| 释义 |
starter|ˈstɑːtə(r)|
Also 6 sterter, startar.
[f. start v. + -er1.]
One who or something which starts.
I. In intransitive senses of the verb.
†1. One who ‘starts’ or goes away. Chiefly in phr. to be no starter.
a. A deserter from a principle or cause; one who is given to ‘starting’ from or abandoning his purposes; a fickle or inconstant person.
b. One given to wandering; one that cannot abide long in one spot.
c. One who runs away, a flincher, coward, shirker. Obs.
a.1536Starkey Let. in Life & Lett. (1871) p. xxxix, From thys truthe you schal fynd me my lord to be no sterter, wauerar nor hengar in the wynd. 1561T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer iv. (1577) Y iij b, I recken him a waueryng starter. 1609Holland Amm. Marcell. xxix. v. 373 He advised the Generall, who of his owne disposition was no starter, but constant and resolute, That [etc.]. 1680Reflect. late Libel on Curse-ye-Meroz 28 The Author had (in all probability) been Lecturer there at this day, (for he is no Starter, nor Shifter, nor Swapper of Livings.) a1704T. Brown Sat. Fr. King Wks. 1730 I. 59 Were I thy confessor,..Dost think that I'd allow thee any quarter? No—thou should'st find what 'tis to be a starter.
b.1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 57 Canst thou prefer a stranger before thy countryman? a starter before thy companion? 1600Heywood If you know not me (1605) C 4 b, Nay, nay, you need not bolt & locke so fast, Shee is no starter. c1613Middleton No Wit like Woman's v. i. 226 My miseries are no starters; when they come, Stick longer by me. 1621J. Taylor (Water P.) Praise Beggery C 3 b, A Lowse..She's not a starter like the dust-bred-Flea. 1705Dunton Life & Errors (1818) I. vii. 244 He was no starter, having lived forty years in the same house.
c.c1620Fletcher & Mass. Double Marr. ii. i, We'll spare her our main top-sail, He shall not look us long, we are no starters. 1663Butler Hud. i. iii. 606 I'll sooner Stand to it boldly, and take quarter, To let them see I am no starter. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew s.v., I am no Starter; I shan't flinch, or cry to go Home. 1731C. D'Anvers Pacification 26 Poems 6 St. Dunstan's Clock struck One, And all the sober Cuffs were gone; The rest..Call'd for a Bottle and to pay; The Doctor and the Bard made two, Who are no Starters, you all know.
d. With adverb.
1538Elyot Dict., Errones, startars asyde, vagabundes.
2. a. One who starts or sets out in a race, on a journey; esp. a person, animal, yacht, etc. that is to start or has started in a race. Also transf. and fig.; spec. an idea that deserves initial consideration (only in neg. contexts: cf. non-starter).
1818Scott Rob Roy xxxv, We are early starters in the dawn, even when we have the luck to have good beds to sleep in. 1825― Fam. Lett. 18 July (1894) II. 310, I speak for security, for ladies are rarely early starters. 1847Illustr. Lond. News 10 July 23/1 Yachts that would take up their station as starters. 1860Hughes Tom Brown Oxf. xxiv, The private tutors [compared to Newmarket trainers] watch the examiners..to see what line they take..that they may handle the rest of their starters accordingly. 1881Daily News 5 Aug. 6/4 In the Yawl Race the starters were Fleur de Lys, Curlew, Opal, Lizzie, Raven, and Arethusa. 1891N. Gould Double Event xvii. 122 These [horses] comprised the six starters. 1917‘I. Hay’ Carrying On iv. 93 That exasperating race of bad starters but great stayers, the British people. 1947G. B. Shaw in Musical Times Jan. 10/1 They can all sing passably in tune and are selected..because they are good readers and good starters. 1948M. Allingham More Work for Undertaker xiii. 166 The tip about Brownies [sc. shares] was never even a likely starter. 1960Times 7 July 13/2 ‘Bevanism’ was never a starter as a political philosophy or programme. 1976Listener 18 Nov. 641/2 The objections to it are so strong that it isn't a starter.
b. With qualifying adj.: a motor vehicle or engine which starts (well, slowly, etc.). Cf. sense 11 c of the vb.
1952M. Steen Phoenix Rising viii. 179 That's my car..; it's the easiest starter... Get in and start the engine. 1975Country Life 27 Feb. 508/3, I found the Lancia a good starter with no need for choke.
3. a. Phr. as or for a starter, for starters: to begin with, for a start. colloq. (orig. U.S.).
1873J. H. Beadle Undeveloped West xxii. 450 He gave me twenty drops of laudanum as a starter. 1902G. H. Lorimer Lett. Self-Made Merchant v. 64 All that he ever needed was a few hundred for a starter. 1947Chicago Tribune 3 Sept. 6/3 As a starter, agents have begun a canvass of small independent food wholesalers. 1950Manch. Guardian Weekly 9 Nov. 7 He wired how many frogs' legs did they think they could handle. They told him ten thousand as a starter. 1969D. Francis Enquiry xii. 168, I fell with a crash. ‘That's for starters,’ he said. 1970New Yorker 5 Dec. 142/1 (Advt.), For starters, here's the line-up of Knicks and Rangers games for the rest of the month. 1973Listener 6 Dec. 767/3 The vehicles for enlargement could be found in new stations or wave⁓lengths..but what happens is likely to require as a starter some change in current assumptions. 1978Globe & Mail (Toronto) 11 Jan. 8/1 For starters, do not call us scalpers. We are ticket hosts.
b. A dish eaten as the first course of a meal, before the main course (also in pl.). colloq.
1966[see dessert 1 b]. 1966Sunday Express 16 Oct. 18/3 You get a three-course dinner, with four ‘starter’ courses and seven main dishes to choose from, and a sweet. 1966Vogue Nov. 154/3 Starters include fish soup, cock-a-leekie, duck-liver pâté. 1968New Society 22 Aug. 266/1 The first course of a meal is sometimes called a ‘starter’, which is perhaps not so much non-U as jargon. 1969P. Highsmith Tremor of Forgery xvii. 155 ‘Try this Tunisian starter. Turns up on every menu.’ He meant the antipasto of tuna, olives, and tomatoes. 1975Reveille 20 June 2/2 They are equally good as a ‘starter’ or served with salad. 1979V. Canning Satan Sampler ii. 30 There was avocado pear for what some people disgustingly called ‘starters’.
II. In transitive senses.
4. a. A person or animal that starts game.
1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts 217 Strabo..speaking of the Conies of Spaine, and of their hunters and starters out of their holes. 1829[J. L. Knapp] Jrnl. Nat. (ed. 2) 247 In the evening..the wagtail resorts to the pastures, feeding under the very..noses of the cattle, who now become the starters of his game.
b. A dog trained for starting game. Also fig.
1748Richardson Clarissa (1811) VIII. 267 In short, Belford, thou wert an excellent starter and setter. 1754Delany Observ. Ld. Orrery's Rem. Swift 107 If he [Sheridan] was not the stanchest hound in the pack, he was at least the best starter. 1768Pennant Brit. Zool. I. 54 There were two varieties of this kind [of dog], the first used in hawking, to spring the game, which are the same with our starters.
5. a. The person who starts or initiates something.
1699Bentley Phal. Pref. 19 The Starters of this Calumny. 1729Swift Let. on McCulla's Project Wks. 1905 VII. 184 Mr. McCulla, as being the first starter of the scheme, might be..rewarded by such a society. 1893H. T. Fisher in King's Business 385 An untold number of starters or converts of revivals.
b. N. Amer. Sport. The player in a team game who starts the game; in Baseball spec. the pitcher.
1967Boston Herald 8 May 16/6 The victory gave Atlanta starter Pat Jarvis a 3–0 record. 1968Globe & Mail (Toronto) 3 Feb. 35/2 Two of our starters are in Quebec City on an exchange visit, one player is away sick and Bill Edwards is still injured. 1974State (Columbia, S. Carolina) 3 Mar. 3-d/4 Collins..led the way with 20 points as again all starters hit in double figures. 1976Billings (Montana) Gaz. 16 June 3-c/7 The Phillies jumped on starter Ed Halicki and reliever Dave Heaverlo for an eight-run lead after two innings.
6. a. One who gives the signal to start (in a race). Also, an official who gives the signal to start a train. Freq. in phr. under starter's orders (Horse-racing): subject to the instruction of the starter, ready to begin a race. Also transf. and fig. Cf. order n. 23 a.
1622in Hore's Hist. Newmarket (1885) I. 347 John Wagget onely the starter. 1852Bentley's Misc. XXXI. 120 The starter..drops his flag with the word ‘Go!’ 1859H. Kingsley G. Hamlyn xv, ‘Back, Velocipede; back, Lara!’ says the starter; down goes the flag, they dart away, [etc.]. 1860W. P. Lennox Pict. Sporting Life II. 23, ‘I shall give the words, One, two, three, and away’, said the starter, placing me ten yards in advance. 1885Manch. Exam. 7 Apr. 5/1 On a well-managed line there are starters and station officials to give the word of command. 1965M. Spark Mandelbaum Gate vi. 197 Freddy has said to tell you we are under starter's orders; what is starter's orders? 1973P. Malloch Kirkback i. 10 ‘Drink it up, chum. I forgot we were under starter's orders.’ Gilchrist drank it. Five minutes later they were on their way. 1974Times 27 Jan. 10/5 With the first day of the {pstlg}44,000 Philadelphia indoor tennis tournament only half over, six of the 16 seeds were already out of the running. Nastase, Newcombe and Orantes were all injured and, like five other entrants, did not even come under starter's orders. 1976Milton Keynes Express 11 June 3/2 Show jumping commentator Dorian Williams put the horses under starter's orders. 1979Reese & Flint Trick 13 82 They're under starter's orders... They're off!
b. U.S. (a) One who directs the operation of lifts in a large building; (b) an employee of a hotel, station, etc., who organizes transport for patrons (see also quot. 1917).
1909Pacific Monthly Feb. 123/1 Thanks to the crowd in the lobby, the uniformed ‘starter’ had not seen the bum and come over from the elevators to order him away. 1917Street Railway Employment in U.S. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) 14 Starters.—See that cars leave terminal points on scheduled time..reroute cars to straighten schedules and perform duties of inspectors. 1922S. Lewis Babbitt 32 The little unknown people who inhabited the Reeves Building corridors—elevator-runners, starter..—were in no way city-dwellers. 1931Wodehouse Let. 19 May in Performing Flea (1961) 66 A man standing in the crowd outside a movie theatre here after a big opening hears the carriage starter calling for ‘Mr Warner's automobile’. 1932Making Bus Operations Pay iv. 77 The station is kept open 24 hours a day by a force of eleven paid employees and three redcaps to handle baggage. Included in the paid force is a station manager, three ticket managers..and a special officer who also acts as a taxi starter. 1978R. Ludlum Holcroft Covenant 541 She was given a number on the twelfth floor, the top floor, but as it was the lunch hour, the starter doubted anyone was there. 1981Washington Post Mag. 22 Mar. 8/4 ‘A starter,’ she said. ‘You know, the man who gets a guest a taxi.’
7. a. An apparatus for starting a machine.
1875Knight Dict. Mech. 2310. 1909 Stage Year Bk. 56 The motor is controlled by a Siemens ironclad automatic starter. 1926W. Faulkner Soldiers' Pay ii. 86 She turned the switch and tried to reach the starter with her foot. 1934Discovery Nov. 324/2 A hand starter is provided on the engine, or it may be started from a car battery. 1969G. Macbeth War Quartet 30 When we kicked the starters, drove On across other countries..I remembered all Who fought. 1970K. Ball Fiat 600, 600D Autobook xi. 135/2 Dismantling of the starter is a simple task and is similar to that for the generator. 1977[see shock n.3 7].
b. An automatic switch forming part of the auxiliary circuit of some fluorescent lamps, the purpose of which is to enable the electrodes to become hot enough for a discharge to occur after it becomes inactive. Also starter switch.
1942C. L. Amick Fluorescent Lighting Man. ii. 22 Each lamp requires a separate starter and a separate ballast. Ibid. 23 The heat from the discharge itself keeps the cathodes hot during normal operation, hence the starter switch can remain open. 1962Newnes Conc. Encycl. Electr. Engin. 433/2 In place of the starter switch..a cathode⁓heating transformer can be used, so avoiding the need for replacement parts. 1967P. Honey Household Electricity 44 Fluorescent lamps..generally need a special circuit with what is called a starter, a device which heats up the electrodes for a second or two after the current is switched on.
8. A culture containing bacteria, yeast, or the like, used to initiate souring or fermentation in the making of butter, cheese, dough, etc.
1896Vermont Agric. Rep. 1895 67 This may be done..by using a ‘starter’ made from cream. 1908J. P. Sheldon Farm & Dairy (ed. 4) 76 The modern..method is to ripen the cream artificially by means of a pure culture of the lactic acid bacillus, technically called a ‘starter’. 1935Discovery Nov. 340/2 In the manufacture of butter ‘starters’ are employed to sour the cream under controlled conditions. 1939K. Pinkerton Wilderness Wife vii. 74 At least sour dough bread was sure... Robert had sponsored it by making the ‘starter’, a mixture of flour and water which grabbed its yeast germs from the air. 1950N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Jan. 27/2 Quick granulation is achieved by the addition of a ‘starter’ and the storing of the packed honey immediately in a consistent temperature of about 56 degrees F. 1973W. H. T. Tayleur Home Brewing & Wine-Making vii. 55 The optimum amount of starter in wine⁓making is about 1 to 15.
9. attrib. and Comb., as (sense 7) starter button, starter cord, starter motor, starter switch; starter home orig. U.S., a first home, usu. one bought by a young couple; also ellipt.; starter set orig. U.S., a small set of china intended to be the basis of a larger collection; also transf.
1971Starter button [see starter motor below]. 1977D. Beatty Excellency vi. 80 He primed the engines, pressed the starter button, heard the propeller creak round.
1971Scope (S. Afr.) 19 Mar. 65/2 Damned engine doesn't have a starting handle, just a starter cord. 1976Billings (Montana) Gaz. 27 June 5-d/7 (Advt.), Also a fenced back yard makes it a great starter home. 1979Arizona Daily Star 5 Aug. (Advt. Section) 21/2 This 3 bedroom, 1 bath home will make a super starter for a young family. 1980Times 6 Feb. 6/6 Local authorities and builders should provide more ‘starter’ homes to meet the demand for lower priced small homes for sale, Mr John Stanley, Minister for Housing and Construction, said yesterday.
1928Correct Lubrication 39 Starter motor spins without turning engine. 1971R. Dentry Encounter at Kharmel vi. 100 Pepper..leaned hard on the starter button. The starter motor set up a pulsating, piercing shriek.
1946Time 29 July 64/2 It was inexpensive—a 20-piece ‘starter set’ sold for about $6. 1970Guardian 17 Dec. 9/5 A starter set consisting of four soup bowls, four 10½-inch plates, four eight-inch plates, [etc.]. 1977Montgomery Ward Catal. Spring–Summer 510/3 Men's starter set [of golf clubs].
1925Morris Owner's Man. 9 The starter switch should immediately be released. 1965Priestley & Wisdom Good Driving ii. 19 The starter switch usually takes the form of a knob or button which is either pressed or pulled out.
Hence ˈstartership.
1889Star 10 Jan. 3/5 When the vacancy for the startership to the Jockey Club occurred, Lord Marcus Beresford was appointed to succeed the late Mr. McGeorge.
Sense 9 in Dict. becomes 10. Add: [II.] [7.] c. Railways. = starting signal s.v. starting vbl. n. 2 a.
1963E. F. Carter Railway Encycl. 288 The advanced starting signal has the same uses as a ‘starter’. 1967G. F. Fiennes I tried to run a Railway iv. 45 Romford's advanced starter..must have been at danger. 1983A. Vaughan Signalman's Twilight (1984) v. 240 In the three minutes it'll take the down fast to clear Uffington the goods can be pulling on down to the starter. 1987Railway World Nov. 674/1, I closed the regulator as we ran alongside the platform and braked gently to a stand at the Bingley Junction starter.
9. Naut. A cane or knotted rope's end used for beating slackers (see start v. 27). Now Hist.
1905J. Masefield Sea Life in Nelson's Time vi. 167 The officer would..say: ‘Start that man’. The boatswain's mate at once produced a hard knotted cord, called a starter, with which he beat the man unmercifully about the head and shoulders, till the officer bade him to desist. 1938C. S. Forester Ship of Line i. 21 ‘You've been free with that starter of yours, Thompson’ he said. 1962― Hornblower & ‘Hotspur’ xx. 248 Mayne had swung his ‘starter’, his length of knotted line that petty officers used on every necessary occasion—too frequently, in Hornblower's judgement. 1981D. Pope Life in Nelson's Navy vi. 85 Bosun's mates carried—until an Admiralty order banned them halfway through the war—another which was hated and feared by the seamen, a rattan cane known as a ‘starter’. 1987W. Golding Close Quarters v. 56 The petty officers..were using their ‘starters’ in earnest.
▸ starter kit n. (a) a kit for adapting the starter mechanism of a motor vehicle (rare); (b) a kit providing the items and instructions essential for beginning a particular activity or process; also fig.
1947Statesville (N. Carolina) Daily Record 15 Oct. 2 (advt.) Electric dash push button *starter kit... Converts foot starter to modern, convenient dash push-button control. 1949Lima (Ohio) News 21 Nov. 8/4 (advt.) A carry-all..filled with Elizabeth Arden's peerless creams, lotions and make-up essentials! A perfect ‘starter’ kit. 1987Pract. Photogr. Dec. 94/1 Available in a Starter Kit this processor is perfect for the darkroom beginner. 2000New Scientist 22 Jan. 4/1 The building blocks of DNA could have formed in space before Earth was born, providing a starter kit of genetic material for life to evolve rapidly on Earth, claim astrochemists in India.
▸ starter pack n. (a) U.S. a set including a battery, cables, etc., for starting a car; (b) = starter kit n. (b) at Additions.
1960Salisbury (Maryland) Times 26 Apr. i. 1/2 The *starter pack is a battery and set of cables and clips intended to be used to start stalled autos. 1963Reno (Nevada) Evening Gaz. 27 May 24/3 (advt.) Polacolor starter pack..9.79. 1992M. Baren How it all Began 37/3 The company continues to trade at all levels of philately, from rare stamps to stamp collecting starter packs for children. |