best-keptadj.

Brit.

/ˌbɛs(t)ˈkɛpt/, U.S.

/ˈbɛs(t)ˈkɛpt/

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: best adv., keep v.

Etymology: < best adv. + the past participle of keep v., after well-kept adj.

1. That is maintained in the best order or condition; most carefully cared for or looked after.In the United Kingdom now frequently in the names of competitions (see, e.g., quots. 1968 and 1997).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > order > [adjective] > in proper order > kept in best order

bestc1330

best-kept1577

1577 Vicary's Profitable Treat. Anat. sig. D.iij^v These two be the best kept partes of al the body, for a man shal rather dye, then any of these should suffer any manner of greefes from withoutfoorth, and therefore God hath set them farre from the hart.

1747 tr. J. B. Le Blanc Lett. Eng. & French Nations II. lii. 15 The rude and ill-shaped rocks, the venerable trees in the forest of Fontainbleau, present our sight with a more majestick and grander aspect, than the laboured neatness of the best kept gardens.

1764 Museum Rusticum (ed. 2) I. 119 I was mightily pleased with the appearance of my two little plots; for they resembled the best-kept gardens.

1829 Reg. Pennsylvania 3 Jan. 11/2 As an inn, it was considered the most stylish, and the best kept house.

1881 Times 25 Aug. 7/3 It does not require a very old man to remember a universal reign of cesspools, open ditches, and public laystalls, even in our largest and best kept towns.

1903 Canad. Horticulturist July 271/2 Ten dollars for the best kept school yard.

1956 Nature 4 Feb. 214/1 In a night they [sc. worms] may cover a best-kept green with little piles of earth.

1968 Guardian 10 Aug. 6/2 You would certainly never win a best-kept village competition that way.

1997 Shetland Times 10 Oct. 8/3 The Delting Best Kept Garden Competition was originally established to encourage gardening in the new oil grown communities of the parish.

2. Of a secret: that is known to very few people. Now used esp. with reference to something good or desirable that is not generally known about.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > that which is unknown > [adjective] > not known to many

unrife1599

darka1727

little-known1734

best-kept1754

1754 tr. F. de Maintenon Lett. (ed. 2) ccxvi. 224 Take my Word for it, that the best kept Secrets are kept only for a Time.

1837 Courier (London) 23 Jan. Sir David Brewster is engaged in an attempt to unravel the best kept secret of modern times, the author of ‘Junius' Letters’.

1892 Eng. Mechanic & World of Sci. 30 Dec. 433/2 The art of spinning is the best-kept secret known of.

1954 G. Smith Flaw in Crystal (1963) xiii. 119 Accent, that treacherous betrayer of the best-kept social secrets,..lingers on unnoticed long after it is thought dead.

1991 Amer. Square Dance May 13/1 Our club is the best in town and also the best-kept secret.

2008 Independent on Sunday 12 Oct. 3/1 It is Britain's best kept surfing secret—the UK's perfect wave.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

单词	best-kept
释义	best-keptadj. Brit. /ˌbɛs(t)ˈkɛpt/, U.S. /ˈbɛs(t)ˈkɛpt/ Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: best adv., keep v. Etymology: < best adv. + the past participle of keep v., after well-kept adj. 1. That is maintained in the best order or condition; most carefully cared for or looked after.In the United Kingdom now frequently in the names of competitions (see, e.g., quots. 1968 and 1997). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > [adjective] > in proper order > kept in best order bestc1330 best-kept1577 1577 Vicary's Profitable Treat. Anat. sig. D.iij^v These two be the best kept partes of al the body, for a man shal rather dye, then any of these should suffer any manner of greefes from withoutfoorth, and therefore God hath set them farre from the hart. 1747 tr. J. B. Le Blanc Lett. Eng. & French Nations II. lii. 15 The rude and ill-shaped rocks, the venerable trees in the forest of Fontainbleau, present our sight with a more majestick and grander aspect, than the laboured neatness of the best kept gardens. 1764 Museum Rusticum (ed. 2) I. 119 I was mightily pleased with the appearance of my two little plots; for they resembled the best-kept gardens. 1829 Reg. Pennsylvania 3 Jan. 11/2 As an inn, it was considered the most stylish, and the best kept house. 1881 Times 25 Aug. 7/3 It does not require a very old man to remember a universal reign of cesspools, open ditches, and public laystalls, even in our largest and best kept towns. 1903 Canad. Horticulturist July 271/2 Ten dollars for the best kept school yard. 1956 Nature 4 Feb. 214/1 In a night they [sc. worms] may cover a best-kept green with little piles of earth. 1968 Guardian 10 Aug. 6/2 You would certainly never win a best-kept village competition that way. 1997 Shetland Times 10 Oct. 8/3 The Delting Best Kept Garden Competition was originally established to encourage gardening in the new oil grown communities of the parish. 2. Of a secret: that is known to very few people. Now used esp. with reference to something good or desirable that is not generally known about. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > that which is unknown > [adjective] > not known to many unrife1599 darka1727 little-known1734 best-kept1754 1754 tr. F. de Maintenon Lett. (ed. 2) ccxvi. 224 Take my Word for it, that the best kept Secrets are kept only for a Time. 1837 Courier (London) 23 Jan. Sir David Brewster is engaged in an attempt to unravel the best kept secret of modern times, the author of ‘Junius' Letters’. 1892 Eng. Mechanic & World of Sci. 30 Dec. 433/2 The art of spinning is the best-kept secret known of. 1954 G. Smith Flaw in Crystal (1963) xiii. 119 Accent, that treacherous betrayer of the best-kept social secrets,..lingers on unnoticed long after it is thought dead. 1991 Amer. Square Dance May 13/1 Our club is the best in town and also the best-kept secret. 2008 Independent on Sunday 12 Oct. 3/1 It is Britain's best kept surfing secret—the UK's perfect wave. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < adj.1577
随便看	untooled untoomly untooth untoothed untoothsome untoothsomeness untop untopped untormented untorn untorrefied untorture untortured untosmitten untossed untottering untouchabilities untouchability untouchable untouchableness untouchables untouchably untouched untouchedness untouching