▪ I. vantage, n.
(ˈvɑːntɪdʒ, -ˈvæn-)
Also 4–7 vauntage, 6 vauntadge; 5–6 Sc. wantage, 7–8 'vantage.
[a. AF. vantage (1302), var. of OF. avantage advantage n. Cf. It. vantaggio, Sp. ventaja, Pg. vantagem.]
1. a. Advantage, benefit, profit, gain. Now arch.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 8015 O þam þou sal haue gret vantage, Bath to þe and to þi barnage. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 302 Not of leesyng of worldliche worship ne worldliche vauntage,..but of lesyng of vertues. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 508/1 Vauntage, (K., or avauntage), profectus, proventus. c 1470 Henry Wallace ix. 915 This wantage was, the Scottis thaim dantyt swa, Nayn Inglisman durst fra his feris ga. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 172 b, Repute it for your singlar vauntage & wynnynge to be exercised & tossed in dyuerse temptacyons. 1555 Hooper in Coverdale's Lett. Mart. (1564) 141 Such fleshe as..had great vauntage by hys word, are become his very enemies. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 72, I receyued two seuerall letters from you,..Out of which..I reaped double commoditie and vauntage. 1617 Collins Def. Bp. of Ely i. i. 72 What vantage haue you now of all that is said of Peters ship to countenance Rome? 1645 Arraignm. Persecution 23 Shall we that have received vantage by their rejection, thus recompence them with tyranny? [1846 Landor Exam. Shaks. Wks. II. 266 It would give..the neighbourhood much vantage, to see these two fellows good men.] |
† b. Pecuniary profit or gain. Obs.
| c 1430 Freemasonry (Halliw. 1840) 149 The mayster schal not, for no vantage, Make no prentes that ys outrage. c 1440 Jacob's Well 43 Iudas was wo, þat he had noȝt þat vauntage of þo xxx. pens þat was þe tythe of þe iij. hundreth pens. 1526 Tindale Matt. xxv. 27 Then at my commynge shulde I have receaved my money with vauntage. 1555 Eden Decades (Arb.) 340 He became a master in makynge cardes for the sea, whereby he had great vantage. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 90 If one penie vantage be therein to saue, of coast man or fleming be sure to haue. |
† c. A perquisite. Obs. (Cf. vail n.1 4.)
| a 1470 H. Parker Dives & Pauper (W. de W. 1496) vii. xxi. 308/2 That he sholde besydes his salarye take annuell or trentalle, or ony suche other, that they calle vantages. 1481 MS. at St. Nich. Bristol in Clerk's Book of 1549 (Bradshaw Soc.) 70 Hit was of old vsage that the vantage of weddyngges was longgynge to the Clerke. 1558 G. Cavendish Poems (1825) II. 52 First in the privye councell was my foundacion, And cheife secretary with all vantages and fees. |
† d. Printing. (See quots.) Obs.
| 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing 393 When a White⁓page or more happens in a Sheet, the Compositer calls that Vantage: So does the Press-man, when a Form of one Pull comes to the Press. [1888 Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 151 Vantage, an old synonym for the modern one of ‘fat’.] |
† 2. a. A greater amount of something. Obs.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xiv. lii. (Tollem. MS.), Therfore þese places of heremites hauen moche noye and trauayll; neþeles it haþ a vauntage [L. plurimum] of commodite and reste. |
† b. An additional amount or sum. for or to the vantage, in addition. vantage of bread (see quot. 1611). Obs.
| 1529 More Suppl. Souls Wks. 331 And yet haue we for the vauntage..the boke of y⊇ kinges, the woordes of the Prophete zacharie [etc.]. 1538 Croscombe Ch. Ward. Acc. (Som. Rec. Soc.) 43 R. Phelyppes for the vantage of bredde, xxiid. 1604 Shakes. Oth. iv. iii. 86 Yes, [there are] a dozen [such women]; and as many to th' vantage, as would store the world they plaid for. 1611 Cotgr., Le trezain du pain, vantage of bread; the thirteenth loafe giuen by Bakers vnto the dozen. 1617 Collins Def. Bp. of Ely ii. ix. 346 Supererogation there is none, where first all is not done that ought to be done, and then a vantage too, or surplus ouer. 1639 Fuller Holy War iv. xiii. (1647) 191 The Popes Legate and Robert Earl of Artois..would make no bargain except Alexandria..were also cast in for vantage to make the conditions down-weight. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Vantage, that which is given over and above just Weight and Measure; Overplus. |
† c. and (a or the) vantage, with the vantage, and above, and (a little) more. Obs.
| 1594 Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees, 1860) 244, xxj stirkes of yeare old and vantage, 18{supl}., x stirkes, of two yeares ould and vantage, 16{supl}. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 12 But Venus ascendeth up to her station in fifteene daies and the vantage. 1621 Fletcher Pilgrim i. i, She is fifteen, with the vantage, And if she be not ready now for mannage―. a 1656 Ussher Ann. (1658) 251 Of a huge stature, and a mind answerable thereunto, for it is said, that he was five cubids high, and vantage. 1708 Lond. Gaz. No. 4472/4 Stoln or Stray'd.., a brown bay Gelding,..14 hands and the vantage high. 1711 ― No. 4875/4 A large kindly black Mare,..two Years old, with the Vantage. 1754 J. Shebbeare Matrimony (1766) I. 4 In plain English, she had seen One and Thirty Birth-days, and a 'Vantage, as they say in the West of England. |
† d. ellipt. = prec. Obs.—1
| 1601 Shuttleworths' Acc. (Chetham Soc.) 124 A litle younge styre of towe yeres old vantage. |
3. a. Advantage or superiority in a contest; position or opportunity likely to give superiority; vantage-ground; a vantage-point. † upon the vantage, at an advantage.
| 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xvii. 18 The archers..haue noo vauntage of hym nor of his company. 1579–80 North Plutarch, Theseus (1595) 3 The cause why they were thus shauen before, was, for that their enemies should not haue the vauntage to take them by the hayres of the head while they were fighting. Ibid. 4 They which by might could haue vantage ouer others, had nothing to doe with..quiet qualities. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 215 Oft thay meit [in battle]: oft thay parte with lytle vantage. 1600 Holland Livy i. xxvii. 20 When hee thought hee had gained vantage ynough, hee mounted up the hill with all his companies. 1627 E. F. Hist. Edw. II (1680) 117 Knowing the weakness, he esteem'd his vantage in suffering them to land. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 27 A Castle, strong, and of white chalky stone, its Ordnance planted high to play in Mounts upon the vantage. 1795 Southey Joan of Arc vii. 345 The exasperate knight..up the steps advanced, Like one who disregarded in his strength The enemy's vantage. 1850 Blackie æschylus II. 160 Though close hedged in by the foe, The vantage hath been ours. 1867 Trollope Chron. Barset I. xviii. 156 The bishop found that he would thus lose his expected vantage. 1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables ii. 31 It was already quite dark, but not so dark that Mrs Rachel could not see them from her window vantage. 1969 M. Bragg Hired Man viii. 83 There were halloes every few minutes and the men themselves became hunters, climbing the heights in anticipation of a vantage which would give them a total view and enable them to race down when the kill was near. |
b. With defining term introduced by of.
| 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cxcix 97/1 The englisshemen had the vauntage of the hyll, and helde themselfe so cloose together that none coude entre into them. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 242 Assoone as the king and his Marshalles had ordered hys battayle, he drewe vp the sayles and came with a quarter winde to haue the vauntage of the sonne. 1626 Bacon Sylva §599 It hath been anciently practised to burne Heath, and Ling, and Sedge, with the vantage of the Wind, upon the Ground. 1805 Scott Last Minstr. v. xviii, To each knight their care assigned Like vantage of the sun and wind. 1828 ― F.M. Perth v, Thou wilt have better access to drive them back, having the vantage of the house. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xvi. III. 621 James..consented to retreat till he should reach some spot where he might have the vantage of ground. |
c. In the phrases coign (see coign n. 1), place, point (etc.) of vantage. So also † dice of vantage.
| c 1570 Misogonus ii. iv. 168 (Brandl), The preistes handes ith mustardpott; the knave, throwe at an inch, Has some dise of vauntadge, myne oth I durst take. 1805–6 Cary Dante, Inf. xvi. 24 Naked champions..Are wont, intent, to watch their place of hold And vantage, ere in closer strife they meet. 1832–4 De Quincey Caesars Wks. 1860 X. 55 This adoption would have been applied..as a station of vantage for introducing him to the public favour. 1860 Motley Netherl. xvii. (1868) II. 347 It was unfortunate that the possession of Sluys had given Alexander such a point of vantage. |
† 4. a. With a and pl.: An advantage; a position or state of superiority. Freq. with at or for. Obs.
Perh. originally a wrong division of avantage.
| c 1450 Merlin xxxii. 654 Petrius..cowde well fle and returne at a vauntage, and well fight with his enmyes. c 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn liii. 204 They chased Subyon that was horsed at a vauntage better than they were. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 117 Then they issued out boldly and shot coragiously as men that shot for a vauntage. a 1568 in A. Scott's Poems (E.E.T.S.) 44 Thair is nocht ane winche þat I se Sall win ane wantage of me. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 268 b, Hereupon he doth conclude as it were at a vauntage that the doctrine of these men is not onely unprofitable, but also pestiferous. 1615 W. Lawson Country Housew. Gard. (1626) 32 Wee may well assure our selues, (as in all other Arts, so in this) there is a vantage and dexterity, by skill. 1642 D. Rogers Naaman 263 Naaman seemed humble, when he stood at Elisha his doore, but it was for a vantage. |
† b. An opportunity; a chance. Obs.
| 1592 Soliman & Pers. i. ii, I, watch you vauntages? Thine be it then. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. i. iii. 24 When shall we heare from him. Pisanio. Be assur'd Madam, With his next vantage. Ibid. ii. iii. 50 You are most bound to th' King, Who let's go by no vantages, that may Preferre you to his daughter. |
5. In phrases with verbs: a. With personal object, as to catch, have, hold, take (one) at († a or † the) vantage.
| c 1510 Gesta Rom. (W. de W.) A ij, At the last she had hym at a vauntage agayne, ande was afore hym. 1581 G. Pettie tr. Guazzo's Civ. Conv. iii. (1586) 156 b, You haue taken me at a vauntage. 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. vii. 51 Me seely wretch she so at vauntage caught. 1596 Harington Metam. Ajax (1814) 12 He will take a weak man at the vantage. 1827 Southey Hist. Penins. War II. 123 In this sort of warfare their loss was generally greater than that of the natives, who on such occasions had them at vantage. 1857 Emerson Poems 153 Complement of human kind, Holding us at vantage still. |
† b. With vantage as object, esp. to take..vantage (of). Obs. (Cf. advantage n. 5 b.)
| (a) 1573 G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 2 If the vantage had bene presently takin. c 1585 [R. Browne] Answ. Cartwright 23 If any will take vantage, that yet their censers were holy,..let vs consider what holines this was. 1592 Marlowe Massacre Paris iii. i, [He] takes his vantage on Religion, To plant the Pope and popelings in the Realme. 1622 Bacon Hen. VII, 50 Hee thought to make his Vantage upon his Parliament. |
| (b) 1591 Lyly Endym. ii. i, You will be sure I shall take no vantage of your words. 1600 Holland Livy i. ii. 9 The armie of the Antemnates, taking the vantage of the time,..entred the confines of Rome. 1624 Quarles Job Militant xvi. 40, I Will take no 'vantage of thy Miserie. |
6. Lawn Tennis. = advantage n. 2.
| 1884 Peile Lawn Tennis 50 If he lose the next stroke (he being vantage to love), the score is again called deuce. 1897 Outing XXX. 467/2 Then our opponents ran to deuce, and another victory made the score vantage in our favor. 1904 J. P. Paret Lawn Tennis 352 Vantage-in (or vantage server). A term used to indicate that the server has won the ‘vantage’ point (opposite of ‘vantage-out’). Vantage-out (or vantage striker) [etc.]. |
7. attrib., as (sense 2 b) † vantage-loaf; (sense 3) vantage-coign, vantage-ditch, vantage-nook, vantage-place, vantage-point; (sense 6) vantage-game, vantage-set. Also vantage-ground.
| 1612 in Plomer Abstracts fr. Wills of Eng. Printers (1903) 45 To twelve Poore people..one penny loafe and Twoe pence a peece and the vauntage loafe to the Clerke there. 1808 Scott Marm. vi. ii, Bulwark,..bastion, tower, and vantage-coign. a 1861 Clough Relig. Poems ii. 85 Quick seizure and fast unrelaxing hold of vantage-place. 1865 J. H. Ingram Pillar of Fire (1872) 322 Terraces, house⁓tops,—every vantage-point—were crowded thickly with spectators. 1885 J. H. Dell Dawning Grey, Prefatory, Some last vantage-ditch of wrong. 1892 Pall Mall G. 7 July 6/3 The Londoners equalized and made another ‘vantage’ set necessary. Ibid., The Irishmen gained the ‘vantage’ game every time. 1930 Blunden Summer's Fancy 30 The many vantage-nooks That nature sets about the wooing weald. |
▪ II. vantage, v.
(ˈvɑːntɪdʒ, -æ-)
Also 5 vauntagyn, 6 -age.
[f. prec., or ad. OF. vantager (Palsgr.).]
1. trans. To profit or benefit (one). Now only arch. Cf. advantage v. 4.
| c 1460 Promp. Parv. (Winch.), Forderyn,..or vauntagyn. 1530 Palsgr. 765/1 What dothe it vauntage you to go so often over-see? 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. iv. 49 Needlesse feare did neuer vantage none. 1596 Edw. III, ii. i, Yf nothing but that losse may vantage you, I would accompt that losse my vauntage to. a 1618 Sylvester Job Triumphant iv. 227 What will it vantage mee, What shall I gain, if I from sin be free? 1825 Scott Betrothed xxiv, To keep him as a captive might vantage them more in many degrees, than could his death. 1891 C. E. Norton Dante's Purgat. xiii. 66 What hath it vantaged thee to make of me a screen? |
| refl. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 186 They vauntage themselves nothyng by this distinction. 1598 Barret Theor. Warres i. ii. 13 Thereby to aduance and vantage himselfe. |
† 2. intr. To make gain or profit. Obs.—1
| 1563 Foxe A. & M. 33/1 The commen saying of..naughty wemen, which say, they vantage more in one holy day, then in L. other daies besides. |
Hence ˈvantaged ppl. a., † increased, augmented.
| 1578 Banister Hist. Man Pref. 7 That..with the testimonie of a cleare conscience, we may render our vauntaged talentes vnto the high Auditour. |