sharpned his wits to the piercingest point. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 12 A most subtil sharp and pearching wit. 1704S. Slater in Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. xcvii. 2 Men of the largest and most piercing intellectuals. 1779J. Moore View Soc. Fr. (1789) I. xxix. 242 The most piercing eyes I ever beheld are those of Voltaire. 1805Foster Ess. i. v. 60 The piercing and immense intelligence that can know, or..assume, that there is no God. 1885G. Allen Babylon x, Piercing black eyes as bright as diamonds.
3. Comb., as piercing-sighted adj.
1768–74Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) I. 667 There is none so piercing-sighted as to see to the very end of the line. |