▪ I. † lure, n.1 Obs.
Forms: 1 lyre, 2–4 lere, 3 leore, 3–4 lire, 3–5 lure (y), (4 luere, lur).
[OE. lyre masc.:—OTeut. type *luzi-z, f. root *lus- (:leus- :laus-) to lose: see leese v.]
Loss, either the action or process of losing, or what is lost; destruction, perdition. Also to bring to lure, to lie in lure.
| c 1000 ælfric Colloq. in Wr.-Wülcker 96 Mid lyre ealra þinga minra. c 1150 Voc. ibid. 540/31 Iactura, lure. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 221 Þa wolde god ȝefyllan and ȝeinnian þone lere þe forloren was, of þan hefenlice werode. c 1200 Ormin 5667 Whatt mann se itt iss þatt wepeþþ her Forr lire off eorþlike ahhte. a 1250 Owl & Night. 1151 Thu singst aȝen eiȝte lure. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 10813 Him þoȝte it was a gret lere [C. lure] to al is kinedom. a 1327 in Rel. Ant. I. 263 On blac hors ryden other seon, That wol luere ant tuene buen. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 355, I am þe wakkest, I wot, and of wyt feblest, & lest lur of my lyf, quo laytes þe soþe. c 1400 Destr. Troy 2241 Ouer lukes all lures to the last ende, What wull falle. Ibid. 8691 Alasse, the losse and the lure of oure lefe prinse! |
▪ II. lure, n.2
(l(j)ʊə(r))
Also 5–6 leure, 6–7 lewre, 7 luer, lewer.
[a. OF. leurre, loerre, loire = Pr. loire, cogn. w. It. logoro bait; prob. of Teut. origin; cf. MHG. luoder, mod.G. luder bait.]
1. An apparatus used by falconers, to recall their hawks, constructed of a bunch of feathers, to which is attached a long cord or thong, and from the interstices of which, during its training, the hawk is fed. hawk of the lure: see hawk n.1 1.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 317/2 Lure for hawkys, lurale. 1530 Palsgr. 239/1 Leure for a hauke, levrre. 1575 Turberv. Faulconrie 146 Fasten a pullet unto your leure and goe apart. 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 1027 As Faulcons to the lure, away she flies. 1615 Latham Falconry (1633) Words of Art expl., Lver is that whereto Faulconers call their young Hawkes by casting it vp in the aire, being made of feathers and leather in such wise that in the motion it looks not vnlike a fowle. 1660 Act 12 Chas. II, c. 4 Rates Inwards..Lewers for Hawkes the peece js. iiiid. a 1682 Sir T. Browne Tracts 116 Though they [old Falconers] used Hoods, we have no clear description of them, and little account of their Lures. c 1704 Prior Henry & Emma 110 When Emma hawks: With her of tarsels and of lures he talks. 1814 Cary Dante, Inf. xvii. 123 As falcon, that hath long been on the wing, But lure nor bird hath seen. 1834 Spectator 1 Nov. 1036 The Duke of St. Albans has manned eight hawks, and their training with leash and crease and lure is now in actual progress. 1881 Macm. Mag. XLV. 39 First the hawk..is ‘called off’ to a piece of food held in the hand; next to a ‘lure’. |
b. The act or function of training the hawk to come to the lure. rare.
| 1615 Latham (title) Falconry; or the Faulcons Lure, and Cure. |
c. Phrases. to alight on the lure, to bring, call, come, stoop to (the or one's) lure, etc. Often fig. † Also at one's lure (fig.): at one's command, under one's control; so † to gain to one's lure.
| c 1386 Chaucer Friar's T. 42 This false theef,..Hadde alway bawdes redy to his hond, As any hauk to lure in Engelond. ― Manciple's Prol. 72 Another day he wole perauenture Reclayme thee, and brynge thee to lure. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 11 Bot yit hire liketh noght alyhte Upon no lure which I caste. 1430–40 Lydg. Bochas v. xxxiv. (1554) 141 b, After this.. Came Jugurtha y{supt} manly man to lure. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xxxiv. (Percy Soc.) 171 She promised..To love you best..Though that Disdayne brought her to her lure. 1582 T. Watson Centurie of Love xlvii, In time the Bull is brought to weare the yoake, In time all haggred Haukes will stoope the Lures. 1587 Golding De Mornay xi. 151 As much as thou canst, thou makest all things stoope to thy lure. 1599 T. M[oufet] Silkwormes 52, I leaue to tell how she doth poison cure,..What canckars hard and wolfes be at her lure. 1611 Markham Country Content. i. v. (1668) 30 After your Hawks are manned, you shall bring them to the Lure by easie degrees. 1643 Sir T. Browne Relig. Med. i. §10, I teach my haggard and unreclaimed Reason to stoope unto the lure of Faith. 1653 Holcroft Procopius i. 30 This mayd Antonina, by much soothing..at last gained to her lure. 1664 Butler Hud. ii. iii. 614 The Rosycrucian way's more sure To bring the Devil to the Lure. 1670 G. H. Hist. Cardinals ii. iii. 186 He brought the Venetian to his Luer. 1688 [see lure v. 2]. 1742 Somerville Field Sports 14 A docile Slave, Tam'd to the Lure, and careful to attend Her Master's Voice. 1819 Shelley Peter Bell vii. ii, A friend of ours—a poet: fewer Have fluttered tamer to the lure Than he. 1865 Swinburne Poems & Ball., Gard. Proserpine 76 Time stoops to no man's lure. |
2. Her. A conventional representation of a hawk's lure, consisting of two birds' wings with the points directed downwards, and joined above by a ring attached to a cord. in lure: see quot. 1828–40.
| 1572 J. Bossewell Armorie ii. 132 b, The fielde is de Azure, two winges iointly en Lewre de argent. 1610 J. Guillim Heraldry vi. i. (1660) 384 Three pair of Wings joyned in lewer. 1828–40 Berry Encycl. Her. I, Lure,..Wings conjoined with their tips turned downwards..are said to be in Lure. 1868 Cussans Her. (1883) 117. 1883 N. & Q. 23 June 484/2 Northern California..Argent, on a bend gules, cotised sable, three pairs of wings conjoined in lure of the field [etc.]. |
3. (orig. fig.) Something which allures, entices, or tempts.
| c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1371 Hypsip., Thou madest thyn recleyimyng and thyn luris To ladyes. c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 4140 He þat dispendith out of mesure Shal tast a-none pouertes bitternesse; ffoole largesse is ther-to a verray lure. 1528 Lyndesay Dreme 278 Off Lychorye thay wer the verray luris. 1635 R. Bolton Comf. Affl. Consc. 276 To hold out..as a prize and Lure, the freenesse of Gods immeasurable mercy. 1671 Milton P.R. ii. 194 How many have with a smile made small account Of beauty and her lures. 1747 Smollett Regicide i. i. (1777) 6 Remained unshaken by the enchanting lure Which vain ambition spread before his eye. 1815 Shelley Alastor 294 Silent death exposed, Faithless perhaps as sleep, a shadowy lure. a 1832 Mackintosh Rev. 1688, Wks. 1846 II. 89 Whether the succession was actually held out to her as a lure or not, at least there was an intention..to prefer her to the Princess of Orange. 1902 Contemp. Rev. Sept. 359 He is mighty hard on those who dare to tempt fortune and follow its lure. |
4. A means of alluring animals to be captured; in Angling a more general term than bait, which strictly denotes only something that fishes can eat.
| a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Lure,..a Bait. 1859 M. Lemon Christm. Hamper (1860) 86 The barber..whose bow-windowed shop..is full of lures for fish. 1867 F. Francis Angling v. (1880) 158 His line, guiltless of a lure, is extended on the surface of the water. 1878 Stevenson Inland Voy. 44 The kind of fish for which they set their lures. 1900 Blackw. Mag. Sept. 340/2 The aim of the angler should be to present them with something..different..from the lures with which they may have become familiar. |
¶ b. Erroneously used for: A trap or snare (fig.).
| 1463 G. Ashby Prisoner's Refl. 269 Poems (E.E.T.S.) 9 Was ther euyr lord so gret and so sure,..That may not fall in the snare and in the lure Of trouble. 1719 D'Urfey Pills (1872) IV. 269 And treacherously thou hast betrayed, Unto thy Lure a gentle Heart. 1870 Disraeli Lothair xlii, The Colonel fell into the lure only through his carelessness. 1872 Browning Fifine iii, At wink of eve be sure They love to steal a march, nor lightly risk the lure. |
5. The cry of a falconer recalling his hawk: fig. any alluring cry.
| 1653 Milton Hirelings (1659) 132 By that lure or loubel may be toald from parish to parish all the town over. 1811 W. R. Spencer Poems 199 Oh! where's thy guiding lure,—a mother's voice. |
6. attrib., as lure-bait, lure-bird, lure-fish, lure-owl.
| 1777 Hoole Comenius' Vis. World (ed. 12) 68 He allureth birds, by the chirping of lure-birds. 1869 Browning Ring & Bk. vii. 678 You are a coquette, A lure-owl posturing to attract birds. 1876 G. B. Goode Anim. Resources U.S. 41 Lure-fish used in taking Mackinaw trout. 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 195 Case of lure-baits and ornamented hooks from Alaska. |
▪ III. lure, n.3 Obs. exc. Sc.
(Caithness, Aberdeensh.: see E.D.D.)
[? Anomalous var. yure a., ON. j{uacu}gr.]
The udder of the cow and other animals.
| c 1500 Lacy Wyl Bucke's Test. (Copland) a iij, For the thrid course of the bucke. The potage Mogets and Nowmbleis stued,..bake dowcetts and tendreus, and the liuer rostid, and if it be a Doo take the lure. |
▪ IV. lure, n.4 techn.
(l(j)ʊə(r))
Also looer, lewer.
[Shortened from velure.]
A pad of silk or velvet used by hatters for smoothing.
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Lewer,..a hatter's name for a smoothing pad of silk, properly vellour from the French. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., Looer, Lure. |
▪ V. lure, n.5
(l(j)ʊə(r))
Also loor.
[ad. Da. and Norse lur, ON. l{uacu}ðr. Cf. Shetland looder-horn.]
A long curved trumpet, used for calling cattle.
| 1840 H. Martineau Feats on Fiord ix. (1841) 217 She..took in her hand her lure, with which to call home the cattle..and stole away. 1877 Burroughs Birds & Poets (1884) 162 At evening the cows are summoned home with a long horn, called the loor. |
▪ VI. lure, v.
(l(j)ʊə(r))
Also 6 leur, 6–7 lewre, 7 lewer.
[f. lure n.2; cf. F. leurrer (OF. loirrer).]
1. trans. To recall (a hawk) by casting the lure; to call (a hawk) to the lure.
| c 1386 Chaucer Wife's Prol. 415 With empty hand men may none haukes lure. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 215 Lewre falcones when ye list. 1601 Sir W. Cornwallis Ess. ii. xxxv. (1631) 88 A Faulkoner would not have lured it. 1611 Markham Country Content. i. v. (1668) 30 Short winged Hawks are said to be called, not lured. 1828 J. S. Sebright Hawking 17 The falconer..should always halloo when he is luring. |
2. intr. To call to a hawk while casting the lure.
| 1530 Palsgr. 616/1, I lure, as a falconer dothe for his haulke. 1575 Turberv. Faulconrie 147 Take the lewre..and cast it about your heade crying and leuring aloud. 1688 R. Holme Armoury ii. 239/2 Lure, or Lewer, or Lewre, is to call the Hawk to Lure. |
† b. To call loudly. Obs.
| 1601 Holland Pliny I. 239 This boy lured for him & called Simo. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 543 He standeth lewring and making a terrible noise to affright the Swine. 1626 Bacon Sylva §250 If you stand between a House, and a Hill, and lure towards the Hill. 1626 Jests Scogin (Hazl.) 65 At last Scogin did lewer and whoop to him [his horse]. |
† c. To call at contemptuously. Obs.
| 1693 J. H. in Dryden's Juvenal x. 5 He's mocked and lur'd at by the giddy Crowd. |
† 3. trans. To train (a hawk) to come to the lure.
| 1486 Bk. St. Albans D iv, Theys be hawkes of the towre: and ben both Ilurid to be calde and reclaymed. 1530 Palsgr. 616/1 Lure your haulke betyme I wolde advyse you. 1575 Turberv. Faulconrie 129 When you woulde lure him, giue him unto some other man to holde and call him with a lure well garnished with meate. |
4. To allure, entice, tempt.
| 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. viii. 44 Ich am nat lured with loue, bote ouht lygge vnder þombe. c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 3069 Only þe richesse þer-to hem lurith. 1447 O. Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 14 Hyr bewte sosore dede lure Hys herte. a 1547 Surrey in Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 219 But that your will is such to lure me to the trade As other some full many yeres to trace by craft ye made. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 664 In secret, riding through the Air she comes, Lur'd with the smell of infant blood. 1688 Crowne Darius ii. Dram. Wks. 1874 III. 406 Nay, Sir, but for a while, till he has lur'd Gods, and revolting nations to your aid. a 1763 Shenstone Elegies xxvi 27 Expense, and art, and toil, united strove; To lure a breast that felt the purest flame. 1825 J. Neal Bro. Jonathan III. 407 His dog had gone off it appeared; having been lured away. a 1839 Praed Poems (1864) I. 119 But go and lure the midnight cloud, Or chain the mist of morning. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xx. IV. 511 He had been lured into a snare by treachery. 1900 W. Watt Aberdeen & Banff x. 250 By a feint..Montrose lured away a large portion of the defending force. |
b. To entice to come down by a call.
| 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VI. 134 The ducks flying in the air are often lured down..by the loud voice of the mallard. |
† 5. intr. To set a trap for (another). fig. Obs.
| a 1591 H. Smith Serm. (1614) 423 Yet Paul lured for Agrippa. Now he sues to the people. When he had caught the king, he spred his net for the people. |
▪ VII. lure
obs. Sc. f. liefer, compar. of lief a., dear.
| 1728 Ramsay Tit for Tat 31 I'd lure be strung Up by the neck. |
▪ VIII. lure
str. pa. tense leese v.1; var. loor dial.