| 释义 |
decayed, ppl. a.|dɪˈkeɪd|
[f. as prec. + -ed.]
1. Fallen off, impaired, or reduced in quality, condition, health, freshness, prosperity, fortune, etc.; spec. in phr. decayed gentlewoman.
1513Douglas æneis xi. Prol. 148 To haue bene in welth and hartis blys, And now to be dekeit and in wo. 1563Homilies ii. Idleness, To reliefe such decayed men in syckenes. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iv. (1586) 190 b, For the comforting..of a decayed memorie. 1605Verstegan Dec. Intell. Pref. Ep., A restitution of decaied intelligence. 1677A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. 16 The neglected, and I may say decayed Trade of Fishing. 1711Addison Spect. No. 164 ⁋1 Theodosius was the younger Son of a decayed Family. 1766Fordyce Serm. Yng. Wom. (1767) II. viii. 29 A decayed beauty. 1851Hawthorne Ho. Sev. Gables (1852) ii. 27 We might point to several little shops of a similar description..where a decayed gentlewoman stands behind the counter. 1863H. Cox Instit. i. viii. 97 It was contended that decayed boroughs ought to be disfranchised. 1893Bookman June 83/1 A decayed civilization with many repulsive features. 1921G. B. Shaw Lett. (1952) 218 The celebrated decayed gentlewoman who had to cry laces in the street for a living but hoped that nobody heard her. 1961J. Gloag Victorian Comfort viii. 212 Impoverished widows and spinsters of the middle classes, who were officially described as ‘decayed gentlewomen’.
2. Physically wasted or impaired; that has begun to crumble or fall in pieces or to rot; ruined.
1528Gardnier in Pocock Rec. Ref. I. xlvi. 89 The pope lieth in an old palace..ruinous and decayed. 1599H. Buttes Dyets Dry Dinner D v b, Walnuts..repaire decaied teeth. 1632Lithgow Trav. vi. 247 Thence wee came to the decayed lodging of Caiphas. a1716Bp. O. Blackall Wks. (1723) I. 147 Wine, tho' it be decayed..is nevertheless useful as Vinegar. 1794S. Williams Vermont 80 Formed of decayed or rotten leaves. 1883Daily News 17 May 6/1 Decayed gooseberry—a sickly, bluish lilac. |