| 释义 |
unclen. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French oncle. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman unkle, unkele, unkel, Anglo-Norman and Old French uncle, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French oncle (French oncle ) brother of a person's father or mother (c1100; frequently from 12th cent. as a form of address), husband of a person's aunt (c1150), elderly man (1552, earliest and frequently as a respectful form of address) < classical Latin avunculus mother's brother (see avuncular adj.). Compare nuncle n.Compare Old Occitan oncle (12th cent.), Catalan oncle (c1300), and also Old Occitan avoncle , avuncle (12th cent.), which more closely reflects the ulterior Latin etymon. This word superseded the earlier eme n. The usual words in Old English are fædera (paternal uncle) and ēam (maternal uncle, in Middle English also paternal uncle: see eme n.). In English (as in Anglo-Norman and Old French) uncle denotes either a paternal uncle or a maternal uncle from the time of our earliest records. Specific senses. In early use in sense 2 after similar uses of Middle French, French oncle (1572 with allusion to prostitution, in the passage translated in quot. 1578; 1611 in Cotgrave in celuy est bien mon oncle qui le ventre me comble , the passage translated in quot. 1611). With sense 3 compare French oncle (1642 in this sense, originally in Wallonia (Belgium)). In sense 4 short for Uncle Sam n. Earlier attestation as surname. Attested earlier as a surname, e.g. Hugo le Huncel (c1160–70), Eustace le Uncle (c1200), William le Huncle (1243), although it is unclear whether these reflect the Anglo-Norman or of the Middle English word. 1. a. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > uncle > [noun] α. c1300 St. Dunstan (Laud) 27 in C. Horstmann (1887) 20 To his vncle he gan go, Þe Erchebischop of caunterburi. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 389 Alisaundre exiled dwelled awhile wiþ his uncle in Epirus. c1400 J. Wyclif (1871) III. 475 (MED) How may oure hyȝe prestis..be grettur worldly lordis þen..kyngus unklis ande kyngus sonys. c1425 J. Lydgate (Augustus A.iv) i. l. 3751 Iason..gan his vncle in ful lowe maner First to þanke. 1474 J. Paston in (2004) I. 476 I mett wyth myn onkle William..and he was passyng jnquisytyff howe þat I was purueyd fore recompensyng off Towneshend. ?1520 A. Barclay tr. Sallust f. 9 Se that ye worshyppe and loue this Iugurth your worthy vncle. 1565 T. Cooper Auunculus, the vnkle on the mothers side. 1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo iii. f. 1v In families there are the Uncle and the Nephew, the Father in law and the Sonne in law [etc.]. 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden i. 696 King Edward the Fifth his Vnkle by the mothers side. 1653 W. Ramesey 109 [This] signifieth..also the Uncle or Ant of the Querent by the fathers side. a1727 I. Newton (1728) ii. 239 Orus, with his mother Isis,..and unkle Typhon. 1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler IV. 53 Offering him the immediate payment of a debt due to his uncle. 1800 M. Culley Let. 22 Feb. in M. Culley & G. Culley (2006) 64 John Dickinson will stay now with his unkle by way of improving himself. 1866 ‘G. Eliot’ I. i. 30 Your uncle thought I ought to have you to myself in the first hour or two. 1901 Feb. 54 My uncle died on the way,..so my father and my father's brother were now both dead. 1956 G. Huntington i. 6 An uncle, his mother's brother, who was a banker. 1968 ‘R. Amberley’ iii. 77 His uncle and aunt will be staying in the vicomte's house. 2012 (Nexis) 18 Aug. I love spending as much time as I can minding [my nephews] baby Tristan and Adam but, at the end of a day with their guncles (gay uncles), I must admit to being knackered and well ready to hand them back. 2013 M. Callaghan in 31 12 Emily's dad is made redundant when she is thirteen..and goes off to Ireland to help on his uncle's farm. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > uncle > [noun] > as form of address a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer (Pierpont Morgan) (1881) ii. l. 210 Nay blame haue I myn vncle quod she þenne. 1437 in (1767–77) V. 438/2 For the grete Love and Trust that he [sc. Henry VI] hath among other to his Uncle Humfrey Duc of Gloucestre, his grete Uncle H. Cardinal of England..and other..; [he] hath chosen..the said persones..to be his Prive Counseill. a1470 T. Malory (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) III. 1231 Fayre unkle, I pray you that I may have paupir, penne, and inke. 1547 King Edward VI in H. Ellis (1824) 1st Ser. II. 148 Derest Vncle,..we have at good length vnderstanded..the good success [etc.]. ?c1570 v. vii. 97 O good vncle Donatus, ther is cawse I shold love you. 1602 W. Shakespeare iii. iv. 38 Good vncle Tell the Iest how my father stole the goose out of The henloft. 1655 T. Stanley I. Ded. The gratitude of, Dear Uncle, Your most affectionate Nephew. 1700 N. Rous in (1912) 9 184 With mine and Wifes..kind respects to Unckle and Aunt Abrams,..I rest [etc.]. 1787 E. Inchbald tr. A.-J. Damaniaut ii. 18 Do not be alarmed, uncle—force is seldom used, but to her that is willing. 1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth xi, in 2nd Ser. II. 324 Uncle, you are a good huntsman. c1840 Story of Unkel Ben in 15 Unkel Ben married into as genteel a family as every you'd wish to see. a1916 J. Todhunter (1927) i. i. 30 Oh, my dear uncle, Your gracious goodness far outpays my worth! 1948 E. Pound lxxvi. 39 Unkle George observing Ct/Volpe's neck at the Lido and deducing his energy. 2015 (Nexis) 5 May 39 My dear Uncle Jack, I'll never forget you. David. the world > people > person > old person > old man > [noun] > as form of address 1611 J. Spicer 133 I remember an old fellow came diuers times to my doore..and the Shepheard had mee call him vncle, but the townes-folke said hee was my father. 1671 T. Shadwell 35 Pray gape not after him. You may if you please call him Uncle. 1793 Dec. 1083/2 It is common in Cornwall to call all elderly persons Aunt or Uncle, prefixed to their names. 1853 J. R. Lowell (1890) I. 16 Formerly, every New England town had its representative uncle. He was not a pawnbroker, but some elderly man. 1873 F. Boyle 368 We met a dingy old farmer going to his work on Bultfontein. ‘Good morning, uncle!’ said Mr. Fry. ‘Good morning, brother!’ returned the Boer. 1945 T. Rattigan i. 280 Oh, don't call him sir, Michael. Call him—I know—call him Uncle John. 1972 F. Mowat ii. 26 Everyone above the age of fifty in an outport is known to everybody else as ‘Uncle,’ or as ‘Aunt.’ 2016 (Nexis) 7 May I notice at my own organisation that some of the ‘uncles’ and ‘aunties’ have quite cleverly reorganised their tools to make it easier for them to do their cleaning jobs. 1830 S. P. Holbrook 111 In many families..the children are taught to address the older servant as uncle or auntee, and this is sometimes more than a figure of speech. 1859 J. R. Bartlett (ed. 2) 492 Uncle, used in the Middle and Southern States in accosting an elderly colored man. 1876 ‘M. Twain’ xxviii. 216 He let's [sic] me, and so does his pap's nigger man, Uncle Jake. 1906 E. W. Gilliam iii. 53 Mrs. Drumgoole interrogates the beggar..: ‘What is wanting, Uncle’ (‘uncle’ being a familiar mode of addressing aged negroes)? 1953 P. D. Smith iii. 51 ‘Now who in tarnation is Uncle Jobe?’ asked Pa. ‘He's a ole nigger friend uv mine’. 2004 M. J. Nadell ii. 36 ‘Typical stereotypes’—uncles, aunties, pickaninnies, and others—were in vogue. the mind > emotion > love > a lover > [noun] > lover or friend of a child's mother 1961 19 May p. xii/4 When Sally comes home from hospital her ‘new uncle Rosario’ (a phrase implicit with adult narrative suggestions) gaily offers to give her whatever she likes. 1968 1 Aug. 155/2 The play is a simple tale of a boy who, lacking a resident father, grows up under the influence of various temporary ‘uncles’. 2014 J. Dossie iv He would often hear his mom and his new uncle fighting over who was going to sniff the last bit of powder. 1578 H. Wotton tr. J. Yver 275 Wheras other men accustome to visite their vncle [Fr. d'aller veoir leur oncle] when they determine to take truce for a time with their amorous trauailes. 1611 R. Cotgrave at Oncle He is my neerest friend that fills my bellie; or he is my kindest vncle who doth feed me. 1678 J. Ray (ed. 2) 227 She is one of mine Aunts that made mine Uncle go a begging. 1785 F. Grose (at cited word) He is gone to visit his uncle, saying of one who leaves his wife soon after marriage. society > trade and finance > financial dealings > moneylending > [noun] > one who lends money > one with whom pawn deposited > pawnbroker 1606 T. Dekker sig. Dv When I prepar'd to fight a battayle on the Chesse-board, a Knight was alwayes better then a Pawne: But the Vsurer myne Vnckle made it playne, that a good pawne now was better then a Knight. 1756 W. Toldervy IV. 113 The next week carried the new cloaths, which they bought at Bath, to their uncle's (if Humphry's expression may be used). a1791 F. Grose (1796) 230 A shirt and hose I'd at my uncle's lodg'd. 1807 E. S. Barrett II. 131 The bed-furniture was carefully preserved by my uncle, and when..I had gained a bed, and money enough to redeem the furniture, I put them up. 1854 W. M. Thackeray I. xii. 128 ‘Dine in your frock,..if your dress-coat is in the country.’ ‘It is at present at an uncle's.’ 1869 M. Collins II. i. 19 You may want to take it to your uncle, you know, now that your secretaryship is about to be abolished. 1934 31 July 22/2 We ought to have an Uncle's Day, for Uncle is our friend; when he's assured we can repay, he's always prompt to lend. 2004 (Compact ed.) 25 Feb. (Review section) 6/2 Even in the frenzied financial-services market of modern times, the pawnbroker—or ‘uncle’ as he was once obliquely called—still has his niche. society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > civil service > [noun] > civil servant > member(s) of U.S. federal agency 1849 1 Sept. Two Express Lines have been established between our City and San Francisco. Our old Uncle will have to ‘stir his stumps’ else his ‘regular’ arrangements will become a dead letter. 1950 H. E. Goldin 231/1 Uncle... (Plural) G-men; agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 1953 W. S. Burroughs x. 98 ‘He belongs to Uncle, now,’ said the [police] captain to my wife as they left the house. 1978 ‘P. Mann’ ii. 8 The nerve I had. Uncle had made me prove it time and again. 2001 A. Baskerville & B. Gillespie iv. 20 That insurance..made any money stolen from an insured bank Uncle Sam's money. We all know our Uncle will gleefully take our money. 5. 1880 10 Jan. 25/1 Every traveller to the United States whose lot has fallen in pleasant places is sure to have met with Sam Ward, protector of the English and uncle of the human race. 1937 H. G. Wells v. 85 There may or may not be these sane and mature watchers over human destiny, these Celestial Uncles, these friends in the midnight sky. 1959 30 July 179/1 Jack London is forgotten as Hemingway's literary uncle. 1985 16 Sept. 107/2 The U.S. provides Jamaica with around $150 million a year in aid, but it is an unreliable uncle. 2005 B. O. Peterson v. 199 After selecting Frederick the Great as the nation's benevolent uncle..writers took up the task of describing the rest of the national family. society > communication > broadcasting > radio broadcasting > [noun] > broadcaster on specific programme 1923 8 Aug. 183/3 The Director of Programmes received me into the actual studio, where he and the other Uncles have so much fun over the Children's Hour. 1923 28 Sept. 11/2 Children's Stories—Uncle Donald and Auntie Betty. 1981 S. Briggs 12/1 Long before the Corporation was called ‘Auntie’..it had dozens of ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’ on its staff. 1985 22 Mar. 330/3 Knight began to broadcast..after the war, becoming extremely popular as Uncle Max on the children's programme Nature Parliament. 2016 (Nexis) 26 Mar. The BBC is known as Auntie... Perhaps it has something to do with those reassuring and kindly aunts and uncles who presented kids programmes in the early days. society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > bed > [noun] 1982 J. Scott x. 105 ‘You did right, shoving him back in his uncle.’.. Uncle. Uncle Ned, Cockney rhyming slang for bed. 2008 G. Tibballs 191 Come on, time to get out of uncle! Phrases P1. the world > relative properties > wholeness > the whole or all > [noun] > the whole quantity, number, or amount > the whole lot > of people c1800 Widdicombe Fair in G. Bantock (1914) 72 Tom Pearce's old mare doth appear gashly white Wi' Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, Peter Gurney, Peter Davy, Dan Whiddon, Harry Hawk, old Uncle Tom Cobleigh and all, Old Uncle Tom Cobleigh and all. 1893 9 Sept. (headline) A midnight row at Topsham. ‘Uncle Tom Cobley and All’. 1933 E. A. Robertson xiii. 287 When Dru..repeated to Margaret some gossip about an engagement, Margaret said casually, ‘Oh, and to Uncle Tom Cobley an' all, I suppose!’ 1963 L. Klein i. 2 We..are exhorted to pant along behind the industrious Germans, Japanese, Russians, Americans and Uncle Tom Cobley. 1981 D. Boggis xxv. 130 Stupid little man, dragging in old Uncle Tom Cobley and all. 2016 (Nexis) 30 Sept. They're not even trusted to run things themselves, with business, universities, independent schools and Uncle Tom Cobley all invited in to show them how to do it. 1891 9 Oct. 16/3 He found nine of the fowls dead on the floor with their necks wrung, and the parrot standing on the tenth twisting his neck and screaming: ‘Say “uncle”, you beggar! say “uncle”’. 1912 11 May 4/2 (advt.) This Time it is ‘Martie’ Graves and Don Johns who made them say ‘Uncle’. 1939 14 267 ‘He hollered “calf rope” or ‘He hollered “uncle”,’ are publishments of his defeat. 1941 B. Schulberg vi. 139 Kit was the one who did him some good. ‘Okay,’ I said. ‘I'll cry uncle.’ 1972 D. Delman v. 122 ‘Stop it, darling, please.’ ‘Say uncle.’ ‘Uncle.’ 2009 3 Dec. 38/2 He can heel-kick your groin, bend your arm the wrong way and gouge out your eye before you can say uncle. Compounds1604 W. Shakespeare ii. ii. 377 My Vncle-father, and Aunt-mother, are deceaued. View more context for this quotation 1638 J. Ford ii. 22 Our great Uncle Marquesse, Disabled from his Cradle. 1789 M. Madan in II. 292 The relish or savour of morose uncle-guardians. 1828 I. 27 At the very first uncle-given dinner. 1897 M. Kingsley 93 Any leg or arm I saw that uncle devil pulling out to place within reach of the crocodiles. 1915 July 88 In his chamber are waxen figures of his mother Gerutha, and his uncle-father, Fengo. 1998 S. Dingo v. 48 Dingo Jim had come to visit his good friend Charlie, Dora's uncle-father, and once he found work, Ulie had followed behind. 2012 B. Ayres 268 Once she turned 18, her uncle guardian, an atheist and a naturalist, took her with him on his travels. C2. 1955 17 June 757/1 The dear old uncle-figure, Lord Justice Morris. 1975 8 Mar. 7/4 Such an uncle-figure as Johnny Carson..on late night television. 2006 Sept. 17/3 You can't always change the way your mum or your dad or an uncle figure behaves; but you can develop your own imagination. 1829 F. Marryat I. iii. 95 We make uncle George suffer for the stores. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > uncle > [noun] > husband of aunt 1561 in F. J. Furnivall (1897) 3 All the premisses, this deponent knowis [to be] true, bie cause he is Vncle-in-lawe to [the sai]d Homfrey. 1691 T. Shadwell 19 My name is Tim Whachum, Alderman Whachums Son deceased, and Alderman Maggot your Uncle in laws Nephew. 1779 No. 53. ⁋8 Among the rest was my uncle-in-law's partner. 1903 June 744 It must be admitted that her uncle-in-law's admonitions were not always welcome to the seemingly pliant Dorothy. 2012 R. R. Parameswaran 63 Behind me stood the very uncle-in-law who was my nominal supervisor in Madras, and alongside him were my future brothers and cousins. society > authority > rule or government > politics > political philosophy > communism > [noun] > Marxism > Stalinism 1930 20 Dec. 1 With M. Rykoff out of power, ‘Uncle Joe’, as the Kremlin dictator is familiarly known in some circles in Moscow, faces a pleasant Christmas. 1943 W. S. Churchill in W. F. Kimball (1984) II. 245 The castigation we have both received from Uncle Joe..was naturally to be expected. 1979 T. Wiseman i. 14 Churchill..was confidently expecting to be called upon again to save Europe—this time from the egregious embrace of Uncle Joe. 2016 (Nexis) 3 Mar. 35 Both Chaplin and Picasso admired the Soviet Union and ‘Uncle Joe’, but their work could not be shown there. society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > bed > [noun] 1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons 294 Uncle Ned, bed. 1955 F. Brown ii. iii. 68 Hi got to speel or there's no weeping willow for my Uncle Ned. 1964 31 Dec. 1053/1 I have spent an hour fixing the big, loose curls on top of my Uncle Ned. 1982 J. Scott x. 105 ‘You did right, shoving him back in his uncle.’.. Uncle. Uncle Ned, Cockney rhyming slang for bed. 2000 (Nexis) 16 July Far from being the Blessed Virgin of public perception, she was not short of companionship in Uncle Ned (bed). 1944 27 Mar. 4/2 The programs that reach the boys down here from ‘Uncle Sugar’, which is their way of saying the United States of America, could be a lot better. 1995 S. Marty (1996) vi. 94 ‘They were forced to buy dear and sell cheap,’ as J. F. Conway puts it, in the absence of free trade with Uncle Sugar. 2014 24 Mar. 4/3 He accused Democrats of thinking women ‘cannot control their libido’ without birth control from ‘Uncle Sugar’. 1966 2 Feb. 9/4 [The] vice chairman of the inter-tribal council of Western Washington Indians..dismissed as ‘Uncle Tomahawks’ the Indians who oppose demonstrations. 1992 J. M. Bumsted x. 338 He criticized ‘Uncle Tomahawks’ among his own people who continually apologized for being Indian, and noted with some irony that Indians who wore their normal clothing ran the risk of being confused with hippies. 2003 I. Ferguson viii. 128 White people..got along with Frank Jones fine. He could sit down in a fancy restaurant and use the right fork. The Indians didn't think much of him. Bud Peyen called him an ‘Uncle Tomahawk’. Derivatives society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > uncle > [noun] > condition of uncle 1846 B. Barton Let. 20 Aug. in (1849) 142 Those five uncles of mine..grew not up to mature uncle-hood. 1907 Dec. 258 The special and narrow relationships of fatherhood, or motherhood, or unclehood, or aunthood, or cousinhood. 2013 (Nexis) 17 Feb. 39 I rang brother number two, currently based in Dubai, to inform him of his impending unclehood. society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > uncle > [adjective] 1850 27 June Gen. Cass has a good, easy, uncle-ish appearance. 1928 A. Huxley x. 160 An occasional chaste uncle-ish kiss on the forehead. 2013 (Nexis) 2 Aug. 28 The affable, uncle-ish host of BBC Breakfast. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022). unclev. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: uncle n. †1. the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > perpetrate (a swindle) [verb (transitive)] > defraud or swindle > out of something 1585 A. Munday tr. L. Pasqualigo v. iii. sig. G.ij.v I hold fourty pound I am Unckled, I would Pediculus were heer. 1594 sig. H2 This is some cousoning conicatching crosbiter, that would faine perswade me he knowes me, and so vnder a tence of familiaritie and acquaintance, vncle me of victuals. 1606 G. Chapman v. i. sig. K1 And Neece tho you have Cosind me in this, Ile vnckle you yet in an other thing. 1608 T. Dekker sig. F2 If the Cozen be such an Asse to goe into a tauerne then he is sure to be vnckled. the world > life > death > killing > killing of type of person > kill type of person [verb (transitive)] > kill uncle a1607 H. Chettle (1631) sig. C 3 Vncle, ile vncle thee of thy proud life. the mind > language > speech > conversation > addressing or speaking to > speak to or address [verb (transitive)] > in a specific way 1597 W. Shakespeare ii. iii. 86 Grace me no grace, nor vnckle me no vnckle, I am no traitors Vnckle. View more context for this quotation 1872 B. Taylor in (1884) II. 592 I am ‘uncled’ from morning till night. 1884 J. T. Trowbridge I. xix. 196 ‘Uncle! uncle!’ chattered old Carolus,..‘don't uncle me!’ 1940 M. de la Roche iii. xi. 495 ‘Uncle Ernest..who urged you to come to see Finch?’.. He was pleased at being ‘Uncled’ by Alayne. 2010 H. Jacobson ix. 218 ‘Do you know what I think about all this surveillance shit, Uncle Sam?’ Alfredo said. Finkler hated it when Alfredo Uncled him. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022). > see alsoalso refers to : -unclesuffix <  n.c1300 v.1585see also |
