lewis
lewis — noun
- lewissingular
- lewisesplural
1. A common family name from England and Wales carried by many well-known people in
A common family name from England and Wales carried by many well-known people in history, including the British writer C. S. Lewis (1898–1963), who is best known for the Narnia books; the American explorer Meriwether Lewis (1774–1809), who crossed North America with William Clark; the American labour leader John L. Lewis (1880–1969); the American novelist Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951), the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature; the British artist and writer Wyndham Lewis (1882–1957); the British author Matthew Gregory Lewis (1775–1818); and the American biologist Edward B. Lewis (1918–2004).
Felipe wrote his book report on C. S. Lewis and the world of Narnia.
proper noun: surname of a famous writer
Many American school children learn about the journey of Lewis and Clark across the Rocky Mountains.
fixed pair: Lewis and Clark (the famous expedition)
Shanti's new English teacher is called Ms. Lewis, and she comes from a small town in Wales.
Sinclair Lewis was the first American writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Eli's grandfather, an old miner from Pennsylvania, still talks about the union leader John L. Lewis with great respect.
用法筆記
Frequently appears with a first name or initials (C. S. Lewis, Meriwether Lewis, John L. Lewis) and in the fixed pair 'Lewis and Clark' that names the famous westward expedition across North America. Common as both a real surname and a typical surname for fictional characters in English-language books and films.
常見錯誤
2. Used before 'acid' or 'base' to name a kind of chemical helper, first described
Used before 'acid' or 'base' to name a kind of chemical helper, first described by the American chemist Gilbert N. Lewis in 1923. A Lewis acid pulls in a pair of electrons offered by another chemical (the Lewis base), so the two stick together to form a new bond. The idea covers many reactions that the older school definition of acids and bases cannot explain.
Our chemistry teacher drew arrows to show how a Lewis acid grabs a lone pair.
fixed pair: Lewis acid / Lewis base
Iris ran a small experiment using boron trifluoride, a classic Lewis acid, in the school chemistry lab.
collocation: classic Lewis acid + example compound
In the second-year chemistry course, students learn the Lewis idea of acids one week after the school definition.
Aluminium and iron ions often act as a Lewis acid in water and other solvents.
- electron-pair acceptor
the plain technical description of what a Lewis acid does; used in chemistry textbooks alongside the named term
- Lewis base
the partner term — gives the pair of electrons that a Lewis acid accepts
文法句型
Lewis acid
Lewis base
用法筆記
Always written with a capital L because it is named after the chemist Gilbert N. Lewis. Almost always followed by 'acid' or 'base'; the bare noun 'a Lewis' is not used in this sense. Distinguish from sense 1 — sense 2 only appears in chemistry contexts.