| 释义 |
▪ I. sheaf, n.|ʃiːf|
Forms: α. 1 scéaf, 4–5 shef, schef, scheef, 4–6 shefe, sheef, 5 sheeffe, (chyfe), 5–6 schefe, scheff(e, sheff, 5–7 sheffe, 6 sheaffe, schiefe, Sc. scheiff, (teind-)cheif, 6–7 sheafe, 7 sheave, sheive, 8 Sc. sheaff, 6– sheaf. pl. 1 scéafas, (scéabas, scébas), 3 sheve, (Orm.) shæfess, 4 schewes, (szevis, cheves), 4–5 schefes, 4–6 scheves, -is, -ys, sheves, -is, -ys, 5 shefys, shef(f)s, 5–7 sheeves, 6 sheffes, sheiffes, sheafes, 7 sheaffes, shefes, 6– sheaves, 7– sheafs. β. chiefly north. and Sc. 4 schaf, (shafth), 4–5 shafe, 5 schafe, schaffe, 5–6 shaffe, shayff, 6 schaif, schayffe, 5 shave, 9 shaf(f. pl. 4 scaves, schaffes, 4–5 schaves, 5 schaiffis, shaffis, 5–6 schawis, 6 shayffs, 7 schavis, schawes, shaves. γ. 5 schof(e, schoof, 9 dial. shoaf, shofe, shoof. pl. 5 schovys, 9 dial. shoves, shoofs, etc.
[Com.Teut. (wanting in Gothic): OE. scéaf masc. = NFris. skôf, WFris. skeaf, OS. skôf ? sheaf (Gallée), MLG., MDu. schôf (mod.Du. schoof fem., sheaf), OHG. scoub sheaf, bundle or wisp of straw (MHG. schoup, mod.G. schaub masc., also schaube fem., wisp of straw), ON. skauf neut., fox's brush:—OTeut. *skauƀo-, app. f. the root *skauƀ-: skeuƀ-: skuƀ-: see shove v.1 From the wk. grade of the root are OHG. scob, MHG. schop, mod.G. dial. schob masc., schobe fem., bundle, OHG. scobar, MHG., mod.G. schober masc., heap of hay, corn, etc.
With the β forms cf. chap(-man) beside cheap, OE. céap. The γ forms are difficult to account for. They may represent an ablaut variant (OE. *scofa or *scofe), or they may be due to the influence of continental LG. or Du.; another possible explanation is that locally the original falling diphthong éa may have undergone change of stress; but none of these conjectures is quite satisfactory.]
1. a. One of the large bundles in which it is usual to bind cereal plants after reaping. Also, a similar bundle of the stalks or blooms of other plants.
αc725Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) G 15 Garbas, sceabas. c1000ælfric Gen. xxxvii. 7 Me þuhte, þæt we bundon sceafas on æcere and þæt min sceaf arise and stode uprihte omiddan eowrum sceafum. c1000Sax. Leechd. II. 216 Rudan sceafas þry ᵹedo on wine croccan. c1200Ormin 1481 Þu þresshest tine shæfess, & siþþenn winndwesst tu þin corn. a1250Owl & Night. 455 Hwanne mon howieþ of his sheue. 1485in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 291 Clane whete as it cometh from the shefe. a1490Botoner Itin. (Nasmith, 1778) 288 Et populi portant anglice shevys de reede segge ad luminandam aulam. 1553Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) 433 Brynyng with every pecke two shevis of fyrris. 1621Quarles Hadassa Introd. B 2, Here lies a new-falne ranke, and there a sheaue. 1717Berkeley Tour Italy Wks. 1871 IV. 546 Corn reaped and standing in sheaves. 1797T. Holcroft tr. Stolberg's Trav. III. lxxxi. (ed. 2) 290 We..saw barley in sheaf. 1844H. Stephens Bk. Farm III. 1053 By practice, he can ascertain by the eye whether sheaves are of the proper size, which is 1 foot of diameter across the band. 1846J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 317 It is usual for landlords to pay for the drawing of the reed by the hundred sheaves. 1862Miall Title-deeds Ch. Eng. 39 note, Beans were usually tithed in the sheaf or shock.
βa1300Cursor M. 4061 Hijs breþer schaues [Gött. scheuis, Fairf. sheuys] he sagh lutand Til his allan þat was standand. 14..Nom. in Wr.-Wülcker 725/40 Hec garba, a schaffe. 1513Douglas æneis iv. Prol. 14 Of vickit grane quhow sall gud schaif be schorn? 1532–3Durham Househ. Bk. (Surtees) 166 Item 1 stuk et 16 shayffs ordii. 1565Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 384 Cum..10 garbis vulgo schawis straminum. 1639Mure Ps. cxxvi. 23 Charg'd with shaves.
γc1440Promp. Parv. 444/2 Scheffe, or scheef (S. schefe or schofe, K. schof), garba, gelima. Ibid. 447/2 Schoof or scheef. Ibid. Schokkyn schovys, tasso, congelimo. 1788W. H. Marshall Yorksh. II. 35 In these ‘reaps’,—shoves or open sheaves,—it [sc. rape] lies until..the ripest is ready to open its pods. 1865W. White East. Eng. I. vii. 101 Then we has to lay 'em [the reeds] straight, and tie 'em up into shoofs. 1879G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk., Shoves.
Proverbs.c1384Chaucer H. Fame 2140 For alle mote oute, other late or rathe, Alle the sheves in the lathe. c1385― L.G.W. 2579 The whiche child of hire natyuyte To alle thewis goode I-born was she, As likede to the goddis er she was born, That of the shef she shal be the corn. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 161, I will take as falth in the sheafe.
†b. tenth sheaf, ninth sheaf, third, etc. sheaf: a specified proportionate part of the annual crop paid to the lord or to the church. Also (in the s.w. counties) the sheaf = the tenth sheaf, tithe of grain. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 6807 Giue gladli tend And þin offrand, Þe formast scaues of your corn. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VIII. 335 And þe nynþe scheef [v.r. schef] everich glebe of Engelond he ordeyned for his owne iourneys. c1440Jacob's Well 24 Alle þo þat ȝeuyn þe tythe scheef to þe reperys for here hyre,..& ȝeuyn þe xj. sheef for þe tythe. c1450Godstow Reg. 351 The churche of wygynton takyth all shevis, and halfe of all oþer tythys. a1460Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. xii. (1885) 140 When the reaume gaff to thair kyng..the ixth fflese off thair wolles, and also the ixth shefe off þer graynes. 1472Rental Bk. Cupar-Angus (1879) I. 162 Wilȝam sal pay ȝerly for the teynd schafe of standand teyndis..20 bollis of vitale. 1552Lyndesay Tragedy 299 Ye wyll not want teind cheif nor offrandis. c1630Risdon Surv. Devon §309 (1810) 318 The shefe of this place, Walter Stapledon gave to the hospital. 1641Will of T. Isaacs (Somerset Ho.), Whereas the sheaf of sherverton belongs to me. a1687Petty Pol. Arith. i. (1691) 34 If the Rent of the Land..be the third Sheaf. 17..in J. Hammond Cornish Parish (1897) 81 The proprietors of the Sheaf [—that is, of the Rectorial tithes—were abated 13s. 4d.].
c. fig. in various obvious uses. Also † to put on the sheaf, to crown the feast, add the finishing touch (Sc.).
1600in Songs & Poems Costume (Percy Soc.) 102 Of others take a sheafe, of mee a graine. 1690Locke Hum. Und. iv. xii. §12 In the Knowledge of Bodies, we must be content to glean what we can from particular Experiments, since we cannot from a Discovery of their real Essences, grasp at a time whole Sheaves; and in bundles, comprehend the Nature and Properties of whole Species together. 1715Ramsay Christ's Kirk Gr. ii. xx, A kebbuck syn..pat on the sheaf. 1825Macaulay Ess., Milton ⁋21 Yet the harvest is so abundant that the negligent search of a straggling gleaner may be rewarded with a sheaf. 1885R. Buchanan Annan Water xvi, Marriage with a holy man is a sheaf of blessing.
d. Applied to a cluster of flowers, leaves, etc.
1845Browning Home Thoughts i, The lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf. 1882Garden 1 July 12/1 The plant shown bore quite a sheaf of large blooms.
e. A cluster of jets of fire or water darting up together. (Cf. F. gerbe.)
1811Pinkerton Petral. II. 535 A thousand sheaves of fire blew up into the air, where, breaking and dispersing, they fell like a shower of stars. 1857Dufferin Lett. High Lat. 125 A shining liquid column, or rather a sheaf of columns wreathed in robes of vapour, sprung into the air.
2.
†a. A bundle of iron or steel containing a definite number of gads (see quots. 1577, 1597).[Cf. med.L. garba, a bundle of 30 pieces of steel; also MHG. ein schoup îsens.] 1309–10Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 7 In 3 schaffes aceris emp., 12d. 1377–8Ibid. 387 In uno shafth calibis pro reparacione securium, 8d. 1495Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 150 Payed..for ij Sheffs of Stelle price the Sheff vijd. 1515–16Fabric Rolls York Minster (Surtees) 96, iiij sheiffes de calabe. 1577Harrison England iii. xviii[xi], in Holinshed, Our steele..is not so good for edge toole as that of Cullen, and yet the one is often solde for the other, and lyke tale vsed in both, that is to say thirtie gaddes to the shiefe [1587 sheffe] and sixe shiefes [twelue sheffes] to the burden. 1597Skene De Verb. Sign. s.v. Schaffa, Ane schiefe of irone containes sexteene gades, ane schiefe of steile containes fourteene gades.
†b. ? A certain quantity of timber. Obs.
1534in Weaver Wells Wills (1890) 5 Rych. my son v shefe of tymbre.
†c. A certain number of plates of glass. Obs.[Cf. LG. schoff, a bundle of six plates of glass (Schiller & Lübben, s.v. schôf.] 1402–3Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 394, 7s. 8d. pro j pare de lyas et j shafe vitri venditis. Ibid. 397 Item de novo vitro colorato 2 scheff. 1476–7in J. Raine Auckland Castle (1852) 54 [For 20] shefs [of new glass for repairing the windows of the manor-house, 13s. 4d.]. 1482–3in Finchale Priory Acc. (Surtees) p. ccclx, Pro ix shaffis vitri. 1487Churchw. Acc. Wigtoft Lincs. (Nicholls 1797) 83 Paide for a shefe of glass 8d. 1488–9Durham Acc. Rolls 99 Pro 5 shaff' vitri empt., 3s. 4d. 1532–3Durham Househ. Bk. (Surtees) 170 Et in 8 shayff brymmys glasse emptis.
3. A bundle or quiverful of 24 arrows.
1318Act Robt. I c. xxvii, Unum bonum arcum cum uno schapho sagittarum. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. iii. 324 Half a shef of arwes. c1386Chaucer Prol. 104 A sheef of pecok arwes brighte and kene Vnder his belt he bar ful thriftily. 1475Rental Bk. Cupar-Angus (1879) I. 200 Bowis and schawis. 1502Privy Purse Exp. Eliz. York (1830) 58 For a sheffe and an half of brode arrowes at ij d. the arrowe vj s. and for a sheef of brode heddes at ij d. the hedde iiij s. 1519in Gentl. Mag. (1864) Apr. 501/1 A boue & a shaffe of arrows, ijs. 1590Sir J. Smythe Disc. Weapons 20 b, To drawe their arrowes out of their cases and sheafes. 1643Baker Chron., Edw. IV, 94 The Northern men..plyed their bowes, till all their Sheaves were empty. 1825Scott Betrothed ix, The soldiers..discharged several sheaves of arrows upon such fugitives, as..approached too near the castle.
fig.1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xx. 224 [They] shoten aȝein with shotte many a shef of othes, And brode hoked arwes, goddes herte & his nayles.
4. A representation of a sheaf (of corn, arrows, etc.). (In Her. the sheaf of corn is called garb.)
c1420? Lydg. Assembly of Gods 291 Ceres..in a garment Of sak clothe..Embrowderyd with sheues and sykelys bent. a1631Donne Poems, To Mr. G. Herbert, A Sheafe of Snakes used heretofore to be My Seal, The Crest of our poore Family. 1805Scott Last Minstr. iv. viii, And hence, in fair remembrance worn, Yon sheaf of spears his crest has borne. 1868Cussans Handbk. Her. vii. (1893) 108 A bundle of Arrows bound together in the centre is termed a Sheaf, and consists of three: one in pale, and two in saltire.
5. gen.
a. A cluster or bundle of things tied up together; a quantity of things set thick together.
a1728Woodward Nat. Hist. Fossils i. (1729) I. 78 A Mineral..composed of several Sheafs of grey Filaments. 1855Thackeray Newcomes xlviii, A great palette, and a sheaf of painting-brushes. 1863Geo. Eliot Romola ii. xxii, The sheaves of banners were unfurled at the angles of the Baptistery. 1888M. E. Braddon Fatal Three i. v, He took a sheaf of telegraph-forms from the stand in front of him.
b. Emphatically in pl.: A large number, mass, or quantity.
1865Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xx. vi. IX. 108 He has sheaves of Letters daily. 1888Henley Bk. Verses 123 It falls, in very sheaves, The weary, dreary rain.
6. a. Physics and Math. A bundle of rays, lines, etc. all passing through a given point.
1863Tyndall Heat ix. §359. 302 A sheaf of calorific rays. 1885C. Leudesdorf Cremona's Proj. Geom. 22 A sheaf (sheaf of planes, sheaf of lines) is a figure made up of planes or straight lines, all of which pass through a given point (the centre of the sheaf). 1890Eagles Descript. Geom. 303 Sheafs of rays which in the case of a source of light..form a cone of which that source is the vortex.
b. Math. A topological space each point of which is associated with a structure having all the properties of an Abelian group (e.g. a vector space or a ring) in such a way that there is an isomorphism between the structures on neighbouring points. [The sense is due to J. Leray, who used F. faisceau (Jrnl. de Math. (1950) XXIX. 5).]
1955Ann. Math. LXII. 56 The French word ‘faisceau’ has been translated into English as ‘sheaf’ or ‘stack’. In this paper we use the word ‘stack’, since ‘sheaf’ has been used before in mathematics. 1958R. G. Swan Theory of Sheaves 1 Sheaves are very useful in proving theorems. 1973R. O. Wells Differential Anal. Complex Manifolds ii. 43 A sheaf..on a space X is a carrier of localized information about the space.
7. Comb., as sheaf-like adj.; † sheaf-arrow, an arrow of the kind which was carried in a sheaf (see 3) for warfare; sheaf-binder, one who binds sheaves, a machine which does this; sheaf catalogue Librarianship (see quot. 1976); sheaf-corn, corn in sheaves; † sheaf-iron, ? iron in sheaves or bundles of rods; sheaf oats U.S. (now rare), oats bound in sheaves; sheaf-ripe a. (poet.), ripe for harvest.
1474in Rymer Fœdera XI. 838 Sagittas vocatas *Shefe Arowes. 1545R. Ascham Toxoph. ii. (Arb.) 126 As concerning sheaffe Arrouse for war. 1627Drayton Agincourt 20 A French man back into the Towne doth fall, With a sheafe Arrow shot into the head.
1866Blackie Homer & Iliad I. 163 Sowers and reapers and *sheaf-binders. 1880Daily News 10 Dec. 2/4 For many years, the only description of sheaf-binder which was found to work was one which tied with wire.
1902Library World V. 129 Some librarians I know..are hesitating in their adoption of a ms. catalogue between the card and a new rival—*the sheaf catalogue. 1913J. H. Quinn Library Cataloguing iv. 33 The book-form of catalogues with separate leaves, known as ‘sheaf-catalogues’. 1976Gloss. Documentation Terms (B.S.I.) 60 Sheaf catalogue, a catalogue recorded on slips of paper of uniform size filed in loose-leaf binders.
1785W. H. Marshall Midl. Counties (1790) II. 167 *Sheaf corn lies straighter in the cutting box.
1572Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees 1835) 364, iiij houndreth lb of *sheff yron j1 xijs.
1880–1W. Saville-Kent Man. Infusoria I. 249 A *sheaf-like fascicle of rod-like trichocysts.
1765G. Croghan Jrnl. 10 June in R. G. Thwaites Early Western Travels (1904) I. ii. 140 The young reeds being preferable to *sheaf oats. 1894Outing XXIV. 337/1 Ten minutes later the horses were quietly eating their corn and sheaf oats.
1879Browning Ned Bratts 3 Corn stood *sheaf-ripe already.
▪ II. sheaf, v.|ʃiːf|
[f. sheaf n. Cf. sheave v.]
1. trans. To bind into a sheaf or sheaves; also with up. Also absol.
1506Kal. Sheph. (Sommer) 18 To laboure in haruest..To repe and shefe. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 113 They that reap must sheafe and binde. 1611Florio, Affasciare,..to sheafe vp corne. 1620Markham Farew. Husb. xiii. 103 Hauing reapt your corne so full of grasse and weeds, you shal by no meanes sheafe it. 1651W. Durham Maranatha (1652) 14 Should the tares overlook the wheat here, and hereafter be sheafed up into the barn. 1764Museum Rust. II. viii. 30 When the crop is fully ripe and clear of weeds, 'tis proper to mow inwards, and sheaf it immediately. 1845Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. V. ii. 327 Last harvest Mr. Hudson sheafed part of his barley. 1874Hardy Far from Madding Crowd xxxiii, Maryann..with some other women was tying the bundles (oats being always sheafed on this farm).
fig.1882Fraser's Mag. Oct. 438 It would be absurd to waste its scholarship and unrivalled opportunities in sheafing up and binding together a puny list of unregistered words. 1891F. Mary Wilson Browning Primer 239 Some..seem more specially sheafed than others by the binding threads of the Prologue and Epilogue.
2. To furnish with a sheaf. rare.
1636R. James Iter Lanc. (1845) 3/69 Who doe bent bowes on their left showlders hould, Their girdle sheaft with arrowes.
▪ III. sheaf
Erroneous form of sheath n.
1697C'tess D'Aunoy's Trav. (1706) 94 These Swords being so long, that they cannot be drawn out, unless a Man has the Arms of a Giant; the Sheaf therefore flies open in laying the finger on a little Spring. 1766Complete Farmer s.v. Vegetation, The lateral roots also break forth..from the gaping sheaf which adheres closely to the plant.
▪ IV. sheaf
variant of sheave n. |