释义 |
wombn.Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian wamme , womme belly, Old Dutch wamba belly, uterus (Middle Dutch wambe , wamme belly (especially of an animal), Dutch wam ), Old Saxon wamba belly (Middle Low German wamme belly), Old High German wamba , wamme belly, uterus (Middle High German wambe , wampe , wamme belly, paunch, uterus, German Wamme paunch, belly (now usually of animals), Wampe paunch, belly), Old Icelandic vǫmb (especially of animals) belly, uterus, Old Swedish vamb belly (Swedish våmm , †våmb ), Old Danish vom (Danish vom ), Gothic wamba womb, belly; further etymology unknown. For likely borrowing of this Germanic base into Romance, see also gambeson n.In Old English a strong feminine (ō -stem). Old English β. forms show rounding of Germanic short ă before a nasal; some Middle English (west midland) forms may show the reflex of this rounded vowel. Most Middle English β. forms, however, show the reflex of lengthening of short ă (in Old English α. forms) before the homorganic consonant cluster mb . The expected development of the resulting long ā in Middle English south of the Humber is to long open ō (for corresponding northern forms, which do not show this development, see wame n.); however, it appears to have been raised further (to long close ō ) between w and the following labial consonant m (compare woombe at β. forms), and most early modern English orthoepists already show the reflex of long close ō for the word (as is reflected by the pronunciation in modern standard English), although the reflexes of long open ō and of shortened o and u are also occasionally attested (see R. Jordan Handb. der mittelenglischen Grammatik (ed. 2, 1934) §45 note, E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II §§ 13(3), 15, 153). The final consonant b had apparently been regularly assimilated to preceding m and the resultant geminate simplified to m already in Middle English (compare wom, wome at β. forms); where pronunciation of final b appears to be occasionally recorded later, it is probably under the influence of the spelling. In sense 1c with allusion to the chambers of the heart probably after classical Latin ventriculus ventriculus n. In sense 2b after extended use of classical Latin venter belly (see venter n.1) in the Vulgate, ultimately rendering extended uses of biblical Hebrew beṭen , lit. ‘belly, abdomen, uterus’ (e.g. in Habakkuk 3:16 (the passage cited in its Vulgate version in quot. eOE) and Psalm 31:10) and meʿē (plural noun, only attested in the construct state), lit. ‘internal organs, bowels, belly’ (e.g. in Ecclesiasticus 51:29 (the passage translated in quot. a1382) and Lamentations 1:20), both denoting the seat of the passions and affections. †1. the world > life > the body > internal organs > cavities occupied by internal organs > [noun] > abdomen eOE (Mercian) (1965) xliii. 26 (25) Quoniam humiliata est in puluere anima nostra, adhesit in terra uenter noster : forðon geeaðmodad is in dusðe sawul ur ætfalh in eorðan womb ur. eOE Prose Charm: Against Stomach Ache (Royal 12 D.xvii) in G. Storms (1948) 262 Þonne monnes wambe wærce oððe rysle, ymbfoh mid þinum handum þa wambe. OE 307 Wrætlic is seo womb [sc. of the phoenix] neoþan, wundrum fæger. OE (1955) 176 Uenter, seo utre wamb. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon (Calig.) (1978) l. 9880 His neb bigon to blakien. his wombe gon to swellen. a1325 Judas Iscariot (Corpus Cambr.) l. 141 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill (1956) 697 His wombe tobarst amydde atwo. c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) l. 10794 (MED) Wan richard þe marschal..toward is fon in þe feld haþ is wombe iwent, Ssold he turne hom is rugh? a1393 J. Gower (Fairf.) Prol. l. 609 (MED) Tharmes, The wombe, and al doun to the kne, Of bras thei were. c1400 (?c1390) (1940) l. 144 (MED) His wombe & his wast were worthily smale. c1450 in T. Austin (1888) 101 (MED) Ley the pike in A charger, the wombe side vpward. 1486 sig. eiijv (MED) The hunter shall rewarde hem [sc. hounds]..with the bowellis all And all thynges with in the wombe saue onli the gall. 1509 A. Barclay (Pynson) f. xv If he haue a great wombe, and his Cofers ful. 1526 R. Whitford tr. 100 They were racked,..than were theyr wombes or belyes flayne the skynne of. 1600 W. Shakespeare iv. ii. 22 And I had but a belly of any indifferencie, I were simply the most actiue fellow in Europe: my womb, my wombe, my womb vndoes me. 1632 W. Lithgow x. 462 The Tormentor..drew violently with his hands, making my Wombe support the force of his feete. 1684 J. Smith 35 As for your Mare; let her have a compleat Body, Indifferent Long with a large Womb. the world > life > the body > internal organs > cavities occupied by internal organs > [noun] > chest OE (1910) xxi.15 Factum est cor meum tanquam cera liquescens in medio uentris mei : gewordyn wæs heorte min swa swa wiex myltynde on midle wombe minre [eOE Vespasian Psalter wombe minre, eOE Royal Psalter innoðes mines]. c1350 Nominale (Cambr. Ee.4.20) in (1906) 5* Dedeynz le ventre de checun est coer foie et pomoun, Inwyth the wombe of man Is herte lyuer and longes. c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in f. 34 (MED) Þe secunde principal part..of þe brest is his ynnere part þat is a concauite which is callid of summen þe vpper more wombe. the world > life > the body > vascular system > heart > [noun] > ventricle or chamber a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. v. xxxvi. 238 In aiþir wombe of þe herte is a gobet ischape as an ere wiþoute. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. v. xxxvi. 238 Þe herte haþ tweye holouȝnes... And þise twey holouȝnes ben iclepiþ þe wombes of þe herte [L. ventriculi cordis]. ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac (Hunterian) (1994) 24 (MED) Þe braine haþ þre ventrikels..and euerye ventrikel oþer wombe haþ two parties. ?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac (Paris) (1971) 54 (MED) The substaunce of þe herte is harde..hauynge in it two ventricles, i. smale womes. society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > skin or hide > [noun] > parts of hide 1400 in C. Frost (1827) App. 10 (MED) Pro iij tymbr. beverwombes, m redewark, d pople..xj li. 1408 in W. H. Stevenson (1883) II. 54 (MED) Unum par de wombes cum quadam pelle vitulina ad ij s. 1434 (P.R.O.: PROB. 11/3) f. 175 Meam togam viridii coloris furratam cum calabir wombis. 1483 Wardrobe Acct. in (1807) I. 32 A greete bordure and purfile of ermyne wombes. 1531 lf. 11 b Item, for a payer of wombs tande.., vi d ob. 1551–2 c. 15 §3 Everie Girdler..maye..sell..Neckes, Wombes and Shreddes of tanned Leather. 1592 R. Greene sig. F3 Whereas you should only put the backs of skins into facing, you taw the wombs. 1612 Bk. Customs & Valuation in A. Halyburton (1867) 305 Beaver bellies or wombes the peice, viii s. 1683 (1946) II. 139 2472 beavor skins & 1030 beavor wombs. 1788 VIII. 117 All beaver wombs which shall have been imported from the said plantations or settlements. †2. the world > life > the body > digestive or excretive organs > digestive organs > stomach or belly > [noun] OE (Northumbrian) xv. 17 Quia omne quod in os intrat in uentrem uadit et in secessu emittitur : forðon eghuelc þæt in muð inngaas in womb gaas uel færes & in feltun gesended bið. OE (1955) 173 Aluus, rif uel seo inre wamb. OE (Corpus Cambr.) xv. 16 Ða gewilnode he his wambe [c1200 Hatton wambe] gefyllan of þam biencoddun þe ða swyn æton, & him man ne sealde. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris (1873) 2nd Ser. 37 Sume men ladeð here lif on etinge and on drinkinge alse swin... Swo doð þe fule man þe folegeð his wombes wil and of unrihte bigete ofte filleð..and þe est metes and drinkes ut speweð. a1225 (c1200) (1888) 137 Of here wombe [L. uenter] hie makieð here godd. a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Lamb.) l. 145 in R. Morris (1868) 1st Ser. 169 (MED) Ful wombe mei lihtliche speken of hunger & of festen. 1340 (1866) 53 (MED) Þanne ssolle we betuene þe porse and þe wombe of þe glotoune habbe a uayr strif. c1390 (a1376) W. Langland (Vernon) (1867) A. vii. l. 162 Hongur..wrong him so be þe wombe, þat boþe his eȝen watreden. c1405 (c1375) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 743 Thanne sholde noght hunger in my wombe crepe. a1450 in T. Austin (1888) 39 (MED) Grynd pepir & Safroun & brede..& Raw kreme..do in þe grete wombe of þe Schepe, þat is, the mawe. c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate Order of Fools (Laud) in (1934) ii. 454 (MED) With ful wombe they preche of abstynence. ?1521 A. Barclay sig. Avv My woll and wethers, may scarsly fede my wombe. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny II. xxvi. viii. 248 The wombe..oftentimes in a day calleth unto us for victuals. 1603 J. Davies 144 If nought from without come in the wombe The Body needes must die. 1756 June sig. B1v Who makes a swill tub of his womb, Is but a speaking, prattling tomb. the mind > mental capacity > spirituality > mind, soul, spirit, heart > [noun] eOE (Mercian) (1965) vi. 27 (16) Custodiuit et expauit uenter meus a uoce orationis labiorum meorum : heold & forhtade womb min from stefne gebedes beolera minra. lOE xxx.10 Conturbatus est in ira oculus meus, anima mea et uenter meus : gedreued is on yrre egan minan sawel min & wamb min. a1382 (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Ecclus. li. 29 My wombe [a1425 L.V. soule; L. venter] is disturbid in sechyng it. the world > life > the body > digestive or excretive organs > digestive organs > intestines > [noun] eOE (Royal) (1865) ii. vii. 186 Ac se geþigeda mete hefegaþ þone magan & he þone sammeltan þurh ða wambe utsent. OE tr. (Vitell.) vii. 256 Þone ylcan [wætan] drince wið þæs innoðes heardnysse, þæt seo getogene wamb [?a1200 Harl. 6258B seo toȝene wambe; L. ventrem strictum] sy alysed; swa he ma drinceð, swa hyt furðor clænsað. a1400 tr. Lanfranc (Ashm.) (1894) 51 (MED) If þat he be feble..voide þe fecis of his wombe bi clisterie. ?a1425 (c1400) (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 101 Men putten it in medicynes..to make the Wombe lax. c1450 tr. G. Deguileville (Cambr.) (1869) 88 Thou berest him to priuee chambres..to voide hys wombe. a1500 (?a1425) tr. (Lamb.) 70 A potage nesshe and laxatyue to þe wombe. ?1543 T. Phaer tr. N. de Houssemaine Treat. Pestilence v. f. xviii, in tr. J. Goeurot It is holesome for you, euery daye ones to procure the dutye of the wombe. 3. the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun] > womb eOE (Mercian) (1965) cxxvi. 4 (3) Ecce hereditas domini filii mercis fructus uentris : sehðe erfewordnis dryhtnes bearn meorde westem wombe. OE (Northumbrian) xxiii. 29 Beatae steriles et uentres qui non genuerunt : eadgo biðon ða unberendo & ða wombo ðaðe ne acendon. a1225 (c1200) (1888) 87 (MED) Hv mai ðat moder forȝeten ðat child ðe hie bar in hire wombe? c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon (Calig.) (1963) l. 101 Heuede Lauine þa quene kinebearn on wombe. a1325 St. Paul (Corpus Cambr.) l. 252 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill (1956) 273 (MED) He was biȝite And ykenned inis moder wombe. c1400 (c1378) W. Langland (Laud 581) (1869) B. xvi. l. 100 (MED) In þe wombe of þat wenche was he fourty wokes. c1460 (?c1400) l. 859 (MED) A child gan stere in hir vombe. 1548 f. cxxxiiij They were his bretherne of one wombe descended. 1583 P. Barrough iii. lvi. 150 Svffocation or strangling of the wombe, is nothing else, but a drawing backe of it vp to the vpper partes. 1626 F. Bacon §94 Birds, that are shaped without the Females Wombe, haue in the Egge..Matter of Nourishment. 1671 J. Sharp ii. viii. 143 The Peripateticks say it is fed by menstrual blood..which at certain times is purged forth by the womb in a moderate quantity. 1718 M. Prior Solomon on Vanity iii, in (new ed.) 477 Naked from the Womb We yesterday came forth. 1799 J. Burns 59 (note) At other times, it [sc. separation of the membranes] is only a necessary effect of the contraction or aborting action of the womb. 1820 P. B. Shelley Cloud in 200 Like a child from the womb. 1869 Trans. Eclectic Med. Soc. N.Y. 1868 200 in (92nd Session, Doc. No. 71) How am I to get the foetus from your womb before it is ripe, without injury to that delicate and important organ? 1922 J. Joyce ii. 373 In woman's womb word is made flesh but in the spirit of the maker all flesh that passes becomes the word that shall not pass away. 1960 J. Barth ii. xxiv. 382 Even as he roasted there were three white babes a-building in the wombs of his novitiates. 2007 Mar. 75/2 When IVF is used in women, the embryo is placed in the female reproductive tract, from where it makes its way to the womb. the world > existence and causation > causation > source or origin > [noun] > place of origin and early development c1400 (Bodl.) 132 (MED) Þe furste wombe of synne is þe furste þouȝt of synne, or mynde. 1534 G. Joye tr. U. Zwingli f. 170 The dewe of thy natiuite is spronge out of the wombe of the morninge. 1597 W. Shakespeare ii. i. 51 This England, This nurse, this teeming wombe of royall Kings. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare (1622) i. iii. 369 There are many euents in the womb of Time, which will be deliuered. View more context for this quotation 1665 J. Spencer 8 There is not a more fruitful womb of seditions and confusions in States than the Opinion of such predictions is. 1667 J. Milton i. 673 Undoubted sign That in his womb was hid metallic Ore, The work of Sulphur. View more context for this quotation a1708 W. Beveridge (1711) III. 29 The empty Womb of Nothing delivered itself of that Lump and confused Chaos, which..God..digested into that..Order we now see it in. 1776 J. Lee (ed. 3) Explan. Terms 396 Pericarpium, the Womb of the Plant big with Seeds, which it emits when mature. 1810 S. T. Coleridge No. 22. ⁋8 The various unforeseen Events that are ripening in the womb of the Future. 1866 W. T. Veness ix. 95 The fulfilment of her destiny is in the womb of time. 1904 N. I. Stone tr. K. Marx 12 New higher relations of production never appear before the material conditions of their existence have matured in the womb of the old society. 1961 E. S. Turner vii. 13 From the disordered womb of the Foreign Office..had been born an ill-formed, ill-favoured creature... It was called the Ministry of Information. 1990 P. Ackroyd vii. 163 Since she died at an early age, it can only be said that her proper character remained as it were in the womb of time. the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > hollowness > [noun] > a cavity or hollow OE 48 [Clouds] feallan lætað sweart sumsendu seaw of bosme, wætan of wombe. OE 1 Ic þa wihte [i.e. bellows] geseah; womb wæs on hindan þriþum aþrunten. OE Charter: Bp. Oswald to Wulfgar (Sawyer 1327) in D. Hooke (1990) 282 Þæt swa ondlong þære hege ræwe þæt on ondoncilles wombe. a1382 (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. xix. 7 Nakened shal be the flod wombe [L. alveus rivi]. c1400 ( G. Chaucer (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) i. §3. 4 The moder of thin Astrelabie is þe thikkeste plate, perced with a large hole, þat [resseyuyth] in hir wombe the thynne plates. c1400 ( G. Chaucer (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §29. 39 The lyne Meridional on the wombe-side. ?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre (1894) I. lf. 27v I had moche leuer that the erthe wold opene and swalwe me in to his wombe. 1594 W. Shakespeare ii. iii. 239 I may be pluckt into the swallowing wombe, Of this deepe pit, poore Bassianus graue. View more context for this quotation 1599 W. Shakespeare v. i. 65 As violently, as hastie powder fierd Doth hurry from the fatall Canons wombe . View more context for this quotation 1602 J. Marston iii. v. sig. G Yee sootie coursers of the night, Hurrie your chariot into hels black wombe. ?1615 G. Chapman tr. Homer (new ed.) x. 471 The fourth brought water, and made fuel shine In ruddy fires beneath a womb of brass. 1660 J. Childrey 141 When the wind is gathered into that hole, and tossed to and fro in the womb of it, there is heard as it were a musicall sound. 1715 tr. G. Panciroli II. x. 334 There was seen at Mecklin fifteen Pair of Dice..in the Womb of a Cherry-Stone. 1797 J. Curr 45 Inclosing it [sc. the boiler] with a circular wall 10 inches thick, as high as the womb of the boiler. 1827 J. Keble I. xxx. 119 Stones in earth's dark womb that rest. 1887 I. Hamilton 14 Then through the womb Of night I galloped. 1927 W. D. Burden vii. 140 The very womb of this forest. 1985 B. Neil vii. 103 Ben was in the womb of the sofa reading and Lydia lay on the cushions on the floor. 2009 D. Galanter viii. 90 Darkness. Neither cold nor warm, a black womb enveloped him. Phrases 1576 G. Gascoigne tr. Pope Innocent III 1st Bk. Vewe Worldly Vanities in i. sig. A.j Then had I bene as if I were not, transferred from the Wombe to the Tombe. 1620 J. Lewis Ded. sig. A2 Betweene the wombe and the tombe, the cradle and the graue, there is but a spans breadth. 1691 in E. Walker (1692) sig. A1v All good and perfect Gifts..Which Mortals have from th' Womb unto the Tomb. a1708 W. Beveridge (1709) vi. 70 I follow my Saviour from the Womb to the Tomb, from his Incarnation to his Death. 1783 E. Arthur xi. 251 From the womb to the tomb he was a man of sorrows. 1820 H. Wintle 23 If in faith we follow him from the womb to his tomb..what strong consolation have we! 1857 J. M. Roe 30 From the womb to the tomb, From the cradle to the grave, From pattering feet to the winding sheet. 1920 J. G. Huneker I. xvi. 189 To fill in the seemingly interminable interval from womb to tomb, man invented politics, money, wine, cards, war, love, and religion. 1968 G. Jackson Let. 29 June in (1971) 163 From the womb to the tomb this plays in our minds. We are not worth more than the amount of capital we can raise. 1991 J. Kingdom i. 4 Local government has tended our welfare needs from womb to tomb, from sperm to worm. b. the world > life > source or principle of life > [adjective] > course or span of life > for duration of a lifetime 1947 6 197 HIP..offers comprehensive—unlimited—medical care on a prepaid basis through medical groups. Time Magazine has referred to the plan as the ‘Womb to Tomb’ program. 1964 A. Wykes i. 8 During our womb-to-tomb progress we never stop gambling. 1974 28 Jan. k6/2 Britain's National Health Service, still the model of womb-to-tomb medical care. 1979 23 June 2830/3 Kane and Abel..is a womb-to-tomb tale. 1989 (Special Issue) Autumn 74/1 The grocer's daughter used her popularity to chip away at her country's costly ‘womb-to-tomb’ social benefits. 1990 W. Sheed ii. ix. 99 The Catholic Church of America, walled off from its enemies by airtight womb-to-tomb education. 1992 26 Sept. 47/3 Sweden's womb-to-tomb welfare state is being remodelled. Compounds C1. (In sense 3a.) a. General attributive. 1916 A. S. Raleigh ii. ii. 101 They gave to their country the name of Mayax, or Mayach, which means the Womb Land, or the Mother Land. 1930 A. Huxley iv. 16 Those yearning popular songs which are the national anthems of Wombland. 2007 M. A. Stackpole 284 Have you prepared another womb-land to breed more of my creatures? 1857 J. J. Jarves xxxv. 293 ‘How did you find your womb-life?’ ‘At first, somewhat precarious; afterwards, safe and pleasant.’ 1876 G. M. Hopkins Wreck of Deutschland vii, in (1967) 53 Warm-laid grave of a womb-life grey. 2001 38 382/2 Parkinson's and Alzheimer's might be the late results of womblife trauma. 1598 J. Florio Vulva,..the wombe part or womb passage. b. Instrumental, locative, and parasynthetic. c1602 C. Marlowe tr. Ovid ii. xiv. sig. Dv Thy wombe-inclosed off-spring. 1856 H. G. Migault iv. i. 45 He would fain have destroyed the principle of his individual vitality in its womb-enclosed bud. 1994 M. Ferguson i. 31 The child lives in a world of feeling without shadow, a womb-enclosed state. 1923 D. H. Lawrence (N.Y. ed.) 6 The fig-fruit: Involved, Inturned, The flowering all inward and womb-fibrilled. 1611 R. Cotgrave at Agneliere A wombe-lodged infant. 2005 T. N. Washington vii. 233 Sethe saved a womb-lodged Denver. C2. a. (In senses 1 and 2.) the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > feasting > [noun] the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > appetite > excessive consumption of food or drink > [noun] > gluttony c1300 All Saints (Laud) l. 46 in C. Horstmann (1887) 419 (MED) Me þinchez, ȝuyt..þe feste feble were bote Men hadden ȝware-with þe wombe Ioye a-rere. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. vi. v. 301 [Children] thinkiþ onlich in wombe ioye, and knowiþ nouȝt þe mesure of here owne wombe. ?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif (1880) 68 Prelatis..sillen..trewe prechynge for..worldli lordschipe, & wombe ioie and idelnesse. a1500 in F. W. Fairholt (1849) 45 Unthrifte and wombe-joye, steriles et luxuriosi. 1896 J. H. Wylie III. lxxxiv. 420 Oxford, which had shown such promise in her youth, was now sinking into idleness and womb-joy. the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > girth a1325 (Cambr.) (1929) 869 (MED) En lymons veet li limower..au ventre le ventrer [glossed] womberop; E a la couwe le vauner [glossed] taylrop. c1350 Nominale (Cambr. Ee.4.20) in (1906) 26* Sele coler et ventrere, Sadul hamborwe and womberope. 1517–18 in J. Nichols (1797) 294 Item, for lyne for the wombe ropes. 1882 J. E. T. Rogers III. 552/1 6 fathom cord for womb ropes. the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > girth 1729 P. Walkden 21 Oct. (1866) (modernized text) 56 Henry Charnley viewed the horse, with packsaddle and woontak, at £2 10s. b. (In sense 3a.) society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > sibling > brother > [noun] > half-brother > by same mother 1647 J. Trapp (2 Thess. ii. 1) Brethren, womb brethren, as near in nature as is possible. a1661 T. Fuller (1662) Herts. 19 Son to Queen Katherine by Owen Theodor, her second husband, womb-brother to King Henry the Sixth. 1866 R. D. Blackmore tr. Herodotus in xxvi. 70/1 Adrastus..had been the slayer of his womb-brother. 2005 H. Howell xii. 203 My brother Somerled is my twin, my womb brother, and I dinnae think any two siblings can be closer than that. the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > embryo or fetus > membranes, etc., of embryo or fetus > [noun] > placenta 1657 N. Culpeper & W. Rand tr. J. Riolan ii. xxxvii. 88 The greater the Child grows in the Womb, the more does the Womb, and the Placenta, or Womb-Cake, or Womb-Liver encrease. 1703 T. Gibson (ed. 6) xxxi. 214 Upon opening the Womb of a Woman with Child, the first thing that offers it self is the Placenta uterina, or Womb-cake, otherwise called Hepar uterinum, or Womb-liver, from the likeness of substance, and also use, according to those that imposed the name. 1805 I. 167/1 The placenta uterina, popularly called the womb-cake. 1886 B. Nanjio tr. viii. 96 Next the Garbha-dhâtu (‘womb element’) is called 13 great enclosures. 1923 D. H. Lawrence (N.Y. ed.) 84 Who lies with the waters of his silent passion, womb-element?—Fish in the waters. 1996 S. Levy 50 The ‘womb’ element, often identified with the earth, may offer a solution for those immigrant pioneers. 1835 J. Roberts 125 Alas! alas! my womb-fruit is gone; my child-fruit is torn from me. 1922 J. Joyce ii. 366 Send us, bright one, light one, Horhorn, quickening and wombfruit. 2006 (Nexis) 18 Oct. Cementing its status as the world's foremost authority on womb fruit, People magazine..nabbed the celebrity birth-canal coup of the century. the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun] > vulva c1450 ( H. Daniel Liber Uricrisiarum (Gloucester Cathedral 19) No. 1 in at Womb(e Tentigo ys ycalled paries vulue, Anglice the Wombeȝates wall, Or elles lingula vulue, Anglice the Wombeȝates tunge. 1979 ‘Iceberg Slim’ (2004) 103 He banged her womb-gate until their last mutual orgasm. 1830 J. R. Coxe (ed. 8) 582 The German name Mutterkorn literally signifies womb-grain or uterine rye. 1861 Feb. 98 The oxytoxic powers of this drug have, from time immemorial, been known amongst the common people of Europe. This is shown by its vulgar name Mutterkorn or womb-grain amongst the Germans. 1913 E. Schleussner tr. A. Strindberg xvi. 229 I saw in the Fatherland the other day that a woman who had taken womb-grain very nearly died as well as the baby. the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > embryo or fetus > [noun] 1611 R. Cotgrave Vraque, the pipe or passage whereby a wombe-infants vrine is carried from it. the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > embryo or fetus > membranes, etc., of embryo or fetus > [noun] > placenta 1657 N. Culpeper & W. Rand tr. J. Riolan ii. xxxvii. 88 The greater the Child grows in the Womb, the more does the Womb, and the Placenta, or Womb-Cake, or Womb-Liver encrease. 1684 tr. T. Bonet ii. 2 On the seventh day she..voided the placenta (or womb liver). 1727 R. Greene iii. v. 359 The Placenta or Womb-Liver. the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > embryo or fetus > membranes, etc., of embryo or fetus > [noun] > placenta 1663 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin (new ed.) i. xxxvi. 80/2 That same round Mass is called Placenta Uteri the Womb-pancake, by reason of its Shape. 1565 T. Cooper Vulva,..the wombe porte, or wombe passage. 1759 Vulva, the womb or matrix; also the womb passage or neck of the womb. 1860 R. G. Mayne Womb-Passage,..common term for the Vagina. 1881 2nd Ser. 17 215 Hollows appear on either side of the tail, caused by the loosening or parting of the bones on either side of the womb-passage. 1999 J. Adelman in V. Comensoli & A. Russell 33 The comparable size of penis and womb passage would, in Galenic terms, be taken as evidence for the one-sex model. 1611 R. Cotgrave Vulve, the wombe-pipe, or priuie passage. 1714 tr. II. 186 The Cavity of the Womb-Pipe was free, and without any Obstacle. 1989 G. D. de Rocher tr. L. Joubert v. 216 The virgin's pissing is more unfettered and clear than other women, because her womb pipe is still tight and narrow. 1545 T. Raynald in tr. E. Roesslin i. sig. E.viiv The entraunce of ye matrix or wombe, is named ye womb port, or mother port. 1565 T. Cooper Vulva,..the wombe porte, or wombe passage. 1999 J. Adelman in V. Comensoli & A. Russell i. 48 Raynold's discussion of the fit between yard and womb port. 1840 A. Tweedie IV. 333 The bodies described by the older pathologists under the name of womb-stones are merely degenerated fibrous tumours. 1920 8 May 1007/2 When intramural it is possible calcareous salts may be deposited and the tumours in time be discharged as ‘womb-stones’. 2000 14 Jan. 257/1 These specimens then assumed the standardized name of hysteroliths (womb stones or vulva stones). the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > equipment for applying medicaments > [noun] > syringe > syringe for specific part 1700 W. Salmon (ed. 2) i. i. 5/1 This Water is to be injected into..the Womb with a Womb Syringe. 1830 T. Addison 36 The ordinary womb syringe answers the purpose exceedingly well. 1894 22 57/1 A Jennison's womb syringe and solution of carbolic acid and glycerine in water, given while patient is sitting, is of great value. 1694 W. Salmon i. xvii. 788/2 Syrupus Uterinus, i.e. Carannæ, The Womb Syrup, or Syrup of Gum Caranna. the world > life > the body > sex organs > female sex organs > [noun] > Fallopian tubes 1663 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin (new ed.) i. xxvii. 27/1 The Womb-trumpet, which others refer to the servatory and jaculatory Vessel. 1716 (ed. 2) 61 The falling of one of the little Eggs from its Cell in the Ovaria, through one of the Womb Trumpets into the Womb, often occasions an uncommon Sensation and gentle shivering of the Body after the Conjugal Act. ?1785 S. Freeman (ed. 3) xii. 144 There is some obstruction in the womb trumpets, which hinders the spiritous part of the male seed from passing through them to the ovaria. 1991 T. Dunlap tr. B. Duden 231 (note) Although in Storch's eyes the women of Eisenach were already equipped with ovaries (and not merely ‘womb trumpets’), they clotted in the Aristotelian manner. Derivatives 1774 E. Capell I. 78/2 Womby, womb-like, i.e. hollow or cavernous. 1899 A. T. Still x. 169 Active development in those womb-like departments in the lungs. a1930 D. H. Lawrence (1932) 308 The shell-like, womb-like, convoluted shadow. 2004 No. 48. 82/1 Its womb-like seat stands ready to envelop anyone who slips into it, and send them into a coma. 1891 2 166 The ciliated epithelium of the tubes..facilitating the wombward passage of the ovum. 1923 D. H. Lawrence (N.Y. ed.) 6 There was a flower that flowered inward, womb-ward. 1970 46 499/2 There is no sanctuary in indifference or a wombward retreat to traditional pieties. 2003 L. Shlain (2004) vi. 61 The fallopian tube's design allows peristaltic movement only in a wombward direction. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022). wombv.Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: womb n. Etymology: < womb n. Compare earlier wombed adj. Chiefly literary and poetic. the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > enclosing or enclosure > enclose [verb (transitive)] > as in the womb 1557 Earl of Surrey et al. (new ed.) f. 94 The hidden harme... Wombed within our walles and realme about, As Grekes in Troy were in the Grekish beast. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. iv. 490 Not..for all the Sun sees, or The close earth wombes,..will I breake my oath. View more context for this quotation a1628 F. Greville (1670) ii. 33 The feeble may again be wombed, And there get life even where it was intombed. 1855 R. C. Singleton tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil I. 113 In this from out another tree A bud they womb. 1871 G. MacDonald v. 30 A world that lay Wombed in its sun. 1931 W. Faulkner i. 10 The islands inscrutable, desolate above the destruction which they wombed. 1975 S. Heaney 12 Girdered with root and rock I am cradled in the dark that wombed me. 1991 L. D. Brodsky 34 A halo Wombing the earth in its universal glow. the world > space > shape > unevenness > projection or prominence > protuberance or rounded projection > make protuberant [verb (transitive)] ?1623 O. Felltham lxi. 198 Once lanched forth, hee may..finde the blast, to wombe out his sailes more fully. 1786 J. Courtenay 16 As womb'd with fire the cloud electrick flies. 1850 W. Sewell tr. Horace i. xxii. 29 Quiver..womb'd With venom'd arrows. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < n.eOEv.1557 |