| 释义 |
Sinhalese, n. and a.|sɪnhəˈliːz|
Also Singhalese, Singalese.
[f. Skr. Siṅhala Sri Lanka (Ceylon) + -ese. Cf. Cingalese.
The plural Singales used by Purchas (1613) and Herbert (1634) does not appear to be of this formation: it may represent the Skr. pl. Sinhalās.]
1. As pl., the native inhabitants of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). Also sing., a Sinhalese native of Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese are properly members of an Aryan people deriving from N. India and now forming the majority of the population of Sri Lanka.
1801Asiatick Researches VII. 32 The Singhalais assert, from record, the total destruction and regeneration of the universe, many other times. 1802Pinkerton Mod. Geogr. II. 313 The natives of Ceylon, called Singalese,..are not so black as those of Malabar. 1842Prichard Nat. Hist. Man 242 The Kandians and the Singhalese resemble each other in manners, language, and religion. 1887Encycl. Brit. XXII. 198/2 The ‘tic-polonga’ of the Singalese. 1913L. Woolf Village in Jungle iii. 45 He was tall for a Sinhalese, broad-shouldered, and big-boned. 1948[see Ceylonese a. and n.].
2. The language spoken in Sri Lanka.
1801Asiatick Researches VII. 401 The end of the soul is called, in Singalese, Nivani. 1802Pinkerton Mod. Geogr. II. 318 The language is Singalese; and there are some Mahometans. 1861Chambers's Encycl. II. 738/2 Their [sc. the Veddahs] language..is a dialect of the Singhalese.
3. As adj. Belonging or pertaining to Sri Lanka or to the native inhabitants of that island.
1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) I. 494/1 From this Shanscrit are derived the sacred characters of Thibet, the Cashmirian,..and Tamoul; the Singalese, Siamese, Maharattan [etc.]. 1802Pinkerton Mod. Geogr. II. 311 In the reign of Claudius, embassadors were sent to Rome by a Singalese rajia. Ibid. 314 Religious books in the Tamulic..and Singalese languages. 1890Contemp. Rev. LVII. 257 Sixty years ago the Sinhalese priesthood were intensely illiterate. Ibid. 270 According to the Sinhalese narrative. |