| 释义 |
▪ I. Cæsar|ˈsiːzə(r)|
Also 4–8 Cesar.
[L. Cæsar, a proper name. This is generally held to be the earliest Latin word adopted in Teutonic, where it gave Gothic kaisar (cf. Gr. καῖσαρ), OS. kêsar, -er, OFris. kaiser, keiser, OHG. keisar, -er, OE. câsere, ON. keisari. But the OE. form of the word (which would have given in mod.Eng. coser—cf. pope) was lost in the ME. period. It was replaced in ME. by keiser, cayser, kaiser, from Norse and continental Teutonic, which has in its turn become obsolete, except as an alien term for the German emperor, and been replaced by the Latin or French form. See kaser, Kaiser. Another form of the word is the Russian Tsar or czar.]
1. a. The cognomen of the Roman dictator Caius Julius Cæsar, transferred as a title to the emperors from Augustus down to Hadrian (b.c. 30 to a.d. 138), and subsequently used as a title of the heir-presumptive of the emperor. In modern use often applied to all the emperors down to the fall of Constantinople.
1382Wyclif John xix. 15 We han no kyng no but Cesar. [1388We han no king but the emperour.] 1586J. Ferne Blaz. Gentrie 150 Amongst the Romaines vntill the time of their Cæsars, it was a common vse. 1776–88Gibbon Decl. & F. xiii. (1875) 144 After the adoption of the two Cæsars, the emperors devolved on their adopted sons the defence of the Danube and of the Rhine. Ibid. lxviii. 1238 Mahomed the second performed the namaz of prayer and thanksgiving on the great altar, where the christian mysteries had so lately been celebrated before the last of the Cæsars. 1795Southey Joan of Arc ii. 337 Cæsars and Soldans, Emperors and Kings. 1869Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) III. xii. 91 Before whom Cæsars as well as Pontiffs were to quail.
b. Cæsar's wife: In various uses with allusion to Plutarch Cæsar x. 6 (‘I thought my wife ought not even to be under suspicion’).
1579Lyly Euphues (1868) 329 Al women shal be as Cæsar would have his wife, not onelye free from sinne, but from suspition. 1748Richardson Clarissa III. xvii. 108 The wife of Caesar must not be suspected. 1866J. C. & A. W. Hare Guesses at Truth 187 Caesar's wife ought to be above suspicion. 1878Trollope Is he Popenjoy? II. xi. 161 But Cæsar said that Cæsar's wife should be above suspicion, and in that matter every man is a Cæsar to himself. Ibid. xiii. 182 Then there was that feeling of Cæsar's wife strong within his bosom. 1930D. L. Sayers Strong Poison xxi. 270 You've got a family and traditions, you know. Cæsar's wife and that sort of thing.
c. The emperor of the ‘Holy Roman Empire’; the German Kaiser.
1674Hickman Hist. Quinquart. (ed. 2) 57 The very year before that Confession was presented to Cæsar, there was a Colloquy betwixt the Lutherans and Zuinglians. 1704Addr. Taworth in Lond. Gaz. No. 4066/5 This..has rescued Germany from a Rebellious Incendiary; kept its Cæsar safe.
†d. A baby delivered by Cæsarean section. Obs. rare.
1540R. Jonas tr. Roesslin's Byrth of Mankynde i. ix. fol. liii, They that are borne after this fashion be called cesares, for because they be cut out of theyr mothers belly, whervpon also the noble Romane cesar the .j. of that name in Rome toke his name.
e. (A case of) Cæsarean section. Med. slang.
1952‘R. Gordon’ Doctor in House ix. 97 ‘How many babies have you had?’.. ‘Forty-nine. That includes a couple of Cæsars.’ 1956‘J. Bell’ Death in Retirement iii. 33 ‘I had to do a Caesar,’ answered Dr. Clayton. 1963Economist 20 Apr. 239/1 That ‘caesar’ in the maternity ward. 1964Guardian 8 Feb. 8/5 One Roman Catholic doctor..will awaken this convenient custodian of his conscience with the words: ‘I'm doing a fourth Caesar.’
2. a. fig. or transf. An absolute monarch, an autocrat, emperor.
1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iii. i. 18 No bending knee shall call thee Cæsar now. 1594― Rich. III, iv. iv. 336 She shalbe sole Victoresse, Cæsars Cæsar. 1682Sir T. Browne Chr. Mor. 3 Lead thine own captivity captive, and be Cæsar within thy self. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 314 The servile Rout their careful Cæsar praise. 1859Sala Tw. round Clock (1861) 34 An Emperor will always be called Cæsar, and a dog ‘poor old fellow’.
b. contextually, The temporal monarch as the object of his subjects' obedience (sometimes contrasted with the obedience due to God); the civil power. In allusion to Matt. xxii. 21.
[c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxii. 21 Aᵹyfað þam Casere þa þing þe þæs Casyres synt. c1160Hatton G. ibid., Caysere—Cayseres. 1382Wyclif ibid., Ȝelde ȝee to Cesar the thingis that ben Cesaris, and to God the thingis that ben of God. 1388ibid., Ȝelde ȝe to the emperoure the thingis that ben the emperouris.] 1601Bp. Barlow Serm. Paules Crosse 27 The things due from subjects to their Caesar. 1679Penn Addr. Prot. ii. vi. (1692) 126 Caesar, by which Word I understand the Civil Government, engrosseth All. 1714J. Fortescue-Aland Ded. Fortescue's Abs. & Lim. Mon. 8 Impartially decides the rights of Caesar and his subject.
c. to appeal (un)to Cæsar (with allusion to Acts xxv. 11): to appeal to the highest authority.
1855Wesleyan Methodist Mag. Apr. 305 The conduct of unreasonable..men made it right, as in St. Paul's case, for him sometimes to appeal unto Cæsar. 1894T. B. Reed Dog with Bad Name xv. 156 ‘Can't she come, Father?’ said Percy, adroitly appealing to Cæsar. 1899Kipling Stalky 27 ‘I appeal to the Head, sir.’.. ‘Thou hast appealed unto Caesar: unto Caesar shalt thou go.’ 1903J. Chamberlain in Westm. Gaz. 22 Oct. 5/1 If this policy..were not accepted as the policy of the Government..I should feel it my duty to appeal to Cæsar. 1926P. Guedalla Palmerston ii. ii. 70 In a formal reference to the Prince Regent the indignant soldier appealed to Caesar.
3. attrib. or in comb., e.g. Cæsar-like, Cæsar-worship; Cæsar baby, a baby delivered by Cæsarean section.
1599Hakluyt Voy. II. i. 295 The most mightie Cesarlike maiestie of the Grand Signor. 1663Gerbier Counsel C viij b, Matchless Buckingham most Cæsar-like glorious. 1861J. Sheppard Fall Rome xii. 624 Between Christianity and Cæsar-worship there could be no compromise. 1975H. Jolly Bk. Child Care iii. 53 The Caesar Baby. The decision that delivery must be by Caesarean section is taken by the obstetrician. 1980F. Weldon Puffball 246 ‘Lovely little baby’, said the nurse. ‘Of course Caesar babies usually are. They don't get so squashed.’
▸ B. adj. Cryptogr. Designating or relating to a type of cipher in which each letter of the original text is replaced by the letter that is a given number of places away in the alphabet. Chiefly attrib., esp. in Caesar cipher.
So named because this type of cipher is thought to have been used for communication between Julius Caesar and his military leaders during the Gallic Wars (58-50 b.c.).
1950Collier's 28 Oct. 46/3 In the Caesar Cipher each letter of the clear text was shifted four places farther along in the Latin alphabet. 1961Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Caesar substitution, also caesar shift, the replacement of each letter in a text by the one at a certain constant distance in the alphabet, esp. a normal alphabet. 1977Sci. Amer. Aug. 120/2 We spin the arrow and it stops on K. This tells us to use for encoding T a Caesar cipher in which the lower alphabet is shifted 10 steps to the right, bringing A below K... T, therefore, is encoded as J. 1982H. Beker & F. Piper Cipher Syst. 16 One of the earliest examples of a monoalphabetic cipher was the Caesar cipher used by Julius Caesar in the Gallic Wars. 1999Florida Times-Union (Nexis) 14 Nov. e4 The Caesar cipher is based on a cipher alphabet that is shifted three spaces from the plain text ABCs.
▸ A. n. Hairdressing. A style in which the hair is typically cut short and the fringe worn brushed down on to the forehead. Freq. attrib. in Caesar cut, Caesar haircut.
1957N.Y. Times Mag. 2 June 26 Another hair style coming up fast is the Caesar.., a swirl job worn by young and old attempting to cover bare patches. 1968J. Ironside Fashion Alphabet 189 Caesar cut, also called ‘Roman cut’, popular in the 1950s and 1960s, the hair had a short fringe, sometimes lightly brushed to one side or forward and was short all round. 1986New Yorker 12 May 30/2 ‘That's a serious haircut,’ said a young man. ‘A serious Caesar.’ 1999Vanity Fair Oct. 201/1 A new (yet dubious) Caesar haircut.
▪ II. ˈCæsar, v. nonce-wd.
[f. prec.]
trans. To make into or like Cæsar, to call or style Cæsar.
a1655T. Adams Wks. (1861) I. 491 (D.) Crowned he villifies his own kingdom for narrow bounds, whiles he hath greater neighbours; he must be Cæsared to a universal monarch. 1726Amherst Terræ Fil. xliv. 233 After having Cæsar'd and Scipio'd him secundum artem. |