| 释义 |
above, adv. and prep.|əˈbʌv|
Forms: 1–2 (bufan, bufon); 2 (bufen, buven, buuen, buuenne), abufan; 3 (buven, buve), abuuen, abuue; 3–4 (boven), aboven; 4–5 abouen, abowen(e; 4–7 aboue; 5 abouyn, aboun; 6 abowe (abuffe, aboufe, abofe, aboif); 4– above. North.: 4 abouen, obowen; 4–6 abown(e, aboun, abone; 6– abune, abuin, aboon.
[f. a prep.1, on, + bufan above, atop (cf. ODu. and MLGerm. boven), itself an earlier comb. of be ‘by, near, about’ + ufan adv. ‘up, above’ (cf. Germ. oben), properly locative case of uf- (Goth. uf) up, upward. The simple ufan originally expressed the whole idea of its successive expansions b(e)ufan, a-b(e)ufan. A-bufan did not appear till the 12th c., and was evidently a northern formation, being rarely found out of northern or north-eastern writers before the end of the 13th, when it generally replaced bufan, which as bove became obs. in the 14th. 'Bove is also an occasional aphetism of above in modern poets. For the illustration of the senses, bove and above are here taken together, though formally distinct words. A parallel compound of bufan was bibufen = be-bove; cf. a-fore, be-fore; of ufan, an-ufan, anoven. Bufan was used in OE. without (adv.) or with (prep.) an object; the latter in the dative. A-bufan was at first adverbial, but soon acquired the prepositional use of bufan. The adverbial and prepositional constructions are here separated, though in the development of meaning they form historically only a single series; and, as in about, in certain modern uses, the grammatical distinction melts away; see B 8.]
A. (without object expressed) adv.
1. a. Overhead; in a place vertically up; on high; upstairs.
c1000ælfric Manual of Astron. 2 Seo sunne gæð..eall swa feorr adune on nihtlicre tide under þære eorþan swa heo on dæᵹ bufan up astihð. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 612 Bathe fra aboven and fra benethe. 1413Lydgate Pylg. Sowle (1859) v. i. 68 Angels also I sawe fleen to and fro,..by see and land, and in the eyer abouen. 1598Shakes. Merry W. iv. ii. 78 My Maids Aunt the fat woman of Brainford, has a gown aboue. 1611Bible Prov. viii. 28 When hee prepared the heauens, I was there..when he established the cloudes aboue. 1799Wordsworth Prel. i. 14 (1850) Far above Was nothing but the stars and the grey sky. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. 13 In another corner a wooden stair leading above.
b. In heaven. Also elliptically to heaven; and from above, from heaven.
c1250Gen. & Exod. 10 Ðan sal him almightin luuen, Her bi-neðen and ðund abuuen. 1460Pol. Rel. & Love Poems (1866) 430 From here sone þat ys a-bouen. 1611Bible James i. 17 Euery good gift and euery perfect gift is from aboue. 1647H. More Song of Soul i. ii. 40 And ever naming God, he lookd aboven. 1814Southey Roderick vii. (1853) IX. 71 That vow hath been pronounced and register'd Above. 1861Tennyson In Mem. lxxxiv. 10 And whether trust in things above Be dimm'd of sorrow, or sustain'd.
2. On the surface; on the outside; covering, binding down, or over all. ? Obs. or dial.
c1305Life of Beket 266 Thabyt of monek he nom, And siththe clerkes robe above. 1340Ayenb. 236 Þe linene kertel betokneþ chastete of herte. Þe gerdel above betocneþ chastete of bodie. c1440Ancient Cookery in Housh. Ord. (1790) 468 Make a drage..of pouder of ginger mynced, and strewe aboven theron. 1611Bible Numb. iv. 25 The couering of the badgers skinnes that is aboue upon it.
3. In a higher place; farther up a mountain or river; farther from the sea; hence (obs.) on shore, whence men ‘go down to the sea in ships.’
c1270Assumpcioun de N. Dame 22 Þenkeþ on my sorwe nowe, How I hange here abowe, How I hange apon a tre. c1325E.E. Allit. P. A. 1022 Þe cyte stod abof ful sware. 1366Mandeville xxv. 262 It hath aboven toward Inde, the Kyngdom of Caldee. c1435Tor. of Portugal 1462 Ffast from land row they began, Above they left that gentilman, With wyld bestis to have byde. 1611Bible Josh. ii. 13 The waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above. Mod. Below were the silvery lakes, above were the snowy peaks.
4. Higher on a written sheet or page; and hence, in an earlier part of a writing or book; before in order. (Often used as a. and n.; see C 1: and in comb.; see D, and above-said.)
c1120O.E. Chron. (Laud. MS.) an. 1090 Eall swa wæ ǽr abufan sædan be þam cynge. 1340Ayenb. 247 Þe bysye lyue huerof we habbeþ aboue y-speke. 1574Wills & Inv. North. Count. II. 405 The Rest of all my Land I gyf and leiff to my sone..except that aboun is exceptet. Mod. Several examples of this construction are given in the exercise above.
†5. fig. (From the idea of two wrestlers or combatants.) In superiority; having the upper hand in a struggle; victorious. Obs.
1205Layamon 3764 Ofte heo fuhten. ofte heo weren buuenne [later text bofe] and ofte bi-neoðen. 1330R. Brunne Chron. 32 If he wild praie him..He wild do þe bataile, and þei suld be aboue. 1375Barbour Bruce ix. 94 Vencust is he, And gerris his fayis abovin be. 1611Bible Deut. xxviii. 13 And the Lord shall make thee the head and not the tail; and thou shalt be aboue only and shalt not be beneath.
6. fig. In a higher rank, position, or station. Also, ellipt. a higher court, etc.
1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 1467 Now er we aboven, and now doun broght. c1400Apol. for Lollards 9 He may not do þis, but in as mykil as it soundiþ to þe hed of þe kirk abouyn. 1465Marg. Paston Past. Lett. 502. II. 185 Ye shuld fynde a mene to have a wrytte from above. 1530Sir R. Constable in Plumpton Corr. 228 Make me a letter of atturney unto some of your frinds aboufe to clame your arreareges.
7. In addition, esp. in the phrase over and above.
1596Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 413 And stand indebted ouer and aboue In loue and seruice to you euermore. 1602― Ham. ii. ii. 126 This..hath my daughter shew'd me: And more aboue hath his soliciting As they fell out..All given to mine eare. 1850Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. vi. 35 ‘Old lady don't like your humble servant, over and above,’ said Haley.
8. More than, fully: see B 8, in which above hovers between an adv. and prep.
B. (with obj.) prep.
1. Directly over, vertically up from; on or over the upper surface; on the top of, upon, over.
c1000ælfric Gen. i. 7 And to-twæmde þa wateru þe wæron under þære fæstnisse fram þam þe wæron bufan þære fæstnisse. ― Homl. (Sweet A.S. Reader 86) æteowode heofonlic leoht bufon ðam apostole. c1175Lamb. Hom. 95 Þe halia gast wes iseȝen on fures heowe bufan þam apostlas. a1200Moral Ode (Lamb. Hom.) 87 He is buuen us and binoþen, biforen and bihinden. c1230Ancren Riwle 362 And we..wulleð mid eise stien to heouene þet is so heih buuen us. c1315Shoreham 117 Al that hys bove and under molde. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 2794 Þat place es neghest aboven hel pitte, Bytwen purgatory and itte. c1450Merlin 134 So eche bar other to the erthe, and theire horse a-bouen hem. 1595Shakes. John ii. i. 397 Now by the sky that hangs aboue our heads, I like it well. 1611Bible Gen. i. 7 And God..diuided the waters, which were vnder the firmament, from the waters, which were aboue the firmament. 1833Wordsworth Sonnets xxxii. Hell opens, and the heavens in vengeance crack Above his head.
2. Relatively over, covering; farther from the centre of a solid body; on the outer surface of; on the top of; outside of, over. ?Obs. or dial.
1375Barbour Bruce xvi. 581 A chemeyr, for till heill his veid, Abone his armyng had he then. 1523Ld. Berners Froissart I. ccxvii. 275 The sayd lordes toke on them to weare aboue all theyr garmentes, the redde crosse.
3. Higher up a slope, nearer the source of a river, or summit of a mountain, than; farther from the sea than. Also, of time: earlier than. (Occas. higher on a map, farther north than.)
c896O.E. Chron. Be Lyᵹan xx mila bufan Lunden-byriᵹ. 1330R. Brunne Chron. 42 Bot in þe ȝere after, obowen Grimsby Eft þei gan aryue. 1375Barbour Bruce x. 31 Thar Iohne of lorne gert his menȝhe Enbuschit be abooyn the vay. 1564Knox Let. in Tytler Hist. Scot. (1864) III. 402 Two barges..came in our Firth, abone the Inch. 1789–96Morse Amer. Geog. I. 1 The greatest part of Europe being situated above the 45th degree of Northern latitude. 1855H. Martineau Guide to Eng. Lakes 36 Behind and above it the vale head rises into grandeur. 1862Stanley Jewish Ch. (1877) I. ii. 33 We are still above the point of separation between the various tribes.
4. Higher in absolute elevation than; rising or appearing beyond the level or reach of. above ground: out of the grave, alive. fig. Of sounds.
1205Layamon 26051 Ah Arður bræid heȝe his sceld buuen [later text boue] his hælme. c1230Ancren Riwle 46 Mid te þume up buue þe uorheaued. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 4760 Þe se sal ryse..Abowen þe heght of ilka mountayne. 1552Lyndesay Monarche 5463 Ierome sayis, it sall ryse on heycht Abone montanis, to mennis sycht. 1653Walton Angler ii. 43 The Otter which you may now see above water at vent. 1711F. Fuller Med. Gym. 79 Legions of the dead might have been above ground. 1855Kingsley Heroes, Theseus ii. 212 The citadel of Corinth towering high above all the land. 1878H. Taylor Notes f. Life in Wks. IV. 139 The poetry of those from whom he borrowed will..thus ..be embalmed when the body of their works is no longer aboveground. a1884Mod. His voice was heard clear above the din. 1913A. G. Bradley Other Days iii. 90 Marlburians of the sixties are still numerous above-ground.
5. fig. Superior to (the influence of); out of reach of; not exposed or liable to be affected by; not condescending to.
c1340Hampole Prose Treat. 13 Cristes lufe..lyftes abowne layery lustes and vile couaytes. 1653Walton Angler 6 We enjoy a contentednesse above the reach of such dispositions. 1782Priestley Corr. of Christianity I. i. 61 It was not pretended that the subject was above human comprehension. 1819Wordsworth Poems of Sent. xxviii. 4 My spirit seems to mount above The anxieties of human love. 1832H. Martineau Life in Wilds iii. 42 [He] was quite above owing his meal to the request of a little girl.
b. above (the head of) (someone): = over (one's) head s.v. head n.1 37 f. colloq.
1867J. Blackwood Let. 11 Dec. in Geo. Eliot Lett. (1956) IV. 406, I inclose revise of Felix Holt's Address... The only fear is its being too much above your audience. 1914Joyce Dubliners 221 He was undecided about the lines from Robert Browning for he feared they would be above the heads of his hearers. 1926G. B. Shaw Translations & Tomfooleries 67 You could understand him when he was talking right above my head. You could talk about his work to him. I couldnt. 1979A. McCowen Young Gemini 49 See Rep. Comp. do ‘Candida’ bit above me but very good.
6. fig. Higher in rank or position than; over in authority.
c1200Ormulum 17970 Forr he þatt fra bibufenn comm Iss ane abufenn alle. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 4120 And heghen hym..Aboven al þat er paens goddes calde. 1607Shakes. Timon iii. ii. 94 Men must learne now with pitty to dispence, For Policy sits aboue Conscience. 1611Bible 1 Chron. xxvii. 6 This is that Benaiah, who was mightie among the thirtie, and aboue the thirtie. 1697Dryden Virgil, Georgics iv. 602 (1721) He breath'd of Heav'n, and look'd above a Man. 1718Free-thinker No. 57. 13 You dress, not only above your circumstances, but above your condition. 1829Scott Antiq. xxxii. 223 ‘She brought me up abune my station.’ 1850Mc Cosh Div. Govt. (1874) iii. i. 299 The conscience looks to a law above it.
7. Higher in degree; surpassing in quality; in excess of, beyond; more than. above all: beyond everything; first of all; chiefly. above measure: beyond or more than what is meet; in excess of moderation; excessively.
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. x. 357 Þat is—loue þi lorde god · leuest aboue alle. c1400Apol. for Lollards 64 & þan he schal vnderstond a boun his enemies, & ouer his techars. 1535Coverdale Ps. xliv. 7 God hath anoynted the with the oyle of gladnes aboue thy felowes. 1610Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 168 He furnish'd me..with volumes, that I prize aboue my Dukedome. 1611Bible James v. 12 But aboue all things, my brethren, sweare not. ― 2 Cor. xii. 7 Least I should bee exalted aboue measure. 1829Wordsworth Poems of Sent. xxxvii. Taught to prize Above all grandeur, a pure life uncrossed By cares.
8. Surpassing in quantity, amount, or number; more than. (Here the prep. passes again into the adv., at least the numeral following may be the nominative of a sentence, or the object of a vb. or of another prep. Cf. nearly a hundred, above a hundred were present.)
1509Hawes Past. of Pl. xvi. 59 She is not yet in al above xviii. yere. 1610Shakes. Ham. ii. ii. 455 It was neuer Acted: or if it was, not aboue once. 1713Steele Englishm. No. 11. 71 These Motions are performed by Wheels, which are above fifty in Number. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 335 Above a sixth part of the nation is crowded into provincial towns of more than thirty thousand inhabitants.
9. In addition to, besides (in over and above).
1581Marbeck Bk. of Comm. Places 1138 To looke for a good turne againe, or anything else, over and above the principall. 1618Bolton tr. Florus, Putting in a sword over and above their bargaine, into the false balances. 1866Geo. Eliot F. Holt xlvii. 406 Over and above the stings of conscience..he had the powerful motive of desiring to do what would satisfy Esther. Mod. He earns a large sum over and above his salary by commissions.
10. Phr. above oneself: in a state above the normal; out of hand. Also said of horses when they are overfed and under-exercised, or have not undergone the full training for a race.
1890Kipling From Sea to Sea (1899) I. 455, I have..seen more decent men above or below themselves with drink, than I care to think about. 1893Punch 23 Sept. 137 Lest the spirits of the travelling tourist should rise so high that he might run the chance of ‘getting a bit above hisself’, as horsedealers graphically express it. 1897Daily News 7 Nov. 7/3 Horses run best when they are above themselves. 1937V. Woolf The Years 282 He was a little flushed, a little, as nurses used to say, ‘above himself’.
C. Elliptically (quasi- a. and n.).
1. By ellipsis of a pple. as said, written, mentioned, above stands attributively, as ‘the above explanation’; or the noun also may be suppressed and above used absolutely, as ‘the above will show,’ etc. Hence of a paragraph, etc.: preceding, previous.
1779W. Russell View of Soc. II. xcvi. 437 Just as I was concluding the above, I received yours. 1831Ipswich Jrnl. 23 July 3/4 The above Estate is Freehold. 1847Thackeray Van. Fair (1848) xiv. 126 Some short period after the above events..one more hatchment might have been seen in Great Gaunt Street. 1851F. W. Robertson Serm. Ser. iv. (1863) I. vi. 33 In God's world there is not one monotony of plains without hills... There is an above and there is a below. 1864G. W. Moon Dean's English (ed. 2) 34 You have so confusedly used your pronouns in the above paragraph, that it may be construed in ten thousand different ways. 1873Banister Music iii. 11 The above signs for the Breve measure being omitted. 1919Conrad Arrow of Gold iv. ii. 157 The above sequence of thoughts was entirely unsympathetic and it was followed by a feeling of satisfaction that I, at any rate, was not suffering from insomnia. 1976T. Stoppard Dirty Linen 51 During the above speech French is becoming increasingly agitated, and Maddie increasingly angry.
†2. With a possessive case, at, to mine (thine, his, etc.) above: something above what I am (thou art, he is). to bring one to his above: to bring him to a superior position or condition; to come to, or be at the above of: to attain the superiority or mastery of, to surmount, overcome, or master. Obs. 3–5.
1330R. Brunne Chron. I. i. 253 (Rolls Ser.) Mykel I ȝow love, I have ȝow holpen to ȝoure above. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls Ser.) II. 29 [They] schal have þe better ende and be at here aboue [Lat. praevalere]. c1420Palladius on Husb. i. 199 And vynes..By processe may be brought to thair above. 1475Caxton Jason xx b, I hope to come to thaboue of myn enterpryse. 1484Caxton Ord. Chyualry 72 [He] cometh to the aboue of his enemyes.
D. Comb. above was occasionally, when used as a verb-complement by early writers, prefixed to the verb, as is still the case with similar adverbs in German; thus we have above build, above rise, etc., which however are scarcely compounds. But when above in sense A 4, ‘higher on a page or document,’ was prefixed to pa. pples., many regular compound adjs. were formed, such as above-cited, above-mentioned, above-named, above-written, which see under above-said. Also above-average adj.; above-ground, a techn. term in dancing; above the ground (cf. B.4); above-hand, overhand; above-head, obs., overhead; above-seated, obs.; above-stairs, obs., upstairs; above-wonderful, obs., more than wonderful. Also above-board, above-said, q.v.
1952C. P. Blacker Eugenics xi. 306 Children..who make an impression of being promising and above-average in abilities and character. 1960K. Amis New Maps of Hell (1961) v. 127 The required above-average score for articulateness. 1382Wyclif Jude ii. 20 Aboue byldinge ȝou silf to ȝoure moost hooly feith. 1622Massinger, etc. Old Law iii. ii. [Dancing-master loq.] Now here's your in-turn, and your trick above ground. 1892Daily News 19 Feb. 5/4 In the whole hamlet there were only three above-ground dwellings. 1940G. Greene Power & Glory i. iii. 37 A big above-ground tomb. 1674Playford Skill of Musick ii. 114 The violin is usually plaid abovehand. 1793Smeaton Edystone Lightho. §253 The weather..above-head had remained..much the same. 1382Wyclif James ii. 13 Forsothe mersy aboue reisith doom. 1683tr. Erasmus, Moriae Enc. 78 The above-seated Gods in Heaven. 1758Johnson Idler No. 28. ⁋5, I cannot be above stairs and below at the same time. 1625A. Gill Sacred Philos. ii. 171 Nothing of this was in that above-wonderfull generation.
Add:[B.] 11. In prep. phr. above and beyond. More than, in addition to, or beyond. Cf. over and above prep. (adv. and adj.) phr.
1876J. R. Lowell Among My Bks. 2nd Ser. 314 A bald egotism which is quite above and beyond selfishness. 1898G. B. Shaw You never can Tell ii. 261 Love! Nonsense: it's something far above and beyond that. It's life, it's faith. 1916Joyce Portrait of Artist (1969) iii. 110 Let us try..to make this retreat in honour of saint Francis with our whole heart... But, above and beyond all, let this retreat be one to which you can look back in after years.
Add:[A.] 9. spec. Above zero (on a temperature scale), esp. above freezing point. Cf. below adv. 5.
[c1840D. Thompson Narr. Explorations W. Amer. 1784–1812 (1916) vi. 120 The first and most changeable mirage is seen in the latter part of February and the month of March, the weather clear, the wind calm, or light; the Thermometer from ten above to twelve degrees below zero.] 1944E. B. White Let. Mar. (1976) 251 There was a snow squall the first night, and next morning it came off cold—one above. 1974National Skat & Sheepshead Q. Mar. 11 Our winter so far has been mild with about one week of a cold snap. It was around 20 degrees above. |