Oxford English Dictionary [4, 2 ed.]

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THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY SECOND EDITION

THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY First Edited by JAMES A. H. MURRAY, HENRY BRADLEY, W. A. CRAIGIE and C. T. ONIONS COMBINED WITH

A SUPPLEMENT TO THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY Edited by R. W. BURCHFIELD AND RESET WITH CORRECTIONS, REVISIONS AND ADDITIONAL VOCABULARY

THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY SECOND EDITION Prepared by

J. A. SIMPSON and E. S. C. WEINER

VOLUME IV creel-duzepere

CLARENDON PRESS • OXFORD 1989

Oxford University Press, Walton Street, Oxford 0x2

6dp

Oxford New York Toronto Delhi Bombay Calcutta Madras Karachi Petaling Jay a Singapore Hong Kong Tokyo Nairobi Dar es Salaam Cape Town Melbourne Auckland and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Oxford is a trade mark of Oxford University Press © Oxford University Press ig8g All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Oxford English dictionary. — 2nd ed. 1. English language-Dictionaries I. Simpson, J. A. {John Andrew), ig53~ II. Weiner, Edmund S. C., igso423 ISBN o-ig-861216-8 {vol. IV) ISBN o-ig-861186-2 {set) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Oxford English dictionary.—2nd ed. prepared by J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner Bibliography: p. ISBN o-ig-861216-8 {vol. IV) ISBN o-ig-861186-2 {set) 1. English language—Dictionaries. I. Simpson, J. A. II. Weiner, E. S. C. III. Oxford University Press. PE1625.087 ig8g 423—dcig 88-5330

Data capture by ICC, Fort Washington, Pa. Text-processing by Oxford University Press Typesetting by Filmtype Services Ltd., Scarborough, N. Yorks. Manufactured in the United States of America by Rand McNally & Company, Taunton, Mass.

KEY TO THE PRONUNCIATION The

pronunciations given are those in use in the educated speech of southern England (the so-called ‘Received

Standard’), and the keywords given are to be understood as pronounced in such speech.

I. Consonants b, d, f, k, 1, m, n, p, t, v, z have their usual English values g as in go (gso) h

... ho\ (hau)

r

run (rAn), terrier ('teria(r))

0 as in thin (Oin), bath (ba:0) 8 . .. then (Sen), bathe (bei8) J

• . . shop (Jt>p), disiz (dij) • .. chop (tjDp), ditch (ditf)

(foreign and non-southern)

X as in It. serrag/zo (ser'raXo) ji

... Fr. cognac (kajiak)

x

... Ger. ach (ax), Sc. loch (lox), Sp.

?

... Ger. ich (19), Sc. nic/zt (ru^t)

hw... when (hwen)

• .. vision ('v^an), dejeuner (de3one) d3 • .. judge (d3Ad3) 0 ■ .. singing ('sixjip), thirzk (0ipk)

Y

... North Ger. sagen ('zaiYsn)

j

0g • . . finger ('fit}ga(r))

c

... Afrikaans baardmanneZjie

g

... Fr. cuisine (kgizin)

(r) ... her (h3:(r))

tf

s

3

w

tee (si:), success (sak'ses) ... wear (wea(r)) ... yes (jss)

fri/oles (fri'xoles)

('bairtmanaci)

Symbols in parentheses are used to denote elements that may be omitted either by individual speakers or in particular phonetic contexts: e.g. bottle (’bot(a)l), Mercian ('m3:J(i)an), suit (s(j)u:t), impromptu (im'prt>m(p)tju:), father ('fa:Sa(r)).

II. Vowels and Diphthongs SHORT

LONG

DIPHTHONGS, etc.

i: as in bean (bi:n)

ei as in bay (bei)

s

... pet (pet), Fr. sept (set)

a:

... barn (ba:n)

ai

...

buy (bai)

as

... pat (paet)

d:

... born (ba:n)

DI

...

boy (bai)

A

... putt (pAt)

u: ... boon (bum)

9U ...

no (nau)

D

...

pot (pot)

3:

... burn (b3:n)

au ...

now (nau)

U

... put (pot)

e:

... Ger. Schnee (Jne:)

13

...

peer (pia(r))

9

... another (a'nASa(r))

e:

... Ger. Fahre ('fe:ra)

89

...

pair (pea(r))

(a) ... beaten (’bi:t(a)n)

a:

... Ger. Tag (ta:k)

U9 . . .

tour (tua(r))

Fr. si (si)

0:

... Ger. SoAn (zo:n)

99

e

Fr. bebe (bebe)

0:

... Ger. Goethe ('goita)

a

... Fr. mari (mari)

y:

... Ger. grun (gry:n)

a

... Fr. batiment (batima)

i as in pit (pit), -ness, (-ms)

i

0

... Fr. homme (am)

0

... Fr. eau (0)

s, as as in Fr. fin (fe, fi)

Fr. peu (po)

a

...

Fr. frazzc (fra)

GE

... Fr. boeuf (beef) coeur (kcer)

5

...

Fr. bon (bo)

u

... Fr. douce (dus)

ce

...

Fr. un (oe)

Y

... Ger. Muller ('mylar)

y

••• Fr. du (dy)

boar (baa(r))

aia as in fiery ('faiari) au3 ...

NASAL

0

...

sour (saua(r))

The incidence of main stress is shown by a superior stress mark (') preceding the stressed syllable, and a secondary stress by an inferior stress mark (,), e.g. pronunciation (pr3,nAnsi'eiJ(3)n). For further explanation of the transcription used, see General Explanations, Volume I.

891882

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS, SIGNS, ETC Some abbreviations listed here in italics are also in certain cases printed in roman type, and vice versa. a. (in Etym.) a (as a 1850) a. abbrev. abl. absol. Abstr. acc. Acct. A.D.

ad. (in Etym.) Add. adj. Adv. adv. advb. Advt. Aeronaut. AF„ AFr. Afr. Agric. Alb. Amer. Amer. Ind. Anat. Anc. Anglo-Ind. Anglo-Ir. Ann. Anthrop., Anthropol. Antiq. aphet. app. Appl. Applic. appos. Arab. Aram. Arch. arch. Archseol. Archit. Arm. assoc. Astr. Astrol. Astr on. Astronaut. attrib. Austral. Autobiogr. A.V. B.C.

B.C. bef. Bibliogr. Biochem. Biol. Bk. Bot. Bp. Brit. Bulg.

adoption of, adopted from ante, ‘before’, ‘not later than’ adjective abbreviation (of) ablative absolute, -ly (in titles) Abstract, -s accusative (in titles) Account Anno Domini adaptation of Addenda adjective (in titles) Advance, -d, -s adverb adverbial, -ly advertisement (as label) in Aeronautics; (in titles) Aeronautic, -al, -s Anglo-French Africa, -n (as label) in Agriculture; (in titles) Agriculture, -al Albanian American American Indian (as label) in Anatomy; (in titles) Anatomy, -ical (in titles) Ancient Anglo-Indian Anglo-Irish Annals (as label) in Anthropology; (in titles) Anthropology, -ical (as label) in Antiquities; (in titles) Antiquity aphetic, aphetized apparently (in titles) Applied (in titles) Application, -s appositive, -ly Arabic Aramaic in Architecture archaic in Archaeology (as label) in Architecture; (in titles) Architecture, -al Armenian association in Astronomy in Astrology (in titles) Astronomy, -ical (in titles) Astronautic, -s attributive, -ly Australian (in titles) Autobiography, -ical Authorized Version Before Christ (in titles) British Columbia before (as label) in Bibliography; (in titles) Bibliography, -ical (as label) in Biochemistry; (in titles) Biochemistry, -ical (as label) in Biology; (in titles) Biology, -ical Book (as label) in Botany; (in titles) Botany, -ical Bishop (in titles) Britain, British Bulgarian

Bull.

(in titles) Bulletin

Diet.

c (as c 1700) c. (as 19th c.) Cal. Cambr. Canad. Cat. catachr. Catal. Celt. Cent. Cent. Diet. Cf., cf. Ch. Chem.

circa, ‘about’ century (in titles) Calendar (in titles) Cambridge Canadian Catalan catachrestically (in titles) Catalogue Celtic (in titles) Century, Central Century Dictionary confer, ‘compare’ Church (as label) in Chemistry; (in titles) Chemistry, -ical (in titles) Christian (in titles) Chronicle (in titles) Chronology, -ical

dim. Dis. Diss. D.O.S.T.

in Cinematography (in titles) Clinical classical Latin cognate with (in titles) Colonel, Colony (in titles) Collection collective, -ly colloquial, -ly combined, -ing Combinations in Commercial usage in Communications compound, composition (in titles) Companion comparative complement (in titles) Complete (in titles) Concise in Conchology concrete, -ly (in titles) Conference (in titles) Congress conjunction consonant construction, construed with contrast (with) (in titles) Contribution (in titles) Correspondence corresponding (to) R. Cotgrave, Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues compound (in titles) Criticism, Critical in Crystallography (in titles) Cyclopaedia, -ic (in titles) Cytology, -ical

EE. e.g. Elgctr.

Chr. Chron. Chronol. Cinemat., Cinematogr. Clin. cl. L. cogn. w. Col. Coll. collect. colloq. comb. Comb. Comm. Communic. comp. Compan. compar. compl. Compl. Cone. Conch. concr. Conf. Congr. conj. cons. const. contr. Contrib. Corr. corresp. Cotgr.

cpd. Crit. Cry st. Cycl. Cytol.

Du. E. Eccl.

Ecol. Econ. ed. E.D.D. Edin. Educ.

Electron. Elem. ellipt. Embryol. e.midl. Encycl. Eng. Engin. Ent. Entomol. erron. esp. Ess. et al. etc. Ethnol. etym. euphem. Exam. exc. Ex ere. Exper. Explor. f. f. (in Etym.) f. (in subordinate entries) F. fern. (rarely f.) figFinn.

fl. Da. D.A. D.A.E. dat. D.C. Deb. def. dem. deriv. derog. Descr. Dev el. Diagn. dial.

Danish Dictionary of Americanisms Dictionary of American English dative District of Columbia (in titles) Debate, -s definite, -ition demonstrative derivative, -ation derogatory (in titles) Description, -tive (in titles) Development, -al (in titles) Diagnosis, Diagnostic dialect, -al

Found. Fr. freq. Fris. Fund. Funk or Funk's Stand. Diet. G. Gael. Gaz. gen. gen. Geogr.

Dictionary; spec., the Oxford English Dictionary diminutive (in titles) Disease (in titles) Dissertation Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue Dutch East (as label) in Ecclesiastical usage; (in titles) Ecclesiastical in Ecology (as label) in Economics; (in titles) Economy, -ics edition English Dialect Dictionary (in titles) Edinburgh (as label) in Education; (in titles) Education, -al Early English exempli gratia, ‘for example’ (as label) in Electricity; (in titles) Electricity, -ical (in titles) Electronic, -s (in titles) Element, -ary elliptical, -ly in Embryology east midland (dialect) (in titles) Encyclopaedia, -ic England, English in Engineering in Entomology (in titles) Entomology, -logical erroneous, -ly especially (in titles) Essay, -s et alii, ‘and others’ et cetera in Ethnology etymology euphemistically (in titles) Examination except (in titles) Exercise, -s (in titles) Experiment, -al (in titles) Exploration, -s feminine formed on form of French feminine figurative, -ly Finnish floruit, ‘flourished’ (in titles) Foundation, -s French frequent, -ly Frisian (in titles) Fundamental, -s Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary German Gaelic (in titles) Gazette genitive general, -ly (as label) in Geography; (in titles) Geography, -ical

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS, SIGNS, ETC. Geol. Geom. Geomorphol. Ger. Gloss. Gmc. Godef.

Goth. Govt. Gr. Gram. Gt. Heb. Her. Herb. Hind. Hist. hist. Histol. Hort. Househ. Housek. Ibid. Icel. Ichthyol. id. i.e. IE. Illustr. imit. Immunol. imp. impers. impf. ind. indef. Industr. inf. infl. Inorg. Ins. Inst. int. intr. Introd. Ir. irreg. It.

(as label) in Geology; (in titles) Geology, -ical in Geometry in Geomorphology German Glossary Germanic F. Godefroy, Dictionnaire de Vancienne langue franfaise Gothic (in titles) Government Greek (as label) in Grammar; (in titles) Grammar, -tical Great Hebrew in Heraldry among herbalists Hindustani (as label) in History; (in titles) History, -ical historical (in titles) Histology, -ical in Horticulture (in titles) Household (in titles) Housekeeping Ibidem, ‘in the same book or passage’ Icelandic in Ichthyology idem, ‘the same’ id est, ‘that is’ Indo-European (in titles) Illustration, -ted imitative in Immunology imperative impersonal imperfect indicative indefinite (in titles) Industry, -ial infinitive influenced (in titles) Inorganic (in titles) Insurance (in titles) Institute, -tion interjection intransitive (in titles) Introduction Irish irregular, -ly Italian

(Jam.) Jap. joc. Jrnl. Jun.

(quoted from) Johnson’s Dictionary Jamieson, Scottish Did. Japanese jocular, -ly (in titles) Journal (in titles) Junior

Knowl.

(in titles) Knowledge

1. L. lang. Led. Less. Let., Lett. LG. lit. Lit. Lith. LXX

line Latin language (in titles) Lecture, -s (in titles) Lesson, -s letter, letters Low German literal, -ly Literary Lithuanian Septuagint

m. Mag. Magn. Mai. Man. Managem. Manch. Manuf. Mar.

masculine (in titles) Magazine (in titles) Magnetic, -ism Malay, Malayan (in titles) Manual (in titles) Management (in titles) Manchester in Manufacture, -ing (in titles) Marine

J-, (JO

masc. (rarely m.) Math. MDu. ME. Mech. Med. med.L. Mem. Metaph. Meteorol. MHG. midi. Mil. Min. Mineral. MLG. Misc. mod. mod.L (Morris), Mus.

Myst. Mythol. N. n. N. Amer. N. & Q. Narr. Nat. Nat. Hist. Naut. N.E. N.E.D.

Neurol. neut. (rarely n.) NF„ NFr. No. nom. north. Norw. n.q. NT. Nucl. Numism. N.W. N.Z.

masculine (as label) in Mathematics; (in titles) Mathematics, -al Middle Dutch Middle English (as label) in Mechanics; (in titles) Mechanics, -al (as label) in Medicine; (in titles) Medicine, -ical medieval Latin (in titles) Memoir, -s in Metaphysics (as label) in Meteorology; (in titles) Meteorology, -ical Middle High German midland (dialect) in military usage (as label) in Mineralogy; (in titles) Ministry (in titles) Mineralogy, -ical Middle Low German (in titles) Miscellany, -eous modern modern Latin (quoted from) E. E. Morris’s Austral English (as label) in Music; (in titles) Music, -al; Museum (in titles) Mystery in Mythology North neuter North America, -n Notes and Queries (in titles) Narrative (in titles) Natural in Natural History in nautical language North East New English Dictionary, original title of the Oxford English Dictionary (first edition) in Neurology neuter Northern French Number nominative northern (dialect) Norwegian no quotations New Testament Nuclear in Numismatics North West New Zealand

OS. OS1. O.T. Outl. Oxf.

object oblique obsolete (in titles) Obstetrics occasionally Old English (= Anglo-Saxon) Old French Old Frisian Old High German Old Irish Old Norse Old Northern French in Ophthalmology opposed (to), the opposite (of) in Optics (in titles) Organic origin, -al, -ally (as label) in Ornithology; (in titles) Ornithology, -ical Old Saxon Old (Church) Slavonic Old Testament (in titles) Outline (in titles) Oxford

PPalseogr.

page in Palaeography

obj. obi. Obs., obs. Obstetr. occas. OE. OF., OFr. OFris. OHG. OIr. ON. ONF. Ophthalm. opp. Opt. Org. orig. Ornith.

Palseont.

Publ.

(as label) in Palaeontology; (in titles) Palaeontology, -ical passive participle, past participle (quoted from) E. Partridge’s Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English passive, -ly past tense (as label) in Pathology; (in titles) Pathology, -ical perhaps Persian person, -al in Petrography (as label) in Petrology; (in titles) Petrology, -ical (quoted from) C. Pettman’s Africanderisms perfect Portuguese in Pharmacology (as label) in Philology; (in titles) Philology, -ical (as label) in Philosophy; (in titles) Philosophy, -ic phonetic, -ally (as label) in Photography; (in titles) Photography, -ical phrase physical; (rarely) in Physiology (as label) in Physiology; (in titles) Physiology, -ical (in titles) Picture, Pictorial plural poetic, -al Polish (as label) in Politics; (in titles) Politics, -al in Political Economy (in titles) Politics, -al popular, -ly (in titles) Porcelain possessive (in titles) Pottery participial adjective participle Provencal present (in titles) Practice, -al preceding (word or article) predicative prefix preface preposition present (in titles) Principle, -s privative probably (in titles) Problem (in titles) Proceedings pronoun pronunciation properly in Prosody Provencal present participle in Psychology (as label) in Psychology; (in titles) Psychology, -ical (in titles) Publications

Qquot(s). q.v.

(in titles) Quarterly quotation(s) quod vide, ‘which see’

R. Radiol. R.C.Ch. Rec. redupl. Ref. refash. refl. Reg.

(in titles) Royal in Radiology Roman Catholic Church (in titles) Record reduplicating (in titles) Reference refashioned, -ing reflexive (in titles) Register

pa. pple. (Partridge),

pass. pa.t. Path. perh. Pers. pers. Petrogr. Petrol. (Pettman), pf. PgPharm. Philol. Philos. phonet. Photogr. phr. Phys. Physiol. Pid. pi., plur. poet. Pol. Pol. Pol. Econ. Polit. pop. Pore. poss. Pott. ppl. a., pple. adj. pple. Pr. pr. Prad. ptec. pred. pref. pref., Pref. prep. pres. Princ. priv. prob. Probl. Proc. pron. pronunc. prop. Pros. Prov. pr. pple. Psych. Psychol.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS, SIGNS, ETC. reg. rel. Reminisc. Rep. repr. Res. Rev. T6V.

Rhet. Rom. Rum. Russ. S. S.Afr. sb. sc. Sc., Scot. Scand. Sch. Sc. Nat. Diet. Scotl. Set. Ser. sing. Sk. Skr. Slav. S.N.D. Soc. Sociol. Sp. Sp. sp. spec. Spec. St. Stand. Stanf.

regular related to (in titles) Reminiscence, -s (in titles) Report, -s representative, representing (in titles) Research (in titles) Review revised in Rhetoric Roman, -ce, -ic Rumanian ' Russian South South Africa, -n substantive scilicet, ‘understand’ or ‘supply’ Scottish (in titles) Scandinavia, -n (in titles) School Scottish National Dictionary (in titles) Scotland (in titles) Selection, -s Series singular (in titles) Sketch Sanskrit Slavonic Scottish National Dictionary (in titles) Society (as label) in Sociology; (in titles) Sociology, -ical Spanish (in titles) Speech, -es spelling specifically (in titles) Specimen Saint (in titles) Standard (quoted from) Stanford Dictionary of Anglicised Words & Phrases

str. Struct. Stud. subj. subord. cl. subseq. subst. suff. superl. Suppl. Surg. s.v. Sw. s.w. Syd. Soc. Lex.

syll. Syr. Syst. Taxon. techn. Technol. Telegr. Teleph. (Th.), Theatr. Theol. Theoret. Tokh. tr., transl. Trans. trans. transf. Trav. Treas. Treat. Treatm. Trig.

strong (in titles) Structure, -al (in titles) Studies subject subordinate clause subsequent, -ly substantively suffix superlative Supplement (as label) in Surgery; (in titles) Surgery, Surgical sub voce, ‘under the word’ Swedish south-western (dialect) Sydenham Society, Lexicon of Medicine & Allied Sciences syllable Syrian (in titles) System, -atic (in titles) Taxonomy, -ical technical, -ly (in titles) Technology, -ical in Telegraphy in Telephony (quoted from) Thornton’s American Glossary in the Theatre, theatrical (as label) in Theology; (in titles) Theology, -ical (in titles) Theoretical Tokharian translated, translation (in titles) Transactions transitive transferred sense (in titles) Travel(s) (in titles) Treasury (in titles) Treatise (in titles) Treatment in Trigonometry

Trop. Turk. Typog., Typogr.

(in titles) Tropical Turkish in Typography

ult. Univ. unkn. U.S. U.S.S.R.

ultimately (in titles) University unknown United States Union of Soviet Socialist Republics usually

usu. v., vb. var(r)., vars. vbl. sb. Vertebr. Vet.

Vet. Sci. viz. Voy. v.str. vulg. v.w. W. wd. Webster Westm. WGmc. Wks. w.midl. WS. (Y.), Yrs. Zoogeogr. Zool.

verb variant(s) of verbal substantive (in titles) Vertebrate, -s (as label) in Veterinary Science; (in titles) Veterinary in Veterinary Science videlicet, ‘namely’ (in titles) Voyage, -s strong verb vulgar weak verb Welsh; West word Webster’s (New International) Dictionary (in titles) Westminster West Germanic (in titles) Works west midland (dialect) West Saxon (quoted from) Yule & Burnell’s Hobson-Jobson (in titles) Years in Zoogeography (as label) in Zoology; (in titles) Zoology, -ical

Signs and Other Conventions In the listing of Forms

Before a word or sense

1 2 3 5-7 20

f = obsolete II = not naturalized, alien 51 = catachrestic and erroneous uses

= = = = =

before itoo 12th c. (noo to 1200) 13th c. (1200 to 1300), etc. 15th to 17th century 20th century

In the etymologies * indicates a word or form not actually found, but of which the existence is inferred :— = normal development of

The printing of a word in small capitals indicates that further information will be found under the word so referred to. .. indicates an omitted part of a quotation. - (in a quotation) indicates a hyphen doubtfully present in the original; (in other text) indicates a hyphen inserted only for the sake of a line-break.

PROPRIETARY NAMES This Dictionary includes some words which are or are asserted to be proprietary names or trade marks. Their inclusion does not imply that they have acquired for legal purposes a non-proprietary or general significance nor any other judgement concerning their legal status. In cases where the editorial staff have established in the records of the Patent Offices of the United Kingdom and of the United States that a word is registered as a proprietary name or trade mark this is indicated, but no judgement concerning the legal status of such words is made or implied thereby.

CREEL creel (kri:l), sb.1 Forms: 5-6 crele, creill(e, 5 crelle, 6 creil, krele, kreil, 7 creele, (8 crail), 8 creel. [Originally northern, and chiefly Scotch; etymology uncertain. The OIr. criol chest, coffer, has been compared: but the vowel of creel appears to be not i, but e or ei, at. OF. greille: — L. craticula fine hurdle-work, may have had a variant *creille.]

1. A large wicker basket; formerly applied to the large deep baskets, coupled in pairs across the backs of horses, for the transport of goods; now applied to a basket used for the transport of fish and borne upon the back, to a potato-basket, and the like. CI425 Wyntoun Cron. vm. xxxviii. 51 A payr of Coil Crelis. £-1440 Promp. Parv. 101 Crelle, baskett or lepe, cartallus, sporta. c 1475 Rauf Coil^ear 367 He kest twa Creillis on ane Capill, with Coillis anew. 1508 Dunbar Flyting w. Kennedie 229 Cager aviris castis bayth coillis and creilis. 1560 Rolland Crt. Venus in. 595 3e him hang ouir 30ur wallis in a creill. 1564 Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees) 224 A basket and iij kreles. 1610 Healey St. Aug. Citie of God 251 There was also the Vanne which is otherwise called the Creele. £1730 Burt Lett. N. Scotl. (1818) I. 330 The horse laden with creels, or small panniers. 1806 Gazetteer Scot. (ed. 2) 194 Fishermen, whose wives carry the fish in*wickerbaskets, or creels to Edinburgh. 1811 Willan W. Riding Gloss. (E.D.S.), Creel, two semi-circular wicker baskets joined by cords which admit of their closing to hold hay. A man having the creel strapped over his shoulders, conveys provender to sheep, i860 G. H. K. Vac. Tour 121 When the father of the last Lord Reay.. changed his residence.. his son was put into a creel on one side of a pony, and counterbalanced by his younger brother, the admiral, in another. 1869-78 in Dial. Glossaries of Cumberland, Lonsdale, Swaledale, Whitby, Holderness, N.W. Line. 1884 Q. Victoria More Leaves 206 An old fishwife, with her creel on her back.

b. A modern term for an angler’s fishingbasket. 1842 Proc. Bervo. Nat. Club II. 4 Ere the Creel was half stocked. 1874 C. S. Keene Let. in Life (1892) 159, I hope you had a good time with rod and creel. 1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 1. i. 227 It is not every fish you hook that comes to the creel.

2. A contrivance made of wickerwork used as a trap for catching fish, lobsters, etc. 1457 Sc. Actsjas. II (1597) §87 That na man in smolt time set veschelles, creilles, weires, or ony vther ingine to let the smoltes to goe to the Sea. 1533-4 Act 25 Hen. VIII, c. 7 No person shal take in any lepe, hiue, crele.. fier, or any other engine .. the yonge frie .. of any kinde of salmon. 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) I. p. xxxiv, The peple makis ane lang mand, narrow halsit, and wyid mouthit. . als sone as the see ebbis, the fische ar tane dry in the crelis. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. 42 Nocht sa mekle fishe thay with nettis, as with skepis, or long kreilis win with wickeris in the form of a hose. 1758 Binnell Descr. Thames hi With any Nets, Trammel, Keep, Wore, Creel, or other Device. 1775 Adair Amer. Ind. 403 Catching fish in long crails, made with canes and hiccory splinters, tapering to a point.

3. to coup the creels: in various fig. uses; to fall or tumble over; ‘to tumble heels over head, to die’ (Jamieson); to meet with a mishap, in a creel, in a state of temporary mental aberration. 1715 Ramsay Christ's Kirk Gr. 11. xvii, Whan he was strute twa sturdy chiels .. Held up frae cowping o’ the creels The liquid logic scholer. 1785 Burns To William Simpson iii, My senses wad be in a creel, Should I but dare a hope to speel, Wi’ Allan, or wi’ Gilbertfield. 1816 Scott Old Mort. vi, ‘The laddie’s in a creel!’ exclaimed his uncle. 1818Rob Roy xx, If folk . . wad needs be couping the creels ower through-stanes. 01835 Hogg Tales & Sk. III. 206 If you should .. coup the creels just now .. it would be out of the power of man to get you to a Christian burial. 1871 C. Gibbon Lack of Gold xvii, ‘The lassie’s head’s in a creel’, cried Susan.

4. attrib. and Comb., as creel-haw king, -pig; creel-like adv.; creel-house, a house or hut with the walls made of wickerwork covered with clay ; creel-man, a man who transports goods in creels. 1865 J. G. Bertram Harvest of Sea (1873) 310 The system .. followed by the fishwives in the old days of *creelhawking. 1876 Robinson Whitby Gloss., *Creel-house, a wicker hut with a sodded roof. 1878 Mackintosh Hist. Civiliz. Scot. I. Introd. 134 Till recently creil houses were used in some parts of the Highlands. 1638-9 in Maidment Sc. Pasquils (1868) 66 He.. *creel lyke lives in the fyre of contentione. 1883 J. Beath Bishopshire Lilts 14 Stridelegs on the *creelman’s ass. 1880 Antrim 6? Down Gloss., *Creelpig, a young pig, such as is taken to market in a creel or basket.

creel (kri:l), sb.2

[Perh. the same word as preceding; but evidence is wanting.] 1. A framework, varying in form according to its purpose (see quots.). (Cf. cratch, 4.) 1788 W. Marshall Yorksh. (1796) 11. 222 The feet of the sheep being bound, it is laid upon a bier—provincially, a ‘creel’. Ibid. Gloss., Creel, a kind of bier, used for slaughtering and salving sheep upon. 1821 J. Hunter MS. Gloss, in Addy Sheffield Gloss., Creel, a light frame-work placed overhead in the kitchen or other room of an ordinary farmhouse, on which oatcakes are placed. [So 1883 in Huddersf. Gloss. I 1869 Lonsdale Gloss., Creel.. a barred stool on which sheep are salved and clipped, pigs are killed, etc. 1877 Holderness Gloss., Creel., a plate-rack .. a food-rack for sheep; a butcher’s hand-barrow. 1877 N.W. Line. Gloss., Creel, a wooden rack in which plates are put to dry. A frame in which glaziers carry glass.

2. Spinning. A frame for holding the payingoff bobbins in the process of converting the

CREEP

3 ‘sliver’ into ‘roving’, or the latter into yarn. Hence also creel-frame. 1835 Ure Philos. Manuf. 225 The roller-pair.. receives the fine rovings from bobbins placed on skewers or upright pins in the creel behind. 1851 Artjrnl. Catal. Gt. Exhib. p. vii**/i The bobbins .. are placed in a wooden frame called a ‘creel’, so that they will revolve. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 209/1 The rove creels.. stand about six or seven feet high.

b. (See quot.) north, dial. 1869 Lonsdale Gloss., Creel, a frame to wind yarn upon.

creel (kri:l), v. [f. creel sb.1] 1. Sc. To put into a creel; also fig. 1513 Douglas JEneis iv. Prol. 32 Men sayis thow bridillit Aristotle as ane hors, And crelit wp the flour of poetry. 1808-79 Jamieson, Creil, to put into a basket..‘He’s no gude to creel eggs wi’,’ i.e. not easy, or safe, to deal with.

2. Angling. To get (a fish) into the basket; to succeed in catching. Cf. ‘to bag game’. 1844 J. T. Hewlett Parsons & W. v, I creeled him, and tried again. 1892 Field 18 June 922/3 My friend .. creeled nearly twice as many trout.

3. Sc. In certain marriage customs: To make (a newly married man) go through some ceremony with a creel; esp. to make him carry a creel filled with stones, till his wife releases him. Cf. Brand Pop. Antiq. (1870) II. 55. 1792 Statist. Acc. Scot. II. 80 The second day after the Marriage a Creeling, as it is called, takes place. 1845 New Statist. Acc. Scot., Berwicksh. 59 All the men who have been married within the last 12 months are creeled. Ibid. 263 An ancient.. local usage called creeling is still kept up here. 1890 Glasgow Times 3 Nov. 3/4 A miner.. having got married .. his fellow-colliers .. went through the process of creeling him.

[f. creel sb.2 + -er1.] A young person who attends to the creel of a spinning machine.

creeler ('kri:b(r)).

1864 R. A. Arnold Cotton Fam. 32 A minder and a creeler engaged in manufacturing with a self-acting mule. 1882 Manchester Guardian 19 May, The relationship between spinners and their creelers and piecers.

'creelful. As much as fills a creel. 1824*Scott Redgauntlet ch. vii, A creelfu’ of coals. 1873 G. C. Davies Mountain Mere xviii. 157 The creelfuls of trout I have caught.

creem (kri:m), v. dial. Also cream, crim. [Of obscure etymology: possibly two or even three distinct words are here included. The various senses belong to distinct parts of England. The variant crim has suggested identity with OE. crimman to squeeze, press (cf. sense 2); but the evidence does not show that crim is the earlier form, rather the contrary: and it is not easy to see how creem with its long vowel could arise from the ablaut series krim-, kram, krum-.]

1. trans. To put, place, or deposit secretly or surreptitiously, (northern.) 1674 Ray N.C. Words 12 Creem it into my hand: Put it in slily or secretly. Chesh. a 1700 B. E. Diet. Cant. Crew, Creeme, to slip or slide anything into another’s Hand. 1746 Collier (Tim Bobbin) View Lane. Dial. Wks. (1862) 53, I creemt Nip neaw on then o Lunshun. 1887 5. Cheshire Gloss., Creem, to hide. ‘Creem it up’, put it out of sight, hide it in your dress or pocket.. It is a rare word, and rapidly becoming obsolete.

2. To squeeze; to hug. (Devon and Cornw.) 1746 Exmoor Courtship (E.D.S.) 326 Tha hast a creem’d ma Yearms and a most Dost ma neck. 1864 Capern Devon Provine., He creemed my hand. 1880 W. Cornwall Gloss., Creem, to squeeze, to mash .. To hug in wrestling. 1880 E. Cornwall Gloss., Creem, to squeeze.

3. intr. To shiver, trans. To cause to shiver, to chill. Hence 'creemed ppl. a., chilled and shivering. (south-western.) 1847-78 Halliwell, Crim, to shiver. I. Wight. 1880 E. Cornwall Gloss., Creem .. is metaphorically used to describe that sensation of rigor or creeping of the flesh, known as goose flesh, cutis anserina. ‘Creemed wi’ the cold’. 1880 Mrs. Parr Adam & Eve iv. 44 Do ’ee go near to the fire.. you looks all creemed with the cold, and as wisht as can be. 1888 W. Somerset Word-bk., Creamy .. to shiver, to shudder.

creem, sb. dial. [f. prec.] A shiver proceeding from cold, indisposition, etc. 1847-78 Halliwell, Cream .. a cold shivering. Somerset. 1880 W. Cornwall Gloss., Creem, Crim, a shiver; a creeping of the flesh. ‘I feeled a crim coom o’er me*. 1888 W. Somerset Word-bk., Cream, a shiver.. a shivering state.

Hence creemy a. dial., shivering, shuddering,

creem, obs. f. cream sb.2 creen, obs. form of careen, on the creen: ready to turn either way on receiving an impulse. 1798 T. Jefferson Writ. (1859) IV. 234 [To] decide the future turn of things, which are at this moment on the creen. Ibid. 236 Stopping the movement in the Eastern States, which were on the creen.

creengle, obs. f. cringle. creep (kri:p), v.

Pa. t. and pa. pple. crept (krspt). Forms: see below. [A common Teutonic strong vb.: OE. creopan = OS. criopan, OFris. kriapa (NFris. krepen, Satl. kriope), ON. krjiipa (Sw. krypa, Da. krybe):—OTeut. *kreupan. As with some other verbs of the same class (cf. bow, brook, lout), the present has in some of the langs. u for eu, as

OLG. krupan, MDu. crtlpen, Du. kruipen, MLG., LG. and EFris. krupen, MG. krufen, kraufen. In OHG. replaced by chriohhan, MHG. and mod.Ger. kriechen, repr. a type kreukan, the relation of which to kreupan is uncertain. The OTeut. conjugation was, pres, kreupan, pa. t. kraup, pi. krupun, pa. pple. krupan; whence OE. pres, creopan (3rd sing, criepp), pa. t. creap, pi. crupon, pa. pple. cropen. The OE. pres, creopan, ME. crepen (close e), has regularly given the modern creep; occasional ME. instances of crope are app. errors. The pa. t. sing, creap regularly gave ME. crep (open e), spelt also crepe, creep(e, which was in general use to the 15th c., and survives with short vowel in the dialectal crep. The plural crupon, crupe(n, became in the 13th c. cropen, crope, after the pa. pple.; and this passed also into the sing, as crope, the prevailing type of the tense to the 16th c., after which it gradually dropped out of literary use, though still widely used in English and U.S. dialects. In the northern dial., the form adopted in the 13th c. was crap (after the pa. t. of other classes), which is still Scotch. But already before 1400, weak forms creep-ed and crep-t, began to take the place of all these, the second of which has since 16th c. gradually attained to be the standard form, leaving crep, crope, crop, crup, crap, as only dialectal. The pa. pple. cropen continued till the 17th c. in literary use, and to the 19th c. in the northern dial, where the vowel is still short croppen, cruppen-, in the south it became in 13th c. crope, also literary Eng. to the 18th c.; but a weak form crepid, creeped began to appear in the 14th c., and in the form crept, identical with the pa. t., has been the dominant form since the 16th c.]

A. Illustration of Forms. 1. Pres, tense, i creopan, criopan, (crypan), 1-3 3rd sing. criep(e)8; 2-4 creope(n, (kreope(n); 2-6 crepe(n, (3-6 crope, 4 cryepe); 4-5 krepe, 4-7 creepe, (6 creape), 7- creep, (Sc. 5- creip). ciooo ^lfric Gram, xxviii. (Z.) 170 Repo ic creope. CI175 Lamb. Horn. 23 Hwa creopeS J>er-in? c 1200 Trin. Coll. Horn. 199 pe neddre .. criepeC .. J>ureh nerewe hole. 01250 Owl & Night. 819 pe fox can crepe [v.r. crope] bi pe heie. £1305 Edmund Conf. 107 in E.E.P. (1862) 73 Makede hire redi to kreopen in. 1393 Langl. P. PL C. xxi. 475 Arys .. and creop on kneos to pe croys. 1483 Cath. Angl. 81 To Crepe, repere. 1570 Levins Manip. 70 To creepe, repere. 1583 Hollyband Campo di Fior 137 Why creape you on the grounde? 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 950 And swims or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flyes.

2. Past tense, a. sing. 1-3 creap, 3 (creop), 3-5 crep, crepe, 4-5 creep(e, 9 dial. crep;/)/. 1 crupon, 2-3 crupen. c 1000 ^Elfric Horn. II. 394 (Bosw.) Heo creap betwux 6am mannum. ai 100 O.E. Chron. an. 1083 Sume crupon under, a 1225 Leg. Kath. 908 [He] com ant creap in ure. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2924 Dor crep a dragun. 1340-70 Alisaunder 1009 J?er crep oute an addre. £1386 Chaucer Reeve's T. 306 She creepe [v.rr. (MSS. 1435-75) creep, crepe, crep, crepte] in to the clerk. 1881 Leicester Gloss., Crep, pt. and p.p., crept.

p. pi. 3-4 cropen, 3- crope; sing. 4 crop, croup, 5- crope (sing. & pi. 6 croape, dial. 7-9 crop, 9 crup). c 1275 Lay. 18472 Somme hii crope [c 1205 crupen] to pan wode. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. 170/2217 Heo .. cropen al-so ase ametene al aboute. a 1300 Cursor M. 2303 (Cott.) paa wigurs croup pe warlau in. c 1420 Avow. Arth. lxv, The caytef crope in-to a tunne. 1535 Coverdale j Sam. xiii. 6 They crope in to caues and dennes. 1572 R. H. tr. Lauaterus' Ghostes (L596) 207 Divers errours croape into the Church. 1606 Birnie Kirk-Buriall (1833) 14 Before the Kirk-buriall crop in. 1672 Sir C. Wyvill Triple Crown 160 He crope quietly on again. 01734 North Exam. 1. iii. §144 (1740) 217 Another Witness crope out against the Lord Stafford. 1831 Landor Fra Rupert Wks. 1846 II. 577 His dog soon crope betwixt us. 1883 C. F. Smith Southernisms in Trans. Amer. Philol. Soc. 47 Crope, preterit and past participle of creep, is common among the negroes and poorer whites.

y. north. 3-9 crap, (4-5 crape). £1205 Lay. 29282 pe sparewe innene crap. £1450 Henryson Mor. Fab. 44 To an Caue he crape. 1513 Douglas JEneis 11. v. (iv.) 48 And crap in wnder the feit of the goddes. 01605 Montgomerie ‘Since that the Hevins' 41 With my king in credit once I crap. 1795 Macneill Will Jean iii, Gloamin .. crap ower distant hill and plain.

S. 4-5 creped, -id, crepped, creeped, (4- Sc. creipit).

(kreppet),

7-9

£1300 K. Alis. 390 On hire bed twyes he leped, The thridde tyme yn he creped. 14.. Chaucer MS. [see Bi], 1634 Massinger Very Woman iv. iii, How the devil Creeped he into my head? 1807 [see B. 1]. Mod. Sc. A fox creepit [or crap] through the hole.

€. 4- crept(e. £1350 Cursor M. 15388 (Fairf.) Crepped in him Sathanas [Trin. MS. crepte, Cott. crep, Gott. croupe]. £1350 Will. Palerne 2235 And crepten into a caue. 1548 Hall Chron. 169 Whereunto.. [this] tended and crept up. 1632 Lithgow Trav. iv. (1682) 141 He crept in favour with Christians. i860 Tyndall Glac. 1. xi. 69 We crossed crevasses and crept round slippery ridges.

3. Pa. pple. a. 1-7 (north, dial. -9) cropen, 5-6 Sc. croppin, croipin, (6 crepen, 9 north, dial. croppen, cruppen, Yorksh. creppen). £ 1205 Lay. 5671 pa ilke pe aniht weoren atcropene. c 1386 Chaucer Frankl. T. 886 As thou.. were cropen out of the ground. 1423 Jas. I. Kingis Q. clxxxii, Quho that from hell war croppin onys in hevin. 1481 Caxton Reynard (Arb.) 17 He had cropen therein. 01553 Philpot Wks. (1842) 336 Corruptions have crepen into the people. 1563 WiN3ET Four Scoir Thre Quest. Wks. 1888 I. 132 Abuiss.. croipin in the Kirk. 01572 Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 401 Frensche men ar croppin in of lait. 1621 Markham Prev. Hunger (1655) 32 Cropen away and hidden. 1698 Lister in Phil. Trans. XX. 247 [They] would have cropen away. 1790 Mrs. Wheeler Westmrld. Dial. (1821) 23 Sic pride croppen intul Storth an Arnside. i&55 Robinson Whitby Gloss., Croppen or Cropen, crept. ‘Where hae ye gitten croppen to?’

j3. 3-4 ycrope, ycrop, 3-8 crope, (4-5 crepe). c 1275 Lay. 5671 pat weren awei crope. c 1325 Coer de L. 3473 In the erthe they wolde have crope. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 7229 Whider-ward were ye y-crope. c 1440 Capgrave Life St. Kath. in. 404 If he ware Crope thorow pe 3ate. 1595 Markham Sir R. Grinvile, To the fayrest i, A Heauenlie fier is crope into my braine. 1642 Rogers Naaman 71 The Lord speakes of those.. despised men, crope out of captivity. a 1734 North Examen 273 (D.) The Captain was just crope out of Newgate.

y. 4-5 crepid, 7-9 creeped. C1430 Chaucer Reeve's T. 339 (Camb. MS.) He wende a crepid by hese felawe Ion [5 MSS. cropen, Harl. crope]. 1761 Hume Hist. Eng. I. xvi. 396 Intestine faction had creeped into the Government of France. Mod. Sc. It has creepit oot.

8. 6- crept. 1535 Coverdale i Macc. vi. 11 Some yr were crepte in to dennes. 1611 Bible Jude 4 There are certaine men crept in vnawares. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 195 Mahomet has a little crept among them. 1855 Tennyson Maud in. vi. i, My life has crept so long on a broken wing.

4. The Perfect Tense was formerly, as in go, come, etc., formed with be to express result: he is cropen or crept in. c 1205-1423 [see 3 a above]. 1534 Tindale JW* 4 For ther are certayne craftely crept in. 1545 Joye Exp. Dan. vii. iij b, Oute of poore scoles & cloysters are these beggers cropen vp. 1650 Earl Monm. tr. Senault's Man bee. Guilty 338 As soon as they are crope out from their Spring-head. 1706 A. Bedford Temple Mus. vii. 151 No Errors are crept into the . .Text. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 57 f 4 That Party-Rage which .. is very much crept into their Conversation, a 1734 [see 3 p].

B. Signification. 1. a. intr. To move with the body prone and close to the ground, as a short-legged reptile, an insect, a quadruped moving stealthily, a human being on hands and feet, or in a crouching posture. Formerly said of snakes, worms, and other creatures without limbs, for which crawl is now more usual, though in some cases either may be used: see crawl v. c888 K. /Elfred Boeth. xxxvi. §4 Oj?er nzeip his fota jeweald pset he maege gan .. and ongin^ creopan [Bodl. MS. crypan] on Sone ilcan wej. ciooo /Elfric Horn. II. 488 (Bosw.) Him comon to creopende fela naeddran. c 1205 Lay. 29313 Pe king him gon crepen an heonden and a futen. c 1386 Chaucer Reeve's T. 339 He wende haue cropen [MS. Camb. crepid, Harl. crope] by his felawe Iohn, And by the Millere in he creepe [v.rr. creep, crape, crepede, crept] anon. 1413 Lydg. Pilgr. Sowle iv. xxxiii. (1483) 82 The serpent.. shold .. crepe vpon his breste. 1598 Shaks. Merry W. iv. ii. 59 Creepe into the Kill-hole. 1611 Florio, Carponare, to creepe on all foure. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 213 Land Tortoyses so great that they will creepe with two mens burthens. 1705 Berkeley Cave of Dunmore Wks. IV. 509 We were forced to stoop, and soon after creep on our knees. 1735 Somerville Chase hi. 146 See there he [the fox] creeps along; his Brush he drags. 1807 Robinson Archaeol. Graeca in. vi. 227 A person accused creeped on his hands through the fire. 1864 Tennyson Aylmer's F. 852 [There] the slow-worm creeps.

fb. Proverbially ‘walk’).

contrasted

with

go

(=

c888 K. Alfred Boeth. xxxvi. §4 Se bip mihtijra se 6e geep ponne se pe criepS [Bodl. MS. crypp]. c 1400 Sowdone Bab. 267 The Dikes were so develye depe .. Ouer cowde thai nothir goo nor crepe, c 1460 Towneley Myst. 114 Kynde wille crepe Where it may not go. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 135 Children must learne to creepe ere they can go. 1663 Bp. Patrick Parab. Pilgr. 304 The most imperfect souls, who are not as yet able to go, but only to creep in the way to heaven. 1741 Richardson Pamela III. 352 And besides, as the vulgar saying is, One must creep before one goes! 1836 Backwoods of Canada 57, I used to hear when I was a boy, ‘first creep and then go!’

fc. to creep to the cross (also to creep the cross): spec, used of the Adoration of the Cross, in the Roman Service for Good Friday. Obs. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Horn. 95 Crepe to cruche on lange fridai. 1377 Langl. P. PI. B. xviii. 428 Ariseth .. And crepeth to pe crosse on knees, c 1449 Pecock Repr. 269 Not as thou3 thei crepiden thanne & there to noon other thing saue to the Ymage, but that thei aftir her ymaginacioun crepiden to the persoon of Crist, a 1500 Ratis Raving 11. 129 Nocht our oft creip the corss one kneis. 15.. in Boorde Introd. Knowl. (1870) Introd. 92 The Usher to lay a Carpett for the Kinge to Creepe to the Crosse upon. 1554 Bale Decl. Bonner's Articles Divb, To creape to the Crosse on Good Friday featly. 1586-92 Warner Alb. Eng. 115 (N.) We kiss the pix, we creepe the crosse, our beades we over-runne. 1606 Shaks. Tr. Cr. hi. iii. 73 To come as humbly as they vs’d to creepe To holy Altars. 1630 J. Taylor Wks. (N.), Because they would not creepe unto the crosse, And change Gods sacred Word for humane drosse.

2. a. To move softly, cautiously, timorously, or slowly; to move quietly and stealthily so as to elude observation; to steal (into, away, etc.). c 1175 Lamb. Horn. 23 And per beo analpi holh pat an mon mei crepan in. 1393 Gower Conf. I. 198 This lady tho was crope a side As she, that wolde her selven hide, c 1470 Henry Wallace vi. 627 Full law thai crap, quhill thai war out off sicht. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. 1. (1586) 6 The Fathers forsaking the Plough.. began to creepe into the Toune. 1600 Shaks. A.Y.L. ii. vii. 146 The whining Schoole-boy.. creeping like snaile Vnwillingly to schoole. 1705 Addison Italy 9 We here took a little Boat to creep along the Sea-shore as far as Genoa. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. vii. 7 Like a guilty thing I creep At earliest morning to the door. 1873 Black Pr. Thule xxv. 421 If this wind continues, we can creep up to-morrow to Loch Roag.

b. Of things:

CREEP

2

CREEP

To move slowly.

1650 Fuller Pisgah 11. x. 214 Where the brook Zorek creeps faintly out of the Tribe of Judah. 1752 Young Brothers 11. i, Go, fool, and teach a cataract to creep! 1867

Tent on Beach xxiv, The mists crept upward chill and damp. 1878 Huxley Physiogr. 178 The sea-bottom over which the cold water creeps. Whittier

c. trans. To introduce gradually; slowly to increase (an amount of light, volume of music, etc.). Const, in. Cf. fade n.1 9. 1949 T. Rattigan Harlequinade in Playbill 57 They’ve crept in numbers two and three [sc. spotlights] too early. i960 N. Kneale Quatermass Gf Pit in. 97 Creep in music.

3. fig. (of persons and things), a. To advance or come on slowly, stealthily, or by imperceptible degrees; to insinuate oneself into; to come in or up unobserved; to steal insensibly upon or over. C1340 Cursor M. 14147 (Trin.) J?at sekenes crepte to heued & fote. C1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 296 J?ise newe ordris, pat ben cropen in wip-oute grounde. c 1430 Hymns Virg. (1867) 84 Now age is cropen on me ful stille. c 1430 Lydg. Chron. Troy 1. i, So ferre he was cropen into age. 1533 Q. Cath. Parr tr. Erasm. Commune Crede 74 b, By unlawfull plesure crope in the death and destruction of mankynde. 1565 Golding Ovid's Met. vi. (1593) 172 Sleepe upon my carefull carcasse crope. 1647-8 Cotterell Davila's Hist. Fr. (1678) 19 These opinions.. crept up, till they were universally embraced. 1702 De Foe Shortest Way w. Dissenters in Arb. Garner VII. 593 How they crope into all Places of Trust and Profit. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 61 f 1 Among many Phrases which have crept into Conversation. 1837 W. Irving Capt. Bonneville I. 250 Despondency began to creep over their hearts. 1869 Trollope He Knew liii. (1878) 293 When these sad weeks had slowly crept over her head. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 301 The licence of which you speak very easily creeps in.

b. To move timidly or diffidently; to proceed humbly, abjectly, or servilely, to cringe; to move on a low level, without soaring or aspiring. Cf. CREEPING ppl. a. 1581 Marbeck Bk. of Notes 623 So lowe crope they on the ground, that when they heare the name of the Sabboth, they remember nothing but the seauenth day. 1596 Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 614/1 When they are weary of warres .. then they creepe a litle perhaps, and sue for grace. 16.. Dryden (J.), It is evident he [Milton] creeps along sometimes for above an hundred lines together. 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. 347 And ten low words oft creep in one dull line. 1735-Prol. Sat. 333 Wit that can creep, and pride that licks the dust. 1782 Cowper Conversation 145 Where men of judgment creep, and feel their way, The positive pronounce without dismay. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Manners Wks. (Bohn) II. 46 Don’t creep about diffidently. 1874 Blackie Self-cult. 89 Where aspiration is wanting, the soul creeps.

4. a. Of plants: To grow with the stem and branches extending along the ground, a wall, or other surface, and throwing out roots or claspers at intervals, b. Of roots or subterranean stems: To extend horizontally under ground. 1530 Tindale Pract. Prelates Wks. 1849 II. 270 [Ivy] creepeth along by the ground till it find a great tree. 1580 Baret Alv. C 1597 To creepe, to run as rootes do in the ground, repo. 1672-3 Grew Anat. Plants 11. 1. i. §9 The Motions of Roots are.. sometimes Level, as are those of Hops.. and all such as properly Creep. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg, iv. 182 Cucumers along the Surface creep. 1717 Pope Eloisa 243 Where round some mould’ring tow’r pale ivy creeps. 1837 Dickens Pickw. vi, Oh, a dainty plant is the Ivy green, That creepeth o’er ruins old!

fc. Said of the ramification of blood-vessels, etc. Obs. Cf. crawl v. 4. 1668 Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. 1. xxviii. 67 Those [blood-vessels] which come from above do creep all the womb over. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 97 As they [blood-vessels] creep along the side of the branches [of the horns].

d. fig. To extend like a creeping plant. 1856 Stanley Sinai & Pal. ii. (1858) 138 Vineyards creep along the ancient terraces. 1859 Jephson Brittany iii. 24 Up this cliff creeps the town, capped by the fine old church.

e. Of a liquid: to spread over or cover a surface as a thin film; esp. (of a salt solution) to rise on the sides of the containing vessel, depositing crystals of the salt; (of the dissolved salt) to be deposited in this way. 1888 J. A. Fleming Short Lect. Electr. Artisans (ed. 2) 208 Difficulty sometimes occurs from the gradual ‘creeping’ up of the salts around the stopper. 1900 Nature 4 Oct. 562/1 Dr. Trouton gave a short account of his experiments on the creeping of liquids, and on the surface tensions of mixtures. He has found that the tendency of certain liquids to creep up the sides of their containing vessels is due to such liquids being mixtures. 1902 W. R. Cooper Prim. Batteries 195 When evaporation of a salt takes place in a glass vessel, crystals form on the vessel near the surface of the solution; and .. the crystals grow upwards and finally grow over the top of the vessel. This ‘creeping’, as it is termed, is avoided in Leclanche cells by dipping the tops of the glass pots into ozokerite or paraffin wax. 1909 Cent. Diet. Suppl. s.v. Oilthrower, Oil creeping along the shaft from the journal is thrown off. 1957 Encycl. Brit. XIV. 186/2 If an open vessel containing helium II is suspended inside the vacuum flask, .. the liquid creeps over the edge, and drops off the bottom of the vessel. 1958 j. j. Bikerman Surface Chem. (ed. 2) i. 89 The well-known phenomenon of creeping of solutions or crystal climbing probably involves the relation between surface tension and concentration.

5. a. trans. = creep along or over. rare. (Cf. also creep the cross in 1 c.) 1667 Milton P.L. vii. 523 And every creeping thing that creeps the ground. 1727 Dyer Grongar Hill 78 Whose ragged walls the ivy creeps. 1738 Wesley Hymns, ‘O Thou whose Wisdom' iii, The meanest Worm that creeps the Earth. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 130 Black clouds crept the southern hill.

b. trans. and intr. To rob (stealthily); to use stealth. Criminals' slang (orig. U.S.).

1914 in Jackson & Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang. 1928 M. C. Sharpe Chicago May (1929) xxxi. 259 Panelling, or creeping, only carries eighteen months, because the John went to the room of his own accord. 1955 P- Wildeblood Against Law iii. 119 You could creep that drum six-handed, with jelly and all, and she’d think it was mice. 1958 [see creep sb. 1 e].

6. intr. Of the skin or flesh, less usually of the person himself: To have a sensation as of things creeping over the skin; to be affected with a nervous shrinking or shiver (as a result of fear, horror, or repugnance). 01300 Cursor M. 3567 (Cott.) Quen pat [he] sua bicums aid.. It crepes crouland in his bak. CI400 Rom. Rose 2558 Whanne thou wenest for to slepe, So fulle of peyne shalt thou crepe. 1727 Swift Gulliver in. vii. 223 Something in their countenances that made my flesh creep with a horror I cannot express. 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge xvii, You make my hair stand on end, and my flesh creep. 1879 G. Meredith Egoist xxviii. (1889) 266 He had such an air of saying ‘Tom’s a-cold’, that her skin crept in sympathy. 1882 Mrs. Raven's Tempt. I. 310 It makes me quite creep.

7. Naut., etc. To drag with a creeper for anything at the bottom of the water. 1813-14 Act 54 Geo. Ill, c. 159 § 10 No person .. shall.. creep or sweep for anchors [etc.].. supposed to be lost in any of the ports. 1830 Marryat King's Own ix, There the cargo is left, until they have an opportunity of going off in boats to creep for it, which is by dragging large hooks at the bottom until they catch the hawser. 1888 T. Hardy Wessex Tales II. 143.

8. Of metal rails, etc.: To move gradually forward under the continuous pressure of heavy traffic in the same direction, or as a result of periodical expansion and contraction on a gradient. Also, to increase very gradually in length under excessive stress. 1872 W. S. Huntington Road-Master's Assistant (ed. 2) 29 The rails in creeping have a tendency to move towards the foot of the grade. 1885 Science V. 344/2 In some places the rails move longitudinally or ‘creep’. On long inclines or grades the track may creep down hill. 1887 Engineer LXIV. 9 Now I have the fish bolts loosened I am threatened with a creeping of the line. 1890 Daily News 31 Dec. 2/5 The very curious ‘creeping’ action of lead upon a roof was also shown by means of a model... In the experiment the lead, first heated and then cooled, was made to creep a perceptible space. 1899 J. A. Ewing Strength Mater. 24 When a load exceeding the elastic limit is applied the strain which occurs at once is followed by a continued ‘creeping’ or supplementary deformation. 1911 - in Encycl. Brit. XXV. 1014/1 The elastic limit is the point., at which a tendency to creep is first seen. 1924 F. C. Lea in Proc. Inst. Mech. Engin. II. 1053 The problem is to find the safe stress at which the material will not change form or creep. Ibid. 1072 At 11.40 a.m. on the nth the specimen had crept 0 2 millimetre, but at 11.40 a.m. on the 14th the creeping had ceased. 1955 Oxf. Jun. Encycl. VIII. 286/2 Under this smaller but continuous burden the metal gradually deforms or ‘creeps’, and eventually breaks.

9. Coal-mining. To suffer a ‘creep’. 1851 Greenwell Coal-trade Terms Northumb. & Durh. 19 The softer the thill, the greater the liability to creep. 1861 Trans. N. Eng. Inst. Min. Engineers IX. 24 [It] had evidently brought on a heavy creep as shown on the section of crept bords.

10. Of soil, talus, etc.: to undergo creep (sense 7 a); to move imperceptibly en masse. 1889 Geol. Mag. VI. 257 The whole outer layer of the soilcap will.. creep slightly downwards. Ibid. 260 The creeping of the soilcap through the action of frost. 1918 Econ. Geol. XIII. 609 In many places hillside surficial material seems to be creeping up instead of down—perhaps due to swelling by weathering of the surface portions of certain underlying beds. 1965 Hatch & Rastall Petrol. Sedim. Rocks (ed. 4) II. v. 77 If a rock fragment on a slope is moved by its own expansion or that of the pore-water it may be exposed to the pull of gravity. It will then creep slightly downhill. 11. Of a rubber tyre. (Cf. creep sb. 9.) 1903 Motoring Ann. 300 It is claimed for the Collier tyre that it cannot possibly creep. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 25 Feb. 4/2, I understand that they have a great tendency to creep.

12. Of a belt or rope: to slip or slide backwards on the pulley. (Cf. creep sb. 8.) 1922 F. V. Hetzel Belt Conveyors 124 A poorly made belt . . will creep more and cause more wear than a good belt.

creep (kri:p), sb. [f. the verb.] 1. a. The action of creeping; slow or stealthy motion, (lit. and fig.) 1818 Keats Endym. 1. 679 Until a gentle creep, A careful moving caught my waking ears. 1842 Wordsw. ‘Lyre! though such power', Or watch.. The current as it plays In flashing leaps and stealthy creeps Adown a rocky maze. 1862 Thornbury Turner I. 264 There is a fine sense of terror and danger and adventure in Jason’s stealthy creep. fb. Hawking. See quot. Obs. i486 Bk. St. Albans D j b, Yowre hawke fleeth at or to the Creepe when ye haue yowre hawke on yowre fyst and crepe softely to the Ryuer or to the pit, and stelith softeli to the brynke therof, and then cry huff, and bi that meane Nym a fowle.

c. t («) A creeping fellow; a sneak, dial. Obs. (b) slang (orig. U.S.). A despicable, worthless, stupid, or tiresome person. Cf. creeper i b. 01876 E. Leigh Gloss. Cheshire (1877) 52 A Creep.., a creeping fellow. 1886 Brierley Cast upon World xviii. 218 His whole get-up so suggestive of what in those days was called a ‘creep’, that I could not help regarding him with additional loathing. 1935 Jrnl. Abnormal Psychol. XXX. 362 Creep, a worthless person. 1938 New Republic 7 Sept. 129/1 The man .. is nothing but a creep. 1951 [see charge sb. 3 d]. 1954 Wodehouse Jeeves & Feudal Spirit i. 7 They were.. creeps of the first water and would bore the pants off me.

CREEPAGE 1958 Spectator 9 May 588/3 A pathetic fat city creep comes making eyes at the daughter, i960 H. Pinter Room 117, I get these creeps come in, smelling up my room. 1966 Punch 16 Feb. 241 ‘Maurice Thew School of Body-building’? That’ll be that phoney creep upstairs.

d. A stealthy robber; a sneak thief; esp. one who works in a brothel. Criminals' slang (orig. U.S.). Cf. creep joint (6). 1914 in Jackson & Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang. 1928 M. C. Sharpe Chicago May (1929) xxxi. 255, I have been a badger, pay-off, note-layer, creep, panel, and blackmailer. i960 Observer 25 Dec. 7/6 A creep is a highly expert thief... He is so quiet that he can move about a house for hours without waking anybody.

e. Stealthy robbery; petty thieving; esp. in a brothel. So at or on the creep: engaged in stealthy robbery. Also attrib. Criminals' slang (orig. U.S.). 1928 M. C. Sharpe Chicago May (1929) xxxi. 257 She may decide to shift to the creep or panel game. 1931 C. Rimington Bon Voyage Bk. 89/2 At the creep, picking lady’s skirt pocket while walking. 1938 F. D. Sharpe Flying Squad i. 15 Billy’s at ‘the Creep’ means that Billy earns his living stealing by stealth from tills whilst a shop is momentarily unwatched, or from a warehouse. 1958 F. Norman Bang to Rights hi. 121 A geezer who got captured while he was out on the creep, he used to go out and creep about all over the place trying to find things to knock off. One of his favourite stokes was creep offices [sic] in the city.. during the lunch hour.

2. A sensation as of things creeping over one’s body; a nervous shrinking or shiver of dread or horror. Usually in pi., the creeps or cold creeps (colloq.). 1849 Dickens Dav. Copp. iii. 29 She was constantly complaining of the cold, and of its occasioning a visitation in her back which she called ‘the creeps’. 1862 Lytton Haunted Haunters in Str. Story (1866) II. 391, I felt a creep of undefinable horror. 1879 A. Forbes in Daily News 21 Aug. 5/3 It gives you the creeps all down the small of the back. 1884 Athenaeum 15 Mar. 340/1.

3. Coal-mining. The slow continuous bulging or rising up of the floor of a gallery owing to the superincumbent pressure upon the pillars. ‘Also any slow movement of mining ground’ (Raymond Mining Gloss. 1881). 1813 Ann. Philos. II. 285 The pitmen were proceeding.. through the old workings.. the proper road being obstructed by a creep. 1867 W. W. Smyth Coal & Coal¬ mining 132 The creep .. arises when the thill or underclay is soft, and the proportion of pillars to bords such that after a time a downward movement takes place; the pillars then force the clay to rise upwards in the bords. 1867 Ann. Reg. 176 He advised that it should be buried in some of the creeps or crevices of some old pit-workings.

4. A low arch under a railway embankment; an opening in a hedge or other enclosure, for an animal to creep or pass through. Cf. creephole. Also, an enclosure in which young animals may feed, with an entrance too small to admit the mother. So creep-feed, -feeding; creep-feed v. 1819 Sporting Mag. IV. 209, I have heard that they [sc. pheasants] of late have been snared in creeps, like hares. 1875 W. McIlwraith Guide Wigtownsh. 37 A creep for cattle, on the Wigtown Railway. 1884 R. Jefferies Red Deer x. 188 Through this hedge [poachers] leave holes, or ‘creeps’, for the pheasants to run through. 1886 C. Scott Sheep-Farming 92 To fatten lambs rapidly, the utmost care must be given to their feeding. When folded on green crops they should feed in advance of the ewes, by having ‘creeps’ provided. 1924 Chambers's Jrnl. Jan. 49/2 The rabbits have their chosen creeps through the greenery below. 1950 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Jan. 63/1 Creep feeding. From the earliest age piglets will take extra feed. Ibid. Apr. 371/3 A creep in which the suckers can feed away from the sow is a necessity, i960 Farmer Stockbreeder 16 Feb. 50 The piglets .. will already be creep-feeding. Ibid. 22 Mar. 136/2 A suitable creep-feed mixture would be 2 parts cracked beans, 1 part crushed wheat, 3 parts crushed oats, 2 parts ground barley. 1964 R. Jeffries Embarrassing Death ii. 18 He could see sheep creep¬ feeding in one field. 5. = CREEPER 5. 1889 Chamb. Jrnl. Jan. 28/2 Boatmen went to work with creeps or drags to search for the body.

6. attrib. and Comb., as f creep-windorw (cf. sense 4); (sense 10) creep-rate, -resistance, -resistant adj., -strain, -stress, -test, -testing', creep curve, a curve showing the rate, circumstances, etc. of creep (sense 10); creep joint U.S. slang, (a) a brothel or unwholesome apartment-house, esp. one where patrons are robbed; (b) a gambling-game operating in a different location each night; creep limit, strength, the maximum stress to which material, esp. metal, can be subjected without ‘creep’ (see sense 10). Also creep-hole, creepmouse. 1931 H. J. Tapsell Creep of Metals iii. 31 The form of the creep curve for materials at normal service temperature. 1928 M. C. Sharpe Chicago May (1929) ii, New York was full of creep joints at that time [c 1896]. 1930 Amer. Mercury Dec. 455/1 Creep-joint, a gambling house that moves to a different apartment each night. 1946 Mezzrow & Wolfe Really Blues i. 3 Earned my Ph.D. in more creep joints and speakeasies and dancehalls than the law allows. 195° A. Lomax Mr. Jelly Roll (1952) 50 Creep joints where they’d put the feelers on a guy’s clothes. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Diet. 208/1 Creep limit. 1931 H. J. Tapsell Creep of Metals iii. 31 Ultimate failure of a material would result however small the initial creep rate may be. 1937 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XLI. 378 Cast alloys have better creep resistance than

CREEPER

3 forged. 1947 Mech. Engin. LXIX. 273 The scarcity of creep-resistant materials for blades and rotors working at high temperature, i960 Times 16 Mar. (Canberra Suppl.) p. vii/1 The use of high-strength alloy creep-resistant steels for the tubes and supports. 1948 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. LII. 2/2 Strain deviations .. are regarded as ‘creep strains’. 1929 Tapsell & Remfry (title) The ‘creep’ strength of a ‘high nickel-high chromium steel’, between 6oo° and 8oo° C. *957 Times Surv. Brit. Aviation Sept. 27/4 American writers have claimed an increase in creep strength of 20 per cent, by vacuum-melting. 1934 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XXXVIII. 205 When selecting a light alloy material for aero engine design .. it is important to consider the creep stress of the material concerned. Ibid. 408 Magnesium alloys under creep test. 1931 H. J. Tapsell Creep of Metals i. 3 The experimental refinements now found necessary in creep¬ testing. 1664 Atkyns Orig. Printing Ded. Bj, The least Creep-window robs the whole House; the least Errour in War is not to be redeemed.

7. Geol. (Cf. 3.) a. A slow, imperceptible movement en masse of soil, talus, etc., usu. downhill under the influence of gravity but freq. with other processes (such as successive freezing and thawing) contributing to the effect. 1889 Geol. Mag. VI. 260 The normal rise of the surface particles was about ^ of the depth of the frozen soil, and their creep about of the same depth. 1897 W. B. Scott Introd. Geol. iv. 82 Each freezing causes the fragments to rise slightly.. and each thawing produces a reverse movement; hence the slow creep down the slope. 1897 [see soil-creep, soil sb.1 10]. 1938 C. F. S. Sharpe Landslides iii. 21 The general term creep may be defined as the slow downslope movement of superficial soil or rock debris, usually imperceptible except to observations of long duration. 1942 C. A. Cotton Geomorphol. (ed. 3) iii. 29 Evidence of creep may be seen where trees and posts have been tilted from the vertical, i960 B. W. Sparks Geomorphol. iv. 47 Rock creep is a movement of jointed blocks, partly as the result of soil creep and partly as a result of sliding. 1966 R. Common in G. H. Dury Ess. Geomorphol. 53 Shearing stresses in the material of a slope cause creep when they exceed the ‘fundamental’ shearing resistance.

b. A slow displacement of strata or the earth’s crust by expansion or contraction or under compressive forces. 1900 [see crust-creep s.v. crust sb. 13 b]. 1903 T. M. Evol. Earth Struct, ix. 134 The horizontal expansion .. will produce, by small increments and minor alterations, a creep, ending in an anticlinal fold. 1906 Chamberlin & Salisbury Geol. III. 312 Continental creep along the steep slope between the continental platforms and the oceanic basins. 1942 E. M. Anderson Dynamics of Faulting viii. 182 A general ‘creep’ of the surface towards the mountain axis is supposed by others to be an essential part of the process of orogeny. 1964 L. U. de Sitter Struct. Geol. (ed. 2) xi. 149 Very accurate geodetic surface measurements across the San Andreas fault.. have shown that slow creep at an annual rate of 1 cm does take place along the fault line. Reade

8. The slip of the belt on the pulley drum, or wheel over which it runs. [1888 Lockwood's Diet. Mech. Engin. 95 Creeping, the very slight loss of speed which results when drums are driven by rope gearing, due to the slipping of the rope.] 1909 W. C. Unwin Machine Design 1. 448 (heading) Creep of belt. 9. A creeping motion between the rim of a

wheel and a rubber tyre. Cf. creep v. ii. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 5 Mar. 4/3 The rims of the R.W. wheel allow no creep with a properly inflated tyre.

10. The continuous deformation of a material (esp. a metal) under stress, esp. at high temperatures. Cf. creep v. 8. 1924 F. C. Lea in Proc. Inst. Mech. Engin. II. 1066 At stresses slightly above this the creep was continuous and the bar broke. Ibid. 1072 It will thus stand a higher stress without creep. 1931 H. J. Tapsell Creep of Metals iii. ^1 Creep may be defined as the deformation of a material occurring with time under and due to an externally applied stress whether the deformation be of the nature of plastic or of viscous flow. 1943 E. G. Couzens in R. S. Morrell Synthetic Resins (ed. 2) xvii. 544 Flow takes place in two stages—creep, which is greatest following elastic deformation, and cold flow. 1952 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. CLXXI. 333/2 In these materials creep was found to be primarily a process of slip in the austenite crystals. 1956 Gloss. Terms Concrete (B.S.I.) 16 Creep, a slow inelastic deformation or movement of concrete under stress. 1957 Brit. Commonw. Forest Terminol. II. 51 Creep, the increase in strain with time due to elastic after-effect and plastic deformation. 1970 Fremdsprachen 44 An uncertainty about the effect of creep and shrinkage.

creepage ('kriipic^).

[f. creep v. 4- -age.] Gradual movement; spec, leakage of electricity.

1903 Electr. World & Engin. 7 Nov. 777 (Cent. D. Suppl. s.v. Oil-thrower), Special oil throwers are provided to prevent the creepage of oil along the shaft. 1958 Which? I. II. 22/1 We tested the motor for safety... This included brush, creepage and wiring compliance. 1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. VII. 158/2 These [insulators] are made of glazed porcelain, with a series of skirts to lengthen the creepage paths and provide maximum resistance to flash-over.

creeper (’kri:p3(r)).

Forms: i creopere, 4-6 creper(e, 6 crepar, 6- creeper, [f. creep v. + -ER.]

1. a. One who creeps. (In quot. 1883, a child too young to walk.) a 1000 Glostr. Frag. 12. 17 (Bosw.) Seo ealde cyrce waes eall behangen mid criccum and mid creopera sceamelum. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 101 Crepere, or he pat crepythe, reptor. 1556 J. Heywood Spider & F. lx. 35 A creper with spiders, and a flier with flise. 1682 Otway Venice Pres. v. ii, All us little creepers in’t, called men. 1883 J. Parker Apost. Life II. 256 The door must not be shut., until the last little creeper has been brought in and sat at the Father’s table.

b. fig. One who moves stealthily, timidly, or abjectly, or proceeds in a mean and servile way. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie III. xxiv. (Arb.) 299 Sometimes a creeper, and a curry-fauell with his superiours. 1598 Florio, Insinuatore, a craftie she creeper into ones bosome, fauor or minde. c 1605 Rowley Birth Merl. iii. vi, A gilded rascal, A low-bred despicable creeper. 1631 Brathwait Eng. Gentlew. (1641) 360 They were.. no strutters in the streets, but despicable creepers. 1811 Lamb Trag. Shaks., The servilest creeper after nature that ever consulted the palate of an audience.

fc. slang. A ‘penny-a-liner’; see quot. 1824 W. Irving T. Trav. I. 241 A creeper is one who furnishes the newspapers with paragraphs at so much a line. 1825 T. Lister Granby lx. (1836) 425 Persons, called, in the slang of the trade, ‘creepers’, whose business it is to prowl about, collecting incidents for the newspapers.

d. pi. (a) The feet; (b) shoes with soft soles. Also attrib. (in sing.). Cf. brothel-creeper, slang (orig. U.S.). 1889 Barrere & Leland Diet. Slang I. 280/1 Creepers ..(American), the feet. 1904 ‘No. 1500’ Life in Sing Sing 247 Creepers, soft shoes worn by burglars, sneak-thieves and prison guards. 1924 G. C. Henderson Keys to Crookdom 402 Creepers, rubber-soled shoes. Also called sneaks. 1951 Sunday Pictorial 29 Oct., Fancy shoes with thick creperubber wedge soles which are known to connoisseurs as ‘creepers’. 1955 E. Blishen Roaring Boys iv. 210 He pointed to my shoes, which were new and crape-soled. ‘They’re creepers... Real up-to-the-minute yobo’s thicksoled creepers.’ 1961 M. Dickens Heart of London 1. 67 The two-inch soles of their ‘creeper’ shoes.

2. a. An animal that creeps, a creeping thing, an insect or reptile; spec, (in vulgar speech) a louse. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach’s Husb. ill. (1586) 147 b, You shall be sure to have neither Mite nor Creeper in your Cheese. 1609 Bible (Douay) Gen. vii. 21 A1 creepers, that creepe upon the earth. 1651 Miller of Mansf. 8 Hast any Creepers within thy gay Hose? 1673 S. C. Rules of Civility 61 ’Tis unbecoming .. to scratch .. as if there were Creepers upon our backs. 1840 Hood Up the Rhine 200 A mounted gendarme would probably disdain to pursue a creeper.

b. Angling. The larva of the Stone-fly. 1867 F. Francis Angling (1876) 264 The crab or creeper is the larva of the stone fly.

c. Poultry-rearing. ‘One of a breed of fowls with legs so short that they jump rather than walk’. 1847 W. B. Dickson Poultry 15 The Dwarf Fowl, or Creeper (Gallus Bankiva, S. pumilio, Temminck, Le Coq Nain, Buffon). 1885 in Annandale.

3. A name given to many small birds, of different families, which run or climb up and down the branches of trees and bushes; esp. the common Brown Creeper or Tree-creeper, Certhia familiar is. 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. Introd., Birds.. not melodious, as the.. witwal, creeper, wren. 1674 Ray Eng. Birds 84 The Creeper or Ox-eye Creeper. 1766 Pennant Zool. (1768) I. 193 The creeper.. next to the crested wren is the least of the British birds. 1863 Bates Nat. Amazon vii. (1864) 203 Many pretty little blue and green creepers of the Dacnidae group were daily seen feeding on berries. 1882 Proc. Berw. Nat. Club IX. 553 No Gold-crests or Creepers, and rarely any Wrens were seen.

/"4. a. A plant that creeps along the ground, or (more usually) one that ascends a supporting surface, as ivy and the Virginian Creeper {Ampelopsis hederacea); a climber. 1626 Bacon Sylva §536 They are Winders and Creepers; as Ivy, Briony, Hops, Woodbine. 1712 tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 31 This Plant is a Creeper, and twines or lashes itself round any Tree that is near it. 1721 Bradley Wks. Nature 37 The Ivy, and Virginia Creeper. 1818 Keats Endym. 11. 416 The creeper, mellowing for an autumn blush. i860 Gosse Rom. Nat. Hist. 60 Primeval labyrinths of giant trees, tangled with ten thousand creepers.

b. (pi.) Arch. ‘Leaves or clusters of foliage used in Gothic edifices to ornament the angles of spires, pinnacles, and other parts; crochets.’ 1864 in Webster.

5. A kind of grapnel used for dragging the bottom of the sea or other body of water. In first quot. app. used of a grappling-iron. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 3667 Cogge appone cogge, krayers and oper, Castys crepers one crosse als to pe crafte langes. 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) II. 106 He perist in Loch Tay .. His body was found be creparis. 1730 Capt. W. Wriglesworth MS. Log-bk. of the ‘Lyell' 24 July, We sweaped with a Creeper for the Hawser, which we got hold of. 1769 Falconer Diet. Marine (1789), Creeper, an instrument of iron resembling a grappling, having a shank and four hooks or claws.. It is used to throw into the bottom of any river or harbour.. to hook and draw up any thing.. lost, a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Creepers.. 2. Grapnels to bring up any thing from the bottom of a well or pond. 1875 Wilcocks Sea-Fisherman (ed. 3) 40 The Grapnel or Creeper Sinker is much used off Dartmouth .. on account of the strength of the tidal currents .. These creepers have five claws. 1888 T. Hardy Wessex Tales II. 143.

f6. A small iron ‘dog’, of which a pair were placed on a hearth between the andirons. Obs. 1556 Inv. Goods in Archaeol. XXXVI. 289 A payre of crepers. 1565 Richmond. Wills (Surtees) 178, j. olde brandrethe.. j. iron creper. 1629 Inv. in Trans. Essex Archaeol. Soc. III. 11. 167, i pr creepers, fire shovell and tonges. 1661 Prynne Exam. Exub. Com. Prayer 106 The little Creepers, not the great Brass shining Andirons, bear up all the wood, and heat of the fire. 1833 J- Holland Manuf. Metal II. 162 The andirons proper.. and what were denominated creepers, a smaller sort, with short necks or none at all.

CREEP-HOLE 7. local, a. A kind of patten or clog worn by women, b. A piece of iron with points or spikes, worn under the feet to prevent slipping on ice, etc. 1721 Bailey, Creepers, a sort of Galoshes, between Clogs and Pattens, worn by Women, a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Creepers, 1. Low pattens mounted on short iron stumps, instead of rings, i860 Bartlett Diet. Amer., Creepers, pieces of iron, furnished with sharp points and strapped under the feet, to prevent one falling when walking upon ice. 1887 Newcastle Wkly. Chron. 1 Jan. 4 Ice-creepers are now on sale in certain shops of Newcastle. 8. = CREEP sb. 4. *845 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VI. I. 189 That.. lambs may., have more liberty, and pick out the shortest and sweetest of the keep, I have ‘creepers’ placed to enable them to do so.

9. a. An apparatus for conveying grain in cornmills, a conveyor, b. An endless feeding-apron, in a carding-machine.

moving

1847 Engineer & Mach. Assistant (Descr. Plates) 92 The creeper.. constructed by Mr. Fairbaim. 1865 Sir W. Fairbairn Mills & Mill-work 11. 140 The creeper consists of a long enclosed screw with a wide pitch and projecting thin threads enclosed in a wooden box or trough.

10. A small iron frying-pan with three legs; also called a spider. (U.S. local.) 1880 in Webster Supp.

11. A pupil in the tea-planting trade, esp. in Ceylon. 1893 Field 8 Apr. 510/3 ‘Creepers’, as they are called, are constantly coming out to learn tea. 1894 Standard 2 Jan. 5 A ‘creeper’, it seems, is the technical term for a pupil whose parents pay a high premium to have him taught the art and mystery of tea-planting in Ceylon. 1921 Ld. F. Hamilton Here, There & Everywhere ii. 48 [In Ceylon] Planters are divided locally into three categories: the managers,.. the assistants,.. and the premium-pupils, known as ‘creepers’. 1931 E. Sutton tr. Fauconnier's Soul of Malaya 1. iii. 30 The conceit of these blasted little creepers!

12. Cricket.

creepy

4

A ball which keeps low after

pitching. 1848 Punch Almanack May-June, Till some ‘ripper’ or ‘creeper’ gives the great wicket-keeper A chance. 1927 Daily Tel. 14 June 6/1 A ‘creeper’ from Larwood got rid of Twining. 1963 Times 17 May 4/5 Ormrod had to deal with three astonishing creepers from the lively Arnold. 13. Comb., as (sense 4) creeper-clad, creeper-

covered adjs. 1884 G. Allen Philistia I. 292 His pretty latticed creeperclad window. 1888 Daily News 25 June 6/3 The cool woods and creeper-covered rocks.

b. creeper bridge, rope, a bridge or rope of twisted creepers stretched across a tropical river; creeper chain Mining, an endless chain fitted with grips or hooks for traction of minecars, etc. 1892 H. W. Hughes Coal-mining 383 No better appliance has been introduced for minimising the cost of conveying tubs about the heapstead than that known as the ‘finger’ or ‘creeper’ chain... It consists of an endless chain travelling under the tubs, provided at intervals with vertical projecting pieces of iron fastened to the links. 1894 Westm. Gaz. 16 Jan. 5/3 A creeper rope tied from bank to bank. 1909 Ibid. 30 Dec. 5/4 We finally managed to get another creeper br idge between the island and the opposite bank, and hauled the women and children to a place of safety.

Hence 'creepered ppl. a., having (Virginia) creeper growing on the walls; 'creeperless a., without such a creeper. 1894 Pall Mall Gaz. 20 July 3/3 Down in the hollow is a glimpse of the creepered farmhouse. 1938 L. MacNeice Earth Compels 21 A chart of tropic Swamp and twilight Of creepered curtains. 1904 H. G. Wells Food of Gods 1. ii. § 1 The little house was creeperless.

creep-hole ('kriiphaul). [f. creep v. or sb. + hole.] A hole by which one creeps in or out; ‘a hole into which any animal may creep to escape danger’ (J.). Also fig. (cf. loop-hole). 1646 Game of Scotch & Eng. 20 How willing our brethren are to get a creep-hole, and how they shufle and cut to strugle themselves out of the Bryers. 1681 W. Robertson Phraseol. Gen. (1693) 560 A poor shifting excuse, a miserable come-off, a very creep-hole. 1876 T. Hardy Hand Ethelb. I. 53 A screen of ivy .. across the front of the recess.. a small creep-hole being left for entrance and exit.

creepie ('kriipi). Sc. and dial. Also creepy, [f. creep v. + -Y or -IE, denominative.] 1. a. A low stool. Also creepie-stool, creepy stool. 1661 Mercurius Caledonius, To assemble all her Creels, Basquets, Creepies, Furmes. 01756 Sc. Song, Logie o' Buchan, I sit on my creepie and spin at my wheel. 1859 Dickens Haunted House vii. 34 He sat between his parents .. and Bessy on the old creepie-stool. 1865 Reader 18 Nov. 579/3 Carrying her creepie in one hand and her milking-pail in the other. 1892 Jane Barlow Irish Idylls vii. 178 Pat, set the ould creepy stool for Mrs. Doyne. 1903 W. B. Yeats Hour-Glass (1904) 3 A creepy stool near it. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 43 Fiacre and Scotus on their creepystools in heaven.

b. ‘It sometimes denotes the stool of repentance’ (Jamieson). Also creepie-chair. 1718 Ramsay Christ's Kirk Gr. iii. viii, It’s a wise wife that kens her weird, What tho’ ye mount the creepy? 1794 Burns Rantin Dog iii, When I mount the creepie-chair, Wha will sit beside me there?

2. A small speckled fowl. (U.S. local.) 1854 Trans. Penns. Agric. Soc. 163 The variety of poultry exhibited .. comprising, in the tribe of barn-yard fowls,.. the Frizzle; the Creely and the Creepy.

creeping (’kriipiq), vbl. sb. [-ing1.] 1. a. The action of moving on the ground, as a reptile, or a human being on hands and knees. ey putte hym in a litel cribbe i-schape as a litel bote. 1398-Barth. De P.R. xix. cxxviii. (1495) 934 Fiscella is a lytyll euenlonge crybbe

a

pier,

dam,

superstructure

etc.;

sometimes

raised

upon

it.

(Canada & U.S.) 1816 [see crib-dam]. 1867 Harper's Weekly 20 Apr. 252/4 The flood-gates of the ‘crib’ were opened. 1874 Knight Diet. Mech., Crib.. 6. A structure of logs to be anchored with stones. Cribs are used for bridge-piers, ice-breakers, dams, etc. 1881 Proc. Inst. Civ. Engineers LXIII. 268 (Cribwork in Canada) Cribs are merely open or close boxes, made of timbers strongly framed together. 1884 Pall Mall G. 10 Oct. 7/2 Fourteen men were employed at a crib in the lake at the outer end of the tunnel. 14. A small raft of boards or staves to be floated down a small stream, a number of which are made up into a large raft. (Canada & U.S.) 1813 W. Johnson Reports X, Light cribs of boards would float over the dam in safety. 1880 Lumberman's Gaz. 28 Jan., When the streams get wide enough the ‘sticks’ are made into ‘cribs’, and these, again, are made up into Tafts’.. Cribs are formed of about 20 sticks of timber fastened between two logs called ‘floats’. 15. A bin or place with sparred or slatted sides for storing Indian corn (= corn-crib b); also for salt and other commodities. U.S. 1823 J. D. Hunter Captiv. N. Amer. 258 The corn [is preserved] in cribs, constructed of small poles and bark of trees. 1828 Webster, Crib.. 5. A small building, raised on posts, for storing Indian com. 1864 Ibid... 4. A box or bin for storing grain, salt, etc. III. 16. Cards, a. The set of cards made up of two (or one) thrown out from each player’s hand, and given to the dealer, in the game of cribbage. b. Also, short for cribbage. (colloq.) 1680 Cotton Compl. Gamester viii, Sometimes it so happens that he is both bilkt in hand and crib. 1870 Hardy & Ware Mod. Hoyle 79 (Cribbage) The players .. each throw out two [cards] for the crib, face downwards.. The four cards constituting ‘crib’ belong to the dealer. Ibid. 80 Having counted his hand, the dealer proceeds in like manner to count his crib. 1885 Standard 3 Apr. 2/6 He had played .. at ‘whist’ and ‘crib’. IV. Senses from crib v.

17. The act of ‘cribbing’; a petty theft. (See crib v. 7.) rare. 1855 Browning Fra Lippo Lippi 148 To confess Their cribs of barrel-droppings, candle-ends. 18. Something ‘cribbed’ or taken without acknowledgement, as a passage from an author; a plagiarism, (colloq.) 1834 Medwin Angler in Wales I. 207 That’s a crib from Waller, I declare. 1876 A. M. Fairbairn in Contemp. Rev. June 130 It was a crib from himself.

CRIB 19. A translation of a classic or other work in a foreign language, for the illegitimate use of students. (colloq.) 1827 Lytton Pelham I. ii. 11, I could read Greek fluently, and even translate it through the medium of the Latin version technically called a crib. 1861 Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. xxxix. (1889) 375 Schoolboys caught by their master using a crib.

20. A complaint, grumble, colloq. *943 Hunt & Pringle Service Slang 26 People have their own pet cribs. V. 21. attrib. and Comb., as crib timber-work (see sense 13); crib-bite v. intr., to have the practice or habit of crib-biting; crib-biter, a horse addicted to crib-biting; also fig.; also, a grumbler; crib-biting, the vice or morbid habit of seizing the manger (or other object) with the teeth and at the same time noisily drawing in the breath {wind-sucking); crib-breakwater U.S., a breakwater made of cribwork; crib-bridge, a bridge whose piers are formed of cribs (see crib sb. 13); crib-cracker slang, a burglar (see crib sb. 3 b); so crib-cracking; crib-dam U.S.,a dam formed of cribs; crib-muzzle, a muzzle worn by a horse to prevent crib-biting; crib-rail, a transverse member of the frame of a railway coach; crib-strap (see quot.); cribwork, work consisting or formed of cribs (sense 13); also attrib. 1844 *Crib-bite [see wind-suck v.]. 1809 Sporting Mag. XXXIV. 190 A bay horse .. found to be a *crib-biter. 1832 Marryat N. Forster xl, I have lately used iron pens, for I’m a devil of a crib-biter, i860 Hotten Diet. Slang (ed. 2) 124 Crib biter, an inveterate grumbler; properly said of a horse which has this habit, a sign of its bad digestion. 1831 Ann. Reg. 25 Horses had the habit of *crib-biting in very different degrees. 1879 Rep. Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army II. 1588 (Knight), *Crib breakwater. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 8 Dec. 2/1 What military engineers call a ‘*crib’ bridge. 1879 Punch 3 May 201/i A bludgeon as big As a *crib-cracker’s nobby persuader. 1883 G. R. Sims How the Poor Live ii. 10 His talents as a ‘cribcracker’, and his adventures as a pickpocket. 1906 Daily Chron. 5 Dec. 6/6 The house is adequately protected against burglars and is proof against the amateur crib-cracker. 1852 Punch 9 Oct. 161/1 He . . From cly-faking to *crib-cracking turned. 1816 Niles' Reg. IX. Suppl. 164/2 These dams are built with timber, in the manner of *crib dams, secured to the rocks below with iron bolts, a 1884 Knight Diet. Mech. Suppl. 231/1 *Crib muzzle (Manege), a muzzle used to correct the equine habit of cribbing. 1958 Engineering 14 Mar. 344/1 The body pillars, cantrail and *cribrails are in 12 s.w.g. 1874 Knight Diet. Mech., *Cribstrap (Menage), a neck-throttler for crib-biting and wind sucking horses. 1884 Harper's Mag. Sept. 621/2 Sluices., are constructed through a mass of *crib timber-work. 1873 Robertson Engin. Notes 56 *Cribwork.. consists of logs notched on to each other in layers at right angles. 1881 Proc. Inst. Civ. Engineers LXIII. 271 A cribwork pier is easily ripped up and removed by an ordinary spoon dredge.

crib (krib), v. [f. crib ii.] ft. intr. ? To feed at a crib. humorously of persons.) Obs. rare.

CRIBRATE

17

(In quot.

c 1460 Towneley Myst. 89, I fare fulle ylle, At youre mangere.. Syrs, let us cryb furst for oone thyng or oder.

2. a. trans. To shut up as in a crib or small compartment; to confine within a small space or narrow limits; to hamper. (In modern use generally as an echo of Shaks.; cf. cabin v. 3.) 1605 Shaks. Macb. in. iv. 24 Now I am cabin’d, crib’d, confin’d, bound in. 1743 E. Poston Pratler (1747) I. 151 How must that which is boundless .. be confin’d and cribb’d up within the narrow Limits of my .. finite Capacity! 1826 De Quincey Lessing Wks. XIII. 236 The mind of Lessing was not cribbed and cabined within the narrow sphere of others. 1876 Blackie Songs Relig. & Life 24 Vainly the narrow wit of narrow men Within the walls which priestly lips have blest. . Would crib thy presence.

b. To lock up, imprison, local, (crib sb. 3 c.) 1849 C. Bronte Shirley xxxii, They should be arrested, cribbed, tried, and brought in for Botany Bay.

c. To place (Indian corn, etc.) in a crib. U.S. 1719 J. Hempstead Diary (1901) 93, I went to Stonington and Stephen to Cribb the Corn. 1831 J. M. Peck Guide for Emigrants 11. 151 The value of the crop, then, before it is cribbed, is one hundred and twenty-five dollars. 1874 E. Eggleston Circuit Rider i. 17 Now, boys, crib your corn. 1939 These are our Lives 256 The buyers would crib eight and ten thousand bushel of wheat and corn.

3. intr. To lie as in a crib, (crib sb. 5.) Obs.

1748 Dyche Diet., Crib, to withhold, keep back, pinch, or thieve a part out of money given to lay out for necessaries. 1772 Foote Nabob 1. Wks. 1799 II. 298 A brace of birds and a hare, that I cribbed this morning out of a basket of game. 1795 Hull Advertiser 31 Oct. 4/2 We would never have cribb’d your papers. 1825 Cobbett Rur. Rides 28 Bits of ground cribbed .. at different times from the forest. 1862 Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Hallib. 11. xii. 204 We crib the time from play-hours. 1884 Times (Weekly Ed.) 17 Oct. 2/3 How many Tory seats he can crib there. absol. 1760 C. Johnston Chrysal (1822) I. 174 Cribbing from the till. f. *crindsus hairy, f. crlnis hair.] Hairiness. 1656 Blount Glossogr., Crinosity, hairiness. 1730-6 in Bailey (folio). 1755 in Johnson. 1825 New Monthly Mag. XIII. 424 None of the ancients, as I see, Laid claim to our crinosity. 1832 L. Hunt Sir R Esher (1850) 95 The royal crinosity was naturally a deep black.

So cri'nose a., having much or long hair. 1730-6 in Bailey (folio); whence in Johnson and mod. Diets.

crio- = Gr. npio-, comb, form of xpioy ram: in some technical terms, as crio'cephalous a. [Gr. K€ff>aXrj head], having a ram’s head (said e.g. of a sphinx), cri'ocerate a. [Gr. Kcpas horn], akin to the genus Crioceras of fossil cephalopods, having the whorls discrete, so as to resemble a ram’s horn, crio'ceratite, a fossil of the genus Crioceras, a ram’s-horn ammonite. criocera'titic a., pertaining to, or of the nature of, a crioceratite. 'criophore, a statue or other representation of a figure carrying a ram (1909 in Webster); so cri'ophoric, cri'ophorous adjs. 'criosphinx, a sphinx having a ram’s head, one of the three types of the Egyptian sphinx. 1832 G. Long Egypt. Antiq. I. x. 213 A row of criosphinxes .. with a ram’s head and lion’s body. 1847 Ansted Anc. World x. 244 The shell called Crioceratite.. corresponds with the Ammonite, much as the Spirula corresponds with the Nautilus. 1921 G. A. F. Knight Nile & Jordan xiii. 160 Criophorous sphinxes lined the avenues of Thebes and other cities. 1952 Jrnl. Theol. Stud. III. 90 The criophoric figures, such as those of Hermes, which anticipate later Christian representations of the Good Shepherd.

criollo (kri'obu). [a. Sp. criollo native to the locality: see Creole.] A variety of cocoa tree, Theobroma cacao, native to Central America; also, a name for high-quality cocoa or cocoa beans. Also attrib. 1908 H. H. Smith Cacao Planting 39 Strong growing forastero or calabicillo, bearing the finest criollo beans. Ibid., Good buds from pure criollo stocks. 1929 Encycl. Brit. V. 947/1 The finest type of bean the criollo, is grown in Venezuela, Ceylon, Java, Samoa, Madagascar and Nicaragua; but in Ceylon, and other places, criollo is being

CRIPPLING

26

CRINOSITY

replaced by forastero. Ibid. XXIII. 52/1 There are two grades of Venezuelan cacao—the criollo or native, and the trinitario or Trinidad. 1955 D. H. Urquhart Cocoa ii. 15 Cross-fertilization took place with the Criollo trees and when seedlings were raised from them they were no longer pure Criollo. Ibid. xiii. 156 Criollos and allied types were the cocoas with distinctive flavour.

crion, criour, obs. ff. crayon, crier. H'crious, a. Obs. [ME. and AF. crious = OF. crieus, f. crier to cry: see -ous.] Clamorous. 1382 Wyclif Prov. ix. 13 A fool womman and crious [1388 full of cry; L. clamosa],

Househ. Words 20 June 155 (Farmer) The sixpence., is called a bandy, a ‘bender’, a cripple.

5. Comb., as cripple-lame adj.; cripple-gap, -hole {dial.), see quot. and cf. 2 a; cripplestopper {colloq.), a small gun for killing wounded birds in wild-fowl shooting. 1595 Markham Sir R. Grinvile lix, Dismembred bodies perish cripple-lame. 1847-78 Halliwell, Cripple-gap a hole left in walls for sheep to pass through. North. Also called a cripple-hole. 1881 Greener Gun 553 Armed with a big shoulder-gun and a ‘cripple-stopper’. 1886 Pall Mall G. 24 Aug. 4/2 The Crane gun .. being used with ball and slugs for.. cripple-stopping.

crip. U.S. colloq. abbrev. of cripple sb.

B. adj. Disabled from the use of one s limbs; lame. Obs. or dial., exc. in attrib. use of prec.

1918 ‘A—No. T Mother Delcassee of Hoboes 43 Straight crip, actually crippled or otherwise afflicted. Phoney crip, self-mutilated or simulating a deformity. Ibid. 84 Going to play the ‘phoney crip’ act for a spell, Dallas Bob? 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §120/2 Crip, a crippled animal. 1950 Hemingway Across River viii. 62 He only loved people, he thought, who had fought or been mutilated... So I’m a sucker for crips, he thought.

C1230 Halt Meid. 33 Beo he cangun o8er crupel. 01300 Cursor M. 22829 (Gott.) Ani man .. crepil or croked. 1535 Coverdale Matt, xviii. 8 It is better for y* to entre in vnto life lame or crepell. 1599 Shaks. Hen. V, iv. Prol. 20 And chide the creeple tardy-gated Night, Who. .doth limpe So tediously away, a 1649 Drumm. of Hawth. Poems Wks. (1711) 56 That criple folk walk not upright, c i860 Whittier Hill-top viii, My poor sick wife, and cripple boy.

crip, obs. var. of scrip.

cripple ('krip(3)l), v. [f. cripple sb. Cf. Ger. kriippeln, trans. and intr. in senses 1 and 3.] 1. transr. To deprive (wholly or partly) of the use of one’s limbs; to lame, disable, make a cripple of.

cripes (kraips), int. Vulgar perversion of Christ in the exclamation (by) cripes! (Cf. crimes int.) 1910 A. H. Davis From Selection to City xii. 107 ‘By cripes!’ he gasped,.. ‘I’ve lost th’..th’ chequesV 1911 L. Stone Jonah 1. ix. 100 Stinky spat on his hands, and seized the wooden mallet. Cripes! he would show Pinkey which was the better man of the two. 1919 E. H. Jones Road to EnDor i. 2 ‘What’s the suggestion?’ Alec asked. ‘Spooking,’ said I. ‘Cripes!’ said Alec. 1929 Sunday Dispatch 13 Jan. 2/4 You’ve sold me a pup! But, by cripes, I’ll.. let you have it back. 1930 J. B. Priestley Angel Pavement iv. 177 That’s what it was—oh, cripes!—awful hole! 1937 N. Marsh Vintage Murder vi. 59 By cripes,.. I’m sorry. 1952 A. F. Grimble Pattern of Islands 68 The captain goggled at me for a second, ‘Cripes!’ he said.

t crippid, ppl. a. Obs. Perh. var. of crimped = pinched, squeezed. 1382 Wyclif Lev. xxii. 24 A1 beeste.. with al to-broken or crippid or kitt.. ballokes [L. contritis vel tusis vel sectis.. testiculis].

crippin, var. of crespine. cripple (’krip(3)l), sb. and a. Forms: i crypel, 3-4 crupel (-y-), 4 cruppel, crepil, -ul, 4-5 cripel, -il, 4-7 crepel, 5 crypylle, crebull, 5-6 crepell, -ill, -yl(le, 6 crippil, crypple, crepple, -ell, 6-7 creeple, creple, criple, 7 creaple, 7- cripple. [OE. crypel (known only in Lindisf. Gosp.) = OFris. kreppel, MDu. cropel, crepel, Du. kreupel; MLG. kropel, krepel, LG. kropel\ MHG. kriippel, kriipel, MG. nth c. crupel (from LG.), Ger. kruppel, dial, krippel, ON. kryppill, Norw. krypel\ all:—OTeut. *krupilo-, f. krup- ablaut stem of kriupan to creep; either in the sense of one who can only creep, or perhaps rather in that of one who is, in Scottish phrase, ‘cruppen together’, i.e. contracted in body and limbs.] A. sb. 1. a. One who is disabled (either from birth, or by accident or injury) from the use of his limbs; a lame person. C950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke v. 24 Cuoefi 6sem cryple .. aris. cl290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 51/157 Tweie crupeles pat in heore limes al fur-crokede were, c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iv. 1458 It is ful hard to halten unespied Bifor a crepul, for he kan the craft. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. cci. 182 God hath yeuen therto to crepels hir goyng and to croked hir hondes. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary II. (1625) 22 Of ancient time it hath often been said, that it is ill halting before a Creple. 1611 Bible Acts xiv. 8 A creeple from his mothers wombe. 1684 Bunyan Pilgr. 11. Introd. 229 These strings.. will such Musick make, They’l make a Cripple dance. 1747 Wesley Prim. Physic (1762) 93 One who was quite a Cripple, having no strength left either in his Leg, Thigh, or Loins. 1865 Trollope Belton Est. xiii. 142 A poor cripple, unable to walk beyond the limits of her own garden.

b. A cattle disease.

Also in pi.

dial, and

Austral. 1897 Penrith Obs. 7 Dec. (E.D.D.), Ass t’coo doctor what ails a coo when it’ll eat a body’s kytle, er owt else but gerse —that’s cripple. 1929 Times 1 July 15/6 Lack of minerals in pastures causes innumerable diseases, such as.. ‘cripples’.. in Australia.

2. techn. a. = cripple-gap (see 5), where app. cripple — ‘creeping’, b. A temporary staging used in cleaning or painting windows: cf. cradle sb. 1648 A. Eyre Diary (Surtees) 106 He opened a cripple and putt his sheepe on to the New field. 1887 Even. News 11 May 3/6 The jury, .recommended the use of ladders, or of the recognised machine known as a ‘cripple’.

3. U.S. (local.) a. A dense thicket in swampy or low-lying ground, b. A lumberman’s term for a rocky shallow in a stream. 1675 New Jersey Archives (1880) I. 115 The great Swamp or Cripple which backs the said two Necks of land. 1705 in Corr. Penn. & Logan I. 234 About 300 acres, 100 upland, the rest swamp and cripple that high tides flow over. 1832 J. F. Watson Tales Olden Time 57 Through that cripple browsed the deer. 1942 Sat. Even. Post 5 Sept. 11/1 When they came to the cripple he sloshed straight through.

4. slang. A sixpence. Cf. bender 6. 1785 Grose Diet. Vulgar Tongue, Cripple, six pence, that piece being commonly much bent and distorted. 1885

01300 [see crippled]. 1607 Shaks. Timon iv. i. 24 Thou cold Sciatica, Cripple our Senators, that their limbes may halt As lamely as their Manners! 1791 Huddesford Salmag. (1793) 119 Falling in his drunken fits, Crippled his Nose. 1859 Kingsley Misc. (i860) II. 326 Sailors..crippled by scurvy or Tropic fevers.

2. transf. and fig. To disable, impair: a. the action or effectiveness of material objects, mechanical contrivances, etc. 1694 Smith & Walford Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1711) 75 The Grass and Trees are much weather-beaten, worn away, and crippled. 1725 W. Halfpenny Sound Building 22 So, that the Mason.. shall twin their Arches thereon without crippling them. 1805 Nelson in Nicolas Disp. VII. 153 note. The lower masts, yards and bowsprit all crippled. 1871 Macduff Mem. of Patmos xviii. 247 No sickness.. crippling the warrior on the very eve of conquest.

b. a person in his resources, means, efforts, etc., or immaterial things, as trade, schemes, strength, operations, etc. 1702 C. Mather Magn. Chr. iii. iii. Introd. (1852) 531 To creeple all the learned, godly, painful ministers of the nation. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 173 IF1 The mind.. is crippled .. by perpetual application to the same set of ideas. a 1809 J. Palmer Like Master Like Man (1811)11. 56 He was .. crippled of present means. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. iv. 289 The nobility, crippled by the wars of the Roses. 1880 L. Oliphant Land of Gilead x. 304 The trade.. is crippled by the difficulty of transport.

3. intr. To move or walk lamely; to hobble. (Now chiefly Sc.) c 1220 Bestiary 130 He crepeS cripelande forth. 01455 Holland Houlate 956 He crepillit, he crengit, he carfully cryd. 1649 G. Daniel Trinarch., Rich. II, cclxxix, The King (who creepled till he came before This Shrine) walkes vpright now. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth viii, Her discomfited master.. was crippling towards him, his clothes much soiled with his fall. 1878 W. C. Smith Hilda (1879) 239 The wounded .. cripple through the street.

crippled (’krip(3)ld), ppl. a. [f. prec. + -ed.] Deprived of the use of one’s limbs; lame, disabled; also transf. and fig.: see the verb. a 1300 Cursor M. 19048 (Cott.) par sagh pai lij, A man was criplid in pe parlesi. 1591 Percivall Sp. Diet., Contrecho, weake, cripled. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk Selv. 173 It has no crutches to lean its crippled burden on. 1779-81 Johnson L.P., Somervile, If blank verse be not tumid and gorgeous, it is crippled prose. 1810 Rowley in Naval Chron. XXV. 162 One of them .. had a crippled frigate in tow. 1864 Earl Derby Iliad 1. 712 The crippled Vulcan, matchless architect.

'crippledom. [See -dom.] The condition of being a cripple. So cripplehood, crippleness. i860 Reade Cloister & H. (1861) III. 72 What with my crippledom and thy piety .. we’ll bleed the bumpkins. 1883 W. H. Russell in 19th Cent. Sept. 495 Emerging rapidly from a state of crippledom to one of comparative activity. 1864 Dasent Jest & Earnest (1873) I. 168 One cripple of such commanding cripplehood. 1755 Johnson, Crippleness, lameness; privation of the limbs. Diet.

crippler ('kripb(r)). [f. cripple v. + -er1.] 1. One who or that which cripples. 1648 Earl Westmrld. Otia Sacra (1879) 166 His sounder feet with swathes he ties. And seems to goe in pain as far, As art can prove a Crippeler. 1890 The Voice (N.Y.) 21 Aug., A great crippler to the saloon power in .. politics.

2. (See quot.) 1874 Knight Diet. Mech., Crippler, a board with a corrugated under-surface.. used in boarding or graining leather.

crippling ('kriplii}), vbl. sb. The action of the verb cripple. 1598 Florio, Zoppicamento, a halting, a cripling, a limping. 1836 W. Irving Astoria II. 285 The crippling of the feet of females in China.

'crippling, ppl. a. That cripples: see cripple v. 1598 Florio, Zotto. .a limping or cripling fellow. 1814 Wordsw. Excursion 1. Wks. (1888) 422/2 To meet The hour of accident or crippling age. 1859 Dickens T. Two Cities 1. v, The crippling stones of the pavement.

CRIPPLINGLY cripplingly ('kriplirjli), adv.

27 [f. prec. + -ly2.]

So as to cripple or disable. 1899 Daily News 18 Feb. 6/3 The new skirts are very long, cripplingly so. 1927 Daily Express 4 Nov. 3/4 The damage, the cost, the contamination are cripplingly unbearable. 1955 Times 1 July 16/3 The standard rate of income tax .. remains at a cripplingly high level.

'cripply, a. Obs. exc. dial.

[f. cripple + -Y.]

Somewhat crippled. 1775 Mad. D'Arblay’s Early Diary 18 Apr., Tho’ fingers are crippley and left arm lame. 1839 Mrs. F. Trollope M. Armstrong iii. (D.) ‘He’s so cripply, he beant to work no more.’ 1876 Whitby Gloss., Cripply, tending to lameness.

crips,

obs. and dial, form of crisp.

cript(e, criptic, cris,

obs. var. crypt, cryptic.

obs. f. kris, Malay dagger.

crise (kri:z).

Also 6 cryse. [a. F. crise crisis (Pare 16th c.).] = crisis. Also in various French phrases, esp. crise de (or des) nerfs, an attack of nerves, a fit of hysterics. 1541 R. Copland Galyen's Terap. 2 Diij, They haue wel and parfytly knowen the contemplacyon of the Cryse. 1643 R. Baillie Lett. & Jrnls. (1841) II. 90 This seems to be a new period and crise of the most great affaire, c 1750 Shenstone Progr. of Taste iv, Behold him, at some crise, prescribe, And raise with drugs the sick’ning tribe! 1768 Ross Helenore 52 (Jam.) [She] thinks her wiss is now come to the creeze. 1921 W. J. Locke Mountebank xxi. 272 Reason enough for a crise de nerfs. Even I, who had nothing to do with it, found my equilibrium disturbed. 1922 M. Arlen Piracy 11. i. 72 ‘Virginia has got a crise,’ Lois Lamprey commented. 1923 W. J. Locke Moordius & Co. vii. 96 Sometimes these crises de nerfs are dangerous. 1933 ‘G. Orwell’ Down Gf Out xx. 148 The cook usually had a crise de nerfs and a flood of tears. 1946 E. Taylor Palladian v. 49 When the time came for her to go to the party.. there would be a painful crise de nerfs. 1962 Gregor & Nicholas Moral & Story v. 133 The crise de conscience that faces the serious contemporary novelist. 1962 N. Marsh Hand in Glove ii. 44 I’m afraid your Pixie has created a parochial crise. 1962 Punch 23 May 808/1 W’hen there is a crise d' amour it is very peaceful for me. 1963 A. Hartley State of England iii. 79 The Algerian crise de conscience that dissolved the authority of the French state. 1970 P. Bair Tribunal ill. v. 201 What then caused this crise de conscience? 1970 New Yorker 10 Oct. 178/2 She has been a splendid advertisement for the benefits of a happy marriage—conspicuously more relaxed, far less subject to those old crises des nerfs.

crisis (’kraisis). PI. crises, rarely crisises. [a. L. crisis, a. Gr. tcpiois discrimination, decision, crisis, f. Kplv-€Lv to decide.] 1. Pathol. The point in the progress of a disease when an important development or change takes place which is decisive of recovery or death; the turning-point of a disease for better or worse; also applied to any marked or sudden variation occurring in the progress of a disease and to the phenomena accompanying it. 1543 Traheron Vigo’s Chirurg. VI. i. Diet. Terms, Crisis sygnifyeth iudgemente, and in thys case, it is vsed for a sodayne chaunge in a disease. 1548 Hall Chron. 80 When the crisis of his sicknes was past and that he perceived that helth was overcome. 1625 Hart Anat. Ur. 1. ii. 21 Then shall the sicke.. by the vertue and power of a happy Crisis, saile forth into the hauen of health. 1685 Boyle Enq. Notion Nat. 222, I observe that Crises’s, properly so call’d, do very seldom happen in other than Feavers. 1748 Smollett Rod. Rand, xxxiv, When he found I had enjoyed a favourable crisis, he congratulated me. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. II. viii. 87 Brooks.. and Thomas have seen the crisis of their malady.

12. Astrol. Said of a conjunction of the planets which determines the issue of a disease or critical point in the course of events. (Cf. critical 4.) 1603 Sir C. Heydon Def. Jud. Astrol. 474 When the Moone comes to the 22 of Gemini, shee shall there begin to worke a dangerous Crisis, or alteration.. so preuenting her ordinarie working. 1663 Butler Hud. 1. i. 611 They’ll feel the Pulses of the Stars, To find out Agues, Coughs, Catarrhs; And tell what Crisis does Divine The Rot in Sheep, or Mange in Swine.

3. transf. and fig. A vitally important or decisive stage in the progress of anything; a turning-point; also, a state of affairs in which a decisive change for better or worse is imminent; now applied esp. to times of difficulty, insecurity, and suspense in politics or commerce. 1627 Sir B. Rudyard in Rushw. Hist. Coll. I. (1659) 301 This is the Chrysis of Parliaments; we shall know by this if Parliaments live or die. a 1661 Fuller Worthies 1. 204 The time betwixt Wicklife and Trevisa was the Chrisis of the English tongue. 1715 M. Davies Ath. Brit. 1. 346 Great Crisises in Church and State. 1769 Junius Lett. i. 10 To escape a crisis so full of terror and despair. 1848 Mill Pol. Econ. III. xii, There is said to be a commercial crisis when a great number of merchants and traders, at once, either have, or apprehend that they shall have, a difficulty in meeting their engagements, i860 Tyndall Glac. 1. xxvii. 202 The layer of snow had been in a state of strain, which our crossing brought to a crisis. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 174 The ordinary statesman is also apt to fail in extraordinary crises. 1886 Stubbs Lect. Med. & Mod. Hist. xvi. 365 Foreign transactions.. most tedious because they go on without crisises and without issues.

f 4. Judgement, decision. Obs. 1621 W. Sclater Qusest. Tythes (1623) 198 His Crisis so exact will with greatest scorne reiect [etc.]. 1643 Herle

CRISP

Answ. Feme 2 Consciences Synteresis, and Syneidesis. .can warrant her to passe her Crisis or conclusive judgement. 1683 Cave Ecclesiastici Pref. 3 We have not made.. a Crisis and Censure of every single Tract. 1715 M. Davies Ath. Brit. 1. 11.

II. 5. a. Brittle or ‘short’ while somewhat hard or firm in structure (usually as a good quality); said esp. of hard things which have little cohesion and are easily crushed by the teeth, etc.

f5. A point by which to judge; a criterion, token, sign. Obs.

1530 Palsgr. 50i/i, I crasshe, as a thynge dothe that is cryspe or britell bytwene ones tethe. 1611 Cotgr., Cresper, to crackle or creake, as new shooes; or drie stickes that are laid in the fire; also, to crash between the teeth (a thing thats crispe or brittle). 1626 Bacon Sylva §231 In Frostie weather ..the Wood or String of the Instrument.. is made more Crispe, and so more porous and hollow. 1749 F. Smith Voy. Disc. N.-W. Pass. II. 15 The Snow was of a greyish Colour, crisp on the Top. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xvi, If the cakes at tea eat short and crisp, they were made by Olivia. 1822 Lamb Elia, Roast Pig, The crisp.. not over-roasted crackling. 1866 Treas. Bot. 79/1 Celery.. the sweet, crisp, wholesome, and most agreeable of our cultivated vegetables.

1606 Sir G. Goosecappe ii. i. in Bullen O. PL III. 33 The Crises here are excellent good; the proportion of the chin good.. the wart above it most exceeding good. 1641 H. P. Quest. Div. Right Episc. Ep. Ded. 2 Let your gracious acceptance of the same be as strong a crisis that your Grace is not a prejudging factious enemie. 1657 S. Purchas Pol. Flying-Ins. 1. v. 12 Whereas the others beauty and lustiness is a Crysis of their youth, not their idleness.

6. attrib. and Comb. 1841 Times 11 May 5/1 It may disappoint the crisismongers to hear us say so. 1896 Westm. Gaz. 23 June 3/1 All the aspects of a crisis night. 1898 Ibid. 4 Jan. 2/2 A Tory Government was ‘crisis proof. 1898 Ibid. 26 Mar. 5/1 The ‘crisis’-less years of the late Liberal Government. 1898 Ibid. 24 June 2/3 The Near and not the Far East.. was the crisiscentre. 1900 Ibid. 11 May 2/2 A crisis-avoiding peacecompelling Government. 1903 Ibid. 3 Jan. 2/3 A Crisis Fund, amounting to nearly two millions. 1938 E. Waugh in Tablet 23 July 112/1 The crisis-minded always maintain that the problems of their particular decade are unique and insuperable. 1938 Punch 10 Aug. 163/1 How many of these people are crisis-conscious? 1939 Wyndham Lewis Let. 5 Oct. (1963) 266 In the crisis-days prior to the war. 1940 W. Empson Gathering Storm 65 The point is to join up the crisis-feeling to what can be felt all the time in normal life. i960 Times 24 Oct. (Financial Rev.) p. viii/6 Switzerland .. has been a normal haven for ‘crisis’ money. 1965 H. Kahn On Escalation xiii. 245 Crisis-management problems.

crisle, obs. f. crizzle v., to scale. crismatory, crisme, crisome: see chrism-. criso-, obs. form of chryso-. fcrisol. Obs. Also chrysoll, -sole. [a. Sp. crisol: see Diez, s.v. Crisuelo.] A crucible. 1622 Mabbe tr. Aleman’s Guzman d’Alf. 11. 86 Death, which is the Chrysoll wherein wee must at last be all melted. Ibid. 11. 238, I did put all the gold into a great Crisoll.

crisp (krisp), a. Forms: i- crisp; also i cyrps, 3-5 crips, 4-7 crispe, 5 cryps(e, cryspe, kyrspe. [OE. crisp, cyrps, ad. L. crispus curled. Cf. OF. crespe curled, mod.F. crepe\ but this does not appear to have influenced the Eng. word in form. The sense development of branch II is not clear: cf. however crimp a., and the quot. from Cotgr. Some onomatopoeic influence associated with the action of pronouncing crisp is to be suspected.] I. In senses of L. crispus. 1. Of the hair: Curly; now applied esp. to stiff, closely curling, or frizzy hair; falso, having or wearing such hair. C900 Bxda's Hist. V. ii, Se junga was jeworden hale lichoman.. and hsefde crispe loccas fcegre. t 1000 in Thorpe’s Horn. I. 456 (Bosw.) He is blaecfexede and cyrps. CI290 -S’. Eng. Leg. 1. 319/687 Blac with cripse here, c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1307 His crispe heer lyk rynges was yronne. 1398 Trevisa Barth, de P R. iv. ii. (1495) 80 Lytyll heere and cryps as in blomens countree, c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 179 Wynde alle ['esc pingis & frote pe heeris and pei wolen bicome crisp. 1583 Stanyhurst Aeneis 11. (Arb.) 65 A certeyn lightning on his headtop glistered harmelesse, His crisp locks frizeling. 1626 Bacon Sylva §852 Buis are more Crispe upon the Fore-Head than Cowes. 1777 Cook Voy. S. Pole HI. vi, Their hair., black and brown, growing to a tolerable length, and very crisp and curly. 1859 R. F. Burton Centr. Afr. mjrnl. Geogr. Soc. XXIX. 317 The hair of these races has invariably a crisp, short, and stiff curl.

2. a. Having a surface curled or fretted into minute waves, ripples, folds or wrinkles. 1398 Trevisa Barth, de P.R. (Tollem. MS.) xiii. xv, The ponde.. with crispe water and calm, and nou3t with stronge wyndes. c 1400 Maundev. (1839) xv. 168 The peper..j>ei putten it vpon an owven and pere it waxeth blak and crisp [Roxb. ed. blakk and runklid]. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 199 The kyrspe skyn of hyr forheed, Is drawyn up and on trustily bownde. 1596 Shaks. i Hen. IV, 1. iii. 106 Swift Seuernes flood.. hid his crispe-head in the hollow banke. 1610-Temp. iv. i; 130 You Nimphs cald Nayades of ye windring brooks .. Leaue your crispe channels. 1823 Byron Juan ix. lxxviii, The elder ladies’ wrinkles curl’d much crisper. 1877 Black Green Past. xxix. (1878) 235 The crisp white crest of the running waves.

b. Bot. — CRISPATE, CRISPED 2 b. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Leaf, Crisp leaf., that which is undulated or folded over and over at the edge. 1776 Withering Brit. Plants (1796) III. 847 Hypnum crispum.. leaves crisp, transversely waved. |3. Applied to some fabrics: perh. of crape¬ like texture. Cf. crisp sb. Obs. a 1300 Cursor M. 28018 (Cott.) Yee leuedis .. wit curchefs crisp and bendes bright. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 401 A crisp breche wel fayn [crispa femoralia]. 1393 Will in A. Gibbons Early Line. Wills (1888) 85 Omnes meos crispcouerchifes.

|4. Apparently Obs.

=

Smooth, shining, clear.

[Cf. Cotgr. ‘Crespu, curled, frizled, ruffled, crisped; sleeked, shining’; ‘Cresper .. also, to sleeke, make to shine or glitter’.] 1565 Golding Ovid's Mel. ix. (1593) 211 My cleere crispe legs [L. crura micantia] he striveth for to catch. 1607 Shaks. Timon IV. iii. 183 All th’ abhorred births below crispe Heauen. 1623 Fletcher Bloody Bro. iv. ii, You must leave your neat crisp Claret, and fall to your Cyder a while.

b. From crisp snow or frost, transferred by association to a brisk frosty day, to frosty air, and thence to bracing air generally. 1869 Lady Barker Station Life N. Zeal. xv. (1874) 109 The peculiar fresh crisp feeling which the atmosphere always has here the moment the sun sets. 1873 Mrs. Alexander Wooing o’t xxv, All that Christmas Day ought to be, clear, crisp, bright. 1883 Anna K. Green Hand & Ring xxxiv, The crisp frosty air had put everybody in a good humour.

6. transf. and fig. Applied vaguely to anything possessing qualities more or less characteristic of crisp substances: a. stiff, firm, as opposed to limp. 1851 Mayne Reid Scalp Hunters iv. 29 The ‘crop, crop’ of our horses shortening the crisp grass, a 1859 L. Hunt (Webster), It [laurel] has been plucked nine months, and yet looks as hale and crisp as if it would last ninety years. 1868 Dilke Greater Brit. I. 133 The ‘blue grass’ has high vitality .. this crisp turf at once springs up, and holds the ground for ever.

b.fig. Short, sharp, brisk, decided in manner. (Cf. an analogous use of ‘flabby’ as the opposite.) Also, clean, neat; clearly defined. 1814 Mackintosh in Life (1836) II. 300 Ward said Constant was very ‘crisp’. 1857 W. Collins Dead Secret 11. i. (1861) 31 Such a crisp touch on the piano. 1873 Hale In His Name iii. 10 What he said was crisp and decided. 1884 Athenaeum 6 Dec. 739/2 The crisp draughtsmanship of Mr. H. P. Riviere’s Arch of Constantine, Rome. 1884 H. D. Traill in Macm. Mag. Oct. 441/2 His crisp antithetic manner is the perfection of style. 1937 D. M. Jones In Parenthesis iv. 97 The sky overhead looked crisp as eggshell. 1961 Listener 21 Dec. 1069/1 The superbly detailed capitals, as crisp now as they were 150 years ago. 1963 Ibid. 24 Jan. 160/1 A rational, crisp, glass-and-rectangular-framework architecture.

7. Comb., as crisp-haired, -withered. c 1400 Destr. Troy 3757 Crispe herit was the kyng, colouret as gold. 1677 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. 11. vii. 200 The Ethiopian black, flat-nosed and crisp-haired. 1868 Ld. Houghton in Select.fr. Wks. 201 Crisp-wither’d hung the honourable leaves.

crisp (krisp), sb. Also 5-6 crysp, kirsp, kyrsp, 6-7 crispe. [app. f. the adj.; cf. 16th c. F. crespe crape or material for veils, mod.F. crepe crape. In the entries in the Testamenta Eboracensia ‘cryspe’ appears to interchange with ‘cypres’ = Cyprus lawn: see Cyprus.] /fl. Some thin or delicate textile fabric, used esp. by women for veils or head-coverings; ? a crape-like material. Cf. crisp a. 3. Obs. 1397 Test. Ebor. I. 220 Flameolam me’ de crispo. 1402 Ibid. I. 289, ij flameola de cipres. 1415 Ibid. I. 382 Flameolum de krespe. c 1460 Towneley Myst. 313 And Nelle with hir nyfyls of crisp and of sylke. 1498 Ld. Treas. Acc. Scot. I. 392 Item, for xxiiij elne of kyrsp to hir for ilk elne iijs iiijd. 1500-20 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 23 Curches..of kirsp cleir and thin, c 1600 Burel in Watson Coll. Sc. Poems 11. 13 (Jam.) A robe Of clenely crispe, side to his kneis. 1619 Purchas Microcosmus xxvii. 268 The new deuised names of Stuffes and Colours, Crispe, Tamet, Plush.. Callimanco, Sattinisco.

f2. A head-covering or veil made of this material. Obs. 1584 Hudson tr. Du Bartas’ Judith iv. (1608) 57 Upon her head a silver crispe she pind Loose waving on her shoulders with the wind. 1593 Greene Mamillia 11. Poems (Rtldg.) 316 Needless noughts, as crisps and scarfs, worn a la morisco. 1597 Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 113 Ane cleinlie crispe hang ouir his eyes [Latinized by Dempster Involvens nivea de sindone lumina velo].

|3. A crisp kind of pastry made by dropping batter into boiling fat. [So OF. crispes in W. de Biblesworth.] Obs. ? c 1390 Form of Cury 73 Cryspes. a 1422 Dinner Hen. V in Q. Eliz. Acad., etc. 91 Cryspes fryez. c 1430 Two Cookerybks. 44 Cryspez. 1450 Ibid. 93 Cryspes.

f4. A curl (of hair); esp. a short or close curl. Obs. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1638) 325 They .. weare their hayre pretty long, and about their crispes wreath a valuable Sash or Tulipant. ci68o Roxb. Ball. VI. 278 Those bright locks of hair Spreading o’re each ear, Every crisp and curie.

5. The ‘crackling’ of roast pork. Obs. exc. dial. 1675 T. Duffett Mock Tempest 11. ii, Methinks I hear a great she Devil, call for [a] Groats worth of the Crispe of my Countenance. 1847-78 Halliwell, Crisp, pork crackling. South.

6. An overdone piece of anything cooked, fried, or roasted; usually in phr. to a crisp. Also transf. orig. U.S. a 1852 F. M. Whitcher Widow Bedott Papers (1856) xxix, One time, they’ll burn th^ir bread to a crisp. 1852 H. Melville Pierre xii. ii. 263 Burn it till it shriveled to a crisp!

1899 W. C. Morrow Bohem. Paris 44 It was some-time before Haidon could realize that he was not burned to a crisp. 1911 H. S. Harrison Queed xxi. 258, I became absorbed in a book I was reading, and Jim came back to find the bacon a crisp. 1959 A. Huxley Let. 29 Nov. (1969) 881 Temperatures are in the eighties— .. the vegetation .. is burnt to a crisp. 1968 K. Weatherly Roo Shooter 35 The hot weather continued and the feed had dried to a crisp. 7. In full potato crisp. A thin sliver of potato fried until crisp and eaten cold.

Usu. in pi. of

such food produced commercially. 1929 Star 21 Aug. 13/3 Potato Crisp Factory. 1935 H. Nicolson Let. 3 Sept. (1966) I. 213 We went to Harry’s Bar .. and there was a Pekinese being fed with crisps. 1950 T. S. Eliot Cocktail Party 1. 12 Potato crisps? No I can’t endure them. 1953 ‘N. Blake’ Dreadful Hollow 43 It [w. a public bar] held only one occupant, who was eating out of a packet of crisps. 1961 ‘T. Hinde’ For Good of Company iv. 41 She .. sloped her little red mouth and let a fingerful of crisps into it. crisp (krisp), v.

[f. crisp a.: cf. L. crispare to

curl, crisp, crimp, f. crispus.]

1. a. trans. To curl into short, stiff, wavy folds, or crinkles; to crimp. 1340 [see crisped i]. 1565-73 Cooper Thesaurus, Calamistrum .. a pinne of wodde or yvory, to trime or crispe heare. 1617 B. Jonson Vis. Delight, As Zephyr blows.. The rivers run as smoothed by his hand: Only their heads are crisped by his stroke. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 52 A blacke gowne.. lined quite through with white silke cipres, pleated and crisped about the necke, with a deepe fringe. 1644 Bulwer Chirol. To Rdr. Avb, We..wrinkle our forehead in dislike, crispe our nose in anger. 1747 Hervey Winterpiece (1813) 365 It has.. crisped the travellers locks. 1821 Byron Sardan. 1. ii. 6 There is A cooling breeze which crisps the broad clear river. 1837 T. Hook Jack Brag vi, Every curl was crisped into its own peculiar place. 1849 Ruskin Sev. Lamps iii. §22. 90 The leaf being.. rendered liny by bold marking of its ribs and veins, and by turning up and crisping its edges. b. To fold (cloth) which has just been woven. 1892 in Eng. Dial. Diet. 1927 Daily Tel. 21 June 8 The cloth may be crisped (folded lengthwise), rolled or lapped. 2. intr. To curl in short stiff curls. 1583 T. Watson Centurie of Loue xx, Although his beard were crisping hard. 1597 Gerarde Herbal 11. xxxvi. § 12. 247 The leaues.. do somewhat curie or crispe. 1777 tr. Forster Voy. round World I. 17 Their black hair naturally falls in ringlets, and begins to crisp in some individuals. 1815 Scott Guy M. iii, The quiet bay, whose little waves, crisping and sparkling to the moonbeams, rolled, etc. 1852-9 Todd Cycl. Anat. IV. 10/1 The shell.. exposed to heat.. crisping up .. like horn. 3. a. trans. To make crisp, ‘short’ or brittle. [1658 Willsford Nature's Secrets 52 The ground.. will be hoary.. the grass crisped with the Frost.] 1815 Scott Guy M. xxviii, The snow .. crisped by .. a severe frost. C1854 Thackeray Wolves Lamb 1, She crisped my buttered toast. b. transf. and fig. Cf. crisp a. 5 b, 6. 1833 Arnold Lett, in Stanley Life I. vii. 286 When we live in uncongenial society, we are apt to crisp and harden our outward manner, to save our real feelings from exposure. 1877 Mrs. Oliphant Makers Flor. i. 3 The fresh island air crisped by the sea. 4. intr. To become crisp. 1805 A. Scott Poems 63 (Jam.) The nights were lang, Wi’ frost the yird was crispin’. 1849 C. Bronte Shirley ix, The air chilled at sunset, the ground crisped. 5. trans. To crush a firm but brittle substance. rare. 1824 Miss Ferrier Inher. lxviii, Hearing the sound of wheels crisping the gravel as they rolled slowly round. ferispage. Obs.~0 [a. F. crespage, now crepage, f. creper.]

‘The frizzle or curledness of crape’

(Bailey, folio—Suppl. at end of Pref.). crispate ('krispeit),

a.

[ad.

L.

crispatus,

pa.

pple. of crispare to curl.] Crisped; spec, in Bot. and

CRISPY

28

CRISP

Zool.y

undulated. 1846 Dana sublobate.

having Zooph.

the

(1848)

crispation (kri'spexjbn).

margin 183

[n.

crispare to curl: see -ation.]

curled

or

Corallum.. crispate,

of action,

f.

L.

Curling, curled

condition; formation of slight waves, folds, or crinkles; undulation. 1626 Bacon Sylva §852 Some differ in the Haire .. both in the Quantity, Crispation, and Colours of them. Ibid., Heat causeth Pilosity and Crispation. 1668 Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. 1. xxvii. 64 Dismissing its wrinkled Crispations, and becoming very broad. 1714 Derham Astro-Theol. v. ii. note. The motion of the air and vapours, makes a pretty crispation, and rouling. 1842 Prichard Nat. Hist. Man (1855) I. 96 A difference in the degree of crispation, some European hair being also very crisp. b. ‘A slight contraction of any part, morbid or natural, as that of the minute arteries in a wound when they retract, or of the skin in the state called goose-skin’ (Mayne, Expos. Lex.). 1710 T. Fuller Pharm. Extemp. 150 Painful Crispations of the Fibres. 1871 M. Collins Mrq. Merch. II v. 134 She could not think of marrying him without a shudder, a crispation from head to foot. 1887 O. W. Holmes in Atlantic Monthly July 118/1 Few can look down from a great height without creepings and crispations. c. Applied to the minute undulations on the surface of a liquid, produced by vibrations of the containing vessel, or by sound-waves. 1831 Faraday Exp. Res. xlvi. 329 The well-known and peculiar crispations which form on water at the centres of

vibration. 1891 Century Mag. May 37 Upon singing., through the tube.. beautiful crispations appear upon the surface of the liquid, which vary with every change of tone.

'crispature. rare. [f. L. crispat~t ppl. stem of crispare + -ure.] Crisped condition; crispation. 1745 P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 167 The Spaniards .. slice it [bread-fruit] and expose it to the Sun, and when baked thereby to a Crispature, reserve it as Biscuit. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters I. 157 A tension, or crispature, or a relaxation of the fibres [will] be produced. 1866 Treas. Bot., Crispature, when the edge is excessively and irregularly divided and puckered; also when the surface is much puckered and crumpled. Good examples are afforded by ‘curled’ endive, ‘curled’ kale, and the like.

crispbread ('kns(p)brsd). [f. crisp a. 5 a + bread sb.] A food made from crushed whole grains such as rye and wheat, prepared in the form of thin crisp biscuits. 1926-7 Army & Navy Stores Catal. 61/1 Ryvita (Crispbread)—pkt. 1/6. 1927 Lancet 11 June 1244/2 Vita-wheat Crisp Bread... The crisp bread has a pleasant texture and flavour. 1928 Daily Mail 25 July 8/5 (Advt.), This crispbread [Vita-Wheat] keeps you slim. 1951 Good Housek. Home Encycl. 427/1 Crispbread may be substituted for bread or toast at most meals, and is enjoyed with cheese.

crisped (krispt, -pid), ppl. a. [f. crisp v.] 1. Of hair: Closely and stiffly curled. C1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 188 J?e mane of pat mayn hors .. Wei cresped & cemmed. 1432-50 tr. Higden (Rolls) I. 53 More blacke of skynne, more crispedde in heire. 1596 Shaks. Merch. V. iii. ii. 92 Those crisped snakie golden locks. 1637 R. Humfrey tr. St. Ambrose 1. 137 Cupids yonkers with their crisped, powdred, and perfumed lockes. 1842 Prichard Nat. Hist. Man 99 [Hair] sometimes straight and flowing, at others considerably curled and crisped.

2. Having a surface curled into minute waves, folds or puckers. 1603 Dekker Grissil (Shaks. Soc.) 9 Canst drink the waters of the crisped spring? 1609 Bible (Douay) 1 Kings vii. 26 The leafe of a crisped lilie. 1665 Phil. Trans. I. 87 Having three Auricles or crisped Angles. 1818 Keats Endym. iv. 95 The wind that now did stir About the crisped oaks full drearily. 1849 Thoreau Week on Concord Monday 123 A million crisped waves come forth.

'crispiness. [f. crispy a. + -ness.] The quality of being crispy; crispness. a 1648 Digby Closet Open. (1677) 147 Give the top [of the pudding] a yellow crispiness. 1890 Harper's Mag. Oct. 670/2 The frilled and ruffled crispiness of its fittings.

crisping(‘krispiq), vbl. sb. [f. crisps. 4- -ing1.] The action of the verb to crisp; curling. 1400-1568 [see b.]. 1669 E. Montague Art of Mettals 11. xix. (1674) 67 That some little hairyness, or crisping encompasseth the Pellets of Quicksilver. 1683 (title). England’s Vanity.. wherein Naked Breasts and Shoulders .. Long Perriwigs.. Curlings, and Crispings, are condemned.

b. Comb., as in crisping-crook, -iron, -pin, -tongs, instruments for crisping or curling the hair, etc. ?a 1400 Morte Arthur 3353 The krispane kroke to my crownne raughte. 1483 Cath. Angl. 83 A Cryspyngeyren, acus. 1568 Bible (Bishops’) Isa. iii. 20 The wimples, and the crisping pinnes. c 1618 Fletcher Q. Corinth iv. i, Never powder, nor the crisping-iron, Shall touch these dangling locks. 1637 Pocklington Altare Chr. 42 Fetch me my Crisping pinnes to curie my lockes. 1772 Ann. Reg. 220 Cease, with crisping tongs, to tare And torture thus thy flowing hair. 1874 [see crisper].

'crisping, ppl. a. [f. as prec. + -ing2.] That crisps, trans. and intr. 1581 J Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 471 This curious cripsing and blazing bravery of hawtye speech. 1778 Phil. Surv. S. Irel. 374 The crisping and drying quality of E., N., and N.E. winds. 1851 Ruskin Stones Ven. (1874) I. App. 389 The small crisping waves which break upon the shore.

crispish (’krispij), a. Somewhat crisp.

[f. crisp a. + -ish1.]

1930 Wodehouse Very Good, Jeeves! vi. 142 When not leased Aunt Dahlia, having spent most of her youth in the unting-field, has a crispish way of expressing herself. 0x948 E. Anderson in B. James Austral. Short Stories (1963) 333 Pork.. with its crispish, tannish, delectablelooking strips of crackling.

f crispi'sulcant, a. rare~°. [ad. crispisulcantem.] Undulating or serpentine.

L.

1727 Bailey vol. II., Crispisulcant, coming down wrinkled; spoken of Lightening. Hence in Johnson etc.

b. Said of a crinkled margin. 1802 Beddoes Hygeia vm. 119 [The liver] has its edges crisped till they bend forwards. 1870 Hooker Stud. Flora 276 Orobanche rubra.. lobes of lip toothed and crisped. 1870 Bentley Bot. 153 When the margin is very irregular, being twisted and curled, it is said to be crisped or curled.

3. Made crisp or brittle; ‘short’ in texture; also in manner, style, etc. 1628 Feltham Resolves 11. xx, Hee that reades the Fathers shall finde them as if written with a crisped pen. 1769 Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 102 Garnish with crisped parsley and fried oysters. 1832 Ht. Martineau Each & All ii. 26 Young ash plantations, miles long, with their shoots crisped and black.

U 4. Applied to trees: sense uncertain. 1634 Milton Comus 984 Along the crisped shades and bowers. 1648 Herrick Hesper., Cerem. Candlemas-Eve, The crisped yew.

crispen ('krispan), v. [f. crisp a. + -en5.] a. trans. To make (more) crisp or brittle, b. intr. To become crisp(er). 1961 in Webster. 1977 Washington Post 6 May D13 Hatched lines remain distinct rather than coalescing into dark forms. The fact that they are held distinct by the paper allows Rembrandt to crispen and clarify the lines of the image. 1984 Financial Times 15 Sept. 11/6 Wash the lettuce leaves and place them in the refrigerator to crispen until needed. 1985 Christian Science Monitor 19 Sept. 17/1 Fall is a favorite time of hikers: Woods and mountains undulate with long files of people as autumn’s tang crispens the air.

crisper ('krisp9(r)). [f. crisp v. 4- -er1.] a. One who or that which crisps or curls; spec, an instrument for friezing or crisping cloth. 1835 Booth (cited by Worcester). 1874 Knight Diet. Mech., Crisper, an instrument for crisping the nap of cloth; i.e. covering the surface with little curls, such as with petersham or chinchilla. A crisping iron.

'crispite ('krispait). Min. [Named 1797, from Crispalt, St. Gothard, Switzerland + -ite.] A kind of Rutile; = sagenite. 1814 in T. Allan Min. Nomen. 1868 in Dana Min. 159.

f 'crispitude. Obs.—° [ad. L. crispitudo, crispus curled.] ‘Curledness’ (Blount 1656).

f.

fcrisple, v. Obs. rare. [dim. of crisp v.: see -le.] To crisp, curl, or undulate minutely; to ripple. So crisple sb., a minute curl or undulation, ‘crispling vbl. sb. and ppl. a. 1594 Carew Tasso (1881) 80 The winde new crisples makes in her loose haire, Which nature selfe to waues recrispelled. 1604 T. Wright Passions 11. ii. 59 A calme Sea, with sweete, pleasant, and crispling streames. Ibid. v. §2. 168 The shaking or artificiall crispling of the aire (which is in effect the substance of musicke).

crisply ('krispli), adv. [f. crisp a. + -ly2.] In a crisp manner; with crispness. 1824 Miss Mitford Village Ser. 1. (1863) 18 The roads, in spite of the slight glittering showers, crisply dry. 1859 R. F. Burton Centr. Afr. in Jrnl. Geog. Soc. XXIX. 196 The hair curls crisply. 1881 Athenaeum 13 Aug. 197/2 What [they] have to say is.. clearly and crisply phrased.

crispness ('krispms). [f. crisp a. + -ness.] The state or quality of being crisp. C1440 [see crisphede]. 1635-67 Cowley Davideis iii. Note 25 The.. crispness of the wood. 1799 Southey Lett. (1856) I. 83 The colour of the hair, its quality and its crispness. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. 1. v, An unwholesomelyforced lettuce that had lost in colour and crispness what it had gained in size. 1885 Bookseller July 662/2 The tale is told with the crispness and sparkle of this author’s popular style.

b. A container in a refrigerator in which vegetables and fruit can be kept crisp and fresh.

crispy ('krispi), a. [f. crisp a. + -y.] 1. Curly, wavy; undulated; = crisp a. i and 2.

i960 Housewife May 92/2 A.. moisture-seal crisper, in which to store your fruit and vegetables, i960 Sunday Express 15 May 17/6 Full-width crisper for fruit and vegetables.

1398 Trevisa Barth, de P.R. v. xv. (1495) 121 By grete heete the heer of the berd and of the heed ben cryspy and curlyd. 1594 Kyd Cornelio iv. in Hazl. Dodsley V. 229 Turn not thy crispy tides like silver curl, Back to thy grass-green banks to welcome us. 1678 Jordan Triumphs Lond., A fair bright crispy curl’d flaxen hair. 1819 H. Busk Banquet iii. 502 The Arctic frost That chains the crispy wave on Zemla’s coast. 1870 Morris Earthly Par. I. 1. 381 Ye shall behold I doubt not soon, his crispy hair of gold.

ferisphede. Obs.~° Crispness. c 1440 Promp. crispitudo.

Parv.

103

Cryspheed,

or cryspeness,

2. a. Brittle or ‘short’; = crisp a. 5. 'Crispin. A name given to a shoemaker, in allusion to Crispinus or St. Crispin, the patron saint of shoemakers; also sometimes adopted by the members of trades-unions or benefit societies of shoemakers. St. Crispin’s lance: a shoemaker’s awl.

1611 Cotgr., Bressaudes, the crispie mammocks that remaine of tried hogs grese. c 1720 W. Gibson Farriers Dispens. xv. (1734) 280 Boil.. till.. the Worms are grown crispy. 1871 Nichols Fireside Science 92 A black, crispy mass of charcoal.

[1611 Cotgr. s.v. Crespin, Lance de S. Crespin, an Awle.] C1645 Howell Lett. (1650) I. 417 A good shoemaker that can manage St. Crispin’s lance handsomely. 1726 Amherst Terrae Fil. x. 47 What a pretty set of tradesmen .. should we have.. if gentle Crispin was appointed to teach the art and mystery of basket-making. 1756 W. Toldervy Hist. Two Orphans IV. 7 In company with an honest Crispin who dealt very considerably in politicks, a 1845 Hood My Son Sf Heir xix, A Crispin he shall not be made.

1940 A. Simon Concise Encycl. Gastronomy 11. 55/2 ‘Crispy Noodles’... Roll this dough out very thinly and cut into strips as thin as spaghetti... Throw into boiling oil or frying fat, frying a delicate brown. 1961 B. Aldiss Primal Urge ii. 41 They ate their chow mein, sweet and sour pork and crispy noodles. 1969 Guardian 27 Dec. 13/3 He took .. [a] job .. as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant.. fetching and carrying No. 31 with crispy noodles and No. 13 with soft.

b. crispy noodles, crisp fried noodles served with Chinese food.

3. Pleasantly sharp, brisk; = crisp a. 5 b.

GRISS

29

1841 Fraser's Mag. XXIII. 314 The crispy coolness of fair Eve.

criss (kris). [Variant form of w. midi. dial, cress — crease sb,2 (sense 3).] The curved top of the stand on which tiles are made. 1881 Instr. Census Clerks (1885) 87 Brick, Tile-Maker, Burner, Dealer, Criss Maker. 1921 Diet. Occup. Terms (1927) §474 Criss maker (tile making); a carpenter who makes criss.

Crissake(s), var. Chris(s)ake. Also c-. U.S.

orig.

CRITIC

crista ('krista). PI. cristae. [L., = crest.] A ridge

criteriological (krai.tisrw'lDd^kal), a. [f. next

or crest; spec, in zoological senses.

and

+ -ical.] Pertaining to criteriology; dealing with criteria. Hence cri.terio'logically adv.

1849-50 J. Weale Diet. Terms Archit., Crista, a crest; the apex or highest part of a shrine. 1889 Jrnl. Morphology III. 300 The crista, a cord-like ridge running the full length of the dorsal surface of the capsule. 1940 Proc. R. Soc. B. CXXIX. 257 The possibility of a two-way response of the cristae. 1964 J. Z. Young Model of Brain vi. 97 Each [statocyst] contains three main types of receptor: (1) a macula, vertically placed and carrying a statolith; (2) a ridge of cells with long hairs, the crista; [etc.].

1936 Downside Rev. LIV. no A criteriological problem —the difference between sense perception and rational knowledge. 1938 R. G. Collingwood Princ. Art viii. 171 A science of thought must be ‘normative’, or (as I prefer to call it) ‘criteriological’, i.e. concerned not only with the ‘facts’ of thought but also with the ‘criteria’ or standards which thought imposes on itself. Ibid., Forms of thought can be dealt with only ‘criteriologically’.

various

1923 J- Dos Passos Streets of Night i. 13 Go ahead, Fanshaw, for crissake, we can’t wait here all day. 193042nd Parallel 72 Say wake up Ike for crissake. 1939 C. R. Cooper Designs in Scarlet v. 74 Get screwball for Crissakes, get wacky! 1959 H. Hobson Mission House Murder xii. 81 For Crissake, Ma.

cristal(l, cristalline,

anatomical

criteri'ology. etc.,

obs.

ff.

crystal,

-ine, etc.

[f. next: see -logy.] a. The doctrine of a criterion (of knowledge, etc.).

cristate ('kristeit), a. Nat. Hist., etc. [ad. L.

1884 Athenaeum 14 June 753/1 An outline of what may be termed criteriology, the relation of thought to reality as regards its validity.

cristat-us, f. crista crest: see -ate.] Having a crest, crested; in the form of a crest.

b. The study of criteria, esp. as a branch of logic.

'crissal, a. Ornith. [ad. mod.L. crissalis (used by Vigors, Ornithol. of Capt. Beechy’s Voy. 19, in specific name of a Finch), f. crissum: see below. Used chiefly in U.S.] 1. Pertaining to the crissum, as the crissal region. 2. Characterized by the colouring of the under tail-coverts, as crissal thrush or thrasher, the Red-vented Thrush or Thrasher.

1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. Introd., The .larke, cristate, and not cristate. 1859 Todd Cycl. Anat. V. 768 Index, Cristate process of the ethmoid bone.

1934 Theology XXIX. 48 St. Thomas.. places his theodicy before his criteriology. 1940 R. G. Collingwood Ess. Metaph. xi. 119 The methods it [sc. psychology] has developed in its history as a science of feeling preclude it from dealing with the problems of criteriology. It has nothing to say about truth and falsehood. 1955 Jrnl. Philos. LII. 564, I propose here merely the outlines of a criteriology.

1872 Coues Key to N. Amer. Birds 75 Crissal Thrasher.

christobalite, crystobalite. [ad. G. cristobalit (G. vom Rath 1887, in Neues Jahrbuch fur Min. I. 198), f. the name of Cerro San Cristobal, near Pachuca, Mexico, where it was first found: see -ite1.] One of the three main forms of silica (the others being quartz and tridymite), formed at high temperatures as high-cristobalite and changing at lower temperatures to a structurally related metastable polymorph, Icnv-cristobalite, which occurs both massive (e.g. in opal) and as small, usu. octahedral, crystals.

criss-cross ('kriskros, -o:-), sb. [A phonetic reduction of Christ(s)-cross: but in some late senses used with unconsciousness of the origin, and treated merely as a reduplication of cross; cf. mish-mash, tip-top, zig-zag, etc.] 1. = Christ-cross, in various senses, q.v.

2.

a. [f. criss-cross t>.] A transverse crossing. 1876 R. F. Burton Gorilla L. I. 2 When the current, setting to the north-west, meets a strong sea-breeze from the west, there is a criss-cross, a tide-rip.

b. A network of intersecting lines. 1881 C. de Kay Vision of Nimrod x. 179 The country gleaming With silvery crisscross of canals. 1901 Daily Express 28 Aug. 4/6 A great boulevard . . hemmed in all round by the criss-cross of narrower streets. 1928 A. Bennett Strange Vanguard xxxii. 214 A criss-cross of streets dotted with a thousand towers. 1944 S. Putnam tr. E. da Cunha's Rebellion in Backlands i. 8 An irregular line of low hills.. forms a confused crisscross over the entire breadth of the Campos.

c. fig. The state of being at cross-purposes. 1907 Daily Chron. 23 Feb. 3/1 The practice of one manufacturing country assisting another with the sinews of war was described by Mr. Zangwill as ‘a topsy turvy criss¬ cross, and Gilbertian’. 1909 Westm. Gaz. 20 Sept. 2/3 The absurd criss-cross of the authorities who look after us at playtime.

3. U.S. (See quot.) i860 Bartlett Diet. Amer., Criss-cross, a game played on slates by children at school; also called Fox and Geese. Hence criss-cross-row: see Christ-crossrow.

criss-cross ('kriskros, -o:-), a. and adv. [See prec.; now treated as a mere reduplication of cross; cf. zig-zag.] A. adj. Arranged or placed in crossing lines, crossing, crossed; marked by crossings or intersections. B .adv. In the manner of crossing lines, crosswise; fig. in a contrary way, awry, askew. 1846 Hawthorne Mosses l. vii. 132 His puckered forehead unravels its entanglement of criss-cross wrinkles. 1864 Thoreau Maine W. iii. 244 Others prostrate and crissacross. 1879 F. Conder Tentwork Pal. 352 A regular criss¬ cross pattern, never seen in the later masonry.

criss-cross ('kriskros, -0:-), v. [See prec.] 1. trans. To mark with crossing lines, to cross repeatedly; to trace in crossing lines. 1818 Keats in Life & Lett. I. 112 To criss-cross the letter. 1871 Le Fanu Ten. Malory lxvii. 391 A pretty portrait., criss-crossed over with little cracks. 1883 Harper's Mag. 826/2 The passing vessels criss-cross the white lines of their wakes upon it like pencil-marks on the slate.

2. intr. To intersect or cross repeatedly; also fig. 1953 G. E. M. Anscombe tr. Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations i. §66, We see a complicated network of similarities overlapping and criss-crossing. Ibid., The various resemblances between members of a family.. overlap and criss-cross in the same way.

crisse, obs. f. kris, Malay dagger. crissel, cristle, obs. ff. gristle, crizzle. || crissum ('krissm). Ornith. [mod.L. (1811 Illiger, Prodromus 166), f. crissare ‘clunem movere’.] The anal region of a bird under the tail; the vent-feathers or lower tail-coverts. 1874 Coues Birds N.W. 314 There is more dark color on the crissum.

cristated

(’kristeitid), a. — prec. 1727 Bailey vol. II., Cristated, having a crest or comb. 1757 tr. Henckel's Pyritol. 23 Pyrites.. oval, clustered, cristated. 1794 Kirwan Min. I. 244 Sometimes also in the form of a cockscomb and hence called cristated.

cristobalite (kri'staubslait). Min. Also erron.

1888 Min. Mag. VIII. 36 A New Mineral. Cristobalite... An analysis, .gave 91 per cent, of silica and 6 per cent, of oxide of iron and alumina. 1920 Brit. Museum Return 144 Artificial minerals (cristobalite, fayalite, rhodonite, apatite, spinel..) from furnace slags. 1935 Discovery July 206/1 When ware is fired above a certain temperature a very large number of extremely fine crystals of a mineral (crystobalite) are formed. 1959 Chambers's Encycl. IX. 423/1 Both cristobalite (stable 1,470°-1,710° C) and tridymite (stable 870°-1,470° C) are known to occur in certain natural lavas. 1962 C. Frondel Dana's Syst. Min. (ed. 7) III. 287 In recent years.. study has shown that opal.. is a submicrocrystalline aggregate of crystallites of cristobalite.

f cristy gray, cristigrey. Obs. A term applied to some kind of fur: cf. gray, grey. 1404 Will of Wynyngton (Somerset Ho.), Togam meam .. furratam de cristigrey. 1422 E.E. Wills (1882) 50 A gown furred with Cristy gray. 1474 in Ld. Treas. Acc. Scot. I. 36, v tymire of cristy gray .. to lyne a gowne of blac dammask to the Qwene.

crisum, crisyme, obs. ff. crit.

f 1. Short for critic. Obs.

1743 Fielding Wedding-day Prol., Smoke the author, you laughing crits. 2. Short for criticism 2, 3, critique i. colloq. 1908 D. H. Lawrence Let. 13 May (1962) I. 11, I could write crits. —but.. who would have ’em? *952 W. Granville Diet. Theatr. Terms 53 Crit, short for critique or the notice of a first-night performance. 1966 R. Trickett Elders vi. 78 Someone had written a practical crit. of Collier’s poem with an interpretation of that rather obscure stanza. 1970 K. Giles Death in Church iii. 69 The inquest stuff won’t be so bad, more like a send-up than a crit. 3. Short for critical mass or size (see critical a. 1957 in Gloss. Terms Nuclear Sci. (Nat. Res. Council, U.S.) 39/1. 1958 [see critical a. 7 b].

critch,

variant of cratch, rack.

criterial criteria,

(krai'tiarial), a.

+

Christianity, Christen, etc.

crist(e, cristed, obs. ff. crest, -ed.

-al1.]

[f. criterion, or pi. Of, according to, or

pertaining to criteria; constituting a criterion or criteria. [1893 in N.E.D. s.v. Criterional a., etym.] 1957 Psychol. Rev. LXIV. 123/2 On the basis of certain defining or criterial attributes in the input. .there is a selective placing of the input in one category of identity rather than another. 1962 U. Weinreich in Householder & Saporta Probl. Lexicogr. 33 The word ‘especially’ preceding the statement of a condition indicates that what follows is less criterial than the rest. 1967 Philos. Rev. LXXVI. 49 This criterial account of perception statements embodies an observation of several contemporary philosophers. 1975 T. Parsons in Glazer & Moynihan Ethnicity 56 In spite of the difficulty of being specific about criterial features and components, what social scientists have called ethnic groups do not belong to a relatively distinct sociological type. 1983 Brown & Yule Discourse Analysis vi. 196 It seems to be the case then that ‘texture’, in the sense of explicit realisation of semantic relations, is not criterial to the identification and cointerpretation of texts.

Obs. rare.

(krai'tiansn). PI. criteria; less commonly -ons. [a. Gr. Kpnfipiov a means for judging, test, standard, f. Kpirfjs judge. In 17th c. often written in Gr. letters.] fa. An organ, faculty or instrument of judging. 1647 H. More Poems Pref., Wits that have..so crusted and made hard their inward Kpirr/ptov by over-much and trivial wearing it. 1678 Cudworth lntell. Syst. 23 According to Empedocles, the Criterion of Truth is not Sense but Right Reason.

b. A test, principle, rule, canon, or standard, by which anything is judged or estimated. 1622 Bp. Hall Serm. 15 Sept. Wks. (1627) 490 All the false Kpirinpia that vse to beguile the iudgment of man. 1661 Fuller Worthies 1. 129 The moving hereof [a statue] was made the Criterion of womens chastity. 1768 Blackstone Comm. III. 330 Some mode of probation or trial, which the law of the country has ordained for a criterion of truth and falshood. 1788 Mrs. Hughes Henry Isab. I. 17 Regular uniformity and the straight line were the criterions of taste and beauty. 1795 Fate of Sedley I. 168 Lord Stokerland [is] the criterion of gallantry and politeness. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. i. 18 We have no criterion by which, in these matters, degrees of good and evil admit of being measured.

fc. A distinguishing mark or characteristic attaching to a thing, by which it can be judged or estimated. Obs. 1613 Jackson Creed 1. v. Wks. I. 37 This sincerity in teaching.. is the true Kpn-qpiov or touchstone, the livery or cognizance of a man speaking by the Spirit of God. 1678 Gale Crt. Gentiles III. 138 Take these Criteria or distinctive notes of Durandisme.

cri'terional, a.

nonce-wd. [f. prec. + -al1; irreg. for criterial, which is not evidenced until 20th c.] Of or relating to a criterion. 1830 Coleridge Table-t. 23 Sept., There are two kinds of lbgic: 1. Syllogistic, 2. Criterional.. The criterional logic, or logic of premisses, is, of course, much the most important; and it has never yet been treated.

|| criterium (krai'tisriam). Latinized form of Gr. KpiTT)ptov criterion, occas. used in English. 01631 Donne Serm. lxi. 612 This is our Criterium and onely this; hereby we know it. a 1734 North Exam. 1. iii. §62 (1740) 170 It ever was and will be a certain Criterium of Truth, to be easy.. clear and intelligible. 1867 Lewes Hist. Philos. I. 181 There is no criterium of truth.

crith (kri0). Physics, [f. Gr.

7 b). colloq. (orig. U.S.).

t cri'terie. Crist, Cristante, Cristen, etc., obs. IT. Christ,

chrisom.

criterion

An adapted form of

CRITERION. 1655-60 Stanley Hist. Philos. III. iii. 38 Man is the criterie of all things. Ibid. (1701) 477 We say the Criterie of Scepticism is the Phaenomen.

KplO-q barley-corn, the smallest weight.] The weight of i litre of hydrogen at standard pressure and temperature; proposed by Hofmann as the unit of weight for gaseous substances. 1865 A. W. Hofmann Introd. Mod. Chem. 131 For this purpose I venture to suggest the term crith derived from the word Kpidrj signifying a barley-corn. 1870 Eng. Mech. 21 Jan. 464/1 The ‘Crith’.. is the weight of one litre of Hydrogen at o- cent., and 0 76 m. pressure = 0 0896 gramme.

t cri'thology. Obs.—0 [ad. Gr. KpZdoXoyla the gathering of barley, f. Kpldf] barley-corn.] (See quot.) 1656 Blount Glossogr., Crithology.. the gathering the first fruits of Corn.

office

of

crithomancy (’kriGaumsnsi).

[f. Gr. Kpld-q barley-corn + pavrela. divination (see -mancy); cf. KpidopavTis one who divined by barley.] Divination by meal strewed over animals sacrificed. 1652 Gaule Magastrom. 165 Crithomancy, [divining] by grain or corn. 1884 J. C. Bourke Snake Dance of Moquis xv. 165 The use of this sacred meal closely resembles the crithomancy of the ancient Greeks.

t critic, a. Obs. Also 6 creticke, 6-7 criticke, 7-8 -ick, -ique. [ad. L. critic-us (orig. as a medical term), a. Gr. kpitikos critical, f. Kpnos decerned, Kpirr/s a judge; f. npl-v-civ to decide, judge. Partly

CRITIC after F. cretique (1372, Corbichon), critique (a 1590 Pare) both in medical use.] fl. Med., etc. Relating to or involving the crisis of a disease, etc.; = critical 4, 5. Obs. 1544 Phaer Regirn. Lyfe (1553) Gjb, il ['jaundis’] appeare in the vj day, beyng a day iudiciall or creticke of the ague. 1601 Weever Mirr. Mart. C viij b, If euer sheildshapt Comet was portent Of Criticke day, foule and pernitious. 1605 Daniel Queens Arcadia 111. i, Of Symptoms, Crycis, and the Critick Days.

2. Judging captiously or severely, censorious, carping, fault-finding. 1598 Florio, Critico, criticke, judging mens acts and works written. 1621 R. Johnson Way to Glory 25 That.. is now, in this criticke age, called in question, etc. a 1667 Cowley Elegy on f. Littleton, In ’s Body too, no Critique Eye could find The smallest Blemish.

3. Skilful in judging, esp. about literary or artistic work; belonging to criticism; = critical 31626 W. Sclater Expos. 2 Thess. (1629) 144 A criticke Scholiast vpon the Reuelation. 1635 N. Carpenter Geog. Del. 11. v. 67 Learned diuines and criticke expositours. 1677 Gale Crt. Gentiles II. iii. 87 A critic judgement is made by experience and prudence and Reason or discourse. 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. III. 153 Critic Learning flourish’d most in France. 1834 Fraser’s Mag. X. 19 Matters historic, critic, analytic, and philologic. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. cviii, The critic clearness of an eye, That saw thro’ all the Muses’ walk.

critic (’kritik), sb.] Also 7 crittick, criticke, -ique, 7-8 critick. [ad. L. critic-us sb., a. Gr. arpm/co? a critical person, a critic, subst. use of the adj.; perh. immediately after F. critique-, see prec. In early times used in the L. form: 1583 Fulke Defence Eng. Bible (Parker Soc.) 381 The prince of the Crilici. 1609 Holland Amm. Marcell. xxn. xi. 206, I am here forced even against my will to be after a sort Criticus.. but to find out a truth.]

1. One who pronounces judgement on any thing or person; esp. one who passes severe or unfavourable judgement; a censurer, fault¬ finder, caviller. 1588 Shaks. L.L.L. iii. i. 177, I that haue beene loues whip.. A Criticke, Nay, a night-watch Constable. 1598 Florio Ital. Diet. To Rdr., Those notable Pirates in this our paper-sea, those sea-dogs, or lande-Critikes, monsters of men. 1606 Dekker Newes from Hell, Take heed of criticks: they bite, like fish, at anything, especially at bookes. 1692 E. Walker Epictetus' Mor. xlix, Nor play the Critick, nor be apt to jeer. 1702 Eng. Theophrast. 5 How strangely some words lose their primitive sense! By a Critick, was originally understood a good judge; with us nowadays it signifies no more than a Fault finder. 1766 Fordyce Serm. Yng. Worn. (1777) I. iv. 192 We are never safe in the company of a critic.

2. One skilful in judging of the qualities and merits of literary or artistic works; one who writes upon the qualities of such works; a professional reviewer of books, pictures, plays, and the like; also one skilled in textual or biblical criticism. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn, i. vii. §21 Certaine Critiques are used to say.. That if all sciences were lost, they might bee found in Virgill. 1697 Bentley Phal. Introd., To pass a censure on all kinds of writings, to shew their excellencies and defects, and especially to assign each .. to their proper authors, was the chief Province of the ancient Critics. 1780 Johnson Lett. Mrs. Thrale 27 July, Mrs. Cholmondely.. told me I was the best critick in the world; and I told her, that nobody in the world could judge like her of the merit of a critick. 1825 Macaulay Ess. Milton Ess. (1854) I. 3/1 The poet, we believe, understood the nature of his art better than the critic [Johnson]. 1870 Disraeli Lothair xxxv, You know who the Critics are? The men who have failed in Literature and Art.

3. Comb. (freq. in appositive use). 1680 Ld. Rochester Poems 16 A great Inhabiter of the Pit; Where Critick-like, he sits and squints. 1754 W. Cowper in W. Hayley Life W.C. (1803) I. 16 This simile were apt enough, But I’ve another, critic-proof! 1906 Westm. Gaz. 29 Sept. 14/2 There have been murmurs., against the critic-dramatist. 1938 H. Read Coll. Ess. Lit. Crit. 1. i. 17 When such a critic-poet attempts to probe down into such a fundamental question as the form and structure of poetry. 1965 Canadian Jrnl. Linguistics Fall 40 Criticcentred comments on the text.

t 'critic, sb.2 Obs. Also in 7 -icke, 7-8 -ick, 8-9 critique q.v. [app. ad. F. critique fern, (used in this sense by Moliere and Boileau), ultimately ad. Gr. 77 KpiriK-q the critical art, criticism (cf. It. critica ‘arte of cutting of stones’, Florio 1598). Early in the 18th c. this began to be spelt as in Fr. critique, a spelling which in spite of Johnson and the Dictionaries, has become universal; in the 19th c. it has received a quasi-French pronunciation also: see critique, chiefly used in sense 2, while sense 1 is now expressed by CRITICISM.]

1. The art or action of criticizing; criticism; an instance of this. Also in pi. (cf. metaphysics.) 1656 Artif. Handsomeness (1662) 216 A Satyrical Critick upon the very Scriptures. 1657 Hobbes Stigmas Wks. 1845 VII. 389 Grammar and Criticks. 1676 Etheredge Man of Mode ill. iii, Wee’l make a Critick on the whole Mail Madam. 1690 J. Locke Hum. Und. iv. xx, They would afford us another sort of Logick and Critick. 1697 Bentley Phal. 69, I do not expect from our Editors much sagacity in way of Critic. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 45 |f 4 That Sort of Drama is not.. thought unworthy the Critick of learned Heads. 1755-73 Johnson, Critick, Science of Criticism [Todd 1818 alters to Critique].

critical

30 2. An essay in criticism of a literary work, etc.; a critical notice or review; now critique. 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. 571 Own your errors past, And make each day a critick on the last. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 115 f 1, I shall not fail to write a Critick upon his Performance. 1755-73 Johnson, Critick, a critical examination; critical remarks [Todd 1818 alters to Critique], 1766 Eliz. Griffith Lett. Henry Frances III. 4, I shewed your Critic upon the Series to the Bishop of-.

f critic, v. Obs. In 7 -icke, 8 -ick, -ique. 1. iritr. To play the critic, pass judgement (on something). 1607 A. Brewer Lingua iv. ix. (R.) Nay, if you begin to critic once, we shall never have done. 1629 Lightfoot Erubhin ii. On which words I can criticke onely with deepe silence. are-with pi fore-heued. Ibid. 433/78 To creoici )>ri3es is fore-heued: and is breoste. C1380 Sir Ferumb. 4913 pan panVep he god eft of ys sond, & croycede ys fysage with ys hond. c 1470 Henry Wallace vm. 1195 Than Wallace thocht it was no tyme to ly; He croyssit him, syne sodeynli wp rais.

2. To mark with a cross by way of giving sanctity to a vow; refl. and pass, to take or receive the mark of the cross in solemnization of a vow; esp. to take the cross to fight against the Saracens, or other foes of Christianity, real or reputed. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8068 Pope .. Urban .. prechede of pe croyserie, and croysede moni mon. Ibid. 9882 & na^eles hii croicede hom puder vor to wende. Ibid. 10586 Manie in hor bare fless hom late croici vaste, To libbe uor him and deie, Lowis out to caste. C1325 Coer de L. 1693 Kyng Rychard is a pylgryme, Croyssyd to the Holy Lande. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 226 Lowys. . Himself pe first was croised on his flessh. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. clxxiii. 156 He had thought for to haue gone in to holy land.. for encheson that he was croysed long tyme before. 1563-87 Foxe A. & M. (1684) I- 5°8/2 Unto this Bishop of Norwich the Pope had sent his Bulls.. to Croisy whomsoever would go with him into France, to destroy the Antipope. 1586 J. Hooker Girald. Irel. in Holinshed II. 50/2 Manie.. were croised to the seruice of Christ. 1639 Fuller Holy War iv. xi. (1840) 196 And thereupon was croised, and.. bound himself.. to sail to the Holy Land.

3. To crucify. 01300 Cursor M. 19445 (Cott.) He sagh him [Christ] croised. a 1400 Leg. Rood (1871) 133 Feet and fayre hondes pat nou ben croised. c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 4339 Barthelmewe slayne alle qwhikke and petere postle croisid.

Hence f croised ppl. a., furnished or marked with a cross; having taken the cross. 1586 Ferne Blaz. Gentrie 215 A croysed staffe and allowed to them as a crosse. 1639 Fuller Holy War in. xxii. (1840) 158 Three hundred thousand of these croised pilgrims lost their lives in this expedition.

croise, sb.: see croises. fcroisee, -ie, -y. Obs. Also 5 croysee, -ye, 6 -ie, croisey, crosey. [a. OF. croisee, -He, -ie, the native French form = med.L. cruciata, It. crociata, Sp. cruzada, Pr. crozada, which was in the 16th c. displaced by croisade, with the adapted ending -ade from the southern langs.] A crusade. 1482 Caxton Polycron. vm. v, Syre Henry spencer bisshop of norwiche wente .. with a Croysye in to Flaundres. Ibid. viii. xi, The pope gaf oute a croysye ageynst them [Hussites]. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xxvii. (heading), Other kynges toke on them the Croisey to the holy lande. 1549 Thomas Hist. Italie 124 Manfredo lette crie a Croysie. 1608 Golding Epit. Frossard 1. 37 The Pope., commaunded a croysie to be preached against them. 1615 W. Hull Mirr. Maiestie 69 At the sute of them that were marked for the Croyssie.

croiser, -ier, obs. ff. crosier. f croiserie, -ry. Obs. Forms: 3 creoicerie, -oy-, 3-5 croiserie, croy-, -rye, 4 croserie. [a. OF. croiserie, f. crois cross.] Crusading; a crusade. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. 1.440/331 To prechi of pe creoicerie aboute in pe londe. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7091 pe pope sende croiserie in to pe holi lond. C1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 116 Croiserye ne assoilinge.. shal not as pe day of dome reverse Cristis sentens. 1475 Bk. Noblesse 10 King Richarde the first.. whiche in a croiserie went in to the holy londe.

f 'croises, 'croisees, sb. pi. Obs. [a. F. croises, in OF. croisies:—L. cruciatos, f. croisier. see croise v. 2.] Those who have been ‘croised’, crusaders. (App. sometimes used by modern writers as an archaism for Crusades, and supplied with erroneous singular croise.) 1656 Blount Glossogr., Croises (cruce signati), pilgrims. See Croysado. c 1750 Shenstone Ruined Abbey 248 How oft he blew The croise’s trumpet. 1751 Jortin Eccl. Hist. (R.), To instruct the croisez, to comfort them. 1779 Archseol. V. 19 (D.) When the English croisees went into the East in the first Crusade. 1846 P. Parley's Ann. VII. 18 The wars of the croises.

|| croisette. [F. croisette, dim. of croix cross.] A small cross. 1688 Lond. Gaz. No. 2311/4 A Croisett of Diamonds. 1906 Daily Chron. 11 Oct. 3/2 To pay to the Administration, in the form of a tax, a certain number of croisettes—brass rods in the form of a St. Andrew’s cross. 1920 A. Stratton Engl. Interior 72 French doorways of the Louis XIV. period, with surrounding architraves broken at the top with croisettes and surmounted by a frieze.

croissant (krwasa). [Fr. (see crescent sb.).] = CRESCENT sb. 6. 1899 W. C. Morrow Bohem. Paris 139 The odor of hot rolls and croissants. 1928 R. Macaulay Keeping up Appearances i. §2 Foaming coffee and milk, the crusty roll, the little tender croissant. 1958 X. Fielding Corsair Country 96 We’re having coffee and croissants in the sort of square you would come across in any of the larger French Mediterranean seaports. 1970 New Yorker 6 June 64/2 Resident jockeys .. were being offered .. the French racing papers, with their coffee and croissants.

CROMERI AN

37

croissant,

earlier form of crescent.

croissard,

obs. incorrect form of crusade.

II Croix de Guerre (krwactageir). Also croix de guerre. [Fr., lit. ‘cross of war’.] A French medal first awarded during the war of 1914-18 (see quot. 1922). 1915 Daily Chron. 4 Aug. 7/7 M. Poincare conferred upon King Albert himself the French Croix de Guerre. 1917 T. E. Lawrence Home Lett. (1954) 345 The French Government has stuck another medal on to me: a croix de guerre this time. 1922 Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 892/2 The Croix de Guerre. — Established in 1915 to commemorate individual mentions in despatches during the war 1914-18. The cross was awarded to soldiers or sailors of all ranks.. who were mentioned in orders of the day for an individual feat of arms. .. The ribbon .. is green with narrow red stripes. 1944 H. G. Wells *42 to ’44 j8 A girl in M.T.C. uniform with the gold leaf of the Croix de Guerre over her pocket, i960 G. Martelli Agent Extraordinary ii. 34 Dressed usually in a neat dark blue suit only distinguished by the ribbon of the Croix de Guerre.

cro’jack, crok,

abbreviation of cross-jack.

obs. f. croak v., crock.

croke,

obs. f. croak, crook.

croke. Obs. exc. dial. [Etymology uncertain. Cf. cork sft.3] Core of a fruit; refuse, dross. c 1450 Nominate in Wr.-Wiilcker 719/6 Partesfructuum .. Hec arula the crok. 1847-78 Halliwell, Croke, refuse; the bad or useless part of anything. Line. 1886 5. W. Line. Gloss., Croke, refuse: as ‘It’s only an old croke’.

crokefer,

crocus of iron: see crocus 3.

f'eroker. Obs. rare. [app. f. croc-us + -er1.] A cultivator or seller of saffron. 1577 Harrison

England hi. viii. (1877) 11. 57 The crokers

or saffron men.

Crokerism (’kraukariz^m). [f. the surname Croker + -ism.] 1. The political principles of John Wilson Croker (1780-1857). 1851 Carlyle New Lett. (1904) II. 114, I was reading in the Quarterly Review: — very beggarly Crokerism, all of copperas and gall and human baseness. 1927 Observer 9 Oct. 16/4 When Randolph Churchill set out to revive his party, what did he do? He swept away Crokerism.

2. In U.S. politics, the political following and influence of Richard Croker (1841-1922), who made himself master (c 1888) of the Tammany organization and subsequently attained to great power in the government of the state of New York. Hence 'Crokerist, an adherent of Crokerism; also attrib. 1897 Daily News 4 Nov. 3/4 Evidence, .that Crokerism had brought New York to almost the lowest possible point. 1900 Westm. Gaz. 27 Oct. 6/2 Mr. Roosevelt, .urged, .the killing of Crokerism in the State. 1901 Daily Chron. 3 Oct. 5/7 The supporters of Crokerism and corruption.. are opposed by the advocates of good government with freedom from bosses. Ibid. 1 Nov. 6/3 He will..vote the whole Fusionist ‘ticket’ or the whole Crokerist ‘ticket’ as it is offered to him.

.2

croket, crokt:

see crocket, crock v

crol(le, var. of

crull Obs., curly.

crom, crome, obs.

ff. cram, crumb.

Cro-Magnon

(krau'maenjS, krau'maegnan). Also Cromagnon. [The name of a hill of Cretaceous limestone in the Dordogne department of France in a cave at the base of which skeletons of Homo sapiens were found in 1868 among deposits of Upper Palaeolithic age; it had previously been supposed that modem man did not exist in Palaeolithic times.] Used, chiefly attrib., to designate a group of mankind characterized by a long low skull, a wide face, and wide orbits having upper and lower borders close to one another and almost parallel; the stature is moderate or tall. The group persisted in Mesolithic and Neolithic times, and some authorities consider that it survived in the Guanches of the Canary Islands. Similar skeletal features can be detected in certain modern European and north African peoples. 1869 P. Broca in Lartet & Christy Reliq. Aquit. (1875) ix. 99 The general characters of the Cro-Magnon race. 1869 A. de Quatrefages Ibid. 124 The Cro-Magnon skulls introduce new elements into the question of European origins. 1874 Leisure Hour 31 Oct. 697 Outline of CroMagnon skull as seen in front. 1882 Amer. Antiquarian Apr.-July 242 Cromagnon skulls in Bavaria. 1912 R. Munro Palaeolithic Man 200 All the skeletons of the CroMagnon type found in the Grimaldi caves. 1927 Haldane & Huxley Anim. Biol. xiii. 331 Cromagnon man. 1934 Discovery Mar. 79/2 All comparisons between individual moderns and individual Greeks or Cro-Magnons, are beside the mark in a discussion of the meaning of human progress as a whole. 1939 R. Campbell Flowering Rifle 11. 53 To sink these new Cromagnons out of sight.

cromatick, crombec

obs. form of chromatic.

('krDmbsk). [Used in this form by Le Vaillant Histoire naturelle des oiseaux d'Espagne 1802; f. Du. krom crooked + bek beak s&.] A

popular name for African warblers of the genus Sylvietta. [1875-84 Layard Birds S. Afr. 303 Sylvietta rufescens ... The ‘Stomp-stertje’ of the Dutch colonists, and the ‘Crombec’ of Le Vaillant.] 1901 Stark & Sclater Birds S. Afr. II. 117 Sylviella [sic] pallida. The Zambesi Crombec. 1908 Haagner & Ivy Sk. S. Afr. Bird Life 80 The Crombec {Sylviella rufescens), known to the farmers as the Stompstertje (Stump-tail), is ash-grey above and tawny-buff below. 1955 Mackworth-Praed & Grant Birds E. & N.E. Afr. II. 423 Crombecs or Stump-tails... Called Crombecs by the early Dutch settlers in South Africa because of their curved bills.

Crombie ('krDmbi). Also crombie. The name of J. & J. Crombie Ltd., a Scottish firm of clothmakers, used to designate a type of overcoat, jacket, etc., made by them. Hence Crombiecoated adj. 1951 Trade Marks Jrnl. 17 Jan. 67/1 Crombie Product... Men’s and boys’ coats, suits, jackets, .all made from piece goods wholly or substantially of wool, worsted or hair. J. & J. Crombie Limited, Grandholm Works, Woodside, Aberdeen, Scotland; Manufacturers and Merchants; —7th September, 1949. 1957 J. Braine Room at Top x. 95 A young man in a Crombie overcoat came through the door. 1957 Times 11 Sept. 3/1 Visiting Americans lured by the theatre’s magic name come crombie-coated to tread heavily on Yeats’s dreams. 1963 Guardian 16 Jan. 9/7 A man in a heavy black Crombie glared at the loud-speaker.

crombie, obs. form of crumble. crome, cromb (kraum, kru:m), sb. Now local. Also 5 croumbe, cromp, 9 dial, croom, craam. [repr. an OE. *cramb, *crQmb f. (cf. wamb, womb):—WG. kramba, whence also MDu. and LG. kramme, Du. kram hook, crook (‘kramme, harpago’ Kilian); f. kramb- grade of *krimb-an: see note to cramp sft.1] A hook, a crook; esp. ‘a stick with a hook at the end of it, to pull down the boughs of a tree, to draw weeds out of ditches,’ etc. (Forby). fin early use, also = Claw, talon. a 1400 in Leg. Rood 139 Lord send us pi lomb Out of pe wildernesses ston, To fende vs from pe lyon cromp. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 104 Crombe, or crome [P. crowmbe], bucus [v. r. unccus, arpax]. 1533 Richmond Wills (Surtees) 11 A ladyll and a flech crome. 1561 Becon Sick Mans Salve 257 Some rent apeaces w' whot burning yron cromes. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 38 A sickle to cut with, a didall and crome For draining of ditches, that noies thee at home. 1770-4 A. Hunter Georg. Ess. (1804) II. 351 They are drawn out by crombes, forks, &c. 1846 Spurdens Suppl. to Forby s.v. Croom. Forby has crome a crook. We have muck-crooms,firecrooms, mud-crooms, as well as croom-sticks. 1862 Borrow Wild Wales I. 231 A thin polished black stick with the crome cut in the shape of an eagle’s head. 1869 Lonsdale Gloss., Craam, an instrument with three curved prongs, used by cocklers to take cockle with.

crome, cromb, v. Now local,

[f. prec. sb.] trans. To seize or draw with a crook; to hook.

1558 Phaer JEneid vi. Rij, With crokid beake, and croming pawes. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Crome, to draw with a crome. 1868 J. Timbs Eccentr. Anim. Creation 48 In 1863 .. Children described them [Mermaids] as ‘nasty things that crome you into the water’. 1891 Blackw. Mag. Mar. 311 We were warned never to go near its edge, lest the mermaid should come and crome us in.

Cromer (‘kr3um3(r)). [The name of a town on the Norfolk coast.] Cromer Forest Bed: the name of a series of deposits which outcrops on the coast at Cromer, comprising two freshwater beds which enclose the Forest Bed proper, an estuarine bed of clay containing the transported remains of trees and rich in plant and animal fossils. From its position (see quot. 1964) the series was formerly thought to be pre-glacial, of Pliocene age, but it is now generally thought to have been deposited during the first (antepenultimate) interglacial, in the early Pleistocene, and its flora and fauna are taken as typical of this interglacial in Britain. [1840 C. Lyell in Phil. Mag. 3rd Ser. XVI. 377 A general subsidence .. must have taken place .. in order to explain the submergence and burial of the trees of which the stools are found in situ; and this forest bed could not have been brought up again .. to the level of low water, without a subsequent upheaval.] 1863 - Antiquity of Man 511/1 Cromer forest bed. 1882 C. Reid Geol. Country around Cromer iii. 8 The so-called ‘Cromer Forest-bed’, celebrated for the number and variety of the fossil mammals which it has yielded. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 439/2 The latest Pliocene, or pre-Glacial, flora of northern Europe is best known from the Cromer Forest-bed of Norfolk and Suffolk, a fluvio-marine deposit which lies beneath the whole of the Glacial deposits of these counties. 1946 L. D. Stamp Britain's Struct, xiv. 156 The Cromer Forest Bed series which we mentioned as the youngest Pliocene beds in Britain are claimed by some as early Pleistocene. 1964 K. P. Oakley Frameworks for dating Fossil Man 1. 102 The Cromer Forest Bed was for long regarded by British geologists as ‘pre-glacial’, for it is overlain by the oldest known glacial deposits in East Anglia... In 1950 Woldstedt published Thomson’s pollen-diagram of the Cromer Forest Bed which showed that it was undoubtedly interglacial in character.

Cromerian (krau'misnan), a. and sb. [f. prec. + -ian.] A. adj. 1. Geoj. and Palaeont. a. Epithet of the Cromer Forest Bed series (see prec.);

CROMFORDITE hence, of, pertaining to, or characteristic of this series. 1900 F. W. Harmer in Q.Jrnl. Geol. Soc. LVI. 725 The so-called Forest-bed Series of the Cromer and Kessingland coasts.. may be known as Cromerian. 1925 A. Keith Antiquity of Man (ed. 2) I. xv. 304 The Cromerian beds tell us of the mild climate of the last phase of the Pliocene period. 1931 Discovery Mar. 85/1 The Cromerian flora is practically the same as that in East Anglia to-day. 1964 [see 1 b].

b. Epithet of a stage (and the corresponding age) in the Lower Pleistocene, and also of the first (antepenultimate) interglacial in Britain (generally identified with the Giinz-Mindel Interglacial of* Europe); hence, of or con¬ temporaneous with this stage or interglacial. 1922 Osborn & Reeds in Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. XXXIII. 431 Certain surviving marine deposits of the north of Europe may be correlated with those of the Mediterranean, as follows: 1. Sicilian Stage of the Mediterranean = Cromerian Stage of the North Sea basin and Baltic. Ibid., Along the German-Baltic coast Deperet recognizes marine faunal beds of Sicilian-Cromerian age. 1956 R. G. West et al. in Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. CCXXXIX. 344 The Cromer Forest Bed or Cromerian Interglacial is considered to be equivalent to the.. Giinz/Mindel Interglacial of Europe. 1964 K. P. Oakley Frameworks for dating Fossil Man 1. 109 In China the industry of Peking Man is associated with a fauna which was for long identified as Cromerian, whereas new evidence indicated that it is of Mindel II age... It is therefore most important to distinguish between a horizon of Cromerian age (i.e. dating from the Giinz-Mindel Interglacial) and one containing elements of Cromerian fauna. 1967 D. H. Rayner Stratigr. Brit. Isles xii. 378 The Cromerian stage refers to the Cromer Forest Bed and associated sediments of north Norfolk. 1968 R. G. West Pleistocene Geol. & Biol. xiii. 305 Compared with the succeeding interglacials the Cromerian vegetational history is distinct in the absence or scarcity of Hippophae in the lateglacial zone. 1969 Proc. Geol. Soc. Lond. Aug. 152 It is recommended that for the Pleistocene and Holocene of the British Isles the following ages/stages be adopted as a regional scale... Pleistocene:.. Anglian, Cromerian, Beestonian [etc.].

2. Archaeol. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of an ancient culture or people formerly supposed to be represented by remains (now not generally held to be artefacts) found in some Pliocene deposits near Cromer. 1922 Osborn & Reeds in Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. XXXIII. 424 Beneath the Forest Bed there has been discovered recently by J. Reid Moir a bed of giant flints of human manufacture, an industry which may be termed Cromerian. 1934 L. S. B. Leakey Adam's Ancestors v. 98 {caption) Two sides of a Cromerian flake tool. 1946 F. E. Zeuner Dating Past vi. 185 The Cromerian industry .. is particularly wellknown from the so-called ‘foreshore site’, a flint spread exposed at low-water. 1964 K. P. Oakley Frameworks for dating Fossil Man 11. vi. 219 All these flakes are in a highly battered condition. They have been compared with the very dubious ‘Cromerian industry* in Britain.

B. sb. people.

1. Archasol.

One of the ‘Cromerian’

1921 J. R. Moir in Jfrnl. R. Anthrop. Inst. LI. 387 These large flint masses represent the cores from which the ancient Cromerians obtained the raw material in the manufacture of their artefacts. 1925 A. Keith Antiquity of Man (ed. 2) I. xv. 305 In 1920, Mr Moir discovered a ‘working floor’, a site used for the knapping of flint implements by early Cromerians.

2. Geol. The Cromerian stage or age or the Cromerian interglacial. 1957 J. K. Charlesworth Quaternary Era II. xxix. 598 In East Anglia, by referring the Cromerian to the Pliocene and at the same time to an interglacial epoch, as is commonly done.., the glacial beginnings are thrust into the earlier horizons. Ibid, xxxii. 692 The Cromerian saw the European facies fully established. 1968 R. G. West Pleistocene Geol. & Biol. xiii. 305 The flora is very similar to that of the Cromerian in its paucity of exotic genera.

cromfordite ('krDmfadait). Min. [Named 1858 from Cromford, Derbyshire, where first found.] A synonym of phosgenite or chlorocarbonate of lead. 1861 Bristow Gloss. Min. 99. 1868 Dana Min. 703.

cromie, obs. form of crummie. cromlech ('krDmlek). Also 7 kromlech, 8-9 cromleh, 9 cromleac. [a. Welsh cromlech (in Irish and Gael, cromleac, -leachd), f. crom, fern, of crwm ‘crooked, bowed, bent, curved, concave, convex’ + llech (flat) stone.] A structure of prehistoric age consisting of a large flat or flatfish unhewn stone resting horizontally on three or more stones set upright; found in various parts of the British Isles, esp. in Wales, Devonshire, Cornwall, and Ireland. Also applied to similar structures in other parts of the world. This is the application of the word in Welsh. In Brittany such structures are called dolmen (= table-stones), while cromlech is the name of a circle of standing stones. As a common noun cromlech is known in Welsh only from c 1700, but as a proper name, or part of one, it occurs in Owen’s Pembrokeshire, and in several place-names believed to be ancient. In Cornish it is known earlier; a grant in Bp. Grandison’s Register at Exeter (1328-1370), purporting to be from /Ethelstan to Buryan, 943 (Birch, Cartul. Sax. II.

CRONET

38 527), mentions in the boundaries ‘fossa quae tendit circa Rescel cromlegh’. See Silvan Evans Welsh Diet. 1603 Owen Pembrokesh. 1. xxvi. (1892) 251 An other thinge worth the noteinge is the stone called Maen y gromlegh vpon Pentre Jevan lande; yt is a huge and massie stone mounted on highe and sett on the toppes of iij other highe stones, pitched standinge vpright in the grounde. 1695 J. Davies in Camden's Brit. (ed. Gibson) 676 In BodOwyr.. we find a remarkable Kromlech .. These .. are thought to have received the name of Cromlecheu, for that the Table or covering-Stone is, on the upper side, somewhat gibbous or convex. 1740 Stukeley Stonehenge vii. 33 It was one of those stones which the Welsh call Crwm-Lecheu or bowing stones. 1766 Ann. Reg. 297 The huge, broad, flat stones, raised upon other stones set up on end for that purpose, now called Cromlechs. 1851 D. Wilson Preh. Ann. (1863) I. iii. 92 The cromlech, which is now universally recognised as a sepulchral monument. 1859 Jephson Brittany xi. 181 Scattered over its wide and arid plains, are cromlechs, dolmens, menhirs.

cromme, obs. form of crumb. crommel, erroneous form of cromlech. 1848 Lytton Harold 1. i, An ancient Druidical crommel. 1849-King Arthur xii. xli, Grey crommell stones.

cromome (krau'mDin). [a. F. cromorne, corruption of Ger. krummhorn crooked horn.] A reed-stop on an organ; = krummhorn, CREMONA2. 1710 Specif. Organ Salisbury Cath. in Grove Diet. Mus. II. 595, 32. Vox Humana. 33. Cromhorn. 1880 E. J. Hopkins ibid. II. 74 Krummhorn, Cromome, Cremona, Clarionet, Como-di-Bassetto.. An Organ Reed Stop of 8 feet size of tone.

cromp, obs. var. or by-form of crome. crompe, for corompe, corrump v. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 71 Lecherye.. stinkithe and crompithe vnto heuene.

crompid (cake): see crumpet. cromple, crompeled, obs ff. crumple, -ed. crompster, var. crumster Obs., small ship. Cromwell ('krDmwel). [See Cromwellian a. and sb.] 1. In full Cromwell shoe. A shoe of the type supposedly worn by Oliver Cromwell, usu. having a large buckle or bow. 1879 M. E. Braddon Vixen I. iv. 86 The girl., made rather a pretty picture... The tawny hair, black velvet frock .. and broad-toed Cromwell shoes. 1952 C. W. Cunnington Eng. Women's Clothing Pres. Cent. ii. 36 Shoes: .. the Cromwell with two straps. 1963 A. Gernsheim Fashion n Jamieson. 1880 Antrim a pig-sty.

1878 Cumbrld. Gloss.. Cronk, the hollow note uttered by the raven when on the wing.

3 and 4.] Of a horse: unfit to run in a race, or dishonestly run as though unfit; said also of the race. Hence gen., unsound, liable to collapse; also, obtained by fraud.

1588 A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 177 As ane dur is tourned on the cruuks (quhilk in latin ar called cardines). 1600 Surflet Countrie Farme 1. xxiv. 152 Hang them [pigs when killed] to the crookes set vp in some vaulted roofe. a 1774 Fergusson Election Poems (1845) 40 Till, in a birn, beneath the crook, They’re singit wi a scowder. 1826 Scott Diary 17 Jan., With a visage as black as the crook. 1848 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. IX. 11. 420 The ends of each rafter are turned in the form of a gate-crook. 1858 R. S. Surtees Ask Mamma lvi. 256 From whose lofty ceiling hung the crooks, from whence used to dangle the.. legs of.. mutton.

obs. form of crow.

crook (kruk), sb. and a.

Forms: 3-4 croc, 3-6 croke, 4-5 Sc. and north, cruk, 4-6 crok, kroke, 5-6 cruke, 5-8 crooke, 6-9 Sc. cruik, 4- crook. [ME. crok, croc, app. a. ON. krokr (Sw. krok, Da. krog) crook, hook, barb, trident; unknown elsewhere in Teutonic, but app. belonging to the same ablaut series (krak-, krok), as OHG. chracho, chracco hook; cf. ON. kraki boat-hook. The parallelism of form and meaning with croche, crose, is notable in sense 4. Relationship between the ablaut series krak-, krok, and that to which crutch belongs, cannot at present be asserted.]

A. sb. 1. An instrument, weapon, or tool of hooked form; a hook. spec. fa. A reaping-hook, sickle; b. A hook for grappling or catching; c. A hook or bent iron on which anything is hung; e.g. one of the iron hooks on which a gate hangs: esp. in ‘crooks and bands’ (see band sb.1 3); a hook in a chimney for hanging a pot or kettle on, a pot-hook; hence phr. as black as the crook (Sc.). C1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 99/241 And hire bresten fram hire bodi with Irene crokes rende. 01300 Cursor M. 18104 (Cott.) He .. brast pe brasen yates sa strang, And stelen croc pat pai wit hang, c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. A. 40 Quen come is coruen with crokez kene. C1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 640 Cleopatras, In gooth the grapenel so ful of crokis. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. 1. 1161 Rakes, crookes, adses, and bycornes. 1453 Mem. Ripon (Surtees) III. 160 Pro nayles et crokes emptis pro magnis portis. 1522 Test. Ebor. (Surtees) V. 153, j blake worsted kirtle, and the gretter golde crokes. 1587 Vestry Bks. (Surtees) 26 For fowre bands & crookes, vj d.

c 1435 Torr. Portugal 1590 He bare on his nek a croke.. It was twelfe ffeete and more. Ibid. 1604 Sith he pullith at his croke, So fast in to the flesh it toke That oute my3t he gete it nought.

4. a. A shepherd’s staff, having one end curved or hooked, for catching the hinder leg of a sheep. c 1430 Lydg. Chorle Byrde xlviii. in Ashm. 223 A Chepys Croke to the ys better than a Launce. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 104 Croke, or scheype hoke, pedum. 1635 Cowley Davideis I. 2, I Sing the Man who Judah’s Scepter bore In that right hand which held the Crook before. 1720 Gay Dione in. ii, Leaning on her crook Stood the sad nymph. 1883 E. Pennell-Elmhirst Cream Leicestersh. 240 Where the sickle holds the place of the shepherd’s crook.

b. The pastoral staff of a bishop, abbot or abbess, shaped like a shepherd’s staff; a crosier. c 1386 Chaucer Friar's T. 19 (Tyrwh.) Er the bishop hent hem with his crook [Harl. & 6-text hook], c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode ill. xxiv. (1869) 149 This crook and this S shewen wel that j am an abbesse. 1851 Longf. Gold. Leg. i. ii. 23 The Priests came flocking in.. With all their crosiers and their crooks.

5. a. Any hooked or incurved appendage, e.g. a tendril of a plant, one of the hooks on the fruit of the burdock, etc.; the curved or hooked part of anything, e.g. of a walking-stick; the ‘crosier’ of a fern. 1398 Trevisa Barth, de P.R. xvn. clxxvii. (1495) 717 Those bondes or crokes of the vyne by the whyche it takyth and byclyppyth trees and stalkes. 1578 Lyte Dodoens 1. viii. 15 Upon the braunches there groweth small bullets., garnisshed full of little crookes or hookes. 1665 Hooke Microgr. 2 The .. thorns, or crooks, or hairs of leaves. 1850 Florist Mar. 87 The young fronds of the.. Ferns uncurling their crooks.

fb. A curl or roll of hair formerly worn. Obs. (Cf. crocket1 1.) CI308 Sat. People Kildare x. in E.E.P. (1862) i54)x>3 3ur crune be ischave, fair bet? 3ur crokes [rime bokes]. c 1325 Poem Times Edw. II in Pol. Songs (Camden) 327 A myrour and a koeverchef to binde wid his crok [rime bitok]. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 3352 Cho kembede myne heuede That the krispane kroke to my crownne raughte. [1721 Bailey, Crok, the turning up of the hair into curls.]

c. A crooked or incurved piece of timber. 1802 Naval Chron. VIII. 373 The.. futtocks are all got from natural grown crooks. 1806 Hull Advertiser 11 Jan. 2/2 Oak Timber, consisting of Knees and Crooks, peculiarly well adapted for Ship Building.

d. Bell-founding. (See quots.) 1857 Lukis Acc. Ch. Bells 21 The crook is a kind of compass formed of wood, and is used for making the moulds. 1872 Ellacombe Ch. Bells Devon i. 7 The core is first.. moulded as described by the action of the crook.

6. A small space, or piece of ground, of a crooked shape; an odd corner, nook. 1417 Searchers Verdicts in Surtees Misc. (1890) 11 A cruke of Robert Feriby grund. c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode 1. lvi. (1869) 34 In sum anglet or in sum . . crook or cornere. 1717 N. Riding Rec. VIII. 23 Other small parts [of a farm] called crookes and crinkles. 1839-40 W. Irving Wolfert's R. (1855) 33 It was full of nooks and crooks, and chambers of all sorts and sizes.

f7. pi. Brackets (in printing), parentheses. Obs. (Cf. CROTCHET 8.) 1641 Milton Ch. Govt. 1. (1851) 116 Though it be cunningly interpolisht.. with crooks and emendations. 1762 Sterne Tr. Shandy vi. xxxi, Among my father’s papers, with here and there an insertion of his own, betwixt two crooks, thus [ ].

8. Musical Instr. a. An accessory piece of curved tubing to be added to a metal wind instrument, as a horn or cornet, to lower the pitch, so as to adapt it to the key of the piece of music in which it is to be used. b. The crooked metal tube connecting the body with the reed of a bassoon. 1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xviii, The trumpeter., pulling out one crook from another. 1880 Grove Diet. Mus. I. 150 [The bassoon] consists of five pieces.. the crook, wing, butt, long joints, and bell. Ibid. I. 750 The difference of pitch [in the Horn] being provided by the various crooks.

9. A support or frame of wood, bent in a particular way, formerly slung in pairs panierwise across the saddle of a pack-horse for carrying loads. (Somerset and Devon.) 1657 Ligon Barbadoes (1673) 89 Small pack-saddles, and crooks.. laying upon each Crook a faggot. C1710 Celia

CROOK Fiennes Diary (1888) 225 Carryages on horses backes.. with sort of crookes of wood like yokes either side .. in which they stow ye corne and so tie it with cords. 1791 JCollinson Hist. Somerset II. 34 The crops are .. carried in with crooks on horses. 1850 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XI. 11. 739 The corn is often harvested in crooks on horses’ backs. 1888 Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. s.v., It used to be as common to say ‘I’ll send a horse and crooks’ as it is now to say ‘horse and cart’. [They] are now very rarely seen.

10. a. The act of crooking; esp. a bending of the knee or of the body in sign of reverence (obs.). C1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1816 Ffor-setten byfore, and eke byhynde, Wyp crokes ilkon opev gan bynde. 1603 B. Jonson Sejanus 1. i, He is now the court god; and well applied With sacrifice of knees, of crooks, and cringes. 1857 Hughes Tom Brown 1. iii, A well-aimed crook of the heel or thrust of the loin.

b. In polo, an act of crooking an opponent’s stick (see crook v.1 6). 1935 Times 18 June 5/5 Captain Ansell.. scored with a 60 yards penalty given for a foul crook.

11. A bending or curve, a convolution, e.g. of a river, path, the intestines, etc. i486 Bk. St. Alban s E vij b, Of the nomblis.. theys oder crokes and Roundulis bene. 1558 Phaer JEneid 11. (R.), Through lanes and crokes and darknes most we past. 1585 James I Ess. Poesie (Arb.) 16 Sea eylis rare, that be Myle longs, in crawling cruikis of sixtie pace. 1609 C. Butler Fern. Mon. v. (1623) Mij, Let it downe by a cord tied to some crooke of the bough. 1686 Burnet Trav. v. (1750) 253 The Rhine maketh a Crook before it. 1885 Harper's Mag. Mar. 594/1 Old homely ways, whose crooks.. she knew by heart. 1887 Stevenson Underwoods 1. xiv. 29 The crooks of Tweed.

f 12. fig. A crooked piece of conduct; a trick, artifice, wile; deceit, guile, trickery. Obs. c 1200 Ormin i 1635 i>a wEere he purrh pe deofless croc I gluternesse fallenn. 01225 Leg. Kath. 125 WiS alle hise crefti crokes. a 1300 Cursor M. 740 (Cott.) J>e nedder .. pat mast kan bath on crok and craft. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 161 He soughte nought the worldes croke [rime boke] For veine honour ne for richesse. c 1460 Towneley Myst. 145 Withe sich wylys and crokes. 01556 Cranmer To Gardiner (T.), For all your bragges, hookes, and crookes, you have such a fall. 1594 Willobie Aviso 35 The wise will shunne such craftie crookes.

13. One whose conduct is crooked; a dishonest person, swindler, sharper, orig. U.S. colloq. Now esp. a professional criminal or an associate of criminals. 1879 Chicago Tribune 6 Feb. 5/2 The Times still continues its attacks upon the Government officials in the interest of the Pekin and Peoria crooks. 1882 Sydney Slang Diet. 3/1 Crook, a thief and burglar. One who gets his living on the best. 1886 American Local Newspr., The photographs of several English cracksmen along with one of a New York crook. 1891 H. Campbell Darkness & Daylight 470 Gamblers, pickpockets and other ‘crooks’ abound. 1891 The Sun (N.Y.) 19 June 6/4 (Funk), The slang word ‘crook’ now bids fair to be recognized in the statutes and consequently to be adopted as good English in the courts of law. A bill regulating admissions to the prison at Marquette excludes, among other classes of individuals specified, those known to be ‘crooks’ in police parlance. 1896 Westm. Gaz. 17 July 2/1 A crook what kep a little crib Dad went to when things was too lively. 1903 Daily Chron. 3 Nov. 5/4 All the saloon¬ keepers, and gamblers, and crooks, and confidence men, in fact all the predatory elements of society are .. working for a Tammany victory. 1909 Ibid. 19 June 3/2 The people here .. are clever and rather interesting scamps. Were they on a slightly lower social level they would be called ‘crooks’. 1949 [see crookery]. 1953 ‘M. Innes’ Christmas at Candleshoe xiii. 150 ‘The fact is that a gang of crooks-’ ‘I beg your pardon?’ Miss Candleshoe is wholly at sea. ‘The fact is that a band of robbers is prowling about outside this house now.’

14. dial. a. ‘The crick in the neck; a painful stiffness, the effect of cold’. Craven Gloss. 1828. b. ‘A disease of sheep, whereby their heads are drawn on one side.’ Ibid. 15. Phrases, a. \on crook, a-crook: crookedly, in a crooked course. Obs. on the crook: dishonestly, slang. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 53 Humber.. rennej? first a crook out of pe south side of York, c 1425 Hampole's Psalter Metr. Pref. 38 Many out of bales brow3t, p* in lywyng went on croke. 1500-1881 [see acrook]. 1879 Macm. Mag. 503 (Farmer) Which he had bought on the crook.

b. crook in one's lot: something untoward or distressing in one’s experience: an affliction, trial. Sc. a 1732 T. Boston {title). The Crook in the Lot; or the Wisdom and Sovereignty of God displayed in the afflictions of men. Ibid. (1767) 14 The crook in the lot is the special trial appointed for every one. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midi, xii, I trust to bear even this crook in my lot with submission. 1835 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. I. 32 It is positively a great crook in my present lot. 16. by hook or by crook: see hook.

B. adj. 1. a. [Arising probably from dissolution of the combinations crook-back, etc., in which crook- was perhaps originally the sb., or the vb. stem; though it may have been shortened from crookt, crooked: cf. Cb.] = CROOKED. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 275 Weil couth I claw his cruke bak. 1647 H. More Insomn. Philos, xxiv, Interpreting right whatever seemed crook.

b. ‘Bent’, stolen. Criminals' slang. 1900 Sessions' Paper Central Criminal Court CXXXII. 462, I brought it from you b-straight; I did not know it was crook.

2. Austral, and N.Z.

CROOK-BACKED

40 a. Of things: bad, inferior; out of order, unsatisfactory; unpleasant, dreadful.

c. to crook one's mou' (Sc.): to distort the mouth in expression of displeasure or ill temper.

1898 Bulletin (Sydney) 17 Dec. Red Page/2, Krook or kronk is bad. 1915 E. G. Pilling Anzac Memory (1933) iv. 62 Had a very crook night, sickness, cramp, dysentery. 1917 E. Miller Camps, Tramps & Trenches (1939) ix- 52 The rifle issued to me was a crook one that fired high and left. 1918 N.Z.E.F. Chrons. 5 July 250/2 It’s crook to stay for years. 1929 W. Smyth Girl from Mason Creek xv. 163 ‘Cow of a job,’ he muttered... ‘It’s a bit crook for yer.’ 1931 V. Palmer Separate Lives 271 It can’t be helped now. When things go crook in the beginning [etc.]. 1934 A. Russell Tramp-Royal in Wild Australia xvii. 106, I wasn’t feeling too well at the time—too much crook water an’ not enough decent tucker, I suppose. 1945 J. Henderson Gunner Inglorious iii. 18 A cigarette first thing in the morning before a cup of tea, tastes crook. 1947 ‘A. P. Gaskell’ Big Game 32 Isn’t it crook about Keith and Gordon [being killed]? 1958 ‘N. Shute’ Rainbow & Rose 64, I never knew it [sr. the weather] to be so crook. 1968 K. Weatherly Roo Shooter iii You know how the old wagon is crook in water.

1724 Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 86 O kend my minny I were wi’ you Illfardly wad she crook her mou. 1803 Glasgow 31 (Jam.) They, scomfu’, toss their head ajee, And crook their mou’.

b. Dishonest, unscrupulous, ‘crooked’. 1911 L. Stone Jonah 1. xi. 132 Yous don’t think any worse o’ me ’cause Lil’s crook, do yer? 1916 ‘Anzac’ On Anzac Trail 44 Protesting.. in lurid language against what they styled ‘a crook trick’. 1929 C. C. Martindale Risen Sun 173 When sport goes crook, what can remain wholesome? 1933 Bulletin (Sydney) 6 Sept. 8/2 They think.. that the system is ‘crook’. 1936 F. Sargeson Conversation with Uncle 18 They said it [sc. pulling a race-horse] was a crook business right through. 1953 J. W. Brimblecombe in J. C. Reid Kiwi Laughs (1961) 178 His mentor had a crook deal put over him.

c. Irritable, bad-tempered, angry; esp. in phr. to go crook (at or on), to become angry (at); to lose one’s temper (with); to upbraid, rebuke. 1911 L. Stone Jonah 11. iv. 190 Yer niver ’ad no cause ter go crook on me, but I ain’t complainin’. 1916 C. J. Dennis Songs of Sentimental Bloke 78 An’ there I’m standin’ like a gawky lout.. An’ wonders wot ’e’s goin’ crook about. 1933 P. Cadey Broken Pattern xviii. 197 If Phoebe’s gone crook at you.. she’s had some good reason for it. 1937 N. Marsh Vintage Murder vii. 70 See him when he goes crook!.. His eyes fairly flashed. 1946 P. Freedman in Coast to Coast 1945 136 Her ma’s always going crook because I break the plaster. 1959 Listener 15 Jan. 115/2, I cut off his boot to stop the foot swelling. I remember he went crook on me: he said they were new, and I’d darn well have to buy him a new pair. 1964 P. White Burnt Ones 295 When his mum went crook, and swore, he was too aware of teeth, the rotting brown of nastiness.

d. Ailing, out of sorts; injured, disabled. 1916 C. J. Dennis Songs of Sentimental Bloke 88, I sneaks to bed, an’ feels dead crook. 1916 Oil Sheet Dec. 7 Now I’ve just been vaccinated, and am feeling pretty ‘crook’. 1934 A. Russell Tramp-Royal in Wild Australia xxvii. 178 An’ when Dick says he’s crook, he’s crook. He’s out there alone, ou know. 1937 N. Marsh Vintage Murder viii. 94 Letting im out just because he kidded he felt crook. Ibid. x. 116 ‘He was looking horribly crook.’ ‘Ill?’ asked Alleyn cautiously. ‘Too right, sir.’ 1938 ‘R. Hyde’ Nor Years Condemn 208 A crook knee and arm. 1952 N. Donnan in Coast to Coast I95I~52 141, I got a crook hip, I can’t do heavy work now. 1956 P. White Tree of Man 55 ‘She’s crook. It looks like the milk fever,’ he said, i960 B. Crump Good Keen Man 45 It saves you from getting the crook guts, boy. Ibid. 49 He said he wasn’t crook or anything. 1968 K. Weatherly Roo Shooter 28 If I don’t go out at least five nights a week the cook thinks I’m crook and gets all worried.

C. Comb., as crook-like adj.; crook-saddle, a saddle with crooks for carrying loads (cf. 9). 1700 Acc. St. Sebastian's in Harl. Misc. I. 413 Their iron bars are brought to the town on horses or mules, on crooksaddles. 1797 Statist. Acc. Scot. XIX. 248 (Stornoway) Horse-loads are .. carried in small creels, one on each side of the horse, and fixed by a rope to the crook-saddle. 1888 F. G. Lee in Archaeol. LI. 356 A bishop or abbot holding a crook-like pastoral staff.

b. Parasynthetic combs., as crookrbilled, •fingered, -kneed, -legged, -lipped, -nosed, -shouldered, -sided, -stemed, -toothed adjs. See also CROOK-BACK, -BACKED, CROOK-NECK, -NECKED. Crooked- was used in the same way from Wyclif onwards. 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Bossu, downe backed, crooke shouldered. 1590 Shaks. Mids. N. iv. i. 127 My hounds are.. Crooke kneed, and dew-lapt, like Thessalian Buis. 1591 Percivall Sp. Diet., Cancajoso, crooklegged. 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas 1. v. 515 Crook-tooth’d Lampreys. 1598 Chapman Iliad 11. 68a The crooke-stern’d [ed. ci6ii crookt-stern’d] shippes. 1684 tr. Bonet's Merc. Compit. ix. 334 Oftentimes Children about two years old, when they begin to go, are crook-legged. 1775 S. Crisp in Mad. D'Arblay's Early Diary II. 36 Reduc’d to a level with crook-finger’d Jack!

Mayne

d. to crook one's elbow or little finger: to drink alcoholic liquor (esp. with implication of excess), slang. 1825 Jamieson Suppl. I. 271/2 To crook the elbow, as, She crooks her elbow, a phrase used of a woman who uses too much freedom with the bottle, q. bending her elbow in reaching the drink to her mouth. 1836 Public Ledger (Philadelphia) 2 Aug. (Th.), William Martin was fined for, as he quaintly expressed it, crooking his little finger too often. 1859 Bartlett Diet. Amtr. (ed. 2) s.v., To crook one’s elbow or one’s little finger, is to tipple. 1875 Besant & Rice With Harp & Crown xix, The secretary.. might have done great things in literature but for his unfortunate crook of the elbow. As he only crooks it at night, it does not matter to the hospital. 1924 J. Masefield Sard Harker iii. 251 Sir James has sacked his old man for crooking his little finger: going on the jag, in other words.

f 2. fig. To bend or turn out of the straight course, or from the direct meaning or intention; to pervert, ‘twist*. Obs. a 1340 H^mpole Psalter lvi. 8 pai crokid my saule: that is, thai thoght to draghe it fra the luf of god in til the erth. 1382 Wyclif Ps. lvi. 7 Thei myche crookeden [incurvaverunt] my soule. 1393 Gower Conf. II. 144 That she may.. Ne speke o word, ne ones loke, But he ne wil it wende and croke, And torne after his own entent. 1545 Ascham Toxoph. 1. (Arb.) 58 There is no one thinge yat crokes youth more than suche unlefull games. 1607-12 Bacon Ess., Wisdom (Arb.) 184 Hee crooketh them to his owne endes. 1646 J. Gregory Notes & Obs. (1650) 83 The more part., crooke the Prophesie to the Patriarch Abraham.

3. intr. To have or take a crooked form or direction; to be or become crooked; to bend, curve. a 1300 Song of Yesterday 98 in E.E.P. (1862) 135 Me meruayles.. pat god let mony mon croke and elde. 1398 Barth, de P.R. vi. i. (1495) 187 In olde aege the body bendyth and crokyth. C1510 Barclay Mirr. Gd. Manners Oslo) B vj, Soone crooketh the same tree that good camoke wilbe. 1579 Fenton Guicciard. viii. (1599) 350 A riuer both large and deepe . . goeth crooking on the left hand. 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 106 Their homes crook backwards to their shoulders. 1876 C. D. Warner Wint. Nile 240 Fingers that crook easily. Trevisa

f4. intr. To bend the body in sign of reverence or humility; to bow. Obs. or arch. c 1320 R. Brunne Medit. 149 He stode krokyng [v.r. croked] on knees knelyng Afore hys cretures fete syttyng. 1645 Rutherford Tryal & Tri. Faith (1845) 312 That the Sinner may halt and crook. 1841-4 Emerson Ess., Prudence Wks. (Bohn) I. 100 They will shuffle and crow, crook and hide.

|5. intr. To turn or bend aside out of the straight course (lit. and fig.). Obs. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 230 He schal not croke in-to pe ri3tte side ne in-to pe left side. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 87/4 Goyng right without crokyng. 1545 Ascham Toxoph. 11. (Arb.) 157 It [the snow] flewe not streight, but sometyme it crooked thys waye sometyme that waye. 1607 Topsell Serpents (1653) 743 He must not run directly forward, but winde to and fro, crooking like an Indenture.

6. trans. In polo, to catch hold of (an opponent’s stick) with one’s own stick, so as to interfere with his play. 1890 G. J. Younghusband Polo in India ii. 21 No player shall crook his adversary’s stick unless he is on the same side of the pony as the ball, or immediately behind. 1898 T. B. Drybrough Polo xi. 268 ‘Crooking’ means ‘interposing’ a stick between the ball and an adversary’s stick.. so as to ‘hook’ and arrest it. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 820/2 They have no off side [in American polo], and it is not permitted to crook the stick of an adversary.

t crook, v.* Obs. Forms: 4-7 crouk(e, 5 (9 dial.) crowk, 6-7 crooke. [Echoic: cf. croak. The phonetic relations between crouke, crowke, 17th c. crook, and mod. north dial, crowk are not clear.]

1. intr. To croak. Rarely trans. a 1325 E.E. Allit. P. A. 459 He [the raven] croukez for comfort when carayne he fyndez. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 105 Crowken, as cranes, gruo. Crowken, as todes, or frosshes, coaxo. 14.. Metr. Voc. in Wr.-Wulcker 623 A lytulle frogge crowkyt. 1607 Walkington Opt. Glass 150 They crouke harshly. 1617 Wither Fidelia, Fatall Ravens that.. Crooke their black Auguries. 1878 Cumbrld. Gloss., Crowk, to croak. ‘The guts crowk’ when the bowels make a rumbling noise.

2. To coo or crood, as a dove. Cf. crookle. crook, var. of crock sb.5 crook (kruk), v.1 Forms: 3-6 croke, 4- crook(e, (6 croock). [f. crook 56.] 1. a. trans. To bend into an angular or curved form; to distort from a straight line; to curve. c 1175 Lamb. Horn. 61 Gif he binimeS us ure sihte.. o6er us crokeS on fote o6er on honde. 1382 Wyclif Ps. lxviii. 24 The rig of hem euermor crooke thou in. 1398 Trevisa Barth, de P.R. XVIII. xix. (1495) 778 Whan camelles take charge vpon them thenne they bende and croke the knees. 1602 Shaks. Ham. iii. ii. 66 And crooke the pregnant hindges of the knee. 1651 Raleigh's Ghost 21 The star of Venus .. crooking it self into homes, as the moon doth. 1862 T. Morrall Needle-making 23 Hardening needles in oil instead of water, as the oil did not crook them so much. 1875 Blackmore A. Lorraine III. v. 69 The air was so full of rheumatism that no man could crook his arm to write a sermon.

fb. To curl (hair). Obs. rare. 1340 Ayenb. 177 pe men J>et dofc> zuo grat payne ham to kembe.. and ine hare here wel to croki.

1586 W. Webbe Eng. Poetrie (Arb.) 75 Neither., thy beloude Doues..Nor prettie Turtles trim, will cease to crooke. 1611 Cotgr., Getndre.. to crooe, crooke, or mourne as a doue.

crook-back ('krukbaek). [See crook a.] 11. A crooked back. Obs. 1508 [see crook a.]. 1709 Swift Merlin's Proph., Bosse, is an old english word for hump-shoulder, or crook-back. 1710 Palmer Proverbs 98 The deformity of a squint eye, red hair, or a crook-back.

2. One who has a crooked back; a hunchback. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. 330 Edmunde, that is of wryters surnamed Crowke backe.. was put by .. for his deformytye. x577 St. Aug. Manual 51 Any lame man, any crooke backe. x593 Shaks. j Hen. VI, 11. ii. 96,1 Crooke-back, here I stand to answer thee. 1648 Gage West. Ind. xii. (1655) 45 Dwarfes, crook-backs or any monstrous persons.

crook-backed ('krukbaekt), a. [f. prec. + -ed.] Having a crooked back: hunchbacked. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes C ij a, The said ypocras was of littel stature, grete heded, croke backed. 1513 More

CROOKDOM

CROOKLE

41

in Grafton Chron. II. 758 Richard the thirde sonne .. was .. crooke backed, his left shoulder much higher then his right. 1611 Bible Lev. xxi. 20 Or crooke-backt or a dwarfe. 1826 Milman A. Boleyn, Landing at Tower, Those poor babes, their crook-back’d uncle murder’d. 'crookdom. [f. crook sb. 13 + -dom.] The realm of crooks. 1921 Glasgow Herald 23 Apr. 4 The brilliant amateur investigator, whose uncanny intuition and superman brain have paralysed the ranks of ‘crookdom’. 1929 Daily Express 7 Jan. 9 Story of a careless young athlete’s adventures in crookdom. crooked ('krukid), a.

Forms: 3-6 croked, 4-6

squash: cf. crook-neck; -shouldered, etc. adjs.

U.S.),

-pated,

1382 Wyclif Lev. xxi. 20 If crokid rigge or bleer eyed. a t533 Ld. Berners Huon xxi. 63 He is.. crokyd shulderyd. 1600 Shaks. A.Y.L. hi. ii. 86 A crooked-pated olde.. Ramme. 1691 Land. Gaz. No. 2691/4 A dark brown-bay Mare.. crooked Legg’d behind. 1705 Bosman Guinea 264 Crooked-bills and several sorts of Snipes. 1784 Massachusetts Spy 22 Apr. 1/1 Crooked neck squash. 1796-1801 Fessenden Orig. Poems (1806) 134 Like a nice crook’d neck’d squash on the ground. 1853 Hickie tr. Aristoph. (1887) I. 321 These here crooked-clawed birds. 1865 Trollope Belton Est. xiii. 142 Small and crookedbacked. 1871 CD. Warner Summer in Garden viii. 104 The summer squash .. was nearly all leaf and blow, with only a sickly crooked-necked fruit after a mighty fuss.

-id, -yd, (4 kr-), 5 cruked, (crowkyt), 6 Sc. crukit,

7 (Shaks.) crook’d, 4- crooked. [Partly pa. pple. of crook v., partly f. crook sb.

+

-ed, as in

hunched, etc.: the formation from the sb. may even have been the earlier.]

1. a. Bent from the straight form; having (one or more) bends or angles; curved, bent, twisted, tortuous, wry. not

‘straight’

Applied to everything which is (of which

crooked

is

now

the

ordinary opposite). a 1225 Ancr. R. (MS. Cleop.) \>e cat of helle .. wifi crokede crokes. 1382 Wyclif Isa. xxvii. 1 Leuyathan a crookid wounde serpent. 1393 Langl. P. PI. C. in. 29 Shal neuere .. on croked kene t>orne kynde fygys wexe. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour 23 A1 her lyff after she hadd her nose al croked. c 1460 Medulla Gram, (in Promp. Parv. 80), Cambuca, a buschoppys cros or a crokid staf. 1534 Tindale Luke in. 5 Crocked thinges shalbe made streight. 1551 Recorde Pathw. Knowl. 1, All other lines, that go not right forth . . but boweth any waye.. are called Croked lynes. 1591 Lyly Sappho 11. i, Juniper, the longer it grew, the crookeder it wexed. 1607 Shaks. Cor. 11. i. 62 If the drinke. .touch my Palat aduersly, I make a crooked face at it. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. 11. xvi. 111 Shipwrights and boat makers will choose those crooked pieces of timber. 1717 Berkeley Tour in Italy §27 Streets open.. but crooked. 1810 Scott Lady of L. 1. xxiii, That falchion’s crooked blade. b. crooked stick: see stick sb.1 12.

2. a. Of persons: Having the body or limbs bent out of shape; deformed; bent or bowed with age. Hence transf. as an epithet of age. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 34/18 He .. maude hole .. Meseles and pe crokede. 1377 Langl. P. PI. B. xi. 186 Ac calleth pe careful J>er-to pe croked and pe pore. 1430 Lydg. Chron. Troy iv. xxx, In my croked age. 01533 Ld. Berners Huon xxiii. 68 The crokyd dwarfe. 1628 Milton Vacation Exerc. 69 A Sybil old, bow-bent with crooked age. 1718 Freethinker No. 92. 258 You would have thought she had been crooked from her Infancy. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. n. xv, A pert crooked little chit. fb. of an old decrepit horse. Obs. 1470-85 Malory Arthur x. lxxxiv, Whan that knyghte sawe sire palomydes bounden vpon a croked courser, a 1533 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) Q, There is not so croked a hors. 3. fig. a. The reverse of ‘straight’ in figurative senses (esp. with reference to moral character and conduct); deviating from rectitude or uprightness; not straightforward; dishonest, wrong, perverse; perverted, out of order, awry. a 1225 Ancr. R. 102 \>e cat of helle .. mid clokes of crokede & of kene uondunges. 01340 Hampole Psalter xxxi. 14 Krokid of hert ere pa. 1508 Fisher Wks. (1876) I. 240 The wyll of some is so croked. 1591 Shaks. Two Gent. iv. i. 22 If crooked fortune had not thwarted me. 1611 Bible Deut. xxxii. 5 They are a peruerse and crooked generation. 1660 H. More Myst. Godliness v. xvii. 204 A very crooked Objection both from the Jew and Atheist. 1711 Pope Temp. Fame 411 Of crooked counsels and dark politicks. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones vn. xv, This young gentleman, though somewhat crooked in his morals, was perfectly straight in his person. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 245 Perfect in the practice of crooked ways. b. colloq. Dishonestly come by; made, obtained,

or

sold

in

a

way

that

is

not

straightforward. 1864 Hotten Slang. Diet. (ed. 3) 112 Crooked, a term used among dog-stealers, and the ‘fancy’ generally, to denote anything stolen. 1876 N. Amer. Rev. CXXIII. 301 Another house testified.. that half its entire annual product was ‘crooked’. 1891 Farmer Diet. Amer., Crooked whiskey, illicitly distilled whiskey upon which no excise has been paid. 1892 R. Boldrewood Nevermore I. x. 180 He was riding a crooked horse when he was took. 1898 Daily News 27 Aug. 6/6 Telling him that he rather thought he had bought ‘a crooked lot’. 1902 Daily Chron. 26 Aug. 6/6 In the event of his being found .. to be dealing in ‘crooked’ things, or refusing to give information as to where he got his stuff. c. Austral, and N.Z. slang. = crook a. 2 c; esp. in phr. crooked on, angry at. Usu. pronounced (krukt). 1944 L. Glassop HV were Rats 1. viii. 48 Ya oughtn’ ter feel crooked on things. I s’pose it’s because Bertha’s outa town? 1957 'N. Culotta’ They're a Weird Mob( 1958) vi. 86 ‘Are you not ashamed of yourself?’ ‘Yeah, I’m real crooked on me.’ 4. quasi-atfo. In a crooked course or position; not straight. 1545 Ascham Toxoph. (R.), If the younge tree growe croked. 1549 Compl. Scot. xix. 159 Sche 3eid crukit, bakuart, and on syd. 1864 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 220 Pictures .. which were hung up all crooked. 5. Comb., as crooked-bill, a name for the avocet; f crooked-rig (rig = back), crook-back; b.

parasynthetic,

-eyed,

-houghed,

as

crooked^backed,

-legged,

-lined,

-clawed, -lipped,

crooked-neck(ed) (spec, applied to a variety of

crookedly (’krukidli), adv. [f. crooked + -ly2.] In a crooked manner (see the adj.). £•1374 Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 171 She..al crampisshed hir limmes crokedly. 1398 Trevisa Barth, de P.R. xvm. ix. (1495) 760 Some serpentes crepyth and glydyth .. crokydly. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 140 \>e yjen to loke asquynt eiper crokidliche. 1578 Chr. Prayers in Priv. Prayers (1851) 437 That we talk not smoothly, and walk crookedly. 1655 Digges Compl. Ambass. 161 The .. Ambassador.. used himself very crookedly, perniciously, and maliciously against the State. 1785 Phil. Trans. LXXV. 219 A crookedly branching nebula. 1866 Mrs. Gaskell Wives & Dau. xi, A shawl crookedly put on. 1874 Mahaffy Soc. Life Greece iii. 60 footn., The men who.. decide crookedly in the agora and banish justice.

crookedness (’krukidnis). [f. as prec. + -ness.] The quality or state of being crooked. 1. lit. a., generally. 1398 Trevisa Barth, de P.R. xvii. iv. (1495) 605 The fer stretchyth vpryght wythoute ony crokydnesse. 1447 Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 257 Lyht..rhyt furth procedyth wyth owte crokydnesse. 1677 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. 1. ii. 55 The apparent crookedness of the Staff in a double medium of Air and Water. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. &? It. Jrnls. (1872) I. 16 This legend may account for any crookedness of the street.

b. Bodily deformity. 1398 Trevisa Barth, de P.R. v. xxviii. (1495) 138 The cause of shrynkynge and crokidnes of the honde. 1547 Boorde Brev. Health clxiv. 59 Crokednes or curvytie in the backe or shoulders. 1692 Locke Educ. Wks. 1812. IX. 14 Narrow breasts .. ill lungs, and crookedness, are the .. effects of hard boddice and clothes that pinch.

fc. Math. Curvature.

Obs. rare.

1651 Hobbes Leviath. 11. xxvii. 156 All deviation from a strait line is equally crookednesse. 1656 tr. Hobbes' Elem. Philos. (1839) 294 The crookedness of the arch of a circle is everywhere uniform.

2. fig. Deviation from rectitude; moral obliquity; perversity, etc.: see crooked 3. C1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 273 Sich crokidnesse bringit? a3en derknesse of mannis liif. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 393 The crookednesse of my lucke. 1673 Lady's Call. 11. i. 59 Youth.. easily warps into a crookedness. 1803 Wellington in Gurw. Desp. II. 351 There is a crookedness in his policy. 1875 Manning Mission H. Ghost xi. 305 Moral obliquities bring on a crookedness which hinders the faculty of discerning the rectitude of God’s truth.

3. (with pi.) An instance of crookedness; a crooked or bent part. Also/ig. A ‘crooked’ piece of conduct. 1654 Whitlock Zootomia 496 As Carpenters bring the square to great unweildy crookednesses, that cannot be moved to it. 1766 Pennant Zool. (R.) x, A variety of trout, which is naturally deformed, having a strange crookedness near the tail. 1869 Trollope He Knew xxviii. (1878) 159 He lived by the crookednesses of people.

Crookes (kruks).

The name of Sir William Crookes (1832-1919), English scientist, used attrib. or in the possessive to designate phenomena observed and apparatus invented by him. Crookes or Crookes’s (dark) space, the dark space between the negative glow and the cathode of a vacuum tube, observed when the pressure is very low; also called cathode dark space, cathodic dark space. Crookes or Crookes’s glass, a type of glass which protects the eyes from intense radiation, bright sunlight, etc. Crookes or Crookes’s layer, (a) the layer of vapour underlying any mass or liquid in the spheroidal state, insulating it from the surface on which it rests; (b) = Crookes (dark) space. Crookes or Crookes’s radiometer: see radiometer 2. Crookes rays, = cathode rays. Crookes’s tube, a highly evacuated tube in which stratified electric discharges can be observed. 1884 A. Daniell Princ. Physics 325 Let us now suppose that the particles recoiling from the heated surface do not meet other molecules, but impinge on the walls of the vessel. A layer of particles in such a condition is called a Crookes’ layer. 1885 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 249/1 In Crookes’s radiometer the free path is very long. 1889 Cent. Diet., Crookes's tubes. 1892 G. F. Barker Physics 329 The layer of vapor which has to support the drop is called a Crookes layer. 1893 J. J. Thomson Recent Res. Electr. & Magn. 108 Next to this [sc. the negative electrode] there is a comparatively dark region .. called sometimes ‘Crookes’ space’ and sometimes the ‘first dark space’. 1896 Daily News 29 May 5/2 The rays which produce the fluorescence are certainly the Crookes rays. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVIII. 47/2 The Crookes dark space. 1906 Amer. Jrnl. Sci. 4th Ser. XXII. 312 The extremely tenuous condition of the residual elementary gas or gases in a Crookes tube. 1910 Hawkins's Electr. Diet., Crookes' Effect, the radiant effect produced in a vacuum glass tube in which the exhaustion has been carried to a high degree, when electricity is discharged through it between suitable electrodes. 1918 J. H. Parsons Dis. Eye (ed. 3) x. 184 Smoked or orange tinted (not blue) glasses.. are most efficacious when made with Crookes’s glass. 1927 L. B. Loeb Kinetic Theory of Gases vii. 241 The Crookes radiometer, so often seen in opticians’ windows, consisting of a set of mica vanes blackened on one face and mounted on an axis so that they are free to rotate inside a partially evacuated glass vessel and which rotate when radiation falls on them. 1931 Glass Dec. 509/1 Several Crookes glasses were shown. 1958 C. G. Wilson Electr. Magn. xii. 365 At a pressure of IO"2 mm. Hg. or less, the Faraday Dark Space and Negative Glow disappear and the Crooke’s [szc] Dark Space almost fills the tube.

Hence Crookesian ('kruksisn) a., pertaining to Crookes or to instruments invented by him (rare). 1899 Science Siftings XVI. 117/2 The Crookesian scalepan. Ibid., Crookesian radiometer.

crookesite ('kruksait). Min. [ad. Sw. crookesit (A. E. Nordenskiold 1867, in Ofv. K. Vet.Akad. Fork. 1866 XXIII. 366), f. Crookes (the discoverer of thallium): see -ite1.] A brittle, lead-grey selenide of copper, thallium, and silver. 1868 J. D. Dana Syst. Min. (ed. 5) II. ii. 40 Crookesite... Massive, compact; no trace of crystallization. 1946 J. R. Partington Gen. & Inorg. Chem. xvi. 431 The only minerals rich in thallium are crookesite (17 p.c. Tl, with Se, Cu, Ag) and lorandite.

.1

crookedly (’krukidi), a. rare. [f. crooked a. + -Y1.] Crooked.

crooking ('kruknj), vbl. sb.

1907 F. Campbell Shepherd of Stars xv. 170, I call it a very crookedy sort of tune. 1938 M. K. Rawlings Yearling xvii. 203 I’ve lost my boy. My pore crookedy boy.

from the straight line; a bend, curve, curvature.

t 'crooken, v. Obs. Also6croken. [A secondary form of crook v.: cf. straighten.] 1. trans. To make crooked; fig. to pervert. 1552 Huloet, Croken, or make croked. 1563 Homilies 11. Idolatry 11, Saint Augustine .. sayth .. images be of more force to croken an unhappye soule then to teache and instruct it. 1621 Sanderson Serm. (1681) 25 [They] rather choose to crooken the Rule to their own bent. 1680 Baxter Cath. Commun. (1684) 9 By crookening it to any carnal interest. 1825 C. Croker Fairy Leg. 303 When I got up, my back was crookened. 1828 in Craven Gloss.

2. intr.

To be or become crooked; to bend.

[f. crook

v

+

-ING1.] The action of the verb crook; bending c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. II. 287 )>is crokyng bi litil and litil is now cropen ferre fro Cristis lawe. 1483 Cath. Angl. 85 A Crukynge of pc water, meandir. 1551 Recorde Pathw. Knowl. 11. Introd., In true streightenes without crokinge. 1562 Phaer JEneid. ix, The horsmen kest them seifs in crokings knowen of quainted ground. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1673) 48 Rivers.. [that] by their crooking and winding .. imitate the fashion of a horn.

'crooking, ppl. a. That crooks or bends. 1382 Wyclif Job xxvi. 13 The eche side krokende edder. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1673) 327 A deep, hollow, crooking ulcer.

crookish (’krukif), a. [f.

crook sb. 13 + -ish1 Pertaining to or characteristic of a crook (crook sb. 13) or crooked behaviour, dealings, etc.

1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 1201 It bendeth not, it crookeneth not. 1681 Chetham Angler's Vade-m. i. § 1 (1689) To keep them from warping or crookning.

2.]

t'crooken, ppl. a. Obs. rare. [f. prec., after analogy of strong vbs., e.g. broken.] Crooked.

1927 Spectator 17 Dec. 1083 At the Royalty, The Crooked Billet—terrifyingly, confusingly crookish, with a throatcutting scene against which I warn nervous parents. 1934 E. Bowen Cat Jumps 89 Marianne’s coupe had been run up on to the rough grass, .with its lights out. Its air was lurking and crookish. 1937- Coll. Impressions (1950) 117 The Alchemist, with its crookish hilarity.

1589 Gold. Mirr. (1851) 52 Cho ho hath croken bill her maister left astray?

crookery ('krukori). [f. crook sb. 13 4- -ery 2.] The state or condition of being a crook; the dealings or behaviour of crooks; the world of crooks (see crook sb. 13). 1927 Observer 15 May 15/2, I do not call it good ‘crookery’ when the situation can only be made by turning out the light. 1928 Daily Express 22 June 10/3 If a boy came to me and said: ‘I have received a call to crookery.’ I949*‘J. Tey’ Brat Farrar x. 81 A very.. intelligent crook. On the highest level of crookery. 1962 ‘E. Ferrars’ Busy Body vi. 67 They probably want to use you as an alibi for Tom while Tom’s up to crookery of some sort. 1967 M. Stand Diana is Dead vii. 104 ‘You seem to know a lot about crookery,’ the sergeant said.

t'crookle, v.1 Obs. rare. [dim. of crook v.1: cf. crinkle.] intr. To crook or bend in a curve. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. (1586) 138 The homes must rather crookle inward, then growe straight up.

t'crookle, v.2 Obs. rare. [dim. of

crook v.2]

intr. To coo as a pigeon. 1580 Baret Alv. C 1673 To Crookle like a doue, or pigeon. 1617 Minsheu Ductor, To £rookie like a pigeon, [Fr.] gemir. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Croo or Crookel, to make a Noise like a Dove, or Pigeon.

CROOKLESS crookless (’kruklis), a. Without a crook. 1849 Rock Ch. of Fathers II. vi. 199 This bordon or crookless staff.

'crook-neck.

U.S. [crook sb. C.] A name given to varieties of squash (Cucurbita maxima) having the neck or narrow basal part recurved. 1848 Lowell Biglow P. Poems 1890 II. 10 Agin’ the chimbly crooknecks hung, i860 Emerson Cond. Life, Wealth (1861) 66 The cantelopes, crook-necks, and cucumbers.

crook-necked, a. Having a crooked neck; spec. U.S., applied to a variety of squash (cf. crookneck and CROOKED a. 5 b). a 1529 Skelton Ei. Rummyng 427 Croke necked like an owl. 1818 Massachusetts Spy 11 Nov. (Th.), Upwards of ten tons of the best crook-necked winter Squashes. 1945 New Eng. Homestead 27 Oct. 3/2 They are .. the size of a summer crooknecked squash.

crool (kru:l), v. rare. [app. an onomatopoeic formation, associated initially with the imitative group, croo, crood, croodle, crook, crookle, croak, and perhaps with croon, with echoic fashioning of the latter part.] intr. To make an inarticulate sound more liquid and prolonged than a croak. 1580 Baret Alv. C 1672 To Croole, mutter, or speake softe to ones selfe: to rumble. 1617 Minsheu Ductor, To Croole, mutter, or speake softly to himselfe. 1851 S. Judd Margaret xiv. (1871) 102 Frogs.. eroded, chubbed, and croaked. 1892 Sunday Mag. June 425/1 Baby is lying in mother's lap, eroding and gurgling.

CROP

42 Croon a little lullaby. 1931 Durante & Kefoed Night Clubs 227 His band stressed the soft notes, and Rudy [Vallee] crooned his way right into the heart of the nation. 1932 Amer. Speech VII. 250 Bing Crosby plaintively croons that he has ‘Found a Million Dollar Baby in the Five and Ten Cent Store’. 1933 Fortune Aug. 47/2 Their use of ‘jazz’ includes both Duke Ellington’s Afric brass and Rudy Vallee crooning Tm a Dreamer, Aren't We All?

Hence 'crooning vbl. sb. and ppl. a. 1588 A. Hume Hymns, Triumph of the Lord 234 (Bannatyne Club) 41 Be cruining Bulls of heigh and haughtie minde. 1828 Southey Brough Bells, That cruning of the kine. 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede xviii, The cocks and hens.. made only crooning subdued noises. 1872 Black Adv. Phaeton xix. 270 As soft and musical as the crooning of a wood-pigeon. 1923 B. James (title of song) Carolina Mammy. A real Southern mammy song—the crooning kind. 1927 Melody Maker Aug. 784/3 ‘Muddy Water’ has a feature in a sweet crooning vocal introduction. 1929 Ibid. Dec. 1139/3 His crooning style of singing. 1931 Musical Courier (N.Y.) in Oxf. Compan. Mus. (1938) 1018/2 No jazz or cheap crooning stuff had a place in her repertoire. 1932 Literary Digest 30 Jan. 23/2 ‘You can’t help thinking badly of any man who would degrade himself whining in that way .. ’ he said of crooning. 1935 Wodehouse Blandings Castle v. 116 Everybody knows what Crooning Tenors are... They sit at the piano and gaze into a girl’s eyes and sing in a voice that sounds like gas escaping from a pipe about Love and the Moonlight and You. 1959 Chambers's Encycl. XII. 570/2 In that type of vocal performance known as ‘crooning’ the lower range of the voice is chiefly used, and that more in the manner of conversation than of singing, though falsetto notes are often introduced. There is a noticeable gliding or sliding from one pitch to another and the intonation is often deliberately indefinite... Characteristic also is a certain oscillation or catch in the voice as it comes to rest momentarily upon a sustained sound.

crool (kruil), sb. rare. [f. the vb.] The sound described under crool v.\ = COOING vbl. sb. 1.

croon (kru:n), sb. Chiefly Sc. Also 6 crone, 8-9

1938 W. de la Mare Memory 71 The monotonous crool of a dove.

crune. [f. CROON 7).] 1. A loud, deep sound, such as the bellow of a bull or the boom of a large bell. Sc. or north, dial.

croompled,

obs. form of crumpled.

croon (kru:n), v. Chiefly Sc. Forms: 5-9 Sc. croyn, (5-7 croyne, 9 croin), 6 Sc. cruin, 6-9 crune, 8- croon. [Originally only northern, chiefly Sc. (kron, kryn), whence in 19th c. Eng. mainly since Burns. It corresponds to Du. kreunen to groan, whimper, MDu. kronen to lament, mourn loudly, groan, MLG. kronen to growl, grumble, scold, EFris. kronen to cause to weep; cf. also OHG. chronnan(:—njan), chronan, MLG. kroenen to chatter, prattle, babble, and chron, cron adj. talkative, chattering, noisy. There is no trace of the word in OE., and it appears to be one of the LG. words that came into Sc. early in the ME. period: its form is that of a word in ME 0. (In Towneley Myst., as in MSc., oy = o.)] 1. intr. To utter a continued, loud, deep sound; to bellow as a bull, to roar, low; to boom as a bell. Sc. or north, dial. ISI3 Douglas JEneis vi. iv. 40 The ground begouth to rummys, croyn, and ring, Vndir thair feit [sub pedibus mugire solum], 1588 [see crooning ppl. a.]. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Reer, In tearmes of hunting we say, that the red Deere bells, and the fallow troytes or croynes. 1674-91 Ray N.C. Words 140 To Crune, mugire. 1787 Burns Holy Fair xxvi, Now Clinkumbell, wi' rattlin tow, Begins to jow an' croon. 1813 Hogg Queen's Wake ii. Wks. (1876) 35 Even the dull cattle crooned and gazed. 1828 Southey Brough Bells Poems VI. 227 That lordly Bull of mine.. How loudly to the hills he crunes, That crune to him again.

2. a. To utter a low murmuring sound; to sing (or speak) in a low murmuring tone; to hum softly, spec, to sing popular sentimental songs in a low, smooth voice, esp. into a closely-held microphone (see quot.1959 s.v. crooning below). (The earlier quots. may have been ironical or humorous uses of sense 1.) c 1460 Towneley Myst. 116 Primus P. For to syng .. I can. Sec. P. Let se how ye croyne. Can ye bark at the mone? 1578 Gude & Godlie Ballates (1868) 179 The Sisters gray befoir this day, Did crune within thair cloister, a 1818 Macneil Poems (1844) 56 Whan, crooning quietly by himsel’, He framed the lay. 1832 Motherwell Morrison vii, To wander by this green burnside, And hear its waters croon. 1877 A. B. Edwards Up Nile xix. 571, I hear a mother crooning to her baby. 1920 Catal. Victor Records, Standard Songs. ‘Croon, Croon, Underneat’ de Moon’ (Clutsam). 1931 H. Arlen (title of song in the musical production You Said It) Learn to croon. 1933 Punch 2 Aug. 122/1 Bing Crosby the crooner.. croons to his feminine class and is crooned to in reply. 1940 War Illustr. 5 Jan. p. ii/2, I used to sup while Roy Fox’s ‘boys’ played joyously with Les Allen ‘crooning’.

1513 Douglas JEneis xii. xii. 56 Lyke as twa bustuus bullis.. Ruschand togiddir with cronys and feirfull grants. 1785 Burns Halloween xxvi, The Deil, or else an outler Quey, Gat up an’ gae a croon. 1813 Hogg Queen's Wake 204 The bittern mounts the morning air. And rings the sky with quavering croon. 1858 M. Porteous Souter Johnny 14 The bell’s last croon.

2. A low murmuring or humming sound, as of a tune hummed in an undertone. 1725 Ramsay Gentle Sheph. 11. ii, She [a witch] can o’ercast the night, and cloud the moon, And mak the deils obedient to her crune. 1837 R- Nicoll Poems {1843) 82 The cushat’s croon. 1865 Kingsley Herew. xii, She thought over the old hag’s croon.

crooner

('kru:na(r)). [f. croon v. -F -er.] a. One who croons. In Sc. a name for a fish, the Grey Gurnard (Trigla gurnardus), from the noise it makes when landed. 1808 in Jamieson. 1838 Proc. Berw. Nat. Club I. 170 Trigla gurnardus.. the Gurnett or Crooner. 1884 G. H. Boughton in Harper's Mag. Dec. 73/1 We.. discovered each other—the crooner and I. b. spec. A singer who croons (see croon v. 2 a). 1930 Vanity Fair July 57 Just call them Crooners. 1932 Thorne Smith Bishop's Jaegers (1934) 3*4 That sound .. is made nightly by one of the nation’s most popular crooners. 1933 [see croon v. 2 a]. 1948 Penguin Music Mag. Feb. 25 The B.B.C. could start the campaign by refusing to make ‘stars’ of its crooners. 1954 Granta 6 Nov. 23/1 Dickie Valentine turns out, from his old cuttings, to be a crooner, as I had suspected.

crooningly ('kruinir)li), adv. [f.

crooning ppl.

a. + -ly2.] In a crooning manner. 1902 Munsey's Mag. Apr. 42 ‘Ah, no, ah, no,’ she said crooningly, as if she comforted the child. 1928 D. L. Sayers Unpleasantness at Bellona Club iii. 31 A melody of Parry’s formed itself crooningly under his fingers.

croop(e,

var. of croup.

crooper,

obs. form of crupper.

croos, var. of

crose Obs., crosier.

feroose, v. Obs. Also 6 crowse. [? a. OF. croussir, crusir: see crush.] To crush. 1567 Drant Horace Epist. ii. i. F viij, He that did crowse and culpon once Hydra of hellish spyte [Lat. diram qui contudit hydram]. 1611 Cotgr., Esmarmeler, to crush, croose, or burst in peeces. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 130 They can’t strike sail, or notch the wheels, and croose the springs, at work within them, in a trice.

croose, -ly,

var. of crouse, -ly.

b. To make murmuring lament or moan. Sc. or north, dial.

croosie, var. of

1823 Galt Entail I. ii. 11 Frae the time o’ the sore news, she croynt awa, and her life gied out like the snuff o’ a can’le. 1830-Lawrie T. 1. ii. 6 Croining and dwining, peaking and pining, at the fire-side. 1880 Antrim & Down Gloss., Croon, to lament, wail. 3. trans. To sing (a song, tune, etc.) in a low

feroot1. Obs. rare. [In first quot. perhaps the same word as Sc. croot, cruit (krYt) the smallest pig in a litter, a diminutive child or person, and north, dial, crut dwarf. Cf. also Welsh erwt boy, lad, chap, little fellow.] (See quots.)

murmuring undertone; to hum. spec, to sing (a song, etc.) in a low, smooth voice (cf. crool sb.).

1614 T. Freeman Rubbe & Great Cast xliv. Civ, Caspia, the decrepit old rich Croot [rime boot]. 1808-25 Jamieson, Croot, a puny feeble child; the smallest pig in a litter, etc. 1825 Brockett Gloss. N.C. Wds., Crut, a dwarf, or anything curbed in its growth. 1883 Huddersfield Gloss., Crut.. in some parts means a dwarf.

1790 Burns Tam O’ Shanter 84 Whiles crooning o’er some auld Scots sonnet. 1848 Dickens Dombey (C.D. ed.) 60 Paul sometimes crooning out a feeble accompaniment. 1872 Holland Marb. Proph. 60 Over the cradle the mother hung Softly crooning a slumber song. 1915 C. Lean (title of song in the musical production The Blue Paradise) The tune they croon in the U.S.A. 1925 H. D. Kerr (title of song)

cruisie Sc.

feroot2. Mining. Obs. [? F. croute crust.] ‘A substance found about the ore in the lead mines

at Mendip, being a mealy, white, soft stone, matted with ore’ (Chambers Cycl. Suppl.). 1668 Phil. Trans. III. 770 There is Sparr and Caulk about the Ore; and another substance, which they call the Crootes which is a mealy white stone, marted with Ore and soft. Ibid. It terminates in a dead Earth Clayie, without Croot or Sparr. 1759 B. Martin Nat. Hist. Eng. I. 67.

croot, var. of

crout v.

crootche, obs. form of

crouch.

feroote. Obs. =

criton. 1382 Wyclif Ps. ci. 4 My bones as croote han dried.

crop (krop), sb. Forms: 1- crop; also 1-6 cropp, 3-7 croppe, 4-7 crope, (5 crowpe, croupe, in sense 1), 7-9 Sc. and dial. crap. [OE. crop(p = OLG. *crop(p, MDu. cropip, MLG., LG. and Du. krop, OHG. chropf, MHG., Ger. kropf, ‘swelling in the neck, wen, craw of a bird’, in ON. kroppr hump or bunch on the body, Sw. kropp the body, Da krop swelling under the throat. These various applications indicate a primitive sense of ‘swollen protuberance or excrescence, bunch’. The word has passed from German into Romanic as F. croupe, and It. groppo, F. groupe: see croup, group. OE. had only sense 1, ‘craw of a bird’, and 3, ‘rounded head or top of a herb’; the latter is found also in High German dialects (Grimm, Kropf 4 c); the further developments of ‘head or top’ generally, and of ‘produce of the field, etc.’, appear to be exclusively English. The senses under IV are new formations from the verb, and might be treated as a distinct word.] I. A round protuberance or swelling, the craw. 1. a. A pouch-like enlargement of the oesophagus or gullet in many birds, in which the food undergoes a partial preparation for digestion before passing on to the true stomach; the craw. ciooo iElfric Lev. i. 16 Wurp pone cropp Sc pa federa wiSseftan pset weofod. 1398 Trevisa Barth de P R. v. xliv. (1495) 161 The mete of fowles is kepte in the croppe as it were in a propre spence. 14.. Wyclif (MS.S.) Lev. i. 16 The litil bladdir of the throte or the cropp. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 101/1 Crawe, or crowpe of a byrde. i486 Bk. St. Albans Cvijb, Hawkys that haue payne in theyr croupes. !55S Eden Decades 16 He commaunded the croppe to bee opened of suche as were newely kylled. 1607 Topsell Serpents (1653) 740 They have a crap on the belly from the chin to the breast, like the crap of a Bird. 1780 Cowper Nightingale & Glowworm 12 Stooping down.. He thought to put him in his crop. 1870 Rolleston Anim. Life Introd. 52 The oesophagus.. often expands into a crop.

b. An analogous organ in other animals. 1836 Todd Cycl. Anat. I. 535/1 In the Nautilus it [the gullet] is dilated into a pyriform crop. 1881 Darwin Earthworms i. 17 In most of the species, the oesophagus is enlarged into a crop in front of the gizzard.

fc. The dewlap of an ox; a wen in the neck. 1591 Horsey Trav. (Hakluyt Soc.) 220 A goodly fare white bull.. his crop or gorg hanging down to his knees before him. 1599 A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physicke 89/2 When anye man hath a croppe growinge on him .. applye it on the Croppe, and it helpeth.

2. transf. and fig. The stomach or maw; also the throat. Now Sc. and dial. Cf. gizzard. C1325 Pol. Songs (Camden) 238 The knave crommeth is crop Er the cok crawe. a 1400 Cov. Myst. xxiii. (Shaks. Soc.) 217 I xal this daggare putt in his croppe. a 1575 Wife lapped 88 in Hazl. E.P.P. IV. 184 Which sore would sticke then in thy crop. 1737 Ramsay Sc. Prov. (1776) 31 (Jam.) He has a crap for a’corn. 1808-25 Jamieson s.v., That'll craw in your crap, that will be recollected to your discredit, it will be matter of reproach to you. 1876 Mid-Yorksh. Gloss., Crop, applied to the throat, or locality of the windpipe. One who manifests hoarseness is alluded to as having a ‘reasty crop’.

II. The (rounded) head; the top part. f3. a. The ‘head’ of a herb, flower, etc., esp. as gathered for culinary or medicinal purposes; a cyme; an ear of corn, a young sprout, etc. Obs. ou3te pe Croiz for-to fo In-to pe holie land. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 346 Roberd due of Normandye pe croys nom atten ende, And 3arked hym wyj? opere to pe holylonde to wende. £1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 226 Sir Edward toke the croice, for his fader to go. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 80 Baldwyn.. preached, and exhorted men to take the Crosse. 1882 Freeman Reign Will. Rufus I. iv. §6. 562 Bohemond took the cross, and rent up a goodly cloak into crosses for his followers.

5. A model or figure of a cross as a religious emblem, set up in the open air or within a building, worn round the neck, etc. £1205 Lay. 31386 He lette sone arere a muchel cros and snare. 1470-85 Malory Arthur xvii. xv, One helde a candel of waxe brennyng and the other held a crosse. 1501 Bury Wills (1850) 88, I bequeth to the parson of Berkhamstede a Seynt Antony crosse. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 801 The Byshops delivered to the king.. the Ball with the Crosse in his left hande. 1648 Ord. 29 Aug. in Scobell Acts 6? Ord. (1658) I. cxviii. 175 Worshippers of Images, Crosses, Crucifixes, or Reliques. 1878 Edith Thompson Hist. Eng. iii. 16 At.. Heavenfield .. Oswald set up a wooden cross— the first Christian sign reared in Bernicia. 6. A staff surmounted by the figure of a cross,

borne in religious processions, and esp. as an emblem of office before an archbishop. c 1290 Beket 1848 in 5. Eng. Leg. I. 159 Seint Thomas.. to Caunterburi him drou3 .. With croyz and with taperes pe contreie a-3ein him drou3- 1460 Capgrave Chron. 134 Prelatis, with here crosses and croses. c 1465 Eng. Chron. (Camden 1856) 94 Thomas Bourchier archebysshop of Caunterbury .. wythe hys crosse before hym, went forthe .. toward Londoun. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 75 A great contention arose .. whether the Archebishop of Yorke might beare his Crosse in the Diocesse of Cauntorbury or no. 1645 Evelyn Diary 11 Apr., Some of the religious orders and fraternities sung.. the lights and crosses going before. 1814 Scott Ld. of Isles 11. xxii, With many a torch-bearer before, And many a cross behind. 1849 Rock Ch. of Fathers II. 232 An archbishop is seen figured leaning on the staff of his cross.

7. a. A monument in the form of a cross, or having a cross upon it, erected in places of resort, at crossways, etc., for devotional purposes, or as a devout or solemn memorial of some event, as a grave-stone, and the like. Often also serving to indicate a preaching or meeting place, and qualified as market-, preaching-, weeping-cross, for which see these words. £1420 Sir Amadace xxx, Quen he come sex mile the cite fro, A crosse partut the way a-toe. 1470-85 Malory Arthur

47 iv. v, He.. rode longe in a forest tyll they came to a crosse, and there aly3t and sayd his prayers deuoutely. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 677 Into Stanemure ane cors of stane wes set, Quhair the merchis of thir tua kingis met. 1596 Shaks. Merch. V. v. i. 31 She doth stray about By holy crosses where she kneeles and prayes For happy wedlocke houres. 1643 Evelyn Diary Nov., In the way were faire crosses of stone carv’d with fleurs de lys at every furlong’s end. 1851 D. Wilson Preh. Ann. II. iv. iv. 283 Memorial crosses, graven with inscriptions in the Northern Runes.

b. spec. The monument of this kind occupying a central position in a town or village, formerly used as a centre for markets, meetings, proclamations, etc.; a market-cross.. £ 1465 Eng. Chron. (Camden 1856) 75 [Bp. Pocock] vtterly abiured, reuoked, and renounced the sayde articles opynly at Powles Crosse. 1553 Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 80 The xix. day of [July].. was proclamyd lady Ma[ ry to] be qwene of Ynglond at the crose in Cheppe. 1554 Chron. Q. Mary (Camden 1850) 78 Ther preched at Poles crosse one doctour Watson. 1596 Shaks. Tam. Shr. 1. i. 137 To be whipt at the hie crosse euerie morning. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Sing, Thou hast not cried it at the crosse. 1702 Lond. Gaz. 3869/3 The Mayor and all the Company went.. to the two Crosses, where Bonfires were prepared. 1786 Burns To J. Kennedy i, If foot or horse E’er bring you in by Mauchline Corse. 1829 Scott Rob Roy Introd., Birrell.. reports that he was hanged at the Cross. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 480 The newly elected members went in state to the City Cross.

c. A market-place, market. Now only local. 1577 Harrison England 11. xviii. (1877) I. 298 They begin to sell.. by the bushell or two.. therby to be seene to keepe the crosse. 1587 Ibid. 300 The crosses sufficientlie furnished of all things. 1724 Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 61 When ye gae to the cross then .. Buy me a pacing horse then. 1813 Picken Poems I. 906 (Jam.) The cadies rang’d about the Corse For messages ay ready.

8. fig. Used as the ensign and symbol of Christianity; the Christian religion, esp. when opposed to other religions. (In later use it becomes more fig., as in messenger, preacher, servant of the cross: cf. next.) soldier, warrior of the Cross: a crusader; hence fig. one actively zealous for the advancement of Christianity. £ 1325 Poem Times Edw. II, 249 in Pol. Songs (Camden) 334 Hii sholde gon to the Holi Lond.. And fihte there for the croiz. 1593 Shaks. Rich. II, iv. i. 94 Streaming the Ensigne of the Christian Crosse, Against black Pagans, Turkes, and Saracens. 1659 B. Harris ParivaVs Iron Age 81 Let us now take leave of the Countries, of the Half Moon .. and return .. into those of the Crosse. 1756-7 tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) II. 199 Constantine, in acknowledgment of his signal victory obtained by the cross, was baptized on this spot. 1812 Byron Ch. Har. 1. xxxv, Red gleam’d the cross, and waned the crescent pale. 1830 J. B. Waterbury Hymn, Soldiers of the Cross, arise. 1892 Q. Rev. Jan. 61 A Sufi.. is, by profession, tolerant or even sympathetic in the presence of the Cross.

9. fig. The crucifixion and death of Christ as the culmination of His redemptive mission, and the central fact of the Christian religion; the atonement wrought on the cross. £1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 45 By pyr\ holy crois pu hast a3en bou3t pe world. 1382-1 Cor. i. 18 For the word of the cros is folye sothli to men perischinge. 1549 Bk. Com. Prayer, Litany, By thy crosse and passion.. Good lorde deliuer us. 1603 Const. & Canons Eccles. No. 30. 1611 Bible j Cor. i. 18 The preaching of the Crosse. 1782 Cowper Progr. Err. 622 The Cross once seen is death to every vice. 1845 G. A. Poole Churches iv. 27 The doctrine of the cross, as the one great rule and hope of the world. 1891 T. Mozley The Son xxxvii. 232 Rome, which insists more on the cross than on the divine character, the divine life, and the divine teaching.

10. a. A trial or affliction viewed in its Christian aspect, to be borne for Christ’s sake with Christian patience; often in phr. to bear, take one's cross, with reference to Matt. x. 38, xvi. 24, etc. 1382 Wyclif Matt. x. 38 He that takith nat his crosse, and sueth me, is not worthi of me. 1528 Tindale Obed. Chr. Man Doctr. Treat. (Parker Soc.) 310 Mark what a cross God suffered to fall on the neck of his elect Jacob. 1550 Crowley Last Trump 62 Though thou shouldest perishe for fode, yet beare thou thy crosse patientlie. 1644-5 Direct. Publ. Prayer in Scobell Acts & Ord. (1658) 1. li. 79 To pray for., the sanctified use of blessings and crosses. 1669 Penn {title), No Cross no Crown; a Discourse shewing.. that the .. daily bearing of Christ’s Cross, is the alone way to the rest and kingdom of God. 1779 Cowper Olney Hymns xxviii, We learn our lighter cross to bear. 1920 A. Huxley Limbo 184 You must try and be strong and bear it bravely. We all have our cross to bear. 1963 A. Heron Towards Quaker View of Sex iv. 40 They must practise self-denial and ‘bear their cross’.

CROSS 11. a. Any object, figure, or mark of the same shape as the instrument of crucifixion, i.e. of two bars or lines crossing each other, used as a sign, ornament, etc. •(■ cross in the hands: a finger¬ post. For the various kinds of crosses, see sense 18. £ 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 294 Wij? an hoot iren make a cros upon pe middil of pe passioun as depe as pe deed fleisch is. 1547 in Vicary's Anat. (1888) App. iii. 161 Euerye howseholder.. whych .. hath bein vysyted with the plage .. shall cause to be fyxed .. a certein Crosse of saynt Anthonye devysed for that purpose, etc. 1563 Fulke Meteors (1640) 45 Raynebowes .. crosses, and divers lights.. by divers refractions and reflections of beames. 1626 Bacon Sylva §494 They make a little Cross of a Quill. 1643 Evelyn Diary 24 Dec., The body of the Church formes a Crosse. 1762 Foote Orator 1, A cross in the hands, with letters to direct you on your road. 1771-Maid of B. 1, Pushing forth his fingers like a cross in the hands to point out the different roads on a common. 1776 Withering Brit. Plants (1796) I. 296, 4 petals, forming a cross. 1828 Jane Seaton ix. (ed. 2) 61 Her only ornament, a golden chain with a Cornelian Cross attached to it.

b. A similar mark or sign of small size used to mark a passage in a book, etc.; a mark made, in place of his signature, by one who cannot write. In the latter case originally belonging to 4. c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. 1. §5 The whiche lyne, from a lityl croys + in the bordure vn-to the centre of the large hole. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 36 Now will I make a crosse on this gate. 1588 J. Mellis Briefe Instr. F ij b, In the margent.. yee shall set a crosse -I- which signifieth the error to rectify in the proper place. 1687 W. Sherwin in Magd. Coll. (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) 225 Charnock.. crossed all their names. They.. struck off their crosses. 1853 Lytton My Novel v. ix, He sate .. with his steel-pen in his hand, and making crosses here and notes of interrogation there.

c. A natural cross-shaped marking. 1824 Bewick Hist. Quadrupeds (ed. 8) 239 It has the Mule-cross on the withers like most of the Barbary Caracals. 1855 Wood Anim. Life (ed. 2) 420 There is also a black mark running along the spine, and another crossing the shoulders, the two forming a cross.

12. A constellation within the Antarctic Circle, in which four bright stars are arranged somewhat in the figure of a cross; more fully Southern Cross. 1555 Eden Decades 239 The starres cauled the Crosse, are seene very hyghe. Ibid. 253. 1594 Blundevil Exerc. iv. xix. (ed. 7) 473 There are lately found out.. foure other Images towards the South Pole, as the Crosse or Crosier, the South Triangle. 1671 Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. (1711) 48 A small black Cloud, which the foot of the Cross is in. 1700 S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 353 We saw again the Northern Star to our great Joy; till then we had only the Southern Cross in sight. 1868 Lockyer Heavens (ed. 3) 333 The Southern cross—the pole-star of the South. 1892 R. Kipling Barrack-room Ball, Eng. Flag ix, Where the lone wave fills with fire beneath the Southern Cross.

13. Formerly in Scotland: A signal (app. orig. a cross formed of two sticks charred and dipped in blood) sent through the district to summon the inhabitants: see crostarie, fire or fiery cross. 1615 Act Bailiary in Barry Orkney (1805) App. 458 (Jam.) Ilk house and family shall carefully and diligently direct the corss .. to his next neighbours, with ane sufficient bearer, for admonishing the people.. to conveen. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. (1871) I. v. 269 The mysterious cross of yew, first set on fire, and then quenched in the blood of a goat, was sent forth to summon all the Campbells, from sixteen to sixty.

14. a. A part of an anchor, hinge, or other object, which occupies a position transverse to the main part, f b. The cross-piece dividing the blade of a sword, etc. from the hilt, and serving as a guard to the hand; the cross-guard. Obs. 1470-85 Malory Arthur ix. xxxix, Kynge Marke.. kneled adoune and made his othe vpon the crosse of the suerd. c 1477 Caxton Jason 102 b, His swerde .. into the paunche of the dragon up to the crosse. 1590 Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons 4 Short arming Daggers of convenient forme and substance, without hilts, or with little short crosses. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 18 When the Joint.. on the Tail, is pind in the Joint.. in the Cross, the whole Hinge is called a Cross-Garnet. 1709 Lond. Gaz. No. 4570/4 Lost.. a piece of Anchor, being the Cross and a peice of the Shank.

f 15. The transept or cross aisle of a cruciform church. Obs. 1658 Dugdale St. Paul's 160 And afterwards bestowed four thousands pounds in repairing of the South Cross. 1702 Lond. Gaz. No. 3804/2 The House of Commons were seated .. in the North Cross of the Abbey.

16. A surveyor’s instrument; a cross-staff.

b. In a general sense: A trouble, vexation, annoyance; misfortune, adversity; sometimes (under the influence of the verb) anything that thwarts or crosses. Cf. sense 27.

1669 Sturm y Mariner's Mag. 11. xiii. 81 Taking off one of the Crosses, and setting the Staff again. 1807 Hutton Course Math. II. 56 The cross consists of two pair of sights set at right angles to each other, on a staff having a sharp point at the bottom, to fix in the ground.

1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 17 To banish house of blasphemie, least crosses crosse vnluckelie. 1580 Sidney (J.), Wishing unto me many crosses and mischances in my love, whensoever I should love. 1614 Bp. Hall Recoil. Treat. 120 Crosses, after the nature of the Cockatrice, die if they be forseene. 1649 - Cases Consc. (1650) 224 Camillus.. wished some great crosse might befall Rome for the tempering of so high a felicity. 1693 Mem. Cnt. Teckely iv. 10 If it has met with some Crosses of Fortune, it is not in a danger for all that to be overthrown. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull iii. x, After all his losses and crosses. 1853 C. Bronte Villette xxxvii, Doubtless they knew crosses, disappointments, difficulties. 1866 Mrs. H. Wood St. Martin s Eve iii. (1874) 19 Her usual crosses had been but light ones, which she scolded or talked away.

17. Horse-breaking. A ‘dumb jockey’ shaped like the letter X, buckled across the back of a young horse, and having the reins of the snaffle bridle fastened to it, to make him carry his head properly.

11. Any figure or object of this shape.

1833 Reg. Instr. Cavalry I. 74 In order to bring the horse to. . carry his head properly.. the cross may be used.

III. In Heraldry, Insignia of Knighthood, Numismatics, etc. 18. a. Her., etc. A conventional representation of the Christian symbol, or some modification of it, or of two crossing bars, used as an ordinary or charge, as an ornamental figure in art, etc.

CROSS Numerous modifications of the form are recognized, some of them being used as religious symbols; the chief forms are Celtic cross: see Celtic a. 2; Greek cross, an upright cross with limbs of equal length; Latin cross, in which the lower limb is longer than the others; St. Andrew’s cross, or cross saltier, a cross shaped like the letter X; cross of St. Anthony or tau cross, in which the transverse bar lies on the top of the upright, like the letter T. Developments of these are the cross patee or formee, in which the limbs are very narrow where they are conjoined, and gradually expand, the whole forming nearly a square; Maltese cross, cross of Malta or cross of eight points, a modification of the preceding, in which the extremity of each limb is indented. Subordinate forms are cross crossed, a cross with each arm crossed, reaching the edges of the shield; cross of chains, a cross composed of four chains fixed to a central annulet; cross of four leaves: see quatrefoil; cross of Jerusalem, a cross having each arm capped by a cross-bar; cross of Lorraine, a cross with two horizontal arms, combining the Greek and Latin crosses; cross of St. Andrew: see above; spec, the saltier-cross of Scotland, white on a blue ground; cross of St. George, the Greek cross, red on a white ground, as used on the English flag; cross of St. James, a Latin cross figured as a sword; cross of St. Julian, a saltier cross having the arms crossed; cross of St. Patrick, the saltier cross of Ireland, red on a white ground; cross of Toulouse, a Maltese cross with a point projecting from each indentation; Buddhist cross, the gammadion or fylfot, r^; capital cross, a Greek cross having each extremity terminated in an ornament like a Tuscan capital; Capuchin cross, a cross having each arm terminated by a ball or disc; ansate c., cabled c., cross BEZANTY, FLORY, etc.: see these words. i486 Bk. St. Albans, Her. Biijb, Cros fixyly, Cros paty Cros croslettis and Cros flory. Ibid. Cj a, The cros is the moost worthi signe emong al signys in armys. 1610 Guillim Heraldry iv. i. (1660) 270 Called a CrosseAvellane, from the resemblance it hath of a Philbert Nut. 1615 Crooke Body of Man 350 [They] doe mutually intersect themselues in the manner of a Saint Andrewes crosse, or this letter X. 1654 Ord. in Scobell Acts & Ord. 11. ix. (1658) 294 The Arms of Scotland, viz. a Cross, commonly called Saint Andrews Cross. 1702 Lond. Gaz. No. 3840/2 A Flag with St. George’s Cross was displaied on the Tower. 1797 Holcroft Stolberg's Trav. (ed. 2) II. xlvi. 114 The long cross .. has been called the Latin cross. 1844 F. A. Paley Church Restorers 15 A cross pattee between four lions combatant. 1882 Cussans Her. iv. 59 No Ordinary is subject to so many modifications of form as the Cross. Ibid. 60 Gwillim mentions thirty-nine different Crosses.. and Robson no less than two-hundred and twenty-two.

b. per or in cross (Her.): in the form or figure of a cross. 1562 Leigh Armorie (1579) 78 He beareth party per Crosse wauey Sable, and Argent. 1572 Bossewell Armorie 11. 37 b, Verte, fiue fermaulx in Crosse. 1610 Guillim Heraldry v. i. (1611) 238 He beareth parted per Crosse Gules and Argent.

19. A figure of the cross used as the ensign a religious order of knights, as the Knights Malta; hence widely adopted as a decoration many orders of knighthood; also, a wearer such a cross.

CROSS

48

of of in of

Grand (f Great) Cross: a decoration of the highest class of such an order, or the person wearing it. Victoria Cross: a British decoration for members of the Army and Navy, instituted Feb. 5th, 1856, as a reward for personal valour. 1651 Evelyn Diary 7 Sept., Crosses of the Order of the Holy Ghost. Ibid., The Chevalier Paul.. his Malta Cross was esteem’d at 10,000 crounes. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. II. 444 Out of the 16 great crosses, the great master [of Knights of St. John] is elected. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 261 This prince had set his heart on some childish distinction, a title or a cross. 1887 Daily News 16 July 5/3 He is a Grand Cross of St. Vladimir. 1889 Whitaker's Aim. 97 The Most Honourable Order of the Bath.. Military Knights Grand Cross. Ibid. 98 Civil Knights Grand Cross .. Honorary Knights Grand Cross.

f20. Numism. The figure of a cross stamped upon one side of a coin; hence, a coin bearing this representation; a coin generally. Obs. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 239 Edward did smyte rounde peny, halfpeny, ferthyng.. \>e kynges side salle be pe hede & his name writen. }?e croyce side what cite it was in coyned & smyten. a 1420 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 685 The feende, men seyne, may hoppe in a pouche, Whan that no crosse therein may appeare. 1530 Palsgr. 211/1, Crosse of coyne, la croix (Tune piece dargent. 1594 Nashe Unfort. Trav. Wks. 1883-4 V. 34 His purse was.. I thinke verily a puritane, for it kept it selfe from anie pollution of crosses. 1638 Heywood Wise Woman 1. i. Wks. 1874 V. 281 lie play the Franck gamester.. I will not leave my selfe one Crosse to blesse me. 1667 Dryden Wild Gallant 1. ii, I have not a cross at present. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xxi, She has been here a fortnight, and we have not yet seen the cross of her money. Ibid., To come and take up an honest house, without cross or coin to bless yourself with. 1797 Sporting Mag. IX. 312 Neither a bun to put in their belly, nor a cross to put in their pockets.

21. cross and (or) pile [F. croix et (ou) pile]. a. The obverse and (or) reverse side of a coin; head or tail; hence sometimes standing for: a coin, money, arch. 1393 [see crouch sb.1]. 1584 R. Scot Discov. Witcher, xm. xxx. 277 How to know whether one cast crosse or pile by the ringing. 1618 Fletcher Chances v. ii, Compel’d with crosse and pile to run of errands. 1698 Sidney Disc. Govt. iii. §30 (1704) 362 He had neither cross nor pile. 1718 J. Chamberlayne Relig. Philos. I. xvi. § 16 If an equal Number of Pieces of Money were thrown up into the Air, the Chance of their falling Cross or Pile.. would be equal, a 1856 Longf. Friar Lubin ii, To mingle.. The goods of others with his own, And leave you without cross or pile.

fb .fig. The two sides of anything; one thing and its opposite. Obs. (1450 Pol. Poems (1859) II. 240 Crosse and pyle standen in balaunce; Trowthe and resoun be no thynge stronge. 01613 Overbury Newes, Countrey Newes Wks. (1856) 175 That good and ill is the crosse and pile in the ayme of life.

1663 Cowley Cut. Colman St. v, I knew well enough ’twas you; what did you think I knew not Cross from Pile?

fc. ‘Head or tail’, i.e. ‘tossing up’ to decide a stake, or anything doubtful, by the side of a coin which falls uppermost; ‘pitch and toss’; fig. a matter of mere chance, a ‘toss-up’. (Usually with cast, throw, toss.) Obs. [01327 Wardrobe Rolls Edw. II (Antiq. Repository II. 58), Item paie illoq a Henri Barber le Roi pour Den™ qu il a presta au Roi pur Jewer a cros a Pil de Donn v s.] 1597 1st Pt. Return fr. Parnass. 11. i. 768 Schoolmaister, cross or pile nowe for 4 counters? c 1645 Vox Turturis 23 They had a Custome, when buyer and seller could not agree, to.. cast crosse and pile. 1672 Wycherley Love in a Wood iii. ii, I’ll throw up cross or pile who shall ask her. 1685 Answ. to Dk. Buckhm. on Liberty of Consc. 36 Thirdly, whether it be not Cross and Pile, whether a man who may be of any and of all Religions, will be of any, or of none at all? 1709 Steele Tatler No. 39 If 48 There will be no fear of foul Play, if they throw up Cross or Pile who should be shot. 1798 T. Jefferson Writ. IV. 227 The question of war and peace depends now on a toss of cross and pile.

fd .fig. Pitch and toss. Obs. 1571 Hanmer Chron. Irel. (1633) 134 Safer to sit, then upon an Irish Pillion that playeth cross and pile with the rider.

fe. advb. phr. By mere chance. Obs. 1648 Herrick Hesper., Crosse and Pile, Faire and foule days trip crosse and pile; the faire Far lesse in number then our foule dayes are. a 1712 W. King Poems, Stumbling Block 50 The sceptics hypothetic cause.. That cross or pile refin’d the chaos. IV. Senses derived from cross a., v., adv.

f22. a. A crossing or crossed position: hence the advb. phrase, on cross, o cross, a cross = crossed, crossing, crosswise: see across, cross adv. Obs. a 1300 Cursor M. 21693 (Cott.) He heild his hend on croice [Edin. MSS. o croice]. 1551 Recorde Pathw. Knowl. 1. xxviii, From those ij. prickes erect two perpendiculars, which muste needes meet in crosse. 1555 Eden Decades 351 They [stars of the S. Cross] are not ryght a croise in the mooneth of Nouember. 1642 Disput. betw. Devill & Pope (Brand), A taylor must not sit with legs on crosse. 1659 B. Harris Parival's Iron Age 54 The King.. stood not with his arms a crosse. b. on the cross: diagonally, obliquely across the texture, on the bias. (Cf. bias sb. 1.) 1872 Young Englishwoman Nov. 594/1 Bows of dark blue velvet cut on the cross. 1887 [Baring-Gould] Golden Feather iv. 9 The piece of carnation velvet cut on the cross for trimming Jessamy’s bonnet. 1955 ‘C. Brown’ Lost Girls x. 107 The skirt was cut on the cross. 1968 J. Ironside Fashion Alphabet 79 Garments cut on the cross or bias have ‘give’ as the bias is stretchy.

c. Theatr. A movement from one part of the stage to another in acting. 1838 Actors by Daylight I. 214 He was.. well versed in all the crosses and recrosses necessary to impose on the million. 1896 G. B. Shaw Our Theatres in Nineties (1932) II. 129 At the end of each of his first vehement speeches, he strode right down the stage and across to the prompt side of the proscenium on the frankest barnstorming principles, repeating this absurd ‘cross’—a well-known convention of the booth for catching applause—three times.

d. Boxing. A blow that crosses over the opponent’s lead. Also transf. 1906 E. Dyson Fact'ry 'Ands xvii. 233 Ther revolvin’ arm .. got home a left lead ’n ’er right cross. 1938 D. Runyon Take it Easy 26 What she lays on his brow is a beautiful straight right cross. 1950 J. Dempsey Championship Fighting xxii. 144 The right cross, deadliest of all counter-punches, is used when a left-jabber becomes careless.

e. Association Football. A cross-pass. 1961 Times 29 Sept. 4/3 They quickly turned the screw, with three goals—by Pointer, side-footing in Douglas’s cross. 1962 Times 12 Mar. 3/2 Greaves failed to stroke home one of his crosses. 1968 Listener 23 May 682/1 For a high cross a well-trained full-back.. is good enough—though not for the kind of calculated low cross George Best engineered for Billy Foulkes’s decisive goal against Real Madrid.

|23. Cross-measurement. Obs. rare. 1630 R. Johnson's Kingd. Commonw. 132 The Crosse of London is every way longer, than any you make in Paris.. By this word Crosse, I meane, from Saint Georges in Southwark, to Shoreditch, South and North; and from Westminster to Whitechapell West and East.

24. The point where two lines or paths cross each other; a crossing, cross-way. 1546 Bp. Gardiner Decl. Art. Joye xv, I.. do the offyee of an hande, at a crosse, to saye this is the ryght waye. 1891 G. Meredith One of our Conq. II. xii. 287 To drive two vessels at the cross of a track into collision.

25. Electr. The accidental contact of two lines or circuits so that a portion of the electric current is diverted or crosses from one to the other. 1870 F. L. Pope Electr. Tel. v. (1872) 63 The effects of weather crosses usually manifest themselves upon the occurrence of a shower.

26. The writing or marking by which a cheque is crossed. 1876 Ann. Reg. [51] The cross on the cheque did not restrain its negotiability.

27. fig. A crossing or thwarting: cf. also 10 b. 1599 Shaks. Much Ado 11. ii. 4 Any barre, any crosse, any impediment, will be medicinable to me.. How canst thou crosse this marriage? 1621-51 Burton Anat. Mel. 1. iii. 1. ii. 187 If crossed, that cross, etc. 1873 Dixon Two Queens IV. xix. vii. 40 Anne was suffering from a cross in love.

28. a. An intermixture of breeds or races in the production of an animal; an instance of cross¬ fertilization in plants.

1766 Pennant Zool. (1768) I. 18 Improved by a cross with the foreign kind. 1819 Byron Juan 1. lviii, This heathenish cross restored the breed again. 1859 All Year Round No. 29. 58 The Bakewell.. sheep .. is .. a creature from a series of judicious crosses of divers long-woolled breeds.

b. An animal or plant, or a breed or race, due to crossing. 1760 Phil. Trans. LI. 834 The bird.. is an accidental cross, as we sportsmen term it, between a pheasant and turkey. 1834 Medwin Angler in Wales I. 253 This little feather-legged bantam .. is certainly a cross from the grouse. 1868 Perthshire Jrnl. 18 June, The large stock of black cattle and crosses. 1871 Napheys Prev. G? Cure Dis. 1. i. 47 The mulatto, a cross between it [the black race] and the white race.

c. fig. An instance of the mixture of the characteristics of two different individuals; something intermediate in character between two things. C1796 Miss Cranstoun in Lockhart Scott vii, Walter Scott is going to turn out a poet—something of a cross I think between Burns and Gray. 1852 R. S. Surtees Sponge's Sp. Tour xxii. 112 [He] was a cross between a military dandy and a squire. 1891 Freeman Sk. French Trav. 125 The west front, a cross between Wells and Holyrood.

29. slang. That which is not fair and ‘square’: dishonest or fraudulent practices. a cross: a contest or match lost by collusory arrangement between the principals; a swindle, on the cross: in a dishonest, fraudulent manner; to be or go on the cross: to be a thief, live by stealing, to shake the cross: to give up thieving. 1802 Sessions' Paper June 334/2, I got it on., the cross. 1812 J. H. Vaux Flash Diet., Cross, illegal or dishonest practises in general are called the cross, in opposition to the square.. Any article which has been irregularly obtained, is said to have been got upon the cross. 1829 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 21/1 It was decided that it should be a decided ‘cross’. —That is, it was decided beforehand that the match was to be lost. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lv, A conversation.. about the fight between the Butcher and the Pet, and the probabilities that it was a cross. 1861 H. Kingsley Ravenshoe lx, The young woman.. may be on the cross. 1878 Tinsley's Mag. XXIII. 300 Never to act on the square, but invariably on the cross. 1883 ‘Mark Twain’ Life on Mississippi Iii, If I would shake the cross and live on the square for three months. 1889 Boldrewood Robbery under Arms xii. (1890) 85 It’s the hardest earned money of all, that’s got on the cross. 1915 A. Conan Doyle Valley of Fear 11. iii. 201 It’s mum with me so long as I see you living on the straight.. But, by gum, if you get off on the cross after this it’s another story. 1917-His Last Bow viii. 293 There’s a stool pigeon or a cross somewhere, and it’s up to you to find out where it is.

V. Elliptical uses. f30. Short for cross-sail, a square-sail. Obs. 1513 Douglas JEneis iv. viii. 21 Marynaris glaid iayis thair schippis onder cros. Ibid. v. xiv. 3 Heis heich the cros.

31. Irish Hist. = cross-land. 1612 Davies Why Ireland etc. (1787) 107 The King’s writ did not run in those counties .. but only in the church-lands lying within the same, which were called the Cross, wherein the King made a sheriff: and so, in each of these counties palatine there were two sheriffs, one of the Liberty, and another of the Cross. 1879 O’Flanagan Munster Circuit 3 They could hear and determine all complaints throughout the province of Munster, and the crosses and liberties of Tipperary and Kerry.

VI. Comb. See cross- I. below. cross (krDS, kro:s), v. Pa. t. and pple. crossed, crost (krDst, -o:-). [f. cross sb.: cf. also croise v., and F. croiser, Ger. kreuzen.] fl. trans. To crucify. Obs. CI340 Cursor M. 24354 (Fairf.) [He] pat crossed was, was al mi care. 1:1440 Gesta Rom. Iii. 232 (Harl. MS.) Now Criste is i-bounde, scorgide, ande crosside. c 1550 Cheke Matt. xxvi. 2 Ye son of man schal be deliverd to be crossed. Ibid, xxvii. 30 Yei.. caried him awai to be crossed.

2. a. To make the sign of the cross upon or over. C1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode I. xi. (1869) 8 Thilke shal also crosse thee, c 1440 Capgrave Life St. Kath. iv. 1318 The mayde.. crossed hir hed, hir mowth and hir brest. 1547 Boorde Brev. Health 4, I. . weke of faith and afeard, crossed my selfe. 1548-9 Bk. Com. Prayer, Confirmacion, Then the Bushop shall crosse them in the forehead. 1608 Bp. Hall Char. Vertues -7 V. 11. 87 This man dares not stirre foorth till his brest be crossed, and his face sprinckled. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. vi. 121 They crossed it, and blessed it. 1827 O. W. Roberts Narr. Voy. Centr. Amer. 228 He crossed himself, and expressed much surprise. 1867 Whittier Tent on Beach, Brother of Mercy 73 The pale monk crossed His brow.

b. to cross a fortune-teller’s hand with silver: to describe crossing lines on her hand with a silver coin given by the consulter: hence to give money to. 1711 Addison Sped. No. 130 If 1 An honest Dairy-maid who crosses their Hands with a Piece of Silver every Summer. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. x. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 54 Crossing their hands with coin .. How quak’d the young to hear what things they knew. 1838 D. Jerrold Men of Char. I. 137 Every domestic.. had crossed her [the fortune-teller’s] hand and looked on future life.

f3. a. To mark with a cross in sign of a vow; esp. of the vow to wrest the Holy Land from the Saracens; = croise 2. Obs. 1481 Caxton Godfrey xvi, Whan one of the grete barons was croysed so on his sholdre.. alle the peple of the contre that were also crossyd cam to hym, and chees hym for theyr captayne. 15 .. Coer de L. 2131 (from a printed copy) For he is crossed a pilgrim. 1610 Bp. Carleton Jurisd. 210 The Souldiers which were crossed for the holy warres.

CROSS b. to cross one’s heart, to make the sign of the cross over one’s heart, to attest the truth or sincerity of a statement, promise, etc.; freq. in phr. cross my heart (and hope to die). 1908 S. Ford Side-stepping with Shorty xx. 314, I wouldn’t touched [sic] another thing; cross m’ heart, I wouldn t! 1922 ‘K. Mansfield’ Garden Party 24 ‘Promise not to tell.’ They promised. ‘Say, cross my heart straight dinkum.’ 1926 R. Macaulay Crewe Train x. 184 ‘Let’s both swear.’ ‘Cross my heart and hope to die. Now what about bed?’ 1952 A. Wilson Hemlock After iii. 167 Cross her heart, might she die if she sneaked.

4. a. To cancel by marking with a cross or by drawing lines across; to strike out, erase, {lit. and fig.) Const, off, out. [Cf. 1472 Paston Lett. No. 696 III. 47.] 1483 Cath. Angl. 84 To Crosse, cancellare. c 1515 Everyman in Hazl. Dodsley I. 136, I cross out all this, c 1600 Day Begg. Bednall Gr. 1. i, Heres my Bill, I pray see me crost. 1614 Bp. Hall Recoil. Treat. 639 The debt is paid, the score is crossed. 1628 W. Pemble Worthy Rec. Lord’s Supper 43 To have gotten the debt-book crossed. 1813 Southey Ballads, March to Moscow 8 And Krosnoff he cross’d them off. I858 Hawthorne Fr. & It.Jrnls. I. 151 Crossed out of the list of sights to be seen.

b. In College usage; see quots. 1576 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford 380 Every suche erson .. shalbe dyscharged of the same house, and have hys edd crossed heare. 1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I. 156, I move that we have him crossed in the buttery. 1865 Cornh. Mag. Feb. 228 There is a very absurd punishment termed ‘crossing a man at the buttery’, which means that a x is set against his name to prohibit the butler from serving him. 1884 Weekly Reg. 18 Oct. 503/2 If you did not go he ‘crossed’you, thereby cutting off all your supplies of food.

5. a. To lay (a thing) across or athwart another; to set (things) across each other; to place crosswise. Also, to place (one limb) over another. to cross swords: to engage in fighting with swords; also^ig. t to cross legs or shins (i.e. in wrestling; hence fig.). C 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xxii. 471 He.. layd hymselfe doun on a bed wyth his legges crossed. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 259 b, Whan he casteth the stole aboute his necke, and crosseth it before his brest. 1581 Styward Mart. Dtsctpl. n. 110 If your battaile be assalted with horse, then couch and crosse your pikes. 1645 Bp. Hall Remedy Discontents 148 We must meet with rubs; and perhaps crosse shinnes, and take fals too. 1653 E. Chivenhale Cath. Hist. 476 He hath crossed legs with himself, and given himself the fall. 1751 R. Paltock P. Wilkins xii, Thus I proceeded, crossing, joining, and fastening all together, till the whole roof was .. strong. 1816 Scott Old Mort. xvi, Few men ventured to cross swords with him. 1826 Disraeli Viv. Grey vi. vi, His arms crossed behind him. 1881 C. E. L. Riddell Senior Partner I. ii. 29 She crossed her soft white hands one over the other. 1886 Mrs. Lynn Linton P. Carew viii, They rarely met without crossing swords on one matter if not another. 1886 ‘Maxwell Gray’ Silence of Dean Maitland 11. i, Staring at the sky, with one leg crossed over the other. 1902 ‘H. S. Merriman’ Vultures xxv. 223 The captain .. crossed one leg over the other.

b. Naut. To set in position across the mast; hoist (a cross-sail): said formerly of sails, later of yards of a square-rigged vessel. Cf. CROSS-SAIL. 1393 Gower Con}. I. 81 And forf> pei wenten into schipe And crossen seil and made hem 3are Anon as J?ogh pei wolden fare, c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 250 A fayre ryuer, wherein were manye shyppes, some vnder sayle, and some redye crossed. 1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ix. 38 Crosse your yards. 1840 Dana Before the Mast v. (1854) 22 The wind having become light, we crossed our royal and skysail yards.

c. Telephony. To make a connection between (telephone or telegraph wires of different lines or circuits); freq. used in pass, of accidental connections. Also transf., implying a misunderstanding. Also crossed ppl. a., crossing vbl. sb. 1884 Telegraphic Jfrnl. 31 May 469/1 (caption) Crossed wires. 1910 H. Belloc Pongo Bull iii. 56 ‘Don’t mind me, Eddie, the wires were crossed.’ And with this meaningless but sufficient phrase, he jammed the receiver down again. 1910 Hawkins's Electr. Diet. 100/2 Crossing wires, a temporary expedient when a defective section is found to exist in a telegraph circuit, for preserving the continuity of the circuit by crossing the wire over to a neighboring line till the fault is remedied. 1931 Wodehouse If I were You i. 12 ‘There’s a lunatic at the other end of the wire who keeps calling me Little Bright Eyes.’ ‘I fancy the wires must have become crossed, m’lady.’ 1932-Hot Water ii. 57 Can we by any chance have got the wires crossed?.. It was the idea, wasn’t it, that we should pile on to a pot of tea together? 1936 - Laughing Gas vii. 78 An unforeseen crossing of the wires in the fourth dimension. 1958 Listener 11 Dec. 976/1 This crossing of the political wires had many repercussions in politics. 6. a. Of things: To lie or pass across; to

intersect. c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. 1. § 5 Over-thwart this .. lyne, ther crosseth hym a-nother lyne. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 149 Set another Board .. so that.. they cross one another. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) II. 148 The rays., must cross each other in the central point. 1840 Lardner Geom. 65 The point X, where they [lines] cross each other.

b. intr.

CROSS

49 cross his ambling pony day by day. 1835 Sir G. Stephen Search of Horse i. 7 The ‘sweetest little park horse that ever was crossed’. 1876 Trevelyan Macaulay (1883) I. 123 He seldom crossed a saddle, and never willingly.

7. a. To draw a line across (another line or surface); to mark with lines or streaks athwart the surface; to write across (a letter). Also absol. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 324 Then cross this Line at right Angles with the Line CF. 1797 Bewick Brit. Birds (1847) I. 65 With spots of white, crossed with zigzag lines. 1816 Jane Austen Emma II. i. 7, I.. must.. apologise for her writing so short a letter, .in general she fills the whole paper and crosses half. 1819 Keats Lei. 3 Oct. (1958) II. 221 Brown has a few words to say to you and will cross this. 1849 Thackeray in Scribn. Mag. I. 557/1, I have, .crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s. 1850 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 115 A letter., two little sheets all crossed! 1924 R. Macaulay Orphan Island xiv. §2. 176 Miss Smith had the sloping, flowing hand of the ladies of her period, and often crossed and recrossed.

b. Farming. To cross-plough; also intr. admit of being crossed-ploughed.

To

through with small Pearches. 1631 Gouge God's Arrows iv. xv. 399 The maine Summier which crossed the garret. 1832 Stat. 2 & 3 Wm. IV, c. 64 Sched. O. 48 The said railroad .. crosses a small stream.

b. intr. 1613-39 I- Jones in Leoni Palladio's Archit. (1742) II. 43 A Wall that crosses from the said Wall to the Cornice. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xxxiv. 137 Canals.. crossing through the length and bredth of the City.

10. a. To meet and pass; to pass (each other) in opposite directions; to meet in passing. 1782 Miss Burney Cecilia iv. i, She was crossed upon the stairs by Mr. Harrel, who passed her [etc.]. 1822 Lamb Elia Ser. I. Dream Children, Now and then a solitary gardening man would cross me. 1854 Lowell Jrnl. in Italy Prose Wks. 1890 I. 185 Swallows swam in and out with level wings, or crossed each other.

b. Of two letters or messengers: To pass each other on their way between two persons, who have written to each other at the same time. trans. and intr. 1793 Twining Recreat. & Stud. (1882) 173, I am always

1796 Hull Advertiser 13 Feb. 1/4 The strong lands.. are much chilled .. and will cross badly .. for want of dry winds. *859 Jml- R■ Agric. Soc. XX. 1. 213, I have broken up 201 acres, and have crossed 128 acres. 1864 Ibid. XXV. 11. 298 In the month of May I cross the work by steam, going down this time to twelve inches.

angry at this crossing of letters. 1819 Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life II. iii. 71 Our letters always cross, my dear Sir William. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 530 This paper on its way to Whitehall crossed the messenger who brought to Portsmouth the order, i860 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 19 A letter from me would have crossed yours.. on the road.

c. Banking, to cross a cheque: to write across the face the name of a banking company, or simply the words Co’ , between two lines, to be filled up with the name of a banking company, through whom alone it may be paid.

11. a. To meet or face in one’s way; esp. to meet adversely; to encounter, arch.

The crossing of cheques originated at the Clearing House, the name of the bank presenting the cheque being written across it to facilitate the work of the clearing-house clerks. See Exchequer Reports (1853) VII. 402. 1834 Barnewell & Adolphus Reports IV. 752 Across the face of the cheque he had written the name of Martin & Co. A cheque so crossed, if presented by any person but the banker whose name is written across, is not paid without further enquiry. 1855 Ann. Reg. 192 He .. requested that he would cash it [a cheque] for him, as it was crossed. 1866 Crump Banking iii. 83 Should the cheque be delivered to the payee, it is a good plan to ask for his banker’s name, and cross it.

8. To pass over a line, boundary, river, channel, etc.; to pass from one side to the other of any space, a. trans. 1583 Foxe A. M. App. 2136/2 Intendyng.. to have crossed the seas into Fraunce. 1591 Shaks. Two Gent. 1. i. 22 How yong Leander crost the Hellespont. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 920 No narrow frith He had to cross. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 48 If 4 They crossed Cornhill together, i860 Tyndall Glaciers 1. iii. 27 Our aim being to cross the mountains. 1873 Black Pr. Thule xiii. 196 White clouds were slowly crossing a fair blue sky. Mod. After crossing the Equator, the ship was becalmed.

b. intr. Also with over. (In early use said of hunted beasts which wheel round and cross their own track.) spec, in Cricket: (a) in fielding, to cross to the other side of the wicket at the end of an over, or when a left-handed batsman replaces a right-handed one at the crease or vice versa; (b) of a bowler: to go across at the end of an over in order to bowl from the opposite wicket, thus bowling two overs in succession (no longer permitted). i486 Bk. St. Albans E ij b, When ye hunt at the Roo .. He crosses and tresones yowre howndys befoore. 1530 Palsgr. 502/1, I crosse over the waye. 1594 Shaks. Rich. Ill, 1. iv. 10, I.. was embark’d to crosse to Burgundy. 1632 Lithgow Trav. IX. (1682) 384 Crossing over in a Boat to the Town of Putzolo. 1711 Addison Sped. No. 63 JP7, I left the Temple, and crossed over the Fields. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 559 The only ford by which the travellers could cross. 1867 G. H. Selkirk Guide to Cricket-Ground iv. 59 Avoiding the necessity of the field crossing over so frequently. 1877 C. Box Eng. Game Cricket 447 To cross over is to change wickets, which a bowler is permitted to do twice in an innings. 1883 Daily Tel. 15 May 2/7 Peate [bowler at cricket] now crossed over to the other end. 1908 W. E. W. Collins County Cricketer's Diary ix. 162 ‘He’s not quite so good [a bowler] as I thought,’ he confided .. as we crossed over.

c. causal. To carry across. 1804 Monson in Owen Wellesley's Desp. 525 Finding the river fordable, I began to cross my baggage. 1882 H. S. Holland Logic Gf Life (1883) 14 It shifts and moves and crosses them from place to place.

d. intr. Biol, to cross over: of segments of chromatids of homologous chromosomes: to interchange and recombine during synapsis; to undergo crossing-over (see crossing vbl. sb. 11). 1915 T. H. Morgan et al. Mechanism of Mendelian Heredity iii. 59 Sex linked factors cross over from each other. 1916 jfrnl. Genetics V. 284 If.. for every chromosome which crosses over in this definite way, another similar chromosome in another nucleus does not cross over at all, [etc.]. 1920 [see cross-over 4]. 1949 Darlington & Mather Elem. Genetics iii. 45 The chromosomes, or rather their constituent chromatids, cross-over and separate in germ cell formation just as the genes segregate and recombine.

e. euphem. To die.

1697 [see crossing ppl. a.]. 1869 Ouseley Counterp. vi. 30 It is allowable .. to let the parts cross, so that the upper part should be below the lower part for a note or two. Mod. At the spot where two roads cross.

1930 ‘R. Crompton’ William's Happy Days ix. 224 My dear, dear little four-footed friend .. ’E crossed over last week. 1935 N. Collins 3 Friends xvii. 265 Just be'fore she crossed over she mentioned your name.

c. trans. To sit across, bestride (a horse, etc.). colloq.

side.

1760 R. Heber Horse Matches ix. 31 Ill bred riders crossing Queen Mab. 1781 Cowper Retirement 467 To

1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iv. (1586) 171 b, They must have warme Houses, as your Pigions have, crossed

9. a. Of things: To extend across from side to

1598 Grenewey Tacitus' Ann. iii. ix. 77 The legions., which Visellius, and C. Silius, had set to crosse them, droue them backe. 1602 Shaks. Ham. 1. i. 127 lie crosse it, though it blast me. 1628 Earle Microcosm., A Sharke (Arb.) 36 Men shun him .. and he is never crost in his way, if there be but a lane to escape him. 1631 E. Pelham Gods Power & Prov. in Collect. Voy. (Church.) IV. 821/2 Tho’ cross’d sometimes with contrary Winds homeward bound. 1797 Mrs. Radcliffe Italian i, He was gone before I could cross him. 1813 Bryon Giaour 1084 He knew and crossed me in the fray. fig- 1581 Mulcaster Positions xxxvi. (1887) 134 There be two great doubtes which crosse me. b. To come across (see come v. 38), to meet

with, to come upon in one’s way. rare. 1684 R. H. Sch. Recreat. 19 If the Hound chance to cross them, Sport may be had. But no Rule can be prescribed how to find or hunt them. 1857 Ruskin Pol. Econ. Art 20 We can hardly read a few sentences on any political subject without running a chance of crossing the phrase ‘paternal government’.

12. to cross the path of (any one): to meet him in his way, to come in the way of; often implying obstruction or thwarting; also, to pass across his path in front of him. to cross the bonus of (a ship): to pass across her path immediately in front of her. 1608 Bp. Hall Char. Vertues & V. 11. 88 This man.. if but an hare crosse him the way, he retumes. 1818 W. Irving Sketch Bk., Leg. Sleepy Hollow (1865) 426 He would have passed a pleasant life .. if his path had not been crossed .. by a woman. 1841 De Quincey Lond. Remin. vi. Wks. 1890 III. 182 Suppose them insolently to beard you in public haunts, to cross your path continually. 1883 Law Times Rep. XLIX. 332 The Margaret.. attempted to cross the bows of the Clan Sinclair. 1892 R. Boldrewood Nevermore III. xx. 66 Let him cross my path again at his peril.

Idt. to cross one's mind, etc. (rarely to cross one): to occur suddenly or momentarily to one, as if flashed across the mind. 1768 Sterne Sent. Journ., Snuff-box, The good old monk was within six paces of us, as the idea of him cross’d my mind. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midi, xxvii, No notion, therefore, of impropriety crossed her imagination. 1834 Medwin Angler in Wales I. 258 Such an idea never crossed one of our minds. 1861 Dickens Gt. Expect. Ii, A misgiving crossed me that Wemmick would be instantly dismissed.

14. fig. a. To thwart, oppose, go counter to. FI555 J- Rogers in Foxe A. & M. (1846) VI. 608 He but chasteneth his dearlings and crosseth them for a small while .. as all fathers do with their children. 1588 j. Udall Demonstr. Discip. (Arb.) 72 He that loueth Christ, cannot crosse the course of the Gospel. 1631 Gouge Gods Arrows iv. x. 388 It is., better that our purpose and desire be crossed. 1673 Temple Ireland Wks. 1731 I. 113 Without crossing any Interest of Trade in England. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 2 If 1 He was crossed in Love. 1722 De Foe Relig. Courtsh. 1. i. (1840) 10 He will never cross her in small Matters. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 255 He therefore determined to cross those designs. 1876 F. E. Trollope Charming Fellow I. xi. 149, I never cross her, or talk to her much when she is not feeling well.

fb. To bar, debar, preclude from. Obs. rare. 1593 Shaks. 3 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 127 To crosse me from the Golden time I looke for. a 1650 W. Bradford Plymouth Plant. (1856) 329 He in ye end crost this petition from taking any further effecte in this kind.

fc. To contradict, contravene, traverse (a sentence, statement, etc.). Obs. 1589 Greene Menaphon (Arb.) 42 When I alledged faith, she crost me with i^neas. 1614 Bp. Hall Recoil. Treat. 848 They.. will be crossing every thing that is spoken. 1675 Brooks Gold. Key Wks. 1867 V. 55 One divine sentence cannot cross and rescind another. 1687 Dryden Hind & P. iii. lxviii. 4 A sort of Doves.. Who cross the Proverb, and abound with Gall. 1702 Charlett Let. in Pepys' Diary 26 Sept., Which makes travel so easy, as to cross a sentence of Lord Burghley’s [to the contrary].

d. slang. To cheat or double-cross; to act dishonestly in or towards; cf. cross sb. 29. Also intr. (see quot. 1925). 1823 in P. Egan Grose's Did. Vulgar T. a 1891 Henley & Deacon Brodte iii, iv, in Farmer Slang (1891) II. 218/1 What made you cross the fight, and play booty with your own man? 1925 Flynn's 10 Jan. 877/2 Cross, to squeal; Stevenson

CROSS to betray... To deceive; to cheat one’s pals. 1938 G. Greene Brighton Rock 11. ii. 86 It wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t been crossed. A journalist thought he could put one over on us. i960 'W. Haggard’ Closed Circuit xv. 179 He’d been using us; he’d crossed us; and he knew too much for safety.

f 15. a. intr. to cross with: to go counter to. Obs. a 1586 Sidney (J.), Men’s actions do not always cross with reason, a 1641 Bp. Mountagu Acts G? Mon. (1642) 150 Yet that crosseth not with abbreviation, but confirms it rather. a 1662 Heylyn Life Laud (1668) 156 When it seemed .. to cross with the Puritan Interest.

fb. to cross upon (or on): (a) to oppose, go counter to; (b) to come across, come upon. Obs. 01678 Feltham Resolves, etc. (1709) 552 So long as we cross not upon Religion. 1701 Collier M. Aurel. (1726) 246 He that crosses upon this design, is prophane in his contradiction. 1748 Walpole Lett. toG. Montagu {1891) II. 121 In this search I have crossed upon another descent. 1750 Chesterf. Lett. II. ccxx. 349 He is in hopes of crossing upon you somewhere or other. 1824 Miss. L. M. Hawkins Mem. I. 25 note, One day suddenly crossing on the gentleman.

16. a. trans. To cause to interbreed; to modify (a race) (plants).

by

interbreeding;

to

cross-fertilize

1754 Warburton Letters (1809) 174 As that people [the Jews] had no commerce with any other, there was a necessity of crossing the strain as much as possible. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 282 This variety seems formed by crossing the breed of such as are imported from various climates. 1802 Ann. Reg. 353 The advantage which has resulted from crossing the breed of cattle. 1851 Beck's Florist 142 Cross such flowers as appear likely to yield the most desirable colours and shapes. 1883 Stevenson Silverado Sq. (1886) 51 A setter crossed with spaniel. absol. 1842 Bischoff Woollen Manuf. II. 141 They have been generally crossing for bigger sheep, and.. have produced a coarser kind of wool.

b. intr. To breed together, being of distinct races or breeds, to interbreed. 18.. Coleridge (Webster), If two individuals of distinct races cross, a third is invariably produced differing from either. 1845 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VI. 11. 453 These [mares] do not cross well with the thorough-bred stallions.

cross (kms, krois). a.

[Originally an attrib. or elliptical use of cross adv., some participle (e.g. lying, passing, coming, etc.) being understood.] No clear line can be drawn between this and various uses of cross- in combination, the employment of the hyphen being in many cases unfixed. See cross- 4, 5, 9.

1. a. Lying or situated athwart the main direction; transverse; passing from side to side. Also said^zg. of things to which spatial relations are transferred. 1523 Fitzherb. Surv. xx. (1539) 41 Built with two crosse chambers of stone. 1570 Act 13 Eliz. c. 11 §2 Vessels with cross Sails. 1583 Stanyhurst Aeneis 11. (Arb.) 66 Through crosse blynd allye we iumble. 1601 Shaks. Jul. C. 1. iii. 50 The crosse blew Lightning. 1719 De Foe Crusoe I. xv. 253 Tying the string to the cross stick. 1761 Mrs. F. Sheridan »S. Bidulph III. 255 The road for carriages between the two houses, being a cross one, was very bad. 1867 A. Barry Sir. C. Barry vi. 230 The cross roofs connecting them with the main building. fig. 1826 Disraeli Viv. Grey 111. viii, How many cross interests baffle the parties. 1848 Mill Pol. Econ. iii. vii. §1 It is easier to ascertain.. the relations of many things to one thing, than their innumerable cross relations with one another. 1868 M. Pattison Academ. Org. v. 146 Our position will not be confused by a cross issue.

b.

CROSS-

5°

Passing or lying crossing, intersecting.

athwart

each

other;

1602 Marston Ant. & Mel. Induct., As crosse as a pair of tailors’ legs. 01619 Fotherby Atheom. II. xi. §2 (1622) 313 They runne in crosse courses; and yet doe not crosse one another, in their courses. 1653 Gloria & Narcissus 1. 84 To sit with his armes crosse, looking up at the heavens, a 1742 Bentley (J.), When they.. advance towards one another in direct lines, or meet in the intersection of cross ones. 1799 G. Smith Laboratory II. 34 This is generally performed by little cross etchings, one over another. 1830 E. S. N. Campbell Diet. Mil. Sc. 231 The honorable badge of a Regimental Colour supported by two cross Swords. fig. 1684 R. H. Sch. Recreat. 91 The second is called Cross, so are its methods cross and intricate.

c. Of the wind: Blowing across the direct course, contrary. Also fig. (See cross-wind.) Sometimes with a blending of sense 4: adverse. 01617 Bayne On Eph. (1658) 49 Every wind, even the crossest shall help us to the haven. 1676 Teonge Diary (1825) 195 The wind crosse and very high all these days. 1763 Johnson Lett, to G. Strahan 14 July, My friendship is light enough to be blown away by the first cross blast.

d. Of the sea: said when the waves run athwart the direction of the wind, or when two sets of waves cross each other, owing to change of wind. Also cross-surge, -swell, -tide. 1823 Scoresby Jrnl. 375 A mountainous sea, rendered awfully heavy and cross by the sudden changing of the wind. 1864 Dickens Mut. Fr. I. 1. xiv. 133 In the cross-swell of two steamers. 1866 Daily Tel. 18 Jan. 4/3 The terrific cross¬ sea constantly broke over her. 1867 Smyth Sailor’s Wordbk.} Cross-sea, a sea not caused by the wind then blowing. Ibid., Cross-swell, this is similar to a cross-sea, except that it undulates without breaking violently. Ibid., Cross-tide, the varying directions of the flow amongst shoals that are under water. 1891 Kipling Light that Failed xv. 311 A boisterous little cross-swell swung the steamer disrespectfully by the nose. 1899- Five Nations (1903) 9 ’Twixt wrench of cross-surges or plunge of head-gale. 1903 Q. Rev. Apr. 486 Like vortices upon a surface of water swept by violent crosstides.

e. Cricket. Applied to a bat held in a slanting position. Cf. cross- A. 8. 1871 F. Gale Echoes from Old Cricket Fields 25 If you hit her you could only do it with a cross bat. 1891 W. G. Grace Cricket viii. 224 Playing with a straight bat is more likely to protect your wicket than playing with a cross bat. 1928 Daily Express 12 Nov. 3/4 One amazing cross-bat shot, head high .. over cover’s head to the boundary.

|2. Diagonally opposite in position (as in a quadrilateral). Obs. rare. Cf. cross-corner. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. iii. v. 115 The progression of quadrupeds being performed per Diametrum, that is the crosse legs moving or resting together.

3. Contrary, opposite, opposed (to each other, or to something specified). (Now rarely predicative.) 1565 Calfhill Answ. to Martiall (Parker Soc.) 72, I am ashamed of your too cross and overthwart proofs. 1602 Fulbecke 1st. Pt. Parall. Introd. 5 There is nothing in it which to the Law of God is crosse or opposite. 1631 May tr. Barclay’s Mirr. Mindes 11. 220 Where they begin a little to differ, they will afterwards be crosse in all things from those men. 1646 E. F[isher] Mod. Divinity 24 As if he were reduced to.. straits .. by the crosse demands of his severall attributes. 1674 Hickman Quinquart. Hist. (ed. 2) 171 Is this Election cross to that' of the Calvinists? 0 1787 Lowth Serm. & Rem. 414 Giving me answers so very cross to the purpose. 1865 Bushnell Vicar. Sacr. iii. iv. (1868) 307 It is cross to our humanly selfish habit.

4. Of events, circumstances, or fortune: Adverse, opposing, thwarting; contrary to one’s desire or liking; unfavourable, untoward. 1565 Calfhill Answ. to Martiall (Parker Soc.) 113 For when the Cross was most magnified, we had cross luck among. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary 11. (1625) 69 Frame your selfe to beare all other crosse matters. 1607 Dekker Northw. Hoe 11. Wks. 1873 III. 24 Such crosse fortune! 1676 Dryden Aurengz. iii. 1078 With Fate so cross One must be happy by the other’s loss. 1690 W. Walker Idiomat. AngloLat. 126 We had such cross weather. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 302 We had but a cross voyage .. having contrary winds .. and sometimes bad weather. 1780 Mad. D’Arblay Lett. 14 Dec., Some..cross accident for ever frustrates my rhetorical designs.

5. Of persons, their dispositions, actions, etc.: f a. Given to opposition; inclined to quarrel or disagree; perverse, froward, contrarious. Obs. or arch. 1588 Shaks. Tit. A. 11. iii. 53 Be crosse with him, and lie goe fetch thy Sonnes to backe thy quarrel. 1594-Rich. Ill, iii. i. 126 My Lord of Yorke will still be crosse in talke. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1638) 304 No man..vnto his friends more friendly, or vnto his enemies more crosse and contrarie. 1685 Baxter Paraphr. N.T. Matt. xi. 16-17 You are cross to us whatever game we play. 1770 Foote Lame Lover ii. Wks. 1799 II. 73, I hope you won’t go for to tell him .. Indeed, Sir, but I shall.. No, sister, I’m sure you won’t be so cross. 1851 C. L. Smith tr. Tasso iv. xxi, How vain are all thy judgements, and how cross.

b. Ill-tempered, peevish, petulant; in an irritable frame of mind, out of humour, vexed. 0colloq.). 1639 T. B. Admirable Events 341 The stepmother beholds me with crosse lookes. 1676 Wycherley PI. Dealer iii. i, If she gives me but a cross word, I’ll leave her to-night. 1711 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 17 Nov., I just heard of the stir as my letter was sealed .. and was so cross I would not open it to tell you. 1771 Mad. D’Arblay Early Diary (1889) I. 120 He is equally ugly and cross. 1796 Jane Austen Pride Prej. II. x, I have never had a cross word from him in my life. 1835 Marryat Jac. Faithf. viii, I can’t bear to be cross to him. i860 Sala Lady Chesterf. 43 The crossest of old maids.

c. Phr. as cross as two sticks (with play on sense 1 b). 1842 S. Lover Handy Andy ii. 24 The renowned O’Grady was according to her account as cross as two sticks. 1855 Ld. Houghton in Life I. xi. 518 [He] has been as cross as two sticks at not having been asked to dinner at Court.

6. a. action.

Involving

interchange

or

reciprocal

App. not used predicatively, and often hyphened as a case of combination (which is preferable). 1581 Lambarde Eiren. 11. iv. (1588) 164 In some cases.. there may be a double (or crosse) restitution awarded. 1664 Dryden Rival Ladies 1. ii, For hapning both to Love each other Sisters, They have concluded it in a cross Marriage. 1876 Douse Grimm’s Law xxxix. 81 The .. phenomenon of a cross-transfer of a foreign sound to native words and a native sound to foreign words.

b. Book-keeping. Applied to accounts between two parties each of which has claims upon the other; also, to formal entries transferring amounts from one account to another, or made on opposite sides of an account so as to neutralize each other. (Here also cross- is more usually hyphened.) 1893 Gladstone Sp. in Parliament 12 Feb., We hope to escape cross accounts and cross payments on revenue accounts [i.e. between Imperial and Irish revenue].

7. Of animals and plants: Cross-bred; hybrid. 1886 York Herald 7 Aug. 1/3 Sale of Cross Lambs. 1889 Robbery under Arms (1890) 12 ‘Clearskins’ and ‘cross’ beasts. Boldrewood

8. slang. Dishonest; dishonestly come by. (Opposed to square or straight.) Cf. crooked 3 b, and cross sb. 29. 1812 J. H. Vaux Flash Diet, in Mem. (1819) II. 165 Any article which has been irregularly obtained.. is emphatically termed a cross article. 1882 Sydney Slang Diet. 3/1 Cross cove, a thief. Ibid. 10/2 Four deaners for lush for the cross coves and their blowers. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Miner's Right II. xv. 62 He believed all the ‘cross boys’ of all the colonies were congregated here. 1892-Nevermore I. ix.

168 ‘Selling him a cross horse as any man might have knowed was too good for them to own on the square.’ Ibid. I. x. 179 ‘He don’t know a cross cove from a straight ’un.’

f See also cross- II.

cross (kros, krois), adv. Now rare.

[Aphetic form of across, orig. a phrase on cross, a-cross: cf. adown, down, etc.] f 1. From side to side, whether at right angles or obliquely; across, athwart, transversely. Obs. [a 1400-50 Alexander 4872 And pai croke ouire crosse to cache )?aim anothire.] 1577 B. Googe Heresbach’s Husb. iv. (1586) 178b, Cast bowes of Willowe crosse.. That may preserve the fainting Bee, that in the flud doth fall. 1620-55 I. Jones Stone-Heng (1725) 47 The Piet’s Wall, extending cross over our Island. 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 126 The boards lyinge thus crosse, one chesse one way and another another. 1699 Bentley Phal. §2. 39 The Arundel Marble lies cross in our way. 1719 De P°E Crusoe 1. 127, I now resolv’d to travel quite cross to the Sea-Shore on that Side. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §53 Courses of timber alternately cross and cross.

f 2. In a contrary way, in opposition to. Obs. 1614 T. Adams Devil's Banquet 217 Jesus Well: whose bottome.. was in Heauen; whose mouth and spring downewards to the earth: crosse to all earthly fountaines. 1638 Chiluingw. Relig. Prot. 1. v. §84. 288 To foist in two others, clean crosse to the Doctor’s purpose. 1718 Hickes & Nelson J. Kettlewell 11. xlix. 153 Every Thing was carried cross to his Intentions. 01732 T. Boston Crook in Lot (1805) 33 The crook of the lot will.. be found to lie cross to some wrong bias of the heart.

3. In an adverse or unfavourable way; contrary to one’s desire or liking; awry, amiss; = across adv. 4. Obs. or colloq. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 164 Things falling out crosse with the old Emperour. 1646 P. Bulkeley Gospel Covt. 1. 156 Though things goe crosse against us. 1691 Norris Pract. Disc. 248 There is yet another thing.. which lies very cross upon our Minds. 1703 Lond. Gaz. No. 3937/3 The Tide fell cross in the night. 1883 G. Lloyd Ebb & Flow II. 300, I wonder why things do go so cross in this world. U See also cross- III.

cross, prep,

[cross adv. with object expressed.] = across prep. Now dial, or poetic: in the latter case commonly written y cross, as a recognized abbreviation. cross lots, more commonly across lots (U.S.): across the lots or fields as a short cut: cf. cross-country. 1551 Recorde Pathw. Knowl. 1. xxii, Draw a corde or stryng line crosse the circle. 1591 Shaks. 2 Hen. VI, iv. i. 114, I charge thee waft me safely crosse the Channell. 1684 Evelyn Diary 24 Jan., Hardly could one see crosse the streetes. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 135 Cut into the Girder three Inches cross the Grain of the Stuff. 1761 Foote Liar 1, Hallooing to a pretty fellow cross the Mall, c 1777 Beattie Hares 196 The scatter’d clouds fly ’cross the heaven. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 201 Whether sauntering we proceed Cross the green, or down the mead. H See also cross- IV.

cross- in comb, is used in many relations, substantive, adjective, adverbial, and prepositional (rarely verbal), sometimes difficult to separate, and in various senses. In some of these the combination is very loose, the use of the hyphen being almost optional. This is especially so when cross is capable of being viewed as an adjective, in which construction the hyphen would not be used, e.g. cross road or cross-road, cross reference or crossreference. As a rule, the use of the hyphen implies specialization of the combination, either usually, or in the particular instance in which it occurs.

A. General uses in combination. I. From cross sb. 1. objective: a. withpr. pples., forming adjs., as cross-adoring, -kissing; b. with vbl. sbs., forming sbs., as cross-bearing; c. with agent-n., as cross-adorer, -keeper; cross-bearer. 01631 Drayton Wks. IV. 1311 (Jod.) The cross-adoring fowls. 1637 Whiting Albino & Bell. 16 The cross-adorers he, with crossing, catches. 1728 Morgan Algiers II. v. 310 Cross-kissing Christians. 1824 Southey Bk. of Ch. (1841) 243 Latimer was .. Cross-Keeper in the University.

2. instrumental and locative, with pples., and adjs. forming adjs., as cross-crcrwned, -marked; CROSS-FIXED. 1839 Bailey Festus xix. (1848) 206 A winged orb, crosscrowned.

3. attrib. a. Of or pertaining to the Cross or a cross, as cross-legend, -shaft, -side, -step, -worship; cross-cloth i, -days, -week, etc.; b. Of the shape, appearance, or nature of a cross; having a cross-bar or transverse part; as cross¬ bow, -fish, -GARNET, -stitch, etc.; c. Marked or stamped with the figure of a cross, as f crossback; CROSS-BUN, -DOLLAR, -FOX, etc. c 1330 [see cross sb. 19], be croice side. 1611 Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. vii. ii. 199 [They] wore continually vpon their backes a red Crosse, whereby the name Crosse-back .. was to them attributed. 1827 Clare Sheph. Cal. Aug. 75 Placed on the circling Cross-steps. 1889 Archseol. Ailiana XIII. 265 The Birtley cross-slab. II. From cross a. 4. a. gen. Having a transverse direction; transverse; going across something; as crossarm, -band, -brace, -bracing, -gate, -pole, -rod, -strap; cross-bar, -beam, -piece, -sail, etc.; b.

CROSSspec. Transverse to the direction in which the main or principal thing of the kind lies, and thus often a branch of it, or otherwise subordinate to it, as cross-barrel, -drain, -furrorw, -lane, -lode, -passage, -timber, -trench, -turnpike, vein, -wall-, CROSS-COURSE, -PATH, -ROAD, -STREET, -way, etc.; c. Crossing or intersecting each other, as cross-hand, -reef, cross-bones, -keys. 1590 Sir J. Smvth Disc. Weapons *** iij, With trenches, cross-trenches, gabions, and diverse other. 1626 Bacon Sylva §120 As if you should make a Cross-barrel hollow, thorow the Barrel of a Piece. 1725 Manchester Rec. (U.S.) I. 165 Southerly by the Towns land cal’d the Pasonage land as the Cross wall now stands. 1757 Da Costa in Phil. Trans. L. 233 These cross-loads are generally filled with fragments of . . minerals. 1760 Patrington Haven Act 13 Pass through the said turnpikes or cross gates. 1787 Wolcott (P. Pindar) Ode Upon Ode Wks. 1794 I. 401 Great in tattoo .. and cross¬ hand roll. 1823 Cobbett Rur. Rides (1885) I. 377 We did not take the cross-turnpike till we came to Whitchurch, a 1826 Farey Steam Eng. (1827) 678 On the upper end of the piston rod.. a horizontal cross-rod .. is fixed. 1829 Southey Pilgr. to Compostella ill, Perch’d on a cross-pole hoisted high. 1834 Stephens in Brit. Husb. I. 474 A drain must be carried along .. with outlets to the cross-drains. 1845 Gloss. Gothic Archit. I. 317 A variety of cross-braces above the tie-beams. 1849 Ruskin Sev. Lamps ii. §10. 38 Set as stays and crossbands. 1853 Hickie tr. Aristoph. (1872) II. 409 The crossstraps pinch the little toe of my wife’s foot. 1866 Thomas Howard Hist. Inglewood Reefs ix. 51 What is known as a cross reef, that is two reefs, the one intersecting the other. 1881 Jowett Thucyd. I. 20 Strengthening the old ships with cross-timbers. 1884 Mrs. F. Miller Life Ht. Martineau 148 She set up a cross-pole fence around her estate. 1906 D. V. Allen in P. Galvin N.Z. Mining Handbook 54 At the intersection of cross-reefs carrying sulphides. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 1 Aug. 7/2 He attempted to run back, but the cross¬ wall was immediately behind him. 1909 Cent. Diet. Suppl., Cross-arm. 1909 Webster, Cross bracing. 1925 Bell Syst. Techn. Jrnl. IV. 524 Individual wires mounted on separate insulators attached to cross-arms on poles. 1926 F. W. Crofts Insp. French & Cheyne Myst. x. 134 They reached the cross-lane at Earlswood. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Diet. 204/1 Counter-bracing, the provision of two diagonal tierods in the panels of a frame girder or other structure. Also called cross-bracing. 1951 Archit. Rev. CIX. 140/2 An uncompromising system of concrete cross-walls is used, based on a method of construction developed in Denmark during the war. 1958 C. Tomlinson Seeing is Believing (i960) 19 The wind eludes them Streaking its cross-lanes over the uneasy water. 1964 Listener 11 June 950/1 Each pier of each ring is led back to the others by brick crossbracing, making up as it were the spokes of a set of colossal wheels.

5. Also said of things in motion or involving motion, as cross-current (also fig. and attrib.), -ice, -traffic, -train; cross-post. 1598 Florio Worlde of Wordes 430/3 Trauersa,.. a crosse currant of waters. 1823 Scoresby Jrnl. 469 Cross-ice, loose ice, affording a dubious and difficult passage to a ship. 1849 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 57, I had to wait.. for the cross-train to Haddington. 1891 Meredith One of our Conq. II . x. 254 It was a happy cross-current recollection. 1899 Morley in Westm. Gaz. 18 Jan. 5/1 There have been cross-currents, and it was impossible either inside the House of Commons or elsewhere that Sir William Harcourt could speak with the authority of a united party. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 26 Jan. 2/2 Cross-current politics. 1925 T. Dreiser Amer. Trag. (1926) I. xix. 140 Several precious moments were lost as the cross-traffic went by. 1948 [see cross-town a.]. 1952 C. Day Lewis tr. Virgil's Aeneid xi. 242 In the middle of these cross-currents, when partisan feeling had reached High pressure .. the envoys returned.

IJWith vbl. sbs. and nouns involving action: see 9. III. From cross adv. 6. With verbs, forming compound verbs, meaning to do something a. across, or cross¬ wise, or in a direction or way traversing another, as cross-bond, -carve, -fetter, -pile, -swim, -tie] cross-cut, -plough, etc.; b. in a way that crosses recognized or ordinary lines of affinity, as cross-pollinate] cross-breed, -couple, -fertilize; c. in a way that crosses or traverses another action, as cross-examine, -question, etc.; d. so that two actions mutually cross each other, the one being the counterpart of the other, or done in return or reciprocation for the other, as cross-disguise, -invite, -petition. 1590 Sylvester Du Bartas Yvry Wks. (Grosart) II. 249 And fiery-fierce and stout, A hundred wayes cross-carves the Field about, a 1618 - Mottoes 329 The world and Death one day them cross-disguised To cosen Man. 1613 T. Milles Treas. Anc. & Mod. Times 75/1 Although the Seas were very, .tempestuous, yet he would Crosse-swim them, without any feare. 1645 J. Bond Occasus Occid. 35 Hee doth fetter, and.. crosse-fetter him. 01734 North Lives II. 62 His lordship chose to be so far rude as not to cross invite, rather than bear the like consequences of such another intercourse. 1761 Sterne Tr. Shandy III. viii. 25 He tied and cross-tied them all fast together. 1862 Smiles Engineers II. 429 These [stones] were to be carefully set by hand, with the broadest ends downwards, all crossbonded or jointed. 1878 Lumberman's Gaz. 25 Dec. 446 The amount of lumber now cross-piled on the several mill docks. 1904 Westm. Gaz. 7 Dec. 7/2 The husband denied various acts described as cruelty by the wife, and cross-petitioned for judicial separation. 1920 Chambers's Jrnl. 13 Mar. 238/1 Budding and cross-pollenating. 1923 Daily Mail 28 Feb. 5 Her husband.. cross-petitions for the dissolution of his marriage.

7. Wither, pples., or adjs. of this form, forming adjs., as cross-flowing, -jingling, -pulling, -running.

51 1634 Milton Comus 832 The flood That stayed her flight with his cross-flowing course. 1641-Reform. 1. (1851) 31 The fantastick, and declamatory flashes; the crosse-jingling periods which cannot but disturb, and come thwart a setl’d devotion. 1835 Marryat Pirate iv, This gale and crossrunning sea are rather too much for boats. 1854-6 Patmore Angel in Ho. 1. 1. x, Cross-pulling vices, tied Like Samson’s foxes, by the tails.

8. With pa. pples., or adjs. so formed, forming adjs., as cross-batted (cf. cross a. 1 e), -fissured, -folded, -gagged, -laced, -latticed, -striped] CROSS-BRED, -GARTERED, etc. (Often approaching or passing into 11.) 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. 1. (1586) 23 b, The Harrowe, is an instrument crosse lettused, to breake the Cloddes. 1599 Nashe Lenten Stuffe (1871) 49 They would .. stand cross-gagged, with knives in their mouths. 1624 T. Scott Vox Dei 41 To sitt with our armes crosse-folded. 1649 G. Daniel Trinarch., Hen. V, clxxvi, Clad .. in crossstript Motley. 1865 Kingsley Herew. iv, Scarlet stockings cross-laced with gold braid up to the knee. 1869 Phillips Vesuv. vii. 198 It was originally more cross-fissured than the other. 1955 Miller & Whitington Cricket Typhoon xii. 230 Caught at deep mid-on from a cross-batted swipe. 1955 Times 12 July 12/1 An astonishing cross batted slash through the covers. 1968 Listener 11 July 61/2 It is a passive, cross-batted reaction to the short ball from a fast bowler.

9. With vbl. sbs. and nouns involving action, in the various senses found with the vb. (see 6), as cross-alliteration, -peal, -planking, -striation, -stroke, -tabulation, -ventilation] cross-appeal, -association, -belief, -claim, -suit, -summons] cross-blow, -protection, -raiding, -resistance; CROSS-ENTRY, etc. Here cross- becomes practically equivalent to an adjective, though originating, as in 6, 7, 8, in the adverb. 1684 R. H. Sch. Recreat. 91 There are two kinds of Changes, viz. Plain Changes, and Cross-peals.. the second is called Cross, so are its methods cross and intricate. 1749 Lavington Enthusiasm (1754) I. 151 All the ridiculous Ceremonies of Puff, Cross-Puff, Impuff, and Expuff. 1819 Edin. Rev. XXXII. 124 That cross-play of selfishness and vanity. 1869 E. A. Parker Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 128 A thorough cross-ventilation by opposite windows. 1884 Law Reports 9 App. Cases 571 Appeal and cross-appeal from a judgment of the Supreme Court. 1885 H. T. Atkinson in Law Rep. 14 Q. Bench Div. 923 Cross-claims for damages could only be set up in different actions. 1890 J. Corbett Sir F. Drake ix. 124 It was no mere cross-raiding on which he was bent. 1892J.c. Blomfield Hist. Heyford 4 A couple of trees were laid down, and a cross-planking fixed upon them. 1899 W. James Talks x. 98 As cross-associations multiply and habits of familiarity and practice grow, the entire system of our objects of thought consolidates. 1923 Daily Mail 28 Feb. 5 In this case there are cross-suits. One, by the wife.., her husband.. cross-petitions for the dissolution of his marriage. 1926 J. S. Huxley Ess. Pop. Sci. xviii. 282 The histological character of the cells had changed, cross-striations arising in them. 1927 Daily Express 17 Aug. 7 I hope that I shall live to see the day when motorists will be able to take out cross-summonses against careless pedestrians. 1934 Priebsch & Collinson German Lang. x. 375 Ingeniously adapting b, by a cross-stroke, e.g. geban.. to designate the voiced labial spirant (v). 1938 R. Graves Coll. Poems p. xv, I found the strictly matching consonantal sequences of Welsh bardic poetry too crabbed for English, but modified them to cross-alliteration. 1949 R. K. Merton Social Theory 15 Paradigms, by their very arrangement, suggest the systematic cross-tabulation of presumably significant concepts. 1951 Whitby & Hynes Med. Bacteriol. (ed. 5) xii. 195 Sera prepared against either organism will.. afford cross-protection in mice. 1956 Ibid. (ed. 6) x. 135 Tetracycline Derivatives... Acquired resistance common, with cross-resistance to all members of group. 1961 Lancet 2 Sept. 521/1 Cross-resistance between different penicillins is not necessarily absolute.

IV. From cross prep. 10. With object sbs., forming adjs., with sense a. Crossing, across, as cross-channel (see B), -river-, cross-town, cross-country; b. Adverse to, as f cross-bliss-, cross course a. 1589 Warner Alb. Eng. v. xxvii. 135 This crosse-blisse world of ours. 1888 Pall Mall G. 15 Feb. 12/1 The Greenwich Ferry Company.. Cross-river communication for vehicular traffic.

V. 11. Parasynthetic derivatives, as a. crosshandled-, cross-shaped, having the shape of a cross; cross-headed, -hilted; b. cross-armed, fingered, having the arms, etc. crossed; cross¬ handed, -legged, etc. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 304 With hand in hand, cross¬ fingered one between another. 1621 Lady M. Wroth Urania 485 Then I . .walked cross armed, sighed, cast vp mine eyes. 1670 Moral State Eng. 83 Cross-arm’d Lovers. 17.. Tollet On Shaks. (Jod.), The cross-shaped flower on the head of this figure. 1881 Daily News 8 Nov. 5/7 In the cross-armed and somewhat downcast attitude which he has assumed throughout the trial. 1896 Daily News 15 June 7/1 The familiar cross-handled baskets of the fruit. 1912 T. Okey Art of Basket-making vii. 74 The basket is to be covered as well as cross-handled.

B. Special combinations (with quots. in alphabetical order):, cross-accent Mus. = syncopation 3; cross-action (Law), an action brought by the defendant against the plaintiff or a co-defendant in the same action: cf. cross¬ bill; cross-and-jostle, applied to a race in which the riders cross each other’s paths and jostle each other, getting to the winning-post as they like, by fair riding or foul; also fig.; f cross¬ arrow, an arrow shot from a cross-bow; cross-axle (see quot.); cross-banded (Carpentry), see quot.; cross-bedding (Geol.),

CROSSapparent lines of stratification crossing the real ones, false bedding; f cross-bell, the bell rung at the Elevation of the Host; cross-belt, orig. a belt worn over both shoulders, and crossing in front of the breast; also, in later use, a single belt passing obliquely across the breast; hence cross-belted a.-, cross-birth, a birth in which the child is presented in a position transverse to the uterus; cross-bit = cross-piece; f cross¬ blow, a counter-blow; also a blow indirectly dealt; cross-border a., that forms a border across a fabric, etc.; so cross-bordered adj.; cross-break, a break across a lode of ore or strata of rocks; cross-catalogue v., to catalogue under a heading or division that crosses another; to cross-index; cross cause, (a) a hindrance (Obs. rare)-, (b) Law, a cause in which each of the litigants has a suit against the other; cross¬ channel a., passing or situated across the (English or other) channel; cross-check v. trans., (a) Ice Hockey, to obstruct by holding one’s stick across an opponent (Webster, 1934); (b) to check (an observation, theory, etc.) by an alternative method of verification; so as sb.; cross-chock (see quot.); cross-colouring Geol., colour-markings in strata caused by the introduction of extraneous matter by the action of water; cross-correlation, a correlation between two distinct series of measurements, events, etc., ordered in time or space; cross¬ correspondence Spiritualism (see quot. 1909); cross-court a., of a stroke in tennis, rackets, etc.: hit diagonally across the court; so as v. trans., to hit diagonally across the court; crosscousin, one of two cousins who are the children of a brother and a sister respectively; also attrib. in cross-cousin marriage-, cross-cropping (see quot.); cross-cultural a., pertaining to or involving different cultures or comparison between them; f cross-dagger, an obsolete coin; cross-dating, the establishment of the date of one archaeological site or level by correlation with another; also in den¬ drochronology (see quot. 1946); so crossdate v. trans. and intr.; cross-dog (see dog); cross-dressing = transvestism; hence [as back-formation] cross-dress v. intr. , to dress in clothes of the opposite sex, as a transvestite; cross-dresser; cross-fade v. trans. and intr. (Broadcasting and Cinemat.), to ‘fade in’ one sound or picture while ‘fading out’ another; so as sb.-, so cross-fading vbl. sb.; cross-fam v. slang (see quot.); cross-fault Geol., a fault which crosses the strike of the displaced strata; cross¬ ferry = ferry sb.1 2, 3; cross-file (see quot.); cross-fishing, fishing with a line with many hooks attached extending across a stream; cf. /Cross-line 2; cross-flute, a transverse flute (see flute sb.1 1); cross-frog, the arrangement where one line of rails crosses another, each of the rails being notched to admit the flanges of wheels on the crossing rail; f cross-grinded a., cross-vaulted, having two arches or vaults intersecting each other; cross-guard, a swordguard consisting of a short transverse bar; f cross-hack v., to hack or cut with crossing lines; hence f cross-hacking; cross-hair = spider-line; cross-hap, adverse fortune or occurrence; cross-house, a house at or by a cross; a house standing crosswise to others; also fig.; cross-index v., to index under another heading as a cross-reference; cross-influence, interchange of influences or tendencies; cross-kick v. intr., in football, to kick the ball across the field; also as sb.; cross-legs, (a) crossed legs; also quasi-adt;.; (b) (Obs. slang) a tailor (cf. quot. 1602 s.v. cross a. 1 b); t cross-letter, a letter crossing the main routes, and carried by the cross-post; cross-license v. trans., ‘to give a license to another to use (a patent or invention) in return for a similar license’ (Webster, 1961); also intr. and as sb.; hence cross-licensing vbl. sb.; cross-lift v. (see quot.); f cross-like a., like or resembling a cross; cross-linguistic a., pertaining to or involving different languages or comparison between them; cross-link sb., -linkage Chem., a chemical bond, or an atom or short chain of atoms, which connects two (long) chains in a polymer or other complex molecule; so cross¬ link v. trans., to connect by cross-links, to bring about cross-linking in; intr., to form a cross-link (with); cross-linked'ppl, a.; cross-linking, vbl. sb., the formation of cross-links; also, a network or system of cross-links; cross-lock a., applied

CROSSto an invention by which a carriage, etc. is enabled to ‘lock’ or turn on the main-pin in a particular way; cross-lode (see 4); cross-loop, a loop-hole in a fort in the form of a cross so as to give free range horizontally and vertically to an archer, etc.; cross-match v. trans. (Med.), to test the compatibility of (the blood of a blooddonor and a recipient); also said of the individuals; so as sb.; hence cross-matching vbl. sb.; cross-member, a strut fastened across the length of the chassis of a motor-car, etc.; cross¬ mint, the species Mentha crispa-, cross¬ modulation, electrical intermodulation; esp. the introduction into one signal of new frequencies from another, unwanted, modulated signal; cross-mouth a., having a transverse mouth; cross-mouth chisel, a cylindrical boring chisel with a diametrical blade; also cross-mouthed chisel, f cross-naming, metonymy; crossoylet = cross-loop-, cross-pass, a pass across the field in football; cross-peen (also -pane, -pein), a hammer in which the peen runs crosswise to the direction of the handle; t cross-penny, a (silver) penny bearing a cross (cf. cross sb. 19); a kreutzer; cross-ply a., designating a tyre in which the layers of fabric are laid with the cords at right angles across one another; also ellipt. as sb.\ f cross-providence, an adverse dis¬ pensation or dealing of providence; cross¬ quarters (Arch.), an ornament of tracery in the form of a cruciform flower; cross-rail, a horizontal rail of a door or other framework; cross-reel v. trans., to wind (yarn) on a reel with a reciprocating movement; so cross-reeling vbl. sb.; cross-rhythm Mus., the simultaneous use of more than one rhythm; cross-rib, (a) Arch. (see quots.); (b) in a side of beef, a sternal rib running crosswise to the body; cross-saddle, a saddle on which the rider sits astride; also as adv., on a cross-saddle, astride; cross-sea (see cross a. 1); cross-seizing Naut., a seizing in which a number of turns of rope cross an equal number in the opposite direction; cross-shed (see quot. a 1877); cross-shoot, -shooting, a shooting or shot at anything moving across the field of sight; cross-shot, (a) = prec.; (b) Lawn Tennis, a shot that sends the ball diagonally across the court; cross-sleeper, a sleeper laid transversely across a tramway or railway track as a support for the rails; also as adj.; cross-spider, the common British garden spider Epeira diadema, so called from the cross-like mark on its anterior surface; cross-talk (Telephone), (a) see quot. 1887; in wider use, any unwanted transfer of signals from one circuit, channel, etc., to another; also, in Radio, a reproduced signal due to waves that are not of the frequency to which the receiver is tuned; (b) altercation, repartee, back-chat; conversation; also attrib.\ so cross-talker; cross-tig, a variety of the game ‘tig’ in which another player running across between pursuer and pursued is pursued in his turn; cross-tining (dial.), cross-harrowing: see cross v. 7 b; cross-tube (see quot. 1888); cross¬ valve, a valve placed where a pipe has two cross¬ branches; cross-vigil (see quot.); cross-vine, a climber of the southern U.S., in which a section of the stem shows a cross-like appearance; cross-volley Lawn Tennis, a volley that sends the ball diagonally across the court; cross¬ voting, voting not according to party lines, in which some of the votes of each party are given on the other side; cross-ward, a cross-shaped ward of a lock; cross-weaving, weaving in which the warp-threads are crossed in regular order; cross-webbing, webbing drawn over the saddle-tree to strengthen the seat of a saddle; cross-winding, (a) a twisting of the surface of masonry, or the like; (b) the winding of yarn on a reel in such a way that the strands of one layer cross those of the previous layer at an acute angle; cross-wire, a wire that crosses; spec. = cross-hair-, cross-wood, a West Indian shrub Jacquinia ruscifolia\ f cross-work, transverse work; adverse action; fwork with crosses; f cross-wounded ppl. a., pierced through with a wound; cross-yard, a pole or spar fastened cross-wise. 1934 C. Lambert Music Ho! iii. 219 It is often suggested that jazz rhythm .. ends by becoming monotonous through its being merely a series of irregular groupings and ‘crossaccents over a steady and unyielding pulse. 1959 D. Cooke Lang. Music v. 265 Driving duple rhythm (with triplets in chaotic cross-accent). 1962 Listener 31 May 969/3 Cross¬ accents and polyrhythms frequently suggest a concerto-like opposition of the various instrumental sounds individually or in groups. 1868 J. H. Blunt Ref. Ch. Eng. I, 393 He had

52 begun a ‘cross action.. against the clergyman. 1841 Gen. Thompson Exerc. (1842) VI. 52 And because there would be no use in two thousand men agreeing to die upon half the food that can keep soul and body together, they either toss up for it or play a *cross-and-jostle match. 1611 Beaum & Fl. King & No K. 11. i, I was run twice through the body, and shot i’ th’ head with a ‘cross arrow. 1874 Knight Diet. Mech., *Cross-axle, 1. a shaft, windlass, or roller worked by opposite levers; as the copper-plate printing-press, etc.; 2. (Railroad Engineering) a driving-axle with cranks set at an angle of 90° with each other. 1875 Gwilt Archit. Gloss, s.v., Handrailing.. is said to be ‘cross-banded when a veneer is laid upon its upper side, with the grain of the wood crossing that of the rail, and the extension of the veneer in the direction of its fibres is less than the breadth of the rail. c 1450 Lydg. Mer. Missse 69 Whan he ryngythe the •crosbelle. 1797 Nelson in Nicolas Disp. II. 416 It is recommended.. that all [the seamen] should have canvas •cross-belts. 1858 W. Ellis Visits Madagascar xiii. 372 The men wore the white cloth .. round their loins, with cross¬ belts, and cartouche boxes over their naked shoulders. 1590 Nashe Pasquil's Apol. 1. Diij, Theyr ‘crosse-blowe of Fellotve labourers will not saue theyr ribbes, if they be no better Fencers. 1607 Hieron Wks. I. 449 A counter-buffe, or crosse-blow, to the plots.. of carnall and worldly-wise men. 1894 T. W. Fox Mech. Weaving 156 If a ‘cross-border machine is employed, a considerable saving in cards results in the manufacture of handkerchiefs.. with a border all round. Ibid., Certain classes of fabrics, such as crossbordered, swivel, and compound. 1909 Westm. Gaz. 30 Mar. 11/4 Low values caused by ‘cross-breaks. 1890 G. Saintsbury Ess. 17 [He] catalogues books as folio, quarto, octavo, and so forth, and then ‘cross-catalogues them as law, physic, divinity and the rest. 1891 Athenaeum 18 July 94/2 Librarians should therefore cross-catalogue.. the work under these headings. 1696 J. Sergeant Meth. Sci. hi. viii. 323 Multitudes of ‘Cross-causes may intervene, hindering that Effect from following. 1768 Blackstone Comm. III. xxvii. 451 When there are cross causes, on a cross bill filed by the defendant against the plaintiff in the original cause, they are generally contrived to be brought on together, that the same hearing and the same decree may serve for both of them. 1891 Scot. Leader 12 Dec. 4 Heavy weather was experienced by the ‘cross-channel steamers. 1892 Daily News 8 Oct. 7/4 Belfast.. White linens for home and crossChannel markets. 1940 Economist 24 Feb. 341/1 Certain ‘cross checks operated by the authorities suggest that the extent of evasion of the Regulations.. has been commendably small. 1951 N.Y. Times 24 June E9/7 Experiments designed to cross-check important results. 1953 Ibid. 18 Jan. S3/6 An Associated Press cross-check.. showed them .. in support of the .. action, i960 E. H. Gombrich Art & Illusion viii. 274 We now know that touch is only one of a whole battery of cross checks at our disposal. 1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio xiii. 225 This front-line audience can be of immense value to him in cross¬ checking his calculation or intuition. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 5 Feb. 20/3 Penalties.. Watson (P) (cross¬ checking). 1823 Crabbe Technological Diet., *Cross-chocks {Mar.).. pieces of timber fayed across the dead-wood in midships, to make good the deficiency of the lower heels of the futtock. 1901 Science 31 May 869/2, I scarcely dare assert that it might not be secondary ‘cross-coloring. 1920 H. E. Howard Territory in Bird Life iv. 133 Here we have a direct relationship.. which at first sight appears to be exclusive of‘cross-correlation. 1965 Math, in Biol. & Med. {Med. Res. Council) 1. 37 The computer is being used to apply the mathematical techniques of autocorrelation and cross-correlation to the interpretation of the EEG in the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy. 1970 Nature 26 Dec. 1299/1 A simple check for the effects of such coupling is to look for differences in the cross correlation between records from different aerials. 1904 J. G. Piddington in Proc. Soc. Psychical Res. XVIII. 294 {heading) ‘Cross¬ correspondences between the trance-utterances and script of Mrs. Thompson and those of other mediums. 1909 O. Lodge Survival of Man xii. 182 Cross-correspondence— that is, the reception of part of a message through one medium and part through another—is good evidence of one intelligence dominating both automatists. 1938 H. F. Saltmarsh {title) Evidence of personal survival from cross correspondences. 1915 M. E. McLoughlin Tennis as I play It (1916) xi. 235 The net-man is in line with the angle of almost all ‘cross-court shots. 1923 Daily Mail 30 June n He cross-courted both returns with his backhand, i960 Times 10 June 18/6 He. . hit his cross-court drive .. to within inches of the line. 1889 E. Tylor in Jrnl. Anthrop. Inst. XVIII. 263 The child of the brother may marry the child of the sister. It seems obvious that this ‘‘cross-cousin marriage’, as it may be called, must be the direct result of the simplest form of exogamy. 1932 Brit. Jrnl. Psychol. Jan. 265 All ortho-cousins are forbidden, while cross-cousins are considered suitable mates. 1970 E. Leach Levi-Strauss 121 A cross-cousin is a cousin of the type ‘mother’s brother’s child’ or ‘father’s sister’s child’. 1847 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VIII. 1. 34 The miserable system of ‘cross-cropping, or taking two or more white straw crops in succession, a 1942 B. Malinowski Sci. Theory Culture (1944) iii. 18 There is the comparative method, in which the student is primar¬ ily interested in gathering extensive ‘cross-cultural documentations. 1949 M. Mead Male & Female ii. 26 All people who have had the good fortune to learn several languages in childhood have a precious degree of., crosscultural understanding. 1701 S. Jeake Body Arith. 142 ‘Cross Daggers of Scotland, New Value 1 is. 8d. 1937 W. S. Glock Princ. & Methods Tree-Ring Analysis 1. 16 Two ring sequences that ‘cross-date were synchronous in formation and effectively duplicate each other in whole or in part... Cross-dating as generally practiced is the establishment of the time identity in ring groups in two different trees by means of very high and convincing structural correlation between them. 1939 G. Clark Archaeol. & Society v. 142 As a basis he studied living trees, cross-dating many trees of the same age to make sure of eliminating individual or purely topographical variations. 1946 F. E. Zeuner Dating the Past i. 11 Cross-dating. Having constructed a number of plots of individual trees one proceeds to ‘cross-date’ them. This is the term used by dendrochronologists for correlating the ring-series of one tree with that of another. 1950 G. E. Daniel too Yrs. Archaeol. iv. 148 The synchronological technique of cross-dating. 1862 Smiles Engineers I. 283 The workmen erected another pier, using much timber in ‘crossdogs, bars, and braces. 1966 H. Benjamin Transsexual

CROSSPhenomenon ii. 12 Men in whom the desire to ‘cross-dress is often combined with other deviations. 1979 P- Ackroyd Dressing Up i. 27/2 When cross-dressed, the transvestite .. ‘achieves a completely emotional identification which is sexually abnormal but aesthetically correct’. 1984 Listener 12 July 7/3 She had never accepted his desire to cross-dress, regarding him as ‘perverted’ and ‘disgusting’. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 16 Oct. 10/3 Not all of these ‘‘crossdressers’, however, are satisfied just to wear feminine finery and assume female mannerisms. 1911 E. Carpenter in Amer. Jrnl. Relig. Psychol. & Educ. July 228 ‘Cross¬ dressing must be taken as a general indication of, and a cognate phenomenon to, homosexuality. 1928 H. Ellis Studies Psychol. Sex VII. 12 But Hirschfeld’s conception of the anomaly scarcely appeared to me altogether satisfactory. Transvestism or cross-dressing fails to cover the whole of the ground. 1950 London & Caprio Sexual Deviations i. 20 Moll classified various varieties of transvestism as follows: .. (2) homosexual cases, in which cross-dressings con¬ stituted part of the contrary state; (3) heterosexual cases, where the sexual impulse is normal and in which cross¬ dressing constitutes part of a contrary sexual state [etc.]. 1971 Daily Tel. (Colour Suppl.) 10 Dec. 21/4 Many transexuals are also transvestites, with cross-dressing an essential part of their all-out desire to assume the opposite role. 1985 Times 21 Jan. 8/6 Androgynous clothing is a challenge to fixed concepts of femininity/masculinity, and once that demarcation line was established in Christian society, cross-dressing became subversive. 1937 Printers' Ink Monthly Apr. 50/2 *Cross-fade, where one section of sound (musical or otherwise) is faded in while another is faded out. 1940 Publishers' Weekly 5 Oct. 1405 Cross fade on cue. 1953 K. Reisz Technique Film Editing ii. 187 The dubbing editor should be able to cross-fade from the dialogue to the music track at any time. 1957 Manvell & Huntley Film Music iii. 78 The turning of the page at a crossfade or cut can be helped by music’s power. 1931 T. H. Pear Voice & Personality vi. 61 The process called by radioplay producers ‘‘cross-fading’. 1812 J. H. Vaux Flash Diet To *cross-fam a person, is to pick his pocket by crossing your arms in a particular position. 1900 Geogr. Jrnl. XVI. 461 Both longitudinal and ‘cross-faults.. in the Eastern Alps. 1964 L. U. de Sitter Struct. Geol. (ed. 2) xiv. 193 The simplest kind of fault is the normal cross-fault, perpendicular to the axis. 1900 Westm. Gaz. 2 May 10/1 Nine ‘cross-ferries, two of which carry vehicular traffic. 1903 Daily Chron. 20 Feb. 6/7 Vehicular cross-ferry traffic was suspended. 1874 Knight Diet. Mech., *Cross-file, a file used in dressing out the arms or crosses of fine wheels. It has two convex faces of different curvatures. 1867 B. Osborne in Morn. Star 9 Apr., There is a thing called ‘cross-fishing, where one line is used with different coloured baits, and where both sides of the stream are swept. 1876 Stainer & Barrett Diet. Mus. Terms 172/2 ‘Cross-flutes were known to the Greeks by the name plagiaulos (wAayZauAo?), and to the Romans as tibia obliqua. 1902 Westm. Gaz. 2 July 2/3 How this the flute, and that the cross-flute wrought. 1715 Leoni Palladio's Archit. (1742) I. 62 The Portico with a ‘crossgrinded Arch. 1874 Boutell Arms & Arm. ix. 173 The simplest variety of hilt.. has.. the pommel.. the barrel.. and the ‘cross-guard. 1608 Plat Garden of Eden (1653) 158 ‘Crossehack your cherry trees.. in the new moon next after Christmas. Ibid. 159 All the ‘cross-hackings here mentioned. a 1884 Knight Diet. Mech. Suppl. 322/1 A telescope fitted with a ‘cross hair. 1917 J. H. McConkey End of Age 50 The cross-hairs of God’s telescope of prophecy are centered upon it. 1881 Duffield Don Quix. I. 142 You need not fear any *cross-hap. a 1625 Boys Wks. (1629) 165 Many are so blinded with the sunshine of prosperity that they see.. no such schoole as the ‘Crossehouse. 187s W. McIlwraith Guide Wigtownshire 58 At either end of the wide part of this street there is a crosshouse. 1892 Law Times XCII. 196/1 ‘Mayor’s Court’ should be ‘cross-indexed as ‘Lord Mayor’s Court’. 1931 G. Stern Meaning & Change of Meaning i. 13 The ‘big’ words are especially liable to sense-loans and ‘cross-influences. 1942 A. Koestler in Horizon V. 390 The revolution in physics has certainly affected the artist.. and similar cross¬ influences are easy to discover. 1927 Daily Tel. 10 Feb. 16/7 You must swerve.. or feint (or even ‘cross-kick) at an unexpected moment. 1954 J. B. G. Thomas On Tour vi. 66 Dobbin.. cross-kicked into the middle, i960 T. McLean Kings of Rugby xi. 179 A crosskick by Brown. 1823 in Spirit of Public Jrnls. 1823 (1825) 59 Although the world has with one assent, agreed to consider the race of *cross-legs as the most peacable and innocent set of people. 1889 Wilde House of Pomegranates (1891)39 Sitting down cross-legs, in a circle. 1912 W. de la Mare Listeners 9 Then from his crosslegs he gets down. 1921 D. H. Lawrence Let. in E. & A. Brewster Reminisc. Corresp. (1934) 24 If only you crossed the spoon and fork in front to look like two crosslegs. 1787 Hist. Eur. in Ann. Reg. 134 The ‘cross letter postage, which had been for many years let out to Mr. Allen. 1964 M. Gowing Brit. Atomic Energy 1939-1945 vii. 208 He did not believe that any agreement between Governments for free ‘cross-licensing was necessary. 1965 Economist 18 Dec. 1330/3 Part of the cross-licensing agreement. 1859 F. A. Griffiths Artil. Man. (ed. 9) 110 To •cross lift a gun, or carriage is to move it in a direction nearly at right angles to its axis. 1649 tr. Behmen's Epist. (1886) v. §29 It maketh a ‘cross-like birth. 1685 H. More Paralip. Prophet. 290 Otherwise the Perimeter of the House had been Cruciform or Cross-like. 1954 J. H. Greenberg in H. Hoijer Lang, in Culture 1. 6 A matter which might be tested by ‘cross-linguistic comparisons. 1964 R. H. Robins Gen. Linguistics 208 Cross-linguistic appeals to equivalents or earlier forms in other languages are wholly irrelevant. 1936 Blaikie & Crozier in Ind. Engin. Chem. XXVIII. 1159/2 The number of ‘cross links in different soluble polymers will vary and be less than in the insoluble variety. 1937 Norrish Sc Brookman in Proc. R. Soc. A. CLXIII. 207 The production of these cross-linkages as determined by the formation of insoluble polymers appears to depend upon the electron attracting or repelling properties. Ibid. 207 Isoprene was used in an attempt to obtain a cross-linked polymer with styrene, since isoprene must possess this cross-linking property. Ibid. 219 Styrene will not form an insoluble co-polymer with the ether, although a small amount of cross-linking must occur. 1941 P. J. Flory in Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. LXIII. 3100/2 Gelation occurs when the cross-linking index y (equal to the number of structural units which are cross-linked per chain) is equal to unity. 1963 J. Osborne Dental Mech. (ed. 5) xi. 240 A

CROSSABLE cross-linking agent may be added to the monomer. On polymerization such a substance cross-links in at least two directions with methyl methacrylate. 1970 Nature 6 June 939/2 This results in cross-linking which binds together the polymer chains within the enlarged crystallites. Ibid., Cross-linking polymers by y-irradiation is known to decrease crystallinity. 1843 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. IV. 11. 492 Spring-waggon on the equirotal ‘cross-lock principle. 1930 Ann. Surg. XCI. 487 In five cases, in which the donor and the recipient were of the same group, there was agglutination when the bloods were ‘cross-matched. 1937 Kracke & Garver Dis. Blood xxxix. 433 It is .. advisable to cross match the prospective donor and recipient to eliminate any possibility of an untoward reaction... In performing a cross match either the slide or the test tube method .. may be used. Ibid., The latter [is ascertained] by cross matching (donor vs. recipient). 1961 Lancet 19 Aug. 381/1 Early assessment allows more time for accurate cross-matching, and makes emergency transfusion safer. 1922 Autocar 10 Nov. 982 Another feature is the mounting of the steering box on the front *cross-member of the chassis. 1962 Which? (Car Suppl.) Oct. 138/1 We had to replace the front suspension cross-member. 1597 Gerarde Herbal 11. ccxv. §2. 552 Mentha cruciata, ‘Crosse Mint, or curled Mint. 1933 J M- Stinchfield in K. Henney Radio Engin. Handbk. viii. 204 ‘Cross-modulation and modulation distortion in the r-f stages of a receiver. 1942 Electronic Engin. XV. 285 This method.. prevents cross-modulation of the two input voltages due to a common cathode impedance. 1958 W. F. Lovering Radio Communication xiii. 319 The cross-modulation component is.. most likely to occur when the interfering signal is that from a strong local station. 01877 Knight Diet. Mech. I. 650/1 *Crossmouth chisel, a boring-chisel of a cylindrical form with a diametrical blade. 1896 Daily News 26 Sept. 3/5 Cross¬ mouthed chisels of hardest tool steel. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie in. (Arb.) 189 Single words haue their sence and vnderstanding altered and figured many wayes, to wit, by transport, abuse, ‘crosse-naming .. change of name. 1857 Turner Dom. Archit. III. 11. vii. 341 In each side of the central buttress is a slit, and above it a ‘cross-oylet. 1929 Daily Express 7 Nov. 19/2 A *cross-pass from right-winger T. Masked was retrieved just beyond the far post by his opposite number. 1961 Times 25 May 4/2 Hitchens headed into the top corner on the bounce a long cross-pass from Armfield. .5 3.) Hence as v. trans. and intr. Also fig. 1864 ‘Mark Twain’ Sketches of Sixties (1927) 149 The skirmishers fight shyly up to each other, counter and crosscounter, feint and parry. 1889 E. B. Michell Boxing 166 The answer to this cross-counter is to deliver the right at the face of the counterer. 1897 Encycl. Sport (1901) I. 134/2 That most effective of manoeuvres, though difficult of execution, the right hand cross-counter. Ibid. 137/1 Should he show a tendency to counter at the body or cross-counter at the head, you may find an opening for an upper-cut. 1907 W. De Morgan Alice-for-Short xxvi. 276 As this and much more cross-countered continually with the dialogue about Alice’s squashy days, Mrs. Heath had good excuse for misunderstanding.

'cross-country, a. [cross- io.] a. Across the country transversely to the great highways; across the fields, etc., instead of following the roads. 1767 S. Paterson Another Traveller! I. 316 We had a cross-country road back to Alost. 1786 Cowper Gratitude 20 These carpets.. Oh spare them, ye knights of the boot, Escaped from a cross country ride! 1885 H. O. Forbes Nat. Wandr. E. Archip. 191 The main cross-country road to Bencoolen.

b. Applied to flying across the country. Also absol., a cross-country flight. 1909 Daily Chron. 9 Sept. 1/6 The first cross-country flight of note was made by M. Farman on October 30, 1908. 1948 ‘N. Shute’ No Highway xi. 287 He .. had hit a hill, like any pupil on his first cross-country.

'cross-'couple, v. [cross- 6.] trans. To couple things that do not naturally go together. Hence f'cross-'couple sb., 'cross-'coupling vbl. sb., Puttenham’s term for the rhetorical figure synceciosis, ‘whereby heterogeneous things were combined or attributed to one person.’ 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie III. xix. (Arb.) 216 Another figure which .. may well be called .. the Cross-couple [marg. Syneciosis, or the Crosse copling]. 1681-6 Scott Chr. Life II. 363 There will be no more.. such cross-coupling of Prosperity with Vice and Misery with Virtue.

'cross-course, sb. Mining, [cross-4.] A vein or lode (usually barren) intersecting the regular vein or lode at an angle; also = cross-cut sb. 2. 1802 Playfair Illustr. Hutton. Th. 254 Intersected nearly at right angles by other mineral veins called Cross Courses. 1882 Rep. Geol. Explor. 13 A short cross-course was put in intersecting the lode.

t ‘cross-course, a. Obs. [cross- io.] Running athwart the straight course of things. 1632 C. Downing State Eccl. Kingd. (1634) 51 All was made sure .. by the elective assent of the supreme Nobilitie, without any cross-course conditions (as falls out) when the souldiers or people elect.

'cross-'crosslet. Her. [Cf. crosslet 2.] Across having the extremity of each arm in the form of a small cross. i486 Bk. St. Albans, Her. B iij b, Cros croslettis and Cros flory. C1630 Risdon Surv. Devon. §128. (1810) 134 Three lions between six cross croslets. 1864 Boutell Heraldry Hist. & Pop. xxi. §5 (ed. 3) 361 A chevron between three crosses-crosslets sa.

'cross-cut, sb. [cross-4 a, b.] 1. (Usually cross cut.) A cut or cutting across or from side to side; a direct path between two points, transverse or diagonal to the main way. 1800 Spirit Pub. Jrnls. IV. 186 If you have occasion to travel frequently to one place, take all the cross cuts. 1837 R-

CROSSED

55 Ellison Kirkstead 27 Deep cross-cuts lurk the treacherous shrubs below. 1876 Bancroft Hist. U.S. V. xiv. 492 He knew the by-ways.. and the cross-cuts and roads as far as Brunswick.

2. Mining. A cutting across the course of a vein, or across the general direction of the workings. 1789 J. Williams Min. Kingdom (1810) I. 312 It is., proper to push forward cross cuts from your first trench every way. 1851 Greenwell Coal-trade Terms Northumb. & Durh. 20 Crosscut, an excavation driven at an acute angle to the direction of the cleavage or cleat. 1872 Raymond Statist. Mines 326 A cross-cut is being run from the main shaft.. 95 or 100 feet below the surface.

3. A step in dancing. 1842 Dickens Amer. Notes (1850) 62/2 Single shuffle, double shuffle, cut and cross-cut.

4. Short for cross-cut file: see next, 2. 1831 J. Holland Manuf. Metal I. 302 For working iron .. the single lines are closely cut over diagonally and the file becomes a cross-cut.

5. Short for cross-cut saw. 1848 E. Atkinson Otago Jrnl. III. 46 Pit-saws; whit saws; and crosscuts, and files for ditto. 1853 p Paxton’ Yankee in Texas 89 Felling trees, handling cross-cuts, rolling blocks. 1942 L. Rich We took to Woods (1948) 55 Excellence on a two-man cross-cut has nothing to do with size and strength.

6. Cinemat. (See cross-cut

v.

2.)

'cross-cut, a. 1. Adapted for cross-cutting. 1828 Webster, Crosscut-saw, a saw managed by two men, one at each end for sawing large logs or trees across. 1874 Knight Diet. Mech., Cross-cut Chisel, a chisel with a narrow edge and considerable depth, used in cutting a groove in iron. 1880 Blackw. Mag. Feb. 173 Large trees mostly sawn down by the cross-cut saw.

2. [cross- 8.] Cut across or transversely; having transverse cuts; esp. of a file, having two sets of teeth crossing each other diagonally. 1833 J. Holland Manuf. Metal II. 127 The files used by the whitesmith upon cold work are mostly of the cross-cut description. 1883 E. Pennell-Elmhirst Cream Leicestersh. 135 A deep cross-cut fallow.

,cross-'cut, v.

[cross- 6.]

1. trans. To cut

across or transversely.

'cross-di'vision, [cross- 9.] The division of any group according to more than one principle of division at the same time, so that the species cut across one another and produce confusion; an instance of such an intersecting division. 1828 Whately Rhet. in Encycl. Metrop. 246/1 Arguments are divided according to several different principles.. And these cross-divisions have proved a source of endless perplexity to the Logical and Rhetorical student. 1887 Fowler Deduct. Logic 60 A division.. of men into Frenchmen, Asiatics, the unproductive classes, and barbarians, would be a cross-division.

f 'cross-dollar. Obs. [cross- 3 c.] A Spanish dollar, having a cross on the reverse (as was the case at the end of the 17th c.). 1689 Lond. Gaz. No. 2444/4 About 40/. in Spanish Money and Cross Dollars. 1704 Ibid. 4029/1 Cross Dollars, Eighteen Peny-weight, Four Shillings and Four Pence Three Farthings.

'cross-dye, v. trans. (Seequots.) Hence'cross¬ dye sb., a colour used in cross-dying; 'cross¬ dyeing vbl. sb. 1885 J. J. Hummel Dyeing Textile Fabrics 466 The cotton warp may be dyed black, brown, dark blue, drab, &c., before weaving, in which case only the woollen or worsted weft is dyed subsequently. The finished goods are then said to be ‘cross-dyed’. 1901 F. Beech Dyeing Cotton Fabrics iii. 79 This hawking machine will be found useful.. in dyeing cotton cloths with such dyes as.. Cross-dye blacks. Ibid. v. 220 Before the introduction of the direct dyes the method usually followed.. is that known as cross dyeing. 1961 Blackshaw & Brightman Diet. Dyeing 54 Cross dyeing, the dyeing of one component of a mixture of the fibres after at least one of the others has been dyed already. Ibid., The criteria are that the dyed yam shall not change in shade or bleed into other fibres when the latter are cross dyed.

crosse (krDs).

[a. F. crosse:—OF. croce = It. croccia, hockey-stick, etc.: see crose.] The implement used in the game of lacrosse for catching and throwing the ball, consisting of a long shank curved round at the end, with a net stretched across from the curve to the shank. Also called lacrosse-stick.

1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. x. 59 A.. humour rancorous.. That.. Cros-cuts the liver with internall smart. 1655 Culpepper Riverius 11. iii. 67 In a Medium [in Optics] that is Convex and thick, the species are .. broken, and as it were cross-cut. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. § 108 The quarry-men proceed to cross-cut the large flats. 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. 377 The plough.. drawn across the field, and cross-cutting the uncut ribs of grass.

1867 Ball Players' Chron. 20 June 5/4 It is played with a ‘crosse’, each player carrying one. 1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 51 We remember at a lacrosse match taking a shot at the moment a goal was scored, and the ‘crosses’ were being shied into the air by the jubilant scorers. 1909 Westm. Gaz. 23 Sept. 12/3 French is a fine sturdy player, but he is inclined to use only one hand on his crosse.

2. Cinemat. To subject (a film or films) to cross-cutting (see quot. 1933). Also intr. and transf. Hence as adj. and sb.

crosse, var. of crose Obs., crosier.

1933 A. Brunel Filmcraft 95 You may need part of a rejected take because you are cross-cutting that scene. Ibid. 97 After you have eliminated the scene numbers.. you can begin to make the simpler cross-cuts. Ibid. 156 Cross-cut, to alternate in editing two or more scenes—as when one has two close-ups of characters facing each other. 1957 Manvell & Huntley Film Music ii. 40 The two scenes of the dancing action were hastily lengthened and cross-cut to give a rhythm. 1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 5 Dec. 698/1 Haddock’s gestures as he tells the story exactly match and are cross-cut with those of the Chevalier de la Hadoque slashing away at the ruffians boarding his ship. 1962 Listener 30 Aug. 328/1 A montage sequence.. with shots of Eton, night-club frolics.. cross-cut against back-street slums. 1967 Spectator 30 June 772/1 The author has developed an impressive, cinematic technique for telling this story, crosscutting rapidly from episode to episode.

crossect (kros'sekt), v. [f. cross + L. secare,

'cross-,cutter. Forestry, [f. cross-cut -er1.] One who uses a cross-cut saw.

v.

+

1902 N.Z. Illustr. Mag. Feb. 374/1 Having severed the head from the trunk, the crosscutter’s work is considered accomplished, and they pass on to another tree. 1936 ‘A’ in A. M. Rust Whangarei & Dist. Early Rem. 163 Hundreds of bushmen, loggers, jackers, bullock-drivers, cross-cutters and rafters were employed.

'cross-'Cutting, vbl. sb. [f. cross-cut -ING1.] 1. The action of cutting across.

v.

+

1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 345 Repeated cross¬ cuttings with the plough and harrowings. 1896 Daily News 16 Dec. 8/4 He had done 326 feet of cross-cutting still in ore.

2. Cinemat. The action or process of alternating two or more sequences in editing a film. Also transf. 1938 G. H. Sewell Amat. Film-making x. 98 Such a device of alternating shots of two ideas is known as cross cutting. 1954 Encounter Aug. 52/2 Intolerance. .set a standard of screen narrative by cross-cutting and contrapuntal action never since surpassed. 1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 21 Feb. 97/4 The manipulation of a rather complex plot is unsure, the cross-cutting inexpert. 1963 Movie Feb. 31/1 These angles, which are constantly cut together, have been selected in deliberate opposition to conventional cross¬ cutting.

t 'cross-days, sb. pi. Obs. [cross-3 a.] 1. The Rogation Days, or three days preceding Ascension Day. 1501 Plumpton Corr. 152 From Lyncolns Inn, at London, this tuesday in the crose dayes. 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 9 The onely time for putting of fatte weathers is aboute Easter and Crosse days.

2. Days of persecution when the ‘cross’ has to be borne. (Probably with allusion to sense 1.) 1554 Philpot Exam. & Writ. (Parker Soc.) 246 Wherefore contend in these cross days, which be the lovedays of God towards us.

crossear, -ier, obs. ff. crosier. sectum to cut.]

trans. To divide transversely.

i860 Trollope Castle Richmond III. iv. 69 These had since been bisected and crossected, and intersected. 1927 Glasgow Herald 1 Sept. 8 The Exchequer crossects our income.

crossed (kmst, kroist), a. Also crost. [f. cross sb. and v. + -ed.] 1. Marked with a cross, or with the sign of the cross; bearing or wearing a cross; having taken the cross, f crossed friars: = crutched friars. 1494, 1530 [see crutched]. 1529 Test. Ebor. (Surtees) V. 276 To be beried.. under a crossed stone. 1625 Purchas Pilgrims 11. 1226 Many crossed Nobles were assembled at Lions, to goe to the Holy Land. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 341 The animal is called the crost fox. 1795 tr. Mercier's Fragments II. 426 Her crossed and mitred son. 1851 Dickens Child's Hist. Eng. xv. 124 White-crossed., they rushed into the fight.

2. Placed or lying across each other; marked with lines drawn across; (of a letter) written with lines crossing at right angles. Of a cheque: marked with two parallel lines (see quot. 1957 and cross v. 7 c). 1834 Medwin Angler in Wales I. 235 A line.. to which they attach several large crossed hooks. 1834 J. B. Byles Law of Bills (ed. 2) x. 129 Crossed checks. It is common practice in the city of London, to write across the face of a check the name of a banker. 1836 Mrs. Gaskell Let. 12 May (1966) 8 None of your nimini-pimini notes, but a sensible nonsensical crossed letter. 1865 Trollope Belton Est. i. 8 She did not.. correspond with other girls by means of crossed letters. 1876 B. T. Bosanquet {title) Crossed cheques: the object of crossing, with suggestions as to the amendments required in the statutes relating thereto. 1877 Punch LXXII. 280/1 ‘Crossed cheques’ are only payable through bankers. 1957 Encycl. Brit. V. 413/1 The form [of a cheque] may be printed ‘crossed’; two lines being printed across it. A cheque so crossed can only be cashed through a banker. 1966 Listener 25 Aug. 291 (Advt.), Order through your bookseller or send crossed cheque.

3. fig. Thwarted, opposed, etc. 1621 Lady M. Wroth Urania 203 All fortunes pass’d in my cross’d loue. 1691 tr. Emilianne's Frauds Rom. Monks 227 How great a change crost Desires are able to produce in the Body of man. 1798 Landor Gebir Wks. 1846 II. 488 Lest.. crost ambition lose his lofty aim.

fb. Having a ‘cross’ to bear; afflicted. Obs. a 1732 T. Boston Crook in Lot (1805) 99 The afflicted crossed party.. is a gainer thereby, if his spirit is brought down to it.

4. crossed (out): a. obliterated or cancelled by crossing lines; b. Watchmaking: see quot. 1874. 1874 Knight Diet. Mech., Crossed out, when the web of a wheel is sawed and filed away so as to leave a cross of four

CROSSER spokes or arms, it is said to be crossed out. 1884 F. J. Britten Watch Clockm. 69 [A] crossed out wheel.

f'crosser1. Obs. rare—[f. cross crucible, crusie.] A small lamp.

CROSS-HEAD

56

sb.:

cf.

1483 Cath. Angl. 84 A Crosser, crucibulum, lucubrum.

crosser2 ('krDS3(r), 'kro:sa(r)). [f. cross v. + -er1.] One who crosses, in various senses; one who makes the sign of the cross; one who thwarts, opposes, or contravenes; one who passes over, etc. 1565 Calfhill Answ. Treat. Crosse (1846) 82, I know the most crossers are not the best Christians. 1598 Chapman Iliad 1. 229 Any crosser of thy lust. 1654 Whitlock Zootomia 104 An obstinate crosser of men wiser than himselfe. 1876 Birch Rede Lect. Egypt 23 The crossers of the desert.

t'crosset1. Obs. [ad. F. croisette, dim. of croix cross.] A small cross; = crosslet. 1610 Guillim Heraldry 11. vii. (1660) 84 He beareth Gules, a Fesse between three Crossets. 1656 Heylin Surv. France 137 They.. beat down all those little crossets.

t'crosset2. Obs. [ad. F. crossette: see next.] A slip or cutting of a plant, cut under a joint with a small projecting knob left to form an eye. 1616 Surfl. & Markh. Country Farme 596 To make good choice therefore of crossets to plant new vines of. Ibid. 597 The crossets do put forth rootes of themselues.

II crossette (km'set). Arch. [F. crossette, in 16th c. crocette, dim. of croce, crosse crutch, crook, staff, etc.: see crose.] A projection or ear in the architrave or casing around a door- or window¬ opening, at the junction of the jamb and head; also a shoulder or ledged projection in the voussoir of a built-up architrave or flat arch, which rests in a corresponding recess in the adjoining voussoir and strengthens the construction; see quot. 1819. 1730-6 Bailey (folio), Crosette.. the returns in the corners of..door cases or window-frames. 1819 P. Nicholson Archit. Diet. I. 303 Crosettes, in the decorations of apertures, the trusses or consoles on the flanks of the architrave, under the cornice. 1853 in Archit. Publ. Soc. Diet. 1876 Gwilt Archit. Gloss., Crossettes.. the small projecting pieces.. in arch stones, which hang upon the adjacent stones.

^ross-e'xamine, v. [cross- 6 c.] 1. trans. To examine by cross-questioning; to examine by questions adapted to check the results of previous examination; to examine minutely or repeatedly. (In quot. 1664 humorous.) 1664 Butler Hud. n. iii. 1137 A Monster.. Had crossexamin’d both our Hose, And plunder’d all we had to lose. 1667 Decay Chr. Piety (J.), If we may but cross-examine and interrogate their actions against their words, these will soon confess the invalidity of their solemnest confessions. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 94 The accused party was furnished with no copy of the charge. He was examined and crossexamined.

2. spec. To subject (a witness who has already given evidence on behalf of one side in a legal action) to an examination by the other side, with the purpose of shaking his testimony or eliciting from him evidence which favours the other side. 1697 in Cumbrld. Westm. Archaeol. Soc. Trans. VIII. 101 This Exceptant did then by his Councell.. Crosse Examine the Witnesses produced..on the Respondents behalfe. 1752 J. Louthian Form of Process (ed. 2) 207 The Prosecutor first examines the Witnesses produced against the Prisoner, and then the Prisoner may cross-examine them. 1755 Johnson, Cross-examine, to try the faith of evidence by captious questions of the contrary party. Mod. The witness was severely cross-examined, but without shaking her evidence on any material point.

Hence ,cross-exami'nation, the action of cross-examining; ,cross-e'xaminer, .cross-

e’xamining. 1827 Bentham Ration. Evid. Wks. 1843 VI. 378 Completeness of the mass of evidence .. is .. an object at which, by cross-examination and a variety of other means, English procedure never ceases to aim. 1838 Penny Cycl. X. 103/1 In a court of common law.. the cross-examination of a witness follows and is founded upon what the witness has stated in his examination in chief. 1864 Bowen Logic xiii. 429 Very few., can be trusted to report their own observations, until they have undergone a severe crossexamination. 1838 Dickens O. Twist xxxi, ‘Why not?’ demanded Rose. ‘Because, my pretty cross-examiner’ replied the doctor: ‘because.. there are many ugly points about it.’ 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 266 On whom Socrates tries his cross-examining powers.

'cross-eye. [cross-4 c.] 2t.pl. Squinting eyes, b. That sort of squint in which the eyes are turned inwards so that the axes of vision cross each other; internal strabismus. 1826 Miss Mitford Village Ser. 11. (1863) 302, I cannot abide these ‘cross-eyes’, as the country people call them; though I have heard of ladies who.. admired those of Mr. Wilkes.

Hence 'cross-eyed a., squinting. 1791 Cowper Iliad 11. 260 Cross-eyed he was. 1816 W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. XLII. 139 A cross-eyed effort, which criticism should blush to admire. 1892 R. Kipling Barrack-room Ball., Yng. Brit. Soldier x.

'cross-'fertilize, v. Bot.

[cross- 6.] trans. To fertilize by pollen from another flower or plant.

1880 Libr. Univ. Knowl. (N.Y.) XI. 404 A wood pavement must expose the cross-grain of the wood.

1876 Darwin Cross-Fertil. i, The flowers of most kinds of plants are constructed so as to be.. cross-fertilised by pollen from another flower. fig. 1889 Jacobs JEsop p. xvii, European literature was being crossfertilized by new germs from the East.

cross-grained ('krDsgreind, 'krais-), a. [Parasynthetic deriv. of prec.] 1. Of wood: Having the grain or fibre arranged

Hence 'cross-ferti'lizable a.\ 'cross-fertili'zation (also fig.). in Eclectic Mag. XXXV. 735 Blossoms crossfertilizable by insects. 1876 Darwin Cross-Fertil. 1 Cross¬ fertilization is sometimes ensured by the sexes being separated. 1879 Lubbock Sci. Lect. ii. 35 To secure crossfertilisation .. winged insects are almost necessary, because they fly readily from one plant to another. 1900 Westm. Gaz. 26 Jan 3/3 Nearly all eighteenth-century art in France and England hangs ultimately upon him; and, by their crossfertilisation, how much of modern art too! 1928 C. H. Dodd Authority of Bible ix. 196 Alexander’s conquests had brought the old order to an end. There was a mingling of cultures, a cross-fertilization of East and West. 1944 J. S. Huxley On Living in Rev. p. vii, The compulsory cross¬ fertilization of ideas. 1970 Daily Tel. 22 Apr. 21/5 The companies are now starting on the cross-fertilisation process, exchanging information, identifying common projects. 1882 Gray

cross-file: see

cross-

B.

'cross-'fire.

[cross- 9.] Mil. Lines of fire from two or more positions crossing each other. Also fig. So 'cross-firing vbl. sb. Let. 22 June (1965) I. 276 This cross-firing of notes makes me smile, i860 Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. III. cxxvii. 83 Exposed to a cross fire of musquetry or matchlocks. 1873 Black Pr. Thule xiv. 217 A continual cross-fire of small pleasantries. 1884 J. Hall A Chr. Home 160 And so the firing and the cross-firing proceed where all should be peace. 1837 Dickens

'cross-fish,

[cross- 3 b.] A starfish of the genus Uraster; the common 5-fingered star-fish.

1805 Forsyth Beauties Scotl. I. 459 The corse fish prey on oysters, and likewise on muscles. 1862 Ansted Channel Isl. 11. ix. (ed. 2) 237 The cross-fish.. the cribella, the sun-stars .. are all represented.

t 'cross-fixed, pa. pple. Obs. [cross- 2.; after L. crucifixus.] Fixed on a cross, crucified. a 1618 Sylvester Mysterie of Myst., The Sonne 29 Tempted, tormented, mockt, condemn’d, Crosse-fixed, dead, buried. 1849 J. A. Carlyle Dante's Inferno xxm. 280 To my eyes came one [Caiaphas] cross-fixed [crocifisso] in the ground with three stakes.

'Cross-flower,

[cross-3 a.] A name proposed

by Gerarde for Milkwort (Polygala). Herbal 11. clx. §6. 450 Milke woort. .doth specially flourish in the Crosse or.. Rogation weeke .. in English we may cal it Crosse flower. 1822 K. Digby Broadst. Hon. (1846) II. 364 Cross-flower, or rogationflower. 1597 Gerarde

'cross-fox. [cross- 3 c.] A variety of the fox, having a dark marking along the back and another across the shoulders, forming a cross. Crost fox: see crossed i .] 1830 Gardens ofZool. Soc. 221 The Cross Fox of America. 1862 H. Marryat Year in Sweden I. 480 An animal.. called the cross-fox, from its bearing a distinct black cross on the shoulders. [1774

I.

cross-frog: see

cross-

B.

f'crossful, a.

Obs. [f. cross sb. or v. + -ful, after bashful, wakeful.] Given to crossing or thwarting. c 1680 Doubting Virgin in Roxb. Ball. IV. 344, I wonder young-men are so crossful, since Virgins are so full of love?

'cross-'garnet.

[cross-3 b.] 'A species of hinge formed thus I-, with the vertical part fastened to the style or jamb of the doorcase, and the horizontal part to the door or shutter’ (Gwilt). Scales Comm., Archit. 25 Crosse garnet hinges are usually not so strong. 1663 Gerbier Counsel 95 Hung with cross-garnets. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 18 When the Joint., on the Tail, is pind in the Joint., in the Cross, the whole Hinge is called a Cross-Garnet. 1881 Every Man his own Mechanic §836 A pair of T hinges, sometimes called cross-garnets, must be screwed to the jamb. 1659 Willsford

'cross-'gartered, ppl. a.

Obs. [cross- 8.] Having the garters crossed on the legs. (See Aldis Wright’s note to Shaks. Twel. N.) So 'cross-’gartering vbl. sb. f

[1585 Higins tr. Junius' Nomenclator 168 Fasciae crurales, hose garters going acrosse or ouerthwart, both aboue and beneath the knee. 1599 Porter Angry Worn. Abingd. (Percy Soc.) 25, I warrant yee, heele haue His cruell garters crosse about the knee.] 1601 Shaks. Twel. N. 11. v. 167 And wish’d to see thee euer crosse garter’d. Ibid. III. iv. 23 This does make some obstruction in the blood, this crosse-gartering. 01613 Overbury Char., Footeman, More upright than any cross-gartered gentleman-usher. 1628 Ford Lover's Mel. iii. i, As rare an old youth as ever walked cross-gartered.

'cross-grain,

[cross- 4b.]

1. A grain running across the regular grain of any substance. 1681 Grew Musaeum Reg. Soc. 282 Between the Grain and the Vein of a Diamond, there is this difference, that the former furthers; the latter, being so insuperably hard, hinders the splitting of it. Altho .. a Vein, sometimes is nothing else, but a Cross-Grain.

2. The grain (of wood, etc.) cut across.

in crossing directions, or irregularly, instead of running straight longitudinally. 1673-4 Grew Anat. Plants in. 11. vii. §5 Elm., is the most Cross-grain’d Timber: that is, cleaveth so unevenly.. according to the cross Position of the said Vessels. 17°3 Moxon Mech. Exerc. no Stuff is Cross-grain’d when a.. Branch shoots out on that part of the Tree; For the.. Grain of that branch .. runs a-cross the Grain of the Trunk. 1873 J. Richards Wood-working Factories 104 Knives for working hard or cross-grained lumber.

2. fig. Of opposed nature or temper; given to opposition, contrarious; difficult to deal with, intractable; perverse, refractopr, queertempered. (Said of persons and things.) 1647 Case Kingd. 16 So cross-grain’d to all Novelty. 1652 Wharton Rothomanne's Chirom. Ded., The many Discouragements and Cross-grain’d Events I have Laboured under. 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. ill, Was there ever such a cross-grain’d brute, that won’t hear me? 1850 Trollope Impress, of Wand. xiii. 204 He would think you a pestilent, cross-grained fellow. 1883 Stevenson Treasure Isl. v. xxiii. (1886) 184 She [the boat] was the most cross-grained lop-sided craft to manage.

3. advb. Across the grain, (lit. and fig.) 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 69 Working still Cross-grain’d. 1825 Lamb Elia, Convalescent, Things went cross-grained in the Court yesterday.

Hence cross-'grainedness. 1652 Wadsworth tr. Sandoval's Civ. Wars Spain 273 By reason of the pervers Cross-grainedness of those of the Junta. 1673 S. Dugard Marriages Cousin Germ. 65 The ill nature of the Wife, or the Cross-graindnesse of the Husband. 01734 North Lives III. 279 A fanatic, whereof the composition was crossgrainedness, ambition, and malice. 1867 Trollope Chron. Barset II. lviii. 154 She., could only lament.. over.. the cross-grainedness of men.

cross-guard: see cross- B. 'cross-'hackle, v. [cross- 6.] trans. To cross¬ question vexatiously or persistently: cf. hackle. Hence 'cross-'hackling vbl. sb. 1826 J. Banim O'Hara Tales Ser. 11. Peggy Nowlan, We can cross-hackle her on the head of it. 1886 P. Fitzgerald Fatal Zero xxx. (1888) 187 The good-humoured way in which I have borne all this cross-hackling.

'cross-'handed, a.

[cross- ii.] Having the hands crossed; commonly used advb. 1836 W. Irving Astoria I. 165 The merchant fishermen .. passed the objects of traffic, as it were, cross-handed. 1882 Century Mag. XXIV. 708/1 The gaunt women.. [are] rowing ‘cross-handed’.

'cross-'handled, a. [crosshandle in the form of a cross.

ii.]

Having a

1801 Scott Fire-King xiv, He has thrown by his helmet, and cross-handled sword. 1883 j. Hawthorne Fort. Fool 1. xxv, Limping cleverly along with the help of his two crosshandled staves.

'cross-,hatch, v.

[cross- 6.] To engrave or hatch a surface with parallel lines in two series crossing each other; esp. to shade an engraving or drawing by this method. Hence 'cross-,hatched ppl. a.\ 'cross-,hatching vbl. sb the process of marking with crossing sets of parallel lines; the effect so produced. 1822 Bewick Mem. 239 Some impressions from woodcuts done long ago, with cross-hatching, i860 Cornh. Mag. No. 3. 271 A certain kind of cross-hatching went out with A. Durer. 1873 Geikie Gt. Ice Age vi. 74 Such cross-hatchings .. seem to be confined to the lowland districts. 1888 W. E. Henley Bk. of Verses 46 The long lines of lofty, gray houses! Cross hatched with shadow and light.

So 'cross-.hatch sb. = cross-hatching; 'cross-,hatcher, one who executes crosshatching. i860 Cornh. Mag. No. 3. 271 With the engravers the ‘cross-hatch’ and the ‘double cypher’.. were secrets. 1870 Spectator 19 Nov., 1384 All the stipplers and cross-hatchers in England.

'cross-head, sb.

[cross- 4.]

1. a. The bar at the end of the piston-rod of a

steam-engine, which slides between straight guides, and communicates the motion to the connecting-rod, etc. 1827 Mech. Mag. VIII. 2 Can the cross-head, side rods, cranks, shaft, .be reduced? 1861 T. L. Peacock Gryll. Gr. xx. 179 Vibrating.. with one invariable regulated motion like the cross-head of a side-lever steam engine. attrib. 1850 Weale Diet. Terms, Cross-head guides, in locomotive engines, the parallel bars between which the cross-head moves. Cross-head blocks.. the parts which slide between the parallel guides.

b. Any beam across the top of a piece of mechanism. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm I. 417 The draught shackle .. is held in its place upon the cross-head .. by the draughtbolt. Ibid. II. 134 The handle, .terminates in a crosshead. 01884 Knight Diet. Mech. Suppl., Cross Head, a cruciform-shaped four-handled bar, at the upper end of a drill-rod or earth-auger. 1884 Science III. 314 Two sidescrews, carrying the top crosshead. 1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 151 /1 Thus avoiding torsion of the polar axis at the expense of greatly increased length of the cross-head. 1901 Merwin & Webster Calumet 'IC xvi. 322 Another endless

CROSS-HEADED

57

series of cups was carrying the wheat aloft. It went over the cross-head and down a spout.

2. A heading to a paragraph printed across the page or column in the body of an article. 1888 Pall Mall G. 1 Sept. 11/2 In two cases Mr. Knowles allows frequent ‘cross-heads’. 1964 Friend 4 Sept. 1067/2 The memorandum continues (and from this point, inserting only crossheads, we quote it in full): We cannot [etc.].

3. Mining. A heading running across a vein. 1877 R. W. Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 197 At the point of connection the eastern limit of the south vein is defined by a cross-head .., and to the east of this cross-head no trace of the fissure has as yet been found.

4. cross-head brasses pi., the brass bearings of the cross-head of a steam or other engine; cross-head pin, the pin by which the connecting-rod is attached to the piston-rod. 1865 Daily News 26 July 3/1 No. 80 torpedo boat.. broke down owing to a defect in the crosshead brasses. 1887 D. A. Low Machine Drawing xii. 51 The cross-head pin need not be drawn separately. 1889 Hasluck Model Engin. Handybk. viii. 91 The hole in cross-head must be broached out till the cross-head pin will nearly fit it.

Hence 'cross-head v., to furnish with a cross¬ head (sense 2). 1890 Pall Mall G. Jan., The Tablet. .cross-heads one of its paragraphs ‘The Need of the Confessional’. 1908 ‘Ian Hay’ Right Stuff iii. 42, I doubt now if I could write out twenty lines of ‘Paradise Lost’ without cross-heading them.

'cross-headed, a. [cross- 11.] Having the head or top in the form of a cross. 1866 Howells Venet. Life xvi. 243 The cross-headed staff.

'cross-heading,

[cross-

4.]

1. Mining.

A

transverse heading (see quots.). 1883 H. M. Chance Rep. Mining Methods in Anthrac. Coal Fields 533 Cross-heading, a passage driven for ventilation from the airway to the gangway, or from one breast through the pillar to the adjoining working. 1904 Goodchild & Tweney Technol. & Sci. Diet. 140/2 Cross Heading, a drift or passage from one level to another for ventilating purposes. 2. = CROSS-HEAD sb. 2. 1898 G. B. Shaw Our Theatres in Nineties (1932) III. 378 The interview, the illustration and the cross-heading, hitherto looked on as American vulgarities impossible to English literary gentlemen, invaded all our papers. 1967 Listener 16 Nov. 634 It’s my great opportunity to be listed under the magical cross-heading ‘from Professor Ayer and others’.

‘cross-,hilted, a. [cross- ii.] Having a hilt which forms a cross with the blade and handle. 1661 Evelyn Tyranus in Mem. (1871) 751, I.. had rather see a glittering stone to hasp it there, than the long cross hilted knots now worn. 1878 B. Taylor Deukalion 11. iii. 68 Cross-hilted swords.

crossiade, obs. form of crusade. cross-index: see cross- B. crossing ('krosir), ‘kro:s-), vbl. sb. [f. cross v.] 1. The marking with or making the sign of the cross. 153° Palsgr. 211/1 Crossyng, croisee. 1548-9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Offices 37 As touching kneeling, crossing .. and other gestures. 1884 Evangelical Mag. Jan. 9 As many genuflexions .. and as many crossings as ever.

2. The action of drawing lines across; striking out, erasure; writing across other writing. crossing off or out: striking off (an item), striking out (a word or entry) by drawing a cancelling line across it. zt hauen here hoodes wrong turned. 1535 Coverdale Ezek. xxiv. 17 A greate vengeaunce will I take vpon them, and punysh them cruelly. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. 1. (1586) 15 The BaylifTe must beware that he deale not to cruelly, nor to gently with them.

4. Painfully, sorely; excessively. C1385 Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 340 Thou shah repenten this So cruelly, that it shal wele be sene. 1599 Shaks. Hen. V, v. ii. 216 But good Kate, mocke me mercifully, the rather .. because I loue thee cruelly. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. ii. 4 Their ship being shot through and through .. and cruelly battered all over. 1780 Mad. D’Arblay Diary May, Mrs. Montagu we miss cruelly. 1782-Lett. Feb., We had waited cruelly for the coach. 1885 Manch. Exam. 6 Apr. 5/2 The weather this Eastertide is bright, but cruelly dry and cold.

t cruelness. Obs. [f. as prec. + -ness.] 1. The quality of being cruel; cruelty. a 1300 Cursor M. 28739 (Cott.) Resun to yield well better is o merci ^an of cruelnes [v.r. crowelnes]. 1426 Audelay Poems 60 Scorgid with creuelnes. 1541 Paynel Catiline vi. 10 Consideryng the great cruelnesse of the dede. 1596 Spenser F.Q. vi. i. 41 The reproch of pride and cruelnesse.

2. Fierceness, savageness. I432“5° tr. Higden (Rolls) I. 153 Amazones.. the cruellenes of whom Hercules did mitigate firste. 1575 Recorde Ground of Arts Pref. to Edw. VI, To conuerte wylde people to a myldenesse, and chaunge their furious cruelnesse into gentle curtesye. 1631 Celestina iv. 53 Your dogge, for all his fiercenesse, and cruelnesse of nature [etc.].

3. Severity, rigour. 1537 Inst. Chr. Man Lvb, A good iudge.. although he shewe outwardely cruelnesse and rygour, yet inwardly he ought to loue the personne. a 1625 Boys Wks. (1630) 415 Wise men inuented the game of Chesse to mitigate the cruelnesse of governours.

cruelty ('krunlti). Forms: 3-6 cruelte, (4 cruelete, creweltie), 4-6 crualte, (5 crueltee, 6 cruaulte), 5-7 crueltie, 6- cruelty, [a. OF. crualte (later cruaute), according to Hatzfeld:—pop. L. type *cruddlitat-em, for crudelitat-em (see crudelity), whence the other Romanic forms Pr. cruzeltat, Sp. crueldad, It. crudelta, -ita.] 1. a. The quality of being cruel; disposition to inflict suffering; delight in or indifference to the pain or misery of others; mercilessness, hard¬ heartedness: esp. as exhibited in action. Also, with pi., an instance of this, a cruel deed.

a 1225 Ancr. R. 268 J>us he litefi cruelte mid heowe of rihtwisnesse. C1330 R. Burnne Chron. (1810) 78 Of his crueltes he gynnes for to assuage, c 1449 Pecock Repr. m. viii. 324 Deedis of cruelte and of vnpitee. 1531 Elyot Gov. ii. vii, The vice called crueltie, whiche is contrary to mercye. 1613 Shaks. Hen. VIII, v. iii. 76 ’Tis a cruelty, To load a falling man. 1655-60 Stanley Hist. Philos. (1701) 40/1 All, whom the Cruelty of War suffer’d to escape. 1773 Observ. State Poor 43 The cruelty of a Nero, or a Domitian. 1865 Kingsley Herew. iii. (1866) 77 Boasting of his fights and cruelties. 1871 R. W. Dale Commandm. iii. 83 It would be brutal cruelty to make a jest of the weakness and sufferings of the patients in an hospital. b. attrib., as cruelty-lust, cruelty man (also

After 16th c. rare until the 19th c., in which the spelling crewet is sometimes used. £1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 228/318 Weued and chaliz and Cruettes J?ouru3-out cler cristal. 1395 E.E. Wills (1882) 5 Twey cruetis.. twey siluer basyns for the auter. 1460-5 Churchw. Acc. St. Andrew's, East Cheap in Brit. Mag. XXXI. 394 For. .a kay to the chyrch yard durr and for ij Crewettys. 1550 Bale Image both Ch. (1560) Bij, Miters, copes, crosses, cruettes, ceremonies. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. I. 579 He bequeathed all his books, his two Chalices, his Crewetts, holy water stock [etc.].. to his private chappell in London. 1877 J. D. Chambers Div. Worship 259 Two Crewets, one containing the wine and the other water. 1885 Dixon Hist. Ch. Eng. III. 450 Cruets and chrismatories.

with capital initials) colloq., an N.S.P.C.C. or R.S.P.C.A. officer.

3. Comb, cruet-stand, a stand or frame, commonly of silver, for holding cruets and castors at table; also formerly cruet-frame.

1925 D. H. Lawrence Refl. Death Porcup. 59 His crueltylust is directed almost as much against himself as against his victim. 1954 D. V. Donnison Neglected Child iv. 82 Workers., had been shut out of houses by people who suspected they had ‘put the cruelty man on to them’. 1958 Sunday Express 27 Apr. 6/6 The Cruelty Man has been asking questions about Janie. 1970 P. Dickinson Seals iii. 68 Mr. Fasting .. had larruped Jamie... Mother had wanted to send for the Cruelty Man.

|2. Severity of pain; excessive suffering. Obs. Circunsision in Tundale's Vis. (1843) 87 With full grete cruelte For us he suffurd circunsysyon Upon the cros. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 168 A tedious sicknesse.. continued with such cruelty, that never any man was brought lower. 14..

f3. Severity, strictness, rigour. Obs. 1556 Aurelio Isab. (1608) K v, It sholde be beter to faille a litell in the justice, than to be superflue in crualte. 1636 Blount Voy. Levant (1637) 13 The want of crueltie upon delinquents causes much more oppression of the Innocent.

f4. Strength savour.

or

harshness

(of smell);

ill

c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. xii. 81 Of crueltee noo thing wol in hem [Garlic, etc] smelle.

t'cruent, a. Obs. rare. [ad. L. cruent-us bloody, f. cru- root of cruor blood (from a wound).] Bloody; fig. cruel. 1524 St. Papers Hen. VIII, VI. 350 With a cruent and blody hand. 1541 R. Copland Galyen's Terapeut. 2 Civb, [An] vlcere.. that is cruent and full of blode. 1657 Phys. Diet., Cruent, bloody. Hence f'cruently adv., cruelly. C1380 Antecrist in Todd 3 Treat. Wyclif 120 What is it f>enne J?at shal encreese cruentlier in £>ise tourmentis?

feruentate, a. Obs. rare. [ad. L. cruentat-us, pa. pple. of cruentare to stain with blood, f. cruent-us: see prec.] Blood-stained. 1665 Glanvill Seeps. Sci. xxiv. §3 Passing from the cruentate cloth or weapon to the wound.

So feruentated = prec. (folio), Cruentated, besprinkled, or bedawbed with blood. 1730-6

Bailey

embrued,

1716 Lond. Gaz. No. 5437/4 A Cruit Frame, 4 Salts. 1793 W. Roberts Looker-on No. 65 Aided by the delicious provocatives of the cruet-stand! 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop xxxix, White table-cloth, and cruet-stand complete.

crufe, cruif(e, obs. var. cruive. Cruft (krAft). The name of Charles Cruft (1852-1938), used in the possessive to designate the dog show founded by him (now administered by the Kennel Club) and held annually in London since 1886. Also as Cruft’s, Crufts(’). [1891 Kennel Chron. 26 Jan. 2/2 The following shows between 1st Jan. and 31st Dec. in each year only to count: Liverpool, Cruft’s Terrier Show [etc.].] 1910 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 376/2 The [Kennel] club has control over all the shows held in the United Kingdom,.. the actual number of dogs which were entered at the leading fixtures being: Kennel Club show 1789, Cruft’s 1768, [etc.]. 1936 ‘R. West’ Thinking Reed xii. 433 The dogs were sitting on each side of him .. they looked too like him. She felt as if she were contemplating marrying into Crufts’. 1962 ‘J. le Carre’ Murder of Quality v. 68 My sister is devoted to dogs... She .. was commended at Cruft’s. 1970 Guardian 6 Apr. 9/1 A girl.. is constantly under pressure to groom herself like a Cruft’s exhibit. 1984 s. Townsend Growing Pains A. Mole 18 He said that Mitzi was being prepared for Crufts and mustn’t suffer any stress.

crug (krAg). slang. Food; spec, the commons of bread at Christ’s Hospital. The original meaning may be ‘crust’, in which sense it is used at Christ’s Hospital School, Hertford. 1820 Lamb Elia Ser. 1. Christ's Hospital, We were battening upon our quarter of a penny loaf—our crug— moistened with attenuated small beer. 1873 Slang Diet., Crug, food. Christ’s Hospital boys apply it only to bread.

cruin, Sc. form of croon.

or

cruentation

(kruien'teijsn). [ad. L. cruentation-em, n. of action f. cruentare (see prec.); in Tertullian with the sense ‘staining with blood’.] ‘A term applied to the oozing of blood which occurs sometimes when an incision is made into the dead body’; also formerly to the supposed ‘bleeding from the wounds of a dead person in the presence of the murderer’ (Syd. Soc. Lex.).

feru'entous, a. Obs. rare. [f. L. cruent-us (see cruent) + -ous.] Bloody. (lit and fig.) 1648 Venice Looking-glass 9 Thus a cruell and most cruentous civill war began. 1651 Howell Venice 125 A most cruentous fight pass’d on both sides. 1675 Burthogge Causa Dei 301 The insufficiency of cruentous Sacrifices. 1882 Syd. Soc. Lex., Cruentous, red like blood; bloody. Formerly applied to the humours or excretions, sputa, sweat, and such like, when mixed with blood.

cruet (’kru:it). Forms: 3-6 cruett(e, 4-6 cruete, crowet, -ett(e, 5 crewyt, krewette, 5-6 crwet(t, 5-7 crewett(e, 6 cruat, -ytte, crewat, crowat, crouette, 6-8 cruit, 7 creuett, 6-9 crewet, 3cruet. [ME. cruete, cruette, appears to repr. an OF. *cruete, dim. of OF. cruie, crue, pot, = Gascon cruga (cf. Pr. crugo), app. f. OLG. cruca, MLG. kruke f., cognate with OHG. kruog, Ger. krug m., pot, which appears to have entered the Romanic of Gaul in the two forms *cruca, *cruga, whence F. cruche, cruie respectively. An AF. cruet m. of date 1376 is cited in Godef.] 1. A small bottle or vial for liquids, etc.; now only applied to a small glass bottle with a stopper, to contain vinegar, oil, etc. for the table. 1382 Wyclif Mark vii. 4 Waischingis of cuppis and cruetis. 1432-50 tr. Higden (Rolls) V. 131 A cruette of gold with bawme brennenge faste in hit. 1512 Act 4 Hen. VIII, c. 7 §7 Salsellers, goblettes, spones, cruettes or candelstikkes. 1611 Cotgr., Goutteron, a Violl, or Cruet wherein Oyle, or Vinegar is serued to the table. 1630 Brathwait Eng. Gentlem. (1641) 194 To set an houre-glasse beside us, and observe those precious graines. . how swiftly they run thorow the cruet. 1713 Lond. Gaz. No. 5086/3 A Sett of Casters with Vinegar Crewets. 1865 Miss Braddon Only a Clod v. 27 The landlord .. came bustling in.. with .. knives and forks, and glasses, and cruets.

2. Eccl. A small vessel to hold wine or water for use in the celebration of the Eucharist, or to hold holy water for other uses.

cruise (kru:z), v. Also 7 cruse, 7-9 cruize. [First in 17th c.; corresponding alike to Du. kruisen to cross, also since 17th c. to cruise, to sail crossing to and fro, 'kruyssen op de Zee, to traverse and cross the seas’ (Hexham, 1678), f. kruis cross, and to Sp. and Pg. cruzar to cross, to cruise, F. croiser to cross, ‘croiser la mer to cruise up and down the Sea’ (Miege 1688). The word is thus ultimately identical with croise t>. and cross v.\ the current spelling with ui seems to be after Dutch; but the vowel sound is as in Sp. and Pg.] 1. a. intr. To sail to and fro over some part of the sea without making for a particular port or landing-place, on the look out for ships, for the protection of commerce in time of war, for plunder, or (in modern times) for pleasure. 1651 G. Carteret in Nicholas Papers (Camden) I. 236 Van Trump is with his fleete crusinge about Silly. 1668 Etheredge She Would 11. i, Two men-of-war that are cruising here to watch for prizes. 1726 Shelvocke Voy. round World {1757) 8 Our first place of rendezvous.. was the Canary Islands, where we were to cruize ten days for one another. 1748 Anson's Voy. 1. vii. 70 They were to cruize off that Island only ten days. 1823 Scoresby Jrnl. 120 A breeze of wind.. under which we cruised the whole day, among floes and drift-ice, in search of whales. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 573 Several English men of war were cruising in the Channel.

b. transf. and fig. Esp. of an aircraft or automobile: to travel at cruising speed; of a taxicab: to travel about at random seeking business. 1698 Farquhar Love Bottle 1, Madam, how would you like to cruise about a little? 1742 Young Nt. Th. viii. 993 Fancy still cruises, when poor sense is tir’d. 1879 Jefferies Wild Life in S.C. 5 Blackbirds will cruise along the whole length of a hedge before finding a bush to their liking. 1915 Sphere 5 June 229/2 A craft [sc. Zeppelin] which can slip through the air with the speed of an express train and cruise about for thirty-six hours. 1930 ‘A. Armstrong’ Taxi! v. 49 A ‘crawling’ or ‘cruising’ taxi being one that meanders along the road.. looking for fares. 1934 Discovery Dec. 350/2 Aeroplanes like the Handley Page 42 which cruises at a speed of no m.p.h. 1959 ‘E. Peters’ Death Mask i. 7 He didn’t cross to one of the parked cars .. nor halt to look round for a cruising taxi.

c. trans. To sail to and fro over. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Bergerac's Comic. Hist. 11. 17 Our Predecessors.. a Thousand times had cruised the Ocean. 1890 S. Lane Poole Barbary Corsairs 1. xii. 124 We cruised the waters of the Levant. ,1971 Sunday Times 3 Jan. 54/8 (Advt.), Board a luxury liner tp cruise the most colourful waters in the world. 1971 Observer 10 Jan. 37/3 (Advt.), Cruise the lovely Erne waterway.

CRUISE d. intr. and trans. To walk or drive about (the streets) in search of a casual sexual (esp. homosexual) partner; to solicit (a person), entice, slang (orig. U.S.). 1904 [implied at cruiser i d]. 1927 [implied at the vbl. sb.]. 1941 in J. N. Katz Gay/Lesbian Almanac (1983) 575 Cruise, to walk or drive in an automobile.. aimlessly but in certain specific and likely areas, looking.. for a companion for homosexual intercourse. 1946 Mezzrow & Wolfe Really Blues (1957) xi. 203 We cruised these two chicks up to Harlem for some ribs. 1968 Globe Mag. (Toronto) 13 Jan. 6/3 A homosexual who is cruising.. might make an effeminate gesture as a signal that he is a homosexual. 1970 ‘E. Queen’ Last Woman hi. 163, I never cruised anyone connected with the college... All my pickups were made far off campus. 1977 C. McFadden Serial (1978) vii. 20/1 Whiling away the best years of her life cruising Fourth Street. 1984 Times Lit. Suppl. 14 Dec. 1455/4 Male metropolitan homosexuals .. who cruise compulsively.

2. trans. and intr. Chiefly U.S.

CRUIVE

80

Forestry.

(See quots.)

1879 A. P. Vivian Wanderings in Western Land 53 Experienced men are sent out into the forests exploring, or to use their own term ‘cruising’; their object being.. to find suitable lumber for chopping. 1895 Outing (U.S.) XXVII. 218/2, I found he was off ‘cruising’ (i.e. hunting up good timber tracts). 1919 T. K. Holmes Man from Tall Timber 40 Si and me cruised a part of this timber before ever you fellers come down from Blainesburg. 1953 Brit. Commonw. Forest Terminol. 1. 35 To cruise, surveying of forest land to locate merchantable timber and estimate its quantity..; the estimate obtained in such a survey.

cruise (kru:z), sb. Also 8-9 cruize, [f. prec.] 1. a. The action of cruising; a voyage in which the ship sails to and fro over a particular region. spec, a voyage taken by tourists. Also attrib. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Cruise or Cruising, the Course of a Ship. 1728 Morgan Algiers I. ii. 221 A Turkish HalfGalley, armed for the Cruise, touched at a small Port. 1758 J. Blake Mar. Syst. 64 If they are sent to sea on a foreign voyage, or cruize. a 1893 Mod. A cruise round the coast. 1906 ‘O. Henry’ Four Million (1916) 91 The hibernatorial ambitions of Soapy were not of the highest. In them were no considerations of Mediterranean cruises. 1933 N. Coward Design for Living 11. iii, That world cruise was a fatal mistake. 1937 R. Macaulay I would be Private 43 Dressed in all those cruise clothes. 1962 Listener 11 Jan. 90/2 Cruiseships and charabancs and monstrous hordes of hikers are blots upon the landscape [in Greece]. 1971 Sunday Times 3 Jan. 72/1 Standards on board British cruise liners are generally high.

b. transf. and/ig. 1751 Smollett Per. Pic. xiv, ‘What, you are on a cruise for a post, brother Trickle, arn’t ye?’ 1837 W. Irving Capt. Bonneville I. 118 To prosecute their cruise in the wilderness. 1879 Ld. Dunraven in 19th Cent. July 58 We started off to take a little cruise round the edge of the barren .. Cruising is performed on land as well as at sea.

2. A survey or estimate of the amount of

cruiser ('kru:za(r)). Also (7 crosier), 8 cruzer, 7-9 cruizer. [f. cruise v. + -er1, or immed. a. Du. kruiser: cf. also F. croiseur (ship and captain), croisiere a cruise (1696 in Jal), cruising ground, cruising fleet.] 1. a. A person or a ship that cruises; spec, a war-ship commissioned to cruise for protection of commerce, pursuit of an enemy’s ships, capture of slavers, etc. In 18th c. commonly applied to privateers. Now, in the British Navy, a class of war-ships specially constructed for cruising. 1679 G. R. tr. Boyatuau's Theat. World II. 302 Forty Ships which he took from the Crosiers [? croisers] or Pyrates. 1695 Lond. Gaz. No. 3061/1 They have at present 6 Frigats abroad, with some other Cruisers. 1723 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 191 A French cruiser or privateer of twenty-six guns. 1757 J. Lind Lett. Navy Pref. 8 A few cruizers.. would have made us masters of the Mediterranean. 1851 Dixon W. Penn ii. (1872) 9 The boldest cruiser in that section of the.. fleet. 1868 G. Duff Pol. Surv. 110 The efforts.. made by our cruisers in these Seas to put down the Slave trade. fig. 1698 Farquhar Love & Bottle iv. iii, Ha! There’s a stately cruiser [a woman]; I must give her one chase.

b. A yacht constructed or adapted for cruising, as distinguished from a ‘racer’; also, a motorvessel designed for pleasure cruises on the sea, or on rivers, canals, etc. See also cabin cruiser. 1879 in £. Bonnaffe Diet. Anglicismes (1920). 1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 724/2 As to the number of yachts now afloat, cruisers as well as racers, the British yacht fleet.. now numbers.. 3000 yachts. 1971 Observer 10 Jan. 37/1 (Advt.), Explore beautiful uncrowded waterways in 2- to 6-berth luxury cruisers. Ibid. 37/2 Explore the fascinating inland waterways on a real canal cruiser.

c. One who goes on a pleasure cruise. 1940 Times 9 Jan. 6/4 Shovel-board, with which cruisers are familiar on board our liners. 1961 Guardian 11 Jan. 5/4 Most ‘cruisers’ find the time all too short for what they want to do.

d. One who cruises (sense 1 d) in search of a casual sexual partner. Chiefly U.S. 1903 H. Hapgood Autobiogr. Thief (1904) ii. 34 Even the Bowery ‘cruisers’ (street-walkers) carried them. 1910Types from City Streets 1. viii. 140 The Bowery girl, the ‘cruiser’,.. is taught early that ‘the world is graft’. 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §508/3 Cruiser, .. a homosexual who looks for patrons. 1980 Amer. Speech LV. 191 With the recent diffusion of the [homosexual] subculture, such [until recently secret or semi-secret] terms are gradually becoming known, for example, queer, queer bitch, aunt, and cruiser.

2. a. In science fiction, an aircraft or spaceship. 1923 E. R. Burroughs Chessmen of Mars vii. 70 The cruiser ‘Vanator’ careened through the tempest. 1958 T. Godwin in ‘E. Crispin’ Best SF 3 94 The cruisers carried the colonists to their new worlds.

timber in a particular area. Cf. prec., sense 2. Chiefly U.S.

b. A police-car that patrols the streets. Amer.

1911 J. F. Wilson Land Claimers viii. 112, I finished the cruise today. 1953 [see Cruise v. 2].

1929 Sat. Even. Post 7 Dec. 68/2 The cruisers are highpowered seven-passenger touring cars manned by a crew of four. 1958 Ottawa Citizen 28 May 7/5 To lift all speed regulations from police cruisers chasing law-breaking suspects. 1967 Boston Sunday Globe 23 Apr. 25/1 In Weymouth Patrolmen Richard McDonald and Ralph Campbell were injured when a car hit their cruiser. 3. a. (See quot. 1900.) Cf. cruise v. 2. Chiefly

3. Short for cruise missile below. 1976 Listener 16 Sept. 322/2 A short film about the cruise. 1986 Church Times 14 Feb. 14/1 The General Synod debate and resolutions supported neither the unilateralists nor the supporters of Cruise and Trident.

4. Special Comb, cruise control orig. U.S., (a) Aeronaut., the regulation of the flying speed, etc., of an aircraft in order to achieve maximum fuel efficiency; (b) chiefly N. Amer., a device fitted to some motor vehicles which allows the driver to maintain a constant cruising speed on motorways, etc., without depressing the accelerator pedal; the facility for regulating the speed of a motor vehicle in this way; cruise missile orig. U.S., a weapon in the form of a guided pilotless jet aircraft carrying a warhead and able to fly at low altitudes. 1949 Sun (Baltimore) 17 Oct. 1/5 Some proponents of the B-36 now predict that with ‘*cruise control’ (the technique of getting more mileage out of a gallon of fuel by careful attention to adjustments, airplane flying position, wind and other factors) a range of 12,000 miles or more is in prospect. i960 Pop. Sci. Apr. 95/1 With a lever you can set either for speed warning or automatic cruise control. 1968 Autocar 14 Mar. 16/1 Speedostat cruise control now imported from the USA... Fully automatic operation the main feature, with a ‘speed-limit’ reminder as a useful half-way provision. 1972 Gloss. Aeronaut. & Astronaut. Terms (B.S.I.) xm. 2 Cruise control, the method of operating an aircraft to produce optimum fuel economy with regard to time or distance, or both. 1977 National Observer (U.S.) 1 Jan. 8/5 Two Cadillacs equipped with cruise control, a device that holds a car at a constant speed, have been in accidents allegedly because of a defect in the cruise-control system. 1985 New Yorker 22 Apr. 51/3 Plenty of smooth-riding Ford and General Motors sedans loaded with options like cruise control, tilt steering wheels, FM with the AM, a few tape decks and C.B.s, but nothing truly ostentatious. 1959 Aviation Week May 85/1 Severest test to date for Bomarc A was a simulated operational launch against North American X-10 test vehicle from the Navaho *cruise missile program. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 7 Feb. 5/2 The cruise missile, essentially, is a sophisticated, unmanned airplane. 1977 Sci. Amer. Feb. 20/3 A cruise missile requires continuous guidance, since both the velocity and the direction of its flight can be unpredictably altered by local weather conditions. 1983 Daily Tel. 31 Jan. 7/2 The threat to peace was not from the Cruise missile. 1984 Guardian 5 Nov. 2/2 The plans could include the use of cruise missiles with conventional warheads to knock out single targets such as bridges or airfields deep behind the enemy front lines.

N.

U.S. 1893 Scribner's Mag. June 695/1 My first day’s experience as a ‘Cruiser’ or ‘Landlooker’. 1900 E. Brucken N. Amer. Forests 81 A peculiar class of people variously known as woodsmen, cruisers, landlookers, whose business it is to give information as to the existence of pine timber, its location, amount, value. 1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 11 Oct. 9/3 Dave Vanstone.. was on a timber cruising expedition with his two head cruisers. 1946 R. Peattie Pacific Coast Ranges 232 With his cruiser’s eye, he could measure the quantity and the quality of the timber from the water’s edge.

b. A long-legged boot such as timber-cruisers often wear. U.S. 1902 S. E. White Blazed Trail xvii. 125 Dressed in broad hats, flannel shirts, coarse trousers tucked in high-laced ‘cruisers’. 1946 Sat. Even. Post 11 May 41/1 He was wearing Tillamook light cruisers.

4. Boxing. Short for cruiser-weight (see 5). 1928 Daily Tel. 28 Feb. 16 Poor heavy-weights. Gallant ‘cruisers’. 1928 Daily Chron. 9 Aug. 11/2 Cuthbert Taylor (flyweight), John Garland (bantam), and Alfred Jackson (cruiser) all survived their preliminary tests.

5. attrib.

and Comb., as cruiser-pinnace, -squadron; cruiser-built adj.; cruiser stern Naut., a type of ship’s stem without an overhang, the projecting part being under the water; cruiser tank, a tank (tank sb.1) of intermediate weight designed for rapid movement; cruiser-weight Boxing, for professionals: a weight of more than 11 stone 6 lb. but not exceeding 12 stone 7 lb.; for amateurs: a weight of more than 11 stone 11 lb. but not exceeding 12 stone 10 lb.; light heavy¬ weight; a boxer of this weight; also attrib. 1902 Westm. Gaz. 7 May 5/1 Cruiser-built merchantmen. 1934 T. E. Lawrence Let. 8 June (1938) 806 The new cruiser-pinnaces. 1901 Westm. Gaz. 30 July 6/2 Cruiser squadrons. 1915 G. S. Baker Ship Form 1. viii. 74 If the water line at the stern is kept too full it results in.. eddymaking, and partly to avoid this a ‘cruiser stern’ has been adopted in many recent ships. 1950 P. F. Anson Scots Fisherfolk viii. 111 In most modern fishing vessels of the larger type .. a ‘cruiser-stern’ is now almost universal. 1940 Illustr. London News CXCVII. 133 Armoured turrets of

‘cruiser’ tanks. . can be automatically swung in any direction. 1964 C. Willock Enormous Zoo v. 98 The rhinocatchers were used to taking their transport across country at which a cruiser tank might have balked. 1920 Boxing 25 Feb. 96/2 Two cruiser-weights.. engaged in a 15 rd. side stake match. Ibid. 13 Oct. 163/3 Carpentier.. wants the world’s cruiser-weight title. 1922 Daily Mail 11 Nov. 11 Jack Bloomfield, the cruiser-weight champion. 1923 Ibid. 10 Jan. 9 He will go for the cruiser-weight trophy.

cruiseway ('kruizwei).

[f. cruise sb. + way sb.*] An inland waterway intended chiefly for pleasure cruising. 1967 British Waterways (Cmnd. 3401) 3 The Government propose that forthcoming legislation should make special provision for two distinct groups of waterways. The first will be those which are to form part of the [British Waterways] Board’s commercial division... The second .. will be maintained primarily for powered pleasure craft. They can no longer usefully form part of a commercial transport system and they will be known as cruising waterways—or ‘cruiseways’. 1968 Guardian 26 July 4/6 The Leeds-Liverpool canal is classified as a cruiseway for all but eight miles of its length. 1971 Observer 17 Jan. (Colour Suppl.) 10/4 Barbara Castle’s 1968 Transport Bill, which designated a few miles of the [canal] system as cruiseways.

cruisie, cruisken, var. of crusie, cruskyn. cruising, vbl. sb. [f. cruise

v.]

a. The action of

sailing to and fro; also transf. 1690 Lond. Gaz. No. 2532/2 The Plimouth is come in from Cruising. 1839-40 W. Irving Wolfert's R. (1855) 219 The chimerical cruisings of Old Ponce de Leon in search of the Fountain of Youth.

b. spec. The action of walking or driving about the streets in search of a casual sexual partner (cf. cruise v. id.) slang. 1927 A. J. Rosanoff Man. Psychiatry (ed. 6) 203 In the most respectable class [of homosexuals] are those who do no ‘cruising’. 1942 Z. N. Hurston in A. Dundes Mother Wit (1973) 223/2 He had plenty to get across and maybe do a little more cruising besides. 1981 H. Carpenter W. H. Auden 1. v. 97 The length of the list might suggest that Auden was in the habit of ‘cruising’—picking up boys for casual sex.

c. attrib., as (cruise v. sense 1 a) cruisingground, -shirt, -trade, -vessel; (cruise v. sense 1 b) cruising-altitude, -height, cruising radius, range, the maximum distance that the fuel capacity of a ship or aircraft will allow her to travel and return at cruising speed; cruising speed, the best economic travelling speed for a ship or vehicle, esp. an aircraft. 1951 Gloss. Aeronaut. Terms (B.S.I.) III. 19 Cruising height (cruising altitude), a constant altimeter indication, in relation to a fixed and defined datum, maintained during a flight or portion thereof. 1958 Listener 16 Oct. 593/1 The pressurised cabin was subject to cyclic reversals of load as the aircraft climbed to cruising altitude. 1780 Capt. Hope in Lett. S. Hood (1895) 11 But could not learn what latitude their cruizing ground was in. 1851 Melville Moby Dick II. ix. 61 The.. Pequod had slowly swept across four several cruising-grounds. 1968 Globe Mag. (Toronto) 13 Jan. 7/3 Certain parks .. become known as favorite cruising grounds. 1951 Cruising height [see cruising altitude above]. 1956 ‘N. Shute’ Beyond Black Stump 237 They were off the ground and climbing up to cruising height. 1927 G. Bradford Gloss. Sea Terms 45/2 Cruising radius is calculated with two points of view—one, the vessel’s capacity in miles without refueling; the other, her capacity to remain at sea expressed in days running at normal speed. 1922 M. Luckiesh Bk. of Sky xxi. 230 These huge flying-machines with a cruising range of a thousand miles. 1959 J. Braine Vodi vi. 94 One of those woollen shirts with a fastener at the throat—cruising shirts they called them. 1919 Sphere 26 Apr. 67/2 The single-engine machine is the faster at full and cruising speeds. 1928 Daily Chron. 9 Aug. 3/6 It will have a ‘cruising speed’ of 15 miles an hour. 1935 P. W. F. Mills Elem. Practical Flying iii, It is usual to describe performances in terms of both maximum and cruising speeds—the latter being the speed at which the aeroplane flies level with the engine running at the cruising revolutions recommended by the makers. 1958 Listener 30 Oct. 683/1 You want a car that has., a high cruising speed. 1720 De Foe Capt. Singleton xiii. (1840) 226 We pretended to carry on our cruising trade. 1878 N. Amer. Rev. CXXVII. 382 A cruising-vessel.

cruive (kru:v). Forms: 5 crufe, 5-6 cruif(e, 5-8 cruve, 8 crove, 4- cruive. [Originally Scotch (pronounced kro:v, kry:v), and retaining its Sc. spelling in sense 4, in which it has passed into legal and general use. The various forms point to an original *crof-, of which nothing seems to be known. In senses 1 and 2, croo and cruive are synonymous: cf. also crew sb.2 Sense 4 suggests connexion with corve, corf and its family.] 1. A hovel, cabin. Sc. c 1450 Henryson Fables, Wolf fsf Lamb (Bannatyne Poems), The pure husband hes nocht But cote and crufe, upone a clout of land. 1725 Ramsay Gent. Sheph. v. iii, I that very day Frae Roger’s father took my little crove [rime love].

2. A pen for live stock, esp. a pig-sty. Sc. c 1575 Balfour Pract. 588 Gif thair be ony swine cruivis biggit on the fore-gait. 1597 Skene De Verb. Sign. s.v. Creffera, Hara porcorum, ane cruife, or ane swines cruif.. quhilk in sum auld buikes is called ane Stye. 1883 Longman's Mag. Apr. 648 The neighbours lean over the sow’s ‘cruive’ or sty.

3. A kitchen-garden enclosure. (Orkney.) 1876 D. Gorrie Summ. Wint. in Orkneys v. 160 Plantie cruives—deserted cottage kitchen-gardens.

CRUIZE 4. A coop or enclosure of wickerwork or spars placed in tide-ways and openings in weirs, as a trap for salmon and other fish. 14•/ Sc. Stat. I. 469 A1 pa\ pat hes cruffis [croas] or fyschingis.. or mylnys in watteris quhar the se cumis and gangis. 1599 A. Hume Hymnes, Day Estival, The salmon out of cruives and creels Uphailed into scouts. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. Treat. 139 To execut the Acts of Parliament made anent Salmond fishing, and cruves. 1769 Pennant Tour Scot. (1771) 117 Beneath are some cruives, or wears, to take Salmon in. 1834 Medwin Angler in Wales I. 330 The pool .. is too shallow for salmon, who run into the cruives. 1862 Act 25-6 Viet. c. 97 §6 (6) General regulations with respect to.. The construction and use of cruives.

cruize, cruizie, var. cruise, crusie.

cruk(e, obs. form of crook. crule v. Obs.: see crawl. fcrull, a. Obs. Also crul, crol(le. [ME., corresp. to Fries, kroll, krull, MDu. crul, MG. (15th c.) krul curly: see Grimm kroll. Not recorded in OE.: cf. curl.] Curly. C1300 K. Alis. 1999 His hed was crolle, and yolow the here, c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 81 A yong Squier .. With lokkes crulle as they were leyd in presse. -Miller's T. 128 Crul [v.r. crol, crull, crulle] was his heer.

cruller ('krAta(r)). U.S. [app. a. Du. cruller, f. crullen to curl: cf. EFris. kruller curl, paper-curl, LG. kroll-koken wafer-cakes.] A cake cut from dough containing eggs, butter, sugar, etc., twisted or curled into various shapes, and fried to crispness in lard or oil. 1818 W. Irving Sketch-Bk., Leg. Sleepy Hollow, The doughty dough-nut.. the crisp and crumbling cruller. 1866 Howells Venet. Life vi, A species of cruller, fried in oil, which has all seasons for its own. 1890 G. Rudmani Royal Baker (N.Y.) 8 [Recipe].

crum, var. of crumb a. and v.2 Obs. crumb, (krAm), sb. Forms: i cruma, 3-6 cromme, 3-7 crumme, 4-6 crome, 5 crom, crume, crwme, 5-6 crowm(e, 6 crumbe, 7 crumm, 5crum, 7- crumb. [OE. cruma masc., related to MDu. crume f., Du. kruim, MLG. krome, LG. krome, mod.Ger. krume, these having the vowel long. The ulterior derivation is obscure. The merely graphic b began to be added in the i6thc.; but crum continued to be the prevalent form to the end of the 18th c., and is recognized in 19th c. Dictionaries. Johnson has crum, crumb. The b probably appeared first in the derivative crumble (where it has also invaded the pronunciation), after words of F. origin like humble; there was also the apparent analogy of OE. words like dumby where b was retained in the spelling, though no longer pronounced: cf. thumb.]

1. a. A small particle of bread (or other friable food), such as breaks or falls off by rubbing, etc. a hwelpas eta6 of pam crumum. a mo Voc. in Wr.-Wiilcker 330/13 Mica cruma. c 1200 Ormin 1474 Laf patt iss wipputenn crummess. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 6645 To ete hys fylle of pe crummes. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 59 A crumme of breed. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 6758 All Northumbirlande prouynce He thoght as croms of bred to mynce. 1547 Ordre of Communion, We be not woorthie .. to gather up the cromes under thy table. 1568 Bible (Bishops’) Mark vii. 28 The childrens crumbes. 1632 Sanderson 12 Serm. 472 Every crumme we put in our mouthes. 1797 Bewick Brit. Birds (1847) I. 157 He hops round the house, picks up the crumbs. 1829 G. R. Gleig Chelsea Pensioners (1840) 207 A few crums which remained in our havresacks. 1849 James Woodman xi, We feed it with the crumbs from our table.

b. A small particle of anything; a grain, as of dust. Obs. exc. dial. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 399 Was neuere founde gobet noper cromme. c 1470 Harding Chron. exxiv. xii, [He].. for his workes and buyldynges held eche crome. 1560 P. Whitehorne tr. Macchiavelli's Arte of Warre (1573) Litle peeces or crummes of pitche. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. v. iv. 369 To leave no crumme of dust behind. 1655 H. Vaughan Silex Scint. 1. 92 (Burial of Infant) Softly rest all thy Virgin-Crums! 1883 Stevenson Treas. Isl. ill. xiv. (1886) 114 His eye .. gleaming like a crumb of glass.

c. One of the irregularly-shaped and highly porous aggregates of particles found in soil having a crumb structure. (Cf. sense 3 b.) 1906 [see crumb structure]. 1914 T. L. Lyon et al. Soils (1920) vii. 109 The soil particles are not homogeneous as to size, and neither do all the particles function as simple grains, being gathered together in groups called granules, or crumbs. 1961 J. MacBean Soil iii. 34 Clay soils which are treated with lime to allow of the flocculation or grouping together of the single particles into crumbs.. are warmer and more easily worked.

d. In rayon manufacture (see quots.). 1927 M. H. Avram Rayon Industry 259 Following the steeping operation the blocks of alkali-cellulose are shredded. In this operation, which is usually carried out in a machine called a shredder or disintegrator, the cellulose is reduced to very finely divided particles called crumbs. 1927 T. Woodhouse Artif. Silk vi. 54 The action of the internal parts of the kneader breaks up the [alkali-cellulose] sheets effectively into small particles similar to small breadcrumbs, and hence these particles are called ‘crumbs’. 1959 Chambers's Encycl. V. 643/2 Viscose process... The crumbs

CRUMBLE

81 are placed in churns where the action of carbon disulphide causes the alkali-cellulose to change to cellulose xanthate.

2. fig. a. A very small particle or portion (of something immaterial), a ‘scrap’. fll535 Fisher Wks. (1876) 408 [Not] one crum of merit. 1541 Barnes Wks. (1573) 225 Some cromme of charitie within them. 1662 Fuller Worthies, Berks., R. of Wallingford, This their clock gathering up the least crume of time. 1719 D’Urfey Pills V. 76 To beg Some Crumbs of Comfort. 1801 Scott Let. to G. Ellis 11 May, I think I could give you some more crumbs of information were I at home. 1890 Diet. Nat. Biog. XXII. 339 Claverhouse’s only crumb of comfort was that he saved the standards.

b. A body-louse. U.S. slang. 1863 O. W. Norton Army Lett. (1903) 175 Fortunately, I am not troubled with the ‘crumbs’ now. 1898 Scribner's Mag. XXIII. 440/1 Just then I felt something crawling on my neck. It was a crumb. 1925 J. H. Mullin Adv. Scholar Tramp iii. 46 If there is crumbs hoppin’ around on me, I don’t want to encourage ’em too much.

c. A lousy or filthy person; an objectionable, worthless, or insignificant person, slang (orig. U.S.). 1918 H. M. Rideout Key of Fields 236 A couple of crumbs want to kill you. 1930 Wodehouse Very Good, Jeeves! iii. 83 This old crumb would be the occupant of the bed which I was proposing to prod with darning-needles. 1959 H. D. Barton Loving Cup 236 He’s an absolute crumb called Stuart Rowlandson. 1970 Women Speaking Apr. 5/1 If a man doesn’t like a girl’s looks or personality, she’s a.. crumb.

3. a. The inner part of a loaf, not hardened in baking, and capable of being easily crumbled; the soft part of bread. Opposed to crust. CI430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode I. xli. (1869) 25, I entermeted me neuere to make cruste ne cromme. c 1440 Anc. Cookery in Househ. Ord. (1790) 441 Pare away the cruste, and stepe the crome in vynegur. 1605 Shaks. Lear 1. iv. 217 He that keepes nor crust nor crum. 1726 Leoni Alberti's Archit. I. 32 a, Make them thin, that they may have the more Crust and the less Crum. 1869 E. A. Parkes Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 174 Taking the bread J crust and § crumb.

b. transf. Loosened and crumbled earth. 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. (1807) I. 16 It will give as much mould, or crumb, in the harrow, as any other furrow. 1881 Whitehead Hops 45 There should be a good tilth, or crumb, at least a foot deep. c. slang. Plumpness. Cf. crummy 3. 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. xxix, ‘Too much crumb, you know’, said Mr. Bailey; ‘too fat, Poll.’

f4. Phr. to gather (or pick) up one’s crumbs: to ‘pick up’ or recover strength or health; to improve in condition. Obs. exc. dial. 1588 A. Ingram in Hakluyt Voy. II. 11. 130 Our men beganne to gather vp their crums and to recouer some better strength, c 1645 Howell Lett. 2 Feb. an. 1621 Thank God, I.. am recovering and picking up my crums apace. 1840 R. H. Dana Before Mast xxvii, [He] had ‘picked up his crumbs’ .. and [was] getting strength and confidence daily. 1888 W. Somerset Word-bk. s.v., A person or animal improving in appearance is said to be picking up his crumbs.

5. Comb., as crumb rubber; crumb-catching ppl. adj.; crumb-brush, a brush for sweeping crumbs from a table; crumb-cloth, a cloth laid under a table to catch the crumbs and keep the carpet clean; sometimes laid over the greater part of a carpet; crumb structure [tr. G. kriimelstruktur (E. Wollny 1882, in Forsch. aufd. Geb. d. Agrik.-Physik V. 146)], the condition of soil when its particles are aggregated into crumbs (sense 1 c). 1884 Hugh Conway in Eng. Illustr. Mag. Dec. 176/1 Whittaker came in with the crumb brush. 1607 Walkington Opt. Glass Ep. Ded. If 3 b, Sycophants and crum-catching parasites. 1843 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. I. 196 The crumb cloth of the library. 1864 Eliz. A. Murray E. Norman I. 6 A rich carpet, covered by a linen crumb-cloth. 1956 Gloss. Terms Rubber Rubber-like Materials (ASTM Spec. Techn. Publ. No. 184) 28 Crumb rubber. When vulcanized rubber is milled, it does not become soft and plastic but forms a type of material known as crumb or spring rubber. 1957 Times 20 Dec. 17/6 Output of reclaim and crumb rubber for the 12 months was approximately 7 per cent, higher. 1906 E. W. Hilgard Soils vii. 109 The word ‘Kriimelstructur’ (crumb-structure), adopted by Wollny for this phenomenon, has both fitness and priority in its favor. Ibid. 110 Clay is most frequently the substance which imparts at least temporary stability to the crumbs and crumb-structure. 1926 Tansley & Chipp Study of Veg. vii. 116 The ‘primary’ inorganic particles of soil show a tendency to aggregate into ‘compound particles’... This ‘crumb structure’ . . is found in all good agricultural and good forest soils, i960 L. D. Stamp Britain's Struct, (ed. 5) xi. 96 It is mainly the maintenance of this soil-structure, especially this crumb structure, which the farmer means when he talks about.. ‘maintaining a fine tilth’.

f crumb, crum, a. Obs. exc. dial. Also 4 croume, 9 dial, crum, crom. [A common WG. adj.: OE. crumb — OFris. krumb (EFris. krum, -mme), OS. crumb (MLG. krum, -mme, LG. krumm)-, MDu. cromp, -be, crom(m (Da. krom), OHG. chrump, -be (MHG. krump, -be, G. i6-J7th c. krumb, mod.G. krumm, Upper G. dial krump) crooked:—OTeut. type *krumbo-, f. krimb-, kramb, krumb- to press, squeeze, compress: see cramp sb.1 Cf. also Irish crom, Welsh crom, crooked, bent. This adj., so important in G. and Du., has had very little development in Eng., its place being taken by the kindred crump; it survives to a slight extent

dialectally as crum, crom crooked, and in the derivatives crum, crom vb. (see crumb v,2), cromster, crummie q.v.] Crooked. ou do, J>ou art commare To hym pax hyt gat or bare. 1566 in Diurnal of Occurrents (1833) 102 To nominat ane woman in Scotland to be cummar to our soueranis to the bapteising of our prince thair sone. a 1670 Spalding Troub. Chas. I{1792) II. 105 (Jam.) An honest burgess of Aberdeen caused bring to the kirk a bairn.. to be baptised.. and conveened his gossips and comers, as the custom is. 1730 in Chambers Dom. Ann. Scot. III. 572 Towards the end of the week, all the friends are asked to what was called the Cummers’ Feast,

2. A female companion or intimate; a gossip.

cumerar, obs. form of cumberer.

Rycht Air lie on Ask Weddinsday 2 Drynkand the wyne satt cumeris tway. Ibid. 11 ‘My fair, sweit cummer’ quod the tuder. 1644 Baillie in Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) lntrod. 34, I thank my cummer your wife heartily. 1658 R. Franck in A. McKay Hist. Kilmarnock 7 Their wives are sociable comers. 1790 Scots Songs II. 7 My kimmer and I lay down to sleep. 1820 Scott Monast. viii, A special cummer of my ain. 1500-20

cumin, cummin (’kAmin). cymen,

-yn,

2

cumin (y),

Forms:

1 kymen,

4-7 comyn,

-e,

5-6

cummyn, 5-7 comen, 6 comeyn, commute, -men, -myn, 7 comin(e, cum(m)ine, 7-9 commin, (8-9 cumming), 6- cum(m)in. [OE. cymen (:—cumin), a. L. cumin-um (cym-), a. Gr. Kvfilvov. Cf. OHG. chumin, cumin, also chumil (MHG. kiimel, Ger. kiimmel), Sw. kummin, Da. kummen. The word has also come down in the Romanic langs., It. cumino, comin.

comino,

Sp.,

Pg.

comino,

OF.

cumin,

ME. cumin, comin was either from Fr.

(like MDu. comijn, Du. komijn), or altered from OE. cymen after Fr. The Gr. kv/xIvov is supposed to have been a foreign word, cognate in origin with the Semitic names, Heb. kammon, Arab. kammun, and their cognates.] 1. An umbelliferous plant (Cummin Cyminum) resembling fennel: cultivated in the Levant for its fruit or seed, which possesses aromatic and carminative qualities; also called common, garden, or Roman cumin. oil of cumin: the essential oil of cumin seed, consisting of three hydrocarbons, cymene, cymol, and cuminol. c 897 K. /Elfred Gregory's Past. lvii. 439 3e tiogoSiaS eowre mintan & eowerne dile & eowerne kymen. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt, xxiii. 23 Cymen \v.r. cymyn; 1160 Hatton Gosp. cumin], c 1300 K. Alis. 6797 Gynger, comyn gaven odour grace. 1382 Wyclif Isa. xxviii. 25 He shal sowe the sed gith, and the comyn sprengen. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvn. xxxviii. (1495) 625 Comyn .. is a seed wyth good smell and wyth pale colour, c 1420 Liber Cocorum (1862) 8 Fors hit with galyngale and gode gyngere, With canel and comyn alle in fere, c 1440 Promp. Parv. 89 Comyn, seede (Ciminum, P.). 1561 Hollybush Horn. Apoth. 5 b, Commen stiped in vinegre. 1736 Bailey Househ. Diet. 228 Cummin is accounted good for the stomach. 1847 Emerson Poems, Sphinx Wks. (Bohn) I. 398 Rue, myrrh, and cummin for the Sphinx—Her muddy eyes to clear. 1875 Manning Mission H. Ghost xi. 309 The Pharisees .. gave tithes of mint, anise, and commin. b. fig. in allusion to Matt, xxiii. 23. 1741-1841 [see anise 2]. 1741 Watts Improv. Mindxiv. §8 (1801) hi The mint, anise and cumming, the gestures and vestures and fringes of religion. 1892 Edin. Rev Apr. 419 The anise and cummin of a great archaeological question, passed, as it were, through the Homeric sieve. 2. With qualifications applied to other plants: as,

Armenian

Caraway,

or

Carum

mountain Carui;

cumin,

black

the

cumin,

a

ranunculaceous plant, Nigella sativa, cultivated in Eastern countries for its black, acrid, aromatic

seeds;

Bishop’s-weed;

royal sweet

cumin, cumin,

Ammi the

and or

Anise,

Pimpinella Anisum; wild cumin, (a) the wild variety of cumin; f(6) the wild Nigella; (c) an umbelliferous plant, Lagcecia cuminoides. 1578 Lyte Dodoens n. xciv. 274 The wilde Comyn.. hath a brittle stalke. 1614 Markham Cheap Husb. 1. Table of Hard Words, Ameos, Comin royal, is a Herb of some called Bulwort, Bishops-weed, or Herb-william. 1712 tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 3 Ethiopian-Cummin is a Plant which has Leaves like Dill. 1885 Bible (R.V.) Isa. xxviii. 25 Doth the plowman .. not cast abroad the fitches [marg. black cummin {Nigella sativa)]. 3. attrib. and Comb., as cumin cheese, oil, seed,

etc.;

niggardly

cumin-splitting [cf.

CUMULATED

126

L.

a.,

cuminisector,

skin-flint, Gr.

Dunbar

3. A woman, a female; familiarly applied, like ‘fellow’ to a man. With various local specific applications, e.g. young woman, lass, girl, witch, wise-woman, midwife, etc. 17.. Humble Beggar in Herd Collect. (1776) II. 29 (Jam.) Vow, kimmer, and how do ye? 1745 Song, What’s a’ the steer, kimmer? 1785 Burns 2nd Ep. to Lapraik x, Fortune.. the kittle kimmer. 1806 Train Poetical Reveries 89 (Jam.) She in travail was. .No kindly kimmer nigh there was To mitigate her pain. 1818 Scott Br. Lamm, xxiii, ‘That’s a fresh and full-grown hemlock.. mony a cummer lang syne wad hae sought nae better horse to flee.. through mist and moonlight.’ 1821 Blackw. Mag. Jan. 402 (Jam.) It’s a bonnie sight to see so mony stark youths and strapping kimmers streaking themselves sae eydently to the harvest darke. 1875 F. I. Scudamore Day Dreams 13 In presence of the good cummers of Newhaven.

|| cummerbund ('kAmsbAnd). Anglo-Ind. Forms: 7 combar-, commer-, 8 cumber-, 8-9 cummerband, 9 cummer-, kummerbund. [Urdu and Pers. kamar-band, i.e. loin-band.] A sash or girdle worn round the waist; a waist-belt.

Ilcumshaw ('kAmJo:). Also kumshaw. [According to Giles, the Amoy pronunciation, kam-sia, of the Chinese words kan to be grateful, hsieh thanks = ‘grateful thanks’, a phrase of thanks used by beggars.] In the Chinese ports: A present or gratuity; a baksheesh. 1839 H. Malcom Trav. II. Gloss., Cum-shaw, a present. At Canton, custom has made some cumshaws matter of right. 1885 Where Chineses Drive 163 Baldpate.. had the exceeding coolness to ask for a cumshaw as they left.

Hence 'cumshaw v., to make a present to. t cum-'twang. An obsolete term of contempt. 1599 Nashe Lenten Stuffe 3 Those graybeard huddleduddles and crusty cum-twangs were stroke with such stinging remorse.

cumulant ('kjuimjubnt). Math. [ad. L. cumuldnt-em, pr. pple. of cumulate.] ‘The denominator of the simple algebraical fraction which expresses the value of an improper continued fraction.’ Sylvester in Phil. Trans.

(1853) i- 543cumular ('kju:mjub(r)), a. [ad. L. cumular-is, f. cumulus heap, cumulus.] = cumulous. 1837 [see cirro-cumular]. 1892 Ardrossan Her. 10 June 5 The dark masses of cumular cloud overhead.

cumulate ('kjurmjubt), a. [ad. L. cumulat-us, pa. pple. of cumuldre: see next.] Formed or gathered into a heap; heaped up; massed. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. I. 118 Ane carne of stonis togither cumulat. 1633 T. Adams Exp. 2 Peter i. 2 A cumulate or heaped fulness, when it overflows the continent. 1846 Dana Zooph. (1848) 391 Their cumulate mode of budding. 1871 Earle Philol. Eng. Tongue §655 Short sentences are prevalent in our language .. But we can use the cumulate construction when needed.

cumulate ('kjuimjuleit), v. [f. L. cumulat-, ppl. stem of cumuldre to heap, f. cumul-us a heap, the conical crown of a heaped measure.] 1. a. trans. To gather in a heap; to heap up; to pile up, collect, amass, accumulate. Also fig.

1616 R. Cocks Diary (Hakl. Soc. 1883) I. 147 (Y.) A sample of gallic pottes.. chint bramport, and combarbands, with the prices. 1687 Lond. Gaz. No. 2269/2, 234 pieces of Commerbands with Gold Flowers. 1792 Hist, in Ann. Reg. 193 Uniform turbans and cumber-bands. C1813 Mrs. Sherwood Ayah & Lady ix. 53 Shumsheer had a cummerbund, of rose-coloured muslin. 1869 E. A. Parkes Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 410 The necessity of cholera belts or kummerbunds is avoided.

1534 Whitinton Tullyes Offices 1. (1540) 50 We must use that language.. which is knowen to us, leest.. we cumulatynge in greke wordes maye of very ryght be laughed to scorne. 1541 Barnes Wks. (1573) 340/1 Let all these makers of new Gods cumilate themselues togither on a heape. 1612-20 Shelton Quix. iv. vi. (T.) All the extremes of worth and beauty that were cumulated in Camila. 1695 Woodward Nat. Hist. Earth vi. (1723) 283 Mighty sholes of Shells .. cumulated in many Places Heap upon Heap. 1850 J. H. Newman Diffic. Anglic. 29 It is often a mistake, in controversy, to cumulate reasons, etc.

cummerous, obs. form of cumbrous.

b. Legal. To combine (a number of actions, defences, etc.) into one; cf. cumulation 3.

cummin, cumming: see cumin.

A Civil Law term still used in Louisiana. {Cent. Diet.)

c. intr. To accumulate.

cummin, -un, -yn, obs. ff. come pa. pple.

1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. n. v, As Fledgeby’s affronts cumulated.

'cumming. Sc. Also 6 cumyeone, cymming, kymmond. [? Related to coomb1, senses 2, 4, in Sc. cum, kim (Gael, cuman is prob. from Lowland Sc.).] a. In Brewing. ‘A large oblong vessel, of a square form, about a foot or eighteen inches deep, used for receiving what works over from the masking-fat or barrel. Loth.’ b. ‘A small tub or wooden vessel. Angus, Fife.’ (Jamieson 1825.)

2. a. trans. To add over and above, to combine with something additional.

1538 Aberdeen Reg. V. 16 (Jam.) Ane flasche fat, ane fysche fat, ane cumyeone. Ibid., Ane gryte kymmond. 1566 Inv. R. Wardr. etc. (1815) 174 (Jam.) Tua gyle fattes.. ane cumming. c 1575 Balfour Practicks 234 (Jam.) The air sail have .. ane masking-fat.. ane cymming, ane laid-gallon, ane wort disch. 1825 Jamieson, Kimmen, kymmond, a large shallow tub used in brew-houses. Upp. Clydes.

'cummock. Sc. Variant of cammock: ‘A short staff with a crooked head’ (Jam.). On Scott. Bard gone to W. India vii, To tremble under fortune’s cummock. 1786 Burns

cumnawnte, obs. form of covenant. cumole: see under cumene.

Kvpuvo-

• 153° Palsgr. 207/1 Commyn sede, comyn. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. 1. vii. 35 A carver or divider of Comine seed which is one of the least seedes. a 1613 Overbury A Wife (1638) 96 His wife is the Cummin seed of his Dove-house. . Williams 1. (1692) 13 He that would try his cunning in history when he was old.

|2. The capacity or faculty of knowing; wit, wisdom, intelligence. Obs. 1340 Ayenb. 115 One yeipe of pe holy gost pet is y-cleped pe yeipe of connynge. 1407 W. Thorpe in Exam., I.. believe that all these three Persons are euen in power and in cunning, and in might. ? 1507 Communyc. (W. de W.) Aij, I made the also lyke unto me And gaue the connynge and free wyll. 1514 Barclay Cyt. & Uplondyshm. (Percy Soc.) p. lxvii, They have scantly the cunning of a snite. 1532 Sir T. More Debell. Salem Wks. (1557) 1008/1 Great vertues, and great giftes of God, as chastitie, liberalitie.. temperaunce, cunning.

3. Knowledge how to do a thing; ability, skill, expertness, dexterity, cleverness. (Formerly the prevailing sense; now only a literary archaism.) c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 866 Cryseyde .. Als ferforthe as she konnynge hadde or myght, Answerde hym. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 347 But for to medle medicyns in pis maner per mote be miche kunnynge for to proporcioune hem. C1500 Nottingham Rec. III. 447 The oath of the Common Councell. Ye shall well and truly, to your cunning and power [etc.]. 1577 Hanmer Anc. Eccl. Hist. (1619) 15 Grievously diseased .. incurable by Man’s Cunning. 1611 Bible Ps. cxxxvii. 5 Let my right hand forget her cunning. 1743 Lond. Gf Country Brew. 11. (ed. 2) 140 If such Brewers happen right. . it is more by Chance, than Cunning. 1807 Wordsw. White Doe of Ryl. 1. 94 High-ribbed vault.. With perfect cunning framed. 1865 Rawlinson Anc. Mon. III. v. 384 As nature’s cunning arranges lines in the rainbow.

fb. transf. An application of skill; an ingenious device or means (quot. 1527). Obs. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 142 Whiche settyng of stones.. [is] ferre greater connynge than is ye hewynge of stones. 1527 Andrew Brunswyke's Distyll. Waters I vj, The same water is a very good connyng for to make the face clere and fayre. 1684 R. H. Sch. Recreat. 83 The first.. Cunning to be observed in Bowling, is the right chusing your Bowl.

14. A branch of knowledge or of skilled work; a science or art, a craft. In early times often = occult art, magic. Obs. c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 1611 Baltazar.. pat now is demed Danyel of deme coninges. 1340-70 Alisaunder 716 pis King with his conning kithes his werkes With wiles of witchcraft. c 1400 Three Kings Cologne 14 \>ey haue maistris.. to teche hem pat cunnyng of astronomye. c 1449 Pecock Repr. 49 Sadelarie and talarie ben ij dyuerse facultees and kunninges. 1539 Vicary's Anat. (1888) App. iii. 158 Lycens to exercyse hys connyng withyn the libertyes of London. 1592 West 1st Pt. Symbol. § 1 A, Symbolaeography is an Art or cunning rightly to fourme and make written Instruments.

5. Now usually in bad sense: Skill employed in a secret or underhand manner, or for purposes of deceit; skilful deceit, craft, artifice. (Cf. craft 4.) b. As a personal quality: Disposition to use one’s skill in an underhand way; skilfulness in deceiving, craftiness, artfulness. 1583 Stanyhurst JEneis 11. (Arb.) 45 Soom practis or oother Heere lurcks of coonning: trust not this treacherus ensigne. 1595 Shaks. John iv. i. 54 Nay, you may thinke my loue was craftie loue, And call it cunning. 1612 Bacon Ess., Cunning (Arb.) 434 We take Cunning for a sinister or crooked Wisedome. 1659 B. Harris ParivaVs Iron Age 182 A piece of cunning, whereby he had couzened many, a 1718 W. Penn Maxims Wks. 1726 I. 828 Cunning borders very near upon Knavery. 1842 Miss Mitford in L’Estrange Life III. ix. 142 The perfection of cunning is to conceal its own quality. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Truth Wks. (Bohn) II. 52 Nature has endowed some animals with cunning, as a compensation for strength withheld.

cunning ('kAnir)), a. Forms: 4- cunning; also 4-5 konyng, (north.) cunnand, connand, conand(e, -aunde, 4-6 kunnyng(e, -ing, konnyng, connyng(e, conyng(e, -inge, 5-6 cuning, cunnyng(e, 5-7 conning, 6 connninge. [Orig. type *cunnende, pres. pple. of can v.1 (inf. OE. cunnan, ME. cunnen, connen)y in its earlier sense ‘to know’; hence orig. = ‘knowing’. Not found in OE., but in regular use from 14th c. both in the northern form cunnand, and the midi, and south, cunning, connyng. The derivative conandscipe occurs in Cursor Mundi, Cotton MS.] fl. a. Possessing knowledge or learning, learned; versed in (f of) a subject. Obs. c 1325 Metr. Horn. 93 He wil that they.. be cunnand in his seruise. c 1350 Will. Palerne 4810 [J>ei] were hold., konyngest of kurtesie, and kowden fairest speke. C1394 P. PL Crede 378 Als as he were a connynge Clerke. c 1449 Pecock Repr. iii. x. 335 Myche kunnynger and better leerned. c 1450 Merlin 17 The luges seiden he moste be connynge of moche thynge. 1526 Tindale Matt. xiii. 52 Every scrybe which is coninge vnto the kyngdom of heven. 1667 H. More Div. Dial. 1. x. (1713) 19, I perceive you are cunninger than I in that Philosophy. [1876 Freeman Norm.

CUNNINGAIRE Conq. V. xxiii. 128 Flambard and the other cunning clerks of the King’s Chapel.]

b. transf. Of things: Characterized by or full of knowledge or learning, learned. 1519 Interl. Four Elem. in Hazl. Dodsley I. 7 If cunning Latin books were translate Into English. 1534 Tindale j Cor. ii. 13 Which thinges also we speake, not in the connynge wordes of mannes wysdome, but with the connynge wordes of the holy goost. 1630 Davenant Just Italian Wks. (1673) 445 Stones of the cunningst soil.

2. a. Possessing practical knowledge or skill; able, skilful, expert, dexterous, clever. (Formerly the prevailing sense; now only a literary archaism.) 1382 Wyclif i Sam. xvi. 18 The sone of Ysaye Bethlemyte, kunnynge to harpe. 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 46 An Aldirman able and konyng to reulen and gouern pe company. 1535 Coverdale j Kings Contents ch. v, Hiram .. sendeth Salomon connynge craftesmen to buylde the Temple. 1601 Shaks. Twel. N. iii. iv. 312 And [= if] I thought he had beene valiant, and so cunning in Fence. 1690 Locke Govt. 11. xix, The tools of Cunninger workmen. 1718 Prior To C'tess of Exeter 37 While Luke his Skill exprest, A cunning Angel came, and drew the rest. 1843 Prescott Mexico v. vii. (1864) 322 Most cunning in the management of their weapons.

b. transf. Showing skill or expertness; skilfully contrived or executed; skilful, ingenious. 1423 Jas. I. Kingis Q. xcvii, Fair-calling, hir vsehere, That coude his office doon in connyng wise. 1535 Coverdale 2 Chron. ii. 14 To carue all maner of thinges, and to make what connynge thinge so euer is geuen him. 1587TURBERV. Trag. T. (1837) 133 The cook, .made a cunning messe Of meate thereof. 1611 Bible Ex. xxxix. 8 He made the brestplate of cunning worke. 1699 Dampier Voy. II. 11. 68 They have a peculiar and wonderful cunning way of building.. Their Nests hang down two or three Feet from the twigs. 1842 Tennyson Vision of Sin iv. xxxi, Joints of cunning workmanship.

f 3. spec. Possessing magical knowledge or skill: in cunning man, cunning woman, a fortune-teller, conjurer, ‘wise man’, ‘wise woman’, wizard or witch. (Also hyphened cunning-man.) Obs. (or ? dial.) [c 1350 Will. Palerne 653 Ful conyng was sche and coynt, and couf?e fele binges, Of charmes and of chauntemens to schewe harde castis.] 1593 Shaks. 2 Hen. VI. iv. i. 34 A cunning man did calculate my birth, And told me that by Water I should dye. 1609 B. Jonson Sil. Worn. 11. i, Going in disguise to that conjurer and this cunning woman. 1712 Addison Sped. No. 505 IP4 How many Wizards, Gypsies, and Cunning-Men. 1797 Sporting Mag. X. 273 The wife.. went to a cunning woman to discover the thief. 1807 Southey Espriella's Lett. II. 342 A Cunning-Man, or a Cunning-Woman, as they are termed, is to be found near every town.

4. Possessing keen intelligence, wit, or insight; knowing, clever. 1671 J. Webster Metallogr. vi. 106 Wiser heads, and cunninger wits. 1710 Philips Pastorals ii. 55 Against ill Luck all cunning Foresight fails. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xix, Your groom rides your horses because he is a cunninger animal than they. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Wealth Wks. (Bohn) II. 73 [These] provisions.. have exercised the cunningest heads in a profession which never admits a fool.

5. a. In bad sense: Skilful in compassing one’s ends by covert means; clever in circumventing; crafty, artful, guileful, sly. (The prevailing modern sense.) [1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. i. 1 That conning Architect of cancred guyle.] 1599 Shaks. Hen. V, 11. ii. iii Whatsoeuer cunning fiend it was That wrought upon thee. 1611 Cymb. 1. iv. 100. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xvi. 54 Like cunning thieves, desiring that the prey.. should not escape out of their hands. 1752 Johnson Rambler No. 193 IP 1 The cunning will have recourse to stratagem, and the powerful to violence. 1841 Elphinstone Hist. Ind. II. 173 He was not naturally either cunning or cruel. 1864 Kingsley Rom. Teut. iii. (1875) 73 The stronger, if not the cunninger of the two.

b. Of things: Showing or characterized by craftiness; crafty. 1590 Spenser F.Q. I. iii. 17 Then he by conning sleights in at the window crept. 1611 Bible Eph. iv. 14 By the sleight of men, and cunning craftinesse, whereby they lye in waite to deceiue. 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop iii, His black eyes were restless, sly, and cunning. 1872 E. Peacock Mabel Heron I. iii. 49 If I didn’t know your cunning ways.

6. U.S. colloq. Quaintly interesting or pretty, attractive, taking; as having attributed to it the qualities described in sense 2 b, or (as said of young children) in 4 or 5. (Cf. canny 9.) 1844 lJ. Slick’ High Life N. Y. I. 220 ‘Why, that pair,’ sez she,.. a burying her hands.. down in the pocket of her cunning apron. 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. xvii. 216 Tea and coffee arrived (with sweet preserves, and cunning teacakes in its train). 1854 Mrs. Stowe Sunny Mem. I. 161 My eye had been caught by some cunning little tubs and pails in a window. 1885 G. Allen Babylon i, Ain’t it a cunning little egg? 1887 Century Mag. Nov. 43 As a child, she had been called ‘cunning’ in the popular American use of the word when applied to children; that is to say, piquantly interesting. 1888 The Lady 25 Oct. 374/3 ‘Cunning’ little shelves for small bits of pottery.

'cunning, vbl. sb. Directing the helm: see under con v.2 1659 D. Pell Improv. Sea 418 The Helmsman .. minded not the cunning of the ship.

cunning, obs. form of cony, rabbit, cunningaire, var. conyger, rabbit-warren.

CUNNINGHEDE f 'cunninghede.

Obs. rare.

In 5 connyng-.

[f.

CUNNING + -hede, -HEAD.] = CUNNINGNESS I. c 1475 Partenay 5 Barayne is my soule, fauting connynghede. cunningly ('kAniqli), adv. Forms: see cunning a.

[-LY2.]

In a cunning manner.

1. With skill, knowledge, or wisdom; wisely, cleverly, knowingly. Obs. or arch. In early quots. often = ‘with good breeding, politely’. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Theodera 402 Hyme ful connandly scho gret. C1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1485 Hypsip. Gf Medea, Fful cunnyngely these lordes two he grette. c 1400 Destr. Troy 838 Iason carpes to the kyng, conyngly he said. 1413 Lydg. Pilgr. Sotvle iv. xxxviii. (1859) 63 He salewed hyr goodly, and she welcomed hym ful connyngly, as she wel couthe. c 1425 Wsyntoun Cron. v. xii. 275 Hucheown.. Intil his gest hystoriale Has tretyd J?is mar cunnandly. c 1460 Towneley Myst. 160 This barne .. That carps thus conandly. 1519 Interl. Four Elem. in Hazl. Dodsley I. 37 He hath expound cunningly Divers points of cosmography. 1592 R. D. Hypnerotomachia 91 Which thoughts were bewraied by my countenance.. which she cunningly perceiuing [etc.]. 1870 Morris Earthly Par. II. in. 341 Two wise men .. who can Talk cunningly about the ways of man. 2. With skilful art. (Now a literary archaism.) ? a 1400 Chester PI. (Shaks. Soc.) I. 114 He so cuninglye this worcke caste. 1555 Eden Decades 31 Chayers and stooles.. very coonningely wrowght. 1682 Milton Hist. Mosc. ii. (1851) 483 They shoot wondrous cunningly: thir Arrow heads are sharpned Stones. 1836-48 B. D. Walsh Aristoph., Clouds 1. iv, Cunningly-wrought halls. 1883 Ld. R. Gower My Remin. II. xxi. 52 Inigo Jones.. decorated the front of Kirby.. in cunningly carved stone. 3. With knowledge employed to conceal facts or designs, or to deceive or circumvent; craftily, artfully. (The current sense.) 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 48 So cunningly had he under the vaile of pietie, shadowed his most execrable treacherie. 1622 R. Hawkins Voy. S. Sea (1847) 104 The cuninglier to colour their greatest disorders and robberies. 1719 D’Urfey Pills IV. 201 Women are.. cunningly Coy. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. xi. 124 Your lash..is apt to., fasten itself cunningly round bits of ice. 1867 Deutsch Rem. (1874) 8 He saw the cunningly-laid trap. 'cunningness. [f. as prec. + -ness.] quality of being cunning or knowing. fl. ness;

Knowingness; something

skilfulness,

requiring

skill;

skill, =

The

clever¬

cunning

sb. 2, 3, 4. 1375 Barbour Bruce 111. 712 It wes gret cunnannes to kep Thar takill in-till sic A thrang. a 1400 Relig. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. (1867) 12 Worldely mene..J?at castes paire conaundenes.. vn-to couetyse. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 121 Konyngnesse of pe leche. 1609 Douland Ornith. Microl. 67 Thou .. hast.. in singing a graceful cunningnesse. 1755 Connoisseur No. 70 If 10 For all your learning, and policy, and cunningness, and judgment. 2. Craftiness, slyness, artfulness; = cunning sb. 5. 01625 Fletcher Woman's Prize iv. ii, Such a drench of balderdash, Such a strange carded cunningness. 1654 Cokaine Dianea 1. 69 With all candidnesse.. or else with a cunningness. 1702 W. J. Bruyn's Voy. Levant xl. 157 The Cunningness of Apes and Falcons. 1727 in Bailey vol. II.; and in mod. Diets. 1965 Listener 18 Mar. 420/2 His work.. lacks the nudging cunningness of some ‘art’ photographers. f'cunningship. Obs. In 3 (north.) conandscipe. [See cunning a. and -ship.] Knowledge. 01300 Cursor M. 29206 (Cott.) J?e gift o wijt, of vnderstanding, o consail, strenght, o gode dreding, o conandscipe, and o pite. cunnundrum, obs. form of conundrum. cunny (’kAm). slang.

[Prob. dim. of cunt; but

cf. cony sb. 5 b.] = cunt i. 1720 D’Urfey Pills VI. 197 All my Delight is a Cunny in the Night, When she turns up her silver Hair. 1865 E. Sellon New Epicurean (1875) 11, I frigged and kissed their fragrant cunnies. 1879-80 Pearl (1970) 216 Your private parts, or cunny, Should not be let for money. 1891 Farmer & Henley Slang II. 230 Cunny-haunted,. .lecherous. 1922 F. Harris My Life & Loves I. x. 208 She had limbs like a Greek statue and her triangle of brown hair lay in little silky curls on her belly and then—the sweetest little cunny in the world. cunny, -yng, obs. forms of cony, rabbit. cunopic

(kjur'nDpik),

a.

nonce-wd.

[f.

Gr.

kvvwttt)s the dog-eyed, the shameless.] = CYNOPIC. 1838 Fraser's Mag. XVIII. 671 The roystering, rubicund, cunopic cutter of rumps of beef and briskets.

relations uncertain.] 1. The female external genital organs. Cf. quaint sb. Its currency is restricted in the manner of other taboowords: see the small-type note s.v. fuck v. [C1230 in Ekwall Street-Names of City of London (1954) 165 Gropecuntelane.] 01325 Prov. Hendyng (Camb. Gg. 1. 1) st. 42 Yeue pi cunte to cunnig and craue affetir wedding. c 1400 Lanfrone's Cirurg. 172/12 In wymmen pe necke of pe bladdre is schort, & is maad fast to the cunte. c 1425 Castle of Perseverance (1904) 1193 Mankynde, my leue lemman, I my cunte J>ou schalt crepe. 1552 Lyndesay Satyre Procl. 144 First lat me lok thy cunt, Syne lat me keip the key. 01585 Polwart Fly ting with Montgomerie (1910) 817 Kis pe cunt of ane kow. C1650 in Hales & Furnivall Percy's Folio MS. (1867) 99 Vp start the Crabfish, & catcht her by the Cunt. 1743 Walpole Little Peggy in Corr. (1961) XXX. 309 Distended cunts with alum shall be braced. ci8oo Burns Merry Muses (1911) 66 For ilka hair upon her c—t, Was worth a royal ransom, c 1888-94 My Secret Life VII. 161, I sicken with desire, pine for unseen, unknown cunts. 1934 H. Miller Tropic of Cancer (193 s) 15 O Tania, where now is that warm cunt of yours? 1956 S. Beckett Malone Dies 24 His young wife had abandoned all hope of bringing him to heel, by means of her cunt, that trump card of young wives. transf. and fig. 01680 Ld. Rochester Poems on Several Occasions (1950) 28 Her Hand, her Foot, her very look’s a Cunt. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 61 The grey sunken cunt of the world. 1928 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley xvi. 296 If your sister there comes ter me for a bit o’ cunt an’ tenderness, she knows what she’s after.

2. Applied to a person, esp. a woman, as a term of vulgar abuse. 1929 F. Manning Middle Parts of Fortune I. viii. 159 What’s the cunt want to come down ’ere buggering us about for, ’aven’t we done enough bloody work in th’ week? 1932 ‘G. Orwell’ Coll. Essays (1968) I. 88 Tell him he’s a cunt from me. 1934 H. Miller Tropic of Cancer (1935) 28 Two cunts sail in—Americans. 1956 S. Beckett Malone Dies 99 They think they can confuse me... Proper cunts whoever they are. 1965 V. Henriques Face I Had 69 ‘What d’you think you’re doing, you silly cunt?’ the driver shouts at her.

3. Comb. 1680 Anon, in Rochester's Poems on Several Occasions (1950) 36 Fam’d through the World, for the C—nt-mending Trade. 1868 Index Expurgatorius of Martial 32 A satire on Baeticus, who was a priest of Cybele, and a cunt-sucker. 1891 Farmer Slang II. 230/2 Cunt-struck, enamoured of women. 1923 Manchon Le Slang 97 Cunt-hat,.. chapeau de feutre. 1965 F. Sargeson Memoirs of Peon, ii. 28 We were all helplessly and hopelessly c... struck, a vulgar but forcibly accurate expression.

cunt-: see cont-, count-. cunye, cunzie ('kYnji:, 'kYni), sb. Sc. Also cun-, cuin-, -3e, -3ee, -3ey, -3he, -3ie, -3ye, -yee, -yie; con3e, -3ie, counye, cownye, cwnyhe, coynyhe, coin3ie, coignie. [15th c. Sc. cunje, repr. OF. cuigne var. of coin, coin.] f 1. = coin sb. 1 or 2: Corner or corner-stone. 1375 Barbour Bruce xvm. 304 Richt till the Cunjhe of the wall. 1387 St. Giles Charters (1859) p. x, Xii hewyn stonys, astlayr and coynyhe. 1645 Fenwick Session Rec. in Edgar Old Ch. Life in Scot. 16 note, That no furmes be placed about the cuinjies. f2. A coining-house, a mint; = coin sb. 4.

Obs. 1489 Sc. Acts Jas. IV§ 17 (1597) The silver warke .. quhilk is brocht to the cuinjie. 01572 Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 453 It was thocht expedient that a cun3e should be erected. 3. Coin, money; = coin sb. 6. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Jacobus 734 Of paire con3e.. pennyse thretty. 1482 in Pinkerton Scot. App. I. 503 Thar was blak cunye in the realm, strikkin and ordinyt be King James the Thred, half-pennys, and threepenny pennys . .of coppir. 1513 Douglas JEnets viii. Prol. 97 Sum trachour crynis the cun3e. 1513-75 Diurn. Occurrents (Bannatyne Club) 120 Ane proclamatioun twching the new cuinyee. 1552 Abp. Hamilton Catech. 98 Thai that strykis cownye of unlauchful mettall [margin, Strykaris of unlauchful connyey], 1600 Sc. Acts 16 Jas. VI, c. 9 Great scairsitie of Cunyie. 1724 Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 105 When cunzie is scanty.

4. Comb, f cunye-house,

coining-house, mint. 1513-75 Diurn. Occurrents (Bannatyne Club) 53 Tuke.. the Quenis imis of the cunyehous. 1600 Sc. Acts 16 Jas. VI, c. 9 Anent the hame-bringing of Bulyeon for furnishing of the Cunye-house. 1637-50 Row Hist. Kirk (1842) p. xvii, I culd get no money out of the conze-house. a 1657 Balfour Ann. Scot. (1824-5) II. 2 Naper, Laird of Merchistone, generall of the cunzie housse.

f cunye, v. Sc. Obs. Forms: see the sb. [f. prec.] trans. To coin. Hence 'cunyed ppl. a.

cunstable, -bulle, -bylle, obs. ff. constable.

c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. vii. v. 168 This Henry fyrst kyng of Ingland .. ordanyd.. Hys mone to be cwynhede rownd. 1475 Sc. Acts Jas. Ill, §65 (1597) All cuin^ied money. 1549 Compl. Scot. xiii. 109 Gold and siluyr, cun3et & oncun3et. 1588 A. King tr. Camsius' Catech. 8, 3. Gif thai bring in or cause coignie any false money.

feunster.

cunyng, obs. form of cony, rabbit.

Sc.

Obs.

In 6 quenster.

[Parallel

formation to cunner, Conner1, with suffix -ster.] = Conner1, ale-conner. IS3S Aberd. Reg. V. 16 And that the officiaris pas oukly with thair cunstaris throu the quarteris. 1551 Crt. Rec. in Cramond Annals Banff (1891) I. 28 Aill.. fundin gud and sufficient be the quensters. 1628 Ibid. I. 60 The Provost, Bailies and Council choose four persons as Cunsters and Visitors of ale, beer and bread. 1676 Ibid. I. 156 The goodnes of the aill to be tyrit be cunsteris. cunt

(kAnt).

responding

to

[ME. ON.

cunte,

kunta

count(e),

(Norw.,

Sw.

cor¬ dial.

kunta, Da. dial, kunte), OFris., MLG., MDu. kunte:—Gmc.

*kuntdn

CUP

130

wk.

fern.;

ulterior

f'cunyour. Sc. Obs. [a. OF. coignour, quoingneur coiner of money.] = coiner i. 1455 Sc. Acts Jas. II, §59 (1597) That the cuin3ioures.. nouther cuinjie Demy .. nor 3it sex-penny-groates. 1469 Sc. Acts Jas. Ill, §40 (1597) Black money, stricken and prented be his Cuinzieoures. 1500-20 Dunbar Demonstr. to King 11 Cun3ours, Carvouris, & Carpentaris.

cunze, cunzie: see cunye. cuoshen, obs. form of cushion. cup (kAp), sb. Forms: a. 1-7 cuppe, (4-5 kuppe), 4-7 cupp, 6- cup, (6 Sc. culp(p). |3. 3-5 cupe, 3-6

coupe, 4-5 cowpe, 6 Sc. coup, cowp. y. 3-5 coppe, 4-5 cope, (5 coop, 6 coope). [OE. cuppe wk. fern., supposed to be ad. late L. cuppa, the source of It. coppa (close o), Pr., Sp., Pg. copa, OF. cope, cupe, coupe, rarely coppe, mod.F. coupe drinkingvessel, cup. L. cuppa is generally held to be a differentiated form of cupa, tub, cask, vat, which survives in F. cuve, Pr., Sp., Pg. cuba tub, etc. But beside cuppe in ME., are found two forms coupe {cowpe) and coppe, with the variants cupe, cope, coope. Of these coupe {cowpe) directly represents OF. coupe; cupe prob. represents the earlier OF. spelling of the same word, but may be merely a variant of cuppe. The status of coppe is not so clear: it may also represent OF. cope (sometimes coppe), or it may be due to mixture of cuppe and OE. copp: see cop sb.1', in the form coppes it is impossible to distinguish between the pi. of copp and that of coppe. The rare forms cope, coope, prob. represent OF. cope. Nearly all these by¬ forms of the word became obs. before 1500; only cuppe survives in mod. English cup.]

I. A drinking-vessel, or something resembling it. 1. A small open vessel for liquids, usually of hemispherical or hemi-spheroidal shape, with or without a handle; a drinking-vessel. The common form of cup (e.g. a tea-cup or coffeecup) hras no stem; but the larger and more ornamental forms (e.g. a wine-cup or chalice) may have a stem and foot, as also a lid or cover; in such case cup is sometimes applied specifically to the concave part that receives the liquid. a. cuppe, cupp, cup. (Sc. culp, culpp, belongs perh. to /3.) c 1000 ^lfric Voc. in Wr.-Wulcker 122/37 Caupus vel obba, cuppe. ciooo Sax. Leechd. II. 290 Nime ponne ane cuppan, ao an lytel wearmes wsetres on innan. c 1205 Lay. 14996 Heo pa cuppe [later t. bolle] bitahte pan kinge. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2318 3ure on hauefi is cuppe stolen. 01300 Cursor M. 13402 (Cott.) J>ai fild a cupp [v.r. cope, 2 MSS. cuppe] pun son in hast. C1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 157 Monkes haf grete kuppes. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 109 Cuppe, ciphus, patera, cuppa. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 70, I haue putte.. wyn in my cuppe. 1542 Inventories (1815) 74 (Jam.) Item, twa culpis gilt.. Item, twa culppis with thair coveris gilt. 1583 Stanyhurst Aeneis 11. (Arb.) 68 Massiue gould cups. 1597 Shaks. 2 Hen. IV, v. iii. 56 Fill the Cuppe .. lie pledge you a mile to the bottome. 1667 Milton P.L. v. 444 Mean while at Table Eve., thir flowing cups With pleasant liquors crown’d. 1770 Goldsm. Des. Vill. 250 Nor the coy maid .. Shall kiss the cup to pass it to the rest. 1842 Tennyson Vision of Sin iv. ix, Fill the cup, and fill the can. 1872 E. Peacock Mabel Heron I. viii. 136 He half filled a leather cup he carried in his pocket.

p. cupe, coupe, cowpe. C1275 Lay. 24612 Mid gildene coupe [earlier t. bolle]. 0 1300 Cursor M. 4858 (Cott.) A siluer cupe [3 later MSS. coupe]. 0 1300 Ibid. 7728 (Cott.) A cupe [F. cuppe, G. & T. coupe] he tok and a sper. [Cf. OF. Rois 104 pristrent la lance e la cupe ki fud al chief Saul.] C1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 1458 Couered cowpes foul clene, as casteles arayed. 1393 Langl. P. PI. C. iv. 23 Coupes of clene gold and coppes of seluer. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 99 Cowpe, or pece, crater {cuppa, P.). c 1450 Merlin 67 The kynge hadde a riche cowpe of goolde. y. coppe (cope, coop): cf. cop sb.1 CI290 5. Eng. Leg. 41/258 A coppe of seluer. 01300 Cursor M. 13402 (Gott.) J>ai fild a cope [C. cupp, F. cuppe] sone in hast. 1340 Ayenb. 30 And brekj? potes and coppes. CI386 Chaucer Frankl. T. 214 With outen coppe [4 MSS. cuppe] he drank al his penaunce. 01450 Voc. in Wr.Wulcker 626/9 Ciphus, coop. 1483 Cath. Angl. 75 A Coppe, ciphus [- scyphus], condus. c 1500 Yng. Children's Bk. 106 in Babees Bk. (1868) 23 Wype thi mouthe when )?ou w'yll drinke, Lest it foule thi copys brinke. 2. spec. a. The chalice in which the wine is

administered at the Communion. sense 8 b.)

(See also

[1382 Wyclif Matt. xxvi. 27 And he takynge the cuppe dede thankyngis and 3aue to hem.] c 1449 Pecock Repr. 11. x. 203 The eukarist.. is born in a coupe ordeyned therto. 1547-8 Ordre of Commvnion 17 The first Cuppe or Chalice. 1662 Bk. Com. Prayer, Communion, Here he is to take the cup into his hand. 1890 J. Hunter Devotional Services, Communion, Then shall the Minister say..when he delivereth the cup: Drink this in remembrance of Christ.

b. An ornamental cup or other vessel offered as a prize for a race or athletic contest. C1640 [Shirley] Capt. Underwit in. iii. in Bullen O. PI. (1883) II. 368 Does the race hold at Newmarket for the Cup? 1777 Sheridan Sch. Scand. in. iii, All the family race cups and corporation bowls! 1837 Dickens Pickw. xxxix, Think you’re vinning a cup, Sir. 1885 Pall Mall G. 4 Apr. 4/2 The competition for the Challenge Cup.

3. Surg. a. A vessel used for cupping; a cupping-glass, b. A vessel holding a definite quantity (usually four ounces), used to receive the blood in blood-letting. 1617 Mosan tr. Wirtzung's Physick 27 To remoue headach the cups are fixed on the legs. 01735 Arbuthnot (J ), Hippocrates tells you, that in applying of cups, the scarification ought to be made with crooked instruments. ■792 H. Munro Th. & Pract. Mod. Surg. (1800) 15 As soon as the wound is made by these [lancets], a cup, exhausted of its atmospheric air, applied over the orifices, makes them bleed freely. 1889 Chambers' Encycl. III. 618 Of old the cups were either small horns.. or glasses of various shapes.

4. A natural organ or formation having the form of a drinking-cup; e.g. the rounded cavity or socket of certain bones, as the shoulder-blade and hip-bone; the cup-shaped hardened involucrum (cupule) of an acorn (acom-cup); the calyx of a flower, also the blossom itself

GUP when cup-shaped; a cup-shaped organ in certain Fungi, or on the suckers of certain Molluscs; a depression in the skin forming a rudimentary eye in certain lower animals (also eye-cup or cup-eye). *545 Raynold Byrth Mankynde 81 Take .. the cuppes of acornes. 1548-77 Vicary Anat. vii. (1888) 48 The., shoulder-blade.. in the vpper part it is round, in whose roundnes is a concauitie, which is called ye boxe or coope of the shoulder. 1590 Shaks. Mids. N. 11. i. 31 All their Elues .. Creepe into Acorne cups and hide them there. 1615 Crooke Body of Man 849 The Cup of the Hippe. 1707 Curios, in Husb. & Gard. 45 The Cup is that which infolds the Leaves and the Heart of a Flower, while it is yet in Bud. i743“6 Shenstone Elegies viii. 38 The cowslip’s golden cup no more I see. 1866 Treas. Bot. 870 Peziza.. The hymenium lines the cavity of a fleshy membranous or waxy cup. 1888 Rolleston & Jackson Anim. Life 456 The suckers of the Decapoda are stalked, and the cup has a marginal horny ring. 1900 F. A Bather in E. R. Lankester Treat. Zool. III. 30 Each cup is coated at its base with pigment. 1927 Glasgow Herald 9 July 4 In some of the seaworms . .we start with diagrammatically simple ‘cup-eyes’, . . and gradually pass to very elaborate ‘cup-eyes’. Ibid., A minute optic skin-cup. 1929 Encycl. Brit. XX. 628/2 Eyespots are found in Medusae, starfishes, and some Annelid worms... The first step .. is the sinking of the eye-spot into a pit-like depression, thus forming an eye-cup (optic cup). Ibid., The cells situated at the back of the cup. 1940 Parker & Haswell Text-bk. Zool. (ed. 6) I. 249 [Phylum Platyhelminthes.] When most highly developed the eye .. is still of very simple structure, consisting of a cup formed of one or more pigment-cells having sensory cells in close relation to it with processes (nerve-fibres) passing to the brain.

5. A rounded cavity, small hollow, or depression in the surface of the ground or of a rock. spec, in Golf: see quot. 1887. 1868 Holme Lee B. Godfrey i. 7 The church .. stood in a cup of the hillside. 1887 Jamieson Supp., Cup, a term in golfing applied to a small cavity or hole in the course, prob. made by the stroke of a previous player. 1887 Sir W. G. Simpson Art of Golf 133 Beware of a cup, however small. 1889 Chambers' Encycl. III. 618 Cup-markings on rocks .. of two varieties—circular cavities or ‘cups’ pure and simple, and cups surrounded by circles.

6. a. techn. Applied to various cup-shaped contrivances; see quots. C1850 Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 113 Cup, A solid piece of cast iron let into the step of the capstan, and in which the iron spindle at the heel of the capstan works. 1874 Knight Diet. Mech., Cup. 4. One of a series of little domes attached to a boiler-plate and serving to extend the fire-surface. 1884 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 99 There are two varieties of cups—‘saucer’ and ‘balance-wheel’—the former, shaped like a saucer, is generally of gold, and is used in threequarter plate watches.

b. Painting. 1768 W. Gilpin Ess. Prints 223 The heavier part of the foliage (the cup, as the landskip-painter calls it) is always near the middle: the out-side branches.. are light and airy.

c. That part of a brassiere which is shaped to contain or support one of the breasts. Also attrib. and Comb. 1938 ‘E. Queen’ Four of Hearts (1939) ix. 129 She didn’t have to wear a cup-form brassiere. 1957 Housewife Sept. 104 Thinnest foam rubber curved in the cups.. achieves a natural line by gently contouring the bosom itself. 1959 Ibid. June 28 Marquisette cup section underlined lace. Ibid.. A perfect contour bustline .. B and C cups. 1959 News Chron. 13 July 6/3 Cup fittings are based on the difference between underbust and full bust measurements. 1970 Times 16 June 7/6 The prettiest and the most alluring and flattering bathing suits are halter-necked with a vertiginous . .plunge in the front and very soft, unsupported cups.

7. Astron. The constellation crater sb. 1551 Recorde Cast. Knowl. (1556) 269 The Cuppe standeth on the Hydres backe. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. July 19 The Sonne .. Making his way betweene the Cuppe, and golden Diademe. 1868 Lockyer Heavens (ed. 3) 326.

II. Transferred and figurative uses. 8. a. A cup with the liquor it contains; the drink taken in a cup; a cupful, loving-cup (q.v.), a cup of wine, etc. passed from hand to hand round a company. Also ellipt. (In quots. 1952 and 1969, ellipt. in sense 12 b (ii).) 1382 Wyclif Matt. x. 42 Who euer 3iueth drynke to oon of these leste a cuppe of cold water oonly. 1588 A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 171b, Quhasaeuer sal giv ony of thais small ains ane coup of watter to drink onelie. 1601 Shaks. Twel. N. I. iii. 85 O knight, thou lack’st a cup of Canarie. 1660 Pepys Diary 28 Sept., I did send for a cup of tee (a China drink) of which I never had drank before. C1760 Mother Goose's Melody (1785) 19 Take a cup and drink it up, Then call your Neighbours in. 1784 Cowper Task IV. 39 The cups That cheer but not inebriate, wait on each. [See cheer v. 5 c.] 1839 Thirlwall Greece VI. xlviii. 145 A cup of poison had been prepared for him. 1847 C. M. Yonge in Mag. for the Young Sept. 189 There is the kettle .. all ready for tea!.. Won’t you sit down and have a cup, Amy? 1849 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 44 Each of these gentlemen drank four cups of tea. 1952 A. Wilson Hemlock & After 1. iii. 51 Anyway, none of it would be your cup, darling. 1969 J. Elliot Duel 1. iii. 68 He enjoys his little Royal Society dinners... Not my cup.

b. spec. The wine taken at the Communion. (Cf. 2 a.) [1382 Wyclif 1 Cor. xi. 26 How ofte euere je schulen ete this breed, and schulen drynke the cuppe.] 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxvii. §5 The bread and cup are his body and blood for that they are so to us. 1681-6 J. Scott Chr. Life (1747) III. 307 To communicate with them.. in this one Baptism, and one eucharistical Bread and Cup. 1884 J. Candlish Sacraments 91 The wine is described merely as ‘the cup’, ‘the fruit of the vine’.

c. transf. Drink; that which one drinks.

131 1719 Young Busiris v. i, Weeds are their food, their cup the muddy Nile.

9. fig. Chiefly in the sense (derived from various passages of Scripture): Something to be partaken of, endured or enjoyed; an experience, portion, lot (painful or pleasurable, more commonly the former). Cf. chalice i b. a 1340 Hampole Psalter x. 7 He calles J?aire pynes a cope, for ilk dampned man sail drynk of pe sorow of hell. Ibid. xv. 5 He is cope of all my delite & ioy. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 134 b, To drynke the cuppe of sorowe. 1534 Tindale Matt. xx. 22 Are ye able to drynke of the cuppe that I shall drynke of? 1605 Shaks. Lear v. iii. 304 All Foes [shall taste] The cup of their deseruings. 1611 Bible Ps. xvi. 5, xxiii. 5, etc. 1732 Pope Ess. Man 11. 288 In folly’s cup still laughs the bubble, joy. 1833 Mrs. Browning Prom. Bound Poems 1850 I. 156, I quaff the full cup of a present doom. 1875 Farrar Silence & V. ii. 40 Filling to the brim the cup of his iniquity. 1879 Froude Caesar xviii. 293 To drink the bitterest cup of humiliation.

10. pi. The drinking of intoxicating liquor; potations, drunken revelry, in one's cups: f (a) while drinking, during a drinking-bout (also f amidst, f among, f at, over one's cups)\ (b) in a state of intoxication, ‘in liquor’. 1406 Hoccleve La Male Regie 165 For in the cuppe seelden fownden is, pat any wight his neigheburgh commendith. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. (Arb.) 26 Amonge their cuppes they geue iudgement of the wittes of writers. 1611 Bible i Esdras iii. 22 And when they are in their cups, they forget their loue both to friends and brethren. 1667 Milton P.L. xi. 718 Thence from Cups to civil Broiles. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull 11. iv, She used to come home in her cups, and break the china. 1828 Bentham Let. to Sir F. Burdett Wks. 1843 X. 592, I hear you are got among the Tories, and that you said once you were one of them: you must have been in your cups. 1842 J. H. Newman Par. Serm. (ed. 2) V. ii. 22 They .. discuss points of doctrine .. even .. over their cups. 1861 Thackeray Four Georges i. (1876) 19 The jolly Prince.. loving his cups and his ease.

11. A name for various beverages consisting of wine sweetened and flavoured with various ingredients and usually iced; as claret-cup, etc. 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. 11, Here’s a cup, Sir.. I have prepared it with my own hands, and I believe you’ll own the ingredients are tolerable. 1818 R. Rush Crt. of London (1833) 151 Sir Henry recommended me to a glass of what I supposed wine.. but he called it King’s cup. 1833 New Monthly Mag. XXXVII. 193 footn., A foaming tankard of cup. Note. Cup is a mixture of beer, wine, lemon, sugar, and spice. 1884 Pall Mall G. 16 Feb. 5/1 Who.. could produce bottles of ‘old Johannisberg’ for a guest and make them into cup.

III. 12. a. Proverbs and Phrases. (See also sense io.) between (or betwixt) the cup and the lip: while a thing is yet in hand and on the very point of being achieved. (Now usually there's many a slip between, etc.) f such cup, such cover, also f such a cup, such a cruse: implying similarity between two persons related in some way. f cup and can: constant or familiar associates (the can being the larg6 vessel from which the cup is filled), a cup too low: see quots. 1539 Taverner Erasm. Prov. (1552) 16 Manye thynges fall betweene yc cuppe and the mouth. 1549 Latimer 5th Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 143 Such a cup, suche a cruse. She would not depart from hir oun. 1550 Bale Apol. 132 As for your doctours.. they are lyke your selfe, as the adage goeth, suche cuppe suche cover. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. Epigr. (1867) 49 As cup and can could holde. 01700 B. E. Diet. Cant. Crew., A Cup too low, when any of the Company are mute or pensive. 1729 Swift Libel on Dr. Delany, You and he are Cup and Cann. 1777 Sheridan Trip Scarb. 1. ii, If the devil don’t step between the cup and the lip. 1801 Spirit Pub. Jrnls. (1802) V. 305 He must, .be cup and can with sextons and grave-diggers. 1864 H. Ainsworth John Law Prol. x. (1881) 54 You’re a cup too low. A glass of claret will make you feel more cheerful. 1887 T. A. Trollope What I remember I. xii. 256 A whole series of slips between the cup and the lip!

b. cup of tea (colloq. phr.): (i) used of a person. 1908 W. De Morgan Somehow Good xvi. 159 ‘It’s simply impossible to help liking him.’ To which Sally replied, borrowing an expression from Ann the housemaid, that Fenwick was a cup of tea. It was metaphorical and descriptive of invigoration. a 1909 in Ware Passing Eng. (1909) 101/1 Oh, don’t yer though. You are a nice strong cup o’ tea. 1939 N. Marsh Overture to Death xi. 120 Miss Prentice.. seems to be a very unpleasant cup of tea. Ibid. xxiv. 279 She was a cranky old cup of tea. 1940 A. Christie One, Two, Buckle my Shoe 123 Sounds quite like that old cup of tea who came to see Mrs. Chapman.

(ii) one's cup of tea: what interests or suits one. 1932 N. Mitford Christmas Pudding xiv. 211 I’m not at all sure I wouldn’t rather marry Aunt Loudie. She’s even more my cup of tea in many ways. 1933 P. Fleming Brazilian Adventure I. iii. 31 The desire to benefit the community is never their principal motive... They do it because they want to. It suits them; it is their cup of tea. 1936 Auden & Isherwood Ascent of F6 11. iii. 96, I had an aunt who loved a plant—But you’re my cup of tea! 1937 N. Coward Pres. Indie, iii. v. vzi Broadway by night seemed to be my cup of tea entirely. 1948 ‘J. Tey’ Franchise Affair v. 54 Probably she isn't your cup of tea. ..You have always preferred them a little stupid, and blond. 1965 M. Spark Mandelbaum Gate v. 141 Freddy had stood in the doorway of the dark Orthodox chapel and, regarding the heavy-laden altar and the exotic clusters of coloured lamps hung round it, said, ‘It’s not really my cup of tea, you know.’

(iii) a different cup of tea (and similar expressions): something of an altogether different kind. 1940 N. Mitford Pigeon Pie xiii. 215 A Fred racked with ideals, and in the grip of Federal Union, was quite a different

CUP cup of tea from the old, happy-go-lucky Fred. 1946 ‘S. Russell’ To Bed with Grand Music i. 20 London in wartime .. is a very different cup of tea from Winchester. 1957 Listener 5 Dec. 954/1 The outwitted villain.. is quite another cup of tea.

13. attrib. and Comb. a. General combinations, as cup-augury, -maker, -marking; cup-eyed, -headed, -like, -marked, -shaped adjs. 1879 Farrar St. Paul (1883) 251 To presage his fate by a sort of *cup-augury involved in examining the grounds of coffee. 1922 T. Hardy Late Lyrics 33 *Cup-eyed care and doubt. 1889 G. Findlay Eng. Railway 46 The spikes [to fasten the chair to the sleeper] are *cup-headed. 1835-6 Todd Cycl. Anat. I. 114/2 The bodies of the vertebrae terminate in two *cup-like cavities. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 9 A hazelwood .. in a cuplike hollow of the down. 14.. Nominale in Wr.-Wulcker 686/22 Hie cipharius, a •copmaker. 1591 Percivall Sp. Diet., Cubero, a cup maker. 1889 Chambers' Encycl. III. 618 *Cup-marking on rocks and •cup-marked stones belong to a peculiar class of archaic sculpturings. 1845 Athenaeum 22 Feb. 199 *Cup-shaped bodies.

b. esp. in reference to social drinking or drunkenness (cf. sense 10): as cupacquaintance, -caper, -conqueror, -friendship, -god, -mate, -tossing. 1596 Bp. W. Barlow Three Serm. i. 13 Til that same Cupchallenging profession came into our land. Ibid. iii. 119 Wine.. swilled by challenging Cupmates. 1599 Soliman & Persida v. in Hazl. Dodsley V. 363 Where is tipsy Alexander, that great cup-conqueror? 1608 D. F. Ess. Pol. Mor. 83 Cup-friendship, is of too brittle and glassie a substance to continue long. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xviii. v, Only his cup acquaintance. 1842 S. C. Hall Ireland II. 270 She was perfect mistress of the art of cup-tossing.

c. In sense 2 b, as cup-taker, -transaction; cup-day, a day on which a race is run for a cup; cup horse, a horse that runs for a cup; cup-tie, a ‘tie’ {i.e. match or contest between the victors in previous contests) played for a cup; hence cup-tied a. Assoc. Football, of a player: ineligible to play in cup-ties for the remainder of a season through having already played for another club in the current season’s competition. i860 Mrs. Gaskell Let. 27 Aug. (1966) 631 It was Cup Day at Ascot. 1862 London Society II. 98 We travelled [to Ascot] on the Cup day.. ‘The latest prices’ of the Cup horses. 1879 Black White Wings xvii, The master of one of the Cup takers [a yacht]. 1894 Daily News 26 Feb. 5/1 Those mighty cup-fighters, the Blackburn Rovers. 1895 Ibid. 21 Feb. 5/5 The Wednesday men are noted cup-tie fighters. 1901 Westm. Gaz. 22 Apr. 7/3 A typical ‘cup-fighting’ team. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXIX. 329/2 The expression ‘a cuphorse’ is understood to imply an animal capable of distinguishing himself over a long distance at even weights against the best opponents. 1905 Daily Chron. 14 Apr. 8/1 A special brand of play known as ‘the Cup-tie game’. Ibid. 25 Dec. 3/4 Old Internationals and Cup-final players. 1908 Pearson's Weekly 5 Mar. Suppl. p. iii/3 We’re playing a cuptie! 1910 Westm. Gaz. 14 Mar. 14/2 The cup-holders were defeated in their first match. 1963 Times 10 Jan. 3/4 The .. good humoured indulgence afforded Hospital cup-ties. 1968 Listener 23 May 681/3 There is something wrong with a game when one of its outstanding young exponents, the new Cup-winners’ goalkeeper with Under-23 honours, says about itaTew weeks before the Cup Final: ‘The worst time of tho week for me is between three o’clock and twenty to five every Saturday afternoon.’ 1970 Times 20 Nov. 18/2 Wakeling, being cup-tied after playing for CorinthianCasuals, will be missed in midfield, and Richards will probably replace him. 1976 Eastern Even. News (Norwich) 29 Nov. 14/8 Jimmy Greenhoff, Manchester United’s £120,000 buy from Stoke City, is cup-tied and will not be eligible to play against Everton.

d. Special combs, cup-and-cone, (a) see quot. 1881; (b) Metall., designating a fracture in which one surface of the metal consists of a raised rim enclosing a flat central portion into which the other surface fits; cup-and-ring, designation of a type of marks found cut in megalithic monuments, consisting of a circular depression surrounded by concentric rings; cup-and-saucer a., designation of a naturalistic style in the late nineteenth-century theatre, introduced by T. W. Robertson; cup-andsaucer limpet, collectors’ name of the molluscous genus Calyptrxa\ f cup-band, ‘a brace of metal on which masers and handled cups were hung’ (Riley Liber Albus)-, cup-cake orig. U.S., a cake baked from ingredients measured by the cupful, or baked in a small (freq. paper) cup; cup-coral (see coral sb.1 i b); cup-custard, fluid custard served in glass cups; cup-defect, the fault in timber of being cupshaken; cup-flower, a name for Scyphanthus elegans, a S. American plant with yellow cup-shaped flowers; cup-fungus, any discomycetous fungus having a cup-shaped ascocarp; cf. cup-mushroom-, cup-gall, a cup¬ shaped gall or excrescence found on oak-leaves; f cup-glass = cupping-glass (in Bullokar, 1616); cup-grease, a kind of semi-solid lubricant; cup-guard, a cup-shaped swordguard; cup-head, a hemispherical head to a bolt; hence cup-headed, a.\ cup-hilted a., having a cup-guard on the hilt; cup hook, a hook which is

CUP screwed into a wall, shelf, cupboard, etc., and used for hanging up cups, etc.; cup-leather (see quots.); f cup-leech, one addicted to his cups; cup-lichen = cup-moss a. (in Prior, 1879); cupman, a man addicted to cups, a reveller; cupmark, -marking, a shallow cup-like depression found cut in rocks or stone monuments (see 5); also cup-marked a.\ cup-mouthpiece (see quot.); cup-mushroom, ‘a name for various species of Peziza’ (Britten and Holland); cup mute, a kind of mute for a trumpet or trombone; so cup-muted, adj.; cup-plant U.S., Silphium perfoliatum of N. America; cup-plate, see quot. 1891; f cup-rite, a libation; cup-rose, dial. var. of cop-rose;' cup-sculpture = cup-marking-, cup-seed, a N. American plant, Calycocarpum Lyoni (in Miller, 1884), having seeds hollowed out on one side like a cup; cup-shrimp (see quot.); cup-sponge, a kind of sponge shaped like a cup; cup-sprung a., having the hip-joint dislocated; tcuP-st°°k cup-valve, see quot.; f cup-waiter, one who serves liquor at a meal or feast. See cup-and-ball, cup-bearer, -moss, -shot. 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss., * Cup-and-cone. A machine for charging a shaft-furnace, consisting of an iron hopper with a large central opening, which is closed by a cone or bell, pulled up into it from below. 1925 Cup-and-cone fracture [see guppy a. c]. 1967 A. K. Osborne Encycl. Iron & Steel Industry (ed. 2) 99/2 Cup-and-cone... A type of fracture occurring in tensile test pieces from steels possessing reasonable ductility, and containing no local abnormality where the necking occurs. 1867 J. Y. Simpson Arch. Sculpt. 2 ♦Cup and ring cuttings. 1875 C. Maclagan Hill Forts Index, Cup and Ring Sculpturings. Ibid. 41 On one monolith.. are some ‘cup and ring markings5. 1900 Daily News 11 Oct. 6/1 A rude dial at West Kirby looks like an example of ‘cup and ring stones’. 1919 Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot. LIII. 23 The cup- and ring-marked stone which was found near this spot. 1963 S. Piggott in Foster & Alcock Culture & Environment iv. 64 The cup-and-ring carvings of Galicia have again been brought into relationship with those of Ireland. 1881 Times 27 Dec. 3/5 It [sc. Albery’s Two has more than the merit, though it has hardly met with the popularity of the ‘*cup and saucer5 comedies of the late Mr. T. W. Robertson. 1892 W. Archer in G. B. Shaw Prefaces (1934) 667/2 The scheme of a twaddling cup-andsaucer comedy. 1933 G. B. Shaw in Shaw on Theatre (1958) 222 The stuffiness of the London cup-and-saucer theatre. 13 .. in Liber Albus 609 *Cuppebonde. 1483 Cath. Angl. 75 A Copbande, cru[s]ta. 1828 E. Leslie Receipts 61 *Cup Cake. 1886 Harper's Mag. Dec. 134/2 Cousin Carry with her eternal cup-cake. 1887 M. E. Wilkins Humble Romance 271 Mis’ Steele made some cup-cake to-day... She put a cup of butter and two whole cups of sugar in it. 1907 Mrs. Beeton's All about Cookery (new ed.) 216/2 Cup Cakes, Plain (American Recipe).. 3 level cupfuls of flour, 1 cupful of sugar, \ a cupful of butter, 1 cupful of milk... Bake in shallow tins or small cups. 1911 E. Ferber Dawn O'Hara viii. 109 There were little round cup cakes made of almond paste that melts in the mouth. 1957 J- Braine Room at Top viii. 82 The cakes were fresh .. meringues, eclairs, chocolate cup-cakes. 1853 San Francisco Whig 28 July 1/4 (Advt.), *Cup Custard. 1862 ‘G. Hamilton5 Country Living & Thinking 72 We had cup-custards at the close of our breakfast that morning. 1867 Mrs. Whitney L. Goldthwaite x. 223 Cup-custards, even, disappeared,—cups and all. 1875 Laslett Timber Trees 32 The *cup-defect occurs in perfectly sound and healthy-looking trees. 1910 Encycl. Brit. XI. 341/2 Owing to the shape of the fruit-body many of these forms are known as *cup-fungi, the cup or apothecium often attaining a large size, i960 R. W. G. Dennis {title) British cup fungi and their allies. 1966 F. H. Brightman Oxf. Bk. Flowerless Plants 150 The Pezizales or Cup Fungi have a spore-producing layer which develops within a more-or-less shallow cup. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp., * Cup-galls.. a kind of galls found on the leaves of the oak, and some other trees. [1845 Lindley Veg. Kingd. 32 The cup shaped galls, so common in Oak leaves.] 1900 Archbutt & Deeley Lubrication es dogge of helle .. pe fule kur dogge. c 1450 Voc. in Wr.-Wiilcker 562/23 Agerarius, a curdogge. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. ccxxxi. 263 A mastife or great curre dogge. 1591 Spenser M. Hubberd 294 This Curdog..will serue, my sheepe to gather. 1617 Fletcher Mad Lover 111. ii, Coward go with thy caitiff soul, thou cur-dog! 1727 Hall in Phil. Trans. XXXV. 309 We got three Curr-Dogs. 1859 W. Collins Q. of Hearts (1875) 24 One of the largest and ugliest cur-dogs in England barking at her heels. 1611 Cotgr., Mastine, a Mastiue, or Curre bitch. 1663 Earl of Lauderdale in L. Papers I. 175, I care not three skips of a Curre tyke what can be said or done against me. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Currish, curr-like, doggish, churlish. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 332 The greyhound fox .. The mastiff fox .. The cur fox is the least and most common.

f2. A fish: the Elleck or Red Gurnard, Trigla cuculus. 1589 Rider Eng.-Lat. Did. (1617) E e viij, Fishes. A curre fish, Cuculus. 1598 Florio, Capo .. a fish called a cur, a gull, a bulhead, or a millers thumbe. 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. Min. 194 Curre is a sweet fish, but not the best, it hath much flesh, white, hard and dry. 1753 in Chambers Cycl. Supp.

3. A species of duck: the CJolden-eye, Clangula glaucion. dial.

CUR 1621-51 Burton Anat. Mel. 1. ii. 11. i. 67 Teals, Curs, Sheldrakes.. that come hither in winter. 1841 J. T. Hewlett Parish Clerk III. 8 Harry drew his attention to a solitary cur—a species of duck more easily approachable than the others. 1885 Swainson Prov. Names Birds 161 Golden-eye.. Curre. From the bird’s croaking cry.

cur, obs. f. cure; var. of curre. curability (kjusrs'biliti). mod.F. curabilite.] The curable.

CURATE

136

[f. curable: cf. quality of being

1807-26 S. Cooper First Lines Surg. (ed. 5) 222 The curability of every kind of ulcer. 1861 F. H. Ramadge {title), The Curability of Consumption.

curable ('kj.U3r3b(3)l), a. [ad. L. curabilis, f. curare to cure: perh. through F. curable (14th c. in Littre).] 1. Capable of being cured; fig. amendable, remediable. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vii. lviii. (1495) 272 In xl dayes it is curable. C1400 Lanfr one's Cirurg. 185 Ulcera.. summe ben curable & summe ben incurable, c 1460 Play Sacram. 31 He can telle yf yow be curable. 1592 W. Perkins Cases Consc. (1619) 159 Enemies of God and his truth, are also of two sorts, either Curable or Incurable. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 107 IP 2 Evils are much more curable in their Beginnings. 1822 Hazlitt Table-t., Spir. Partizanship, Of that they are curable like any occasional disorder.

f2. Disposed to cure; able to cure. Obs. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 315/3 My brother Fyre be thow to me in this houre debonayre and curable. 1584 Whetstone Mirror Ep. Aiijb, A Physition. .may applie a curable Medicine for a hidden Disease. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. hi. 174 (D.) The water.. retaining a curable vertue against all diseases.

Hence f 'curableness, curability. a 1691 Boyle Wks. II. 110 (R.) The arguments.. for the curableness of all diseases, are not very cogent. 1727 in Bailey vol. II.

|| Curasao, cura^oa (kjusrs'ssu). [The name of an island (a Dutch dependency) in the Caribbean sea, near the coast of Venezuela. Curasao is the Spanish (and so Dutch and French) spelling; curafoa a very frequent mis¬ spelling in English.] A liqueur consisting of spirits flavoured with the peel of bitter oranges, and sweetened. So called either because first received from the island of Curasao, or because Curasao oranges were used in its preparation. [1810 R. J. Thornton Family Herbal 658 The unripe fruit dried, are called Cura£oa oranges.] 1813 Moore Postbag (L.), And it pleased me to think at a house that you know Were such good mutton cutlets and strong curafoa. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xi, She took Curasao with her coffee.

Curasao bird: see curassow. curacy ('kjuarasi). [f. curate: see -acy.] 1. The office or position of a curate; the benefice of a perpetual curate. 1682 Prideaux Lett. (Camden) 130 A very good curacy of ye college, at Tring in Buckinghamshire .. becomeing void. 1719 Swift To Young Clergyman, If they be very fortunate [they] arrive in time to a curacy in town. 1836 Penny Cycl. VI. 487/1 The living is a perpetual curacy. 1872 E. Peacock Mabel Heron I. iv. 66 He had held a curacy in Yorkshire.

f2. The office of a curator or guardian, curatorship. Obs. rare~x. a 1734 North Exam. ii. iv. §57 (1740) 260 The republican Party concluded such Issue must come to the Crown young, and then they had a Game de integro, by Way of Curacy and Protectorship.

curag(e, obs. form of courage. curaige, -agie, obs. forms of culrage. curaiows, curale, curan, obs. ff. courageous, CORAL, CURRANT.

| curare (kju:'ra:ri:). Also curara, -ri. [A corruption of the native name (wu'rali or wu'rari) also written wourali, woorari, ourali, ourari, wourara, etc., in the lang. of the Macusi Indians of Guiana, a Carib dialect. The consonant of the last syllable varies between / and r. In F. curare. (The initial c is said to represent a click or catch in the native pronunciation.) See ourali, wourali.] A blackish-brown resinous bitter substance, obtained as an extract from Strychnos toxifera, and other plants of tropical South America; used by the Indians to poison their arrows. When introduced into the blood it acts as a powerful poison, arresting the action of the motor nerves; used largely in physiological experiments. 1777 Robertson Hist. Amer. iv. (1778) I. 328 A poison in which they dip the arrows employed in hunting.. the chief ingredient in which is the juice extracted from the root of the curare, a species of withe. 1836 Macgillivray tr. Humboldt's Trav. xix. 274 The curare .. like the venom of serpents.. only acts when introduced directly into the blood. 1875 H. C. Wood Therap. (1879) 186 Animals quieted by curari. 1883 Contemp. Rev. June 793 A moral curare .. paralysing will and emotion.

curarine ('kjuararain). Chem. [f. prec. + -ine; cf.

F. curarine.]

A bitter poisonous alkaloid,

10Hi5N,

C

obtained from curare. 1863-72 Watts Diet. Chem. II. 186 The physiological action of curarine appears to be the same as that of curara. 1869 Roscoe Elem. Chem. 431.

curarize ('kjuarsraiz), v. [f. curar-e + -ize.] To administer curare to (an animal), esp. in a physiological experiment, in order to destroy the motor functions of the nervous system. Hence 'curarized ppl. a., curari'zation. 1875 H. C. Wood Therap. (1879) 185 Curarized animals poisoned by hydrocyanic acid. Ibid. 201 Prevented by curarization and artificial respiration. 1892 Pall Mall G. 22 Oct. 2/1 A medical man had told her that the animals would be curarized in such experiments. curas(e,

-rasse,

-raseer,

-sheer,

obs.

ff.

CUIRASS, -IER. curassow ('kjoarasou). Forms: 7 corrosou, -so, -reso, 8 curasso, -ragoa, 8-9 curassao, 9 -sow. [A phonetic spelling of the name of the island Curasao (ku:ra'sa:u).] One of a family of gallinaceous birds found in Central and South America; they have a general resemblance to the turkey, and several species are domesticated. The most common species, to which the name corrosou or Curafao-bird was originally applied, is the Crested Curassow, Crax alector, of a greenish-black colour with a white crest; the Galeated Curassow or Cushew-bird, Pauxis galeata, has a large bony protuberance on the upper part of the bill. 1685 L. Wafer Voy. (1729) 334 The Corrosou is a large black land-bird, heavy and big as a turkey-hen. 1699 Dampier Voy. II. 11. 67 The Correso..The Cock has a Crown of black Feathers on his Head, and appears very stately. 1837 Penny Cycl. VIII. 129/2. 1847 Carpenter Zool. §430 The Crested Curassow is one of the most common Birds of Guiana. 1852 Th. Ross Humboldt's Trav. II. xviii. 162 The cries of the Curassao.. and other gallinaceous birds. attrib. 1756 P. Browne Jamaica (1779) 470 The Curagoa Bird. 1863 Bates Nat. Amazon ix. (1864) 262 We were amused at the excessive.. tameness of a fine Mutum or Curassow turkey. curat, -e, obs. forms of cuirass. curatage ('kjusrstids).

[f. curate + -age.]

fl. The office of a curator or guardian; provision of curators or guardians. Obs. 1759 State Papers in Ann. Reg. 255/2 The appointment of the tutelage and curatage for the King, during his minority.

2. Sometimes applied residence provided for vicarage.]

to the house or a curate. [After

1879 Standard 31 July (Births), At The Curatage, Biddenden, Staplehurst, Kent. 1893 Crockford Clerical Directory Pref. 13 A very few clergymen date their letters from ‘The Curatage’.. It can only be in very exceptional cases that the house inhabited by a Curate can have the very slightest claim for any sort of name .. analogous to that of a vicarage or rectory; and even then it may be questioned whether.. it should not be ‘Parsonage’. curate ('kjusrat).

Also 4-8 curat, 4-5 curet(t, 6 currat, curatte. [ad. med.L. curatus, in It. curato, F. cure (13th c. in Littre ). The med.L. and It. are originally adjs. ‘of, belonging to, or having a cure or charge’, whence as sb. ‘one who has a cure or ecclesiastical charge’.] 1. One entrusted with the cure of souls; a spiritual pastor, fa. gen. Any ecclesiastic (including a bishop, etc.) who has the spiritual charge of a body of laymen, fb. A clergyman who has the spiritual charge of a parish (or parochial district); the parson of a parish. (Now only as an archaism or etymological use.) c 1340 Hampole Prose Tr. (1866) 24 The thride liffe.. longith to men of holi-chirch, as to prelates and to o)?er Curatis, the which han cure and souerante ouer othir men forto teche and reule hem. c 1350 in Horstmann Alteng. Leg. (1881) 51 Saint Peter.. was chosen pape of Rome And chief curate of Cristendome. c 1382 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 518 Not oonly simple prestis and curatis but also sovereyne curatis as bisshopis. a 1483 Liber Niger in Househ. Ord. (1790) 49 Also this Deane is curate and confessour of all this houshold. 1493 in Wadley Bristol Wills (1886) 171 (Will of layman), To my Curate, vicar of the saide Church, iiij mesures of wode. 1531 Dial, on Laws Eng. 11. Iv. (1638) 175 Variance began to rise betweene Curats and their Parishioners. 1545 Primer Hen. VIII, Litany, Send down upon our bishops and curates.. the healthful spirit of thy grace. 1634 Canne Necess. Separ. (1849) 32 Whosoever taketh upon him .. to be a curate of souls, parson, bishop, or what other spiritual pastor soever. 1727 Swift Modest Proposal, To..pay tithes against their conscience to an episcopal curate. 1886 Guardian 3 Mar. 321/3 As a preacher, or parochial organizer, or a curate of souls. 1886 Church Q. Rev. XXII. 298 In immediate subordination.. to the chief curate of the parish, or to the bishop only.

c. Sc. Hist. Applied to the episcopal incumbents of the Scottish parishes from 1662 to 1688. 1706 A. Shields Enq. Church Commun. Pref. 3 Others could not join in hearing the Curates. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 251 About two hundred curates—so the episcopal priests were called—were expelled.

d. Applied to parish-priests abroad; a French cure, Italian curato, Spanish cura} etc.

11650 Brathwait Barnabe.es Jrnl. in. (1818) 141 Thence to Gastile.. I drunk stingo With a butcher and Domingo Th’ Curat. 1724 De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 6 In our journey to Paris [we met] an old priest.. near a little village whereof he was curate. 1801 Med. Jrnl. V. 351 In the neighbourhood of Vienna.. in the village Brunnam Gebizg: the respectable curate of that parish, etc.

2. a. A clergyman engaged for a stipend or salary, and licensed by the bishop of the diocese to perform ministerial duties in the parish as a deputy or assistant of the incumbent; an assistant to a parish priest. This use of the word is peculiar to the Church of England and to the R.C. Church in Ireland, where assistants to the parish priests are also so called. It appears to have originated in the application of the name curate to the clergyman in actual charge of a parish of which the benefice was held by a non-resident clergyman, the head of a college, etc., and to have been thence extended to the deputy of an aged and infirm incumbent, and so gradually to any deputy or assistant of the beneficed clergyman, more fully described as a stipendiary or assistant curate. This is now the ordinary popular application of curate. A clergyman appointed by the bishop to take charge of a parish or chapelry during the incapacity or suspension of the incumbent is called a curatein~charge. The incumbent of the chapel or church of an ecclesiastical district, forming part of an ancient parish, appointed by the patron and licensed by the bishop is a perpetual curate; these now rank as vicars. 1557 Indenture of Advowson of Garsington, And that also the said president [of Trinity Coll., Oxf.] being parson of the said Rectorie [of Garsington] shall likewise for euer at his own proper charge fynde one sufficient Catholike and hable Curat to serve in the said Rectorye and parishe churche. 1587 Petit, in Fuller Ch. Hist. ix. vii. §1 No Non-resident having already a license or Faculty may enjoy it, unless he depute an able Curate, that may weekly preach and catechize. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxxx. §2 When a Minister doth serue as a stipendarie Curate. 1614 T. Adams Devil's Banquet 322 Let vs not take and keepe liuings of an hundred, or two hundred pound a yeare, and allow a poore Curate (to supply the voluntary negligence of our non¬ residence) eight, or..ten pounds yeerely. 1709 Steele & Swift Tatler No. 71 |p 5 Our Vicar., when his Curate., preaches in the Afternoon.. sleeps sotting in the Desk on a Hissock. 1796 Hull Advertiser 24 Sept. 3/2 A clergyman has for several years officiated as assistant curate at a chapel of ease. 1844 J. T. Hewlett Parsons & W. xi, The poor perpetual-curate, or sub-vicar. 1883 G. Lloyd Ebb Flow I. 24 Some over-worked curate or sister of mercy. 1892 Blomfield Hist. Heyford 51 These three acolytes in succession were curates-in-charge of the parish.

b. curate’s egg: taken as a type of something of mixed character (good and bad). Originating in a story of a meek curate who, having been given a stale egg by his episcopal host, stated that ‘parts of it’ were ‘excellent’ (Punch 9 Nov. 1895, P- 222). 1905 Minister's Gazette of Fashion Aug. 141/1 The past spring and summer season has seen much fluctuation. Like the curate’s egg, it has been excellent in parts. 1962 Oxf. Mag. 22 Nov. 91 /1 All the same it is a curate’s egg of a book. While the whole may be somewhat stale and addled, it would be unfair not to acknowledge the merits of some of its parts.

13. One who has a charge; a curator, overseer. Obs. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 271/3 What reward yelded the tyrauntes to their curate. 1621 Molle Camerar. Liv. Libr. hi. 197 He caused them [soldiers] all to be hang’d on a tree hard by the castle, and their curat higher than all the rest. 1660 Hexham, Heym-raedt, the Curates or Overseers of Bancks and Dikes, that the Sea or Water-flouds breakes not in.

4. attrib. (in quot. fig.) 1651 Cleveland Poems 10 But left the Sun her curate light.

5. a. jocular. A small poker (see quot.). 1891 N. & Q. 7th Ser. XII. 206/2 A ‘curate’ is a small auxiliary poker with a steel point, intended for use, in contradistinction to the elaborate fire brasses, which are only kept for show.

b. A cake-stand with two or more tiers. Also called curate's comfort, delight, friend. 1914 G. B. Shaw Fanny's First Play hi. p. 216 He places the tray on the table. He then goes out for the curate... Juggins returns with the cakes. 1934 M. Harrison Weep for Lycidas 1. 152 There were two of those curious stands, known as ‘curate’s delights’, full of cakes. 1937 N. Coward Pres. Indie, v. iii. 180 There.. were spread tea-tables .. ‘Curate’s Comforts’, and large bowls of strawberries and cream. 1968 M. Allingham Cargo of Eagles xv. 163 A three tier ‘curate’s friend’ cake stand.

6. In Ireland, a spirit-grocer’s assistant. 1909 M. Hayden & Hartog in Fortn. Rev. Apr. 781 ‘Curate’.. is the assistant to a ‘spirit grocer’, such as most grocers are in Ireland. 1914 Joyce Dubliners 184 These two gentlemen and one of the curates carried him up the stairs and laid him down again on the floor of the bar.

Hence (chiefly nonce-wds.) 'curatess, the wife of a curate, cu'ratial a., having the position of a curate, cu'ratic, -ical a., of or pertaining to a curate. 'curatize v., to act as a curate, 'curato,cult, cura'tolatry, worship of a curate or curates. 1861 Trollope Barchester T. xxi. (D.) A very lowly curate I might perhaps essay to rule; but a curatess would be sure to get the better of me. 1889 G. M. Fenn Cure of Souls 48 What a charming little curatess she would make! 1886 Church Rev. 9 Apr. 180, I now offer to..your curatial readers.. Dr. Hayman's table. 1882 Graphic 4 Feb. 98 If the curatic period were merely a brief apprenticeship. 1877 Lady Wood Sheen’s Foreman I. 239 ‘The tithe pig’s tail’ had never tickled his curatical nose. 1801 C. K. Sharpe Lett. (1888) I. 103 Her spouse is in the church, and at present curatizing. 1871 Temple Bar Mag. Nov. 541 Curatolatry is a light sporadic disorder which spreads a little at certain seasons.

CURATEL

CURB

i37

curatel (’kjuaratel). Roman Law. [ad. med.L.

1413 Lydg. Pilgr. Sowle iv. xxxviii. (1859) 64 They leden the kynge at theyr owne lust, ryght as tutours, and couratours. 1463 Aberdeen Burgh Rec. 12 July (Jam. Suppl.), Henry of Culan. .of lauchful aige, out of tutoury and has chosine til his curat[our]is to goweme him. 1555 Sc. Act Mary (1597) §35 Quhen onie Minor passis the 3eires of his Tutorie, and desiris Curatoures. 1590 Swinburne Testaments 102 b, When he is of the age of 14. yeeres.. the minor maie then .. choose a curator, either the same person that was tutor or some other, a 1649 Drumm. of Hawth. Hist. J as. V, Wks. (1711) 86 A quarrel.. arising between the curators of the laird of Langton, and one of his uncles. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. 1. xvi. 82 Mad-men that have no use of Reason, may be Personated by Guardians, or Curators. 1753 W. Stewart in Scots Mag. Mar. 132/2 He is tutor and curator..to several orphans. 1848 Wharton Law Lex. 281/2 In England, the guardian performs the offices both of a tutor and a curator, under the Roman law. 1891 Pall Mall G. 12 Nov. 6/1 The Dukes of Fife and Westminster as curators for the Duke of Sutherland’s younger sons, oppose the petition.

exempted .. from Guardianships, Curatorships and the like. 1861 Wilson & Geikie Mem. E. Forbes xi. 351 His acceptance of the Curatorship of the Zoological Society.

f2. One who has the cure of souls; = curate

mod. use referred to curare, curat- to cure.] Of or pertaining to curing or healing; curative.

In curating-books, shelf-lists of books in the Bodleian Library, used by its Curators to verify the contents of the shelves.

1362 Langl. P. PI. A. 1. 169 Curatours J>at schulden kepe hem clene of heore bodies \>ei beo^ cumbred in care. 1377 Ibid. B. xx. 279 For persones and parish prestes J?at shulde pe peple shryue, Ben curatoures called to knowe and to hele, Alle )?at ben her parisshiens. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. vii. vi. 29 He wald .. Mak for ^is man swa gret prayere, As if he had bene his curature. c 1450 Myrc i i Wharefore J>ou preste curatoure, 3ef pou plese thy sauyoure.

1644 Bulwer Chirol. 148 The curetorie miracles. . The exorcists.. used this curatorie adjunct. 1681 tr. Willis’ Rem. Med. Wks. Vocab., Therapeutick, the curatory art of medicine. 1854 Blackvi. Mag. LXXVI. 309 The ordinary curatory process.

1705 Hearne Collect. 8 Nov. I. 68 The Curating Books. 1712 Ibid. III. 304 Nor can I find by the Curating Book y' there ever was.

3. gen. A person who has charge; a manager,

curatela, f. curatus, curator: cf. tutela. In F. curatelle, Ger. kuratel.] The position of being under the guardianship of a curator. 187S Poste Gains I. Comm. (ed. 2) 119 Wardship and curatel are only incapacities of disposition. t

'curateship. Obs.

[f. curate + -ship.] 1. The office or position of a curate; a curacy.

1598 Florio, Pieua, a vicarage, a curatship, a parsonage. 1603 Const. & Canons Eccl. §33 Except.. he be. admitted . . to some Benefice or Curateship. 1684 tr. Agrippa's Van. Artes lxiv. 209 He hath . . two Benefices, one Curateship of twenty Crowns, another Priory of forty. 1861 Perry Hist. Ch. Eng. I. xv. 576 In Lincolnshire. . there are many miserably poor vicarages and curateships.

2. The personality of a curate,

nonce-use.

17.. Swift Poems, Parson’s Case, Should fortune shift the scene, And make thy curateship a dean.

3. Curatorship. 1855 Lorenz tr. Van der Keessel’s Set. Theses ccccxxi, Wards and others who are under guardianship or curateship.

fcu'rating, vbl. sb.1 Obs.

1.

II. Modern senses, from L. curator. overseer, steward.

curating (’kjuaratii)), vbl. sb.2

[-ing1.] Acting as

curate; performing the duties of a curate. 1831 W. Cobbett Two-penny Trash Jan. 159 Non¬ residence, or stipendiary curating. 1907 E. H. Begbie Vigil ii. 23, I am to commence vicar. No curating. Ibid. v. 68 You have begun curating for me already.

fcu'ration. Obs. In 4-5 -ciounfe, -cyoun, 4-6 -cion, -cyon. [ME., a. OF. curacion, ad. L. curation-em, n. of action f. curare to cure.] 1. The action of curing; healing, cure. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus i. 735 \>at of pi wo is no curacioun. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 303/1 In medycynal curacion and helynge. 1543 Traheron Vigo's Chirurg. 11. iv. 21 In the curation of a choleryke Aposteme. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 11. iii. 74 The method also of curation lately delivered by Daniel Beckherus. 1677 Gale Crt. Gentiles II. iv. 143 The curation of the soul from its sin.

2. Curatorship, guardianship. 1769 C. Lee in G. Colman's Posth. Lett. (1820) 94 That.. I shoud have saddled you with the curation of my affairs. 1774 Bp. Hallifax Anal. Rom. Law (1795) 18 History of Curation from its beginning.

curative (’kjuarativ), a. (sb.). [a. F. curatif, -ive (15th c.), f. L. curat-, ppl. stem of curare to cure: see -ive.] 1. 1. Of or pertaining to the curing of disease or the healing of wounds. 1533 Elyot Cast. Helthe (1541) 60 b, The part curatiue, whiche treateth of healynge of sycknes. 1541 R. Copland Galyen's Terap. 2 Hiij, Alway the curatyfe indicacions are correspondent to ye nombre of y* affections and dyseases. 1671 Salmon Syn. Med. iii. xiii. 349 The Curative part of Medicine. 1800 Med. Jrnl. III. 395 Those who have practised the Curative Art in that City. 1878 C. Stanford Symb. Christ viii. 206 Christ’s curative miracles.

2. a. Having the tendency or power to cure disease; promoting cure. 1644 Bulwer Chirol. 147 The conveyance and application of that curative vertue. 1704 F. Fuller Med. Gymn. (1711) 4 Consideration of it only as it may prove Curative, not as Palliative. 1865 Livingstone Zambesi ii. 60 This sleeping is curative of what may be incipient sunstroke. 1881 J. Simon in Nature No. 616. 370 Curative medicine.

b. fig.

Remedial, corrective.

1661 Origen's Opin. in Phenix (1721) I. 82 All Punishment is curative. 1686 Horneck Crucif. Jesus xix. 542 All afflictions and judgments of this life are curative. 1880 C. H. Pearson in Victorian Rev. 2 Feb. 538 Men .. ask whether the plebiscite is to be curative or preventive.

II. as sb. A remedial medicine or agent. 1857 D. E. E. Braman Inform. Texas i. 15, I place great confidence in the frequent outward use of cold water, as a preventive and curative.

Hence 'curatively adv.\ 'curativeness. 1862 in Pall Mall G. 13 Jan. (1885) 4/2 It has shown itself to be curatively deterrent and reformatory. 1875 Contemp. Rev. XXV. 303 An element of genuine curativeness. 1879 M. Arnold Irish Cathol. Mixed Ess. 115 Conscious not of their vain disfigurements of the Christian religion, but of its genuine curativeness.

curator (kju'reitafr), 'kju3f3t3(r)). Forms: 4 curatour, 5 couratour, curature, 5-6 -oure, 6curator. [Partly a. AF. curatour = F. -ateur (13th c. in Godefroy Supp.), ad. L. curator, -orem, overseer, guardian, agent-n. f. curare (see cure); partly directly from Latin. The former derivation gave the pronunciation 'curator in senses 1 and 2; the latter gave cu'rator.] One who has the care or charge of a person or thing. I. Senses derived through AF. curatour. 1. One appointed as guardian of the affairs of a person legally unfit to conduct them himself, as a minor, lunatic, etc.; used in Roman Law, esp. for the guardian of a minor after the age of tutelage; hence a current term in Scotch Law.

1632 Lithgow Trav. ix. (1682) 364. The Oven producing at one time three or four hundred living Chickens.. for the Hatcher or Curator, is only Recompenced according to the living numbers. 1691 T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. 34 They who .. are by the Crown made .. Curators of the Health and Safety of its Ships. 1755 Gentl. Mag. XXV. 495 The orthography might be in some measure altered by the curator of the impression. 1862 Ruskin Munera P. (1880) 29 The real state of men of property being, too commonly, that of curators, not possessors, of wealth.

4. spec, in Universities, a. In some foreign universities: A member of a board (or an individual official) having the general superintendence of the whole university, and the power to select or nominate professors, b. In the University of Oxford: A member of one of the committees or boards having the charge of various portions of University property, as the Curators of the University Chest, of the Bodleian Library, etc. So at Durham, c. In the Scottish Universities: A member of the body charged with the election of a number of the professors. a. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. I. 406 The curators of that University [Leyden] gave him an yearly stipend. 1727-51 Chambers Cycl. s.v., The curators are chosen by the states of each province: the university of Leyden has three; the burghermasters of the city have a fourth. 1834 Sir W. Hamilton Discuss. 358 The curator [at Pisa] was charged with the general superintendence of student and professor; and whatever directly or indirectly concerned the well¬ being of the University, was within his sphere. 1840 Penny Cycl. XVIII. 322/1 An excellent system of public education .. was introduced by the university of Vilna under the superintendence of its curator Prince Adam Czartoryski. b. 1693 Oxford Act 11. 11 Next the Curators [of the Theatre] must take care No breach of Peace be suffer’d there. 1710 in H. Bedford Vind. Ch. Eng. 172 The Curators in their Annual Visitation of the Library. 1893 Oxford Univ. Cal., Curators of the Bodleian Library.. Curators of the Indian Institute .. Curators of the Park, etc. c. 1858 Universities of Scotl. Act (21-2 Viet. c. 83 § 13) The Right of Nomination or Presentation to the Office of Principal and to all Professorships in the University of Edinburgh .. exercised by the Town Council of Edinburgh .. shall be transferred .. to .. Seven Curators.

5. The officer in charge of a museum, gallery of art, library, or the like; a keeper, custodian. In many cases the official title of the chief keeper. 1661 Evelyn Diary 19 July, In which [diving-bell] our curator continued half an hour under water. 1667 Phil. Trans. II. 486 The Curator of the Royal Society. 1767 Hunter Ibid. LVIII. 42 The Curators of the British Musaeum. 1837 Lockhart Scott vii, In June 1795 he was appointed one of the Curators of the Advocate’s library. 1889 Whitaker's Almanack 160 Museum of Practical Geology .. Curator, Registrar and Librarian.

6. A designation of public officers of various kinds under the Roman Empire. 1728 H. Herbert tr. Fleury's Eccl. Hist. II. 16 Callidius Gratianus who was Curator in the year 314. 1841 W. Spalding Italy & It. Isl. I. 103 The city was.. divided into fourteen regions, each of which had two police superintendents, called Curators.

curatorial (kjoara’toarial), a. [f. L. curatori-us (f. curator-em curator) + -al1.] Of or pertaining to a curator. 1754 Erskine Princ. Sc. Law (1809) 65 They may authenticate tutorial and curatorial inventories. 1834 Sir W. Hamilton Discuss. (1852) 362 On the curatorial system likewise was established the excellence of the classical schools of Holland. 01854 E. Forbes in Wilson & Geikie Mem. xi. 353 My revenues, professorial and curatorial, being as yet small.

curatorship

(kju'reitsjip). [f. curator -ship.] The office or position of a curator.

+

1590 Swinburne Testaments 246 If the names be artificiall, not naturall, as to use proctorship, for curatorship. 1726 Ayliffe Par ergon 186 They., are

curatory ('kjoaratan), sb.

[ad. L. curatoria guardianship, f. curator, see above.] 1. The office or charge of a curator; curatorship; chiefly in Roman and Sc. Law. 1560 Bk. Discipl. Ch. Scot. (1621) 46 That the Rector.. be exempted from .. any other charge.. such as tutorie, curatorie, executorie, and the like. 1672 Sc. Acts Chas. II, c. 2 Giftes of Tutory or Curatory. 1862 Dalzel Hist. Edin. Univ. I. 243, My curatory of the library distracts me. 1880 Muirhead Gaius 1. § 142 Some are under tutory or curatory, and others under neither of those guardianships.

2. A college of curators in a foreign university. 1834 Sir W. Hamilton Discuss. (1852) 360 The most illustrious scholars in the curatory [of Leyden].

'curatory, a. [ad. L. curatori-us, f. curator, in

curatrix (kju'reitnks).

[L. curatrix, fern, of curator guardian, etc., in F. curatrice. Cudworth uses it in a sense taken from the medical sense of curare to CURE.] fl. A female healer or curer. Obs. nonce-wd. 1678 Cudworth Intell. Syst. 167 That Hippocrates, that is the Curatrix of Diseases.

Nature

of

2. A female curator or guardian. 1846 in Worcester; whence in later Diets.

curats,

obs. form of cuirass.

f curature. Obs.~1 [a. OF. curature, or ad. L. curatura (f. curare: see cure t>.).] = CURATORSHIP. 1605 Raleigh Introd. Hist. Eng. (1693) 31 Philip.. King of France, was a Child, .and. .was under the Curature of Baudovin Earl of Flanders. 1730-6 Bailey (folio), Curature, care in ordering or managing any thing.

curature,

obs. form of curator.

curb (k3:b), sb.

Forms: 5-7 corbe, curbe, 6-7 courbe, 7 courb, corb, kurbe, 7- curb (dial. 6-7 crubb(e, 9 crub); also /3. (chiefly in senses 8-13) 7 kerbe, 7-9 kirb, 9 kerb. See also crub. [The senses here placed all derive ultimately from F. courbe adj. (= Pr. corb, Sp., Pg., It. curvo):—L. curvus bent, crooked, or from F. courber:—L. curvare: see curb u.1 But their immediate etymological history presents differences, and Branches I and II might be treated as distinct words. Branch I appears only in Eng., and seems to be a derivative from curb v.1, in the sense ‘that which curbs or bends the horse’s neck’; it seems to be the source of curb v.2, under the influence of which again some of the senses under Branch III have arisen. Branch II contains a variety of senses found under F. courbe, subst. use of courbe adj. Branch III appears also to have originated in F. courbe in the sense of a curved or arched piece of timber, iron, etc. used for structural purposes; but the sense appears to have been gradually modified after curb v.2, so as to involve more and more the sense of a restraining or confining border. In this group the word is often spelt kerb, which is at present established in sense 12. Cf. kennel.] 1. 1. A chain or strap passing under the lower jaw of a horse, and fastened to the upper ends of the branches of the bit; used chiefly for checking an unruly horse. The reins being attached to the lower ends of the branches of the bit, leverage is obtained for forcing the chain against the jaw of the horse. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 52 If he yeue him [a strong hors] not a strong bitte with a corbe, he shal neuer con gouerne him. 1530 Palsgr. 209/1 Courbe for a bridell, gourmette. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 1 His angry steede did chide his foming bitt, As much disdayning to the curbe to yield. 1684 R. H. Sch. Recreat. 24 A plain watering Chain, Cheek large, and the Kirb, thick round and big. 1782 Cowper Gilpin xxii, That trot became a gallop soon In spite of curb and rein. 1835 W. Irving Tour Prairies 180 This fine young animal.. reduced to.. pass his life under the harness and the curb.

2. fig. Anything that curbs or restrains; a check, restraint. 1613 Sylvester Microcosmogr. Wks. 800 Service is to the Lofty minde A Curb, a Spur to th’ abiect Hinde. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 112 So checkt was his forwardnesse with the curbe of bashfulnesse. 1720 Ozell Vertot's Rom. Rep. 1. vii. 417 A Dictator, whose Authority might be a Curb upon the Cabals and Intrigues of the Tribunes. 1854-6 Patmore Angel in Ho. 1. 11. ix, In what rough sort he chid his wife For want of curb upon her tongue. 1871 G. Meredith H. Richmond xxxiv. (1889) 352 My temper was beginning to chafe at the curb.

3. Electric Telegr. A method of signalling through a long cable, by sending a powerful signal followed by one or more weak signals of

CURB opposite sign, the effect of which is to ‘curb’ or prevent the main signal from lingering in the cable; a signal transmitted in this way. Only in Comb., as curb-key, curb sender (an instrument for transmitting signals in this way); curb¬ sending, -signal. 1867 Culley Handbk. Pract. Telegr. (ed. 2) 247 Arrangements.. for discharging a cable rapidly, and for equalising the effect of dashes and dots; the most effective of which is the curb key. 1877 Jrnl. Soc. Telegr. Eng. V. 213 The object of the automatic curb-sender is to diminish the retardation of signals in long cables. 1877 Telegraphic Jrnl. 1 Feb. 27 This system of using two currents, one to produce the signal and the other.. to neutralize.. the residual effect of the first, is what is known as Curb-Sending. Ibid., Trials have been made .. to send curb-signals by means of a handkey.

II. Corresp. to F. courbe sb. in various senses.

4. A hard swelling on the hock or other part of a horse’s leg; the disease characterized by these. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. § 107 A courbe is an yll sorance, and maketh a horse to halte sore, and appereth vppon the hynder legges.. vnder the camborell place. 1616 Surfl. & Markh. Country Forme 145 margin. The courbe, or a long swelling beneath the elbow of the hough. 1695 Land. Gaz. No. 3132/4 One brown Gelding.. a Curb on his near Hock. 1741 Compl. Fam, Piece III. 458 For the Curb, you must leave out the Mercury. 1844 Regul. & Ord. Army 380 The Horses.. show no tendency to Curb or Spavin.

|5. A curve, an arc. [F. courbe.] Obs. rare. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 118 The very coasts of this streight Bosphorus.. boweth and windeth like a curb to Mceotis. 1759 tr. Montaigne in. iii. 51 The form of my study is round .. so that the curb presents me with a view of all my books.

6.

A mould or template by which to mark out curved work. (Sometimes spelt kerb.) 1792 P. Nicholson Carpenter's New Guide (1801) 21 The ceiling wants to be hollowed out.. I shall.. show the method of making a curb for that purpose.. A curve being traced round the points of intersection, will give the form of the curb. 1859 Donaldson & Glen Specifications 582 The Carpenter is to.. provide all kerbs and trammels for tanks and vaults.

f 7. Thieves' cant. A hook. Obs. 1591 [see curber 2].

III. An enclosing framework or border: in the first place, the curved border of something round, but eventually applied also to things straight. The name appears to have originally connoted the curved outline merely, and to have gradually taken more and more from the sense of curb v.2, until this became the characteristic notion, and that of curvature entirely disappeared. Also spelt kerb (+kirb).

8.

a. A frame or ‘coaming’ round the top of a well (to which the lids or covers are fastened). 1511 MS. Acc. St. John's Hosp. Canterb., Payd for mendyng off a boket off sen johnys welle jd.. for a stapylle & a hooke jd..for..ij corbys ijs iiijff. 1512 Ibid., For mendyng off pe corbe a bowt pe welle. 1610 Ibid., For caryng of the courb of the well to Ivy leane. 1807 Hutton Course Math. II. 252 A carpenter is to put an oaken curb to a round well, at 8d. per foot square: the breadth of the curb is to be 7J inches, and the diameter within 3* feet. 1839 Sir C. Fellows Trav. Asia Minor (1852) 18 The mouths or curbs of the wells are formed of the capitals of extremely fine Corinthian pillars.

b. A framing round the top of a brewer’s copper; c. An aperture in a floor or roof to support a trap-door or sky-light. 1664 Evelyn Sylva 1. iv. § 15 [Elm] scarce has any superior for kerbs of coppers. 1743 Lond. & Country Brew. 111. (ed. 2) 211 Fastening his two wooden Doors just above the Curb of the Copper. 1852-61 Archit. Publ. Soc. Diet. s.v. Curb, The name curb is also given .. to the frame of.. a skylight. 1859 Donaldson & Glen Specifications 566 The top being prepared to receive the continuous kerb for the grating. Ibid. 578 The floor grating to the Hall is to be fitted with a curb of York stone.. rebated on the top edge for the grating.

9. A circular plate or cylindrical ring of timber or iron round the edge of any circular structure (usually to hold it firmly together). a. A circular or other curvilinear wall-plate at the springing of a dome. b. A cylindrical ring around the ‘eye’ of a dome or similar structure, into which the ribs are framed (sometimes supporting a lantern or cupola). c. The ‘race-plate’ on the top of the fixed portion of a windmill, on which travel the rollers of the cap as it rotates; also, the circular plate or ring at the base of the cap of a windmill, carrying the rollers. 1733 F. Price Brit. Carpenter (1753) 28 The kirb, on which stands a lanthorn, or cupola. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §48 One Kirb or circle of compass timber at each floor. 1820 Tredgold Carpentry (1853) 219 The brick dome .. of St. Mark, at Venice .. was built upon a curb of larch timber .. intended to resist the tendency which a dome has to spread outwards at the base. 1857 J. Walker Specif. Whitby High Lantern, The curb at the top for receiving the ends of the rafters is to consist of a ring of gun-metal. 1885 A. R. Wolff Windmill 64 The cap, or head, of the mill.. is made of timber.. with a circular curb at the lower part, which revolves upon the one attached to the body of the mill.. The rollers .. are attached to the upper curb, and revolve against the .. lower one.

10. A cylindrical ring of timber, iron, etc. forming the base on which the brickwork of a shaft or well is constructed.

CURBER

138

This ‘curb’ may be built into the crown of the arch of a tunnel, as in the case of a ventilating shaft (cf. 9 b); or it may, as in the construction of a mine-shaft, descend with the steening which it bears, as the excavation proceeds. 1811 Farey Derbyshire I. 327 A curb, or flat ring of sound oak or elm is laid on the bottom, on which the stones or bricks are built to the top. The sinking is then begun within this curb. 1838 F. W. Simms Public Wks. Gt. Brit. 32 The brickwork shall rest upon a cast-iron curb, fitting into the crown of the arch of the tunnel, forming a level base for the shaft to rest upon. 1844-Tunnelling 46 The sinking was attempted by means of a barrel (or drum) curb, which upon being undermined descended by its own weight and that of the brickwork (which was constructed upon the curb). Ibid. 109 The shaft.. can be securely connected with the crown of the tunnel, by means of a curb of brick or cast iron.

11. a. A raised margin or edging around an oast, to confine the hops; also round a bed in a garden or hothouse, or round a hearth, to serve as a fender. 1731-7 Miller Gard. Diet. s.v. Lupulus, The Hops must be spread even upon the Oast a Foot thick or more, if the Depth of the Curb will allow it. 1881 Gard. Chron. No. 412. 655 The curbs are filled with a nice lot of plants. 1882 Wore. Exhib. Catal. iii. 3 Polished brass curb.

b. An inclined circular plate placed round the edge of a soap or salt kettle to prevent the contents from boiling over. 1874 in Knight Diet. Mech.

12. a. A margin of stone or other strong material protecting the outer edge of a side-walk and separating it from the roadway on which horses and vehicles travel. In this sense the spelling is now usu. curb in U.S., kerb in U.K. 1836 Libr. Entert. Knouil., Pompeii (ed. 4) I. 91 These curbs [in woodcut, marked ‘kirb’].. separate the foot pavement from the road. 1861 Smiles Engineers II. 29 In fixing the kerbs along the London footpaths. 1882 Nature XXV. 517 The idea is to make the curb of the pavement in the form of an iron box. transf. 1867 Howells Ital. Journ. 124 Leaning on the curb of the precipitous rock.

b. The body of curbstone brokers. U.S. 1903 Nation (N.Y.) 4 June 446 The Stock Exchange and the ‘curb’.. gave .. plain evidence what their opinion was.

13. In various other technical senses, some of which are difficult to classify. a. Archit., Building, etc. An edge or ‘nosing’, as e.g. to a step; also a raised band (not sufficiently high to be a ‘dwarf wall’) to receive the lower ends of the palisades or railings of an enclosure or partition; a breast-wall or retaining-wall to hold up a bank of earth; one of the plates forming the top of the sides of a green¬ house: the lower of the two planes forming the slope of a curb- or mansard-roof; ‘the flashing of lead over the curb-plate to a curb-roof; ‘the woodwork forming the arris of a plaster-work groin’ (Archit. Publ. Soc. Diet. ); also applied to a ‘crib’ or cage to contain concrete until hardened, as in a foundation. b. The cylindrical casing within which a vortex-turbine wheel revolves; also the curved guide encompassing part of the periphery of a breast-wheel or scoop-wheel to confine and direct the water against its buckets or floats. f c. A ‘stilling’ or stand in a brewery to support a cask, etc. Obs. 1819 P. Nicholson Archit. Diet. I. 308 Curb for Brick Steps, a timber nosing .. not only to prevent the steps from wearing, but also from being dislocated. 1852-61 Archit. Publ. Soc. Diet, s.v., The edge, to a brick or tile step, is also called a curb, even if it be merely a stone or timber nosing. Ibid., Where wrought iron railing bars set close are let into it.. a cast iron curb is now much used. Ibid., The plane, a b [of the roof] is popularly called the curb. 1859 Donaldson & Glen Specifications 619 Kerb part of the tower roof is to be covered with 6 lb. lead .. the surface of the kerbs is to be turned up against the cheeks of the dormers. 1825 Fosbroke Encycl. Antiq. I. 364 Ancient brew-houses had troughs of lead set on the ground, or on courbes.

114. Of uncertain meaning. Obs. 1495 Will of Sir R. Porter (Somerset Ho.), I bequeith to the church of Conway a furnesse and a Curbe of lede to hill [= cover, roof] the church with. 1527 Lane. Wills (Chetham Soc.) 36 Item I beqweth.. a grett pott off brasse and my corbes of leyde a grat of hyron. Item a broche of yron.

IV. 15. attrib. and Comb, curb-bit, -bridle, a bit (or bridle) with a curb; curb-chain, a chain acting as a curb; curb-hook, ‘a hook which the curb is hitched to’ (Felton Carriages Gloss.); curb-key, -sender, -signal (see 3); curbmarket, -price, -stocks U.S. (cf. curb-stone b and kerb sb.); curb-pin (see quot. 1874); curb service N. Amer., service by a shop, etc., to customers in cars at the street curb. Also curbplate, -ROOF, -STONE. 1688 R. Holme Armoury in. 305/2 Mr. Morgan calls.. a Bit or Snaffle.. Curbs or ‘Curb Bits. 1710 Lond. Gaz. No. 4698/4 A white Bridle, with a very light Kirb Bit. 1847 Youatt Horse i. 15 To the Romans may be attributed the invention of the curb-bit. 1677 Lond. Gaz. No. 1163/4 A green velvet Saddle.. and a *curb Bridle. 1795 Wolcott (P. Pindar) Pindariana Wks. 1812 IV. 213 For those passions make a strong Curb-bridle. 1833 J- Holland Manuf. Metal II. 312 This rise in the bit is made to press hard against the roof of the horse’s mouth, at the same time that the ’curb chain closely presses the chin. 1900 S. A. Nelson ABC of Wall St. 10 The ’curb market, with its swarm of brokers.

1914 N.Y. Herald 17 Nov. 6/4 Prices again strong in curb market. 1874 Knight Diet. Mech., *Curb-pins, the pins on the lever of a watch-regulator which embrace the hair¬ spring of the balance and regulate its vibrations. 1884 F. J. Britten Watch Gf Clockm. 106 A balance spring uncontrolled by curb pins. 1930 San Antonio (Texas) Light 31 Jan., Closing ’Curb Prices. 1931 Kansas City Star 25 Aug., The hoppers sit on the curb in front of the drug store, honk and attack the ’curb service boys when they come out. 1938 Archit. Rev. LXXXIV. 137 (caption) A curb-service restaurant in Washington, D.C. 1962 Canadian Jrnl. Linguistics VII. 73 A culture pattern based on the automobile, with its motels, filling stations, and curbservice. 1915 World’s Work (N.Y.) Oct. 641 Unlisted (•Curb) Stocks.

feurb, v.1 Obs. rare. [A later spelling of courbe v., a. F. courber to bend, prob. influenced in form by curb v2, and by curve, when this was coming in from Latin.] 1. trans. To bend, bow, curve. See also curbed ppl. a.1 1430 [see courbe v. 2]. 1662 H. More Philos. Writ. Pref. Gen. (1712) 15 [The Spirit of Nature] curbs the matter of the Sun into rounds of figure, which would otherwise be oblong.

2. intr. To bend, bow, cringe. 1377.[see courbe v. i]. 1602 Shaks. Ham. in. iv. 155 [see courbe v. 1: mod. edd. curb], a 1649 Drumm. of Hawth. Cypress Grove Wks. (1711) 121 Bodies languishing and curbing. 1808 J. Barlow Columb. vi. 26 [They] bow the knee And curb, well pleased, O Cruelty, to thee.

curb (k3:b), v2 [In Branch I, dating back to 16th c., app. f. curb sb. 1; Branch II is much later, f. curb sb. 12.] 1. 1. trans. To put a curb on (a horse); to restrain or control with a curb. 1530 Palsgr. 500/1, I courbe a horse, I fasten the courbe under his chynne. 1667 Milton P.L. xi. 643 Part wield thir Arms, part courb the foaming Steed. 1878 M. A. Brown Nadeschda 25 Curbing his fiery steed .. with foaming bit.

2. fig. To restrain, check, keep in check. 1588 J. Udall Diotrephes (Arb.) 10 Bridles to curbe them that kicke at their lordlines. 1607 Shaks. Cor. ill. i. 39 To curbe the will of the Nobilitie. a 1631 Donne Paradoxes (1652) 25 To curbe our naturall appetites. 1726 Adv. Capt. R. Boyle 106 She begg’d me to curb my transport, for fear of being overheard. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 217 To curb the power of France.

fb. Const, of, from. Ohs. 1593 Shaks. Rich. II, i. i. 54 The faire reuerence of your Highnesse curbes mee, From giuing reines and spurres to my free speech. 1596-Merch. V. iv. i. 217 Curbe this cruell diuell of his will. 1719 W. Wood Surv. Trade 297 To curb or restrain our own Subjects from their natural Rights.

II. 3. To furnish or defend with a curb or curb¬ stone. (In the latter case commonly kerb.) 1861 Sunderland Times 21 Sept., That the footpath behind Cumberland-terrace be flagged and kerbed. 1874 Knight Diet. Mech. s.v. Curb, In sinking wells by sections which are curbed before another section is excavated. Ibid., The well at Southampton was .. curbed in this way. 1878 N. Amer. Rev. CXXVII. 441 Curbed, lighted, sewered, and repaved.

III. f4. Thieves’ cant. (See [Perhaps a distinct word.] Obs.

curber

2.)

a 1592 Greene Theevesfalling out in Harl. Misc. VIII. 389 (D.) Though you can foyst, nip, prig, lift, curbe, and use the black art.

curbable ('k3:b3b(3)l), a. [f. curb v2 + -able.] That can be curbed or restrained. 1775 in Ash Supple, and in mod. Diets.

curbash: see koorbash. t curbed, ppl. a.1 Also courbed. Bent, bowed, curved.

[f. curb v.1]

[CI430 Lydg. Bochas 1. xx. (1554) 36b, Thing y* is courbyd or wrong.. To make it seme as it went vpright. c 1450 Merlin 261 Longe and courbed, and brode sholderes and leene for age.] 1541 R. Copland Guy don's Quest. Chirurg., The lyuer.. is of fygure as of the moone, curbed towarde the rybbes. 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 678 (R.) By crooked and curbed lines. 1646 G. Daniel Poems Wks. 1878 I. 50 Her haire vndrest, Like Adders on her Curbed Shoulders falls. 1691 Ray Creation 11. (1704) 231 Though the Course of the Sun be curbed towards the Tropicks.

curbed (k3:bd), ppl. a.2 [f. curb sb. and u.2] 1. Furnished with or having a curb. 1675 Lond. Gaz. No. 975/4 An old curbed Bridle. 1695 Ibid. 3048/4 Kirb’d Bridle. 1847 Youatt Horse i. 10 The severe and often cruel curbed-bit.

b. curbed roof = curb-roof. 1866 Intell. Observ. No. 57. 178 Zinc-work on the curbed roofs.

2. fig. Restrained, checked. 1597 Shaks. 2 Hen. IV, iv. v. 131 The Fift Harry, from curb’d License pluckes The muzzle of restraint. 1862 Ld. Brougham Brit. Const, xi. 157 Stephen.. owed his curbed authority to the constant rebellion of his Barons.

curber ('k3:b3(r)). Also 6 courber, 7 curbar. [f. curb v.2 + -ER1.] 1. One who or that which curbs, or restrains. 1610 Healey St. Aug. Citie of God 45 Carthage.. the greatest curber and terror of the Roman weale-publike. x737 L. Clarke Hist. Bible vm. (1740) 568 Great curbers of their passions. 01849 J- C. Mangan Poems (1859) 37 The instructress of maidens And curber of boys.

f2. Thieves' cant. (See quot. 1591.) [Perhaps a distinct word.]

Obs.

CURBING

+ 'curbing, vbl. sb.1 Obs. [f. curb curvature.

v.1]

Curving,

1601 Holland Pliny II. 315 The curbing or crookednesse of the ridge-bone.

curbing ('k3ibii)), vbl. sb.2 [f. curb v.2] 1. The action of the verb curb; checking. 1661 Feltham Resolves 11. lvii. 306 The curbings and the stroaks of Adversity. 1846 D. King Lord's Supper iv. 102 The partial curbing of vicious lusts.

2. a. The furnishing of a side-walk, etc. with a curb. b. concr. The stones collectively forming a curb. (In this sense commonly spelt kerbing.) 1838 J. Hall Notes Western States viii. 106 After removing the rich soil, a stratum of hard clay presents itself, then gravel, and then another layer of clay, all of which are so compact as to require no curbing. 1869 Daily News 2 Feb., The granite kerbing on the sea wall. 1892 Times 14 Mar. 3/2 No paving, curbing, or channelling has been done to . . the road. f3. Thieves' cant. (Cf. curber 2.) Obs.

[Perhaps a distinct word.] 1591 Greene Disc. Coosnage (1859) 53 The nature of the Lift, the Black art, and the Curbing law, which is the Filchers and theeves that come into houses .. or picklocks, or hookers at windowes.

'curbing, ppl. a.

[f. curb v2]

That curbs;

restraining. 1719 D’Urfey Pills (1872) VI. 319 Who from thinking are free, That curbing Disease i’ the Mind. 1794 Sullivan View Nat. IV. 66 ‘To say.. that religion is not a curbing motive, because it does not always restrain, is’ [etc.].

t'curble. Obs. Also 6-7 kirble. [Derivative of curb, app. diminutive in form.]

1. = curb sb. 1. Also attrib. 1598 Florio, Guancetto, a little claspe or kirble hooke about a horses bit. 1614 Markham Cheap Husb. 1. ii. (1668) 24 The kirble shall be thick, round, and large, hanging loosely upon his nether lip. 2. = CURB sb. 8. ? 1780 Five Wonders of World 6 Hoops in women’s petticoats almost as big as a well’s curble.

'curbless, a. rare. [f. curb sb. Without curb or restraint.

+

-less.]

1813 T. Busby tr. Lucretius in. 322 The curbless rage inflames his savage blood. 1848 C. Bronte J. Eyre ix, A torrent, turbid and curbless.

'curb-plate,

[curb sb. 8, 9.] A curvilinear wallplate at the springing of a dome, etc.; = curb 9 a, b; also, the plate or frame round the mouth of a well, etc.; the horizontal timber at the junction of the upper and lower slopes of a curbroof. 1819 P. Nicholson Archit. Diet. I. 308 The wall-plate of a circular or elliptically ribbed dome, is termed a curb-plate, as also the horizontal rib at the top, on which the vertical ribs terminate, i860 J. Newlands Carpenter & Joiner's Assist. 257 Curb-plate.. the circular frame of a well.

'curb-roof, [curb sb.] A roof of which each face has two slopes, the lower one steeper than the upper; a mansard-roof. I733 F- Price Brit. Carpenter (1753) 18, B is called a kirb roof, and is much in use, on account of its giving so much room withinside. 1820 Tredgold Carpentry (1853) 95 It appears to have been with a view of lessening.. height that the Mansard or curb roof was invented. 1879 D. J. Hill Bryant 143 A spacious.. mansion .. with a curb-roof, antique dormer windows.

curb-sender: see

curb sb. 3.

'curb-stone, kerb-stone. Also kirb-stone. One of the stones forming a curb, esp. at the edge of a side-path; hence, the stone edge of a side-path. 1791 Act 31 Geo. Ill c. 65 §124 Curb Stone from Eleven to Thirteen Inches wide and from Five to Seven Inches thick. 1806-7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) xvm. iii. 132 The two side-spaces from the wall to the kirb-stone. 1850 Kingsley Alt. Locke v, You goes and lies on the kerb¬ stone. 1862 Ansted Channel Isl. 1. iv. (ed. 2) 66 Black Guernsey granite for macadamised paving and curb stones.

b. attrib., as curb-stone broker (U.S.), a broker, not a member of the stock exchange, who transacts business in the streets; also curbstone agent, operator. 1848 W. Armstrong Stocks 7 This class comprehends.. all those petty operators and non-descripts, who have neither a local habitation or scarcely, a name, that are dignified by the title of curb-stone brokers, i860 in Bartlett Diet. Amer. 1861 Knickerbocker LVII. 635 All sorts of brokers, from the leading houses down to the curbstone ‘operator’. 1862 R. B Kimball Undercurrents (1868) 321 It is rather a habit with the Curbstone operator when he gets severely winged, to go into the cigar business. 1884 Cent. Mag. Aug. 629/2 Peddling ‘privileges’ to small speculators through curb-stone agents. 1886 Pall Mall G. 28 May 14/1 Both of these men are kerbstone brokers.

curbul3e,

CURD

139

I59i Greene 2nd Pt. Conny-catch. (1592) 24 The Courber, which the common people call the Hooker, is he that with a Curb (as they tearm it) or hook, doth pul out of a window any loose linnen cloth, apparell, or.. other houshold stuffe. 1602 Rowlands Greene’s Ghost (i860) 41 A hooker, whom Conicatching English cals Curbar.

obs. Sc. form of cuir-bouilli.

curby ('k3:bi), a.

[f. curb sb. + -y.] Liable to be affected with curb (see curb sb. 4). Hence 'curbily adv. 1841 Meeson & Welsby Reports VIII. 132 The term ‘curby hocks’ indicated a peculiar form of the hock, which was considered as rendering the horse more liable to throw out a curb. 1875 ‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Sports 11. vi. 564 Curby hocks are also hereditary, and should be avoided. 1892 Sport. & Dram. News 21 May 360/1 That off hock., was always rather ‘curbily’ inclined.

curce,

obs. form of curse.

curch (k3:tf). Sc. Forms: 5 kerche, (courchie), 5-6 courch(e, curche, (6 cowrtche), 7 kerch, (8 kirch, 9 kertch), 7- curch. [An erroneous singular of curches, repr. OF. couvreches, -chies, pi. of couvrechef: see coverchief, kerchief.] A covering for the head; a kerchief; ‘a square piece of linen used in former times by women, instead of a cap or mutch’ (Jamieson). 1447 Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 285 She hyr wolde arayin ful porely .. and .. Up on hyr hede leyn a foule kerche. 1457 Sc. Acts Jas. II, c. 71 On theer heads short curches.. Courchies of theer awin making. C1470 Henry Wallace 1. 241 A soudly courche our hed and nek leit fall. 15 .. Peebles to Play, Ane said, ‘My curches are not press’d’. 1530 Inv. in Nugae Derelictse (1880) x. 9 Item xxi neipkins and brest cowrtchis. Itm thre nek cowrtchis. 1698 M. Martin Voy. Kilda (1749) 50 The Kerch, or Head-dress worn by herself. 1810 Scott Lady of L. 111. v. note, The snood was exchanged for the curch, toy, or coif, when a Scottish lass passed, by marriage, into the matron state. 1854 Mrs. Oliphant Magd. Hepburn I. 150 An old woman with long grey locks escaping from her curch. 1900 A. Carmichael Carmina Gadelica I. p. xxv, On the morning after the marriage the mother of the bride .. placed the ‘breid tri cheamach’, threecornered kertch, on the head of the bride before she rose from her bed. Ibid., The feast of the ‘bord breid’, kertch table, was almost as great as the feast of the marriage table.

curchee, -ie, -y,

obs. forms of curtsy.

curchef, -chyfe,

obs. forms of kerchief.

|| Curculio (k3:'kju:li3o). Entom. [a. L. curculio, -onem corn-weevil.] A Linnaean genus of Beetles, containing the Weevils. Now applied especially to the common fruit-weevils, which are very destructive to plums. 1756 P. Browne Jamaica (1779) 429 The streaked shining Curculio. Ibid. 430 Curculio.. This insect is very destructive to flour as well as to most sorts of grain, i860 Emerson Cond. Life, Fate Wks. (Bohn) II. 327 Such an one has curculios, borers, knife-worms. 1882 Garden 25 Mar. 191/3 The Curculio has made the cultivation of the Plum impossible in Eastern America.

Hence cur,culio'nideous a, belonging to the Curculionidx or weevil-family, cur'culionist, a specialist in the study of the Curculionidx. 1881 Athenaeum No. 2827. 904 A curculionideous larva, found feeding in the bulbs of lilies. 1874 Mivart in Contemp. Rev. XXIV. 362 That this .naturalist is a Carabidist, and that a Curculionist.

|| curcuma ('k3:kju:m3). Also in anglicized form curcume. [med. or mod.L. ad. Arab, kurkum saffron, turmeric: see crocus.] a. Bot. A genus of Zingiberacex consisting of plants with perennial tuberous roots, furnishing various commercial substances, as zedoary, East Indian arrowroot, mango-ginger, turmeric, etc. b. The substance called Turmeric, prepared from the tubers of C. longa, and used as an ingredient in curry powder, as a chemical test for alkalis, and for medicinal and other purposes, attrib., as curcuma paper, turmeric paper used as a chemical test. 1617 Mosan tr. Wirtzung's Pract. Physicke 2nd Table, Turmericke, Cyperus Indicus, the Apothecaries call it Curcuma. 1633 Gerarde Herbal 1. xxvii. 34. 1712 tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 35 The Curcuma of the Shops is a small Root, about the Size of that of Ginger. 1800 Med. Jrnl. III. 84 The liquor becomes alkaline, and reddens paper prepared with curcuma. C1865 Circ. Sc. I. 351/2 In China, tea is frequently coloured with curcume. 1885 H. O. Forbes Nat. Wandr. E. Archip. 196 Rice yellowed with curcuma powder.

Hence 'curcumin, matter of turmeric.

Chem.,

the

colouring

1850 Pereira Mat. Med. II. i. 1125 Curcumin.. is obtained .. by digesting the alcoholic extract of turmeric in ether. 187s j Attfield Chem. (ed. 6) 531 Turmeric, .owes its yellow colour to curcumin, a resinous matter.

curd (k3:d), sb. Forms: a. 4-5 crodde, (5 crod(e), 4-6 crudd(e, (5 cruyde, 5-6 crude), 5- north, dial. crud; /3. 5-6 curde, curdd(e, 6 courd, 5- curd. [ME. crud (also crod) is found first in 14th c.; the form curd is known from 15th c. The metathesis ru = ur implies that the word is older, and may possibly go back to OE.; but its earlier history and derivation are unknown. No similar word is known in Teutonic or Romanic; hence the source has been sought in Celtic: Irish has cruth, gruth, groth, Gaelic gruth curds, but it is not certain what relation (if any) the Celtic words hold to the English ]

1. a. The coagulated substance formed from milk by the action of acids, either naturally as when milk is left to itself, or artificially by the

addition of rennet, etc.; made into cheese or eaten as food. (Often in pi.) 1362 Langl. P. PI. A. vii. 269 Twey grene cheeses, and a fewe cruddes and crayme. c 1420 Liber Cocorum 13 Styr hit wele.. Tyl hit be gedered on crud harde. 14.. Voc. inWr Wiilcker 590/45 Juncata .. Juncade, sive a crudde ymade yn 'shes. Ibid. 661/14 Hoc coagulum, crodde. 1549 Compl. cot. vi. 42 Thai maid grit cheir of..curdis and quhaye. 1578 Lyte Dodoens vi. xlvi. 719 It melteth the clustered crudde, or milke that is come to a crudde. 1611 Shaks. Wint. T. iv. iv. 161 Good sooth she is The Queene of Curds and Creame. 1626 Bacon Sylva §385 Milk .. is.. a Compound Body of Cream, Cruds, and Whey. 1788 [see ream sb.2 1 a]. 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. 197 This acid.. transforms the milk into a curd. 1856 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 294 Betty, who will have curds and cream waiting for me. 1887 J. Service Life Gf Recoil. Dr. Duguid 1. ix. 54 There were nae mair deidly engagements noo than the attack on.. cruds and cream. fig. 1735 Pope Prol. Sat. 306 Sporus, that mere white curd of Ass’s milk? 1883 Harper's Mag. Mar. 574/1 That caused Mrs. Claxton’s cloudy suspicion .. to settle into an absolute curd of sourness.

S

fb. ? The curdled milk in the stomach of a young sucking animal, or the gastric juice of the same, used for rennet. Obs. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. vi. 141 The mylk is crodded now to chese With crudde of kidde, or lambe, other of calf. 1551 Turner Herbal 1. (1568) Bija, The cruddes found in a kyddes maw, or an hyndecalfes maw. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 331 The cruds or rennet of an horse foie maw, called by some Hippace. 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 24 The curd [of the calf] hath the same vertue as that of a Hare, Kid, or Lamb.

2. a. transf. Any substance consistency or appearance.

of

similar

1811 A. T. Thomson Lond. Disp. (1818) 605 Sulphuric ether and compound spirit of ether precipitate a thick, white, tenacious curd.

b. The fatty substance found between the flakes of flesh in boiled salmon, cf. curdy 3. 1828 Sir H. Davy Salmonia 98 To find a reason for the effect of crimping and cold in preserving the curd of fish. 1863 Wood Illust. Nat. Hist. III. 327 If it [the salmon] be cooked within an hour or two after being taken from the water, a fatty substance, termed the ‘curd’, is found between the flakes of flesh.

c. The edible ‘head’ of such brassicas as cauliflower and broccoli. 1916 W. F. Rowles Food Garden xi. 201 We may expect to cut the curds at the end of April. 1950 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Feb. 154/1 Most cauliflower crops.. benefit from a side dressing applied shortly before the curd begins to form. 1951 Good Housek. Home Encycl. 393/2 It [sc. the cauliflower] has a compact white head (i.e. flowers, often called the curd). 1969 D. Bartrum From Garden to Kitchen 29 Broccoli, with their white, solid flower-heads (curds) are like a small cauliflower but a much hardier vegetable.

3. attrib. and Comb., as curd-cake, puff (confections made with curds); curd-like adj.; curd-breaker, -crusher, -cutter, -mill, apparatus for crushing or cutting up cheesecurd in order to facilitate the separation of the whey; curd soap, a white soap made with tallow and soda. 1706 Closet of Rarities (N.), To make *curd-cakes.—Take a pint of curds [etc.]. 1805 Southey Madoc in W. xiv, Cheese 0£*curd-like whiteness. 1846 j. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. 158 Cauliflowers.. of a delicate white curd¬ like appearance. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 247/2 Break the curd into pieces .. by means of a *curd-mill. 1769 Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 261 To make *Curd Puffs. 1794 Hull Advertiser 20 Sept. 4/1 Yellow Soap 60s. —*Curd 70s. 1875 Ure Diet. Arts III. 850 The white.. tallow soap of the London manufacturers, called curd soap.

curd (k3:d), v. Forms: see the sb. [f. prec.] 1. a. trans. To make into curd; to coagulate, congeal; = curdled, i. 1382 Wyclif Job x. 10 Whether not.. as chese thou hast crudded me? c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. vi. 141 Alle fresshe the mylk is crodded now to chese. 1563 T. Gale Antidot. 11. 36 This oile.. courdeth milke by and by. 1602 Shaks. Ham. 1. v. 69 It doth posset And curd, like Aygre droppings into Milke, The thin and wholsome blood. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. 1. 601 The feat of crudding it [milk] to a pleasant tartnesse. 1823 New Monthly Mag. IX. 166/2 So acrid .. that they curd milk.

fb. To curdle (blood). Obs. rare. 1601 Shaks. All’s Well I. iii. 155 Dos it curd thy blood To say I am thy mother?

2. intr. To become or form curd; to coagulate, congeal; = curdle v. 3. 1398 Trevisa Barth, de P.R. xvi. vii. (1495) 555 Quycke syluer cruddeth not by itself kyndly wythout brymstone. Ibid. xix. lxxvi. (1495) 906 Mylke rennyth and curdyth.. and the wheye is departyd therfro. c 1430 Two Cookery-bks. 17 Styre it tylle it crodde. 1578 Lyte Dodoens vi. xlvi. 719 The iuyee of Figges turneth milke and causeth it to crudde. 1598 Epuiario Kiij, Heat it vntill the Cheese curd. fig- 1589 Pappe w. Hatchet (1844) 29 A Lemman will make his conscience curd like a Posset. 1887 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1918) 65 His thew That onewhere curded, onewhere sucked or sank.

3. trans. To render curdy, cover as with curd. 1654 Gayton Pleas. Notes 11. i. 33 Two chafd Boars, or blowne Mastiffs, whose rage had curded one anothers chops.

Hence 'curding vbl. sb. and ppl. a. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvn. clxviii. (1495) 712 Whete sod wyth juys of rewe dissoluyth.. rennyng and kurdyng of mylke. 1727 C. Threlkeld Stirpes Hibern. Eij, In crudding of Milk it may occupy the place of Ches-lope. 1742 Lond. Gf Country Brew. 1. (ed. 4) 76 Those harsh, curding Well-waters that many drink of.

140

CURDED curded ('k3:did), ppl. a. Also 5-9 crudded. [f. curd v. and sb. + -ed.] 1. Formed into curd, or into a curd-like mass; coagulated, congealed. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 105 Cruddyd, coagulatus. 1563 T. Gale Antidot. 11. 36 If one drope of it.. be put into a pynte of mylke, it shall forthwith become courded. 1578 Banister Hist. Man v. 75 A heape of crudded bloud. 1659 D- Pell Improv. Sea 333 The Seas.. lye all upon a bubling froth, and curded foam. 1813 J. C. Hobhouse Journey 33 Curded goat’s milk. 1820 Shelley Witch Atl. lv, She would often climb The steepest ladder of the crudded rock.

2. Of salmon: Having curd (see curd sb. 2 b). 1865 J. G. Bertram Harvest of Sea (1873) 44 [They] do not like the Dutch salmon so well as their own fine curded fish.

curdiness (’k3:dims). [f. curdy a. + -ness.] The state or quality of being curdy. (Of fish: see curd sb. 2 b.) 1824 Blackw. Mag. XVI. 340 Nothing can then exceed the beautiful curdiness of his texture. 1828 Sir H. Davy Salmonia 98 The albumen is coagulated, and the curdiness [of the salmon] preserved.

curdle (’k3:d(3)l), v. Also 6-7 crudle, 7-8 (9 dial.) cruddle. [Frequentative of curd v.\ 1. trans. To form (milk) into curd; to turn (any liquid) into a soft solid substance like curd; to coagulate, clot, congeal. 1590-6 [see curdled 1, i c.]. 1601 Holland Pliny xxm. vii, It wil cruddle milk as wel as rennet. 1611 Bible Job x. 10 Hast thou not powred me out as milke, and cruddled me like cheese? 1742 Lond. & Country Brew. 1. (ed. 4) 40 The Wort also will be curdled, and broke into small Particles. 1875 Ure Diet. Arts I. 767 All acids curdle milk.

b. to curdle the blood: usually fig. said of the effect of cold, horror, etc. upon a person. 1602 Marston Ant. & Mel. n. Wks. 1856 I. 26 O how impatience.. cruddles thick my blood, with boiling rage! a 1674 Clarendon Hist. Reb. xvi. (1704) III. 559 Being now awaken’d by this Alarm.. and his flegm a little curdled, he begun to think himself in danger. 1760 C. Johnston Chrysal (1822) I. 14 An holy horror curdled all my blood. 1891 Baring-Gould In Troub. Land v. 63 The glacial bise sweeps over the face of the desert, curdling the blood.

2. transf. and fig. 1627-47 Feltham Resolves (ed. 7) 154 We are curdled to the fashion of a life by time and set successions. 1794 G. Adams Nat. & Exp. Philos. I. vi. 210 The surface of the water is fretted and curdled into the finest waves by the undulations of the air. 1816 Byron Dream i, A thought, A slumbering thought.. curdles a long life into one hour. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. II. 203 So beauty curdles envy’s look on thee.

3. intr. To become or form curd; to coagulate. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 348 The milk.. will not cruddle. 1653 H. More Conject. Cabbal. (1713) 190 How this Primordial Water.. should ever coagulate or cruddle into that consistency. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 56 The milk of the goat is.. not so apt to curdle upon the stomach as that of the cow. 1853 Soyer Pantroph. 90 Mint prevented milk from curdling.

b. Of the blood. (Now usually fig.) 1611 Beaum. & Fl. King & no King 1. i, See now my blood cruddles at this! 1668 Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat., Manual 1. i. 302 Extravenated Blood .. curdles and putrefies. 1784 Cowper Task VI. 514 The blood thrills and curdles at the thought, a 1845 Barham Ingol. Leg. (1877) 183 It makes the blood curdle with fear.

c. transf. and fig. 1818 Byron Mazeppa xviii, An icy sickness curdling o’er My heart, i860 Tyndall Glac. 1. ii. 22 The adjacent atmosphere .. curdled up into visible fog.

curdle ('k3:d(3)l), sb. rare. [f. prec. vb.] The act or product of curdling; fa curd (obs.). a 1593 H. Smith Serm. (1622) 444 There is a kind of downe or curdle upon Wisedom. 1611 Cotgr., Mattes, curds, or curdles. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 30 Tracing the .. winding fountains to their infant bed, Marking each curdle boil and boil away. 1933 D. L. Sayers Murder must Advertise iv. 65 What disgusting stuff cauliflower could be —a curdle of cabbage!

curdled ('k3:d(3)ld), ppl. a. [f. as prec. + -ed.] 1. Formed into curd; coagulated, congealed, clotted. 1596 Spenser Astroph. 152 With crudled blood and filthie gore deformed. 1676 J. Beaumont in Phil. Trans. XI. 733 Fill’d with a milky crudeled substance. 1819 Shelley Cyclops 129 Store of curdled cheese. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xxiii, The curdled wounds gave no sign of blood.

b. fig. of the blood, etc. 1697 Dryden Virg. JEneid 11. 766, I felt my crudled Blood congeal with Fear. 1815 Byron Parisina xiv, As ice were in her curdled blood.

c. transf. and fig. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. vii. 6 Till crudled cold his corage gan assayle. 1602 Marston Ant. 6? Mel. 1. i. Wks. 1856 I. 16 Crudl’d fogges masked even darknesse brow. 1685 H. More Some Cursory Reft.' 10 This cold and crudled Infidelity. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. II. 93 O’er the water crink’d the curdled wave. 1850 Kingsley Alt. Locke xxviii, Dark curdled clouds .. swept on.

2. Of a lens: (see quot.) 1832 Porter Porcelain & Gl. 245 When this fault [imperfect polishing] exists in a degree so exaggerated as to be visible to the naked eye, the lens is said to be curdled.

curdler ('k3:db(r)). [f. as prec. + -er.] l.That which curdles or coagulates. 1837 Penny Cycl. VII. 13/2 The most natural curdler of milk .. is the gastric juice of the stomach of a sucking calf.

2. A story, etc., that curdles the blood (cf. curdle v. 3 b). 1886 Baumann Londinismen 36/1 Curdler,.. bloodfreezer. 1966 Listener 21 July 103/3 [A play] too complicated to be a real curdler.

curdless ('k3:dhs), a. Destitute of curd. 1846 in Worcester.

curdling ('k3:dlir|), vbl. sb. [-ing1.] The action of the vb. curdle; also concr. 1611 Florio, Quagliata, a curdling or congealing. 1620 Venner Via Recta vii. 154 They inhibit the crudling of milke in the stomacke. 1851 Nichol Archit. Heav. 107 Nebulosities.. having within them curdlings, as they seem at first, separate massive clusters.

'curdling, ppl. a. [-ing2.] That curdles. 1. trans. (In quots. = blood-curdling.) 1821 Shelley Prometh. Unb. ii. iii, Under the curdling winds. 1863 Whyte Melville Gladiators I. 364 A curdling horror that weighed down the limbs like lead.

2. intr. 1699 Garth Dispens. 15 A while his curdling Blood forgot to glide. 1886 R. C. Leslie Sea-painter's Log 110 Here and there a.. wave.. breaks into curdling foam.

curdly ('k3:dli), a. [f. curdle v. + -y.] Apt to curdle; of a curdled nature or appearance. 1689 G. Harvey Curing Dis. by Expect, vi. 38 Milk., in many [is] very corruptible, coagulable or curdly. 1799 G. Smith Laboratory I. 179 If you find the amalgam begin to be curdly. 1820 A. Cooper Surg. Ess. 232 The curdly substance mixed with pus is discharged.

cur dog, cur-dog: see cur. curdy ('ksidi), a. Also 6-7 cruddy, -ie. [f. curd sb. + -Y.] 1. Full of curds. 1528 Paynell Salerne's Regim. 2 Olde chese, or verye cruddye chese. 1574 Newton Health Mag. 32 The thick and curdy Milke.. commonly called Beastings. 1882 Mrs. Chamberlain W. Worcs. Words 8 Cruddy, curdled; full of curds.

2. Full of curd-like coagulations; resembling curded milk; curd-like in consistency or appearance. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. (Percy Soc.) 4 In the.. cruddy firmament. 1590 Spenser F.Q. 1. v. 29 His cruell woundes with cruddy bloud congeald. 1597 Shaks. 2 Hen. IV, iv. iii. 106 (Qo.) A good sherris sacke.. ascendes mee into the braine, dries me there all the foolish and dull and crudy [Fo. cruddie] vapors which enuirone it. 1678 Phil. Trans. XII. 950 Making it [tin] thick and cruddy, that is, not so ductile, as otherwise. 1797 Pearson ibid. LXXXVIII. 24 The precipitate did not render solution of hard soap at all curdy. 1875 H. C. Wood Therap. (1879) 46 A white curdy precipitate. 1887 Baring-Gould Gaverocks I. xvi. 233 The moon passed behind a white curdy cloud. 1937 E. J. Labarre Diet. Paper 65/1 Cruddy paper, i.e. mottled.

3. Of salmon, etc.: Full of curd (see curd sb. 2 b). 1603 Owen Pembrokeshire (1891) 118 There they [the Salmon] are found newe, fresh, fatte and cruddye. Ibid. 125 A cruddye matter like creame about the fishe [oysters]. 1859 Lever Davenport Dunn xxxvi, His curdiest salmon declined, his wonderful ‘south-down’ sent away scarcely tasted. 1892 H. G. Hutchinson Fairway Island i, We’ll eat this [salmon] that had the tide-lice on him. He’ll be fine and curdy.

feurdy, v. Obs. rare-1. [f. prec. adj.] trans. To make curd-like, to congeal. (But perh. in quot. cur died is a misprint for curdled.) 1607 Shaks. Cor. v. iii. 66 Chaste as the Iside That’s curdied by the Frost from purest Snow.

cure (kjus(r)), sb.1 Also 5-6 cuyr, 6-7 Sc. cuir(e, 6 cur. [a. OF. cure care (nth c.; also in mod. dial.):—L. cura care.] I. Care, charge; spiritual charge. f 1. a. Care, heed, concern, to have (take, do, etc.) no cure of (a thing): not to care for or regard it. c 1300 K. Alis. 4016 For his lord, nymeth god cure, He dude his lif in aventure. CI385 Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 152 Construeth that as yow lyst, I do no cure. Ibid. 1143 Dido, I make of yt no cure, c 1450 Henryson Mor. Fab. 5 To get his denner set was all his cure. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. 11. 391 Quhilk labourit hes.. With diligence and all the cuir he ma. a 1541 Wyatt Poems, Request to Cupid, The solemne oathe, wherof she takes no cure, Broken she hath, a 1605 Montgomerie Natur passis Nuriture 46 Of his oun kynd he took no cure.

t b. to do one’s (busy) cure: to give one’s care or attention to some piece of work; to apply oneself diligently (to effect something). Obs. c 1340 Cursor M. 1726 (Trin.) Noe..3af writes her mesure And him self dude his cure, c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. III. 654 And now cerfoil.. doo thi cure To sowe in fatte and moist ydounged soil. 1430 Lydg. Chron. Troy I. iii, If I see thou do thy besy cure This hyghe empryse for to bryng aboute. 1509 Barclay Shyp of Folys A ij a, I doo my besy cure for to kepe them honestly frome poudre and dust. 1556 Lauder Tractate 233 Bot trewlie thay suld do thare cure.

|2. Care, anxiety, trouble. Obs. a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxviii. 31 He despisis pe curys & pe noyes of pis life. 1513 Douglas JEneis 1. i. 60 Lo how greit cure, quhat travel, pane, and dowte. 15.. Knt. of Curtesy 82 Alas, Into this cure who hath you brought?

f3. Charge, care (committed to or laid upon any one); a duty, office, function. Obs. (exc. as in 4-)

CURE CI300 Beket 837 And [he] quath the quit al clenliche [of] eche other cure [Laud MS. wike] ther. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xix. cxxxiv. (1495) 944 Pan .. hathe cure of shepe and of shepeherdes. 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge 1. 2350 Temporall cures and busynesse worldly. 1555 Eden Decades 38 The women.. haue also the cure of tyllage of the grounde. 1641 Milton Ch. Govt. Pref., The Church hath in her immediate cure those inner parts and affections of the mind. [1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 57 Cranmer had declared.. that God had immediately committed to Christian princes the whole cure of all their subjects.]

4. Eccl. a. The spiritual charge or oversight of parishioners or lay people; the office or function of a curate. Commonly in phrase cure of souls. c 1340 Hampole Prose Tr. 25 Holy Bisshopis.. which had cure of mennes soules. 1377 Langl. P. PI. B. Proh 88 Bischopes and bachelers .. pat han cure vnder criste. 1490 Caxton How to Die 15 Euery persone hauyng the cure of soules. 1540 Act 32 Hen. VIII, c. 44 The persons and curates of the sayd .v. parishe churches.. shall be dyscharged of the cure of the said inhabitantes. 1552 Bk. Com. Prayer, Ordering of Priests, So that you may teach the people committed to your cure and charge. 1642 Jer. Taylor Episc. (1647) 309 The Bishops of every province must know that their Metropolitan-Bishop does take cure of all the province. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. v. i. (1869) II. 395 What is called the cure of souls, or the ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the parish. 1868 M. Pattison Academ. Org. v. 134 Earning an income by tuition or by parochial cure.

b. (with a and pi.) A parish or other sphere of spiritual ministration; a ‘charge’. ?I4«3 Caxton Vocab. 21b, For to gete A cure of fre chapell. 1531 Dial. Laws Eng. 11. xxxvi. (1638) 127 Then may the Ordinary set in a deputy to serve the Cure. 1552 Bk. Com. Prayer, Ordering of Priests, To use both public and private monitions.. as well to the sick as to the whole, within your cures. 1660 R. Coke Power Subj. 202 To the end the Cure may not be destitute of a Pastor. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. iii, A small cure was offered me. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 252 A proclamation.. that.. the clergy of the Established Church should be suffered to reside on their cures without molestation. 1882 Pebody Eng. Journalism xi. 78 He held .. a cure of souls in Essex.

II. Medical or remedial treatment, f 5. a. The medical treatment of a disease, or of a patient. Obs. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 49 And lich unto Pithagoras Of surgery he knew the cures, c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 124 J>ei seyn pat mo men ben heelid bi pis maner cure pan dien. 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge 11. 865 Wofully cruciat with peynes hiduous, Passyng mannes cure it for to amende. 1607-12 Bacon Ess. Seditions (Arb.) 402 The Cure must answeare to the particuler disease. 1722 De Foe Plague (1756) 49 The said Chirurgeons are to be sequestred from all other Cures, and kept only to this Disease. 1725 ——— Voy. round World (1840) 339 All the while they were under cure.

b. A particular method or course of treatment directed towards the recovery of a patient, as in water-cure, milkrcure, etc. [1704 F. Fuller Med. Gymn. (1711) 54 The Cold Bath .. a severe Method of Cure.] 1842 Longf. in Life (1891) I. xxiii. 427 There are about sixty persons here [Marienberg], going through what is called the water-cure. ci86o Mrs. Gatty Aunt Judy's Tales (1863) 29 An unlimited and fatal application of the cold-water cure. 1866 A. Flint Princ. Med. (1880) 214 In order to carry out effectually the ‘milk cure’,.. milk.. should be taken largely. 1884 Pall Mall G. 6 Sept. 3/1 The prayer-cure, faith-cure, touch-cure.

6. a. Successful medical treatment; the action or process of healing a wound, a disease, or a sick person; restoration to health. Also fig. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 338 Of maister Cerimon the leche And of the cure, which he dede. c 1400 Lanfranc’s Cirurg. 97 For to remeve causes pat letten pe cure of olde woundes. 1588 Shaks. L.L.L. v. ii. 28 Past care, is still past cure. 1596 Drayton Legends iii. 177 It was no cure, unlesse he could provide Meanes to prevent the danger to ensue. 1611 Bible Luke xiii. 32, I cast out deuils, and I doe cures. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 362 Its bite is very difficult of cure. 1789 W. Buchan Dom. Med. (ed. 11) 483 Mankind are extremely fond of every thing that promises a sudden or miraculous cure, i860 Tyndall Glac. 1. xxiii. 162 The conditions were not favourable to the cure of a cold. 1891 Messenger of Sacred Heart Oct. 312 His cure.. cannot be explained by the use of any remedies known to science.

fb. out of (all) cure: beyond remedy; past help. Obs. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 713 And pus despeired out of alle cure She ladde here lyf, pis woful creature. 1393 Gower Conf. II. 60, I.. am, as who saith, out of cure For ought that I can say or do.

fc. Amendment, rectifying. Obs. rare. 1675 tr. Camden's Hist. Eliz. To Rdr., The Translation .. was .. so out of order.. that.. it was thought convenient, by comparing it with the Original, to doe something towards the Cure of it.

7. A means of healing; a remedy; a thing, action, or process that restores health. Often fig. 1613 Shaks. Hen. VIII, I. iv. 33 For my little Cure, Let me alone. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 776 Here grows the Cure of all, this Fruit Divine. 1776 Toplady Hymn, ‘Rock of Ages’, Let the water and the blood.. Be of sin the double cure. 1825 A. Caldcleugh Trav. S. Amer. II. xv. 109 The most certain cure is to send those attacked from the elevated spot as soon as possible. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 11 A cure for the headache.

8. f a. One under medical treatment, a patient. Obs. b. A person who has been cured, rare. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 67, I wil follow thy counsel, and become thy cure, desiring thee to be as wise in ministring thy Phisick, as I haue bene willing to putte my lyfe into thy handes. 1591 R. Turnbull Exp. fas. 121 A physitian bidding his cure and pacient to waxe strong. 1837 Pall Mall G. 11 Jan. 4/1 Convalescents or cures of Alpine parching, .apostrophize tenderly their ‘beloved Davos’.

CURE 9. The curing or preserving of fish, pork, etc. Also, a catch of fish so treated.

cure (kjoa(r)), sb.3 slang, [app. an abbreviation of curious or curiosity: cf. curio.

1743 Lond. & Country Brew. 11. (ed. 2) 122 That the Wort may have also its Cure as well as the Hop. 1757 W. Thompson R.N. Advoc. 36 For the Performance of which Method of Cure [salting pork]. 1883 A. Shea Newfoundland 7 The cure of the fish requires much care and judgment... The best cure is effected when the weather is variable. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 143 The fish caught round the Newfoundland coast are generally of good quality, but the Labrador cure .. is often very inferior. 1911 ‘Viking’ Art of Fishcuring xiv. 67 When salting the fish in the tubs it would not be advisable to put one day’s fish down upon the top of the previous day’s cure. 1957 Fish Marketing in W. Europe (O.E.E.C.) ii. 41 The demand for salted herring was declining, and .. the consumer was showing more interest in soft cures, such as pickled, marinated and smoked. 10. [After F. cure, G. kur, cur (see Kursaal).]

It appears to have obtained vogue largely from a Music Hall song with the chorus ‘The cure, the cure, the perfect cure’ (with play on cure sb.), popular in 1862.]

A period of residence at a health-resort, under medical regimen, in order to restore or benefit one’s health. Also Comb., as cure-guest (= G. kurgast), -seeker. 1887 Time Oct. 420 The month’s ‘cure’ at Carlsbad. 1898 Daily News 22 July 5/1 One of the speakers was an old cure servant. 1905 Westm. Gaz. 11 Sept. 10/2 The number of cure-guests registered [at Carlsbad]. 1906 Ibid. 27 Aug. 8/1 Cure-seekers at Homburg. 1908 T. P. O’Connor CampbellBannerman 123 He rarely took the cure [at Marienbad]. Ibid., The severe waters which the other cure-guests were taking. 1921 D. H. Lawrence Let. ? 8 May (1962) II. 653, I.. can’t sit supping for ever at these inside Baden-Baden cure-springs. 1955 Times 5 July 8/4 [He] has left Berlin on his annual leave for an undisclosed destination ‘to take a cure’. 1967 E. S. Turner Taking Cure 9 Taking the cure was usually a quest for healing waters.

11. The process of vulcanizing rubber (see also quot. 1923) or of hardening or curing plastic; also (with qualifying adj.), the degree of hardness produced. 1902 C. O. Weber Chem. India Rubber ix. 301 The pigments and other colouring matters contained in the india rubber... contain some impurity which is responsible for their discoloration, or perhaps the ‘cure’ has been too prolonged or carried out at too high a temperature. 1907 H. L. Terry India-rubber 32 Fine Para rubber.. varies slightly in its properties and price according as it is ‘Up-river hard cure’ or ‘Island soft cure’. 1908 H. A. Wickham Para Rubber 24 Extraction and cure of the rubber latex. Ibid. 29 The antiseptic smoke-cure. 1909 Westm. Gaz. 9 Nov. 12/1 Fine Hard Cure Para Rubber. 1922 H. E. Simmons Rubber Manuf. viii. 48/2 This variation in rate of cure or vulcanizing capacity. Ibid. 98/1 There are two general methods of vulcanization, namely, what is known as the ‘cold cure’ and the ‘hot cure vulcanization’. 1923 B. D. W. Luff Chem. Rubber 19 In works practice, and indeed in technical literature, the term ‘cure’ is frequently employed instead of ‘vulcanisation’. While this has the merit of brevity, it is unfortunately used also to denote the ‘smoking’ of wild or cultivated rubber in the course of its preparation. Ibid. 136 Hydrochloric acid gives a rubber having a slower rate of cure. Ibid. 137 The effect of alum in retarding the cure of the rubber. 1943 Simonds & Ellis Handbk. Plastics iii. 136 The state of cure of a laminated material can be determined with some degree of success by a water-absorption test. 1947 R. L. Wakeman Chem. Commercial Plastics xxvi. 786 Where concentrations of catalyst in the order of 1 per cent are used, heating to 175-260 °F effects cure after several hours. 1961 L. R. Mernagh in W. J. S. Naunton Appl. Sci. Rubber xii. 1062 Hot-air cures may be divided into open-air cures at atmospheric pressure and oven cures.

12. attrib. and Comb., as f cure-bearer, one who bears or has the care of something; so curemaster; esp. one who superintends the curing of herrings; cure-passing a., past remedy, incurable. 1545 Aberdeen Reg. V. 19 (Jam.) Maister & cuir berar of the townis artailyere and graytht thairof. ci6ii Chapman Iliad xxii. 27 Cure-passing fevers then Come shaking down into the joints of miserable men. 1622 Misselden Free Trade 47 Men of good quality .. termed Curemasters. 1733 P. Lindsay Interest Scot. 201 The riding Officer, appointed .. for overseeing the Curing of Herrings .. with one Curemaster.. at least, to assist him. 1892 C. Patrick Mediaev. Scot. vii. 132 They should be first passed by the Cure Masters of Fish.

fcure, sb.2 Obs. [An early phonetic variant of cover; see cure v.2] = cover sb. 1502 Bury Wills (1850) 92, I beqwethe to .. William Coote .. myne syluer salt wyth ye cure, and Alys Coote the other w'oute the cure. 1567 Test. K. Henrie Stewart in Scot. Poems 16th C. II. 262 As the woirme, that worlds under cuire At lenth the tre consumis. 01572 Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. I. 461 Thei must neidis reteyre in a verray narrow cure.

An odd or eccentric person; a funny fellow. 1856 Punch XXXI. 201 (Farmer), Punch has no mission to repeat The Slang he hears along the street.. But as it’s likely to endure, He asks a question, ’What’s a cure?’ 1889 Monthly Packet Christmas No., Abigail v. 108 ‘You are a cure of a girl!’ was Mrs. Bowden’s neat way of expressing her surprise.

cure (kjua(r)), v.1 [a. F. cure-r (in OF. to take care of, to clean):—L. curare to care for, take care of, cure, f. cur a care.] I. fl* a. tram. To take care of; to care for, regard, b. intr. To take trouble; to take care. 1382 Wyclif Acts viii. 2 Forsoth men dredeful curiden [Vulg. curaverunt] or birieden Stheuene.-Tit. iii. 8 That thei that bileuen to God, curen, or do bisynesse, for to be bifore in goode werkis. r 1420 Pallad. on Husb. iii. 844 In hilles is to cure To set hem on the Southe if thai shall ure. 1603 Philotus lxxxv, Of all thy kin curit not the greif. a 1618 Sylvester Job Triumphant iii. 286 Whose ragged Fathers I refus’d to keep My ShephearcTs Curs, much more to cure my sheep. 1623 A. Taylor Christ's Mercy, I cur’d and cur’d for all that were in woe.

f 2. trans. (and absol.) To take charge of the spiritual interests of (a parish, etc.). Obs. 1377 Langl. P. PI. B. xx. 323 The Frere.. hyed faste To a lord for a lettre, leue to haue to curen, As a curatour he were, c 1400 Rom. Rose 6845, I walke soules for to cure. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 314 Sithence this Bishop is carefull and diligent in curyng his owne charge.

II. f 3. trans. To treat surgically or medically with the purpose of healing (a disease, or a patient). Obs. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. II. v. (1495) 32 Angels ben callyd Leches and Physicyens for they cure and heele soules. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 94 For & he [the cankre] be curid, J>at is to seie kutt or I-brent, pei perischen pe sunnere. 1530 Palsgr. 504 Je cure is I cure or helpe as a surgyen dothe. 1592 West 1st Pt. Symbol. §102 B, If., the said H. shal.. refuse any longer to be dressed or cured by y* said F. of the said infirmitie.

4. a. To heal, restore to health (a sick person of a disease). Also fig. 1382 Wyclif Luke viii. 43 Sum womman.. which hadde spendid al hir catel in to lechis, nether my3te be curid of ony. 1388-2 Kings v. 3 The prophete schulde haue curid hym of the lepre which he hath, c 1440 Promp. Parti. 110 Curyn’, or heelyn’ of seekenesse.. Sano, euro. 1538 Starkey England 11. ii. 185 Nature hyrselfe curyth the patyent. 1611 Bible Luke vii. 21 Hee cured many of their infirmities. 1803 Med. Jrnl. IX. 548 The cold application was of great use.. and she was soon cured. 1883 G. Lloyd Ebb & Flow II. 160 To be cured of a troublesome complaint. fig- C1530 Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1866) 36 Thow shalte nevyr be curyd if thowe oonys knowe the cryme of thyne owne true wyfe. 1600 Shaks. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 441 Ros. And thus I cur’d him [of love].. Orl. I would not be cured, youth. 1752 A. Murphy Gray's-Inn Jrnl. No. 14 f 2 This has cured me from attempting any sport of that kind. 1758 Johnson Idler No. 2 If 1 Disappointment seldom cures us of expectation. 1832 W. Irving Alhambra II. 148 Time cured him of his grief.

fb. transf. To repair, make good (anything damaged). Obs. 1382 Wyclif j Kings xviii. 30 He curede the auter of the Lord, that was destruyed. a 1656 Ussher Ann. vi. (1658) 264 And there he cured such of his ships as had .. been bruised.

5. a. To heal (a disease or wound); fig. to remedy, rectify, remove (an evil of any kind). 14.. Circumcision in Tundale's Vis. (1843) 91 Hyt cureth sores, hyt heleth every wownd. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 9 b, The whiche cureth, releueth & heleth all defautes. 1610 Shaks. Temp. 1. ii. 106 Your tale, Sir, would cure deafenesse. 1665 Glanvill Seeps. Sci. 50 Deep search discovers more ignorance than it cures. 1708 Motteux Rabelais v. xvi, Well, quoth Fryar John., what can’t be cur’d must be endur’d. 1791 Burke Corr. (1844) III. 357 To cure the evils brought on by vice and folly. 1872 E. Peacock Mabel Heron I. ix. 166 He had been successful in curing more than one smoky chimney. Mod. The question whether pulmonary consumption can be cured.

b. absol. or intr. To effect a cure; often in kill or cure (see kill v. 7 e). 1593 Shaks. 2 Hen. VI. v. i. 99 Whose Smile and Frowne, like to Achilles Speare Is able with the change, to kill and cure. 1764-1875 [see kill v. 7eJ. 1787 Cowper Stanzas Bill Mortality I. 27 No Med’cine, though it often cure, Can always baulk the Tomb. 1908 Smart Set Sept. 82/1 Buttermilk is good for it... Warranted to cure in thirty days or money refunded.

f6. intr. (for refl.) To be cured, get well again. Obs. rare.

fcure, sb.3 Obs. [ME. cure, app. a variant of curie, cury; in 1460 it is rimed with sure, perh. by confusion with cure si.1] = cury. a 1400-50 Alexander 4275 Haue we no cures of courte, ne na cointe sewes. c 1420 Liber Cocorum 1 Of craft.. that men callis cure [rime degre]. Ibid. 5 Now sly3tes of cure wylle I preche. c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 375 To know pe kervynge of fische and flesche after cockes cure [rime sure].

fcure, sb.1 Obs. [Early cure:—OE. eyre.] Choice.

CURED

141

southern

ME.

ciooo in Thorpe's Horn. I. 112 God forjeaf him ajenne eyre. C1205 Lay. 6171 And sefter cure heo him 3euen Jareo hundred 3isles. Ibid. 8077 Ten pusend monen pet wes pe bezste cure Of al Brut-londe. a 1300 K. Horn (Ritson) 1446 The ship bigon to sture With wynd god of cure.

b. intr. (for refl.) To be or become cured. 1668 Stubbe in Phil. Trans. III. 705 In Jamaica the Sugar cures faster in ten days, than in six months in Barbadoes. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. vii. 119 They [grapes] might cure and dry in the sun. 1887 West Shore Mag. (Brit. Columbia) 451 The bunch grass cures on the roots, as it stands, and remains as hay until.. the spring.

f8. To clear (land), as for a crop. Obs. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. xvii. 295 We had gotten as much Land cured and trimmed up, as we sowed 22 Bushels of Barley on. 1722-Col. Jack (1840) 168, I had a large quantity of land cured, that is, freed from timber.

9. intr. To reside for some time at a healthresort, following a regimen for the benefit of one’s health. See cure sb.1 10. 1902 Westm. Gaz. 22 Aug. 2/1 Those who have come up to ‘cure’ at Davos. 1905 Ibid. 9 June 10/1 They ‘cured’ together on the balcony, and rowed together on the lake.

10. a. trans. To vulcanize (rubber); also, to harden (plastic) or otherwise improve physical properties during manufacture by chemical treatment. 1853 C. Goodyear Gum-Elastic I. vii. 102 Among many experiments for drying and curing the gum,.. the inventor was much elated with the result of one. 1881 Encycl. Brit. XII. 841/2 The calendered sheets are generally cured between folds of wet cloth. 1902 C. O. Weber Chem. India Rubber ix. 299 ‘Dry heat cured’ water-proof fabrics. Ibid., ‘Cold cured’ cloth. 1907 H. L. Terry India-rubber 79 Goods cured by Dry Heat.. are less likely to be damaged by copper than those which are cold cured. 1908 H. A. Wickham Para Rubber 29 The standard rubber known in commerce as ‘fine Para’ is smoke-cured. Ibid. 32 The weight of the cured rubber should approximate very nearly that of the latex used. 1922 H. E. Simmons Rubber Manuf. viii. 48/2 They cured all of their samples at a temperature of 140 °C. 1947 R. L. Wakeman Chem. Commercial Plastics xxvi. 782 Furfuryl alcohol can be reacted with formaldehyde to yield a viscous mass which can be cured to a thermoset composition by application of heat. 1961 D. W. Huke Introd. Natural & Synthetic Rubbers v. 82 The early synthetic rubbers were much more difficult to cure than natural rubber. 1964 Oleesky & Mohr Handbk. Reinforced Plastics i. 8 The resin is fully cured and has become an infusible solid.

b. intr. To become vulcanization or curing.

vulcanized,

undergo

1922 H. E. Simmons Rubber Manuf. viii. 48/2 A rubber which cures an hour and forty-five minutes more quickly than plain or smoked sheets. Ibid. 49/1 A rapid curing rubber. 1923 B. D. W. Luff Chem. Rubber 136 Sulphuric acid gives a slow-curing rubber if used in slight excess. 1961 D. W. Huke Introd. Natural & Synthetic Rubbers v. 83 With sulphur and accelerators present the compounded rubber may start to cure while being processed.

11. trans. To harden (concrete). 1918 Hool & Johnson Concrete Engineers' Handbk. ii. 156 Where products are cured in this way, it is necessary that racks or cars be used. Ibid. 158 The curing rooms usually open into the molding department as conveniently as possible to the machines supplying the greatest number of products to be cured. 1921 Hatt & Voss Concrete Work II. 175 Demonstrate the relative strength of concrete when cured in the hot sun, in dry air, and in wet sand. Ibid. 179 The stone must be cured under a wet cloth. 1953 Archit. Rev. CXIII. 85 If these connections are grouted, the whole erection is held up while this is being poured and cured. 1970 Fremdsprachen 44 We took great care in curing the concrete, believing that by preventing escape of water from the slab, drying shrinkage would be very small.

t cure, v.2 Obs. [A phonetically reduced form of ME. entire, cover, the v being vocalized or elided, as in o’er, e'er\ cf. skiver, skewer.] trans. To cover; to conceal; to protect. a 1400 Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 392 Diveris clowdys eche of us was sodeynely curyng. c 1430 Lydg. Chron. Troy 1. 2870 But, o alias! how sone he ouer-caste His heste, his feith, with whiche he was assured, And hadde his fraude with flaterie y-cured. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 110 Curyn’, or hyllyn’ (W. cuueren), operio, cooperio, tego.

fcure, v.3 Obs. rare. [Cf.

cure sb.*, and obs. conjugation of choose.] trans. To choose. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1870 [)U most nede .. an of 1'CS twa curen and cheosen.

cure, var. of

cover v.2, to recover.

||cur£ (kyre).

In 6 curee. [F., ad. med.L. curatus: see curate.] A parish priest in France or a French-speaking land. 1655 Sir E. Nicholas in N. Papers (Camden) II. 345 The most plausible curees heere in the Towne and great Jansenists. 1662 J. Davies Voy. Ambass. (1669) 422 The Cure or Parson of the Parish, came one day to my Quarters. 1871 Morley Voltaire (1886) 341 One must stand well with the cure, be he knave or dunce.

1592 Shaks. Rom. Jul. I. ii. 49 One desparate greefe cures with anothers languish. 01774 Goldsm. tr. Scarron’s Com. Rom. I. 179 Saldagne’s wounds were in the fair way of curing. 1791 Gibbon Lett. Misc. Wks. 1796 I. 232, I must either cure or die.

’cure-,all. Something that cures all diseases; a

7. a. To prepare for keeping, by salting, drying, etc.; to preserve (meat, fish, fruit, tobacco, etc.).

b. As a name for various plants: see quots. (Cf. all-heal.)

1665 Hooke Microgr. 161 What their way is of dressing or curing Sponges.. I cannot learn. 1711 Act 9 Anne in Lond. Gaz. No. 4874/1 Hops.. brought to be cured and bagged at such Ousts. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. ix. 152, I had grapes enough.. to have cured into raisins. I74*> De Foe's Eng. Tradesman xxvi. (1841) I. 258 Herrings cured red from Yarmouth. 1788 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) II. 443 The beef cured and packed by them. 1832 Ht. Martineau Weal & Woe i. 2 A warehouse .. where salt for curing the fish .. was stored.

universal remedy, panacea. Also/ig. 1870 Lowell Cathedral Poet. Wks. (1879) 452 Expect.. A wondrous cure-all in equality. 1871 Napheys Prev. 1st Cure Dis. ill. iv. 741 It has been vaunted as a cure-all.

1793 Nemnich (cited in Britten & Holland Plant-n.), Cure-all, Geum rivale. 1882 Syd. Soc. Lex., Cure-all, the Geum virginianum and the (Enothera biennis.

cured (kjuad), ppl. a.1 [f. cure v.1 and si.1] 1. In senses corresponding to those of the verb; esp. in sense 7: Preserved by salting, drying, etc. 1715 M. Davies Ath. Brit. 1. 276 The Gratitude of the Cur’d Patient. 1836 Penny Cycl. V. 239 Salted meat and

cured fish. 1884 Times (Weekly ed.) 31 Oct. 7/4 Mild cured butter.

12. [f. the sb.] Having cure of souls. [F. cure.] *393 Gower Conf. I. Prol. 10 For dignite ne for provende Or cured or withoute cure.

t cured, ppl. a2 having a cover.

Obs.

[f. cure

v2]

Covered,

1463 Bury Wills (Camden) 42 My browne cuppe of erthe curyd. c 1480 Paston Lett. No. 852 III. 271 A standyng coppe curid gilt.. a nother standyng cupp cuerid gilt.

cureless ('kjualis),

a. [See -less.] Without cure or remedy; incurable, irremediable.

a 1541 Wyatt To his vnkind loue, In depe wide wound, the dedly stroke doth turner To cureles skarre. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 181 Then is thy case almost curelesse. 1655 Thetford Perf. Horseman 34 Many good horses are left cureless of these twb gross unsufferable faults. 1718 Pope Iliad xviii. 99 This cureless grief. 1880 McCarthy Own Times IV. 63 He proclaimed to England that her ancient system must fall into cureless ruin.

Hence 'curelessly adv.y incurably. 1852 Robertson Serm. Ser. hi. xii. 154 Fatally, radically, curelessly wrong.

curelessness

('kjoslisnts). condition of being cureless.

The

quality

or

1892 Kipling & Balestier Naulahka xiii, Her heart torn with the curelessness of it all.

curer (’kju3r3(r)). [f. cure v.1 + -er1.] 1. One who or that which cures or heals. 1581 T. Rogers St. Aug. Praiers ix. (1597) 45 Thou purger of wickednes and curer of wounds. 1598 Shaks. Merry W. 11. iii. 39 He is a curer of soules, and you a curer of bodies. 1775 Adair Amer. Ind. 438 The curers of ailments. 1845 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VI. 11. 548 Panaceas., put forth as checkers or curers of the disease.

2. One whose employment it is to cure fish, etc. 1791 Newte Tour Eng. & Scot. 103 There is room enough for the cooper and curer to perform their operations all under cover. 1814-15 Act 55 Geo. Ill, c. 94 §20 If the curer of such herrings shall not deliver such account thereof. 1864 Reader 23 Jan. 99 Curers crowd to buy the fish.

curesse, curet(e, curets,

obs. ff. cuirass.

Curetonian

(kjua'tsuman), a. and sb. Designation of the Syriac version of the Gospels discovered by the Rev. William Cureton, and edited by him from the MS. in 1858. 1861 Scrivener Introd. Crit. N.T. 236 The Curetonian Syriac. Ibid. 237 Such cases.. are common to the Curetonian with the Peshito. 1904 F. C. Burkitt (title) Evangelion Da-Mepharreshe: The Curetonian Version of the Four Gospels. Ibid. II. 17 Where the photograph clearly agreed with the Curetonian against the Peshitta.

curettage (kju'reta:3). Surg. [Fr.: see

curette

and -age.] The application of the curette; scraping or cleaning by means of a curette. 1897 St. Thomas's Hosp. Rep. New Ser. XXV. 84 Various supplementary measures have been added to the curettage. 1908 Practitioner Feb. 180 No more than a curettage of the growth was attempted. 1964 L. Martin Clin. Endocrinol. (ed. 4) viii. 252 But curettage is seldom desirable in adolescents in whom the condition usually rectifies itself spontaneously. 1965 J. Pollitt Depression & its Treatment v. 72 Powerful analgesics or premedication may be urgently required should threatened or incomplete abortion occur, or a dilatation and curettage be needed as a result.

curette (kjus'ret). Surg. [a. F. curette, f. curer in sense ‘to clear, cleanse’, applied to various industrial tools as well as in the surgical use.] A small surgical instrument like a scoop, used in removing a cataract from the eye, wax from the ear, granulations, dried mucus, etc., from the throat, uterine cavity, bladder, etc. Also, a suction-instrument used in the removal of a soft cataract. 1753 Sharp in Phil. Trans. XLVIII. 325, I then passed the curette (a little scoop) through the pupil. 1758 J. S. Le Dran's Observ. Surg. (1772) 259, I took off a Quantity of incrustated Gravel with the Currette. 1869 Wells Diseases of Eye 253 The convexity of the curette is to be placed against the edge of the cornea.

Hence cu'rette v., to scrape with a curette; cu'retting vbl. sb. 1888 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 11 Feb. 288 My present practice is to curette in every case of disease affecting.. the uterine mucous membrane. 1890 Braithwaite Retrosp. Med. ClI. 108 Antiseptic curetting in Endometritis (Puerperal).

curettement

(kjo'retmont). Surg. CURETTAGE and -MENT.] = CURETTAGE.

[See

1908 Practitioner Dec. 787 The right ovary had been removed elsewhere five years ago, at which time curettement had also been done.

curf (k3:f). local. Also carf, kerf. [var. f.

carf,

A cherty limestone found in one of the strata of the Portland beds of stone. kerf.]

1839 Civil Engin. & Arch. Jrnl. II. 375/2 A middle or curf bed occurs only in the southernmost of the quarries. 1893 Spon's Mechanic's Own Bk. (ed. 4) 564 Then .. the BastardRoach, Kerf, or Curf is reached. 1936 Discovery Mar. 76/2 Between the ‘Whit Bed’ and ‘Base Bed’ there is an irregular deposit of curf and flint, locally called ‘Pericott’.

curfew ('k3:fju:).

CURIA

142

CURED

Forms: a. (3 coeverfu), 4 corfu, -feu, 4-7 corfew, curfewe, 5 curfu, 5-6 courfeu(e, curpheue, 6-7 curfue, 7 curphew, 8

corfeu, -fue, -phew, curfeu, 5- curfew; £. 4 corfour, 5-6 curfur, 6 courfyre, curfoyr, 7 curfure, -phour; 6 curfle. Also (etymological restorations) 7 couvrefeu, coverfeu, -few. [a. AF. coeverfu, = OF. cuevre-fuy quevre-feuy covre-feu (13th c.), f. couvrey imper. of couvrir to cover + feu fire: cf. the med.L. names ignitegium, pyritegium, from tegere to cover. The corrupt forms in -four, -fury etc. appear to be of phonetic origin, though in some cases associated with fire.] 1. a. A regulation in force in mediaeval Europe by which at a fixed hour in the evening, indicated by the ringing of a bell, fires were to be covered over or extinguished; also, the hour of evening when this signal was given, and the bell rung for the purpose. Also transf. and fig. b. Hence, the practice of ringing a bell at a fixed hour in the evening, usually eight or nine o’clock, continued after the original purpose was obsolete, and often used as a signal in connexion with various municipal or communal regulations; the practice of ringing the evening bell still survives in many towns. In extended use: a restriction imposed upon the movements of the inhabitants of an area for a specified period. The primary purpose of the curfew appears to have been the prevention of conflagrations arising from domestic fires left unextinguished at night. The earliest English quotations make no reference to the original sense of the word; the curfew being already in 13th c. merely a name for the ringing of the evening bell, and the time so marked. [1285 Stat. London Stat. I. 102 Apres Coeverfu persone a Seint Martyn le graunt.] c 1320 Seuyn Sag. (W.) 1429 Than was the lawe in Rome toun, That, whether lord or garsoun That after Corfu be founde rominde, Faste men scholden hem nimen and binde. C1386 [see 3]. c 1400 Leges Quat. Burgorum lxxxi. in Sc. Acts I. 349 [He] sal gang til his wache wyth twa wapnys at pe ryngyng of pe courfeu. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 110/2 Curfu, ignitegium. 1495 in Arnolde Chron. (1811) 90 Yf ther bee any Parishe Clarke y* ringyth curfew after the curfue be ronge at Bowe chirche. 1530 Palsgr. 210/1 Courfewe, a ryngyng of belles towarde evenyng. 1570 Levins Manip. 190 Curfle, operitio ignis. 1561 Bp. Parkhurst Injunctions, If they doo ring at the buriall of the deade, noone or Curpheue. 1570 Burgh Rec. Peebles 324 (Sc. Burgh Rec. Soc.) To regne xij houris, vj houris, and courfyre nychtlie. 1608 Merry Devil Edm. in Hazl. Dodsley X. 251 Well, ’tis nine o’clock, ’tis time to ring curfew. 1610 Shaks. Temp. v. i. 40. 1632 Milton Penseroso 74 Oft on a plat of rising ground, I hear the far-off curfew sound. 1750 Gray Elegy i, The Curfew tolls the knell of parting day. 1825 Cobbett Rur. Rides (1830) I. 317, I got to this place about half an hour after the ringing of the eight o’clock bell, or Curfew. 1850 Lyell 2nd Visit U.S. II. 43 Every evening, at nine o’clock, a great bell, or curfew, tolls in the market¬ place of Montgomery, after which no coloured man is permitted to be abroad without a pass. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 414 When the curfew rings for you. 1929 D. H. Lawrence Pansies 103 The curfew of our great day.. the tocsin of this our civilisation. 1939 Punch 18 Oct. 435/1 The attempt.. to get a nine o’clock curfew imposed on members of the Women’s Land Army in training., to prevent them going out with soldiers. 1964 Ann. Reg. 1963 309 The new Prime Minister.. imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Jerusalem. 1970 D. Stuart Very Sheltered Life 70 There was an immediate curfew. Everyone had to be off the streets.

H The statement that the curfew was introduced into England by William the Conqueror as a measure of political repression has been current since the 16th century, but rests on no early historical evidence. See Freeman Norm. Cortq. (1875) III. 185 as to what ‘seems to be the origin of the famous and misrepresented curfew’. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 9. 1647 N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. 1. lvi. (1739) 102 It is affirmed, that the Normans did impose a new custom called Coverfeu. 1743-6 Shenstone Elegies xv, So droop’d, I ween, each Britons breast of old When the dull curfew spoke their freedom fled. 1769 Blackstone Comm. IV. 412.

fc. Applied also to the ringing of a bell at a fixed hour in the morning. Obs. I592 Shaks. Rom. fs? Jul. iv. iv. 4 Come, stir, stir, stir, The second Cocke hath Crow’d, The Curphew Bell hath rung, ’tis three a clocke. 1673 in L’pool Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 342 Ring Curphew all the yeare long at 4 a clock in the morning and eight at a night. 1704 Ibid. II. 83 Ringing Curfew Bell at four of ye clock in y' morning, and eight at night.

2. A cover for a fire; a fire-plate, a cover-fire. a 1626 Bacon (J.), For pans, pots, curfews, counters and the like. 1779 Gentl. Mag. XLIX. 406 He had gotten a piece of household furniture of copper, which he was pleased to call a curfew .. F. G... has described it as a curfew, from its use of suddenly putting out a fire. 1837 [see cover-fire],

3. attrib. and Comb., as curfew-knoll, -law, -note, -order, -time. c 1386 Chaucer Miller's T. 459 The dede sleepe.. Fil on this carpenter .. Aboute corfew tyme [v.r. corfeu, curfewe], 1778 W. Pearce Haunts Shaks. 12 At curfew-time lull’d by the lone village bell. 1814 Wordsw. Excursion viii. 172 The curfew-knoll That spake the Norman Conqueror’s stern behest. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midi, xxvii, That sleep should have visited his eyes after such a curfew-note, was impossible. 1897 J. Bryce Impr. S. Afr. xxi. 447 Cape Colony has a socalled ‘curfew law’, requiring natives who are out of doors after dark to be provided with a pass. 1931 Daily Express 16 Oct. 11/3 The curfew order of the university is that no cars may be used after nine without leave.

4. curfew-bell.

(See sense i.) A\so fig.

c 1320 Seuyn Sag. (W.) 1497 Corfour belle ringge gan. 1509 Bury Wills (1850) 112, I gyve toward y' ryngers charge off the gret belle in Seynt Mary Chirche, callyd corfew belle. 1597-8 Bp. Hall Sat. in. iv. 15 But a new rope, to ring the couure-feu bell. 111649 Drumm. of Hawth. Consid. Pari. Wks. (1711) 187 That there shall be cover-feu bells rung .. after the ringing of which no man shall be found upon the streets. 1702 C. Mather Magn. Chr. in. iii. (1852) 542 He .. would ring a loud courfeu bell wherever he saw the fires of animosity. 1839 Keightley Hist. Eng. I. 103 A law of police which directed all fires to be put out at the tolling of a bell called Curfew bell, is by later chroniclers ascribed to Wm. the Conqueror, but without any countenance from the early writers.

cur'fuffle, v. Sc. [Deriv. of a simple fuffle v. to disorder: the first syllable is perh. Gaelic car twist, bend, turn about; used in combination in car-fhocal quibble, prevarication, car-shuil rolling eye, car-tuaitheal wrong turn: cf. the Lowland Sc. curcuddoch, curdoo, curgloff, curjute, curmurring, curnoited, in which the prefix seems to have the sense of L. dis-.] trans. To put into a state of disorder; to ruffle. 1583 R. S. Leg. Bp. St. Androis in Sempill Ballates (1872) 215 His ruffe curfufled about his craig. 1768 Ross Helenore 81 (J?m.) Ye ken where Dick curfuffled a’ her hair.

cur'fuffle, sb. Sc. Also carfuffle, cafuffle, etc. [f. prec. vb. Now widely used as a colloquialism in the forms gefuffle and (esp.) kerfuffle.]

Disorder, flurry, agitation. 1813 G. Bruce Poems 65 An’ Jeanie’s kirtle, aye sae neat, Gat there a sad carfuffle. 1816 Scott Antiq. xx, Monkbarns in an unco carfuffle. Ibid, xxix, Troth, my lord maun be turned feel outright.. and he puts himself into sic a curfuffle for ony thing ye could bring him, Edie. 1823 Misses Corbett Petticoat Tales I. 333 (Jam.) Ye need na put yoursel into ony carfuffle about the matter. 1953 John o' London's 3 July 602/3 The word cafuffle is still in general use in her part of Scotland.. as a noun meaning a state of confusion. 1955 C. S. Lewis Surprised by Joy vii. 114, I could put up with any amount of monotony far more patiently than even the smallest disturbance, bother, bustle, or what the Scotch call kurfuffle. 1960 K. Martin Matter of Time 187 The girl next door and her boy friend are having a wee cafoufle in the garden. 1961 Radio Times 14 Dec. 3/2 You remember the cafuffle there was when the Ministry of Transport introduced their ten-year test for cars. 1971 Times 9 Jan. 16/4 Since the predictable pre-April curfuffle, there has been the predictable summer and autumn hush.

curfur(e: see curfew. I!curia (’kjuaris). [L. curia, in sense i.] 1. Antiq. a. One of the ten divisions into which each of the three ancient Roman tribes were divided; hence used of the divisions in other ancient cities, b. The building belonging to a Roman curia, serving primarily as its place of worship, c. The senate-house at Rome. d. A title given to the senate of ancient Italian towns, as distinguished from that of Rome. 1600 Holland Livy v. 209 Camillus should be called back again out of exile by a Ward-leet, or the suffrages of the Curiae. 1626 Massinger Rom. Actor 1. i, Lets to the curia. And, though unwillingly, give our suffrages, Before we are compell’d. 1656 J. Harrington Oceana 76 (Jod.) The people .. are first divided into thirty curias, or parishes. 1852 Grote Greece 11. lxxxi. X. 549 There is reason for believing that the genuine Carthaginian citizens were distributed into 3 tribes, 30 curiae, and 300 gentes.

2. A court of justice, counsel, or administration; used esp. of the royal and other courts of the feudal organization. In mediaeval L., curia was the word regularly employed to render F. cour, court, and it is so used by modern historians, esp. in Curia regis, the King's Curia, or King’s Court, of the Norman kings of England. [CII78 Glanville 1 Hie incipit liber primus de placitis quae pertinent ad curiam regis.] 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey) s.v., In our Common Law, Curia signifies a Court of Judicature. 1861 Pearson Early & Mid. Ages Eng. 414 Historically, the court of exchequer .. was developed out of the curia, or great court of the king’s tenants-in-chief. 1874 Stubbs Const. Hist. I. xi. 377 Whereas, under William the Conqueror and William Rufus the term Curia generally.. refers to the solemn courts held thrice a year or on particular summons, at which all tenantsin-chief were supposed to attend, from the reign of Henry I we have distinct traces of a judicial system, a supreme court of justice called the Curia Regis, presided over by the king or justiciars. 1890 Guardian 28 May 868/1 The Archbishop of Canterbury .. without a curia, without traditions, without committees of experts and theologians .. is going to settle .. some most difficult points.

3. spec, the Curia: the Papal court. 'In the stricter sense, the authorities which administer the Papal Primacy; in a wider acceptation it embraces all the authorities and functionaries forming the immediate entourage or Court of the Pope’ (Cath. Diet.). 1840 S. Austin Ranke's Hist. Popes (1847) I- 237 (Stanford) Still more important to the curia was the second article, concerning the plurality of benefices. 1878 Stubbs Const. Hist. III. xix. 352 It was a curious coincidence that the great breach between England and Rome should be the result of a litigation in a matrimonial suit, one of the few points in which the Curia had continued to exercise any real jurisdiction.

4. Hist. a. Each of four electoral bodies in the Austrian constitution of 1861. b. Each of three bodies, representing respectively the nobles, knights, and towns, into which the members of the estates of Bohemia were divided in 1446.

CURIAL

curial ('kjosrial), a. and sb. [a. F. curial, -ale adj., curiale sb., ad. L. curial-is, f. curia.] A. adj. f 1. Of or pertaining to a royal court; having the manners befitting a court; courtly. Obs. 1478 Liber Niger in Househ. Ord. (1790) 45 And other fourmes curiall after the booke of urbanitie. 1484 Caxton Curiall 1 The lyf Curiall whyche thou desirest. Ibid. 3 The maner of the peple curyall or courtly. 1520 St. Papers Hen. VIII, II. 56 To., fall to more curiall, discrete, and clenly order, than ever they used before. 1560 Rolland Crt. Venus 1. 793 And to my sisteris, and Ladyis curiall.

2. Of or pertaining to a curia: a. of an ancient Roman or an Italian curia; b. of a judicial, administrative, or other court; c. of the papal Curia. 1677 Govt. Venice 280 The Vicar of the Podestat, or some other Curial Officer, is permitted to go in their stead. 1864 A. J. Horwood Year Bks. 32-3 Edw. /, Introd. 19 note, In the celebrated Pinenden plea.. there is no appearance of curial formalities being observed. 1882 Sat. Rev. 18 Mar. 323 The present Pope, so far as he is left untrammelled by the exigencies of conventional or curial etiquette.

R. sb. 11. A member of a court; a courtier. Obs. 1447 Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 77 Thou maryd shal bene .. To sum curyal of ryht gret dignite.

2. A member of an ancient Roman or an Italian curia. 1677 Govt. Venice 280 If the Curial should become a Councellor, the Assistance.. would degenerate into Counsel. 1861 J. G. Sheppard Fall Rome viii. 415 Each municipality was made responsible in the person of its curials, or chief officers.. for its own amount of taxation. 1873 G. W. Kitchin Hist. France 1. vi. I. 52 The curials (or members of the civil municipality) lost their authority.

f 3. A treatise on the Court. Obs. The title given to the treatise or letter of Alain Chartier translated by Caxton. 1484 Caxton Curiall 6 Thus endeth the Curial made by Maystre Alain Charretier. Translated thus in Englysshe by Wylliam Caxton. 1822 K. Digby Broadst. Hon. (1846) 327 What wisdom is in this sentence of Alain Chartier in his Curial!

curialism ('kju3ri3liz(3)m).

[f. curial a.

+

-ISM.] A curial or courtly system: esp. applied to

the policy or Vaticanism.

CURIOSITY

143

1907 Westm. Gaz. 28 May 2/1 How false was the idea given by the old Curia Parliament of what were the feelings and the aspirations of the people of Austria. 1908 Ibid. 16 Jan. 2/1 He wished to see Bohemia divided into curias — Germans being governed by a German, and Czechs by a Czech curia. 1910 Encycl. Brit. III. 26/1 (Austria). Ibid. IV. 126/2 (Bohemia).

system

of

the

papal

Curia;

1870 Church Rev. 13 Aug. 499/2 Curialism, a word come into use during the past week [i.e. in reference to the Vatican Council]. 1891 Speaker 2 May 530/2 Though curialism did prevail [at the Vatican Council], some sense of the older Catholicism has revived.

curialist (’kjuarialist). [f. as prec. +

-1ST; cf. F. curialiste, Cotgr.] A member of the papal Curia; a supporter of its policy or authority. 1847 Buch tr. Hagenbach's Hist. Doctr. II. 456 In the Roman Catholic Church a controversy was carried on between the Curialists and Episcopalians. 1870 Contemp. Rev. XIII. 12 A veteran curialist assured Dr. Mejer that he could discern no principle at all in the manner of transacting business at Rome.

curialistic (kjusna'listik), a. [f. prec. + -ic.] Of or pertaining to curialists or curialism.

equilibrium with one gramme of radium; later extended to denote an equivalent quantity of any of the decay products of radium. Later, a unit of radioactivity equal to 3 7 x io10 disintegrations per second, freq. used loosely as a unit of quantity of any radioactive substance in which there is this degree of radioactivity. Cf. Becquerel 2. 1910 Rutherford in Nature 6 Oct. 430/2 It was suggested that the name Curie, in honour of the late Prof. Curie, should .. be employed for a quantity of radium or of the emanation... The name Curie should be used as a new unit to express the quantity or mass of radium emanation in equilibrium with one gram of radium (element). 1931 M. Curie et al. Rep. Internat. Radium-Standards Committee in Rev. Mod. Physics III. 432 It is recommended that the use of the term curie be extended to include the equilibrium quantity of any decay product of radium. 1954 Brit. Jrnl. Radiol. XXVII. 243/2 Amount of radioactive material shall be expressed in curies (c). The accepted definition of the curie is: —The curie is a unit of radioactivity defined as the uantity of any radioactive nuclide in which the number of isintegrations per second is 3 700 x io10. With this definition the curie is independent of the disintegration rate of radium. 1955 Sci. Amer. July 50/3 The most powerful modern atomic bomb should release no more than 10 billion curies. 1963 Jerrard & McNeill Diet. Sci. Units 37 The curie is too large for normal laboratory work where the radioactivity is generally of the order of millicuries. 1968 Radiation Quantities Units (Internat. Commission on Radiation Units & Measurements) 6 In accordance with the former definition of the curie as a unit of quantity of a radioactive nuclide, it was customary and correct to say: ‘Y curies of 32P were administered... ’ It is still permissible to make such statements rather than use the longer form which is now correct: ‘A quantity of 32P was administered whose activity was Y curies.’ 1970 Sci. Jrnl. Aug. 43/1 A single 1000 MWe reactor will therefore accumulate in its fuel many thousands of millions of curies of fission products.

2. curie point or temperature, a temperature at which the type of magnetism exhibited by a substance changes; spec, that at which a ferromagnetic substance, on being heated, loses its ferromagnetism and becomes paramagnetic; also, an analogous temperature for a ferroelectric substance, at which it either loses its ferroelectricity or becomes ferroelectric. 1911 Physical Rev. XXXIII. 269 Weiss states that the ‘Curie point’ for cobalt is probably in the neighborhood of iiio° C. 1919 Chem. Abstr. XIII. 951 At about 1280° Fe undergoes a transformation with respect to its magnetic properties and this is referred to here as the Curie or A4 point. 1925 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. CXII. 267 It will be observed that the line of magnetic transformation (the Curie points) in the y-phase approaches the a to y transformation curve. 1957 Encycl. Brit. XIV. 650/1 The temperature at which any ferromagnetic material loses its magnetism is known as the Curie point; it is 770 °C. for iron and 358 °C. for cobalt, i960 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. III. 623/2 The transition between ferrimagnetism and paramagnetism is also marked by a Curie temperature. 1967 Electronics 6 Mar. 24/1 (Advt.), High skin temperatures demand an antenna with a high Curie point coupled with low loss characteristics at high frequencies.’ 1968 Condon & Odishaw Handbk. Physics (ed. 2) iv. vii. 119 The ferroelectric range of Rochelle salt is very narrow and that of the phosphates and arsenates is limited to low temperatures. Both crystal types .. are piezoelectric above the Curie point.

curiet,

obs. form of cuirass.

curing (’kjuarii)), vbl. sb.

[-ing1.] The action of

the verb cure. 1. Healing, cure.

1870 Lett, on [Vatican] Council, by ‘Quirinus’ 116 Proclaimed, through the curialistic Cardinal Bonnechose. 1872 W. H. Jervis Gallican Ch. Pref. 11 Those views of the monarchical constitution of the Church.. which characterize the ultra-Catholic or Curialistic school.

1382 Wyclif Jer. xiv. 19 Tyme of curing [1388 heeling]. 1588 J- Read Compend. Method 60 b, Trie all other remedies before he proceede to these sharpe kind of curinges. 1595 Shaks. John hi. iv. 112 Before the curing of a strong disease. 1891 tr. De La Saussaye's Sc. Relig. xxix. 258 The curing of sickness.

fcuri'ality. Obs.

2. a. The process of preparing (fish, etc.) for keeping, by salting, drying or other means.

[ad. OF. curialite, med.L. curialitas, from curialis curial.] a. What pertains to a court, b. Courtliness, c. = courtesy 3 and 4. a 1626 Bacon Advice to Sir G. Villiers (R ), I come to the last of those things which I propounded, which is, the Court and Curiality. 1633 T. Adams Exp. 2 Peter i. 2 Either through curiosity or curiality, Christian Salutations are thought gross. 1641 Heylin Help to Hist. (1671) 340 [The title of Earl Marshal] was only given them then by the courtesie or curiality of England. 1671 F. Phillips Reg. Necess. 426 The said Earl.. was not stiled the Kings Cousin .. a Curiality, with which the more antient and less Frenchified times were unacquainted. 1861 W. Bell Diet. Law Scot., Courtesy or Curiality.

curiara

(ku:ri'a:ra). The native name in Venezuela and Colombia for a dug-out canoe. 1910 ‘H. J. Mozans’ Up the Orinoco 174 The curiara is smaller than the bongo or falca. 1910 M. B. & C. W. Beebe Our Search 12 A network of narrow channels .. allowed us to explore the far interior in our shallow curiara or dug-out. 1927 Chambers's Jrnl. 290/1 Their curiaras are very strong and carefully made.

curiate ('kjoariat), a. [ad. L. curiat-us adj., f. curia.] Of or pertaining to the curiae. 1886 Encycl. Brit. XX. 732/1 In Cicero’s time there were still curies, curial festivals, and curiate assemblies.

curie ('kjuari:, llkyri).

[Named in honour of Pierre Curie (1859-1906), co-discoverer of radium.] 1. Orig., a quantity of radon (radon 222, radium emanation) in radioactive

1672 [see 3]. 1791 Trans. Soc. Encourag. Arts IX. 174 Some observations on the curing of coffee. 1884 Manch. Exam. 25 Feb. 5/3 Efforts to encourage the growth and curing of tobacco.

b. The process of rendering a substance harder or more durable (cf. cure v.1 io, ii). 1853 C. Goodyear Gum-Elastic I. x. 165 (heading) Curing or tanning, commonly known as the acid gas process. 1881 Encycl. Brit. XII. 841/1 After which the true vulcanization, or ‘curing’ as it is termed, can be brought about in the usual way. 1918 Hool & Johnson Concrete Engineers' Handbk. ii. 156 Conditions for curing must be such that the product will not be rapidly dried. 1921 Hatt & Voss Concrete Work I. viii. 180 The process of keeping the product damp is called curing. It is done by sprinkling, immersion, and by the use of steam. 1930 Engineering 25 July 97/3 The sustained pressure during the curing process [of rubber]. 1964 Oleesky & Mohr Handbk. Reinforced Plastics i. 8 Thermosetting plastics .. become increasingly infusable on heating. They undergo a chemical change which is not reversible. This reaction ia called polymerization or curing.

3. attrib. and Comb., as (sense i) curing-stone-, (sense 2) curing-room, -stand, -yard-, curinghouse, a building where curing is carried on; spec, ‘the building on a sugar estate (in the West Indies) where the hogsheads of newly potted sugar are placed to harden and drain off the molasses’ (Simmonds Diet. Trade, 1858). 1629 in Chambers Dom. Ann. Scot. II. 31 She.. had sent to the Laird of Lee to borrow his curing-stone for their cattle. 1672 W. Hughes Amer. Physician 33 Athwart the end of the Sugar-house, or Curing-house (as they term it). 1791

Tour Eng. Scot. 100 For the benefit of the Fisheries, public wharfs, store-houses, and curing-houses, should be constructed upon a moderate scale at first. 1862 Macm. Mag. Oct. 511 The owners of boats at Wick engage to fish for particular curers, who have curing-stands there. 1878 Rep. Vermont Board Agric. 79 In connection with .. the manufacturing room was the curing room. 1933 B. Silliman Man. Sugar Cane 46 The line of the floor., deviates only six inches in the curing rooms. Newte

curing, var. of covering2. Obs., recovery. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 111 sekenesse, convalescencia.

Curynge,

or recurynge of

curio (’kjuariau). [A familiar abbreviation of curiosity.] a. An object of art, piece of brica-brac, etc., valued as a curiosity or rarity; a curiosity; more particularly applied to articles of this kind from China, Japan, and the far East. 1851 H. Melville Whale iii. 20 A lot of 'balmed New Zealand heads, great curios you know. 1861 Swinhoe N. China Camp. 299 Everybody had some rare curios to show me, asking me their worth.

b. Comb., as curio-buying, -hunter, -maniac, -shop. 1886 Pall Mall G. 13 Jan. 4/1 As a baby is moved to put everything it sees into its mouth, so the curiomaniac seeks to make everything within the limits of the craze his own. 1887 Guillemard Cruise lMarchesa' I. 41 To the curio-hunter the Liu-kiu Islands are a most unprofitable ground. 1888 Pall Mall G. 19 Sept. 2/1 By a first-class Japanese curiodealer. .you are only shown one thing at a time. 1920 M. Beerbohm Let. 18 May (1964) 245 Your visits to the curioshops. 1970 V. McKenna Some of my Friends have Tails 77 We had to film a scene in a curio shop—the type that sells objects made from skin and ivory and leather.

curio'logic, a. and sb. [A bad adaptation of Gr. KvpioXoytK-os (of which the normal Eng. repr. is cyriologic) ‘speaking literally’ (f. nvpios regular, proper, etc. + Aoyos speech, -Xoyia. speaking), applied by Clemens Alexandrinus to hieroglyphics consisting of simple pictures, as opposed to ovpfioXLKos symbolic.] A. adj. Of or pertaining to that form of hieroglyphic writing in which objects are represented by pictures, and not by symbolic characters. 1669 Gale Crt. Gentiles i. i. xi. 64 The last and most perfect [mode of discourse and writing] is Hieroglyphic, whereof one is Curiologic, the other Symbolic. 1760 Antiq. in Ann. Reg. 156/2 The proper or curiologic character expressed the sun by a figure representing that luminary. 1816 J. Gilchrist Philos. Etym. 27 The kind of hieroglyphics which the Egyptians very properly named Curiologic.

B. sb. Representation by picture-writing. 1816 J. Gilchrist Philos. Etym. 33 Men were led on step by step from hieroglyphics or picture-writing, to curiologics, an abridged form of the former. 1864 R. F. Burton Dahome I. 206 In this land the umbrella is a rude kind of curiologics, faintly resembling European blazonry.

So curio'logical a. = prec., curio'logically adv. curi'ology nonce-wd., representation by curiologic symbols. 1740 Warburton Div. Legat. iv. iv. iii, Hieroglyphics were written curiologically and symbolically. 1814 Edin. Rev. Noy^T47 Those hieroglyphics in which part of a material object is put for the whole are called curiological. 1816 J. Gilchrist Philos. Etym. 32 The same system of curiology must have prevailed at a very early period. 1862 H. Spencer First Princ. (1870) 349 The kuriological or imitative [form].

t'curion. Obs. rare-1, [a. F. curion, or ad. L. curio, -onem, f. curia.] The priest of an ancient Roman curia. 1624 A. Darcie Birth of Heresies xii. 51 Because the ancient Curions and Sacrificers were cut and shauen.

Icuriosa (kjuari'auso), sb. pi. [neut. pi. of L. curiosus (see curious a.).] Curiosities, oddities; spec, erotic or pornographic books (cf. curious a. 16b). 1883 Sat. Rev. 17 Mar. 350/2 Indicating at the end of his preface such miscellaneous curiosa as may be found in the mighty volume ensuing. 1920 M. Secker Let. Jan. in C. Mackenzie Life & Times (1966) V. 169 No bookseller would buy a single copy of the Rainbow even with my imprint unless he dealt in ‘curiosa’. 1947 N. Marsh Final Curtain ix. 143 She’s not.. the type to pore over literary curiosa unless ..they were curious in the specialised sense. 1959 J. Thurber Years with Ross iv. 68 Nash was a keen collector of human curiosa. 1970 E. McGirr Death pays Wages ii. 43 Somebody told the old chap that the British Museum Reading Room has a huge collection of curiosa.

II curiosa felicitas (kjuari'aosa fe'lisitaes).

[L. (Petronius Sat. cxviii), lit. ‘careful felicity’.] A studied felicity of expression. 1752 Chesterfield Let. 16 Mar. (1774) II. 229 The delicacy and curiosa felicitas of that poet [sc. Horace]. 1817 Coleridge Biog. Lit. II. xxii. 168 The frequent curiosa felicitas of his [sc. Wordsworth’s] diction. 1886 F. Harrison Choice of Books 1. iii. 61 Tennyson .. has .. a curiosa felicitas of phrase. 1908 L. Johnson in Yeats & Johnson Poetry & Ireland 22 The singular charm, the curiosa felicitas, of Celtic style. 1933 R. Tuve Seasons Months iii. 79 The ‘Curiosa Felicitas’ which produces such ‘handsom Turns and apt Expressions’.

curiosity

(kjuari'Dsiti). Forms: 4-5 cory-, curiouste, 5 curyouste(e, -oste, coriouste, curiowstee, (curyste); also 4-6 curiosite, 5 cury-,

144

CURIOSO curiosite(e, -syte(e, -sytye, 6 curiositye, (kewriosyte), 6-7 curiositie, 6- -ty. [a. OF. curiosete (AngloFr. curiousete), ad. L. curiositatem, f. curids-us: see curious and -ty. Subsequently conformed more closely to the Latin, both in French as curiosite, and in Eng. as curiositie, -ity.] I. As a personal attribute. fl. Carefulness, the application of care or attention. Obs. c 1430 Freemasonry 32 He that lernede best.. And passud hys felows yn curyste. a 1568 Ascham Scholem. II. (Arb.) 87 Caes. Commentaries are to be read with all curiositie. a 1619 Fotherby Atheom. 1. iv. §1 (1622) 20 They which haue marked, with very great curiositie, the memorable things of euery Countrie. 1747 Gould Eng. Ants 56 A little Curiosity in Observation will easily remove so plain an Error.

f2. Careful attention to detail; scrupulousness; exactness, accuracy. Obs. C1391 Chaucer Astrol. 11. §14 heading, To knowe the degree of the sonne by thy riet, for a maner curiosite. 1559 Scot in Strype Ami. Ref. I. App. x. 28 If they be., examyned againe and againe, this curiositie will never come to any end. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. 1. (1586) 9 Everie one will not suffer such curiositie as they require in ye placing of a house. 1630 Sanderson Serm. (1681) II. 281 The Curiosity that Men use in Weighing Gold or precious Quintessences for Medicine. 1694 Acc. Sev. Late Voy. (1711) p. xxiii, To take the most exact account of all the Coasts .. and to report them at their return with all possible Curiosity.

f3. Proficiency attained by careful application; skill, cleverness, ingenuity. Obs. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 353 Beside her incomparable beautie.. adorned also with all that curiositie could devise. 1664 Power Exp. Philos. 1. 58 If our Dioptics could attain to that curiosity as to grind us such Glasses .. we might hazard at last the discovery of Spiritualities themselves. 1676 Shadwell Virtuoso 11, You will arrive at that curiosity in this watery science [swimming], that not a frog breathing will exceed you. 1742 Leoni Palladio's Archit. I. 10 Sumptuous Buildings, which requir’d more Curiosity. 1760-72 tr. Juan & Ulloa's Voy. (ed. 3) I. in. ii. 113 Many expert pilots, and other persons of curiosity who have employed their attention on it.

14. Care or attention carried to excess or unduly bestowed upon matters of inferior moment, a. Undue niceness or fastidiousness as to food, clothing, matters of taste and behaviour. Obs. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. If 755 The ferthe is, curiosite [v.r. coriouste] with gret entent to make and apparayle his mete. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 2148 Common clething als he vsed, All’ curyouste he refused. C1510 Barclay Mirr. Gd. Manners (1570) Fj, Though I forbid thee proude curiositie Yet do I not counsell nor moue thee to rudenes. 1531 Elyot Gov. ill. xxii, The curiositie and wanton appetite of Heliogabalus. 1601 Cornwallyes Ess. ii. xxviii. (1631) 23 We of these latter times full of a nice curiosity, mislike all the performances of our fore-fathers. 1672 Cave Prim. Chr. 11. iv. (1673) 68 A vicious curiosity about meats and drinks. 1766 Fordyce Serm. Yng. Worn. (ed. 4) I. ii. 59 In affairs of this kind, it is but just to allow to women a degree of curiosity and care.

fb. Unduly minute nicety, subtlety. Obs.

or

subtle

treatment;

1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. 1. iv. §6 (1873) 32 This same unprofitable subtility or curiosity is of two sorts. 1620 Markham Farew. Husb. 11. xix. (1668) 103 Besides many other Seeds, which would .. shew but too much curiosity to repeat. 1680 Burnet Rochester (1692) 106 The opposition of Hereticks anciently occasioned too much Curiosity among the fathers.

5. Desire to know or learn: fa. In a blamable sense: The disposition to inquire too minutely into anything; undue or inquisitive desire to know or learn. Obs. C1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 227 Bi pis answere moun we se how curiouste of science or unskilful coveitise of cunnynge, is to dampne. 1388-Num. iv. 20 Othere men se not bi ony curiouste tho thingis that ben in the seyntuarie .. ellis thei schulen die. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 2 That ye neuer by way of curiosite be besy to attempte ony persone therin. 1604 Hieron Wks. I. 488 It is curiositie to enquire into that which God hath concealed. 1675 Brooks Gold. Key Wks. 1867 V. 142 Curiosity is the spiritual adultery of the soul. Curiosity is spiritual drunkenness. 1756 Burke Vind. Nat. Soc. Wks. 1842 I. 5 You feared, that the curiosity of this search might endanger the ruin of the whole fabrick.

b. In a neutral or good sense: The desire or inclination to know or learn about anything, esp. what is novel or strange; a feeling of interest leading one to inquire about anything. 1613 Salkeld Treat. Angels 43 But peradventure some may with. .just curiositie demaund, how then shall wee know. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 12 A noble and solid curiosity of knowing things in their beginnings. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. 11. (1843) 44/2 There was so little curiosity.. in the country to know any thing of Scotland .. that, etc. 1665 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 382 In curiosity I put some of the wood into my mouth and chewed it. 1707 Curios, in Husb. & Gard. 337 A Plant, which he resuscitated in the presence of any, whose Curiosities brought them to see it. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 253 He had perhaps at first raised this curiosity in me. 1853 C. Bronte Villette xiv, Your curiosity is roused at last. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 393 Nor had you any curiosity to know other states or their laws.

c. Inquisitiveness in reference to trifles or matters which do not concern one. 1577 Northbrooke Dicing (1843) 95 What was the cause why Dina was rauished? was it not hir curiositie? 1603

Plutarch's Mor. 134 Curiositie, which I take to be a desire to know the faults and imperfections in other men. 1836 Hor. Smith Tin Trump. (1876) 113 Curiositylooking over other people’s affairs and overlooking our own. 1887 T. Fowler Princ. Morals 11. i. 44 Curiosity.. is usually employed to denote the habit of inquisitiveness as to trifles, and especially as to the private affairs of one’s neighbours. Holland

f 6. Scientific or artistic interest; the quality of a curioso or virtuoso; connoisseurship. Obs. 1661 Evelyn Diary (1827) II. 175, I dined at Mr. Palmer’s in Gray’s Inn, whose curiosity excell’d in clocks. 1694 Molesworth Acct. Sweden 47 This.. qualifies them more for a Life of Labour and Fatigue, than of Art and Curiosity. 1779-81 Johnson L.P., Addison Wks. III. 73 Mr. Locker, .was eminent for curiosity and literature.

f7. A pursuit in which any one takes an interest, or for which he has a fancy; a hobby. Obs. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 1. v, Had their curiosities been sedentary. 1653 Walton Angler Ep. Ded. 4 This pleasant curiositie of Fish and Fishing.. has been thought worthy the pens and practices of divers in other Nations, a 1661 Fuller Worthies (1840) III. 487 Fertilizing of barren ground may be termed a charitable curiosity employing many poor people therein.

|8. A desire to make trial or experience of anything novel; trifling interest or desire; a fancy, a whim. Obs. 1605 Jas. I Gunp. Plot in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) III. 13 [Parliament] is no place for particular men to utter there their private conceipts, nor for satisfaction of their curiosities. 1663 Flagellum; or O. Cromwell (ed. 2) 7 He was placed in Sydney Colledge, more to satisfie his Fathers curiosity and desire, than out of any hopes of Completing him in his Studies. 1672 Cave Prim. Chr. 1. x. (1673) 295 A curiosity in many in those times of being baptized in Jordan. a 1718 Penn Tracts Wks. 1726 I. 499 He wholly denied his Wife the Curiosity of changing of but one Piece of foreign Gold.

CURIOUS f 13. A matter upon which undue care is bestowed; a vanity, nicety, refinement. Obs. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 108 f>at he wast himsilf and his goodis, and oper mennis, in lustis, and in ot>er veyn curiositeis. 1474 Caxton Chesse iv. iii. (1860) Kvb, Therfore ought the good women fle the curiositees and places where they myght falle in blame, a 1536 Tindale Wks. 238 (R) Y' greater nomber receaue the wordes for a newnesse and curiositie (as they say). 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 1. ii. 35 This fashion, and the like curiosities, I would haue an Englishman to leaue when he returns out of Italy. 1643 Burroughes Exp. Hosea ii. (1652) 180 When we are in danger to be stripped of all, it is not time then to stand about curiosities and niceties. 1705 Stanhope Paraphr. I. 97 Useless Curiosities, and such as tend to adorn, but not at all to amend the Man..

f 14. A curious detail, feature, or trait. Obs. 1653 H. More Antid. Ath. 11. xii. (1712) 79 The Eye.. is so exquisitely framed .. that not the least curiosity can be added. 1665 Hooke Microgr. 47 Moscovy-glass, or Lapis speculans, is a Body that seems to have as many Curiosities in its Fabrick as any common Mineral I have met with. 1747 Gould Eng. Ants 17 Pliny informs us that the Ants of his Country are wont to bury their Dead, which is a Curiosity not imitated by ours in England.

15. An object of interest; any object valued as curious, rare, or strange. c 1645 Howell Lett. 1.1. xviii, Amongst other Curiosities which he pleased to shew me up and down Paris. 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 201 The Narcissus of Japan . that nice Curiosity. 1665 Boyle Occas. Refl. (1845) 361 heading. Upon the sight of a Branch of Corral among a great Prince’s Collection of Curiosities. 1710 Hearne Collect. (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) III. 39 These Pyxides or Boxes are mention’d as great curiosities. 1770 Kuckhan in Phil. Trans. LX. 302 Collecting natural curiosities of the insect, bird, and beast kinds. 1869 Semmes Advent. Afloat ii. 695 The cargo, consisting mostly of light Japanese goods, lacker-ware, and curiosities.

tb. collect. = Curious things. Obs. 1786 W. Gilpin Obs. Piet. Beauty I. p. xxii, The bowels of the earth, containing such amazing stores of curiosity.

II. As a quality of things. f9. Careful or elaborate workmanship; perfection of construction; elaborateness, elegance; artistic character. Obs.

c. Applied to a person who is ‘queer’ in his appearance, habits, etc.; cf. oddity.

C1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 8 3if pei drawen pe peple in pe holiday by coryouste of gaye wyndownes. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 383, I.. axe .. that my boke be nought refused .. For lack of curiosite. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 72/3 To wryte the curiosyte and werke of the temple.. passeth my connynge to expresse. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas, xxvn. lviii, Betrapped fayre and gaye Wyth shyning trappers of curiositie. 1584 Burghley Let. in Fuller Ch. Hist. ix. v. §9 An instrument of 24 Articles of great length and curiosity, formed in a Romish stile. 1665 Hooke Microgr. 163 You can hardly look on the scales of any Fish, but you may discover abundance of curiosity and beautifying. 1673 Lady's Call. 1. v. IP 53- 49 Because they are loth .. to abate any thing of the curiosity of their dress. 1697 Collier Ess. Mor. Subj. 11. (1709) 90 The Regularity of Motion, visible in the great variety and Curiosity of Bodies.

16. Comb., as curiosity-dealer, -monger; curiosity-shop, a shop where curiosities are bought and sold.

f 10. Careful accuracy of construction; nicety, delicacy. Obs. 1593 Fale Dialling Aiij, The making of the Horologicall Cylindre, and the Ring .. we have presently omitted, partly for their curiosity in cutting and delineation. 1662 Evelyn Chalcog. Pref. (1769) 35 This art.. is arrived to the utmost curiosity and accurateness. 1664 Power Exp. Philos, in. 170 How many ticklish Curiosities, and nice Circumstances there are to perform this Experiment exactly. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 21 The chiefest Curiosity in the making.. Hinges is, 1. That the Pin-hole be exactly round.. 2. That the Joints are let exactly into one another. 1807 Southey Espriella's Lett. I. 154 An idea of the curiosity with which these things are constructed.

II. The quality of being curious or interesting from novelty or strangeness; curiousness. 1597 Morley Introd. Mus. 105 This I thought good to shew you, not for anie curiositie which is in it, but [etc.]. 1660 Sharrock Vegetables Ep. Ded., The operations themselves .. are devoid of curiosity. 1686 R. Berkeley in Evelyn's Mem. (1857) III. 283 From thence we went the next day to Rotterdam, where the curiosity of the place detained us three days. 1774 T. Jefferson Autobiog. Wks. 1859 I. App. 124 The distance between these, and the instructions actually adopted, is of some curiosity. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. It. Jrnls. II. 96 The curiosity of which was overlaid by their multitude.

III. A matter or thing that has this quality. f 12. A curious question or matter of investigation; a nicety of argument; a subtlety. Obs. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 6 3if pei.. traveilen not in holy writt but veyn pleies and corioustees. 1586 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. 1. 152 Their subtilties and bold curiosities, who have sought to plucke.. out of heaven the secrets hid from the angels. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. xiii. (1611) 206 These nice curiosities are not worthie the labour which wee bestow to answere them, a 1631 Donne Serm. 367 Troubling the peace of the Church, with impertinent and inextricable curiosities. 1641 Milton Ch. Govt. 11. (1851) 145 Not to make verbal curiosities the end. 1678 Owen Mind of God v. 144 A wrangling science filled with niceties, subtilties, curiosities, futilous termes of Art. 1700 Astry tr. Saavedra-Faxardo I. 198 The Books which contain’d idle Curiosities were burnt.

fb. A curious or ingenious art, experiment, etc. 1605 Camden Rem. (1637) 243 Divers curious men., by the falling of a ring Magically prepared. .judged that one Theodorus should succeede in the Empire.. By like curiosities it was found that Odo should succeede. 1626 Bacon Sylva §431 There hath been practised also a curiosity, to set a Tree upon the North side of a Wall [etc.]. 01635 Naunton Fragm. Reg. (Arb.) 36 They note him to have had certain curiosities, and secret wayes of intelligence above the rest.

1873 Slang Diet., Cure, an odd person; a contemptuous term, abridged from curiosity, which was formerly the favourite expression.

1789 Wolcott (P. Pindar) Subj. for Painters Wks. 1812 II. 182 Made frequent Curiosity-campaigns. 1818 Hazlitt Eng. Poets v. (1870) 128 A museum or curiosity-shop. 1840 Dickens {title), Old Curiosity Shop. Ibid, i, The curiositydealer’s warehouse, i860 All Year Round No. 74. 569 One —a notable curiosity-monger.

|| curioso (kjusri'susou). arch. PL -i, -os. [a. It. curioso (kuri'oso) a curious person.] In 17th c., usually one who is curious in matters of science and art; b. later, an admirer or collector of curiosities; a connoisseur, virtuoso. 1658-72 Wood Life 24 July 1658, Dr. John Wilkins, warden of Wadham Coll., the greatest curioso of his time. 1710 London & Wise Compl. Gard. (1719) 40 The most judicious sort of Curioso’s. 1727 S. Switzer Pract. Gardiner 11. xiii. 99 Those curioso’s who divide herbs into four degrees of heat, and four degrees of cold. 1806 Surr Winter in Lond. I. 216 [The books] remained stationary on the shelves, except to the curiosi.

curious ('kjuanas), a. Forms: 4-5 coryous, -ious, curiuse, -yus, 4-6 curiouse, -yous, 5 corius, -iouse, -yowse, curiouss, -iowse, -ose, -yws, -yose, 5-6 curyouse, -ius, 6 courious, 4- curious, [a. OF. curius (Ch. de Rol., 1 ith c.) = Pr. curios, Sp. and It. curioso:—L. curids-us used only subjectively ‘full of care or pains, careful, assiduous, inquisitive’; French has also the objective sense in 14th c. (robes curieuses).] A word which has been used from time to time with many shades of meaning; the only senses now really current are 5, 16, and (in some applications) 9.

I. As a subjective quality of persons. fl. a. Bestowing care or pains; careful; studious, attentive. Obs. CI386 Chaucer Shipman's T. 243 My deere wif, I the byseeke.. For to kepe oure good be curious. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vi. clx. 152 He shold take hym vnto his cure, and be to hym as curyous as he wolde be vnto his owne chylde. c 1500 Melusine 109 Melusyne was full curyous and besy to make al thinges redy. 1580 Sidney Arcadia v. 457 But the curious servant of Philanax forbade him the entry. 1650 Jer. Taylor Holy Living i. § 1 He that is curious of his time, will not easily be unready and unfurnished. 1721 R. Bradley Wks. Nat. 20 The French Gardeners .. are .. very curious to observe, that no broken part of a mushroom be left. 1779-81 Johnson L.P., Cowley Wks. II. 38 They were not always strictly curious, whether the opinions .. were true.

fb. Anxious, concerned, solicitous. Obs. c 1400 Rom. Rose 1052 Many a traitour envious, That ben ful busie and curious For to dispraise, and to blame. 1513 More in Grafton Chron. II. 783 Amongest them that were more amorous of her bodie, then curious of her soule. 1611 Shaks. Cymb. 1. vi. 191 And I am something curious. .To haue them in safe stowage. e felde he made hem fie And so her curnes dud he brenne.

2. Sc.

A grain.

1474 Act. Audit. 35 (Jam.) Of ilk chalder the thrid kurne. c 1540 Lyndesay Kitteis Conf. 90 Curnis of meil, and luffillis of Malt. 1759 Fountainhall Decis. Lords of Council I. 334 (Jam.) The seed, which is excepted from the multure; this is the 4th pickle or curne. 1824 Scott Redgauntlet ch. xiii, If there be a drap mair lemon or a curn less sugar than just suits you. 1881 ‘J. Strathesk’ Bits fr. Blink Bonny (1882) 137, I boil’d their meal and put a curn o’ spice in’t.

b. transf. A small number or quantity; a few. x785 ^rn/./rom Lond. to Portsm. 8 (Jam.), I saw a curn of camla-like fellows wi’ them. 1787 W. Taylor Scots Poems 72 (Jam.), I frae the neuk fresh coals an’ sticks, An’ i’ the chimly cast a curn. 1820 St. Kathleen IV. 143 (Jam.), Only a curn bubbles brak on the tap. 1847 H. Miller Geol. Bass Rock 109 Yonder’s a curn o’ rough hills. 1891 A. Matthews Poems & Songs 54 Among a curn claikin’ wives.

curn, v. Early form of kern, to form grains, to granulate. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 490 Tho grene corn in somer ssolde curne. 1393 Langl. P. PI. C. xiii. 180 Shal neuer spir springen vp ne spik on strawe curne [v.r. kerne, kurne].

curnall, curnell, obs. ff. coronal, kernel. curney ('kArni), sb. Sc. [dim. f. curn sb. 2 b.] A company, lot. 1823 Scott Quentin D. xxxi, The whole curney of them is gone.

curnock ('k3:n3k).

local. Also 5 carnok, 8 camock, 6-7 cornock, 7 cornook. [App. another form of crannock, crennoCy one or the other being due to metathesis of r. Perhaps of Welsh origin; the Welsh form being crynog, which, according to Silvan Evans, may be for *cyrnog conical heap, from cwrn cone. A parallel form cyrnen, conical heap, is common in many parts of Wales. This change of *cyrnog, crynog in Welsh would, if certain, account for the earn-, curn-, and cran-, cren-, cryn- forms in Eng. The Welsh crynog appears to be known as a measure only in Glamorganshire and part of Monmouthshire.]

An obsolete (or nearly obsolete) dry measure formerly used in the West of England, from Cheshire to Somersetshire, and in parts of South Wales.

curr, sb. [Echoic: cf. prec.] A curring sound. 1867 Black tv. Mag. Feb. 148 They’ll send the stanes spinnin Wi a whirr and a curr till they sit round the tee.

Ilcurrach, -agh ('kAra, 'kursx). Forms: 5-6 currok, 7 -ogh, (carrogh(e), 8 corrach, 8-9 courach, 9 corach, corrack, 7- corragh, curragh. [Ir. curach boat, little ship; also corrach boat, coracle; cf. Welsh corwg, also corwgl, cwrwgl coracle; these point to an OCelt. *kuruk-0Sy *kurok-os boat. (The spelling carrogh in Camden and his citers is prob. only a misprint.)] A small boat made of wickerwork covered with hides, used from ancient times in Scotland and Ireland; a coracle. £-1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 779 J?ai called J>at bate a currok. 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) I. p. lix, Ane bait of ane bull hid, bound with na thing bot wandis. This bait is callit ane currok; with the quhilk thay fische salmond .. thay beir it to ony place, on thair bak. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. 1. 107 Their carroghes, wherein they passed over the Sciticke vale. 1683 Brit. Spec. 144 The Scots likewise out of their Carroghs or Leather vessels.. landing in whole Swarms. 1747 Carte Hist. Eng. I. 156 Their wicker boats, covered with hides, and called corraghs. 1828 C. Croker Fairy Leg. S. Irel. 11. 53 Corragh or currugh is a small boat used by the fishermen of that part. 1884 Graphic 4 Oct. 353/2 We embarked at an early hour in a ‘corrack’ at Dugort.

currack, -ock (’kArsk). Sc. Also currach, -och. [Cf. Gaelic curran ‘paniers slung on horses for carrying bulky loads, as hay, corn’ (Macleod). The terminations -an and -ag are both diminutive, as is also -ock in Eng. and Sc.] pi. A pair of open wooden or wicker frames slung pannier-wise on each side of a horse, for carrying a load of corn, hay, or other bulky stuff. Cf .crooks: crook sb. 9. 1792 Statist. Acc. Scot. IV. 395 The fuel was carried in creels and the corns in curracks. 1793 W. Anderson Piper of Peebles in C. Rogers Soc. Life Scot. I. vi. 218 Coops and carts were unco rare An’ creels and currocks boot to sair [i.e. behoved to serve]. 1880 Gordon Bk. Chron. Keith 443 A load of plants slung over the horse’s back in the ‘Currach’ style. 1892 Blackw. Mag. Oct. 479 Panniers or currochs were laid across the pony’s back.

Its capacity varied according to place and commodity; for corn it was usually 4 bushels = a ‘coomb’; for wheat sometimes 3 bushels. For coal and lime, it varied locally; in Glamorganshire in 1815, from 10 to 12 or 15 bushels (Davies Agric. of S. Wales II. 172), and the Cheshire crenneke or crynoke of salt in the 16th c. appears to have been at least as much. 1479 Office of Mayor of Bristol in Eng. Gilds (1870) 426 That every sak [of colys] be tryed & provid to be & holde a carnok. 1509 Will of R. Jamys (Somerset Ho.), Quatour modios frumenti de mensura de Chepstow, anglice a Cornock. 1638 Penkethman Artach. Dij, A Cornook conteineth 256 Pounds. 1688 R. Holme Armoury 111. 260/2 A Cornock is 2 strikes or 4 Bushels. 1708 J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. 1. ill. ii. (1743) 157 Four bushels [make] the Comb or Curnock. 1727 W. Mather Yng. Man's Comp. 198, 4 Bushels a Comb, or Curnock, 2 Curnocks a Quarter. 1727 Bradley Fam. Diet. s.v. Dry Measure. 1863 Morton Cycl. Agric. 1123-7 (in O.C. F. Words 170), Curnock (Worcestershire), of barley or oats, 4 bushels; of wheat, 9 score 10 lbs. = 3 bushels.

currage, obs. form of courage.

curny ('kArni), a.

currant ('kArant). Forms: a. 4 (raysons of) Coraunte, 5 (reysyns, etc. of) Corance, -awnce -auns, -ence, -ent, -ons, -ouns, 5-6 -aunce, 6 -ans, -ens, 6-7 (raisins of) Corinth. ft. PI. (or collective): 6 coraunce, corints, currents, 6-7 -ance, -antes, corans, corantes, (corinthes), 6-8 currans, 7 -ence, -ains, -ands, corants, -ents, -ins, corrans, -ands, -ants, (7-9 corinths), 6- currants. Sing. 6 coren, 7 corin, coran, curren, current, 7-8 curran, (corinth, 8 curan), 7- currant. [Orig. raisins of Corauntz, AF. raisins de Corauntz, = F. raisins de Corinthe raisins of Corinth; reduced before 1500 to corauntz, coraunce, whence the later corantes, currantsy and coransy currencef currans (found in literature to C1750, and still dial.). Some of the 16th c. herbalists restored the original form Corinth, which has been affected by some writers down to the 19th c.] 1. The raisin or dried fruit prepared from a dwarf seedless variety of grape, grown in the Levant; much used in cookery and confectionery. (Familiarly distinguished from 2 as grocers' or shop currants.) fa. raisins of Corauntz, Corinthy etc. Obs.

Sc. [f. curn sb. Consisting of grains, granular.

4- -Y1.]

1808-24 Jamieson, Meal is said to be curny, when the grains of it are large, or when it is not ground very small. 1816 Scott Old Mort. xx, Wheat-flour.. [is] far frae being sae hearty or kindly to a Scotchman’s stomach as the curney aitmeal is.

curour, obs. form of courier sb. curpen, -in, -on, Sc. var. croupon. curpheue, -ew, -our, obs. forms of curfew. 'curple. Sc. Also 5 courpale, 6 curpall, 7 -ell. (Phonetic corruption of cur per, crupper.] 1. A crupper. 1498 in Ld. Treas. Acc. Scot. I. 388 Ane courpale.. and thre girthis to the samyn sadill. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. III. 300 Vpoun ane hors.. Without saidill, curpall, tre, or brydill. 1584 J. Carmichael in Wodr. Soc. Misc. (1844) 432 I’m afraid that John Durie has cracked his curple, at least his mouth is closed. 1675 Cunningham (of Craigend) Diary (1887) 51 To a new Curpell to my maill pillion.

2. transf.

The rump, posteriors.

1787 Burns Ansto. Guidwife Wauchope-ho., I’d be mair vauntie o’ my hap, Douce hingin’ owre my curple, Than .. proud imperial purple.

curr (k3:(r), kArr), v. [Echoic: cf. Da. kurren to coo, to whirr, and the verbs mentioned under cur.] To make a low murmuring sound, like the cooing of a dove or purring of a cat. Hence 'curring vbl. sb. and ppl. a. 1677 N. Cox Gent. Recreat. iii. 57 When you have so tamed them [Nightingales] that they begin to Cur and Sweet with chearfulness, and record softly to themselves, a 1693 Urquhart Rabelais III. xiii. 107 The .. curring of Pigeons .. curkling of Quails. 1798 Wordsw. Idiot Boy xxi, The owlets hoot, the owlets curr. 1855 G. Donald in Whistle-binkie (1890) II. 87 Cheetie, Cheetie pussie .. by fireside curring, Sang contented purring, i860 Thomas in Zoologist X. 3651 [The note of the fern-owl] resembled .. the whirring, rapid rotation of a wheel.. the sounds intermixed with curring and croaking notes.

curragh ('kArax, ’kAra). Ireland and Isle of Man. [Ir. corrach marsh, Manx curragh moor, bog, fen.] Marshy waste ground; spec, the proper name of the level stretch of open ground in Co. Kildare, famous for its racecourse and military camp. 1664 in Lex Scripta Isle of Man (1819) 144 Digg and take away Timber in and out of the Curraughes on the North Side. 1894 Hall Caine Manxman vi. i, The bog-bane to the rushy curragh, say I, Nancy. 1908-in M.A.P. XX. 362 A widower living alone in some little mud cottage on the curragh.

currajong, var. kurrajong. curral, obs. form of coral.

[1334 *n Rogers Agric. & Prices II. 545 Raisins de Corauntz.] ?ci390 Form of Cury in Warner Antiq. Culin. 6 Lat it seeth togedre with powdor-fort of gynger.. with raysons of Coraunte. 1463 Mann. & Househ. Exp. 217 Item, ffor vj. li. reysonys off corawnce, xviij. d. 1471 Marg. Paston Lett. No. 681 III. 25 Sende me word qwat price a li. of.. reysonys of Corons. 1562 Bulleyn Bk. Compounds 27 a, Take .. of Raisons of Corans picked. 1578 Lyte Dodoens v. lxxxi. 652 The smal Raysens which are commonly called Corantes, but more rightly Raysens of Corinthe. 1620 Venner Via Recta vii. 122 The small Raisins of^Corinth, which we commonly call Currants.

fi. corauntZy currencey currants, curranty etc. £21502 in Arnolde Chron. (1811) 234 Coraunce, at i. d’. ob’. 1540 Act 32 Hen. VIII, c. 14 Item for a butte of currantes, iii.s. iiii.d. 1578 [see a]. 1599 Hakluyt Voy. II. 165 The plant that beareth the coren. 1611 Shaks. Wint. T.

CURRANT IV. iii. 40 Three pound of Sugar, fiue pound of Currence, Rice. 1628 tr. Camden's Hist. Eliz. 11. (1688) 235 Grapes of Corinth or Currants. 1655 Moufet & Bennet Health's Improv. (1746) 205 A Prune, a Raisin, or a Curran. 1725 Pope Odyss. xiii. 293 note, The chief riches of the island [Zant] consist in Corinths. 1747 Wesley Prim. Physick (1762) 50 Breakfast.. on Water gruel with Currants. 1748 Mrs. S. Harrison House-kpr.’s Pocket-Bk. i. (ed. 4) 2, I suppose you have Currans, Raisons, and Sugars. 1811 Pinkerton Petral. II. 115 A plumb-pudding, composed of flour with raisins and corinths. 1859 Thackeray Virgin. xxxiii, Had I not best go out and order raisins and corinths for the wedding-cake? i860 Mrs. Harvey Cruise Claymore 271 Of late years the currant has been much more extensively grown in the neighbourhood of Corinth.

2. a. Transferred to the small round berry of certain species of Ribes (R. nigrum, R. rubrum) called Black and Red Currants. (The White Currant is a variety of the Red.) These shrubs, natives of Northern Europe, were introduced into English cultivation some time before 1578, when they are mentioned by Lyte as the Black and Red ‘Beyond sea Gooseberry’. They were vulgarly believed at first to be the source of the Levantine currant; Lyte calls them ‘Bastarde Currant’, and both Gerarde and Parkinson protested against the error of calling them ‘currants’. 1578 Lyte Dodoens vi. xx. 683 The first kinde is called .. Ribes rubrum\ in English Redde Gooseberries, Bastard Corinthes. 1629 Parkinson Paradisus Terr. 558 Those berries.. usually called red currans are not those currans.. that are sold at the Grocers. 1671 Grew Anat. Plants 1. v. §12 Goosberries and Currans. 1677-Anat. Fruits iv. §6 A White Corin, without taking on the Skin, sheweth not unpleasantly how the Seeds are fastned. 1708 J. Philips Cyder 11. 61 Now will the Corinths, now the rasps supply Delicious draughts. 1799 tr. H. Meister's Lett. 181 Tartlets of raspberries, currants, and gooseberries. 1872 Oliver Elem. Bot. 11. 178 Black and Red Currants belong to the same genus as Gooseberry.

b. The shrub which produces this fruit (more fully currant-bushy currant-tree); also other shrubs of the same genus, as the Flowering Currant, R. sanguineum, a native of North America, cultivated for its deep crimson flowers. 1665-76 Ray Flora 223 Corinthes or currans, as they are vulgarly called, are plants well known. 1783 Johnson 18 Apr. in Boswell, I would plant a great many currants; the fruit is good. 1866 Treas. Bot. 982 R[ibes] sanguineum, the Red-flowered Currant, a native of North America, is., frequently grown in our gardens for ornamental purposes.

3. Applied to various shrubs having fruit (usually edible) resembling that of Ribes. 1866 Treas. Bot. 363 Australian Currant, Leucopogon Richei. Indian C., an American name for Symphoricarpus vulgaris. Native C., of Tasmania, a name applied to some species of Coprosma. Ibid. 674 Leptomeria Billardieri is a pretty broom-like shrub .. producing greenish-red berries, which are called Native Currants in New South Wales and Victoria; they have a pleasant acid taste.. The fruit of another species, L. acerba, is also called Currants in Australia. 1884 Miller Plant-n., W. Indian Currant, Jacquinia armillaris, Beureria havanensis, and B. succulenta. .. Indian Currant-bush, of Tropical America, the genera Miconia and Clidemia.

4. attrib. and Comb., as (sense i) currant-bun, -cake, -grape, loaf, -vine; (sense 2) currantbush (see also 3), -jelly, -tree, -wine-, currantborer, -clearwing, the clearwing moth JEgeria tipuliformis and its larva; currant-gall, a small round gall, like an unripe currant, formed on the male flowers and leaves of the oak by the insect Spathegaster baccarum- currant-moth, a kind of moth that infests currant-bushes, the Magpiemoth; currant-shrub, a shrub or acid drink made from currants; currant-worm, a larva that infests currant-bushes. 1867 Amer. Naturalist June 223 The *currant-borer moth (Trochilium tipuliforme) darts about the leaves on hot sunny days. 1961 R. South Moths Brit. Isles (ed. 4) II. 344 This species seems to have been introduced into North America, where its caterpillar is known as the ‘currant borer’. 1788 Picken Poems 13 (Jam.), Whangs o’ *curran-buns an’ cheese. 1890 Spectator 19 Apr. 532/1 Currant-buns and plum-puddings. 1813 J. Forbes Orient. Mem. II. xxv. 405 The cotton shrub .. in verdure resembles the *currant-bush. 1605 B. Jonson Volpone v. iv, Ha you ne’re a *curren-but to leape into? 1681 T. Jordan London's Joy in Heath Grocers' Comp. (1869) 545, I have dwelt in a Tub .. But ne’re taught in a Currant-Butt before. 1868 Wood Homes without H. xxv. 492 These are popularly called *Currant-galls, because they look very much like bunches of currants. 1682 Wheler Journ. Greece 1. 32 We had a present sent to us of Figs, Filberds, and *Currant-grapes. 1731-7 Miller Gard. Diet. (ed. 3) s.v. Vitis, The Corinth Grape, vulgarly called the Currant Grape: Is an early Ripener. 1922 W. G. R. Francillon Good Cookery (ed. 2) xxi. 385 *Currant loaf... Cream the yeast. Add some of the milk... Beat in the butter, sugar, fruits and egg. 1933 L. G. D. Acland in Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) 16 Sept. 15/7 Brownie. Bread baked with currants and sugar .. called .. now, usually, currant loaf. 1858-9 Humphreys Genera Brit. Moths, Abraxas Grossulariata, The large Magpie, or *Currant Moth. 1856 Englishw. Dom. Mag. IV. 94 How to make *Currant Shrub. 1649 Surv. Manor Wimbledon in Archaeol. X. 424 (D.) The borders of which grass plots are *coran trees. 1731 Medley Kolben's Cape G. Hope II. 263 The Stem and Leaves of these shrubs are much like those of Corinth trees. 1877 Encycl. Brit. VI. 715/1 In the Ionian Islands the *currantvine is grown on the sides of the lower hills, a 1648 Digby Closet Open. (1669) 113 *Currants-Wine, take a pound of the best currants. 1850 C. M. Yonge Langley School xxvii. 249 They each had a glass of currant wine. 1867 Amer. Naturalist June 222 The Abraxas? ribearia of Fitch, the well-known *Currant-worm, defoliates whole rows of

CURRANT currant bushes. 1886 Harper's Mag. Aug. 447 The natural history of the currant worm and moth.

currant, obs. form of courante, current. currant jelly, [currant 4.] A preserve made of the strained juice of boiled currants heated and mixed with sugar in a preserving-pan. Also fig. Also attrib., as currant-jelly dog, a harrier. 1747 Mrs. Glasse Cookery 145 To make Curran Jelly. Strip the Currants from the Stalks, put them in a Stone Jar [etc.]. 1762 W. Gelleroy Land. Cook 303 To make Currant Jelly. 1831 Athenwum 31 Dec. 852/1 Swallowing the bitter powder of instruction by enclosing it in the currant jelly of amusement. 1851 Illustr. Lond. News n Jan. 27/3 Those agents of woodcraft, called, in flippant parlance, ‘currantjelly dogs’. 1869 L. M. Alcott Good Wives (1871) v. 47 Fired with a housewifely wish to see her store-room stocked with home-made preserves, she undertook to put up her own currant jelly. [1923 H. Cox Dogs & /xvii. 145 Those which are contemptuously termed ‘Red Currant Jelly Dogs’ .. are composed either of Beagle Harriers or.. dwarf Foxhounds.]

curranto, var. of coranto. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1638) 75 Without regarding ought save Cupids Currantoes. 1657 Sancroft Mod. Policies in D’Oyly Life II. 261 You hear so much of a curranto in the application.

'curranty, a. [See -y1.] Full of currants. 1876 M. E. Braddon J. Haggard's Dau. ix, Certain rockcakes, seedy and curranty.

currawong ('kArawDrj). Austral. [Aboriginal.] The native name in Australia for a bird of the genus Strepera (see quot. 1926). 1926 Austral. Encycl. II. 19/2 Birds of the other genus, Strepera, are variously known as bell-magpies or black magpies, as well as by the aboriginal name of ‘currawong’ in New South Wales and Queensland. 1936 F. D. Davison Children of Dark People 5 Currawongs and willy wagtails flitted among the bushes. 1964 Telegraph (Brisbane) 4 Mar. 3/5 Jock was a currawong—a type of magpie—and he sounded off just after dawn every day. 1970 Southerly XXX. 8 In season the currawongs in the camphor-laurels cry like tin-shears.

fcurre. Obs. [a. OF. curre (corre, courre):—L. currus chariot.] A chariot. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 72/2 His cartes chares and curres.

curre, obs. f. and var. of cur. f 'currence. Obs. rare. [ad. L. type *currentia, f. current-em, pr. pple. of currere to run: see -ence. Cf. obs. F. courance.] = currency. 1651 M. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. n. vii. (1739) 44 For the fuller currence of the Money. 1854 Fraser's Mag. XLIX. 6 The time.. will.. not have been lost, if it only strips the argument of all sentimentalism and false currence.

currency ('kAransi). [f. as prec. + -ency.] f 1. a. The fact or condition of flowing, flow; course; concr. a current, stream. Obs. rare. 1657 Howell Londinop. 18 To preserve the currency of the stream. 1698 Tyson in Phil. Trans. XX. 135 To shew the Currency of their Canalis here. 1758 Binnell Descr. Thames 11 The Currency runs.. with such Force, as to render the Navigation thereof imperfect.

fb. 4Fluency; readiness of utterance; easiness of pronunciation’ (J.). Obs. c. Running, rapid motion. (nonce-use.) 1841 L. Hunt Seer 11. (1864) 69 We are truly in a state of transition,—of currency rather [in a coach].

2. The course (of time); the time during which anything is current. 1726 Ayliffe Par ergon 196 The Currency of Time to establish a Custom, ought to be with a Continuando from the beginning to the end of the Term. 1822-56 De Quincey Confess. Wks. 1862 I. 288 She might be in the currency of her eighth year. 1846 McCulloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) I. 465 During the entire currency of the lease. 1850 Tait's Mag. XVII. 4/1 Must his exclusion run only during the currency of other parts of his sentence?

3. Of money: The fact or quality of being current or passing from man to man as a medium of exchange; circulation. Also^ig. 1699 Locke 2nd Reply to Bp. of Worcester (R.), ’Tis the receiving of them by others, their very passing, that gives them their authority and currency. 1722 Lond. Gaz. No. 6078/2 All such of the said Bills .. lose their Currency. 1729 Pope Dune. 1. 23 note, The papers of Drapier against the currency of Wood’s copper coin in Ireland. 1862 Ruskin Munera P. (1880) 15 The laws of currency and exchange.

4. a. That which is current as a medium of exchange; the circulating medium (whether coins or notes); the money of a country in actual use. 1729 Franklin Ess. Wks. 1840 II. 270 Money, .by being coined is made a currency. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. ii. ii. (1869) I. 328 The paper currencies of North America. 1861 Goschen For. Exch. 58 If there is a large paper currency side by side with the gold. 1866 Crump Banking vii. 154 The currencies of two countries .. being dissimilar. fig. 1806-7 J- Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) in. v, General Miseries—the common currency of human existence. 1879 Escott England II. 425 Their mischievous influences upon the moral currency.

b. spec. Applied to a current medium of exchange when differing in value from the money of account; e.g. the former currency and banco of Hamburg (see banco), the depreciated paper currency of various countries, and the

150

local shillings and pence, of less value than sterling money formerly used in various British colonies. 1755 Johnson, Currency.. 6. The papers stamped in the English colonies by authority, and passing for money. 1776 Adam Smith PF.AT. i. viii. (1869) I. 73 In the province of New York common labourers earn three shillings and sixpence currency. 1872 Japanese in Amer. 201 Paper money .. is also called currency.

c. Formerly a name for native-born Australians, as distinguished from sterling, or English-born. Also attrib. and as adj. 1827 P. Cunningham N.S. Wales II. xxi. 53 Our Currency lads and lasses are a fine interesting race. 1828 Ibid. (ed. 3) 48 The Currencies grow up tall and slender, like the Americans. 1837 J. D. Lang N.S. Wales I. 220 Contests .. between the colonial youth and natives of England, or, to use the phrase of the colony, between currency and sterling. 1878 Punch 10 Aug. 60/1 We currency-folk have.. been able to absorb your convict refuse without contamination from its criminal leaven. 1892 Lentzner Australian Word-bk. 19 Currency, persons born in Australia, natives of England being termed ‘sterling’. 1894 W. C. Dawe (title) The confessions of a currency girl. 1899 Macm. Mag. June 127/1 The boys when questioned would say: ‘I’m not English; I’m Currency.’ 1953 Landfall VII. 173 She spoke the King's English like a currency lass.

5. The fact or quality of being current, prevalent, or generally reported and accepted among mankind; prevalence, vogue; esp. of ideas, reports, etc. 1722 Lond. Gaz. No. 6077/2 The Currency of the ordinary Distempers. 1798 Ferriar Cert. Varieties Man 213 The story., seems to have gained currency. 1840 Carlyle Heroes (1858) 321 Johnson’s Writings, which once had such currency and celebrity, are now as it were disowned by the young generation. 1862 H. Spencer First Princ. 11. iv. §53 The currency of this belief continues.

6. attrib. and Comb, (mostly in senses 3 and 4) as currency crank, restriction.-, currency note, paper money used as currency, esp. the £1 and iot. notes first issued by the Treasury for circulation as legal tender during the war of 1914-18; a treasury note. 1931 H. G. Wells Work, Wealth & Happiness of Mankind (1932) ix. 363 General discussion [on currency] has been further burked by dubbing anyone who raised the question, a ‘Currency Crank’. 1944 G. B. Shaw Everybody's Political What's What xi. 84 The Currency Crank is a nuisance in every movement for social reform. 1816 Keatinge Trav. (1817) II. 178 Currency-money here has depreciated .. a full third. 1885 Pall Mall G. 9 June 5 America.. has shown itself able to do strange things in the way of currency-mongering. 1891 J. L. Kipling Beast & Man in India v. 105 A currency note for a thousand rupees. 1914 Proclamation 3 Feb. in Jrnl. Inst. Bankers (1915) XXXVI. 113 Payment for the order at its face value in coins or currency notes. 1920 Discovery May 145/1 Our over-issues of currency notes. 1922 Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 969/2 The 1914 Act.. allowed an issue of £1 and 10s. currency notes by the Treasury. 1866 Crump Banking viii. 160 The great advantage of coined money for currency purposes. 1849 Miss Mulock Ogilvies 17 He is.. particularly well read on the currency question. 1967 ‘R. Simons’ Taxed to Death ix. 151 Several printed forms about currency restrictions.

current ('kvrsnt), a. Forms: 4-6 corant(e, coraunt, 6 corrant, 4-8 currant, 5-6 curraunt, 6current. [ME. corant, currant, a. OF. corant, cur ant (from 16th c. courant) running, pres, pple. of courir, OF. corre:—L. currere to run. The spelling of the Eng. word as currant (very common in 16th c.) gradually led to its complete conformation to L. current-em.] 1. a. Running; flowing. (Now rare.) c 1300 K. Alis 3461 With him cam.. mony faire juster corant. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 96 Like to the currant fire, that renneth Upon a corde. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §128 Se that there be no water standynge.. but that it be alwaye currant and rennynge. 1596 Davies Orchestra lxix, Those current travases, That on a triple dactyl foot do run Close by the ground. 1651 T. Barker Art of Angling (1653) 10 They will go currant down the River. 1667 Milton P.L. vii. 67 The current streame. 1756 Amory Buncle (1770) I. 265 The water was current through the pond. 1830 W. Phillips Mt. Sinai 1. 597 The current spring.

fb. current ship: see quot. Obs. 1555 Eden Decades 120 The lyghtest shyp which maye bee a passinger betwene them: that lyke as we vse poste horses by lande so may they by this current shippe in shorte space certifie the Lieuetenaunt of suche thynges as shall chaunce.

fc. Her. = courant a. Obs. 1610 Guillim Heraldry in. xv. (1660) 176 He beareth.. three Unicornes in Pale, Current. 1681 T. Jordan London's Joy in Heath Grocers' Comp. (1869) 542 Argent, three Grey¬ hounds Currant Arm’d and Collard, Gules.

fd. Having a fall or inclination; sloping. Obs. (Cf. current sb. 3.) 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §128 To make them euen somwat dyscendynge or currant one waye or other. 1530 Palsgr. 441 This water avoydeth nat well; by lykelyhod the goutter is nat courrant.

e. Of handwriting: ‘Running’, cursive. 1891 E. Maunde Thompson in Classical Rev. Nov. 418/2 Ought our descendants then to infer that we knew nothing of a current hand?

2. fig. Smoothly flowing; running easily and swiftly; fluent. (Now rare.) 1586 J- Hooker Girald. Irel. in Holinshed II. 97 Mistrusting.. that all went not currant. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie 1. iv. (Arb.) 24 Speech by meeter..is more currant and slipper upon the tongue. 1659 Hammond On Ps. vii. 4 Thus the sense is perspicuous and current. 1709

CURRENT Strype Ann. Ref. I. ii. 67 April 18. The Bill.. was read the first time. Apr. 19. Read the second time..Apr. 20. Read the third time, and passed the House. So current it seems this bill went. 1818 Byron Juan I. cc. (MS. reading), Other incidents.. Which shall be specified .. in current rhyme.

3. a. Running in time; in course of passing; in progress. Often used ellipt., as in the 10th current (abbreviated curt.), i.e. the 10th day of the current month, b. Belonging to the current week, month, or other period of time. 1608 Hieron Defenceui. 131 There was not any longtime current and past wherein it has been observed and made usuall. c 1645 Howell Lett. (1650) II. 7, I had yours of the tenth current. 1664 H. More Myst. Iniq. 477 [It] does not imply the time fully run out, but that the last part thereof must then be current. 1708 J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. I. ill. i. (1743) 142 None is to be ordained .. Deacon till he is at least twenty-three current. 1734 Berkeley Let. 17 Mar. Wks. IV. 218, I paid the curates for the current year. 1780 Burke Sp. Econom. Reform Wks. 1842 I. 230 No tax is raised for the current services. 1858 Herschel Outlines Astron. xviii. §927 A date .. always expresses the day or year current and not elapsed. 1862 Ruskin Munera P. (1880) 46 To enlarge his current expenses. 1868 Dickens Lett. (1880) II. 387 We must call the current number for that date the Christmas number.

c. current account, an account kept by a customer at a bank to meet his current expenses; current affairs, events, those in progress, those belonging to the present time; current cost accounting, a method of accounting in which assets are valued on the basis of their replacement cost and increases in their value as a result of inflation are excluded from calculations of profit; current goods (see quot. 1948). 1846 Dickens Piet. Italy 66 A means of establishing a current account with Heaven, on which to draw.. for future bad actions. 1875 H. Fisher Opening, etc. Spec. Banking Accts. 1 The opening, working, and closing of certain classes of Current and Deposit Accounts. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 1 Sept. 6/3 It is the depositor, rather than the current-account customer, who is victimised by this custom. 1951 R- W. Jones Thomson's Diet. Banking (ed. 10) 206/1 A current or running account is the active account on which cheques are drawn and to which credits are paid. 1920 Beerbohm And Even Now 60 Swinburne did, from time to time, take public notice of current affairs. 1955 ‘C. Brown’ Lost Girls x. 111 We began each afternoon’s session with a ‘current affairs’ talk. 1957 B.B.C. Handbk. 102 Up-to-date information on current affairs. 1975 Rep. Inflation Accounting Comm. (F. E. P. Sandilands) i. 3 in Pari. Papers igj4-75 VII. 411 We recommend that a system to be known as ‘Current Cost Accounting should be developed. 1977 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 2 Mar. 2/6 Current cost accounting, a system which takes account of inflation, is called inflation accounting in the United States. 1984 Hitching & Stone Understand Accounting! vii. 85 We shall be turning our attention to the question of ‘value’, and to current cost accounting. 1850 Harper's Mag. June 122 (headline) Monthly record of current events. 1920 S. Lewis Main Street ix. 107 The Thanatopsis Club .. have some of the best ..current-events discussions. 1936 Discovery Nov. 355/2 The distinction between capital goods and current goods is .. one of the most important in the whole of economics. 1948 G. Crowther Outl. Money (ed. 2) v. 129 Every year the community produces a certain total of goods and services; some of them are for immediate consumption, the rest are goods whose value will last beyond the immediate present. These two categories can be called current goods and durable goods. All services are naturally current goods.

4. Of money: Passing from hand to hand; in circulation; in general use as a medium of exchange. 1481 Caxton Myrr. hi. xiv. 167 In the begynnynge of the Regne of Kynge Edward.. was no monoye curraunt in englond but pens and halfpens and ferthynges. 1535 Coverdale Gen. xxiii. 16 Currant money amonge marchauntes [Wyclif preued comune money]. 1611 Coryat Crudities 286 The currantest money of all both in Venice itselfe and in the whole Venetian Signiory. 1630 R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 501 In Kataia a coine is currant, made of the blacke rinde of a certaine tree. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. II. 66 Of the current coin of the empire. 1872 Yeats Growth Comm. 33 Pieces of leather impressed with the government mark and passing current like our bank-notes. = Locally current. (Cf. currency 4 b.) 1593 >n Muniments of Irvine (1890) I. 79 The Burrow meillis.. to be payit in Stirlling money.. ar resavit in current money to our greit hurt.

+ 5. Having the quality of current coin; sterling, genuine, authentic: opposed to counterfeit. Obs. I579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 73 Though others seem counterfeit in their deeds .. Euphues will be alwayes currant in his dealings. 1599 Warn. Faire Women 11. 1555 To put your love unto the touch, to try If it be currant, or but counterfait. 1611 Cotgr., A Preuve de marteau, sound, currant, good, right stuffe. 1634 W. Tirwhyt tr. Balzac’s Lett. 67 If the report which passeth be current. 1639 Horn & Rob. Gate Lang. Uni. ix. §85 With a touch-stone we try metals, whether they be good (currant) or counterfeit. 1744 Harris Three Treat, hi. 1. (1765) 141 Do we not try [a piece of Metal].. by the Test, before we take it for Current?

6. Generally reported or known; in general circulation; in general use, prevalent. 1563 Mirr. Mag., J. Shore xxiv. What I sayd was currant every where. 1625 Bacon Ess. Ep. Ded., I doe now publish my Essayes; which, of all my other workes, haue beene most currant. 1631 J. Pory in Ellis Orig. Lett. 11. 271 III. 267 It is current in every mans mouth that the Kings journey into Scotland is putt off. 1775 Burke Corr. (1844) II- 4°, I find it very current that parliament will meet in October. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 549 The stories which were current about both Seymour and the Speaker.

CURRENT 7. Generally accepted; established by common consent; in vogue. Often with mixture of sense 3: Accepted or in vogue at the time in question. *593 Bilson Govt. Christ's Ch. 169 If laie Elders had bene currant in Gregories time. 1665 Glanvill Seeps. Sci. 78 The current Theology of Europe. 1666 Dryden Ann. Mirab. Pref., A word which is not current English. 1713 Berkeley Hylas & P. ii. Wks. 1871 I. 309 The current proper signification attached to a common name in any language. 1831 Sir J. Sinclair Corr. II. 187 The commerce of Holland greatly depends on the current interest. 1884 H. Spencer in Contemp. Rev. XLVI. 46 Current utilitarian speculation.. shows inadequate consciousness of natural causation.

8. Phr. to pass, go, or run current (senses 5-7): to be in circulation or in common use; to be generally related, reported, or accepted; to be received as genuine. (Formerly to pass or go for current.) 1596 Harington Metam. Ajax (1814) 12 And so now it passeth current to be spoken and written Ajax. 1600 Abp. Abbot Exp. Jonah 3 Which opinion hath gone so currant, that.. some of the new writers haue accepted it for a truth. 1605 Camden Rem. (1637) 16 But most true this may seeme which runneth currant every where. 1611 Bible Transl. Pref. 4 Why the Translation of the Seuentie was allowed to passe for currant. 1618 Bolton Floras in. iii. (1636) 168 That invincible rage and furious onset, which goes current with the Barbarous for true valour. 1629 J Rouse Diary 46 It went for currant that the Spanyards had killed the French and Dutch. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World {1840) 210 It went current among the seamen that the Spanish Doctor was an Englishman. 1727 A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. I. xxi. 250 Their Language [Portuguese] goes current along most of the Sea-coast. 1828 Macaulay Hallam Ess. 1 54 if such arguments are to pass current it will be easy to prove [etc.].

current ('kArant), sb. Forms: 4 curraunt, 6-7 currant, 6- current, [a. OF. corant, curant, sb. use of courant adj.: see prec., with which this is in its orthographical history identical.] 1. That which runs or flows, a stream; spec, a portion of a body of water, or of air, etc. moving in a definite direction. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 186 Men J?at knowen pe worchinge of pe elementis .. and worchip woundir bi craft in mevynge of currauntis. 1595 Shaks. John 11. i. 441 Two such siluer currents when they ioyne Do glorifie the bankes that bound them in. 1665 Hooke Microgr. 212 A small current of blood, which came directly from its snout, and past into its belly. 1727 Swift Gulliver in. iv. 205 A .. mill turned by a current from a large river. 1863 A. C. Ramsay Phys. Geog. i. (1878) 10 Great ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream.

2. a. The action or condition of flowing; flow, flux (of a river, etc.); usually in reference to its force or velocity. 1555 Eden Decades 353 Where the currant setteth alwayes to the eastwarde. 1683 Burnet tr. More's Utopia (1684) 65 There is no great Current in the Bay. 1769 De Foe's Tour Gt. Brit. III. 57 [The River Trent] comes down from the Hills with a violent Current into the flat Country. 1832 W. Irving Alhambra I. 25, I came to a river with high banks and deep rapid current. 1863 Mary Howitt F. Bremer's Greece II. xiv. 90 The well-known phenomenon of the changing current in the Straits [of Euripus].

fb. The course of a river or other flowing body. Obs. 1696 Whiston Th. Earth 11. (1722) 119 The rise and currents of Rivers are not always the same now as before the Flood. 1753 Hanway Trav. (1762) I. in. xxvi. 111 The peasants diverted the current of the flame, and saved their villages. 1799 J. Robertson Agric. Perth 25 The Earn is a more rapid river than the Forth, has a longer current.

3. The inclination or ‘fall* given to a gutter, roof, etc. to let the water run off. 1582 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford 423 No., persons shall make their pavements higher then an other, but that hit may have a reasonable currant. 1699 in Col. Rec. Pennsylv. I. 559 Neglect of Levelling the streets and ordering the Currents yrof. 1703 T. N. City C. Purchaser 161 Take care that the Gutter.. lie .. in such a Position that it may have a good Current. 1823 P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 407 All sheet lead is laid with a current to keep it dry. 1874 Knight Diet. Mech. s.v., Gutters usually have a current of J inch to the foot.

|4. Circulation (of money), currency. Obs. 1586 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. 1. 635 This privie councell.. taketh order for the currant and finenes of money. 1651 N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. 11. vii. (1739) 44 The regulating of the Mint, and the current of Money. 1691 tr. Emilianne's Frauds Romish Monks 91 They find a plentiful current of Devotional-Mony.

5. fig. The course of time or of events; the main course. 1586 J. Hooker Girald. Irel. in Holinshed II. 136/1 That place was not possessed of the like in manie currents of yeares. 1602 Marston Ant. & Mel. v. Wks. 1856 I. 66 My joyes passion.. choakes the current of my speach. 1721 Strype Eccl. Mem. 1. 19 More perhaps will be said of him in the current of these memorials. 1788 Priestley Lect. Hist. ill. xiii. 106 Without some such general comprehension, as we may call it, of the whole current of time. 1817 Chalmers Astron. Disc. iii. (1852) 77 The whole current of my restless and ever-changing history. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) II. x. 5 19 One more tale will bring us back directly to the current of our story.

6. a. Course or progress in a defined direction; tendency, tenor, drift (of opinions, writings, etc.). 1595 Shaks. John 11. i. 335 Say, shall the currant of our right rome on. 1607 Hieron Wks. I. 370 This is.. plaine and obuious out of the very current of the words. 1692 Locke Toleration iii. x, In your first Paper, as the whole Current of

CURRICLE

151 it would make one believe. 1782 Priestley Corrupt. Chr. I. i- 76 The current of men’s opinions having, .set that way. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. I. xii. 152 [These] words., express the whole current of modern feeling.

fb. The tendency or drift of the common opinion, practice, etc., of a body of persons. Obs. *613 J- Salkeld Treat. Angels 218 Against this opinion is the common current of all Doctors and Fathers. 1650 R. Hollingworth Exerc. cone. Usurped Powers 17 The current of the people or community I am of is to be followed. *738 Swift Pol. Conv. xxxii, Affecting Singularity, against the general Current and Fashion of all about them. 1863 Sat. Rev. XV. 583/1 The current of modern American authorities is in complete accordance with this view.

7. a. Electr. The name given to the apparent transmission or ‘flow’ of electric force through a conducting body: introduced in connexion with the theory that electrical phenomena are due to a fluid (or fluids) which moves in actual ‘streams’; now the common term for the phenomenon, without reference to any theory. An electric current is according to its nature called alternating or continuous, intermittent, pulsatory, or undulatory. 1747 Gentl. Mag. XVII. 141 The frequent exciting such currents of ethereal fire in bed-chambers. 1752 Franklin Let. Wks. 1887 II. 253 Perhaps the aurorae boreales are currents of this fluid in its own region, above our atmosphere. 1842 Grove Corr. Phys. Forces 48 From the manner in which the peculiar force called electricity is seemingly transmitted through certain bodies.. the term current is commonly used to denote its apparent progress. 1871 Tyndall Fragm. Sc. (ed. 6) I. x. 306 Faraday., illustrated the laws of these induced currents. 1881 W. L. Carpenter Energy in Nature 153 Dynamo machines .. that supply alternating currents, i.e. currents alternately in opposite directions. Mod. Advt. The [Electric Lighting] Company are prepared to supply current within the district named.

b. transf. Applied to the transmission of nerve-force along a nerve. 1855 Bain Senses Int. I. ii. § 18 A current of nervous stimulus .. derived from the [spinal] cord to the muscles.

8. attrib. and Comb. a. In relation to currents of water, air, and the like, as current-drifted.-, current-bedding, the bedding of geological strata in a sloping direction caused by deposition in a current of water; currentfender, a structure to ward off the current from a bank, etc., which it threatens to undermine; current-gauge, current-meter, an apparatus made for measuring the flow of liquids through a channel; (see also quot. 1868); current-mill, a mill driven by a current-wheel; current-wheel, a wheel driven by a natural current of water, b. Of or pertaining to an electrical current; as current-breaker, -collector, -meter, -regulator, -weigher, etc. 1891 Jrnl. Derbyshire Archaeol. Soc. XIII. 35 The direction of the dip of planes of ’current-bedding. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. xvii. 206 A ’current-drifted cask. 1874 Knight Diet. Mech. 661 The dynamometer ’current-gage of Woltmann, 1790, is a light water-wheel operated by the current. 1868 W. D. Haskoll Land & Marine Surveying xi. 170 The ’current meter is useful also to ascertain the velocity of under currents. 1874 Knight Diet. Mech. 661 The ’current-wheel is perhaps the first application of the force of water in motion to driving machinery. 1866 R. M. Ferguson Electr. (1870) 185 A contrivance for this purpose is called a rheotome or ’current-break. 1962 Corson & Lorrain Introd. Electromagn. Fields v. 179 A ’current-carrying conductor. 1884 F. Krohn tr. Glaser de Cew's Mag.- & Dyn.-Electr. Mach. 207 The ’current closers and interrupters. 1889 Pall Mall G. 16 Mar. 3/3 This ’current collector, which is connected with the motor placed between the wheels underneath the floor of the car, moves in the conduit beneath the rail. 1884 F. Krohn tr. Glaser de Cew's Mag.- & Dyn.-Electr. Mach. 272 The ’currentenergised rotating helix. 1962 Simpson & Richards Junction Transistors xiii. 295 The more usual practice is to define the feedback, solely by the way it is derived, as ‘voltage’ (parallel) or ‘’current’ (series) feedback. 1964 R. F. Ficchi Electr. Interference x. 210 A ’current-limiting device in neutral circuits. 1879 G. Prescott Sp. Telephone 16 When the latter acts, it does so in obedience to ’current pulsations. 1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib. II. xiii. 13 As these instruments have no break pieces or ’current reversers they cannot get out of order. 1888 Bottone Electr. Instr. Making (1894) l92 The current reverser for the Wheatstone single needle telegraph. 1881 Maxwell Electr. & Magn. I. 380 A stratum of a conductor contained between two consecutive surfaces of flow, .is called a ’Current-Sheet. 1946 Nature 13 July qA/2 A system which gives the constant line voltage required for ’current-using devices. 1881 Maxwell Electr. & Magn. II. 341 The suspended coil in Dr. Joule’s ’current-weigher is horizontal and capable of vertical motion.

•(‘current, v.

Obs. rare. Also 7 currant, [f. trans. To render current, give currency or acceptance to. current a.]

1602 Marston Ant. & Mel. Induct. 27 The uneven scale, that currants all thinges by the outwarde stamp of opinion. 1607-What You Will 11. i. 295 Faith, so, so.. As’t please opinion to current it.

Ilcurrente calamo (ka'rentei 'kaebmso), adv. phr. [L., lit. ‘with the pen running on’.] Extempore; without deliberation or hesitation. The actual phr. is not recorded in cl. L. 1776 W. Mason Let. 25 Mar. in Walpole's Corr. (1955) XXVIII. 254 What I here send you was written yesterday

currente calamo. 1857 Trollope Barchester T. II. xiii. 258 His letter.. was written, currente calamo, with very little trouble. 1915 W. J. Locke Jaffery ix. 112 Then to work, and in another three months, currente calamo, the book would be written.

'currented, ppl. a. Having a current.

[f. current sb.

+ -ed2.]

1650 Howell Masaniello i. 43 A strong currented River.

currentless ('kArantlis), a. -less.] Having no current.

[f. current sb. +

i860 Gosse Rom. Nat. Hist. 191 We reached a spot where the river expanded, and formed a currentless basin. 1886 J. M. Caulfeild Seamanship Notes 5 An anchorage, which is more or less currentless.

currently ('kArantli), adv. [f. current a.] 1. In the manner of a flowing stream; with easy rapid movement; smoothly, fluently, readily. Now rare. 1586 W. Webbe Eng. Poetrie (Arb.) 68 The English wordes .. wyll become any one of ye most accustomed sortes of Latine or Greeke verses meetely, and run thereon somewhat currantly. 1598 Grenewey Tacitus' Ann. xv. i. (1622) 223 Neither went things currantly with him.. the siege tooke no effect. 1636 Featly Clavis Myst. lxx. 900 The spouts will not runne currantly, if we pump not deep. 1649 Blithe Eng. Improv. Impr. (1653) 71 To pare old Trenches .. whose Edges will grow so thick with Grass, that thou canst not get thy water to pass currently. 1768 Woman of Honor I. 131 Lady Harriet.. very currently took her share of the intended presents. 1768-74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1852) I. 58 While he holds the reins we roll smoothly and currently along. 1802 Paley Nat. Theol. ix. (1819) 122 How currently does the work proceed! 1844 Lingard Anglo-Sax. Ch. (1858) II. xi. 187 Able to read in public currently and correctly.

2. In current use, practice, opinion, belief, report, or acceptance; generally, commonly among mankind, popularly; now, at the present time. 1580 North Plutarch (1676) 320 Songs and Ballads., currantly Sung in every place. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. iii. xxiii. 167 Many..which beare that name, and currantly passe among us. 1719 J. Richardson Sc. Connoisseur 89 A Story which passes very currently. 1850 Prescott Peru II. 337 He., was detained at home, as currently reported, by illness. 1868 Rogers Pol. Econ. i. (1876) 5 The view currently taken. 1947 J. Hayward Prose Lit. since 1939 11. 20 The same writer.. is currently writing a section of the secret history of the war. 1969 A. Glyn Dragon Variation vi. 187 These were probably the two most exciting and original games [of postal chess] he was currently playing. 1971 Daily Tel. 8 June 10/3 They are currently to be seen at the Hampstead Theatre Club.

f3. With a common current or direction of evidence, opinion, etc. Obs. 1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. Pref. (J.), Which maketh the simple and ignorant to think they even see how the word of God runneth currently on your side. 1658 Baxter Saving Faith §3. 15 In which you know how currantly the schoolmen .. are against you.

'currentness. Now rare or Obs. [f. as prec. + -ness.] The quality of being current. f 1. Fluency, easy flow (of language, etc.). Obs. 1586 W. Webbe Eng. Poetrie (Arb.) 51 The English tongue lacketh neyther variety nor currantnesse of phrase. 1656 J. Sergeant tr. T. White's Peripat. Inst. Transl. Addr., Her Interpreter.. should speak all languages; at least to that fair degree of currentnesse, as [etc.].

2. The fact of being current or in circulation; currency; the genuine quality that entitles coin, etc. to pass current (obs.). 1583 Stocker Hist. Civ. Warres Lowe C. 11. 42 a, The currauntnesse of the Coyne. 1611 Cotgr., Mise.. the currantnesse, or goodnesse of coyne. 1658 Bp. Reynolds Lord's Supper xvi, As prayer is animated by the Death of Christ (which alone is that character that addes currantness to them).

curreour, currer, obs. forms of courier sb. curret, -ette, obs. forms of cuirass. feurreter, -etter. Obs. [a. 16th c. F. courratier, now courtier, OF. coretier, coratier, in Pr. corratier, Sp. corredor, broker, prob. f. correr, L. currere to run (Darmesteter). (The phonology opposes derivation from L. curare.)] A broker. 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Vn courretier.. qui moyenne & va & vient cTvne partie a /’autre, pour faire quelque marche, a curretter, a broaker. [1847 in Halliwell.]

curreye, var. conrey Obs., equipment, etc. curricle (’kArik(a)l). [ad. L. curricul-um running, course, also (race-)chariot, f. curr-ere to run.] f 1. A course, running. (In quot. 1682 taken as dim., a short course.) Obs. 1682 Sir T. Browne Chr. Mor. (1756) 124 Upon a curricle in this world depends a long course of the next. 1710 T. Fuller Pharm. Extemp. 271 The Remedy, .is convey’d ..by the Curricle of the Blood into the Tracheal Ducts.

2. A light two-wheeled carriage, usually drawn by two horses abreast. 1752 H. Walpole Let. 5 Aug. (1903) III. 114 These mountains, where the young gentlemen are forced to drive their curricles with a pair of oxen. 1756-7 tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) IV. 367 A curricle which is put in motion by the person who sits in it, by turning round a single wheel placed in the front. 1769 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 125/2 A man of 70

CURRICULAR much intoxicated .. rolled against the wheel of their curricle. 1794 W. Felton Carriages (1801) II. 95 Curricles.. are.. a superior kind of two-wheeled carriage. 1802 Projects in Ann. Reg. 773/2 In curricles, single horse chaises, or other carriages. 1888 Burgon Lives 12 Gd. Men II. xii. 386 He made these periodical journeys .. in a kind of open curricle.

3. Comb., as curricle-builder; attrib., as curricle artillery, fire-engine, gun (= mounted on a light two-wheeled carriage for rapid movement). 1786 Sir H. Croft Abbey of Kilkhampton 107 Coachbuilders, curricle-builders. 1802 Naval Chron. VIII. 173 Brass guns on curricle carriages. 1807 Southey in Q. Rev. II. 126 Two pieces of curricle artillery. 1878-81 E. Matheson Aid Bk. (1889) 579 Curricle fire-engines.. may be advantageously fitted with shafts for one horse.

Hence 'curricle v.\ f curri'cleer, one who drives a curricle, nonce-wds. 1857 Carlyle Misc. IV. 98 (D.) Who is this that comes curricling through the level yellow sunlight, like one of respectability keeping his gig? 1794 Sporting Mag. IV. 58 The dashing curricle-eers of the day. 1803 Pic Nic No. 5 (1806) I. 177 Our tonish navigators and curricleers.

curricular (k3'rikjub(r)), a. rare. [f. L. curricul-um (see prec.) + -ar.] Of or pertaining to driving or to carriages. 1798 Spirit Pub. Jrnls. (1799) II. 186 Gigs, buggies, whiskies, and other implements of curricular motion. 1870 Temple Bar Mag. XXIX. 193 Their heroes go to the drive in a tandem with outriders; but, notwithstanding this strange confusion of curricular arrangements [etc.]. 1881 Standard 12 Apr., The four-in-hand is, as it were, the curricular unit. If a man can manage a Coach and four.. he can do anything in the way of driving.

|| curriculum (ka'rikjubm). PI. -ula. [L., = course, career (lit. and fig.): see above.] A course; spec, a regular course of study or training, as at a school or university. (The recognized term in the Scottish Univerities.) curriculum vitae, the course of one’s life; a brief account of one’s career. 1633 Munimenta Univ. Glasg. (1854) III. 379 Finito anni curriculo discessurum. 1643 Ibid. II. 317 Curriculum quinque anriorum. 1824 J. Russell Tour Germ. (1828) I. iii. 134 When the [German] student has finished his curriculum, and leaves the university. 1829 Glasg. Univ. Cal. 39 The curriculum of students who mean to take degrees in Surgery to be three years. 1870 Rolleston Anim. Life Introd. 84 The completion of the entire curriculum of metamorphosis. 1888 Burgon Lives 12 Gd. Men II. ix. 201 Butler’s immortal Work has .. been elbowed out from the Oxford curriculum. 1902 New Internal. Encycl. III. 21/2 Anciently biography was more of a mere curriculum vitae than it is now. 1939 ‘M. Innes’ Stop Press 11. iv. 269, I don’t know much about Benton’s curriculum vitae... He must have an orthodox.. academic record. 1941 Koestler Scum of Earth 59 His superiors.. knew all about my professional travels from the curriculum vitae in their files, written by myself. 1954 New Yorker 25 Dec. 18/2 As for Mr. Lapidus’s curriculum vitae, he was born in Russia fifty-two years ago, grew up in Brooklyn, graduated from the Columbia School of Architecture in 1927, and took a job with the well-known firm of Warren & Wetmore. 1971 Time 22 Mar. 14/2 Eddie’s curriculum vitae.. has been served up in plentiful quantity in the press.

curried ('kArid), ppl. a.1 [f. curry v.1 + -ed.] Rubbed down with a comb; dressed; drubbed. a I553 Udall Royster D. 1. iii. (Arb.) 22 The worste is but a curried cote.

'curried,/>£/. a.2 [f. curry sb.2 and v.3 + -ed.] Prepared with curry or curry-powder. 1855 Eliza Acton Mod. Cookery (1863) 302 Curried Oysters. 1882 B. M. Croker Proper Pride I. v. 95 Fish cutlets, curried fowl, tarts, and cream.

[curriedew, -dow, curridow. Error based on a misreading of curreiden (see quot. c 1400 s.v. curry cl1 46). 1561 Chaucer's Wks. Ggg vi/2 Tho curreideu glosours. 1617 Minsheu Ductor, Curriedew, in. Chaucer signifieth Currie-fauour, or Flatter. 1658 Phillips, Curriedow, a curry-favour or flatterer. 1721 Bailey, Curridow, a Curryfavour or Flatterer. 0[/d].]

currier1 ('kAri3(r)). Forms: 4 curiour, 4-6 coriour, curryour, 4-7 cbrier, 5 coryowre, coryer, correher, coureour, curriour, 5-6 coryer, -ar, coryour, 6 corrier, curryar, courrar, currer, 6-7 coriar, 6- currier. [In sense 1, ME. corier, coryer, a. OF. corier, coryer: — L. coriarius, tanner, currier, f. corium hide, leather. The forms in -our, as coureour, are assimilated to, or directly from, F. courroyeur, in Palsgrave couraieur, OF. conreeur (13th c.) currier, f. conreer, in Cotgr. courroyer, now corroyer to curry, whence senses 2, 3. A confusion between the two words appears already in OF. where we find coroier, couroier as variants of coriier, in which the oi is due to corroyer, corroyeur.] 1. One whose trade is the dressing and colouring of leather after it is tanned. In the earlier quots. confused with tanner-, but the two trades were quite distinct and legally incompatible in 1488. C I380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 471 Seynt petre dwelte in a corieris hous. 1382-Acts ix. 43 Many dayes he dwellide in Joppe, at Symound, sum coriour, or tawier [1388 a curiour; Vulg. Simonem quemdam coriarium]. Ibid. x. 6 [v.r. curryour]. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 93 Coryowre, coriarius, cerdo. 1474 Caxton Chesse iii. iii. 77 Coupers, coryers,

152 tawyers, skynners. 1488 Act 1 Hen. VII, c. 5 §2 That no Tanner whiles he occupieth the mistere of a Tanner, .use the mistere of a Coriour nor blak no leder to be put to sale. C1515 Cocke Lorell's B. (Percy Soc.) 1 The nexte that came was a coryar And a cobeler, his brother. 1576 Gascoigne Steele Gl. (Arb.) 79 When Tanners are with Corners wel agreede. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. 11. (1882) 36 The tanners, makers, curriers, and dressers of the same [leather]. 1639 [see curry v.1 2]. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg, iii. 833 Useless to the Currier were their Hides. 1846 McCulloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) I. 761 The trade of a coach currier is hardly carried on anywhere except in the metropolis. 1854 Lowell Cambr. 30 Years Ago Wks. 1890 I. 70 A currier’s shop, where .. men were always beating skins.

2. One who curries horses, etc. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 134 When short hors and short coriers doo meete. 1786 tr. Beckford's Vathek (1834) 39 A currier of camels.

3. One who curries favour. 1515 Barclay Egloges i. Aiv/2 Flatterers and lyers, curriers of fafell.

t 'currier2. Obs. Also 6 curriar, corriar, corier, 6-7 curriour, 7 courriour. [By some assumed to be identical with currier1; others suggest that it may be from F. coureur, light horseman, scout, skirmisher (see courier sb. 2); but evidence is wanting.] 1. An early kind of fire-arm: see quot. 1834. *557-8 Ld. Wentworth Let. to Q. Mary (on siege of Calais) in Hardwick State Papers (1778), The enemies., with their curriors (which assuredly shot very great bullets and carry far). 1575 Churchyard Chippes (1817) 105 Their corriars were more woorth Then double tolde, the peeces that wee brought. 1599 Hakluyt Voy. II. 11. 61 He caused his bases, curriers, and harquebusses to be shot off. 1659 Howell Vocab. §6 Smaller guns, as courriours, harque¬ busses, muskets. 1834 Penny Cycl. II. 373/2 The Currier, or currier of war.. of the same calibre and strength as the arquebus, but with a longer barrel.

2. A man armed with a currier. *577-87 Holinshed Chron. III. 1215/1 Heerewith a companie of curriours and caliuers were put forward. 1581 Styward Mart. Discipl. 1. 44 The Caleuers or Coriers. Such must haue either of them a good and sufficient peece.

currier, -or, obs. forms of courier sb. curriery ('kArisri). [f. currier1: cf. OF. corroierie.] The trade or occupation of a currier; the place where the trade of a currier is carried on. In mod. Diets.

currish ('k3:rif), a. Also 5 kurressh, 6 courrissh. (f. cur + -ISH.] 1. Of, relating to, or resembling a cur. *5^5-73 Cooper Thesaurus, Caninus, doggish, currish. 1591 Harington Orl. Fur. vi. lxiv. (1634) 46 One of these ..Doth utter barking words with currish sound. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1673) 139 The Dogs of a Mungrel or Currish kinde. 1709 Lond. Gaz. No. 4545/4 An English Spaniel Dog.. his Ears Currish. C1875 Sir R. Christison Autobiog. (1885) I. 248 Rabies is rare here.. though dogs both of good breeds and currish are extremely numerous.

2. fig. Like a cur in nature; snappish, snarling, quarrelsome; mean-spirited, base, ignoble. c 1460 in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1866) 65 A kurresshe herte, a mouthe pat is curteise, Ful wele ye wote thei be not accordyng. 1547 Records Jud. Ur. Aiij, Those currish stomakes, which can do nothyng but barke and brail. 1596 Shaks. Merch. V. iv. i. 292 To change this currish lew. 1614 T. Adams Devil's Banquet 286 His snarling and currish inuectiues. 1705 Stanhope Paraphr. III. 275 Quarrelsome and currish People that bark and snarl at one another. 1820 Byron tr. Morgante Maggiore xxxiv, Currish renegade! 1888 J. Payn Myst. Mirbridge II. xiii, His currish nature prompted him to strike where no blow would be returned.

currishly ('kairifli), adv. [f. prec. 4- -ly2.] In a currish manner. 1519 Horman Vulg. 128 Thou.. oughtest nat to holde courrisshly ageynst thy maister. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 370 Goodwil and courteous interteinment currishly recompenced. 01632 T. Taylor God's Judgem. 1. 1. x. (1642) 26 Whereat the Emperour being netled. .used him most currishly. 1884 Symonds Shaks. Predecessors xiv. 574 Gabriel Harvey.. currishly vented his spleen against the dead man in a clumsy satire.

currishness ('k3:rijnis). [f. as prec. + -ness.] Currish condition or quality. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apophth. 68 b marg., Thei [Cynics] did with their foule mouthes represente the curryshenesse of doggues. 1627-77 Feltham Resolves 11. lxix. (R.), Diogenes .. by his currishness got him the name of dog. 1824 Galt Rothelan I. 11. vi. 199 The natural currishness of their temperament.

curror, -our(e, -owre, -ur, obs. ff. courier sb. f 'curry, sb.1 Obs. rare. In 5 curray. [a. F. corroi 13th c. (AngloFr. *corrai), OF. also conroi, conrei, etc., with the primary sense ‘preparation’: see conrey, and curry w.1] The currying or dressing of leather. c 1430 Lydg. Bochas n. xiii. (1554) 52 a, A skin wrought by good curray.

curry ('kAri), sb.2 Forms: (6 carriel, 7 carree), 8 carrye, curree, kerry, 8- currie, curry, [a. Tamil kari sauce, relish for rice, Canarese karil.

CURRY whence Pg. caril, and earlier Eng. and Fr. forms; mod.F. is cari.] 1. a. A preparation of meat, fish, fruit, or vegetables, cooked with a quantity of bruised spices and turmeric, and used as a relish or flavouring, esp. for dishes composed of or served with rice. Hence, a curry — a dish or stew (of rice, meat, etc.) flavoured with this preparation (or with curry-powder). 1598 W. Phillips Linschoten 88 (Y.) Most of their fish is eaten with rice, which they seeth in broth, which they put upon the rice, and is somewhat soure. .but it tasteth well, and is called Carriel. 1681 R. Knox Hist. Ceylon 12 They.. boyl them [fruits] to make Carrees, to use the Portuguez word, that is somewhat to eat with and relish their Rice. 1747 Art of Cookery 52 To make a Currey the Indian way. 1766 Grose Voy. E. Indies (1772) I. 150 (Y.) The currees are infinitely various, being a sort of fricacees to eat with rice, made of any animals or vegetables. 1848 Thackeray Lett.. If you can come to dinner, there’s a curry. 1891 Sharman Fam. Cookery 16 Pour the curry on the dish with the rice.

b. attrib. and Comb., as curry-sauce, -stuff-, curry-leaf tree, a name for Bergera Konigii, the aromatic leaves of which are used to flavour curries; curry-paste, -powder, preparations of turmeric and strong spices, for making curried dishes. 1855 E. Acton Mod. Cookery (rev. ed.) i. 45 A large tablespoonful of Captain White’s currie-paste. 1906 Mrs. Beeton Bk. Househ. Managem. xvi. 450 Add the stock, curry-paste, sliced apple. 1810 R. J. Thornton Family Herbal 12 Turmeric., a principal ingredient in the composition of curry-powder. 1883 Mrs. Bishop in Leisure Ho. 146/1 Curry is at each meal, but it is not made with curry powder. 1845 E. Acton Mod. Cookery viii. 201 Currie sauce, highly onioned, is frequently served. 1948 Good Housek. Cookery Bk. 280 Curry sauce.. is much improved by the addition of 1 tbsp. cream immediately before use. i860 Tennent Ceylon I. 463 (Y.) Plots of esculents and curry-stuffs of every variety, onions, chillies, yams [etc.].

2. to give (a person) curry: see quot. 1941. Austral, slang. 1941 Baker Diet. Austral. Slang 21 To give someone curry, to abuse, reprove, express anger at a person. 1944 Coast to Coast 1943 113 I’d like him not to be writing! Wouldn’t I give him curry! Ibid. 124 I’m going to give those old tarts a bit of curry to-night, Ron. 1945 Baker Austral. Lang. vi. 120 A man who attacks another is said .. to give him curry or curried hell.

t 'curry, currie, sb.3 Obs. or arch. Also 6 curee, curie, [a. F. curee, in 14-15th c. cuiree, f. cuir hide, corresponding to a L. type *coriata lit. hide-ful, skin-ful, the entrails of the deer being given to the hounds on the skin: see Littre, and Notes to Sir Tristrem( 1886)1. 474. Cf. quarry.] The portions of an animal slain in the chase that were given to the hounds; the cutting up and disembowelling of the game; transf. any prey thrown to the hounds to be torn in pieces, or seized and torn in pieces by wild beasts: see QUARRY. C1500 Melusine xix. 99 pe herte.. was hadde out of the watre and the curee made & gyue to the houndes as custome is to doo. 1600 Gowrie's Consp. in Select. Harl. Misc. (1793) 192 His maiestie not staying vppon the curie of the deir, as his vse is. ci6ii Chapman Iliad xvi. 145 A den of wolves .. New come from currie of a stag. Ibid. xvi. 693 Two fierce kings of beasts, oppos’d in strife about a hind Slain on the forehead of a hill, both sharp and hungry set, And to the currie never came but like two deaths they met. 1830 R. Chambers Life J as. I, I. ix. 247 It was James’s practice to superintend the curry or dissection of the deer. [1859 Helps Friends in C. Ser. 11. II. vi. 134 A bill is thrown before the house as the curee to the hounds; and it is tom to pieces by everybody.]

t'curry, sb.* App. an error for carry sb. i. 111682 Sir T. Browne Tracts i. (1684) n Whereof one would lade a Curry or small Cart.

curry ('kAri), v.1 Forms: 3 (?) courey, 4-7 cory, corry, 5-6 cury, 5 corroye, coraye, corey, (core), curray, (pa. t. pi. curreiden), couray, 6 courye, -ie, currey, 6-7 courrie, -y, currie, 4- curry, [a. OF. correie-r, coree-r, orig. conreder, conreer, cunreer, conraer, conraier to put in order, prepare, arrange, dispose, equip, apparel, curry a horse; in Palsgr. and Cotgr. courroyer, mod.F. corroyer to curry leather, = Pr. conrear to arrange, to entertain, It. corredare to equip, furnish, deck out, fit out (a bride or a ship):—early Rom. *conredare to prepare, make ready, etc.: see conrey. In OF. the diphthong ei, oi, in the second syllable, belongs originally only to the stressed forms, whence it has been extended to all. The i6th c. form courroyer seems to have been assimilated to courroye, courroie:—L. corrigia thong, leather strap.]

1. trans. To rub down or dress (a horse, ass, etc.) with a comb. C1290 5. Eng. Leg. I. 61/251 And selde heo [an ass] is icoureyd [? i-conreyd] wel. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. XVIII. xli. (1495) 802 The colte is not.. coryed wyth an horse combe, c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (1840) 53 (Matzner) Lik as he wold coraye his maystres hors. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 19 A short horse is soone corryd. 1576 Turberv. Venerie 31 It may suffize to rubbe and courrie the hounde three times in a weeke. 1589 Pappe w. Hatchet 3 Who would currie an Asse with an Iuorie combe? 1617

CURRY

b. Applied to persons. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie in. xxiii. (Arb.) 273 Thou art that fine, foolish .. Alexander that tendest to nothing but to combe and cury thy haire. 1596 Nashe Saffron Walden 107 Currying and smudging and pranking himselfe. 1733 Cheyne Eng. Malady 11. xii. §3 (1734) 243 The Parts affected.. being first well curried with a Flesh-Brush. 1806-7 J- Beresford Miseries Hum. Life xx. (1826) 251 She curries with towels The Chamber-maid’s bowels.

C-fig-'- To tickle, scrape, scratch, claw, etc. 1598 E. Gilpin Skial. (1878) 59 We shall be curried with the brislie phrases And prick-song termes he hath premeditate. 1607 Dekker Westw. Hoe v. Wks. 1873 II. 352 You shall go on fidling. .curry your instruments: play and away. 1655 Fuller Hist. Camb. (1840) 151 Indeed, with his learned lectures, he .. curried the lazy hides, of many an idle and ignorant friar.

2. To dress (tanned leather) by soaking, scraping, paring, beating, colouring, etc. 14.. Chalmerlan Air c. 22 (Jam.) Item, thai wirk it [lethir] or it be courait. £1440 Promp. Parv. 110 Currayyn ledyr .. corradio. 1490 Caxton Eneydos vii. 30 The hide of an oxe whiche [she] dyd doo corroye well. 1503-4 Act ig Hen. VII, c. 19 Preamb., Upon peyne of forfeitur of every hyde by hym so corryed. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 171 Those skins which are to be courried and dressed. 1639 Sc. Acts, Chas. I (1870) V. App. 610/1 Edward Spencer Corier, craving libertie to buy hydis . . and vent the same being Coried. 1714 Fr. Bk. of Rates 142 All Leather, tanned or curried, coming from Foreign Parts. 1826 Scott Woodst. xxxi, I made the deer’s hide be curried and dressed by a tanner.

fb. To work iron in the forge. corroyer du fer.]

CURSE

153

Caval. hi. 21 First let your groom vncloath him, then currie, rubbe, picke, and dresse him. 1725 Bradley Fam. Diet. s.v. Travelling Horse, Ever where the Horse’s hair is thinnest there curry the gentlest. 1839-40 W. Irving Wolfert's R. (1855) 175 Her hide is daily curried and brushed. Markham

Obs.

[F.

1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 58 Spanish-steel.. sometimes proves very unsound, as not being well curried, that is well wrought.

3. transf. To beat or thrash one’s hide for him, give a drubbing to. Also fig. 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 1641 For myrth I have hym coryed, beten and blyst. 1530 Palsgr. 504/2 She hath curryed hym with a good staffe. 1580 Baret Alv. C. 1799 He hath well curried thy cote. 1621 Fletcher I si. Princess iv. ii, I have seen him Curry a fellow’s carcass handsomely. 1719 D’Urfey Pills V. 227 This is the great Sir Francis Vere, That so the Spaniards curry’d. 1809 W. Irving Knickerb. (1861) 220 He swore .. that.. he would curry his hide till he made him run out of it.

f4. fig. To ‘stroke down’ (a person) with flattery or blandishment. Obs. c 1394 P. PI. Crede 365 Whou J?ey curry kinges & her back clawep.

fb. intr. or absol. To employ flattery or blandishment, so as to cajole or win favour: cf. next. £1400 Test. Love 1. (1560) 280 b/i Tho curreiden glosours, tho welcomeden flatterers. 1575 Brieff Disc. Troubl. at Franckford (1642) 167 Such as. .can cap it, can cope it, and curry for advantage. 1597 Shaks. 2 Hen. IV, v. i. 81 I would currie with Maister Shallow. 1830 A. W. Fonblanque Eng. under Seven Admin. (1837) II. 51 His Grace meant he was currying to the Duke of Newcastle.

5. fa. to curry favel. to use insincere flattery, or unworthy compliance with the humour of another, in order to gain personal advantage. (Cf. CURRY-FAVEL below.) [OF. estriller fauvel (fauveau, fauvain, also torcher fauvel) to curry the chestnut horse, hence, to employ deceit or hypocrisy, to gloze; cf. favel.] £ 1400 Beryn 362 She toke hym by the swere, As J?ou3e she had lernyd cury fauel of som olde ffrere. a 1420 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 189 The knyght or squier.. but he hide The trouthe and cory favelle, he not the ner is His lordes grace. 1426 Audelay Poems (Percy Soc.) 26 Loke thou core not favel ne be no flaterer. c 1561 Underhill Narr. Reform. (Camden Soc.) 159 Accordynge to the olde provearbe .. He thatt wylle in courte abyde Must cory favelle bake and syde, for souche gett moste gayne. 1570 T. Wilson Demosthenes 77 While they tell you a faire tale and curry fauell with you. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1610) 108 Her pickthanke favourits, who to curry Favell, spared not [etc.],

b. Later, this phrase was transformed into to curry favour: to seek to win favour, or ingratiate oneself with another, by officious courtesy or unworthy complaisance. £1510 Barclay Mirr. Gd. Manners (1570) Fvj, Flatter not as do some, With none curry fauour. 1557 N. T. (Genev.) Matt. viii. 20 note, He thoght by this meanes to courry fauour with the worlde. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. II. 470 [It] was then by him published to curry favour with the Royalists. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 250 A set of bravos who.. attempted to curry favour with the government by affronting members of the opposition. 1865 Livingstone Zambesi xxiii. 472 Gossiping traders who seek to curry their favour.

fc. Hence occas. in other phrases of kindred meaning, as to curry acquaintance, good will, applause, friends, pardon. 1571 Campion Hist. Ireland (1809) 162 He curryed acquaintance and friendship with meere Irish enemyes. 1587 Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1303/2 He.. seeketh all waies he could to currie the bishops good will. 1630 Symmer Rest Weary i. A. iv. b, The proud and ambitious man .. curryes the applause of the world with all his might, a 1745 Swift Poems, Dan Jackson s Reply, ’Tis true indeed, to curry friends, You seem to praise to make amends. 18.. Coleridge Lit. Rem. (1838) III. 250 Currying pardon for his past liberalism by charging .. himself with the guilt of falsehood.

t curry, v.2

Obs.

[perh. derived from currier,

common 16-18th c. form of courier, as if to ride post, to post. Cf. scurry.] intr. To ride or run with haste or rapidity; to scurry. 1608 Chapman Byron's Conspir. v. Plays 1873 II. 245, I am not hee that can .. by midnight leape my horse, curry seauen miles [etc.]. 1630 J. Taylor (Water-P.) Discov. by Sea Wks. 11.21/1 We with our Wherry .. Along the christall Thames did cut and curry. 1676 Marvell Mr. Smirke 34 A Sermon is soon curryed over. curry ('kAn),

v.3

[f.

curry sb.2]

trans.

To

flavour or prepare with curry or curry-powder. 1839 Britannia 12 May, The culinary skill by which.. Lord John Russell curried unfortunate Lord Morpeth into the yellow resemblance of a statesman. 1855 [see curried]. 'curry-comb, sb.

[f. curry v.1]

A comb or

instrument of metal used for currying horses, etc. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 35 A currie-combe, mainecombe, and whip for a Jade. 1618 Fletcher Loyal Subject 1. iii, The devil with a curry-comb Scratch ’em, and scrub ’em. 1714 in Phil. Trans. XXIX. 49 Rubbing and currying .. with a Currycomb and Brush. 1882 H. Lansdell Through Siberia I. 137 Siberian post-horses are sorry objects to look at.. A curry-comb probably never touches their coats. b. attrib. and Comb. 1634 Heywood & Brome Lane. Witches 11. Wks. 1874 IV. 201, I have .. then halfe a score mile to ride by curriecombe time, i’ the morning. 1768 Goldsm. Good-n. Man 1, Old Ruggins, the curry-comb maker. 'curry-comb, 'currycomb, v. trans.

[f.

prec. sb ]

To rub down or groom with a curry¬

comb; to curry. Also transf. and fig.: see curry v. 1708 Motteux Rabelais v. vii. (1737) 26 The Groom., ordered one of his Underlings to.. curricomb him with a Cudgel. 1809 Scott in C. K. Sharpe's Corr. (1888) I. 366, I would willingly embrace your offer of curry-combing Miss Owenson. 1839 Times 13 Sept., They do not believe a priest can currycomb off their sins. 1842 Mrs. Gore Fascin. 42 The principal clerk.. became suddenly as serious as an ass that is being currycombed. Hence 'curry-comber. 1889 Rawlinson Anc. Egypt ii. (ed. 4) 32 The Apis bull .. had his train of attendant priests .. his grooms and currycombers.

.1

t'curry-favel(l. Obs. [See curry v 5 a.] One who solicits favour by flattery or complaisance. 1515 State Papers II. 15 (N.) All the curryfavel, that be next of the deputye is secrete counsayll, dare not.. shewe hym the greate jupardye .. of his soule. 1530 Palsgr. 211/2 Curryfavell, a flatterar, estrille faueav. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie ill. xxiv. (Arb.) 299 Sometimes a creeper, and a curry fauell with his superiors. b. (See quot.) 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie in. xvii. (Arb.) 195 If such moderation of words tend to flattery, or soothing, or excusing, it is by the figure Paradiastole, which therfore nothing improperly we call the Curry-fauell, as when we make the best of a bad thing. t'curry-favour. Obs.

.1

[See curry v

5 b.]

1. = prec. 1577 Holinshed Chron. II. 144 A number of prodigal currie favours, who by flatterie set him aloft. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary II. (1625) 116 Men infected with this basenesse of condition, being .. Curri-favours of the world. 1658 Phillips, Curriedotv, a curry-favour, or flatterer. 2. The action of currying favour with others. 1581 Mulcaster Positions cxliii. (1887) 276 We..yeilde to curtesie more, then euen the verie patrones of curtesie do, for all their curifauour. So f'curry-favourer = prec. i. 1563 Nowel Serm. bef. Queen (1853) 225 Their subjects, servants, curry-favourers, and others, will follow. currying (’kArnri), vbl. sb.

[f. curry ti.1]

1. The action of rubbing down with a curry¬ comb. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. (1586) 120 In curriyng of them we must begin at the head and the necke. 1634 Heywood & Brome Lane. Witches iv. Wks. 1874 IV. 224 The Beast.. hath cost you more the currying, then all the Combs in your Stable are worth. b. Comb, currying-glove, a glove with a rough surface used for currying horses.

2. The process of dressing tanned hides. 1481-90 Howard Househ. Bks. (Roxb.) 198 To Cordener for coreyyng of a barkyd hyde iiij. d. 1532-3 Act 24 Hen. VIII, c. 1 An acte concernynge true tanninge and coriynge of lether. 1870 Yeats Nat. Hist. Comm. 295 Tanned leather often undergoes the further operation of currying. b. fig. Drubbing, thrashing. 1807 W. Irving Salmagundi (1824) 6 Nor will the gentlemen .. escape our currying. curry-leaf, -powder: see curry sb.2 i b. currymaul (Herb.), variant of carmele. 1791 Newte Tour Eng. & Scot. 414 A species of liquorice called currymaul. curs, obs. form of course, curse. cursal (’k3:s3l), a. [ad. med.L. cursalis, f. cursus course: see -al1.]

Of or belonging to a course;

applied to certain canons of St. Asaph’s and prebendaries of St. David’s Cathedral in Wales. According to some, because originally their prebends were annually changed by course or rotation: Jones &

Freeman Hist. St. David's 313. Others would refer it to the lCursus, officium Ecclesiasticum, seu series Orationum, Psalmorum, Hymnorum, et cEeterarum precationum, quae quotidie in Ecclesia decantatur’ (Du Cange). 1872 M. E. C. Walcott Sacristy II. 84 The preachers of Canterbury and cursal Canons of S. Asaph. 1878 Clergy List, Cathedral Establishments, St. Davids; Prebendaries: 1st Cursal The Queen.

t 'cursant, a. Her. Obs. [ad. L. cursant-em, pr. pple. of cursare to run: cf. course v.] Running, coursing. 1572 Bossewell Armorie 11. 55 b, Three Greyhoundes cursante.

feursarary, a. Obs. rare. [app. f. cursare, CORSAIR + -ARY.] Of or pertaining to corsairs. 1632 Lithgow Trav. ix. 385 It serueth them for.. a great defence in time of cursarary inuasions.

cursare, -aro, -ary, obs. forms of corsair. curse (k3:s), sb. Forms: 1-4 curs, 4-5 kors, 4-6 curss(e, 5 curce, 5- curse. [Late OE. curs, of unknown origin; no word of similar form and sense is known in Teutonic, Romanic, or Celtic. (Of connexion with cross, which has been suggested, there is no trace.)] In its various uses the opposite of blessing.

1. a. An utterance consigning, or supposed or intended to consign, (a person or thing) to spiritual and temporal evil, the vengeance of the deity, the blasting of malignant fate, etc. It may be uttered by the deity, or by persons supposed to speak in his name, or to be listened to by him. 10.. Charter of Leofric in Cod. Dipl. IV. 72 Haebbe he her on Sisse life Goddes curs. [Cf. Earle Land Charters & Sax. Doc. 252, 253, etc.] 01050 Liber Scintill. lvi. (1889) 174 Bletsung faeder faestnaS hus bearna, curs sofilice moder awyrtwalafi trymminege. £1125 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS), an. 656 Leidon pa Godes curs and ealre halgane curs and al Cristene folces. £1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 287/314 He 3af alle godes curs and his. 01300 Vox & Wolf 201 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 64 Ich habbe widewene kors Therefore ich fare the wors. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vi. xiv. (1495) 199 The faders curse greuyth the chyldren. 1594 Shaks. Rich. Ill, 1. iii. 240 Thus haue you breath’d your Curse against your self. 1615 J. Stephens Satyr. Ess. (ed. 2) 376 Her prayers and Amen, be a charm and a curse. 1780 Cowper Table Talk 467 God’s curse can cast away ten thousand sail! 1798 Coleridge Anc. Mariner iv. ix, An orphan’s curse would drag to Hell A spirit from on high. 1829 Hood Eugene Aram xii, He told how murderers walk’d the earth Beneath the curse of Cain.

b. spec. A formal ecclesiastical censure or anathema; a sentence of excommunication. 01050 in Thorpe Anc. Laws II. 318 Bisceopum gebyreS J?aet hi sefre on aenine man curs ne settan, butan hy nyde scylan. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 655 Have noon Awe In swich caas of the Ercedekenes curs, c 1440 Promp. Parv. 111 Curce, excommunicatio, anathema. 1577-87 Holinshed Chron. III. 936/1 At the suit of the ladie Katharine Dowager, a cursse was sent from the pope, which curssed both the king and the realme. 0 1763 Shenstone Ess. 176 If any one’s curse can effect damnation, it is not that of the pope, but that of the poor. 1849 Whittier Voices of Freedom, Charter-breakers iii, The waiting crowd .. Stood to hear the priest rehearse, In God’s name, the Church’s curse.

2. a. Without implication of the effect: The uttering of a malediction with invocation or adjuration of the deity; a profane oath, an imprecation. 01050 Liber Scintill. v. (1889) 24 Na ajyldende yfel for yfele oppe curs for curse [maledictum pro maledicto], ac per tojeanes bletsijende. C1200 Trin. Coll. Horn. 163 De defies sed is.. hoker and scorn .. curs and leasinges. 1590 Shaks. Mids. N. 1. i. 196, I giue him curses, yet he giues me loue. 1732 Pope Ep. Bathurst 273 Despairing quacks with curses fled the place. 1835 Whittier Hunters of Men iv, The curse of the sinner and prayer of the saint. 1870 E. Peacock Ralf Skirl. III. 96 Some curses followed.

b. Used in pi. as an imprecation, expressing irritation or frustration; esp. (histrionically or as a stage-aside) curses, foiled again! 1885 Muskerry & Jourdain Khartoum! viii. 49 Ha! they’re here. Ah, curses! 1926 ‘S. Steele’ {title) Curses, what a night! A nonsensical satire on the mellerdrammer. 1932 J. Corbett Vampire of Skies ii. 29 He happened to be free at the moment — the Yard knew that (curses!) — and his holidays were due in a fortnight. 1967 Gernhard & Holler Snoopy versus Red Baron (song) 4 He flew into the sky to seek revenge, but the Baron shot him down. Curses, foiled again! 1973 S. Allen Curses! 119 If you haven’t learned anything from this book then, ‘Curses! May you be foiled again and again and again!’ c 1977 V. R. Cheatham Skits Spoofs for Young Actors p. v, The Tortoise and the Hare Hit the Road. . . Meet Dr. Frankenstein... Curses! Foiled Again! 1986 R. Claiborne Saying what You Mean 197 ‘Curses!’ the baffled villain snarled.

U In such phrases as not worth a curse, not to care a curse, the expression possibly comes down from the ME. not worth a kerse, kers, cres: see cress 2. But historical connexion between the two is not evidenced, there being an interval of more than 300 years between the examples of the ME. and the modern phrase; and damn (cf. care v. 4 a) occurs as early as curse, so that the coincidence may be merely accidental. 1763 T. Jefferson Let. Writings 1892 I. 346, I do not conceive that any thing can happen .. which you would give a curse to know. 1813 Moore Post-bag ii. 93 For, as to wives, a Grand Signor Need never care one curse about them! 1826 Blackw. Mag. XIX. 357/1 The Chapter on Naval Inventions is not worth a curse. 1827 Scott Jrnl. (1890) II. 43 He will not care a curse for what outward show he has lost.

CURSE 3. a. An object of cursing or execration; an accursed thing or person. 1382 Wyclif Gal. iii. 13 Crist. . maad for vs curs, that is, sacrifice for curs. 1582 N. T. (Rhem.) Gal. iii. 13 Christ.. being made a curse for vs. 1611 Bible Jer. xxvi. 6, I.. wil make this city a curse to all the nations. 1654 tr. Scudery's Curia Pol. 168 Bajazet. . who is the curse and execration of all the world. 1838 Lytton Leila 1. vi, Thy name is a curse in Israel. b. = CUSS sb. 2. 1790 [see rantipole sb. 1]. 1854 B. Young in Jrnl. Discourses I. 83 We have known Gladden Bishop for more than twenty years, and know him to be a poor, dirty curse. Ibid. 169 Why don’t you do it, you poor miserable curses?

c. An angler’s name for a very small gnat or midge. 1889 F. M. Halford Dry-fly Fishing vi. 116 ‘Curses’, or black midges or gnats. 1899 igth Cent. Jan. 122 The monstrously minute ‘curse’.

4. a. The evil inflicted by divine (or supernatural) power in response to an imprecation, or in the way of retributive punishment. 1382 Wyclif Dan. ix. 11 And al Yrael braken the lawe.. and cursse droppide on vs. 1587 Golding De Mornay Ep. Ded. 3 He turned the reproch of his crosse into glorie, and the cursse therof into a blessing. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. ii. 18 ‘Curse on that Cross,’ (quoth then the Sarazin). 1713 Addison Cato 1. ii, Curse on the stripling! how he apes his sire. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. v. 28 This is God’s curse on slavery! a bitter, a bitter, most accursed thing!

b. A great evil (regarded more or less vaguely as inflicted or resting upon a person, community, etc.); a thing which blights or blasts; a blasting affliction, a bane. 1591 Shaks. Two Gent. v. iv. 43 Oh ’tis the curse in Loue . .When women cannot loue, where they’re belou’d. 1595 -John iv. ii. 208 It is the curse of Kings, to be attended By slaues, that take their humors for a warrant. 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. x. §1 (1681) 210 The only natural Remedies against this sometimes heavy Curse [mildew]. 1789 W. Buchan Dom. Med. (ed. 11) 81 Many people look upon the necessity man is under of earning his bread by labour, as a curse. 1846 Kingsley Lett. (1878) I. 141 The curse of our generation is that so few of us deeply believe anything. 1870 Pall Mall Budget 29 Oct. 19/1 Very ill with that curse of his trade the painter’s colic.

c. curse of Scotland: a name given to the nine of diamonds in a pack of cards. Origin of the name doubtful. A not unlikely suggestion is that the card was so called from resembling the armorial bearings of Dalrymple, Lord Stair, nine lozenges on a saltire, the number and shape of the spots being identical, and their arrangement sufficiently similar. The first Earl of Stair was the object of much execration, especially from the adherents of the Stuarts, for his share in sanctioning the Massacre of Glencoe in 1692, and subsequently for the influential part played by him in bringing about the Union with England in 1707. An opponent says he was ‘at the bottom of the Union’, and ‘so he may be styled the Judas of the Country’. 1715-47 J. Houston Mem. 92 [Lord Justice-Clerk Ormistone] became universally hated in Scotland, where they called him the Curse of Scotland; and when the ladies were at cards playing the Nine of Diamonds (commonly called the Curse of Scotland), they called it the Justice Clerk. 1791 Gentl. Mag. 141 The nine of diamonds [is called] the Curse of Scotland, because every ninth monarch of that nation was a bad King to his subjects. 1810 Sporting Mag. XXXVI. 75 There is the curse of Scotland, plague take that nine of diamonds. 1893 Daily News 21 Feb. 4/8 A problem which has long puzzled antiquaries. Why is the Nine of Diamonds called the Curse of Scotland?

d. the curse: menstruation, colloq. 1930 J. Dos Passos 42nd Parallel 147 She was afraid her period was coming on. She’d only had the curse a few times yet. 1933 ‘E. A. Robertson’ Ordinary Families vi. 115 Ill luck.. had added a premature last straw to my load of misery: I had the curse, i960 Woman's Own 19 Mar. 15/1, I always think it such a pity when girls.. call it ‘the curse’. 1969 G. Greene Travels with my Aunt xii. 120, I forgot the damn pill and I haven’t had the curse for six weeks.

5. attrib. and Comb., as curse-blasted, -loving, -scarred, -worthy adjs.; curse-roll, a list of anathemas; curse-mete, app. formed after the erroneous help-meet for help meet or the modern help-mate; curse-word = cuss-word (cuss sb. 3). 1836 G. S. Faber Answ. Husenbeth 34 After the manner of his curse-loving Church. 1844 Mrs. Browning Drama of Exile, I.. Who yesterday was helpmate and delight Unto mine Adam, am to-day the grief And curse-mete for him. 1855 Bailey Mystic 127 With ominous and curseworthy glory. 1856 R. A. Vaughan Mystics (i860) I. 180, I shall have a list longer than the curse-roll of the Pope. 1897 R. M. Stuart Simpkinsville vii. 225 The popular after-dinner ‘curse word story’ of the cloth would never have been tolerated in Simpkinsville.

curse (k3:s), v.

Forms: i cursian, 2-3 cursen, (3-4 kurse, 4 curce), 4-5 cors, (5 cruss), 5-6 cursse, 4- curse. [Goes with curse sb., from which, in its OE. form curs, the vb. cursian was probably immediately derived.] Generally the opposite of to bless in its various uses.

1. trans. To utter against (persons or things) words which consign, or are intended or supposed to consign, them to evil spiritual or temporal, as the wrath of God or the malignity of fate; to damn. a. Said of the deity or supernatural power. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Horn, ii Cursed be pe man pe leueS upen hwate. Ibid. 181 J?o godes muS cursede eorSe. 1426 Audelay Poems 2 Murthyr, theft, and avoutre.. bene

cursedly

154 cursyd in heven on hye. 1611 Bible Numb, xxiii. 8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? 1761 Sterne Trist. Shandy III. xi, May the Father who created man, curse him .. May St. Michael, the advocate of holy souls, curse him. 1821 Byron Cain i. i. 522 O Cain! This spirit [Lucifer] curseth us.

b. Said of persons claiming to speak in the divine name, esp. officers of the church: To pronounce a formal curse against, to anathematize, excommunicate, consign to perdition. a 1154 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1137 §4 pe biscopes & lered men heom cursede aeure. Ibid. an. 1140, pe biscop of Wincestre.. cursede alle pe men. a 1300 Cursor M. 17109 (Gott.) Curced in kirc pan sal pai be wid candil, boke, and bell. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 309 [The pope Anastasius] cursede pe emperour. c 1400 Maundev. (Roxb.) ix. 36 Machomete cursez all J>ase pat drinkez wyne. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 111 Cursyn’, excommunico, anathematizo, cateziso. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 119 This yere the men of Caithnes in Scotland burned their bishop, because he curssed them for not paiyng of their Tithes. 1611 Bible Numb. xxii. 6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse mee this people, for they are too mightie for mee. 1782 Priestley Corrupt. Chr. I. 1. 7 The Jews., cursed them in a solemn manner three times. 1849 Whittier Voices of Freedom, Curse of Char ter-breakers ix, Since that stoled and mitred band Cursed the tyrants of their land. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 79 Those who alienate either house or lot shall be cursed by priests.

2. a. Hence (without implication of the effect): To imprecate or invoke divine vengeance or evil fate upon; to denounce with adjuration of the divine name; to pour maledictions upon; to swear at. Also const, for. c 1200 Ormin 5050 3iflF pat tu currsesst ani3 mann & hatesst himm wipp herrte. C1300 St. Brandon 550 Ich mai cursi the tyme that ich ibore was. 11325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 1583 He corsed his clerkes & calde hem chorles. c 1475 Partenay 2851 Full often crossing the hour and the day That thes wordes scapid or mouthed he. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Jan. 49 A thousand sithes I curse that carefull hower. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 52 The citizens .. cursing the tyrant to the devill. 1715 De Foe Fam. Instruct. 1. v. (1841) I. 109, I heard my brother damn the coachman, and curse the maids. 1859 Tennyson Guinevere 529, I did not come to curse thee, Guinevere. 1871 Morley Voltaire (1886) 163 Voltaire.. never knew more German than was needed to curse a postilion. 1922 H. Walpole Cathedral 11. iv. 229 He cursed Foster for a meddling, cantankerous fanatic.

fb. with obj. clause. Obs. rare. c 1500 Maid Emlyn in Anc. Poet. Tracts 27 He cursed that he came thyder. 1638 Ford Fancies ill. iii, The time will come.. When he.. Will curse he train’d me hither.

c. In imprecations (with expressed): = damn, confound.

no

subject

1761 Sterne Tristr. Shandy III. x, Curse the fellow.. I am undone for this bout. 1877 H. Smart Play or Pay iv. (1878) 71 ‘Curse the whist!’ he muttered; ‘what a fool I was to meddle with it!’ 1881 Scribn. Mag. XXI. 269/2 ‘Curse it! why do you treat me so?’

3. To speak impiously against, to rail profanely at (the deity, fate, destiny, etc.); to blaspheme. c 1050 Spelman's Psalms xxxvi[i], 22 (C. MS.) For6am pe bletsiende him yrfweardiafi eorfian, yfelcwej?ende [C. cursiynde] soOlice hine forweorSaS. 1388 Wyclif Job ii. 9 His wijf seide to hym.. Curse thou God, and die. 1590 Spenser F.Q. 1. i. 37 He., cursed heven; and spake reprochful shame Of highest God. 1611 Bible Isa. viii. 21 They shall fret themselues, and curse their King, and their God. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg, iii. 774 The Clown, who, cursing Providence, repines. 1732 Pope Ep. Bathurst 402 And sad Sir Balaam curses God and dies.

4. absol. or intr. To utter curses; to swear profanely in anger or irritation. c 1230 Ancr. R. 198 pe pet swereft greate o8es, o8er bitterliche kurseft. C1350 Will. Palerne 1977 He..gan to kurse fast; ‘Where dwelle 3e, a deuel wai, 3e damiseles, so long?’ c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 1169 It es mare manhede .. to .. beseke god pair bote to bene, pan outhir for to curse or scorne. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. liii. [Iii.] 190 When they saw theyr goodes taken and spente away.. they cursed bytwene theyr tethe, sayenge, go into Englande or to the deuyll. 1535 Coverdale Matt. xxvi. 74 Then beganne he to curse and to sweare. 1667 Dryden Wild Gallant iv. i, I drink not, I curse not, I cheat not; they are unnecessary vices. 1819 Shelley Cenci iii. i. 314 He., came to upbraid and curse, Mocking our poverty. 1892 D. C. Murray Bob Martin's Lit. Girl I. 13 Coming into collision with some unseen piece of furniture [he] cursed quietly to himself.

5. trans. To afflict with such evils or calamities as are the consequences or indications of divine wrath or the malignancy of fate; to blast, to be cursed with: to be afflicted with by divine decree, by destiny, or by one’s evil fate. 1382 Wyclif Deut. xxviii. 16, 17 Cursid thow shalt be in citee, cursed in feeld; cursid thy bern, and cursid thi relikis. 1592 Shaks. Ven. & Ad. 945 The Destinies will curse thee for this stroke. 1611 Bible Gen. xii. 3,1 will blesse them that blesse thee, and curse him, that curseth thee. 1727-38 Gay Fables 1. viii. 13 With this plague she’s rightly curst. 1781 Cowper Truth 182 To..curse the desert with a tenfold dearth. 1805 Scott Last Minstr. iv. xiv. Sure some fell fiend has cursed our line, That coward should e’er be son of mine! 1880 J. Cook Boston Lectures, Heredity x, He was temporarily a drunkard, and God cursed him, through that law of initial heredity. Mod. To be cursed with a bad temper, a drunken wife, etc.

corsed, -id, 4-6 curste, 5 curset, -it, -yd, 5-6 curssed. [f. curse v. + -ed1.] 1. That has had a curse pronounced or invoked upon him or it; excommunicated, anathematized; under a curse, blasted with a curse. a 1300 Cursor M. 29332 (Cott.) Qua communs wit cursd man, pat was noght ar, es cursd pan. 1393 Langl. P. PI. C. xxii. 419 The countrey is pe corsedour per cardinales corner ynne. 1483 Cath. Angl. 87 Cursed, anathematizatus. 1593 Shaks. Rich. II, iv. i. 147 The wofullest Diuision.. That euer fell vpon this cursed Earth. 1611 Bible Matt. xxv. 41 Depart from me, ye cursed. 1723 Gay Captives 11. (1772) 41 Shun’d like a pestilence, a curst informer! 1800 Wordsw. Hart-Leap Well 11. vii, But something ails it now; the spot is curst. 1862 Ruskin Munera P. (1880) 92 The cursed figtree, which has leaves but no fruit.

2. Deserving a curse; damnable, execrable, heinously wicked. a 1300 Cursor M. 1106 (Gott.) To haue done suilk a curced dede. 1388 Wyclif Ecclus. x. 9 No thing is cursidere than an auerouse man. CI400 Melayne 310 Appon the cursede Sarazens for to werre. a 1592 H. Smith ITks. (1867) II. 34 Who would have said .. that the chosen people should become the cursedest upon the earth? 1609 Holland Amm. Marcell. xvn. i. 79 Carefull withall, least the cursed foules of the aire [dirae volucres] should devoure the bodies. 1667 Milton P.L. 1. 388 And with cursed things His holy Rites and solemn Feasts profan’d. 1715 De Foe Fam. Instruct. 1. v. (1841) I. 99 The cursed roots from whence this bitter fruit grows up. 1765 H. Walpole Otranto iv, ‘Dare to proceed in thy curst purpose of a divorce.. and here I lance her anathema at thy head.’

3. Used intensively in expression of hatred, dislike, vexation, etc.: Execrable, detestable, abominable, ‘damned’, ‘confounded’. c 1386 Chaucer Sompn. Prol. 43 God save yow alle, save this cursed Frere. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 39 It was his hard lucke and curssed chaunce. 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 209 Earwigs.. are cursed Devourers. 1738 Swift Pol. Conversat. 22, I have cut my Thumb with this cursed Knife. 1819 Byron Juan 11. clii, One’s early valet’s cursed knock. 1876 E. Jenkins Blot on Queen's Head 24 ‘What a cursed piece of buffoonery!’

b. Used adverbially; sometimes emphatic. (Cf. damned, deuced.)

merely

1719 J. Richardson Sc. Connoisseur 116 Our Grandsires they were Papists, Our Fathers Oliverians, Their Beams ’tis said are Atheists, Ours must be Cursed Queer Ones. 1778 Wolcott (P. Pindar) Ep. Reviewers Wks. 1812 I. 7 What they disapprove is cursed simple. 1845 Ford Handbk. Spain 1. 30 They prefer cursed bad wine to holy water.

4. (Usually spelt curst.) a. Of persons (or their dispositions, tongues, etc.): Malignant; perversely disagreeable or cross; cantankerous, shrewish, virulent. Obs. or arch, (also dial.) C1400 Maundev. (1839) viii. 89 This Heroude was over moche cursed & cruelle. 1550 Coverdale Spir. Perle xv, His [Socrates’] curst and shrewd wife. 1578 Chr. Prayers in Priv. Prayers (1851) 498 When thou didst deal mildly and gently with me, I became the curster. 1596 Shaks. Tam. Shr. iii. ii. 156 Curster than she, why ’tis impossible. 1609 Rowlands Knaue of Clubbes 44 One plague That vext him . .was his wiues curst tongue. 1642 Laud Wks. (1853) III. 461 They were glad that I gave him so short and so cursed an answer. 1711 Shaftesb. Charac. (1737) II. 11. 1. §2. 84 Any Nature thorowly savage, curst, and inveterate. 1836 J. Downe Mountain Decam. I. 218, I have told that lie.. why are ye so curst now as to want me to tell it o’er again? 1879-81 Miss Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk. s.v., *’E’s a little curst chap.’

fb. Of men or beasts: Fierce, savage, vicious. c 1400 Song Roland 486 Corsabran, the curssid, kenyst in halle. 1567 Maplet Gr. Forest 82 To straungers he [the dog] is eger and curst. 1576 Turberv. Venerie 184 Terryers.. are muche curster. 1599 Shaks. Much Ado 11. i. 25 It is said, God sends a curst Cow short homes. 1623 Bingham Xenophon 101 Dogges, that are curst, men vse to tie vp in the day, and let loose in the night. 1644 Bulwer Chirol. 130 Bridling is like unto curst and fierce bulls. 1727 Bradley Fam. Diet. s.v. Bandog, [It] should be chosen .. not too curst nor too gentle of disposition.

fc. fig. Of hair: Rough, bristly. Malignant, irritable. Obs.

Of a sore:

1565-73 Cooper Thesaurus, Csesaries horrida, a cursed head. 1579 Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 21 As curst sores with often touching waxe angry.

d. Comb., as curst-heartedness, malignity of disposition, wickedness of heart. 1571 Golding Calvin on Ps. Ii. 19 Although they fome not out their cursthartednesse openly. 1633 T. Adams Exp. 2 Peter ii. 10 A tumour of curst-heartedness.

t 'cursedhede. Obs. execrable wickedness.

[-head.]

Cursedness,

a 1300 Cursor M. 6544 (Gott.) And par-wid forpermare he 3ede, For to se pair curcedhede. 1382 Wyclif Lev. xviii. 27 (MSS. B, D, E, F, H) Alle forsothe thes cursydhedes [v.r. cursidnessis, 1388 abhomynaciouns] diden the tiliers of the erthe that weren bifore 30W.

t cursedhood. Obs. [-hood.] Cursedness; concr. accursed thing (tr. L. anathema). 1382 Wyclif i Chron. ii. 7 The sones of Zamri.. that.. synnede in the theft of cursedhode.

cursedly ('k3:sidli), adv. Also curstly. [f. cursed

+ -LY2.] 1. In a cursed manner; in a way deserving a curse; wickedly, abominably.

cursed, curst ('k3:sid, k3:st), ppl. a. Also 4 cursd, curced, -id, cursud, 4-5 cursede, -id,

1*1386 Chaucer Monk's T. 239 Thou that, .heriest false goddes cursedly, c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon x. 257 Whan bayerd sawe he was so curstly dealed wythall. 1549 Cheke Hurt Sedit. (1641) 61 They judge cursedly the good

CURSEDNESS 2. Used as an intensive with strong expression of reprobation or dislike: In a cursed manner, execrably, detestably, ‘damnably’, ‘con¬ foundedly’. 1570 Dee Math. Pref. 20 To be curstly affrayed of his owne shaddow. 1663 T. Porter Witty Combat n. iii, Why, so thou art, insufferably, cursedly drunk. 1751 Smollett Per. Pic. (1779) II. xlix. 106 Cursedly down in the mouth. 1826 Disraeli Viv. Grey v. xv, They voted her ladyship cursedly satirical. 1861 Hughes Tom Broum at Oxf. vi, I can’t see why you should be so cursedly particular.

f3. Malignantly; with perverse ill-temper; crossly, severely, harshly, virulently. •43 Lydg. Chron. Troy ill. xxv, Guido , hath delite to speake cursedly Alway of women. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxxvi. 232 His procuratours.. cursedly and ful slowly serued hym at his nede. 1590 Marlowe Edw. II, v. ii. 64 To make him fret the more, Speak curstly to him. 1646 Pagitt Heresiogr. (ed. 3) 74 Father Browne, who would curstly correct his old wife. 1650 H. More in Enthus. Triumph. (1656) 106 You., bark and scold.. more cursedly and bitterly then any Butter-quean.

cursedness ('k3:sednis).

Also curstness.

[f.

CURSED + -NESS.]

1. The condition of being cursed or under a curse; damnation; misery, fb. pi. Miseries, misfortunes (obs. rare). 1303 II- Brunne Handl. Synne 7228 Woo to po pat erly .. haunte pe taueme.. Cursednes hem folowyp at pe endyng. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 275/3 To haue soo many cursidnesses or ylle happes. 1579 Tomson Calvin s Serm. Tim. 334/2 Them that were slaues to Sathan, and ouer the eares in the deepe bottomelesse pitte of cursednesse. 1651-3 Jer. Taylor Serm. for Year 1. xi. 142 The Poet describes the cursednesse of their posterity. 1836-9 Dickens Sk. Boz (1850) 265/1 Mr. Watkins Tottle had long lived in a state of single blessedness, as bachelors say, or single cursedness, as spinsters think. 1875 T. Hill True Order Studies 140 If you would .. know the reality and cursedness of sin.

f2. The condition of being execrably wicked; abominable wickedness, b. (with a and pi.) An act or practice of wickedness. Obs. a 1300 Cursor M. 1575 (Gott.) pair cursednes was noght vnkid. c 1386 Chaucer Pard. T. 310 Ydel sweryng is a cursednes. 1474 Caxton Chesse 30 In moche cursidnes and wickednes. 1549-62 Sternhold & H. Ps. x. 7 His mouth is full of cursedness, a 1639 W. Whateley Prototypes II. xxvi. (1640) 75 By walking in a way of cursednesse.

f3. An accursed thing, ‘abomination’. rare.

Obs.

C1550 Cheke Matt. xxiv. 15 When ie se ye cursednes of desolation, which was spooken of bi daniel ye propheet, standing in an holi place.

4.

(Usually curstness.) Malignancy or perversity of disposition, ill temper, crabbedness; fierceness, savageness; virulence (of poison). Obs. or arch. c 1386 Chaucer Merck. Prol. 27 As I.. Koude tellen of my wyues cursednesse. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 167 He that is to every man contrary, And he that bostithe of his cursidnesse. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie ill. xix. (Arb.) 209 With spitefull speach, curstnesse and crueltie. 1600 Holland Livy xxvii. xxxiv. 654 As the curstnesse and rigor of parents, is to be mollified by patience. 1633 T. Adams Exp. 2 Peter i. 18 Profane persons swear, as dogs bark, not ever for curstness, but for custom. 1634 T. Johnson Parey's Chirurg. xxi. xix. (1678) 474 The Basilisk far exceeds all Kinds of Serpents in the curstness of its poison. 1870 Ramsay Remin. (ed. 18) p. xxvi, ‘Curstness’ (or crabbedness) of man’s nature.

cur'see. nonce-wd.

[-ee.] One who is cursed. 1829 Carlyle Misc. (1872) II. 112 Which curse being strengthened by a sin of very old standing in the family of the cursee.

cursee,

obs. form of curtsy.

curseful ('k3:sful), a. rare.

CURSOR

i55

to bee bad. 1679 Bedloe Popish Plot 1 None more cursedly ingenious in inventing .. methods of doing mischief.

[f. curse sb. + -ful.]

23 These more then deuylish swerers, banners, and cursers. 1635 Cowley Davideis 1. 933 Thy Cursers, Jacob, shall twice cursed be. C1750 J. Nelson Jrnl. (1836) 133 Such cursers and swearers as could hardly be matched out of hell. 1850 Clough Dipsychus 1. v. 72 Which is worst, To be the curser or the curst. 1855 Motley Dutch Rep. (1858) 63 So speaking, the curser was wont to blow out two waxen torches .. and with this practical illustration the anathema was complete.

curser, cursey, obs. ff. courser, curtsy. curship fkxjip). [f. cur + -ship.] The estate or personality of a cur: used as a mock title. 1663 Butler Hud. 1. ii. 959 How durst th’, I say, oppose thy Curship ’Gainst Arms, Authority, and Worship? 1765 Wolcott (P. Pindar) Ode IV to R.A.'s Wks. 1812 I. 87 The Lord have mercy on your Curship’s skin.

cursie, obs. form of curtsy. cursing ('k3:sir)), vbl. sb. [-ing1.] 1. The utterance of words which consign to spiritual and temporal evil, the vengeance of the deity, the malign influence of fate, etc.; malediction, imprecation, damning. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke xx. 47 Das onfoseS cursung mara [Rushtv. Diet mara vel mast cursunge; Vulg. damnationem majorem]. 1388 Wyclif Dan. ix. 11 And cursyng, and wlatyng which is writun in the book of Moises.. droppide on vs. 1535 Coverdale Mai. iv. 6 That I come not, and smyte the earth with cursynge. 1552 Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 32 The malesonis waryingis or cursingis quhilk God .. schoris to the transgressouris.

fb. concr. The condition or damnation or perdition; hell. Obs.

place

of

c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. v. 29 Don all lichoma Sin jesendad beS in tintergo vel in cursung. Ibid. x. 28.

2. The formal ecclesiastical curse munication.

pronunciation or anathema;

of an excom¬

? c 1120 Charter Pope Agatho (dated 680) in Cod. Dipl. V. 30 Hwa swa hit breket ealre biscope cursunge and eal cristene folces he hafe. Amen, c 1200 Trin. Coll. Horn. 11 No bissop ne mai him chastien ne mid forbode, ne mid scrifte, ne mid cursinge. 01300 Cursor M. 29482 (Cott.) Cursing twa-fald es, pe tan es mare, pe toper lesse. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 130 Whan Thomas it wist, he did mak a cursyng. Roger he cursed first, pat corouned pe 3ong kyng. 1470-85 Malory Arthur 1. iii, That they shold to london come by Cristmas vpon payne of cursynge. 1530 Palsgr. 211 Cursyng.. excommunication. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 35 Forbidden upon paine of curssing. 1872 Ellacombe Ch. Bells Devon vii. 139 Early in the twelfth century.. William of Winchester, by the authority of Celestine II.. brought in the use of cursing with bell, book, and candle.

3. Imprecation of evil; the profane use of imprecations in hatred or evil temper; blasphemy. C1050 Spelman's Psalms cviii. 16 (C. MS.) & he lufode wyrjednysse [C. cursunge] & heo cume him, & he nolde bletsunga & heo biS afyrsad from him. a 1240 Lofsong in Cott. Horn. 205 WreSSe.. cursunge, bac bitunge. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 9116 \>y cursyng now sene hyt ys Wyp veniaunce on py owne flesshe. 1611 Bible Ps. lix. 12 For cursing and lying which they speake. a 1648 Ld. Herbert Life (1886) 215 He had heard that the King was much given to cursing. 1736 Berkeley Disc. Wks. III. 427 It is no common blasphemy.. it is not simple cursing and swearing. 1847 Emerson Repr. Men Wks. I. 343 He will indulge himself with a little cursing and swearing.

'cursing, ppl. a. [-ing2.] That curses. 1599 Shaks. Much Ado v. i. 212 And you be a cursing hypocrite once, you must be lookt to. 1892 Watson G. Gilfillan iv. 97 The meagre hand of contented or cursing penury.

cursitate ('k3:siteit), v. rare. [f. L. cursitare to run to and fro, freq. of cursare, freq. of currere to run.] intr. To run hither and thither. 1867 Bushnell Mor. Uses cursitating, ghostly appearance.

Dark

Th.

175

A

flitting,

Fraught with a curse or curses. 1382 Wyclif Ecclus. x. 7 Hateful.. is pride; and cursful alle wickidnessis of Jentiles. 1832 Blackw. Mag. XXXI. 306 Those curseful events that have made me the wretch I am. 1871 Frances R. Havergal Ministry of Song (1881) 109 Whose love shone forth upon the curseful tree.

Hence f'cursefully [printed curstfully] adv., accursedly. 1606 Marston Fawne iv. Wks. 1856 II. 78 Was not thou most curstfully madd?

curselarie:

see cursorary.

f'cursement. Obs. rare. In 4 corsement. [f. curse v. + -ment.] Cursing, malediction. •393 Langl. P. PI. C. vii. 65 Hus elopes were of corsement and of kene wordes. [Cf. Psalm cix. 18.]

'cursen, -son, dial. f.

christen a. and v. 1602 Marston Ant. & Mel. in. Wks. 1856 I. 38 For all this cursond world. 1606 Day lie of Guls 11. iv, Well, god a mercy of all cursen soules. 1613 Beaum. & Fl. Coxcomb 11. ii, As I am a cursten’d whore. Ibid. iv. iii, Nan. Are they cursen’d? Madge. No, they call them infidels. 1851 Cumbrld. Gloss., Cursen, to christen.

cursenary: see cursorary. curser ('k3:s3(r)). [f.

cursed. + -er1.] One who curses; one who utters a curse or malediction; a profane swearer. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 1300 Cursers alle here lyve Shall neuere haue grace for to pryve. 1548 Cranmer Catech.

f cursi’tation. Obs. [ad. L. cursitation-em, n. of action f. cursitare'. see prec.] A running or going hither and thither, perambulation. 1630 Lord Banian 63 The Bridegroome.. with all the children in the Towne .. make their cursitation round about the most publicke streets.. with Trumpets and kettledrummes. 1683 Cave Ecclesiastici Introd. 31 In their wild cursitations up and down the streets.

cursitor ('k3:sit3(r)). Obs. exc. Hist. Forms: 6 cursetor, coursetour, -iter, 6-7 -itor, cursitour, 7 -iter, 6- cursitor. [a. Anglo-Fr. coursetour, ad. med.L. cursitor (Ordericus Vitalis) = cursor runner. (App. formed to have the same relation to cursor, that cursitare has to cursare.) But the exact derivation in sense 1 is obscure.] 1. One of twenty-four officers or clerks of the Court of Chancery, whose office it was to make out all original writs de cursu, i.e. of common official course or routine, each for the particular shire or shires for which he was appointed. The office was abolished in 1835. 1523 Act 14-15 Hen. VIII, c. 8 As well the coursetours and other clerkes, as the sixe clerkes of the said Chauncery. 1641 Termes de la Ley 96 Cursiter is an officer or Clerke belonging to the Chancerie .. They are called Clerkes of the Course in the oath of Clerkes of the Chancery, a 1655 Bp. G. Goodman Crt.Jas. I, I. 280, I have heard that the cursitor’s office of Yorkshire hath been sold for £1,300. 1703 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) V. 308 Mr. Gillingham, cursitor

of Monmouth and Hereford, is dead. 1767 Antiq. Durham Abbey, Descr. Bishoprick 133 Court of Chancery [Durham], Mr. Thomas Hugall, Cursitor and Examiner.

fb. A secretary. Obs. 1762 tr. Busching's Syst. Geog. I. 80 The .. Lay Inspector .. has one or two Secretaries or Cursitors under him.

f2. A running messenger, courier; also fig. Obs. 1571 Hanmer Chron. Irel. (1633) 84 [He] sent Scoutes, Cursitors, Messengers.. over the whole land. 1609 Holland Amm. Marcell. xxvm. iii. 337 Their office was this, by running.. to be cursitours to and fro. 1646 Fuller Wounded Consc. (1841) 282 The spirits, those cursitors betwixt soul and body, a 1661 - Worthies iii. 101 Dromedaries.. are the Cursitors for travell for the Eastern Country.

|3. One who wanders about the country; a vagabond, tramp. Obs. 1567 Harman (title), A Caueat or Warening, for commen cursetors vulgarely called Vagabones. 1581 Mulcaster Positions xxxvii. (1887) 156 Common coursiters, which post about still to suruey all scholes, and neuer staie in one. 1688 R. Holme Armoury 11. iii. §68. 167/2 Cursitors or Vagabonds. 1725 New Cant. Diet., Cursitors, the Fortysecond Order of Vagabonds.

4. cursitor baron. The junior or puisne baron of the Exchequer, a subordinate member of the court who attended to matters ‘of course’ on the revenue side. The office was abolished in 1856. 1642 Vernon Consid. Exchequer 33 The .. Cursitor Baron being so called because he is chosen most usually out of some of the best experienced Clerkes of the two Remembrancers, or Clerke of the Pipes Office, and is to informe the Bench and the Kings learned Counsell.. what the course of the Exchequer is for the preservation of the same. 1689 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) I. 557 Mr. Bradbury, of the Middle Temple, was lately sworn cursitor baron of the exchequer. 1830 Price Law of Exchequer 77 The Cursitor Baron, or, as he is sometimes called, the Fifth or Puisne Baron of the Court of Exchequer.. has no judicial authority in the Court of Exchequer as a Court of Law.

feursitory, a. Obs. rare. [See prec., and -ory.] = cursory, cursitorily adv., cursorily. 1632 Le Grys tr. Paterculus 306 Hee that in the cursitory way of this so contracted a worke, dares take upon him [etc.]. 1628 - tr. Barclay's Argenis 214 Having therefore cursitorily reuiewed her face .. I.. desired her to tell me who she was.

cursive (’k3:siv), a. (sb.) [ad. med.L. curstv-us, f. curs- ppl. stem of currere to run: see -ive. Cf. Du Cange s.v. Scriptura. In mod.F. cursif, -ive (1797 in Hatzfeld).] Of writing: Written with a running hand, so that the characters are rapidly formed without raising the pen, and in consequence have their angles rounded, and separate strokes joined, and at length become slanted. In ancient manuscripts the cursive style, showing some of these characteristics, is distinguished from the more formal uncial writing. 1784 in W. Fry New Vocab. 1827 G. S. Faber Sacr. Cal. Proph. (1844) III. 164 The gradual invention and .. general use of the cursive greek character. 1837-9 Hallam Hist. Lit. i. 1. §56 The complex system of abbreviations which rendered the cursive handwriting almost as operose.. as the more stiff characters of older manuscripts. 1881 Westcott & Hgrt Grk. N.T. Introd. §102 The Cursive MSS. range from the ninth to the sixteenth centuries.

B. sb. A cursive character or manuscript. 1861 Scrivener Introd. N.T. ii. (1874) 40 Colbert. 2844 or 33 of the Gospels, ‘the Queen of the cursives’, as it has been called. 1881 Westcott & Hort Grk. N.T. Introd. §98 The Greek MSS. of the New Testament are divided into two classes .. Uncials and Cursives, according as they are written in capital or minuscule characters.

cursively ('k3:sivli), adv. rare. [f. prec. + -ly2.] fl. In continuous course or succession. Obs. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 1380 This.. empire.. hath .. beene alwaies hereditarie, from grandfather to father, from father to sonne, and so cursively in that manner.

2. In cursive characters. 1833 G. S. Faber Recapit. Apostasy 86 The name uncially expressed ATIOCTATHC, or cursively expressed aTTocnaT-qs. 1885 E. M. Thompson in Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 149/1 Facsimiles of the cursively written papyri.

'cursiveness. rare. [f. as prec. + -ness.] The quality of being cursive. C1820 G. S. Faber Eight Dissert. (1845) II. 14 The cursiveness of Ezra’s hebrew character. 1833-Recapit. Apostasy 88 An additional attempt was made to increase the cursiveness of the cursive character.

curskyn, var. cruskyn Obs., vessel for liquids. Cursmas, dial, form of Christmas. curson, var. cursen, dial, form of christen. cursor ('k3:sa(r)). [a. L. cursor runner, agent-n. from currere, curs- to run: cf. courser. The Latin word occurs in the title of lj?e tretis pat men cals Cursor Mundi' (Gott. MS.), ‘The Cursur o the world’ (Cott. MS), of which it is said, 1. 267, Cursur [v.r. Cursor, Coarsur] o werld man oght it call, For almost it ouer-rennes all.]

11. A runner, running messenger. Obs. [01300: see above.] 1566 T. Stapleton Ret. Untr. Jewel iii. 125 He went apace like a.Cursor that telleth good news. 01632 T. Taylor God's Judgem. 11. iv. (1642) 53 He also kept cursors and messengers.. to ride abroad.

CURSORARY 2. a. A part of a mathematical, astronomical, or surveying instrument, which slides backwards and forwards. Exerc. vii. xii. (ed. 7) 666 Every one of these Transames or Cursours must be cut with a square hole .. so as they may be made to run iust upon the staffe to and fro. 1641 W. Gascoigne in Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men (1841) I. 43 The lowest part of the cross is jointed, to separate it from the cursor on the ruler. 1736 R. Neve City & C. Purchaser, Cursor, a little brass Ruler representing the Horizon: a Label. 1793 Wollaston in Phil. Trans. LXXXIII. 139 The cursor, or moveable wire, in the micrometer-microscopes. 1874 in Knight Diet. Mech. 1594 Blundevil

b. A distinctive symbol on a VDU display (e.g. a flashing underline or rectangle) that indicates the position at which the next character will appear or the next action will take effect, and which is usu. under keyboard control. 1967 Stotz & Cheek Low-Cost Graphic Display for Computer Time-Sharing Console (MIT Technical Memo.) 13 For graphical input, one would like to be able to move a pointer or ‘cursor’ over a stored picture and yet not store the image of the cursor. Ibid., The cursor on the screen ‘follows’ the motion of the ‘mouse’. 1972 L. W. James in J. F. Slater Computer-Aided Typesetting 78/1 The cursor., can be moved vertically a line at a time or horizontally a character at a time to indicate the positions where we wish to make changes in the text. 1983 Austral. Personal Computer Aug. 141/3 It can set the cursor to be visible or invisible, blinking or steady, block or underline. 1983 Times 16 Aug. 16/6 Once the cursor has located the correct screen character a button on the mouse is pressed to execute the command. 1985 P. Laurie Databases i. 13 In a word processor, for instance, Control F might mean move the cursor forward one character.

|| 3. In mediaeval universities, a bachelor of theology giving the courses of lectures upon the Bible which formed one of the necessary preliminaries to the doctorate. 4. Special Comb.: cursor (control) key, any of a set of keys on a VDU keyboard for controlling the movement of a cursor on the screen. 1979 A. Cakir et al. VDT Man. i. 19 The cursor control keys are usually located in a separate block.. on one side of the main keyset. 1981 Electronics 8 Sept. 115 (caption) The cursor keys, right of center, choose menu parameters. 1984 Which Micro? Dec. 20/3 With the cursor key cluster on the right, the Plus 4 looks very like an MSX computer. 1985 Personal Computer World Feb. 145/2 The MZ-800 .. has an identical 69-key keyboard which features a standard qwerty layout, five function keys and a cluster of cursor control keys. 1986 Your Computer Oct. 36/1 Using the cursor keys or a joystick, you can create your shape and then rotate, invert or produce a mirror image of it before saving it in the program files.

t

'cursorary, a. Obs. rare. =

cursory. The reading of the 3rd Quarto (followed by Pope, and by most modern editors), for which Quartos 1 and 2 have cursenary and the First Folio curselarie: cf. cursitory. shaks. Hen. V, v. ii. 77 (Qo. 3, 1619) We haue but with a Cursorary eye Ore-view’d them.

cursore,

obs. form of corsair, courser.

II Cursores (k3:'so3ri:z), sb. pi. Ornith. [L. pi. of cursor runner: see above.] The name given by De Blainville, 1815-22, to an order of birds, containing the ostrich and its allies, which are incapable of flight, but are mostly swift runners. It corresponds to Merrem’s division Ratitse. 1828 Stark Elem. Nat. Hist. I. 283 Cursores. 1847 Carpenter Zool. §440

Birds. Order XII.— Of all the Cursores, the Apteryx of New Zealand appears to be the one which is most completely destitute of wings, and which departs most widely from the general type of the class of Birds.

cursorial (kai'sosrial). a. Zool. [f. L. cursori-us running (taken in reference to Cursores) + -al1.] Adapted, or having limbs adapted, for running; spec, applied to certain birds (Cursores), orthopterous insects (Cursoria), and crustaceans. 1836 Todd Cycl. Anat. I. 283/2 The sternum of the Cursorial Birds presents few affinities of structure to that of the rest of the class. 1855 Owen Skel. & Teeth 25 The prehensile or cursorial limb of the denizen of dry land.

cursorily ('k3:s3rili), adv. [f.

cursory a. + -ly2. The L. cursorie was in early use.] In a cursory manner; in passing; hastily; without attention to details. 3rd Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 78, I wyll runne it ouer cursorie, rypping a lytle the matter.] 1565 Jewel Def. Apol. (1611) 128 Thus cursorily to passe it ouer. 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 1315 Cursarily and by the way to annexe hereto such things as cary some probability. 1685 Boyle Effects of Mot. Advt. 2 While he cursorily read over the Tract. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters III. 23, I have already cursorily mentioned some of the products. 1804 Young in Phil. Trans. XCV. 84 Principles which he has but cursorily investigated. 1861 Goschen For. Exch. 20 An allusion was cursorily made to the expenditure in travelling. [1549 Latimer

'cursoriness. [f. as prec. +

-ness.] Cursory quality; hastiness or slightness (of examination or treatment). 1727 in Bailey vol. II. 1885 F. Hall in N. Y. Nation XLI. 240/3 The subject of which has been despatched with uncritical cursoriness.

CURTAIL

156 cursorious (kai'soarias), a. [f. L. cursori-us +

cursy,

-ous: see cursory.] Adapted for running: said of the legs of coleopterous insects.

curt (k3:t), a.

t'cursoriwise, adv. Obs.~0 [Short for in cursory wise: see next.] In a cursory manner. 1598 Florio, Alla fuggita, by the way, cursoriwise. Torriano, Per corso, runningly, cursorie-wise.

1659

cursory ('k3:s3n), a. Also 7 cursorie, cursary. [ad. L. cursori-us of or pertaining to a runner or a race, f. cursor-em runner: in OF. corsoire, cursoire.] 1. Running or passing rapidly over a thing or subject, so as to take no note of details; hasty, hurried, passing. 1601 Dent Pathw. Heauen 277 Cursory saying of a few praiers a little before death, auaileth not. 1661 J. Stephens Procurations 128, I had only a cursory view of it, and that by chance. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xviii, A traveller who stopped to take a cursory refreshment. 1857 Keble Eucharist. Adorat. 37 Obvious to the most cursory reader of the Gospel. 1866 Rogers Agric. & Prices I. iii. 60 A cursory inspection shews that these statements are untrustworthy.

f2. Moving about, travelling. Obs. rare. 1606 Proc. agst. Garnet F (T.), Father Cresswell, legier jesuit in Spain; father Baldwin, legier in Flaunders .. besides their cursorie men, as Gerrard, etc. 1610 Rowlands Martin Mark-all 24 Their houses are made cursary like our Coaches with foure wheeles that may be drawne from place to place. 1650 Fuller Pisgah 11. iv. ii. 21 Those Tribes dwelt in their Tents., in a cursory condition, only grazing their Cattel during the season.

3.

Entom.

Adapted

for

running;

=

CURSORIOUS.

4. In mediaeval universities: a. cursory lectures: lectures of a less formal and exhaustive character delivered, especially by bachelors, as additional to the ‘ordinary’ lectures of the authorized teachers in a faculty, and at hours not reserved for these prescribed lectures. [The name would appear to have been first given to the lectures delivered by bachelors as part of the cursus prescribed for the licence, but to have been afterwards extended to all ‘extraordinary’ lectures.] 1841 G. Peacock Stat. Univ. Camb. p. xliv. note 1. 1894 Rashdall Med. Universities vi. §4. 426 The ‘cursory’ lectures of Paris are the ‘extraordinary’ lectures of Bologna. Ibid. 427 Vacation cursory lectures might be given at any hour. Ibid. It is probable that the term ‘cursory’ came to suggest also the more rapid and less formal manner of going over a book usually adopted at these times.

b. cursory bachelor-, (in modern writers) a bachelor who gave cursory lectures.

cursour(e, curst, a.\

obs. form of corsair, courser.

see cursed.

f'curstable. Arch. Obs. [f.

course + table.] ‘A course of stones with mouldings cut on them to form a string course’ (Parker Gloss. 1850). 1278 Bursar's Acc. Merton Coll. (Parker), Pro x pedibus de curstable.

'cursten,

var. cursen, dial, form of christen.

curstfully:

see cursefully.

curstly, -ness:

see cursedly, cursedness.

II cursus ('k3:s3s). [L. cursus course, f. currere to run.] The Latin word for course; occasionally used in mediaeval or technical senses, as a. A race-course, running-ground, or drive; also used spec, of a type of neolithic monument (see quot. 1963); b. A stated order of daily prayer; a ritual, or form of celebration; c. An academic course or curriculum. 1740 Stukeley Stonehenge viii. 35 The western branch .. continues curving along the bottom of the hill, till it meets, what I call, the cursus. Ibid. ix. 41 About half a mile north of Stonehenge, across the first valley, is the cursus or hippodrom, which I discovered, August 6, 1723. 1838 Mrs. Bray Trad. Devonsh. I. 164 For what purpose this avenue or cursus was used. 1865 McLauchlan Early Sc. Church xiv. 188 Whether they made use of any peculiar cursus or liturgy. 1875 McCosh Sc. Philos, xi. 94 The University Commissioners appointed in 1643 a Cursus for Aberdeen. 1883 Athenaeum 17 Mar. 348/3 The line would have cut through the avenue and the cursus of Stonehenge. 1951 Field Archaeol. (Ordnance Survey) (ed. 3) 18 Another feature which is now regarded as part of the henge complex is the extremely elongated earthwork of the type originally called a ‘cursus’ by Stukeley.. because he believed that they were designed as racecourses. 1963 E. S. Wood Field Guide to Archaeol. 11. 138 A class of still enigmatic neolithic monuments are the cursus... These are long parallel banks with outside ditches, with squared or curved ends, running across country often for long distances.

d. The regular varying cadences which mark the end of sentences and phrases, esp. in Greek and Latin prose. 1904 H. A. Wilson in Jrnl. Theol. Stud. V. 387 Prof. E. Norden has traced the use of the ‘cursus’ in Classical writers, Greek as well as Latin. 1910 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 304/1 The cursus or prose rhythm of the pontifical chancery of the 1 ith and 12th centuries. 1910 A. C. Clark (title) The cursus in mediaeval and vulgar Latin. 1959 H. J. Rose Outl. Class. Lit. vi. 188 Three rhythms found their way.. into medieval Latin prose.. where naturally accented syllables took the place of long ones. Hence the three ‘runs’ (cursus) as they were called.

obs. form of curtsy.

[ad. L. curt-us cut or broken short, mutilated, abridged, which became in late L. and Romanic the ordinary word for ‘short’: It., Sp. cortoy Pr. cortf F. court. The Latin adj. was app. adopted at an early date in Ger., giving OS. and OFris. curt (MDu. cort, Du., MLG., and LG. kort, whence also mod.Icel. korta, Sw. and Da. kort), OHG. kurt, kurz (MHG. and mod.Ger. kurz), where the word has taken the place of an original Teut. *skurt-, in OHG. scurz, in OE. scort, sceort, short. But the latter was retained in English.]

1. Short in linear dimension; shortened. 1665 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 295 In more temperate climes hair is curt. 1840 Lytton Pilgr. of Rhine xix, Thy limbs are crooked and curt. 1862 Merivale Rom. Emp. (1865) III. xxviii. 297 Plancus.. enacted the part of the seagod Glaucus in curt cerulean vestments.

b. of things immaterial, modes of action, etc. 1664 H. More Myst. Iniq. 351 For which curt reckoning Grotius has no excuse. 1675 Traherne Chr. Ethics xx. 318 That vertue so curt and narrow, which we thought to be infinite, a 1677 Barrow Serm. (1687) I. xviii. 258 The most curt and compendious way of bringing about dishonest or dishonourable designs. 1874 Reynolds John Bapt. ii. 89 An angelic Spirit makes a more curt and much easier use than we can do of the functions of matter in its most etherial form.

2. Of words, sentences, style, etc.: Concise, brief, condensed, terse; short to a fault. 1630 B. Jonson New Inn iii. i, What’s his name? Fly. Old Peck. Tip. Maestro de campo, Peck! his name is curt, A monosyllable, but commands the horse well. 1645 Milton Tetrach. (1851) 177 The obscure and curt Ebraisms that follow. 1791 Boswell Johnson (1887) III. 274 He could put together only curt frittered fragments of his own. 1814 D’Israeli Amen. Lit. (1867) 132 Their Saxon-English is nearly monosyllabic, and their phraseology curt. 1866 Rogers Agric. & Prices I. iii. 61 The dry and curt language of a petition in parliament.

b. So brief as to be wanting in courtesy or suavity. 1831 Disraeli Yng. Duke v. vii. (L.), ‘Ah! I know what you are going to say’, observed the gentleman in a curt, gruffish voice, ‘It is all nonsense.’ 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola (1880) I. Introd. 9 He might have been a little less defiant and curt, though, to Lorenzo de’ Medici.

t curt, v. Obs. [f. L. curt-are to cut short, shorten, mutilate, f. curtus short.] trans. To cut short, shorten. a 1618 Sylvester Mem. Mortalitie I. xciii, Curting thy life, hee takes thy Card away.

Hence f'curted ppl. a., shortened, curtailed, curt. 1568 North tr. Gueuara's Diall Pr. iv. viii. 129 a, To see a foolish courtier weare .. a litel curted cape. 1581 Sidney Astr. & Stella xcii, Be your words made, good Sir, of Indian ware, That you allow me them by so small rate? Or do you curtted Spartanes imitate? 1610 Guillim Heraldry iv. xiv. (1611) 229 The old Britans .. were wont to weare a short and broad Sword; so did the Spartanes also, whom.. their Enemies mocked for so curted a weapon.

curt., cur*. An abbreviation of current a., esp. in such phrases as the ioth curt., i.e. of the current month.

curt, curtace,

obs. ff. court, courteous.

curtail (k3:'teil), v. Forms: 6-7 curtal(l, -toll, 6 curteyl, 7 curtel, cur-, cour-, curt-tail, 6- curtail. [Originally curtal(l, f. curtal a., and still stressed on the first syllable by Johnson 1773. But already in the 16th c. the second syllable began to be associated with the word tail (cf. sense 1), and perhaps by some in the 17th and 18th c. with F. tailler to cut, whence the spelling cur-tail, curt-tail, curtail, and the current pronunciation, given without qualification by Walker 1791.] f 1. To make a curtal of by docking the tail; to dock. Obs. IS77 B. Googe Heresbach’s Husb. 11. (1586) 115 b, Hys tayle is.. a great commoditie to him to beate away flies: yet some delight to have them curtailed, specially if they be broade buttockt. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 363 The ashes also of an hardy-shrewes taile; provided alwaies, that the shrew were let go aliue, so soone as she was curt-tailed. 1611 Cotgr., Escouer, to curtail, or cut off the taile.

2. To cut short in linear dimension; to shorten by cutting off a part. 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 326 Thou hast rackte me, and curtalde me, sometimes I was too long, sometimes to[o] shorte. 1596 Nashe Saffron Walden ig If it be too long, thou hast a combe and a paire of scissers to curtail it. 1607 Rowlands Famous Hist. 38 And Estellard I cur-tail’d by the knees. 1674 S. Vincent Gallant's Acad. 39 Let the three Huswively Spinsters of Destiny rather curtal the thred of thy life. 1787 'G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen (1809) 27, I.. firmly believe, that ten men are hanged for every inch curtailed in a Judge’s wig. 1827 Stelart Planter's G. (1828) 71 To lop and deface them .. and .. to curtail the roots.

b. As applied to sentences, verses, lines, letters, and the like, the sense leads on to 3. J553 T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 169 Some againe will be so short, and in suche wise curtail their sentences. 1599 Thynne Animadv. (1865) 64 Whiche wordes are curteyled for the verse his cause. 1605 Camden Rem. 21 Neither do we or the Welsh so curtail Latine, that we make all therein Monosyllables. 1766 H. Walpole Lett. Cone. Rousseau iv. 153 You have suffered my letter to be curtailed.

CURTAIL 3. To shorten in duration or extent; to cut down; to abbreviate, abridge, diminish, or reduce, in extent or amount. 1589 PasquiVs Return Db, With what face dares anie politique.. curtoll the maintenance of the Church? 1591 Lyly Endym. V. ii, I will by peece-meele curtail my affections towards Dipsas. 1611 Shaks. Cymb. 11. i. 12 When a Gentleman is dispos’d to sweare: it is not for any standers by to curtail his oathes. 1663 Butler Hud. 1. iii. 597 Yet I’d be loth my Days to curtal [rime mortal], 1781 Gouv. Morris in Sparks Life & Writ. (1832) I. 234 Greatly to cur-tail salaries is a false economy. 1843 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. I. 195 His family’s slumbers were probably curtailed. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. I. iii. 244 The jurisdiction of the spiritual courts was not immediately curtailed.

4. to curtail (a person, etc.) of: to dock him of some part of his property, to deprive or rob him of something that he has enjoyed or has a right to. So to curtail in, to shorten in respect of. 1581 Lambard Eiren. iii. iv. (1586) 369 Not altogether beheading them [Statutes] of their preambles, Nor any whit curtailing them of their wordes. 1594 Shaks. Rich. Ill, 1. i. 18, I, that am curtail’d of this faire Proportion. 1642 Rogers Naaman 396 How doe we curtail him of his ordinary dues. a 1719 Addison (J.), Fact.. had taken a wrong name, having curtailed it of three letters; for that his name was not Fact but Faction. 1830 D’Israeli Chas. /, III. vi. 114 His beard curtailed of ancient dimensions, he wore peaked. 1856 Dove Logic Chr. Faith v. i. §2. 279 God is there.. curtailed in no attribute.

|5. To cut off short, lop off. Obs. 1594 Lodge Wounds Civ. War iv. in Hazl. Dodsley VII. 172 Go, curtal off that neck with present stroke.

fcur'tail, sb. Obs. [f. curtail il] The act of curtailing, curtailment. 1797 E. M. Lomax Philanthrope 19 Fancying myself present, .at this office of curtail or extension.

curtail, obs. form of curtal sb. and a. curtailed (k3:'teild), ppl. a. Also 6-7 curtailed, etc. [f. curtail v. and curtal sb. + -ED.] 1. Made a curtal; having the tail docked or cut off. 1591 Florio Sec. Fruites 43 Another [horse] broken winded, curtald, lame, blinde, foundred. 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 419 My curtailed dog. 1610 Fletcher Faithf. Shepherdess'To Rdr., With cur-tailed dogs in strings. 1870 Swinburne Ess. & Stud. (1875) 101 The yelp of curtailed foxes in every generation is the same.

f b. transf. Shaped at the end as if cut off short. I575 Gascoigne Wks. (1587) 154 A curtolde slipper and a short silke hose. 1592 Greene Def. Conny Catch. (1859) 33 A .. peake pendent, either sharpe .. or curtold lyke the broad ende of a Moule spade. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 218 The smallest roots of Ellebor, such as be.. curtelled, and not sharp pointed in the bottom.

2. Cut short; shortened, abridged; diminished in length, extent, power, privilege. 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. iii. 217 But let vs heare their curtailed argumentes. c 1620 S. Smith Serm. (1866) I. 156 With the curtailed skirts of David’s ambassadors [cf. 2 Sam. x. 4]. 1641 Milton Reform. 1. (1851) 13 They must mew their feathers, and their pounces, and make but curttail’d Bishops of them. 1879 Lubbock Addr. Pol. Educ. x. 205 According to the most curtailed chronology.

f3. ? Short-skirted: cf. curtal 3d. Obs. 1624 Fletcher Wife for queanes in hired clothes.

CURTAIN

157

Month 11. vi, They are curtail’d

Hence cur'tailedly abbreviatedly.

adv.,

shortly,

1658 W. Burton Itin. Anton. 167 The name thereof., perhaps .. was written curtail’dly.

cur'tailer.

[f. curtail v. + -er.] curtails, shortens, abridges.

One who

1724 Waterland A than. Creed x. 141 That the Latins had not been interpolators of the creed, but that the Greeks had been curtailers. 1813 Shelley Q. Mab Note viii, Disease and war, those sweeping curtailers of population.

cur'tailing, vbl. sb.

Also 6-7 curtailing, 7 curtling. [-ING1.] The action of the verb curtail; shortening, abridging. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary I. (1625) 3 When.. with too much curtailing our arguments .. wee abbreviate . . our Epistles. 1591 Percivall Sp. Diet., Derrabadura, curtailing, caudae truncatio. 1610 Markham Masterp. 11. clix. 468 Now for the manner of curtailing of horses, it is in this sort. 1650 Fuller Pisgah iii. i. 315 The curtling of Jerusalem into Solyma. c 1720 W. Gibson Farrier's Guide 11. lviii. (1738) 217- 1737 Swift Letter 23 July, Against the corruption of English.. with abominable curtailings and quaint modernisms. 1775 Sheridan Rivals Pref., I profited by his judgment and experience in the curtailing of it.

curtailment (k3:'teilm3nt).

[f. curtail v. + -ment.] The action of curtailing, shortening, diminishing; abridgement. 1794 G. Adams Nat. & Exp. Philos. I. p. ix, A curtailment of a few repetitions. 1830 Mackintosh Eth. Philos. Wks. 1846 I. 44 A curtailment of gratification. 1878 Morley Diderot I. 167 The copies were returned to their owners with some petty curtailments.

'curtail-step. Also 8 curtal-. [Origin uncertain: curtal adj., and cur tail, have both been suggested.] The lowest step (or steps) of a stair, having the outer end carried round in the form of a scroll. 1736 B. Langley Anc. Masonry 389 The first, or Curtalstep. 1819 in P. Nicholson Archit. Diet. 716. 1852-61 Archit. Publ. Soc. Diet. s.v. Curtail, The newel generally

stands upon a curtail step .. Curtail steps .. are employed in handsome staircases.

curtain ('k3:tin, -t(s)n), sb.1 Forms: 4-6 cortyn(e, -eyn(e, courtyn(e, -ein(e, -ayn, curtyn(e, -ein(e, -eyn(e, -ayn(e, 4-7 courtin(e, curten, -ine, 4-8 cortine, curtin, (4 couertine, 5 quirtayn, 5- 6 courting), 6 cortaine, -ayne, (curteynge, cowrtyng), 6-8 courtain(e, 7-8 curtaine, 4, 7curtain. [ME. cortine, curtine, a. OF. cortine, courtine in same sense = Sp. and It. cortina: — L. cortina, in Vulgate (Exod. xxvi. 1, etc.) a curtain. The connexion of this with classical L. cortina round vessel, cauldron, round cavity, vault, arch, circle, is obscure, and the etymology uncertain: see Korting Lat.-Roman, Wbch. s.v.] 1. a. A piece of cloth or similar material suspended by the top so as to admit of being withdrawn sideways, and serving as a screen or hanging for purposes of use or ornament; e.g. to enclose a bed (the earliest English use), to separate one part of a room from another, to regulate the admission of light at a window, to prevent draught at a door or other opening, etc. Chron. (Rolls) 292 Cortinae ill® circa lectum conjugis suae.] oute grete kewery. [Caxton cury, Higden coquorum artificia]. ? c 1390 (title), Form of Cury. la 1400 Morte Arth. 1063 Here es cury un-clene, carle, be my trowthe. c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 506 Cookes with }>eire newe conceytes.. Many new curies.. J>ey are contryvynge & Fyndynge. 1513 Douglas JEneis viii. Prol. 95 Throw cury of the quentassens.

cury2. rare. = L. curia. 1886 [See curiate].

curyal, -ose,

obs. forms of curial, curious.

1762 Falconer Shipwr. iii. (1818) 106 Watch the curving prow. 1878 Maclear Celts iii. (1879) 31 The curving shores of Provence and Narbonne.

curyd, curys,

obs. forms of cured, cures.

cus,

obs. form of kiss.

‘curvingly, adv. [-ly2.] In a curving manner. 1923 Weekly Dispatch 13 May 7 Decorated with blue and white stripes that ran out curvingly, somewhat in swastika fashion. 1938 E. Thompson Youngest Disciple i. 9 It was a valley cut deep in the mountains, as by a scimitar, not straight but curvingly.

curvital (’k3:vit3l), a. Geom. [a. mod.F. curvital, f. curvite curvity + -al1.] Of or pertaining to curvity or curvature, curvital function, a function expressing the length of the perpendicular from a fixed point of a curve upon the normal at a variable point, in terms of the length of the arc from the fixed to the variable point.

That

1599 Marston Sco. Villanie iii. xi. 228 His very intellect Is naught but a curuetting Sommerset. 1750 Wesley Wks. (1872) II. 185 A fine curvetting horse. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 490 Rushed through the drawn swords and curvetting horses. 1878 M. A. Brown Nadeschda 25 On his curveting charger’s back.

[-Y1.] Having a curve or curves; full of curves, marked with curves. Comb., as curvy-brimmed adj.

'curving, ppl. a. [-ing2.] That curves.

1886 Carr Synopsis Math. Index C 60.

curvets: see the verb.

curvous ('k3:v3s), a. rare. [f. curve sb. + -ous,

curvy Ck3:vi), a. curvilineal (k3:vi'linral), a. [f. curvi- + L. linealis lineal.] = next. Hence curvi'linealness.

curvetting horse. 1841 C. Lever C. O'Malley xxxiii. 176 The management of your arching necked curveter.

[f. curve sb. + -OMETER.] An instrument for measuring the length of a curve.

1599 A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physicke 11 i/i When any mans Backe beginneth to curvifye or wax croockede. 1623 Cockeram 11, To make Crooked, curuefie.

b. trans. To cause to curvet. 1613 Wotton in Reliq. Wotton. (1672) 419 Sir R. Drury .. corbeteth his Horse before the King’s window.

curvometer (k3:'vDmita(r)).

f 'curvity. Obs. [ad. L. curvitas (or a. F. curvite, Oresme 14th c.), f. curvus curved, crooked.] 1. Curved or bent quality or state; curvature; a curved portion of anything, a curve. 1547 Boorde Brev. Health cviii. 41 A backe the which may have many infirmities, as debylytie, and wekenes, curvytie and gybbositie. 1656 Hobbes Six Lessons Wks. 1845 VII. 253 The rectitude or curvity of the lines. 1705 Phil. Trans. XXV. 2062 The divers flexures and curvities of the Serpent. 1715 Machin in Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men (1841) I. 269 [I] have added a rule for finding the curvity. 1831 Brewster Newton (1855) I. iii. 42 According to their more or less curvity.

2. fig. conduct.

Moral

obliquity,

crookedness

of

1616 Brent tr. Sarpi’s Counc. Trent (1676) 166 The whole nature of man.. remained crooked; not by the curvity of Adam, but by his own. 1675 Baxter Cath. Theol. 1. iii. 82 That there is as much positivity of Relation in disobedience as in obedience, in curvity as in rectitude. 1678 Gale Crt. Gentiles III. 136 That God be the motor, .of the action.. but not of the obliquitie or curvitie in acting.

cusche, cuscbet, cuschoun,

obs. ff. cuisse, cushat.

obs. form of cushion.

Cusco-bark. Also Cuzco-. A kind of cinchona bark, obtained from Cuzco in Lower Peru. Also called Cusco-china. Hence Cusco-cinchonine, 'Cusconine, Cu'sconidine, alkaloids obtained from Cuscobark. 1879 Watts Diet. Chem. 3rd Suppl. I. 495-7.

|| CUSCUS1 ('kuskus). Also 7 cuskus. [The same word as couscous, the dish so called being originally made of this grain. In F. couscou, in 18th c. cuzcuz, cousse-couche, couche-couche.] The grain of the African Millet, Holcus spicatus Linn., Penicillaria spicata Willd., a cereal indigenous to Africa, where it has constituted from the earliest times an important article of food. 1625 Purchas Pilgrims 11. viii. xi. 1368 Their bread is made of this Coaua, which is a kind of blacke Wheate, and Cuscus a small white Seed like Millet in Biskany. 1629 Capt. Smith Trav. & Adv. xiii. 25 Cuskus. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1638) 23 (Madagascar), You shall have in exchange .. Barley, Rice and Cuscus, with what fruit you like. Ibid. 28 The lie [Mohelia] inricht us with.. Buffols.. Rice, Pease, Cuscus, Honey. 1852 W. F. Daniell in Pharmac. Jrnl. XI. 395 It constitutes the kouskous of the Joloffs and Moorish nations, the dr a and bishna of Tripoli.

'curvograph. [f. curve (or L. curvus) + -graph.] An instrument for describing curves.

II cuscus2 (‘kAskAs). Also kuss-kuss, cuss cuss, kuskos, cuscuss. [ad. Pers. and Urdu khas khas the sweet-scented root of the grass in question.] The long fibrous aromatic root of an Indian grass, Andropogon muricatus, used for making fans, screens, ornamental baskets, etc. Hence cuscus-grass, cuscus-root.

1817 W. Warcup in Trans. Soc. Arts XXXV. 109 An instrument of my invention for describing curve lines, which I purpose calling the curvograph. 1874 Knight Diet. Mech., Curvograph, an instrument for drawing a curve without reference to the center.

1810 T. Williamson E. India Vade M. I. 235 (Y.) The Kuss-Kuss.. when fresh, is rather fragrant, though the scent is somewhat terraceous. 1862 Mrs. Speid Last Years Ind. 72 The root of a sweet smelling grass, the cuscus. attrib. 1889 Blackw. Mag. Aug. 247 A targe cuscus mat.

cuscus

163

II cuscus3 ('kAskAs). [mod.L. from the native name; see couscous2.] A genus of marsupial quadrupeds found in New Guinea.

cush-cush ('kujkuj). [Native name.] A species

1662 J. Davies Mandelslo's Trav. E. Ind. 165 There is in this Island a kind of beasts they call Cusos, that keeps constantly in trees, living on nothing but fruit. They resemble our Rabbets. 1880 D’Albertis N. Guinea I. 407 On the branch of a tall tree we may perhaps see a cuscus slowly creeping along. 1889 H. H. Romilly Verandah N. Guinea 69 The opossums and cuscus tribe taste strongly of gum leaves on which they feed.

1871 Kingsley At Last ii. 49 Great roots of yam and cushcush. Ibid. 72 Wild cush-cush roots. 1929 Nicholls & Holland Textbk. Trop. Agric. (ed. 2) xv. 446 Cush-cush Yam of Trinidad or Yampi of Jamaica (Dioscorea trifida, Linn.), i960 Guardian 8 Jan. 4/7 The ‘couscouche’ yam, the cush-cush of the British West Indies, .are often made into fritters. 1969 Oxf. Bk. Food Plants 182/1 All [yams] are of Old World origin except the cush-cush yam Dioscorea trifida which is native to America.

cuscus, -cus(s)u, -cosoo, vars. of couscous1. cusec. Abbreviation, used in Engineering, etc., of 'cubic foot per second’. 1913 Thomas & Watt Improvem. Rivers (ed. 2) 1. i. 46 The abbreviation ‘second-feet’ which is frequently used in America instead of ‘cubic feet per second’, has the equivalent of ‘cusecs’ among the Anglo-Indian engineers. 1915 C. E. Housden Is Venus Inhabited? 37 We should need a continuous flow of 20,000,000 cusecs. i960 Times 25 July n/6 A rise in river-flow from three cusecs in dry weather to 55,000 in wet.

of yam, Dioscorea trifida, native to South America and cultivated for its edible tubers.

cushes, -ies: see cuisse. 'cushew-bird. Also cashew bird. [So called from the likeness of the blue knot on its forehead to the cashew-nut.] A West Indian name of the Galeated Curassow (Pauxis galeata). 1758 G. Edwards Gleanings Nat. Hist. II. lxxv. 182 The Cushew-Bird takes its name from the knob over its bill, which in shape much resembles an American nut called Cushew. 1852 Th. Ross tr. Humboldt’s Trav. II. xviii. 172 The curassaos and cashew-birds.

fcuser, aphetic f. accuser.

cushie, cushie-doo: see cushat.

1589 Warner Alb. Eng. vi. xxx. (1612) 151 More honest than her Cuser.

cushinet, obs. form of cushionet.

cush (kuf), colloq. shortening of cushion sb., esp. in sense 3 c. 1895 A. Roberts Adv. ix. 111 The red was under the cush. Alias hesitated at which ball to play. 1905 Westm. Gaz. 21 Oct. 4/1 It is like watching a game of billiards with wooden cushes and beechwood balls. 1947 D. Davin Gorse blooms Pale 97 And these bottoms and legs bouncing through the room. Cushioned against reality. It cannoned off their cush. 1965 ‘A. Hall’ Berlin Memorandum viii. 83, I was placed in a slow drift for a right-angle.. and brought the nose round full-lock with the kerb for a cush.

cush, v., var. cosh (see cosh sb.3). 'cusher.

Hence

1923 F. L. Packard Four Stragglers 1. ii, ‘A bit of a "cushing” expedition, was it?’.. ‘Just the usual bash on the head with a neddy.’ Ibid. 11. iv, That was the method of the ‘cusher’.

cushag (’kufsg). dial. Also -og. [Manx cuishag vooar, lit. ‘big stalk’.] Senecio jacobxa.

The common ragwort,

1887 Hall Caine Deemster xxiv, There’s gold on the cushags yet. 1894-Manxman 11. xxii, Philip plucked the cushag. 1900 Westm. Gaz. 1 Oct. 2/3 The term ‘weeds’ is defined as including thistles, cushags, and common docks.

cushat ('kAjst).

Chiefly Sc. and north, dial. Forms: i cuscute, -scote, -sceote, 5 cowscott, -schote, 6 cowschet, kowschot, 6-7 coushot, 7, 9 cowshot, 8 cowshut, 8-9 cooscot, 9 cowscot; 6 cuschet, 8- cushat, 9 dial, cushie, cusha. [OE. cuscute, -scote, -sceote (wk. fern.) has no cognates in the other Teutonic langs., and its etymology is obscure. The element scote, scute is app. a deriv. of sceotan (weak grade scut-, scot-) to shoot, and may mean ‘shooter, darter’: cf. sceotan in ./Elfric’s Colloquy, glossed tructos ‘trouts’, app. in reference to their rapid darting motion; also cf. OHG. scozza str. f., shoot (of a plant). For the first part, cu cow offers no likely sense, and Prof. Skeat suggests that we may here have an echo of the bird’s call = modern coo: this is doubtful. Others have taken the first part as OE. ctisc chaste, modest, pure; but the rest of the word then remains unexplained.] The wood-pigeon or ring-dove. 0700 Epinal Gloss. 829 Palumbes, cuscutan [Erfurt cuscotae, Corpus cuscote]. c 1000 Voc. in Wr.-Wiilcker 260/7 Pudumba, cusceote. 10.. Ibid. 286/2 Palumba, cuscote, uel wuduculfre. 14.. Ibid. 702/34 Palumbus, cowscott. 1483 Cath. Angl. 79 Cowschote, palumbus. 1513 Douglas JEneis xn. Prol. 237 The cowschet [v.r. kowschot] crowdis and pirkis on the rys. 1653 Urquhart Rabelais 1. xxxvii, Some dozens of queests, coushots, ringdoves and wood-culvers. 1788 Marshall Yorksh. Gloss., Cooscot, a wood-pigeon. 1781 J. Hutton Tour to Caves Gloss., Cowshut, a wild pigeon. 1792 Burns Bess & Spinning-wheel iii, On lofty aiks the cushats wail. 1813 Scott Rokeby in. x, He heard the Cushat’s murmur hoarse. 1866 Cornh. Mag. Aug. 224 The building cushats cooed and cooed.

b. So cushat-dove (Sc. cusha-dow, cushie-doo). 1805 Scott Last Minstr. 11. xxxiv, Fair Margaret, through the hazel grove, Flew like the startled cushat-dove. 1886 Sidey Mistura Curiosa 103 The Cushie doo That croodles late at e’en.

cushaw (ka'fo:, TaJo:).

U.S. Also cashaw. [perh. Algonquin.] A winter crookneck squash, or a variety of this. 1588 T. Harriot Briefe & True Rep. of Virginia sig. 04”, Coscushaw, some of our company tooke to bee that kinde of roote which the Spaniards in the West Indies call Cassauy. 1698 G. Thomas Pennsylvania 21 Cucumbers, Coshaws, Artichokes. 1705 R. Beverley Hist. Virginia 11. iv. 27 Their Cushaws are a kind of Pompion, of a bluish green Colour, streaked with White, when they are fit for Use. 1868 W. N. White Gardening for South 214 The best variety [of squash] for family use is the Cashaw, a long, cylindrical, curved variety. 1924 J. W. Raine Land of Saddle-Bags 28, I asked an old man why he preferred ‘cushaws’ (a large crook-neck squash) to pumpkins.

CUSHION Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 151 They set them downe on cosshyns of sylke. 1577-87 Holinshed Chron. III. 800/1 With cushins of fine gold. 1601 Shaks. Jul. C. iv. iii. 243 lie haue them sleepe on Cushions in my Tent. 1678 R. L’Estrange Seneca's Mor. (1702) 52 A Soldier lent you his Cloak for a Cushing, a 1732 Gay Mad Dog (R.), A prude, at morn and evening prayer, Had worn her velvet cushion bare. 1883 G. Lloyd Ebb & Flow II. 103 A space on the tiny lawn where rugs and cushions were spread out.

b. That set on the book-board of a pulpit, etc., to suppport the bible or other book; cf. cushioncuff er, -thumper in 11. 1615 Vestry Bks. (Surtees) 69 One clothe and one quission of black vellure for the pulpett. 1709 Steele & Swift Tatler No. 70 If 4 Neither is banging a Cushion, Oratory. 1719 Swift To Yng. Clergyman, You will observe some clergymen with their heads held down.. within an inch of the cushion. 1872 E. Peacock Mabel Heron I. ix. 151 To mend a rent in the cushion of the reading-desk.

c. The seat of a judge or ruler. Cf. woolsack. 1659 B. Harris Parival's Iron Age 82 Maurice.. having changed the Magistrates in many Towns., the Arminians were fain to leave the cushion against their wills, a 1734 North Lives {1826) I. 130 The Court of Common Pleas had been outwitted by the Kings Bench, till his Lordship came upon the cushion. 1844 H. H. Wilson Brit. India II. 415 Bhawani Sing.. was placed upon his cushion of sovereignty by the assistant to the Political Agent in Malwa.

d. fig.; also as an emblem of ease and luxury.

Med. [f. the name of Harvey Williams Cushing (1869-1939), American surgeon, who described the condition in 1932.] A syndrome of hypertension, obesity, metabolic disorders, etc., caused by hypersecretion of hormones by the adrenal cortex. Cushing’s disease, Cushing’s syndrome accompanied and caused by an adenoma of the basophil cells of the pituitary gland.

1589 Pappe w. Hatchet B iv, The diuell take al, if truth find not as many soft cushions to leane on, as trecherie. 1607 Shaks. Cor. iv. vii. 43 Not moouing From th’ Caske to th’ Cushion. 1652 A. Ross Hist. World Pref. 1 Idlenesse.. the Devils Cushion, as the Fathers call it. 1785 Cowper Wks. (1837) XV. 174 At last [I] have placed myself much at my ease upon the cushion of this one resolution. 1833 Carlyle Misc. (1872) V. 89 Cullies, the easy cushion on which Knaves and Knavesses repose.

1934 Proc. R. Soc. Med. XXVII. 397 He regarded the case .. as a typical one of Cushing’s syndrome. 1936 H. D. Rolleston Endocrine Organs iii. 104 (heading) Cushing’s syndrome. Synonym: pituitary basophilism. 1937 Indexcatal. Surgeon-General's Office 4th Ser. II. 130/2 (heading) Basophilism, pituitary (Cushing’s disease). 1962 J. Howkins Shaw's Textbk. Gynaecol, (ed. 8) xviii. 447 Cushing's disease must be distinguished from Cushing’s syndrome. Cushing’s disease is due perhaps to a basophil adenoma of the anterior pituitary which leads to hyperfunction of the suprarenal cortex. The main symptoms and signs are those due to a disorder of the suprarenal which are now referred to under the term Cushing’s syndrome. 1964 L. Martin Clin. Endocrinol, (ed. 4) i. 32 It is generally accepted that the symptoms of Cushing’s syndrome result ultimately from adrenocortical overactivity. Ibid., The basophil adenoma.. is only present in about 50 per cent of cases of Cushing’s syndrome.

1813 Scott Triermain 1. viii, The silver-moss and lichen twined .. A cushion fit for age. i860 Maury Phys. Geog. Sea i. 19 Protected from .. the violence of its waves by cushions of still water. 1882 Vines Sachs' Bot. 220 A circular leaf¬ bearing cushion. 1954 Economist 30 Oct. 411/1 Tea shares are a tricky market; numerous small companies whose shares seldom change hands make it impossible for the stock jobbers to hold any cushion of stock. 1955 Times 6 July 5/5 Mr. Eric Fletcher.. moved an amendment to enable a plaintiff to be entitled to costs on High Court scale when he recovered a sum of £250 or more. He said the introduction of this ‘cushion’ was essential to justice. 1965 Listener 17 June 886/2 Part of their training was to find themselves jobs and hold them with no ecclesiastical cushion to fall back on.

cushion ('kufsn), sb.

I597 Shaks. 2 Hen. IV, v. iv. 16 But I would the Fruite of her Wombe might miscarry. Officer. If it do, you shall haue a dozen of Cushions againe, you haue but eleuen now. 1649 Milton Eikon. iii. (1851) 356 And thus his pregnant motives are at last prov’d nothing but a Tympany, or a Queen Maries Cushion. 1689 Let.fr. the Pope in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) I. 370 (D.) That a King, .should praise (or rather mock) God for a child, whilst his Queen had only conceived a pillow, and was brought to bed of a cushion.. This was the old contrivance of another Mary-Queen. 1694 S. Johnson Notes Past. Let. Bp. Burnet 1. 37 His Wife went fourty Weeks with a Cushion.

Cushing’s syndrome ('kojirj).

Forms: a. 4 cuyschun, cujshen, 4-6 cuyssh-, cuissh-, -in, -en, -un, -yn, etc.; 4-7 quishin, qui-, quy-, qwi-, qwy-, (quyi-), -ss-, -ssh-, -ssch-, -sch-, -sh-, (szh-), -in, -yn, -en, -ene, -an, -on, -un, -ion, -yon, -ing, -ynge, etc.; 6 quesion, 8 quishing; 4-5 whyss-, whyssh-, whish-, wyssh-, -in, -yne, -ene, etc., etc. /3. 4-6 cusshyn, -on, -en, -ion, -eyn, -on; 5 cusch-, cosch-, cossh-, kussh-, kossch-, cos-, -yn(e, -en, -oun, -one, -yon, -ing, cowssing, etc.; 6-7 cush-en, -in, -yn, -ian, -eon, -ing, etc., (6 cussin, cochen, kushen; 7 cuoshen, coussin, -ion); 6- cushion. (Nearly 70 forms occur.) [Of this word ME. had two types, a. cuisshin, quishin (north, whishin), a. OF. coissin, later coessin, cuissin (13-15th c. in Littre); and /3. cusshyn, cushin, a. F. coussin (14th c.)— earlier cussin (12th c. in Hatzf.); in both languages the latter type is the surviving one. OF. coissin was = Fr. coissin. Cat. coixi, Sp. coxin, cojin, It. coscino, cuscino:—L. type coxinum, f. coxa hip, thigh: cf. L. cubital elbowcushion, f. cubitus elbow. (See P. Meyer in Romania 1892, 87). The history of the form coussin, with which cushion goes, is more obscure. Hatzfeld suggests that it is an altered variant of coissin, influenced by OF. coute quilt: — L. culcita quilt, cushion. T. A. Jenkins in Mod. Lang. Notes, May 1893, argues for its being:—late L. *culticinum, for *culcitinum, a conjectured deriv. of culcita; in which case coissin and coussin would be distinct words without etymological connexion: this their history makes improbable.]

1. a. A case of cloth, silk, etc. stuffed with some soft elastic material, used to give support or ease to the body in sitting, reclining, or kneeling. a. c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 877 Whyssynes vpon queldepoyntes, pa[t] koynt wer boJ?e. [1361 Will of Edw. Blk. Prince in Nichols Roy all Wills (1780) 74 Curtyns, quissyns, traversyn.] C1374 Chaucer Troylus 11. 1229 And doun she sette here by hym .. vp-on a quysshon [v.r. cuisshyn] gold ybete. 1388 Wyclif 1 Sam. v. 9 Seetis of skynnes, ethir cuyschuns. 01400 Isumbras 579 Bryng a chayere and a qwyschene. 1418 E.E. Wills (1882) 36 Vj reof quisshens of worsted. 1530 Palsgr. 211/2 Cuysshen, coessyn. 1547 in Strype Eccl. Mem. II. App. A. 293 Ther was a carpet and quission laid .. for the chief mourner. 1601 Holland Pliny xix. iv, Beautified with green quishins. 1615 Crooke Body of Man 74 It serueth vs instead of a quishion. /3. 1382 Wyclif Ezek. xiii. 18 Woo to hem that sewen togider cusshens [1388 cuschens] vndir eche cubit of hoond. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 94 Coschyne, sedile. Ibid. 111 Cuschone [1499 Pynson cusshyn], cuscina. 1470-85 Malory Arthur xix. xi, And there was layd a cusshyn of gold that he shold knele vpon. C1530 Ld. Berners Arth.

2. transf. a. Applied to anything resembling or acting as a cushion.

fb. A swelling simulating pregnancy: sometimes called Queen Mary's cushion, after Mary Tudor. (Perhaps sometimes an actual cushion or pad.) Obs.

3. a. In various specific and technical applications: as, the ‘pillow’ used in making bone-lace; a receptacle for pins, a pin-cushion; fan ink-pad for inking a seal, die, etc. (obs.); a flat leathern bag filled with pounce, used by engravers to support the plate; the elastic leathern pad on which gold-leaf is spread and cut with the palette-knife; the rubber of an electrical machine. 1574 Hellowes Gueuara's Fam. Ep. (1577) 316 To see her .. take her cushin for bone lace, or her rocke to spinne. 1607 Shaks. Cor. 11. i. 98 Your Beards deserue not so honourable a graue, as to stuffe a Botchers Cushion. 1735 Diet. Polygraph, s.v. Engraving, The Graving cushion is a roundish, but flattish leather bag filled with sand to lay the plate upon, on which it may be turn’d easily any way at pleasure. 1768-74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1852) I. 93 Like those cushions your gossips stick with pins in hearts, lozenges, and various forms, against a lying-in. 1776 Trial of Nundocomar 43/2 He dipt his seal on the cushion and sealed the bond. 1832 Nat. Philos., Electric, iii. §57. 15 (Useful Knowl. Soc.) The earlier electricians contented themselves with using the hand as a rubber, till a cushion was introduced for that purpose by Professor Winkler. 1837 Whittock Bk. Trades (1842) 117 (Carver & Gilder), With one hand he holds the cushion, which is merely a flat board covered with soft leather. Ibid. 214 {Engraver), The sand-bag, or cushion .. is used for laying the copper plate upon. 1866 Joyce's Sci. Dial. 492 {Electrical Machine) The cushion or rubber is fixed on a glass pillar.

b. A pad worn by women under the hair; a pad or bustle worn beneath the skirt of a woman’s dress. 1774 Westm. Mag. II. 424 We are sorry to find the Ladies returning.. to the long-exploded mode of dressing their hair with the borrowed aid of the Cushion. 1806 Lady Douglas in Examiner 15 March 1813, 173/1 She wore a cushion behind, i860 Fairholt Costume (ed. 2) 476 The hair was arranged over a cushion formed of wool, and covered with silk.

c. The elastic rim or lining of the inner side of a billiard-table or bagatelle board, from which the balls rebound. 1778 C. Jones Hoyle's Games Impr. 193 The Adversary is obliged to play Bricole from the opposite Cushion. 1837 D.

Games & Sports 89 There are likewise two small cushions placed against the sides. 1853 C. Bede Verdant Green xii, A game of billiards on a wooden table that had no cushions. 1856 Crawley Billiards (1859) 5 The cushions are now almost universally made of Vulcanised Indiarubber, though .. old players say that the stroke is more certain from the old stuffed list cushions.

Walker

d. Mech. A body of steam (or air) left in the cylinder of a steam-engine (or air-engine) to act as an elastic buffer to the piston. Also, a body of air which supports an aircraft, hovercraft, etc. 1848 Pract. Mech. jfrnl. I. 78 A cushion of steam is interposed to partially sustain the force of the blow [in a steam hammer]. 1891 Rankine Steam Engine 364 The volume of the cushion air when it is under the greatest pressure [in an air engine]. 1928 New Republic 15 Aug. 331 /1 When the plane catches itself on a cushion of air at the end of a plunge, you feel heavy, i960, etc. [see air-cushion s.v. air sb.' B. II]. 1967 Gloss. Terms Air-Cushion Vehicles (B.S.I.) 5 Cushion, a volume of air under pressure enclosed between the bottom of an ACV and the supporting surface by rigid structure, curtains, skirts or any combination thereof.

e. A sweetmeat in the shape of a cushion. 1906 E. Nesbit Railway Children ix. 190 I’ll give you some peppermint cushions for the little ones. 1921 L. Thorpe Bonbons & Simple Sugar Sweets 49 Satin Cushions... With a pair of scissors cut the mixture into small cushions and leave them until quite firm. 1970 J. Aiken Embroidered Sunset v. 89 Bars of coconut candy, mounds of chocolate drops, of peppermint cushions.

4. In a horse, pig, etc.: a. The fleshy part of the buttock, b. The fibro-fatty frog in the interior of a horse’s hoof; also the coronet or fibrous pad extending round the upper part of the foot, immediately above, and united to the hoof. 1710 Lond. Gaz. No. 4777/4 Both of them formerly cut with I.G. on the Cushion. 1712 Ibid. No. 4858/4 A black Spot on each Quishing. 1722 Ibid. No. 6079/9. 1892 W. Fream Elem. Agric. xix. (ed. 4) 344 Outside these structures are two fibro-cartilages, one on each side, united behind and below by the plantar cushion .. The coronary cushion. Mod. A cut of bacon off the cushion.

5. a. Ent.

The little pad or cushion-like process of an insect’s foot; a pulvillus. b. Bot. The enlargement at, or just below, the point of attachment of some leaves; a pulvinus; also a dense mass of foliage such as is formed by some saxifrages and stonecrops. 1828 Stark Elem. Nat. Hist. II. 285 A distinct cushion; antennae of nine joints. 1870 Hooker Stud. Flora 137 Sedum acre.. Tufts or cushions 3-10 in. diam. 6. Arch. = coussinet, q.v. 1852 Brees Gloss. Pract. Archit. 133 Cushion, or Coussinet, a stone lying on the top of a pier supporting an arch.

f7. A drinking-vessel. Obs. •594 Taming of Shrew 11, Why, Tapster, I say, Fils a fresh cushen heere! ci6i8 Fletcher Q. Corinth 11. iv, Quissions ye Knaves! (Enter drawers with Quissions).

8. {Our) Lady's Cushion, a name for several plants, esp. Armeria maritima. 1578 Lyte Dodoens iv. 1. 509 Some call it [Thrift] in Englishe our Ladies quishion.

9. Cycling. Short for cushion-tire. 1891 Pall Mall G. 17 Sept. 1/1 Twenty-one starters, five using pneumatic tyres, two cushions, all the rest solids.

10. Phrases, fa. to miss the cushion: to miss the mark; to make a mistake, err. Obs. C1525 Skelton Col. Cloute 998 And whan he weneth to syt Yet may he mysse the quysshyon. 1535 Joye Apol. Tindale 48 Yet hath he missed the kushen in many placis. 1571 Hanmer Chron. Irel. (1623) 168 He was elected Archbishop of St. Davids, but at Rome he was out bid, by him that had more money, and missed the Cushin. 1593 Drayton Eclogues viii. 80 Thy Wits doe erre and misse the Cushion quite. 1608 Hieron Defence 11. 157 He hath missed the cushen and sitteth bare. 1609 Hoby Let. to Mr. T.H. 45 They may misse the cushion in the analogic of the place.

f b. beside (or wide of) the cushion: away from the main purpose or argument, beside the mark; erroneously or mistakenly. Obs. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. Bjb, Thou leanest beside the cushing. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 78 He raungeth abroad to originall sinne altogether besides the cushian. 1598 R. Bernard tr. Terence (1607) 230 Thou art beside the cushin [L. erras]. 1690 W. Walker Idiom. AngloLat. 517 He is wide of the cushion. 01783 H. Brooke Female Officer 1. xiii, The man did not speak much beside the cushion of common sense.

f c. to set or put beside (or besides) the cushion: to turn (any one) out of his place or position; to depose, set aside; to deprive or disappoint of an office or dignity. Obs. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 80, I may set you besyde the cushyn yit. 1587 Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1305/1 To put enimitie betweene the king and hir; and to set hir besides the cushion, a 1624 Bp. M. Smith Serm. 188 Sometimes putting them besides the cushion, and placing others in their roome. 1663 Spalding Troub. Chas. /(1792) I. 291 (Jam.) The master of Forbes’ regiment was., discharged .. Thus is he set beside the cushion.

11. attrib. and Comb., as cushion-canvas, -cover, -layer, -staffer; cushion-footed, -like, -shaped adjs.; cushion capital Arch, (see quots.); f cushion-cuffer = cushion-thumper; f cushion-lord (see quot.); cushion-pink, a name for Thrift (Armeria maritima); cushion plant, a plant that grows in a dense cushion-like tuft (cf. sense 5 b above); cushion-rafter, an auxiliary rafter beneath and parallel to a principal rafter, a principal brace; cushion-rest

CUSHIONING

164

CUSHION

in Billiards (see quot.); cushion-rider, an early name for a hovercraft type of vehicle supported by a ‘cushion’ of air; so cushion-riding vbl. sb. and ppl. a.; cushion-scale, a common scaleinsect, very injurious to orange and other trees; cushion-star, a fossil star-fish of the genus Goniaster; cushion-stitch, a flat embroidery stitch used to fill in backgrounds in old needlework, esp. in Church embroidery; cushion-thumper, a preacher who indulges in violent action; cushion-tire, a bicycle tire made of india-rubber tubing stuffed with shreds of india-rubber; hence cushicrrutired ppl. a.; cushion-work in Embroidery (see quot.). Also CUSHION-CLOTH, -DANCE. 1611 Cotgr., Gaze, ‘Cushion Canuas; the thinne Canuas that serues women for a ground vnto their Cushions, or Purse-worke, &c. 1835 Whewell Archit. Notes 55 ‘Cushion capitals.. consist of large cubical masses projecting considerably over the shaft of the column, and rounded off at the lower corners. 1842-76 Gwilt Encycl. Archit. Gloss., Cushion Capital, a capital used in Romanesque and early Mediaeval architecture, resembling a cushion pressed down by a weight. It is also a cap consisting of a cube rounded off at its lower angles, largely used in the Norman period. 1881 C. C. Harrison Woman's Handiwork 1. 61 The ‘cushion-cover.. has a ground of royal purple velvet, i960 I. Jefferies Dignity & Purity xii. 183 She carried on enthusing about cushion covers. 1683 E. Hooker Pref. Ep. Pordage's Mystic Div. 36 Our impertinently idl Pulpit-praters, or .. too busily laborious ‘Cushion-Cuffers. 1865 Reader 12 Aug. 175/3 A smooth and velvety tiger.. Supple and ‘cushion-footed. 1679 Trials of Green & Berry 64 Mrs. Warrier.. being ‘Cushion-layer in the Chappel. 1647 H. More Song of Soul 1. 11. lix, Soft mosse. .Whose velvet hue and verdure ‘cushion-like did show. 1951 S. Spender World within World 258 Fields enclosed by ‘cushion-like hedges. 1847-78 Halliwell, *Cushion-lord, a lord made by favour, and not for good service to the state; hence, an effeminate person. 1863 Prior Plant-n., *Cushionpink, from its dense tufted growth. 1903 W. R. Fisher tr. Schimper's Plant-geogr. in. iv. 705 The type of ‘cushionlants.. is represented in the alpine region of mountains of igher latitudes in both hemispheres.. by a multitude of forms. 1911 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 764/1 In ‘cushion plants’ the leaves are very small, very close together, and the low habit is protective against winds. 1819 P. Nicholson Archit. Diet. 652 Sometimes called principal braces, and sometimes * cushion rafters. 1873 Bennett & Cavendish Billiards 28 * Cushion-rests are rests, shaped to fit over the face of the cushion. 1959 Times 13 Aug. 10/2 This year’s Famborough flying display will feature.. a ‘‘cushion-rider’. 1961 Spectator 14 July 53 A cushion-rider can be lifted vertically and then driven over the ground at speeds which reach into the take-off speeds of ordinary jet aircraft, i960 Aeroplane XCIX. 771/1 Doubtless it has other applications and ideas for ‘cushion-riding craft in mind. 1961 Spectator 14 July 53 A transition between cushion-riding and ordinary aerofoil lift. 1886 Rep. Comm. Agric. Washington U.S. 466 The Cottony ‘Cushion-scale is found only in California, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. 1843 Forbes in Proc. Berw. Nat. Club II. 80 Orange-yellow .. with crimsonred, are the usual hues of the ‘cushion-stars. 1880 L. Higgin Handbk. Embroidery v. 47 ‘Cushion Stitches are taken.. so as to leave all the silk and crewel on the surface. 1886 Daily News 14 Dec. 7/6 Billiard ‘cushion stuffer wanted. 1876 Rock Text. Fabr. viii. 81 Done in cross and tent stitch, or the ‘‘cushion style’. pe full kissti3 mann Off whattse Godd te lenepp. c 1275 Lay. 4075 He was of 3eftes custi.

Hence 'custinesse, liberality. CI175 Lamb. Horn. 105 Largitas, pet is custinesse on englisc.

fcustil(e, costile. Obs. Also custell. [a. OF. coustitle, 15th c. in Godefroy.] A two-edged dagger or large knife. c 147s Partenay 1722 Of Army peple seing grett fuson, With Custiles and Gisarmes many on. Ibid. 4334 Gaffray hym smote vppon the hanche .. Wyth a costile which in hys sleffe gan hold. Ibid. 5853 That fine good custell.. that.. gan hold Brandes the good knyght. 1479 Office Mayor of Bristol in Eng. Gilds 427 With no Glaythes, speerys, longe swerdys, longe daggers, custils, nother Bas3elardes.

custock. Sc. form of castock, cabbage-stalk. 1785 Burns Halloween v. a 1810 Tannahill Poems (1846) 80 A heart not worth a custock. 1871 C. Gibbon Lack of Gold x, Here’s a fine custock.

custode1. [In ME. a. OF. custode (12th c. in Littre), ad. L. custos, custod-em keeper, custodian: cf. It. custode, also Pr. custodi, Sp. custodio, from Rom. type custodius. This has long been obsolete, but the word has been re¬ introduced in recent times from Italian.] One who has the custody of anything; a guardian, custodian: fa. in ME. (ku'stoid). Obs. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 43 J>e chesynge of his successour be maad of mynistris prouincial and custodis. c 1470 Hardyng Chron. ccxxi. vii, And of his soonne Henry he made custode Thomas Beauford, his vncle.

b. in modern use, a. It. custode (kus'tode), pi. -odi, custodian. [1832 Gell Pompeiana II. xi. 4 If the custodi can be believed.] i860 Hawthorne Marb. Faun vii. The old custodes knew her well. 1881 Ruskin Bible in Amiens iv. 1, I love too many cathedrals—though I have never had the happiness of being custode of even one.

Hence fcustodery, custodrie, custode, custodianship.

office

of a

CI380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 43 pe mynystris & custodis may .. in pe same 3eer in here custodries onys clepe to-gidre here brej>eren to chapitre.

fcu'stode2. Obs. [a. F. custode fern., ad. L. custodia custody.] = custodial sb. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. lvi. 218 In this Procession were.. also the rich Custodes of their Idols.. They that carryed them were clothed in yellow'.

custodee (kAsta’di:). [f. stem of L. custod-em, custody, etc. + -EE, after trustee.] A person entrusted with the custody of anything. 1812 M. Edgeworth Tales Fashionable Life V. 221 Sir Terence O’Fay’s exploits in evading duns,.. tricking custodees. 1832 Austin Jurispr. (1879) I. xxv. 487 The possession of the custodee ought to be deemed the possession of the owner. 1836 C. Forster Life Bp. Jebb iii. (ed. 2) 203 The friend of Dr. Townson, and custodee of his papers.

custodial (kA'staudial), a. and sb. [f. L. custodia CUSTODY + -AL1.] A. adj. 1. Relating to custody or guardianship. 1772 Letter to Bp. Rochester 2 (R.) The custodial charges and government [of a church], 1841 L’pool. Jrnl. 4 Dec., After much learned argument as to the custodial relations of illegitimate children. 1887 Scribn. Mag. II. 147 Custodial duties.

2. Special collocation, custodial sentence, a judicial sentence requiring an offender to be held in custody (esp. in prison or at a detention centre), as opp. to a fine, community service, etc. 1953 Tentative Draft of Revision of Rules Courts of N.J. (Supreme Court New Jersey) 142 In all ‘custodial sentences the prisoner shall receive credit on the term imposed for any time he may have served in custody between his arrest and the imposition of sentence. 1965 Criminal Law Rev. Nov. 657 A fresh proposal for the custodial training of adults.. (a) All custodial sentences of less than six months to be abolished, since no effective training is thought possible in this length of time. 1971 R. Cross Punishment, Prison & Public iv. 187 The courts should be empowered to pass fixed-term custodial sentences on young offenders between the ages of seventeen and twenty-one. 1986 Church Times 24 Oct. 11 /1 What are prisons /or? What do we expect from them? How do we handle long-term custodial sentences?

B. sb. A vessel for preserving sacred objects, as the host, relics, etc. (Cf. F. custode.) i860 Reade Cloister & H. lxii. (D.), The priest.. then took the custodial, and showed the patient the Corpus Domini within. 1887 Hutchinson tr. Viresalingam’s Fortune's Wheel 65 Harisastri picked up his custodial and withdrew.

custardmonger, obs. form of costermonger.

cu'stodiam. Irish Law. Also erron. -ium. [L. custodiam custody, from the phraseology of the grant.] A grant by the Exchequer (for three years) of lands, etc., in possession of the Crown.

custe, obs. pa. t. of kiss v.

1662 Earl Orrery State Lett. (1743) I. 82 These lands, which come out of the custodium at April next. 1686 R. Parr Life of Ussher 26 A Person of Quality.. who had newly

CUSTODIAN

167

obtained the Custodium of the Temporalities of that See. 1787 Minor 270 Fresh custodiums, detainers, and executions were issued without number. 1801 Mar. Edgeworth Castle Rackrent (1886) 41 He takes him out a custodiam on all the denominations. attrib. 1848 Wharton Law Lex., Custodiam lease, a grant from the Crown under the Exchequer seal, by which the custody of lands, etc., seised in the King’s hands, is demised or committed to some person as custodee or lessee thereof.

custodian (kA'stsudisn).

[f. as prec. + -an.] One who has the custody of a thing or person; a guardian, keeper.

[Not in Todd 1818, Webster 1828, or Craig 1847.] 1781 in Sel. Papers Twining Fam. (1887) 58 The custodian of the galleries. 1836 Dickens Sk. Boz (ed. 3) II. 205 To act as custodian of the person of the supposed lunatic. 1872 Bagehot Physics & Pol. (1876) 28 The close oligarchy, the patriciate.. recognised as the authorised custodian of the fixed law.

Hence custodianship, custodian.

the

office

of

a

1858 Sat. Rev. VI. 550/1 Loading the library table and increasing the responsibility of Mr. Miller’s custodianship. 1883 Times i June 4 The public should contribute to.. a well-organized custodianship for such treasures.

t cu'stodient, a. Obs. rare_1. [ad. L. custodientem, pr. pple. of custodtre to guard.] Guarding, protecting. 1657 Jeanes in Heber’s Jer. Taylor (1839) I. 63 The custodient grace of God.

custodier (kA'st3udi3(r)). Also 5 costodyer, 9 custodiar. [f. L. custodia custody + -er.] One who has the custody of anything; custodian. Now esp. Scotch.

a

c 1470 Harding Chron. lxxviii. i, My knightes..My landes helpe, custodye[r]s of my crowne. c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) II. 628 Now euery costodyer kepe well hys wall. 1820 Scott Abbot xix, He had become.. the custodier, as the Scottish phrase went, of some important state secret. 1839 Morn. Herald in Spirit Metrop. Conserv. Press (1840) I. 151 Custodiar to the Bank of England’s treasure. 1892 Ld. Hannen in Law Rep. App. Cases 165 The appellant.. is bound .. to live in the bank house as custodier of the whole premises.

CUSTOM

costumbre, masc., there is change of gender after sbs. in -umen; while Pr. costuma, cosdumna, It. costuma, f. med.L. coustuma, show retention of gender with assimilation of the ending to -a nouns, costume is another form of the same word, of recent adoption from It., through Fr.] 1. a. A habitual or usual practice; common way of acting; usage, fashion, habit (either of an individual or of a community). c 1200 Trin. Coll. Horn. 75 Bere3e us wifi alle iuele customes. Ibid. 89 It is custume J>at ech chirchsocne gofi pis dai a procession, c 1340 Hampole Psalter xxi. 16 As hundes folus ther custom in berkyng & bitynge. c 1356 Will. Palerne 2010 On pat knew pe kostome of pe cuntre of grece. c 1450 tr. T. a Kempis' Imit. 1. xiv, Olde custom is harde to breke. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 162 b, Let vs not come to ye chirche by vse & custome, as the oxe to his stalle. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. Biij, Other fourmes of salutations are also in custome. 1602 Shaks. Ham. 1. iv. 15 It is a Custome More honour’d in the breach, then the obseruance. 1683 Evelyn Diary 12 Feb., Much offended at the novel costome of burying every one within the body of the Church. 1713 Berkeley Hylas & Phil. 11. Wks. I. 309 Common custom is the standard of propriety in language. 1732-Alciphr. v. § 12 The general manners and customs of those people. 1719 Young Revenge iv. i, I went into the garden. As is my custom. 1833 Ht. Martineau Briery Creek iii. 46 The settlers.. followed the old custom.. of holding their market on a Saturday. 1859 Mill Liberty 126 The despotism of custom is everywhere the standing hindrance to human advancement.

b. The practising of anything habitually; the being or becoming accustomed. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 78 Whan a synner commeth to the custome of synne, than he falleth to contempte. 1534 Whitinton Tullyes Offices 1. (1540) 27 Custome and practyse must be vsed, that we may be as good accompters of our offyces. 1608 Bp. Hall Char. Virtues & V. 11. 94 Custome of sinne hath wrought this senslesnesse. 1867 Jean Ingelow Dreams that came true vii, Custom makes all things easy.

f c .of custom: according to custom, usually, as usual; also adjectivally, usual, customary. Obs.

t 'custodite, v. Obs. rare—*, [f. L. custodit-, ppl. stem of custodtre to guard, f. custod-em guardian.] trans. To guard, protect.

c 1400 Lanfr one's Cirurg. 124 A man pat usij> of custum sich a maner dietynge. 1556 Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 74 It hathe bene of ane olde costome that sent Gorge shulde be kepte holy day. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 111 For some things there be which of custome I shake off. 1688 Evelyn Mem. (1857) II. 296, 29th Nov. I went to the Royal Society. We.. dined together as of custom.

1657 Tomlinson Renou's Disp. 341 The athenian matrons .. the better to custodite their chastity.

fd. custom of women (med.L. consuetudo): menstruation. Obs.

custodrie: see custodery under custode. custody ('kAStsdi). Also 5-6 -dye, 5-7 -die, 7 costodie. [ad. L. custodia guarding, keeping, f. custos, custod-em guardian, keeper: see -Y.] 1. Safe keeping, protection, defence; charge, care, guardianship. Const, of the thing guarded, or of the person guarding it. 1491 Act 7 Hen. VII, c. 3 There to rest as your Tresour in the Custodie of the seid Chief Officer. 1513 More in Grafton Chron. II. 772 Both.. for a while to be in the custody of their mother. 1555 Eden Decades 54 Leauynge the custodye of the fortresse with a certeyne noble gentelman. a 1626 Bacon (J.), There was prepared a fleet of thirty ships for the custody of the narrow seas. 1652 Sir E. Nicholas in N. Papers (Camden) I. 320 When he shall have the custody of the Great Seal. 1704 Lond. Gaz. No. 4048/4 She [a mare] was seen .. in custody of a Man. 1781 Gibbon Decl. F. ciboire: see ciborium; but in sense repr. kl^ojtlov chest, ark.] The ark of the Jewish tabernacle. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour G iij, Before the arch or cybory wherin was the holy bred of the manna.

cybotaxis (saibsu'taeksis). Physics, [f. Gr. Kvfios cube + rd£is arrangement.] An arrangement of molecules in a liquid (see quot. 1927). Hence cybo'tactic a., of or pertaining to cybotaxis. 1927 G. W. Stewart & R. M. Morrow in Physical Rev. XXX. 233 The present paper.. interprets the space array .. not as caused by fragmentary crystals, but by a type of molecular arrangement wherein there is combined mobility of the component molecules and yet a recognizable space array. To this state is given the name ‘cybotaxis’, which means ‘space-arrangement’. The adjective is ‘cybotactic’. A new word is necessary in order to distinguish this state from that called ‘crystalline’. 1941 Nature 22 Nov. 617/1 There are .. two main types of conception of liquid structure .. (1) group and (2) statistical conceptions... The most elegant development of the group type of conception is Stewart’s theory of ‘cybotaxis’. In this the groups are considered to be of transitory nature, continually forming and disappearing. 1948 Sci. News VIII. 96 Their views fit in well with Stewart’s theory that liquids have a ‘cybotactic* structure, viz., that there are small aggregates of molecules arranged as they would be in a crystalline particle.

eye- in obs. forms: see cic-. cycad ('saikad). Bot. [ad mod.L. generic name Cycas, -adis, a. supposed Gr. xvxas found in old edd. of Theophrastus, but now known to be a scribal error for koiieas acc. pi. of the Egyptian doum-palm: see Liddell and Scott.] A plant of the genus Cycas which gives its name to the Cycadacese, a natural order of Gymnosperms, related to the Conifers, but in appearance resembling palms, and having affinity with tree-ferns. 1845 Lindley Veg. Kingd. (1853) 224 The near relation of conifers and cycads. 1883 Sunday Mag. 547/1 Her Majesty planted in the gardens.. a splendid Chinese cycad.

cycadaceous (sika'deijas), a. Bot. [f. mod.L. Cycadacese: see prec. and -aceous.] Of or belonging to the N.O. Cycadacese, or cycads. 1837 Penny Cycl. VIII. 248 A Cycadaceous stem partakes in structure of the peculiarities of both Exogens and Endogens. 1876 Page Adv. Text Bk. Geol. xvii. 327 Cycadaceous plants likewise flourish on the Australian continent.

genus Cyclas or family Cycladidse, comprising numerous fresh-water species. 1866 Tate Brit. Mollusks ii. 36 The shell of Cyclas lacustris contrasts with those of other Cyclads in its subrhombic form.

Cycladic (si'klaedik), a. [f. L. Cyclades pi., a. Gr. KvxXdhes (prjcroi islands) 4- -ic.] Of or pertaining to the Cyclades, a group of islands in the Aegean, lying in a circle round Delos; spec. designating, or pertaining to, the prehistoric civilization of these islands. Also absol. 1915 H. R. Hall JEgean Archseol. ii. 24 It has become a misnomer to call the island culture by a name connecting it in any way with the ‘Mycensean’. The word ‘Cycladic is now used, as the chief discoveries of this early stage of Greek civilisation have been made in the Cyclades. 1920 Discovery June 178/2 ‘Cycladic’.. is sometimes substituted for ‘Minoan’ when one speaks exclusively of the island sites outside of Crete. 1921 Brit. Museum Return 60 Large beaked jug of later Cycladic style .. From Melos or Thera. 1927 Peake & Fleure Priests £f Kings 113 These [sub¬ periods] have been named in the same way, ranging from Early Cycladic I to Late Cycladic III. 1957 V. G. Childe Dawn Europ. Civilization (ed. 6) iv. 49 While it has been customary to assign most cemeteries to the Early Cycladic period (before 2000 B.C.), Aberg has shown that some graves rtiust be Middle or even Late Cycladic.

cyclamate ('sikbmeit, ’saikbmeit). [f. cyc/ohexylsulphamate, f. cyclo- + hexyl + sulphamate, f. sulpham(ic (f. sulph- + am(ide 4-ic) -I- -ate4.] A salt of cyclohexylsulphamic acid, C6Hn NH S03H, esp. the sodium and calcium salts, which have been used as artificial sweetening agents. So 'cyclamated a., containing a cyclamate, having had a cyclamate added. 1951 Jrnl. Amer. Pharm. Assoc. (Sci. ed.) XL. 1 (heading) Studies on cyclamate sodium (Sucaryl sodium), a new noncaloric sweetening agent. 1965 Observer 17 Oct. 33/1 The use of cyclamate as an ‘artificial sweetener’. Ibid., Cyclamates fed to rats at levels of 5 per cent or 10 per cent of the diet reduced their rate of growth. 1969 Daily Tel. 21 Nov. 8/2 The decision to withdraw the ban was the result of the recommendation by a special scientific panel convened to determine the best way of making cyclamated products readily available to diabetics. 1970 New Scientist 1 Jan. 21/1 The cyclamate issue .. is certainly stimulating research into ways of satisfying Man’s sweet tooth. Ibid., Cyclamates are only 30 times sweeter than sucrose and saccharin 300 times sweeter.

cyclamen ('sikbmen). Also (6 ciclamin), 7 cyclamine, siclamine, (8 ciclament). [med. and mod.L. cyclamen, L. cyclamtnos or -on, Gr. Kvic\dp.ivos (also KVKXaptLs), ? f. kvkX-os circle, with reference to the shape of the bulbous root.] a. A genus of Primulacese, belonging to Southern Europe, cultivated for their handsome early-blooming flowers; the fleshy root-stocks are greedily sought after by swine, whence the name sowbread, b. A plant of this genus. C1550 Lloyd Treas. Health (1585) Nij, Y' rote of Ciclamin. 1578 Lyte Dodoens ill. xi. 329 Of Sowbread.. There be two sortes of Cyclamen, as Dioscorides writeth. 1727 Bradley Fam. Diet. s.v. Cyclamen, The way of planting Cyclamens, is to put their Bulbs two Inches deep in the Ground. 1830 Lindley Nat. Syst. Bot. 226 The root of Cyclamen is famous for its acridity; yet this is the principal food of the wild boars of Sicily. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, First visit to Eng. Wks. (Bohn) II. 3 He praised the beautiful cyclamen which grows all about Florence.

c. The shade of colour characteristic of the red or pink cyclamen flower. 1923 Daily Mail 29 Jan. 1 In shades of Powder Blue.. Cyclamen,.. Flamingo, Pink. 1926 Spectator 24 Apr. 750/2 Sleeveless cardigan, in various shades of cyclamen, rose marie and saxe. i960 Harper's Bazaar Aug. 80/2 Cyclamen rayon satin.

cyclamin('sikbmin). Chem. [f. prec. + -in.] A poisonous principle extracted from the tubers of Cyclamen; it is a non-azotized glucoside. 1842 E. Turner Elem. Chem. (ed. 7) in. 1123 Cyclamine. 1863-72 Watts Diet. Chem. II. 294-5 Cyclamin.

cyclane ('saiklein). Chem. [f. cycl(ic a. 7 or 4-ane.] Any saturated cyclic hydrocarbon.

cy'cadeous, a. Bot. [f. mod.L. Cycade-se = Cycadacese (see prec.) + -ous.] = prec.

cycl(o-

1847 Ansted Anc. World ix. 198 The ancient shores., clothed with cycadeous vegetation. 1851 Richardson Geol. (1855) 169 Such a specimen is to be referred to some coniferous or cycadeous plant.

1932 Brit. Chem. Abstr. 559/2 (heading) Raman spectra of cyclanes... Raman spectra of cyclo-propane, -pentane, -hexane, -heptane, and -octane and their Me derivatives show great similarity. 1939 Thorpe's Diet. Appl. Chem. (ed. 4) HI- 532/1 They [sc. cyclenes] can .. readily be derived from various simple derivatives of the saturated cyclic hydrocarbons (cyclanes).

cycadiform (si'kaediform), a. [See cycad and -form.] Resembling the cycads in form. cycadite ('siksdait). Palseont. -ite.] A fossil cycad.

[f. as prec. 4-

18.. Buckland, Our fossil cycadites allied .. to existing Cycadete. 1885 J. Phillips Man. Geol. (ed. Etheridge) 11. 354-

cycamore, obs. form of sycamore. cyche, cychory, obs. ff. chich, chicory. 1651 Biggs New Disp. [* So Opium and cychory.

cyclad ('sikbd). Zool. [ad. mod.L. Cyclas, -adis the typical genus: see cyclas.] A mollusc of the

cyclar ('saikb(r)), a. rare. [f. cycle + -ar.] Of or pertaining to a cycle; = cyclic. 1768 Horsefall in Phil. Trans. LVIII. 102 D and E are the cyclar numbers, and d and e are the anno domini numbers. 1837 Fraser’s Mag. XVI. 632 The cyclar system of that ingenious nation [Egypt].

cyclarthrodial (sikb'Oraudial), a. Anat. [f. Gr. kvkX-os circle + apdpwSla articulation 4- -al1.] Of, or of the nature of, a cyclarthrosis. IIcyclarthrosis (sikb'Braosis). Anat. [mod.L., f. Gr. kvkX-os circle 4- apdpwots articulation.] A

CYCLAS

CYCLIC

189

circular or rotatory articulation, as that of the radius with the ulna. Ilcyclas (’sikbs). Hist. [L. cyclas, a. Gr. KvxXds a woman’s garment with a border all round it.] A tightly-fitting upper garment or tunic worn by women from ancient times; also sometimes by men, esp. the tunic or surcoat made shorter in front than behind, worn by knights over their armour in the 14th century. i860 Fairholt Costume 97 The lady wears a long gown, over which is a cyclas, or tightly-fitting upper-tunic. 1868 Cussans Her. i. 32 Prince John Plantagenet.. is represented .. as wearing a Cyclas, which reaches below the knees behind, and to the lower part of the thighs in front, being open at the sides as far as the hips. 1883 M. E. Haweis in Contemp. Rev. Sept. 425 Judith of Bohemia wore a cyclas worked with gold, in 1083.

H Identified or confused with ciclatoun q.v.; see also Du Cange s.v. Cyclas. •834 Planche Brit. Costume 95 A rich stuff manufactured in the Cyclades, and therefore called cyclas or ciclaton, gave its name to a garment like a dalmatica or super-tunic worn by both sexes. 1876 Rock Text. Fabr. iv. 27.

cycle ('saik(3)l), sb. Also 4, 7 cicle, 5 cikil. [a. F. cycle or ad. L. cycl-us, a. Gr. kvkXos circle.] 1. 1. Astron. A circle or orbit in the heavens. 1631 Brathwait Whimzies 13 Horizons, Hemispheares.. Astrolabes, Cycles, Epicycles, are his usuall dialect. 1667 Milton P. L. viii. 84 How gird the Sphear With Centric and Eccentric scribl’d o’re, Cycle and Epicycle, Orb in Orb. fig. 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. in. viii, What infinitely larger Cycle (of Causes) our little Epicycle revolves on.

2. a. A recurrent period of a definite number of years adopted for purposes of chronology. (See quot. 1788.) cycle of indiction: see indiction. Metonic or lunar cycle: a cycle of 10 years, established by the Greek astronomer Meton, and used for determining the date of Easter. solar cycle: a period of 28 years, at the end of which the days of the week (according to the Julian Calendar) recur on the same days of the month. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 271 The dissonaunce of pe cicles of Dionise the lesse ageyne the trawthe of gospelles. 1398 -Barth. De P.R. ix. iv. (1495) 349 The Cycle and course of the mone conteyneth twelue comyn yeres and seuen yeres Embolismalis. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. ix. xxiii. 5 De cikil of our Salvatioune Dat is pe Annuntiatiowne. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. iv. xii. 211 Of months, of years, Olympiades, Lustres, Indictions, Cycles, Jubilies, &c. 1656 Blount Glossogr. s.v., This revolution is called the Cycle of the Sun, taking name from Sunday, the letter whereof (called therefore Dominical) it appoints for every yeer. 1788 Priestley Led. Hist. in. xiv. m The greatest difficulty in chronology has been to accommodate the two methods of computing time by the course of the moon and that of the sun to each other.. This gave birth to many cycles in use among the ancients. 1844 Lingard Anglo-Sax. Ch. (1858) I. i. 47 The Roman church, about the middle of the sixth century, adopted a new cycle, which had been lately composed by Dionysius Exiguus... But the British churches .. continued to use the ancient cycle.

b. gen. A period in which a certain round of events or phenomena is completed, recurring in the same order in succeeding periods of the same length. 1662 Petty Taxes 24 The cycle within which dearths and plenties make their revolution. 1795 Burke On Scarcity Wks. VII. 379 Wages., bear a full proportion.. to the medium of provision during the last bad cycle of twenty years. 1836 J. H. Newman in Lyra Apost. (1849) 185 The world has cycles in its course, when all That once has been, is acted o’er again. 1867 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) I. iii. 96 One of those curious cycles which so often come round in human affairs.

c. A long indefinite period of time; an age. 1842 Tennyson Locksley Hall 184 Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay. 1851 Mayne Reid Scalp Hunt, xix, After many years—ages, centuries, cycles perhaps.

3. a. A recurrent round or course (of successive events, phenomena, etc.); a regular order or succession in which things recur; a round or series which returns upon itself. 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (J.), To present our gardeners with a complete cycle of what is requisite to be done throughout every month of the year. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. II. 824 The Caroline Cycle [for the election of Proctors] being still kept back a year. 1861 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 47 A committee of nine members, in which every Hanse town was in its turn represented, according to a fixed cycle. 1875 Lyell Princ. Geol. II. in. xxxvii. 329 The whole cycle of changes returns into itself, just as do the metamorphoses of an insect.

b. Physics, etc. A recurring series of operations or states, spec, in internal combustion engines. Also, short for cycles per second (abbrev. C.P.S., cps., c/s), the unit of frequency of an oscillation (as an alternating current, a sound wave, etc.). 01884 Knight Did. Mech. Suppl. 382/2 The complete cycle of motions in the Otto engine is accomplished only by two complete revolutions of the working shaft, or four strokes of the piston. 1887 Encyl. Brit. XXII. 479I Generally in heat-engines the working substance returns periodically to the same state of temperature, pressure, volume, and physical condition. When this has occurred the substance is said to have passed through a complete cycle of operations. 1893 T. O’C. Sloane Standard Electr. Diet. 175 Cycle of alternation, a full period of alternation of an alternating current. It begins properly at the zero line, goes to a maximum value in one sense and returns to zero, goes

2

to maximum in the other sense and returns to zero. 1920 Whittaker's Electr. Engineer's Pocket-Bk. (ed. 4) 348 In the early days, when electricity was used only for lighting, frequencies round about 100 cycles were usual. 1929 A. F. Collins Aviation 148 After the power stroke is completed three more strokes must take place before there is another explosion stroke and, hence, another power stroke. Then the series of strokes, or cycle, as it is called, begins all over again, and this is what is meant by a four-stroke cycle engine. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Diet. 206/1 C.P.S., cps., c/s, abbrevs. for cycles per second, the usual measure of frequency. 1944 A. Wood Physics of Music iv. 42 The lowest frequencies used in the orchestra are those of the double bass and the bass tuba, which lie between 60 and 80 cycles per second... Tones of male speech embrace a range of from 120 to 8000 c.p.s. 1959 Consumer Rep. (N.Y.) Sept. 452/2 Only one [tweeter] provided adequate and relatively uniform power in the high-frequency range to beyond 20,000 cps. 1965 Electronics Weekly 10 Mar. 22/s It operates from a standard single phase 50 c/s supply. 1967 Electronics 6 Mar. 325/1 Markus continues to use ‘cycles per second* instead of ‘hertz’.

c. Geol. cycle of erosion, sedimentation (see quots.). 1904 Chamberlin & Salisbury Geol. (1905) I. iii. 78 It has now been seen that by whatever method erosion by running water proceeds.. the final result of subaerial erosion must be the production of a base-level... The time involved in the reduction of a land area to base-level is a cycle of erosion. 1921 L. D. Stamp in Geol. Mag. LVIII. 109 A ‘cycle of sedimentation’ comprises the deposits of a complete oscillation of the basin, each oscillation including a positive phase of marine invasion and a negative phase of regression, i960-Britain's Struct. & Scenery (ed. 5) vii. 70 As the cycle of erosion progresses.. features which are due to varying resistance of the rocks.. gradually become eliminated as the surface is reduced to a monotonous level.. plain.

4. gen. A round, course, or period through which anything runs in order to its completion; a single complete period or series of successive events, etc. 1821 Shelley Adonais xxvii, Or hadst thou waited the full cycle, when Thy spirit should have filled its crescent sphere. 1845-6 Trench Huls. Lect. Ser. 1. iv. 66 The cycle of God’s teaching is complete. 1869 J. Martineau Ess. II. 230 Doctrines which have run their cycle.

5. A complete set or series; a circle, a round. 1662 Evelyn Chalcogr. Bb, To compile, and publish a Compleat Cycle and Hystory of Trades. 1678 Wood Life (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) II. 401 Vide the printed cycle for names of collectors and how many admitted. 1829 Scott Demonol. iv. 121 [He] figures among a cycle of champions. 01836 Godwin Ess. (1873) 217 The most intolerable sentence in the whole cycle of religious morality. 6. spec. A series of poems or prose romances,

collected round or relating to a central event or epoch of mythic history and forming a continuous narrative; as the Arthurian cycle. Also transf. Originally used in the Epic cycle [Gr. o(eirucds) kukAo?], the series of epic poems written by later poets (Cyclic poets) to complete Homer, and presenting (with the Iliad and Odyssey) a continuous history of the Trojan war and of all the heroes engaged in it. 1835 Thirlwall Greece I. vi. 248 They., formed the basis or nucleus of the epic cycle. 1837 Penny Cycl. IX. 470/1 Those cycles of metrical romances which have for their subjects the exploits of Alexander the Great, King Arthur, and other heroes. 1870 Swinburne Ess. & Stud. (1875) 66 The marvellous opening cycle of twenty-eight sonnets. 1873 H. Morley First Sk. Eng. Lit. 61 The cycle of the Charlemagne romances.. those of the Arthurian cycle. 1874 H. R. Reynolds John Bapt. i. §6. 56 The mythopoeic faculty has not engendered a cycle of miracles around the simple story.

7. Med. [L. cyclus.] With the ‘methodic’ physicians: A course of remedies, hygienic and medicinal, continued during a fixed series of days. 1882 Svd. Soc. Lex. s.v. Cyclus, Cselius Aurelianus distinguished three kinds of cycles or periods.. The cycle was resumed several times if needed. 8. Bot. A complete turn of the spire recognized

in the theory of spiral leaf-arrangement. 1857 Henfrey Bot. 41 The series of leaves included by the spiral line in passing from the first leaf to that which stands directly above it is called a cycle.

9. Zool. In corals, a set of septa of equal length. 1877 Huxley Anat. Inv. Anim. iii. 164 The septa in the adult Hexacoralla .. of the same lengths are members of one ‘cycle’; and the cycles are numbered according to the lengths of the septa, the longest being counted as the first. In the young, six equal septa constitute the first cycle.

10. Math. a. Geom. A closed path in a cyclic or multiply-connected region, b. (See quot. 1893.) 1881 Maxwell Electr. & Magn. I. 16 Every new line completes a loop or closed path, or, as we shall call it, a cycle. i893 Forsyth Theory of Functions 593 In the theory of Substitution-Groups the set of homologous corners of a given region is called a cycle.

11. 11. [An abbreviation, familiar and conveniently inclusive, of bicycle and tricycle; but Gr. kvkXos ‘circle’ also meant ‘wheel’.] A bicycle, tricycle, or other machine of the kind. [1870 Nat. Hist. Bicycles in Belgravia Feb. 443 Another idea for a monocycle (which, by the way, might be called a ‘cycle’ at once, for shortness).] 1881 Pall Mall G. 23 June 10/2 The ‘spider wheel’.. marks the commencement of the present era of ’cycles. 1882 Standard 1 May 3 *7 To tax ‘Cycles’ for the benefit of those who have carriages.

12. attrib. and Comb, (chiefly in sense 11), as cycle-battery, -horn, -man, -racing, -scout, -shop, -track, etc.; cycle-car, a light motor-

driven vehicle with three (rarely four) wheels;

cycle-clip = bicycle-clip-, cycleway, a path or lane for the (usu. exclusive) use of bicycles; cf.

bikeway s.v. bike sb.2 2b. 1887 Spectator 17 Sept. 1244 We may see the time when •cycle-batteries will be a feature of every army. 1913 (title) The autocyle, side car and *cycle car user. 1914 Morn. Post 9 Feb. 5 A Cyclecar Paperchase. 1954 ‘N. Shute’ Slide Rule 12 A little car built of motor bicycle components, then known as a cyclecar. 1939-40 Army & Navy Stores Catal. p. xxxi/i ’Cycle clips. 1955 P. Larkin Less Deceived 28 Hatless, I take off My cycle-clips in awkward reverence. 1891 Bicycling News 141 Bells and *cycle-homs. 1887 Globe 19 Apr., ‘*Cycleman’ is the latest name for the ‘Uhlan on wheels’. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 153 Rover *cycleshop. 1916 - Portrait of Artist iv. 182 Some jesuits were walking round the *cycletrack. 1936 Min. Transport Circ. 454 (Roads) 2 Separate cycle tracks will often be justified solely on the grounds of public safety. 1963 Ann. Reg. ig62 449 Extensive use was made of cycle tracks and pedestrian footpaths for segregating traffic about other parts of the town. 1899 Sci. Amer. 13 May 296/3 Mr. Horace M. Dobbins, of Pasadena, organized what is known as the ‘California ’Cycleway Company’. 1963 Times 13 Dec. 15/4 Professor Buchanan might well consider again some adaptation of the Stevenage ‘cycleways’ experiment. 1972 Oxford Times 27 Oct. 3 Cycleways could be introduced in many parts of Oxford. 1983 M. W. Jones Snickelways of York 10/2 The York City Council bestowed upon the street the status of cycleway.

cycle ('saik(3)l), v. [f. prec.

sb. Cf. Gr. kvkXcIv to

go round and round.]

1. intr. To move or revolve in cycles; to pass through cycles. 1842 Tennyson Tuio Voices 348 It may be that no life is found, Which only to one engine bound Falls off, but cycles always round. 1859 Darwin Orig. Spec. xiv. 490 Whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity.

2. To ride a bicycle or tricycle, to travel by cycle. 1883 [see cycling vbl. sb.]. 1891 Cycl. Tour. Club Gaz. Dec. 340 On landing at Dieppe [he] would cycle or train, according to the state of the weather.

cycle,

obs. form of shekel, sickle.

cycled ('saik(3)ld), ppl. a.

[f. cycle + -ed.] Characterized by or consisting of cycles.

1850 Tennyson In Mem. lxxxv. 28 All knowledge that the sons of flesh Shall gather in the cycled times.

cycledom ('saik(3)ld3m). nonce-wd. [f. cycle sb. 11 + -dom.] The domain or‘world’of cycles and their riders. 1890 B. W. Richardson in AsclepiadWl. 24 In the world of cycledom. 1892 Standard 18 Mar. 6/4 Neither do we intend usurping the part of protectors to Italian cycledom.

cycler (’saikb(r)). [f.

cycle t>. 2 + -er.] One who rides a bicycle or tricycle. 1884 Springfield Wheelmen s Gaz. Nov. 105/2 Over 5000 were mounted cyclers. 1888 J. Pennell in Pall Mall G. 25 Oct. 5 From the standpoint of a touring cycler.

cyclery ('saikbri). N. Amer. [f.

cycle sb. 11

+

-ery.] A bicycle shop. 1897 Trans-Mississippian (Council Bluffs, Iowa) 20 Apr. (Advt.), Council Bluffs Cyclery. 1899 J. F. Fraser Round World on Wheel xxxvii. 484 There is a cyclery—that’s an American word—where machines are hired out at a shilling an hour. 1901 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 1 Oct. 8/2 (Advt.), The stock, tools, etc. of the B.C. Cyclery & Supply Co. 1936 Mencken Amer. Lang. (ed. 4) 176 In Pasadena, Calif.,.. there is a battery, in South Pasadena a cyclery.

cyclette (sai'klst).

[Fr.: see -ette.]

A small

(motor) bicycle. 1898 Daily News 15 Nov. 7/6 The one-mile motor cyclette race. 1923 Daily Mail 28 Feb. 6 The Paris-Nice Trial. How the motor cyclettes fared under strenuous conditions.

cyclian ('siklian), a.

rare. [f. Gr. kvkXl-os circular, cyclic + -an.] = cyclic 2, 3. 1699 Bentley P/10/. Wks. 1836 I. 341 The chorus belonging to the dithyramb was not called a tragic, but cyclian chorus. 1840 tr. Muller's Hist. Lit. Greece xiv. 204 In the time of Aristophanes, the expressions ‘dithyrambic poet’ and ‘teacher of cyclian choruses’ (wtcXiobibaoKaXos) were nearly synonymous. 1847 Leitch tr. Muller's Anc. Art §415 The Cyclian poets, who formed the introduction and continuation to the Iliad.

cyclic ('saiklik, 'si-), a. [a. F. cyclique (16th c. in Hatzfeld), or ad. L. cyclic-us, a Gr. kvkXikos moving in a circle, cyclic, f. kvkXos cycle.] 1. a. Of or pertaining to a cycle or cycles; of the nature of a cycle; revolving or recurring in cycles. 1794 Sullivan View Nat. II. 226 The order he [Moses] has given his narrative is.. conformable to the cyclic ideas of the people he lived amongst. 1840 Mrs. Browning Drama of Exile, While all the cyclic heavens about me spun. 1879 Proctor Pleas. Ways Sc. ii. 31 Cyclic associations between solar and terrestrial phenomena.

b. Belonging to a definite chronological cycle. 1838 Arnold Hist. Rome I. xvii. 368 note, Twenty cyclic years, of ten months each. 1850 C. P. Brown (title). Cyclic Tables of Chronology of the history of the Telugu and Kannadi countries (Madras).

c. Characterized by recurrence in cycles. 1885 F. W. Pary in Lancet 17 Oct. 706 These cases .. have a cyclic character belonging to them, and hence my adoption of the term Cyclic Albuminuria. 1886 Braithwaite's Retrosp. Med. XCIII. 219 A Physiological cyclic change. 1888

CYCLICAL

190

Fagge Princ. & Pract. Med. (ed. 2) II. 600 ‘ Cyclic albuminuria’, by which is denoted the recurrence of traces of albumen in the urine at more or less regular intervals. d. Aeronaut, cyclic pitch control, a method of

controlling the direction or motion of a helicopter by varying the angle of the rotor blades during each cycle of rotation. So cyclic pitch lever, stick. 1944 H. F. Gregory Helicopter (1948) xiv. 164 The first and probably the most common [method of controlling helicopters].. is called cyclic pitch control. What it means is the change of pitch of a blade.. as the blade moves in its cycle of rotation. 1959 F. D. Adams Aeronaut. Diet. 55/2 Cyclic pitch stick, a control stick for cyclic pitch control. 1962 Flight Internat. LXXXI. 865/2 According to the position of a pendulous ‘cyclic-pitch’ lever, the complete rotor disc and resulting lift vector can be tilted to control the flight path.

2. a. Of or belonging to a cycle of mythic and heroic story: see cycle sb. 6. Cyclic poet one of the writers of the ‘Epic cycle*. a 1822 Shelley Def. Poetry Prose Wks. 1888 II. 20 They are the episodes of that cyclic poem written by Time upon the memories of men. 1840 tr. Muller's Hist. Lit. Greece vi. 64 This class of [later] epic poets is called the Cyclic, from their constant endeavour to connect their poems with those of Homer, so that the whole should form a great cycle. 1868 Gladstone Juv. Mundi i. (1870) 11 The Cyclic Poems, which aimed at completing the circle of events with which they deal.

b. transf. Belonging to the cycle of current Greek tradition which underlies the Synoptic Gospels, as distinguished from what is peculiar to a single Synoptist.

as influenced by the Daily, Seasonal, and other Cyclical Changes in the Human System.

b. Belonging to a definite chronological cycle. 1838 Arnold Hist. Rome I. xviii. 382 The truce.. was to last only for forty cyclical years of ten months each. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 579 Plato also speaks of an ‘annus magnus’ or cyclical year. 3. = CYCLIC 2. 1841 De Quincey Homer Wks. VI. 293 The many epic and cyclical poems which arose during post-Homeric ages. 1873 S ymonds Grk. Poets vii. (1877) 203 The cyclical poets.

4. Bot. a. Rolled up circularly, as the embryos of many seeds. b. Arranged in whorls, verticillate; hence transf. in Zool. 1866 in Treas. Bot. 1870 Hooker Stud. Flora 36 Wartcress.. embryo in some species cyclical. 1881 W. B. Carpenter Microscope 546 We find in the nautiloid spire a tendency to pass.. into the cyclical mode of growth.

5. cyclical number: (see quot.). 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 113 A perfect or cyclical number, i.e. a number in which the sum of the divisors equals the whole.

cyclically ('saiklikali, 'si-), adv. [f. cyclical a. -f -ly2.] In a cyclic or cyclical way; in cycles. 1882 Proc. R. Soc. XXXIV. 40 When any cyclic change of I is made to take place by varying H cyclically. 1895 Athenaeum 1 June 710/1 Mr. Burstall commenced the reading of a paper ‘On the Measurement of a Cyclically Varying Temperature’. 1939 New Republic 27 Sept. 210 Employment in this area has been decreased by thousands, not as a result of recession but in addition to the thousands of men cyclically displaced. 1961 P. J. Davis Lore of Large Numbers 60 A decimal whose digits recur cyclically must be a fraction.

1851 Westcott Introd. Gospels iv. (ed. 5) 225 In all the cases of Cyclic quotations parallels occur in the other Synoptic Gospels agreeing (as St. Matthew) with the LXX.

cyclicism ('siklisiz(3)m).

3. cyclic chorus [Gr. kvkXios yopo?] in Gr. Antiq.: the dithyrambic chorus, which was danced in a ring round the altar of Dionysus.

1857 Gosse Creation 367 The principle of prochronic development obtains wherever we are able to test it; that is wherever another principle, that of cyclicism, exists.

1846 Worcester, Cyclic.. noting chorus, cyclical. Beck.

cyclicotomy

a

kind

of verse

or

4. Bot. Of a flower: Having its parts arranged in whorls. 1875 Bennett & Dyer Sachs' Bot. 565 In the great majority of Dicotyledons the parts of the flower are arranged in whorls, or the flowers are cyclic; only in a comparatively small number of families .. are all or some of them arranged spirally (acyclic or hemicyclic).

5. Math. Of or pertaining to a circle or cycle. spec, cyclic axis (of a cone of the second order): a line through the vertex perpendicular to the circular section of the cone. (1852 Booth.) cyclic constant, the constant by which a many-valued function is increased after describing a non-evanescible circuit or cycle in a cyclic region. (1881 Maxwell Electr. 8c Magn. I. 18.) cyclic planes (of a cone of the second order): the two planes through one of the axes which are parallel to the circular section of the cone. (1874 Salmon Analyt. Geom. Three Dim. 194.) Sometimes used of any circular sections, cyclic quadrilateral: one inscribable in a circle. (1888 Casey Plane Trigonometry 184.) cyclic regiem: a region or domain within which a closed line can be drawn in such a manner that it cannot shrink indefinitely without passing out of the region.

6. Gr. Prosody. Of a dactyl or anapaest: Occupying in scansion only three ‘times’ instead of four; applied to dactyls which interchange, not (as in Hexameters) with spondees, but with trochees. 1844 Beck & Felton tr. Munk's Metres 102 The cyclic anapaests, so called, are analogous to the irrational dactyls. 1879 L. Campbell Sophocles I. Pref. 44 According to a doubtful theory the dactyls in logaoedic verse are each of them equivalent in time to a trochee, much as a triplet may be occasionally introduced in ordinary music without altering the time. Such a foot is called a ‘lyrical’ or ‘cyclic’ dactyl (7tou9 kvkXios).

7. Org. Chem. Of a compound: having a molecular structure containing one or more ‘closed chains’ or rings of atoms; also, of or pertaining to such compounds. See also ALICYCLIC,

CARBO-CYCLIC,

HETEROCYCLIC,

isocyclic (s.v. iso-) adjs. 1898 Jfrnl. Chem. Soc. LXXIV. 1. 637 It is extremely difficult to separate benzene from cyclic hydrocarbons boiling at a much lower temperature. 1913 Bloxam's Chem. (ed. 10) 544 The cyclic or closed-chain series. 1923 T. H. Pope tr. Molinari's Org. Chem. II. 616 Cyclic compounds. 1937 Thorpe's Diet. Appl. Chem. (ed. 4) I. 33/2 Cyclic acetals, of use in perfumery and as industrial solvents, are made by condensing dihydric alcohols with unsubstituted araliphatic aldehydes. 1961 L. F. & M. Fieser Adv. Org. Chem. ii. 51 The hydrocarbon is indeed known, and since it has the same number of carbon atoms as propane but is cyclic it is called cyclopropane.

cyclical ('saiklikal, 'si-), a. [f. as prec. + -al1.] 1. Of a line: Returning into itself so as to form a closed curve, rare. 1817 Coleridge Biog. Lit. 122 [The point] must flow back again on itself; that is, there arises a cyclical line which does inclose a space.

b. Of a letter: Circular, encyclical, rare. 1879 Farrar St. Paul I. 434 The genuineness of this cyclical letter is evinced by its extreme naturalness. 2. = CYCLIC I. a 1834 Coleridge (W.), Time, cyclical time, was their abstraction of the Deity. 1837 Sir F. Palgrave Merch. & Friar iii. (1844) ?8 Modes of thought, not cyclical, but successive. 1854 Moseley Astron. lxxix. (ed. 4) 219 The changes of the planetary orbits must return in certain cyclical periods. 1861 E. Smith (title), Health and Disease,

[f. cyclic + -ism.] The quality of being cyclic; cyclic condition.

(sikli'kntami). Surg. [f. Gr. circular + -ropia a cutting.] Division of the ciliary body. kvkXiko-s

1882 in Syd. Soc. Lex.

cyclide ('saiklid, ‘siklaid). Geom. [a. F. cyclide, f. cycle.] ‘The envelope of a sphere whose centre moves on a fixed quadric, and which cuts a fixed sphere orthogonally’ (Salmon). 1874 Salmon Analyt. Geom. Three Dim. 496. 1881 H. in Athenaeum 23 Apr. 563/2 On the Five Focal Quadrics of a Cyclide. Hart

cycling, vbl. sb. and ppl. a. [f. cycle v.] a. The action or activity of riding a bicycle etc.; that rides a bicycle etc. 1883 B. W. Richardson Cycling in Longm. Mag. Oct. 593 To the human family the art of cycling is the bestowal of a new faculty. Ibid. 595 The choicest representatives of cycling circles.

b. cycling lizard, a kind of lizard found in Australia (see quots.). 1937 Discovery May 137/1 The Racehorse or Cycling Lizard.. runs at an incredible speed .. and the movement of the back legs bears a remarkable resemblance to the motion of a cyclist. 1955 A. J. Ross Australia 55 46 The ‘cycling’ lizard, whose leg motions resemble the pedalling action of a man on a bicycle,.. of which the Commonwealth Railway brochure speaks so enticingly.

cyclism (’saikliz(3)m). nonce-wd. [f. cycle sb. + -ism.] The practice of the cyclist; the use of bicycles or tricycles as a means of progression. 1890 Sat. Rev. 2 Aug. 136/1 Military cyclism .. only asks for.. fair trial.

cyclist ('saikhst).

[f. as prec. + -ist.] One who rides a cycle or practises cycling. 1882 Pall Mall G. 25 Sept. 3 The cyclists of London. 1887 Times 9 Apr. 5/4, I passed a group of Lieutenant-Colonel Savile’s military cyclists. attrib. 1884 C. Dickens jun. Diet. Lond. 37/2 The Cyclist Touring Club. 1887 Times 8 Apr. 4/1 There will be an extensive reconnaissance carried out by the Cyclist Corps to the north-east of Canterbury.

2. One who reckons by a cycle or cycles; one who recognizes cycles in the course of phenomena, etc. Hence cy'clistic a. 1882 Bazaar, Exch. & Mart 15 Feb. 175 Readers with cyclistic tendencies.

Ilcyclitis (si'klaitis). Path. [f. Gr.

kvkX-os circle + -ITIS.] Inflammation of the ciliary body.

1861 Bumstead Ven. Dis. (1879) 718 Inflammations of the ciliary body, or cyclitis.

cyclize (’saiklaiz), v. Org. Chem. [f. cycl(ic a. 7 + -ize.] trans. To make (a compound) cyclic (cyclic a. 7); intr. to undergo cyclization, become cyclic. So cycli'zation, the rearrangement of the atoms in a molecule to form one or more ‘closed chains’ or rings: 'cyclized ppl. a. 1909 Chem. News 16 July 24/2 The cyclisation of ketone acids always occurs at one of the carbon atoms near the ketone function. Cyclic chains containing C5 and C6 are most easily formed. 1933 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. 11. mi The cyclisation of aromatic compounds in which a cyclic system forms part of an unsaturated side chain. 1934 Webster, Cyclize v.t. 1936 Nature 7 Mar. 411/2 Open ‘cyclised’

CYCLOpolypeptides. 1942 G. Egloff et al. Isomerization of Pure Hydrocarbons vi. 170 1,1,3,3-Tetraphenylbutene cyclized at 2150 in the presence of ‘Floridin’. Ibid. vi. 171 The other form, when treated in the same manner, cyclized into i-bcnzyl-2, 3-diphenylindane. 1949 H. W. Florey et al. Antibiotics II. xxviii. 958 Attempts to cyclize this compound. 1954 Archit. Rev. CXV. 356/1 Cyclized (or isomerized) rubber is mostly used for paints which are required to withstand steam and condensation and is thus most commonly used in kitchens and bathrooms. 1967 M. E. Hale Biol. Lichens viii. 117 A similar pathway, but with reduction instead of cyclization, could explain the synthesis of fatty acids.

cyclo- (saiktau, sikteo). 1. Combining form of Gr. kvkXos circle (see cycle), occurring in many technical terms; e.g. cyclo'branchian, a mollusc belonging to the sub-order Cyclobranchia; cyclo'branchiate a. [Gr. /Spdyxia gills]- having gills circularly arranged; applied to a suborder of gastropodous molluscs (Cyclobranchia, -branchiata)-, also said of the gills; cyclo'centric a. (see quot.); cycloce'phalian, -lie a.\ cyclo'cephalus \_KeaXri head] (see quots.); cyclo'clinal a. Geol. [cf. anticlinal], sloping in all directions from a central point; = quaquaversal; cyclo'ccelic a. [koiA/h intestines], having the intestines coiled: said of birds; opposed to orthocoslic; cyclo’gangliate, -ated a. Zool., having circularly-arranged ganglia; 'cyclogen Bot. [-yevys born, produced], a plant having woody tissue disposed in concentric circles; = exogen; so cy'clogenous a. (Syd. Soc. Lex.)\ cyclo'giro, -gyro [cf. autogiro], see quots.; 'cyclogram [-gram], the figure produced by a cyclograph; 'cyclograph [-ypaipos writer], (a) an instrument for tracing circular arcs; (b) Electr. (see quots.); hence cyclo'graphic a.; cy'clographer, a writer of a cycle (of legends, etc.); 'cyclolith [Xldos stone, after monolith, etc.], a name given by some archaeologists to a prehistoric stone circle; ,cyclomor’phosis Biol. [ad. G. cyclomorphose (R. Lauterborn 1904, in Verh. Naturh.-Med. Ver., Heidelberg VII. 614), occas. used in English], the phenomenon in certain organisms, esp. planktonic animals, of undergoing recurrent seasonal changes in form; cyclo'neurous, -’ose a. Zool., having the nervous axis circularly arranged, as in the Radiata; cyclo'plegia Path. [Gr. nXyyi) stroke], paralysis of the ciliary muscle; hence cyclo'plegic a., producing cycloplegia; sb. a cycloplegic agent; cy'clopterous a. [7rrepov wing], round-winged, round-finned; cyclo'rrhaphous a. Ent. [f. mod.L Cyclorapha, Cyclorrhapha (F. Brauer Monographie der Oestriden (1863) 34), Gr. pai/j eye. In It. and Sp. Ciclope, Pg. and F. Cyclope, whence Eng. Cyclop.] 1. One of a race of one-eyed giants in ancient Greek mythology, who forged thunderbolts for Zeus. Hence often used allusively. a. sing. Cyclops, pi. Cyclopes-, but the latter in early use may be like F. Cyclopes, pi. of Cyclope. 1513 Douglas JEnets hi. x. 39 A huge peple we se Of Ciclopes cum hurland to the port. 1561 T. Norton Calvin s Inst. 1. 7 Vnlesse the Epicureans like the Giauntes Cyclopes would.. make warre against God. 1645 Milton Tetrach. (1851) 234 Such an obdurat Cyclops, to have but one eye for this text. 1802 Wordsw. Daisy iv, A little cyclops, with one eye Staring to threaten and defy. 1883 Liddell & Scott Gr. Lex. (ed. 7) s.v., In Hesiod Theogony 140, we find three Cyclopes.. who forged the thunderbolts for Zeus.

fi. sing. Cyclop, pi. Cyclops. [F. Cyclope, -s.] 1592 R. D. Hypnerotomachia 3 b, Achemenides being afraide of the horrible Cyclops. 1602 Shaks. Ham. 11. ii. 511. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg, iv. 245 The Cyclops, at th’ Almighty Nod, New Thunder hasten for their angry God. 1725 Pope Odyss. ix. 473 The Cyclops all that round him dwell. Ibid. 484 The Cyclop from his den replies. 1819 Shelley Cyclops 111 Cyclops, who live in caverns, not in houses. 1855 Macaulay Hist. IV. xix. 321 In front of the helmet was a huge glass eye like that of a cyclop.

y. pi. Cyclopses. 1681 Rycaut Critick 206 What shall I say of so many Cyclopses? 1819 Shelley Cyclops 25 The one-eyed children of the Ocean God, The man-destroying Cyclopses.

2.

Zool. A genus of small fresh-water copepods, having an eye (apparently single, but really double) situated in the middle of the front of the head. 1849-52 Todd Cycl. Anat. IV. 967/1 The metamorphosis of the eyes in.. Cyclops, i860 Gosse Rom. Nat. Hist. 63 Tiny cyprides and Cyclopes disporting in the umbrageous groves of their world.

3. attrib. and Comb. (Cf. cyclope a.) 1682 Dryden Medal 226 Then, Cyclop like, in humane Flesh to deal. 1687 Third Coll. Poems, A Warning (1689) 29/1 His Cyclop Priests will make you truckle under. 1803 Sarrett New Piet. London 177 A Cyclops pig. .because it has only one eye., placed in the middle of the forehead.

cyclorama (saikta'raima). [mod.f. Gr. kvkXos circle + opapa spectacle.] 1. A picture of a landscape or scene arranged on the inside of a cylindrical surface, the spectator standing in the middle. 1840 Penny Cycl. XVII. 191 The panorama forms the surface of a hollow cylinder.. (whence it is .. called .. cyclorama). 1849 {title), Description of the Royal Cyclorama .. Regents Park, opened in 1848. 1888 Pall Mall G. 25 June 11 /1 The cyclorama [of Niagara] which has ‘fetched’ all London.

2. Theatr. A large backcloth or wall, freq. curved, at the back of a stage, used esp. to represent the sky. 1915 H. K. Moderwell Theatre To-Day ii. 52 The ‘skydrops’.. have been replaced .. by an invention that makes a natural landscape possible. This is the ‘Horizont’, which we may name for the purpose a cyclorama. 1930 Observer 18 May 11/2 The stage will have unique features, including an artificial horizon or cyclorama. 1957 Oxf. Compan. Theatre (ed. 2) 173 The cyclorama is, in essence, a curved wall, or section of a dome, built at the back of the stage, and demanding one quality—an absolutely unbroken surface. 1958 W. T. O’Dea Social Hist. Lighting vii. 166 In 1902 the first attempts were made to produce coloured sky effects by coloured light only, the ‘cyclorama’ being installed by Mariano Fortuny at the Scala Opera House in Milan. The cyclorama, which is a smooth, light-coloured surface the full height and width of the stage, can also be used for optical projection of scenery and effects, but it must not be in the path of any illumination other than that deliberately cast upon it.

Hence cyclo'ramic a. 1886 Appleton's Ann. Cycl. 278 (in Cent. Diet.) The laws of cycloramic perspective.

cyclosis (sai'kbusis). [a. Gr. kvkXcuols encircling, f. kvk\o-€iv to encircle, to move in a circle.] 1. Biol. A term (proposed by C. H. Schultz in 1831) for the circulation of latex (milky juice) in

obs. forms of chicory.

'cycular, a.

[An illiterate formation from vehicular (f. vehicul-um): cf. bicycular.] Pertaining to cycles or cycling.

cycle,

after

1891 Cyclist 25 Feb. 142 Entirely in touch with matters cycular. 1892 Strand Mag. July 33/2 The high-water mark of cycular invention.

cyd, var. of side a. Obs., hanging low. cyder, var. of

kvkAoy + otvXos pillar, column + quot.)

Cyderach,

-ar.]

(See

1850 Weale Diet. Terms, Cyclostylar, relating to a structure composed of a circular range of columns without a core; with a core, the range would be a peristyle.

cider.

var. of ciderage, Obs. *579 Langham Gard. Health (1633) 37 Cyderach .. apply it to greene or fresh wounds.

IlCydippe (sai'dipi:).

Zool.

[mod.L., a. Gr. A typical genus of Ctenophora, of which one beautiful species, C. pilosa, is common in the British Seas. Hence cy'dippian a.; cy'dippid, a ctenophoran of the family of Cydippe. Kvhlmrr) proper name of a Nereid.]

cyclostyle ('saikbustail), sb. [f. Gr. «wAos circle, wheel + style, L. stilus.] Name of an apparatus for printing copies of writing. It consists of a pen with a small toothed wheel at the point which cuts minute holes in specially prepared paper tightly stretched over a zinc plate; this paper is then used as a stencil-plate from which copies are printed. Hence cyclostyle apparatus, ink, pen, etc. 1883 Knowledge 16 Feb. Advt., The Cyclostyle. 1887 Chicago Advance 19 May 306/1 She. .prints it herself with the cyclostyle. 1892 Pall Mall G. 17 June 6/1 This is probably the last specimen of a cyclostyle-printed journal which will see the light in Mashonaland.

'cyclostyle, v.

[f. the sb.] trans. To print (copies) by cyclostyle. Hence 'cyclostyled ppl. a. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 3 July 2/3 Note the gradual rise from the cyclostyled circular to the printed appeal. 1928 Daily Express 5 Mar. 2/3 No candidate can be directly boosted by name in any matter printed, typed, or cyclostyled. 1957 Times 19 Aug. 2/7 The inquirer’s first carefree letter to manufacturers will be answered by a flood of shiny prospectuses and cyclostyled price lists.

cy'clotomy. [f. Gr. kvkXos circle -I- -ropua cutting. In sense 1 rendering Ger. kreistheilung.] 1. Math. The problem of the division of a circle into a given number of equal parts (Sylvester). 1879 Sylvester in Amer. Jrnl. Math. 380 Bachmann’s work, as it seems to me, gives proof, that Cyclotomy is to be regarded not as an incidental application, but as the natural and inherent centre and core of the arithmetic of the future. 1892 Mathews Theory of Numbers 1. 184.

2. Ophthalmic Surg. (See quot.) 1889 Berry Dis. Eye vii. 222 Division of the ciliary muscle, or cyclotomy. Hence cyclo'tomic a., as in cyclotomic

functions. 1879 Sylvester in Amer. Jrnl. Math. 357 The species of cyclotomic.. functions of which the cubic function above written is an example.

+ -tron.] An apparatus for accelerating charged atomic particles by subjecting them repeatedly to a (usu. horizontal) electric field as they revolve in orbits of increasing diameter in a constant (usu. vertical) magnetic field. cyclo-

E. O. Lawrence et al. in Physical Rev. XLVIII. 495/2 An apparatus of the type developed by Lawrence and Livingston was used to produce a beam of high speed deuterons... Since we shall have many occasions in the future to refer to this apparatus, we feel that it should have a name. The term ‘magnetic resonance accelerator’ is suggested... The word ‘cyclotron’, of obvious derivation, has come to be used as a sort of laboratory slang for the magnetic device. 1936 Discovery June 193/1 Princeton University is.. developing its high voltage apparatus by the installation of a cyclotron, which has proved the most satisfactory means of procuring the high-speed ions necessary for the study of nuclear transformations. 1942 Endeavour I. 40/1 The cyclotron .. consists essentially of a large electromagnet with circular pole pieces, between which is fixed a shallow cylindrical vacuum-tight metal chamber. 1951 Sci. News XXII. 58 The cyclotron derives directly from the linear accelerator. The great length and numerous electrodes of the linear accelerator can be avoided if the particles are made to move in a spiral path by a magnetic field. 1966 [see dee sb. 2]. 1969 Auden City without Walls 97 The High Priests of telescopes and cyclotrons Keep making pronouncements. *935

Hcyclus ('sikbs, ’saikbs).

[L., a. Gr. kvkXos = cycle 6; also a series of pictures representing romantic or historical cycle.

cycle.]

1810 H. Weber Metr. Rom. I. lntrod. 69 A .. third cyclus of romance, no less extensive than that of Arthur and of Charlemagne. 1837-9 Hallam Hist. Lit. (1847) I. iv. §65. 305 That legendary cyclus of heroic song. 1838 Baroness Bunsen in Hare Life I. xi. 482 Hesse’s designs for a cyclus representing the conversion of Germany to Christianity.

'cyclorn. = cycle-horn: see cycle sb. 12. 1891 Wheeling 4 Mar. 426 With an eldritch screech from his cyclorn. 1891 Cycl. Tour. Club Gaz. Aug. 200/1 The croak of a cyclorn warns him.

cycorie, -y,

cyclostylar (saikbu'staib(r)), a. Arch. [f. Gr.

cyclotron ('saikbtmn). [f.

cyclopy: see cyclopia.

the

cycnean, cygnean (sik'niian, sig-), a. rare. [f. L. cycneus, cygneus, = Gr. kvkvcios, f. eyenus, cygnus swan.] swan’s.

*835-6 Todd Cycl. Anat. I. 39/1. 1846 Patterson Zool. 39 We took a dead Cydippe, and..exposed it to the sun. *855 Gosse Marine Zool. I. 39 The Beroes and Cydippes.. look like tiny melons of glass, down whose bodies run bands or meridian-lines of paddles, i860 Agassiz Nat. Hist. 17.S. III. 184, I merely infer its Cydippian relationship from the position of the tentacles. 1888 Rolleston & Jackson Anim. Life 721 The larva is at first a Cydippid-form.

feydon. Obs. rare. [f. L. cydonia (sc. mala) quinces, quince, from Cydonia, KvSuivla a town of Crete. (In L. also cotonia, cotonea, whence Pr. codoing, F. coing, OF. pi. coins, Eng. quince.)] Quince. Hence fey'doniate v., to treat with juice of quinces, 'cydonin, mucilage of quince seeds. *643 J. Steer tr. Exp. Chyrurg. vi. 26 Adde.. the musilage of Cydon seeds a little. 1684 tr. Bonet's Merc. Compit. xix. 743 The tincture of Steel pomated or cydoniated. 1853 Pereira Elem. Mat. Med. (ed. 3) II. 11. 1814 Cydonin (peculiar gum of Quince Seed). 1882 Syd. Soc. Lex., Cydonin.. forming the chief part of the secondary membrane of the epidermis of the seed.

cyen, cyence: cyerge, cyete,

see scion. obs. forms of cierge, city.

cyesiology (saiiisi'obd^). [f. Gr. kwiois conception, pregnancy + -(o)logy.] That branch of physiology which treats of pregnancy. 1846 Worcester cites Dunglison. 1882 in Syd. Soc. Lex.

cyfer, cyffre, cyfre, cyft, cygh,

obs. forms of cipher sb.

obs. forms of sift, sigh.

'cygnean, a.:

see cycnean.

cygneous (’signiras), a. [f. L. cygn-us swan: cf. L. cycneus, cygneus of a swan.] Swan-like; in Bryology, curved like a swan’s neck. 1880 R. Braithwaite Brit. Moss-Flora I. 192 Phascum curvicolle.. perichsetium rufous-purple, oval with a short apiculus, on a pale cygneous pedicel.

cygnet ('sigrut). Forms: 5 sygnett, syngnett, 5-7 signett, 6 singnett, 6-7 signet, 6-8 cygnette, 7- cygnet. [A dim., of (?) Anglo-Fr. formation, of F. cygne or swan. OF. had the dim. cignel, cigneau

F. cygne is found in end of 14th c., but the ordinary OF. form was cine, earlier cisne, cinne. Cisne appears to be cognate with Sp. cisne, and Olt. cecino swan, which Romanic scholars derive from L. cicinus = eyenus, a. Gr. kvkvos swan. L. eyenus appears to have split into two types: *cicinus, found in Plautus (and app. in late popular Latin), whence the Romanic forms, and cygnus, which was long the accepted form in later MSS. and texts. Under the influence of the latter OF. cine became cygne (cf. mod. It. cigno).]

1. A young swan. In Her. see quot. 1825. c 1430 Two Cookery-bks. 57 Conuiuium domini Henrici Regis quarti, In coronacione sua apud Westmonasterium .. Graund chare. Syngnettys. 1481-90 Howard Househ. Bks. (Roxb.) 281 That brout venison and ij. signetts to my Lady. 1562 Bulleyn Bk. Simples (1579) 78 The Signets bee better than the old Swannes. 1591 Shaks. j Hen. VI, v. iii. 56 So doth the Swan her downie Signets saue. 1616 R. C. Times' Whistle vii. 2938 Her skin sleek sattin or the cygnettes brest. 1634 Althorp MS. in Simpkinson Washingtons xv, For 1 dozen of signetts. 1707 Fleetwood Chron. Prec. (1745) 86 For 8 Cignets or young Swans. 1825 W. Berry Encycl. Herald. I, Cygnet.. properly, a young swan, but swans borne in coat-armour are frequently blazoned cygnets. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. xxxi. 424 It now rejoices in a drapery as grey as a cygnet’s breast.

2. Comb., as {Her.), see quot.

cygnet-down;

cygnet-royal

1795 Wolcott (P. Pindar) Liberty's Last Squeak Wks. 1812 III. 423 Lone silence .. Her shoes of cygnet-down shall lend. 1847 H. Gough Gloss. Heraldry, Cygnet royal, a swan gorged with a ducal coronet, having a chain affixed thereunto and reflexed over its back.

cykory, -ie,

obs. ff. chicory.

Of or pertaining to -a swan;

1610 J. Melvil Diary (1842) 720 The moderatoris cygnean songe. 1840 Milman Hist. Chr. II. 11. iv. 62 His last, if we may borrow the expression, his cycnean voice, dwelt on a brief exhortation to mutual charity.

cignet, 7 Eng. or L. cygnus (Godef.).

cykylle, cykyr:

see sickle, sicker.

cyl-,

in various words = sil-.

cyle,

see ceil, chill.

CYLENS

194

cylens, see silence. cylere, see cyllour, celure. cylinder ('silind3(r)), sb.

Also 6-7 cylindre, 7 cilinder, sillinder. [ad. L. cylindrus cylinder, roller, a. Gr. KvXivSpos roller, deriv. of kvXIvS- eiv to roll. Cf. 16th c. F. cilindre, cylindre. There was an earlier form chilindre (in sense 3) in ME. and OF.] 1. 1. a. Geom. A solid figure of which the two ends are equal and parallel circles, and the intervening curved surface is such as would be traced out by a straight line moving parallel to itself with its ends in the circumferences of these circles. If the direction of this straight line be perpendicular to the planes of the circles, the figure is a right cylinder, if not, an oblique cylinder. 1570 Billingsley Euclid xi. Def. xviii. 318 A cylinder is a solide or bodely figure which is made, when one of the sides of a rectangle parallelogramme, abiding fixed, the parallelogramme is moued about. 1579-80 North Plutarch (1676) 263 The proportion between the Cylinder.. and the sphere or globe contained in the same. 1647 H. More Itisomn. Philos, ix, A duskish Cylindre through infinite space It did project. 1727 Swift Gulliver in. ii. 186 Cut our bread into cones, cylinders. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. 11. 100 A cylinder is a solid body of the character of a prism, but its ends are circles.

b. In mod. Geom., the solid generated by a straight line moving always parallel to itself and describing any fixed curve (not necessarily a circle). 1877 B. Williamson Int. Calc. (ed. 2) ix. §168 When the base .. is a closed curve of any form .. the surface generated is called a cylinder. Ibid. ix. Ex. 12 The axis of a right circular cylinder.

2. a. Any body or object of cylindrical form (either solid or hollow); in quot. 1661 applied to a cylindrical jewel worn in the ear. axial cylinder = axis-cylinder-, see axis; renal or urinary cylinder = renal or urinary cast: see CAST 3OC. 1641 Hobbes Lett. Wks. 1845 VII. 457 Such matter as the cylinder is made of. a 1661 Holyday Juvenal 21 Wed and be mute. Thy silence and his fear With rich cylinders then shall grace thine ear. 1807 J. E. Smith Phys. Bot. 35 The cylinder of bark was found lined with layers of new wood. 1879 Calderwood Mind & Br. 44 The axial cylinder of each nerve being surrounded by medullary matter.

b. A cylindrical container, liquefied or compressed gas.

spec,

one

for

1791 Hamilton Berthollet's Dyeing II. 11. m. iii. 177, I poured the decoctions into glass cylinders, 1889 S. S. Wallian tr. J. N. Demarquay's Ess. on Medical Pneumatol. vi. 245 Carbon dioxide... may also be had in all the larger cities, compressed in iron cylinders. 1904 [see gas-cylinder s.v. gas sb7]. 1935 [see butane]. 1969 Sears Catal. 760/1 Deluxe stove... (Cylinders not inch)... Economy camp stove. Includes two disposable propane cylinders. 1977 J. Bowyer Central Heating ii. 13 The cylinder is often in an airing cupboard.

c. A cylindrical record for a phonograph. Also attrih. 1891 ‘Mark Twain’ Let. 28 Feb. (1920) 297 Ask them on what terms they will rent me a phonograph for 3 months and furnish me cylinders enough to carry 75,000 words. 1893 Harper's Mag. Jan. 214/2 It’s just a phonograph... It don’t seem to be exactly in order. Perhaps the cylinder’s got dry. 1907 Pearson's Mag. Jan. (Advt.), You cannot get the best results from any talking machine without using Columbia Disc or Cvclinder Records. 1956 R. Gelatt Fabulous Phonograph ii. 17 Edison cylinders could be shaved and used over and over again while gramophone cylinders had to be discarded much more quickly. 1967 Amer. N. & Q. Sept. 15/1 Booth’s wax cylinder recording of Othello’s speech to the Senate.

13. A kind of portable sun-dial; = chilindre. 1593 Fale

Dialling A iij b, The making of the Horologicall

Cylindre.

4. a. A cylindrical or somewhat barrel-shaped stone, pierced longitudinally for suspension from the wrist, used as a seal by the Babylonians and Assyrians, and incised with figures, symbols, and cuneiform (or occasionally Aramaic) characters, b. A barrel-shaped, hollow object of baked clay, usually of considerable size, covered with cuneiform writing and buried under the foundations of Babylonian and Assyrian temples. 1851 Layard Pop. Acc. Discov. Nineveh Introd., A few cylinders and gems.. from Assyria and Babylonia. 1857 Loftus Chaldaea & Susiana 130 This discovery at Mugeyer convinced him that the commemorative cylinders of the founders were always deposited at the corners of Babylonian edifices.

II. In Mechanics.

5. Applied more or less specifically to many cylindrical parts of machines, etc. (with reference either to the internal chamber or external surface); a revolving roller in a lock. e.g. The bore of a gun barrel, the part of a revolver which contains the chambers for the cartridges; the barrel of a pump in which the piston works; the glass barrel of an electrical machine; a cylindrical revolving part in a loom, or a carding machine; a revolving roller in a lock, etc. 1571 Digges Pantom. 1. xxx. K, Hauing respecte to the length of the peece, waighte of the Bullet.. proportion of the concaue Cylinders. 1660 Boyle New Exp. Phys. Mech.

Proem 13 The Pump consists of four parts, a hollow Cylindre, a Sucker, a handle .. and a Valve. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. xii. 58 If the mouth of the Piece be grown wider then the rest of the Cylinder within by often shooting. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Charged Cylinder., that part which receives the Charge of Powder and Shot.. Vacant Cylinder, that part of the Hollow which remains empty, when the Gun is Charg’d. 1819 Rees's Cycl. XXI. Sig. Gg4v/2 The whole mechanism of the lock, consisting of an interior cylinder or barrel., with its appendages. 1851 Illustr. London News 6 Sept. 275/1 On his fifth visit, he had succeeded in.. turning the cylinder a quarter round.. when the instrument.. slipped... He then had to readjust the cylinder.. and on the day on which he did so.. opened the lock. 1875 Ure Diet. Arts II. 392 Colt’s revolvers.. If the hammer be lowered in the pin, the cylinder is prevented from revolving. 1894 [see cylinder lock (sense 9 b below)]. 1957 Encycl. Brit. XIV. 269/2 The cylinder.. or the part in which the key operates, consists of an outer barrel which is fixed to the door and a cylindrical plug which is rotated by the key. 1972 How Things Work I. 234 Another.. type of cylinder lock is the disc tumbler lock, in which the locking action is provided.. by movable discs which lock the cylinder. 6. The cylindrical chamber in which the steam

(or other fluid) acts upon the piston. By extension, applied to the corresponding chamber of rotary engines which is sometimes of an annular form, to function (or click, hit, operate, etc.) on all (orfour, six, etc.) cylinders, of an internal-combustion engine: to be working at full power; hence fig., to function properly, to be in good form; so to miss on all (or four, etc.) cylinders, to be working badly, to be in bad condition. 1697 Papin in Phil. Trans. XIX. 483 He proposes the.. turning a small Surface of Water into Vapour, by Fire applied to the bottom of the Cylinder that contains it, which Vapour forces up the Plug in the Cylinder. 1751 Blake in Phil. Trans. XLVII. 200 The best Proportions for Steam engine Cylinders. 1782 Specif. Watt's Patent No. 1321. 3 The said piston is suspended by a rod.. capable of sliding through a hole in the cover of the cylinder. 1830 J. Millington Mech. Philos. 417 Newcomen’s engine was the first in which a truly bored cylinder with a well-fitting piston was employed. 1893 Engineer LXXV. 574 That will depend on the total amount of work done in the cylinder by expansion. 1912 C. Mathewson Pitching in a Pinch xii. 269 So the best infielder takes time to fit into the infield of a Big League club and have it hit on all four cylinders again. 1917 ‘Contact’ Airman's Outings 72 The needle on the rev.counter quivered to the left as the revolutions dropped, and the engine missed on first one, then two cylinders. 1932 Wodehouse Hot Water ii. 38 He had tended., to undernourish his spiritual self. He had given it the short end, and it was missing, he knew, on several cylinders. Ibid. xv. 245 His smiling face, taken in conjunction with the bottle of wine which he carried, conveyed to Gordon Carlisle the definite picture of a libertine operating on all six cylinders. 193^- Laughing Gas xxi. 228 The old preux chevalier spirit was functioning on all six cylinders. 1951 M. McLuhan Mech. Bride 96/1 A sure sign that you are clicking on all cylinders. 1958 Spectator 22 Aug. 249/3 Only when he [sc. an actor] allows himself to play deliberately on all cylinders does he stage a dazzling display, i960 [see back-line, backline].

7. Printing, a. The engraved hollow metal roller used in printing calico, etc. b. A similar roller used in letter-press printing for inking the type (now inking-roiler), pressing the paper against the type, or carrying the type or printing surface. 1764 Specif. Fryer’s Patent No. 810 (Calico Printing) The invention is performed by means of engraved copper cylinders. 1790 Specif. Nicholson’s Patent No. 1748. 8 A is the printing cylinder covered with woollen cloth, and B is the inking cylinder with its distributing rollers. 1818 Specif. Cowper’s Patent No. 4194. 2 Conveying the .. paper from one printing cylinder to another. 1858 Specif. Applegath’s Patent No. 372 Comparatively few printing rollers can be arranged round the cylinder carrying the type. 8. Watchmaking. The cylindrical recess on the

verge of the balance in a horizontal escapement. 1765 Mudge Thoughts on Improv. Watches (1772) 23 Making the cylinder of harder materials.. would be an advantage. 1773 Hatton Clock & Watch Work 197 The tooth [of the balance wheel] ought to act at right angles to a line which would touch the cylinder. 1883 Beckett Clocks & Watches 320 In the best watches the cylinder is made of a ruby.

9. attrib. and Comb, f a. simple attrib. or as adj. Cylindrical. Obs. 1621-51 Burton Anat. Mel. 1. iii. in. 211 Concave and Cylinder glasses [= mirrors]. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. 1. Biv, How to measure a Cylinder Vessel. b. Comb., as cylinder block (see 6), card (see 5),

gun (see 5), head (see 6), machine, -plug, saw, seal (see 4a), stove, etc.; cylinder-like adj.; cylinder-axis = axis-cylinder (see axis1); cylinder-bore, (a) sb. a gun of which the bore is cylindrical or of uniform diameter; so cylinderbored-, (b) vb. to make with a cylindrical bore; cylinder-cock, a cock at the end of the cylinder in a steam-engine to allow water of condensation to escape; cylinder-cover, the steam-tight lid at the end of a steam-cylinder; cylinder-desk, a writing-desk having a curved revolving top which can be pushed back or drawn forward and locked; cylinder-engine (see quot.); cylinderepithelium, epithelium consisting of cylindrical cells; cylinder-escapement, a form of watch

CYLINDERED escapement (also called horizontal escapement), invented by Tompion in 1695, or later by Graham; cylinder-gauge, (n) a tool for giving the size of the opening in the cylinder of an escapement; (6) a gauge for testing the diameter of projectiles for rifled ordnance; also a carefully turned iron cylinder used to gauge the accuracy of the finished bore of a gun (Farrow, Mil. Diet. New York 1885); (c) a steam-gauge attached to the cylinder of an engine; cylinder-glass, sheet glass, made by blowing glass into the form of a cylinder which is then cut open and flattened; cylinder lock, a lock (esp. a door-lock) in which a pin tumbler mechanism is contained inside a cylinder barrel; cylinder-paper-machine, a paper-making machine in which the pulp is taken up by a wirecloth-covered cylinder, instead of the flat wire-cloth used in the Fourdrinier machine; cylinder-press (U.S.), -printing-machine, a machine in which a cylinder is used either for carrying the type or giving the impression; cylinder-watch, a watch with a cylinder or horizontal escapement. 1882 Syd. Soc. Lex., *Cylinder-axis, Purkinje’s term for the central or axial part of a nerve tubule. 1923 H. R. Ricardo Internal Combustion Engine II. vi. 142 When the induction system is cast in the ‘cylinder block the whole of its internal surface is rough. 1881 Greener Gun 189 ‘Cylinder-bored guns. 1812 Deb. Congress 12 June (1853) 2188 In the year 1762 ‘cylinder cards were first made use of by Mr. Peel. 1827 Farey Steam Eng. 372 The ‘cylindercover must be lifted up whenever the piston is packed. 1891 Rankine Steam Eng. 481 The cylinder cover has in it a stuffing box for the passage of the piston rod. 1874 Knight Diet. Mech., *Cylinder-engine, a paper-machine in which the pulp is taken up on a cylinder and delivered in a continuous sheet to the dryers. 1886 H. Spencer in iqth Cent. May 763 A mucous membrane of the kind covered by ‘cylinderepithelium. 1807 T. Young Nat. Philos. II. 695 ‘Cylinder ’scapement. 1893 Horological Jrrd. July 165 Tompion undoubtedly patented the cylinder escapement in 1695. 1884 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 76 [A] ‘Cylinder Gauge .. [is] a steel plate having two tapered slits. 1892 Treat. Ammunition (War Depmt.) 314 note, The cylinder gauge has the advantage of detecting an excentric stud, which could not be found by ring gauges. 1851 Rep. Juries of Exhibition 526 It was not until the year 1832 that the manufacture of ‘cylinder or sheet glass was introduced into this country. 1892 W. W. Greener Breech-Loader 141 An old or true ‘cylinder gun will not.. put three pellets into a pigeon thirty yards distant. 1884 ‘Mark Twain’ Huck. Finn xxxii. 332 We blowed out a ‘cylinder-head. 1895 Kipling Land & Sea Tales (1923) 205 Cylinder-head blown off. 1688 R. Holme Armoury ill. 319/1 Provided it be of length ‘Cilender like. 1878 Specific ations of Patents (U.S. Patent Office) 19 Feb. 637/1 A new Improvement In ‘CylinderLocks. 1894 Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 14 Aug. 893/1 Cylinder lock. Johannes T. Pedersen, New York, N.Y...a locking plate having a sliding movement on the forked lever, a rotatable cylinder, [etc.]. 1926 G. H. Chubb Locks & Lockmaking iv. 54 Although many firms in this and other countries now make cylinder locks with pin tumbler mechanism, the credit for producing a modem lock in that form belongs to the Yales. 1982 Inventions that changed World 154 This cylinder lock was cheap to produce, i860 W. Blackwood Let. 28 Mar. in Geo. Eliot's Lett. (1954) III. 284 We have got the new ‘cylinder machine working perfectly. 1867 Printers' Register June 138 Davis and Primrose, Manufacturers of.. Single Cylinder Machines. 1962 F. T. Day Introd. Paper iv. 44 A popular name for the M.G. [machine glazed] or cylinder machine is the ‘Yankee’. 1886 Britten Watch & Clockm. 90 ‘Cylinder-plugs, plugs fitting into the top and bottom of the cylinder.. at the extremities of which the pivots are formed. 1859 Printer (N.Y.) II. 30 Messrs. Hoe have long been pre-eminent in the manufacture of ‘cylinder presses. 1851 Rep. Juries of Exhibition 198 ‘Cylinder printing machines are exhibited by Messrs. Napier. 1851 C. Cist Cincinnati 181 They are.. fed to a ‘cylinder saw, which cuts them into staves of the proper thickness and curve. 1887 Scribner's Mag. Jan. 80 The earliest printing-press was a seal, and the ‘cylinder-seal may be said to have been an archaic rotary press. 1922 Guide Babylonian & Assyrian Antiq. (Brit. Mus.) (ed. 3) 82 Cylinder seal.. of Syrian type. 1927 Peake & Fleure Priests & Kings 64 Some of the Egyptians used mace-heads and cylinder-seals almost exactly similar to those found somewhat later in Mesopotamia. 1898 E. N. Westcott David Harum 162 The proximity of wet boots and garments to the big ‘cylinder stove. 1765 Mudge Thoughts on Improv. Watches (1772) 22 The ‘cylinder watch .. is a fine invention. 1885 D. Glasgow Watch fef Clock Making 133 In the best Geneva-made cylinder watches the escape wheel is made small.

'cylinder, v. [f. prec. sb.] trans. To act upon with a cylinder, to press under a cylinder. 1887 Brit. Merc. Gaz. 15 June 34/1 Occasionally they are cylindered to give them a polish.

cylindered ('silindad), ppl.

a. [See -ed2.] Having a cylinder or cylinders (of a specified number or type). 1899 Daily News 14 Sept. 7/5 The engine.. is one of Mr. Drummond’s latest type of four-wheel-coupled inside cylindered express locomotives. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 14 May 4/2 As a hill-climber the Argyll, with its 120 by 140 cylindered engine, has great claims. 1934 A. W. Judge Automobile & Aircraft Engines (ed. 3) i. 20 Variation in the mixture strength in the different cylinders in the multicylindered engines. 1952 H. Webster Railway Motive Power iv. 71 This was an inside cylindered engine of tractive effort 12,808 lb.

CYLINDRACEOcylin'draceo-. Used in Zool. as combining form of cylindraceous a. 1822 J. Parkinson Outl. Oryctol. 195 A straight cylindraceo-tubular operculated shell. 1887 W. Phillips Brit. Discomycetes 161 Asci cylindraceo-clavate.

cylin draceous, a. [Corresponds to mod.F. cylindrace, and prob. to a mod.L. *cylindraceusy f. cylindrus: see cylinder sb. and -aceous.] Of the form of or resembling a cylinder; cylindrical. 1676 H. More Rem. on 2 late Disc. 31. 1686 Plot Staffordsh. 221 Several cylindraceous cavities.. running parallel with the grain of the wood. 1839 Proc. Berw. Nat. Club I. 197 Body enclosed in an elongated cylindraceous sac. 1856-8 W. Clark Van der Hoeven's Zool. I. 231 Lumbricus .. Body cylindraceous.

t cy'lindral, a. Obs. [f. L. cylindr-us cylinder sb. + -AL1.] = CYLINDRICAL. 01711 Ken Hymns Evang. Wks. 1721 I. 5 Twice three cylindral Thunder-bolts for bits.

II cylindrenchyma (silin'drerjkima). Bot. Also in anglicized form cylindrenchym. [f. Gr. Kv\iv8p-os cylinder sb. + ey\vp.a infusion.] Tissue consisting of cylindrical cells. 1835 Lindley Introd. Bot. (1848) II. 149 The cylindrenchym of the stigma. 1866 Treas. Bot., Cylindrenchyma, cylindrical cellular tissue, such as that of Confervae, of many hairs, etc.

t cy'lindriac, a. Obs. = cylindric. 1612 Sturtevant Metallica (1854) 67 Round Cylindriack timber, as also other Square timber.

cylindric (si'lindrik), a. [ad. mod.L. cylindricusy a. Gr. KvXivbpiKos, f. kvXlvSpos cylinder sb.: see -ic. So F. cylindrique (1596 in Hatzf.).] Having the form of a cylinder, cylindrical. 1688 R. Holme Armoury in. 357/1 A long round Iron Cilindrick socket. 1870 Hooker Stud. Flora 200 Anthemis nobilis.. disk-flowers cylindric.

b. With other adjectives, denoting a combination of the cylindric and some other form; frequent in Bot.y as cylindriccampanulate, -fusiform, -oblong, -ovoid, -subulate. 1870 Hooker Stud. Flora 216 Crepis taraxifolia.. involucre cylindric-campanulate. Ibid. 432 Agrostis australis . .Panicle large, 1-3 in., cylindric-fusiform.

cylindrical (si'lindriksl), a. [as prec. + -al1.] 1. Of the form of a cylinder. cylindrical epithelium = cylinder or columnar epithelium, cylindrical eye: an astigmatic eye. cylindrical lens: a lens of the form of a cylinder, or of which one or both surfaces are portions of cylindrical surfaces, cylindrical vault: ‘one in the shape of the segment of a cylinder’ (Gwilt). 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. hi. i. 106 The grosse and somewhat Cylindricall composure of the legs. 1660 Boyle New Exp. Phys.-Mech. Proem 13 The Cylindrical cavity. 1831 Brewster Optics xxxiii. §163. 275 Particles of hail, some .. globular and others cylindrical.

2. Of, pertaining, or relating to a cylinder. cylindrical projection: a form of projection (in maps, etc.) in which part of a spherical surface is projected upon the surface of a cylinder, which is then unrolled into a plane. (Cf. conical projection.) cylindrical machine: a cylinder (printing) machine. 1656 Blount Glossogr., Cylindrical, pertaining to, or like a Cylinder. 1862 Rep. of Juries, Exhibition 1862 XXVIII. C4 The French cylindrical machines are very excellent. 1866 Proctor Handbk. Stars 38 note, Mercator’s projection is an instance of cylindrical projection, but on a principle altogether distinct.

Hence cy'lindrically adv.; cy'lindricalness. 1656 J. Sergeant tr. White’s Peripat. Inst. 84 It distends these fibres, and .. makes them enwrap one another, as it were, cylindrically, like a bark. 1766 Lane in Phil. Trans. LVII. 452 The pillar of the Electrometer, made of wood, bored cylindrically about | of its length. 1727 Bailey vol. II, Cylindricalness, the being of a cylindrical Form.

cylindricity (silin'drisiti). rare—0, [f. cylindric + -ity.] Cylindrical quality or form. 1846 Worcester cites Maunder.

(1848)

129

Diet. Min., Kylindrite. 1929 H. A. Miers Mineralogy (ed. 2) II. vii. 399 Among other sulpho-salts may be mentioned .. cylindrite, the representative of a small but curious class of compounds containing tin together with lead, antimony, and sulphur. 1968 Embrey & Phemister tr. Kostov's Mineralogy 183 Cylindrite is found as cylindrical forms., and occurs in the Bolivian mines in paragenesis with franckei'te, pyrite, and sphalerite.

cylindro- (si'lindrao), combining form of Gr. KvXiv&pos cylinder sb., used in many recent combinations, as cy'lindro-ce'phalic a. [Gr. K€aAij head], having a head of cylindrical or elongated shape, cy'lindro-’conic, -'conical a., of cylindrical form with one end conical; so cy'lindro-co'noidal a. cy'lindro-cy'lindric, -al a. Arch., formed by the intersection of two cylinders, cylindro'metric a., relating to the measurement of cylinders, cy'lindro-o'gival a., (of a shot) having a cylindrical body and ogival head.

1878 Bartley tr. Topinard's Anthrop. v. 177 Cylindrocephalic, elongated cylindrical skull. 1858 Greener Gunnery 141 Cut a bullet of an elongated form—cylindro-conical if wished. 1876 Gross Dis. Bladder 313 Wounds inflicted by cylindro-conoidal projectiles. 1823 P. Nicholson Pract. Build, no Cylindro-cylindric arches, or Welsh groins.

cylindroid ('silindroid), sb.

[mod. ad. Gr. KvXiv&po-ei&ris cylinder-like: see -OID.] 1. A figure resembling a cylinder; spec, one on an elliptical base, an elliptic cylinder. 1663 Dary in Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men (1841) I. 99, I call them cylindroids (by which I mean) a solid contained under three surfaces. 1704 J. Harris Lex Techn., Cylindroid, is a Solid Figure with Elliptical Bases, parallel, and alike situated. 1879 Sir G. G. Scott Led. Archit. I. 239 That the vaulting surfaces should be portions of cylinders or regular cylindroids.

2. A conoidal cubic surface of fundamental importance in the theory of screws and complexes. 1871 Ball Theory of Screws in Trans. R. Irish Acad. 13 Nov.

cylindroid (silindroid, 'silindroid), a. prec.] Resembling cylindrical in form.

a

cylinder;

[f. as somewhat

r839-47 Todd Cycl. Anat. III. 627/1 A cylindroid body. 1847-9 Ibid. IV. 499/1 The bodies of the spermatozoa are .. frequently.. cylindroid.

cylindroidal (silin’droidal), a. [f. as prec. + -al1.] Of the form of a cylindroid; also = prec. 1844 Whewell in Todhunter Acct. W.'s Works (1876) II. 324 Cylindroidal surfaces. 1849-52 Todd Cycl. Anat. IV. 1521/1 The cylindroidal form which the arm acquires.

|| cylindroma (silin'drauma). Path, [corresp. to a Gr. type * KvXlvbpwpa n. of result, f. KvXivSpociv to roll.] A name applied by Billroth to a certain kind of tumour, characterized ^mong other peculiarities by the arrangement of its cells in cylinders of varying thickness. 1876 tr. Wagner's Gen. Pathol. 333 Mucous metamorphosis occurs .. in cylindroma and cancer.

|| cylix ('siliks). Gr. Antiq. Also kylix. [Gr. K-uAif.] A shallow cup with tall stem; a tazza. 1850 Leitch Muller’s Anc. Art §367. 460 A cylix with Prometheus reconciled on the bottom. 1885 Athenaeum 634/3 A black-figured cylix of the potter Nicosthenes.

cylke, cyllable, fcyll. Obs.

[a.

etc.: see silk, syllable, etc.

F. del

in sense 'canopy': cf. ceil

d. and s6.] A canopy. a 1552 Leland Collect. (1774) IV. 295 In it was a Cyll of Cloth of gold; bot the King was not under for that sam Day.

Cy'llenian, a.

[f. L. Cylleni-us (f. Cyllene, a mountain, the birthplace of Mercury) -I- -an.] Of Mercury: Cyllenian art, thieving. 1738 Comm. Sense (1739) II. 277 Although the Cyllenian Art did not flourish, etc.

cy'lindrico-, = cylindric b. 1846 Dana Zooph. hemispherical form.

CYMBAL

195

Of

a

cylindrico-

t'cyllerie. Obs. [f.

cyll: see -ery.]

Drapery

forming a canopy. small

1592 R. D. Hyp nerotomachia 11 Capitels .. wrought with a waved shell worke, and cyllerie or draperie.

1855 Owen Anat. Vert. (L.), Each twin-corpuscle is surrounded by a circle of cylindricules.

cyllowre, cylour, -ure, var. of celure Obs., ceiling, canopy. So cylured a., ceiled, canopied.

cylindriform (si'lindrifoim), a. [f. L. cylindrus cylinder sb. + -form: in mod.F. cylindriforme.] Of the form of a cylinder; cylindrical.

c 1440 Promp. Parv. 77 Cyllowre (P. cylere), celatura.Cylured (u. rr. -uryd, -ered), celatus.

cy'lindricule. rare, [see -cule.] cylinder or cylindrical body.

A

1870 Rolleston Anim. Life 80 They differ also in being.. cylindriform. 1877 tr. Ziemssen's Cycl. Med. XV. 76 Cylindriform casts.. that arise from the renal tubules.

cylindrite (si'lindrait). Min. Also kyl-. [ad. G. kylindrit (A. Frenzel 1893, in N.Jahrb. Min. II. 11. 125), f. Gr. Kv\iv8p-os cylinder (see quot. 1893) + -ite1.] A blackish-grey sulphide of lead, antimony, and tin, known only from Bolivia. 1893 3ml. Chem. Soc. LXIV. 11. 576 At the Santa Cruz mine at Poopo, in Bolivia, a new mineral has been discovered. This the author has named kylindrite from the cylindrical form in which it occurs. 1896 A. H. Chester

cylte, cyluer,

obs. forms of silt, silver.

Ilcyma ('saims). Also 6 syma, 6-9 sima, 7-8 scima, 8-9 cima. [mod.L., a. Gr. Kvp.a anything swollen, a billow, a wave, a waved or ogee moulding, the young sprout of a cabbage (in which sense also L. cyma, whence the botanical use).] 1. Arch. A moulding of the cornice, the outline of which consists of a concave and a convex line; an ogee. cyma recta-, a moulding concave in its upper part, and convex in its lower part, cyma reversa (rarely inversa): a moulding convex in its upper part, and concave in its lower part.

1563 Shute Archit. Cib, 4 partes geue also to Sima reuersa. Ibid. C iij b, That second parte which remayneth of the Modulus ye shall geue vnto Syma. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 267 Scima reversa.. Scima recta, or Ogee. 1726 Leoni Alberti's Archit. II. 34 b, A Cima inversa of the breadth of two minutes. 1761 Brit. Mag. II. 642 The true cima, or cimaise. 1850 Leitch Muller's Anc. Art §249. 258 A base of several plinths and cymas. 2. Bot. = cyme i and 2. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Cyma .. the young Sprout of Coleworts, or other Herbs; a little Shoot, or Branch: But it is more especially taken by Herbalists for the top of any Plant. 1775 Lightfoot Flora Scotica (1792) I. 236 The cyma, or little umbel which terminates the branches.

cymagraph ('saimagraif, -ae-). [f. prec. + Gr. -ypaos writing, a writer. Erroneously formed: the combining forms of Gr. KVfia being Kv^aro-, kv^o-, cymato-, cymo-.]

An instrument for copying or tracing the contour of profiles and mouldings. 1837 Athenaeum 11 Mar. 179 A paper.. from the Rev. R. Willis descriptive of a new instrument invented by him for tracing profiles and mouldings, and which he called the Symagraph. 1842 R. Willis in Civ. Eng. Gf Arch. Jrnl. V. 219 {title) Description of the Cymagraph for copying mouldings. 1889 Athenaeum 19 Jan. 90/1 The mouldings have been taken full size with the cymagraph.

Hence 'cyma-, prop, cymograph v. nonce-wd. 1844 G. Peacock Address Brit. Assoc, p. xliv, Carefully reduced and tabulated, and their mean results cymographed or projected in curves.

I cymaise (si'meiz). Arch. Obs. Also cymace, cymaize, cimaise. [F. cymaise, ad. L. cymatium: see below.] = cyma, cymatium. 1656 Blount Glossogr., Cymace.. & ledge or outward member in Architecture, fashioned somewhat like a Roman S, and termed a Wave or Ogee. 1726 Leoni Alberti's Archit. II. 32 a, The cymaize being any list that is at the top of any member. Ibid. 35 a, The heads of the Mutules are cut perpendicular, with a cymaise over them. 1761 Brit. Mag. II. 642 The true cima, or cimaise, imitated in ornaments.

cymar (si'ma:(r)). Also 7-9 simarre, (7 semeare), 8-9 simar, symar: see simarre. [ad. F. simarre (OF. chamarre): see chimer1, simarre.] 1. A robe or loose light garment for women; esp. an under garment, a chemise. Used somewhat vaguely in poetry and fiction. [1641 Ariana 201 A Persian simarre or mantle.] 1697 Virgil, JEneid iv. 196 A flow’r’d Cymarr with Golden Fringe, she wore. 1700- Cymon &LIphig. 100 Her body shaded with a slight cymarr. 1824 Wiffen Tasso vi. xci, Whilst young Erminia laid her vests aside.. And to her flowered cymar disrobed complete. 1825 Scott Talism. iii, Disrobed of all clothing saving a cymar of white silk. n Craig.

cynarctomachy (sinaik'tomaki). nonce-wd. [f. Gr. kvv- dog- + apKTos bear + -FaXia fighting ] Fighting of dogs and bears; bear-baiting. 1663 Butler Hud. 1. i. 752 That some occult Design doth ly In bloudy Cynarctomachy.

cynareous (si'neariias), a.

Bot. [f. mod.L. Cynarese, f. Cynara artichoke, a. Gr. Kwdpa taken as = Kivapa artichoke.] = cynaraceous. 1846 Lindley Veg. Kingd. 707 In general the Cynareous genera are characterised by intense bitterness.

cynaroid ('sinaroid), a. Bot. [f. mod.L. Cynara (see prec.) + -oid.] CYNARACEOUS.

Allied to the artichoke;

1882 G. Allen Colours of Flowers ii. 51 The second, or cynaroid tribe, is that of the thistle-heads.

cynder, -dyr, obs. forms of cinder. cyne, obs. form of sign. fcyne-

(kYna-, kins-), in OE. = royal; occurring in many compounds, as cynehelm crown, cynestol throne, some of which are retained as technical terms by modern historians; e.g. cynebot (boot sb.1 9), the king’s boot, compensation paid to the people for the murder of the king. a 1000 in Thorpe O.E. Laws I. 186 GebiraJ? seo cynebot Sam leodum. 1872 E. W. Robertson Hist. Ess. 208 ‘Blessed to king, and raised to his cynestole by Archbishop Eanbald.’ 1874 Stubbs Const. Hist. §59 A fine of equal amount [to the king’s wergild], the cynebot, was at the same time due to his people.

[cyne, erroneous for cyve, civy.] cynegetic (sinii'c^etik), a. (sb.). rare. [mod. ad. Gr.

KvvTjyeTiK-os pertaining to the chase, f. huntsman, f. kw- dog -I- fiyerrjs leader. In F. cynegetique.] A. adj. Relating to the chase.

KvvrjyeTTjs

1716 M. Davies Athen. Brit. hi. Diss. Physic 2 Our Modern Practitioners .. understand as little of them, as they do of the Geoponick, Hieracosophick, or Cynogetick Physicks. 1838 W. H. Drummond Rights Anim. v. 36 To indulge their cynegetic propensities in the fox chase. 1887 Times 3 Oct. 6/1 A Cynegetic Exhibition, including weapons and appliances used in the chase.

B. sb. pi. cynegetics: hunting, the chase. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. I. viii. 32 There are extant of his in Greeke, foure bookes of Cynegeticks or venation. 1887 St. Bernards xv. 178 Dr. Octavius Puffemup.. Member of the Royal Institution of Cynegetics.

fcyner. Obs. [ad. L. ciner-em.] Ashes, cinders. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. XII. 366 A yespon alto grounde of cyner.

cynew, obs. form of sinew. cynghanedd (ksij'hanefi).

Prosody. [Welsh.] An intricate system of alliteration and rhyme in Welsh poetry. 1849 T. Stephens Lit. of Kymry iv. 490 The rhythmical consonancy, termed Cynghanedd, was introduced at that time [jc. late 14th century], and has ever since formed an essential feature in Kymric poetry. [1878 G. M. Hopkins Let. 5 Oct. (1935) 15 Certain chimes suggested by the Welsh poetry I had been reading (what they call cynghanedd).] 1886 - Let. 6 Oct. (1938) 222 His employment of the Welsh cynghanedd or chime I do not look on as quite successful. 1962 Times 31 Jan. (Surv. Wales) p. x/5 Cynghanedd, that complicated system of consonantal correspondencies and internal rhyme.

cynic ('sinik), a. and sb.

Also 6 cinike, 6-7 cinick(e, cynicke, -ike, -ique, 6-8 cynick, (7 cinnick(e, cynnick). [ad. L. cynic-us (perh. in part through F.; cf. cinicque, 1521 in Hatzf.), a. Gr. kvvucos dog-like, currish, churlish, Cynic, f. kvojv, kvv-os dog: see -ic. In the appellation of the Cynic philosophers there was prob. an original reference to the Kwooapyes, a gymnasium where Antisthenes taught; but popular use took it simply in the sense ‘dog-like, currish’, so that kvojv ‘dog’ became a nickname for ‘Cynic’.]

A. adj. 1. (With capital initial.) Belonging to or characteristic of the sect of philosophers called Cynics: see B. 1. 1634 Milton Comus 708 O foolishness of men! that., fetch their precepts from the Cynic tub, Praising the lean and sallow Abstinence! 1846 Trench Mirac. iii. (1862) 145 The Cynic philosopher. 1868 tr. Zeller’s Socrates 247 The

CYNOCEPHALUS

197 Cynic philosophy claims to be the genuine teaching of Socrates.

2. Having the qualities of a cynic (see B. 2); pertaining to a cynic; cynical. *597 PUgr. Parnass. iv. 468, I am not such a peece of Cinicke earthe That I neglect sweete beauties deitie. 1676 Glanvill Seas. Refl. 136 No sullen or Cynick humours, but the complaint of all mankind. 1811 W. R. Spencer Poems 51 Cold Cynic censurers. 1851 Disraeli Life Ld. G. Bentinck (1852) 12 The cynic smile .. the signal of a contempt which he was too haughty to express.

3. cynic year or period: the canicular cycle of the ancient Egyptians; see canicular 3. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1673) 112 That Egyptian Cynick Year which is accomplished but once in 1460 years. 1837 Fraser's Mag. XVI. 632 This erratic period of 1461 years became the great regulating cycle of the Egyptian calendar, under the name of the cynic or canicular period.

4. cynic spasm: see quot. 1882. 1684 tr. Bonet's Merc. Compit. xiv. 474 A Cynick Spasm came upon him. 1882 Syd. Soc. Lex., Cynic spasm, a convulsive contraction of the facial muscles of one side .. so that the teeth are shown in the manner of an angry dog.

B. sb. 1. (With capital initial.) One of a sect of philosophers in ancient Greece, founded by Antisthenes, a pupil of Socrates, who were marked by an ostentatious contempt for ease, wealth, and the enjoyments of life; the most famous was Diogenes, a pupil of Antisthenes, who carried the principles of the sect to an extreme of asceticism. i547-4 Bauldwin Mor. Philos. (Palfr.) 1. xix, He fel straight to the sect of the cinikes, and became Diogenes scholer. 1642 Howell For. Trav. (Arb.) 15 Like the Cynique shut up alwaye in a Tub. 1751 J. Brown Shaftesb. Charac. 174 All the old philosophers, from the elegant Plato walking on his rich carpets, to the unbred cynic snarling in his tub. 1868 tr. Zeller's Socrates 256 To the Cynic nothing is good but virtue, nothing bad but vice.

1672 [see 1]. 1847 Lytton Lucretia (1853) 152 The cynicism of his measured vice. 1881 P. Brooks Candle of Lord 150 The bitter cynicism of the newspaper satirist,

b. An instance of cynicism; a cynical utterance. 1891 Spectator 20 June 847/1 That he had uttered his dangerous cynicisms.

,cynico'cratical, a. [See

cynic and -crat.] Of or pertaining to a ruling body of cynics. 1881 L. A. Tollemache in Jrnl. Educ. Oct. 225 Power.. in the hands of a Cynicocratical Conclave.

feyniph, Obs.\

see ciniphes. 1607 Topsell Serpents (1653) 763 Among the Cyniph plagues, this still shall bear the bell, a 1631 Donne Ess. (1651) 183 When they attempted to make Cyniphs.

IlCynips ('simps). Entom. [mod.L.; according to Darmsteter, formed by Linnaeus from Gr. kw- dog + 5/i a kind of cynips, or insect that eats vine-buds, etc. (Others have thought it an alteration of late L. ciniphes, sciniphes, in Vulgate, Exod. viii. 16, rendering Gr. oKv(es.) Also mod.F. cynips.] The typical genus of the gall-flies, hymenopterous insects which puncture plants in order to deposit their eggs, and thus produce galls or gall-nuts. Hence 'cynipid, an insect of the Cynipidse, or family allied to Cynips. cyni'pidean, cyni'pideous, cy'nipidous adjs., of or pertaining to the Cynipidse or gall-flies. 1777 Lightfoot Flora Scotica II. 583 Excrescencies occasioned by a small insect called Cynips. 1884 Athenaeum 15 Nov. 628/1 Oak-galls produced by cynipidean insects.

cynism ('simz(a)m). rare. [a. F. cynisme, late L.

2. A person disposed to rail or find fault; now

cynismus, Gr. Kwiopos Cynicism, f. kvojv, kwdog, Cynic: see -ism.] = cynicism.

usually: One who shows a disposition to disbelieve in the sincerity or goodness of human motives and actions, and is wont to express this by sneers and sarcasms; a sneering fault-finder.

1833 Thirlwall in Philol. Mus. II. 540 The cynism of Antisthenes. 1837 Blackw. Mag. XLII. 395 Principles.. of licentiousness and moral cynism in literature. 1854 tr. Lamartine's Celebr. Char. II. 49 From some unintelligible cynism in language.

1596 Edward III, 11. i, Age is a cynic, not a flatterer. 1599 B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum. 11. ii, Thou art such another Cynique now, a man had need walke uprightly before thee. 1632 Heywood Iron Age 1. 1. Wks. 1874 HI- 281 Peace Cinicke, barke not dogge. 1782 Cowper Progr. Err. 175 Blame, cynic, if you can, quadrille or ball. 1866 Alger Solit. Nat. & Man 11. 63 The cynic, who admires and enjoys nothing, despises and censures everything. 1879 G. Meredith Egoist vii. (1889) 60 Cynics are only happy in making the world as barren to others as they have made it for themselves.

cynical ('siniksl), a. [f. as prec. + -al1.] 1. Resembling the Cynic philosophers in contempt of pleasure, churlishness, or disposition to find fault; characteristic of a cynic; surly, currish, misanthropic, captious; now esp. disposed to disbelieve in human sincerity or goodness; sneering. 1588 Greene Pandosto (1607) 24 Canst thou not loue? Commeth this Cynicall passion of prone desires, or peeuish frowardnes? 1615 J. Stephens Satyr. Ess. (ed. 2) 43 They seeke..To be accounted sharpe and Cynicall. 1670 P. Henry Diaries & Lett. (1882) 225 In lodging, diet, apparel, cynical below the calling of a Gospel minister. 1814 D’Israeli Quarrels Auth. (1867) 440 Our cynical Hobbes had no respect for his species. 1875 Farrar Silence & V. iii. 65 A cynical journalism which sneered at every belief.

f2. Belonging to the sect of philosophers; = cynic a. i. Obs. rare.

Cynic

1675 Otway Alcibiades 33 Let the Cynical fool call pleasure a toy.

3. With etymological allusion: Relating to a dog; dog-like. 1616 Bullokar, Cynicall, doggish, c 1645 Howell Lett. (1650) III. 27 Besides this Cinicall, ther is a kind of Wolvish humor hath seizd upon most of this peeple. 1869 Sir G. Bowyer in Times Sept., Writing. , in ‘ecclesiastical Latin’ (to which a more cynical name might be given).

cynically (’smikali), adv. [f. prec. + -ly2.] In a cynical way; after the manner of a cynic. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. 11. xxi. §9 Fraudes. .and vices.. handled .. rather in a Satyre and Cinicaly, then seriously and wisely. 1614 Bp. Hall Recoil. Treat. 501 Not Cynically unsociable. 1789 Mrs. Piozzi Journ. France I. 82 I was., feeling.. cynically disposed. 1856 Thackeray Christmas Bks. (1872) 43 Our street from the little nook .. whence I and a fellow lodger.. cynically observe it.

'cynicalness,

rare—°. [f. as prec. Cynical quality or character. 1727 Bailey vol. II, Moroseness. In mod. Diets.

Cynicalness,

+

-ness.]

Churlishness,

cynicism ('simsiz(3)m). [f. cynic + -ism. Cf. CYNISM.]

1. (with capital C.) The philosophy of the Cynics: see cynic B. i. 1672 Sir T. Browne Lett. Friend xxiv. (1881) 143 Yet his sober contempt of the world wrought no Democritism or Cynicism, no laughing or snarling at it. 1868 tr. Zeller's Socrates 268 The leading thought of Cynicism is the selfsufficiency of virtue.

2. Cynical disposition, character, or quality.

cynke,

obs. form of sink.

cynnaber, cynne,

obs. ff. cinnabar, sin-.

cyno-. a. Gr. kwo-, combining form of kvojv (kw-) dog; occurring in Greek in many compounds, partly adopted and largely imitated in modern technical terms and nonce-words, as cyno-genealogist, cyno-phre'nology; also 'cynoclept [Gr. kXcttt^s thief; cf. kwokAottos dog¬ stealing], a dog-stealer; cy'nography [F. cynographie], a writing or treatise on dogs; cyno'logical a., of or pertaining to cynology; cy'nologist, one who is versed in cynology; cy'nology, natural history of dogs; cy'nophilist [F. cynophile\ f. Gr. lAos loving], a lover of dogs; cyno'phobia [Gr. aXri head. In mod.F. cynocephale.) 1. One of a fabled race of men with dogs’ heads. c 1400 Maundev. (Roxb.) xxi. 97 Men and wymmen of pat ile hase heuedes lyke hundes; and pai er called Cynocephales. 1650 Bulwer Anthropomet. 7 It may be the Cynocephali were but men with such heads, discovered by some Grecian. 1816 G. S. Faber Orig. Pagan Idol. II. 479 The cynocephali or dog-headed priests of.. Anubis.

2. A kind of ape having a head like that of a dog; the Dog-faced Baboon. In Zool. taken as the name of the genus. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 157 They..Hue of the milke of certain beasts that we cal Cynocephales, hauing heads and snouts like dogs. Ibid. I. 232 Apes that be headed and long snouted like'dogs, and thereof called Cynocephali. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1673) 6 The shape of their snout like a cynocephale. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) IV. 207 The last of the ape kind is the Cynocephalus. 1876 Birch Rede Lect. Egypt 27 Their fauna, comprising the cynocephalus and the camelopard.

f'cynogloss. rare. [a. F. cynoglosse (Pare 16th c.), ad. L. cynoglossum, Gr. KwoyXcoooov, f. kwodog- + yXwaaa tongue.] The plant Cynoglossum or Hound’s-tongue. 1704 F. Fuller Med. Gymn. (1718) 93 Another Plant, the Cynogloss .. seems not unlikely to be of use.

cynoid (’sinoid), a. [ad. Gr. KwoeiSy; dog-like, canine, f. kvvo- dog.] Dog-like, allied in form to the dog; belonging to the Cynoidea or canine division of the Carnivora.

cynomome, obs. form of cinnamon. cynomorphic

(smau-, samau'mxfik), a. [Ultimately f. Gr. Kw6popos, f. kvvo- dog- + pLoptftrj form. Cf. mod.F1. cynomorphe dog¬ shaped.] 1. Zool. Belonging to the division Cynomorpha of catarrhine monkeys. 2. (nonce-use, app. after anthropomorphic.) Relating to a dog’s ideas and ways of looking at things. So cyno'morphism. 1892 L. Robinson in Contemp. Rev. Sept. 360 An instance of the operation of the cynomorphic idea can be seen in the behaviour of a dog when a bone is given to him. Ibid. 359 There is, affecting the dog’s point of view, almost undoubtedly such a thing as cynomorphism.

cynoper, obs. form of cinnabar. cynopic (sin-, sai'nDpik), a. nonce-wd. [f. Gr. Kwdirrqs dog-eyed, shameless (f. kvvo- dog- + un/i, dm- eye, face) + -ic.] Dog-faced, shameless. 1854 Badham Halieut. 416 This canicula.. is equal to the gigantic white shark in cynopic impudence and rapacity.

cynosural (sms-, sains'sjusral), a. [f. next + -al1.] Relating to or of the nature of a cynosure. 1855 Kingsley Westw. Ho! 17/2 That cynosural triad [of poets]. 1885 Huxley in Times 9 June 10 To preserve the statue in its cynosural position in this entrance-hall.

cynosure ('sinao-, 'sain3usj3(r), -zjua(r)). Also 6-7 in Lat. form. [a. F. cynosure (16th c.), ad. L. cynosura, a. Gr. Kwooovpa dog’s tail, Ursa Minor.] 1. The northern constellation Ursa Minor, which contains in its tail the Pole-star; also applied to the Pole-star itself. 1596 Fitz-Geffray Sir F. Drake (1881) 14 Cynosure, whose praise the sea-man sings. 1612 Davies Why Ireland, etc. (1787) 199 The circuit of the Cinosura about the pole. 1627 May Lucan 111. (1631) 239 These Ships.. the Cynosure Guides straight along the sea. 1792 D. Lloyd Voy. Life iv. 72 The stedfast Cynosure renown’d at sea.

2. fig. a. Something that serves for guidance or direction; a ‘guiding star’. 1596 Fitz-Geffray Sir F. Drake (1881) 33 The Cynosura of the purest thought, Faire Helice, by whom the heart is taught. 1649 Bp. Hall Cases Consc. (1650) 9 For the guidance of our either caution or liberty.. the onely Cynosure is our Charity. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. I. 18 He hath written, The Rudiments of Grammar.. the Cynosura for many of our best Grammarians. 1809 Mrs. West Mother (1810) 225 Thy victor-flag Flames like a steady cynosure.

b. Something that attracts attention by its brilliancy or beauty; a centre of attraction, interest, or admiration. [1599 Broughton's Lett. viii. 26 You Cynosura and Lucifer of nations, the stupor and admiration of the world.] 1601 Bp. W. Barlow Serm. Paules Crosse 64 Himselfe.. the Cynosure of their affections. 1632 Milton L'Allegro 77 Some beauty .. The Cynosure of neighbouring eyes. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. I. 11. i, The fair young Queen..the cynosure of all eyes. 1870 Disraeli Lothair lxxxiii. 445 Before another year elapses Rome will be the cynosure of the world.

cynque, cynter: obs. ff. of cinque, cintre. Cynthia

(’sinGia). [L. Cynthia (dea), the Cynthian goddess, i.e. Artemis or Diana, said to have been born on Mount Cynthus; hence the Moon.] A poetic name for the Moon personified as a goddess. Hence 'Cynthian, of the Moon.

CYPRESS

198 1632 Milton Penseroso 59 While Cynthia checks her dragon yoke. 1680 Otway Caius Marius iv. i, The reflection of pale Cynthia’s Brightness. 1814 Byron Lara 11. xxiv, When Cynthia’s light almost gave way to morn. 1632 Lithgow Trav. vii. 318 Nylus increaseth.. when the Sunne .. warming with his vigorous face, the Septentrion sides of these Cynthian Mountaynes.

cynurenic (sinju'rEnik), a. Chem. Also kyn-. [f. Gr. kvv- dog + ovp-ov urine.] In cynurenic acid, a crystalline substance occurring in the urine of the dog. Called also cy'nuric acid. i860 in

cyon,

New Syd. Soc. Year-bk. too. 1868-82 in Watts.

obs. form of scion.

cyparesse (Spenser): see

cypress1.

cyperaceous (sipa'reijss), a. Bot. [f. Bot. L. Cyperacese, f. Cyperus: see -aceous.] Belonging to the Cyperacese or Sedges. 1852 Th. Ross Humboldt's and gramineous plants.

So cy'peroid Cyperus.

a.,

Trav. I. vi. 217 Cyperaceous

allied

in

structure

cype'rographer.

to

nonce-wd. [Cyperus.] writer on sedges. So cype'rologist.

a

A

1881 Bentham in Jrnl. Linn. Soc. XVIII. 361 This essay seems not to have fallen into the hands of any subsequent Cyperographers.

cypers,

obs. form of cypress.

|| Cyperus (sai'pisras, 'saiparss). Bot. [L. cyperus, -os, a kind of rush, a. Gr. Kvrreipos, Kimepos (Herod.), an aromatic marsh-plant.] A large genus of endogenous plants, giving its name to the N.O. Cyperacese. About 700 species are described; C. longus is the Sweet Cyperus, or English Galingale, having aromatic and astringent roots. 1597 Gerarde Herbal 1. ix. (1633) 13 Cyperus Grasse hath roots somewhat like Cyperus. 1658 Sir t. Browne Gard. Cyrus iv, Why Fenny waters afford the hottest and sweetest plants as Calamus, Cyperus and Crowfoot. 1837 Howitt Rur. Life iv. i. (1862) 312 Lo! cyperus decks the ground.

cyphac,

var. siphac, the peritonteum.

cyphel (’saifal). [? ad. Gr. KvtXXapl. the hollows of the ears, clouds of mist: see next.] 1. Formerly a name for the Houseleek (Sempervivum)-, now a book-name for Cherleria sedoides. 1674-91 Ray N.C. Words 133 Cyphel, Houseleek. 1787 Withering Bot. Arrangem. (ed. 2) I. 462 Cherleria sedoides .. Cyphel. 1883 G. Allen Mountain Tulip in Longm. Mag.,

The Scottish asphodel, the mossy cyphel. 2. Adapted form of cyphella.

|| cyphella (sai'feb). Bot. PI. -te. [mod.L., ad. Gr. KvcfieXXa (plural) the hollows of the ears.] 1. A cup-like depression on the under surface of the thallus of some lichens. 1857 Berkeley

Cryptog. Bot. §452.

2. Generic name of some hymenomycetous fungi.

cypher, cyphon,

var. cipher sb. obs. f. siphon.

cyphonism (’saif3niz(3)m). Gr. Antiq. [ad. Gr. Kvuivtop.6s, punishment by the Kvtfxvv, crooked

piece of wood, bent yoke of a plough, a sort of pillory, f. Kv6s bent, crooked.] Punishment by the Ktxpwv, a sort of pillory in which slaves or criminals were fastened by the neck (Liddell and Scott). For notions formerly held about it see quot. 1848. 1727-51 in Chambers Cycl. 1848 Wharton Law Lex., Cyphonism .. some suppose to have been the smearing of the body with honey, and exposing the person to flies, wasps, etc. But the author of the notes on Hesychius says.. that it .. signifies that kind of punishment still used by the Chinese, called.. the wooden collar, by which the neck of the malefactor is bent or weighed downward.

Ilcy'phosis. Path. Also kyphosis. [mod.L., a. Gr. Kvtj>wots, humpbacked condition, f. kv6s bent, hunch-backed.] Backward curvature of the spine; hump-back. Hence cy'photic a., hump-backed (Syd. Soc. Lex.). 1847 South tr. Chelius’ Surg. II. 164 The lordosis is most easy, the cyphosis the most difficult of cure. 1876 Wagner's Gen. Pathol. 13 Kyphosis. 1878 T. Bryant Pract. Surg. I. 277. 1889 Treves Man. Surg. II. 338 In the confirmed kyphotic curve of old age treatment is of little avail.

|| Cypraea (sai'priia). Zool. Also cyprea. [mod.L. f. Cypria a name of Venus: cf. Venusshell, Artemis, and other names of conchology.] The extensive genus of gastropods containing the cowries. Hence cy'praeid, a gastropod of the cowrie family, Cyprseidse. cy'praeiform, cy'praeoid adjs., resembling or allied to the cowries. 1822 J. Parkinson Outl. Oryctol. 153 Cyprsea, an ovate and vaulted univalve. 1834 c. M. Yonge Let. 4 July in C.

Coleridge C.M.Y. (1903) iv- >23, I send..Jane a cyprea. 1913 B. B. Woodward Life of Mollusca vi. 97 The young Cowry shell (Cyprxa) has a thin, sharp lip.

f'cypre. Obs. Also cypyr, -ur, cipre, -er. [ad. L. Cyprus, a. Gr. Kvttpos (from Kimpos Cyprus), the

henna plant. The L. form also occurs.] 1. The henna-shrub (Lawsonia alba or inermis), with fragrant white flowers, found in the Levant. 1382 Wyclif Song Sol. i. 13 The clustre of cipre tree [1611 camphire], 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P R. XVII. xxv. (1495) 618 The Cypre is a tree in Egypte lyke to Oliue in leues. 1558 Warde tr. Alexis’ Seer. 11. 50 b, Take.. Damaske roses.. Bengewyn, Cypre Alexandrine. [1748 Phil. Trans. 566 The Cyprus grows.. as a Shrub of ten or fifteen Feet in Height, and has very much the Appearance of Privet.]

TJ2. Used by confusion for cypress1. a 1440 Sir Eglam. 277 Cypur treys were growyn owte. 14 .. Voc. in Wr.-Wulcker 716/41 Hec cipressus, a cypyrtre. 1583 Stanyhurst Aeneis 11. (Arb.) 66 A ciper by the churcheseat abydeth. 1632 Lithgow Trav. 63 Cypre-trees.

||'cypres ('si:pre:). [Late Anglo Fr. = F. si pres so near, as near.] Law. As near as practicable: applied to a process in equity by which, in the case of trusts or charities, when a literal execution of the testator’s intention becomes impossible, it is executed as nearly as possible, according to the general purpose. (Used as adv., sb., and adj.) c 1481 Littleton Tenures §352 En ceo cas si l’baron deuy, viuant la feme, deuant ascun estate en le taile fait a eux, &c. donques doit le feoffee per la ley faire estate a la feme cy pres le condition, et auxy cy pres lentent de la condition que il poit faire. [1628 Coke On Litt. 219 In this case if the husband dyeth liuing the wife before an estate in taile made vnto them, &c. then ought the feoffee by the law to make an estate to the wife as neere the condition, and also as neere to the entent of the condition as he may make it.] 1802 Vesey Reports VII. 42 The question .. is, whether the gift fails on account of the death of the trustee; or, whether the doctrine of cy pres takes place; and whether the Court sees its way sufficiently to execute what was the general intention. 1872 J. A. Hessey Mor. Difficulties Bible v. 112 A cypres or approximate administration of a trust is admissible. 1885 Vaughan Hawkins in Law Rep. 29 Ch. Div. 562 The general intention of the testator.. will be carried out cy-pres.

b. fig.

An approximation.

1850 Tait's Mag. XVII. 769/2 The variety of metres introduced is as happy a cy-pres as the language admits of.

cypress1 ('saipres). Forms: 4 ciprese, cypris, sypres, 4-5 cipris, 4-7 cipres, cypres, 5 cipriss, -ys, cyprys, syprees, -ese, cupresse, 5-6 cipresse, 5-7 cypresse, 6 cipreis, cyparesse, syprys, cypers, (6-7 cipers, 7-8 erron. ci-, Cyprus), 8 cipress, 4, 7- cypress. [ME. cipres, cypres, etc., a. OF. cipres (12th c.), cypres (= Pr. cypres, It. cipresso), ad. late L. cypressus (Vulgate, Isidore, etc.), ad. Gr. KvnapLooos cypress. The earlier L. adaptation of the word was cupressus; the later cypressus and rare cyparissus were refashioned after Gr. The current Eng. cypress is assimilated to the late L. form.] 1. a. A well-known coniferous tree, Cupressus sempervirens, a native of Persia and the Levant, extensively cultivated in Western Asia and Southern Europe, with hard durable wood and dense dark foliage; often regarded as symbolic of mourning (see c). Hence, the English name of the genus. a 1300 Cursor M. 1377 (Cott.) Cedre, ciprese [u.r. cipres, cipris], and pine, a 1400 Pistill of Susan 69 p>e sauyne and sypres, selcoup to sene. 1513 Douglas AEneis hi. x. 47 The cipres berand hych thair bewis. 1551 Turner Herbal 1. (1568) N iijb, The lefe of Cypres neuer falleth, but is euer grene. 1616 Bullokar, Cypresse, a tree.. very tall and slender, the tymber whereof is yellowish and of a pleasant smell. 1797 Mrs. Radcliffe Italian vi, A garden, shaded with avenues of melancholy cypress. 1872 Oliver Elem. Bot. 247 The wood of Cypress .. is almost imperishable; the gates of Constantinople made of this wood lasted 1,100 years.

b. The wood of this tree. a 1300 Cursor M. 8007 (Gott.) Jni sal find pa wandis pare, Of cydyr, pyne, and of cypress, c 1386 Chaucer Sir Thopas 170 His spere was of fine cipres. 1474 J. Paston Lett. No. 739 III. 110 My wryghtyng box of syprese. 1504 Bury Wills (1850) 98 My coffyr of syprys. 1621 Lady M. Wroth Urania 261 Into a coffer of Ciprus .. he shut it vp. 1673 Phil. Trans. VIII. 6015 Another sort of wood, called Cypress.. better than any Pine for Masts.

c. The branches or sprigs of the tree, used at funerals, or as a symbol of mourning. Also fig. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. i. 60 The great earthes wombe they open to the sky, And with sad Cypresse seemely it embrave. I591 - Daphn. lxxvi. Vouchsafe to deck the same [a hearse] with Cyparesse. 1695 Prior Ode after Queen’s Death v, Let the King dismiss his Woes.. And take the Cypress from his Brows. 1761 Sterne Tr. Shandy III. lxxv, ’Tis one thing for a soldier to gather laurels,—and 'tis another to scatter cypress. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. lxxxiv. iv, But that remorseless iron hour Made cypress of her orange flower.

2. a. Applied to various trees or shrubs allied to the true cypress, as African c., the genus Widdringtonia (Miller Plant-n.)-, bald, black, or deciduous c., Taxodium distichum; embossed c., the Chinese genus Glyptostrobus; Japanese c.,

CYPRESS the genus Retinospora; swamp c., the genus Chamaecyparis (Miller). 1794 Martyn Rousseau’s Bot. xxviii. 447 Deciduous Cypress has the leaves in two ranks, and spreading; it is a native of America. 1866 Treas. Bot. 967 Retinospora.. R. obtusa, the Japanese Cypress .. very fine forest tree, eighty or more feet high.

b. Applied to various plants taken to resemble the cypress-tree, as broom c., Kochia scoparia; dwarf c., heath c., names proposed by Turner for Lycopodium alpinum; field c., Ajuga Chamaepitys; garden c., (a) in Gerarde, Artemisia maritima; (b) in Lyte, Santolina Chamaecyparissus; standing c., Gilt a coronopifolia; summer c., Kochia scoparia. [c 1000 Sax Leechd. 1. 116 Genim pa ylcan wyrte & cypressum, & dracentsan & hunij.] 1548 Turner Names of Herbes 25 Chamaecyparissus .. maye be called in englishe heath Cypres, because it groweth amonge heath, or dwarfe Cypres. 1578 Lyte Dodoens I. xviii. 28 Called .. in English .. Ground Pyne, Herbe Iue, Forget me not, and field Cypres. Ibid. xix. 29 Some call it in English Lauender Cotton, and som Garden Cypres. 1878-86 Britten & Holland Plant-n., Cypress.. 2. Tamarix gallica.—Cornw.

3. attrib. a. Of cypress or cypress-wood. b. Resembling the foliage or shade of a cypress; cypress-like; dark, gloomy, funereal. 1596 Shaks. Tam. Shr. 11. i. 353 In Iuory cofers I haue stuft my crownes: In Cypres chests my arras counterpoints. 1597 Lane. Wills II. 228 A Cypresse chest standing in the like parlour. 1659 T. Pecke Parnassi Puerp. 67 Great was Macedo; but the Stagyrite, As much out shin’d; as bright Day, Cypress Night. 1870 Athenaeum 19 Nov. 665 Plenty of cypress sentimentality in Kensal Green.

4. Comb., as cypress-arbour, -bough, -bud, -cone, -grove, -leaf, -shade, -spire, -swamp, -timber, -tree, -wood, -wreath; cypresscrowned, cypress-like adjs.; cypress-apple, the fruit or cone of the cypress; cypress-knee, a large woody tumour occurring on the roots of Taxodium (Treas. Bot.); cypress-moss, the Alpine or Savin Club-moss (Lycopodium alpinum); also the moss Hypnum cupressiforme; f cypress-nut, the roundish fruit or cone of the cypress; cypress pine Austral., a tree of the genus Callitris; cypress-spurge, Euphorbium Cyparissias (called by Lyte cypress tithymal); cypress-vine, a name of several American species of Ipomaea, convolvulaceous climbing plants. 1712 J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 148 Its Fruit, call’d the ‘Cypress-Apple. 1883 A. Dobson Old World Idylls, Dead Letter 1. vi, And still the ‘cypress-arbour showed The same umbrageous hollow. 1720 Gay Poems (1745) II. 152 Black ‘Cypress boughs their drooping heads adorn. 1829 Praed Poems (1865) I. 359 Pale, ‘cypress-crowned. 1812 Byron Ch. Har. 11. xxxviii, The pale crescent sparkles.. Through many a ‘cypress grove. 1889 Science XIII. 176/2 Processes.. sufficiently developed to be classed in importance with the‘cypress knees. 1640 Parkinson Theat. Bot., ‘Cypress-moss, Lycopodium alpinum. 1769 J. Wallis Nat. Hist. Northumberland I. viii. 282 Creeping CypressMoss, or Heath-Moss is frequent on Cheviot. 1847 Leichhardt Jrnl. i. 13 It was covered with ‘cypress-pine, and an Acacia. 1885 Spons' Mech. Own Bk. 131 Cypress pine (Callitris columellaris) is a plentiful tree in Queensland. 1936 F. Clune Roaming round Darling ix. 76 Box-trees and cypress-pines in plenty. 1967 A. M. Blombery Guide Native Austral. Plants ill. 108 Cupressaceae. A family., including the well-known native Callitris (Cypress Pine). 1707 Curios, in Hush. & Gard. 154 The Wood-Spurge, the ‘Cipress-Spurge, and the Mirtle Spurge. 1578 Lyte Dodoens in. xxix. 359 The fifth kinde called ‘Cypres Tithymal. 1535 Coverdale Ecclus. xxiv. 13 As a ‘Cypers tre vpon the mount Hermon. 1818 Shelley Rev. Islam v. liv. 5 The banquet.. Was spread beneath many a dark cypress tree. 1861 Miss E. A. Beaufort Egypt. Sepulchr. II. xxiv. 324 A very fine hall.. with a ceiling of ‘cypress wood.

f 'cypress2. Obs. [A corruption of L. cyperus, cyperosy app. confounded with cypress1.] The Sweet Cyperus or Galingale. c 1430 Two Cookery-bks. 21 Vyaund de cyprys bastarde .. take whyte Gyngere, and Galyngale, and Canel fayre ymynced. 1549 Compl. Scot. vi. 67, I sau cipresses, that is gude for the fluxis of the bellye. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1673) 143 Against tikes, lice, and fleas, anoint the dog with bitter almonds .. or roots of maple, or cipers. 1712 tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 35 Long Cypress.. is a knotty Root. 1799 C. Smith Laboratory II. 400 Add one drachm of the powder of cypress.

b. Comb.y as cypress-powder, cypress-root. 1634 W. Tirwhyt tr. Balzac's Lett. 99 Enjoyning me never to goe to the Warres, but when Muskets are charged with Cypres-powder. 1652 Urquhart Jewel Wks. (1834) 229 Like another Sejanus, with a periwig daubed with Cypres powder. 1790 W. Woodville Med. Bot. I. 75 note, The root [of Arum maculatum] is used by the French to wash the skin with.. under the name of Cypress Powder. 1879 Prior Plant-n. 61 Cypress-root, or Sweet Cypress .. a plant the aromatic roots of which are known as English galingale, Cyperus longus.

f'cypress3. Obs. or dial. Forms: 5-7 cipres, 6-9 Cyprus, 6-7 cypres, cy-, cipresse, 7 cipress, 7cypress; also 5 (cipre), cipyrs, 6 sipers, sipars, (cyrpe), 6-7 sypers, sipres, 7 sypress, sipris. [prob. f. OF. Ciprey Cypre, the island of Cyprus, from which, in and after the Crusading times,

CYPRIPEDIN

199

various fabrics were brought: see Aldis Wright, note to Shaks. Twelfth Night in. i. 119.] 1. A name of several textile fabrics originally imported from or through Cyprus: a. A cloth of gold or other valuable material. [11400 Inv. in Sir F. Palgrave Kal. Invent. Treas. III. 35.8 Primerement, xxv draps d’or de diverses suytes dount iiii. de Cipre les autres de Lukes.] 14.. Langl. P. PI. B. xv. 224 (MS. O.) Clenlich ycloJ?ed in cipres [MS. C. cipyrs; B. purpre] and in tartaryne. 01440 Sir Degrev. 1482 The scochenus of many kny3t Of gold and Cyprus was i-dy3t.

b. A valuable quality of satin, called more fully satin of CyPres} satin Cypres. *533 >n Weaver Wells Wills (1890) 27 A Sondays gowne of blak lyned with sattyn of sypers. 1548 Hall Chron. (1809) 599 Long and large garmentes of blewe Satten panned with Sipres, poudered with spangles of bullion golde. 1552-3 Inv. Ch. Goods, Staff, in Ann. Litchfield IV. 39 On redde vestement of saten sipars with all things to hitt. 1603 Draperies sold at Norwich, in 38th Rep. Keeper Public Rec. 444 Fustyans of Naples .. Paris clothes .. sattins of Cipres, Spanish sattins.

c. esp. (= cypress lawn) A light transparent material resembling cobweb lawn or crape; like the latter it was, when black, much used for habiliments of mourning. [1398 Test. Ebor. I. 240 Unum [velum] de cypres. 1402 Ibid. I. 289, ij flameola de cipres.] 1577 Eden & Willes Hist. Trav. 260 With two Oxe homes, as it were, made of fine cypres hangyng downe about theyr eares. 1594 Nashe Unfort. Trav. 84 A hundred pages in sutes of white cipresse. 1611 Shaks. Wint. T. iv. iv. 221 Lawne as white as driuen Snow, Cypresse blacke as ere was Crow. 1616 B. Jonson Epigr. lxxiii, One half drawn In solemn Cyprus, th’ other cobweb lawn. 1678 Phillips, Cipress, a fine curled Stuff, part Silk, part Hair, of a Cobweb thinness, of which Hoods for Women are made. 1721 Lond. Gaz. No. 5930/1 Officers wearing Mourning-Scarfs of Cypress. 1722 Ibid. No. 6084/4 The Colours furled and wrapped in Cypress. [1820 Scott Monast. xviii, The murrey-coloured double-piled Genoa velvet, puffed out with ciprus.] transf. 1718 Warder True Amazons (ed. 2) 3 Having four Wings.. with strong Fibres round and cross them, to strengthen the fine Cypress of which they are framed.

2. A piece of cypress used as a kerchief for the neck or head, as a band for the hat, etc., in sign of mourning, and the like. 1530 Palsgr. 205/2 Cypres for a womans necke, crespe. c 1540 Four P.P. in Hazl. Dodsley I. 350 Sipers, swathbands, ribbons, and sleeve-laces. 1601 Shaks. Twel. N. 111. i. 131 A Cipresse, not a bosome, Hides my heart. 1609 Dekker Gvlls Horne-bk., Him that wears a trebled Cyprus about his hat. 1611 Florio, Velaregli, shadowes, vailes, Launes, Scarfes, Sipres or Bonegraces that women vse to weare. 01717 Parnell Night-Piece on Death 72 Why then thy flowing sable stoles, Deep pendant cypress, mourning poles.

3. attrib. (or adj.). a. Of cypress. 1530 Palsgr. 173 Crespine, a cypres lynyn clothe. 1607 W. S. Puritan Stage Direct., Enter the widow Plus, Frances, Mary, Sir Godfrey, and Edmond, all in mourning; the latter in a Cyprus hat. 1632 Milton Penseroso 35 Sable stole of cypress lawn. 1678 J. Phillips Tavernier's Trav. Persia 1. 10 The Travellers are wont to wear black Cypress Hoods., over their Faces.

b. Resembling cypress in texture; gauze-like.

characteristic of St. Cyprian (Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus), bishop of Carthage, martyred a.d. 258. 169s J Sage (title) The Principles of the Cyprianic Age. 1696 G. Rule (title) The Cyprianick Bishop examined and found not to be diocesan, nor to have superior power to a parish minister, or presbyterian moderator, a 1861 W. Cunningham Hist. Theology Wks. (1863) I. 164 The Cyprianic bishop was very different from the modem one. 1916 J. R. Harris Testimonies 1. viii. 77 We have an almost contemporary witness for the Cyprianic text. Ibid. xiv. 127 Justin starts with the first chapter of the Cyprianic Christology. 1920 Christian World 19 Aug. 8/4 We need for the recovery of Christian unity a man of Cyprianic grasp, though not of Cyprian’s opinions. 1945 G. Dix Shape of Liturgy v. 116 The ‘Cyprianic’ doctrine of the sacrifice came to prevail in the West.

cyprid (’saiprid). Zool. An ostracod crustacean of the family Cyprididse (see Cypris). 1913 H. M. Cadell Story of Forth i. 8 Other shale seams are almost entirely composed of minute entomostraca or cyprids.

cypriferous (sai'pnfaras), a.

Geol. [f. mod. Zool. L. Cypris (from L. Cypris a name of Venus) + -ferous.] Abounding in fossil shells of the genus Cypris of freshwater crustaceans. 1833 Lyell Pr. Geol. III. 233 Green cypriferous marls.

feyprine, a.1 Obs.—° [Erroneous formation. L. cyprinum, Gr. Kinrptvov are deriv. of Cyprus cypre, the henna plant.] 1656 Blount Glossogr., Cyprine. .of or belonging to the Cypress-Tree. [Hence in Ash 1775 and mod. Diets.]

cyprine ('sipram, -in), a.2 Ichth. [ad. L. cyprinus, a. Gr. Kwplvos carp.] Belonging to the carp genus Cyprinus, or the carp family, Cyprinidae. 1828 in Webster; whence in mod. Diets.

cyprine ('siprain), sb. Min. [mod. f. L. cyprius of copper q.v.] A blue variety of vesuvianite supposed to contain copper. 1823 Phillips Min. 262 Cyprine.

cyprinid

(si'pramid). Ichth. [f. mod.L. Cyprinidae, the family of fresh-water fishes of which the carp, cyprinus, is the type.] A fish of the carp family. So cy'priniform a., carp-like in structure.

cyprinodont (si'prainaudDnt).

Ichth. [f. as mod.L. generic name Cyprinodon, from L. cyprinus carp + Gr. oSovt- tooth.] A. sb. A malacopterygious fish of the family Cyprinodontidse, of which the typical genus is Cyprinodon; they differ from the cyprinids in having the jaws more projecting and toothed. 1857 Agassiz Nat. Hist. U.S. I. 48 Among fishes..the Cyprinodonts, the Chaetodonts. 1887 C. C. Abbott WasteLand Wand. vi. 166 The many-barred cyprinodont that throngs every stream from Maine to Florida.

1598 Sylvester Du Bartas 1. vii. (1641) 64/2 The Spider .. neat and nimbly her new web she weaves .. Open, lest else th’ ungentle Winds should tear Her Cipres Tent. 1713 Warder True Amazons (ed. 2) 30 Not only Bees, but all other Creatures having a Cypress wing.

B. adj. Of or belonging to this family. Hence cyprino'dontid, -'dontoid a., of or allied to the Cyprinodonts.

C. Dark grey with darker markings; hence cypms-cat, a variety of tabby cat (local).

cyprinoid (si'prainoid), a. and sb. Ichth. [f. L. cyprinus carp + -oid.] A. adj. Resembling or allied to the carp; belonging to the division Cyprinoidea of fishes, comprising the Cyprinidae and other families.

1857 Wright Prov. Diet., Cypress-cat, a tabby-cat, East. 1879 Lubbock Fauna of Norfolk 7 An immense cat of a cypress colour. 1887 N. Sf Q. 7th Ser. IV. 289/1 While discussing the merits of a new kitten recently with a lady from Norwich, she described its colour as ‘Cyprus’—dark grey, with black stripes and markings.

cypressed ('saiprist), a. [f-

1

cypress

+ -ed2.]

Planted or adorned with cypresses. 1850 Sir A. De Vere Piet. Sk. 11. 248 The citied hills, the cypressed vales. 1861 Thornbury Turner (1862) I. 222 On the Cypressed Hill.

1859 Todd Cycl. Anat. V. 287 In the cyprinoid families. 1876 Beneden Anim. Parasites 9 A cyprinoid fish.

B. sb. A fish belonging to the Cyprinoidea. 1849-52 Todd Cycl. Anat. IV. 1146/2 The vascular tissue .. on the palate of the Cyprinoids. 1878 Bell Gegenbauer's Comp. Anat. 525 In the Cyprinoids the mucous membrane .. is interwoven with .. muscular fibres.

Hence cypri'noidean a. and sb.

Cyprian ('siprisn), a. and sb. Also 7 Ciprian. [f.

Cypriot ('siprrot), Cypriote ('sipriaut), a. and

L. Cyprius of Cyprus + -an. In F. cyprien.] A. adj. 1. Belonging to Cyprus, an island in the eastern Mediterranean, famous in ancient times for the worship of Aphrodite or Venus.

sb.

[ad. Gr. KvnpLUiTrjSj f. Kxmpos Cyprus.

Cf.

Cyprian.] A. adj. Belonging to Cyprus. B. sb.

A native or inhabitant of Cyprus; the Greek dialect (ancient or modern) of Cyprus.

1598 Marston Pygmal. ii. 145 See how he paceth like a Ciprian. 1819 J. H. Vaux Mem. I. 72 A very interesting young Cyprian whom I.. attended to her apartments. 1829 Sun 17 Sept. 4/4 A cyprian of the lowest grade. 1843 tr. Custine’s Empire of Czar III. 84 The expenses of these poor cyprians were not diminished in the same proportion as their gains.

1599 Hakluyt Voy. II. 1. 309, I was credibly informed by a Cipriot a marchant of good wealth. 1639 Fuller Hist. Holy Warre v. xxix. 278 Take their names as I find them in the Catalogue of Stephen a Cypriot. 1750 Universal Mag. July 4/1 For a while he triumphed over the Tyrians, Sidonians, and Cypriots. 1797 R. Heron Collect. Voy. Trav. 198 St. Spiridion, the Cypriot. 1837 Penny Cycl. VIII. 261/2 Almost every house has a garden, of which the Cypriotes are very fond. 1878 Murray's Handbk. Trav. Turkey in Asia (ed. 4) 179/1 The Inscriptions found.. in Cyprus are in three languages: 1. Cypriote. Ibid. 182/1 Androcles.. was present in the Cypriote fleet which supported Alexander. 1920 J. A. Robertson Hidden Rom. N.T. i. 20 The wealthy Cypriote Mnason, who entertained Paul. 1920 G. E. Buckle Disraeli VI. 300 The occupation of Cyprus ensured the fair treatment of the Cypriot Greeks. 1920 Q. Rev. July 38 This Cypriote School, with its grand Graeco-Oriental seriousness, had many ramifications, one of which, the Palyrene .. lasted down to the third century a.d. 1927 Times (weekly ed.) 25 Aug. 208/3 The Cypriots in Egypt. 1955 Times 6 May 4/3 The House was entitled to know what progress had been made in the discussions with Cypriots about their constitutional future.

Cyprianic

cypri'pedin. Med. [f. F. cypripede = Bot. L.

1627 Massinger Gt. Dk. Florence v. ii, By all the vows which lovers offer at The Cyprian goddess’ altars, c 1673 Roxb. Ball. VI. 112 A stranger unto Love am I.. The Ciprian Boy shall not destroy My freedome and my Reason.

2. transf. Licentious, lewd; in 18-19th c. applied to prostitutes. 1599 Marston Sco. Villanie 1. iii. 184 Consuming all the yeare In Cyprian dalliance. 1782 Wolcott (P. Pindar) Ode to R.A's. ix. Wks. I. 35 A Damsel of the Cyprian class. 1859 Sat. Rev. VIII. 71/1 The Cyprian patrol which occupies our streets in force every night.

B. sb. An inhabitant or native of Cyprus, a Cypriote; hence transf. A licentious or profligate person; in later use spec, a prostitute.

(sipri'tenik), a. [ad. mod.L. Cyprianicus, f. Cyprianus.) Of, pertaining to, or

Cypripedium Lady’s slipper (Linnteus Gen. PI.

CYPRIPEDIUM 1015), app. a corruption of Cypripodium, f. Gr. Kvirpis Aphrodite + 7toSls shoe, ttoSlov little foot.] A brown powder prepared from the roots of Cypripedium pubescens, a North American orchid; used as an antispasmodic. 1863-72 in Watts Diet. Chem. II. 300.

cypripedium (sipri'piidism).

Bot. [mod.L. (Linnaeus Systerna Naturae (1735)), f. Gr. Kvnpis Aphrodite 4- nebiXov slipper, in reference to the inflated pouch formed by the labellum; cf. cypripedin.] A member of the large genus of orchids so named. Cf. lady’s slipper i.

1775 T. Blaikie Diary Scotch Gardener 4 June (1931) 37 In those woods grow great plenty of the Ceprepedium. 1813 Curtis's Bot. Mag. XXXVIII. 1569 In the Cypripediums which we have before figured.. the two lower external petals are united together. 1873 Young Englishwoman Aug. 395/2 Cypripedium, or Slipper plant. 1890 W. Watson Orchids xxviii. 155 When Cypripediums show signs of bad health, they should be at once shaken free of soil. 1902 Westm. Gaz. 31 Dec. 10/1 Cypripedium orchids. 1904 R. J. Farrer Garden Asia 250 On the shelving banks of grass in open places [grows] the cypripedium. 1938 T. Hay Plants for Connoisseur 47 The hardy terrestrial Cypripediums have long been highly esteemed for the border or rock garden. 1962 Amateur Gardening 14 Oct. 6/3 There are a number of cypripediums suitable for cool house conditions.

||Cypris ('saipris). Zool. [mod.L., a. Gr. Kfinpis Aphrodite. (Names of Venus are applied to many shells.)] A genus of minute fresh-water Crustacea, having the body enclosed in a delicate bivalve shell. 1832 Lyell Princ. Geol. II. 275 This cypris inhabits the lakes and ponds of England, where it is not uncommon. i860 Gosse Rom. Nat. Hist. 63 Tiny cyprides and cyclopes disporting in the umbrageous groves of their world.

cyproid (’saiproid). Zool. [f. prec. +

-oid.] A

crustacean allied to the Cypris. 1852 Dana Crust. 11. 1407 Species of Cyproids.

Cyprus, cyprus-lawn: Cyprus (Bot.):

see cypress3.

see cypre.

cyprusite ('saiprssait). Min.

[f. Cyprus + -ite.] A sulphate of iron occurring in Cyprus. 1882 Dana Min. App. iii. 33 Cyprusite. [Named 1881.]

cyprys,

|| Cypsela ('sipsib). Bot. [mod.Lat., ad. Gr. KvipcX-q hollow vessel, chest, box.] A kind of dry one-seeded fruit; an achene with an adnate calyx, as in the Compositse. 1870 Bentley Bot. 313 The Cypsela differs in nothing essential from the achaenium, except in being inferior and of a compound nature. 1880 Gray Struct. Bot. vii. §2. 295 An akene with adnate calyx has been termed a Cypsela.

cypseline ('sipsilain), a. Zool. [f. L. cypselus, a. Gr. KvipeXos the swift.] Of the family Cypselidse or genus Cypselus of birds, comprising the Swifts. 1874 Wood Nat. Hist. 287 The Swifts, technically called the ‘Cypselinae’, or Cypseline birds.

So 'cypseliform, 'cypseloid, cypselo'morphic adjs., having the form or structure of a Swift; belonging to Huxley’s group Cypselimorph.se.

cypselous (’sipsibs), a.

Bot. [f. Cypsela + -ous.] Of the nature of a Cypsela. 1878 Masters Henfrey’s Bot. 292 The involucre, the cypselous fruit, and the pappus.

Cyrcean,

obs. form of Circean. 1609 Downam Chr. Liberty 95 The Cyrcean cup of the Libertines.. transformeth Christianisme into Epicurisme.

cyrcle, cyrcuite, etc.: see

circle, etc.

sb. 1607 Topsell Four-}. Beasts 548 There are more kinds of mice in the Cyrenaican region. 1942 ‘M. Home’ House of Shade v. 80 Suppose he had taken on the character of a Cyrenaican or a Tripolitanian from some southern oasis. 1963 I. W. Zartman Govt. & Pol. N. Afr. (1964) v. 97 There is also a Cyrenaican Workers’ Federation, but there is no nation-wide union. 1969 J. Wright Libya xii. 133 The Cyrenaicans lost heavily during tough fighting in the spring of 1914.

Cyre'nean, Cy'renian a.

= Cyrenaic. 1882 Contemp. Rev. Aug. 214 This reads like an avowal of Epicureanism or of the more selfish philosophy of pleasure known as Cyrenaicism. 1828 Edin. Rev. XLVIII. 221 A peculiar school of philosophy, known over the lettered world by the title of the Cyrenean. 1847 Craig, Cyrenian.

Cyrillic (si'nlik), a. [f. the proper name Cyril (Cyrill-us) + -ic. In mod.F. cyritlique.] Applied to the alphabet employed by the Slavonic peoples of the Eastern Church, the invention of which is attributed to St. Cyril in the 9th century. The Cyrillic is distinguished from another ancient Slavonic alphabet, the Glagolitic (q.v.). 1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 104/2 The use of the Cyrillic letters .. remained in full vigour among those [Slavonians] who belonged to the Eastern Church. Ibid. 127/1 The Servians.. make use of the Cyrillic alphabet. 1856 [see Rouman sb. 2]. 1881 Academy 26 Mar. 226 The Slaves, when they became converts to Christianity, framed two alphabets, the Cyrillic and the Glagolitic. 1884 Sat. Rev. 7 June 761/1 The Russian Government. . had already forbidden the printing of Lithuanian texts in any but the Cyrillic character.

cyring,

obs. form of syringe.

cyriologic (sirrau'lodjik), a. In 7 kyrio-. The analogical form of curiologic. So cyrio'logical. 1655-60 Stanley Hist. Philos. (1701) 350/1 In the Kyriologick way, to express the Sun, they make a Circle; the Moon, a Crescent. 1824 Johnson Typographia II. 434 Cyriological Hieroglyphics, in which the figures were taken in a proper sense; as the image of a man was placed for a man. 1828 Webster, Cyriologic, relating or pertaining to capital letters. [An error, reprinted in later Diets.]

cyrographer,

Kvpro- from Kvpros curved, arched. In some recent technical terms, as cyrto'ceratite Palseont., a fossil cephalopod of the genus Cyrtoceras, having the shell incurved or bent like a horn. So cyrtocera'titic, cyr'toceran adjs.; cyrto'ceratid, a member of the family containing Cyrtoceras. 'cyrtograph, an instrument for the same purpose as the cyrtometer (Syd. Soc. Lex.), 'cyrtoid, a., resembling a hump or swelling on the back (Syd. Soc. Lex.), 'cyrtolite Min., a variety of zircon with the pyramidal planes convex (Dana). cyr'tometer [F. cyrtome.tr e], an instrument for measuring and recording the curves of the chest; also (Wilson's C.) for measurement of the head; whence cyrto'metric a., cyr'tometry. 'cyrtostyle, a circular portico projecting from the front or other part of a building (Webster, 1864). 1867 Amer. Jrnl. Sc. Ser. n. XLIV. 224 Before the blow¬ pipe cyrtolite glows brilliantly. 1870 S. Gee Auscultation & Perc. ii. 10 The Cyrtometer. 1879 Khory Princ. Med. 45 When the outlines are drawn on paper by the help of the cyrtometer. 1885 Lancet 26 Sept., A cyrtometric tracing taken of the chest about the nipple level.

cyrurgien, -erie,

cyse, cyser,

cyred, obs. form of cered ppl. a. 1558-80 W. Warde tr. Alexis’ Seer. 1. 1. 14b, A Violl well stopped with waxe and cyred clothe.

Cyrenaic (sairi'neuk),

a. and sb. [ad. L. Cyrenaic-us, a Gr. Kvp-qvaiKos, f. Kvpqv-q Cyrene, a Greek colony in Africa. In mod.F. Cyrenaique.] A. adj. Belonging to the school of the Socratic philosopher Aristippus of Cyrene, whose doctrine was one of practical hedonism. 1641 Milton Ch. Govt. 11. (1851) 179 Not Epicurus, nor Aristippus with all his Cyrenaick rout. 1845 Maurice Mor. Met. Philos, in Encycl. Metrop. 585/1 The Cyrenaic doctrine, .terminated in Epicurism.

B. sb. A Cyrenaic philosopher; a follower of Aristippus. 1586 T.B.la Primaud. Fr. Acad. I. 222 Aristippus and all the Cyrinaiks. 1753 L. M. tr. Du Bosq’s Accomplish’d Woman I. 200 [Aristippus] by birth a Cyrenian; from whence his followers were call’d Cyrenaics. 1889 Athenaeum 2 Nov. 592/1 Even the Cyrenaics upheld a certain standard of personal dignity.

the

obs. form of chirographer.

doctrine

early ff. chirurgeon, etc.

cysars, -ers, -ors, -ours,

sir, sire.

Hence Cyre'naicism, Aristippus.

Cyrenaica in north Africa, or its people. Also as

cyrto- (s3:tsu-), repr. Gr.

obs. form of cypress1.

eyre, obs. form of

CYSTI -

200

of

cysme,

obs. if. scissors.

obs. forms of size, cider.

obs. form of schism.

earlier use: see cystis): in mod.F. kyste.] 1. Biol. A thin-walled hollow organ or cavity in an animal body (or plant) containing a liquid secretion; a bladder, sac, vesicle. c 1720 W. Gibson Farrier’s Dispens. ii. i. (1734) 36 Under their [vipers’] tongue is a little Cyst or bag where the poison is deposited. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. I. 228 The Ink or Cuttle fish. . is furnished with a cyst of black liquor. 1866 Treas. Bot., Cy$*..the hollow spaces in parenchyma in which oily matter collects, as in the rind of the orange.

1857 Berkeley Cryptog. Bot. 134 Muller informs us that in C tuberculosa, he has repeatedly seen two kinds of cysts one scarlet, and constituting antheridia, the other larger and at length producing spores. 1867 J. Hogg Microsc. 11.1. 263 They occasionally develop an enveloping cyst and thus become encysted zoospores.

4. Comb., as cyst-fluid, -wall, -worm; also cyst1836-39 Todd Cycl. Anat. II. 220/2 Cyst-like tumours. 1847-9 Ibid. IV. 95/2 Atrophy of the renal textures dependent on cyst-formation. 1871 Holmes Syst. Surg. (ed. 2) V. 917 The cyst-worms of one animal give rise to tape-

cyst,

obs. form of cist.

cyst-, combining form of Gr. kvotls, cyst before vowels (cf. CYSTI-, cysto-): as cy'stalgia [F. cystalgie; Gr. SXyos pain] Path., pain in the bladder, esp. of a spasmodic character, cy'stectasy [Gr. cktools extension: see ectasis], dilatation of the bladder; spec, a form of lithotomy in which the neck of the bladder is dilated so as to allow of the removal of the stone, 'cystelminth [Gr. HXpuvs, iXpuvd- worm], a cystic worm. cy'stenchyma, cy'stenchyme [Gr. eyxvPa infusion], a kind of connective tissue occurring in some sponges, and presenting analogies to the parenchyma of plants; hence cysten'chymatous a. cysthe'patic a. (Anat.) [F. cysthepatique: see hepatic], applied to ducts supposed to pass directly from the liver to the gall-bladder. 1887 Sollas Sponges in Encycl. Brit. XXII. 419 A tissue, cystenchyme, which in some respects resembles certain forms of vegetable parenchyme, occurs in some sponges. Ibid., Cystenchyme very commonly forms a layer just below the skin of some Geodinidae, particularly of Pachymatisma. 1678 Phillips, Cystepatick Arterie. 1839-47 Todd Cycl. Anat. III. 176/1 Among the Chelonia the gall-bladder., receives its secretion through .. cysthepatic ducts.

cy'stectomy.

Surg. [f. cyst + -ectomy.] Surgical removal of either the gall-bladder or all or part of the urinary bladder, or of a cyst. 1891 C. W. M. Moullin Surgery Index, Cystectomy. 1896 J. G. Smith Abdom. Surg. (ed. 5) II. ix. 961 Weir of New York records three cases of partial cystectomy. In one he removed a triangular portion of the bladder measuring 2* inches on the sides. 1962 Lancet 19 May 1048/2 Total cystectomy was necessary. 1967 S. Boyarsky Neurogenic Bladder xxvi. 203/2 Three patients continued to have chronic cystitis with copious drainage of purulent material from the urethra. Cystectomy was performed in all 3 after attempts at local therapy with anti-bacterial irrigations.

cysted ('sistid), a.

rare. [f. Enclosed in a cyst, encysted. 1755

cyst

-ed.]

+

in Johnson (Cisted); hence in later Diets.

cysteine ('sistinn, ’sistiiain). Biochem. Also -ein. [ad. G. cystein (E. Baumann 1882, in Zietschr.f. physiol. Chem. VIII. 302), f. cyst(ine + -eine.] An amino-acid, HSCH2CH(NH2)COOH, which is a reduction product of cystine and a constituent of glutathione and many proteins. 1884 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. XLVI. A. 1382 Cystine and Cysteine... The hydrochloride of the new base cysteine is obtained by evaporating the filtrate. 1923 Nature 24 Feb. 274/1 The reduction of methylene blue by the sulphydryl compounds, reduced glutathione, cystein, and thioglycollic acid, is an autocatalytic reaction. 1961 Lancet 8 July 87/2 Two cysteine molecules readily give up their hydrogen atoms..to reunite as cystine. 1970 R. W. McGilvery Biochem. xvii. 382 Cystine enters metabolism as cysteine.

cyster, cysterne, obs. ff. sister, cistern. cysti- (sisti), combining form of Gr. kvotls, cyst; in many modern technical words: as cy'stlcolous a. [L. -colus inhabiting], inhabiting a cyst, cy'stiferous a. [L. -fer bearing], bearing or producing cysts, 'cystiform a., of the form of a bladder or cyst, cy'stigerous a. [L. -ger

2. Path. A closed cavity or sac of a morbid or abnormal character, containing liquid or semi¬ solid matter.

bearing],

I73t-I8o Bailey, Cist.. a Tumour where the obstructed Matter collects as in a Bag. 1807-26 S. Cooper First Lines Surg. (ed. 5) 25 In abscesses of long standing, the cysts are often of very considerable thickness. fig. 1884 Jaunt in a Junk 71 As it were, form an indelible cyst of penal associations round the very idea.

cutting], an instrument for cutting open the capsule of the crystalline lens.

Cyrenaican (sairi'neiikan), a. [f. as +

ACEPHALOCYST.)

Cyrenaic a. Of or pertaining to the region of

3. Biol, and Cryptogamic Bot. A cell or cavity containing reproductive bodies, embryos, etc., e.g. the spore-case of certain fungi.

cyst (sist). Also 8 cist. [ad. mod.L. cystis (in

b. spec. The sac enclosing a hydatid, or larval form of a species of Taenia or tape-worm, found parasitic in man and various other animals. (Cf.

-an.]

1713 Cheselden Anat. (1726) 181 The liver full of hydatids, and cysts of hydatids adhering to it 1888 Rolleston & Jackson Anim. Life 231 The cyst m which the Cysticercus lies is formed by the irritated tissues of its host.

bearing

or

containing

cysts,

cysti'rrhcea [F. cystirrhee] = cystorrhaea (see cysto-). 'cystitome [F. cystitome; Gr. -Topos

1885 Athenaeum 11 Apr. 474/2 The cysticolous Myzostomida. These parasites inhabit cysts .. which .. are malformations of the tissues of the host produced by the irritation. 1836-39 Todd Cycl. Anat. II. 407/2 The Cystiform Entozoa. 1885 W. Roberts Urin. & Renal Dis. (ed. 4) 11. i. 239 Dense fibrous tissue, containing many large cystiform spaces. 1870 Holmes Syst. Surg. I. 511 Cystic or cystigerous growths. 1830 S. Cooper Diet. Pract. Surg. 373 Cystitome.

CYSTIC cystic ('sistik), a. [a. F. cystique (Pare 16th c.), ad. mod.L. cysticus, f. Gr. type * kvotlkos, f. kvotls: see cyst and -ic.] 1. Anat. Pertaining to or connected with the gall-bladder: as cystic artery, duct. 1634 T. Johnson Parey's Chirurg. 111 The cysticke twins from the gate veine [of the liver], a 1735 Arbuthnot (J.), The bile is of two sorts; the cystick.. or the hepatick. 1831 R. Knox Cloquet's Anat. 702 The cystic artery.. sends a very considerable twig between the liver and gall-bladder.

2. Pertaining to the urinary bladder. 1881 Mivart Cat 186 The depression in which the bladder lies is called the cystic fissure.

b. cystic oxide: = cystine, cystic calculus, a urinary calculus containing cystine; so cystic urine. 1810 Edin. Rev. XVII. 166 Dr. Wollaston proposes to name it the cystic oxide. 1834 Good Study Med. IV. 407 The Cystic Calculus has a crystalline appearance. 1839-47 Todd Cycl. Anat. III. 805/2 Cystic Oxide is wholly dissipated by heat.

CYSTOUS

201

2. One of the projecting cells originating among the basidia of hymenomycetous fungi, and supposed to be sterile basidia. 1858 Carpenter Veg. Phys. §778 These.. cystidia have been supposed to have the nature of antheridia; but this is uncertain. 1881 Gard. Chron. No. 403. 369 Cystidia are distinctly hyaline and glutinous bodies.

cystine ('sistain). Chem. Also -in. [mod. f. Gr. kvotls bladder + -ine.] An organic base, C3NHO7SO2, a yellowish crystalline substance, found in a rare kind of urinary calculus. 1843 Jones in Trans. Med.-Chirurg. Soc. XXVI. 110 The layers exterior to this nucleus contained no cystine. attrib. 1853 G. Bird Urin. Deposits (ed. 4) vii. 187 The specific gravity of cystine urine is generally below the average. 1885 w. Roberts Urin. & Renal Dis. (ed. 4) 1. iii. 89 The following case of cystine calculus.. occurred in the Manchester Infirmary.

Hence cysti'nuria, the condition of body in which cystine is found in the urine.

3. a. Path. Of the nature of a cyst; characterized by formation of cysts, containing cysts (cyst 2).

•853 G. Bird Urin. Deposits vii. 193. 1963 Lancet 19 Jan. 127/1 In patients with cystinuria, lysine and arginine are poorly absorbed from the jejunum and ileum.

1713 R. Russell in Phil. Trans. XXVIII. 277, I separated a Cystick Tumour. 1877 Roberts Handbk. Med. I. 30 Ovarian dropsy .. is a cystic disease of the ovary.

II cystis ('sistis). Obs. Also 6 chistis. [med. or mod.L., a. Gr. kvotls bladder.] = cyst.

b. cystic fibrosis: = mucoviscidosis s.v. muco-. 1938 Amer. Jrnl. Dts. Children LVI. 344 (heading) Cystic fibrosis of the pancreas and its relation to celiac disease. *959Jrpl- Amer. Med. Assoc. 5 Sept. 1/1 The primary defect in cystic fibrosis is a dysfunction of the exocrine glands. 1985 N. Y. Times 9 Jan. cio/6 Nosebleeds are sometimes a sign of a serious underlying condition, such as high blood pressure in older adults or cystic fibrosis in young children.

4. Enclosed or living in a cyst, as a hydatid. 1859 Todd Cycl. Anat. V. 25/2 The Cystic Entozoa. 1877 Huxley Inv. Anim. iv. 211 In this condition the animal is what is termed a Cystic worm, or bladder-worm.

II cysticercus (sisti's3:kds). Zool. PI. -ci (-sai). [mod.L., f. Gr. kvotls bladder -I- KepKos tail. F. cysticerque.] The scolex or larva of a tape-worm in its encysted state; a hydatid. 1841-71 T. R. Jones Anim. Kingd. (ed. 4) 152 The discovery that the cystiform Entozoa, Coenurus and Cysticercus.. are merely the Scoleces of ordinary Tape worms. 1875 H. Walton Dis. Eye 24 The cysticercus, the .. larval state of the .. pork tape-worm, gains access to the human body by being swallowed in an earlier larval condition.

Hence cysti'cercal a., cysti'cercoid a. and sb., cysticer'coidal a. 1858 Copland Diet. Pract. Med. III. 11. 1385 A portion of the Taeniae pass through a true cysticereal (bladder-worm) stage. Ibid., True Cysticerci occur only in warm-blooded animals.. and cysticercoid forms principally in cold¬ blooded animals. 1877 Huxley Anat. Inv. Anim. iv. 212 The dog devours the louse, and the Cysticercoid becomes a Taenia cucumerina in his intestine.

cysticle ('sistik(3)I). [dim. of cyst after L. type *cysticula\ see -cule.] A small cyst: applied by Owen to an organ, supposed to be that of hearing, in some Acalephse. 1855 Owen Anat. Inv. Anim ix. 169 The part, for which, from its characteristic constancy.. I have proposed the definite term of ‘cysticle’. Ibid. 170 In some Acalephae the cysticles are not complicated with pigment-cells.

cysticotomy (sisti'kDtami). Surg. [f. cystic (in cystic duct) + -tomy.] Incision into the cystic duct. 1900 in Dorland Med. Diet. 1901 W. W. Seymour tr. Kehr's Gallstone Dis. 11. 135 After 190 conservative gall¬ bladder operations (among them 37 cysticotomies..) I have lost.. only 3 patients. 1908 Practitioner Dec. 826 A stone was extracted after the incision of the cystic duct (Cysticotomy). 1938 M. Thorek Mod. Surg. Technic III. xxxv. 1606 Cysticotomy. This operation consists of opening the cystic duct followed by immediate repair. The operation is only of historical interest.

cystid ('sistid). [f. mod.L. cystis cyst + -id.] 1. Geol. A member of the order Cystidea or Cystoidea of fossil echinoderms; a cystidean. 1862 Dana Man. Geol. 162 The Cystids are the most anomalous of Radiates. 1877 Le Conte Elem. Geol. (1879) 299 Stemmed Echinoderms or Crinoids, may be divided into three families, viz.: 1. Crinids, 2. Cystids, 3. Blastids.

2. Zool. ‘The sac-like ciliated embryo of some of the Poly zoo* (Syd. Soc. Lex.). 1877 Huxley Anat. Inv. Anim. viii. 459 From one end of this cystid, one or more polypides are developed from thickenings of the wall of the sac.

cystidean (si'stidiian). Geol. [f. mod.L. cystidea, f. cystis: see cyst and -id.] = cystid i. 1862 Dana Man. Geol. 398 Cystideans.. became extinct in the beginning of the Devonian. 1876 Page Adv. Text-Bk. Geol. xii. 207 So may a cystidean.. be considered a seaurchin attached to the bottom by a similar jointed column.

||cy’stidium. Bot. PI. -ia. [mod.L., repr. Gr. type *kvotl8lov, dim. of kvotls bladder: in mod.F. cystidion: sometimes anglicized cystide.] 1. Link's name for a 1-celled, indehiscent, superior, membranous, apocarpous fruit; = utriculus.

1543 Traheron Vigo’s Chirurg. 11. v. 39 Thys caustyue Medicyne hathe strengthe, to breake the node .. euen to the chistis or purse. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. no The humour [is] contained .. in a vesicle or little bladder, though some affirme it hath no cystis or bag at all. 1758 Le Dran's Observ. Surg. (1771) 249 The Cystis of the Hydrocele.

cystitic (si'stitik), a. Path. [f. cystit(is + -ic.] Affected with cystitis. 1910 Practitioner July 44 Distended cystitic bladder gave way.

cystitis (si'staitis). Path. [f. cystis + -itis. F. cystite.] Inflammation of the bladder. 1776-83 W. Cullen First Lines §431 (1827) II. 83 The Cystitis, or inflammation of the bladder. 1878 T. Bryant Pract. Surg. (1879)11.60 Cystitis is a common consequence of stone, prostatic disease, stricture, or gonorrhoea.

cysto- (sistao), combining form of Gr.

kvottj

—

bladder, cyst, usually in reference to the urinary bladder; as in cystobu'bonocele [see bubonocele], hernia of the bladder through the inguinal opening; 'cystocele [F. cystocele-, Gr. K’fjX-q tumour, cele], hernia of the bladder; 'cystocyte [-cyte], one of the large and cyst-like cells of cystenchyma in sponges; cy'stogenous [-genous], producinng cysts, cystiferous; cy'stometer, any instrument for measuring pressure and volume within the bladder; cysto'metrogram [Gr. feerpov measure], a diagram showing the relationship between bladder pressure and volume as it fills; cy'stometry, the measurement of the pressure and volume within the bladder; the study of the bladder by means of such measurements; so cysto'metric a.; cysto'morphous [Gr. p-op^-q form], having the form of a cyst, cyst-like; 'cystoplast (Biol.) [Gr. nXaoros formed, moulded], a cell having a cell-wall; cysto'plastic a. (Surg.), belonging to cystoplasty; 'cystoplasty [F. cystoplastie], an operation for repair of the bladder, as in the case of vesico¬ vaginal fistula; cysto'plegic a., relating to cystoplegia or paralysis of the bladder; cysto'rrhoea [Gr. pola flow, flux], a flow of mucus from the bladder, vesical catarrh; 'cystoscope [Gr. -okottos viewing], sb. an instrument for examining the interior of the bladder; v. to examine (the bladder) with this instrument; cysto'scopic a., relating to or performed with the cystoscope; cy'stoscopy [Gr. oKotna lookout, watch], examination of the bladder with a cystoscope, cy'stostomy [Gr. OTopLu mouth], the formation of an opening into the bladder by incision; 'cystospasm, spasm of the bladder; cysto'spastic a., relating to cystospasm; 'cystotome [so in F.: Gr. -ropos cutting], an instrument for the operation of cystotomy; also an instrument for lacerating the capsule of the crystalline lens in the operation for cataract; cy'stotomy [Gr. -ropua cutting], cutting into the bladder for extraction of a stone or other purpose. kvotis

i860 Mayne Expos. Lex. 254 *Cystobubonocele.. a rare kind of Hernia, in which the urinary bladder protrudes through the inguinal opening. 1811 in R. Hooper Med. Diet., *Cystocele. 1876 Gross Dis. Bladder 343 The bladder is liable to protrude from the pelvic cavity, constituting what is denominated a cystocele. 1927 D. K. Rose in Jrnl. Amer. Med. Assoc. 15 Jan. 151/2, I have devised an instrument called a *cystometer. 1933 Brain LVI. 185 The volumepressure curve as measured by the Rose cystometer, and used to estimate disturbances of vesical innervation. 1964 G. W. Leadbetter in J. F. Glenn Diagnostic Urol. vii. 135 One of three cystometers may be used: (a) water column manometer, (b) Lewis electric recording cystometer, or (c) strain gauge with an electronic recorder. 1927 Jrnl. Urol.

XVII. 493 *Cystometric curve is quite similar to one obtained after giving a sacral anaesthetic. 1964 G. W. Leadbetter in J. F. Glenn Diagnostic Urol. vii. 133 Cystometric study is essential to diagnosis and management in patients who have evidence of neurologic disease. 1936 New England Jrnl. Med. 26 Mar. 617/1 In an attempt to arrive at a better method of treating urinary bladders paralyzed as the result of spinal cord injuries, it was soon demonstrated that *cystometrograms were essential. 1976 Lancet 4 Dec. 1221/1 During the acute stage a cystometrogram showed a flaccid insensitive bladder. 1959 Danish Med. Bull. VI. 194/1 * Cystometry, the measurement of intravesical pressure at various fillings of the bladder and during micturition, appears to have been effected exclusively by means of a catheter inserted through the urethra... We have worked out a new technique.. using a polyethylene catheter inserted percutaneously into the bladder. 1977 Lancet 13 Aug. 335/2 Simple cystometry with a central-venous-pressure set can.. be done in all hospitals and might help to delineate that group of patients who, although presenting with stress incontinence, in reality suffer from detrusor instability. 1984 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 9 June 1720/2 Cystometry has been used to study bladder function for over 100 years. 1876 Gross Dis. Bladder 43 Catarrh of the bladder, technically denominated *cystorrhcea. 1889 Fenwick in Brit. Med. Jrnl. 6 July, Since the introduction of the incandescent-lamp * cystoscope. 1893 Ibid. 10 June 1209 In nearly every case of tumour which I have cystoscoped. 1889 Fenwick in Brit. Med. Jrnl. 1 Apr. 49/3 On *cystoscopic examination. 1910 Practitioner Mar. 378 As a general rule the operation of cholecystectomy shows a higher mortality than the cholecystostomy, but in Rimann’s statistics the reverse is the case (cystectomy 3 4 per cent, and •cystostomy 14 3 per cent.). 1908 Practitioner Sept. 434 •Cystoscopy is of great use in determining the character of the fluid issuing from each ureter. 1909 Ibid. Nov. 664 Cytoscopy and ureteral catheterization are necessary. 1938 Nature 24 Sept. 555/1 The radiological methods include.. cystoscopy. 1847 South tr. Chelius’ Surg. II. 594 The operator now grasps the *cystotome with his right hand. 1869 Wells Diseases of Eye 237 For flap extraction I prefer Graefe’s cystotome. 1721 Bailey, *Cystotomy, the cutting of the Bladder. 1888 Pall Mall G. 19 Sept. 6/2 General Salomon.. underwent the operation of cystotomy yesterday.

cystocarp (’sistsukarp). Bot. [f.

cysto- + Gr. Kapnos fruit.] The sexual fruit of the Florideae, a group of Algae; also called cryptocarp. Hence cysto'carpic a. 1875 Bennett & Dyer tr. Sachs' Bot. 213 The receptacle, here termed the Cystocarp. Ibid. 235 The cystocarps consist of branches formed of only one or two cells. 1889 Athenaeum 14 Dec. 826 The specimen exhibited [Gracilaria diver gens] possessed tetrasporic and cystocarpic fruits.

cystoid (’sistoid), a. and sb. [mod. f. Gr. kvotls bladder, cyst + -oid: in mod.F. cystoide.] A. adj. 1. Path. Of the nature of a cyst. 1871 Holmes Syst. Surg. (ed. 2) V. 256 Cystoid formations. 1874 Jones & Siev. Pathol. Anat. 155 Cystoid Tumours.

2. Geol. Belonging to the order Cystoidea of fossil echinoderms: see cystid. 1876 Page Adv. Text-Bk. Geol. xiii. 224 Among the echinoderms a few crinoid and cystoid forms. B. sb. Path. A cystoid formation; = CYST 2. 1872 Thomas Dis. Women 648 The cystoids of the ovary. Hence cy'stoidean a. = cystoid a. 2; sb. A

member of the Cystoidea.

cystolith ('sistaoliO).

[cysto+ Gr. Xld-os stone.] 1. Bot. A club-shaped stratified outgrowth of the walls of some cells, containing minute crystals of calcium carbonate. 1857 Henfrey Elem. Bot. 503 Crystals.. accumulated on a clavate process.. called cystolithes. 1875 Bennett Sachs’ Bot. 64 Masses of cellulose.. known as Cystoliths.

2. Path. ‘Stone or calculus of the bladder’ (Syd. Soc. Lex.). Hence cysto'lithic a. [in F. cystolithique], relating to stone in the bladder. 1846 Worcester cites Dunglison (Cystolithic).

II cystoma (si'stsuma). Path. PI. cystomata. [mod. f. Gr. kvotls CYST + -oma forming nouns of product.] a. A tumour containing cysts; a cystic tumour, b. A cyst or cystic tumour which is a new development, as distinguished from one in which the sac is a natural formation (Syd. Soc. Lex.). 1872 Peaslee Ovar. Tumours 30 All ovarian cystomata contain several.. cysts at the beginning. 1876 Wagner’s Gen. Pathol. 504 A small portion of cysts are new formations; properly so-called cystomata.

cy'stomatous a., of the nature of a cystoma. 1876 Wagner’s Gen. Pathol. 475 A cystomatous adenoma of the pituitary body of the size of a walnut was observed.

cystose (si'staus),

a. rare~°. [f. L. type *cystosus: see cyst and -ose.] Containing, or resembling, a cyst; cystic. 1864 in Webster.

cystous

('sistss), a. rare—0, [f. cyst + -ous: cf. mod.F. cysteux.] = prec. 1857 in Dunglison. 1882 Syd. Soc. Lex., Cystous, same as Cystic.

GYTARIN cytarin, cytern(e, obs. ff. cittern,

cithern.

cytase ('saiteis, -z).

Biochem. [f. cyt(o- + Any of various enzymes found in some plant seeds which hydrolyse the hemicellulose constituents of cell walls and were formerly thought to dissolve the whole cell wall. Hence cytasic (sai'teizik) a. -ase.]

1895 W. Jago Bread-making 123 The enzyme, which thus dissolves the parenchymatous cell-walls of the endosperm, has received the name Cytase. Cytase is secreted by the embryo during germination. 1899 J. R. Green Soluble Ferments vii. 88 The existence of cytase has not been known for many years, our acquaintance with it dating back only to 1886, when it was discovered by De Bary. Ibid. xxi. 371 Bacillus mesentericus vulgatus has been shown to be possessed of diastasic, inverting, cytasic, and peptonising power. 1938 E. C. Miller Plant Physiol, (ed. 2) xi. 802 The cytases are destroyed at a temperature of 6o°C. or above. 1956 New Biol. XXI. 12 The secretion of enzymes (cytases) attacking the cell walls of the endosperm. 1962 Howarth & Warne Lowson's Textbk. Bot. (ed. 13) ii. 32 When the seeds, e.g. of lupin and date, germinate, an enzyme, cytase, hydrolyses the hemicellulose, forming sugars.

cytaster (’saitaest3(r)). Biol. [a. G. cytaster (W. Flemming Zellsubstanz (1882) 379), f. as prec. + aster 4.] a. = aster 4. b. An aster-like structure which may be present in or induced in the cell when the nucleus is not dividing. 1892 A. A. Crozier Diet. Bot. Terms 50/2 Cytaster, a series of achromatic rays extending from each pole of the nucleus in karyokinesis into the cytoplasm. 1901 E. B. Wilson in Arch.f. Entwickelungsmechanik XII. 541 In these eggs the first stage is.. followed by the appearance of a variable number of vague clear spots in the cytoplasm which .. become surrounded with radiating lines of granules and finally assume the form of asters. These, which are obviously identical with Morgan’s ‘artificial astrospheres’, may be called cytasters, in contradistinction to the nuclear asters that are connected with the nucleus. 1925-Cell (ed. 3) 1129 Cytaster... An aster not associated with chromosomes; commonly employed as equivalent to ‘accessory aster’ or supernumerary aster. 1952 A. Hughes Mitotic Cycle iv. 108 Cytasters induced in activated Echinarachnius eggs were examined, i960 L. Picken Organization of Cells vii. 254 Any part of the cytoplasm can participate in the formation of scattered cytasters and of the normal amphiaster.

-cyte (salt).

Biol. [ad. Gr. kvt-os hollow, receptacle.] Frequent in composition with the sense ‘cell’, as in collencyte, cystocyte, leucocyte, etc.

cyte, -zane, -ein, -yn, cytharist, cyther: cythen: see

sie v.

CYTOBLAST

202

obs. ff. city, citizen.

see cith-, cider.

Obs., to strain.

Cytherean (siGa'riian), a. and sb. [f. L. Cytherea = Gr. Kvdcpeia a name of Aphrodite or Venus, from Kvd-qpa Cythera, Cerigo.] A. adj. 1. Pertaining to Venus; also transf. (cf. B). 1866 Elgin Cathedral Guide 45 A Cytheraean temple under State supervision and protection.

2. Pertaining to the planet Venus. 1885 Clerke Pop. Hist. Astron. 284 Three distinct atmospheres—the solar, terrestrial, and cytherean— combine to deform outlines.

B. sb. A votaress of Venus; a prostitute attached to a heathen temple in India; also generally. 1751 Beau-philosopher 238 The Baron .. obliged him .. to tack about to some other Cytherean. 1807 J. Johnson Orient. Voy. 96 The contaminated embrace of a modern Cytherean.

cythero' mania.

[f.

as

prec.

+

mania.]

Nymphomania. 1874 in Dunglison. 1884 in Syd. Soc. Lex.

cythole, cythren,

var. citole, cithern Obs.

cytidine ('saitidim). Biochem. [ad. G. cytidin (P. A. Levene and W. A. Jacobs 1910, in Ber. d. Deut. Chem. Ges. 3152), f. as cytaster + -IDINE.] A nucleoside, C9H13N5O5, composed of cytosine and ribose and obtained by the hydrolysis of ribonucleic acid. 1911 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. C. 1. 96 On partial hydrolysis of nucleic acid with ammonia, cytidine, C9H13O5N3, is obtained. 1958 Oxf. Univ. Gaz. 23 Apr. 894 An investigation into the metabolism of cytidine nucleotides, with special reference to cytidine diphosphate polyols.

cytisine ('sitisain).

Chem. [mod. f. next + A poisonous alkaloid, C20H23N3O, extracted from the ripe seeds of the Laburnum, C. Laburnum, and other species of Cytisus. -ine.]

1830 Lindley N.S. Bot. 91 The seeds of the Laburnum are poisonous; they contain a principle called Cytisine. attrib. 1878 tr. Ziemssen’s Cycl. Med. XVII. 825 Cytisine poisoning.

II cytisus ('sitisas). Bot. [L., a Gr. kvtioos a shrubby leguminous plant.] a. A shrubby plant mentioned by the Greek and Roman writers, as

useful for fodder; now identified with the Shrubby Medic, Medicago arborea. b. Bot. Adopted by Linnseus as the name of a genus of leguminous shrubs and trees, including the common Broom (though this has by many been made the type of a separate genus), the Laburnum, and other species, one of which (C. racemosus), a well-known early flowering greenhouse and window plant with a profusion of yellow flowers, is the Cytisus of florists. By early writers the name was often applied to other shrubby leguminous plants. 1548 Turner Names of Herbes, Cytisus groweth plentuously in mount Appennine.. I haue not sene it in Englande. Cytisus may be called in englishe tre trifoly. 1578 Lyte Dodoens vi. lxi, Cytisus is a shrubbe or bush with leaues, not muche vnlyke Fenugreke, or Sene; the flowers be faire and yellow, almost like to Broome flowers, a 1729 Congreve Ovid's Art of Love (T.), There tamarisks with thick-leav’d box are found, And cytisus and garden-pines abound. 1794 Martyn Rousseau s Bot. xxv. 362 Evergreen Cytisus has the flowers coming out singly from the side of the stalk. 1855 Singleton Virgil I. 8 No [more] my goats.. the blooming cytisus .. shall you browse. 1892 Star 14 May 1 /7 Marguerites .. wave gaily above rows of drooping cytisus and hanging grass.

cytitis

(si'taitis).

-iTis.]

‘Inflammation of the skin’ (Syd.

[mod.

f.

Gr.

kvto?

skin

+

Soc.

Lex.).

cytlyng,

obs. form of kitling.

cyto-, combining form of Gr.

kvtos hollow, receptacle, etc., taken in modern formations with the meaning ‘cell’ (cf. -cyte), and used in many biological terms: as cytoblast, etc.: see below. cyto'chemist, one who studies cytochemistry; cyto'chemistry, the chemistry of cells; spec, a branch of biochemistry using microscopical techniques for this study; hence cyto'chemical a., pertaining to cytochemistry; cyto'coccus [Gr. kokkos berry], Haeckel’s term for the nucleus of a Cytula or impregnated ovum; ,cytodiag‘nosis, diagnosis by examining the cell-contents of effusions into the serous cavities of the body (Dorland 1903); cy'togamont, an organism in the process of cytogamy; cy'togamy, (a) the fusion of cells; conjugation, syngamy; (b) a kind of reproduction that sometimes occurs in Paramecium and some other ciliated Protozoa, in which two organisms undergo autogamy while in contact with each other but without any exchange of nuclear material; hence cy'togamous a., undergoing cytogamy; cyto'genesis, the generation or production of cells; cyto'genic, cy'togenous adjs., producing cells, or characterized by the formation of cells; cy'togeny = cytogenesis-, cytolysin (sai'tDlisin, saitsu'laisin) [see lysin], a substance that causes cytolysis; cy'tolysis, the dissolution of cells; hence cyto'Iytic a.; cytomor'phosis, the series of morphological changes undergone by cells during their life; cyto'pathic, cytopatho'genic adjs., of, pertaining to, or producing damage to cells; cytopa'thologist, one who studies cytopathology; cytopa'thology, the pathology of cells; 'cytoplasm, the substance forming the essential constituent of cells, protoplasm; spec. the protoplasm of a cell as distinguished from the nucleus; cyto'plasmic a., pertaining to or consisting of cytoplasm; 'cytoplast, the body or unit of protoplasm contained in a cell (cf. bioplast); 'cytopyge [Gr. ?rvyrj rump], the excretory opening or anus of a unicellular animal; ’cytostome [Gr. oropa mouth], the absorbent opening or mouth of a unicellular animal; cy'tostomous a., pertaining to the cytostome; cyto'toxic a., toxic to cells; of or pertaining to a cytotoxin; cyto'toxin, any substance having a toxic effect on cells; cy'totrophy (see quot.); cyto'tropism = cytotrophy; cyto'zoa sb. pi. (Zool.), [Gr. (a>ov animal], a synonym of the Sporozoa or Gregarinida\ 'cytozyme (see quots.).

1940 Caspersson & Schultz in Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. XXVI. 507 At the centre of the discussion was the nucleolus, which in its staining properties resembled some of the cytoplasmic components, and in some cases appeared ..to be extruded into the cytoplasm. With the recent advances in ‘cytochemical technique, these problems can be studied more critically. 1946 Nature 21 Dec. 917/1 (heading) Establishment of Cytochemical Techniques... It might be feared that his remarks will leave the *cytochemist with a gloomy feeling. [1899 A. Graf in Nova Acta Acad. Leopoldino-Carolime LXXII. 280 Cytochemie.] 1905 Gould Med. Diet. Suppl. 204/1 * Cytochemistry, the chemistry of living cells, i960 Times 26 May 3/2 Honours graduate required for the cyto-chemistry section of the Division of Pathology. 1962 Sci. Survey XI. 185 Another way of exploring the function of structures within cells is to establish their nature by combining electron microscopy

with cell chemistry (cytochemistry). 1908 Practitioner Oct. 621 The method of ‘cytodiagnosis.. usually gives satisfactory results, especially in the case of pleural exudates. 1965 tr. Smolka & Soost s Outl. & Atlas Gynaecol. Cytodiagnosis 3 The development of fundamental cytology and cytodiagnosis in other medical fields has been furthered by the work of the American Society of Cytology. 1939 R. Wichterman in Nature 15 July 123/1 *Cytogamous paramecia, which are considerably smaller than typical vegetative ones, are very insecurely attached to each other at their anterior ends at the beginning of the process... The micro-nucleus of each cytogamont leaves its place near the macro-nucleus and then gradually increases in size. 1900 B D. Jackson Gloss. Bot. Terms 71/1 'Cytogamy, the union of cells. 1906 M. Hartog in Cambr. Nat. Hist. I. 1. 33 This process [jc. syngamy] is called also ‘conjugation or ‘cytogamy’. 1939 R. Wichterman in Nature 15 July 123/1, I am therefore proposing a new term, cytogamy, for this phenomenon as distinct from autogamy in single individuals and true conjugation involving a nuclear transfer in joined pairs. 1961 Mackinnon & Hawes Introd. Study Protozoa iv. 292 The life-cycle of Paramecium is complicated. It consists of periods of growth interrupted by binary fission, which is its only means of multiplication, and periodic recourse to the curious sexual processes of conjugation, autogamy, and cytogamy. 1859 Todd Cycl. Anat. V. 140/1 The blastodermic cells are produced by a process of ♦cytogenesis. 1876 Wagner's Gen. Pathol. 439 *Cytogenic tissue consists of a vascular fibrous framework and of cells. 1874 Jones & Siev. Pathol. Anat. 153 *Cytogenous connective-tissue is met with in other organs. I9°5 Jrn^Path. & Bacteriol. X. in The ♦cytolysins contained in [snake] venom. 1937 Times Lit. Suppl. 6 Mar. 173/2 Prominent among the mobile agents for defence found in the blood stream are the cytolysins. 1907 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 20 Apr. 923/1 There seems to be some toxic condition produced which overcomes natural resistance, resulting in ♦cytolysis. 1946 Nature 21 Dec. 917/2 It is therefore necessary to kill the cell fragments, to remove diffusion difficulties by thorough cytolysis. 1904 Keene's Bath Journal 28 May 5/5 The ‘♦cytolytic’ milk of a cow has been tried. 1910 Practitioner Feb. 199 The virulence of the cocci was evidenced.. by the cytolytic findings. 1908 C. S. Minot {title) The problem of age, growth, and death; a study of ♦cytomorphosis. 1968 Bloom & Fawcett Textbk. Histol. (ed. 9) ix. 219/1 The cartilage cells in a center of ossification undergo a regular sequence of changes referred to as the cytomorphosis of the cartilage cells. 1961 Lancet 29 July 248/2 A .. degeneration of the embryonic cells, a cytopathic effect. 1956 New Gould Med. Diet. (ed. 2) 313/2 ♦Cytopathogenic. 1959 Brit. Jrnl. Exper. Path. XL. 61 Experiments.. to isolate cytopathogenic agents from sarcoidotic lesions. 1962 Lancet 26 May 1109/1 Cytopathogenic effects in tissue-cultures of sarcoid skin which are reminiscent of changes that might be associated with a virus. 1962 Times 26 June 3/2 A newly-created post of *Cyto-pathologist. 1936 Stedman Med. Diet. (ed. 13) 281/2 ♦Cytopathology, cellular pathology; morbid changes occurring in cells. 1957 Encycl. Brit. XV. 204/2 A major development of cytopathology is the study of ‘new growths’, among which cancer takes a leading place. 1874 Barker tr. Frey's Histol. 66 This primordial cell-substance is known at the present day by the name protoplasm. It has also received from Beale, Kolliker, and Dujardin respectively the names bioplasm, ♦cytoplasm, and sarcode. 1889 Vines in Nature 24 Oct. 624 The embryo is developed from the whole of the nucleus and more or less of the cytoplasm of the ovum. 1889 Cent. Diet., ♦Cytoplasmic. 1920 L. Doncaster Study of Cytology vii. 91 (heading) The cytoplasmic structures in spermatogenesis and oogenesis. 1952 G. H. Bourne et al. Cytology & Cell Physiol, (ed. 2) i. 51 Phase-contrast microscopy reveals the presence of numerous cytoplasmic inclusions in the living cell. 1968 H. Harris Nucleus aire daunce, And wend p2ci most ano)?er way. Ibid. v. 14 Sare it pzrr\ smerted J?at ferd out of France, J?are lered Inglis men fam a new daunce. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 476 Of remedies of loue she knew per chaunce For she koude of that Art the olde daunce. 1423 Jas. I. Kingis Q. clxxxv, Tham that ar noght entrit inne The dance of lufe. c 1449 Pecock Repr. 1. xvi. 86 God for his merci and pitee kepe Ynglond, that he come not into lijk daunce. 1513 More Rich. Ill, Wks. 53 The lord Stanley and he had departed with diuerse other lordes, and broken all the daunce. 1659 B. Harris Parival's Iron Age 193 The Emperour.. troubled, at this too long and too bloody dance. 1733 Walpole in Morley Life viii. (1889) 174 This dance .. will no further go. I meant well, but.. the Act could not be carried into execution without an armed force.

6. Phrases: a. to begin, lead the dance; fig. to take the lead in any course of action. c 1325 Coer de L. 3739 The damyseles lede daunse. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus 11. 504 Yet made he po as fressh a contenaunce, As J?ough he schulde haue led pe newe daunce. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. II. 360 Crist )?at ledip pe daunce of love. 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 1348 Foly foteth it properly, Fansy ledeth the dawnce. 1579 Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 522/2 They must begin the dance to be punished, a 1616 Beaum. & Fl. Cust. Country 11. i, They heard your lordship Was, by the ladies’ choice, to lead the dance. 1742 Mann Let. to H. Walpole 23 Sept., M. de Gages is now the man who begins the dance.

b. to lead, rarely give (a person) a dance\ fig. to lead (him) in a wearying, perplexing, or disappointing course; to cause him to undergo exertion or worry with no adequate result. a 1529 Skelton Edw. IV, 29 She [Fortune] toke me by the hand and led me a daunce. 1599 Porter Angry Worn. Abingd. in. ii, I pray God, they may., both be led a dark dance in the night! 1682 Hickeringill Wks. (1716) II. 37, I think he has led me a fair dance, I am so tyred. 1700 S. L. tr. C. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 45 [A monkey] led me such a dance, that I had almost stuck in the Slough. 1798 W. Hutton Autobiog. 65, I should have led them a dance of twenty miles to breakfast at Kidderminster. 1874 Aldrich Prud. Palfrey i. (1885) 12 It was notorious that the late Maria Jane had led Mr. Wiggins something of a dance in this life.

c. Dance of Death: an allegorical repres¬ entation of Death leading men of all ranks and conditions in the dance to the grave: a very common subject of pictorial representation during the middle ages. Also called Dance of Macabre, F. danse macabre: see Littre. C1430 Lydg. Daunce of Machabree Prol., The which daunce at sainct innocentes Portrayed is with all the surplusage. Ibid., Death fyrst speaketh vnto the Pope, and after to euery degree as foloweth. 1480 Robt. Devyll 26 For and we nowe in deathes daunce stode To hell shoulde we go, with horrible vengeaunce. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vi. clvi. 145 But deth y* is to all persones egall, lastlye tooke hym in his dymme daunce, whan he had ben kyng .xlvii. yeres. 1631 Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. 378 The dance of Death.. the Picture of death leading all estates. 1833 J. Dallaway Archit. Eng. 137 (Stanford) The Dance of Macabre (Holbein’s Dance of Death) was painted on the walls.

d. St. Vitus's dance = chorea, q.v.; also fig. Also St. John's, St. Guy's dance, terms applied to the dancing-mania of the middle ages. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. 1. i. 1. iv, Chorus Sancti Viti, or S. Vitus Dance .. they that are taken with it can do nothing but dance till they be dead, or cured. 1721 Bailey, Chorea Santi Viti, St. Vitus’s Dance. 1746 J. Andree (title), Cases of Epilepsy, Hysteric Fits, and St. Vitus’s Dance, with the Process and Cure. 1804 Southey in H. D. Traill Coleridge (1884) 106 His [Coleridge’s] mind is in a perpetual St. Vitus’s dance—eternal activity without action. 1840 Tweedie Pract. Med. II. 205 In St. John’s dance, as well as in that of St. Vitus.. a tympanic state of the abdomen was a frequent symptom.

e. dance upon nothing: an ironical expression for hanging (cf. dance v. 3 b). 1840 Hood Kilmansegg, Her Death ix, Just as the felon condemned to die.. From his gloomy cell in a vision elopes, To caper on sunny greens and slopes, Instead of the dance upon nothing, a 1845 - An Open Question, note, If a dance upon Sunday led so inevitably to a dance upon nothing!

7. attrib. and Comb., as dance-band, -floor, -frock, -leader, -lover, -rhythm, -step, -tune; dance-loving adj.; dance-card, a card bearing the names of (a woman’s) prospective partners at a dance; dance-director, the person who, in

DANCE musical comedies, arranges the dances; dancedrama, a rendering through dancing of a dramatic situation; dance-hall, -house orig. U.S., a public dancing saloon; dance hostess, (a) a woman who holds a dance at her house, etc.; (b) a dancing-partner (sense b, dancing vbl. sb. b); dance-music, ‘music designed as an accompaniment to dancing; also, music written in dance rhythm though not for dancing purposes’ (Grove Diet. Mus.)\ dance programme = dance-card. 1927 Melody Maker Aug. 739/1 It was his boast then that he would have a symphonic *dance band. 1962 J. Wain Strike Father Dead 67 The convention that lays it down that English dance-band singers must put on an American accent. 1895 J. L. Williams Princeton Stories 199 You will here meet several of those whose names you have on your *dance-card, and you may make up your mind whether to remember that fact or not. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 11 Old feather fans, tasselled dancecards, powdered with musk. 1932 Wodehouse Louder & Funnier 84 The *dance-director is instructed to think up a lot of different business for the first encore. 1924 New Republic 26 Nov. 11 Spend a few hours in a New Mexico pueblo at the end of the day of one of their sacred *dance-dramas. 1938 Encycl. Brit. Bk. of Yr. 1938 251/2 Dance dramas, marionette shows, musical comedies, [etc.]. 1958 Times 13 Aug. 5/3 Darrell’s dancedrama The Prisoners.. was not only topical.. but also gripping. 1968 Jrnl. Mus. Acad. Madras XXXIX. 1 The dramatic poem of the Composer Nauka Caritram was also produced as a dance-drama. 1928 Melody Maker Feb. 171/3 The *dance floor was crowded. 1959 M. Shadbolt New Zealanders 32 There was even a crude dance-floor erected for the night a little back from the beach. 1904 Westm. Gaz. 18 Feb. 4/2 An accordion-pleated lace net is one of the prettiest *dance-frocks I have seen for some time. 1858 Mass. Acts & Resolves 125 Any person who shall offer to view .. any .. show, concert, or *dance-hall exhibition of any description shall be punished by a fine. 1891 Scribner's Mag. Sept. 276/1 Port Said .. abounds in French cafes and dancehalls. 1904 Conrad Nostromo 1. viii. 107 From the doors of the dance hall men and women emerged tottering. 1934 T. S. Eliot Rock i. 40 Everythink useful for the people: dance ’alls, picture palaces, swimmin’ baths. 1909 Daily Chron. 8 July 6/5 Lady Londesborough was one of the chief *dance hostesses last night. 1934 F. B. Young This Little World ix. 179 A young woman of a most undesirable class—a ‘dancehostess’ (the word was vaguely familiar and unpleasant) in a London night club. 1961 A. Wilson Old Men at Zoo ii. 113 She’s a dance hostess. 1848 Western Boatman (Cincinnati) June 133 That afternoon I wrote a letter to a friend of mine in Natchez, who was a woman that kept a *dance-house. 1875 Mrs. Stowe We Neighbors xli. 375 He told me that he was in the constant habit of passing through the dancehouses, and talking with people who kept them. 1889 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 24 Apr. 1/8 To run a dance-house and gambling-den. 1946 G. Foreman Last Trek of Indians 256 His forsaken wife, Comes-at-Rain, sprang through the window of the dance house. C1440 Promp. Parv. 114 *Dawnceledere, coralles. 1860G. H. K. Vac. Tour. 152 Very popular.. as a means of producing *dance music. 1906 Dialect Notes III. 133 Got your *dance-program filled up yet? 1913 C. Mackenzie Sinister St. I. 11. i. 149 The dance programme, with Muriel’s name fourteen times repeated. 1926 S. T. Warner Lolly Willowes 1. 42 A bunch of dance programmes kept for the sake of their little pencils. 1968 D. Hopkinson Incense-Tree iv. 46 Dance programmes were usual—with the names of the dances on one side and space for the names of partners on the other, and a small pink pencil tied on with blue cord. 1880 Grove Diet. Mus. II. s.v. Melody, In the matter of rhythm there are two things which play a part—the rhythmic qualities of language, and *dance rhythms. 1947 A. Einstein Mus. Romantic Era xvi. 290 A pathetic recitative changes suddenly into the most impudent dance-rhythm. 1920 S. Lewis Main St. 380 The rude fiddling and banging *dance-steps in the barn. 1936 Discovery June 186/2 For the different kinds of spirits [to be exorcised] different dances are held, each with its special dance-steps. 1962 Times 26 Apr. 8/1 Ready-made and established dance-steps.

dance (darns,

v. Forms: 4-6 daunse, 4-7 daunce, (5 dawnce, 6 dans(s, danse), 5- dance, [a. OF. dance-r, danse-r = Pr. dansar, Sp. danzar, Pg. dan(ar, dansar, It. danzare. The origin of the Romanic word is obscure; it is generally held (after Diez) to be an adoption of OHG. danson to draw, to stretch out, from which is supposed to have arisen the sense ‘to form a file or chain in dancing’. From Romanic the word has been taken (back) in the sense ‘dance’ into German: MHG. tanzen (nth c, MDu. dansen. (OHG. danson was a derivative form from dinsan = Goth, pinsan in at-pinsan to draw towards one.)]

1. intr. To leap, skip, hop, or glide with measured steps and rhythmical movements of the body, usually to the accompaniment of music, either by oneself, or with a partner or in a set. c 1300 K. Alis. 5213 Mery time it is in May.. Maydens so dauncen and thay play. 1388 Wyclif 2 Sam. vi. 14 Dauid .. daunside with all strengthis bifor the Lord. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 147/3 He • • sente them into the gardyn to daunse & to carolle. 1530 Palsgr. 361 After dynner men avaunced them to daunce eche man with eche woman. 1632 Milton L'Allegro 96 Many a youth and many a maid Dancing in the chequer’d shade. 1712 Steele Sped. No. 466 IP3 You shall see her dance, or, if you will do her that Honour, dance with her. 1884 Miss Braddon Ishmael ix, I never danced with any one in my life until to-day. I have danced by myself in the yard sometimes when there was an organ.

fb. to dance barefoot: said of an elder sister when a younger one was married before her. Obs. 1596 Shaks. Tam. Shr. 11. i. 33 She must haue a husband; I must dance bare-foot on her wedding day, And for your loue to her leade Apes in hell. 1742 Mrs. Delany Life

DANCERCISE

236 Corr. (1861) II. 188 The eldest daughter was much disappointed that she should dance barefoot, and desired her father to find out a match for her.

c. Of animals taught to perform certain regular movements. c 1530 Hickscorner in Hazl. Dodsley I. 184 Then should ye dance as a bear. 1854 Wood Anim. Life 210 The education of most bears seldom aspires beyond teaching the animal to stand on its hind legs, and raise each foot alternately, a performance popularly entitled ‘dancing’.

d. transf. and fig. c 1430 Lydg. Bochas 1. viii. (1544) 11 a, Beware afore or ye daunce in the rowe Of such as Fortune hath from her whele ithrow. 1613 Shaks. Hen. VIII, v. iv. 68,1 haue some of ’em in Limbo Patrum, and there they are like to dance these three dayes.

e. to dance to or after (a person's) pipe, whistle, etc .'.fig. to follow his lead, act after his desire or instigation. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 61 To daunce after her pipe, I am ny led. 1604 Middleton Father Hubb. Tales Wks. 1886 VIII. 65 Till the old devourer.. death, had made our landlord dance after his pipe. 1707 Norris Treat. Humility iii. 98 When a man .. dances to the tune of the age wherein he lives. 1823 Scott Peveril vii, I thought I had the prettiest girl in the Castle dancing after my whistle. 1845 S. Austin Ranke's Hist. Ref. I. 523 That most of these councillors, .will ‘dance to Rome’s piping’, if they do but see her gold.

2. To leap, skip, spring, or move up and down, with continuously recurring movement, from excitement or strong emotion. Said also of the lively skipping or prancing of animals, and of the heart, the blood in the veins, etc. c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. A. 345 Jx>3 |?ou daunce as any do, Braundysch, & brais \>y brapez breme. c 1400-50 Alexander 2618 For pe dowt of pe dyn daunced stedis. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 291 Some were constrayned to leape and daunce for ioye. 1553 Eden Treat. Newe Ind. (Arb.) 21 The woman runneth vp and down, daunsing continually like a frantike bodie. 1611 Shaks. Wint. T. 1. ii. no, I haue Tremor Cordis on me: my heart daunces, But not for ioy. a 1720 Sheffield (Dk. Buckhm.) Wks. (1753) I. 160 The blood more lively danc’d within our veins. 1792 S. Rogers Pleas. Mem. 1. 142 When the heart danced, and life was in its spring. 1821 Lamb. Elia, Valentine's Day, He saw, unseen, the happy girl unfold the Valentine, dance about, clap her hands. 1859 Tennyson Enid 505 Yniol’s heart Danced in his bosom, seeing better days.

b. To run, go, or move on with dancing or tripping motion. 1712 Arbuthnot Jo/m Bull 1. x, How you have danced the round of all the Courts. 1820 Scott Abbot xxiv, The moments.. danced so rapidly away. Ibid, xxxiv, Some sprightly damsel, who thinks to dance through life as through a French galliard. 1872 Black Adv. Phaeton ii. 20 These boys of twenty-five will dance over the world’s edge in pursuit of a theory.

3. Of things inanimate: To bob up and down on the ground, on the surface of water, in the air, etc. Often with personification or figurative reference to gay and sprightly motion. 1563 W. Fulke Meteors (1640) 7 b, The flame appeareth to leape or daunce from one part to the other, much like as bals of wild fire daunce up and downe in the water. 1567 Drant Horace's Epist. xviii. F vj, Whilst thy ship doth kepe a flote, ydauncinge on the plaine. 1665 Hooke Microgr. 231 Why the limb of the Sun, Moon, Jupiter., and Venus, appear to move or dance. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 135 Care must be taken that the Bressummers and Girders be not weakned more than needs, lest the whole Floor dance. 1812 H. & J. Smith Rej. Addr., Cui bono? iv, Light as the mote that daunceth in the beam. 1884 Q. Victoria More Leaves 138 The little boat rolled and danced.

b. Grimly applied to the movements of the body in pr after death by hanging; to dance upon nothing, to be hanged. 1837 Major Richardson Brit. Legion viii. (ed. 2) 210 To see a fellow-being dancing in air after death, in the manner practised in England. 1839 H. Ainsworth Jack Sheppard xxxi. (Farmer), 'You’ll dance upon nothing, presently’, rejoined Jonathan, brutally. 1862 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. (1865) III. VIII. iv. 21 This poor soldier, six feet three, your Majesty, is to dance on the top of nothing for a threehalfpenny matter!

4. trans. with the name or description of a dance or measure as cognate object. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 200 (MS. Gg) Daunsynge aboute this flour an esy pas. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas, xvi. xix, To daunce true mesures without varyaunce. 1599 Porter Angry Worn. Abingd. in. ii, They have danced a galliard at beggars’-bush for it. 01627 Middleton Chaste Maid iv. iii, As if they’d dance the sword-dance on the stage. 1762 Goldsm. Life of Nash Wks. 1881 IV. 69 A minuet, danced by two persons. 1844 E. Fitzgerald Lett. (1889) I. 142 If you could see the little girl dance the Polka with her sister!

fb. to dance Barnaby: to dance to a quick movement, move expeditiously, to dance the Tyburn jig\ to be hanged: cf. 3 b. Obs. 1664 Cotton Scarron. 15 Bounce cries the Port-hole, out they fly And make the world dance Barnaby. 1664 Etheredge Com. Revenge v. ii, Widow, here is music; send for a parson, and we will dance Barnaby within this half hour. 1697 Vanbrugh Relapse Epil., Did ever one yet dance the Tyburn jig With a free air, or a well-pawdered wig?

5. to dance attendance: to wait (upon a person) with assiduous attention and ready obsequiousness; orig. to stand waiting or ‘kicking one’s heels’ in an antechamber. See also ATTENDANCE 5. 1522 Skelton Why not to Court 626 And Syr ye must daunce attendance, And take patient sufferaunce, For my Lords Grace, Hath now no time or space, To speke with you

as yet. 1613 Shaks. Hen. VIII, v. ii. 31 To suffer A man of Place.. To dance attendance on their Lordships pleasures, And at the dore too, like a Post with Packets. 1675 Traherne Chr. Ethics xxv. 380 Few have observed that the sun and moon and stars dance attendance to it [the earth], and cherish it with their influences. 1768 Gray in Corr. w. Nicholls (1843) 75 Here are a pair of your stray shoes, dancing attendance, till you send for them. 1883 Gilmour Mongols xxxi. 362 After dancing attendance on the court for a month or two they receive their dismission. 6. causal, a. To lead in a dance, cause to dance. 1665 Pepys Diary 11 Oct., Having danced my people as long as I saw fit to sit up, I to bed. 1762 Sterne Tr. Shandy VI. ii, When my father had danced his white bear backwards and forwards, through half-a-dozen pages. 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. 1, Though I am obligated to dance a bear, a man may be a gentleman for all that.

b. To move or toss up and down with a dancing jerky motion; to dandle. Wyclif Isa. lxvi. 12 Vp on the knes men shul daunte [ MS H. a 1450 daunsen] 3011. 1546 Heywood Proverbs 11. x, In hope.. In hir dotyng daies to be daunst on the lappe. 1622 Fletcher Sp. Curate 11. i, I have dandled you, and kissed you, and played with you.. and danced you. 1681 W. Robertson Phraseol. Gen. (1693) 418 To dance a child in one’s arms. 1773 Mad. D’Arblay Early Diary July, It was no sport to me to be danced up and down, and to find the waves.. rougher every instant. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. Epil., I that danced her on my knee.

7. With compl.: To remove, put, bring, impel, etc., off, away, out, in, etc., by dancing. a 1633 Austin Medit. (1635) 208 So was the blessed head of John.. danced off his shoulders by a Harlot. 1787 Generous Attachment I. 200, I danced away the recollection of it. 1812 Byron Waltz vii, Her nimble feet danced off another’s head. 1862 Merivale Rom. Emp. (1865) VI. 1. 169 That an obscure player.. should dance himself into the chamber of the empress. 1880 G. Meredith Trag. Com. iv. (1892) 29 Like a lady danced off her sense of fixity. Mod. I fear he has danced away his chance.

danceable ('da:ns3b(a)l, -ae-), a.

colloq.

[f.

dance v. + -able; cf. F. dansable.] Suitable for

dancing; fit to dance with. i860 W. Collins Worn. White 1. vi. 22 A flirtable, danceable, small-talkable creature of the male sex. 1891 Sat. Rev. 25 July 123/2 ‘The Shaking Polka’.. is a very bright and danceable specimen.

dancer ('dainsafr), -ae-). [f. dance v. + -er.] 1. a. One who dances; spec, one who dances professionally in public. C1440 Promp. Parv. 114 Dawncere, tripudiator, tripudiatrix. 1599 Shaks. Much Ado 11. i. 111 God match me with a good dauncer. 1688 Lond. Gaz. No. 2318/4 Stage-Plays, Dancers of the Ropes, and other Publick Shews. 1790 Burns Tam O'Shanter 146 The dancers quick and quicker flew. 1858 Thackeray Virginians xxviii, She is a dancer, and.. no better or worse than her neighbours.

fb. A dancing-master. Obs. 1599-16.. Middleton, etc. Old Law iii. ii, His dancer now came in as I met you. a 1627 Middleton Chaste Maid 1. i, I hold my life you have forgot your dancing: when was the dancer with you?

fc. transf. A dancing-dog. Obs. 1576 Fleming tr. Caius' Dogs in Arb. Garner III. 261 The dog called the Dancer.. [They] are taught and exercised to dance in measure. 1688 R. Holme Armoury 11. 184/1.

2. (pi.) A sect of enthusiasts who arose in 1374, chiefly in parts of Flanders, and were noted for their wild dancing; in Pathol, those affected with the dancing-mania (St. Vitus', St. John's dance, etc.) of the middle ages. 1764 Maclaine tr. Mosheim's Ch. Hist. xiv. 11. v. §8 Directly the reverse of this melancholy sect was the merry one of the Dancers, which .. arose at Aix-la-Chapelle. 1844 Babington tr. Hecker's Epidemics Mid. Ages. i. 88 note. According to the Chronicle of Cologne, the St. John’s dancers sang during their paroxysms. 1882-3 Schaff Encycl. Relig. Knowl. I. 602 The sect of the Dancers, who were enthusiasts, first appeared in 1374, on the Lower Rhine, dancing in honor of St. John.

3. = DANDY-ROLLER, q.V. 4. pi. Stairs, slang. 1671 R. Head Eng. Rogue 1. v. (1874) 52 (Farmer) Track up the dancers, go up the stayres. 1725 in New Cant. Diet. *0*2 J. H. Vaux Flash Diet., Dancers, stairs. 1829 Lytton Disowned 65 Come, track up the dancers, and dowse the glim. 1858-What will he do? xvi. (D.), Come, my Hebe, track the dancers, that is, go up the stairs.

5. pi. A local name for the aurora borealis or northern lights. Also merry dancers. C1717 Lett. fr. Mist's Jrnl. (1722) I. 99 In the North of Scotland . . they are seen continually every Summer in the Evening.. they call them Dancers. 1727 Phil. Trans. XXXV. 304 The Meteor call’d by our Sailors, Merry Dancers, was visible, and very bright. 1863 C. St. John Nat. Hist. Moray 86 April 7th (1847).. we saw a very brilliant aurora borealis, or as they term it here, ‘The Merry Dancers’.

6. slang. (See quots.) 1864 Hotten Slang Diet. 117 Dancer, or dancing-master, a thief who prowls about the roofs of houses, and effects an entrance by attic windows, &c. 1930 E. Wallace Lady of Ascot xni. 120 There were active young men who called themselves dancers, and whose graft was to get into firstfloor flats and get out quickly with such overcoats, wraps, and movables as could be whisked away in half a minute!

dancercise ('damsasaiz, -ae-). orig. U.S. Also dancercize. [Blend of dance sb. and exercise si.]

Dancing

performed

as

an

exercise;

DANCERESS organized physical exercise which incorporates the rhythms of (modern) dance. Also as v. intr. Formerly a proprietary term in the U.S. 1967 D. Drake {title) Dancercize. Ibid. i. 15 Dancercize not only remolds your body, but gives you grace, poise and beauty. 1971 Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 8 June 95 Debbie Drake, New York, N.Y... Dancercize... Instructions in dancing and physical conditioning. 1973 Seventeen Apr. 118/1 Exercise, dance, yoga..you can combine it all with Dancercise. Jon Devlin, who started the Dancercise Clubs in New York, says, ‘My way of dancing and exercising is to use the body’s natural motions.’ 1982 Maclean's Mag. 1 Feb. 61 Witnessing a performance of Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal is much like watching a ‘dancercise’ class work itself into a quasi-religious lather of shimmying, shaking, jiving, and high-kicking. 1983 Sunday Tel. 18 Dec. 17/3 (heading) Come dancercising. Ibid. 17/4 While ‘Dancercise’ was a London-based phenomenon in its youth, classes are spreadi