| 释义 |
sociable, a. and n.|ˈsəʊʃəb(ə)l|
[a. F. sociable (= Sp. sociable, It. -abile, Pg. -avel), or ad. L. sociābilis, f. sociāre to unite, associate: see -able.]
A. adj.
1. a. Naturally inclined or disposed to be in company with others of the same species.
1553T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 56 Euery societie or companiyng together is delitfull,..for asmuche as Nature hath ordeined vs to be sociable, frendly, and louyng together. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 459 It is a very sociable creature, for they do live together in herds above a thousand in a flock. 1672Temple Ess. Govt. Wks. 1720 I. 99 What it is that makes some Creatures sociable, and others live and range more alone, or in smaller Companies. 1707Hope New Method Fencing 5 Man being a sociable Creature designed not only for himself, but for..the Community wherein he lives. 1711Addison Spect. No. 9 ⁋1 Man is said to be a Sociable Animal.
b. In names of birds (see quots. and cf. social 6 c).
1801Latham Syn. Suppl. II. 192 Sociable Grosbeak.—Size of a bulfinch;..general colour..rufous brown. 1829Griffith tr. Cuvier VI. 163 The Sociable Vulture, or Oricou. 1864–5Wood Homes without H. xxii. (1868) 416 Sociable Weaver Bird is a native of Southern Africa. 1875Encycl. Brit. III. 772 The Sociable Grosbeak of South Africa. c1880Cassell's Nat. Hist. III. 257 The Sociable Vulture (Otogyps auricularis). 1908Zoologist Apr. 122 The Sociable Plovers and other rare birds which showed themselves in Kent.
2. a. Inclined to seek and enjoy the company of others; disposed to be friendly or affable in company; willing to converse in a pleasant manner.
1573G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 5 This is he that accuseth me of not being sociable, him self so sociable as you se. 1602F. Herin Anat. 9 The true Phisition is sociable, and readie to communicate. 1656Duchess of Newcastle True Relation in Life (1886) 287, I durst neither look up with my eyes, nor speak, nor be any way sociable. 1706E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 91 He e'en..turn'd a sociable Sot, like the rest of his Brethren. 1771Franklin Autobiog. Wks. 1840 I. 54 We had a sociable company in the cabin. 1824Syd. Smith America Wks. 1859 II. 47/1 The great inconvenience..is one which more sociable travellers must feel less acutely. 1893K. L. Bates Eng. Relig. Drama 223 Pity, Contemplation, and Perseverance, sociable old worthies.
transf. and fig.1638Sir T. Herbert Trav. (ed. 2) 181 Nicanor..made a vaine attempt to bring the Euxin and this sea into one, to make it sociable and navigable. a1716South Serm. (1744) XI. 8 This sociable evil [sc. the body], this treacherous Companion, is the enticer and betrayer to all sin. 1852Hawthorne Wonder-Bk. (1868) 142 That sociablest of flowers, the little Houstonia.
b. Const. to a person or thing. rare.
1610Shakes. Temp. v. 63 Mine eyes ev'n sociable to the shew of thine Fall fellowly drops. 1751Earl of Orrery Remarks Swift (1752) 3 He was sociable only to particular friends, and to them only at particular hours.
3. a. Characterized by, pertaining to, contact, intercourse, or companionship with others, esp. in a friendly or pleasant manner.
1573G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 8 These ar ther sociable and fellouli delings. 1594T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. ii. 404 The ciuil and sociable nature, in which God hath created them. 1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. i. 6 Sweet and calme and sociable manners and conversation. 1661A. Brome Songs & Poems 86 A sociable life and free. 1695Kennett Par. Antiq. ix. 56 This was a sociable practise of that age. 1781Cowper Let. to J. Hill 9 Dec., Comfortably situated by a good fire, and just entering on a sociable conversation. 1841Elphinstone Hist. Ind. II. 99 He had often similar moments of enjoyment, thanks to his sociable habits. 1898Atlantic Monthly Apr. 506/1 The harvesting of potatoes was a sociable toil.
†b. sociable coach: (cf. sociable n. 2 a). Obs.
1673Wycherley Gentl. Dancing Master v. i, I will have..a large, sociable, well painted Coach. 1772Town & Co. Mag. 17 In high spirits Maria stepped into Mrs. Benwell's sociable coach.
†c. Of or pertaining to society; social. Obs.
1680C. Nesse Church Hist. 39 Peter explains his two sociable duties, Fear God, Honour the King. 1705Atterbury Serm. (1726) I. x. 351 Pressing Men to exercise those Graces which adorn the Sociable State.
†4.
a. Capable of being combined or joined together. Obs.
1594Hooker Eccl. Pol. (1676) I. 74 Another Law there is, which toucheth them as they are sociable parts united into one body. 1674Grew Anat. Pl., Disc. Mixture (1682) 231 To render all Bodies Sociable or Mingleable. 1679Newton in Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men II. 413 There is a certain secret principle in nature, by which liquors are sociable to some things and unsociable to others.
†b. Capable of being made a companion for others. Obs.
1608Breton Divine Consid. Wks. (Grosart) II. 22/1 God..made him like vnto himselfe.., amiable in his sight, sociable for his Angells, and coheire with his blessed Sonne.
5. Math. Designating a cycle of three or more integers such that each is the sum of the factors of the previous one; cf. perfect a. B. 8. [The sense is due to P. Poulet, who used F. sociable (L'Intermédiaire des Mathématiciens (1918) XXV. 101).]
1970Math. Computation XXIV. 428 Until now only two groups of sociable numbers were known, respectively of order 5 and 28... I have made an exhaustive search for sociable groups of order t ≤ 10 of which the lesser number is smaller than 6.107. This search has yielded 9 new groups,..all of order 4. 1972C. S. Ogilvy Tomorrow's Math (ed. 2) v. 113 The numbers 12496→14288→15472→14536→14264→12496 form what has been called a sociable chain of 5 links... The sum of factors of 12496 is 14288, the sum of factors of 14288 is 15472, and so on around the chain.
B. n.
1.
†a. A social being. Obs.
a1613Overbury A Wife, etc. (1638) 103 One that Nature made a sociable,..and a crazed disposition hath altered.
b. A sociable person. rare.
1927A. Huxley Proper Studies 190 The ratio of solitaries to sociables will remain much as it is.
2. a. An open, four-wheeled carriage having two seats facing each other and a box-seat for the driver. (Cf. sociable a. 3 b.)
1780Pennsylvania Jrnl. & Weekly Advertiser 15 Mar. 4/1 Wanted to exchange, a neat sulkey, almost new, for a sociable or handy one horse chair, equally good. 1794W. Felton Anc. & Mod. Carriages (1801) II. 87 A Sociable is a phaeton with a double or treble body, and is so called from the number of persons it is meant to carry at one time. 1825–9Mrs. Sherwood Lady of Manor III. 122 The sociable and the travelling-carriage were driven up to the door. 1878Rep. Carriages Paris Exhib. (ed. C. Saunderson, 1879) 8 This shape is becoming very fashionable in Paris, not only in Broughams, but also in Landaus, Victorias, and Sociables.
b. A tricycle having two seats side by side.
1882Knowledge No. 19. 398/1 Great improvements have been made recently in double tricycles, or, as they are generally called, Sociables. 1888Pall Mall G. 2 Feb. 5/1 For years..we ploughed along on sociables with a young lady at our side.
c. ‘A kind of couch with a curved S-shaped back, for two persons who sit partially facing each other’ (Knight Dict. Mech. 1875).
1851C. Cist Sketches & Statistics of Cincinnati in 1851 202 Dressing bureaus, sociables, and vis-à-vis are sure to catch the visitor's eye, and to open the visitor's purse. 1872Atlantic Monthly May 544 She was lying on a little sociable or sofa, as he entered. 1930V. Sackville-West Edwardians iii. 133 In the centre of the room stood a sociable..on which two persons might sit, facing one another, but properly divided by the arm and wriggle of the S. 1959Times 8 Aug. 9/4, I would venture to claim for something like the double sofa of the illustration the honour of representing the ideals of this whole decade... The seats revolve so that the two occupants—there is ample space for broad backs and expansive crinolines—have room for manoeuvre. It was called a ‘sociable’. 1961L. G. G. Ramsey Connoisseur New Guide Antique Eng. Furnit. 120 The variant known as the ‘sociable’, ‘conversation sofa’, or ‘tête-à-tête’, with the two ends facing each other on the lines of the French ‘causeuse’..was popular for a short time during the 1840's, but seems to have already gone out of favour by the mid-1850's.
3. U.S. An informal evening party; esp. a social church meeting. (Cf. social n. 2.)
1826Longfellow Life (1891) I. vi. 74, I..went with them to a little ‘sociable’ in the evening, where we had dancing. 1888T. W. Higginson Women & Men 31 She manages the book club and the church sociable. 1895Sarah M. H. Gardner Quaker Idyls vi. 129 Some of their friends had proposed to have a series of ‘sociables’.
Hence ˈsociablist, one who rides a double tricycle.
1883Cyclists Tour. Club Gaz. Sept. 343/1 Two sociablists pedalling independently. |