释义 |
afieldadv.Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: on prep., field n.1 Etymology: < on prep. + field n.1 In β. forms with reduction of the first element (see a prep.1). 1. society > armed hostility > armed encounter > battlefield > [adverb] α. OE tr. Pseudo-Apuleius (Vitell.) (1984) cxlii. 184 Ðeos wyrt ðe man..gorst nemneþ is twegea cynna, oþer byþ cenned on wyrtunum, [o]ðer ut on felda. OE (1942) 241 Forþan wearð her on felda folc totwæmed, scyldburh tobrocen. β. OE tr. Chrodegang of Metz (Corpus Cambr. 191) liv. 285 Þe willað ealle ut a felda [L. in agro rustici] and ealle æcerceorlas and ealle wineardwealas dæghwamlice tælan, gif þu angean þines hades behat wilt wunian mid wifum.?a1300 (Bodl.) (1916) 41 (MED) Me þuȝte, ase ich slepte, afeld þat we were.a1350 (?c1225) (Harl.) (1901) l. 997 (MED) He sloh afelde him þat is fader aquelde.c1425 Edward, Duke of York (Vesp. B.xii) (1904) 69 (MED) Also þat he be boþ a feelde and at woode delyuered and wel eyed.a1450 MS Bodl. 779 in (1889) 82 400 (MED) He wold afeld himself alone be.1609 W. Shakespeare v. iii. 69 Æneas is a field . View more context for this quotationa1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) v. vi. 30 When thou didst keepe my Lambes a-field . View more context for this quotation1719 F. Peck 54 Those Tidings glad Which Angels to the wondring Shepherds sung Afield, at Midnight Hour.1789 R. Burns in D. Sillar To Author 11 My chief, amaist my only pleasure, At hame, a-fiel, at wark or leisure.1853 M. Arnold Sohrab & Rustum in (new ed.) 20 As afield the reapers cut a swathe.1873 W. H. Dixon I. i. i. 1 Fernando was afield against the Moors in what he called a holy war.1916 Mar. 107 (advt.) To everyone who shoots, it will bring increased pleasure afield.1948 L. Allen xxiii. 215 A tremendous hitter, though a man who was apt to do almost anything afield, Babe had been the central figure in the bizarre aggregation of Dodgers gathered together by manager Wilbert Robinson.1976 D. Blood i. ii. 109 The casual observer will have considerable difficulty identifying the species while afield.1989 W. S. Brophy ii. 234/1 The use of modern alloy steels..makes this modern version a stronger, lighter and more reliable rifle afield.2009 F. Bouwman i. 13 Enjoying a meal of this type will provide your camp with one of the finest meals you will ever enjoy either at home or afield.α. lOE (Corpus Cambr.) (1994) 154 Ða gewearð hit on anum dæge þæt hire fostermoder hi het gan mid oþrum fæmnum on feld, sceap to hawienne. lOE Bounds (Sawyer 423) in M. A. O'Donovan (1988) 28 Þonon on æsc leage, of þam æsce forþ on hagan on gerihte ut on feld on anne stan. a1300 (c1275) (1991) 269 [The fox] goð o felde to a furȝ & falleð ðar inne. β. ?a1300 (Bodl.) (1916) l. 64 (MED) Þis breþren wendeþ afeld to witen here fe, Ac Iosep leuede at hom.c1300 St. Margarete (Harl.) l. 39 in O. Cockayne (1866) 25 (MED) Hir norice hir sende ofte adai wiþ hire schip afelde.c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. ix. l. 198 (MED) Peers..putte hem alle to werke..in donge afeld berynge.1457–8 in J. T. Gilbert (1889) I. 298 (MED) Every man that hath swyne withyn the cytte, that they make hame be dryve afell at the an owre.a1556 N. Udall (?1566) i. iv. sig. C.jv Oh your coustrelyng Bore the lanterne a fielde before the gozelyng.1613 W. Browne I. iv. 75 Each shepheards daughter with her cleanly Peale, Was come afield to milke the Mornings meale.1669 W. Wycherley 22 Fate not half so meek as now adays, Contented to take up with bloodless frays, Sends folkes afield to measure Swords, and Valour.1675 T. Hobbes tr. Homer x. 115 Then they a-field Their Cattle drive.1751 S. Johnson No. 138. ⁋11 In harvest she rides afield in the waggon.1827 P. Cunningham Two Years New S. Wales in 18 Aug. 537/1 We are not..charmed with the blithe carol of the lark as we proceed early afield.1888 R. Grant vii. 210 The ball goes afield grandly, but Billy Douglas is under it before it falls, and Hamlen makes the third out.1912 F. A. Steel ii. ii. 157 He tried to resume his ordinary life and actually started to lead his army afield.1940 E. Pound liii. 25 With gold cup of wheat-wine That he go afield to spring ploughing.1999 Nov. 14/3 The hunting ‘blue law’ was repealed in 1935, allowing sportsmen to go afield on Sunday.2009 J. Kuntz iii. 31 Even Anson was anxious to put a team afield as early as possible in 1890. 2. a. Away from home, abroad; to or at a distance. Also figurative and in figurative contexts. the world > space > place > absence > [adverb] > away from some recognized place society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > [adverb] > home > at home > not 1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville (Caxton) v. x. f. cj Pacyence come pryckyng with a sobre chere and hitte Ire in the helme that it flewe a feld. c1540 J. Bellenden tr. H. Boece iii. vi. f. 28v/1 Yis Metellane..gouernyt all materis baith at hame and a feld with gret felicite. 1597 J. Melville 19 Shuiting his darts continuallie, and never missing be Land, be Sea; be day, be night; at home, or a field. c1650 in W. Fraser (1868) II. 144 Ȝour brother steyis to long afeild. 1738 J. Fraser vi. 134 I came Home at last, and was a little more taken up in Duty when at home then when afield. 1816 E. Thomas iv. 42 He..had quitted the post assigned him by providence in his own household, to wander afield in the ring of folly. 1876 5 Aug. 367/2 Since the history of art was thus neglected at home, Dodd naturally looked more afield. 1904 T. C. Allbutt ii. 116 Let him not search afield for long and complicated forms and elaborated words..; if he can get well home on his ideas the simplest and closest words will do. 1965 13 Nov. 53/3 Laurie Records is venturing more afield to break records, vice-president and sales manager Eddie Mathews reported Thursday. 2010 S. M. Richman ii. vi. 132 The city's loss of manufacturing caused its citizens to look afield for employment. the world > space > distance > [adverb] > at some distance 1617 77 Thou hast thy soule poured forth on some villany and wickednesse, and hast sent it farre afield. 1745 Apr. 176/1 Imagination wanders far afield. 1792 Aug. 413 Doubtless some few there are, Who for knights errant, Need not, I'll warrant, To wander far afield. 1833 I. P. Cory 80 Whilst conjecture runs furthest afield, truth is often overlooked. 1850 C. Kingsley I. xi. 166 I had..never been farther a-field than Fulham or Battersea Rise. 1880 T. A. Spalding 9 It will prevent the student from straying too far afield in his reading. 1934 E. Linklater xxiv. 265 Mary Isbister came in with a long story of a hen that had laid far afield and hatched a misbegotten brood, and now brought them home to be cared for. 1960 F. G. Bailey i. iv. 86 The sisters of the Baderi men do not marry any further afield than they did in the time when the area was not pacified, nor do the men of Baderi go further afield in search of brides. 1990 B. Bryson iii. 42 Catalan, a language midway between Spanish and French, spoken by 250,000 people principally in Catalonia but also as far afield as Roussillon in France, was likewise long banned in Spain. 2009 J. Lethem v. 74 Aboveground, he walked north on Sixth. This was the farthest afield Perkus had traveled in many months, perhaps in over a year. 1863 28 Nov. 1146/2 He strikes home to the heart of his subject, and seldom permits himself to be led a-field into episode. 1887 12 May 412/1 He is utterly afield as to Greek art. 1942 4 371 The issues in the labor area might easily have led him afield. 2000 6 617 Levi is from time to time led afield into abstruse detail only tangential to the poem under review. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < adv.OE |