rapiern.

Brit.

/ˈreɪpɪə/, U.S.

/ˈreɪpiər/

Forms: 1500s rapyre, 1500s–1600s raper, 1500s–1600s rapire, 1500s–1600s rapyer, 1500s– rapier, 1700s rapiour; chiefly English regional (northern) 1800s raper, 1900s– rapper; Scottish pre-1700 rapar, pre-1700 rapeir, pre-1700 raper, pre-1700 rapire, pre-1700 rappar, pre-1700 rappeir, pre-1700 rapper, pre-1700 rappere, pre-1700 rappier, pre-1700 rappre, pre-1700 rappyer, pre-1700 1700s– rapier.

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French rapiere.

Etymology: < Middle French rapiere (1485; French rapière), probably short for espee rapiere (1474); further etymology uncertain and disputed. Compare Dutch rapier (1524; also formerly as †rappier, †rampier), Middle Low German rappīr (mid 16th cent.; also as rapīr, rapier, rapper, etc.), German Rapier (1529), all apparently < French.The French etymon has been etymologized < rape rape n.⁶ + -iere (compare -ier suffix), with allusion to a similarity between early weapons of this type and a rasp or file, owing to the shape of the hilt or the rough appearance of the blade. Middle French espee rapiere has alternatively been analysed as showing remodelling (with substitution of espee épée n. for the first element) of Spanish espada ropera , lit. ‘dress sword’ (1445 or earlier; now historical; < espada sword (see épée n.) + †ropera , feminine of ropero , use as adjective of ropero clothing, wardrobe (15th cent.; also in senses ‘clothier’ and ‘wardrobe master’; < ropa dress, clothing (see robe n.¹) + -ero -ier suffix; compare French -iere )), although the Spanish form seems to be rare and presents some phonological difficulty. For further discussion see A. V. B. Norman Rapier & Small-Sword (1980) 20–1. The forms in -er probably show remodelling after -er suffix¹.

a. A long, thin, sharp-pointed sword designed chiefly for thrusting.Originally, in the early 16th cent., a light sword or small-sword worn by gentlemen with ordinary dress and used in self-defence or for the settlement of quarrels, etc. (as opposed to the heavier sword used in battle). Hence developing, in later use, into a long sharp sword suitable esp. for duelling or fencing.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > side arms > sword > [noun] > rapier

bird spitc1450

rapier1503

tuck1508

Spanish sword?1533

walking rapier?1620

single rapier1709

flamberg1885

1503–4 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1900) II. 224 For gilt hilt and plomet to the rappyer and ane new scheith to it.

1543 MS Rec. Aberdeen XVIII Ane Frence rapar..gardit with blak hiltis and the neif wewpit with blak birge thred.

1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Dvij A rede is to them in the stede of sworde, rapyre, & iauelyne.

1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons 3 b Rather..Rapiers of a yard and a quarter long the blades, or more, than strong short arming Swords.

1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1895) II. 186 Ilk schuteng his rapper in vtheris bellie.

1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 227 They would..pricke me in the body with their Rapiers points.

1685 in Proc. Soc. Antiquaries Scotl. (1924) 58 356 A Spanish rapire with a silver wayer handle.

1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 88. ⁋12 I went up Stairs with my Hand upon the Hilt of my Rapier.

1749 T. Smollett tr. A. R. Le Sage Gil Blas III. vii. i. 6 So saying, he drew his long rapier.

1770 R. Cumberland Brothers iv. iv. 52 Come forth, rapier, 'tis but one thrust.

1817 W. Scott Rob Roy III. i. 22 Aware of the superiority of my weapon, a rapier or small-sword, [I] was little afraid of the issue of the contest.

1851 Amer. Whig Rev. Feb. 152/2 Tasso..put three armed men to flight with his single rapier.

1889 W. H. Pollock et al. Fencing (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) Introd. 5 When there is a public exhibition of fencing, an assault with rapiers is very frequently announced.

1911 C. J. Sharp Sword Dances Northern Eng. 9 The long~sword Yorkshire dances differ very considerably from those gathered in the more northern counties, where the short~sword or ‘rapper’ is used.

1948 H. Bolitho Reign Queen Victoria 87 Holes in the wallpaper, stabbed by Albert's rapier when he was a twelve-year-old Saxon knight.

1986 J. M. Gillard Demons xi. 188 He carried the long rapier in his teeth.

2007 Brattleboro (Vermont) Reformer (Nexis) 25 Jan. In this Renaissance fencing camp, participants will learn the art of Western European 17th century sword fighting using the rapier and smallsword.

b. figurative. A person or thing likened to a rapier, esp. in being swift, incisive, or dangerous.

ΚΠ

1592 R. Greene Quip for Vpstart Courtier 54 After him followed two boies in clokes like butterflies, carrieng one of them his cutting sword of choller, the other his daunsing rapier of delight.

1630 W. Davenant Iust Ital. iv. i His Key, with rescue o'th'young Rapiers of The Law will bring vs home.

1713 J. Grubb Brit. Heroes in J. Smith Poems upon Several Occasions 371 Her Eyes dart Lightning, that would blast The proudest He that swagger'd, And melt the Rapier of his Soul In its Corporeal Scabbard.

1849 W. G. Simms Father Abbot xii. 144 Wit, in proper hands, is the sharp and always polished rapier of wisdom.

1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 30 Sept. 1/1 The bludgeon of downright calumny, and the mud grenade of libellous abuse are more in vogue nowadays than the rapier of wit or the barbed dart of polished sarcasm.

1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 304 This smiling satirist with his society talk and ready rapier of repartee.

1936 Times 30 Sept. 10/4 The court duel between Wilde, wielding the rapier of wit, and Carson, armed with the sledge-hammer of fact, was undoubtedly dramatic.

1944 M. E. Ward Gilbert Keith Chesterton xxix. 519 The Frenchman and the Irishman understand the rapier of biting satire as does not the Englishman.

1985 M. W. Bonnanno Dwellers in Crucible Prologue 3 The old battle-ax and the young rapier studied each other's reflection in the mirror screen.

2006 Press Assoc. Newsfile (Nexis) 11 Sept. Has the flashing rapier of repartee, subtle, swift and deadly, been discarded by politicians as their chosen weapon with which to destroy the reputations of their enemies?

2. rapier and dagger: combat with a rapier and a dagger; cut-and-thrust swordplay. Frequently attributive. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > cut of sharp weapon > cut or thrust with sword > [noun] > action of striking or fighting with sword

lashingc1400

foining1523

rapier and dagger1571

blading1577

cut and thrust1840

swording1891

1571 R. Reynolds Chron. Noble Emperours f. 217 He profered to finishe and end all controuersies, vppon condition that he would fight the combat with him at the Rapier and Dagger.

1591 J. Harington Briefe Apol. Poetrie in tr. L. Ariosto Orlando Furioso sig. ¶i^v Hercules..fought with a club and not at the rapyer and dagger.

1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. F3 This poking fight of rapier and dagger will come vp then.

c1600 Return: 1st Pt. iv. i, in Three Parnassus Plays (1949) 193 This Bracchidochio,..this meere rapier and dagger.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) iv. iii. 13 Mr Starue-Lackey the Rapier and dagger man.

1657 R. Ligon True Hist. Barbados 52 I have seen some of these Portugall Negres..play at Rapier and Dagger very skilfully.

1720 J. Finet Let. from Paris 5 Some eight or nine Years since, when Duels were grown so licentiously familiar, it was..common to see Two try it out with Rapier and Dagger.

1785 J. Boswell Jrnl. Tour Hebrides 109 Sanquhar, a peer of Scotland, from a vain ambition to excel a fencing-master in his own art, played at rapier and dagger with him.

1899 J. E. Cook Story of Rouen xi. 271 It was at the double game of rapier and dagger that Marquet Dubosc wiped off old scores after a quarrel at the Sign of the Cauldron.

1931 Times 28 May 5/5 Representations of quarterstaff play (14th century), sword and buckler fights (16th century), rapier and dagger and rapier and cloak (17th century) and a duel with small swords (18th century) will all be given.

1978 Winnipeg Free Press 6 Mar. 19/1 I also take rapier and dagger lessons.

2007 Chicago Daily Herald (Nexis) 11 Jan. 1 At the basic level, they already have spent 80 to 100 hours learning unarmed stage combat, Shakespearean rapier and dagger, and a third discipline involving various swords.

Compounds

C1. attributive.

rapier belt n.

ΚΠ

1538 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1905) VI. 414 For the gilting of lvij pecis to the kingis rapeir beltis.

1995 J. L. Singman Daily Life in Elizabethan Eng. vi. 107 (caption) A man with a fashionable rapier and rapier-belt.

rapier blade n.

ΚΠ

1577 N. Breton Wks. Young Wyt f. 12 I muste..laie aside my Rapier blade, and take in hande a ditching spade.

1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons 4 Rapier blades being so narrow..do presently breake.

1683 J. S. Present State Eng.: Pts. III & IV xv. 70 Guns, Powder, and Rapier-Blades.

1718 L. Echard Hist. Eng. (new ed.) III. i. iii. 292 Parson Blud with three more came to the Jewel-House, all arm'd with Rapier Blades in their Canes.

1852 H. W. Herbert Knights of Eng., France & Scotl. ii. 160 The weapons of De Laguy were narrow, three-cornered rapier-blades and Italian stilettoes.

1943 F. S. Crafford Jan Smuts v. 144 A mind cool and calculating, keen as a rapier blade.

2006 Herald Express (Torquay) (Nexis) 9 Mar. 2 The Salcombe hoard [includes] rapier blades, axe heads and a gold handle.

rapier hilt n.

ΚΠ

1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie iii. x. sig. H4^v Some-what must be saine Of blades, and Rapier-hilts.

1600 B. Jonson Every Man out of his Humor v. iii. sig. Q^v I will make thy blood flow on my Rapier hilts .

1651 J. S. Prince of Priggs Revels i. 2 Drink deep my brave boyes.., Of Blades and Rapier-Hilts.

1888 J. Hunter-Duvar De Roberval i. ii. 10 Why the Apostles on a rapier hilt?

1940 Winnipeg Free Press 28 Dec. 5/3 Masked and cloaked, hand on rapier hilt.

1995 Scotsman (Nexis) 2 Oct. 16 Henchmen circle one another warily, hands hovering over rapier hilts.

rapier point n.

ΚΠ

1612 S. Rowlands Knave of Harts sig. D4 With Rapier points wee'll goe to law.

1661 J. Price Four Serm. ii. 27 It was with them [as] if rapier points had been stuck in their spirits.

1827 M. R. Mitford Wedding Ring 61 First To abide a challenge at the rapier point, The cause and challenge unknown.

1859 W. G. Simms Cassique of Kiawah xxxviii. 391 He lifted his rapier-point slowly from the earth.

1916 J. Joyce Portrait of Artist v. 221 The little word seemed to have turned a rapier point of his sensitiveness against this courteous and vigilant foe.

1974 Musical Times 115 1046/2 The rapier point of Wilbye's wit is reserved for the male speaker of the poem.

2001 Palm Beach (Florida) Post (Nexis) 23 Nov. 1 e His pen flashed menacingly, like a duelist's rapier-point.

rapier-girdled adj. rare

ΚΠ

1908 C. W. Wallace Children of Chapel xiv. 177 The local and personal drives have caused my rapier-girdled courtier and fine gentleman to avoid the public theatres.

rapier-pointed adj.

ΚΠ

1816 J. Keats Epist. to C. C. Clarke 65 The sharp, the rapier-pointed epigram.

1905 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Jrnl.-Gaz. 27 Aug. 16/6 That rapier-pointed ‘No’ shows how his love song was mercilessly cut short.

1939 Modesto (Calif.) Bee 25 Aug. 13/8 Holmes..gashed his right thigh..with a rapier pointed knife.

1967 Jrnl. Relig. 47 149/2 E. G. Rupp's winsome though rapier-pointed critique..is a model review.

2005 St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Dispatch (Nexis) 15 Dec. c16 Our issues today are too complex to allow such rapier-pointed scrutiny.

rapier-sharp adj.

ΚΠ

1892 Davenport (Iowa) Daily Leader 15 Jan. 6/4 Your rapier-sharp repartee.

1954 A. R. Humphreys Augustan World 134 The usual strong wit being whetted by a rapier-sharp precision of form.

2004 Evening Standard (Nexis) 8 Dec. 20 You'll need a rapier-sharp eye and an iron nerve.

rapier-snouted adj. rare

ΚΠ

1906 Daily Chron. 11 Oct. 3/6 This rapier-snouted fish [sc. Belone vulgaris] consorts with the mackerel.

1954 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald Amer. 7 Nov. 1/2 Again it might be a rapier-snouted salt-fish of 35-50 pounds.

rapier-thin adj.

ΚΠ

1937 Middlesboro (Kentucky) Daily News 20 Feb. 2/8 Jealousy was a rapier-thin, red-hot knife cutting through Janet's heart.

1961 Times 7 Apr. 18/3 The acting, though it may broaden some of the rapier-thin parts, is as good as can be demanded.

1984 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 14 Nov. (Electronic text) He showed up..carrying a rapier-thin cane and a little white Pomeranian dog.

1996 Observer 31 Mar. (Life Suppl.) 44/3 Rapier-thin canoes hewn from trunks of the jackfruit tree crossed the open stretches of water.

C2. attributive. figurative. Designating or characterized by a quick or incisive wit or intellect. Frequently in rapier wit.

ΚΠ

1874 Chicago Tribune 1 Nov. 13/6 [He] left few poems. These however, evince a delicate, rapier wit.

1917 Jrnl. Anthropol. Inst. 47 17 In the early days of the Ethnological Society he was an Ishmaelite in London, preaching his gospel of race with a rapier tongue.

1942 Times 7 May 2/6 (advt.) We find him burnishing his rapier mind in thrust and parry with Shakespeare.

1965 R. H. Hurlbutt Hume, Newton & Design Argument 136 Hume's was a rapier intellect.

1990 Toronto Star 12 Apr. b6 [It] is a seemingly romantic pop song that, with rapier irony, depicts the writers of romantic pop songs as manipulative, money-grubbing hacks.

2005 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 17 Nov. 6 He surpassed everyone in terms of intellectual ability and rapier wit.

C3.

rapier dance n. (usually in form rapper dance) a sword dance, esp. of a type performed in north-east England.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > sword-dance or dancing > [noun]

matachin1578

sword-dance1604

sword-dancing1648

rapier dance1811

khalifa1856

sword-play1882

rapier sword dance1923

1811 R. Willan List Anc. Words in Archaeologia (1814) 17 154 Rapier Dance.

1912 Times 6 Aug. 8/3 Elsewhere the sword-dancers were busily engaged learning the long sword dances of Kirkby Malzeard and Sleight, or the Rapper Dances of Swalwell and Earsdon.

1932 Folk-lore 43 126 The Long Sword Dances of Yorkshire conform to a general type as do the Rapper dances of Northumberland and Durham.

1960 Times 16 Jan. 12/5 A Tyneside rapper dance.

1986 Early Music 14 369/1 The English long sword and rapper dances.

2005 Sheffield Star (Nexis) 22 Aug. (Electronic text) The rapper dance is most closely associated with coal miners of the North East and in its late 19th century heyday was an important part of their community life.

rapier dancer n. a person who performs in a rapier dance.

ΚΠ

1865 W. S. Banks List Provinc. Words Wakefield 56 Raper doncers, rapier dancers. Local actors going from house to house at Christmas to play short plays, the chief parts of which are sword combats.

1995 Independent (Nexis) 21 Aug. 20 Don't miss..the Kirkburton Rapier Dancers (traditional Yorkshire longsword dancing).

2006 Jrnl. (Newcastle) (Nexis) 29 Dec. 22 Alistair Anderson (concertina, Northumbrian pipes), Olivia Ross (fiddle, vocals) and Mike Tickell (vocals) join rapper dancers and choirs to celebrate the turn of the year.

† rapier-fish n. Obsolete rare the swordfish, Xiphias gladius.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > suborder Scombroidei (mackerel) > [noun] > family Xiphiidae (swordfish) > xiphias gladius (swordfish)

swordfishc1400

gladius?1527

xiph1572

monoceros1590

xiphias1590

sea-emperor1672

rapier-fish1681

xiphiad1859

1681 N. Grew Musæum Regalis Societatis i. v. i. 86 The head of the rapier-fish; called Xiphias... Grows sometimes to the length of five yards. The Sword, which grows level from the Snout of the Fish, is here about a yard long..and pointed exactly like a Rapier.

rapier sword dance n. = rapier dance n.Only in the form rapper sword dance.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > sword-dance or dancing > [noun]

matachin1578

sword-dance1604

sword-dancing1648

rapier dance1811

khalifa1856

sword-play1882

rapier sword dance1923

1923 Music & Lett. 4 327 Of rapper sword dances the first was the Swalwell and soon afterwards the Earsdon (1910).

1937 Times Lit. Suppl. 20 Feb. 155/3 Long-sword dances, Rapper-sword dances.

1951 Times 14 Dec. 2/4 A team from King's College, University of Durham, will do the Walbottle Rapper Sword Dance.

1977 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 6 Feb. 10/4 An ancient English dance came to Brisbane yesterday as Moreton Bay rapper sword dancers rehearsed for the Folk Music Festival.

1986 Frederick (Maryland) Post 9 May e3 The Black-Eyed Susans will be performing the 19th century English Rapper Sword Dance.

2005 Northern Echo (Nexis) 26 July 13 Brenda is now with Michael, a member of the Kingsmen, a side that dances amazing rapper sword dances, as danced traditionally by miners in the North-East.

Derivatives

ˈrapier-like adj.

ΚΠ

1749 W. Ellis Compl. Syst. Improvem. Sheep 321 This moor-grass..they call Rosa-Solis, as it is distinguished by Shepherds from other Grasses, who know it by its three-square Leaf, Rapier-like.

1853 ‘R. Haywarde’ Prismatics 221 Wit is concentrated, sharp, rapier-like; humor, prodigal, diffuse.

1928 Daily Sketch 7 Aug. 4/3 The jokes..are rapier-like in their keenness, not the usual rolling-pin or slapstick form of humour.

1975 R. Barclay Ernest Bevin & Foreign Office ii. 42 Not exactly rapier-like diplomacy, but it effectively crushed the Ambassador.

2004 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 29 Apr. 57/2 Estocs, a straight rapier-like weapon with a sixty- to seventy-inch-long blade.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	rapier
释义	rapiern. Brit. /ˈreɪpɪə/, U.S. /ˈreɪpiər/ Forms: 1500s rapyre, 1500s–1600s raper, 1500s–1600s rapire, 1500s–1600s rapyer, 1500s– rapier, 1700s rapiour; chiefly English regional (northern) 1800s raper, 1900s– rapper; Scottish pre-1700 rapar, pre-1700 rapeir, pre-1700 raper, pre-1700 rapire, pre-1700 rappar, pre-1700 rappeir, pre-1700 rapper, pre-1700 rappere, pre-1700 rappier, pre-1700 rappre, pre-1700 rappyer, pre-1700 1700s– rapier. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French rapiere. Etymology: < Middle French rapiere (1485; French rapière), probably short for espee rapiere (1474); further etymology uncertain and disputed. Compare Dutch rapier (1524; also formerly as †rappier, †rampier), Middle Low German rappīr (mid 16th cent.; also as rapīr, rapier, rapper, etc.), German Rapier (1529), all apparently < French.The French etymon has been etymologized < rape rape n.⁶ + -iere (compare -ier suffix), with allusion to a similarity between early weapons of this type and a rasp or file, owing to the shape of the hilt or the rough appearance of the blade. Middle French espee rapiere has alternatively been analysed as showing remodelling (with substitution of espee épée n. for the first element) of Spanish espada ropera , lit. ‘dress sword’ (1445 or earlier; now historical; < espada sword (see épée n.) + †ropera , feminine of ropero , use as adjective of ropero clothing, wardrobe (15th cent.; also in senses ‘clothier’ and ‘wardrobe master’; < ropa dress, clothing (see robe n.¹) + -ero -ier suffix; compare French -iere )), although the Spanish form seems to be rare and presents some phonological difficulty. For further discussion see A. V. B. Norman Rapier & Small-Sword (1980) 20–1. The forms in -er probably show remodelling after -er suffix¹. 1. a. A long, thin, sharp-pointed sword designed chiefly for thrusting.Originally, in the early 16th cent., a light sword or small-sword worn by gentlemen with ordinary dress and used in self-defence or for the settlement of quarrels, etc. (as opposed to the heavier sword used in battle). Hence developing, in later use, into a long sharp sword suitable esp. for duelling or fencing. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > side arms > sword > [noun] > rapier bird spitc1450 rapier1503 tuck1508 Spanish sword?1533 walking rapier?1620 single rapier1709 flamberg1885 1503–4 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1900) II. 224 For gilt hilt and plomet to the rappyer and ane new scheith to it. 1543 MS Rec. Aberdeen XVIII Ane Frence rapar..gardit with blak hiltis and the neif wewpit with blak birge thred. 1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Dvij A rede is to them in the stede of sworde, rapyre, & iauelyne. 1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons 3 b Rather..Rapiers of a yard and a quarter long the blades, or more, than strong short arming Swords. 1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1895) II. 186 Ilk schuteng his rapper in vtheris bellie. 1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 227 They would..pricke me in the body with their Rapiers points. 1685 in Proc. Soc. Antiquaries Scotl. (1924) 58 356 A Spanish rapire with a silver wayer handle. 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 88. ⁋12 I went up Stairs with my Hand upon the Hilt of my Rapier. 1749 T. Smollett tr. A. R. Le Sage Gil Blas III. vii. i. 6 So saying, he drew his long rapier. 1770 R. Cumberland Brothers iv. iv. 52 Come forth, rapier, 'tis but one thrust. 1817 W. Scott Rob Roy III. i. 22 Aware of the superiority of my weapon, a rapier or small-sword, [I] was little afraid of the issue of the contest. 1851 Amer. Whig Rev. Feb. 152/2 Tasso..put three armed men to flight with his single rapier. 1889 W. H. Pollock et al. Fencing (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) Introd. 5 When there is a public exhibition of fencing, an assault with rapiers is very frequently announced. 1911 C. J. Sharp Sword Dances Northern Eng. 9 The long~sword Yorkshire dances differ very considerably from those gathered in the more northern counties, where the short~sword or ‘rapper’ is used. 1948 H. Bolitho Reign Queen Victoria 87 Holes in the wallpaper, stabbed by Albert's rapier when he was a twelve-year-old Saxon knight. 1986 J. M. Gillard Demons xi. 188 He carried the long rapier in his teeth. 2007 Brattleboro (Vermont) Reformer (Nexis) 25 Jan. In this Renaissance fencing camp, participants will learn the art of Western European 17th century sword fighting using the rapier and smallsword. b. figurative. A person or thing likened to a rapier, esp. in being swift, incisive, or dangerous. ΚΠ 1592 R. Greene Quip for Vpstart Courtier 54 After him followed two boies in clokes like butterflies, carrieng one of them his cutting sword of choller, the other his daunsing rapier of delight. 1630 W. Davenant Iust Ital. iv. i His Key, with rescue o'th'young Rapiers of The Law will bring vs home. 1713 J. Grubb Brit. Heroes in J. Smith Poems upon Several Occasions 371 Her Eyes dart Lightning, that would blast The proudest He that swagger'd, And melt the Rapier of his Soul In its Corporeal Scabbard. 1849 W. G. Simms Father Abbot xii. 144 Wit, in proper hands, is the sharp and always polished rapier of wisdom. 1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 30 Sept. 1/1 The bludgeon of downright calumny, and the mud grenade of libellous abuse are more in vogue nowadays than the rapier of wit or the barbed dart of polished sarcasm. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 304 This smiling satirist with his society talk and ready rapier of repartee. 1936 Times 30 Sept. 10/4 The court duel between Wilde, wielding the rapier of wit, and Carson, armed with the sledge-hammer of fact, was undoubtedly dramatic. 1944 M. E. Ward Gilbert Keith Chesterton xxix. 519 The Frenchman and the Irishman understand the rapier of biting satire as does not the Englishman. 1985 M. W. Bonnanno Dwellers in Crucible Prologue 3 The old battle-ax and the young rapier studied each other's reflection in the mirror screen. 2006 Press Assoc. Newsfile (Nexis) 11 Sept. Has the flashing rapier of repartee, subtle, swift and deadly, been discarded by politicians as their chosen weapon with which to destroy the reputations of their enemies? 2. rapier and dagger: combat with a rapier and a dagger; cut-and-thrust swordplay. Frequently attributive. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > cut of sharp weapon > cut or thrust with sword > [noun] > action of striking or fighting with sword lashingc1400 foining1523 rapier and dagger1571 blading1577 cut and thrust1840 swording1891 1571 R. Reynolds Chron. Noble Emperours f. 217 He profered to finishe and end all controuersies, vppon condition that he would fight the combat with him at the Rapier and Dagger. 1591 J. Harington Briefe Apol. Poetrie in tr. L. Ariosto Orlando Furioso sig. ¶i^v Hercules..fought with a club and not at the rapyer and dagger. 1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. F3 This poking fight of rapier and dagger will come vp then. c1600 Return: 1st Pt. iv. i, in Three Parnassus Plays (1949) 193 This Bracchidochio,..this meere rapier and dagger. a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) iv. iii. 13 Mr Starue-Lackey the Rapier and dagger man. 1657 R. Ligon True Hist. Barbados 52 I have seen some of these Portugall Negres..play at Rapier and Dagger very skilfully. 1720 J. Finet Let. from Paris 5 Some eight or nine Years since, when Duels were grown so licentiously familiar, it was..common to see Two try it out with Rapier and Dagger. 1785 J. Boswell Jrnl. Tour Hebrides 109 Sanquhar, a peer of Scotland, from a vain ambition to excel a fencing-master in his own art, played at rapier and dagger with him. 1899 J. E. Cook Story of Rouen xi. 271 It was at the double game of rapier and dagger that Marquet Dubosc wiped off old scores after a quarrel at the Sign of the Cauldron. 1931 Times 28 May 5/5 Representations of quarterstaff play (14th century), sword and buckler fights (16th century), rapier and dagger and rapier and cloak (17th century) and a duel with small swords (18th century) will all be given. 1978 Winnipeg Free Press 6 Mar. 19/1 I also take rapier and dagger lessons. 2007 Chicago Daily Herald (Nexis) 11 Jan. 1 At the basic level, they already have spent 80 to 100 hours learning unarmed stage combat, Shakespearean rapier and dagger, and a third discipline involving various swords. Compounds C1. attributive. a. rapier belt n. ΚΠ 1538 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1905) VI. 414 For the gilting of lvij pecis to the kingis rapeir beltis. 1995 J. L. Singman Daily Life in Elizabethan Eng. vi. 107 (caption) A man with a fashionable rapier and rapier-belt. rapier blade n. ΚΠ 1577 N. Breton Wks. Young Wyt f. 12 I muste..laie aside my Rapier blade, and take in hande a ditching spade. 1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons 4 Rapier blades being so narrow..do presently breake. 1683 J. S. Present State Eng.: Pts. III & IV xv. 70 Guns, Powder, and Rapier-Blades. 1718 L. Echard Hist. Eng. (new ed.) III. i. iii. 292 Parson Blud with three more came to the Jewel-House, all arm'd with Rapier Blades in their Canes. 1852 H. W. Herbert Knights of Eng., France & Scotl. ii. 160 The weapons of De Laguy were narrow, three-cornered rapier-blades and Italian stilettoes. 1943 F. S. Crafford Jan Smuts v. 144 A mind cool and calculating, keen as a rapier blade. 2006 Herald Express (Torquay) (Nexis) 9 Mar. 2 The Salcombe hoard [includes] rapier blades, axe heads and a gold handle. rapier hilt n. ΚΠ 1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie iii. x. sig. H4^v Some-what must be saine Of blades, and Rapier-hilts. 1600 B. Jonson Every Man out of his Humor v. iii. sig. Q^v I will make thy blood flow on my Rapier hilts . View more context for this quotation 1651 J. S. Prince of Priggs Revels i. 2 Drink deep my brave boyes.., Of Blades and Rapier-Hilts. 1888 J. Hunter-Duvar De Roberval i. ii. 10 Why the Apostles on a rapier hilt? 1940 Winnipeg Free Press 28 Dec. 5/3 Masked and cloaked, hand on rapier hilt. 1995 Scotsman (Nexis) 2 Oct. 16 Henchmen circle one another warily, hands hovering over rapier hilts. rapier point n. ΚΠ 1612 S. Rowlands Knave of Harts sig. D4 With Rapier points wee'll goe to law. 1661 J. Price Four Serm. ii. 27 It was with them [as] if rapier points had been stuck in their spirits. 1827 M. R. Mitford Wedding Ring 61 First To abide a challenge at the rapier point, The cause and challenge unknown. 1859 W. G. Simms Cassique of Kiawah xxxviii. 391 He lifted his rapier-point slowly from the earth. 1916 J. Joyce Portrait of Artist v. 221 The little word seemed to have turned a rapier point of his sensitiveness against this courteous and vigilant foe. 1974 Musical Times 115 1046/2 The rapier point of Wilbye's wit is reserved for the male speaker of the poem. 2001 Palm Beach (Florida) Post (Nexis) 23 Nov. 1 e His pen flashed menacingly, like a duelist's rapier-point. b. rapier-girdled adj. rare ΚΠ 1908 C. W. Wallace Children of Chapel xiv. 177 The local and personal drives have caused my rapier-girdled courtier and fine gentleman to avoid the public theatres. rapier-pointed adj. ΚΠ 1816 J. Keats Epist. to C. C. Clarke 65 The sharp, the rapier-pointed epigram. 1905 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Jrnl.-Gaz. 27 Aug. 16/6 That rapier-pointed ‘No’ shows how his love song was mercilessly cut short. 1939 Modesto (Calif.) Bee 25 Aug. 13/8 Holmes..gashed his right thigh..with a rapier pointed knife. 1967 Jrnl. Relig. 47 149/2 E. G. Rupp's winsome though rapier-pointed critique..is a model review. 2005 St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Dispatch (Nexis) 15 Dec. c16 Our issues today are too complex to allow such rapier-pointed scrutiny. rapier-sharp adj. ΚΠ 1892 Davenport (Iowa) Daily Leader 15 Jan. 6/4 Your rapier-sharp repartee. 1954 A. R. Humphreys Augustan World 134 The usual strong wit being whetted by a rapier-sharp precision of form. 2004 Evening Standard (Nexis) 8 Dec. 20 You'll need a rapier-sharp eye and an iron nerve. rapier-snouted adj. rare ΚΠ 1906 Daily Chron. 11 Oct. 3/6 This rapier-snouted fish [sc. Belone vulgaris] consorts with the mackerel. 1954 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald Amer. 7 Nov. 1/2 Again it might be a rapier-snouted salt-fish of 35-50 pounds. rapier-thin adj. ΚΠ 1937 Middlesboro (Kentucky) Daily News 20 Feb. 2/8 Jealousy was a rapier-thin, red-hot knife cutting through Janet's heart. 1961 Times 7 Apr. 18/3 The acting, though it may broaden some of the rapier-thin parts, is as good as can be demanded. 1984 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 14 Nov. (Electronic text) He showed up..carrying a rapier-thin cane and a little white Pomeranian dog. 1996 Observer 31 Mar. (Life Suppl.) 44/3 Rapier-thin canoes hewn from trunks of the jackfruit tree crossed the open stretches of water. C2. attributive. figurative. Designating or characterized by a quick or incisive wit or intellect. Frequently in rapier wit. ΚΠ 1874 Chicago Tribune 1 Nov. 13/6 [He] left few poems. These however, evince a delicate, rapier wit. 1917 Jrnl. Anthropol. Inst. 47 17 In the early days of the Ethnological Society he was an Ishmaelite in London, preaching his gospel of race with a rapier tongue. 1942 Times 7 May 2/6 (advt.) We find him burnishing his rapier mind in thrust and parry with Shakespeare. 1965 R. H. Hurlbutt Hume, Newton & Design Argument 136 Hume's was a rapier intellect. 1990 Toronto Star 12 Apr. b6 [It] is a seemingly romantic pop song that, with rapier irony, depicts the writers of romantic pop songs as manipulative, money-grubbing hacks. 2005 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 17 Nov. 6 He surpassed everyone in terms of intellectual ability and rapier wit. C3. rapier dance n. (usually in form rapper dance) a sword dance, esp. of a type performed in north-east England. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > sword-dance or dancing > [noun] matachin1578 sword-dance1604 sword-dancing1648 rapier dance1811 khalifa1856 sword-play1882 rapier sword dance1923 1811 R. Willan List Anc. Words in Archaeologia (1814) 17 154 Rapier Dance. 1912 Times 6 Aug. 8/3 Elsewhere the sword-dancers were busily engaged learning the long sword dances of Kirkby Malzeard and Sleight, or the Rapper Dances of Swalwell and Earsdon. 1932 Folk-lore 43 126 The Long Sword Dances of Yorkshire conform to a general type as do the Rapper dances of Northumberland and Durham. 1960 Times 16 Jan. 12/5 A Tyneside rapper dance. 1986 Early Music 14 369/1 The English long sword and rapper dances. 2005 Sheffield Star (Nexis) 22 Aug. (Electronic text) The rapper dance is most closely associated with coal miners of the North East and in its late 19th century heyday was an important part of their community life. rapier dancer n. a person who performs in a rapier dance. ΚΠ 1865 W. S. Banks List Provinc. Words Wakefield 56 Raper doncers, rapier dancers. Local actors going from house to house at Christmas to play short plays, the chief parts of which are sword combats. 1995 Independent (Nexis) 21 Aug. 20 Don't miss..the Kirkburton Rapier Dancers (traditional Yorkshire longsword dancing). 2006 Jrnl. (Newcastle) (Nexis) 29 Dec. 22 Alistair Anderson (concertina, Northumbrian pipes), Olivia Ross (fiddle, vocals) and Mike Tickell (vocals) join rapper dancers and choirs to celebrate the turn of the year. † rapier-fish n. Obsolete rare the swordfish, Xiphias gladius. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > suborder Scombroidei (mackerel) > [noun] > family Xiphiidae (swordfish) > xiphias gladius (swordfish) swordfishc1400 gladius?1527 xiph1572 monoceros1590 xiphias1590 sea-emperor1672 rapier-fish1681 xiphiad1859 1681 N. Grew Musæum Regalis Societatis i. v. i. 86 The head of the rapier-fish; called Xiphias... Grows sometimes to the length of five yards. The Sword, which grows level from the Snout of the Fish, is here about a yard long..and pointed exactly like a Rapier. rapier sword dance n. = rapier dance n.Only in the form rapper sword dance. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > sword-dance or dancing > [noun] matachin1578 sword-dance1604 sword-dancing1648 rapier dance1811 khalifa1856 sword-play1882 rapier sword dance1923 1923 Music & Lett. 4 327 Of rapper sword dances the first was the Swalwell and soon afterwards the Earsdon (1910). 1937 Times Lit. Suppl. 20 Feb. 155/3 Long-sword dances, Rapper-sword dances. 1951 Times 14 Dec. 2/4 A team from King's College, University of Durham, will do the Walbottle Rapper Sword Dance. 1977 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 6 Feb. 10/4 An ancient English dance came to Brisbane yesterday as Moreton Bay rapper sword dancers rehearsed for the Folk Music Festival. 1986 Frederick (Maryland) Post 9 May e3 The Black-Eyed Susans will be performing the 19th century English Rapper Sword Dance. 2005 Northern Echo (Nexis) 26 July 13 Brenda is now with Michael, a member of the Kingsmen, a side that dances amazing rapper sword dances, as danced traditionally by miners in the North-East. Derivatives ˈrapier-like adj. ΚΠ 1749 W. Ellis Compl. Syst. Improvem. Sheep 321 This moor-grass..they call Rosa-Solis, as it is distinguished by Shepherds from other Grasses, who know it by its three-square Leaf, Rapier-like. 1853 ‘R. Haywarde’ Prismatics 221 Wit is concentrated, sharp, rapier-like; humor, prodigal, diffuse. 1928 Daily Sketch 7 Aug. 4/3 The jokes..are rapier-like in their keenness, not the usual rolling-pin or slapstick form of humour. 1975 R. Barclay Ernest Bevin & Foreign Office ii. 42 Not exactly rapier-like diplomacy, but it effectively crushed the Ambassador. 2004 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 29 Apr. 57/2 Estocs, a straight rapier-like weapon with a sixty- to seventy-inch-long blade. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022). rapierv. Brit. /ˈreɪpɪə/, U.S. /ˈreɪpiər/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: rapier n. Etymology: < rapier n. transitive. To stab with a rapier. Chiefly figurative: to attack as with a rapier; to comment pointedly or cuttingly. Also with direct speech as object. ΚΠ 1851 Ainsworth's Mag. 19 435 The Spanish cavalier..was rapiered. 1895 Board Teacher 1 May in R. Betts Dr. Macnamara (1999) iii. 52 His speech at the temperance breakfast was the only lively performance. He was very fine on the tenure problem and now we have him rapiering the half-time system with the zest of a Coeur de Lion. 1946 H. Treece Coll. Poems 46 Once in my life a dwarf Lurched from an oak and rapiered a god. 1954 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 20 Dec. 6/2 Jake Sandefer, Bennett Waits, Clyde Harris and Dick Carpenter rapiered the Port Neches line when the time was opportune. 1957 O. Nash You can't get there from Here 151 Has the moment come, rapiered Mr. Webster, to abjectly surrender to journalese? 2005 Computer Gaming World (Nexis) 1 Mar. 14 Chique is promptly rapiered by a jealous fiance. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1503v.1851
随便看	volleyed volleyer volleyers volleyfiring volleying volleys volleyshot vollier volliere volnay volo-nola volonola volost volosts volowynge volplane volplaned volplanes volplaning volpone vols volsce volscian volscians volsella

rapiern.

Compounds

Derivatives

rapierv.