| 释义 |
nowhereadv.n.pron.adj. Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: no adv.1, where adv., conj., and n. Etymology: < no adv.1 + where adv., conj., and n.Frequently written as two words in the 16th–18th centuries. The γ and δ forms reflect the loss in Old English of the initial -h- of the second element when it became intervocalic and the subsequent reduction of the vowel of the second element. The ε and ζ forms reflect transfer of the initial -h- of the second element to the first syllable and subsequent developments as in other words with a back vowel followed by the velar fricative. The pleonastic uses at Compounds reflect the complete obscuration of the word's original second element. A compound of ne adv.1 + where adv., conj., and n. also existed in Middle English, with forms neouwar, neouwer, neower, neowhær, neowhwer, neqwere. A. adv.the world > space > place > here, there, etc. > [adverb] > nowhere α. OE 59 Ealle þa gewitaþ swa swa wolcn,..& ofer þæt nahwær eft ne æteowaþ. OE Ælfric (Claud.) xix. 17 Ne þu ne ætstand nahwar on þisum earde. OE Byrhtferð (Ashm.) (1995) ii. i. 64 Þæt we nahwar ne gan of lage. c1175 ( (Bodl. 343) (1894) 22 Ða comen heo eft to þam kynge & him cuddon þet heo hit nahwær findæn ne mihton elles buton heo þet nimen mosten. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) 16762 + 131 He miȝt not bere vp his hede. Ne nawhar it doun lay. c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. iii. 227 He was nawher welcome for hus meny tales. a1500 (Trin. Cambr.) 1924 (MED) A man no better myght hit employ nay-where. 1599 A. Hume sig. C4 Na where sall ye find,..Ane aire of peeping wind. the world > space > place > absence > [adverb] > absent from a book or writing OE Wærferð tr. Gregory (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) i. i. 13 Hit witodlice nis nahwær geræd ne on bocum gesægd be Iohanne þam fulluhtre, þæt he ænigne lichamlicne lareow hæfde. ?c1225 (?a1200) (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 62 Nohwer in ahali write ne finde we þet ha spec buten four siðen. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon (Calig.) (1978) 8392 Nes hit nowher itald þat weore..swa muchel iuorððed to ane mele. c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon (Otho) 12092 Suþþe þes worle was astald nas hit nohwere [c1275 Calig. neowhær] itald. 12 Concl. Lollards (Trin. Hall Cambr.) in (1907) 22 296 Þat is..nowhere ensample in holi scripture. J. Metham (1916) 58 But cause qwy that I this boke endyght Is that noqwere in Latyne, ner Englysch, I coude yt aspye; But in Grwe Y had yt wrytyn. c1449 R. Pecock (1860) 118 (MED) Nouȝwhere in Holi Scripture is expresse mensioun mad of eny suche. ?1567 M. Parker lxix. 191 Be they cast out: of booke of lyfe, who thus impugne Gods grace: No where in booke: memoratiue, wyth iust men haue they place. 1594 R. Hooker ii. vii. §2 Some men..have in their books and writings nowhere mentioned or taught that such things should be in the church. 1619 R. Brathwait Quidem Erat 3 in The Scripture saith, There was a certaine Man: A certaine Man: but I doe read no where Of any certaine Woman mention'd there. 1678–9 H. Prideaux (1875) 64 The original..of the Roman Empire is noe where better treated of then in this author. 1789 W. Belsham II. xxxvi. 281 This, however, is..no-where countenanced by Aristotle. 1870 J. E. T. Rogers 2nd Ser. 77 This great writer..is nowhere a partisan. 1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato (ed. 2) III. 280 Sweet sauces are nowhere mentioned in Homer. 1910 I. 253/1 Herodotus nowhere states or implies that peace was concluded between the two states before 481 B.C. 1988 2 232 Reeves and Gould nowhere mention Mrs Ward or Robert Elsmere. the world > relative properties > relationship > difference > [adverb] > not nearly or far from being c1225 (?c1200) (1973) 2094 (MED) Ne schaltu nower neh se lihtliche etsterten. c1225 (?c1200) (Bodl.) (1940) 97 (MED) Nis hit nower neh gold al þet ter schineð. c1300 St. Gregory (Laud) 54 in C. Horstmann (1887) 357 (MED) He nas nouȝwer neiȝ atþe se are he him of-sende. c1443 R. Pecock (1927) 178 (MED) Þouȝ we do to hym chere and good dedis, þo schulen be nouȝ where nyȝ so greet as schulde be þe dedis whiche we wolden do to oure seid pryncipal freend. c1449 R. Pecock (1860) 42 Thilk kunnyng is so probable and likeli that into the contrarie parti is not had nouȝwhare nyȝ so probable and so likeli euydencis. c1449 R. Pecock (1860) 208 Nowhere nyȝ alle men. ?c1475 (BL Add. 15562) f. 87 Noure [1483 BL Add. 89074 Nowre] nere lange, Nimis multum citra. 1483 (Caxton) v. xi. 101 Though the dede were nowhere nyghe soo greete, yett is hit a manere of resemblaunce. a1500 ( (Egerton) (1953) v. xvi. f. 97v (MED) For thei the dede were nowe here [perh. read nowhere] nye so greet, yit is it a maner of resemblaunce. 1838 J. F. Cooper II. xiv. 225 As for Mr. Steadfast Dodge, sir, I say nothing, unless it be to add that he was nowhere near me in that transaction. 1873 A. Trollope III. lix. 69 Lord Fawn perceived that he was nowhere near the beginning of his matter. 1887 A. Daly 17 You are nowhere near it. As the children say in their game—you're ‘cold’. 1902 W. Carleton 26 An' words was nowhere near my tongue, But on my arm a motto hung. 1956 M. Dickens viii. 122 Joe was nowhere near being intoxicated, but he had drunk enough to feel restless. 1982 A. Tyler ii. 35 It was nowhere near spring yet. 4. the world > space > direction > [adverb] > to or towards some thing or place > to or towards no place a1300 (c1275) (1991) 26 He is hirde; we ben sep; Silden he us wille, If we heren to his word ðat we ne gon nowor wille. c1300 St. Margarete (Harl.) 113 in O. Cockayne (1866) 27 Al naked byndeþ hire faste þat heo nowhar ne fleo. a1400 (a1325) (Gött.) 3495 For-þi was he noquer sent, Bot to þe hous ay tok he tent. 1484 W. Caxton tr. xii She myght not goo nowher. 1557 Earl of Surrey et al. sig. S.iii I went no where: but by the way I saw some sight before mine eyes. 1575 T. Churchyard f. 108 I went no where, but I was wayted on, And shone in pompe, like perle or precious stone. 1626 J. Kennedy 2872 For such a calme both Seas and Aire possest Their Ship could no where saile. 1688 R. Blackbourn II. 81 She counsell'd her to employ all her Friends..to declare a thousand injurious things against him, that he might go no where where he might not hear of it. 1720 D. Defoe 42 We were upon a Voyage and no Voyage, we were bound some where and no where. 1778 F. Burney I. xvi. 88 I never go no-where without him. 1809 G. Watterston ii. v. 39 He haunts me like my evil genius! I can go nowhere but I see him. 1893 G. Gissing I. v. 130 With Mr. Bullivant? I went nowhere with him. 1912 S. Leacock in R. Brown & D. Bennett (1982) 222 The steamer goes nowhere in particular, for the lake is landlocked. 1990 4 June 6/2 We have treadmills, rowing machines, Stairmasters,..and we labor at them while going nowhere. 1847 J. H. Warland 285 We shan't get nowhere, bimby, work as hard as we can. 1856 Jan. 35 Oh bother! I'm getting nowhere. Let's see. Why it must be some one you know, or that knows your circumstances. 1937 R. Riskin in (1997) 538 But you were accomplishing nothing. You were going nowhere, and you knew it. 1962 E. Merriman 74 My new doctor understands me. Really. With my old doctor I was getting nowhere fast. 2001 15 June 75/2 Peres's overambitious approach could go nowhere. 5. colloquial. to be nowhere. the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > defeat or overthrow > be defeated or overthrown [verb (intransitive)] > be defeated or lose > be badly beaten 1755 Apr. 153/1 His powerful deep rate, by which all the horses that ran against him were no-where. 1826 17 306 Many men were nowhere at the end. 1831 T. B. Macaulay Boswell's Life Johnson in Sept. 16 Boswell is the first of biographers..and the rest nowhere. 1867 ‘Ouida’ I. i. 18 The annoyance of a miscalculation on the flat..when a Maldon or Danebury favourite came ‘nowhere’. 1895 14 Sept. 347/3 To the philologist and the student of English literature, it is Oxford first, the rest nowhere. 1967 19 Jan. 83/3 The Dutch economy would be nowhere without the German hinterland. 1999 J. M. Coetzee (2000) vii. 73 There is no funding any longer. On the nation's priorities, animals come nowhere. 1847 J. M. Field 14 A travelling menagerie..but varmints were ‘no whar’ in comparison with..real live actors. 1870 Jan. 89 A man who couldn't drink with the boys was nowhere. 1887 C. Mackenzie 80 Poke [sic] is de game I likes most of all; craps is nowhere. 1948 721 As he was the illegitimate son of the lost Generation, the hipster was really nowhere. 1959 Nov. 70J Nowhere, the absolute of nothing. Example: That guy is nowhere. 1980 A. Beattie (1981) vii. 71 ‘He is so nowhere,’ Angela said. ‘I can't even believe that Lloyd likes him.’ 1859 J. R. Bartlett (ed. 2) 297 To be nowhere is to be at sea; to be utterly at a loss; to be ignorant. 1868 in M. Schele de Vere (1871) When he began to ask me questions about surgery, I was just nowhere, and I can't tell, to save my life, what I said to him. B. n. and pron.the world > space > place > [noun] > non-existent place the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [noun] > that which is non-existent > a non-existent place the world > space > place > [noun] > absence of place a1425 (?a1400) (Harl. 674) (1944) 11 Þat noȝwhere bodili is eueriwhere goostly. c1450 (?a1400) (Univ. Coll. Oxf.) (1944) 122 (MED) [a1425 Harl. 674 Lat be þis eueriwhere & þis ouȝt, in comparison of þis] noȝwhere & þis [nouȝt]. 1834 T. Carlyle ii. v. 48/2 How wilt thou..find that shorter, Northwest Passage to thy fair Spice-country of a Nowhere? 1872 H. Bushnell 167 It is now become as if all truth were gone out, and night and nowhere had the world. 1885 H. R. Haggard v. 68 Like a storm-driven bird at night we fly out of the Nowhere; for a moment our wings are seen in the light of the fire, and, lo! we are gone again into the Nowhere. 1961 H. Gregory Medusa in Gramercy Park in (1964) 209 Children, All looking into space As if to Nowhere, Each face preoccupied—And all look sad. 1987 10 Feb. 10/2 King Lear, which is due to run all 1987 at the National Theatre, is set in a granite-coloured nowhere, in no time and place. the world > space > place > [noun] > non-existent place a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 69 in J. Ware (1633) He shall finde no where safe. 1767 W. Warburton III. i. 21 The hapless Unbeliever..hath no where to fly for refuge from his terrors. 1792 T. Paine iii. 38 There is no place for mystery; no where for it to begin. 1834 F. B. Head 284 They had nowhere to run but to their own homes, where they would instantly have been recaptured. 1881 A. Trollope II. i. 19 ‘Where ought you to be, then?’..‘Where indeed! There is no where.’ a1930 D. H. Lawrence (1932) 50 Nowhere is far off, in these small wall-girdled cities. 1958 30 May 705/2 There is nowhere free from crumbiness and sex. 2000 4 Apr. (Tuesday Review section) 2/7 Rural people have nowhere to obtain their cash. society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > a land or country > part of country or district > [noun] > remote or outlying area 1871 Dec. 715/1 These places [sc. Lapland and Labrador] are the road to nowhere. 1891 W. Morris (title) News from nowhere. 1904 G. Burgess & W. Irwin vi. 109 But the end was that I landed two hundred miles from Nowhere. 1910 13 Oct. 13/3 But the retrogade [sic], spiritless Australians risked it, and trekked over the sands, and built their tents in the middle of nowhere. 1945 21 365 The territory..has no natural harbours of first-class quality, no resources for supporting armed forces, and is on the road to nowhere. 1960 21 Nov. (Canada Suppl.) p. xi/2 Hydro-Quebec is starting to move far up the Manicouagan, in the middle of nowhere. 1967 E. G. Cousins i. 10 ‘I never heard of Boling Green.’ ‘You wouldn't, old boy. Fag-end of nowhere, down a two-mile lane from the second-class road.’ 1991 Nov. 45/3 Blatting rounds down-range as fast as possible in blind panic is a road to nowhere. 1994 2 July 27/4 Antony's mother told him he was mad to be leaving Dublin to go to the ‘arse-end of nowhere’. 1877 V. Fane v. ii. 169 Why, girl, you fling upon her majesty, Dropping from nowhere, you astonish us. 1894 B. Potter 29 Aug. (1966) 334 A young woman who appeared out of nowhere to the train. 1920 J. Conrad i. iii. 45 A boat sneaks up from nowhere and turns out to be a long-expected friend. 1959 N. Mailer (1961) 399 What was unique about Jones was that he had come out of nowhere, self-taught. 1994 1 Oct. 12/7 Lyme's disease and legionnaire's disease arrived from nowhere in 1975. C. adj. ( attributive). the mind > emotion > suffering > feeling of weariness or tedium > [adjective] > wearisome or tedious 1589 T. Nashe sig. Aii Those worne out impressions of the feyned no where acts, of Arthur of the rounde table. 1889 10 Jan. Had he arrived at his hotel in Detroit, instead of at a nowhere side-hill. 1940 L. MacNeice 14 The here and there and nowhere birds. 1953 W. S. Burroughs x. 110 The others [sc. patients] were a beat, nowhere bunch of people. The type psychiatrists like. 1966 7 May 5/2 We all thought it was the most nowhere record we'd made. 1991 J. Phillips (1992) 148 It is bruited about that she's involved in a nowhere affair with a married executive. Compounds In pleonastic compounds (in γ and δ form). a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) 14862 We find writen naur-quar Þat vr crist suld be born þar. a1400 (a1325) (Fairf. 14) 3495 For-þi was he nawre-quare sent. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) 1082 (MED) His broiþer ded sua wend he dil, Bot he moght nourquar it hil. a1425 (a1400) (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 5057 (MED) Þai may nour-whare away wynne. ?a1425 (Egerton) (1889) 147 (MED) Þare growez grete plentee of baume and nowere whare elles þat I couthe here off. a1450 (Cambr. Dd.1.17) (1845) 755 (MED) Thay ne durst nower ware goo. ?c1475 (BL Add. 15562) f. 87 Norgware [1483 BL Add. 89074 Nowre whare], nullicubi, nuspiam, nusquam. a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) xxxi. 13 That the enmy fynde nourwhare inlate. the world > space > direction > [adverb] > to or towards some thing or place > to or towards no place a1400 (a1325) (Fairf. 14) 4959 For naure quidder may we stere, þaire wille be-houis vs suffre here. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) 4559 (MED) For nour-quider mai we stere. Derivatives the world > space > place > [noun] > absence of place the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [noun] > that which is non-existent > a non-existent place the world > space > place > position or situation > [noun] > quality of having > not 1838 J. Sterling (1848) I. 150 A dateless no-where-ness of the facts and topics. 1857 Apr. 227/1 His nowhereness when you put your finger on him. 1929 D. H. Lawrence 105 We can but howl the lugubrious howl of idiots, The howl of the utterly lost Howling their nowhereness. 1962 77 122 Those tales..precipitate us into an atmosphere of romantic nowhereness. 1993 16 360 Ladies and gentlemen, my text for this twilight is the nothingness of nowhereness. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022). <  adv.n.pron.adj.eOE |
