| 释义 |
pup·pet
\ˈpəpə̇t, usu -ə̇d.+V\ noun
(-s)
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English popet, from Middle French poupette little doll, diminutive of (assumed) poupe doll (whence French poupée doll), from (assumed) Vulgar Latin puppa, alteration of Latin pupa girl, doll, puppet — more at pupil
1.
a. : a small-scale figure of a human or other living being often constructed with jointed limbs, appropriately painted and costumed, and moved usually on a small stage by a rod or by hand from below or by strings or wires from above — see marionette
b. obsolete : an actor in a play or pantomime
2.
a. archaic : idol 1a
b. : doll 1a
3. archaic : a vain gaudily dressed person
4. : one whose acts are controlled by an outside force or influence
< is no longer the arbiter of his own situation, but rather the puppet of circumstance — Joseph Furphy >
< felt that they were after all mere puppets, creatures he could use — Sherwood Anderson >
a. : a political or governmental official acting in an ostensibly independent or discretionary capacity but actually carrying out instructions from another authority or source
< eager to succeed, yet empty of policy and the puppet of his country's enemies — Hilaire Belloc >
< their satellites and puppets and collaborators have indisputably recorded the actual nature of their governance — Walter Millis >
b. : a character in literature that serves chiefly as an agent of the author's designs without exhibiting or developing a distinct personality or a logical motivation
< his personages are mere puppets, or, at best, incarnations of abstract qualities, or idealizations of disembodied grace or beauty — Richard Garnett †1906 >
< they are not characters; they are puppets needed to establish certain information — John Van Druten >
5. obsolete : puppy
6. : a lathe poppet |