Old English upriht "erect, face-upward;" see up (adv.) + right (adj.1). Similar compounds are found in other Germanic languages (Old Frisian upriucht, Middle Dutch oprecht, Old High German ufreht, German aufrecht, Old Norse uprettr). Figurative sense of "good, honest, adhering to rectitude" is first attested 1520s.
As an adverb, Old English uprihte. As a noun, 1560s in the sense "a vertical front;" c. 1700 as "a vertical timber in framing;" 1742 in the sense "something standing erect." Meaning "an upright piano" is from 1860.
THREE-PENNY UPRIGHT. A retailer of love, who, for the sum mentioned, dispenses her favours standing against a wall. ["Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1811]
The bent-over rear-entry posture they are talking about, of course, is kubda, the three-obol position at the bottom-end of a prostitute's price-range. [James N. Davidson, "Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens," 1997]
双语例句
1. He was sitting on an upright chair beside his bed, reading.
他正坐在床前一张直背椅上看书。
来自柯林斯例句
2. He was handsome, upright and chivalrous.
他长相英俊，为人正直，风度翩翩。
来自柯林斯例句
3. Cautiously, he moved himself into an upright position.
他小心翼翼地直起了身子。
来自柯林斯例句
4. Moira sat stiffly upright in her straight-backed chair.
莫伊拉直挺挺地坐在她的直背靠椅上。
来自柯林斯例句
5. With a swift movement, Matthew Jerrold sat upright.
