| 释义 |
reception|rɪˈsɛpʃən|
Also 5 recepcion.
[a. F. reception (12–13th c.), or ad. L. receptiōn-em, n. of action f. recipĕre to receive.]
1. The action or fact of receiving or getting.
c1489Caxton Blanchardyn 82 The Ioye that blanchardyn had made at the recepcion of the present that she had sent vnto hym. 1689Col. Rec. Pennsylv. I. 256 Upon y⊇ Reception thereof, I informed the said David Lloyd, and delivered it to him. 1709Berkeley Th. Vision §128 A Man Born Blind wou'd not, at first reception of his Sight, think the things he saw were of the same Nature with the Objects of Touch. 1789Gibbon Let. to Ld. Sheffield Misc. Wks. 1814 I. 297 Within an hour after the reception of your last, I drew my pen for the purpose of a reply. 1834H. Martineau Moral i. 5 The prospect of the wealth which awaits man's reception.
†b. pl. Receipts, sums received. Obs. rare—1.
1514Churchw. Acc., Pilton (Som. Rec. Soc.) 67 The wyche nobyll ys caste yn ye cownte of the recepco[n]is.
2. a. Astrol. The fact of each of two planets being received into the other's house, exaltation, or other dignity.
1390Gower Conf. III. 67 He loketh the conjunccions, He loketh the recepcions, His signe, his house, his ascendent. 1632Massinger City Madam ii. ii, Venus..and Mars..in mutual reception of each other..assure a fortunate combination to Hymen. 1679Moxon Math. Dict. 128 The first is a Reception by House (which is the best and strongest). The second is a Reception by Triplicity. 1686Goad Celest. Bodies i. xv. 98.
b. The action of receiving (esp. persons), or fact of being received, into a place, company, state, etc.
1650Cromwell Let. 13 Dec. in Carlyle, Making way for the reception of professed Malignants, both in their Parliament and Army. 1671Milton P.R. iii. 205 All hope is lost Of my reception into grace. 1725Pope Odyss. x. 14 This happy port affords our wand'ring fleet, A month's reception. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xliv, The Count gave orders for the north apartments to be..prepared for the reception of Ludovico. 1863Geo. Eliot Romola xxi, The great palace..had been prepared for the reception of another tenant.
c. The action of receiving, or fact of being received, in a formal or ceremonious manner.
1662J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 6 We stayed above six weeks, in expectation of the Great Duke's orders for our reception. 1681Prideaux Lett. (Camden) 99 This day is appointed for his comeing to town, and great preparations are makeing for his reception. 1702Addison Dial. Medals Wks. 1721 I. 484 His reception is here recorded on a Medal, in which one of the Ensigns presents him his hand. 1841Elphinstone Hist. India II. 411 Abdullah Sháh was preparing an entertainment for his reception, when he suddenly advanced as an enemy. 1886Manch. Exam. 14 Jan. 4/7 Lord Salisbury has fixed Tuesday next for the reception of a deputation from the Irish Defence Union.
d. An occasion of ceremonious receiving; an assemblage of persons for this purpose. Now usu. a party at which guests are formally greeted, esp. after a wedding.
1865Ld. Broughton Recoll. Long Life (1911) VI. ix. 54 On March 5 [1842] I dined at Lord Palmerston's... Lady Palmerston had a reception afterwards. 1882M. Arnold Irish Ess. 113 In a short time there will be held in Paris a reception, as it is called, of..M. Renan at the French Academy. 1906Mrs. Beeton's Bk. Househ. Managem. 1680 The orthodox wedding breakfast seems likely to become a thing of the past, so much has it been superseded by the tea and reception which usually follow afternoon weddings. 1907St. Nicholas Oct. 1119/1 The ‘happy couple’..will hurry back to Red Feather's house to the reception. 1928J. Sykes M. A. Disraeli 3 Lord Broughton (‘Recollections of a Long Life’) says it was in Lady Palmerston's day that an evening party at a Minister's house began to be called a reception. 1944J. Lees-Milne Prophesying Peace (1977) 72 We went together to the Dorchester reception given by the bride's mother. 1965Proc. Classical Assoc. LXII. 35 During the Reception a gavel was presented for the use of the Association by Miss D. J. Wood, Joint Hon. Secretary of the Manchester and District Branch. 1977Times 14 July 16/6 Receptions... Lord Grey of Naunton, accompanied by Lady Grey, entertained members of the Royal Over-Seas League at a reception in the House of Lords last night.
e. A place where guests register on arriving at a hotel, etc., or where an organization's clients, etc., are received. Usu. without article and with capital initial.
1917E. Fenwick Diary 13 Nov. in Elsie Fenwick in Flanders (1981) 183 The reception was a regular Hades of women and children and men..all terribly wounded. 1930E. Waugh Vile Bodies x. 169 ‘Bless you,’ said the woman at the counter marked ‘Reception’, ‘all our rooms have been booked for the last six months.’ 1958‘Castle’ & ‘Hailey’ Flight into Danger viii. 107 Those cars..were promptly waved..to parking spaces well clear of the entrance to Reception. 1969D. Clark Nobody's Perfect iii. 110 Not one gets past me or Bert. We hold them in reception, phone up the one they want to see, and make them wait till they're fetched. 1970G. F. Newman Sir, You Bastard v. 148 A sister met him in the reception of the decaying building. 1975M. Drabble Realms of Gold iv. 246 Frances had a call from Reception telling her that it would take at least two hours to put a call through to London.
f. Shortened f. reception room s.v. reception 10. Cf. recep. 1.
1929Daily News 13 Sept. 11/5 Semi-detached Houses... Attractive Elevations... Large hall, 2 reception, 3 bedrooms. 1977Evening Post (Nottingham) 27 Jan. 14/3 (Advt.), An extremely good two double bedroomed semi-detached house with garage, two receptions, kitchen, bathroom, gardens. 1980Daily Tel. 29 July 1/8 The 18th century house has four receptions, nine bedrooms and eight bathrooms.
3. The action of receiving, or taking in, physically or spatially. Also transf.
1432–50tr. Higden (Rolls) II. 425 Apuleus rehersethe..that same thynge to haue happede to hym thro the recepcion of suche venome. 1651Baxter Inf. Bapt. 319 Some Divines say—That Faith is Physically a Passive Reception of Christ himself. 1659Pearson Creed (1839) 192 By that connexion of his operations, showing the reception of his essence. 1837Dickens Pickw. ii, Ready for the reception of any discoveries worthy of being noted down. 1868Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) II. x. 515 Two smaller towers for the reception of the bells were designed.
b. The action of receiving mentally.
1850Maurice Mor. & Met. Philos. (ed. 2) 180 The absence of a faculty of reception. 1867Swinburne Ess. & Stud. (1875) 176 Culture, sanity, power of grasp and reception [etc.].
4. The action of accepting or admitting; acceptance, admittance, approbation.
1660R. Coke Justice Vind. 15 If they had not been the word of God before the Church received them..their reception and tradition could never have made them so. 1669Clarendon Ess. Tracts (1727) 97 A virtuous mind appearing with more lustre in the rejection than in the reception of good turns. 1718Atterbury Serm. (1734) I. vii. 186 God never intended to compell, but only to persuade us into a Reception of Divine Truth. 1765Blackstone Comm. I. 15 In those of our English courts wherein a reception has been allowed to the civil and canon laws. 1788Priestley Lect. Hist. ii. xii. 101 If..I shall thus contribute to the more general reception of the great outlines of this system. 1867Froude Short Stud., Spinoza (1878) I. 351 We refuse to submit to the demonstrations by which it thrusts itself on our reception.
†b. An idea received or accepted without evidence of its truth. Obs.
1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. i. vii. 26 Our mature and secondary enquiries are forced to quit those receptions. 1691Sir T. P. Blount Ess. iii. 62 Most Men..obstinately adhere to those unexamined Receptions.
5. The action of receiving, or fact of being received, in a certain manner; kind or manner of reception. (Usually with qualifying adj.)
a. of persons.
1649Cromwell Let. 26 Feb. in Carlyle, An account of the kind reception, and the many civilities afforded them. 1666Pepys Diary 20 May, My wife much pleased with the reception she had. 1702Lond. Gaz. No. 3808/7 The Imperial Forces were in so good a Posture, that the French would meet with a warm Reception. 1795Burke Abr. Eng. Hist. Wks. 1842 II. 537 Baldwin, earl of Flanders, gave him a very kind reception. 1828Scott F.M. Perth viii, The discourse turned on the reception which they were to expect from their Provost. 1858Froude Hist. Eng. III. xiv. 205 He found in the Netherlands a scarcely more cordial reception than in France.
b. of ideas, proposals, etc.
1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. iii. §149 When it was brought into the House [the bill] found a better reception than was expected. 1718Freethinker No. 17 ⁋4 New Opinions at first meet with a cold Reception. 1745Col. Rec. Pennsylv. V. 7 Whatever shall be laid before me for the Welfare of this Province, will meet with a favorable Reception. 1803Edin. Rev. Apr. 236 They only have an interest in..procuring a good reception for his name. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 372 His inventions, therefore, found no favourable reception.
c. Theatr. An ovation granted a popular actor on taking the stage. Cf. 2.
1847F. A. Kemble Let. 15 Feb. in Records Later Life (1882) III. 160, I wish I could avoid my ‘reception’, as it is called, because any loud sound shakes me from head to foot.
d. The receiving of broadcast signals; the efficiency with which this is done, as regards audibility, picture quality, freedom from interference, etc.
1907Rep. Sel. Comm. Radiotelegr. Convention 129/2 in Parl. Papers VIII. 1 Receivers tuned for the reception of waves of such lengths..can be rendered quite immune from influence by..longer and more powerful waves. 1923E. W. Marchant Radio Telegr. & Teleph. ix. 104 For the long wave-lengths the change in the spacing produces less effect on the efficiency of reception than it does for shorter wave-lengths. 1943C. L. Boltz Basic Radio xiii. 203 We are here concerned with the reception of C.W., I.C.W., and amplitude-modulated carriers. 1949Radio Times 15 July 6/3, I expected the television to be perfection, but..the same excuses everywhere—‘Of course, reception isn't so good here because of the electrical appliances in the district.’ 1962[see receiving vbl. n. 2 c]. 1968A. Marin Clash of Distant Thunder (1969) ix. 63 We can get the Television Français... The reception is not very good. 1972Times 21 Sept. (Ireland Suppl.) p. ii, At that time television was only just getting off the ground..and many areas still did not have reception.
6. The action of receiving or taking, in various applications of the vb.
1863H. Cox Instit. i. viii. 123 The parties..produce evidence, the reception of which is..regulated by the rules of law. 1898Besant Orange Girl ii. xiv, It is proper to show that you were not an accomplice of the removal and the reception [of the stolen goods] in your house. 1976Billings (Montana) Gaz. 16 June 5-c/3 Bell is expected to have a chance at several receptions, with two top passing quarterbacks on hand.
†7. Capacity for receiving. Obs.
1667Milton P.L. x. 807 Natures Law, By which all Causes..To the reception of thir matter act. 1670–98R. Lassels Voy. Italy II. 167 This Hospital..is of great reception. It maintains two thousand sick and decrepid in it.
†8. A receptacle, a place of reception. Obs.
1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 172 Ascending first into a capsulary reception of the breast bone. 1696Stanhope Chr. Pattern (1711) 324 Make me room in thy heart, and let it be a clean and fit reception for so pure a guest.
†9. Recovery, recapture. Obs.—1
1622Bacon Hen. VII 44 Hee was right glad of the French Kings reception of those Townes from Maximilian.
10. Comb., as (sense 2 c) reception area, reception camp, reception-clerk, reception committee, reception counter, reception day, reception desk, reception evening, reception hall, reception night, reception room, reception town; reception centre, a centre for the reception of newcomers or visitors; spec. a hostel providing temporary accommodation for the destitute; reception class, the lowest class in an infant school, into which children going to school for the first time are admitted; reception order, an order authorizing the reception and detention of a person in a lunatic asylum; reception statute U.S. Law, a statute passed by an American state after Independence providing that the common law of England be received as binding in that state, subject to repeal and local interpretation.
1939Times 2 Nov. 8/7 While anxiety was expressed about the effects of breaking up home life, tributes were paid to householders and others in the *reception areas for their friendly helpfulness. 1971F. Finlay Boy in Prison vi. 79, I was handed over to one of the Grendon officers, who greeted me pleasantly and took me down an open pathway to the reception area. 1979Tucson Mag. June 40/1 There was..a wedding performed in an airplane followed by a sky dive to the reception area.
1918W. Owen Let. 13 Sept. (1967) 576 Write to the 2nd Man., not this *Recep. Camp as I'll be joining about Sunday. 1954Encounter Feb. 39/2 It is when the fugitive succeeds in moving to the reception camps of Western Germany, and..back into civil life, that his enthusiasm turns to disgust.
1942Nation 27 Apr. 41 Men passing the ‘screening test’ will be ordered promptly to *reception centers for final examination and induction. 1948Act 11 & 12 Geo. VI c. 29 §17 It shall be the duty of the [National Assistance] Board to make provision whereby persons without a settled way of living may be influenced to lead a more settled life, and the Board shall provide and maintain centres, to be known as reception centres, for the provision of temporary board and lodging for such persons. 1957H. Roosenburg Walls came tumbling Down ix. 199 We were waiting for a truck to take us to a DP reception centre. 1978C. A. Berry Gentleman of Road ix. 69 Normal folk who live on the other side of the soup enjoy reception centres close to their doors as little as they favour Salvation Army hostels or prisons.
1972Where Jan. 10/1 If a few children in each *reception class could already read well, teachers would be forced to make more flexible arrangements. 1980Guardian 24 June 11/2 Children with problems are very often referred as priority cases to..reception classes in infants schools.
1934T. F. Tweed Blind Mouths ii. 11 The *reception-clerk, who had been placidly reading his newspaper, dropped it and became suddenly alert. 1981L. Deighton XPD xxvii. 220 [He] walked quickly across to..the lift... The reception clerk looked up.
1851W. K. Northall Before & Behind Curtain 89 We believe Mr. Marks consulted some members of the *reception-committee. 1920[see extremist]. 1960C. MacInnes Mr. Love & Justice 96 If you've got any ideas of seeing a lawyer, or having any sort of reception committee for me, that's up to you. 1978Navy News Oct. 2/1 Among the ‘reception committee’ were the mayor and treasurer of the town of Ajax, Ontario.
1975N. Luard Robespierre Serial xv. 133 The hotel manager was behind the *reception counter.
1853E. Twisleton Let. 16 Jan. (1928) iv. 67 It was Mrs. Crawford's *reception day, and I was struck with her excellent, easy manners. 1884G. Meredith Let. 30 May (1970) II. 738, I..hope to present my respects on one of her reception days. 1896Harper's Mag. Apr. 680/1 By this time Duncan and his friends were frequenting all Madame de Champbaron's reception days.
1936‘J. Tey’ Shilling for Candles xxiv. 263 He shot into the darkness of the great lounge and across it to the green light of the *reception desk. 1940E. Gill Autobiogr. vi. 180, I went to the hotel and managed to make myself understood at the Reception Desk. 1978S. Sheldon Bloodline xliii. 363 Alec followed the waiter out of the large dining room into the small office behind the reception desk.
1846J. K. Polk Diary of President (1929) 70 These informal *reception evenings are very pleasant.
1938D. du Maurier Rebecca iii. 17 A certain sofa..midway between the *reception hall and the passage to the restaurant. 1976Washington Post 19 Apr. c17/6 (Advt.), First floor has a very large reception hall, spacious living room [etc.].
1848S. Thorne Jrnl. Boy's Trip (1936) 30 To night being *reception night I went to see the President and his lady again.
1890Act 53 Vict. c. 5 §4 Received and detained as a lunatic..under a *reception order made by the judicial authority. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 430 The Reception Order of a justice is sufficient authority to take the patient to, and to receive him in an asylum, or to detain him there if he has already been removed on an Urgency Order.
1829Lytton Devereux ii. v, Such was the *reception-room of Beau Fielding. 1846S. S. Magoffin Diary 7 Aug. in S. M. Drumm Down Santa Fé Trail (1926) 70 My dirt-floored chamber, dining-room, parlour, reception room &c. &c. is quite dessolate. 1880G. Meredith Tragic Com. (1881) 8 He was in her father's reception-room when she reached home. 1906C. H. B. Quennell Mod. Suburban Houses p. vii, The accommodation generally required is the three usual reception rooms—sometimes Drawing and Dining Rooms will suffice with what is known to the House Agent as the Sitting Hall in addition. 1961Times 18 Oct. 20/2 More often than not, reception-room heating is inadequate.
1931Columbia Law Rev. XXXI. 416 The so-called *reception statutes vary in form, in the date chosen as a deadline, and as to the implications of the extent of reception. 1956E. H. Pollack Fundamentals of Legal Research i. 10 The ‘reception’ statutes, enacted by most American states in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, gave special recognition to the English common law and statutes..as of 1607, the date of the earliest English settlement at Jamestown. 1976J. K. Lieberman Milestones! i. 19 Reception statutes did not freeze into place the particulars of the common law of England... What was received..was the process of the common law..not the particular results that English judges had reached.
1958Times Rev. Industry Feb. 24/1 Some 70,000 people are to be ‘overspilled’ from Glasgow City over the next 10 to 15 years into the new towns..and other *reception towns.
Hence reˈceptionism (see quot. 1900); reˈceptionist, (a) a believer in receptionism; (b) a person employed by a hotel, medical surgery, or other organization, to receive clients, etc. (cf. reception 2 e.)
1867Cobb Kiss of Peace 4 We must..give this opinion a name. Let us call it the ‘Theory of Reception’, and its professors ‘Receptionists’. 1900D. Stone Outl. Chr. Dogma xi. 191 Receptionism is the view that the bread and wine remain only bread and wine after consecration; but that, together with them, the faithful communicant really receives the body and blood of Christ. 1901Girl's Own Paper 12 Jan. 234/1 She answered an advertisement of a Kensington photographer who needed a ‘receptionist’ and saleswoman—shop-woman in fact. 1927Daily Express 19 Feb. 2/4 An operation which she underwent..for the purpose of advertising the [plastic surgery] business, and on condition that she would continue to be employed as secretary and receptionist. 1932D. L. Sayers Have his Carcase iii. 41 ‘Ai'm afraid,’ said the receptionist..‘that all our rooms are engaged.’ 1956Times 21 Jan. 7/5 Such a qualification would ensure that the secretary..could, in her employer's absence, conduct responsible interviews on his behalf, as opposed to receptionist duties. 1960M. Spark Bachelors vii. 99 Dr Lyte sat in his consulting room after the last of the evening surgery had departed and his receptionist had locked up and gone home. 1976B. Bova Multiple Man (1977) vi. 66 The reception lobby was equally quiet... A curved desk with all the paraphernalia of a busy receptionist... But no people. |
