▪ I. † lean, n.1 Obs.
Forms: 1 léan, 2–3 lean, lan, 3 læn, len, lyen.
[OE. léan str. neut. = OFris. lân, OS., OHG., MHG. lôn (Du. loon, mod.G. lohn masc.), ON. laun neut. pl. (Sw. lön, Da. l{obar}n), Goth. laun neut.:—OTeut. *laun-. The root lau- is referred to the same source as OSlav. lovŭ capture, booty, L. lū-crum gain, Gr. ἀπο-λαύ-ειν to enjoy.]
Reward, recompense.
| Beowulf 1021 (Gr.) Siᵹores to leane. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xix. 29 Be hundfealdon he onfehþ lean & hæfð ece lif. a 1200 Moral Ode 64 Þer me scal..ȝeuen us ure swinkes lan [12.. in O.E. Misc. 60 lean; a 1300 in E.E.P. 24 lyen] efter ure erninge. c 1200 Ormin 1518 Ȝiff þu shæwesst hemm whatt læn Iss ȝarrkedd hemm inn heoffne. c 1205 Lay. 16691 Nu þu scalt fon þat læn þæt þu for-ferdest Jerusalem. a 1250 Prov. ælfred 407 in O.E. Misc., Þe mon þat her wel deþ he cumeþ þar he lyen foþ. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2838 Pharaun..Was dead and hadde is werkes len. |
▪ II. lean, n.2
see after lean a.
▪ III. lean, n.3
(liːn)
[f. lean v.]
1. The act or condition of leaning; inclination. on the lean: inclining, sloping.
| 1776 G. Semple Building in Water 73 Pressure from either Side, would give them all a lean to the opposite Side. 1850 P. Cunningham Handbk. Lond. p. xxxvii/1 Leaden coffins piled thirty-feet high, and all on the lean from their own immense weight. 1851 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XII. ii. 647 The corn has a decided lean in one direction. 1890 Clark Russell Ocean Trag. I. v. 106 The rounds of her canvas whitened into marble hardness with the yearn and lean of the distended cloths. |
† 2. concr. Something to lean on; a support.
| 1610 Healey tr. Vives' St. Aug. Citie of God Ded. A, How holy..a man, what a light, what a leane to the christian common-wealth [L. quale specimen columenque reip. Christianæ], on whom onely it rested for many rites. |
▪ IV. lean, a. and n.2
(liːn)
Forms: 1 hlǽne, 2–6 lene, 3 læne, 3, 6–7 leane, 4 Kent. hlene, Sc. leine, leyne, 5 leen(e, 5–6 Sc. and north. leyn, 6– lean.
[OE. hlǽne:—OTeut. type *hlainjo-, perh. repr. a pre-Teut. *qloinio-, related by ablaut to Lith. kl{yacu}nas scrap, fragment, Lettish kleins feeble. (If so, the word is not related to lean v., the pre-Teut. initial of which is k, not q.)]
A. adj.
1. a. Wanting in flesh; not plump or fat; thin. Also said † of the flesh, and of a person's condition, growth, appearance, etc.
| c 1000 ælfric Gen. xli. 3 Oðre seofon oxan..þa wæron fule and swiðe hlæne. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 37 Þu scalt..festen swa þet þin licome beo þe lenre. c 1205 Lay. 19445 No durste þær bilæuen na þæ uatte no þe læne. a 1225 Ancr. R. 118 Pellican is a leane fowel. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 66/435 His lene bones he wolde drawe aȝein þe harde grounde. 1340 Ayenb. 53 Þou sselt ueste al huet Þou art bleche and lhene. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. v. 83 So loked he with lene chekes lowrynge foule. c 1460 Towneley Myst. ii. 112 My wynnyngis ar bot meyn, No wonder if that I be leyn. 1513 Douglas æneis xii. iv. 159 Wyth chekis walxin leyn. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. i. ii. 194 Yond Cassius has a leane and hungry looke, He thinkes too much. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 131 Their heads are small and lean, their ears little. 1784 Cowper Tiroc. 656 The mere school-boy's lean and tardy growth. 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. liv, She had a lean lank body. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xii. III. 233 Nine horses were still alive..They were so lean that little meat was likely to be found upon them. 1885 Manch. Exam. 17 Mar. 5/2 The beet-growers find a profitable trade in fatting lean stock brought into the country. |
b. with personifications.
| 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, iv. ii. 11 My three attendants, Leane Famine, quartering Steele, and climbing Fire. 1634 Milton Comus 709 Praising the lean and sallow Abstinence. 1835 Lytton Rienzi i. viii, Lean fears and hollow-eyed suspicions are the comrades of a hated power. 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop lxv, The great manufacturing town reeking with lean misery and hungry wretchedness. |
c. Proverbial phrases.
| c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 287 And leene was his hors as is a rake. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. i. i. 26 Fat paunches haue leane pates. 1611 Cotgr., s.v. Maigre, Maigres comme pies, as leane as Rakes (we say). a 1732 Gay New Song on New Similies Songs, etc. 1784 II. 115 Lean as a rake with sighs and care. |
d. transf.
| 1578 Lyte Dodoens iii. lxix. 410 Trichomanes..hath the stalkes of his leaves very small and leane. 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. ii. iii. 94 The Trees, though Sommer, yet forlorne and leane. 1596 ― Merch. V. ii. vi. 19 With ouer-wither'd ribs and ragged sailes, Leane, rent, and begger'd by the strumpet winde. 1606 Sir G. Goosecappe i. i. in Bullen O. Pl. iii. 7 Theis two strange hungry knights [will] make the leanest trenchers that ever I waited on. 1693 C. Dryden in Dryden's Juvenal vii. (1697) 169 The lean Statue of a starv'd Renown. 1772 T. Simpson Vermin-Killer 18 The ears of the corn will be withered and lean. 1871 Rossetti Poems, Even so iii, The sea..Where the lean black craft Seem well-nigh stagnated. |
e. Shipbuilding. = clean a. 10 b; ‘sharp’: opposed to bluff.
| 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1780) G 3, The former of these is called by seamen a lean, and the latter a bluff bow. 1874 Thearle Naval Archit. 17 The lean or acute portions of the bow and stern of the ship between the extremities and the line of the inside of the timbers. |
2. fig. Poor or meagre in quantity or quality; slight, mean. Somewhat arch. Of diet: Poor, innutritious. Of employment (colloq.): Unremunerative.
| c 1325 Poem times Edw. II (Percy) xliii, He wild..gyf the god man to drink Lene broth that is nowȝt. c 1400 Pride of Life (Brandl 1898) 395 Þing..yat þou art lenust man..& euirmor hau þout opon þi dredful ending. a 1420 Hoccleve Let. Cupid 407 Her heped vertu hath swich excellence That al to lene is mannes facultee To declare it. 1581 Mulcaster Positions xli. (1887) 250 The liuings in colledges be now to to leane. 1594 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. ii. 561 As for that consolation [against death]..it is very leane if there be no other. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. iii. iv. 378 Out of my leane and low ability Ile lend you something. 1637 Milton Lycidas 123 Their lean and flashy songs Grate on their scrannel Pipes of wretched straw. 1744–50 W. Ellis Mod. Husbandm. II. 5 That would..cause the Farmer a lean crop, instead of a fat one, as the usual terms are. 1784 Cowper Task vi. 905 With lean performance ape the work of love. 1850 Prescott Peru II. 316 Their miserable carcases furnished a lean banquet for the famishing travellers. 1875 Sussex Gloss., s.v., ‘Ah sir! stone-breaking's a lean job for those that ain't used to it.’ 1890 F. M. Crawford Cigarette-maker's Rom. iv, An exceedingly lean diet. |
3. Of flesh: Containing little or no fat (as distinguished from muscular tissue).
| c 1430 Two Cookery-bks. 28 Take lene Porke, and boyle it. 1496 Fysshynge w. angle (1883) 33 Lene flesshe of the hepis of a cony or of a catte. 1744 Armstrong Art Pres. Health ii. (1797) 25 Chuse leaner viands. 1747 H. Glasse Cookery iv. 59 Then cut the lean Meat off the Legs into Dice. 1837 M. Donovan Dom. Econ. II. 61 The flesh of monkeys is so lean and dry, that [etc.]. 1845 Budd Dis. Liver 244 If he will..live chiefly on lean meat..and drink water. |
4. Wanting in rich elements or qualities. Said, e.g. of soils, limestone, † water, etc. Now rare except in various techn. senses, as: a. Of mortar or concrete: containing little of the binding material. b. Of clay: not very plastic. c. Of coal: of poor quality, spec. deficient in volatile material. d. Of ore: of low grade; containing little valuable mineral. e. Of fuel gas: of low calorific value. f. Of the mixture in an internal-combustion engine: containing a low proportion of fuel. g. Of an emulsion, painted surface, etc.: containing little oil.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxvii. (Machor) 987 He..gert teill a mekill feild of land..It was leyne & dry. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. v. 6 Hit dongeth londes lene, & beestes lorn ffor lene hit fedeth vp. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §20 Hawdod..groweth comonly in rye vpon leane grounde. a 1592 Greene Jas. IV, v. i, Lands are leane where riuers do not runne. 1683 Tryon Way to Health vi. (1697) 104 Such Springs..are of a lean Saturnine Quality. 1684 T. Burnet Theory Earth i. v. 55 Seeing there are two chief kinds of Terrestrial liquors, those that are fat, oily, and light; and those that are lean and more Earthy, like common Water. 1686 Plot Staffordsh. 356 Esteemed but a lean hard water. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 293 The coarse lean Gravel, on the Mountain sides, Scarce dewy Bev'rage for the Bees provides. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 241 Lime..made of greasy clammy Stone, is stronger than that made of lean poor Stone. 1781 Cowper Truth 364 As leanest land supplies the richest wine. a 1817 T. Dwight Trav. New Eng. etc. (1821) II. 358 We rode through a country rough, lean, and solitary. 1899 H. Sutcliffe By Moor & Fell i. 4 Above the houses a few lean fields slope up to the heather-line. |
| a. 1726 J. Leoni tr. Alberti's Archit. I. 49/1 For small Stones, a thick lean Mortar is best; to a dry exhausted Stone, we should use a fat sort; tho' the Ancients were of the opinion that in all parts of the Walls the fattish sort is more tenacious than the lean. 1936 Times Lit. Suppl. 18 Apr. 325/4 Very rich concrete, one part cement with two-and-a-half sand and gravel (concrete so rich is seldom used), is hardly affected at all by sea water... But ‘lean’ concrete, one part cement to about ten of sand, gravel, or even pozzolani, disintegrates in a year. 1965 Economist 13 Nov. 745/3 Outside mining subsidence areas, one of the lower layers [in construction of ‘black-top’ roads] is often ‘lean’ (with little cement) concrete. |
| b. 1754 New & Compl. Dict. Arts & Sci. III. 2128/1 Mortar for furnaces, &c. is made with red clay wrought in water in which horse-dung and chimney-soot has been steeped..; this clay ought not to be too fat, lest it should be subject to crack; nor too lean and sandy, lest it should not bind enough. 1885 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 600/2 ‘Lean’ clays—those that have a large proportion of free silica— shrink but little, and keep their form unaltered under the heat of the kiln. 1964 H. Hodges Artifacts i. 20 Such clays are sticky or greasy..and shrink seriously on drying... Equally a clay may be too aplastic to work, the material being crumbly, also known as short, mealy, lean, or open. |
| c. 1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining 154 Lean, thin, poor; of inferior quality. 1960 Gloss. Coal Terms (B.S.I.) 9 Lean coal, term used in several European countries for coal with a low volatile matter. |
| d. 1901 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 20 Oct. 10/3 There are..rumors..that lean ore has been struck in the lower workings. 1965 G. J. Williams Econ. Geol. N.Z. v. 57/1 Yields [of gold] ranging up to 0·75 oz. were reported but most of the quartz is very lean. |
| e. 1924 Jrnl. Inst. Petroleum Technologists X. 804 In handling lean [natural] gases of this type large through⁓puts are necessary if the operation of extraction is to be profitable. 1960 Economist 15 Oct. 271/3 A national high⁓pressure grid supplying industry direct and local systems with lean gas for enrichment to town gas. |
| f. 1932 F. J. Camm Bk. Motors xxxii. 253 Misfiring may be due to incorrect petrol supply, too ‘lean’ or weak a mixture or an occasional short circuit. 1949 Frazee & Bedell Automotive Fundamentals iii. 174 Too low a float level results in a slightly leaner mixture as too little fuel will leave the jets. 1973 Physics Bull. Apr. 241/2 The cvcc engine..was designed with pollution control in mind. It operates on extremely lean air–fuel mixture from the carburettor which is varied according to the operating conditions. |
| g. 1934 H. Hiler Notes Technique Painting iii. 171 The emulsions made from yolk of egg, some gum or resin, linseed oil and sometimes a little wax, are intimate mechanical but not chemical compounds... When egg-yolk is used..a somewhat yellowish tinted ‘fat emulsion’ results. If gum arabic is used, the result is a whitish ‘lean emulsion’. 1961 M. Levy Studio Dict. Art Terms 66 Lean Surface, the matt surface of a layer of pigment containing a minimum of oil. It is essential that an underpainting which is to be glazed should possess a lean surface. 1967 J. N. Barron Lang. of Painting 75 For obtaining better permanence in paintings..the overlying or upper layers of paint are to be increasingly more ‘fatty’ and contain more oil than the layers they cover, or the ‘leaner’ ones. |
5. a. Scantily furnished, ill provided. † Also, scant of, wanting in.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter xxi. 32 My saule, þat is lene of couaitis & riches. 1552 T. Barnabe in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. II. 200 The cuntry of Kent..is verye lene of men by the see syde. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen IV, i. ii. 82 Yea, for obtaining of suites, whereof the Hangman hath no leane Wardrobe. 1623 St. Papers Col. 1622–4. 183 Cash is very lene. 1652 Wadsworth tr. Sandoval's Civil Wars Sp. 69 Leaving the Countrie lean, poor, and dismantled of all it's fruits and wealth. 1654 tr. Martini's Conq. China 69 That Province which used to be most plentifull, was lean in Corn. 1677 A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. 28 Scotland is a thin and lean Kingdom, and wanting in these things. 1784 Cowper Task ii. 615 Dress drains our cellar dry, And keeps our larder lean. 1878 B. Taylor Deukalion i. iv. 37 My purse is lean, so rarely comes an obolus. |
b. Of seasons, etc.: Characterized by scarcity.
| 1670 Dryden 1st Pt. Conq. Granada i. i. (1672) 5 Lean times and foreign Warrs should minds unite. 1890 Spectator 5 Apr., Sir J. Lubbock..evidently believes that the cycle of lean years has fairly passed. |
6. Printing. In various uses. (See quots.)
| 1676 Moxon Print Lett. 7 Lean strokes are the narrow strokes in a Letter, as the Left Hand stroke in Letter A, and the Right Hand stroke in V, are Lean. 1683 ― Mech. Exerc., Printing 369 Beat Lean, is to Take but little Inck, and often: all Small Letter must be Beaten Lean. Ibid. 383 Lean Ashes, Founders call their Ashes Lean, if they are Light; because then they have little Mettle in them. Lean Face, a Letter whose stems and other Stroaks have not their full width. 1841 W. Savage Dict. Printing, Lean Face..As now understood, a letter of slender proportions compared to its height. [Cf. lean-faced in 7.] 1871 Amer. Encycl. Printing (ed. Ringwalt), Lean work, the opposite of fat work—that is, poor unprofitable work. |
7. Comb. chiefly parasynthetic, as lean-chapt, lean-cheeked, lean-eared, lean-faced, lean-fleshed, lean-horned, lean-jawed, lean-looked, lean-looking, lean-minded, lean-necked, lean-ribbed, lean-souled, lean-visaged, lean-witted adjs.; † lean-kinded a., belonging to the lean kind.
| 1621 Quarles Argalus & P. (1678) 25 From whom, What *lean-chapt Fury did I snatch thee from? |
| 1812 W. Tennant Auster F. ii. lii, *Lean-cheek'd tetchy critics. |
| 1602 2nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. v. iv. 2232 His long *leane eard lugges. |
| 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. v. i. 237 A hungry *lean fac'd Villaine. 1855 Ogilvie Suppl. Lean-faced.., Among printers, applied to letters which have not their full breadth. 1892 W. B. Yeats Countess Kathleen ii. 34 A crowd of ugly lean-faced rogues. 1953 R. S. Thomas Minister 13 By a lean-faced people in black clothes. |
| 1535 Coverdale Gen. xli. 3 Other seuen kyne..which were euell fauoured and *leane fleshed. |
| 1648 Herrick Hesper., Parting Verses to Wife (1869) 188 Not many full-fac't moons shall waine, *Lean-horn'd, before [etc.]. |
| 1678 Dryden & Lee Œdipus iv. i, *Lean-jawed famine. |
| 1601 J. Harrington Let. in Nugæ Antiq. (1779) II. 64 Many *lean kinded beastes and some not unhorned. |
| 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, ii. iv. 11 And *leane-look'd Prophets whisper fearefull change. 1748 W. Hamilton Ode to Fancy, In Merits lean look'd form t' appear. |
| 1713 Rowe Jane Shore i. ii. 9 *Lean-looking sallow Care. |
| 1866 Carlyle Remin. i. 82 A *lean-minded controversial spirit. |
| 1608 R. Armin Nest Ninn. 33 The *leane-neckt crane, who had the fat foxe to dinner. |
| 1602 Marston Antonio's Revenge iv. i. sig. G1v, Whilst pale cheekt wisdome, and *leane ribd arte Are kept in distance at the halberts point. a 1845 Hood Lamia vii. 82 Lean-ribbed tigers. 1925 E., O., & S. Sitwell Poor Young People 7 Neptune beat his lean-ribbed ass The braying sea uphill. |
| 1638 Ford Lady's Trial iii. i, Poor *lean-soul'd rogues. |
| 1686 Lond. Gaz. No. 2159/4 He is pretty tall, black hair, *lean-visag'd. |
| 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, ii. i. 115 A lunatike *leane-witted foole. |
B. n.
1. a. The lean part of anything; lean meat.
| c 1450 ME. Med. Bk. (Heinrich) 121 [T]ake a peece of salt beof, Þe lene, & noon of þe fat. 1598 Epulario C ij b, Take the leane of a legge of Veale. 16.. in Wood's Life (O.H.S.) II. 6 note, Some fat to my leane, John Haywood, I say some fat to my leane. 1670 Ray Prov. 211 Jack Sprat he loved no fat, and his wife she lov'd no lean: And yet betwixt them both, they lick't the platters clean. 1771 Goldsm. Haunch of Venison 4 The fat was so white and the lean was so ruddy. 1774 ― Nat. Hist. (1776) VI. 210 The lean, which they boil, is, in his opinion not inferior to beef. 1848 Chambers's Inform. People I. 730/1 The lean of bacon is rendered more difficult of digestion by the same process. |
b. The flesh adhering to the blubber of a whale.
| 1887 [see lean v.3]. 1888 W. T. Brannt Anim. & Veg. Fats & Oils 297 Any flesh, termed lean or fat lean, that may adhere to the horse pieces is cut off. |
2. Printing. † a. A thin part or stroke of a letter. b. ‘Among printers, ill-paid work’ (Ogilvie, 1882). Cf. fat n. 5 b.
| 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing ii. 92 V. Dijcks Pearl Dutch Letters..bear such true proportion..for the Thickness, Shape, Fats and Leans, as if with Compasses he could have measur'd..every particular Member. |
Add: [A.] [1.] f. Comm. Of a business, sector of the economy, etc.: rendered more efficient or competitive through the reduction of unnecessary costs or expenditure. Freq. in comparative, esp. in phr. leaner (and) fitter.
| 1983 Observer 6 Feb. 20/6 Industry was now leaner and fitter and in a much better position to compete. 1984 Times 19 Apr. 20/6 The British Printing & Communications Corporation has..emerged a stronger yet leaner enterprise. 1986 Richards & MacKenzie Railway Station 32 The use of new materials and new geometric shapes..implied a lean, fit, up-to-date industry. 1989 Independent 30 Oct. 23/3 In 1988, a leaner, fitter Thomson boasted profits of FFr.2.37bn and a pre-eminence in the field of defence systems manufacture and consumer electronics. 1991 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 7 Mar. 46/1 In a similar vein, leaner-and-meaner companies tell us they are avidly cutting costs. |
[7.] lean-burn a., designating, pertaining to, or having an engine designed to run on a lean mixture (see sense 4 f above) and so to cause less pollution.
| 1975 Chemical Week 9 Apr. 30/3 Chrysler plans to convert its largest cars to ‘lean-burn’ engines that don't require catalysts. 1984 Daily Tel. 7 Sept. 9/1 In future motor car engines should be based upon ‘lean burn’ technology. 1985 Sunday Tel. 16 June 33/3 Ford has an engine that is lean-burn to a certain degree in the new Granada 1800. 1986 Autocar 26 Nov. 78/4 The only truly lean-burn car on sale. 1990 C. Rose Dirty Man of Europe (1991) vi. 172 While lean burn engines produce lower quantities of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide, they reduce NOx by only about 50 per cent. |
▪ V. lean, v.1
(liːn)
Pa. tense and pple. leaned (liːnd), leant (lɛnt). Forms: 1 hleonian, hlinian, Northumb. (h)lin-, (h)lioniᵹa, 3 hlonen, leanen, leonien, 2–6 lene, 4 leone, leny(e, len, 4–5 lyne, 5 leene, le(y)nyn, 5–7 Sc. and north. lein(e, leyn(e, 6–7 leane, 6– lean. pa. tense. α. 1 hleonede, hlinode, Northumb. hlionade, -ede, 3 lende, 2–4 lened(e, 4 leonede, lynede, 4–6 Sc. lenyt, -it, 6–7 Sc. leynit, 6– leaned. β. 5 lente, 5–7 lente, 8 Sc. leint, 8– leant. pa. pple. 1 Northumb. ᵹehlionad, 3–4 lened; from 14th c. onwards as in pa. tense.
[ME. lēnen:—OE. hleonian, hlinian, corresponding to OFris. lena (cf. hlenbed sick-bed), OS. hlinôn (MDu. lēnen, Du. leunen), OHG. (h)linên (MHG. linen, lenen, mod.G. lehnen, whence Da. læne refl.), f. Teut. root *hlī̆- (ablaut- var. of *hlai-: see ladder):—OAryan *klī̆- represented in Gr. κλῖµαξ ladder, L. clīvus declivity, etc., Skr. {cced}ri to lean; the formation of the Teut. vb., with n suffix orig. belonging to the pres.-stem, is paralleled in Gr. κλίνειν to make to slope, L. inclīnāre to incline.
OE. had a causative hlǽnan to make to lean (occurring only once as simple vb. and once in each of the compounds up-áhlǽnan and bihlǽnan), corresponding to MDu. leinen, OHG. hleinen (MHG. leinen):—WGer. *hlainjan. If this verb survived into ME., it would assume the form lēnen, thus coalescing with hleonian. Whether the mod. vb. actually descends from both the OE. vbs. is doubtful, but in view of the rare occurrence of hlǽnan in OE. it seems more probable that only hleonian has come down; the development of transitive senses presents no difficulty.]
1. a. intr. To recline, lie down, rest. Obs. exc. Sc. in reflexive construction. † Formerly conjugated with the verb to be.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mark ii. 15 Moniᵹo bærsuniᵹo & synnfullo ætgeadre liniᵹiendo weron mið ðone hælende. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John xiii. 23 An þæra leorning-cnihta hlinode on þæs hælendes bearme. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 39 Ðe unwreste herde hloneð and slepeð. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. ix. 56 Vnder a lynde, vppon a launde leonede I a stounde. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xix. (Cristofore) 228 & scantly lenyt don he was, Quhen þe woyce on hym can cry. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 179 Lenynge on myn elbowe and my syde. c 1450 Merlin 168 He..yede towarde the loges where as the thre kynges were lenynge. 1486 Bk. St. Albans F vij b, An haare in her forme shulderyng or leenyng. 1503 Dunbar Thistle & Rose 100 This lady..leit him listly lene vpone hir kne. 1513 Douglas æneis viii. Prol. 2 As I lenyt in a ley in Lent this last nycht. 1693 Dryden Ovid's Met. i. 1012 She laid her down; and leaning on her knees, Invok'd the cause of all her miseries. 1721 Ramsay Yng. Laird & Edinb. Katy iii, Now and then we'll lean, And sport upo' the velvet fog. 1724 Vision iii, I leint me down to weip. 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xvi. 114 She ‘lean't her doon’. |
† b. Phr. to lean beside the (or one's) cushion: to miss the point, be beside the mark. (Cf. cushion n. 10 b.)
| 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 30 But this your consideration and purpose, (except I leane beside my cushing,) hath in it a certaine measure and meaning. Ibid. Epit. B j b, Thou leanest beside the cushing: for the epistle which thou meanest..is a president of an epistle Dehortatorie, and not an example of an epistle disuasorie. |
† c. Of things: To lie or rest on a surface. Obs.
| a 1000 Phœnix 25 (Gr.) Ne þær hleonað oo unsmeþes wiht. 1661 Boyle Examen iv. (1682) 28 A small drop of water or Quicksilver..when it leans upon a dry or greasie plain. |
2. a. To incline the body against an object for support; to support oneself on, against something; † formerly also const. to, till, up (= upon), by. to lean off something (colloq. in imperative): to cease to lean on. † to lean on the cushion (fig.): ? to assume the attitude or position of a preacher.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1610 He..saȝ..A leddre stonden..And ðe louerd ðor uppe a-buuen Lened ðoron. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6329 King edmond..lenede vp is sseld. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 309 A staf for to lyne too. c 1450 tr. De Imitatione ii. vii. 47 Truste not ner leene not upon a windy rede. c 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn xli. 153 She was lenyng vpon her wyndowe. 1530 Palsgr. 606/1, I leaned with my backe against an oke to rest me. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon xiv. 38 There was lenynge in wyndows ladys & damesels a grete nombre. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 167 Elks..who..sleep by leaning unto trees like Elephants. a 1628 F. Grevil Five Yrs. K. James (1643) 62 [Somerset] thought it no matter to leane on the Cushion in publique to check some of the Nobility; and amongst the rest to make a flat Breach with my Lord of Canterbury. 1671 Milton Samson 1632 To let him lean a while With both his arms on those two massie Pillars. c 1710 Prior Cupid in Ambush 2 Upon his arm, to let his mistress lean. 1727–46 Thomson Summer 721 Mid the central depth of blackening woods..Leans the huge elephant. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) V. 248 They have hard stiff tails, to lean upon when climbing. 1829 Marryat F. Mildmay ii, Lean off that gun. 1837 Dickens Pickw. vii, Let me lean on your arm. 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola xx, He..leaned against the wall. 1883 R. W. Dixon Mano iv. iii. 147 And ever on him leaned she lovingly, Staying on him her body's tender weight. |
b. with refl. pron.
| c 1220 Bestiary 634 A tre he sekeð..and leneð him trostl[i]ke ðer-bi. a 1225 Ancr. R. 252 (MS. T.) Ȝif þet ani weries, euchan leones him to oðer. a 1300 Cursor M. 1241 He lened him þan a-pon his hak. Ibid. 7805, I..fand Saul him lenand on his sper. c 1470 Henry Wallace vii. 67 Syne to the grece he lenyt him sobyrly. 1523 Skelton Garl. Laurel 17, I lent me to a stumpe Of an oke. 1597 Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 7, I lay and leynit me to ane bus To heir the birdis beir. |
c. transf. Of inanimate objects.
| c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 161 Þese .vij. boonys ben ioyned togidere in þis maner þat euery leeneþ vpon oþir. c 1425 Seven Sag. (P.) 2895 He wolde a toure rere Lenand to the mykyl toure. 1611 Bible Num. xxi. 15 At the streame of the brookes that..lieth [marg. Heb. leaneth] vpon the border of Moab. 1624 Wotton Archit. i. 46 That the Columnes may bee allowed somewhat aboue their ordinary length, because they leane vnto so good Supporters. 1764 Goldsm. Trav. 284 Where the broad ocean leans against the land. 1887 Ruskin Præterita II. 423 A burn..with a ledge or two of sandstone to drip over, or lean against in pools. |
d. Mil. to lean upon: to be close up to something serving as a protection.
| 1813 Examiner 7 June 354/2 The right of the enemy leaned upon fortified rising points. 1838 Thirlwall Greece IV. xxxiii. 303 Clearchus commanded the right wing, which leaned upon the river. |
e. To press upon; to lay emphasis upon.
| 1736 Ainsworth Lat. Dict. i. s.v. Horse, A horse that leaneth too hard on his bit. 1758 Ann. Reg. 22 The winter would lean heavier on the besiegers. 1883 Harper's Mag. Feb. 393 [The nickname] sounded awful enough when they leaned heavily on the first syllable. |
3. fig. † To trust to for support (obs.); to rely or depend on or upon. Also refl.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 142 Heo owun to beon of so holi liue þet al holi chirche..leonie & wreoðie upon ham. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xxii. 5 Þi stalworth help þat i len me till. c 1450 tr. De Imitatione iii. li. 123 Wherfore in euery iugement recourse owiþ to be had to me, & not to leyne to propre arbitrement. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 4 b, He sholde not lene to moche to his natural reason. 1577 Harrison England Pref. (1877) i. p. cix, As one leaning altogither vnto memorie. 1592 West 1st Pt. Symbol. §2 H, A simple or single Obligation is that which leaneth upon right onely. 1611 Bible Prov. iii. 5 Trust in the Lord..and leane not vnto thine owne vnderstanding. 1621 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) App. 235 Confes thy synnis..Vnto thy God..And till him leyne for euer mair. 1697 tr. Burgersdicius' Logic ii. viii. 31 The necessity of consecution, which we call'd the soul of syllogism, leans upon certain foundations and rules. 1736 Bolingbroke Study & Use Hist. v. (1752) I. 182 Christianity may lean on the civil and ecclesiastical power. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 148 While Clarendon was trying to lean on Rochester, Rochester was unable longer to support himself. 1869 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) III. xi. 55 It was on the tried friendship of that true man of God that Harold chose to lean. 1884 Daily News 11 Feb. 5/5 He could lean neither on the territory traversed nor on Khartoum for his supplies. |
4. a. To bend or incline in a particular direction (usually indicated by an adv. or advb. phr.). Const. from, over, towards; also with advs. back, out, † up. (Also in pass. in the same sense.)
| Beowulf 1415 (Gr.) Oþ þæt he..fyrᵹenbeamas ofer harne stan hleonian funde. a 1400–50 Alexander 1708 As he lenytt & lokett on hys forme. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 579 Oute of the bed gan she lene. c 1470 Golagros & Gaw. 1112 He lenyt vp in the place. 1530 Palsgr. 461/2, I bowe or leane out, as a clyffe of a hyll or a thynge that hangeth out⁓warde. c 1590 Marlowe Faust. (1604) D 1 b, Over the which foure stately bridges leane. 1700 Dryden Pal. & Arc. iii. 442 The gods came downward to behold the wars, Sharp'ning their sights, and leaning from their stars. 1715–20 Pope Iliad xi. 60 They..leaning from the clouds, expect the war. 1818 Leigh N. Pict. Lond. 303 The houses on each side [of London Bridge] overhung and leaned in a most terrific manner. 1821 Keats Isabella 23 He leant into the sunrise, o'er the balustrade. a 1839 L. E. Landon Poems (1844) II. 17 The spent stag on the grass is laid; And over him is leant a maid. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xii. 89 A cone of ice forty feet high leaned quite over our track. 1883 F. M. Crawford Dr. Claudius i, He leaned back in his..chair. |
| fig. 1640 tr. Verdere's Rom. of Rom. I. xvi. 69 A Knight..who..so furiously bestirred himself, that he made the advantage lean to that side. 1770 Goldsm. Des. Vill. 164 Ev'n his failings lean'd to virtue's side. |
b. To move or be situated obliquely; to incline; to swerve (aside); U.S. to ‘make tracks’.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xxxvi. (1495) 149 The sharpe ende of the herte lenyth inwarde to the breste. a 1400–50 Alexander 5069 Qua list þis lymit ouir-lende, lene to þe left hand. 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 47 Ye leane to the wrong shore. 1776–96 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) I. 287 Filaments 4, upright, 2 leaning to the same side. 1841 Catlin N. Amer. Ind. (1844) I. xiii. 98 Wraps his robe around him and ‘leans’ as fast as possible for home. 1883 Stevenson Treas. Isl. iv. xvi, The gigs had leaned to their right. 1894 P. Pinkerton Adriatica, Sulla Rocca, Asolo, It [my love] may not lean Aside, nor choose between Her own and lesser beauty. |
5. To incline or tend towards, to some quality or condition. Also, to have a tendency favourable to.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. iv. xi. (1495) 95 The colour of malencoly humour lynyth towarde blackenes. 1538 Starkey England i. iv. 121 Hyt [the sentence] leynyth to equyte and consyence. 1734 Pope Ess. Man iv. 40 There's not a blessing Individuals find, But some way leans and hearkens to the kind. 1771 Junius Lett. lix. 306 The form of the constitution leans rather more than enough to the popular branch. 1844 Ld. Brougham Brit. Const. i. (1862) 6 The Government leans towards Democracy. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xv. III. 549 His political opinions leaned towards Toryism. |
6. a. To incline or tend in thought, affection, or conduct; to be somewhat partial or favourable; to be inclined or disposed to or towards. † Also, to have an inclination or desire after.
| 1530 Palsgr. 396 He leaneth to moche to the orthographye of the latyne tonge. 1557 N. T. (Genev.) Matt. vi. 24 Or els he shal leane to the one, and despise the other. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 106 When you perceived the will of your..friend leaning another way. 1596 Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 613/1 They..delight rather to leane to theyr old customes and Brehoon lawes. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. iii. 124 Aristotle leanes to the contrary opinion. 1605 Verstegan Dec. Intell. i. (1628) 14 Such great men or commanders as some might leane vnto and follow. 1666 Bunyan Grace Abound. §289, I found my spirit leaned most after awakening and converting work. 1728 Newton Chronol. Amended i. 93 Thales..might lean a little to the opinion of former Astronomers. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 585 The townsmen had long leaned towards Presbyterian divinity and Whig politics. 1868 Gladstone Juv. Mundi v. (1869) 140, I lean to another explanation of the name. |
b. to lean against: to be unfavourable to, not to countenance. Chiefly legal.
| 1804 Castlereagh in Owen Wellesley's Desp. 258 The latter..leant to Tippoo and against us. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) II. 490 Which showed how strongly the Court had leaned against survivorship. 1826 Syd. Smith Wks. (1859) II. 117/1 If it be true, that Judges in cases of high treason are more liable to be influenced by the Crown, and to lean against the prisoner. 1884 Sir C. S. C. Bowen in Law Times Rep. I. 312/1 The courts lean against this interpretation. |
† c. To defer to an opinion. Obs.
| 1538 Starkey England ii. iii. 199 But I wold Wee schold in our reame gyue so much to hys [i.e. the Pope's] authoryte, leynyng therto as to the Jugement of God. 1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 12, I wyll omytte it: and leane to th' authoritie of the famous king, and grave Philosopher Alphonsus. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. i. i. 78 'Twere good, You lean'd vnto his Sentence, with what patience Your wisedome may informe you. |
d. to lean on (someone): to put pressure on (a person) in order to extract something from him or force him to do something against his will (see also quot. 1960).
| 1960 Wentworth & Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 315/1 Lean against, lean on... 2. To beat up someone; to threaten to beat up someone or a member of one's family in order to get information, to persuade someone to suppress information, or to extort money; to act or be tough with someone; to coerce. 1965 J. Porter Dover Three xv. 168 If you start leaning on her and you don't make the poison-pen business stick good and proper, she'll crucify you! 1967 K. Giles Death in Diamonds vii. 126 I'm going to lean on him until I get to know that contact. 1967 J. Morgan Involved 51 You were too much tonight..the way you leaned on Tuttles, that was really something. 1972 J. Brown Chancer vii. 101 Sandy Crump had been naughty, not telling me about Shag... I'd have to lean on him harder. 1975 N.Y. Times 3 Feb. 6/2 ‘An Attorney General would resign too if he thought he was being leaned on by the Prime Minister or senior ministers on a pending prosecution,’ a former Attorney General said. |
e. to lean over backwards: see backwards adv. A.
7. Transitive (causal) uses. a. To cause to lean or rest, to prop (against, etc.). Const. as in 2.
| 13.. Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 614/82 Bot Godes sone..His hed nou leoneþ on þornes tynde. c 1470 Henry Wallace xi. 573 His bow and suerd he lenyt till a tre. 1535 Coverdale Amos v. 19 He..leeneth his honde vpon the wall. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, ii. v. 43 Leane thine aged Back against mine Arme. 1611 ― Wint. T. i. ii. 285 Is whispering nothing? Is leaning Cheeke to Cheeke? 1680 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 212 Clasping the Blade of it in your Left Hand, lean it steddy upon the Rest. 1697 Dryden æneid x. 1188 His fainting Limbs against an Oak he leant. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho vi, He leaned his head on her shoulder. 1797–1809 Coleridge Three Graves iv. xviii, She tried to smile, and on his arm Mournfully leaned her head. 1812 Byron Ch. Har. ii. lii, The little shepherd..Doth lean his boyish form along the rock. 1842 Tennyson St. Sim. Styl. 213 Let him..lean a ladder on the shaft. |
| fig. 1603 Drayton Bar. Wars iii. lxxx, Whereon their low deiected state to leane. |
b. To cause to bend or incline.
| 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. xlii, In my hede I drewe ryght hastily, And eft-sones I lent It forth ageyne. 1631 A. Craig Pilgrime & H. 5 As I lent to my Lug, this well I heard. 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing xxii. ¶4 If his Lines were Hard Justified, he cannot perhaps with the first leaning the Letters back get them clear out of the Stick. 1727 Boyer Eng.-Fr. Dict. s.v., To lean one's Head backward, pencher le tête en arriere. 1844 Mrs. Browning Lady Geraldine's Courtship i, I would lean my spirit o'er you. 1887 Bowen Virg. æneid ii. 303, I..lean mine ear to the sounds of the air. |
Add: [4.] [a.] lean to one side: also used spec. (freq. attrib.) with reference to Mao Zedong's policy of favouring the Soviet Union over the West in his establishment of diplomatic relations after the Chinese Communist Revolution of 1949.
| [1950 tr. Mao Tse-Tung's People's Democratic Dictatorship 11 ‘You incline to one side.’ That is right. The forty years' experience of Sun Yat-sen and the twenty-eight years' experience of the Chinese Communist Party have convinced us that in order to attain victory and consolidate it we must incline to one side... The Chinese people must either incline toward the side of imperialism or toward that of socialism.] 1956 H. Wei tr. Mao-Tse-tung in China & Soviet Russia xiii. 264 ‘You lean to one side.’ Exactly. To lean to one side is the lesson taught us by..the twenty-eight years of experience of the Communist Party. 1960 Z. K. Brzezinski Soviet Bloc vi. 129 Mao Tse-tung..repeatedly stressed his belief that Chinese Communists..must pursue a ‘lean-to-one-side policy’. 1971 H. Trevelyan Worlds Apart x. 125 Mao's proclaimed policy was to ‘lean to one side’, though he was careful to maintain his balance. 1984 J. Green Newspeak 141/1 Prior to 1960 China traded almost exclusively with socialist countries, a process known as leaning to one side. |
▪ VI. † lean, v.2 Obs.
In 1 hlǽnian, 3 leanen, 5 lenen, lenyn.
[OE. hlǽnian, f. hlǽne lean a.]
a. intr. To become lean. b. trans. To make lean.
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. xiv. 87 Ne bið hit ðonne nohtes wan buton forhæfdnesse anre, ðæt he his lichoman suence & hlæniᵹe. Ibid. xliii. 313 Ðonne ðonne ðæt flæsc hlænað. c 1230 Hali Meid. 35 Þi rudi neb schal leanen & as gres grenen. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. Table Contents 4 Cap. viii of fastnynge a lene lyme, and to lenen a fat lyme. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 296/2 Lenyn, or make lene, macero. 1450–80 tr. Secreta Secret. 2 Of thing that leneth the body. 1616 T. Adams Dis. of Soul 23 The spirituall [dropsy]..though it leanes the carkasse, lards the conscience. |
▪ VII. lean, v.3 Whaling.
(liːn)
[f. lean a. and n.2]
trans. To cut away the ‘lean’ adhering to the blubber of a whale. Hence ˈleaning vbl. n., also with up.
| 1887 J. T. Brown in Fish. & Fish. Industr. U.S. V. Hist. & Meth. II. 278 The pieces of flesh and muscles or ‘lean’..are removed..with sharp knives... This process is called ‘leaning’. Ibid. 281 To sever the muscles or pieces of flesh that persist in binding the fat to the body... The..process is called..‘leaning up’. Ibid. 282 The mate remains and ‘leans’ the blubber from the carcass. |
▪ VIII. lean(e
obs. form of lain v., to conceal.