释义 |
aridity|əˈrɪdɪtɪ| [ad. L. āriditas, f. ārid-us: see arid and -ity. Cf. Fr. aridité.] Arid state or quality, parched or withered condition, lack of moisture, dryness, barrenness; spec. in early medical use, of the state of the body.
1599A. M. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physic 209/1 The Consumptione, or ariditye of the Ioynctes. 1731Arbuthnot Aliments (J.) Salt taken in great quantities will reduce an animal body to the great extremity of aridity. 1796Morse Amer. Geog. II. 601 They [winds] are of..extreme heat and aridity. 1835Thirlwall Greece I. iii. 65 The natural aridity of a part of the Argive soil. 2. fig. Dryness, lack of interest; ‘in the theological sense a kind of insensibility in devotion, contrary to unction or tenderness.’ J.
1692Dryden St. Eurem. Ess. 347 That sad State which is called Aridity and Dryness in Monasteries. 1765Tucker Lt. Nat. II. 36 We hear them complain of frequent coolness, aridities, and desertions. 1865Lecky Ration. (1878) I. 342 The excessive aridity of scholasticism. 1882G. Chrystal in Nature XXVI. 217 The aridities of modern English mathematical text-books. |