| 释义 |
▪ I. † silvery, n. nonce-wd.
[f. silver n.]
= Silver sickness (silver n. 21).
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 335 Þanne oon of þe peple cride and seide, ‘It is no squynacie but silverie [v.r. selvery] that it ailleþ’.
▪ II. silvery, a.|ˈsɪlvərɪ|
[f. silver n. + -y. Cf. Du. sulverich, zilverich, G. silberig.]
1. a. Having the hue or lustre of silver.
1611Cotgr., Argentin, argentine, siluerie. 1704Petiver Gazophyl. iii. §26 This is a flat edible Fish,..Silvery above and brown below. 1742Pope Dunciad iv. 421 Of all th' enamell'd race, whose silv'ry wing Waves to the tepid Zephyrs of the spring, Or swims along the fluid atmosphere. 1796Twining Trav. India, etc. (1892) 2 His thin silvery locks curled round the collar of his old-fashioned..coat. 1812J. Wilson Isle of Palms i. 86 While yet the silvery glory lies, Above the sparkling foam. 1857Livingstone Trav. S. Africa viii. 167 This bush has fine silvery leaves. 1886Ruskin Præterita I. 290 One small bright silvery likeness of a cloud.
b. silvery iron, an inferior kind of pig-iron, more commonly called white iron.
1861Sir W. Fairbairn Iron 67 Under these conditions, it makes what is called white or silvery iron.
2. a. In names of animals, birds, and fishes, as silvery fox, silvery gibbon, silvery gull, silvery shrew mole; silvery gade, silvery hair-tail (see quots.); silvery pout, a small marine fish, Gadiculus argenteus thori, belonging to the cod family and found in north-western Europe and the Mediterranean; silvery salmon (see quot.).
Also in some names of moths, as silvery arches, silvery broad bar, silvery hawk (Rennie, 1832).
1781Pennant Hist. Quadrup. I. 241 The *Silvery Fox..abound in the wooded eminences in Louisiana. 1827Griffith tr. Cuvier II. 44 The Silvery or Black Fox. Ibid. 368 The Silvery Fox (Canis Argentatus) is a species which has been known for a long time.
1836Yarrell Brit. Fishes II. 195 The *Silvery Gade, Motella argenteola. 1881Cassell's Nat. Hist. V. 64 The second species (Couchia argentata) is commonly known as the Silvery Gade.
1827Griffith tr. Cuvier I. 209 The Ash-coloured or *Silvery Gibbon, also called the Wou Wou. 1871Cassell's Nat. Hist. I. 81 A species which is called the Wow-wow, or Silvery Gibbon (Hylobates leuciscus).
1785Pennant Arctic Zool. II. 533 *Silvery Gull, Larus argentatus, Gull with a white head and neck. c1875Cassell's Nat. Hist. IV. 207 The last-named species..from its lighter colour is often called the Silvery Gull.
1836Yarrell Brit. Fishes I. 182 The *Silvery hairtail, trichiurus lepturus. 1871Day Fishes Gt. Brit. I. 154 The hair-tail or silvery hair-tail, blade-fish.
1925J. T. Jenkins Fishes Brit. Isles 155 The *Silvery Pout is not often met with close inshore. 1959A. C. Hardy Open Sea II. ii. 229 The little silvery pout..is an even more deep-water species.
1804Shaw Gen. Zool. V. i. 63 *Silvery Salmon, Salmo Argentinus.
1871Cassell's Nat. Hist. I. 374 The Prairie Mole, or the *Silvery Shrew Mole (Scalops argentatus).
b. In names of trees or plants, as silvery acacia, silvery hair-grass, silvery honeysuckle, silvery oak.
1859Miss Pratt Brit. Grasses 75 Aira caryophyllea..(Silvery Hair-grass)... Its panicle is of a silvery grey colour. 1889J. H. Maiden Useful Pl. 293 Acacia subcærulea,..Silvery, or Blue-leaved Acacia. Ibid. 552 Grevillea striata,..Silvery Honeysuckle. Ibid. 599 Stenocarpus salignus,..Silky Oak. Silvery Oak.
3. a. Having a clear gentle metallic resonance; silver-toned, melodious.
1600Dr. Dodypoll iii. v. in Bullen Old Pl. III, Hanging on every leafe an orient pearle Which strooke together with the silver winde Of their loose mantels, made a silvery chime. 1824Byron Juan xv. lxi, The silvery bell rang. 1853Kingsley Hypatia ix, In his ears one silvery voice was ringing. 1884St. James's Gaz. 21 June 5/1 A peculiar soft silvery tone which contrasts very strikingly with the English bands.
b. Silver-voiced.
1821Byron Diary Wks. (1846) 531/2 Burdett is sweet and silvery.
4. Producing silver; containing silver.
1870J. Orton Andes & Amazon vii. (1876) 120 At one end of the valley, perched above the clouds, is silvery Potosi. 1875Jevons Money (1878) 154 It is only requisite to melt the silvery gold.
5. Comb.
a. Qualifying other adjs., as silvery-green, silvery-silken, silvery-white, etc.
1796Withering Brit. Pl. (ed. 3) IV. 242 Stem hollow, silvery grey. 1802Shaw Gen. Zool. III. ii. 588 Silvery-brownish Slow-Worm. 1831Poe To Helen Poems (1859) 62 Through heaven There fell a silvery-silken veil of light. 1836–9Todd's Cycl. Anat. II. 174/1 The brilliant silvery-white appearance so characteristic of the fibrous membranes. 1882Garden 25 Nov. 469/3 Silvery pink, becoming darker with age.
b. Parasynthetic or instrumental, as silvery-eyed, silvery-leaved, silvery-lined, silvery-sided, silvery-tongued, etc.
1752Hill Hist. Anim. 252 The silvery-eyed, red Sparus..is also a very beautiful fish. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVII. 461/2 Silvery-leaved iron-wood, a native of Carolina. 1822Hortus Anglicus II. 196 Geranium Argenteum. Silvery-leaved Crane's Bill. 1864Tennyson Islet 20 Over-stream'd and silvery-streak'd With many a rivulet. 1872Jenkinson Guide to Lakes (1879) 211 The storm was succeeded by masses of silvery-lined clouds. 1885E. W. Hamilton Diary 29 Jan. (1972) II. 783 The German Ambassador whom Bismarck suspects of being too silvery-tongued over here. |