fair+sex

the fair sex, the weaker sex, the gentle sex

fair sex / weaker sex / womankind

* * *

(gen. pl. augna), n.

1) eye;

lúka (bregða) upp augum, bregða augum í sundr, to open (lift up) the eyes;

lúka aptr augum, to shift the eyes;

renna (bregða, leiða) augum til e-s, to turn the eyes to;

leiða e-n augum, to measure one with the eyes;

berja augum í e-t, to take into consideration;

koma augum á e-t, to set eyes on, become aware of;

hafa auga á e-u, t have, keep, an eye upon;

segja e-t í augu upp, to one’s face, right in the face;

unna e-m sem augum í höfði sér, as one’s own eye-balls;

e-m vex e-t í augu, one has scruples about;

náit er nef augum, the nose is neighbor to the eyes;

gløggt er gests augat, a guest’s eye is sharp;

mörg eru dags augu, the day has many eyes;

eigi leyna augu, ef ann kona manni, the eyes cannot hide it if a woman loves a man;

2) hole, aperture in a needle (nálarauga), in a millstone (kvarnarauga) or an axe-head;

3) pit full of water.

* * *

n., gen. pl. augna, [Lat. oculus, a dimin. of an obsolete ocus; Gr. οφθαλμός (Boeot. οκταλμός); Sanskr. aksha: the word is common to Sanskrit with the Slavonic, Greek, Roman, and Teutonic idioms: Goth. augo; Germ, auge; A. S. eâge; Engl. eye; Scot. ee; Swed. öga; Dan. öje, etc. Grimm s. v. suggests a relationship to Lat. acies, acutus, etc. The letter n appears in the plur. of the mod. northern languages; the Swedes say ‘ögon,’ oculi, the Danes ‘öjne;’ with the article ‘ögonen’ and ‘öjnene;’ Old Engl. ‘eyne;’ Scot. ‘een’]

I. an eye. It is used in Icel. in a great many proverbs, e. g. betr sjá augu en auga, ‘two eyes see better than one,’ i. e. it is good to yield to advice: referring to love, unir auga meðan á sér, the eye is pleased whilst it can behold (viz. the object of its affection), Fas. i. 125, cp. Völs. rím. 4. 189; eigi leyna augu, ef ann kona manni, the eyes cannot bide it, if a woman love a man, i. e. they tell their own tale, Ísl. ii. 251. This pretty proverb is an απ. λεγ. l. c. and is now out of use; it is no doubt taken from a poem in a dróttkvætt metre, (old proverbs have alliteration, but neither rhymes nor assonance, rhyming proverbs are of a comparatively late date): medic., eigi er sá heill er í augun verkir, Fbr. 75; sá drepr opt fæti ( slips) er augnanna missir, Bs. i. 742; hætt er einu auganu nema vel fari, he who has only one eye to lose will take care of it (comm.); húsbóndans auga sér bezt, the master’s eye sees best; glögt er gests augat, a guest’s eye is sharp; mörg eru dags augu, the day has many eyes, i. e. what is to be hidden must not be done in broad daylight, Hm. 81; náið er nef augum, the nose is near akin to the eyes (tua res agitur paries quum proximus ardet), Nj. 21; opt verðr slíkt á sæ, kvað selr, var skotinn í auga, this often happens at sea, quoth the seal, when he was shot in the eye, of one who is in a scrape, Fms. viii. 402. In many phrases, at unna ( to love) e-m sem augum í höfði sér, as one’s own eye-balls, Nj. 217; þótti mér slökt it sætasta ljós augna minna, by his death the sweetest light of my eyes was quenched, 187: hvert grætr þú nú Skarphéðinn? eigi er þat segir Skarphéðinn, en hitt er satt at súrnar í augum, the eyes smart from smoke, 200: renna, líta augum, to seek with the eyes, to look upon: it is used in various connections, renna, líta ástaraugum, vánaraugum, vinaraugum, trúaraugum, öfundaraugum, girndarauga, with eyes of love, hope, friendship, faith, envy, desire: mæna a. denotes an upward or praying look; stara, fixed; horfa, attentive; lygna, blundskaka, stupid or slow; blína, glápa, góna, vacant or silly; skima, wandering; hvessa augu, a threatening look; leiða e-n a., to measure one with the eyes; gjóta, or skjóta hornauga, or skjóta a. í skjálg, to throw a side glance of dislike or ill-will; gjóta augum is always in a bad sense; renna, líta mostly in a good sense: gefa e-u auga, oculum adjicere alicui; hafa auga á e-u, to keep an eye on it; segja e-m e-t í augu upp, to one’s face, Orkn. 454; at augum, adverb. with open eyes, Hervar. S. (in a verse), etc. As regards various movements of the eyes; ljúka upp augum, to open the eyes; láta aptr augun, to shut the eyes; draga auga í pung, to draw the eye into a purse, i. e. shut one eye; depla augum, to blink; at drepa titlinga (Germ. äugeln, blinzen), to wink, to kill tits with the suppressed glances of the eye; glóðarauga, a suffusion on the eye, hyposphagma; kýrauga. proptosis; vagl á auga, a beam in the eye; skjálgr, Lat. limus; ský, albugo; tekinn til augnanna, with sunken eyes, etc., Fél. ix. 192; a. bresta, in death: hafa stýrur í augum, to have prickles in the eyes, when the eyes ache for want of sleep: vatna músum, ‘to water mice,’ used esp. of children weeping silently and trying to hide their tears. As to the look or expression of the eyes there are sundry metaph. phrases, e. g. hafa fékróka í augum, to have wrinkles at the corners of the eyes, of a shrewd money getting fellow, Fms. ii. 84, cp. Orkn. 330, 188, where krókauga is a cognom.; kvenna-króka, one insinuating with the fair sex; hafa ægishjalm í augum is a metaphor of one with a piercing, commanding eye, an old mythical term for the magical power of the eye, v. Grimm’s D. Mythol. under Ægishjalmr: vera mjótt á milli augnanna, the distance between the eyes being short, is a popular saying, denoting a close, stingy man, hence mjóeygr means close: e-m vex e-t í augu (now augum), to shrink back from, of a thing waxing and growing before one’s eyes so that one dares not face it. As to the shape, colour, etc. of the eye, vide the adj. ‘eygr’ or ‘eygðr’ in its many compds. Lastly we may mention the belief, that when the water in baptism touches the eyes, the child is thereby in future life prevented from seeing ghosts or goblins, vide the words úfreskr and skygn. No spell can touch the human eye; en er harm sá augu hans (that of Loki in the shape of a bird), þá grunaði hann (the giant) at maðr mundi vera, Edda 60; í bessum birni þykist hón kenna augu Bjarnar konungs sonar, Fas. i. 51, vide Ísl. Þjóðs.

II. meton. and metaph. auga is used in a great many connections:

α. astron.; þjaza augu, the eyes of the giant Thiazi, is a constellation, probably the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux; the story is told in the Edda 47, cp. Harbarðsljóð 19; (Snorri attributes it to Odin, the poem to Thor.)

β. botan., auga = Lat. gemma, Hjalt. 38; kattarauga, cat’s eye, is the flower forget-me-not.

γ. the spots that form the numbers on dice, Magn. 530.

δ. the hole in a millstone; kvarnarauga, Edda 79, 221, Hkr. i. 121: the opening into which an axe handle is fastened, Sturl. ii. 91: a pit full of water, Fs. 45: nálarauga, a needle’s eye: vindauga, wind’s eye or window (which orig. had no glass in it), A. S. eag-dura (eye-door); also gluggi, q. v.: gleraugu, spectacles.

ε. anatom., the pan of the hip joint, v. augnakarl, Fms. iii. 392: gagnaugu, temples.

ζ. hafsauga, the bottom of the ocean, in the popular phrase, fara út í hafsauga, descendere ad tartara.

η. poët. the sun is called heimsauga, dagsauga, Jónas 119.

COMPDS either with sing. auga or pl. augna; in the latter case mod. usage sometimes drops the connecting vowel a, e. g. augn-dapr, augn-depra, augn-fagr, etc. auga-bragð (augna-), n. the twinkling of an eye, Hm. 77; á einu a., in the twinkling of an eye, Ver. 32, Edda (pref.) 146, Sks. 559, Rb. 568: a glance, look, snart a., Fms. ii. 174; mikit a., v. 335; úfagrligt a., Fs. 43; hafa a. af e-u, to cast a look at, Fbr. 49, Fms. xi. 424: in the phrase, at hafa e-n (or verða) at augabragði, metaph. to make sport of, to mock, deride, gaze at, Stj. 627, 567, Hm. 5, 29. auga-brun, f. the eye-brow. auga-staðr, m. an eye-mark; hafa a. á e-u, to mark with the eye. auga-steinn (augna-), m. the eye-ball, Hkr. iii. 365, Fms. v. 152. augna-bending, f. a warning glance, Pr. 452. augna-blik, n. mod. = augnabragð, s. augna-bólga, u, f. ophthalmia. augna-brá, f. the eye-lid, D. N. i. 216. augna-fagr and aug-fagr, adj. fair-eyed, Fas. ii. 365, Fms. v. 200. augna-fró, f. a plant, eye-bright, euphrasia, also augna-gras, Hjalt. 231. augna-fræ, n. lychnis alpina. augna-gaman, n. a sport, delight for the eyes to gaze at, Ld. 202, Bær. 17, Fsm. 5 (love, sweetheart). augna-gróm, n. (medic.) a spot in the eye; metaph., ekki a., no mere speck, of whatever can easily be seen. augna-hár, n. an eye-lash. augna-hvannr, m. the eye-lid. augna-hvita, u, f. albugo. augna-karl, n. the pan of the hip joint; slíta or slitna or augnaköllunum, Fas. iii. 392. augna-kast, n. a wild glance, Barl. 167. augna-kláði, a, m. psorophthalmi. augna-krókr, n. the corner of the eye. augna-lag, n. a look, Ld. 154. augna-lok, n. ‘eye-covers,’ eye-lids. augna-mein, n. a disease of the eye. augna-mjörkvi, a, m. dimness of the eye, Pr. 471. augna-ráð, n. expression of the eye. augna-skot, n. a look askance, Gþl. 286, Fs. 44 (of cats). augna-slím, n. glaucoma. augna-staðr, m. the socket of the eye, Magn. 532. augna-sveinn, m. a lad leading a blind man, Str. 46. augn-tepra, u, f. hippus. augna-topt, f. the socket of the eye. augna-verkr, m. pain in the eye, Hkr. ii. 257, Bs. i. 451, Pr. 471, Bjarn. 58. augna-vik, n. pl. = augnakrókr. augna-þungi, a, m. heaviness of the eye, Hkr. ii. 257.

- płeć nadobna the fair sex

■ odpłacić komuś pięknym za nadobne książk. to pay sb back in their own coin, to give sb a taste of their own medicine

- połowa ludzi/jabłek/majątku half (of) the people/apples/estate

- połowa zebranych to ludzie młodzi half of those gathered are young people

- spędził w górach połowę roku/życia he spent half a year/half of his life in the mountains

- ślęczał nad książkami połowę dnia/nocy he was poring over books for half the day/night

- w pierwszej/drugiej połowie września in the first/second half of September

- w pierwszej/drugiej połowie XX wieku in the first/second a. latter half of the 20th century

- podzielić/przeciąć coś na połowę to divide/cut sth in half

- mniejszy/większy o połowę half the size/half as big again

- więcej/mniej niż połowa more/less than (a) half

- większa/mniejsza połowa czegoś pot. the larger/smaller part of sth, more/less than (a) half of sth

- pomysł jest w połowie mój the idea is partly mine

- jestem w połowie Rosjaninem, a w połowie Litwinem I’m half Russian and half Lithuanian

- do połowy miesiąca till a. until the middle of the month

- w połowie kwietnia/XIX wieku in mid-June/in the mid-19th century, in the middle of June/the 19th century

- byłem w połowie pasjonującej książki, kiedy… I was in the middle of an exciting book when…

- rok szkolny dobiegał połowy the school year was halfway through a. over

- zatrzymać się w połowie drogi to stop halfway

- w połowie drogi między Warszawą a Krakowem midway a. halfway between Warsaw and Cracow

- wyszedłem w połowie filmu I left halfway through the film

- być w połowie robienia czegoś to be halfway through doing sth

- w połowie schodów halfway down/up the stairs

- w połowie strony halfway down the page

- wszystkie flagi opuszczono do połowy masztu all flags were at half mast

- w pierwszej/drugiej połowie in the first/second half

- na połowie Polaków in the Poles’ half

■ brzydsza połowa rodzaju a. rodu ludzkiego żart. the male sex

- piękniejsza a. ładniejsza połowa rodzaju a. rodu ludzkiego żart. the fair sex

- jego/jej lepsza a. druga połowa żart. his/her better a. other half

n. fair sex, the gentle sex, womankind, femininity

• ОТБОЯ <-ю> НЕТ (у кого) от кого coll

[VP, impers]

=====

⇒ there are more than enough or too many of a certain type or category of people:

- (y X-a) от Y-ов отбоя нет≈ X has no end of Ys;

- there is no end to the Ys;

- [in limited contexts] X has to beat (the) Ys off with a stick;

- X can't fight off the Ys;

- there is no coping with the Ys.

     ♦...[Дедушка был] красавец, много разъезжал, привык к холостой жизни и, понимаете, к какой холостой жизни, от женщин у него отбоя не было... (Рыбаков 1).... Не [grandfather] was a very handsome man, who had travelled a lot and become accustomed to the bachelor life, and what a bachelor life! He'd had no end of women... (1a).

     ♦ [Фёдор:] Теперь: женский пол - опять то же... Какое количество у него их перебывало, так этого и вообразить не можно [ungrammat = нельзя]!.. Просто отбою нет (Сухово-Кобылин 2). [F:] And the fair sex-the same thing all over again....How many of them he's had, you couldn't even begin to imagine!...He can't fight them off (2b).

     ♦ Бабушка... была, как говорят, невероятно соблазнительна, настолько, что от поклонников не было отбоя... (Аллилуева 1). It is said that she [Grandmother] was unusually attractive, so that there was no coping with all her admirers (1a).

• ОТБОЯ <-ю> НЕТ (у кого) от кого coll

[VP, impers]

=====

⇒ there are more than enough or too many of a certain type or category of people:

- (y X-a) от Y-ов отбоя нет≈ X has no end of Ys;

- there is no end to the Ys;

- [in limited contexts] X has to beat (the) Ys off with a stick;

- X can't fight off the Ys;

- there is no coping with the Ys.

     ♦...[Дедушка был] красавец, много разъезжал, привык к холостой жизни и, понимаете, к какой холостой жизни, от женщин у него отбоя не было... (Рыбаков 1).... Не [grandfather] was a very handsome man, who had travelled a lot and become accustomed to the bachelor life, and what a bachelor life! He'd had no end of women... (1a).

     ♦ [Фёдор:] Теперь: женский пол - опять то же... Какое количество у него их перебывало, так этого и вообразить не можно [ungrammat = нельзя]!.. Просто отбою нет (Сухово-Кобылин 2). [F:] And the fair sex-the same thing all over again....How many of them he's had, you couldn't even begin to imagine!...He can't fight them off (2b).

     ♦ Бабушка... была, как говорят, невероятно соблазнительна, настолько, что от поклонников не было отбоя... (Аллилуева 1). It is said that she [Grandmother] was unusually attractive, so that there was no coping with all her admirers (1a).

• ТОГДА КАК

[subord conj; contrastive, contrastive-temporal, or contrastive-concessive]

=====

⇒ while at the same time:

- while;

- whereas;

- when (in fact);

- [in limited contexts] although;

- even though;

- by contrast.

     ♦ Она сидела неподвижно, опустив голову на грудь; перед нею на столике была раскрыта книга, но глаза её, неподвижные и полные неизъяснимой грусти, казалось, в сотый раз пробегали одну и ту же страницу, тогда как мысли её были далеко... (Лермонтов 1). She sat motionless, her head sunk on her breast, on a table before her lay an open book, but her fixed gaze, full of inexplicable sadness, seemed to be skimming one and the same page for the hundredth time while her thoughts were far away... (1b).

     ♦...Подсудимый, войдя в залу... шагал вперёд как солдат и держал глаза впереди себя, упираясь, тогда как вернее было ему смотреть налево, где в публике сидят дамы, ибо он был большой любитель прекрасного пола... (Достоевский 2)....The defendant, on entering the courtroom...marched along like a soldier, and kept his eyes fixed straight in front of him, whereas it would have been more correct for him to look to the left where, among the public, the ladies were sitting, since he was a great admirer of the fair sex... (2a).

     ♦ Было непонятно, во-первых, как он [ котёл] здесь очутился, а во-вторых, как он уцелел, будучи медным, тогда как чугунный не выдержал и лопнул (Искандер 3). They could not understand, in the first place, how it [the kettle] had gotten here, and in the second place, how it had survived, being copper, when the iron one had not withstood the fire and had split (3a).

     ♦ "Я очень рад буду, - сказал князь. - Скажите, - прибавил он, как будто только что вспомнив что-то и особенно-небрежно, тогда как то, о чём он спрашивал, было главною целью его посещения, - правда, что l'imperatrice-mere желает назначения барона Функе первым секретарём в Вену?" (Толстой 4). "Ah! I shall be delighted," said the Prince. "Tell me," he added, with elaborate casualness, as if the question he was about to ask had just occurred to him, when in fact it was the chief purpose of his visit, "is it true that the Dowager Empress wants Baron Funke to be appointed first secretary in Vienna?" (4a).

     ♦ В простой крестьянской жизни всякий дар человека, если смысл этого дара ясен и нагляден, признаётся окружающими спокойно и безоговорочно. Тогда как в интеллигентной среде... оценки людей гораздо более запутанны и авторитеты гораздо чаще ложны (Искандер 5). In the simple peasant way of life, any gift of a man's, if the significance of the gift be clear and demonstrable, is calmly and unreservedly acknowledged by those around him. In a cultured milieu, by contrast...assessments of men are much more muddled and the experts much more often in error (5a).

the fair sex

the fair sex

1. tender; (о вкусе, цвете, и т. п.) delicate

2. (ласковый, любящий) loving, affectionate, fond

3. (хрупкий, невыносливый) delicate

1. beautiful, fine

2. ( отличный) excellent, capital