change

▪ I. change, n.
    (tʃeɪndʒ)
    Forms: 3–6 chaunge, 4 chonge, 4–6 chaynge, (5 chounge), 3, 6– change.
    [a. AF. chaunge, OF. change (= Pr. camge, camje, Sp. cange):— late L. cambi-um exchange (Laws of Lombards), f. cambīre, to change.]
    1. a. The act or fact of changing (see change v. 1, 2); substitution of one thing for another; succession of one thing in place of another.

1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 132 Change worþ of bischopriches, & þe digne sege y wys Worþ ybroȝt to Canterbury, þat at London now ys. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 195 Thus was there made a newe chaunge. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. (1714) 61 In the Realme of Fraunce was never chaunge of their Kyng..but by the Rebellions of such mighty Subgetts. 1473 J. Warkworth Chron. 11 Alle Englonde..hatyd hym, and were fulle gladde to have a chounge. 1553 Eden Treat. New Ind. (Arb.) 31 marg. note, Chaunge of ayre is daungerous. 1663 Cowley Verses & Ess. (1669) 136 No change of Consuls marks to him the year. 1716–8 Lady M. W. Montague Lett. I. xxix. 93 Everything I see seems to me a change of scene. 1733 Miss Kelly in Swift's Lett. (1768) IV. 47 For God's sake try the change of air. 1832 Prop. Reg. Instr. Cavalry iii. 46 Change of Position is when the Line moves altogether off its ground, at the same time advancing or retiring one of its flanks. 1853 Lytton My Novel (Hoppe) Said to have made a change for the better.

    b. Substitution of other conditions or circumstances, variety: esp. in colloq. phr. for a change.

1681 Dryden Sp. Friar Prol. 33 Our fathers did, for change, to France repair. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. (1698) I. xi. 314 Take 6 or 7 ripe Plantains..boil them instead of a Bag-pudding..this is a very good way for a change. 1842 Tennyson Walking to Mail 18 He..sick of home went overseas for change. 1876 Burnaby Ride Khiva xviii, Anything for a change..we are bored to death here.

    † c. ? A round in dancing. Obs.

1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 209 Then in our measure, vouchsafe but one change.

    d. spec. The passing from life; death.

1611 Bible Job xiv. 14 All the dayes of my appointed time will I waite, till my change come. 1741–3 Wesley Jrnl. (1749) 56, I went to my mother, and found her change was near..She was in her last conflict. 1859 Thackeray Virgin. lxxxiii, I fear, sir, your Aunt..is not in such a state of mind as will fit her very well for the change which is imminent.

    † e. to put the change upon: to deceive, mislead (a person); to make things appear to (him) other than they are. Obs.

1693 Congreve Double Deal. v. iv, I have put the change upon her, that she may be otherwise employed. 1705 Hickeringill Priest-cr. i. (1721) 51 He put the Change upon the unthinking Senate, and ordain'd a Presbyter or Elder in the room of every Parish-Priest. 1742 Jarvis Don Quix. ii. ii. ix. (D.) Those enchanters..are perpetually setting shapes before me as they really are, and presently putting the change upon me, and transforming them into whatever they please. 1821 Scott Kenilw. iii, You cannot put the change on me so easy as you think.

    f. Cricket. The substitution of one bowler or type of bowling for another in the course of a match; also, a change-bowler.

1828 G. T. Knight in W. Denison Cricket: Sk. Players 51 Each eleven..should contain at least four good bowlers, so that there may be..a change at each wicket. 1833 J. Nyren Young Cricketer's Tutor 64 We reckoned him a tolerably good change for bowling. 1912 J. B. Hobbs Recov. ‘Ashes’ 124 A double change was tried, Mr. Douglas and Woolley relieving the opening trundlers. 1955 Times 25 June 7/4 Our opening bowlers were a house decorator and a curate, and I was first change.

    g. Motoring. A change from one gear to another. So change-down, change-up (see change v. 6 d).

1912 [see gear-change s.v. gear n. IV]. 1936 R. Lehmann Weather in Streets i. ii. 58 The..car..drew away with its old familiar long-drawn rising moan..on the change-up. 1959 M. Platt Elem. Automobile Engin. (ed. 2) v. 85 Decreasing car speeds with a constant throttle opening will produce ‘down’ changes... The reverse of these conditions would produce a change ‘up’. 1964 I. Fleming You only live Twice xii. 147 The driver did a good racing change and pulled in.

    † 2. a. The act of giving and receiving reciprocally; exchange. in change: in exchange. Obs.

a 1300 Cursor M. 28820 If þou had lede, & hade nede For to haue gold ne wald þou bede For to ma [= make] chaunge. 1375 Barbour Bruce xix. 379 Of hym..chaynge wes maid For othir that men takyn had. c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 527 Took his herte in chaunge for myn. c 1400 Destr. Troy 7881 Þai..made a chaunge..of hor choise lordes, Toax..was turnyt to the grekes, For Antenor. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 155 Chaunge is no robry, but robry maketh chaunge. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado iv. i. 185 That I..Maintain'd the change of words with any creature. 1606 ― Tr. & Cr. iii. iii. 27 They will almost, Giue vs a Prince of blood..In change of him.

    † b. spec. Exchange of merchandise, commerce.

c 1400 Apol. Loll. 57 Þe auteris of Crist are maad þe bordis of chaungis bi couetous men. 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) I. Introd. 32 Ane riche toun..quhair sum time wes gret change, be repair of uncouth marchandis.

    3. A place where merchants meet for the transaction of business, an exchange. (Since 1800, erroneously treated as an abbreviation of Exchange, and written 'Change.) Now chiefly in phr. on 'Change, at the Exchange.

a 1400 Octouian 793 As he toward the chounge yode. 1614 T. Adams in Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. xii. 2 ‘A heart and a heart’; one for the church, another for the change. 1676 G. Etherege Man of Mode i. i, She saw you yesterday at the Change. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 386 ¶5 If such a Man comes from Change. 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. 336 It is powerful on Change. 1821 in Cobbett Rur. Rides (1885) I. 49 Old stock-jobbers..are gone hobbling to 'Change. 1860 Emerson Cond. Life, Fate Wks. (Bohn) II. 321 What good, honest, generous men at home, will be wolves and foxes on change! 1876 Green Short Hist. vii. (1881) 415 Grave merchants upon 'change.

    4. a. The act of changing (see change v. 6, 7); alteration in the state or quality of anything; the fact of becoming other than it was; variation, mutation.

a 1225 Ancr. R. 166 Worldliche þinges þet beoð, ase þe mone, euer ine chaunge. 1340 Ayenb. 104 He [God] is zoþliche..wiþ-oute enye chonge eure to yleste. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. iv. ix. (1495) 93 Flewme is able to be..chaunged in to blode, and whan the chaunge is full made, etc. c 1400 Rom. Rose 5441 Withoute chaunge or variaunce. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxvii. §11 A true change both of soul and body..from death to life. 1726 tr. Gregory's Astron. I. 311 Remarkable Changes that have happen'd among the Fix'd Stars. 1775 Sheridan St. Patr. Day ii. iv, Justice. Do you really see any change in me? Rosy. Change! never was man so altered. 1842 Tennyson Locksley Hall 182 Let the great world spin for ever down the ringing grooves of change. 1850 Lynch Theo. Trin. ii. 20 Growth is the reconcilement of permanence and change. 1858 J. Bennet Nutrition i. 26 Change, constant change, is the law of organic life. 1876 Green Short Hist. ii. §1 (1882) 61 The change in himself was as startling as the change in his policy.

    † b. spec. Changefulness, changing humour, caprice; ‘inconstancy, fickleness’ (Schmidt). Obs.

1600 Shakes. Sonn. xx, A woman's gentle heart, but not acquainted With shifting change. 1605 ― Lear i. i. 291 You see how full of changes his age is. 1611 ― Cymb i. vi. 115. 1675 Dryden Aurengz. i. i. 401 You bid me fear; in that your change I know.

    c. Mus. Variation; modulation.

1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iv. ii. 69 Harke, what fine change is in the Musique. 1880 Grove Dict. Mus. I. 332 Change, the word used as the short for change of key or modulation.

    d. change of life: (see quot. 1834); also attrib. and ellipt. (colloq.)

1834 J. M. Good Study Med. (ed. 4) IV. 54 note, When menstruation is about to cease, the period is called ‘the change or turn of life’. 1864 F. Churchill Dis. Women vi. 237 The period occupied by this ‘change of life’ ranges from two to four years, if not longer. 1934 S. Beckett More Pricks than Kicks 117 The mother was low-sized..admirably preserved though well past the change. 1946 J. Cary Moonlight xv. 112 Rose was in her change—she used to fly into fearful rages. 1949 M. Mead Male & Female xvi. 340 The old folk-phrase ‘change-of-life baby’. 1959 ‘Ed McBain’ Pusher x. 93 Meyer had been a change-of-life baby.

    e. change of heart: conversion to a different frame of mind.

1828 in Webster. 1853 J. Ruskin Let. Dec. in W. James Order of Release (1947) xiv. 213 She passes her days in melancholy, and nothing can help her but an entire change of heart. 1926 J. S. Huxley Ess. Pop. Sci. vii. 69 A ‘change of heart’ as regards the essential aims of life. Ibid. 70 In most men it seems theoretically possible to produce a ‘change of heart’—i.e. substitute new dominant ideas for old. 1940 ‘G. Orwell’ Inside the Whale 155 Lawrence..like Dickens..is a ‘change-of-heart’ man. 1960 Author LXXI. 119/1 A change of heart in high places would help.

    f. change of pace = sense 1 b. N. Amer.

1940 Time 4 Mar. 50/2 As a change of pace, a picture agency released a photograph of blank-faced Brenda Frazier showing some expression. 1962 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 29 Jan. 6/3 Mr. MacLeod might provide a badly needed change of pace.

    5. Of the moon: a. Properly, the passage from one ‘moon’ (i.e. monthly revolution) to another, the coming of the ‘new moon’; b. extended more or less widely to include also the attainment of ‘full moon’, and even of intermediate phases.

1393 Gower Conf. III. 109 Of flodes high and ebbes lowe, Upon his [the Moon's] chaunge it shall be knowe. 1604 Shakes. Oth. iii. iii. 178 To follow still the changes of the Moone With fresh suspitions. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. i. 10 A Rule to find the Change, Full, and Quarters of the Moon.. The 29th day of October is the day of her Change, or New Moon. 1844 H. H. Wilson Brit. India I. 551 Sacrificing at the change of every moon many victims, chiefly children, to the river Ganges. 1858 in Merc. Mar. Mag. V. 365 It is high water, full and change..at 10 h. 11 m. 1881 Harper's Mag. Nov. 810, I still have 'em [fits] once or twice a week sometimes, always with a change in the moon.

    6. That which is or may be substituted for another of the same kind; esp. in phrase change of raiment (apparel, etc.). (In this sense sometimes unchanged in the plural; see quot. 1611.)

1592 Greene Groatsw. Wit (1617) 9 Mistresse Lamilia, like a cunning Angler made readie her chaunge of baytes. 1611 Bible Lev. xxvii. 33 If he change it at all, then both it, and the change thereof, shall be holy. ― Judg. xiv. 12 Thirtie sheetes, and thirtie change of garments. 1815 Scribbleomania 141 Who, drench'd, ne'er catch cold, though without change of smickets. 1836 Dickens Sk. Boz (1866) 248 Four horses with clothes on—change for a coach. 1876 Burnaby Ride Khiva xxi, A change of clothes, a few instruments and my gun.

    7. a. Money of a lower denomination given in exchange for a larger coin, a bank-note, etc.; hence generally, coins of low denomination (often with adj. small); also coins of one currency given in exchange for those of another. b. The balance that remains over and is returned when anything is paid for by a piece of money greater than its price.

1622 Massinger, &c. Old Law v. i, Lysander. Your hat is too high-crowned. Gnotho. I do give him two crowns for't, and that's equal change all the world over. 1691 Locke Money Wks. 1727 II. 97 These in Change will answer all the Fractions between Sixpence and a Farthing. 1751 Johnson Rambl. No. 177 ¶7 He had just received in a handful of change, the piece that he had..been seeking. 1777 Sheridan Trip Scarb. i. i, Can you give me change for a guinea? 1840 Marryat Poor Jack iv, I'll..bring back your change all right. 1875 Jevons Money (1878) 25 Still used as small change. Mod. No change given. Passengers are requested to examine their tickets and change before leaving.

fig. 1864 Lowell Fireside Trav. 199 A poor Anglo-Saxon must..look twice at his small change of quarters and minutes.

    c. to make change (U.S.), to calculate and return the correct amount of change to a customer.

1865 G. A. H. Sala My Diary in Amer. I. xi. 237 ‘Making change’ is quite an art, and persons who can ‘make change’ in a store or restaurant are advertised for every day in the newspapers. 1904 ‘O. Henry’ in World Mag. 27 Mar. 10/4 At the cashier's desk sits Bogle... Behind a mountain of toothpicks he makes your change. 1931 W. Faulkner Sanctuary xxvii. 327 Promise to get the kid a newspaper grift when he's old enough to make change. 1978 S. Brill Teamsters iv. 124 The cash registers looked..out of date..compared to the sleek digital boxes to make change in the shopping malls that line the nearby highways.

    d. slang. Something given or taken in return. In such phrases as to give (a person) change, to do him a service; also ironically, to give him his deserts, ‘pay him out’; to take one's change out of, to take one's revenge on (a person), or for (a thing); take your change out of that! a slang expression when a ‘settler’ is given in the shape of either a repartee or a blow. So not to get any (or much) change out of: to get no return, result, or satisfaction from; to fail to get the better of (a person).

1830 Galt Lawrie T. iv. xi. (1849) 184 Take your change out of that! 1847 De Quincey Secret Soc. Wks. VI. 238, I should certainly have ‘taken my change’ out of the airs she continually gave herself. 1855 Thackeray Diary J. de la Pluche (Hoppe) Whenever I see him in a very public place, I take my change for my money. I digg him in the ribbs, or slap his padded old shoulders. 1864 Trollope Small House at Allington II. xxx. 312 ‘That's a bitter old lady.’..‘There ain't none of 'em get much change out of Mrs. Crump.’ 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. (Hoppe) If you showed me a B. I could so far give you change for it as to answer Boffin. 1869 Trollope He knew, etc. II. xcvii. 369 Old Barty said something..that wasn't intended to be kind... But he got no change out of her. 1888 Mrs. H. Ward R. Elsmere I. i. vi. 140, I just love..to hear her instructing other people in their own particular trades. She didn't get much change out of him. 1910 J. Buchan Prester John xii. 209 Still I said nothing. If the man had come to mock me, he would get no change out of David Crawford. 1954 J. Trench Dishonoured Bones ii. 62 She didn't get much change out of Charles.

    8. spec. in pl. † a. Math. The different orders in which a set or series of things can be arranged; permutations (obs.). b. Bell-ringing. The different orders in which a peal of bells may be rung.
    (The name has reference to a change from the ‘usual order’, viz. the diatonic scale, struck from the highest to the lowest bell; but in a wider sense, this is included as one of the changes; see Grove Dict. Mus. s.v.)

1669 Holder Elem. Speech (J.) Four bells admit twenty-four changes in ringing. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 462/2 In..Ringing Bells..Changes or Tunes [is] when they are rung to Immitate the airy sound of a Psalme or Song. 1751 Chambers Cycl., Changes in arithmetic, etc., the permutations or variations of any number of quantities; with regard to their position, order, etc. 1864 J. Ingelow Poems 140 O Boston bells! Ply all your changes.

    c. to ring the changes: (a) to go through all the changes in ringing a peal of bells; fig. to go through all the possible variations of any process; to repeat the same words, statements, etc., in various ways. (Constr. on, upon; now usually contemptuous.) (b) slang: see quot. 1786, 1874.

1614 T. Adams Devil's Banq. 331 Some ring the Changes of opinions. 1670 Eachard Cont. Clergy 62 They shall only ring you over a few changes upon the three words: crying, Faith, Hope and Charity; Hope, Faith and Charity; and so on. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull (1755) 36 A parcel of roaring bullies..ringing the changes on butcher's cleavers. 1786 Remark. Trials J. Shepherd 8 To initiate him into the art of what that gentleman stiled ringing the changes; that is, ingeniously substituting a worse for a better article, and decamping without a discovery. 1843 Southey Doctor lxxxvi. (D.) He could..have astounded him by ringing changes upon Almugea, Cazimi, etc. 1874 Slang Dict. s.v. Ring, ‘To ring the changes’ in low life means to change bad money for good.

    9. Hunting. Phr. to hunt change: see quots., and cf. counter adv. ? Obs.

1677 N. Cox Gentl. Recreat. i. (1706) 16 When the Hounds..take fresh scent, hunting another Chase..we say, they Hunt Change. 1704 Worlidge Dict. Rust. et Urb. s.v. Buck-Hunting, To have a care of Hunting Counter or Change, because of the plenty of Fallow Deer that use to come more directly upon the Hounds, than the red Deer doth. 1721–1800 Bailey, Change (among Hunters is when a Buck, etc., met by Chance, is taken for that they were in pursuit of.

    † 10. Surveying. (See quot.) Obs.

1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. ii. v. i. §2. 4 Provide ten small sticks..at the end of every one of those Chains, stick one of these..into the Ground, which let him that followeth take up..These Ten Chains if the distance be large, you call a Change, and so you may denominate every large distance by Changes, Chains and Links.

    11. Sc. An ale-house; = change-house.

c 1730 Burt Lett. N. Scotl. (1818) I. 68 A gentleman that keeps a Change..They call an alehouse a change.

    12. Comb. and attrib. a. Comb., as change-day, change-time (sense 5), change-ringer, change-ringing (sense 8 b), change-keeper (sense 11); change-of-address attrib.; change agent, one who initiates a movement toward social change in a group; Change Alley, a narrow street in London, scene of the gambling in South Sea and other stocks (see alley); change-broker = exchange broker; change gear, gearing by which changes may be made in the relative number of turns per minute for the driving or driven shafts of lathes and similar machines; change-giving, the giving of change (sense 7 b); also attrib.; change key, one adapted for opening only one set of locks, as distinguished from a master key; change lever = change-speed lever; change purse, a purse for small change; change-ratio (see quot.); change-speed, a mechanism for effecting a change of gear and thereby increasing or decreasing the speed of a cycle, motor-car, etc.; also attrib., as change-speed gear, change-speed lever, etc.; change-wheel (see quot.). See also change-house.

1959 C. P. Loomis in Rural Sociol. XXIV. 383 Directed social change is consciously brought about by an actor or social system representative who for convenience may be designated as the *change agent. 1971 Mod. Law Rev. XXXIV. 644 The absorption of new recruits who will act as change-agents, socialising the senior members of the [legal] profession and themselves gradually seeping into positions of authority and responsibility. 1983 Underground Grammarian Apr. 3/2 It offers golden opportunities for academies of educationism, administrative bureaucracies,..even guidance counsellors and change-agents.

1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. vi. v, Poor sub-lieutenant Duhamel, innocent *Change-broker.

1633 T. James Voy. 18 It flowes on the *change day, about a eleuen a clocke.

1908 Daily Chron. 16 May 1/6 The *change-giving rostrums were in working order. 1963 Rep. Comm. Inquiry Decimal Curr. i. 12 Their introduction [vulgar fractions]..probably makes mental calculations and change-giving slower. Ibid. ix. 229 The change-giving operations..were conducted at a more rapid tempo.

1752 in Scots. Mag. (1753) July 338/1 Duncan Campbell *changekeeper.

1908 Daily Chron. 14 Nov. 8/6 This..gear is now equipped with a *change-lever.

1950 ‘S. Ransome’ Deadly Miss Ashley viii. 84 Miss Ashley had left a *change-of-address card with the branch post office.

1911 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 19 Apr. 24/1 The Newest Square Shaped Bag, with plain brass frames, solid leather, plain silk lining, with *change purse. 1967 ‘D. Shannon’ Chance to Kill (1968) xv. 218 An old-fashioned change purse, with double compartments.

1883 A. Grey in Nature XXVII. 320 The multiplier..or *change-ratio as it has been called by Professor James Thompson, is..the number of the new units of velocity equivalent to one of the old units.

1884 Athenæum 18 Oct. 501/3 The *change-ringers have done far more evil than revolution and bigotry combined.

1872 Ellacombe Bells of Ch. iii. 31 *Change-ringing is pre-eminently [an art]..which exercises the mind and body at the same time.

1902 Edge & Jarrott in A. C. Harmsworth et al. Motors xv. 324 The *change-speed lever is on the right hand. 1904 A. B. F. Young Compl. Motorist iii. 60 The change-speed gear in its simplest and commonest form. 1907 Daily Chron. 17 Aug. 7/5 For the next [cycle] tour that I make in company I shall insist on all machines being fitted with the useful change-speed. Ibid. 11 Nov. 7/3 When the change-speed lever is pushed away from the driver, the jaw clutch engages the low gear wheels. 1922 Times 20 June 8/5 The change-speed lever provides four forward positions.., a neutral and a reverse.

1874 Knight Dict. Mech. I. 526 *Change-wheels, having varying numbers of cogs of the same pitch, are used to connect the main arbor of the lathe with the feed-screw. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 266/1 The screw is driven by means of..change-wheels from the end of the lathe-spindle.

    b. attrib. in sense ‘taking the place of another, acting as substitute, exchange-, vice-’. change-bowler Cricket, a bowler who relieves the regular bowlers in a match (cf. 1 f).

1833 J. Nyren Young Cricketers' Tutor 58 The two principal bowlers..were Thomas Brett and Richard Nyren..; the corps de reserve, or change-bowlers, were Barber and Hogsflesh. 1875 ‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Sports i. ii. i. §3. 147 The change-horses being better at the regular hunt-stable. 1884 Bp. of Chichester in Times 20 Aug. 5 To keep a book..in which the name of every change-preacher should be entered. 1886 Daily News 22 July 5/1 Mr. Bonnor and Mr. Jones are also very useful change bowlers. 1903 Wodehouse Prefect's Uncle xv. 214 He was essentially a change bowler.

▪ II. change, v.
    (tʃeɪndʒ)
    Forms: 3–4 chaungen, chaungi, 3 changen, changi, 3–7 chaunge, 4 schaungen, chawnge, chong, chongi, 5 chonge, chawngyn, chaunch, 6 chaung, chaundge, chaynge, ? chonch, 3– change.
    [ME. change-n, a. OF. change-r (= Pr. camjar, cambiar, Sp. cangear, cambiar, It. cangiare, cambiāre):—late L. cambiāre (in Salic Law, etc.), f. cambi-um exchange; used for cl. L. cambīre to barter, exchange: perh. cognate with Gr. καµπ- to bend, turn, turn back.]
    1. a. trans. To put or take another (or others) instead of; to substitute another (or others) for, replace by another (or others); to give up in exchange for something else.
    (Here (but not in 1 b) the ‘something else’ is almost always of the same kind as the thing it replaces.)

c 1230 Hali Meid. 7 Þat tu naldes chaungen þat tu liuest in for to beo cwen icrunet. a 1300 Cursor M. 29410 He chaunges crun or wede. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1003 In þis werld es bothe wele and wa, Þat es ofte chaunged to and fra. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 109 He shall his place chaunge And seche many londes straunge. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 125 The same herbes..were sent to the Kinges closid and sealled with their sealles, to thentent that they shulde not be chaunged. 1581 Mulcaster Positions xli. (1887) 250 Which for a better liuing will chaung his colledge. 1603 Drayton Bar. Warres iv. xxxiv, Changing the Clyme, thou couldst not change thy Care. 1611 Bible Gen. xli. 14 He shaued himselfe, and changed his raiment. 1737 Pope Hor. Epist. i. i. 155 They change their weekly barber, weekly news. 1805 A. Duncan Mariner's Chron. III. 197 When I had changed my things, and taken my tea.

    b. with for (with obs.) before the thing put or taken in exchange. (Now usually exchange.)

1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 548 Mani on stilleliche hor armes a wei caste, & chaungede hom vor herigaus. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1233 And swore so depe to..chaunge hire for no newe. c 1400 Destr. Troy 7589 He may be chaungit..for sum choise other, þat is takon of Troy. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. ii. ii. 114 Who will not change a Rauen for a Doue? 1599 ― Hen. V, iii. vii. 12, I will not change my Horse with any that treades but on foure postures. 1704 Pope Windsor For. 234 Where Jove..Might change Olympus for a nobler hill. a 1875 Monsell Hymn, ‘When I had wandered’ iii, I..changed my hopes for fears.

    c. spec. To give or procure money of another kind (e.g. foreign or smaller coin) in exchange for money of some defined kind or amount.

1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xvi. 129 [Ihesus] caste adown her stalles, þat..chaungeden any moneye. a 1745 Swift (J.) A shopkeeper might be able to change a guinea..when a customer comes for a crown's worth of goods. 1826 Scott Diary in Lockhart (1839) VIII. 382 When we change a guinea, the shillings escape as things of small account. 1876 Burnaby Ride Khiva xii, The Commercial Bank would change my English gold.

    d. to change oneself: i.e. one's clothes. So to change one's feet; i.e. one's shoes or other covering for the feet (now only Sc.). Also, to put fresh clothes on (a person); spec. to change a baby's napkin.

c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 260 Than the kyng entred into a lytel chaumbre, and there dyd chaunge him. c 1590 Marlowe Jew Malta iv. v, I change myself twice a-day. 1861 Ramsay Remin. v. (ed. 18) 118 She did not change her feet when she came in from the wet. 1922 D. H. Lawrence England, My England 23 Joyce, you must be patient. I'm just changing Annabel. 1936 W. Holtby South Riding v. i. 275 That baby needs changing. 1958 C. Fremlin Hours before Dawn vii. 59 There hadn't been time to give Michael his orange juice, or change him.

    e. intr. To change one's clothes. Also ellipt., to change into evening dress. colloq.

1470 Malory Arthur xvii. xvi. (1947) II. 1017 A jantill⁓woman..brought hym a shirte of small lynen clothe; but he chaunged nat there. 1817 Coleridge Biog. Lit. (1847) II. 350 After dinner I..washed and changed. 1928 D. L. Sayers Unpleasantness at Bellona Club xxi. 266 Bunter..was..in attendance with his master's dress clothes. Having changed, Wimsey passed through the hall again. 1945 J. B. Priestley Three Men in New Suits ii. 20 You won't have to dress, though, because he..doesn't bother changing. 1946 ‘S. Russell’ To Bed with Grand Music vi. 83, I simply must have a bath and change. 1948 O. Lancaster in Signs of Times (1961) 52 How does one entertain Americans?—If one gives them Spam and doesn't change, we're a down-at-heel, C3 nation. 1954 A. S. C. Ross in Neuphilologische Mitteilungen LV. 44 A sentence Shall we wear evening dress? would not be possible, the appropriate expression being Are we going to change? 1970 D. Halliday Dolly & Cookie Bird iii. 23 On Ibiza, the Lloyds don't wear DJs except for a party, though of course everyone changes.

    2. a. Often with plural object, in sense: To substitute one thing for another of the same kind; to quit one and take another.
    Thus to change hands, to pass from one hand to another, from one person's possession to another's; to change sides, to go over from one side to the other; to change carriages (e.g. on a railway). (Rarely with obj. in sing. as † to change the hand (obs.), to change one's side; these cases belong properly to 1.)

1670 Cotton Espernon iii. x. 529 The place however only chang'd the hand without going out of the Family. 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. 435 Their weak heads..'Twixt sense and nonsense daily change their side. 1715 Desaguliers Fires Impr. 22 If you change ends, still the Air will rush out at the upper end. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. ii. §2 Money changeth hands. 1755 Game at Cricket 7 The Bowler..shall bowl to the Number of Four [balls] before he changes wickets. 1884 Times (weekly ed.) 1 Feb. 5/3 The Simla..after changing owners, was converted into a sailing ship. Mod. Passengers by these trains change carriages at Didcot.

    b. intr. or ellipt. To change carriages on a railway, boats on a river, etc.

18.. Tyneside Song, Ye mun change here for Jarrow. Mod. Passengers for Cambridge change at Bletchley. All change here, please!

    3. a. trans. To give and receive reciprocally, exchange, interchange. (For this exchange is now the ordinary prose word, but change is still in dial., arch., and poet. use, and in ‘change places’, and the like.)
    Const. A and B change places, A changes places with B.

a 1300 K. Horn 1052 Quaþ horn..We schulle chaungi wede. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 238 Will you vouchsafe with me to change a word? 1592 ― Rom. & Jul. iii. v. 31 Some say, the Larke and loathed Toad change eyes. 1600 ― A.Y.L. i. iii. 93 Wilt thou change Fathers? I will giue thee mine. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks, After they had changed a few bullets [they] boarded a tall ship of the Turkes. a 1648 Ld. Herbert Life (1826) 172 Purposing to change a pistol-shot or two with the first I met. a 1763 Shenstone Wks. (1764) I. 45 Forbid by fate to change one transient glance! 1820 Scott Monast. iii, Her attendants changed expressive looks with each other. 1842 Tennyson Dora 42 If you..change a word with her he calls his wife. 1864 Blackw. Mag. XCV. 764 (Hoppe) Do you believe that the æsculapius would change places with him? 1870 Daily News 16 Apr., Whose owner..by ‘changing works’, as the exchange of labour is called, does as much for his neighbours.

    † b. To exchange (a thing) with (a person).
    (Here the thing given is the sole object, that received being understood to be the corresponding thing in relation to the other person or party. The construction is thus a mixture of 1 and 3.)

c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. xxix, I scorn to change my state with kings. 1604 ― Oth. i. iii. 317, I would change my Humanity with a Baboone. 1651 Jer. Taylor Holy Living (J.), Those thousands, with whom thou wouldst not..change thy fortune and condition.

    † 4. To give or bestow in exchange. Obs. rare.

1609 Bible (Douay) 1 Sam. x. 9 God changed unto him another hart.

    5. intr. To make an exchange. † a. with for (also with) before the thing given.

1567 J. Maplet Gr. Forest 13 b, In Indie, saith Isidore, there is neyther Lead nor Brasse of his owne, therefore it chaungeth for his owne Marchandise (as with Gemmes and Margarets). a 1637 B. Jonson ‘Drink to me only’, But might I of Jove's nectar sip I would not change for thine.

    b. with for before the thing taken in exchange.

1604 Shakes. Oth. i. iii. 356 It cannot be long that Desdemona should continue her loue to the Moore..She must change for youth. [But the sense may be different.] 1608 ― Per. iv. vi. 174 Thou hold'st a place, for which the pained'st fiend Of hell would not in reputation change.

    c. with with before the person, as in 3.

1805 Southey Madoc in W. xvii, Ere we part change with me.

    6. a. trans. To make (a thing) other than it was; to render different, alter, modify, transmute.

a 1225 St. Marher. 3 Olibrius..changede his chere. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 14 He ne myȝte hire herte change, þat heo to sore ne drow. c 1300 Beket 258 He gan to changi al his lyf: and his manere also. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 68 His forme he chaungeth sodeinly. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. clii. 181 He changed his countenance. 1583 Babington Commandm. v. (1637) 42 So times are changed to and fro, and chaunging times have chaunged us too. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxvi. 145 No errour of a subordinate Judge, can change the Law. 1790 Paley Horæ Paul. Rom. i. 9 He so far changed his purpose as to go back through Macedonia. 1876 Green Short Hist. vii. §8 (1882) 430 A series of victories which..changed the political aspect of the world.

    b. With into or to: To turn or convert into.

c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 1258 Þat sumtyme wer gentyle, Now ar chaunged to chorles. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. iii. xiv. 58 The vertue that tornyth and chaungyth the substaunce of the sede in to the substance of al the partyes of the plante. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. v. i. 126 Cambio is chang'd into Lucentio. 1611 Bible Ps. cvi. 20 They changed their glory, into the similitude of an oxe. 1712–4 Pope Rape Lock iii. 123 Chang'd to a bird, and sent to flit in air. 1833 Tennyson Lady Clara Vere de Vere vi, You changed a wholesome heart to gall. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 48 They would change the patriarchal or dynastic form into aristocracy or monarchy.

    c. To turn from the natural or proper state; to render acid or tainted; as, the wine is changed; thunder and lightning are said to change (or turn) milk. (colloq. or dial.)
    d. to change up, change down, to engage a higher, lower, gear in a motor vehicle. Also to change (to a higher, lower) gear.

1902 A. C. Harmsworth Motors xv. 327 Change to a lower gear at once. 1904 A. B. F. Young Compl. Motorist iii. 64 All that is necessary in changing gear is to move the lever which tightens a band on one of the friction drums and locks it. 1933 P. Macdonald Myst. Dead Police i. 7 The police car..was changed down miraculously just before the turning. 1939 L. MacNeice Autumn Jrnl. v. 25 A car..accelerates, changes Up, having just changed down. 1942 Autocar: Motor Driving made Easy (ed. 7) iii. 29 The time has come to ‘change down’. 1953 E. Hawks Cassell Book of Austin A 40 (ed. 2) ii. 35 In changing down from top to third, and third to second, proceed as follows. 1962 J. Braine Life at Top ii. 38, I changed down into second; then changed up again.

    7. a. intr. (for refl.) To become different, undergo alteration, alter, vary.

c 1275 Lay. 3791 Þo changede [1205 twineden] hire þonkes. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 148 On þe fifte day changed þer wynde. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 779 Tho chaungen gan here colour in here face. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cxxx. 156 When the french kyng sawe the englysshmen, his blode chaunged. 1578 Lyte Dodoens iii. lxxxviii. 441 The flowers be..of an incarnate..colour changing upon blewe. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. ii. ii. 96 Their mindes may change. 1611 Bible Malachi iii. 6, I am the Lord, I change not. 1632 Rutherford Lett. xxiii. (1862) I. 90 Ye have not changed upon, nor wearied of your sweet Master, Christ. 1712–4 Pope Rape Lock ii. 68 Colours that change whene'er they wave their wings. 1830 Tennyson Poems 91 Nothing will die; All things will change.

    b. To turn into or to something else.

a 1300 Floriz & Bl. 306 Ha..Chaungeþ fram water into blod. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iv. v. 88 Our solemne Hymnes, to sullen Dyrges change. 1601 ― All's Well iv. iii. 5 He chang'd almost into another man. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. liv. 16 And every winter change to spring.

    † c. With complemental adj.: To become, turn. Obs. rare.

1660 Sharrock Vegetables 128 Endive..by this means will change whitish.

    d. Of the moon: (a) To pass through her various phases. (b) To pass from one monthly revolution to another, pass through the phase of ‘new moon’; sometimes extended to ‘full moon’, and intermediate phases. Cf. change n. 5.

c 1400 Rom. Rose 5336 It shal chaungen..as the moone. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xviii. 83 The minde of men chaungeth as the mone. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. ii. 110 The Moone..That monethly changes in her circled Orbe. 1693 W. Robertson Phraseol. Gen. 322 The moon changeth; Luna coit, vel novatur. 1881 Harper's Mag. Nov. 810 When the moon changes, I have the fits.

    † e. spec. To change countenance; to turn pale, blush, etc. Obs.

1599 Shakes. Much Ado v. i. 140 He changes more and more, I thinke he be angrie indeede. ― Hen. V, ii. ii. 73 Looke ye how they change: Their cheekes are paper. 1611 ― Cymb. i. vi. 12 Change you, Madam?

    f. spec. To turn sour or acid, become tainted; to ‘turn’. (colloq. or dial.)
    8. a. trans. To shift, transfer (from one place to another).

c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 131 From feble lande eke chaunge hem yf thou mowe: For man and tree from feble lande to goode Who can and wol not chaunge I holde him woode. 1843 Lever Jack Hinton xxx, He changed all the splints and bandages to the sound leg.

    b. intr. To remove to another place or into other circumstances; to be shifted or transferred. (rare; occas. colloq. with about, over, etc.)

c 1360 Song of Yesterd. 33 in E.E.P. (1862) 134 Hit [worldly bliss] schaungeþ so oft and so sodeynly, To day is here, to morwe a way. 1426 Pol. Poems (1859) II. 134 To forein blode that it not ne choinge, The crowne to put in non hondis straunge. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 155 When trewe mens money, chaungth into theeues purses. 1574 tr. Littleton's Tenures 119 a, If a person or a vicar..dieth or chaungeth. 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. (Hoppe) To let us change and change about.

    9. Phrases. [In some of these it is uncertain whether the verb was originally transitive or intransitive.] to change arms: (Mil.) to shift the rifle from one shoulder to the other. to change colour or change hue: to become altered in colour; spec. of persons, to turn pale, blush, etc. (cf. colour). † to change (one's) copy: to change or alter one's style, manner, character. † to change countenance or change face (obs.) = to change colour. to change foot: † (a) to change sides, play the turncoat (obs.); (b) (also to change feet.) = to change step. to change front: (orig. Mil.) to face in another direction, to alter one's direction of standing or marching; usually fig. to change hands: see 2. to change hand, or change a horse (Horsemanship): see quot. † to change one's life (obs. rare): to die. to change one's mind: to alter one's opinion or purpose (see mind). to change one's note or tune: to alter one's manner of speaking, to speak more respectfully, to change from laughter to tears (colloq.). to change sides: see 2. to change step: to alter the cadence of the steps in marching so that each foot falls at the instant the other would have fallen. to chop and change: see chop v.²

1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccccl. 795 With those wordes the duke a lytell chaunged *colour. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 192 Change you colour? 1634 Brereton Trav. (1844) 5 Mr. Thatcher..was so apprehensive of the danger, that he changed colours. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. §11. 72 One large star..changed colour incessantly.

1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. cxiii. [cix.] 327 Chaunge your *copye, so that we haue no cause to renewe our yuell wylles agaynste you. 1605 Camden Rem. 190, I shall change copie from a Duke to a King. 1640 G. Watts tr. Bacon's Adv. Learn. 374 Howsoever we change Copy, we are embased..thereby.

1637 Heywood Royall King Wks. 1874 VI. 22 Why, to change *face They say in modest maides are signes of grace.

a 1619 Daniel Coll. Hist. Eng. 153 Glocester..conceiving his turning, not so to serve his turne, as he expected..againe changed *foote. 1833 Reg. Instr. Cavalry i. 18 Change Feet..This may be required of a man who is stepping with a different foot from the rest.

1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v., To change a *horse, or change *hand, is to turn or beat the horse's head from one hand to the other, from the right to the left, or from the left to the right.

c 1340 Cursor M. 4210 (Trin.) Soone bigon he chaunge *hew.

1546 Langley Pol. Verg. De Invent. iv. i. 83 a, At y⊇ same time Marye the Vyrgyne..did chaunge her *life.

1611 Bible Hebr. xii. 17 Hee found no place of repentance [marg. way to change his *minde]. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones vii. viii, Mrs. Western had changed her mind on the very point of departure. 1885 Sir H. Cotton in Law Times LXXX. 136/1 The lady..afterwards changed her mind and wished to take it back.

1708 Motteux Rabelais v. ix, I'll make him change his *Note presently.

1578 Scot. Poems 16th C. (1801) II. 185 Priestes change your *tune.

1853 Lytton My Novel (Hoppe), You must not suppose..that I can change and *chop my politics for my own purpose.

Oxford English Dictionary