| 释义 |
absolve, v.|æbˈsɒlv, æbˈzɒlv|
[ad. L. absolvĕre to loosen, free, acquit, complete; f. ab off, from, + solv-ĕre to loose. Cf. Fr. absoudre, absolv-ant. Bef. its employment the main senses were expressed by assoil. In the pronunciation of this word and its derivatives, usage, as well as the opinion of orthoepists, is divided between æ̆bs- and æ̆bz-; cf. absorb, solve, dissolve, resolve.]
Always trans.
1. To set free, pronounce free (from blame, guilt, moral burden; from the penalties and consequences of crime or sin).
c1538Starkey England iv. 124 To declayre penytent heartys contryte for ther syn to be absoluyd from the faute therof. 1579Lyly Euphues 174 Who absolued Mary Magdalen from hir sinnes but Christ? 1619T. Taylor Titus ii. 14. 317 Absoluing vs both from the guilt and punishment of them. a1674Clarendon Hist. Rebel. i. 20 Notwithstanding..that he was absolved from any notorious crime..he was at last condemned in a great Fine. 1832H. Martineau Ireland ii. 17 Father Glenny had readily absolved her from the sin of mistrusting heaven. 1868Ecce Homo (ed. 8) i. i. 5 Absolved from all anxieties by the sense of his protection. 1870R. W. Dale Weekd. Serm. i. 17 This does not absolve him from moral blame.
2. spec. To pronounce (one) acquitted of sin, to give absolution or remission of sins to.
a. simply, or for some offence.
1535Coverdale Jere. xi. 15 As though that holy flesh might absolue the. a1570Becon Wks. 560, Neither did the apostles absolve any otherwise than by the preaching of God's word. 1596Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. v. 233 To make confession, and to be absolu'd. 1638Penit. Conf. (1657) xi. 307 The Frier absolved him, but kept not his counsel. 1719Young The Revenge iv. i. (1757) II. 167 And yet (For which the saints absolve my soul!) did wed. 1817Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life II. i. 11 One's conscience may be pretty well absolved for not admiring this man. 1865F. Parkman Champlain (1875) vi. 265 Biard..gained his pardon, received his confession, and absolved him.
b. of the sin.
1651Hobbes Leviathan iii. xxxviii. 241 With them that were absolved of their sinnes. 1866Kingsley Hereward iii. 80 But I dare not absolve him of robbing a priest.
3. To remit, give absolution for (a sin or crime).
1592Warner Albion's England (1612) viii. xli. 198 The Pope for pay absolueth euery thing. 1647Cowley Mistress, Dial. viii. (1669) 77 The Cause absolves the Crime. 1662Dryden To Hyde 60 Not to increase, but to absolve, our crimes. 1845Ford Handb. Spain i. 67 He was a good Roman Catholic canon who believed everything, absolved everything, drank everything, ate everything, and digested everything.
4. To acquit (a person) of a criminal charge, to pronounce not guilty. esp. in Roman law.
1628Hobbes Thucydides (1822) 62 Pausanias..having been calld in question by them (the Spartans) was absolvd. 1651― Leviathan i. xvi. 83 In condemning, or absolving, equality of votes, even in that they condemne not, do absolve. 1665–9Boyle Occ. Refl. Ep. Ded. (1675) Divers of the Criticks will chuse rather to Absolve my Writings, than Condemn Your Judgment. a1725Pope Odyssey xi. 702 Absolves the just, and dooms the guilty souls. 1741Middleton Cicero (ed. 3) II. vi. 156 Cato, who absolved him, chose to give his vote openly. 1880Muirhead Gaius iv. §47 Words are introduced empowering the judge to condemn or absolve. Ibid. 163 He does so without incurring any penalty, and is at once absolved.
5. To set free, discharge (from, formerly of, obligations, liabilities).
1649Milton Eikon. 137 To be..his own Pope and to absolve himselfe of those ties. 1761Hume Hist. Eng. I. viii. 176 The Popes authority..had absolved them from all oaths which they had taken. 1862Ld. Brougham Brit. Const. xii. 172 He also appealed to the Pope to be absolved from the obligations which he had contracted. 1876Freeman Norm. Conq. III. xii. 150 So many wrongs had at last absolved him from every duty of a vassal.
†6. To clear up, solve, or resolve; to explain (i.e. to unloose the knot of doubt or difficulty). Obs.
1577Hellowes Gueuara's Fam. Ep. 195 Some high mysterie, which if it be facil to demaund, is very difficil to absolue. 1590Recorde, etc. Gr. of Arts (1646) 118 It maketh just 700 pounds, and so is the question truly absolved. 1612Fletcher Women Pleas'd v. i. 43 If I absolve the words? 1667Evelyn Mem. (1857) III. 195 The inventions, and phenomena already absolved, improved, or opened.
†7. To clear off, discharge, acquit oneself of (a task, etc.); to perform completely, accomplish, finish. Obs.
1577tr. Bullinger, Decades (1592) 194 In these fewe wordes are comprehended al that which profound Philosophers doe scarsely absolue in infinite bookes. 1619T. Taylor Titus ii. 15. 538 Thus by the assistance of God, haue wee absolued this second Chapter. 1621Burton Anat. Mel. (1676) ii. ii. iii. 160/2 Saturn in 30 years absolves his sole and proper motion. 1652Gaule Mag-astro-mancer 144 'Tis their own task; and, till they absolve it, they must give us leave to tell them. 1667Milton P.L. vii. 94 The work begun, how soon Absolved. 1718Prior Poems 300 She conscious of the Grace, absolv'd her Trust, Not unrewarded. 1744Akenside Pleas. Imag. i. 194 Bend the reluctant planets to absolve The fated rounds of time. a1801E. Darwin Zoonomia III. 363 The frequent swallowing of weak broth..relieves the patient, and absolves the cure. |