member

▪ I. member, n.
    (ˈmɛmbə(r))
    [ME. membre, a. F. membre (11th c. in Littré) (= Sp. miembro, Pg., It. membro):—L. membrum limb, part of the body, constituent part of anything.
    By many philologists considered to represent a prehistoric *mems-ro-, cogn. with Goth. mimz flesh.]
    1. a. A part or organ of the body; chiefly, a limb or other separable portion (as opposed to the trunk). arch.
    privy member or members, † carnal member: the secret part or parts. the unruly member (after James iii. 5–8): the tongue. virile member: see virile a. and n. 3.

1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 11731 Þat is priue membres hii ne corue of iwis. c 1325 Song of Merci 152 in E.E.P. (1862) 123 His hert al-so And alle þe Membres þat we con mynge. 1382 Wyclif Jas. iii. 5 The tunge sotheli is a litel membre. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xi. 156 Man is hym most lyk of membres and of face. c 1430 Life St. Kath. (1884) 55 Þat..she scholde by meuyng of þe wheles be rent membre from membre. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 44 If ye mowe chastise your carnal membre. 1495 Act. 11 Hen. VII, c. 3 §3 Any other offence wherfor any persone shall lose life or member. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Collect Circumcision, That our hertes, and al our membres..may..obey thy blessed wil. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iv. xxv. 145 Exceeding all others in bignesse of body and force of members. 1611 Bible Deut. xxiii. 1 Hee that..hath his priuie member cut off. 1660 F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 61 They tye a cloth only to hide their privie members. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 424 Their Masters mangl'd Members they devour. 1715–20 Pope Iliad xxii. 575 All her members shake with sudden fear. 1756 Nugent Gr. Tour, Italy III. 316 Artificial noses, lips, ears, and other members. 1823 J. F. Cooper Pioneers v. (1869) 24/2 There was something noble in the rounded outlines of his head and brow. The very air and manner with which the member haughtily maintained itself [etc.].

    b. spec. (after L.): = ‘privy member’.

c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 306/249 Heore membres to-swellez sone. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 10524 Ȝe þat vil it is to telle, some hii lete honge Bi hor membres an hey. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 3472 (Kölbing) Vlfin him ȝaue a dint of wo Þurch out þe membre & sadel also. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶256 They sowed of fige leues a maner of breches to hiden hire membres. 1582 N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. ii. 6 They trusse up and hide theyr members in certeine Cases made of woode. 1966 L. Cohen Beautiful Losers (1970) i. 24 This member of mine rigid as a goal post.

    c. Biol. In extended use: Any part of a plant or animal viewed with regard to its form and position.

1875 Bennett & Dyer tr. Sach's Bot. 130 It is obviously best to speak in this sense not of Organs, but of Members. The term Member is used when we speak of a part of a whole in reference to its form or position and not to any special purpose it may serve. In the same manner, from a morphological point of view, stems, leaves, hairs, roots, thallus-branches, are simply members of the plant-form. 1890 Syd. Soc. Lex., Member... A part of a plant or animal, such as a root, stem, leaf, or hair in a plant, or an arm or leg in an animal; a segment which can be studied in a purely morphological point of view, apart from its physiological function.

    2. fig. with reference to a metaphorical ‘body’; chiefly in member of Christ, member of Satan. (Cf. limb n.¹ 3 a, b.)

13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 458 Al arn we membrez of Ihesu kryst. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xvi. (Magdalena) 301 Þe membyre of sathane. 1382 Wyclif Eph. v. 30 We ben membris of his body, of his fleisch and of his boones. 1483 Caxton Cato G iij b, To do therwith almesses to the poure members of Yhesu cryst. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Catechism, Wherein I was made a member of Christe. 1582 Reg. Privy Council Scot. III. 493 Enemie to Chryst and to all his faithful members. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 21 ¶3 The Body of the Law is no less encumbered with superfluous Members.

    3. transf. a. Each of the constituent portions of a complex structure.

c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. Prol. 3 The figures & the membres of thin Astrolabie. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. xii. 48 plate, Y⊇ names of y⊇ members of a pece of Ordnance. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 321/2 In it [the Vice] there are several parts and Members. 1855 Bain Senses & Int. i. ii. §11 Each couple [of nerves] contains a right and a left member. 1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 45 There is not a perpendicular line in any of the cantilevers... The rising members, the members that withstand the compressing, are..all tubes. 1901 Black's Illustr. Carp. Man., Scaffolding 64 The horizontal members of the brackets extend out 5ft. at right angles to the uprights.

    b. Arch. ‘Any part of an edifice, or any moulding in a collection of mouldings, as those in a cornice, capital, base, &c.’ (Gwilt).

1679 Moxon Mech. Exerc. ix. 154 Architecture considers the best forming of all Members in a Building. 1849 Ruskin Sev. Lamps ii. §8. 35 In later Gothic the pinnacle became gradually a decorative member. 1862 Merivale Rom. Emp. (1865) V. xli. 72 The whole space was..decorated with all the forms and members of Roman architecture.

    † c. Of a range of mountains, buildings, etc.: An outlying portion. Obs.

1601 Holland Pliny I. 125 As for the hils Imaus, Emodisus, Paropamisus, as parts all and members of Caucasus. 1628 Venner Baths of Bathe (1650) 347 The Queens Bath is a member of the Kings Bath.

    4. a. Each of the individuals belonging to or forming a society or assembly. Also formerly, † an inhabitant or native (of a country or city).

c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 130, I þe forbede to chalenge any clerke In lay courte..Bot tille þat courte com to, of whilk he is membre calde. 1521 Warham in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. I. 240 Seyng your Grace is the moost honorable membyr that ever was of that Universitie. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 314 b, And with his protection to defend the members of the church. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. i. 41 Here comes a member of the common-wealth. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. ix. 44 Yet have the Muses made Me free, a Member of the tuneful trade. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 34 ¶1 The Club of which I am a Member. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T., Forester viii. (1806) I. 63, I should be happy, if I were a useful member of society. 1842 Alison Hist. Europe lxxviii. X. 983 The state becomes poor, and its members rich. 1891 Law Times XCII. 123/2 The Lord Chancellor need not be a member of the House of Lords of which he is the Speaker.

    b. Used absol. for: A ‘member of the community’, a person. Now slang and dial.

1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. ii. ccxxxv. [ccxxxi.] 729 Where as therle and his chyldren shulde be great membres in Englande. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. v. i. 237 These poore informall women, are no more But instruments of some more mightier member That sets them on. c 1613 Beaum. & Fl. Coxcomb i. v, You'll keep no whores, rogue, no good members. 1888 J. Runciman Chequers 187 You're a red-hot member! 1891 Sporting Life 28 Mar. 3/5 But, warm a member as our hero was, standing in front of a blazing furnace for hours..was too hot even for Jem's sanguinary temperament. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 298 Gob, he's a prudent member and no mistake. Ibid. 228 Hot members they were all of them, the Geraldines.

    † c. One who takes part in an action, participates in a benefit, etc. Obs.

1554–9 in Songs & Ball. Philip & Mary (1860) 3 To be members of mersye he hathe us up lyfft. 1569 Reg. Privy Council Scot. II. 66 The authoris and members of the said commotioun. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iv. i. 171 All members of our Cause, both here, and hence. 1604 ― Oth. iii. iv. 112 That..I may againe Exist, and be a member of his loue.

    d. Usu. attrib., applied to a country, nation, state, etc., belonging to an international organization.

1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 28 May 429/4 Common action by a society of States against a member-State. 1959 Ibid. 13 Feb. 79/2 The member-nations' extra-European commitments. 1959 A. H. Robertson European Institutions iv. 93 The Member States would consult together. 1962 B.S.I. News June 11/2 Copies of the national standards..would go to each member-country. 1971 W. Laqueur Dict. Politics 361 Departmental ministers of member countries. Ibid. 362 Representatives of the member states' Chiefs of Staff. Ibid. 525 All member nations have one voice and one vote.

    e. U.S. slang. A Negro.

1964 L. Hairston in J. H. Clarke Harlem 290 Three more, one of 'em a member,..sailed over. 1970 H. E. Roberts Third Ear 10/1 Member, a fellow black person.

    5. One who has been formally elected to take part in the proceedings of a parliament: in full Member of Parliament (abbreviated M.P.), in U.S. Member of Congress (M.C.).

1454 Rolls of Parlt. V. 240/1 Any persone that is a membre of this high Court of Parlement. 1477 Ibid. VI. 191/2 All the membres usually called to the forseid Parlementes. 1603 Jrnls. Ho. Comm. I. 141/1 The Intrusion of sundry Gentlemen, his Majesty's Servants, and others (no Members of Parliament) into the Higher House. 1648 Eikon Bas. iii. 12 My going to the Hous of Commons to demand Justice upon the five Members, was an act, which My enemies loaded with all the obloquies and exasperations they could. 1711 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 8 Dec., I dined with Dr. Cockburn, and after, a Scotch member came in, and told us that the clause was carried against the Court in the house of lords. 1774 Washington Writ. (1889) II. 438 Dined at the State House, at an entertainment given by the city [of Philadelphia] to the members of the Congress. 1822 Ld. J. Russell in Select. Sp. & Desp. (1870) I. 205 My hon. Friend the member for Winchelsea. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 175 The Commons began by resolving that every member should [etc.].

    6. A component part, branch, of a political body.

1386 Rolls of Parlt. III. 225/1 The folk of the Mercerye of London, as a member of the same Citee. 1414 Ibid. IV. 22/2 The comune of youre lond, the whiche that is, and ever hath be, a membre of youre parlement. 1673 Ray Journ. Low C., Venice 192 The Council of Ten, though it be a member of great importance, yet is it rather accessary..than principal. 1818 Hallam Mid. Ages (1878) III. 106/1 note, By estates of the realm they meant members, or necessary parts, of the parliament. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xviii. 208 A member, doubtless the foremost member of the Danish Civic Confederation, it still kept a Danish patriciate of twelve hereditary Lawmen.

    † 7. A branch, department (of a trade, art, profession); a branch, species, subdivision of a class.

1463–4 Rolls of Parlt. V. 502/2 That..it may please unto your seid Highnes, to ordeyn..that every..Clothmaker..pay to the Carders, Spynners, and all other the Laborers of eny membr' therof, lawfull money for all their lefull wages..uppon peyne of forfeiture to the same Laborer, of the treble of his seid wages..as ofte as the seid Clothmaker refuseth to pay..to eny such Laborer by hym put to occupacion in eny of the seid membres of makyng of Cloth. 1540 Act 32 Hen. VIII, c. 40 §3 The science of phisike doth..include..the knowledge of surgery as a speciall membre and parte of the same. a 1614 Donne βιαθανατος (1644) 132 The next Member and species of Homicide, which is, Assistance.

    8. a. A section or district, esp. an outlying part, of an estate, manor, parish, or the like.

1450 Rolls of Parlt. V. 187/2 Havyng estate in the seid Castell, Lordship, Maner, and Membres. 1485 Ibid. VI. 357/2 Oure Honour of Walingford, with the members, in the Countie of Berks. a 1645 Habington Surv. Worcs. in Worcs. Hist. Soc. Proc. III. 405 Werneleg a member of Owld Swinford. 1730 Magna Brit. I. 755/2 Crimscote... Peter de Montfort held it with Whitchurch, of which it was originally a Member. 1778 Eng. Gazetteer (ed. 2) s.v. Halton, Halton, or Haulton..is a member of the duchy of Lancaster. 1891 E. Peacock N. Brendon I. 339 Thurlford was a small hamlet, a member of a very large parish.

    b. of a port.

1485 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 341/1 Men of the v Portes, or of any their members. 1676 Lond. Gaz. No. 1084/1 If any of the said Ships shall be in any Port of this Kingdom, or in any Member or Creek thereof. 1769 De Foe's Tour Gt. Brit. (ed. 7) II. 364 Swanzy..is a Member of the Port of Caerdiff. 1789 Public Papers in Ann. Reg. 132 The member is distinguished by a subordination to, and dependence upon the head-port. 1813 Beawes's Lex. Mercat. (ed. 6) I. 246 (Wharton) Members, places where anciently a custom house was kept, with officers or deputies in attendance. They were lawful places of exportation or importation.

    9. Math. a. A group of figures or symbols forming part of a numerical expression or formula.

1608 R. Norton Stevin's Disme A iij, Every three Characters of a Number is called a Member..as in the number 357,876,297, the 297 is called the first Member. 1685 Wallis Algebra xxiii. 102 And here for every Figure or Member of the Root, we are to seek not only the several Members of the Cube, but of the Square also. 1875 Chem. News 9 Apr. 154 Its symbol will be {ob}h k l, e f g{cb}, where the second member of the symbol represents the poles equi-distant with the poles {ob}h k l{cb} [etc.].

    b. Algebra. Either of the sides of an equation.

1702 J. Ralphson Math. Dict., Equation, (in Algebra) is a Comparison between two Quantities (or Members of the Equation,) to make them equal. 1903 Walker Introd. Physical Chem. (ed. 3) xxvi. 307 Eliminating what is common to both members of the equation.

    10. a. A division or clause of a sentence; a ‘head’ of a discourse; a branch of a disjunctive proposition.

1534 More Comf. agst. Trib. i. Wks. 1148/1 We shall therefore to gyue it lyght wythal touch euery member somewhat more at large. 1641 J. Jackson True Evang. T. i. 8, I have..cast the Text according to the number of the verses, into three plain and conspicuous members. 1654 Z. Coke Logick 215 Under-titles also of Controversies must be disposed according the members of the Probleme to be handled. 1659 Pearson Creed (1839) 7 As, for the other member of the division, we may now plainly perceive that it is thus to be defined. 1741 Watts Improv. Mind. i. xiii. §12 The opponent must directly prove his own proposition in that sense, and according to that member of the distinction in which the respondent denied it. 1762 Lowth Eng. Gram. (1763) 170 The Colon, or Member, is a chief constructive part, or greater division, of a Sentence. 1824 L. Murray Eng. Gram. (ed. 5) I. 270 The simple members of compound sentences. 1891 Driver Introd. Lit. O.T. (1892) 429 The verse itself may consist of one or more members; but each member..is divided by a cæsura into two unequal parts.

    † b. in Music.

1782 Burney Hist. Mus. II. 171 Music..is now become a rich, expressive, and picturesque language in itself; having its forms, proportions, contrasts, punctuations, members, phrases, and periods. 1811 Busby Dict. Mus. (ed. 3) s.v. Passage, Every member of a strain or movement is a passage.

    11. a. Each of the items forming a series.

1851 Lyell Elem. Geol. (ed. 3) 354 The Orthoceras Ludense..is peculiar to this member of the series. 1873 C. H. Ralfe Phys. Chem. Introd. 17 Series of this kind are termed homologous series, and the members are said to be homologues of one another. 1884 Bower & Scott De Bary's Phaner. 165 The division walls between the members of the series.

    † b. member by member: seriatim. (The first quot. prob. belongs to sense 1.)

[1483 Cath. Angl. 234 Membyr be membyr, membratim.] 1726 Leoni Alberti's Archit. I. 43 We shall treat..of all Public Works Member by Member.

    12. Comb.: member bank U.S., a bank which holds shares in, and has representation on the board of directors of, a Federal Reserve Bank (see also quot. 1930); † member-like a., befitting a member; member-mug slang and dial. (see E.D.D.) [f. sense 1 b + mug n.¹], a chamber-pot; † member-port = 8 b.

1914 Federal Reserve Act §1 The term ‘*member bank’ shall be held to mean any national bank, state bank, or bank or trust company which has become a member of one of the reserve banks created by this Act. 1923 E. A. Saliers Accountants' Handbk. 865 Member banks may rediscount short-time commercial notes with federal reserve banks. 1930 J. M. Keynes Treat. Money I. 9 The typical modern Banking System consists of a Sun, namely the Central Bank, and Planets, which, following American usage, it is convenient to call the Member Banks. 1948 G. Crowther Outl. Money (ed. 2) ii. 43 The banks other than the Central Bank are usually called ‘joint-stock banks’ in Great Britain and ‘member banks’ in the United States (i.e. members of the Federal Reserve System).

1649 N. Eng. Hist. & Gen. Reg. (1879) XXXIII. 167 The Ch[urch]..ordered, that he be cast out of the body, till..he be brought into a more *member-like frame. 1649 J. Ellistone tr. Behmen's Epist. i. 1 From a member-like obligation (as one branch on the Tree is bound to doe to the other)..I wish unto you [etc.].

1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew, *Member-mug, a Chamber-pot. 1785 Grose Dict. Vulgar T., Member Mug, a chamber pot. 1932 Auden Orators iii. 104 The war-memorials decorate with member-mugs.

a 1623 Camden in Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) II. 279 Sandwich & the *Member-Portes in Kent. 1656 Tucker Rep. in Misc. Sc. Burgh Rec. Soc. 24 A checque, and three wayters, some of which are still sent into the member ports.

▪ II. † ˈmember, v. Obs.
    [a. OF. membrer:—L. memorāre: see memorate.]
    1. trans. To mention; to remember. Hence membered ppl. a.

1382 Wyclif Tobit iv. 22 The above membrid [Vulg. ante memoratum] weiȝte of siluer. ― Wisd. xi. 14 Thei membreden the Lord. 1589 Warner Alb. Eng. v. xxiv. 108 They Carles garre syke a dinne, That more we member of their iapes [ed. 1602 they member vs of iapes] than mende vs of our sinne. Ibid. vi. xxx. 131, I member scarce thy arging.

    2. Aphetic form of remember v. Freq. written as 'member.

1899 Kipling Stalky 254 'Member the snow all white on his eyebrows, Tertius? 1936 M. Mitchell Gone with Wind lxi. 1009, I gave him to you, once before—'member?—before he was born. 1945 ‘O. Malet’ My Bird Sings ii. x. 167 ‘I remember Papa!’ shouted out Amaryllis... ‘So do I 'member Papa!’ said Acanthus. 1971 Black World June 72/2 You member the day I left, Carrie Jean? 1973 Amer. Speech 1970 XLV. 76 'Member the day I saw you on Broad Street?

Oxford English Dictionary