| 释义 |
sprig
I. \ˈsprig\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English sprigge; probably akin to Old English spræc shoot of a plant, Middle English spray, Middle Dutch sproc twig, sprig, Middle Low German sprik, sprok dry twig, Old High German sprahhula splinter, chaff, Old Norse sprek stick, Swedish dialect spragg, spragge branch, and perhaps to Old English spearca spark — more at spark
1.
a. : a small shoot : twig
< a sprig of laurel >
< a sprig of parsley >
< the yard … completely bare, no weed no sprig of anything — William Faulkner >
b. : a small division of grass used for propagation
2.
a. : a small offshoot or side growth (as of a nerve or vein)
b.
(1) : heir, scion
< a young sprig of nobility — Peter Forster >
(2) : a young person
< a young sprig of a book reviewer — Clifton Fadiman >
c. : a small specimen
< a sprig of vivid, unaffected idiom — John Woodburn >
3.
a. : an ornament (as a jeweled brooch or a decorative design) resembling a sprig, stemmed flower, or leaf
b. : a separate piece of lace (as a flower or foliage motif) usually appliquéd to the ground
4. : any of various pointed objects: as
a. : a small headless nail : brad
b. : glazier's point
c. : dowel
5.
a. : pintail 1a
b. : ruddy duck
c. Scotland : house sparrow
II. transitive verb
(sprigged ; sprigged ; sprigging ; sprigs)
1.
a. : to drive sprigs or brads into : secure with sprigs
< boots, sprigged and screwed soles — Queensland (Australia) Times >
b. : to attach (a part) to a piece of raw pottery
< sprig a handle on the pitcher >
2. : to mark or adorn with the representation of small branches or plants : figure 2a
< sprig muslin >
< white dimity sprigged with yellow rosebuds — New Yorker >
3.
a. : to propagate (a grass) by means of stolons or small divisions
b. : to strip (a shrub or plant) of sprigs
< sprig a tobacco plant > |