| 词组 | thoroughbred, purebred |
| 释义 | thoroughbred, purebred These words are synonymous in their basic sense, "bred from the best blood through a long line." Used in this sense, both words are applicable to domestic animals of any species: • ... on dangerous ground in showing thoroughbred dogs in their sales messages —Vance Packard, The Hidden Persuaders, 1957 • ... the showcase division, housing the purebred cattle —Kurt Markus, Western Horseman, May 1980 Horse breeders make a definite distinction between thoroughbred and purebred, however. Thoroughbred refers specifically to a breed of horses directly descended from three Arabian stallions who were bred with English mares in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Purebred is used in describing pure-blooded horses of other breeds. This distinction exists whether the words are used as adjectives or nouns: • We currently have seven mares (five purebreds and two Thoroughbreds) —Joan McKenna et al., Chronicle of the Horse, 18 Nov. 1983 Many people in the horse-breeding business therefore consider it incorrect to speak of "thoroughbred dogs," "thoroughbred hogs," or "thoroughbred anything" other than horses belonging to the Thoroughbred breed. People outside the horse-breeding business do not necessarily agree: • A purebred rabbit.... is sometimes also called a thoroughbred —Bob Bennett, The T.F.H. Book of Pet Rabbits, 1982 But thoroughbred does have such strong associations with horses in the public mind (perhaps because of Thoroughbred racing) that its use in describing animals of other species is now relatively uncommon. |
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