| 释义 |
king
I. \ˈkiŋ\ noun
(-s ; except sense 13a)
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English kyning, cyning; akin to Old Saxon & Old High German kuning, kunig king, Old Norse konungr; all from a prehistoric West Germanic-North Germanic compound whose first constituent is represented by English kin (I), and whose second constituent is represented by English -ing (n. suffix)
1.
a. : a male monarch who reigns over a major territorial unit : the ruler of a kingdom
< kings were makers of the laws — James I >
< distinguished between the king and the crown — C.H.McIlwain >
< in … Britain the sovereign is not the King but the King-in-Parliament — W.H.Wickwar >
b. : the paramount or an especially important chief (as the head of an Indian or African tribe)
< occupied by Shingess, king of the Delawares — A.S.Withers >
2. capitalized : god, christ 1
< to worship the King, the Lord of hosts — Zech 14:16 (Revised Standard Version) >
< that the King of glory may come in — Ps 24:7 (Revised Standard Version) >
3. : one that holds a supreme or preeminent position in a particular sphere or class; especially : a chief among competitors
< the cattle kings rode up from the south — Alan Moorehead >
< even if no longer king, cotton remains the chief cash crop — Howell Walker >
< this king of books — British Book Centre >
< their kings of steel and oil and chemicals — Nation >
4. obsolete : queen bee
5. : the principal piece in a set of chessmen that may move ordinarily one square in any direction and has the power of capture but is obliged never to enter or remain in exposure to capture
6. : a playing card marked with a stylized figure of a king and usually the initial letter K
7. : one that occupies a position like that of or plays the part of a male monarch — often used in real or mock titles
< King of Arms of the Order of the Garter — A.L.Wagner >
< a decorated float carrying the King of Misrule — Springfield (Massachusetts) Daily News >
< in all the school games he was the king — Robert Graves >
< king of the club's annual hobby show — Springfield (Massachusetts) Union >
< public opinion is king — L.W.Doob >
8. : any of a class of fuller's teasels
9. : a checker that as a result of reaching an opponent's king row has been crowned and given the power of moving backward as well as forward
10. : the second officer in a Royal Arch chapter of Masons
11. : a sexually mature male termite
12. : king salmon
< fisherman who come … to catch the kings — R.L.Haig-Brown >
13.
a. usually capitalized : an American breed of large vigorous utility pigeons developed to produce large numbers of squabs that weigh about one pound at four weeks of age
b. often capitalized : any pigeon of the King breed
< not bred so extensively as the white King — Rudolph Seiden >
14. : a king-size cigarette
II. verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: Middle English kingen, from king, n.
intransitive verb
: to act the king : rule — usually used with it
< in our … country science kings it over the realm of intellectual discourse — Clifton Fadiman >
transitive verb
1. : to cause to be a king
< then am I kinged again — Shakespeare >
2. archaic : govern
< England … is so idly kinged — Shakespeare >
III.
Usage: usually capitalized
— a communications code word for the letter k |