| 释义 |
▪ I. † sleuth, n.1 Obs.
Forms: 1 slæwð, slæwþ, 2 slewðe, 4 sleawþe, 4–5 slewthe, 4–6 slewth; 1 sleuð, 3–4 sleuþe, 4 sleuȝþe, sleauþe, 4–6 sleuthe (5 scl-), 4–6 sleuth, 7 slouth.
[OE. slǽwð, f. sláw slow a. + -th1. In later use chiefly northern and Sc.]
1. Sloth; laziness.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xviii. §3 For heora slæwðd & for ᵹimeleste & eac for recceleste. c1000ælfric in Assmann Ags. Hom. i. 224 We ne maᵹon mid slæwðe..þa ecan myrhðe mid Gode ᵹeearnian. c1175Lamb. Hom. 103 Desidia, þet is slewðe on englisc. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7508 Þet folc..turnde to sleuþe & to prute & to lecherie. 1340Ayenb. 32 Efterward comþ sleuþe. Ibid., Efter sleauþe is uoryetinge. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 355 Þey..ȝeueþ hem alle to idelnesse and to sleuþe. 1422tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 228 A grete vysage and broode tokenyth slewthe in manere, as Oxeen and Assis. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 1749 Why er we þus in sleuth sett? 1513Douglas æneid x. vi. 46 Than na delay of sleuth, nor feir, ne bost, Wythheld Turnus. 1529Rastell Pastyme (1811) 77 Slewth, gloteny, and other pleasurs. 1557Paynell Jugurtha 92 There was neuer man whiche obtayned..euerlastyng name by cowardise or sleuth. c1600Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 1560 Then let us remuve, And sleip nae mair in sleuth. 1629Sir W. Mure True Crucifix 3113 Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 294 Not in the Bed of slouth Reposing.
b. As a ‘proper term’ (cf. sloth n.1 3).
1486Bk. St. Albans f vj, A Sleuth of Beeris.
2. Slowness, slow movement. rare—1.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 207 By þe sleuþe of þe manere of tunes.
▪ II. sleuth, n.2|sluːθ|
Forms: 3–4 sloþ, 4–5 sloth, 4 slotht, slog(t)h; 5 Sc. sloith, slouth, sluth(e, 5 Sc., 9 sleuth.
[In sense 1 a. ON. (and Icel.) slóð (Norw. slod, slo) track, trail. In sense 2 ellipt. for sleuth-hound.]
†1.
a. The track or trail of a person or animal; a definite track or path. Also fig. Obs.
c1200Ormin 1194 Ȝiff þu..follȝhesst aȝȝ clænnessess sloþ, & læresst me to follȝhenn. a1300Cursor M. 1254 In þat way sal þou find forsoth Þi moders and mine our bather slogh [v.r. sloth]. Ibid. 1285, etc. 1375Barbour Bruce vii. 44 Iohne of Lorn Persauit the hund the sleuth had lorn. 1429in Cal. Doc. rel. Scot. (1888) IV. 404 Gif onny man..makking lauchful sluthe as the trewis wil, be slayne. c1470Henry Wallace v. 137 The sloith stoppyt, at Fawdoun still scho [sc. the dog] stude.
b. attrib., as sleuth-dog, etc.
c1470Henry Wallace v. 96 Bot this sloth brache [v.r. sluth ratche]..On Wallace fute folowit so felloune fast. 1802Surtees Fray Suport ix. in Scott Minstrelsy, Lang Aicky..Wi' his sleuth-dog sits in his watch right sure. 1822Scott Peveril xli, The sleuth-dog, which, eager, fierce, and clamorous in pursuit of his prey, desists from it so soon as blood is sprinkled upon his path.
2. a. A bloodhound. Hence sleuth-like adj.b. orig. U.S. A detective. Also transf.
1872N.Y. Fireside Compan. 13 May 4/3 The name of the story is Sleuth, the Detective and a more remarkable and thrilling story has seldom ever been written. 1876N. Amer. Rev. CXXIII. 371 The quiet, untiring sluth-like assiduity with which Mr. Silden was ferreting out their wrong-doings. 1904‘O. Henry’ Cabbages & Kings iv. 73 Goodwin followed at increased speed, but without any of the artful tactics that are so dear to the heart of the sleuth. 1907Black Cat June 11 The sleuths whose protection he had invoked. 1908Westm. Gaz. 28 Aug. 2/3 The ‘sleuth’ that tracks down the murderer. 1949Manch. Guardian Weekly 22 Dec. 2/3 A school of newspaper sleuths who attributed every declaration of American foreign policy to the hidden hand of George Kennan. 1958‘J. Byrom’ Or be he Dead v. 69, I gather you have Miss Canning as your assistant sleuth. 1979Oxf. Jrnl. 16 Nov. 1 (caption) Amateur sleuths Gordon Murray and Jane Lawton... Their investigations launched a top-level probe into an Oxford business.
▪ III. † sleuth, a.1 Sc. Obs. rare.
Also 7 slueth.
[irreg. f. sleuth n.1]
Slothful, slow.
1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 180 Wald thay na mair Impugne the treuth, Syne in thair office be nocht sleuth [1621 slueth]. 1570Satir. Poems Reform. x. 92 Quhen pleisit God to send ȝow Scottis þe treuth, The same to further at Leith he was not sleuth.
▪ IV. sleuth, a.2 rare—1.
[Inferred from sleuth-hound.]
Persistent, dogged.
1864Blackmore Clara Vaughan vii, A treacherous, blue, three-cornered blade,..sleuth as hate, and tenacious as death.
▪ V. † sleuth, v.1
Also 3 sleuhþen, 5 slewthyn; 5–6 slewth, 6 Sc. sleucht, sluthe.
[f. sleuth n.1 In later use only Sc.]
1. intr. To be slothful. rare.
c1300Moral Ode [37] in Anglia I. 9 Ne solde no man don a first, ne sleuhþen wel to donne. c1440Promp. Parv. 459/1 Slewthyn, or sluggon, torpeo, torpesco.
2. trans. To delay, put off, neglect.
c1430Pilgr. Lyf Manhode ii. xc. (1869) 108, I slewthede it, and dide no more ther too;..and wel ofte bi me hath be many a good werk slewthed. 1450Paston Lett. I. 175 That thys be not slewthed, for taryeng drawth perell. 1513Douglas æneid xi. ix. 62 Mony was him self he accusit, That he sa lang had slewthit and refusit To ressaue glaidly the Troiane Enee. 1534St. Papers Hen. VIII, V. 12 We do nocht sleucht nor contenow no manor thing yat concernis the King. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 135 Sieing all was sluthit, thair was no mischeif could befall our king bot was deliuerit wnto ws.
b. To waste in sloth.
1585Jas. I Ess. Poesie (Arb.) 74 Men sould be warr, To sleuth the tyme that flees fra them so farr.
Hence ˈsleuthing vbl. n.
c1450Godstow Reg. 78 With-out tariinge or slewthynge, al so sone as hyt myht lawfully be done. a1585Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 542 Persauis thou not quhat pretious tyme thy slewthing dois oreschute?
▪ VI. sleuth, v.2|sluːθ|
[f. sleuth n.2 2.]
a. trans. To track (a person); to investigate (something or someone). Also with out (in quot. 1939: to detect or expose).
1905Review of Rev. Sept. 254 Berton..has been sleuthed by the detectives. 1909Gunter Prince Karl 269 You sleuth her to Buffalo and it will get you a raise in salary. 1939[see record n. 5 g]. 1949Sun (Baltimore) 16 Nov. 14/3 Men who qualify for the tremendous job of sleuthing a single big industry like steel or coal—and determining the facts to make wage, hour and pension recommendations. 1956A. Christie Dead Man's Folly xviii. 240 ‘Who hired you to sleuth me?’.. ‘You are in error,’ replied Poirot. ‘I have not been sleuthing you.’ 1968P. Dickinson Skin Deep v. 108 It had been something private he'd sleuthed out, something secret. 1979Amer. Speech 1978 LIII. 285 Ten years ago, sleuthing a clue from Lenneberg, I wrote..‘The use of tools may be much older than language’.
b. intr. To act as a detective; to conduct an investigation. Also with around.
1912L. J. Vance Destroying Angel xx. 276 So I went sleuthing; traced you through the canal to Peconic. 1930‘Sapper’ Finger of Fate 99 My poor friend..labours under the delusion that he is a detective. He goes about with magnifying glasses, and sleuths. 1975High Times Dec. 31/2 If you sleuth around—beginning at the roach-infested gringo palace, the Hotel Astorial—you can get directions to the mushroom fields overlooking San José. 1980E. Dewhurst Drink This ii. 28 He had been sleuthing, unconsciously..all the time he had thought he was relaxing.
Hence ˈsleuthing vbl. n.
1900Ade More Fables 193 He called himself a Reformer, and he did all his Sleuthing in the line of Duty. 1924Weekly Westm. Gaz. 13 Sept. 580/2 One always knew all about his theories and his sleuthing. 1946Reader's Digest Sept. 76/1 Izzy knew nothing of sleuthing procedure; he simply knocked on the door. 1958T. F. T. Plucknett Early Eng. Legal Lit. v. 83 Teasing as these references are, they seem too obscure and divergent to permit any plausible conclusion as to the authorship of Brevia Placitata, in spite of the very clever sleuthing of Mr Turner. 1979Dædalus Summer 111 It is possible, through conscientious sleuthing, to decode the secondary associations of symbols. |
