| 释义 |
▪ I. spark, n.1|spɑːk|
Forms: α. 1 spærca, spearca, 3–7 sparke (4 spearke), 6 sparcke; 3 spærc, 3–4 sparc, 4– spark (5 Sc. sprak, 6 sparck). β. 3–5 sperke, 5, 9 Sc. sperk.
[OE. spærca, spearca, = MDu. sparke, spaerke (WFlem. sparke, sperke), MLG. and LG. sparke, of obscure origin and not represented in the other Teutonic languages. With most of the senses compare those of sparkle n.]
1. a. A small particle of fire, an ignited fleck or fragment, thrown off from a burning body or remaining in one almost extinguished, or produced by the impact of one hard body on another.
c725Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) S 192 Scintella, spærca. a900O.E. Martyrol. 25 Aug. 152 Þa eaᵹan wæron swylce fyren iren, ond him sprungon spearcan of þam muðe. c1055Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia VIII. 320 Hyt beoð spearcan of þam rodere þurh þæs windes blæs. a1225Juliana (Royal MS.) 68 An engel..iþat ferliche fur amidden riht lihte, ant hit cwenchte anan, euer euch sperke [Bodl. MS. sparke]. a1300Cursor M. 25756 Na mar þan a sparc in see, Mai sin agains his merci be. c1384Chaucer H. Fame 2079 As fire ys wont to quyk and goo From a sparke. c1470Gol. & Gaw. 629 Thai hewit on hard steil..Quhil the spalis and the sparkis spedely out sprang. 1570Levins Manip. 81 A sperke, scintilla. 1596Drayton Legends ii. 545 A little sparke extinguish'd to the Eye, That glowes againe e'r suddenly it dye. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 814 As when a spark Lights on a heap of nitrous Powder. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) I. 83 Spirits of wine will flame with a candle, but not with a spark. 1836–41Brande Chem. (ed. 5) 230 If we apply a spark to a small heap of gunpowder, it is instantly dissipated in the gaseous form. 1888F. Hume Mme. Midas i. v, Every blow of the pick sent forth showers of sparks in all directions.
b. With of (fire, etc.).
c1400Laud Troy Bk. 7732 He fferd, as he scholde men haue brent With spark of fire that fro him glent. 1423Jas. I. Kingis Q. 48 A ruby..That, as a sperk of lowe,..Semyt birnyng vpon hir quhyte throte. 1560Bible (Geneva) Job xli. 10 Out of his mouth go lampes, and sparkes of fyre leape out. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, ii. iv. 73 My drops of teares Ile turne to sparkes of fire. 1726Swift Gulliver ii. vii, The smallest spark of fire..would kindle the whole. 1827Faraday Chem. Manip. xxiv. (1842) 638 A splinter of wood, with a spark of fire at the extremity.
c. In similes or comparisons.
c1205Lay. 21482 Cador sprong to horse swa spærc him doh of fure. c1300Havelok 91 Of knith ne hauede he neuere drede, Þat he ne sprong forth so sparke of glede. c1386Chaucer Sir Thopas 194 Forþ vppon his way [he] glode As sparke out of þe bronde. 1390Gower Conf. I. 258 Bot such conseil ther mai be non,..That it nys lich the Sparke fyred Up in the Rof. 1535Coverdale Ecclus. xlii. 22 O how amiable are all his workes, & as a sparke to loke vpon? a1591H. Smith Serm. (1637) 199 His was but a momentary kingdome, like a sparke which riseth from the fire, and falleth into the fire again. 1611Bible Job v. 7 Yet man is borne vnto trouble, as the sparkes flie vpward. 1891Farrar Darkn. & Dawn xiii, The grace of God still lived as a faint spark, not wholly quenched, under the whitening embers of his life.
d. fig. and in fig. context; freq. with allusion to the beginning or immediate cause of a fire or conflagration.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. v. §3 Of ðæm lytlan spearcan þe þu mid ðære tyndran ᵹefenge, lifes leoht þe onlyhte. a1225Ancr. R. 296 Ȝif hit out stureð þe, cwench hit mid teares of watere,..þeo hwule þet hit nis buten a sperke. 1340Ayenb. 137 Huet am ich bote esssse, and spearken, and hor, and stench. 1480Caxton Chron. Eng. iii. (1520) 20/2 The power of god to the whiche power all other ben but a sperke and dust. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 134 b, For Sathan can rayse up a great flamme through Gods permission, of a verey small sparke. 1609in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) III. 87 That Illustrious Sparke of Honor and Vertue, Sir Robert Sherley. 1631Gouge God's Arrows iv. §13. 391 Yet were..the sparkes of that fire so blowne up, as dazled the eyes of the Papists. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. vi. 302 Hereat, that King who was a spark in Himself, was enflamed to that designe by this Prelates perswasion. 1752Hume Ess. & Treat. (1777) II. 134 The smallest spark may here kindle into the greatest flame. 1781Cowper Conversat. 148 Their want of light and intellect supplied By sparks absurdity strikes out of pride. 1845Disraeli Sybil vi. ix, Left alone they might have remained quiet; but they only wanted the spark. 1857Buckle Civiliz. I. x. 600 To put them in a state where, the train being laid, the slightest spark sufficed to kindle a conflagration.
e. a spark in one's throat (see quot. 1785). slang.
1721Kelly Sc. Prov. 334 The Smith has ay a Spark in his Haise [= halse]. And they often take pains to quench it. 1785Grose Dict. Vulgar T. s.v., A man that is always thirsty, is said to have a spark in his throat. 1820J. Hodgson in Raine Mem. (1857) I. 292 He has a spark in his throat which often requires to be cooled. 1842Tennyson Will Waterproof 109 She lit the spark within my throat, To make my blood run quicker.
f. Phr. sparks fly and varr.: heated words are spoken, friction or excited action occurs.
[1732T. Fuller Gnomologia 244 When the Heart is a fire, some Sparks will fly out of the Mouth.] 1929Amer. Speech V. 124 It was also said of an angry woman that she will ‘make the sparks fly’. 1950F. Stark Traveller's Prelude 182 My sister never hurried and never scolded..while the effect of ‘sparks flying’ in the next ward reacted on all the men. 1977Western Morning News 1 Sept. 10/3 Robertson scored from the spot, and then sparks really began to fly.
2. a. A small trace, indication, or portion of some quality, feeling, sentiment, etc., in some way comparable to a spark, esp. in respect of its latent possibilities.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxv. §5 Sum spearca..soðfæstnesse. Ibid. xxxviii. §7 Ᵹif ða scyldᵹan æniᵹne spearcan wisdomes hæfden.
1500–20Dunbar Poems lxx. 11 Ane spark of thy hie excellent prudence Giff ws. 1581J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 388 Not a sparcke so much of Reason, example, or proofe. 1601J. Wheeler Treat. Comm. 101 For the which they neuer shewed any sparke of thankfulnesse. 1697J. Potter Antiq. Greece i. x. (1715) 58 All Sparks of Generosity and Man-hood. a1770Jortin Serm. (1771) I. iii. 41 Whilst any spark of spiritual life remains. 1775Sheridan Duenna ii. iii, If any sparks of anger had remained. 1820W. Irving Sketch Bk. I. 110 They still kept alive the sparks of future friendship. 1868Freeman Norm. Conq. (1877) II. vii. 22 The King who reigned without a spark of English feeling.
b. A small remnant, fragment, piece, atom, or amount, of something.
1548Elyot s.v. Scintilla, That no sparke of that moste cruell warre be lefte. a1568in Bannatyne MS. (Hunter. Club) 344 He het the milk our hett, And sorrow spark of it wald yyrne. 1581J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 150 b, It is neither the cause it selfe, nor any sparcke of the cause. 1638R. Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. III) 9 From whom in fifteene days I have received but one small sparke of a letter.
c. A speck or spot upon a ground or in a substance of a different colour.
1686Plot Staffordsh. 158 Though it seem to be a white marble fill'd with black sparks. 1873Spon Workshop Rec. Ser. i. 401/2 To make the ink fly off in sparks over the edges of the book.
d. A trace or dash of spirit, courage, etc. (cf. sense 6 b). to get a spark up (N.Z. colloq.): to fortify one's spirits with alcohol.
1939C. Belton Outside Law in N.Z. 50 Today young men who intend going to a dance drink until closing time..just to get a spark up, they say. 1942Sun (Baltimore) 30 Nov. 15/4 Navy had a spark plug in Hamberg and another in Hume that Army lacked. There was no man on Army's squad able to supply this needed spark. 1949J. R. Cole It was so Late 15 Can't get a spark up on beer tonight. 1977Sniffin' Glue July 11 The estates are dismal but anyone who's got any spark is alive enough to get active and out.
3. a. The vital or animating principle in man; a trace of life or vitality. Freq. in vital spark, spark of life.
1382Wyclif 2 Sam. xiv. 7 Thei sechen to quench my spark that is laft. c1440Alph. Tales 495 Go away fro me, womman, ffor yit þer is a sparke of lyfe in me. 1592Kyd Sp. Trag. ii. v. 17 O speak, if any sparke of life remaine. 1700Rowe Amb. Step-Moth. i. i. 218 From whose bright Beings Those active Sparks were struck which move our Clay. 1712Pope Dying Chr. 1 Vital spark of heav'nly flame! 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxix, She lay so long insensible that Emily began to fear that the spark of life was extinguished. 1817Gentl. Mag. Aug. 174/1 The vital spark was extinct before the body was picked up. a1892Tennyson God & the Universe i, Will my tiny spark of being wholly vanish in your deeps and heights?
b. divine spark: a trace of the divine nature in man. Also in trivial use.
1853Lytton My Novel II. vi. xxi. 180 The divine spark had fled from the human face; the Beast is everywhere growing more and more out of the thing that had been Man. 1920H. J. Laski Let. 15 May in Holmes-Laski Letters (1953) I. 263 They may be stupid, lazy, what you will; but ninety-nine out of every hundred have a divine spark in them somewhere which sympathy and enthusiasm is sure to light. 1932Week-End Rev. 9 Jan. 46/2 She felt she had not got into touch, had not given herself, had not transmitted the divine spark. 1957Oxf. Dict. Chr. Ch. 1218/1 As originally formed, man was a powerless entity who wriggled on the ground like a worm..until a Divine spark set him on his feet. 1968F. Lundberg Rich & Super-Rich xv. 632 (heading) The divine spark among the rich.
4. a. A small diamond († or other precious stone). Originally diamond (or ruby) spark and spark of diamond, etc.
(a)1508Dunbar Gold. Targe 24 Hevinly beriall droppis,..birnyng as ruby sperkis. c1550Rolland Crt. Venus i. 111 With Rubie sparkis ane greit number to se. 1632Lithgow Trav. iii. 85 Being the goodliest plot, the Diamond sparke, and the Honny spot of all Candy. 1701Lond. Gaz. No. 3718/4 A Gold Twisted Tooth Pick Case set with Diamond Sparks. 1748Smollett Rod. Rand. lix, A ring set with a ruby..surrounded by diamond sparks. 1813Scott Rokeby i. xxi, Ingot of gold and diamond spark. 1869Tennyson Passing of Arthur 224 For all the haft twinkled with diamond sparks.
(b)1551Sir J. Williams Accompte (Abbotsf. Club) 50 Balaces, small sparkes of emeraldes, and small course perles. 1577in Nichols Progr. Q. Eliz. (1788) II. 14 Item,..xvi small rubyes being but sparcks, and v sparcks of dyamonds. 1629Massinger Picture ii. ii, Good Madam what shall he doe with a hoop ring, And a sparke of diamond in it? a1694Tillotson Serm. ccxiii. (1744) XI. 4785 The little and short sayings of wise and excellent men are of great value, like the dust of gold, or the least sparks of diamond. 1756–7tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) II. 275 The Florentine work..consists of sparks of gems and small pieces of the finest marble. a1774Goldsm. Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776) I. 379 As for those things which cannot be thus weighed, such as quicksilver, small sparks of diamond, and such like.
(c)1599George a Greene i. iv, A chaplet..Set with choice rubies, sparkes, and diamonds. 1614in Archaeol. XLII. 350 A hoope ringe with 9 sparkes. 1675Lond. Gaz. No. 987/4 A Diamond Ring with three very large stones, and some sparks. 1710Steele Tatler No. 245 ⁋2 Another [ring] set round with small Rubies and Sparks. 1771T. Hull Sir W. Harrington (1797) II. 239 The lockets are..one,..with the cyphers of her name put on it, set with very small sparks. 1874Slang Dict. 303 Sparks, diamonds. Term much in use among the lower orders, and generally applied to stones in rings and pins.
fig.1758S. Hayward Serm. xvi. 470 The sparks of this crown are perfect holiness and a conformity to God.
b. A (glittering) fragment or particle of some metal, ore, or mineral. Also transf.
1560Whitehorne Ord. Souldiours (1588) 44 b, If you will make it parfiter, put to it a few stamped brickes, and sparkes of yron. 1581Stafford Exam. Compl. ii. (1876) 51 To trie out the sandes..to get amonge them after much labour small sparkes of gold. 1653E. Manlove Customs Lead Mines 273 Trunks and Sparks of oar. a1701Maundrell Journ. Jerus. (1721) Add. 10 Tho' it had the sparks and particles of Salt, yet it had perfectly lost its Savour. 1796Morse Amer. Geog. I. 522 This bluish stone was filled with sparks of virgin copper.
5. a. A bright or glittering emanation, flash, or gleam of light. Also transf., a bright glance.
a1542Wyatt in Anglia XVIII. 479 The lyuely sparkes that issue from those Iyes. 1611Cotgr., Bluette, a little streake, or sparke of heat, in the aire, when the season is verie hot. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 195 At first I took them for sparks that are many times seen to flash out of the Sea, when the water is very rough. 1746Hervey Medit. (1818) 256 Abundance of living sparks glitter in the lanes, and twinkle under the hedges. 1750tr. Leonardus' Mirr. Stones 86 Of this stone there is one kind, of a gold colour, with some burning sparks. 1814Scott Ld. of Isles v. xii, Beneath their oars the ocean's might Was dash'd to sparks of glimmering light. 1889Pall Mall G. 16 Nov. 3/1 At the sound of her native tongue, a spark came into her dark eyes.
Comb.1602Marston Ant. & Mel. ii. Wks. 1856 I. 20 Delicate, delicious, spark eyed, sleek skind, slender wasted, clean legd, rarely shapt.
b. Med. In pl., the glittering caused by the gathering of particles of cholesterin upon the eye in sparkling synchisis.
1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 42 It is conceivable that sparks or similar subjective phenomena, may appear from sudden and powerful contraction of the orbicularis palpebrarum compressing the globe.
6. Electr.
a. A brilliant streak or flash of light produced by a discontinuous discharge of electricity between two conductors at a short or moderate distance apart.
[1742Desaguliers Diss. Electricity 7 If the Room be darken'd when you make these Experiments, you will see Sparks of Light where-ever the Tube snaps.] 1748Franklin Lett., etc. Wks. 1840 V. 205 That thimble in passing by, receives a spark, and thereby being electrified is repelled. 1788Phil. Trans. LXXVIII. 271 Now, when the machine worked well, Mr. Gilpin supposes he got about two or three hundred sparks a minute. 1827Faraday Chem. Manip. xvii. (1842) 435 Upon putting the prime conductor into its place,..sparks two or three inches in length should fly rapidly from it to the knuckle. 1873J. C. Maxwell Electr. & Magn. (1881) I. 57 The discharge, when it occurs, usually takes the form of a spark.
b. More fully in electric(al) spark. Also transf. and fig.
1771Encycl. Brit. II. 480/1 The electric spark will strike a hole through a quire of paper. 1831Brewster Optics x. 86 Similar bands are perceived in the light..of the electric spark. 1840Brit. Florist (1846) I. 72 The flowers of this genus may be seen..to emit small electrical sparks or threads of light. 1846Grote Greece i. xvii. (1862) I. 401 Animated by the electric spark of genius.
c. pl. usu. const. as sing. One who works with electrical equipment: a radio operator, an electrician, etc. slang.
1914Dialect Notes IV. 151 Sparks, wireless operator. 1917Wireless World V. 37 In the Service the regular nickname for wireless telegraphists is graphically expressed as ‘Sparks’. 1922P. F. Westerman Wireless Officer iii. 25 A burly, jovial-featured man..greeted Mostyn as he stepped off the gang-plank. ‘Hello, you're our Sparks, aren't you?’ 1934Sun (Baltimore) 31 Jan. 20/3 ‘Sparks’, the radio operator, was busy at his key. 1938H. Borust In Plain Clothes xii. 184 Scene shifters, ‘sparks’ (light men), wardrobe-keepers. 1971Guardian 24 Sept. 12/4, I went to Manchester as a spark's mate—an electrician's mate. 1975Listener 10 Apr. 461/3 Lord Sneaker tells his sparks to wrap up the lights. 1977M. Babson Murder, murder, Little Star viii. 56 The Technical Crew were called by the names of the jobs they did... Sparks was the electrician, Props was the property master, Camera the cameraman. 1980R. Mitton Master & Son i. 9 Meet Ulrica Halsted..the sexiest Spark that ever went to sea.
d. Short for spark telegraphy (cf. senses 7 b, d).
1921Wireless World 2 Apr. 21/1 Commencing by pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of various circuits for the reception of Spark, C. W. and Telephony, Captain Tingey gave many useful hints. 1922Ibid. 15 Apr. 76/2 One ought to..switch that connection on to different places when one is receiving spark or telephony. 1925Weekly Dispatch 22 Nov. 8/2 If the Government were to replace spark by continuous wave the loss on old apparatus could be set aside by the revenue from wireless licences.
7. attrib. and Comb.
a. In the names of contrivances for the arresting, etc., of sparks in locomotive funnels or in chimneys, as spark-arrester, spark-baffler, spark guard, spark plate, spark trap.
Also, in recent use, spark-condenser, spark-consumer, etc.
1833Loudon Encycl. Archit. §799 What is called a spark plate (a broad plate of cast iron, to reflect back the sparks, and prevent their reaching up to the hops). 1838Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 134/1 The adaptation of this contrivance, and also the spark arrester, is very much called for. 1873Medley Autumn Tour U.S. & Canada ix. 142 The locomotives are generally provided with spark-bafflers to the funnels. 1879Cassell's Techn. Educ. I. 145/2 In American locomotives the top of the funnel is..fitted with a contrivance known as a ‘spark-trap’ or ‘spark-arrester’. 1901Scotsman 7 Mar. 6/1 To force railway companies to attach spark guards to locomotive engines.
b. In the names of electrical apparatus, devices in internal-combustion motors, etc., as spark-chronograph, spark-condenser, spark discharge(r), spark frequency, spark-gap (also attrib.), spark-recorder, spark source, spark station, spark tester, spark transmitter.
1889Anthony's Photogr. Bull. II. 294 The time..I had calculated exactly by means of *spark-chronographs.
1875Knight Dict. Mech. 2254/1 *Spark-condenser (Electricity), an instrument..used for burning metals or obtaining the spectra of gases.
1848Patent Jrnl. 5 Aug. 266/1 In frictional *spark discharges, the consequent shock, light, and other peculiarities are in part owing to waves of..polarization. 1973L. R. Lentz et al. in Automotive Electr. Equipment (Inst. Mech. Engineers) 63/2 The fuel mixture is ignited prior to the occurrence of the normal spark discharge.
1921E. E. Bucher Pract. Wireless Telegr. 101 *Spark dischargers for radio-telegraphy.
1906J. A. Fleming Princ. Electric Wave Telegr. ii. 157 The author has..devised the following appliances for measuring *spark frequency. 1925W. Greenwood Wireless Telegr. & Teleph. iv. 75 If a low spark frequency is required the alternator circuit can be tuned to the alternator frequency, and the spark gap lengthened.
1889Telegr. Jrnl. 10 May 550/2 An insulated rod, with an induction coil and *spark gap. 1905Electrician Feb. 614/1 Measurements of spark-gap resistance in wireless telegraph senders. 1935Discovery Aug. 226/1 There are two different types of short-wave generator in actual use, the valve and the spark-gap oscillators. 1967New Scientist 14 Dec. 671/1 The operator closes the discharge switch, and the electric charge in the capacitors leaps across the spark gap.
1888Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 124/2 The *spark recorder in some respects foreshadowed the more perfect instrument—the siphon recorder.
1944Jrnl. Optical Soc. Amer. XXXIV. 773/2 A type of interrupted *spark source involving no mechanical parts has been developed for use in quantitative spectrographic analysis. 1956Nature 4 Feb. 222/1 A high-precision spark source and an optical arrangement containing a rotating mirror are needed.
1913Year-Bk. Wireless Telegr. & Teleph. 401 It does not follow..that a continuous-wave station is immune from interference by a *spark station. 1925Sci. Abstr. B. XXVIII. 232 (heading) International measurements of the wave-lengths of spark stations.
1925Morris Owner's Man. 84 The motorist should try each plug in turn with the aid of a ‘*spark tester’.
1916J. A. Fleming Princ. Electric Wave Telegr. (ed. 3) 671 The types of transmitter employing such condenser discharges are called *spark transmitters. 1934A. L. Albert Electr. Communication xv. 426 The reception of damped waves from a spark transmitter..is very simple.
c. In other uses, as spark guard, spark-pistol, spark-shower, spark-storm; spark-gushing, spark-sprayed adjs.
1916Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 11 July 13/5 (Advt.), Furniture and furnishings..including..fender and *spark guard. 1972Oxford Times 14 Jan. 2 A spark guard—of close wire mesh—will prevent sparks from flying out.
1938S. Leslie Film of Memory 131 The *spark-gushing engine passed underfoot.
1938S. Beckett Murphy ix. 171 Firing a *spark-pistol with a kind of despair.
1938S. Spender Trial of Judge i. 16 We..motored out..Skidding—*spark-showers at corners.
1950D. Gascoyne Vagrant 28 Till all night's *spark-sprayed dome is stunned with quick air-quakes of gold.
1969G. Macbeth War Quartet 47 Here, unspilled, The blood of London lay enchaliced, rich Over the *spark-storm.
d. Special Combs.: spark ball, a sphere forming one side of a spark gap; spark chamber Physics, a form of spark counter in which many closely spaced electrodes are used to enable the path of an ionizing particle to be determined; spark coil, an induction coil that generates high-voltage pulses from an interrupted low-voltage source, used esp. to energize the sparking plugs in an internal-combustion engine; spark counter Physics [tr. G. funkenzähler (H. Greinacher 1935, in Helv. Physica Acta VIII. 266)], a detector for charged particles consisting of two charged electrodes separated by a gas that is ionized by the passage of the particle; spark erosion Engin., a method of machining metal in which a series of electric sparks is used to remove droplets from the piece; freq. attrib.; hence spark-erode v. trans., to machine (a piece) by spark erosion; spark line, a spectral line corresponding to an atom in a given state of ionization; spark machining Engin. = spark erosion above; spark-prop Criminals' slang, a diamond pin, a tie-pin; spark spectrum, a spectrum produced by an atom in a given state of ionization, commonly excited under laboratory conditions by an electric spark; spark telegraphy, an early method of radio-telegraphy in which high-frequency oscillations are set up in a transmitting aerial by the discharge of a highly charged capacitor through a spark gap in series with an inductance connected to the aerial; hence spark telegraph.
1902Encycl. Brit. XXXIII. 230/2 The distance at which the effects of the oscillatory spark could be perceived by the aid of the coherer was closely connected with the height of this air-wire or aerial connected to the *spark balls and coherer. 1924O. Lodge Harmsworth's Wireless Encycl. III. 1864/2 The object of replacing the pointed ends of the wires by spark balls is to prevent the gradual leaking discharge.
1961Rev. Sci. Instruments XXXII. 482/1 The *spark chamber is a direct outgrowth of an older detector called the spark counter. 1974Frauenfelder & Henley Subatomic Physics iv. 56 Spark chambers have many of the advantages of bubble chambers, and they can be triggered.
[1868*Spark coil: see Sprengel.] 1900G. D. Hiscox Horseless Vehicles vii. 121 The Edison spark coil..is a short, thick coil, which will give a hot, bright spark, and yet will have an instantaneous discharge. 1902How to make Things 3/2 A half-inch spark coil will give very good results. 1922[see jump-spark, jump spark s.v. jump-]. 1971Sci. Amer. May 86/2 The ordinary automobile spark coil..is the commonest version of the induction coil.
1935Sci. Abstr. XXXVIII. 718 The general name ‘*spark counter’ is proposed for the new counters devised by the author. 1970Nucl. Instruments & Methods LXXXVII. 181/1 Cylindrical spark counters have been designed that employ boron nitride disks as converters. 1980J. W. Hill Intermediate Physics xxiii. 220 (heading) The spark counter.
1960Metal Treatment XXVII. 206/1 When a die showed signs of wear, one must be able to take it out, *spark-erode it and replace it.
1955Aircraft Production XVII. 421/1 The process of *spark-erosion machining is becoming widely used for special purposes, such as machining holes in tungsten-carbide. 1977R. B. Ross Handbk. Metal Treatments & Testing 360 Spark erosion is extremely useful where shapes are required in hardened or difficult to machine materials. 1980West Lancs. Evening Gaz. 4 Jan. 10 (Advt.), Familiarity with close tolerance machining and bench work is essential and some experience of spark erosion machining would be an advantage.
1879Proc. R. Soc. XXX. 27 The *spark lines are in the sun, but the less refrangible member of the wide triplet and the blue line seen in the flame are absent. 1932Ibid. CXXXIV. 611 It is proposed to give a complete catalogue of the spark lines of arsenic. 1950Jrnl. Optical Soc. Amer. XL. 180/1 By adjusting the conditions of discharge either arc or spark lines may be made to predominate.
1954Engineer 2 July 12/2 Although *spark machining may, in theory, be carried out with electrode and workpiece separated only by air, in practice a liquid dielectric is used. 1973J. G. Tweeddale Materials Technol. II. vi. 152 Spark machining is applicable only to electrically conducting materials.
1879Macmillan's Mag. Oct. 506/1 My pal said, ‘Pipe his *spark prop’ (diamond pin). 1923J. C. Goodwin Sidelights on Criminal Matters iii. 32 To steal a tie-pin, or ‘spark prop’ as it is termed in the slang of thieves, [etc.].
1873Phil. Trans. R. Soc. CLXIII. 266 (table) The *spark-spectrum of the chloride. 1905E. C. C. Baly Spectroscopy 374 The induction coil is used..for the production of the so-called spark spectra of substances. 1970G. K. Woodgate Elem. Atomic Struct. vi. 105 Na I is also called the arc spectrum of sodium, Mg II the first spark spectrum of magnesium and Al III the second spark spectrum of aluminium.
1934A. L. Albert Electr. Communication xv. 426/1 (caption) The generation of damped waves with a *spark telegraph set.
1898Ludgate VII. 78/1 Mr. Marconi, in July, 1897, came to England to introduce his new plan of ‘*Spark Telegraphy’. 1908Rep. Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci. 1907 730 A movement which much more nearly corresponds with the actual current in the vertical wire as used in spark telegraphy.
▪ II. spark, n.2|spɑːk|
[prob. a figurative use of prec.: cf. 1 d, quot. 1609.]
1. A woman of great beauty, elegance, or wit.
1575R. B. Appius & Virginia in Hazl. Dodsley IV. 112 But stay: behold the peerless sparks, whereof my tongue did talk, Approach. 1611Chapman Widowes T. i. i, I will wed thee To my great widdowes Daughter and sole Heire, The louely sparke, the bright Laodice. 1676G. Etherege Man of Mode i. i, The Vizard is a spark and has a genius that makes her worthy of your self, Dorimant. 1873Browning Red Cotton Night-Cap Country 181 The poor mutilated figure, once The gay and glancing fortunate young spark, Miranda.
2. A young man of an elegant or foppish character; one who affects smartness or display in dress and manners. Chiefly in more or less depreciatory use.
c1600Timon ii. iii. (1842) 30 Theis noble sparkes desires your company. 1627N. Burley in Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. a ij, The Galley Iason built, that Græcian sparke. 1685Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) I. 339 Mr. Cradock the mercer, a highflown spark, died lately of a St. Anthonies fire. 1709Pope Ess. Crit. 329 These sparks with awkward vanity display What the fine gentlemen wore yesterday. 1782Wolcott (P. Pindar) Ode to R. A.'s Wks. 1812 I. 35 Some young roving Military Spark. 1818Sporting Mag. (N.S.) II. 170 Another dapper spark took the place of the prosecutor. 1852Thackeray Esmond iii. iii, She invited the agreeable young spark to visit her if ever he came to London. 1884J. Gilmour Mongols 227 The young spark did not relish his rebuke much, but he did not dare to disobey.
b. Used with my (see my poss. adj. 1 c).
1700S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 207 When I came to go, I found my Spark gone, and was told he was gone off half an Hour before. 1710Steele Tatler No. 2 ⁋1 How⁓ever, my young Spark ventures upon her like a Man of Quality. 1778F. Burney Evelina xxxvii, Hark'ee, my spark, none of your grinning!
3. A beau, lover, or suitor. Freq. with poss. pron.
1706–7Farquhar Beaux' Strat. iv. ii, Had my Spark call'd me a Venus directly, I shou'd have believ'd him a Footman in good earnest. 1747Hoadly Suspicious Husband ii. i, I and my Spark have been long acquainted. 1812Crabbe Tales iv. 266 Am I forsaken for a trimmer spark? 1839Marryat Diary Amer. Ser. i. I. 141 The first time I ever heard ladies complain of having too many sparks about them. 1871Browning Balaust. 1553 The poor poltroon A very woman worsted, daring death Just for the sake of thee, her handsome spark!
4. attrib., as spark spirit, spark wit.
1602Marston Ant. & Mel. v. Wks. 1856 I. 59 Sparke spirit, how like you his voice? 1642D. Rogers Naaman 238 Your sparke wits, ripe heads, experience and abilities.
▪ III. spark, n.3 s.w. dial.
[Back-formation from sparked ppl. a.]
‘A spotted or parti-coloured bullock.’
1798Young's Annals Agric. XXX. 314 He objects to sparks. 1888Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. 697.
▪ IV. spark, v.1|spɑːk|
Also 5 sparkyn, 6–7 sparke, 6 Sc. sperk.
[Related to spark n.1, and agreeing in form with MDu. sparken, spaerken, sperken, (WFlem. sparken, sperken, WFris. sparkje), MLG. sparken. The OE. vb. was spircan, spyrcan (:—*spięrcan), but *spearcade is a plausible emendation of sweartade in Satan 78.]
1. a. intr. To emit or give forth a spark or sparks; to sparkle; spec. in Electr., to produce or emit an electric spark or sparks by ionization of the medium separating two conductors at different potentials. Also transf. and fig. Phr. to spark on all cylinders = to function (etc.) on all cylinders s.v. cylinder n. 6.
c1300Havelok 2144 It sparkede, and ful brith shon, So doth þe gode charbucle ston. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. cxlix, Þornes..beþ sone itende in þe fuyre..and sparkeþ and crakkeþ and makeþ moche noyse. c1460Promp. Parv. (Winch. MS.) 462 Sparkyn, sintillo. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 99, I neuer heard thy fyre once sparke. 1611Cotgr., Estinceller, to sparke, to sparkle, as fire. 1763C. Berkeley in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1843) I. 244 Her temper is like charcoal, which kindles soon, and sparks to the top of the house. 1884S. P. Thompson Dynamo-Electr. Machinery 60 Any dynamo in which the curve of potentials at the commutator presented such irregularities..would probably spark excessively at the collector. 1905T. H. Hawley Motor Ignition Appliances iv. 20 If our charge fails to explode or the plug to spark, the fault must usually be sought for elsewhere. 1926R. W. Hutchinson Wireless 112 The spark gap consists of two small spheres sparking across the diameters of two larger ones. 1967L. Bacon in L. Holmes Odhams New Motor Man. iii. 81 One simple check can clear the whole of the ignition circuit—are the plugs sparking? 1977M. Hinxman One-Way Cemetery viii. 55 John realized his inspector was sparking on all cylinders. He looked a damned sight fresher than Waller felt.
b. transf. Of the eyes, or in reference to these.
1594Spenser Amoretti lxxxi, Fayre is my loue, when..in her eyes the fyre of loue does sparke. 1631Quarles Samson xix, Her eyes did sparke, At every glance, like Diamonds in the darke. 1827Hood Hero & Leander ix, Their cheeks are white.., And those fair mirrors where their joys did spark, All dim.
c. With over. To be crossed or connected by a spark as a result of a breakdown in insulation. Also fig.
1915Standardization Rules Amer. Inst. Electr. Engineers 48 The voltage at which a given gap sparks over is found by taking the voltage corresponding to the spacing..and multiplying by the correction factor. 1966R. Ardrey Territorial Imperative iii. 88 When antagonists face each other..inhibited from further attack..their energy..‘sparks over’—another ethologist's term—into a third instinctual channel which will cause no damage. 1974Sci. Amer. Feb. 78/2 Since the magnets were not designed to work under water many of them sparked over and failed when power was fed into them.
2. a. To issue, come forth, fall, etc., as or in the manner of sparks. Also transf.
1513Douglas æneid iii. viii. 132 The blak laithly smuke..With gledis sperkand as the haill als thik. 1873Black Pr. Thule 13 The sunlight that..sparked on his teeth when he laughed. 1897Crockett Lad's Love viii, The anger fair sparked and blazed from her dark, indignant eyes.
b. With advs., as off, out.
1833M. Scott Tom Cringle iii, Every now and then a flying fish would spark out from the unruffled bosom of the heaving water. 1889Pall Mall G. 11 Nov. 6/1 If the phosphorus ‘sparks’ off, as it is apt to do.
c. To go out, be extinguished, like sparks.
1845Bailey Festus (ed. 2) 269 These have died, are dying, and shall die; Yea, copyists shall die, spark out and out.
3. trans.
a. To send out, or emit, in or as sparks.
1596Spenser F.Q. vi. xi. 21 To sparke out litle beames, like starres in foggie night. 1610Heywood Gold. Age iii. i, Threaten your worst! let all your eyes spark fire!
b. To illuminate or enlighten feebly.
1835E. Elliott Wonders of the Lane xxiv. Poems III. 77 Oh, God of terrors! what are we?—Poor insects, spark'd with thought!
c. Electr. To affect, act or operate upon, by the emission or transmission of electrical sparks. Also absol., to send a spark across, etc.
1889Philos. Mag. Ser. v. XXVII. 339 Whenever a large Leyden jar is sparked through the coil. 1895Daily Chron. 13 Apr. 3/5 Professor Ramsay saw..that he had some gas, and was eager to ‘spark’ it. 1905Brit. Med. Jrnl. 1 July 14 Whenever this [gap] is sparked across, the tube is softened slightly by the regulator.
d. fig. To fire, to inspire; to kindle, to set in motion; to spark off, to be the immediate cause of (something hard to control). orig. U.S.
1912L. J. Vance Destroying Angel ii. 21 Abrupt inspiration sparked the imagination of Peter Stark, and he began to sputter with enthusiasm. 1941Sun (Baltimore) 24 Apr. 15/2 He is the type [of ballplayer] that sparks an infield and hustles all of the time. 1947Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch 1 Dec. 10/1 We hope that circumstances which might well spark another world conflict will not rise in Palestine. 1957Economist 26 Oct. 287/2 Any encroachment on vital western interests is liable to spark off the sort of war that would incinerate communism along with communists. 1962Listener 4 Oct. 501/1 A story has come out of California and sparked the November election campaign, which is now beginning to smoulder and crackle. 1964Ann. Reg. 1963 100 The final decision to end Federation sparked off immediately a new constitutional controversy. 1970S. L. Barraclough in I. L. Horowitz Masses in Lat. Amer. iv. 158 The more widely distributed post-reform incomes help spark development by changing propensities to invest. 1978Dumfries Courier 20 Oct. 5/1 The club has taken no stand against this sort of behaviour, which can spark off bad behaviour among the spectators. 1979IEEE Trans. Professional Communication XXII. 70/1 Man has always been intrigued by the elusive nature of the brain mechanisms which spark new and unexpected ideas to solve problems. 1981Times 24 July 23/1 Stocks on the New York Stock Exchange closed higher due to a late afternoon rally, sparked by bargain hunting among oil stocks and blue chip issues.
4. Sc. and north. dial.
a. To spatter (dirt, etc.).
1637Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. clxiii. 379 My desire is to ride fair and not to spark dirt..in the face of my..well-beloved.
b. To bespatter or spot with mud, etc. Also fig.
1806Douglas Poems 81 Young lasses' fame, my dainty joe, Is unco easy sparkit. 1808Jamieson App., To Spark,..to soil by throwing up small spots of mire. 1894Heslop Northumb. Gloss. 674 The coach gan past sparkt us.
▪ V. spark, v.2|spɑːk|
[f. spark n.2]
†1. intr. With it. To play the spark or gallant; to make a display, show off. Obs.
1676G. Etherege Man of Mode i. i, That she may spark it in a Box, And do honour to her profession. 1688Shadwell Sqr. Alsatia i. i, Enough [money] to set thee up to spark it in thy brother's face. 1709Mrs. Manley Secret Mem. I. 164 To purchase..a Back-place in their Coach, that they may spark it in the Prado.
2. U.S. To engage in courtship; to play the suitor, wooer, or beau. Also with it.
1807–8W. Irving Salmag. (1824) 276 Whenever he went a sparking amongst the rosy country girls of the neighbouring farms. 1848Bartlett Dict. Amer. 322 (with quots.). 1862Lowell Biglow P. Ser. ii. Courtin' ix, He'd sparked it with full twenty gals. 1884Harper's Mag. Feb. 410/2 He used to go sparkin' round among the girls.
b. trans. To make love or pay attentions to; to court.
1888Gunter Mr. Potter xiv. 176, I've heard as how young Errol is a sparking your daughter. 1893Harper's Mag. Feb. 372/2 The parents..sit in the room while he ‘sparks’ the ravisher of his heart. |