| 词组 | canvas, canvass |
| 释义 | canvas, canvass Usage books tell you that the noun canvas refers to cloth, and the verb and noun canvass usually refer to the soliciting of votes or opinions. You will certainly not go wrong in making this division a rule of thumb. Actual usage, however, is not quite so clear-cut. These two words are closely related etymologically (the oldest sense, now obsolete, of the verb canvass was "to toss in a canvas sheet in sport or punishment"), and from their earliest occurrences both words, to varying degrees, have been spelled both ways. Here is a summary of modern usage: • The noun which the usage books say is only canvas is occasionally spelled canvass. • ... for the painter to transfer his imaginative conception to canvass —John Dewey, Art as Experience, 1934 • ... canvasses by Mondrian —Kermit Lansner, New Republic, 26 Jan. 1953 The verb meaning "to cover, line, or furnish with canvas" is spelled canvas but may be inflected with either a single or double s. • An over-canvassed craft would be a liability —Bill Wallace, Sailing, rev. ed., 1966 • ... the one hundred-foot-long Gallery, canvased from floor to ceiling with dozens of masterpieces by Reubens, Sir Joshua Reynolds ... —Town & Country, April 1984 The much more common verb discussed in usage books has several senses (including "to examine in detail" and "to solicit support or determine opinions") and is usually spelled canvass but occasionally canvas. • ... the tendency of some of the members of the Advisory Council to canvas their government's interests not only at the Council table —Ann Dear-den, Middle East Jour., October 1950 The noun derived from this verb is also usually canvass but occasionally canvas. • Funds for the bridge were raised by a house-to-house canvas —American Guide Series: Maryland, 1940 Except for the verb inflections of canvas, the secondary spellings are currently much less common than the primary spellings. |
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