请输入您要查询的单词：

　

单词 distil
释义

distil

English

WOTD – 29 April 2022

Alternative forms

  • distill US

Etymology

PIE word
*de
A simple setup for distillation using an alembic. The substance to be distilled (sense 1.3) is placed in the retort on the left and heated. The substance vaporizes and travels down the long neck of the retort into the flask on the right, where it condenses back into a liquid as the flask is being cooled with water from a tap.

From Late Middle English distillen (“to fall, flow, or shed in drops, drop, trickle; to shed drops; to fill (the eyes) with tears; (alchemy, medicine) to subject (something) to distillation; to obtain (something) using distillation; to distil; to condense or vaporize; (figuratively) to give (good fortune) to; to say (slanderous words)”) [and other forms],[1] from Old French distiller (modern French distiller (“to distil”)), and from its etymon Latin distīllāre, a variant of Latin dēstīllāre, the present active infinitive of dēstīllō (“to drip or trickle down; to distil”), from dē- (prefix meaning ‘down, down from, down to’) + stīllō (“to drip, drop, trickle; to distil”) (from stīlla (“drop of liquid; (figuratively) small quantity”), probably a diminutive of stīria (“ice drop; icicle”), from Proto-Indo-European *ster- (“stiff”)).[2]

cognates
  • French distiller (“to distil”)
  • Italian distillare (“to distil”)
  • Occitan distillar
  • Portuguese destilar (“to distil; to drip”)
  • Spanish destilar (“to distil; to exude; to filter”)

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /dɪˈstɪl/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /dəˈstɪl/
  • Rhymes: -ɪl
  • Hyphenation: di‧stil

Verb

distil (third-person singular simple present distils, present participle distilling, simple past and past participle distilled) (British spelling)

  1. (transitive)
    1. To exude (a liquid) in small drops; also, to give off (a vapour) which condenses in small drops.
      Firs distil resin.
      • 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book XXVII.] Of Stinking Horehound: Of Mille-graine, or Oke of Ierusalem: Of Brabyla, Bryon, Bupleuros, Catanance: Of Calla, Circæa, and Cirsium: Of Cratægonon and Thelygonum: Of Crocodilium and Cynosorchis: Of Chrysolachanon, Cucubalon, and Conserva..”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the VVorld. Commonly Called, The Natvrall Historie of C. Plinivs Secvndus. […], 2nd tome, London: […] Adam Islip, published 1635, OCLC 1180792622, page 280:
        [I]t [Silene] eaſeth the head-ach, if togither vvith oile of roſes it be diſtilled upon the head by vvay of embrochation.
      • 1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554, lines 54–57:
        [B]eſide it [the tree of the knowledge of good and evil] ſtood / One ſhap'd & wing'd like one of thoſe from Heav'n / By us oft ſeen; his dewie locks diſtill'd / Ambroſia; […]
      • 1692, John Ray, “Upon a Review of the Precedent Discourse, Some Things Thought Fit to be Added and Amended”, in Miscellaneous Discourses Concerning the Dissolution and Changes of the World. […], London: […] Samuel Smith, […], OCLC 1170228407, pages 250–251:
        [page 250] […] Trees do deſtil VVater a pace when Clouds or Miſts hang about them; […] [page 251] Beſides that in hot Regions Trees may in the nigh time deſtil VVater, though the Air be clear, and there be no Miſt about them, […]
      • 1912, J[ean-]Henri Fabre, “The Garden Spiders: Pairing and Hunting”, in Alexander Teixeira de Mattos, transl., The Life of the Spider, New York, N.Y.: Blue Ribbon Books, OCLC 2130389, page 315:
        Animals are a little like ourselves: they excel in an art only on condition of specializing in it. The Epeira, who, being omnivorous, is obliged to generalize, abandons scientific methods and makes up for this by distilling a poison capable of producing torpor and even death, no matter what the point attacked.
    2. (by extension, figuratively) To impart (information, etc.) in small quantities; to infuse.
      • 1630, Robert Sanderson, “[Ad Populum.] The First Sermon. At the Assises at Lincoln in the Year 1630. at the Request of Sir Daniel Deligne Knight, then High-Sheriff of that County.”, in XXXIV Sermons. […], 5th edition, London: […] [A. Clark] for A. Seil, and are to be sold by G. Sawbridge, […], published 1671, OCLC 1227554849, paragraph 5, page 253:
        But of all other men our Solomon could leaſt be ignorant of this truth. Not only for that reaſon, becauſe God had filled his heart vvith a large meaſure of vviſdom beyond other men: but even for this reaſon alſo: that being born of vviſe and godly Parents, and born to a Kingdom too, […] he had this truth (conſidering the great uſefulneſs of it to him in the vvhole time of his future Government) early diſtilled into him by both his Parents, and vvas ſeaſoned thereinto from his childhood in his education.
      • 1881, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, “Rose Mary”, in Ballads and Sonnets, London: Ellis and White, […], OCLC 946729536, part III, stanza 3, page 49:
        She felt the slackening frost distil / Through her blood the last ooze dull and chill: / Her lids were dry and her lips were still.
    3. To heat (a substance, usually a liquid) so that a vapour is produced, and then to cool the vapour so that it condenses back into a liquid, either to purify the original substance or to obtain one of its components; to subject to distillation.
      • 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene v], page 373, column 1:
        Haue I not bene / Thy Pupill long? Haſt thou not learn'd me hovv / To make Perfumes? Diſtill? Preſerue?
      • 1823 November 30, Michael Faraday, “LXXXVI. On Fluid Chlorine. […]”, in Alexander Tilloch and Richard Taylor, editors, The Philosophical Magazine and Journal: Comprehending the Various Branches of Science, the Liberal and Fine Arts, Agriculture, Manufactures, and Commerce, volume LXII, number 307, London: […] Richard Taylor, […]; and sold by Cadell; Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown; […], OCLC 1236055946, page 414:
        By putting the hydrate into a bent tube, afterwards hermetically sealed, I found it easy, after decomposing it by a heat of 100°, to distil the yellow fluid to one end of the tube, and so separate it from the remaining portion.
      • 1869 August 21, John Lyon, “The Self-made Chemist. A True Story, from the Scrap-book of an Old Reporter.”, in The Utah Magazine: The Home Journal of the People. […], volume III, number 16, Salt Lake City, Ut.: W[illiam] S[amuel] Godbe and E[lias] L[acy] T[homas] Harrison, OCLC 310857667, page 251, column 2:
        [I]n fact, it [kelp] is used in a variety of medicines; we boil, burn, and distil it to produce salts, corrodents, sublimates, and other medicinal substances.
    4. Followed by off or out: to expel (a volatile substance) from something by distillation.
    5. (also figuratively)
      1. To extract the essence of (something) by, or as if by, distillation; to concentrate, to purify.
        • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame. […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, […], published 1600, OCLC 1041029189, [Act I, scene i]:
          But earthlyer happy is the roſe diſtild, / Then that, vvhich, vvithering on the virgin thorne, / Grovves, liues, and dies, in ſingle bleſſedneſſe.
        • 1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 5”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […]‎, London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, OCLC 216596634:
          But flovvers diſtil'd though they vvith vvinter meete, / Leeſe but their ſhow, their ſubſtance ſtill liues ſvveet.
        • [1633], George Herbert, “Praise”, in [Nicholas Ferrar], editor, The Temple: Sacred Poems, and Private Ejaculations, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Thomas Buck and Roger Daniel; and are to be sold by Francis Green, […], OCLC 1048966979; reprinted London: Elliot Stock, […], 1885, OCLC 54151361, page 53:
          An herb deſtill'd, and drunk, may dvvell next doore, / On the ſame floore, / To a brave ſoul: Exalt the poore, / They can do more.
        • 1750 September 21, Samuel Johnson, “No. [51]. Monday, September 10. 1750 [Julian calendar].”, in The Rambler, volume II, Edinburgh: [[…] Sands, Murray, and Cochran]; sold by W. Gordon, C. Wright, J. Yair, […], published 1750, OCLC 702676921, page 195:
          [T]he ladies […] begged me to excuſe ſome large ſieves of leaves and flowers that covered two thirds of the floor; for they intended to diſtil them when they were dry, and they had no other room that ſo conveniently received the riſing ſun.
        • 1914, Louis Joseph Vance, “Anarchy”, in Nobody, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, published 1915, OCLC 40817384, pages 18–19:
          Little disappointed, then, she turned attention to "Chat of the Social World," gossip which exercised potent fascination upon the girl's intelligence. She devoured with more avidity than she had her food those pretentiously phrased chronicles of the snobocracy— […] distilling therefrom an acid envy that robbed her napoleon of all its savour.
      2. To transform a thing (into something else) by distillation.
        • a. 1638 (date written)​, Benjamin Jonson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “The Sad Shepherd: Or, A Tale of Robin-Hood”, in The Workes of Benjamin Jonson. The Second Volume. […] (Second Folio), London: […] Richard Meighen, published 1640, OCLC 51546498, Act I, scene vi, page 138:
          Ile grovv to your embraces, till tvvo ſoules / Diſtilled into kiſſes, through our lips / Doe make one ſpirit of love.
      3. (also figuratively) To make (something, especially spirits such as gin and whisky) by distillation.
        • 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene i], page 83, column 2:
          There is ſome ſoule of goodneſſe in things euill, / VVould men obſeruingly diſtill it out.
        • c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Famous Historie of Troylus and Cresseid. […] (First Quarto), London: […] G[eorge] Eld for R[ichard] Bonian and H[enry] Walley, […], published 1609, OCLC 951696502, [Act I, scene iii]:
          It is ſuppoſ'd / He that meetes Hector, yſſues from our choice, / And choice (being mutuall act of all our ſoules) / Makes merit her election, and doth boyle, / (As tvvere from forth vs all) a man diſtill'd / Out of our vertues, […]
        • 1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 119”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […]‎, London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, OCLC 216596634:
          VVhat potions haue I drunke of Syren teares / Diſtil'd from Lymbecks foule as hell vvithin, / Applying feares to hops, and hopes to feares, / Still looſing vvhen I ſavv my ſelfe to vvin?
        • 1634, T[homas] H[erbert], “A Discourse of the Life and Habit of the Persians at This Present”, in A Relation of Some Yeares Travaile, Begunne Anno 1626. into Afrique and the Greater Asia, […], London: […] William Stansby, and Jacob Bloome, OCLC 869931719, page 150:
          They haue Arack or Vſquebagh, diſtilled from Dates or Rice, both vvhich are Epidemick in their mirth and Feſtiuals.
        • 1830, Alfred Tennyson, “To J. M. K.”, in The Complete Poetical Works of Alfred Tennyson, Chicago, Ill.: The Dominion Company, published 1897, OCLC 1157956905, page 32:
          Thou art no Sabbath drawler of old saws, / Distill'd from some worm-canker'd homily; / But spurr'd at heart with fieriest energy / To embattail and to wall about thy cause / With iron-worded proof, […]
    6. (obsolete) To dissolve or melt (something).
      • 1705, J[oseph] Addison, “Rome”, in Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 1051505315, page 361:
        Swords by the Light'ning's ſubtile Force diſtill'd, / And the cold Sheath with running Metal fill'd: […]
  2. (intransitive)
    1. To fall or trickle down in small drops; to exude, to ooze out; also, to come out as a vapour which condenses in small drops.
      • 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], “Of the Place of Paradise”, in The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], OCLC 37026674, 1st book, §. XV (A Conclusion by Way of Repetition of Some Things Spoken of before):
        The Euphrates […] diſtilleth out of the mountains of Armenia.
      • 1697, Virgil, “The Third Pastoral. Or, Palæmon”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 403869432, lines 138–139, page 15:
        Let Myrrh inſtead of Thorn his Fences fill: / And Show'rs of Hony from his Oaks diſtil.
      • a. 1701 (date written)​, John Dryden, “The Epithalamium of Helen and Menelaus. From the 18th Idyllium of Theocritus.”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume II, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, OCLC 863244003, page 412:
        Balm, from a ſilver-box diſtill'd around, / Shall all bedew the roots, and ſcent the ſacred ground.
      • 1713, Alexander Pope, “Windsor-Forest. […]”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], published 1717, OCLC 43265629, page 52:
        In vain kind ſeaſons ſwell'd the teeming grain, / Soft ſhow'rs distill'd, and Suns grew warm in vain; / The ſwain with tears to beaſts his labour yields, / And famiſh'd dies amidſt his ripen'd fields.
      • 1743, Henry Fielding, “Of Several New Matters Not Expected”, in The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews, and His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams. […], volume I, 3rd edition, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], OCLC 1157347657, book I, page 42:
        Nothing can be imagined more tender than vvas the Parting betvveen theſe tvvo Lovers. A thouſand Sighs heaved the Boſom of Joſeph; a thouſand Tears diſtilled from the lovely Eyes of Fanny, […]
      • 1810, Robert Southey, “The Enchantress”, in The Curse of Kehama, London: […] [F]or Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […], by James Ballantyne and Co. […], OCLC 4482677, page 113:
        The wine which from yon wounded palm on high / Fills yonder gourd, as slowly it distills, / Grows sour at once if Lorrinite pass by.
    2. To flow or pass gently or slowly; hence (figuratively) to be manifested gently or gradually.
      • 1610, The Second Tome of the Holie Bible, […] (Douay–Rheims Bible), Doway: Lavrence Kellam, […], OCLC 1006139495, Daniel 9:11, page 795:
        And al Iſrael haue tranſgreſſed thy law, and haue declined from hearing thy voice, and the malediction hath diſtilled vpon vs, & the deteſtation, which is written in the booke of Moyſes the ſeruant of God, becauſe we haue ſinned to him.
      • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Deuteronomy 32:2, column 2:
        My doctrine ſhall drop as the raine: my ſpeach ſhall diſtill as the deaw, as the ſmal raine vpon the tender herbe, and as the ſhowres vpon the graſſe.
      • 1704, [Jonathan Swift], “Section III. A Digression Concerning Criticks.”, in A Tale of a Tub. […], London: […] John Nutt, […], OCLC 752990886, page 79:
        [L]et the Subject treated on be vvhatever it vvill, their Imaginations are ſo entirely poſſeſs'd and replete vvith the Defects of other Pens, that the very Quinteſſence of what is bad, does of neceſſity diſtil into their ovvn: by vvhich means the vvhole appears to be nothing elſe but an Abſtract of the Criticiſms themſelves have made.
      • 1715, Homer; [Alexander] Pope, transl., “Book I”, in The Iliad of Homer, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], OCLC 670734254, lines 331–332, page 16:
        Th' experienced Neſtor, in Perſuaſion skill'd, / Words, ſweet as Honey, from his Lips diſtill'd: […]
      • a. 1837 (date written), Robert Grant, “Psalm CIV [O Worship the King]”, in [Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg], editor, Sacred Poems. […], new edition, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1868, OCLC 18697636, stanza 4, page 34:
        Thy bountiful care / What tongue can recite? / It breathes in the air, / It shines in the light: / It streams from the hills, / It descends to the plain, / And sweetly distils / In the dew and the rain.
    3. To drip or be wet with some liquid.
      • [1716], [John] Gay, “Book III. Of Walking the Streets by Night.”, in Trivia: Or, The Art of Walking the Streets of London, London: Printed for Bernard Lintott, […], OCLC 13598122, page 56:
        So vvhen tvvo Boars, in vvild Ytene bred, / Or on VVeſtphalia’s fatt’ning Cheſt-nuts fed, / […] / In the black Flood they vvallovv o’er and o’er, / ’Till their arm’d Javvs diſtill vvith Foam and Gore.
      • 1720, Homer; [Alexander] Pope, transl., “Book XVII”, in The Iliad of Homer, volume V, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], OCLC 670734254, lines 69–72, page 6:
        [B]efore ſome Mountain Lion's Ire / The village Curs, and trembling Svvains retire; / VVhen o'er the ſlaughter'd Bull they hear him roar, / And ſee his Javvs diſtil vvith ſmoaking Gore; […]
      • 1815, [Thomas Love Peacock], chapter XIII, in Headlong Hall, London: Printed for T[homas] Hookham, Jun. and Co. […], published 1816, OCLC 18891180, page 166:
        [A] magnificent beau in silk stockings and pumps, bounding, skipping, swinging, capering, and throwing himself into ten thousand attitudes, till his face glows with fever, and distils with perspiration: […]
    4. To turn into a vapour and then condense back into a liquid; to undergo or be produced by distillation.
      • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Unity in Religion. III.”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, OCLC 863521290, page 13:
        The outvvard Peace of the Church, Diſtilleth into Peace of Conſcience; […]
      • 1823 November 30, Michael Faraday, “LXXXVI. On Fluid Chlorine. […]”, in Alexander Tilloch and Richard Taylor, editors, The Philosophical Magazine and Journal: Comprehending the Various Branches of Science, the Liberal and Fine Arts, Agriculture, Manufactures, and Commerce, volume LXII, number 307, London: […] Richard Taylor, […]; and sold by Cadell; Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown; […], OCLC 1236055946, page 419:
        Carbonic acid is a limpid colourless body, extremely fluid, and floating upon the other contents of the tube. It distills readily and rapidly at the difference of temperature between 32° and 0°.

Conjugation

Conjugation of distil
infinitive(to) distil
present tensepast tense
1st-person singular distil distilled
2nd-person singular
3rd-person singular distils
plural distil
subjunctive distil distilled
imperative distil —
participles distilling distilled

Alternative forms

  • distill (American spelling)

Derived terms

  • distillable
  • distillage (rare)
  • distilled (adjective)
  • distiller
  • distillery
  • distilling (adjective, noun)
  • distilment
  • redistil
  • distillate
  • distillation
  • distillatory
  • still (device for distilling liquids)

Translations

to impart (information, etc.) in small quantities — See also translations at infuse
to extract the essence of (something) by, or as if by, distillation — See also translations at concentrate,‎ purify
to fall or trickle down in small drops; to come out as a vapour which condenses in small drops — See also translations at exude,‎ ooze

References

  1. “distillen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. Compare “distil | distill, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2021; “distil, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

  • distillation on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Old High German

Alternative forms

  • distila

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *þistil, see also Old English þistel, Old Norse þistill.

Noun

distil f

  1. thistle

Descendants

  • Middle High German: distel
    • German: Distel
    • Luxembourgish: Dëschtel
    • Vilamovian: döstuł
    • Pennsylvania German: Dischdel
随便看

　

国际大辞典收录了7408809条英语、德语、日语等多语种在线翻译词条，基本涵盖了全部常用单词及词组的翻译及用法，是外语学习的有利工具。

　

Copyright © 2004-2023 idict.net All Rights Reserved
京ICP备2021023879号 更新时间：2024/9/5 11:32:48