释义 |
Crœsus|ˈkriːsəs| The Latin form of the name of a king of Lydia (Gr. κροῖσος) in the sixth century b.c., who was famous for his riches, used allusively in phrases, as Crœsus' wealth, as rich as Crœsus, and hence typically for ‘a very rich person’.
1390Gower Confessio Amantis v. 4730 in Compl. Wks. (1901) III. 75 If the tresor of Cresus And al the gold Octovien, Forth with the richesse Yndien Of Perles and of riche stones, Were al togedre myn at ones. 1577T. Kendall Flowers of Epigrams fol. 21r, As riche as Cresus Affric is. 1578G. Whetstone Remembraunce of G. Gaskoigne sig. B1, What auailes..King Cressus welth. 1650Trapp Comm. Prov. xxx. 8, I shall not envie the richest Crœsus or Crassus upon earth. 1707[see rich a. 2 a]. 1754H. Walpole Lett. (1857) II. 389 A contest between two young Crœsus's, Lord Thanet and Sir James Lowther. 1883M. E. Braddon Gold. Calf xii, Ida, left alone amidst all the fascinations of the chief shop in a smart county town, and feeling herself a Crœsus. 1924C. Mackenzie Old Men of Sea (1963) xix. 245 We could have sailed in the poor old Able and Willing, and been rich as Creases all our lives. 1931J. T. Adams Epic of America vii. 185 There he was, rich as Crœsus, and dictating to the government. |