资料来源 : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Comether \Co*meth"er\, n. [Prob. dial. pron. of come hither,
   used in calling cows, etc.] [Dial. or Colloq., Brit.]
   1. Matter; affair.

   2. Friendly communication or association.

   {To put} {the, or one's}, {comether on}, to exercise
      persuasion upon; to get under one's influence; to beguile;
      to wheedle.

            How does ut come about, sorr, that whin a man has
            put the comether on wan woman he's sure bound to put
            ut on another?                        --Kipling.

Spout \Spout\, n. [Cf. Sw. spruta a squirt, a syringe. See
   {Spout}, v. t.]
   1. That through which anything spouts; a discharging lip,
      pipe, or orifice; a tube, pipe, or conductor of any kind
      through which a liquid is poured, or by which it is
      conveyed in a stream from one place to another; as, the
      spout of a teapot; a spout for conducting water from the
      roof of a building. --Addison. ``A conduit with three
      issuing spouts.'' --Shak.

            In whales . . . an ejection thereof [water] is
            contrived by a fistula, or spout, at the head. --Sir
                                                  T. Browne.

            From silver spouts the grateful liquors glide.
                                                  --Pope.

   2. A trough for conducting grain, flour, etc., into a
      receptacle.

   3. A discharge or jet of water or other liquid, esp. when
      rising in a column; also, a waterspout.

   {To put}, {shove}, or {pop}, {up the spout}, to pawn or
      pledge at a pawnbroker's; -- in allusion to the spout up
      which the pawnbroker sent the ticketed articles. [Cant]

Staff \Staff\, n.; pl. {Staves} (? or ?; 277) or {Staffs}in
   senses 1-9, {Staffs} in senses 10, 11. [AS. st[ae]f a staff;
   akin to LG. & D. staf, OFries stef, G. stab, Icel. stafr, Sw.
   staf, Dan. stav, Goth. stabs element, rudiment, Skr.
   sth[=a]pay to cause to stand, to place. See {Stand}, and cf.
   {Stab}, {Stave}, n.]
   1. A long piece of wood; a stick; the long handle of an
      instrument or weapon; a pole or srick, used for many
      purposes; as, a surveyor's staff; the staff of a spear or
      pike.

            And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of
            the altar to bear it withal.          --Ex. xxxviii.
                                                  7.

            With forks and staves the felon to pursue. --Dryden.

   2. A stick carried in the hand for support or defense by a
      person walking; hence, a support; that which props or
      upholds. ``Hooked staves.'' --Piers Plowman.

            The boy was the very staff of my age. --Shak.

            He spoke of it [beer] in ``The Earnest Cry,'' and
            likewise in the ``Scotch Drink,'' as one of the
            staffs of life which had been struck from the poor
            man's hand.                           --Prof.
                                                  Wilson.

   3. A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority; a
      badge of office; as, a constable's staff.

            Methought this staff, mine office badge in court,
            Was broke in twain.                   --Shak.

            All his officers brake their staves; but at their
            return new staves were delivered unto them.
                                                  --Hayward.

   4. A pole upon which a flag is supported and displayed.

   5. The round of a ladder. [R.]

            I ascend at one [ladder] of six hundred and
            thirty-nine staves.                   --Dr. J.
                                                  Campbell (E.
                                                  Brown's
                                                  Travels).

   6. A series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded,
      the same order begins again; a stanza; a stave.

            Cowley found out that no kind of staff is proper for
            an heroic poem, as being all too lyrical. --Dryden.

   7. (Mus.) The five lines and the spaces on which music is
      written; -- formerly called stave.

   8. (Mech.) An arbor, as of a wheel or a pinion of a watch.

   9. (Surg.) The grooved director for the gorget, or knife,
      used in cutting for stone in the bladder.

   10. [From {Staff}, 3, a badge of office.] (Mil.) An
       establishment of officers in various departments attached
       to an army, to a section of an army, or to the commander
       of an army. The general's staff consists of those
       officers about his person who are employed in carrying
       his commands into execution. See {['E]tat Major}.

   11. Hence: A body of assistants serving to carry into effect
       the plans of a superintendant or manager; as, the staff
       of a newspaper.

   {Jacob's staff} (Surv.), a single straight rod or staff,
      pointed and iron-shod at the bottom, for penetrating the
      ground, and having a socket joint at the top, used,
      instead of a tripod, for supporting a compass.

   {Staff angle} (Arch.), a square rod of wood standing flush
      with the wall on each of its sides, at the external angles
      of plastering, to prevent their being damaged.

   {The staff of life}, bread. ``Bread is the staff of life.''
      --Swift.

   {Staff tree} (Bot.), any plant of the genus {Celastrus},
      mostly climbing shrubs of the northern hemisphere. The
      American species ({C. scandens}) is commonly called
      {bittersweet}. See 2d {Bittersweet}, 3
       (b) .

   {To set}, or {To put}, {up, or down}, {one's staff}, to take
      up one's residence; to lodge. [Obs.]

Back \Back\, n. [As b[ae]c, bac; akin to Icel., Sw., & LG. bak,
   Dan. bag; cf. OHG. bahho ham, Skr. bhaj to turn, OSlav. b?g?
   flight. Cf. {Bacon}.]
   1. In human beings, the hinder part of the body, extending
      from the neck to the end of the spine; in other animals,
      that part of the body which corresponds most nearly to
      such part of a human being; as, the back of a horse, fish,
      or lobster.

   2. An extended upper part, as of a mountain or ridge.

            [The mountains] their broad bare backs upheave Into
            the clouds.                           --Milton.

   3. The outward or upper part of a thing, as opposed to the
      inner or lower part; as, the back of the hand, the back of
      the foot, the back of a hand rail.

            Methought Love pitying me, when he saw this, Gave me
            your hands, the backs and palms to kiss. --Donne.

   4. The part opposed to the front; the hinder or rear part of
      a thing; as, the back of a book; the back of an army; the
      back of a chimney.

   5. The part opposite to, or most remote from, that which
      fronts the speaker or actor; or the part out of sight, or
      not generally seen; as, the back of an island, of a hill,
      or of a village.

   6. The part of a cutting tool on the opposite side from its
      edge; as, the back of a knife, or of a saw.

   7. A support or resource in reserve.

            This project Should have a back or second, that
            might hold, If this should blast in proof. --Shak.

   8. (Naut.) The keel and keelson of a ship.

   9. (Mining) The upper part of a lode, or the roof of a
      horizontal underground passage.

   10. A garment for the back; hence, clothing.

             A bak to walken inne by daylight.    --Chaucer.

   {Behind one's back}, when one is absent; without one's
      knowledge; as, to ridicule a person behind his back.

   {Full back}, {Half back}, {Quarter back} (Football), players
      stationed behind those in the front line.

   {To be or lie on one's back}, to be helpless.

   {To put}, {or get}, {one's back up}, to assume an attitude of
      obstinate resistance (from the action of a cat when
      attacked.). [Colloq.]

   {To see the back of}, to get rid of.

   {To turn the back}, to go away; to flee.

   {To turn the back on one}, to forsake or neglect him.

the formal act of taking command of a vessel for service,
hoisting the flag, reading the orders, etc.

   {To put a vessel out of commission} (Naut.), to detach the
      officers and crew and retire it from active service,
      temporarily or permanently.

   {To put} {the great seal, or the Treasury}, {into
   commission}, to place it in the hands of a commissioner or
      commissioners during the abeyance of the ordinary
      administration, as between the going out of one lord
      keeper and the accession of another. [Eng.]

   {The United States Christian Commission}, an organization
      among the people of the North, during the Civil War, which
      afforded material comforts to the Union soldiers, and
      performed services of a religious character in the field
      and in hospitals.

   {The United States Sanitary Commission}, an organization
      formed by the people of the North to co["o]perate with and
      supplement the medical department of the Union armies
      during the Civil War.

   Syn: Charge; warrant; authority; mandate; office; trust;
        employment.