| 释义 |
quatrefoiladj.n. Origin: Either (i) a borrowing from French, combined with an English element. Or (ii) a borrowing from French. Etymons: French qater , quatre , foil n.1; French fuil, feuille. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman qater, katere, catre and Anglo-Norman and Middle French quatre four (see quatre n.) + foil n.1 or its etymon Anglo-Norman fuil, foil (masculine), fuille, foille, foile (feminine) and Middle French, French feuille (feminine) leaf: a corresponding compound is apparently not attested in Anglo-Norman or Middle French. Compare post-classical Latin quadrifolio quatrefoil (c1345 in a British source), quadrifolium four-leaved grass (14th cent. in a British source), quartifolium kind of plant, (perhaps) herb paris (a1325, a1500 in British sources). Compare slightly earlier cinquefoil adj.Compare later French quartefeuille four-petalled leaf or flower in heraldry (1690 as quartes feuilles ; compare earlier double quarte feiulle eight-leaved charge (1581; compare double quatrefoil at sense B. 2a) and also Middle French quintes feuilles : see cinquefoil n. and adj.), quatre-feuilles four-lobed architectural ornament (1852 or earlier). With use as noun compare earlier cinquefoil n., trefoil n. The β. forms are probably after quarter n.; however, compare also Anglo-Norman quartre , variant of quatre , and later French quartefeuille ( < †quart (adjective) fourth; compare quart n.2). In form quaterfold after -fold suffix. A. adj.the world > plants > part of plant > leaf > plant defined by leaves > [adjective] > having many or particular number of leaves tr. Palladius (Duke Humfrey) (1896) ii. 57 (MED) Whan whete is quaterfoyle [L. quatuor foliorum] & barly fyue..hit is to wede hem blyue. tr. Palladius (Duke Humfrey) (1896) xi. 118 The wynter goold is sowen in this mone..; In salt londe nygh the see they spryngeth soone..And katirfoyl [L. Quatuor foliorum], when they beth vp yspronge, Transplaunte hem. society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > architectural ornament > [adjective] > foiled 1776–82 R. Gough in No. 8 (1783) 47 Six quatrefoil shields in lozenges. 1835 28 Feb. 46/2 The walls are crowned with abutments, below which are quatrefeuille perforations. 1903 E. R. Williams viii. 202 Windows separated by graceful slender columns in sets of two, and a quatrefoil opening in the lunette. 1951 N. Pevsner (Buildings of Eng.) 50 The nave has quatrefoil piers and arches both moulded and chamfered. 2005 (Nexis) 10 Apr. s22 The dining room boasts a striking quatrefoil plaster ceiling. B. n.the world > plants > part of plant > leaf > [noun] > rosette arrangement > of specific number of leaves tr. Palladius (Duke Humfrey) (1896) iii. 623 Let grounden glas go syfte on hem..When theyr trefoyl or quaterfoyl is owte. 2. society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > representations of vegetation > [noun] > leaf > quatrefoil a1513 R. Fabyan (1516) II. f. clxxxix Quynces in Compost Blaund sure, powderyd with quarter Foylesgylt. 1520 in 53 19 A crosse sylver and gylte like a quaterfold. 1562 G. Legh (1597) 110 b He beareth..a double Caterfoyle... He beareth the quaterfoyle double..because he is the viij from the heire. 1610 J. Guillim i. vi. 26 The Crosse Molline, and the Double Cater-foile. 1688 R. Holme i. v. 52/2 This is also Blazoned a Caterfoile (or more properly a Quaterfoile) that is, a Flower of four leaves. 1725 293 Quatrefoils, or four-leav'd Grass, have as well as Trefoils obtain'd no small Place in Coat-Armour, being born by many Families. 1768 R. Gough 613 The first..is a Roman denarius of the Crepusian family: the rest have a head inscribed Atevla; on the reverse a horse lifting up his head, over him an S, under him a pentagon or quatrefoil. 1771 E. Ledwich 191 A little cross..like a quaterfoille. 1866 R. M. Copeland (ed. 5) 601 The effect when in blossom was a large quatrefoil, and could hardly have been excelled in beauty. 1893 J. E. Cussans (ed. 4) 106 The Trefoil, Quatrefoil, and Cinquefoil, are leaves which bear three, four, and five cusps respectively. 1956 43 445 The cardinal figures of trefoils, quatrefoils, cinquefoils.., etc. of folk ornaments..are very close imitations of the..numeral combinations of flowers and of plant leaves. 1967 E. Short iv. 114 In the Middle Ages, arcading, allover patterns of quatrefoils, circles and star shapes and the tree of Jesse were popular. 1986 50 201/2 The eight-pointed design, sometimes confused as a flower or lumpy circle, is a double quatrefoil, heraldic sign of a ninth son. society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > architectural ornament > [noun] > ornamentation by foils > specific number of foils 1805 W. Scott ii. ix. 41 The keystone, that locked each ribbed aisle, Was a fleur-de-lys, or a quatre-feuille. 1849 E. A. Freeman 360 We..find in Early Gothic the head of a couplet filled with a circle, a quatrefoil [etc.]. 1920 9 July 19/4 The parapets of open quatrefoils are in many places much decayed, but again these are not of original medieval work. 1951 N. Pevsner (Buildings of Eng.) 47 Niche in S wall with Late Perp panelling in the shallow jambs and voussoirs above tomb-chest with quatrefoils; straight cornice with crestings; the brasses of the back wall are missing. 1997 L. A. Reilly v. 96 Just below the stringcourse, the spandrels of the giant arches are pierced by trefoil arches, quatrefoils, and other forms of blind tracery. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). <  adj.n.?1440 |
