▪ I. † ˈforcer1 Obs.
Forms: 4 fosser, 4–5 forcere, (5 foorcere, forcyer), forser, (6 fo(r)sar), 5–6 focer, (6 fostler), 4–7, 9 Hist. forcer.
[a. OF. forcer, forcier. Cf. It. forziere.]
A chest, coffer, or casket.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 263 Her were a forser for þe in faye, If þou were a gentyl Iueler. c 1400 Sowdone Bab. 2303, I have a girdil in my Forcer. c 1460 La Belle Dame sanz Mercy 65 in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1866) 54 Fortune with strengthe the forcere hath vnshete where-ynne was spradde al my worldly richesse. 1530 Palsgr. 203/1 Casket or fosar, escrain. 1531 in Weaver Wells Wills (1890) 148 My wif shall have her coffer and her fostler to her own use. 1577 Hanmer Anc. Eccl. Hist. (1619) 244 A basket or forsar full of Gold. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. Suppl. Summ. 2 Any Painted Wares, Forsers, Caskets..are forfeited if any such be Imported..Vide Stat. 4 Edw. 4. 1863 Sir G. Scott Glean. Westm. Abb. (ed. 2) 96 A forcer, a receptacle for documents, not unlike a kettledrum in shape. |
| Comb. 1411 Close Roll, 12 Hen. IV, b, Johannes Whiteberd, forcermaker. |
▪ II. forcer2
(ˈfɔəsə(r))
[f. force v.1 + -er1.]
1. a. One who or that which forces.
| 1556 Aurelio & Isab. (1608) K iij, They will that she dey the which hathe beane forcede, and the forcer liffe. 1581 Mulcaster Positions xiv. (1887) 67 Where feare is the forcer, and not free will. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 175 The conqueror and great forcer of cities. 1616 Chapman Homer's Hymn Hermes 669, I, in no similitude apper'd Of powre to be the forcer of a Herde. 1659 Milton Civ. Power Wks. 1738 I. 551 How much bloodshed have the forcers of Conscience to answer for. a 1749 T. Chalkley Wks. (1766) 381 Those Forcers know not of what Spirit they are of. 1832 Examiner 258/2 Necessity is a great forcer. |
b. One who produces forced crops.
| 1789 J. Abercrombie (title) The complete kitchen gardener and hot-bed forcer. 1902 Westm. Gaz. 4 Apr. 8/2 There are forcers who have a dozen large hothouses devoted solely to Easter lilies. 1905 Ibid. 21 Feb. 12/1 A ‘forcer’ in Kent gets a living from strawberry-forcing on less than half an acre of land. |
2. An instrument or means for forcing. † a. Something with which to force (window bars); ? a crowbar. Obs.
| 1649 Chas. I. Let. in Kingston Hertfdsh. in Civ. War (1894) 126 If I had a forcer, I would make no question of it, but having nothing but fyles..my time will be too scant. |
b. The plunger or piston of a force-pump.
| 1634 J. B[ate] Myst. Nat. 8 A Forcer is a plug of wood exactly turned and leathered about. 1725 Specif. R. Newsham's Patent No. 479 The forcers being guided by the arch of a double wheel. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 267 On the descent of the forcer, the lower valve shuts. 1867 in Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. |
c. A force-pump.
| 1731 H. Beighton in Phil. Trans. XXXVII. 8 Besides these four Forcers, there are four more placed at the other Ends of the Libræ, or Levers. 1778 Pryce Min. Cornub. 321 Forcer a small pump worked by hand, used in sinking of small..Pits. 1883 in Gresley Gloss. Coal Mining. |
† d. A contrivance for propelling water. Obs.
| 1598 Stow Surv. iii. (1603) 18 Thames water conueyed into mens houses by pipes of leade, from a most artificial forcier. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. i. 435 Maurice..by meanes of a forser or wheele..brought water..into a great part of the city. 1730–6 Bailey (folio), Forcier, a water-mill; an engine to convey water from one place to another. |
† e. An agent for quickening the growth of plants, etc. Obs.
| a 1722 Lisle Husb. (1752) 136 Nitre, blood, soot &c. all have been found great forcers. |
▪ III. † ˈforcer3 Obs. rare.
[f. force v.2 + -er1.]
One who forces wool.
| 1553 Act 1 Mary Sess. iii. c. 7 §1 Sheer-men and Dyers, Forcers of Wools, Casters of Wools and Sorters of Wools. |