| 释义 |
rootless, a.|ˈruːtlɪs|
Also 5–6 rooteles, 7 rootlesse.
[f. root n.1 + -less: cf. ON. rótlauss, Norw. rotlaus, Da. rodløs.]
1. a. Without roots; destitute of roots.
c1374Chaucer Troylus iv. 770 Ful oft a by worde here I seye, That rooteles mot grene soone deye. 1652Benlowes Theoph. vi. xxxi, As Aarons rootless Rod, so didst thou fructifie! 1781Burns First Psalm iv, Like the rootless stubble tost, Before the sweeping blast. 1839Penny Cycl. XV. 509/2 Grinders compound or rootless. 1882Farrar Early Chr. I. 492 Like a rootless stalk on a thin soil.
b. fig. or in fig. contexts.
1656Jeanes Fuln. Christ 387 All terrestriall treasures, and riches, are rootlesse. 1754Young Centaur ii. Wks. 1757 IV. 139 We are for rootless joys, joys beyond appetite; which is the sole root of sensual delight. 1867H. Macmillan Bible Teach. xi. (1870) 218 Separated from Him, man is an incomplete creature,..rootless, hungry, dry, and withered. 1890Spectator 28 June, A rootless religion is no religion. 1934A. Woollcott While Rome Burns 93 Those rootless widows who wear buttoned shoes. 1977R. Barnard Blood Brotherhood viii. 79 Rootless young men, without families.
2. Mus. (See root n.1 16.)
1867Macfarren Harmony (1892) 167 The seemingly rootless harmony of the 3rd and 6th of the supertonic..has been satisfactorily traced to the dominant as its generator.
Hence ˈrootlessness; ˈrootlessly adv.
1865Pall Mall G. 29 Mar. 2 Mr. Disraeli's rootlessness of character as we have called it, probably contributes to his wit. 1927E. Bowen Hotel xiv. 167, I haven't had time for a feeling of rootlessness. 1929A. Huxley Do what you Will 157 Nature-worship is..so refined, so rootlessly high-class. 1958Times Lit. Suppl. 3 Jan. 4/4 Mr. Mellers characterizes the nineteenth century Russian Westernizers' music as ‘rootlessly European’ and believes that Stravinsky has merely made this rootlessness symbolic of the modern artist in general. 1978P. Moore Man, Woman, & Priesthood i. 4 In an age of rootlessness which is searching for significant tradition, we have much to offer if we have the courage to dig deep enough. 1980Church Times 1 Aug. 2/4 Drinking problems are, more often than not, connected with other social problems such as homelessness and rootlessness. |