| 释义 |
▪ I. compress, v.|kəmˈprɛs|
[a. OF. compresse-r, ad. L. compressā-re to press together, oppress, freq. of comprimĕre to press together, restrain, check, etc., f. com- together + premĕre to press. As compress also coincides with the ppl. stem compress- of comprimĕre (from which stem the Eng. repr. of a L. verb is most frequently formed), it is treated as the Eng. repr. of comprimĕre and mod.F. comprimer, of which the direct adaptation comprime has not endured in the language.]
1. To press together, to squeeze:
a. separate things.
c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. (MS. A.) 125 A þinne clout wet in þe white of an ey, & sumwhat þe white compressed out. 1482Monk of Evesham (Arb.) 23 They sawe..hys lyppys a lytyl to moue with his chekys compressyd as he had resceyued or swelowde sum swete thing fallyn in to hys mowth. 1704Newton Optics ii. i, Compressing two prisms hard together. 1768Sterne Sent. Journ., ‘Temptation’, Paris, She gave me both her hands, closed together, into mine: it was impossible not to compress them in that situation. 1781Cowper Retirement 495 In a parlour snug and small..The man of business and his friends compressed.
b. a hollow thing, so as to make it of smaller capacity.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xxiv. (1495) 133 The free passage of the ayre..is forbode and lette by wryngynge and compressynge of the Ysophagus. 1615Crooke Body of Man 287 The muscles called Cremesteres which compresse the leading Vessels. 1660Boyle New Exp. Phys. Mech. xx. 146 The Vessel..was..struck..with a Wooden Mallet, and thereby was manifestly compress'd, whereby the inclosed Water was crouded into less room. 1797T. Bewick Brit. Birds (1847) I. p. x, Tin tubes were found to be broken, compressed, and distorted. 1833Brewster Nat. Magic ii. 19 The retina at the protruded part will be compressed by the outward pressure of the contained fluid.
c. Surg. To close by compression.
1804Med. Jrnl. XII. 545 The instrument..seems to be well adapted for compressing the humeral artery, or any other that can be easily pressed against a bone. 1836Marryat Japhet liii, My professional knowledge saved his life. I compressed the artery.
2. To press (a substance) together closely; to squeeze together, so as to make more firm and solid.
c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 128 In þe firste caas dura mater is compressed. 1645Digby Nat. Bodies xxxv. §4 Stiff bodies, that by violence are compress'd and drawn into a less capacious figure. 1684T. Burnet Th. Earth I. 147 If the rain fell upon even and level ground, it would only sadden and compress it. 1789W. Buchan Dom. Med. (1790) 605 A pretty large piece of sponge may be compressed or squeezed into a small size. 1835Ure Philos. Manuf. 182 The slivers again assume the form of bands of slubbing, and are then passed between a pair of rollers to compress them.
b. Physics. To condense a gaseous or other elastic body by pressure so that it decreases in bulk without loss of mass.
1677Hale Prim. Orig. Man. ii. xi. 240 Air compressed..breaks the Vessel wherein it is compressed. 1794Sullivan View Nat. II. 127 A large quantity of air, whose spring being compressed in little room. 1858Lardner Hand-bk. Nat. Phil. 152 The water..compresses the air and produces a reaction which opens the valves. 1863Tyndall Heat iv. 140 By..powerful means we can compress water, but the force necessary to accomplish this is very great.
3. fig. To reduce into smaller volume (as if by pressure):
a. things material.
1833Brewster Nat. Magic vi. 142 Some ships were elevated to twice their proper height, while others were compressed almost to a line. 1839–40W. Irving Wolfert's R. (1855) 33 How I longed to be able to compress my form into utter littleness.
b. Language, thoughts, etc.; to condense.
1746W. Melmoth Pliny i. xvi. (R.), The same strength of expression, though more compressed, runs through his historical harangues. 1793Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 149 To enable me properly to compress and digest my thoughts. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. III. i. v. 27 These, greatly compressing themselves, shall speak, each an instant. 1856Sir B. Brodie Psychol. Inq. I. ii. 44 What I have to say..cannot be compressed into a very few words.
4. fig. To condense, concentrate.
1800Med. Jrnl. IV. 551, I compressed them into one dose three times a day. 1851Nichol Archit. Heav. 59 The size of the mirror is only the measure of its power to collect and compress feeble rays of light. 1863Geo. Eliot Romola i. xvii, The eager theorising of ages is compressed..in the momentary want of a single mind. 1877Tyndall in Daily News 2 Oct. 2/4 We have..terror, hope, sensation, calculation, possible ruin, and victory compressed into a moment.
†5. fig. To repress, keep under restraint. Obs.
1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 115 b, Compresse thy passyon by scylence & kepe it in the that it passe not thy mouth. 1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 145 The greatest wisedome in Socrates in compressing his anger, is worthy great commendation. 1658Ussher Ann. vi. 483 Hierax compressed the mutiny, by paying the souldiers arreares out of his own purse. 1847Grote Hist. Greece ii. xxvi. (1862) III. 17 Who..compressed under his sceptre a large proportion of these ferocious..plunderers.
†6. To embrace sexually. Obs.
c1611Chapman Iliad Pref. (1857) 69 A virgin of that isle compressed by that Genius. 1652Gaule Magastrom. 351 Rhea Sylvia..a vestall, being compressed and found with child. 1700Dryden Fables, Ceyx & Alcyone 494 They bill, they tread: Alcyone compress'd Sev'n days sits brooding on her floating nest. 1725Pope Odyss. i. 95 Neptune..in his cave the yielding nymph compress'd.
Add:[3.] c. Electronics and Telecommunications. To reduce the amplitude variation or the bandwidth of (a signal). Cf. *compression n. 1 f.
1943F. E. Terman Radio Engineers' Handbk. v. 412 Here the signal to be compressed (or expanded) is amplified. 1951Bell Syst. Techn. Jrnl. XXX. 709 If the samples are compressed in accordance with an arbitrary but known law..the wanted information can be recovered. 1961G. Millerson Technique Television Production iii. 48 A low gamma device accepts a wide range, but compresses it to fit reproduction limits. 1991Popular Sci. May 107 The sampling cuts the amount of information to be transmitted and compresses the rest into a narrower bandwidth.
d. Computing. To reduce the size of (a file, digitized signal, etc.) by compression (*compression n. 1g).
1966Datamation Apr. 39/1 If the data is compressed first and then logged, the volume of data..is greatly reduced. 1989PC Resource Sept. 102/3 Other function keys let you compress files to save disk space. 1992N.Y. Times 21 Jan. c5/3 Another option is to use a program..that compresses regular programs into a fraction of their normal space.
▪ II. † comˈpress, ppl. a. Obs. rare,
[ad. L. compress-us, pa. pple.: see prec.]
= compressed.
1647H. More Song of Soul i. i. xxviii, Nor penetrate the crusty fence Of constipated matter close compresse.
▪ III. compress, n.|ˈkɒmprɛs|
[a. F. compresse (16th c. in Paré), ad. L. compressa, from compressus, pa. pple. of comprimĕre: see prec.]
1. Surg. A soft mass of linen, lint or other material formed into a pad, which, by the aid of a bandage, can be made to press upon any part; used for compressing an artery, for keeping a dressing, plaister, etc., in its place, applying medicinal agents, and the like. In hydropathic use, applied to a piece of cloth, wetted with water, and tightly covered with a waterproof or thick impervious bandage, applied to the surface of the body for the relief of inflammation or irritation.
1599A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physicke 48 Take fine Hempen toa and make therof little compresses, as bigge as the palme of a childe's hande, & madefye them heerin, and apply them on the Eyes. 1676R. Wiseman Chirurg. Treat. iv. iv. 277, I dressed it again with Lenients, Compresse, and good Bandage. 1725Bradley Fam. Dict. s.v. Nerves, Put a Compress to it that has been dipt in the same Wine. 1807Med. Jrnl. XVII. 301 The leg was dressed and..a thick compress was applied under the calf, with a view to prevent more sinuses. 1807–26S. Cooper First Lines Surg. (ed. 5) 115 The pad..to be placed immediately over a graduated compress, which is to be put directly over the wound in the artery. 1848Thackeray Bk. Snobs xxxvii, The former had a wet compresse around her body. 1865Pall Mall G. 4 Aug. 3/1 Any one who has ever applied a cold compress to a sore throat. 1870Smedley Pract. Hydrop. (ed. 12), Body bandage or wet compress.
2. A machine for pressing cotton-bales and other articles into a compact form for transport, etc.
1874in Knight Dict. Mech. |