▪ I. condition, n.
(kənˈdɪʃən)
Forms: 4–6 condicion, with usual interchange of i and y, c and sc, o and ou, (5 condi(s)coun, -ducion); 5–condition.
[ME. condicion, a. OF. condicion (condition), (cf. Pr. condicio, Sp. condicion, It. condizione), ad. L. condiciōn-em (in later times, through the running together of palatalized c and t, commonly spelt conditiōn-) a compact, stipulation, agreement upon terms; app. immediately related to condīcĕre to talk a thing over together, agree upon, f. con- together + dīcĕre to declare, tell, say, etc., weak stem dic- in -dicus, dicax, etc. (see dict); cf. esp. diciōn- command, rule, sway, authority. It had already in Lat. the senses ‘situation, position, rank, circumstances, nature, manner,’ as in II. The spelling with t is rare in Eng. before 1550.
Kindred Lat. formations are capio, legio, regio, religio, obsidio, etc. The spelling conditio led to the notion that the word was a deriv. of L. condĕre, condit-: see condite v.2]
I. A convention, stipulation, proviso, etc.
1. a. Something demanded or required as a prerequisite to the granting or performance of something else; a provision, a stipulation.
| c 1315 Shoreham 64 Hit is wykked condicioun..ȝef he seyth ich wille the have..Ȝef thou deist suche a dede Of queade. 1382 Wyclif Gen. xlvii. 26 The preestis loond, that free was fro this condicioun. 14.. Purific. Marie 128 Thys law..Ne was not put but by condycyon Only to hem that corupt weron by kynd. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 1 The condicyons requyred to a pilgrym. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, i. iii. 108, I had rather be a Countrie seruant maide Then a great Queene, with this condition. 1611 Bible Luke xiv. 32. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World ii. 213 He then, while he feared his owne life, stood upon no condition. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 759 Wilt thou enjoy the good, Then cavil the conditions? 1758 Wesley Wks. (1872) X. 308 The word condition means neither more nor less than something sine quâ non, without which something else is not done. 1834 Medwin Angler in W. II. 153 The conditions were that at a given signal the parties were to advance..and to fire when they pleased. 1871 Baroness Bunsen in Hare Life II. vii. 416 In no case could France have obtained more favorable conditions. |
b. on, upon († under, up, in, by, of, with) the (this, that, such, † a) condition that; now, usually, on condition that.
| c 1369 Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 750, I telle hyt the up a condicioun That thou shalt hoolly, etc. c 1381 ― Parl. Foules 407 But natheles, in this condicioun..That she a-gre to his eleccioun. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xix. 474 In condicioun..þat þow konne defende, And rule þi rewme in resoun. c 1400 Sowdone Bab. 607 Vppon a condicion I graunte the My doghter. c 1450 Merlin xiv. 203 We be come to serue yow, with this condicion, that ye desire not to knowe oure names. c 1532 Ld. Berners Huon xlv. 149 He wolde pardon hym on the condycyon that he shulde neuer after trespas hym. 1535 Coverdale 1 Sam. xi. 2, I wil make a couenaunt with you, of [1611 on] this condicion, that I maye thrust out all youre right eyes. 1538 Starkey England i. iv. 115 Certayn landys were gyven..under such condycyon that, etc. 1557 North tr. Gueuara's Diall Pr. 102 a/2 To forbeare all the pleasures..with condicion that they might be free from the annoyaunce. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, v. iii. 153 Vpon condition I may quietly Enioy mine owne..My daughter shall be Henries. c 1592 Marlowe Jew of Malta iv. v, Of that condition I will drink it up. a 1618 Raleigh Prerog. Parl. in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) IV. 309 [He] had the fifteenth penny of all goods given him, upon condition to confirm the great charter. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. xii. 100 Upon express condition, that he should say nothing. 1855 Prescott Philip II, i. vii. (1857) 124 On the condition that they should not bear arms for six months against the Spaniards. |
† c. condition was used for on condition that. [cf. cause conj. = because that.]
| 1600 Heywood 1st Pt. Edw. IV, Wks. 1874 I. 51, I would I had not, condition she had all. 1602 Life T. Cromwell v. iv. 124 It is too true Sir. Would 'twere otherwise, Condition I spent half the wealth I have. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. ii. 80 Condition I had gone bare-foote to India. |
2. Law. a. In a legal instrument, e.g. a will, or contract, a provision on which its legal force or effect is made to depend.
condition inherent, one attaching to the tenure of property, and descending therewith to the inheritor; c. precedent, one that must be fulfilled before the title, advantage, etc., affected by it can take effect; c. subsequent, one that remains to be performed after the title, etc., has come into operation, and the non-fulfilment of which may invalidate or extinguish the title or right. conditions of sale, the provisions under which sale by auction takes place.
| 1588 Fraunce Lawiers Log. i. xii. 53 b, Hee shall..observe such conditions as were annexed to the first donation. 1641 Termes de la Ley 72 Condition is a restraint or bridle annexed and joyned to a thing, so that by the not performance or not doing thereof, the partie to the condition shall receive prejudice and losse, and by the performance and doing of the same, commoditie and advantage. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) VI. 448 Even in a deed there were no precise technical words required to make a condition precedent or subsequent. 1827 J. Powell Devises (ed. 3) II. 251 Conditions, whether precedent or subsequent..consequences flowing from the distinction, considered. |
b. estate upon or in condition: one held subject to certain legal conditions.
| 1574 tr. Littleton's Tenures 68 a, It is called estate uppon condicion, for thys that the estate of the feoffee is defensable if the condicyon bee not performed. 1628 Coke On Litt. 201 a, Littleton hauing before spoken of Estates absolute, now beginneth to intreate of estates vpon Conditon. |
† 3. Agreement by settlement of terms; covenant, contract, treaty. Obs.
| 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 336/4 Thenne the condycion made all thynges were made redy. 1535 Coverdale Isa. xxviii. 15 Tush..as for hell we haue made a condicion with it..it shal not come vpon vs. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 504 They within were glad to render the towne upon condition. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. i. iii. 149 If you repaie me not on such a day, In such a place, such sum or sums as are Exprest in the condition. 1632 Lithgow Trav. iv. (1682) 133 He entred into a reasonable condition with me. a 1718 Penn Tracts Wks. 1726 I. 674 There is no Government in the World, but it must either stand upon Will and Power, or Condition and Contract. |
4. a. Something that must exist or be present if something else is to be or take place; that on which anything else is contingent; a prerequisite.
| 1340 Ayenb. 193 Vour condicions..ssolle by ine elmesse, þe uerste is þet me hise yeue gledliche and mid guod herte. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 15 Þre condicouns mak martirdom faire, þat is to sai, riȝtwisnes of þe cause, charitable pacience of þe martir, an vnriȝtwisnes of þe persewar. 1675 Baxter Cath. Theol. ii. i. 17 You deny not that God knoweth from eternity whether the condition of each Event will it self be or not. 1770 Fletcher Checks Wks. 1795 II. 6 Salvation..not by the Merit of works, but by works, as a Condition. 1868 M. Pattison Academ. Org. iv. 113 The condition of a successful school is the concentration of authority and responsibility on one head. 1875 Hamerton Intell. Life ii. i. 46 Drudgery must be done. This is the condition of all work whatever, and it is the condition of all success. |
b. (As contrasted with cause.) Each of the concurring antecedent circumstances viewed as contributory causes of a phenomenon.
| 1817 Coleridge Biog. Lit. I. vii. 123 The air I breathe, is the condition of my life, not its cause. 1846 Mill Logic iii. v. §3 It is very common to single out one only of the antecedents under the denomination of Cause, calling the others merely Conditions. Ibid. The statement of the cause is incomplete, unless in some shape or other we introduce all the conditions. 1889 T. Fowler Induct. Logic 14 In assigning the cause of a phenomenon, it is seldom that the negative conditions are mentioned. Ibid. 15 What, when employing popular language, we dignify with the name of Cause is that condition which happens to be most prominent in our minds at the time. |
c. pl. The whole affecting circumstances under which a being exists.
| 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Voy. to Eng. Wks. (Bohn) II. 14 But under the best conditions, a voyage is one of the severest tests to try a man. 1871 Tyndall Fragm. Sc. I. xii. 371 Geologists now aim to imitate..the conditions of nature. 1881 Romanes in Fortn. Rev. Dec. 740 Environment..or the sum total of the external conditions of life. |
d. A single affecting element or influence.
| 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola ii. viii, His arresting voice had brought a new condition into her life. |
† 5. A restriction, qualification, or limitation.
| c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 80 Sum þing men seien, witinge þat it is soþ, affermynge þe sentence wiþouten ony condicioun. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 56 She ansuered..yef we ete of this fruite peraventure we shulle deye, and thus she putte condicion in her ansuere. 1661 Bramhall Just Vind. iii. 44 We are sorry for his sins under a condition, that is, in case they were true..But we are absolutely without condition glad of our own liberty. 1841 J. R. Young Math. Dissert. ii. 36 To impose upon those values, be they innumerable or not, a new condition or restriction. |
6. Logic and Grammar. A clause expressing a condition in sense 4; in Logic called also the antecedent, in Grammar the protasis, of a conditional proposition or sentence.
| 1864 Bowen Logic v. 128 All Hypothetical Judgments obviously consist of two parts, the first of which is called the Condition or Antecedent, and the second, the Consequent; and the assertion or Judgment is, that if the Condition exists, the Consequent follows. 1874 Roby Lat. Gram. II. 240 A condition qualifying an infinitive. |
7. Math., etc. The provisions or obligations which an expression or solution is required to fulfil. equation of conditions: see quot.
| 1823 Crabb Technol. Dict. s.v., Equation of Conditions: certain equations in the Integral Calculus, of this form A / y = B / x , useful in ascertaining whether a proposed fluxion will admit of finite integration or a finite fluent. 1885 C. Leudesdorf Cremona's Proj. Geom. 183 There are four conics which satisfy the given conditions. |
8. In U.S. Colleges, a technical term of the class system (see class 3 b). Candidates for admission to any class, are examined on a fixed schedule of ‘studies’ or subjects, but may be admitted without passing in some of the subjects, on the condition that the requisite standard in these is attained within a given time. These studies or subjects in arrear are then called conditions.
| 1832 in Atlantic Monthly (1887) Oct. 434/1 She straightway got a tutor, and prodded Ralph night and day to make up the conditions. 1833 Ibid. 443/2 Ralph is..actually gone back to Cambridge to make up his conditions. 1856 B. H. Hall College Words 123 The branches in which he [sc. an entering student] is deficient are called conditions. a 1862 [see condition v. 8]. 1890 Catalog. Lafayette College 20, Conditions.―Students entering with conditions are required to make them up before the end of the term following that of their admission. a 1891 Mod. Phelps was admitted with conditions; he has now made up or worked off his conditions. The Faculty assign him Conic Sections as a condition. 1903 K. D. Wiggin Rebecca (1904) xxi. 226 She passed in only two subjects, but went cheerfully into the preparatory department with her five ‘conditions’. 1907 Scribner's Mag. LXI. 506/1 At the end of sophomore year it became imperative for him to work off his accumulated conditions in the science he loathed. 1937 V. D. Scudder On Journey i. iii. 66, I never incurred a condition in college, and I reverted to my old bad pleasant habit of flitting about at my own sweet will among books and ideas. |
II. Mode of being, state, position, nature.
9. a. A particular mode of being of a person or thing; state of being. (Formerly sometimes in pl.: cf. circumstances.)
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 769 Alstyte als a man waxes alde Þan chaunges his complexcion And his maners and his condicion. Ibid. 805 Þus may men se..What þe condicions er of an ald man. 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 274 Schortly to say, is nane can tell The halle condicioun off A threll. 1529 Wolsey in Four C. Eng. Lett. 10 The miserable condycion, that I am presently yn. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. i. ii. 15. 1605 Verstegan Dec. Intell. viii. (1628) 261 The heyres vnto some good estates or conditions of liuing. a 1656 Bp. Hall Rem. Wks. (1660) 208 The Bell is tolled to give notice of his dying condition. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 181 That he may know how frail His fall'n Condition is. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. ii. §10 Having both soul and body sound and in good condition. 1789 Bentham Princ. Legisl. xviii. 26 note, We speak of the condition of a trustee as we speak of the condition of a husband or a father. 1833 H. Martineau Brooke Farm ii. 19 Enquiring into the condition of his clothes. 1856 Sir B. Brodie Psychol. Inq. I. iii. 75 No one..can doubt the vast influence which the condition of the body has on the temper. 1878 Huxley Physiogr. 104 The three conditions of a solid, a liquid, and a gas..are physical states dependent mainly on Temperature. 1887 J. H. Gilbert Lect. Growth Root Crops 17 What is termed the condition of land, that is the readily available fertility due to recent accumulations. |
† b. ellipt. State of matters, circumstance. in any condition: in any case, in any circumstances.
| c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶245 He moste confessen hym of alle the condiciouns that bilongen to his synne. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 69 For she founde her avision Right after the condition, Which he her hadde told to-fore. 1557 North tr. Gueuara's Diall Pr. (1619) 632/1 That..hee doe in any condition return with him. |
c. in condition (to do a thing); in a state, sufficiently equipped, prepared. Also out of condition.
| 1693 Mem. Cnt. Teckeley iv. 63 The Christian Army..was in a condition not to be taken of a sudden. 1719 Mem. Lewis XIV, x. 241 And put them out of Condition to keep the Field. 1862 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. (1865) III. viii. ii. 5 The unhappy prodigal is in no condition to resist farther. |
d. to change (alter) one's condition: to get married. arch. or dial.
| 1712 Steele Spect. No. 522 ¶1 The chief motives to a prudent young woman of fortune for changing her condition. 1768 in Wesley's Jrnl. 25 May (1827) III. 321 You have also thoughts of altering your condition; but if you marry him..it will draw you from God. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xxvi, She expected him to say ‘Jenny, I am gaun to change my condition’. |
e. A state of health, esp. one which is poor or abnormal; a malady or sickness. in a certain, delicate, interesting, or particular condition (see the adjectives): pregnant.
| 1920 E. O'Neill Beyond Horizon iii. i. 146 My diagnosis of your brother's condition forces me to the same conclusion. 1930 D. L. Sayers Strong Poison ii. 25 His condition grew steadily worse. 1946, etc. [see heart condition s.v. heart n. 55 a]. 1950 T. S. Eliot Cocktail Party ii. 123 The condition is curable. 1964 L. Woolf Beginning Again i. 77 She was in the depths of melancholia and despair; she..insisted that her condition was due to her own guilt. 1973 O. Sacks Awakenings xix. 173, I have had this condition for more than thirty years and I have learnt to live with it. 1981 M. Leitch Silver's City ix. 79 The condition [sc. inertia] was common enough to make the rest fear it as something infectious. |
10. a. State in regard to wealth, circumstances; hence, position with reference to the grades of society; social position, estate, rank.
| c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame iii. 440 A ryghte grete companye..Of alle..condiciouns..Poore and riche. c 1386 ― Prol. 38. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vi. xi. (1495) 195 A seruyng woman..of bonde condycion. 1509 Fisher Fun. Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. 290 Suche as were of lesse condycyon maye encrease in hyer degre of noblenes. 1605 Bp. Hall Medit. & Vows ii. §42, I will cast downe my eyes to my inferiours, and there see better men in worse condition. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iii. i. 59, I am, in my condition A Prince. 1662 Bk. Com. Prayer (Pickering 1844) 56 All sorts and conditions of men. 1731 Pope Ep. Burlington 183 Honour and shame from no Condition rise; Act well your part, there all the Honour lies. 1855 Prescott Philip II, ii. i. (1857) 195 In the middle classes; and even in those of humbler condition. |
† b. Formerly in pl. = Circumstances. Obs.
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1673) 206 The conditions of their families. 1640 F. Hawkins Youths Behav. ii. (1663) 12 Artificers, and other persons of low conditions. 1692 tr. Sallust 266 It will not be amiss, briefly to say something of his Conditions and Education. |
c. person of condition: i.e. of position, rank, or ‘quality’. arch.
| 1673 Rules of Civility (ed. 2) 84 If we meet any person of condition in the street..we must always give him the Wall. 1723 Steele Consc. Lovers i. i, Dress'd like a Woman of Condition. 1780 Burke Sp. Econ. Ref. Wks. 1842 I. 248 Men of condition naturally love to be about a court; and women of condition love it much more. 1823 Scott Peveril ix, Such satisfaction as is due from one gentleman of condition to another. 1859 Beaton Creoles & Coolies iii. 108 There were about..one hundred women of condition in the colony. |
† 11. a. Mental disposition, cast of mind; character, moral nature; disposition, temper. Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1433 He was so gentil of his condicioun, That thorughout al the court was his renoun. 1470–85 Malory Arthur x. x, How be hit I loue not his condycyon, and fayne I wold be from hym. 1534 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) X viij, Women be of a ryght tendre condicion. 1611 Bible 2 Macc. xv. 12 A vertuous, and a good man, reuerend in conuersation, gentle in condition, well spoken also. [1700 Dryden Fables, Pal. & Arc. 593 So gentle of condition was he known.] |
† b. pl. Personal qualities; manners, morals, ways; behaviour, temper. Obs.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus ii. 117 For truly I hold it grete deynte, A kyngis sone yn armes wel to do, And ben of good condicions þer to. 1388 Wyclif 1 Kings xiv. 24 Men of wymmens condiciouns weren in the lond. 1483 Vulgaria abs Terentio 18 b, I vnderstonde that thow haste amendid thy condicyonns. c 1525 Skelton Agst. Garnesche 12 Ye have knavysche condycyouns. 1530 Palsgr. 208/1 Condycions, maners, meurs. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretarie (1625) 132 The very True and worthy conditions and behaviours, that rightly doe produce and make a Gentleman. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World iv. iii. §20 II. 204 Her peruerse conditions made her husband seeke other wiues and Concubines. 1636 Featly Clavis Myst. xx. 258 To breake their scholars of ill conditions. 1684 Bunyan Pilgr. ii. 84 He said that Mercy was a pretty lass, but troubled with ill Conditions. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 71 ¶14 By the words ill conditions, James means, in a woman coquetry, in a man inconstancy. 1830 Scott Diary 24 Dec., This morning died..Miss Bell Fergusson, a woman of the most excellent conditions. |
† 12. Nature, character, quality. Obs.
| c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. 25 In soth, thou shalt fynde but 2 degrees in al the zodiak of that condicioun. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 90 Which [gamut] techeth the prolacion Of note and the condition. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xviii. 81 For men of Inde er of þat condicioun [Fr. de tiele nature] þat þai passe noȝt comounly oute of þaire awen land. 1484 Caxton Curiall 2 Thynges whyche of theyr owne condicion ben more to be mesprised than they that ben shewde by the lyf of another. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretarie i. (1625) 109 A man shaped as you see, and as bold in condition as he appeareth in shew. |
† 13. A characteristic, property, attribute, quality (of men or things). Obs.
| c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 85 Hard chese hathe þis condicioun in his operacioun. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 41 He hadde som condicions of a dogge. 1509 Fisher Fun. Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. 291 These & many other suche noble condycyons lefte vnto her by her Auncetres she kepte. 1530 Palsgr. 208/1 Condicyon a propertie, proprieté. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iii. i. 273 Heere is the Cate-log of her Conditions. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Loup, The wolfe went to Rome, and left some of his coat, but none of his conditions, behind him. 1632 Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 177 Excellency of judgement..more..than any other condition whatsoever. 1712 tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 77 The Conditions, or Qualities we ought to observe in the Bark are, etc. |
14. techn. (from 9) a. = Proper or good condition for work, market, etc. Also attrib.
| 1798 T. Holcroft Diary 24 Nov. in Memoirs (1816) III. 75 The method practised by pugilists, to bring themselves into condition, as they term it, is air and exercise, regular hours, etc. 1846 Youatt Horse 465 If the nourishing property of the hay has been impaired..the animal will..lose condition. 1850 Rep. U.S. Comm. Patents, Agric. 1849 323 If it was conditioned properly, it will not change a particle while in the condition bulk. 1852 Smedley L. Arundel xxiii. 172 If he..gets out of condition..it always brings him right again. 1860 All Y. Round No. 66. 384 Philip tugged like a Trojan, but his want of condition told terribly. 1868 Rogers Pol. Econ. xxii. (ed. 3) 293 Great merits for bringing stock into condition. 1879 Boy's Own Paper 18 Jan. 7/1, I was in ‘splendid condition’, as they say of horses. 1890 Daily News 28 Jan. 6/3 At Mark-lane to-day English wheat out of condition was unsaleable. 1925 E. F. Norton Fight for Everest, 1924 ix. 197, I was not in a fit condition to provide a test case, as I had lost too much condition throughout the month of May. 1968 K. Weatherly Roo Shooter 35 Normally a doe will breed when a joey is getting out of the pouch enough to allow her to pick up condition. |
b. Hop-growing. The fine yellow powder which contains the bitter aromatic principle that gives hops their value for brewing; the lupulin.
| 1830 M. Donovan Dom. Econ. I. 163 Dealers..value the hops in proportion to the quantity of this powder which they call condition. 1875 Ure Dict. Arts I. 302 No hop should be gathered till the seed is matured; not for the sake of the seed itself, but the nectarium, or farina, technically known as ‘the condition’, will be in larger particles, and its essential aromatic and bitter qualities more perfectly developed when ripe. |
15. Comb. condition powder, a medicinal powder given to animals to keep them in good condition.
| 1884 T. Hughes Gone to Texas 189 You ought to have a few packages of ‘condition powders’ for stock and chickens. 1907 Army & Navy Stores Catal. 58 Horse condition powders. 1948 B. Vesey-Fitzgerald Book of Dog i. 123 The ‘condition powder’ is another weird hang-over from the horse age. 1961 [see conditioner 2]. |
▪ II. conˈdition, v.
[a. OF. condicionne-r, corresp. to Sp. condicionar, It. condizionare, med.L. conditiōnāre (for condic-) to impose a condition on, to limit with conditions; f. conditiōn- condition n.]
1. a. intr. To treat about conditions; to make conditions, make terms; to stipulate, bargain with. Also with indirect passive. arch.
| 1494 Fabyan vii. 643 For y⊇ great stomake of the father, y{supt} he wolde not be condycioned with of y⊇ sone, this varyaunce contynued atwene them. 1550 Bale Apol. 59 (R.) Here he tymeth and condycyoneth with God whiche approueth nothyng. 1596 Spenser State Irel. 75 Dishonourable..to condition or make any tearmes with such Rascalls. 1658–9 Burton's Diary (1828) IV. 59 Will any of you bring in a tenant into your house before you condition with him? 1721 Strype Eccl. Mem. II. xv. 122 They were conditioned with to teach the religion..that should be established. 1815 Jane Austen Emma iii. iii. 286 She trembling and conditioning, they loud and insolent. |
b. Const. for († of) a thing.
| 1553 W. Cholmeley in Camd. Misc. (1853) II. 4, I conditioned with my sayde workeman for the terme of x yeres. a 1603 T. Cartwright Confut. Rhem. N.T. (1618) 51 Conditioning with him of some painfull penance and satisfaction. 1639 Fuller Holy War i. ii. (1840) 3 If they exceeded the time they conditioned for. 1791 Paine Rights M. (ed. 4) 140 When the people of England sent for George the First, they ought at least to have conditioned for the abandonment of Hanover. 1872 Spectator 7 Sept. 1127 The labourers..might condition for any proportion of the product of their labour..which would still leave the capitalist, etc. |
2. trans. To stipulate or bargain for; to make the condition, make it a condition. a. with inf. or subord. clause.
| 1549 Latimer 1st Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 27 God condycioned wyth the Iewes, that theyr king should be suche a one as he hym self wold chose them. 1570 Dee Math. Pref. 16, I vse here to condition, the thing measured, to be on Land. 1578 Timme Calvin on Gen. 362 He conditioneth to haue of us the consent of faith and obedience. 1618 Barnevelt's Apol. E iv, It is conditioned betwixt us, that I should not name him. 1634–5 Brereton Trav. (1844) 9 Except the wife and husband condition and conclude formally in writing..that the longest liver take all. 1792 N. Chipman Amer. Law Rep. (1871) 11 Bond conditioned that J. should not depart the liberties. 1814 Jane Austen Mansf. Park (1870) I. iv. 34 He only conditioned that the marriage should not take place before his return. |
† b. with simple obj. Obs.
| 1571 Campion Hist. Irel. xi. (1633) 34 Conditioning withall their assistance to chase the Romanes out of Brittaine. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. iii. i. 199 Who being not rich by patrimony, take these iourneys onely for experience, and to be inabled to that expence, doe condition this reasonable gaine. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) I. xxxvi. 276 He recommended himself to my favour at parting..not offering to condition anything with me. |
c. To agree by stipulation to do something.
| 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia (1629) 185 Captaine Powell not having performed his service in the West Indies he conditioned with the Company. 1629 R. Hill Pathw. Piety I. 151 We condition with him to obey him. 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 309 The full sum in gold which I had conditioned to pay. 1889 Temple Bar Nov. 342 He conditioned in his marriage settlement to give her half his goods. |
3. To subject to something as a condition; to make dependent on a condition to be fulfilled; to make conditional on, upon.
| 1530 [see conditioning vbl. n.]. 1644 J. Goodwin Dang. Fighting agst. God 25 This liberty of choosing Pastors..is so conditioned, that it smiles only upon the rich. 1786 Burke W. Hastings Wks. 1842 II. 188 He has gone so far as even to condition the existence of the revenue itself with the exclusion of the company, his masters, from all interference whatsoever. 1884 Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads ii. xxix. 260/2 A sea-fairy sends a maid to Arthur with a magnificent gift, which is, however, conditioned upon his granting a boon. 1889 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 13 Feb. 2/1 Any action which the Canadian representatives might take would have to be conditioned on the British Government's approval. |
4. a. To govern, qualify, limit, restrict, as a condition.
| a 1619 Donne βιαθανατος (1644) 185 The intent and end conditions every action. 1629 Gaule Pract. Theories 106 Man hath his free motions..neither is he conditioned..from the Ground he treads vpon. 1841–4 Emerson Ess., Prudence Wks. (Bohn) I. 94 The laws of the world, whereby man's being is conditioned. 1852 M. Arnold Poems, Empedocles i. ii, Limits we did not set Condition all we do. 1877 Morley Crit. Misc. Ser. ii. 167 He knew how this law limited and conditioned progress. 1882 Nature XXVII. 107 The size of the wire..must be conditioned..by the purposes to which the instrument is to be applied. |
b. To be the (precedent) condition of, to determine as a condition the existence of. pass. To depend upon as its condition, to be conditional on.
| 1868 Rogers Pol. Econ. v. (ed. 3) 49 Economically considered, the existence of mankind is conditioned by some sort of saving. 1877 Caird Philos. Kant ii. xvii. 609 The idea of the existence of two separate worlds which condition each other. |
5. a. Metaph. To subject to the qualifying conditions of finite existence or cognition. Also transf.
| 1829 Sir W. Hamilton Discuss. (1852) 14 To think is to condition: and conditional limitation is the fundamental law of the possibility of thought. 1864 Kingsley Rom. & Teut. 76 The natural human tendency to condition God by time. |
b. To constitute or frame with conditions of being.
| 1857–8 Sears Athan. ix. 72 The years for which the timepiece is conditioned and wound up. 1856 Masson Ess., Th. Poetry 421 Who conditions the universe anew according to his whim and pleasure. |
6. To charge (a bond) with clauses or conditions. [Cf. F. conditionner un acte.]
| 1675 Lond. Gaz. No. 1059/2 Enter into Recognizances..to be Conditioned in the Form hereunder expressed. Ibid. They and every of them respectively entring into a Recognizance of the Penalty of Five hundred pounds to His Majesty..Conditioned in the Form hereunder written. 1794 Christian in Blackstone's Comm. (1809) II. 340 If the bond be simply conditioned for the payment of money. 1845 Stephen Laws Eng. II. 198 Every person to whom administration is granted must give bond to the judge of the Court of Probate..conditioned for duly collecting and administering the estate. |
7. Comm. To test the condition or state and quality of goods, esp. of a textile material; spec. to assay the amount of moisture contained in a sample of silk. [F. conditionner une soie.]
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Conditioning silk, a trade term for the assaying of silk, in order to test the proportions of moisture it contains. 1887 Yorksh. Post 8 Jan. 8 A manufacturer or wool merchant, for instance, wishing to have his goods conditioned, sends them to the conditioning house..the officials..will estimate the moisture in goods, dry a sample, and declare the weight before and after that process, as well as number the counts, measure the tissues and the effect of scouring, and say what quantity of chemicals, or other admixtures fabrics contain. |
8. U.S. Colleges. To subject to, or admit under, conditions (sense 8); to admit (a student) to a class with the condition that he shall by a given time pass a satisfactory examination in a subject or subjects, in which, on his entrance examination, he showed insufficient proficiency.
| 1832 in Atlantic Monthly (1887) Oct. 434/1 Well, on his examination at Cambridge last fall, he was heavily conditioned. 1849 Let. in B. H. Hall College Words (1856) 124 (Th.), [A young man] shall be examined and ‘conditioned’ in everything. a 1862 in Harvard Mem. Biog. (1867) II. 240, I was conditioned in Greek Grammar and prose reading, but soon rubbed the conditions off. a 1891 Mod. He is conditioned in Demosthenes (i.e. permitted to go on with a class, but must make up for present deficiency, by passing a supplementary examination in that subject by a given date). 1923 Univ. Oklahoma Bull. No. 261, 58D means that a student is conditioned because of poor quality of work. 1932 Atlantic Monthly Apr. 445/1, I went to Baltimore..conditioned in Greek and mathematics and weak in Latin. |
9. a. To bring to a desired state or condition; to make fit or in good condition. Also spec., to purify air (cf. air-conditioning vbl. n.).
| 1850 Rep. U.S. Comm. Patents, Agric. 1849 322 The next process in this troublesome but beautiful crop is to ‘condition’ it for ‘packing’. 1892 Field 14 May 730/2 Our friends across the water do not appear to know how to condition a dog. 1901 J. Donaldson Roller Mill 152 The most modern and effective system of conditioning wheat is by the use of air heated from 180 to 220 degrees Fahrenheit. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 1 Apr. 8/3 When my hunters were being conditioned in the autumn of 1906. 1924 A. W. Thompson Air Conditioning in Textile Mills 241 It is more common..to condition air by local distribution of moisture and heat. 1938 Times 14 Oct. 11/1 Standardized systems of heating and conditioning the air inside a closed car. |
b. To teach or accustom (a person or animal) to adopt certain habits, attitudes, standards, etc.; to establish a conditioned reflex or response in.
| 1909 Psychol. Bull. VI. 266 Pawlow's Method... Separate components of a complex sound which conditions a ‘fundamental’ reflex, will produce reflexes (the so-called partial reflexes) at a certain relative intensity. 1920 Jrnl. Exper. Psychol. III. 3 At nine months of age..can we condition fear of an animal, e.g., a white rat, by visually presenting it and simultaneously striking a steel bar?.. Such a conditioned emotional response can be established. 1927 Mod. Philology Nov. 213 We may study the individual..and observe how successive actions of his group-mates (parents, etc.), act by act, ‘condition’ him to the social habits. 1932 A. Huxley Brave New World ii. 29 The students..rose automatically to the tips of their toes. They were Alphas, of course; but even Alphas have been well conditioned. 1943 J. S. Huxley Evol. Ethics ii. 16 During its first twelve months the child acquires many habits and may be conditioned in various ways, for instance in regard to cleanliness. But unless this conditioning is brought into relation with the dynamic structure of focused impulse which develops in the second year, it will wear out or break down. 1951 R. Firth Elem. Social Organ. iii. 89 The people have been conditioned to these things since childhood, and feel that they are basic to their corporate existence. 1960 J. Rae Custard Boys i. iii. 37 The cinema, the newspapers and the war books conditioned us to look upon war as glamorous and exciting. |