▪ I. hope, n.1
(həʊp)
Forms: 1 hopa, 2– hope; also 4 hoppe, ope, Sc. hape, 4–6 hop, 5 hoype, howpe, 5–6 hoop(e, 6 hoape, Sc. hoip, houpe, 6– Sc. houp, howp (haʊp).
[Late OE. hopa, earlier tó-hopa, wk. masc., corresp. to OLG. tôhopa, MLG. and MDu. (m. and f.) hope, Du. hoop; not in OHG.; MHG., Ger. hoffe; Sw. hopp, Da. haab (from LG.). This word, with its cognate vb. (OE. hopian, MDu. etc. hopen), is recorded first in OE., and seems to have belonged originally to the Saxon and Low G. domain, and thence to have spread into HG. and Scandinavian.]
1. a. Expectation of something desired; desire combined with expectation.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 193 Habbeð rihte bileue to brunie and hope to helme. a 1225 Ancr. R. 78 Ine silence & ine hope schal beon ower strencðe. 1382 Wyclif Rom. iv. 18 The which Abraham aȝens hope bileuede in to hope. 1435 Misyn Fire of Love ii. v. 78 Hoype my sawle chastisis. 1504 W. Atkynson tr. De Imitatione iv. vii. 269 Humble hoope. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xv. 3 Art thow no{supt} wantoun, haill, and in gud howp. 1579 Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 225/2 When the Churche was in bondage, and vtterly out of hope. 1597 Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 464 Luik quhair to licht before thou loup, And slip na certenty for Houp. 1690 Locke Hum. Und. ii. xxi. §9 (R.) Hope is that pleasure in the mind, which every one finds in himself upon the thought of a profitable future enjoyment of a thing, which is apt to delight him. 1732 Pope Ess. Man i. 95 Hope springs eternal in the human breast. 1781 Cowper Hope 167 Hope, as an anchor firm and sure, holds fast The Christian vessel, and defies the blast. 1838 Thirlwall Greece xliii. V. 293 While the public mind was thus suspended between hope and fear. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. lv, I..call To what I feel is Lord of all, And faintly trust the larger hope. 1868 Bain Ment. & Mor. Sc. iii. xii. §5 This is the emotion of Hope, which is ideality coupled with belief. |
b. Const. of (that which is hoped for), or with clause introduced by that, or (arch.) with inf.
| c 1000 ælfric Hom. I. 568 Ne bepæce Ezechias eow mid leasum hopan, þæt God eow..ahredde. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 456 Vor hope þat þer beþ mo. a 1300 Cursor M. 28355 In hope of forgiuenes. 1375 Barbour Bruce ii. 89, I haiff gret hop he sall be king. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Vincentius 216 Men..sal hafe na hape til vndirstande. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 88 In hope to stonden in his lady grace. 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. V 68 b, Beyng in good hope that al his affaires should prosperously succede. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iii. i. 4, I haue hope to liue, and am prepar'd to die. 1653 Milton Hirelings (1659) 10 In hope..that preaching..would prove gainful. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. II. 133 It was only in a field of battle that he could assert his innocence with any hope of success. 1842 Tennyson Voyage viii, And still we follow'd..In hope to gain upon her flight. |
c. In plural; often in singular sense, esp. in phr. in hopes. Const. as in b.
| 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 523 We will borrow of them to pay your hopes, by this long introduction suspended. 1659 B. Harris Parival's Iron Age 215 They continued still upon their guard in hopes of better times. 1660–1 Marvell Corr. Wks. 1872–5 II. 44 God be praised, there is all good hopes of her recovery. 1702 J. Logan in Pennsylv. Hist. Soc. Mem. IX. 94 Hearing he was past hopes, I went to visit him the day before he departed. 1702 Addison Dial. Medals ii. Misc. Wks. 1727 III. 128, I was in hopes you would have shown us our own nation. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 662 Great hopes were entertained at Whitehall that Cornish would appear to have been concerned: but these hopes were disappointed. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 620 His hopes to see his own..Not yet had perish'd. |
d. Personified; esp. as one of the three heavenly Graces. (1 Cor. xiii. 13.)
| 1382 Wyclif 1 Cor. xiii. 13 Now forsothe dwellen feith, hope, and charite, thes thre. 1782 H. More David v. 52 Fair Hope, with smiling face but ling'ring foot. 1799 Campbell Pleas. Hope 1, Oh! sacred Truth! thy triumph ceased a while, And Hope, thy sister, ceased with thee to smile. 18.. Chr. Wordsw. Hymn ‘Gracious Spirit’ v, Faith and hope and love we see Joining hand in hand agree. |
2. Feeling of trust or confidence. Obs. exc. as biblical archaism, with mixture of sense 1.
| c 1000 ælfric Hom. I. 350 Geleaffullum mannum mæᵹ beon micel truwa and hopa to ðam menniscum Gode Criste. c 1200 Vices & Virtues 33 Ne haue ðu hope to golde ne to seluer. 1382 Wyclif Ps. cxlv[i]. 5 His hope [is] in the Lord his God. a 1400–50 Alexander 1859 So sadly in soueraynete he set neuire his hope. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxvi. 97 The formest hoip ȝit that I haue..Is in ȝour Grace. 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VII 49 b, To the whiche saiynges..the freer perceaved hope to be geven. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 99 Our private friendship,..upon hope and affiance whereof, I presume to be your petitioner. 1707 Freind Peterborow's Cond. Sp. 174 My hopes then are all in you. 1867 G. Macdonald Disciple xxv, Though the sky be dim, My hope is in the sky. |
† 3. Expectation (without implication of desire, or of a thing not desired); prospect. Obs.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 713 Þenne arȝed Abraham..For hope of þe harde hate þat hyȝt hatz oure lorde. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Clement 193 Gret hope had he, Þat his modir in þe se Was drownyt. c 1440 J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. ii. 419 To hem þat be in dwere And eke in hope for to be hange and drawe. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. I. 16 In hoip agane that tha sould neuir meit. |
4. transf. a. Ground of hope; promise. Freq. in negative in phr. not a hope (in hell). Also used ironically for: an expectation which has little or no chance of being fulfilled; esp. in ints., usu. expressing resignation, some hope(s)!, what a hope!
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Nycholas 579 Oyl rycht clere..for seknes sere Gaf hop and but. 1535 Coverdale Prov. xxvi. 12 There is more hope in a foole then in him. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 850 He which at one blow can kill a Captive, is of the greatest hopes. 1633 Ford Broken Ht. v. ii, Never lived gentleman of greater merit, Hope or abiliment to steer a kingdom. 1676 tr. Guillatiere's Voy. Athens 349 A Child of great hopes. 1847 Tennyson Princess i. 167 Hills that look'd across a land of hope. 1899 R. Whiteing No. 5 John St. xxix. 297 What a hope for a night like this! 1915 F. Palmer My Year of War 231 ‘What hopes!’ was the current phrase I heard among the men in these trenches. 1923 [see hell n. 10 b]. 1929 J. B. Priestley Good Companions i. iv. 115 ‘Well, lads, wot's it yer want?’ demanded their hostess. ‘'Cos if it's steaks and chips and feather beds, you've got a bloody hope.’ Ibid. ii. i. 249 If there was enough money behind to rent His Majesty's Theatre, it could go on better still. It amounted to that. ‘What a hope!’ she concluded bitterly. 1933 A. G. Macdonell England, their England xvi. 280 Not a hope!.. The dailies have gone to press ages ago. 1936 [see earthly a. 1 c]. 1940 ‘G. Orwell’ Diary 20 June in Coll. Ess. (1968) II. lvii. 352 There is a move on foot to get our police records..at Scotland Yard destroyed. Some hope! The police are the very people who would go over to Hitler. 1948 C. Day Lewis Otterbury Incident v. 53 ‘Well, you'd better start giving back the money..,’ jeered Tuppy. ‘What a hope!’ 1959 S. Gibbons Pink Front Door xvii. 206 Not a hope..not a single bloody ghost of a hope in hell. 1966 ‘K. Nicholson’ Hook, Line & Sinker v. 63 He..wants to put on a good show for her. What a hope. 1966 F. Hoyle Oct. First vi. 60 I've given them the idea I might come up with some explanation... Some hopes. 1967 P. Moyes Murder Fantastical xv. 229 ‘His book is probably in the Lucky Dip.’..Maud made a face. ‘Some hope of finding it in that case,’ she said. 1969 J. Ashford Prisoner at Bar iv. 33, I told Mrs. Green we hadn't a hope in hell, but she said it wasn't the money, it was the principle. 1971 C. Egleton Last Post for Partisan xvii. 176 ‘Make sure you get the right mix of weapons and explosives.’ ‘You've got a hope.’ |
b. A person or thing that gives hope or promise for the future, or in which hopes are centred.
| a 1225 Juliana 65 Þu art hope of heale; þu art rihtwises weole. a 1300 Cursor M. 23929 Leuedi..þat es nu mi hope. 1382 Wyclif 1 Tim. i. 1 Jhesu Crist oure hope. 1526 Tindale Col. i. 27 Christ in you, the hope of glory. 1702 Pope Dryope 9 Her tender mother's only hope and pride. 1876 E. Mellor Priesth. viii. 390 If the adult population are the despair of the priests, the children are their hope. |
c. An object of hope; that which is hoped for.
| 1382 Wyclif Prov. xiii. 12 Hope that is deferrid tormenteth the soule. ― Rom. viii. 24 Hope that is seyn, is not hope. 1526 Tindale Tit. ii. 13 Lokinge for that blessed hope, and glorious apperenge of the mighty god. c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. cxliii, If thou catch thy hope, turn back to me. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 122 The Prince thus frustrated of his first hope, came running. 1816 Shelley Alastor 32 Staking his very life on some dark hope. |
¶ See also forlorn hope.
5. a. Comb. chiefly objective and instrumental.
| 1580 Sidney Arcadia iii. (1724) II. 477 Hope-giving phrases. 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. ii. i. Ark 362 Then hope-cheer'd Noah..Sends forth the Crow. 1817 Shelley Pr. Athan. i. 10 Baffled with blast of hope-consuming shame. 1822 Lamb Elia Ser. i. Decay Beggars, The cheerful and hope-stirring tread of the passenger. 1892 Jusserand French Ambass. 160 The hope-forbidding testimony of Pytheas. |
b. Special comb. hope chest chiefly U.S., a chest or box in which a young woman hopefully collects articles towards a home of her own in the event of her marriage; cf. bottom drawer bottom n. 19.
| 1911 G. S. Porter Harvester xx. 504 It was a big, burl-maple box, designed after the hope chests that he saw advertised in magazines. 1922 M. B. Houston Witch Man vii. 80 The bedspread that three years before she had laid unfinished in Kaid's hope chest. 1959 ‘J. R. Macdonald’ Galton Case (1960) xi. 88 A metal box about the size of a hope chest. 1960 New Left Rev. Nov.—Dec. 12/2 The bride..had a good six patents dealing with biochemistry in her hope chest. 1973 Welcomat (Philadelphia) 10 Oct. 12 Liza Minelli has just bought her third wedding dress and packed it away along with the others in her hope chest. |
▪ II. hope, n.2
(həʊp)
Forms: 1 hop, 4 hopp', 6 hoppe, Sc. hoip, 8 Sc. houp, 3– hope.
[OE. hop app. recorded only in combination (e.g. fenhop, mórhop: see sense 1). It is doubtful whether all the senses belong orig. to one word. With sense 3 cf. ON. hóp ‘a small land-locked bay or inlet, salt at flood tide and fresh at ebb’ (Vigf.).]
1. A piece of enclosed land, e.g. in the midst of fens or marshes or of waste land generally.
| a 1000 in Kemble Cod. Dipl. VI. 243 Mædwæᵹan hop and wassan mæd oð ðone þreos dic. c 1200 Merton Coll. Rec. No. 1259 (Essex), Unam hopam marisci in villa de Westilleberie, quae hopa iacet in extrema hoparum mearum versus orientalem quae vocantur landhope, extendentem versus austrum a hopo Leuenoth. 1323–4 Ibid. No. 1260 (Essex), Unam hopam marisci continentem duas acras cum pertinentiis sicut fossatis undique includitur. 1468 Will of Heyward (Somerset Ho.), Mesuagium vocat. le Bakhous cum quadam domo vocat. le stable & vno hope & vna Wallia. 1500 Will of N. Brown (ibid.), Crofts lands marshes hopes & walles. 1607 Norden Surv. Dial. 205, I have planted an Ozier hope (for so they call it in Essex, and in some places an Ozier bed) in a surrounded ground, fit before for no vse, for the too much moisture and ouerflowing of it. |
2. A small enclosed valley, esp. ‘a smaller opening branching out from the main dale, and running up to the mountain ranges; the upland part of a mountain valley’; a blind valley. Chiefly in south of Scotl. and north-east of England, where it enters largely into local nomenclature, as in Hopekirk, Hopetoun, Hope-head, Dryhope, Greenhope, Ramshope, Ridlees Hope, etc.
| 1378 Durh. Halm. Rolls (Surtees) 143 Quod nullus eorum succidat bent infra le hopp’ sine licencia. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 2503 Thorowe hopes and hymlande hillys and oþer. a 1400–50 Alexander 5390 So þai come till a caue..Be⁓twene twa hillis in a hope, and herberd all niȝt. 1542 Newminster Cartul. (Surt.) Introd. 18 Such as inhabyte in one of those hoopes, valyes, or graynes cannot heare the fraye, outecrye, or exclamac'on of suche as dwell in an other hoope or valley upon the other syde of the said mountayne. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. ii. 163 Ouer hil and hoip, bank and bra. a 1697 Aubrey Nat. Hist. Surrey (1719) IV. 164 A long Hope (i.e. according to Virgil, Deductus Vallis) in the most pleasant and delightful Solitude. 1805 Forsyth Beauties Scotl. II. 151 The hills are every where intersected by small streams called burns. These flowing in a deep bed, form glens or hollows, provincially called hopes. 1893 Northumbld. Gloss., Hope,..the inch ordnance map of Northumberland gives seventy-three place names having this termination. In the county of Durham forty such occur. 1895 Crockett Men of Moss-hags ix. 67 Wide green holms and deep blind ‘hopes’ or hollows among the mountains. |
3. An inlet, small bay, haven.
| c 1425 Wyntoun Chron. vi. xx. 2499 And in Saynt Margretys Hope belyve Off propyre nede than till arryve. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 673 Tha tuke land richt far vp into Forth, Into ane place..Sanct Margaretis-hoip is callit at this da. 1587 Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1379/2 Being by contrarie winds driuen to staie against Erith, at Graues⁓end, in Tilberie hope. 1756 Rolt Dict. Trade, Hope, a station for ships in the mouth of the river Thames, below Gravesend. 1818 Scott Br. Lamm. xii, A little hamlet which straggled along the side of a creek formed by the discharge of a small brook into the sea..It was called Wolf's Hope (i.e. Wolf's Haven). 1887 Kent. Gloss., Hope, a place of anchorage for ships. |
▪ III. hope, v.
(həʊp)
Forms: see hope n.1
[OE. hopian, ME. hopien, hopen, corresp. to MLG., MDu., Du. hopen:—OLG. *hopôn. Not known in OHG.; in MHG. hoffen is rare, and chiefly MG., not the regular word for ‘to hope’; like the corresp. n. the vb. appears to have belonged orig. to the English and Saxon-Frankish domain, and thence to have spread in later times over Germany and Scandinavia.]
1. a. intr. To entertain expectation of something desired; to look (mentally) with expectation. Const. † to, † after, † of (obs.), for; also with indirect passive.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 87 We to þinum hidercyme hopodan & hyhtan. c 1205 Lay. 17936 Ah ne hope þu to ræde of heom þat liggeð dede. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 291/97 Ne hopie ich nouȝt þere-fore. c 1400 Cato's Mor. 203 in Cursor M. App. iv. 1672 Quen þou art atte disese, hope ofter better ese. 1553 Eden Treat. Newe Ind. (Arb.) 39 This nauigation..was not brought to the ende hoped for. 1595 T. Bedingfield tr. Machiavelli's Florentine Hist. 140 The Earle..shut himselfe vp in Poppi, not hoping of any aide. c 1600 My Ladyis Pulcritud 26 in Montgomerie's Poems (1887) 279 Houping aganis all houp. 1659 B. Harris Parival's Iron Age 29, I can hope for no support in the equity of my cause. 1726 Adv. Capt. R. Boyle 16 Come, hope for the best, said I. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. cxii, Hope could never hope too much, In watching thee from hour to hour. Mod. I hoped for better things from him. |
† b. With to, for: To look for, expect (without implication of desire): = 4. Obs. rare.
| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 6968 He yn þe feuer lay, And to þe deþe he hopede weyl. 1599 H. Buttes Dyets drie Dinner Ep. Ded. A vij, Neither can I hope for, at either of your hands, any ungentle or discourteous censure. |
2. intr. To trust, have confidence. Const. † to, † on (obs.), in (obs. exc. as biblical archaism; now only a strong case of sense 1).
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xlii, Hit nys no unnyt ðæt we hopien to Gode. c 1000 ælfric Hom. I. 256 Ne hi ne hopian on heora unᵹewissum welan. c 1200 Moral Ode 31 in Trin. Coll. Hom. 221 Ne hopie wif to hire were ne were to his wiue. a 1325 Prose Psalter li[i]. 7 He hoped in þe multitude of his riches. 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI 176 The lordes lyenge at Caleys, hoping in their frendes within the realme. a 1605 Montgomerie Misc. Poems li. 43 Bot I houp in the goddes Hemene. 1611 Bible Ps. cxix. 49 The word..upon which thou hast caused me to hope. 1855 Cath. Winkworth Hymn, Leave God to order all thy ways, And hope in Him whate'er betide. |
3. trans. To expect with desire, or to desire with expectation; to look forward to (something desired). a. with simple object (= hope for, sense 1). Now chiefly poetic.
| c 1000 ælfric Hom. I. 250 We beoð hæbbende ðæs ðe we ær hopedon. a 1240 Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 183 Þu al þet ic hopie. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xxvi. 6 And hope þe victory thoro his help. c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. i. pr. iv. 10 By whiche lettres I am accused to han hooped the fredom of Roome. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S. T. S.) 124, I grant, I haif done wrang, Nocht hopeand help of the. 1603 B. Jonson Sejanus v. x. Wks. (Rtldg.) 172/2 Dost thou hope fortune to redeeme thy crimes? 1676 Dryden Aurengz. iv. i, Strange cozenage! none would live past years again; Yet all hope pleasure in what yet remain. 1792 S. Rogers Pleas. Mem. i. 350 With looks that asked yet dared not hope relief. 1837 Dickens Pickw. ii, The conviction that he had nothing to hope from his friend's fears. 1872 Ruskin Fors Clav. xxii. 28, I have not time to ask Mr. Sillar's permission, but hope his pardon for assuming it. |
b. with obj. clause. (In mod. colloq. use often in weakened sense, expressing little more than a desire that the event may happen, or (with clause in pres. or past) that the fact may turn out to be as stated.)
| c 1050 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia VIII. 325 Ic hopiᵹe þæt cherubin se mæra æt wesan wylle. a 1225 Ancr. R. 430 Ich hopie þet hit schal beon..swuðe biheue. c 1350 Will. Palerne 1097, I hope to heuene king mi help schal nouȝt fayle. c 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. xiii. 223 It is to hope that..thei schulen no longer so erre. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. iii. i. 54 You'll let vs in I hope? 1660 Boyle New Exp. Phys. Mech. Pref. 4, I have in another treatise..given a particular, and, I hope, a satisfactory account. 1738 Swift Pol. Conversat. 123 Thirty bad Bits, and Two good ones..but I hope, you have got one of the two good ones. 1804 W. Gilpin Serm. III. xxxviii. (R.), He hoped you would consider the debt of little consequence. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xi. 70 We hoped that no repetition of the process would occur. 1865 W. G. Palgrave Arabia I. 114 He enters with a ‘hope I don't intrude’ air. |
c. with infinitive.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 220 He..hopede to wynne Rome, wanne he come eft aȝe. c 1305 Judas Iscar. 34 in E.E.P. (1862) 108 Glad heo was and hopede of him to habbe an heire. c 1400 Destr. Troy 8006 Þai..hopit in haste..the mater to here. 1574 Churchyard Wolsey xlvi. in Mirr. Mag. (1815) II. 495, I hoapt to come before the king. 1659 B. Harris Parival's Iron Age 29 Cardinal Wolsey..hoped to come to be Pope by the recommendation of the Emperour. 1738 Swift Pol. Conversat. 178 When may we hope to see you again in London? 1857 Buckle Civiliz. I. vii. 423 Violent measures, by which the King hoped to curb the colonies. |
d. Phr. to hope against hope [after Rom. iv. 18]: to hope where there are no reasonable grounds for doing so; to hope very much. Hence hope-against-hope n.
| 1813 J. Montgomery World before Flood 90 Hope against hope, and ask till ye receive. 1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage lxxviii. 403 He mentioned the place and time at which they were to meet, and hoping against hope kept the appointment. 1955 G. Greene Quiet American ii. i. 93, I had hoped against hope that he would have gone before she returned. 1963 V. Nabokov Gift i. 69 Fyodor still hoped against hope that this was a metaphysical paradox and not a traitorous lapsus. 1968 W. Sansom Grand Tour Today ix. 181 Matisse's wonderful chapel of stained light..has nothing to do with the usual hope-against-hope that modern concrete building will ‘harmonise’ with older surroundings. |
† 4. To expect or anticipate (without implication of desire); to suppose, think, suspect. Obs.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 4429, I hope Iulyus had drawen hit out. Ibid. 15842 Non hoped til hym no gyle. a 1340 Hampole Psalter ix. 1 comm., I hope had he beyne a rightwisman he had noght sayd swa. c 1386 Chaucer Reeve's T. 109 Our Manciple I hope he wil be deed. a 1400–50 Alexander 3548, I hope þou wenes at we be like to þire lethire Persyns. 15.. Tanner Tamw. in Puttenham Eng. Poesie (Arb.) 263, I hope I shall be hanged to morrow. 1571 Satir. Poems Reform. xxvi. 113 Quhat man did hoip of Grange now dois appeir..He dois Rebell and will not serue the King. 1632 Rowley Wom. never vexed ii. in Hazl. Dodsley XII. 132, I hope thou'lt vex me..I shall rail and curse thee, I hope. |
5. trans. To bring by hoping. nonce-use.
| 1720 Lett. fr. Lond. Jrnl. (1721) 60 Some hope themselves..into a Halter, but few into their Wishes. |
▪ IV. hope
obs. form of hoop.