| 释义 |
mistletoen. Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: mistle n., English tān. Etymology: < mistle n. + Old English tān twig (see teanel n.). Compare Old Icelandic mistilteinn, Swedish regional mistelten, Danish mistelten.The loss of final -n in α. forms arises from early confusion (already in late Old English) of the second element with Old English tān , plural of tā toe (see toe n.). The β. forms show the normal development of the Old English compound with weakening of the final syllable due to low stress. The γ. forms are probably contractions of the β. forms. For the voicing of s to z in combination with a voiced consonant, as evidenced by occasional forms with z , see E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §364. Sense 2 is perhaps spurious, resulting only from the confusion of the glossator, who, in each of the two examples, may well have intended the usual sense of the word (sense 1a). See also discussion s.v. mistle n. 1. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > cultivated or ornamental trees and shrubs > [noun] > mistletoe α. OE (1955) 118 Uiscerago, mistiltan. lOE 19 Uiscus, mistelta. ?a1425 (?1373) (1938) f. 50 Osmunda. Mistilte oþer arbuste growith vpon okys tre and oþer treys. ?a1450 (Stockh.) (1950) 190 (MED) Osinum is an herbe þat men clepe mistilto [margin mysleto]..it growith on trees..and þat is best þat growith on ookys. 1548 W. Turner sig. H.vj Muscelto. ?1550 H. Llwyd tr. Pope John XXI sig. C.viiv Mysceltowe layd to the head draweth out the corrupt humores. 1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil vi. sig. P.iiiiv (margin) Mysteltew callyd of some misteldew growyng on trees in winter with a yelowe shiny bery. 1560 tr. sig. A8 The tenth herbe is called..of Englishe men Mysselltoe. And it groweth in trees. 1594 W. Shakespeare ii. iii. 95 The trees..Ouercome with mosse and balefull misselto . View more context for this quotation 1599 A. M. tr. O. Gaebelkhover 24/1 Take Misletoa of Hasellnuttree..Misletoa of Oackes, of Pearetree. 1663 R. Boyle ii. v. vii. 185 A young Lady..was cured onely by the powder of true misseltoe of the oake. 1676 A. Sammes 103 The mizletoe itself they (the Druids) gathered with many superstitious ceremonies and great devotion, cutting it down with a golden Bill. 1768 A. Tucker II. 371 It is thought the misletoe would be lost out of nature, if it were not continually propagated from tree to tree by the thrush. 1819 W. Irving v. 379 The mistletoe is still hung up in farm houses and kitchens at Christmas; and the young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under it, plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked, the privilege ceases. 1837 C. Dickens xxviii. 296 Mr. Weller, not being particular about the form of being under the mistletoe, kissed Emma. 1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore II. 1221/1 The mistleto of the oak had such repute for ‘helping’ in the diseases incidental to infirmity and old age, that it was called Lignum Sanctæ Crucis, Wood of the Holy Cross. 1885 XVIII. 265/2 The mistletoe grows on a large number of different trees, such as the apple, lime, elm, maple, willow, thorn, poplar, and even on conifers. 1928 D. H. Lawrence xv. 265 Your hair here..is like a little bush of bright red-gold mistletoe. 1947 21 Jan. 7/1 A man's objection to his wife being kissed under the mistletoe on Christmas Eve in a public house bar..ended in a fight among the customers. 1987 P. Benson ii. 13 We cut mistletoe for Christmas. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > cultivated or ornamental trees and shrubs > [noun] > mistletoe > types of or plants related to 1597 J. Gerard iii. 1168 Viscum Indicum L'Obelij. Indian Misseltoe. 1737 J. Brickell 23 Misseltoe of the Oak, in great Plenty all over this Province, whereof good Birdlime is made. 1819 E. Evans 318 In this..country [sc. Louisiana] grows the celebrated plant called mistletoe. 1838 J. Hall ii. 28 The mistletoe is seen hanging from the branches of the trees throughout the whole course of the Ohio. 1851 P. H. Gosse 131 But what interests me most in this place is a flourishing Misseltoe, or God-bush, as the negroes call it. 1862 R. Henning (1952) 52 We hung over the pictures some Australian mistletoe, a pretty parasite, with bright-yellow drooping branches..which grows in the gum trees here. 1905 N. Davis 202 Everywhere to-night [the drawing rooms were] wreathed and garnished with masses of holly and mistletoe. 1965 VI. 105 No Loranthaceae occur in Tasmania, but species of Cassytha..are often called ‘mistletoes’ there. 1970 E. T. Robertson & E. G. B. Gooding (Index Plant Names) 230 Mistletoe—Dendrophthora spp., Oryctanthes spp., Phthirusa spp., Psittacanthus spp. (all Loranthaceae). 1978 A. J. Huxley (rev. ed.) xxiii. 284 The mistletoe Gaiadendron..can probably survive for six months without a host. 1991 R. Ffrench (ed. 2) 365 [The cravat eats] berries, especially of mistletoe (Loranthus) and the ‘bird-vine’ (Phthirusa), which are usually found rather high in trees. 1998 24 Dec. 732/3 Some species are even restricted to parasitizing other mistletoes (for example, the epiparasitism of V[iscum] goetzii and V. loranthicola). OE Latin-Old Eng. Gloss. (Otho E.i) (transcript of lost part of MS) in P. Bierbaumer (1979) III. 172 Cameleon vel viscerago, mistelta. a1200 ( 66 Viscerago, mistelðan uel cocinium [perh. read ocimum or coccum cnidium]. Compounds C1. 1626 F. Bacon §556 It may be, that Bird feedeth upon the Misseltoe-Berries and so is often found there. 1987 (National Geographic Soc.) (ed. 2) 344 Phainopepias nest..in mesquite brushlands, feeding chiefly on insects, mistletoe berries. 1597 J. Gerard iii. 1170 It can no where be read that Chamæleon niger doth beare Misseltoe birdlime. a1839 T. H. Bayly (title of poem) The Mistletoe Bough. 1753 Suppl. (at cited word) The branches of trees full of Misletoe plants. 1996 52 69 (title) Activation of human γδ T-cells by heat-treated mistletoe plant extracts. 1753 Suppl. (at cited word) The radicle of a Misletoe seed. 1992 Jan. 69/4 Cut a cross in the bark with a sharp knife,..remove the mistletoe seed from the berry and pop it in. C2. the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > arboreal families > [noun] > family Dicaeidae (flower-pecker) > other types of 1878 R. B. Smyth II. 38 Mistletoe-bird, Chirtgang. 1944 A. Russell iii. 19 Already there is a mistletoe-bird, with crimson breast, swaying itself on a mistletoe twig. 1983 B. D. Morley & H. R. Toelken 235 The mistletoebird..has a short, simple gut, so that the seeds pass through the bird quickly. the world > plants > particular plants > cactus and allies > [noun] > other cacti 1850 J. Macfadyen II. 182 Rhipsalis... Pseudo-parasitic plants, growing on trees, leafless, with small flowers, and with berries white, resembling those of the mistletoe.] 1889 W. Watson 227 They [sc. the flowers]..are succeeded by white berries, exactly like those of the Mistletoe, whence the name Mistletoe Cactus, by which this species [sc. Rhipsalis cassytha] is known. 1958 45 68 The Cactaceae are a typically Western Hemisphere family, with only the genus Rhipsalis, the Mistletoe Cactus, doubtfully indigenous to the Old World. 1967 G. Elbert & E. Hyams xi. 102 R[hipsalis] cassytha, the Mistletoe Cactus, is a hanging mass of succulent branches dripping with white berries. the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc.) > subfamily Turdinae > [noun] > genus Turdus (thrush) > turdus viscivorus (mistle-thrush) 1719 J. Colbatch 7 A Bird generally known by the Name of the Misletoe Thrush; which Name, I suppose, it derives from its feeding upon Misletoe-Berries. 1828 J. Fleming 64 Throstle Cock, Shrite,..Misselto Thrush. 1874 9 166/1 It moves off in considerable flocks into Herefordshire and Monmouthshire for the sake of the mistletoe..on the viscous berries of which it delights to feed; whence it has obtained its familiar name of missel, or mistletoe-thrush. 1937 Sept. 243/2 The name [shrike]..was applied in England, after the career of the Danes there, to the mistletoe thrush. 1974 W. Leeds 77 Mistletoe thrush, missel thrush. 1562 W. Turner f. 164v Of the Missel or Misselto tre. 1892 M. North ii. 153 One plain—surrounded by the nuytsia or mistletoe trees, in a full blaze of bloom. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022). <  n.OE |
