| 释义 |
▪ I. cocoon, n.1|kəˈkuːn|
Also 7–8 cocon, 9 coccoon.
[a. F. cocon, in 16th c. coucon, app. derivative of coque shell (of mollusc, egg, nut, etc.).]
1. a. The envelope or case of silky threads, spun by the larvæ of many insects as a covering to enclose them in the chrysalis state; originally that of the silkworm; extended by Kirby and Spence to the analogous structures formed by any insects, as also to the silken case spun by spiders for the reception of their eggs.
1699W. Aglionby in Phil. Trans. XXI. iv. 183 About Midsummer..they begin [in Piedmont] to draw the Silk from its Cocon. 1759Ibid. LI. 55, I boiled a part of the cocoon in water. 1766Smollett Trav., The cocon or pod of silk, about the size of a pigeon's egg. 1816Kirby & Sp. Entomol. ii, To the artificial coverings..whether of silk, wood, or earth, etc...which have been called by different writers pods, cods, husks, and beans, I shall continue the more definite French term cocon, Anglicized into cocoon. 1842Tennyson Two Voices lxi, For every worm beneath the moon..Spins, toiling out his own cocoon. 1874Lubbock Orig. & Met. Ins. i. 12 The oval bodies which are so numerous in ants' nests..are really not eggs but cocoons.
b. Transferred to similar structures made by other animals, as the cells of the mud-fish.
1883Wood in Sunday Mag. Nov. 675 The cells [of the Mudfish] are technically called cocoons. Ibid. 676/1 The mud of which the cocoon is made is the same as that which the Israelites..were forced to make into bricks.
c. fig.
1865Masson Rec. Brit. Philos. ii. 83 That power of thinking which has involved itself in such a vast cocoon of wonders. 1870Lowell Study Wind. 56 The mind can weave itself warmly in the cocoon of its own thoughts.
d. A coating applied to metal equipment, esp. surplus military apparatus, which prevents corrosion; also, the proprietary name of a synthetic substance manufactured for this purpose.
1948Trade Marks Jrnl. 11 Aug. 624/2 Cocoon... Synthetic resin included in Class i. R. A. Brand & Company Limited. 1949Britannica Bk. of Year 687/1 Cocoon, a plastic covering sprayed on inactive aircraft for protection from the weather. 1953Gloss. Paint Terms (B.S.I.) 9 Although cobwebbing is generally considered a defect in ordinary lacquers, use is made of this property to provide a protective covering for equipment such as aeroplane engines, etc., during storage. A cocoon is formed around the article by the pronounced cobwebbing action of lacquers specially prepared from certain high polymers. A durable, true film-forming lacquer is then sprayed over the cocoon which acts as a support.
2. attrib.
1835Ure Philos. Manuf. 94 The cocoon-silk threads are twin tubes laid parallel. 1859Darwin Orig. Spec. iv. (1878) 67 In the caterpillar and cocoon stages. 1870R. Ferguson Electr. 45 On the hook..a cocoon thread is hung.
▪ II. cocoon, n.2
Obs. form of cacoon, q.v. Also in cocoon or cacoon antidote, see quots.
1756P. Browne Jamaica 363 The Cocoon..climbs with great ease to the top of the tallest trees. Ibid. 374 Antidote Cocoon..frequently taken to clear the tube, when there is any suspicion of poison. 1866Treas. Bot. 491 Feuillæa cordifolia is the Sequa or Cacoon Antidote of Jamaica, where it is a common plant in shady woods, climbing to a great height up the trunks of trees.
▪ III. cocoon, n.3
var. of kokoon, an African antelope.
▪ IV. coˈcoon, v.
[f. cocoon n.1]
1. intr. To form a cocoon.
1884McCook in Science III. 685 The whole operation of the lycosid when cocooning. Ibid. 686 The cocooning habits of Lycosa.
2. a. trans. To swathe as in a cocoon.
1881Mark Twain Tramp Abroad xxviii. 264 We..cocooned ourselves in the proper red blankets.
b. To lay up or aside for the future.
c. spec. To coat with a protective layer (see cocoon n.1 1 d). Hence coˈcooned ppl. a., coˈcooning vbl. n.
1947Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. LI. 989/2 Nevertheless, on arrival, these engines were in a good condition internally. It seems probable that the newer American method of cocooning in sprayed plastic may be more satisfactory. 1948News (Birmingham, Ala.) 31 July 2 These B-29 Superfortresses ‘cocooned’ and ‘pickled’ at Davis-Monthan Air Force base..are being stripped of their protective coatings. 1951Jane's Fighting Ships 45 Her gunnery and other machinery ‘cocooned’ for preservation. 1951Oxf. Mail 15 Nov., With cocooned Sabre jets on her deck. 1955Times 21 June 7/6 She has been in reserve for some time and part of her gunnery and radar equipment has been cocooned for storage. |