▪ I. halse, hals, n.
Now Sc. and north. dial. hause, hawse (hɔːs). Forms: 1 hals, heals, 3 Orm. halls, 4–7 hals(e, (4 halce, 6 halsz, halss, hawes, heylis, 7 hose), 7–9 hause, hass(e, 8–9 hawse.
[Com. Teut.: OE. hals, heals = OFris., OS., OHG., ON. hals:—OTeut. *holso-z:—pre-Teut. *kolsos: cf. L. collum, earlier collus, from *colsus.]
1. The neck.
| a 1000 Cædmon's Gen. 385 Mid þy me god hafað ᵹehæfted be þam healse. c 1200 Ormin 4777 Side, & halls, & hæfedd. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 279 Þe Scottis be alle schent, & hanged bi þe hals. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. Prol. 170 To..Knitten on a colere..And hangen it vp-on þe cattes hals. c 1422 Hoccleve Jereslaus' Wife 712 Hire þat from the roope kepte his hals. 1575 J. Still Gamm. Gurton v. ii. in Hazl. Dodsley III. 240 Many a truer man than he has hanged up by the halse. a 1605 Montgomerie Poems xxxv. 45 Hir halse more vhyt Nor I can wryt. 1616 Bullokar Eng. Expos., Halse [Obs.], a necke. 1825 Brockett N.C. Gloss., Hause, the neck. A very old word. 1893 Northumbld. Gloss., Hass, Hause, the neck, the throat. |
2. The throat, gullet.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 224/1 Hals, or halce, throte, guttur. c 1440 Bone Flor. 1474 Hyt stekyth in my hals, I may not gete hyt downe. 1572 Satir. Poems Reform. xxxviii. 34 With baitis in our hals. 1697 W. Cleland Exped. Highland-host 448 Poems 22 He got of Beer a full bowl Glass, which got bad passage at his Hasse. 1819 J. Hodgson in J. Raine Mem. (1857) I. 241 His words stuck in his hause. 1855 Robinson Whitby Gloss., Hause, the throat. |
† 3. transf. A narrow neck of land or channel of water. Obs.
[Cf. The ‘Hawse Inn’ at South Queensferry.]
| c 1470 Henry Wallace vii. 808 Throuch out the moss delyuerly thai ȝeid; Syne tuk the hals, quharoff thai had most dreid. 1513 Douglas æneis i. iv. 8 Ane havin place with ane lang hals or entre. 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) I. p. xxvii, Nidisdail..beginnis with ane narow and strait hals. |
4. A narrower and lower part of a line of hills, joining two heights; a col: in the form hause, q.v.
† 5. Phr. to hold in hals, to flatter, beguile, delude with false professions. Obs.
| c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xxiii. 23 Hir fenȝeit wordis..held me in the hals. 1583 Satir. Poems Reform. xlv. 783 With mony flattering taill and fals He held that bischop in the hals. 1616 Hart Pref. to Barbour's Bruce (1620) 14 (Jam.) Edward had..long time holden them in the hals, upon vain hope of the kindgdome. |
6. attrib. and Comb. Of or pertaining to the neck, as halse-bone (halse bane), halse-riband; † hals-man, executioner, headsman; hawslock, hasslock, the wool on the neck of a sheep.
| 1794 Ritson's Scott. Songs I. 50 (Jam.) There's gowd in your garters, Marion; And silk on your white *hauss-bane. 1818 Carlyle Early Lett. (Norton) I. 148 Tell him..to write instanter if he wish his head to continue above his hass-bone. |
| 1725 Ramsay Gent. Sheph. i. i, A tartan plaid spun o' good *hawslock woo. 1820 Blackw. Mag. VI. 664 Card them through each other like black wool and white hawslock. |
| a 1659 Cleveland Scots Apostacy ii. 14 Do Execution like the *Hals-man's Sword. |
Hence † halsed a., having a neck, -necked. Obs.
| 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) I. p. xxxiv, Ane lang mand, narrow halsit, and wyid mouthit. |
▪ II. † halse, v.1 Obs.
Forms: 1 halsian, healsian, 2 hælsien, 2–3 halsi(en, 3–6 halse.
[OE. halsian, healsian, ? from earlier *hálsian = OHG. heilisôn to augur, expiate, ON. heilsa to hail, greet (with good wishes):—OTeut. *hailosôjan, f. *hailos weal, well-being, prosperity: see heal n.]
1. intr. To augur, divine, soothsay; to declare in the name of something divine or holy. (Only OE.)
| c 1050 Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 354/13 Ariolandi, on wiᵹbede to halsienne. |
2. trans. To call upon in the name of something divine or holy; to exorcize, adjure, conjure; to implore, entreat, beseech.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter xxxvi[i]. 7 Underðioded bio ðu dryhtne & halsa hine. c 870 Halsuncge in O.E. Texts 176 Ic eow [ðe] halsiᵹe on fæder naman..þæt ᵹe to þys husle ne gangen. c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. xxxii. (E.E.T.S.) 213 Ic eow healsiᵹe broður for ðæm tocyme Dryhtnes Hælendan Kristes. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxvi. 63 Ic halsiᵹe þe [Lindisf. ic halsa ðec, Rushw. ic halsio þe, Hatt. ic hælsiᵹe þe] ðurh þone lyfiendan god, þæt ðu secᵹe us ᵹyf þu sy crist godes sunu. a 1225 Ancr. R. 114 Þurh þeo ilke neiles ich halse ou ancren, nout ou, auh do oðre, uor hit nis no neod. Ibid. 348 Ich halsie ou..þet ᵹe wiðholden ou from vlesliche lustes. a 1225 St. Marher. 17 Ich halsi þe o godes nome. c 1386 [see halsen v. 1]. 14.. Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1866) 85 He was so agast of þat grysyly gose..He halsed hit þorow goddes myȝte. 1553 Becon Reliques of Rome (1563) 244* The whiche wicked spirite is halsed or coniured or caste out of hym. |
3. To hail, salute, greet. [= hailse v., of which it may be a by-form.]
| 1375 Barbour Bruce vii. 116 Thai met the Kyng and halsit him thar. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Johannes 618 He met a pilgrime in the gat, Þat haliste hyme, and sad þusgat. 1498 Caxton's Chron. Eng. vi. The holy ymages of sayntes bowed downe to hym whan the body of hym was broughte in to the chyrche..& honourably hym halsyd. 1583 T. Stocker Hist. Civ. Warres Lowe C. II. 12 Thei so brauely halsed him with Harquebouze shotte. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. x. 354 Sa tha all salute and halse her. |
▪ III. halse, v.2 Obs. exc. Sc..
(Sc. hɑːs, hɔːs)
Forms: 4–5 hals, 5–6, 9 halse, 5, 8 hawse, 6 haulse, 6–7 hause, 9 hass.
[Either an independent deriv. of hals, halse neck = OHG. halsan, -en, -on, MHG. halsen to throw one's arms about the neck of, embrace; or a sense developed upon halse v.1, through association with halse n. In many passages it is difficult to distinguish it from halse v.1, sense 3, since either ‘salute’ or ‘embrace’ makes sense.]
1. trans. To embrace.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 4357 Sco can hals him son wit þis And bedd him mothes for to kys. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 174 As whanne he halsiþ a womman wiþ hise hondis. c 1440 Gesta Rom. lxix. 320 (Harl. MS.) He ran for gladnesse, and halsid hire, and kist hire. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 224/1 Halsyn, amplector. 1530 Palsgr. 577/1, I halse one, I take hym aboute the necke, je accolle. 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. iii. 49 Each other kissed glad, And lovely haulst..And plighted hands. 1674–91 Ray N.C. Words (E.D.S.), Hose, Hause, to hug, or carry in the arms, to embrace. 1733 Cock-laird-Orph. Caled. (Chambers 1829), He hawsed, he kiss'd her, And ca'ed her his sweet. 1819 Scott Noble Moringer i, He halsed and kiss'd his dearest dame. |
| absol. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 9614 There thei halsed and thei kist. |
† b. transf. and fig. Obs.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter iv. 3 Ȝe hals & kys & sekis wiþ traiuaile, vanyte and leghe. a 1547 Surrey Praise mean Estate in Tottell's Misc. (Arb.) 27 Who so gladly halseth the golden meane, Voyde of dangers..hath his home. 1636 Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. 179 To come nigh Christ and hause Him and embrace Him. |
† 2. To encompass by going round. [= L. complecti.] Obs. rare.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter lxvii. 11 Vmgifis syon & halsis it. |
▪ IV. halse
s.w. dial. form of hazel n.
▪ V. halse, halser, -ier
obs. ff. hawse, hawser.