| 释义 |
▪ I. polite, a.|pə(ʊ)ˈlaɪt|
Also 5 polyt, pollyte, 6 polyte.
[ad. L. polīt-us polished, accomplished, refined, cultivated, polite, prop. pa. pple. of polīre to smooth, polish. Cf. It. polito (Florio), F. poli (12th c. in Littré), etc.]
†1. lit. Smoothed, polished, burnished. Obs.
c1450Mirour Saluacioun 1485 The Arche withinne & without was hiled with golde polyt. c1470Henry Wallace ix. 1082 Throu polyt platis with poyntis persyt thair. 1601B. Jonson Poetaster iii. i, I am enamour'd of this street now..tis so polite, and terse. 1675Evelyn Terra (1729) 8 Potters-Earth..became like Sand..exceeding polite and smooth. 1678Cudworth Intell. Syst. i. v. 731 Polite Bodies, as Looking-Glasses. 1737Whiston Josephus, Antiq. xv. ix. §6 Edifices..made of the politest stone.
†b. Cleansed, furbished, trim, neat, orderly. Obs.
1497Bp. Alcock Mons Perfect. E j, Theyr monestery in every corner therof is all pollyte & clene. 1673Ray Journ. Low C., Glaris 427 At Suitz..the people..keep their houses neat and cleanly, and withal very polite and in good repair. 1703Maundrell Journ. Jerus. (1721) 77 To preserve these Chambers of the dead polite and clean.
2. transf.
a. Of the arts, or any intellectual pursuits, esp. literature: Polished, refined, elegant; correct, scholarly, exhibiting a refined taste. (Now only in certain collocations.)
1501Douglas Pal. Hon. ii. viii, Ȝone is..the court rethoricall, Of polit termis. 1531Elyot Gov. i. v, That they speke none englisshe but that which is cleane, polite, perfectly and articulately pronounced. 1612Selden Illustr. Drayton's Poly-olb. vi. 98 That polite Poem (in whose composition Apollo seemes to haue giuen personall aide). 1699Bentley Phal. Pref. 49 All the Lovers of Polite Learning..give me thanks. 1726C. D'Anvers Craftsm. i. (1727) 4 My natural inclination to the politer arts. 1786–7Bonnycastle Astron. i. 12 One of the most useful branches of a polite education. 1824L. Murray Eng. Gram. (ed. 5) I. 174 Every polite tongue has its own rules. 1891Speaker 2 May 532/1 In it meta⁓physics have again condescended to speak the language of polite letters.
b. Of persons (a) in respect of some art or scholarship, (b) in respect of general culture: Polished, refined, civilized, cultivated, cultured, well-bred, modish.
1629Wadsworth Pilgr. viii. 91 One of the politest wits in the Kingdome for the Law. a1664K. Philips To Abp. of Canterb. Poems (1667) 166 Majestick sweetness, temper'd and refin'd, In a Polite, and comprehensive Mind. 1711Addison Spect. No. 39 ⁋2 In all the polite Nations of the World, this part of the Drama has met with publick Encouragement. 1759Johnson Idler No. 47 ⁋14 Since his acquaintance with polite life. 1777Sir W. Jones Ess. Poetry E. Nat. Poems, etc. 187 A very polite scholar, who has lately translated sixteen Odes of Hafez. 1840Macaulay Ess., Ranke (1851) II. 142 Whatever the polite and learned may think.
c. Of refined manners; esp. showing courteous consideration for others; courteous, mannerly, urbane. (The chief current use.)
1762Goldsm. Cit. W. xxxix, [He] perceives that the wise are polite all the world over, but that fools are polite only at home. 1772Mackenzie Man World ii. xx. (1823) 492 The French are the politest enemies in the world. 1781Gibbon Decl. & F. xix. II. 151 Narses..was endowed with the most polite and amiable manners. 1807Crabbe Par. Reg. iii. 841 To them, to all, he was polite and free. 1831Sir J. Sinclair Corr. II. 426 He sent me the following polite acknowledgment of his having received the work. 1856‘Doing the polite’ [see do v. 11 j]. 1883Manch. Guard. 22 Oct. 5/5 Lord Dufferin obtains..polite promises, but is not in a position to get anything more.
3. absol. or as n. In colloq. phr, to do the polite: to perform a polite action (freq. with thing understood); to behave politely.
1856[see do v. 11 j]. 1933D. L. Sayers Murder must Advertise vi. 95, I saw you doing the polite to Miss Rossiter. 1935G. Greene England made Me iv. 199 They are leaving at the end of the week. I've got to do the polite. 1939‘M. Innes’ Stop Press i. vi. 136 Some chaps over there. Must do the polite.
▪ II. † polite, v. Obs. rare.
[f. L. polīt-, ppl. stem of polīre to polish.]
trans. To polish, refine; to clear up.
a1676Hale De Successionibus (1735) 50 There was some incertainty in the business of Descents, or Hereditary Successions, though it was much better polited than formerly. 1704Ray Creation i. (ed. 3) 112 Exercises..which polite Men's Spirits. |