| 释义 |
softness|ˈsɒftnɪs, -ɔː-|
Forms: 1 softnys(se, 4 softnis; 2–7 soft-, 4–7 softenesse, 4, 6 softe-, 4–7 softnes, 7– softness; 6 saft(e)nesse, 8– Sc. saftness.
[f. soft a. + -ness.]
The state or quality of being soft, in various senses.
I.
1. Ease, comfort; delicacy, luxury; easy or voluptuous living.
c1000ælfric in Assmann Ags. Hom. ii. 59 Under Moyses laᵹe men moston lybban on maran softnysse..þonne nu. a1225Ancr. R. 196 Þet flesch put propremen touward swetnesse & touward eise, & touward softnesse. a1340Hampole Psalter iv. 9, I sall slepe..with all softnes. 1451J. Capgrave Life St. Gilbert xvi. 86 To take hardnesse for softnesse, labour for ese. 1607Shakes. Timon v. i. 36 A Satyre against the softnesse of Prosperity. 1654tr. Scudery's Curia Pol. 181 If he live in the softness of Plenty, and a peaceful Estate. 1704Hearne Duct. Hist. (1714) I. 389 He spent the next year in Softness and Luxury. 1766Ann. Reg. ii. 10 The French noblesse..spend their lives in indolence, softness, and dissipation.
2. a. Mildness, gentleness; tenderness of character or disposition.
a1300E.E. Psalter cxliv. 7 Minde of mighthed of þi softnesse Sal þai rift. 1382Wyclif Ecclus. xlv. 4 In feith and softenesse of hym [Moses], he made hym hoely. c1440Promp. Parv. 463/1 Softenesse, or myldenesse, mansuetudo, benignitas. 1526Tindale Phil. iv. 5 Lette youre softenes be knowen unto all men. 1563Bp. Sandys in Strype Ann. Ref. (1709) xxxv. 356 My lenity and softness was such, that I was not willing to touch him. 1639J. Saltmarsh Policy 239 As though it were more out of regard than your owne softnesse. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 298 For contemplation hee and valour formd, For softness shee and sweet attractive Grace. 1726Pope Odyss. xxiii. 105 To softness lost, to spousal love unknown. 1779Mirror No. 22, Sometimes..I have thought she breathed a softness of soul that tempted me to believe her generous. 1828Scott F.M. Perth xviii, Are we to be slain in our own streets for the King's softness of heart? 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. iii. i. i, With her softness and musical speech. 1867Trollope Chron. Barset II. lxii. 193, I found with him..a softness of heart for which I had not looked.
b. A display or instance of gentleness or tenderness; a soft word or speech.
1382Wyclif Gen. xxxiv. 3 And hir [sc. Dinah] sory he swagide with softnessis. a1637B. Jonson Horace Art Poet. 326 The free spectators..Were to be staid with softnesses. 1678Otway Friendship in F. 10 Whispering his softnesses and making his vowes. 1719Young Busiris i. i, O how unlike the softnesses of love! 1882Mrs. Oliphant Lit. Hist. Eng. 1790–1825, I. 4 The rude and homely life, in which few softnesses existed.
3. Weakness of character or disposition, effeminacy; lack of firmness; timidity, pusillanimity.
1605Bacon Adv. Learn. i. ii. §6 From some weakness of body or softness of spirit. 1651C. Cartwright Cert. Relig. ii. 27 By shunning death, he confesseth his weaknesse (or softnesse) of spirit. 1705Stanhope Paraphr. II. 247 One great Design is to break the softness of a Nature, too indulgent to Flesh and Blood. 1748Anson's Voy. ii. xiv. 288 The timidity and softness of our enemy. 1821Byron Mar. Fal. ii. ii, In Bertram There is a hesitating softness, fatal To enterprise like ours. 1879G. Macdonald Sir Gibbie xxii, A certain gentle indifference she showed to things considered important, the neighbours attributed to weakness of character, and called softness.
II.
4. a. The state, quality, or property of being soft to the touch, of yielding to pressure, of lacking hardness, firmness, etc.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 83 Oli haueð huppen him lihtnesse and softnesse and hele. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xxvii. (Bodl. MS.), By smeþenes and softenes and nasschenes of grustel. c1440Promp. Parv. 463/1 Softenesse, or smothenesse, lenitas. Ibid., Softenesse, yn towchynge, mollicies, mollicia. 1545T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde 24 In saftnesse of skyn, and plumpnesse of the body fatter and rounder. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. (1586) 67 b, The ripenesse whereof is deemed by..the softnesse of the berrie. 1602Marston Antonio's Rev. ii. ii, Those now lawne pillowes, on whose tender softnesse [etc.]. 1673–4Grew Anat. Pl., Anat. Trunks (1682) 138 Its Softness, depending on the numerousness..of the Aer-Vessels. 1750tr. Leonardus' Mirr. Stones 39 Hardness or softness in stones proceeds from two causes. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 355 All that warmth and softness which are so much valued in the furs of the northern animals. 1851Carpenter Man. Phys. (ed. 2) 5 In Organized structures, softness (resulting from the large proportion of fluid components) may be considered the distinctive quality. 1863Bates Nat. Amazons II. 56 One would mistake it..for a kitten, from..the softness of its fur.
transf.1877Fortn. Rev. Dec. 846 An adaptation to the hardness of their hearts, or..the softness of their brains.
†b. Smoothness, calmness. Obs.—1
c1205Lay. 25549 For þere softnesse [of the sea] Ardur gon to slæpen.
c. softness of the pulse, the state when the blood-tension is low, so that the artery feels soft and easily compressible.
a1793Hunter On Blood ii. iii. (1794) 318 Softness is not to be depended on as a mark of health. 1813J. Thomson Lect. Inflam. 73 A softness and fullness of the pulse. 1822–7Good Study Med. (1829) II. 45 Hardness and softness of the pulse, together with..wiriness, are not quite so easily learnt as its fulness and smallness.
d. The property or quality (in water, etc.) of being soft.
1815J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 487 All these waters, however, possess the property called softness, that is, they will dissolve soap. 1826Art of Brewing (ed. 2) 34 Beers..attenuated so low as to insure transparency and softness.
e. The state or property (of a material or device) of being soft, in extended technical usage.
1900Sci. Trans. R. Dublin Soc. VII. 121 The addition of 2 to 5½ per cent. of silicon to steel..increases the magnetic softness. 1919R. D. Bangay Oscillation Valve 204 [A blue glow] is produced by the energy expended by the electrons as they collide with the atoms, and if noticeable is a certain indication of the softness of a valve. 1945Electronic Engin. XVII. 338 The maximum value [of the grid leak resistance]..is limited by the danger of causing softness to develop in the succeeding valve. 1980Sci. Amer. Apr. 94/3 The magnetic ‘softness’ and high resistivity of glassy alloys also make them likely candidates for the ‘read’ and ‘write’ heads in magnetic tape recorders and magnetic disk memories.
f. Econ. With reference to commodities, prices, etc.: a state of or tendency towards depression. Cf. soft a. 28 b.
1927Comm. & Financ. Chron. 20 Aug. 961/1 When sterling is firmer a stronger tone develops in the entire European list. On the other hand when sterling reacts, softness develops in the rest of the list. 1930Economist 27 Sept. 569/1 Apart from the recent weakness in grain and cotton prices, and softness in the copper market, the commodity price structure seems to be strengthening. 1970Globe & Mail (Toronto) 25 Sept. b5/1 William S. Brewster, chairman, attributes the disappointing results to softness in the economy.
5. Freedom from harshness; mellowness.
1736Gentl. Mag. VI. 351/1 To hear the softness of Italian song. 1772–84Cook's Voy. iii. xiii. II. 266 One sung a very agreeable air, with a degree of softness and melody which we could not have expected. 1840C. O. Müller's Hist. Lit. Greece iv. §5 That softness and flexibility [of Homer's language]. 1885M. E. Braddon Wyllard's Weird i. I. 22 She pronounced the last word with peculiar softness.
6. Mildness, balminess.
1828Duppa Trav. Italy, etc. 181 The air, though cold, had somewhat of softness in its temperature. 1837Disraeli Venetia v. x, The softness and the splendour of the morn. 1851Dixon W. Penn xxi. (1872) 182 The climate had the softness of the south of France.
7. Absence of hard or sharp outlines.
1855Orr's Circ. Sci., Inorg. Nat. 186 The characteristic of this scenery will be softness of outline. 1892Photogr. Ann. II. 711 In collotype work the especial aim..is to get softness with plenty of detail rather than hardness. |