| 释义 |
torch
I. \ˈtȯ(ə)rch, -ȯ(ə)ch\ noun
(-es)
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English torche, from Old French, bundle of twisted straw or tow, torch, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin torca; akin to Latin torquēre to twist — more at torture
1. : a burning stick of resinous wood or twist of tow used to give light and usually carried in the hand; sometimes : a chimneyless lamp mounted on a pole : flambeau
2. : something (as wisdom or knowledge) likened to a torch as giving light or guidance
< the torch of good reason was for the moment dimmed — Francis Hackett >
< so that the torch of his wisdom could be handed down the ages — H.J.Laski >
3. : any of various flowers that suggest a torch (as in being flame-colored, long-stemmed, and racemiform) or whose stalks are used for torches; especially : great mullein
4. : any of various portable devices for emitting an unusually hot flame (as for vaporizing oil to start an oil engine, burning off old paint, or melting solder)
< an acetylene torch >
— compare blowtorch
5. chiefly Britain : flashlight
6. : arsonist, incendiary, pyromaniac
< the torch … had touched off more fires than he could recollect — B.P.Battle & P.B.Weston >
II. verb
(-ed/-ing/-es)
transitive verb
1. : to set fire to, burn, sear, or illuminate with or as if with a torch
2. : to catch (fish) with a jacklight
intransitive verb
: to sing a torch song
III. transitive verb
(-ed/-ing/-es)
Etymology: French torcher to daub or plaster with cob, to wipe, from Old French, from torche bundle of twisted straw — more at torch I
: to point (slating) with a mixture of lime and hair or mortar |