▪ I. more, n.1 Obs. exc. dial. (chiefly s.w.).
Also 5–7 moore, 6 maure, moare, 8–9 maur, moor, moar, 9 mor, mawer, mawr(e, mar, moir, moer.
[OE. more, moru wk. fem., corresp. to OHG. moraha, morach, morha (MHG. morche, morhe, more; mod.G. möhre carrot, morche dial., carrot, mushroom:—OTeut. type *murhōn-; cf. Lith. mõrkas, Russian morkov{p}, carrot.]
1. The root of a tree or plant; the fibrous roots of a tap-root; a tree-stump.
In OE., an edible root, e.g. a carrot or parsnip.
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 354 Ete..wælwyrte moran. Ibid. II. 312 Wylisc moru..englisc moru. a 1100 Ags. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 301/25 Pastinace, moran. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 139 Moren and wilde uni was his mete. c 1205 Lay. 31885 Heo lufeden bi wurten, bi moren and bi roten. c 1290 St. Brendan 284 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 227 Ȝwite moren, ase it of herbes were, bi-fore heom he sette al-so. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7228 A grene wexinge tre þat is fram þe more Ismite adoun. c 1400 Beryn 1056 A man I-passid ȝowith, & is withouten lore May be wele I likened, to a tre withouten more. c 1470 Build. Bodm. Ch. in Camden Misc. VII, Item de Will. Androwe for olde tymber and moris xj{supd}. 1486 Bk. St. Albans B iij, Take the Juce of percelly Moris otherwise calde percelly Rootis. 1578 Lyte Dodoens iii. lxxxviii. 441 The roote putteth foorth many branches or moores, spread abrode here and there. 1599 T. M[oufet] Silkwormes 6 Long Plantaine, Hysope, Sage, and Comfrey moares. 1725 Lond. Gaz. No. 6447/4 Taking up small Moors of Wood. 1787 Grose Provinc. Gloss. s.v. Maur, More, or Maur, also in Gloucestershire, signifies a root; as, a strawberry-more. 1796 W. Marshall W. England I. 328 Mores, roots, whether of grass or trees (the ordinary name). 1885 Jefferies Open Air (1890) 211 The mars or stocks of the plants that do not die away. |
† b. A plant. poet. Obs.
| a 1599 Spenser F.Q. vii. vii. x, And all the earth..Was dight with flowers that voluntary grew Out of the ground,..Tenne thousand mores of sundry sent and hew, That might delight the smell, or please the view. |
† 2. fig. Origin, source, ‘stock’. Also ME. in certain phrases, associated with top. Obs.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 103 Auaricia..heo is more of elchere wohnesse. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 217 An ȝerd sal spruten of iesse more. a 1250 Owl & Night. 1328 Ac he ne con þe bet þarvore of clerkes lore top ne more. Ibid. 1422 Vp to þe toppe from þe more. c 1305 Pilate in E.E.P. (1862) 111 Pilatus was a liþer man and com of liþer more. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 25 As she þat was þe soþfast crop and more Of al his lust or Ioyes here byfore. 14.. Sir Beues (MS. M.) 70 A ffeyrer child was nevure none bore, Sithe god spronge of Jesses more. |
† 3. Comb.: more-loor (see quot.). Obs.
| 1733 Tull Horse-Hoeing Husb. xiii. 163 Another sort of lodging Blight there is, which some call Moar-Loore,..mostly happens on light Land; this is when the Earth sinking away from the Roots, leaves the bottom of the Stalk higher than the subsided Ground, and then the Plant..falls down to the Earth. |
▪ II. † more, n.2 Obs. rare.
Also 1 mór-, 4 mour, moor(e.
[OE. mór-(béam), ad. L. mōrus.]
The mulberry tree. Also more-tree (in OE. mórbéam).
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter lxxvii. 47 Ofsloᵹ in heᵹle winᵹeardes heara & marbeamas heara [L. moros eorum] in forste. a 1340 Hampole Psalter lxxvii. 52 He sloghe..þaire mours [1388 Wyclif moore trees] in ryme froist. 1382 Wyclif Luke xvii. 6 Ȝe schulen seye to this more tree [v.r. tree moor, Vulg. huic arbori moro], Be thou drawun vp by the roote. |
▪ III. † more, n.3 Obs. rare.
[ad. L. mōrum mulberry, used in mod.L. with this sense (Blancard Lex. Nov. Med. 1690).]
A small swelling or tumour (resembling a mulberry); cf. moro1.
| 1547 Boorde Brev. Health ccxxxix. 81 b, A More or a lytle lumpe of fleshe the whiche doth growe in the browes or eares, or in any mannes foundement or other places. |
▪ IV. more, a. (n.) and adv.
(mɔə(r))
Forms: 1 mára (fem. and neut. máre), 2–3, 4–6 north. mare, 4–6 north. mar, Sc. maire, mayr, 4– Sc. mair; 3–6 mor (5–6 Sc. moir), 4–6 moor(e, 3, 6 moare, 2– more. Also with added compar. suffix, 4 marere.
[The adj. is Com. Teut.: OE. mára = OFris. mâra, OS. mêro (MLG., MDu. mêre; mod.Du. has the double compar. meerder), OHG. mêro (MHG. mêre; mod.G. has traces in the inflected mehr- in mehres neut., mehre pl.; cf. the double compar. forms OHG. mêrôro, mêriro greater, MHG. mêrer, mêrre, mod.G. mehrere pl., several), ON. meire (Sw. mera, Da. mere, which are the neut. adj. used advb.), Goth. maiza:—OTeut. *maizon-, f. *maiz adv., which (with normal loss of final z) is represented by OE. má: see mo. The use of the neut. adj. as quasi-n. and as adv. occurs in OE., but rarely, as má (see mo) was the ordinary word in both applications.]
A. adj.
(In senses 1, 2, 3 the word expresses respectively the comparative of the three adjectival notions now denoted by great, much, and many.)
1. Greater. † a. Of material objects: Greater in size, larger. Also of a city, country, etc. (with mixture of senses b and f). Of persons and animals: Taller, bigger.
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xxi 155 Ða nietenu ðonne, ðeah hie maran sien, hie beoð suiður ahæfen from eorðan. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 179 Eft-sone þe more fishes in þe se eten þe lasse. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 999 More he [sc. Ireland] is þan engelond. a 1300 Cursor M. 2112 Mani contre þar-in es And dughti cites mare and lesse. c 1300 Havelok 1701 Þo stod Hauelok..Riht al bi þe heued more Þanne ani þat þer-inne stod. c 1350 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 360 Þilke cofre w{supt} þe þre heuedes shal be y-set in a more Cofre. c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame i. 500 Hit semed moche more Then I had any Egle seyne. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xxi. 231 He founded the grete Cytee Iȝonge in Cathay, that is a gret del more than Rome. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 132 Þer is with-in my body a precious stone..and it is more þan ane egg. c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 65 Looke þow haue tarrers two, a more & lasse for wyne. c 1540 in Trans. Lond. & Mdsx. Archæol. Soc. IV. 346 A more and a lesse quysshion of crymsyn velvet. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 20 Another kynde of hunting dog is to sent, of quhilkes sum ar mekle mair than vthir sum. |
† b. Greater in number, quantity, or amount.
| c 1000 ælfric Hom. (Th.) I. 74 Ðu cwæde þæt ic anbidode, þæt ic ðe mare folc ᵹestrynde. c 1200 Ormin 19566 Þatt miccle mare genge Off Lerninngcnihhtess wass att himm Þann att Johan Bapptisste. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 993 His name ðo wurð a lettre mor. 1521 St. Papers Hen. VIII, II. 66 Sending a more power to hym..for his assistence. 1529 Rastell Pastyme, Hist. Brit. (1811) 125 The Danis, with a more strenght, enteryd the west part of this land. |
† c. Qualifying a n. which expresses quantity or amount. Obs. exc. arch. (in phr. the more part).
| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 649 In þe more half of his schelde. c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iv. pr. ii. 116 Shrewes whiche þat contienen þe more partie of men. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 352 But more part of þis world erreþ here. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. ccxxxii. [ccxxviii.] 721 Tyll the kyng had assembled toguyder more nombre of noble men. 1533 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scotl. VI. 155 In part of payment of ane mair soume. 1535 Coverdale Acts xxvii. 12 The more parte off them toke councell to departe thence. [Also 1611.] 1577–82 Breton Flourish upon Fancie (Grosart) 6/2, I..learned so long there, till I prou'd more halfe a very foole. a 1648 Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 298 The more Party of the Sutors of this Your Realm. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xviii. 117 The more part of them perished by falling over the rocks. |
† d. Greater in power or importance. Obs.
The absol. use in the phrase more and less (B. 2 f) survived until Shakespeare's time.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 131 Bitwuxe were and wife nes nefre mare mon þenne he. 1382 Wyclif John xiii. 16 The seruaunt is not more than his lord. c 1430 Hymns Virg. 102 Of which þre noon is more ne moost, But al oon god. |
† e. Used spec. to characterize the greater or superior of two things, places, etc., of the same name, as (the) more Britain, (the) more Ind. (Cf. less a. 3, lesser a. 2, greater a. 4.) Obs.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2223 Þe more brutaine. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1484 Þe mare world es þis world brade, And þe les es man. 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints iii. (Andreas) 13 In more Iynd Mathew prechit. 1387 [see litany 1]. a 1400–50 Stockh. Med. MS. 157 More morel, solanum nigrum. 1436 E.E. Wills (1882) 105 The chirche of Alhalowen the more. c 1460 Oseney Reg. 117 All the tithis (both more ande smale). 1477 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 168/2 The maners of Sillry Mountsorell the more, and the lesse. 1593 Rites & Mon. Ch. Durham (Surtees) 57 Then the Buship Aldunus dyd hallowe the more kyrk or Gret Kirke. |
† f. Used for L. major = ‘elder’; also in St. James the More; opposed to less. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 3486 O þir tua breþer..þe less þe mare laght be þe fote. Ibid. 21009 Iohn and iacob þe mar. 1382 Wyclif Gen. xxvii. 1 And he clepide Esau, his moor sone [Vulg. filium suum majorem]. 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions ii. xii. 294 The firste of Maie is hallowed for Philippe and James the more. 1594 Carew Huarte's Exam. Wits ix. (1596) 122 Of the same opinion was Cato the more. |
g. With ns. of quality, condition, action, and the like: Greater in degree or extent; also, having a fuller title to the designation. Obs., exc. where it coincides with sense 2. The expression (the) more's the pity may be regarded as a historical survival.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 35 Swa maᵹon we þe maran blisse habban þa Easterdaᵹas. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 156 Vpe þe plein of salesbury þat oþer wonder is, Þat ston heng is icluped, non more wonder nis. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. v. 228 For nis no gult her so gret his Merci nis wel more. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus i. 643 Ek whit by blak..Eche set by oþer more for other semeth. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 324 His moder wiste wel sche mihte Do Tereüs no more grief Than sle this child. a 1440 [see pity n. 3]. 1477 Paston Lett. III. 191 Ye dyd it off kyndenesse, and in eschywyng off a moor yll that myght befall. 1529 More Dyaloge iii. ii. Wks. 208 So is it a much more faute to be therin rechelesse & negligent. 1562 J. Mountgomery in Archæologia XLVII. 233, I..dailie doe heare, of the greate decaie of parrishes in Ingland; the more ys the pittie. 1563 Homilies ii. Rogation Week i. 234 Borne among the number of Christian people, and thereby in a muche more nyghnes to saluation. 1632 Heywood 2nd Pt. Iron Age iv. i. Wks. 1874 III. 413 Lets flye to some strong Cittadell, For our more safety. 1685 Evelyn Diary 6 Feb., That the Lords, &c. should proceede in their coaches thro' the Citty for the more solemnity of it. 1752 J. Louthian Form of Process (ed. 2) 102 And, for the more Verification, I and the said Witnesses have subscribed the same. 1829 Southey Pilgr. to Compostella Poet. Wks. 1838 VII. 267 To make the miracle the more, Of these feathers there is always store. 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede xxxviii, There's no amends I can make ye, lad—the more's the pity. |
h. Qualifying the designation of a person with the sense: Entitled to the designation in a greater degree. (Cf. great a. 17 a.)
Surviving only in the more fool (you etc.), where more would now be explained as adv. (see C. 1 a).
| c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 190 Þus þes fonnyd ypocritis putten errour in ihū crist. But who ben more heretikis? c 1400 Gamelyn 232 Whyl thou were a yong boy a moche schrewe thou were... ‘Now I am older woxe thou schalt me find a more!’ 1530 Palsgr. 852/2 The more fole is he, tant plus sot est il. 1584 R. Scot Discov. Witchcr. ii. xi. 36 A more heretike than either Faustus or Donatus. 1607–12 Bacon Ess., Beauty (Arb.) 210 A man cannot tell whether Apelles or Albert Durere were the more trifler. 1611 Tarlton's Jests (1638) C j, Well, said Tarlton, the more foole you. 1613–18 Daniel Hist. Eng. (1621) 21 The pressing necessity of the time that required a more man to vndergo the burthen of warre. 1844 Thackeray B. Lyndon iii, The more great big blundering fool you, for giving the gold piece to him. 1917 D. H. Lawrence Phoenix II (1968) 69 ‘What have you done now?—lost more money?’ ‘Three thousand marks.’ She was silent in deep wrath. ‘More fool you!’ she said. 1971 E. Fenwick Impeccable People iv. 25, I had to go and feel sorry for this Iversen piece, more fool me. |
† i. with in = having a greater supply of. Obs.
| 1526 Tindale John xix. 11 Therfore he that delivered me vnto the is moare in synne. 1666 Dryden Ann. Mirab. lv, The Duke, less numerous, but in courage more. |
2. a. Existing in greater quantity, amount, or degree; a greater quantity or amount of. Phr. more (something) than one cares (or likes) to think about.
Developed from the older use of mo with partitive genitive.
In many of the examples here given (where the n. is abstract) the word would at an earlier date have been the adj. of quality = ‘greater’ (see 1 g).
| c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 703 Vp on a day he gat hym moore moneye Than þat the person gat in Monthes tweye. 1508 Dunbar Flyting 133 Thow skaffis and beggis mair beir and aitis Nor ony cripill in Karrik land abowt. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 38 margin, The more hast y⊇ wurst speede. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iii. ii. 160 Perchance my Lord, I shew more craft then loue. 1611 Bible Exod. v. 9 Let there more worke be layde vpon the men, that they may labour therein. 1640 T. Carew Poems (1651) 14 Give me more Love, or more Disdaine. 1742 Lond. & Country Brew. i. (ed. 4) 26 So that the Brewer is capacitated..to make more Ale. 1781 J. Moore View Soc. It. (1790) I. xxxiv. 368 There is more appearance of industry. 1830 Coleridge Table-t. 11 May (1835) I. 125, I recognize more genius in the latter. 1850 M{supc}Cosh Div. Govt. iv. ii. (1855) 517 There is some truth, but there is more error, in each of these representations. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 405 Ten is two more than eight. 1894 Somerville & ‘Ross’ Real Charlotte I. xi. 152 He happened to have lost more money at the Galway races than he cared to think about. 1895 R. L. Douglas in Bookman Oct. 23/1 Had he but shown a little more firmness and astuteness. 1935 E. Glasgow Let. 12 July (1958) 188 For more years than I like to think of (a silly figure of speech, for I am not afraid of the years) I have battered my nerves against human cruelty. |
† b. with a (cf. many a). Obs.
| 1680 Hickeringill Meroz Wks. 1716 I. 250 If there be but two or three Fanaticks in a Parish,..they shall make more a Noise, more a Disturbance,..than all the rest. |
3. a. (With n. in pl.) A greater number of {ddd} Phrs. more days, more dollars; more ships than parish churches.
The earlier word is mo (see mo adv., quasi-n.1 and a. 2); more in this use is not found in the Bible of 1611 or Shakespeare.
| 1584 Lyly Campaspe iii. iv. 95 So in painting, the more colours, the better counterfeit. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. ii. 15 There was never more lame and decrepit Fellows..as is now adays. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 17 ¶6 If there shall be two or more Competitors for the same Vacancy. 1775 Burke Sp. Conc. Amer. Sel. Wks. I. 231 The more they multiply, the more friends you will have. 1785 Paley Mor. Philos. iii. iii. vi. (1841) 146 If to one man be allowed an exclusive right to five or more women. 1836–7 Sir W. Hamilton Metaph. xl. (1870) II. 409 Nature never works by more..instruments than are necessary. 1842 Tennyson Morte d'Arthur 247 More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of. 1843 J. F. Cooper Ned Myers II. ii. 40, I knew there were more ships than parish churches. 1845 Stephen Comm. Laws Eng. (1874) I. 83 With more or less restrictions. 1898 A. J. Boyd Shellback xv. 258 The captain was acting on the principle of ‘More days, more dollars’. 1946 W. McFee In First Watch i. 28 There were more ships than parish churches. 1962 Granville Dict. Sailors' Slang 78/1 More days: more dollars! American Merchant seamen's phrase of the Second World War, meaning that the more days they were at sea the more ‘danger money’ they would receive. The term was used sarcastically by British Naval-men whose pay compared unfavourably with the Americans'. |
b. with ellipsis of n.
| 1656 Cowley Death Sir H. Wootton 4 Who had so many Languages in store, That onely Fame shall speak of him in More! |
c. Existing in greater numbers, more numerous. Obs. exc. (rarely) in predicative use.
| 1565 Stapleton tr. Bæda's Hist. 27 As though they had ben thrise as many more in number then they wer. 1590 Swinburne Testaments 272 The fewer and weaker presumptions giue place to the more & stronger. 1614 in Swayne Sarum Churchw. Acc. (1896) 164 It was agreed by the more voyces. 1885 Bible (R.V.) 2 Kings vi. 16 They that be with us are more [so 1762; 1611 moe] than they that be with them. |
4. a. Additional to the quantity or number specified or implied; an additional amount or number of; further. Now rare exc. as preceded by an indefinite or numeral adj., e.g. any more, no more, some more; many more, two more, twenty more; and in archaic phrases like without more ado.
This use appears to have been developed from the advb. use as in anything, nothing more (see C. 4 b).
| a 1300 K. Horn 834 Sire, ischal al one Wiþute more ymone Wiþ mi swerd wel eþe Bringe hem þre to deþe. 13.. Sir Beues 3541 Beues..tok þe tresore anon riȝte: Wiþ þat and wiþ mor catel He made þe castel of Arondel. 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 142 He buskyt hym, but mar abad. c 1380 [see ado 3]. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xxxi. 314 With outen ony more rehercyng..of marvaylles. a 1400–50 Alexander 118 How his land suld be lost withouten lett mare. 1570 Satir. Poems Reform. x. 185 Quha stickit him, withouttin proces moir. 1672 C. Manners in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 25 Wee have every day newes of more townes taken by the French in Holland. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) III. 370 Then the wife received some rent for the houses; and afterwards..the son was born, and..the widow received more rent: then the son died..and she received some more rent after his death. 1876 [see ado 3]. |
b. with ellipsis of n.
| 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) I. 237 The Dead Sea..is so exceedingly salt, that its waters seem scarce capable of dissolving any more. 1802 Dorothy Wordsworth Jrnl. 16 Apr. (1897) I. 106 As we went along there were more, and yet more. 1838 Dickens O. Twist ii, Oliver..basin and spoon in hand, said..‘Please, sir, I want some more’. |
B. absol. and quasi-n.
1. Used absol. in the sense ‘greater’. † a. In the phrases more and less, more and min = persons of all ranks; all without exception.
| c 1205 Lay. 31253 Nefden heo nane are of þan lasse no of þan mare, ah al þa ferde wes of-slaȝen. a 1300 Assump. Virg. (Camb. MS.) 62 Heo seruede boþe lasse and more. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 6650 ‘As armes!’ gred alle..Boþe þe more & þe lasse. c 1375 Lay Folks Mass Bk. (MS. B) 136 Haue mercie on vs, more & mynne. 1567 Gude & Godlie Ball. (S.T.S.) 43 Christ..gaif the same Till his Apostillis mair and min. 1605 Shakes. Macb. v. iv. 12. |
† b. Used to render L. majores, elders, ancestors. Also with plural inflexion as a n. Obs.
| 1382 Wyclif Deut. xxxii. 7 Aske thi fader, and he shal telle to thee, thi more [Vulg. majores tuos] and thei shulen seie to thee. ― 2 Kings xv. 7 They birieden hym with his moris [Vulg. cum majoribus suis] in the cytee of Dauith. |
† c. the more: that which is greater. Obs.
| 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love ii. ix. (Skeat) l. 74 Every cause is more and worthier than thing caused, and in that mores possession al thinges lesse ben compted. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xiii. xxix. (Tollem. MS.), Some [fish] eteþ euery oþer..and þe lesse is þe mores mete, and þan þe more is his mete þat is more þan hee. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) (1859) 70 Nedes must the lesse be conteyned within the more. |
2. a. Something that is more; a greater quantity, amount, degree, etc.
| a 1100 Gerefa in Anglia (1886) IX. 259 Ac he mot æᵹðer witan ᵹe læsse ᵹe mare. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 111 Ðu gederast mare and mare [orig. (ælfric) p. 300 Þu gaderast ma & ma]. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1561 Þet ha nowðer ne ete lesse ne mare tweolf dahes fulle. a 1300 Cursor M. 10219 Sum wit lesse and sum wit mare, All þair vois þai yeld ai þare. a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxl. 8 Comm., My wordis myght marere þan þairs. c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 259 He wele telle al and more. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xv. 11 Sum askis mair than he deservis. 1611 Bible Exod. xvi. 17 And the children of Israel..gathered some more, some lesse. 1632 Milton Penseroso 120 Where more is meant then meets the ear. 1725 Watts Logic i. vi. §10 All the Parts taken collectively..must contain neither more nor less than the Whole. 1886 Ruskin Præterita II. 177 The more I got, the more I asked. |
b. followed by of partitive.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 308 Hwon he of hire naueð more ne lesce. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 5951 So þat is quene deide, & of sorwe & sore Him com in ech half euere þe leng þe more. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 136 The more he hath of worldes good, The more he wolde it kepe streyte. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. x. (1885) 131 For in tho dayis ther was but litle more off the reaume off Fraunce in the kynges handes, but þat parte wich is callyd the Ile off Fraunce. 1693 Dryden Juvenal (1697) Ded. 15 An Heroique poem requires..as much, or more of the Active Virtue, than the Suffering. 1802–12 Bentham Ration. Judic. Evid. (1827) I. 509 The quack, that he may sell the more of his pills at one time, distributes them gratis at another. 1856 Ruskin Mod. Paint. IV. v. xviii. §5 We may see more and more of it the longer we look. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. iii. 28 The more I saw of my guide the more I liked him. 1886 Manch. Exam. 13 Mar. 5/2 If money could be eaten or worn, the more we had of it the better. |
c. Used predicatively: Something of greater importance or magnitude. to be more: to count for more, to be of greater importance. (Cf. the similar use of much.) Also in phrases introducing a sentence or clause as expressing something more important than what has preceded, e.g. what is more, † and (that) more is.
| 1484 Caxton Fables of æsop v. x, I shalle not ete the, For thow sholdest hurte my tendre stomak, and more is, I shall this day haue better mete. 1577 tr. Bullinger's Decades i. i. (1592) 6 Yea, and that more is, should by adoption make them the sonnes of God. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 241 To say I and no, to these particulars, is more then to answer in a Catechisme. 1618 Bolton Florus (1636) 143 There is more in it, to keepe a Province, than to make one. 1833 Tennyson Lady Clara Vere de Vere 55 Kind hearts are more than coronets. 1842 ― Locksley Hall 142 And the individual withers, and the world is more and more. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 168 Honour and shame were scarcely more to him than light and darkness to the blind. 1859 Farrar J. Home xvi. 204 He'll carry all our provisions..up to the top, which is more than most of our A.C.'s would do. |
d. or more: added to approximate designations of quantity, to indicate that the actual amount is probably greater than that stated. Cf. 4 e.
| c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 249 A damysell of þe age of x yere or mor. 1800 Wordsw. Michael 473 Three years, or little more, did Isabel Survive her Husband. |
e. more or less: appended to a designation of quantity to indicate that it is merely approximative.
| 1589 Hakluyt Voy. 560 They [sc. sheep]..liue together in heards, in some 500. as it happeneth, more or lesse. 1709 Lond. Gaz. No. 4509/3 Her Cargo of about 1000 Bushels of French Salt, more or less. 1798 Times 28 June 4/1 Consisting of 91 acres, more or less, of excellent..land. |
f. When coupled with less, the word is sometimes treated as a real n., admitting of qualifying words.
| 1874 Morley Compromise ii. 64 There is no discoverable law fixing precisely the more or the less of these. 1884 tr. Lotze's Metaph. ii. vii. 327 Such effects as do not directly display a more or a less. 1902 Phillimore Sophocles Introd. 83 The colouring of the phrase, its more or less of poetical and imaged quality. |
3. (With plural construction.) A greater number of the class specified; also, a greater number of persons.
| 1629 Massinger Picture iv. ii, I must confesse The more the merier. a 1633 G. Herbert Jacula Prud. 682 More have repented speech then silence. 1666 Stillingfl. Serm. Wks. 1710 I. 11 It is hard to say whether ever any Age produced more studious and skilful to pervert the design of Laws..than this of ours hath done. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) III. 395 More of the purchaser's male ancestors have been descended from..the femes in the higher classes. |
¶ The phr. more than one is followed by a verb in the sing., like Fr. plus d'un.
| 1865 F. Oakeley Hist. Notes Tract. Movemt. 103 More than one who took a part in the more extreme developments of the work has since been conspicuous on the rationalistic side of more recent controversies. |
4. An additional quantity, amount, or number. a. Something else in addition to what is specified. Chiefly with prefixed word, any, some, no, little, much: for examples see those words; also no more.
For the advb. use of any more, see C. 4 a.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 79 Ȝif þu mare spenest of þine. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. ii. i. 168 We neede no more of your aduice. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 765 This Answer Proteus gave, nor more he said. 1895 Sir E. E. Kay in Law Times Rep. LXXIII. 651/1 If the underwriters wanted to know more, they ought to have asked for information. |
b. ellipt. (as obj. of an omitted verb of ‘saying’ or the like). Now somewhat arch.
| c 1460–1822 [see no more A. 1 b]. ? 1536 Latimer in Lett. Suppress. Monast. (Camden) 149 Butt of thys my dewtye moor att moor leyser. 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 390 But more of this at our next meeting. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. ii. vi. 20 Heere comes Lorenzo, more of this hereafter. 1863 Chem. News 14 Feb. 84/1 Lubricating Oils.—Some consignments to hand, of which more again. |
† c. without more (Sc. but mair, etc.): without anything further or additional; often = without more ado, without delay. without less, without more; but min or more: without addition or diminution; exactly. Obs.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 81 Þanne beþ þer in walis þre wiþ oute Mor. a 1300 Cursor M. 1186 To beriing þai his bodi bare Adam and eue wit-outen mare. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iv. 105 (133) They yaf hym Antenor withoute more. 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints i. (Petrus) 51 Na clathis he had, at ware gude, bot kirtil and clok, but mare. Ibid. iii. (Andreas) 128 Forowtine ony mare to þe bordale I wente ine hy. 1447 O. Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 83 And anoon iulyan wyth out moor For hir to presoun hys offycers sent. 1552 Lyndesay Monarche 2732 Four hundreth stageis and four score In circuit, but myn or more. 1560 Rolland Crt. Venus I. 802 Inclining law but mair this Nimph anone,..Scho said [etc.]. |
† d. with the mair (Sc.): ? = ‘and more’. Obs.
| 1563–4 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 257 Quhairat thai remanit thir twa yeris bigane, with the mair. 1568 Ibid. 636 Fourty thowsand stane wecht of leid ure, with the mair. |
e. and more: used (chiefly after a statement of quantity or number), to indicate an indefinite or unspecified addition to what has been mentioned.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 54 Þer heo lei ine prisune uour þusend ȝer & moare. a 1300 Cursor M. 5056 He hint him in his armes þare And kyst him, fourti sithes and mare [Gött. sexti sith or mar]. c 1400 Gamelyn 205, I wold ȝeue ten pound by Iesu Crist! and more. 1450 Paston Lett. I. 126 Peris Brusy..hadde x m1. Frenshe men and more. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 480 Be it wes mydmorne and mare, markit on the day. 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 48 Had I not Fowre, or fiue women once, that tended me? Thou hadst; and more, Miranda. 1856 Aytoun Bothwell i. xxv, They call me savage, brutal, base, And more. |
f. Other persons than that or those mentioned.
| 1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad xxx, More than I, if truth were told, Have stood and sweated hot and cold. |
¶ g. Often rhetorically treated as a real n. with qualifying words: The ‘something more’ that has been spoken of or implied in the context.
| c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. xl, What hast thou then more then thou hadst before?..All mine was thine before thou hadst this more. 1690 Locke Hum. Und. II. xvii. §15 He knows the depth to be so many fathoms, and more; but how much that more is, he hath no distinct notion at all. 1849 M. Arnold To Indep. Preacher, Know, man hath all which Nature hath, but more, And in that more lie all his hopes of good. 1849 Clough Dipsychus ii. v, Hints haunt me ever of a more beyond. |
h. Phr. (there's) more where it (or that, this, etc.) came from: eat or use freely, do not be sparing of (a food, commodity, etc.).
| 1810 J. Porter Scottish Chiefs II. v. 92, I..told him not to spare it, it was a chilly night, and I should get more where it came from. 1854 Mayne Reid Young Voyageurs xix. 250 He only looks after his lost root with an air of chagrin, and then, reflecting that there is ‘plenty more where it came from’, kicks up his heels, and once more plunges to the bottom. 1954 R. P. Bissell High Water xxii. 270 Plenty more where this came from. |
C. adv.
1. In a greater degree, to a greater extent. a. qualifying a verb, a ppl. adj., an adjectival or advb. phrase, or the whole predication.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 47 For-þi þa engles heom [MS. hem heō] rested mare þenn on sum oðer dei. c 1200 Ormin 4662, & mare lufesst tu þatt þing Þann ohht off Godess wille. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 350 And þus þei loven more þer ordre þan Crist. 1411 Rolls of Parlt. III. 650/2 For as myche I am a Justice, that more than an other comun man scholde have had me more discretly and peesfully. 1431–2 in Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees) I. 70 note, And touching tidinges..I haue charged y⊇ berar of this to c'tfie yow mor at large. 1538 Starkey England i. ii. 27 Surely they wold mor extyme hyt then they dow. 1597 Beard Theatre God's Judgem. (1612) 335 To reuenge himselfe more at full vpon the citizens. 1662 W. Gurnall Chr. in Arm. iii. verse 19. iii. §4. 677 If any in the World need walk pendantly upon God, more than others, the Minister is he. 1677 Earl of Orrery Art of War 15 More at home, and at ease, and safety. 1694 F. Bragge Disc. Parables xi. 384 A man is never more himself, than when he exercises his reason upon the best of objects, religion. 1706 Pope Let. to Wycherley 10 Apr., Some [verses]..I have entirely new express'd, and turned more into Poetry. 1735 Berkeley Reasons for not replying Mr. Walton §7 The more he explains, the more I am puzzled. 1742 Young Nt. Th. ii. 28 O time! than gold more sacred; more a load Than lead, to fools. 1797 Godwin Enquirer i. ii. 10, I shall be..more a man and less a brute. 1797–8 Jane Austen Sense & Sens. xxxi, Every friend must be made still more her friend by them [her sufferings]. 1836 Lett. fr. Madras (1843) 20 The more trifles and the less worth telling they seem to you, the more valuable to me at such a distance. 1855 Whewell in Todhunter Acc. Writ. (1876) II. 404 The notion must be followed much more into detail than he has done. 1857 Buckle Civiliz. I. ii. 112 The fine arts are addressed more to the imagination; the sciences to the intellect. |
b. qualifying an adj. or adv., to form the comparative.
With most adjs. and advs. of more than one syllable, and with all of more than two syllables, this is the normal mode of forming the comparative. A few monosyllables (e.g. right, just) normally form their comparatives in this way instead of taking the suffix -er.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 5 Þes we ahte to beon þe edmoddre and þa mare imete. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 858 And what es mar horibel in stede Þan a man es when he es dede? 1375 Barbour Bruce vii. 555 He beheld hir mayr ynkirly. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 6 ¶2 He finds Rest more agreeable than Motion. 1788 A. Hughes Henry & Isabella I. 180 He was..more gallant, more generous, more everything that is agreeable in youth, than his brother. 1821 Southey in Life (1850) V. 106 His merits are every day more widely acknowledged. 1851 Landor Popery 30 It is more just that a bishop's salary should be reduced to a thousand a-year than an admiral's to three hundred. 1884 tr. Lotze's Logic 348 The true law is far more complicated. |
c. Often prefixed to monosyllabic and disyllabic adjs. and advs. which have otherwise a regular comparative in -er; as more true, more busy, more often = truer, busier, oftener. Esp. in phr. I (or you, etc.) couldn't be more ―: I, etc., am extremely ―.
By mod. writers this alternative form is used (1) for special emphasis or clearness; (2) to preserve a balance of phrase when other comparatives with ‘more’ occur in the context; (3) to qualify the whole predicate rather than the single adj. or adv.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 235 Was neuer at Saynt Denys feste holden more hy. 1340 Ayenb. 63 Ac þe leazinges likinde byeþ more grat zenne. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xxx. 305 He rennethe more faste than ony of the tother. 1470–85 Malory Arthur vii. vii. 222, I am a gentyl man borne and of more hyghe lygnage than thou. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxxx. §4 So that of the two indefinite ordination..doth come more neere th' Apostles example. 1645 Ord. Lords & Com. Sacram. 1 Neuer had they more high and strong engagements. a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Poems Wks. (1711) 3 Their arms more white than milk. 1650 W. Brough Sacr. Princ. (1659) 177 Thou wilt live more wel, and dye much better. 1765 Goldsm. Ess. Misc. Wks. 1837 I. 160 With a voice more rough than the Staffordshire giant's. 1798 Coleridge Anc. Mar. vi. v, Fly, brother, fly! more high, more high! 1803–5 Wordsw. Solitary Reaper 21 Or is it some more humble lay? 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. ix. II. 441 He was more busy than they had ever known him. 1849 M. Arnold Mycerinus 17, I look'd for life more lasting, rule more high. 1851 Whewell Grotius I. 99 The opposite opinion, as it is the more common, so does it seem to us the more true. 1877 Morley Crit. Misc. Ser. ii. 211 A clumsy collector, who more often than not knew neither how to read nor to write. 1939 N. Marsh Overture to Death xvii. 188 ‘I thought,’ flashed Dinah, ‘that nowadays the C.I.D. was almost a gentleman's job.’ ‘Oh, no!’ said Alleyn. ‘You couldn't be more mistaken.’ 1951 ― Opening Night vi. 139 ‘I couldn't be more sorry,’ Percival said weakly. 1954 ‘N. Blake’ Whisper in Gloom i. iii. 49 This party couldn't be more heaven, don't you think? 1971 P. D. James Shroud for Nightingale i. 12 She could hardly have been more wrong. |
d. Formerly often prefixed pleonastically to the comparative of the adj. or adv. Obs. exc. arch.
In quot. c 1205 the use is not pleonastic.
| [c 1205 Lay. 4349, & þu eær muchele ahtere & ec mare hærdere.] 1340 Ayenb. 61 An eddre..þet yernþ more zuyþere þanne hors. Ibid. 64 Hi byeþ more worse þanne þe gyewes. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) iv. 29 That Lond is meche more hottere than it is here. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xx. vi. 806 Ye shold haue the same dethe or a more shamefuller dethe. 1561 T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer ii. (1577) K viij b, More excellenter it cannot be, nor more subtiller. 1589 Rare Tri. Love & Fort. in Five Old Plays (Roxb. Club) 111 If thou escape the perrill of distresse, My feare and care is twenty times more lesse. 1598 R. Grenewey Tacitus' Ann. iv. i. (1622) 89 He vsed sometime largesse and lauishing; but more oftner industrie and diligence. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. ii. 15, I should be glad..to see a more equaller Balance among Sea-men, and their Imployers. 1676 Wood Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1694) 166 Captain Hawes ship got clear, wearing more rounder. 1832 Tennyson Œnone Poems (1833) 56 But Paris was to me More lovelier than all the world beside. |
e. more and more: in an increasing degree.
| c 1200 Ormin 676 He wile himm færenn, ȝiff he maȝȝ, & skerrenn mare & mare. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 511 Chirches ben wursiped mor and mor. a 1300 Cursor M. 5865 Þai rise and bredes ai mare and mare. 1567 Gude & Godlie Ball. (S.T.S.) 9 Greuand God ay moir and moir. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. v. §7 Men grow daily more and more wicked. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 46 At this he blushed more and more. |
f. with ellipsis of the word or sentence qualified. Also (now more frequently) more so, where so is substituted for the omitted part. the more = the rather, the more so (because, etc.).
| 1340 Ayenb. 127 He ssolde by wel perfect and yblissed ine þise wordle and more ine þe oþre. ? 1461 Paston Lett. II. 74 And hevery man wyl sey wel ther of, the mor cause he is a gentylman,..and in gret penur. 1561 T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer ii. (1577) N iij b, I wyl we defer the whole vntil to morow, the more for that I thynke it well done wee folowe the L. Julians counsel. 1640 O. Sedgwicke Christs Counsell 84 How much more, when thy crowne is losing! 1735 Berkeley Def. Free-think. in Math. §28 This is so plain that nothing can be more so. 1852 M. Arnold A Farewell viii, I too have wish'd, no woman more, This starting, feverish heart away. 1862 Borrow Wild Wales lii, ‘Are the Welsh..as clannish as the Highlanders?’ said I. ‘Yes’, said he, ‘and a good deal more’. 1876 Besant & Rice Gold. Butterfly Prol. i, The English servant was dressed like his master, but ‘more-so’. |
g. any more, no more (dial. also more simply) are used to exclude or deny a second clause equally with a first. See no more C. 4.
| 1838 J. Grant Sk. Lond. 209 Faith, Sir! she did not come back again at a', mair than the ither. 1844 Lingard Anglo-Sax. Ch. (1858) I. vii. 273 These..did not, any more than those.., lead to controversy. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 112 Poets, who ought not to be allowed, any more than flute-girls, to come into good society. |
h. more like (colloq.) = nearer (a specified number or quantity). Cf. something like, nothing like (like a. 2 f).
| 1902 W. Headlam in Class. Rev. XVI. 348/1 Some 200 conjectures.., among which Mr. Housman considered 4 quite certain; I gladly adopted more like 12 in my prose version. |
2. a. Phr. more or less († less or more, † more or min, etc.): in a greater or less degree; to a greater or less extent; also used attrib. (usu. with hyphens). Hence with negative: (Not) at all.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 92 Efter þet me luueð hine more oðer lesse. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 107 Riht so ne mor ne lesse. c 1398 Chaucer Fortune 61 The see may ebbe and flowen moore or lesse. ? c 1400 Pety Job 143 in 26 Pol. Poems 125 Though I offende more or mynne. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 27 b, Ought to folowe hym more or lesse euery persone after his habilite. 1625 Hart Anat. Ur. ii. iv. 74 This fluxe continued lesse or more for some few dayes after. 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing xix. ¶7 It will more or less job against every Letter. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 21 ¶3 Lawyers..that are more or less passionate according as they are paid for it. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 827 Formerly fluxes more or less compound were employed for these purposes. 1855 H. Martineau Autobiog. (1877) I. 39, I certainly never believed, more or less, in the ‘essential doctrines’ of Christianity. Ibid. 170, I could not afford to ride, more or less. 1863 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. (1883) III. 173, I had had pain more or less in my left arm for two months. 1963 Language XXXIX. 460 As far as the bees are concerned, it is clear that their behavior resembles that of an analog computer.., that is, a control machine of the more-or-less type, and not at all of a digital computer, of a yes-or-no type. 1964 M. A. K. Halliday et al. Linguistic Sci. v. 124 But this, like synonymy, is a ‘more or less’ not a ‘yes or no’ relation. 1975 Country Life 13 Feb. 386/2 Every more-or-less sound horse was purchased for the Expeditionary Force by Civilian Re-mount Purchasing Officers. |
† b. more and less (more and min): altogether, entirely, as a whole. (Cf. B. 1 a.) Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 13664 Þair strijf he wist bath less and mare. c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 306 Clad all in purpur was she more & lesse. c 1560 Rolland Seven Sages 243, I sall ȝow schaw the mater mair and min. 1567 Gude & Godlie Ball. (S.T.S.) 29 Quhat I haif tholit les and mair. |
3. Qualifying a predicate or a predicative adjunct as being applicable in greater measure or degree than another. Hence often used to indicate that the one predicate, etc., is more correct than the other, or (by way of euphemism or cautious statement) that the former and not the latter expresses the truth. Cf. rather adv. 5 a, b.
| c 1200 Vices & Virtues 39 Þe soðe luue of godd, hie is mare on werkes ðanne on wordes. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xiv. (Lucas) 40 Luke mad his ewangel syne, of thingis hard mar þan of sene. c 1477 Caxton Jason 78 Fro day to day they apayred more than amended. 1546 Heywood Prov. (1867) 9 He shall let fall all, And be more fraid then hurt. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 29 Which..was done more of pride than of compassion. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. ii. 17 More huge in strength then wise in workes he was. 1616 B. Jonson Epigrams xxxv, A Prince that rules by example, more than sway. 1663 Butler Hud. i. i. 30 But here our Authors make a doubt, Whether he were more wise, or stout. 1834 Medwin Angler in Wales xxvi. II. 146 More dead than alive. 1857 Buckle Civiliz. I. vii. 331 The Puritans were more fanatical than superstitious. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 17 Aug. 2/1 The railways are laid more with a strategical purpose than with a view to [etc.]. |
4. Additionally, in addition. (Cf. A. 4.) a. In negative, interrogative, or hypothetical contexts: In repetition or continuance of what has taken place up to a particular time; further, longer, again. Frequent in phrases ever more, never more (see evermore, nevermore), once more (see once 8 b). The phrase any more (freq. written as anymore) (see B. 4 a), in which more is the absolute adj., is used advb. in the same sense, and has superseded the simple adv. except in rhetorical or poetic use; also dial. (chiefly U.S.) used in affirmative as well as negative contexts in the sense ‘now, now-a-days, at the present time; from now on’. See also no more adv.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxii. 46 Ne nan ne dorste or ðam dæᵹe hyne nan þing mare axiᵹean. c 1275 Passion our Lord 39 in O.E. Misc. 38 Anon he hyne byleuede more to vondy. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 14001 Ȝyf ȝe chalange hym any mare. c 1400 Gamelyn 265 Ther was noon with Gamelyn wolde wrastle more. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 212 But now he shall neuer dye ony more. 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 294 If thou more murmur'st. 1611 Bible Gen. viii. 12 Hee..sent forth the doue, which returned not againe vnto him any more. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 83 ¶3 Little did I think I should ever have Business of this Kind on my Hands more. 1712 ― Spect. No. 272 ¶1 She is now odious to her Mistress for having so often spoke well of me, that she dare not mention me more. 1784 Cowper Task v. 91 Where neither grub, nor root, nor earth-nut, now Repays their labour more. 1870 Ruskin Lect. Art vii. §182 Since their day, painting has never flourished more. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxiv. 69 Not for silky tiara nor amice..Recks she at all any more. 1885–94 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche June xiv, But never call me woman more, if soon I cannot lure her from her height divine. 1898 Eng. Dial. Dict. I. 63/1 A servant being instructed how to act, will answer ‘I will do it any more’. 1903 McClure's Mag. Dec. 215/1 There's just only this one any more. 1920 D. H. Lawrence Women in Love (1921) xiii. 159 ‘Quite absurd,’ he said. ‘Suffering bores me, any more.’ 1938 J. Stuart Beyond Dark Hills vi. 120 They tell me this Macey plant only hires the best of men any more. Ibid. x. 319 You know, Jesse, any more I don't worry a great lot. 1973 Capital Times (Madison, Wis.) 14 Mar. 2/1 Any more, the difference between a white collar worker and a blue collar worker is simply a matter of shirt preference. |
b. In addition to what has been specified or implied; besides, moreover. Now used only after a designation of quantity or number (whether definite or indefinite), indicating an addition which swells a previous total.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 3 Hit lasteð þre wuke fulle and sum del more. a 1225 Ancr. R. 426 Siggen..Pater noster & Aue Maria biuoren mete, and efter mete also, & Credo moare. 1375 Barbour Bruce xii. 314, I wat nocht quhat mar say sall I. a 1550 Freiris Berwik 395 in Dunbar's Poems (S.T.S.) 298 Baith breid and wyne, and vthir thingis moir. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 195 Of siluer, golde, of precious stones, and treasures many more. 1577–87 Holinshed Hist. Scot. 430/1 To which he more added these speeches. c 1578 in Household Ord. (1790) 241 The Lord Chauncellor..fee 419l. 0s. 0d. For his attendance in the Star-chamber, 200 0 0. More, by the names of annuities 300 0 0. 1589 Burgh Rec. Glasgow (1876) I. 142 Item, fyvetene schillingis for the price of ane hogheid; item, mair, twentie sex schillingis viij{supd}. for ane lang courchay; item, mair, twentie schillingis for ane cod and codwair. 1616 B. Jonson Epigrams xxxiii, Ile not offend thee with a vaine teare more. 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) I. 35 It will ripen in about a Month's time more. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 500, I won't have one Creature touch'd more, upon Pain of Death. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. i, After an interval of twelve years, we had two sons more. |
5. a. Expressions in which more (in sense B. 2) is followed by than with a designation of number or quantity admit of being used instrumentally or adverbially, as in ‘more than ten years old’. The analogy of these has given rise to expressions like ‘more than once’ (a multiplicative corresponding to the quasi-numeral ‘more than one’). Hence, from the 16th c. onwards, more than has been placed before adjs., advs., vbs., and descriptive ns., to indicate that the word thus qualified is (in some obvious respect) inadequate to the intended meaning. more'n, mor'n colloq. (orig. U.S.) = more than; also ellipt. = no more than.
Cf. the similar uses of plus quam in Latin.
| c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 196 The scriptur of þaim is mor þan ccclxxij yere old. 1553 Respublica i. ii. 32 (Brandl) And yonder he cometh—me thinketh more then half madde. 1572 Reg. Privy Council Scot. II. 168 The grit murtheris and mair then beastlie crewelteis usit..aganis the trew Christianis. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. xviii, Sheepe, which haue very long tayles more then a foote long. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 58 It is..more then conjectured, that Mahomet grounded his devised Paradise, upon the Poets invention of Elisium. a 1626 Bacon Ch. Controv. Wks. 1879 I. 344 It is more than time that there were an end..made of this immodest..manner of writing. 1696 Dryden Lucian Prose Wks. 1800 III. 360 For this reason he calls himself more than once an Assyrian. 1742 Young Nt. Th. iii. 69 So frequent death, Sorrow, he more than causes, he confounds. 1777 Chatham Sp. on Address 18 Nov., These more than popish cruelties. 1818 Byron Mazeppa xiii, 'Twas more than noon. 1834 Medwin Angler in Wales I. 203 Places that it was hardly safe to have descended at more than a walk. 1847 Disraeli Tancred iii. v, O, my more than sister, 'tis hell! 1848 J. R. Lowell Biglow Papers 1st Ser. 23, I felt a thing go thru my leg,—'t wuz nothin' more'n a skeeter! 1867 Ruskin Time & Tide xix. §116 My much more than disrespect for the Jamaica Committee. 1870 L'Estrange Miss Mitford I. v. 163 The orator was more than usually brilliant. 1885 W. L. Alden Adv. Jimmy Brown 142 They say that Squire Meredith and Deacon Willets are mornhalf eaten up by mosquitoes. 1886 Harper's Mag. July 323/2 But he (mor'n you and I with all of our might) Could not here always remain. 1889 D. Hannay Capt. Marryat 147 ‘The Little Savage’..ends by being more than a little tiresome. 1903 K. D. Wiggin Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm 8 We've only just started on it,..it's more'n two hours. 1952 E. Wilson Equations of Love 196, I know a lot more'n I did. 1973 E. Berckman Victorian Album 47, I don't know any more'n I've told you. |
b. neither more nor less than: exactly, precisely, (that) and nothing else.
So F. ni plus ni moins que.
| c 1460 Sir R. Ros La Belle Dame 305 For my desire is nothir more ne lesse But my seruise to doo for your plesance. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones v. i, The drama, which he will have contain neither more nor less than five acts. 1843 Borrow Bible in Spain xxxvi, The first step which I took..was a very bold one. It was neither more nor less than the establishment of a shop for the sale of Testaments. |
c. Comb. with following adj. or n.
| 1923 D. H. Lawrence Birds, Beasts, & Flowers 99 Cats, and the Neapolitans, Sulphur sun-beasts, Thirst for fish as for more-than-water. Ibid. 141 Why do you arch your naked-set eye with a more-than-comprehensible arrogance? 1924 H. E. Palmer Gram. Spoken Eng. p. xxvii, The words trees, towns, boys, form an association-group through having the..meanings ‘more-than-oneness’ in common. 1938 R. Graves Coll. Poems 150 Nor could a compromise be found Between the giver's thoughtlessness And his own more-than-thanklessness. 1950 Scott. Jrnl. Theol. III. 367 Nyberg says it is clear from the beginning that the Servant is a more-than-individual (överindividuell) figure, notwithstanding that the description moves throughout on the individual plane. 1961 Times 24 Oct. 13/1 The Official Image of Picasso..may well be a more-than-life-size..figure. |
6. Used conjunctionally to introduce a clause or sentence which is of the nature of an important addition. Now only arch. chiefly in nay more, rarely (and) more. Formerly also † more above. Cf. mairatour (Sc.), moreover. more by token: see token n.
| 1390 Gower Conf. II. 83 To tile lond..Saturnus of his oghne wit Hath founde ferst, and more yit Of Chapmanhode he fond the weie. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 85 Mair, it had bene goode for the commone weill of Scottland that [etc.]. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. ii. iv. 179 We are betroathd: nay more, our mariage howre..Determin'd of. 1602 ― Ham. ii. ii. 126 This in Obedience hath my daughter shew'd me: And more aboue hath his soliciting..All giuen to mine eare. 1615 W. Lawson Country Housew. Gard. (1626) 19 More then this, there is no tree like this for soundnesse. 1683 Creech tr. Lucretius ii. (ed. 3) 43 But more, 'tis nothing strange that every Mass Seems quiet and at rest. 1870 G. W. Dasent Annals (ed. 4) II. 15 He was industrious, and more, he was handsome. 1905 A. R. Whitham Watchers by the Cross ii. 15 Tradition..tells us that she was wealthy, influential and beautiful, and yet before her conversion living a life of worldliness,—more, a life of deadly sin. |
† 7. quasi-prep. = plus 1. Obs.
| 1545 St. Papers Hen. VIII (1830) I. 796 Item, 2 of the gretest hulkes that may be gotten, more the hulkes that rydeth within the havyn. 1694 Holder Harmony (plate opp. p. 120), 5 to 4 more Diesis... 5 to 3 more Diesis & comma. 1706 W. Jones Syn. Palmar. Matheseos 67 That Number more one. |
▪ V. more, v.1 Obs. exc. dial.
Also 7 moare.
[f. more n.1]
1. intr. To take root, become rooted; chiefly fig.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 163 [Hie] sewen on þis lond godes word for sede and hit morede on here heorte and weacs and wel þeaȝh. 1607 Schol. Disc. agst. Antichr. i. i. 42 They gaue them scope..not only to moare but also to spread, and finally to gaine that height in which at this day we find them. 1825 Jennings Obs. Dial. W. Eng. 56 To More, v.n. to root; to become fixed by rooting. |
† 2. trans. To root, implant; to establish. Obs.
| a 1300 Leg. Rood (1871) 28/126 To one hi [the three trees] were alle icome And Imored so uaste also þat hi ne miȝte awei be inome. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 16587 Whenne..þe folk was wel y-mored. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 2834 Hure loue ys mored on þe ful vaste. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xiv. ii. (1495) 466 Noo thynge on lyue maye growe but yf he be rotyd and moryd in substaunce of erthe. Ibid. xv. xxxvii. (Tollem. MS.), Seuen naciones of them were of children of Canaan, in þe whiche þe curse þat was ȝeuen to them, was y moret, as it were by heritage. 1593 Bilson Govt. Christ's Ch. 15 The grounding vs in faith, moring vs in hope, and rooting vs in charitie. |
3. To uproot, root up.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 10263–4 Þe erchebissopes wodes ek þe king het echon Þat me morede al clene vp, þat þer ne bileuede non. Þat ech tre were vp mored, þat it ne spronge namore þere. 1890 Gloucester Gloss. s.v. More sb., To more, to root up. |
Hence moring-axe, an axe for ‘moring’ trees.
| 1777 Horæ Subsecivæ 277 (E.D.D.). 1787 Grose Provinc. Gloss., Moreing-ax, an ax for grubbing up the roots of trees. 1890 Gloucester Gloss. |
▪ VI. † more, v.2 Obs.
Also 3–4 mare, 5 mooryn.
[f. more a. Cf. MDu., MLG. mêren (Du. vermeeren, vermeerderen), OHG. mêrôn (MHG. mêren, mod.G. mehren).]
1. trans. To increase, augment, exaggerate.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 2354 To mare þe medes of his fai. 1340 Ayenb. 79 Of þe guodes þet god him ylend uor to mory. Ibid. 175 Efterward me ssel zigge naȝt onlepiliche þe zennes ac þe aboutestondinges alle þet moreþ þe zennes. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 147 What he wol make lasse, he lasseth, What he wol make more, he moreth. 1433 Lydg. St. Edmund i. 891 So was he besy the tresour, that men calle Rem publicam, to moren and amende. c 1440 Jacob's Well xvi. 111 To encresyn & to moryn þi mede in blysse. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 343/1 Moryn, or make more (H. mooryn), majoro. a 1450 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 451 In moryng the pris of the liuere. 1450–1530 Myrr. our Ladye 209 Then the kynge of all blysse mored hys treasure puttynge in to yt a lyuynge sowle. 1483 Vulg. abs Terentio 15 He dredith lest thy olde angyr or hardnes be mored or incresyd. |
2. intr. To become increased or augmented.
| 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy iii. xxvii. (1555) S j, They him besought..on their woo to rewe, That lykly was to more [ed. 1513 morne] and renewe. c 1430 ― Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 243 For rihte as Ver ay moreth in grennesse, So doth childhood in amerows lustynesse. |
▪ VII. ‖ more
(ˈmɔəreɪ)
[L., abl. of mos manner, custom: see mores.]
In phrases: chiefly with poss. adjs., as more suo, in his own fashion, more meo, in my own fashion; and with national adjs., as more hispanico, turcesco, in accordance with Spanish (Turkish) customs. Also more majorum, in traditional manner.
| 1600 Holland tr. Livy's Romane Hist. xxvi. 585 Hee might proceed in the suite at his owne good pleasure, more maiorum. i. [according to the auncient manner used by their forefathers]. 1612 T. Shelton tr. Cervantes's Hist. Don Quixote iii. vi. 176 Hee spoke to his Lord with his Cap in his hand, his head bowed, and his body bended (more Turcesco). 1713 Addison in Guardian 3 July 2/1, I have..been drawn in to tattle of my self, more Majorum, almost the length of a whole Guardian. 1810 Southey Let. 27 Sept. (1856) II. 203 The preface, more meo, is short and explicit. c 1842 H. James Let. in R. B. Perry Tht. & Char. W. James (1935) I. 43 Let him try, and above all let him forgive more suo all my botherings. 1865 Mill Exam. Hamilton's Philos. xviii. 358 In a later part of his Lectures..he, more suo, forgets this definition. a 1937 J. L. Stocks Reason & Intuition (1939) xiv. 212 What Mill, more suo, offers us in the Logic is a compromise or middle position. 1943 G. Brenan Spanish Labyrinth vii. 154 The workmen..shot the offending mayor and, more hispanico, cut off his head and those of the police who had been killed in the fight and paraded them around the town. |
▪ VIII. more
var. mohur; obs. f. moor.