soft

▪ I. soft, n.
    (sɒft, -ɔː-)
    Also 3, 5 softe, 8–9 Sc. and north. saft.
    [f. the adj.]
    1. That which is agreeable, pleasant, or easy; comfort, ease. rare.

c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3647 Ðis folc is after softe toȝen, And hauen swinc in weiȝe droȝen. a 1300 Cursor M. 15564 Bot sal we elles suffre samen, bath soft and sare. c 1400 Rom. Rose 3446 For though thou love thus evermore, To me is neither softe ne sore. 1677 A. Horneck Gt. Law Consid. iv. (1704) 112 They are afraid it..will discompose them in their golden dreams, drive them from their softs and ease.

    2. a. That which is soft or yielding; the soft part of something; softness.

1593 R. Barnes Parthenophil iii. 83 O Love's soft hills!.. How much, at your smooth soft, my sense amazed is! Ibid. 119, I might work miracles to change again The hard to soft! 1611 Florio, Móllo,..the soft or spunginesse of any thing, as of crummes of bread. 1653 R. Sanders Physiogn. 63 All this enclosed space is commonly called the soft of the Thumb. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 130 His two fore⁓feet, which he had thrust so into the soft of her sides, as to make two deep doaks there. 1784 Cowper Task iii. 417 Nor does he spare the soft And succulent, that feeds its giant growth.

transf. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxviii. 120 Not to a grand⁓sire old.., so lovely the grandson One dear daughter alone rears i' the soft of his years.

    b. Cant. Bank notes.

1821 [see fancy-piece s.v. fancy n. and a. B. 2]. 1864 in Slang Dict. 1955 Publ. Amer. Dialect Soc. xxiv. 115 Paper money is known, in general, as scratch or soft.

    c. pl. Soft coal; also, soft woollen rags.

1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-m. 229 Softs, coals which easily break up. 1894 Times 17 Apr. 4/5 The best demand was for nuts,..but Barnsley softs were again to be had at from 7s. 6d. to 8s.

    d. pl. Soft commodities (see soft a. 20 b (b)).

1979 Financial Times 28 Mar. 37/1 Will ‘softs’ boom next? 1981 Times 5 May 17/2 Softs are less homogeneous in outlook because crop conditions vary so much.

    3. Phonetics. A soft or voiced consonant.

1846 M. Williams Sanscr. Gram. 10 The soft is changed to its unaspirated hard. 1871 Abbott & Seeley Eng. Lessons 43 Aspirates and softs..are modified in a corresponding manner.

    4. U.S. political slang. a. A member of a local party which advocated a ‘soft money’ or paper currency. b. A member of one or other party holding moderate views. Cf. soft-shell n.

1847–54 in R. H. Thornton American Gloss. (1912) s.v. Hard. 1859 Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 2) 426 Soft-shell democrats, Soft-shells, or Softs, the less conservative division of the New York Democrats. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. II. ii. xlvi. 203 The Hunkers and Barnburners who divided the Democratic party forty years ago, and subsequently passed into the ‘Hards’ and the ‘Softs’.

    5. A soft, simple, or foolish person; a ‘softy’. Chiefly dial. or colloq.

1854– in dial. glossaries and texts (Northampt., Linc., Lanc., Berks., etc.). 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede ix, It'll do you no good to sit in a spring-cart o' your own, if you've got a soft to drive you. 1864 E. Sargent Peculiar III. 72 If the world were in the hands of such softs the old machine would be smashed up in universal anarchy.

    6. Hist. rare. A Menshevik.

1950 E. H. Carr Bolshevik Revol. I. ii. 30 But the withdrawal of seven delegates who had voted with the ‘softs’..had the result of shifting the balance of votes in favour of the ‘hards’. 1955 H. Hodgkinson Doubletalk 17 Lenin's group..was described as ‘Iskraists’..or ‘hards’... Its rivals were ‘softs’, because it approached the membership problem in the spirit of Martov's ‘The more people there are called Party members, the better it will be’.

▪ II. soft, a.
    (sɒft, -ɔː-)
    Forms: α. 1–6 softe (4–5 soffte, 4 zoffte), 4– soft. β. dial. and Sc. 6–7 safte, 6– saft (9 dial. zaft).
    [OE. sófte or sóft, var. of the more usual séfte, which corresponds to WFris. sêft, seaft, OHG. semfti (samfti), semfte, MHG. senfte, obs. G. senft. The form without umlaut (probably due to the influence of the adv.) has parallels in MDu. soft (zoft), saft, and sacht (Du. zacht), MLG. and LG. sacht, MHG. and G. sanft (dial. saft, sâft). The relationships of the stem are doubtful.]
    Many of the senses tend to involve or pass into each other, esp. in poetic use.
    I. 1. a. Producing agreeable or pleasant sensations; characterized by ease and quiet enjoyment; of a calm or placid nature.

c 1000 ælfric Hom. (Thorpe) I. 566 Ic softum slæpe me ᵹereste, swa swa ðu me forlete. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 35 Hit walð me þunchen þet softeste beð [= bath] and þet wunsemeste þet ic efre ibad. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2412 Pharaon bad him wurðen wel in softe reste and seli mel. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 312 It hath be sen and felt ful ofte, The harde time after the softe. c 1477 Caxton Jason 45 b, Certes the time must be taken as hit cometh, is hit hard or softe. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxxv. 9 For weirines on me ane slummer soft Come. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. ix. 13 Whiles euery sence the humour sweet embayd, And slombring soft my hart did steale away. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. ii. vii. 114 Till that the conquering Wine hath steep't our sense, In soft and delicate Lethe. 1634 Milton Comus 1001 Where young Adonis oft reposes, Waxing well of his deep wound In slumber soft. 1746 Francis tr. Horace, Epist. i. xvi. 21 This pleasing, this delicious soft Retreat In Safety guards me from September's Heat. 1812 Byron Ch. Har. ii. lxx, Many a joy could he from Night's soft presence glean. 1865 Conington Hor., Odes iv. v. (ed. 3) 112 Sweet Peace, soft Plenty, swell the golden grain.

    † b. Pleasing in (or of) taste; free from acidity or sharpness. Also of odour: Not pungent, strong, or heavy. Obs.

1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. iv. vii. (W. de W. 1495) 89 Blood is swete and softe in taast and in towche. Ibid. xvi. xciv. (Bodl. MS.), In some place it is softe in sauoure, and in some place moste salt: and in some place moste bitter. c 1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 92 His seed ys reed, his odour softe, of good effect. c 1475 Henryson Poems (S.T.S.) III. 152 With ane brewing caldrun full of hait caill, For it wilbe þe softar and sweittar of þe smak. 1797 London Art of Cookery 216 Malt is a wholesome nutritious grain, containing a soft, balsamic, oleaginous essence. 1826 Art Brewing (ed. 2) 101 Preserving the sweet flavour of the malt.., and the soft richness.

    c. Pleasing to the eye; free from ruggedness or asperity. Also of colour, or with reference to this: Not crude or glaring; quiet, subdued.

1702 Pope Sappho 15 Soft scenes of solitude no more can please. 1738 Gray Tasso 67 There the soft emerald smiles of verdant hue. 1784 Cowper Task i. 766 We can spare The splendour of your lamps; they but eclipse Our softer satellite. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 770 This mode of engraving.., when carefully executed, has a soft and pleasing effect. 1845 Budd Dis. Liver 228 The tissue of the liver is pale, and..of a soft buff colour. 1869 H. F. Tozer Highl. Turkey I. 201 Following its stream..through softer scenery. 1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 718 This [Bromide] Paper is very Rapid, and gives very soft and beautiful results.

    d. Of a photographic film or paper: producing an image of low contrast.

1910 W. Wallington Chats on Photogr. xiii. 113 The paper may be obtained in a number of speeds..the slower varieties being more suitable for printing soft negatives. 1937 Amat. Photogr. ix. 120 The ‘soft’ grade has the..merit of registering tone in dense high-lights without clogging shadows. 1966 D. G. Brandon Mod. Techniques Metallogr. 15 An approximately linear dependence of the blackening is only obtained over a limited range of exposure times, and this range is far greater for ‘soft’ emulsions than for ‘hard’ ones. 1979 SLR Camera Jan. 59/1 If the photographic image shows a large number of tones between the extremes of light and dark, it is said to have soft gradation.

    e. Of a lens: having low resolving power. Cf. soft-focus a., n., and v.

1958 M. L. Hall Newnes' Compl. Amat. Photographer i. 26 Soft lenses. Some highly complex lenses are said to be ‘soft’ in definition. 1974 Publishers' Weekly 24 June 56/2 ‘Soft lens’ photos well suited indeed to the muted inner dignity of these deeply religious black people. 1978 SLR Camera Sept. 37/3 How good is the lens on your camera? Is it a bit soft?

    2. a. Causing or involving little or no discomfort, hardship, or suffering; easily endured or borne.

c 1205 Lay. 16109 Soð ich habbe þe isæid, ah nis þe na þe softre. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2057 Queðer-so it wurðe softe or strong, ðe reching wurð on god bi-long. c 1320 Cast. Love 957 Mi ȝok is softe i-nowh to weren. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 367 For Crist hymself seys þat his ȝok is soffte, and his charge is light. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 41 b, He hydeth the ferefull scourge of greuous correccyon, and sheweth vs somtymes the softe rodde of his swete disciplyne. a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Worc. iii. (1661) 169 After ten years soft durance in all plenty,..enjoying a great temporall Estate left him by his Father, He dyed 1569. 1672 Sir T. Browne Let. Friend §24. 130 Besides his soft death, the incurable state of his disease might somewhat extenuate your sorrow. 1700 Law Council of Trade (1751) 118 Altho'..this act be a monopoly,..yet was it incomparably more soft and easy, than those barbarous monopolies of the Kings, James the V and VI.

    b. Involving little or no exertion or effort; free from toil or labour. Now chiefly colloq., easy, lazy, idle.

1639 Fuller Holy War ii. xl. (1840) 104 They were bred in such soft employments, that they were presently foundered with any hard labour. 1655 Nicholas Papers (Camden) II. 267 Iff I did not know how much hee is devoted to his ease and a soft kinde of life. 1690 Temple Ess. Poetry Wks. 1720 I. 249 Among the Romans, the last..Scipio passed the soft Hours of his Life in the Conversation of Terence. 1841 Browning Pippa Passes 146 A soft and easy life these ladies lead! 1858 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. ix. vii. (1872) III. 128 He led a soft and tranquil life with his Regiment at Ruppin. 1889 Daily News 12 Oct. 5/1 People crowd into literature, as into other ‘soft’ professions, because it is genteel. 1894 Ibid. 2 Oct. 6/1 The popular idea that romance is ‘a soft job’. 1905 H. A. Vachell The Hill viii. 181 You have deliberately taken things easy, because you wanted a soft time of it during the summer term.

    c. Applied in the Soviet Union and China to a class of railway carriage (esp. a sleeper) having soft, upholstered seats.

1928 Cook's Continental Timetable 15 May 102 Sleeping car of direct communication, soft and hard class. 1949 F. Maclean Eastern Approaches (1951) i. iii. 39 In the train I found myself in a ‘soft’ compartment with three senior and somewhat supercilious officers of the Red Army. 1954 Koestler Invisible Writing v. 61 It entitled me..to travel in the ‘soft class’ on trains. 1968 Bethell & Burg tr. Solzhenitsyn's Cancer Ward i. xiv. 228 They found it quite unbearable, of course, to travel in ordinary railway carriages... The Rusanovs now travelled only in reserved compartments or ‘soft class’. 1974 Times 1 Apr. 15/5 All the railways in Europe, and even those in China, have first and second class, although it may be wrapped up as ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ in USSR and China. 1978 G. E. Newby Big Red Train Ride ii. 22 We now took a closer look at our deluxe, ‘soft-class’ compartment. 1982 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 3 Apr. 1031/1 One end of our ‘soft-class’ carriage [in China].

    3. a. Of a sound, the voice, etc.: Low, quiet, subdued; not loud, harsh, or rough. Also, melodious, pleasing to the ear, sweet.

c 1250 Owl & Night. 6 Þat playd wes stif & starc & strong, Sum hwile softe & lud among. a 1300 Cursor M. 1030 Þar sune es soft and suet sang, Sune of sautes þat þar singes. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. ix. 112 He was..to loken on ful symple,..Sad of his semblaunt and of softe speche. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 745 Thisbe, And with a soun as softe as ony shryfte, They lete here wordis thour the clifte pace. c 1400 Lydg. Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) i. xxxvii. (1859) 41 Thenne held they a counceyl so softe and so stylle that I nomore herd for a good space. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 177 He lyght fro his hors and in softe laghynge sayde [etc.]. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 519 The soft souch of the swyr. 1581 Mulcaster Positions xii. (1887) 60 Of loude and soft reading. 1605 Shakes. Lear v. iii. 273 Her voice was euer soft, Gentle, and low, an excellent thing in woman. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. v. 128 The soft Whispers of the Southern Wind. 1738 Gray Propertius iii. 2 Whence the soft strain and ever-melting verse? 1779 Warner in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1844) IV. 263, I dealt only in the softest inflexions of voice, though with you..I should have been angry. 1817 Keats I stood tip-toe 95 The soft rustle of a maiden's gown. 1838 Dickens O. Twist xii, There came a soft tap at the door. 1876 J. S. Bristowe Th. & Pract. Med. (1878) 602 A soft systolic murmur is frequently to be heard.

    b. spec. in Phonetics. (Opposed to hard a. 16.)
    Jonson and Ainsworth employ the term in the contrary sense to that now usual.

1636 B. Jonson Eng. Gram. iv. Wks. (Rtldg.) 772/2 The more general sound [of f] is the softest and expresseth the Greek ϕ. 1668 O. Price Eng. Orthogr. 24 Except..the soft, s, in concision, circumcision. Ibid., But, th, makes a softer sound..in worthy, father. 1736 Ainsworth Dict. ii. s.v. T, P is only a softer b, and b an harder p,..the harder mute before a vowel passing into the softer before a consonant. 1775– [see hard a. 16]. 1827 Heard Gram. Russian Lang. 4 There are eleven vowels in the Russian alphabet, which are divided into hard and soft. 1845 Proc. Philol. Soc. II. 90, S is always hard, the soft sound of this letter being invariably represented by z. 1883 I. Taylor Alphabet II. 128 The Etruscan rejects the soft mutes b, g, d, and retains the aspirated mutes th, kh, ph.

    c. Of musical instruments: Making or emitting a soft sound.

1561 T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer i. (1900) 90 The Cretenses used harpes and other softe instrumentes. 1634 Milton Comus 86 With his soft Pipe, and smooth-dittied Song. 1667 ― P.L. i. 551 Anon they move..to the Dorian mood Of Flutes and soft Recorders. 1746 Francis tr. Horace, Epist. ii. ii. 82 Thee the softer Lyre Delights. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xv, Their voices accompanied by a few soft instruments.

    4. a. Of weather, seasons, etc.: Free from storms or rough winds; genial, mild, balmy. (Cf. 26.)

c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3061 Ðis weder is softe, And ðis king hard. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. vii. 181 Vppon softe sonenday..Hungur hem helede wiþ an hot Cake. c 1375 Cursor M. 24837 (Fairf.), Þe weder soft in somertide sone be-gan to rugg & ride. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 58/2 Calme or softe, wythe-owte wynde, calmus. c 1475 Henryson Poems (S.T.S.) III. 93 The nicht is soft and dry. a 1505 Kingsford Chron. Lond. (1905) 261 This yere was a wonderfull easy and soft wynter, without stormys or frostes. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 457 In this soft Season,..In prime of all the Year, and Holy-days of Spring. 1705 Addison Italy 219 In a soft Air and a delicious Situation. 1822 [M. A. Kelty] Osmond III. 107 It was a soft, early summer's morning. 1851 Carlyle J. Sterling i. ii, The climate of Bute is rainy, soft of temperature... In that soft rainy climate [etc.]. 1894 Blackmore Perlycross 401 It is such a soft spring-day.

    b. Of the sun, rain, wind, etc.: Shining, falling, or blowing gently; not strong, violent, or boisterous.

1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. Prol. 1 In a somer sesun whon softe was þe sonne. c 1400 Destr. Troy 6066 Erly at Morne, When the sun vp soght with his softe beames. 1549 Compl. Scotl. vi. (1872) 61 The..southyn vynd..generis thondir, cluddis, and smal soft ranis. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 238 [He] prosperouslie landes at Leith..with a safte winde the xix day of maii. 1648 Hexham 11, Een soesinge, a soft or a gentle Gale. 1781 Cowper Charity 127 Soft airs and gentle heavings of the wave Impel the fleet. 1823 F. Clissold Ascent Mt. Blanc 22 A soft breath of wind spread its folds, and floated it gently in the air. 1843 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. I. 206 The beautifullest soft rain to make all fresh again. 1864 Tennyson Aylmer's F. 454 The soft river-breeze, Which fann'd the gardens.

fig. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. ii. iii. vii, Wild burstings of affection were in this great heart; of fierce lightning, and soft dew of pity.

    c. Of the sea, streams, etc.: Free from rough waves or turbulence; smooth, calm; running calmly or gently.

c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 626 Þe se was soft, þe wawes were stille. 1543 R. Ascham Toxoph. (Arb.) 153 There is no shippe better than Gallies be, in a softe and a caulme sea. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. 223 From thence with a soft streame, and gentle fall, Thone runneth by..Taunton. 1648 Milton Ps. lxxxvii. 27 In thee fresh brooks, and soft streams glance. 1784 Cowper Task iv. 64 Rills of oily eloquence in soft Meanders. 1814 Scott Diary 2 Sept. in Lockhart, We here only feel them as a large but soft swell of the sea. 1863 Smith's Dict. Bible III. 1311/2 It [Siloah] is not now, nor was it in the days of Isaiah, anything but a very soft and gentle stream.

    5. a. Of pace, progression, or movement: Leisurely, easy; slow; not hasty or hurried. Now arch.
    The adverbial phrase (to go, ride, etc.) a soft pace appears very frequently from c 1370 to 1560.

c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 297 He ne made no softe pas, Ake wende him þudere ful hastifliche. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 462/2 Softe, in mevynge, lentus. Ibid. 472/1 Stalkynge, or soft and sly goynge, serptura. 1511 Guylforde's Pilgr. (Camden) 77 We made sayle with right softe spede. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies vi. xxviii. 493 Circles..wherein the Auntients and Noblemen did sing and daunce with a softe and slowe motion. 1663 S. Patrick Parab. Pilgr. xxvii. (1687) 313 A soft pace goes far. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 164 The Dromedaries have..a good soft trott, and will travel with ease forty Leagues a day. a 1704 T. Brown To Belinda ii. Wks. 1711 IV. 100 Love is all Gentleness and Joy, Smooth are his Looks, and soft his Pace. a 1822 Shelley Matilda 5 With slow, soft steps leaving the mountain's steep. 1871 Rossetti Poems, Dante at Verona xxi, A lady..at a soft pace Riding the lists round to the dais.

    b. Having a smooth easy motion. rare.

1470–85 Malory Arthur x. xxviii. 458 Whanne he vnder⁓stood that Kynge Marke had sente for hym, he mounted vpon a softe ambuler and rode to Kynge Marke. 1667 Milton P.L. viii. 165 The Earth..that spinning sleeps On her soft Axle, while she paces Eev'n.

    † c. Of a journey: Performed leisurely. Obs.^—1

1606 Holland Suetonius 75 The journeyes that he made were soft and small; so that if hee went from Rome but to Tibur or Præneste, he would make two daies of it.

    † 6. Of a fire: Burning slowly or gently; moderate or gentle in heat or intensity; slow. Obs.
    Common in the 16th and 17th centuries.

1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 85 After be it put vpon a softe fyr. a 1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. 31 Seþe þam on a softe fyre vnto þey be made oon body. 1527 Andrew Brunswyke's Distyll. Waters H iij, The fyre must be very softe in the begynnyng. 1577 Harrison England ii. vi. (1877) i. 157 The more the barleie be dried (yet must it be doone with soft fire) the better the malt is. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 453 Redde fillets of Saffron..are dried at a soft fire. 1689 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) I. 620 Some French incendiaries..were adjudg'd to be fastned to a stake, with a soft fire round them. 1718 F. Hutchinson Witchcraft ii. (1720) 22 Some others roasted the King's Picture by a soft Fire. 1738 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Balsam of sulphur, Boiling the two together over a soft fire the space of an hour.

Prov. a 1536 Proverbs in Songs, Carols, etc. (E.E.T.S.) 128 A softe fire makith swete malte. 1564 W. Bullein Dram. Dial. (E.E.T.S.) 6 Softe fire maketh swete Malte. 1663 Butler Hud. i. iii. 1251 Soft fire, they say, does make sweet Malt. Good Squire. Festina lente, not too fast.

    7. Of a slope, ascent, etc.: Gentle, gradual.

1659 W. Chamberlayne Pharonnida ii. 147 The stately Mount..to meet the Vale stole down On soft descents. 1781 Cowper Retirement 333 Neither heathy wilds..Nor soft declivities with tufted hills. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxxvi, The strain..rose, by soft degrees, till the high organ and the choral sounds swelled into full and solemn harmony. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe xliii, It occupied the brow of a soft and gentle eminence.

    II. 8. a. Of persons: Gentle or mild in nature or character; inclined to be merciful, lenient, or considerate in dealing with others; free from harshness, severity, or rigour; compassionate, kind, tender-hearted.
    Passing into, or not always clearly distinct from, sense 13.

a 1122 O.E. Chron. an. 1114 (Laud MS.), He wæs swiðe god & softe man & dyde mycel to gode. 1154 Ibid. an. 1137, He milde man was & softe & god. c 1200 Ormin 667 Godess enngell iss full meoc, & milde, & soffte, & bliþe. c 1205 Lay. 18775 Þa wes Vðer Pendragun Þa softer an his mode. a 1225 Ancr. R. 304 Abuuen us [will be] þe eorre Demare, vor ase softe as he is her, ase herd he bið þer. c 1300 Havelok 991 Als he was strong, so was he softe. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 371 Thou schalt be soft in compaignie, Withoute Contek or Folhaste. c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode i. xv. (1869) 10 Softe he shulde be that hath it, For of to gret rudeshipe mys befalleth. 1533 Bellenden Livy i. xi. (S.T.S.) I. 68 Na pepill was sa gracius and soft in pvnissing of þare transgressouris or subdittis as þai wer. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 223 This king..saw that as seueir punisment drewe vicious persounis frome vice; sa to be saft, and ouersie, prouokes thame daylie mair. 1612 T. Taylor Comm. Titus iii. 2 A soft man is..one that will not be so hard in his dealing, as sometime by strict lawe he might. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 776 The soft Napæan Race will soon relent Their Anger, and remit the Punishment. 1751 Chesterfield Lett. ccxlv. (1792) III. 125 At the first impulse of passion be silent, till you can be soft. 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. xxvii, The law being hard upon us, we're not exactly soft upon B. 1852 Thackeray Esmond i. xiv, He..was very soft and gentle with the children. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 314 They now began to consider that..Neuchamp had been considerate, or, in their phraseology, ‘soft,’ to an extent altogether unprecedented.

    b. Of animals: Gentle, docile; lacking in spirit.

c 1200 Ormin 1312 Forr lamb is soffte & stille deor, & meoc, & milde. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. c. (W. de W. 1495) 846 Whan he [a bull] is tyed vnder a fyg tree he lesyth and leueth all his fyersnesse and is sodenly sobre and softe. [c 1515 Cocke Lorell's B. 1 She is as softe as a lamme yf one do her meue.] 1891 Pall Mall G. 15 Sept. 2/3 An English jockey speaks with contempt of ‘a soft brute’; when a toreador..speaks of a soft brute, he says it has ‘drunk mud’.

    c. Gentle in speech or looks.

a 1300 Cursor M. 24078 (Edinb.), Fair he wes and fre,..Soft in speche. 1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 117 Þat man ys..wel dysposyd in kynde, þat..ys..softe yn lokynge. 1422 Ibid., Priv. Priv. 139 A kynge sholde be good of Speche and Softe in worde.

    † d. Quiet; not making a noise. Obs.

a 1430 Stans Puer 55 in Babees Bk., At mete & at soper kepe þee stille & softe. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 462/2 Softe, or esy wythe owte grete dene,..tranquillus. a 1536 Proverbs in Songs, Carols, etc. (E.E.T.S.) 130 Besy in stody be þou, child,..& at bedde, softe & sadde.

    e. Not rigid or severe; lax, yielding. Cf. 11 b.

a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1734) II. 29 Lord Ancram said I might be what I pleased, if I would be a little softer in the points of religion. 1718 Hickes & Nelson Kettlewell iii. l. 315 Some..think him herein too Rigid:..Others have censured him for being too Soft.

    9. a. Of disposition, look, etc.: Gentle, mild; indicative of a mild or gentle character.

c 1200 Ormin 1461 Ȝiff þin herrte iss arefull, & milde, & soffte, & nesshe. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. viii. 117 Sadde of his semblaunt and of soft chiere. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 83 For feigned semblant is so softe, Unethes love may be war. 1533 Bellenden Livy ii. xi. (S.T.S.) I. 169 Seruilius.., ane man of mare soft Ingyne, said þe myndis of pepill mycht be mare eselie bowit þan brokin. 1818 Scott Br. Lamm. x, A flush of less soft expression..resumed predominance when he mentioned how meanly he was provided for the entertainment of his guests. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 591 Those soft and pleasing features which had won so many hearts. 1880 ‘Ouida’ Moths 280 She found his soft, pensive eyes looking at her.

    b. Of qualities, feelings, etc.: Characterized by gentleness or tenderness.

c 1200 Ormin 2899 Swa þatt te millce nohht ne be To soffte, ne to nesshe. 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 595 Soft pity enters at an iron gate. 1723 Ramsay Fair Assembly x, Belinda..strikes with love and saft surprise, Where e'er she turns her een. 1746 Hervey Medit. (1818) 147 A heart susceptible of the softest, most compassionate emotions. 1781 Cowper Table-T. 484 If human woes her soft attention claim.

    10. Of words, language, etc.: a. Ingratiating, soothing, bland; tender, sentimental.

c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xlv. (Christina) 46 Þane hir fadire kissit hir ofte, & gluthryt hir with vordis softe. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 72 He with softe wordes milde Conforteth hire. 1535 Coverdale Prov. v. 3 For the lippes of an harlot are a droppinge hony combe, and hir throte is softer then oyle. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Luke 193 b, Is it not a woorde softer then honey, to saie haill maister? 1608 Shakes. Per. iv. iv. 45 No visor does become black villany So well as soft and tender flattery. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 118 ¶2 The Huntsman..whispered the softest Vows of Fidelity in her Ear, and cried [etc.]. 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. 11, What soft things are you saying to your cousin? 1782 F. Burney Cecilia ii. iii, Can you conjecture who was making these soft speeches? 1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xxxiv, The coaxing tones of Bridget's voice, inviting Andy, in the softest words, to go to bed. 1865 Trollope Belton Est. ix. 94 He was fond of saying soft things which were intended to have no meaning.

    b. Free from roughness or harshness; tending to tone down or minimize something unpleasant.

1388 Wyclif Prov. xv. 1 A soft answere brekith ire. c 1446 Lydg. Two Nightingale Poems 25 Whan he was brought to examynacioun: A soft Aunswere without rebellioun. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 350 Þe bischope mode was all mesyd, Þe whene with soft wordes he plesyd. 1660 Waterhouse Arms & Arm. 38 'Tis very convenient to use a soft Pen, and to offer probable truth with no dictator-like confidence. 1710 Addison Whig Examiner No. 5 ¶3 They have stated this case in the softest and most palatable terms it will bear. 1753–4 Richardson Grandison III. xxvii. 286 You have soft words for hard meanings. 1838 Thirlwall Greece IV. 161 Ambassadors were sent to Agis, to propose alliance with Sparta—a softer term for subjection. 1869 Trollope He Knew, etc. xxxii. (1878) 183 If there was anything in what your wife did to offend you, a soft word from you would have put it all right.

    c. Expressive of what is tender or peaceful. Also transf. of a writer.

a 1704 T. Brown Praise Drunkenness Wks. 1730 I. 37 Anacreon was famous for a bottle, as he was soft and pleasing in his poetry. 1712 Addison Spectator No. 369 ¶19 Some Passages are beautiful by being Sublime, others by being Soft. 1743 Francis tr. Hor., Odes i. xvi. 26 Shall the Muse again To softer Numbers tune her melting Strain.

    11. a. Of actions, means, etc.: Gentle or moderate in character; carried on, performed, etc., without harshness, severity, or violence.

1495 Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 2 Preamble, Of his pitie intending to reduce theym therunto by softer meanes then by such extreme rigour. 1588 Kyd Househ. Phil. Wks. (1901) 260 To aduise thee..not [to] bring them vp vnder so soft and easie discipline as they become..milke sops. 1607 Shakes. Cor. iii. ii. 82 Thou,..being bred in broyles, Hast not the soft way, which..Were fit for thee to vse. 1670 Clarendon Contempl. Ps. Tracts (1727) 605 Since they will not entertain that soft approach of his grace towards their conversion, he hath a rougher remedy to apply. 1742 Gray Propertius i. 3 Still may his Bard in softer fights engage. 1754 ― Progr. Poesy 16 The..Frantic Passions hear thy soft controul. 1784 Cowper Task iii. 510 When the temper'd heat..may afford Soft fomentation, and invite the seed. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. v. i, The two fly-wheels whirl in the softest manner. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. III. lxxxvii. 161 They are disposed to try soft means at first.

    b. In comparative use: Less rigid or strict.

1718 Hickes & Nelson Kettlewell iii. lxxiv. 388 He had been prevailed upon..to take the New Oath according to the Softer Sense.

    c. Pol. Designating a comparatively moderate or centrist section of a political party, or the section of the political spectrum which lies between the ‘hard’ or extreme faction and the centre. Chiefly as soft left. Contr. with hard a. 12 d.

1977 Economist 1 Oct. 16/1 Unless the party's election rules were changed it would still be unlikely that Labour MPs would turn to Mr Tony Benn as their leader, but the chances of their choosing a ‘soft left’ candidate would be strong. Ibid. 29 Oct. 12/2 To introduce capital punishment..would merely be a way of pressganging many members of Germany's soft left into the thinning ranks of its hard one. 1980 Ibid. 27 Sept. 79/2 Mr. Peter Shore, regarded as moderate-to-soft left, has just made a philosophical pitch to be a serious contender. 1985 N.Y. Times Mag. 18 Aug. 8/4 Neo-con Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a soft-right, near-left Democrat, objected years ago to the Communist assumption of such words as people's, democratic, [etc.]. 1986 Times 25 Feb. 13/1 In his action against the Militants, Mr. Kinnock has had the support of the soft Left.

    12. Of the hand, etc.: Touching lightly or gently.
    Sense 19 is also implied.

1650 R. Stapylton Strada's Low-C. Wars i. 24 An incision pains the less when made by a soft hand. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 471, I will bring thee where no shadow staies..thy soft imbraces. 1743 Francis tr. Hor., Odes i. xxiv. 22 What though you can the Lyre command, And sweep its Tones with softer Hand Than Orpheus. 1820 Shelley Hymn Merc. xxv, Right through the temple..He went with soft light feet. 1901 N. Amer. Rev. Feb. 162 The soft hand of the Americans is not as good as the mailed fist of the Germans.

    III. 13. a. Yielding readily to emotions of a tender nature; easily affected or moved in this way; impressionable. Also absol. of persons.

c 1205 Lay. 24220 Þer custe uader þene sune,..suster custe suster; Þa softere heom wes an heorten. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon iv. 127 His herte wexed softe, & began to wepe full sore. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. iii. 337 Loues feeling is more soft and sensible, Then are the tender hornes of..Snayles. 1713 Steele Guardian No. 17 ¶ 7 Concerning the Soft disposition and generosity of his master. 1747 Gentl. Mag. Apr. 194/1 The soft lamented, and the brave approv'd. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. ii. i, The soft young heart adopts orphans. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. viii. II. 320 His graceful manners,..his soft heart, his open hand, were universally praised. 1880 L. B. Walford Troublesome Daughters I. ix. 187 He found himself quite soft on the subject.

    b. In figurative expressions, as to have a soft spot in one's heart, etc. Hence phr. to have a soft spot for, to have a tender regard for, be fond of. (See also 19 c.)

1679 Alsop Melius Inq. ii. viii. 361 A tender-Conscienced Person is one that has a Soft place in's Head. 1753 J. Collier Art Torment. ii. iii. (1811) 135 The man who has a soft place in his heart. 1857 C. M. Yonge Dynevor Terrace I. xi. 160 Jane has a soft spot in her heart, and will not think true love is confined within the rank that keeps a gig. 1885 Cent. Mag. XXX. 380/2 [He] had rather a soft spot in his heart for Violet. 1887 Times (weekly ed.) 30 Sept. 8/2 Cave..had got the softer side of some of the doorkeepers of the House of Commons. 1902 [see spot n.1 10 b]. 1947 K. Tennant Lost Haven i. 24 She always did have a soft spot for him. 1971 New Scientist 13 May 400/1 He won a scholarship advertised in New Scientist and has had a soft spot for the magazine ever since.

    c. to be soft on or upon (a person), to be in love with; to regard amorously or sentimentally.

1840 Thackeray Barber Cox Jan., Orlando and my girl, who were mighty soft upon one another. 1860 ― Lovel vi, I was not a little soft upon her myself, that's the truth. 1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms II. ix. 157, I always thought she was rather soft on Jim.

    14. a. Easily influenced or swayed; having little power of resistance to the influence of other persons or things; facile, compliant. Also absol. of persons.

c 1250 Owl & Night. 1350 Þah sum wif beo of nesche mode, For wummon beoþ of softe blode. 1535 Coverdale Job xxiii. 16 For in so moch as he is God, he maketh my herte soft: and seynge that he is Allmightie, he putteth me in feare. 1558 Knox First Blast (Arb.) 24 Womankinde is imprudent and soft, (or flexible),..because she is easelie bowed. 1639 J. Saltmarsh Policy 178 In a businesse of passion and affection be suspitious of yourselfe and company, for in such cases you are most open and soft to advantages. 1648–9 Eikon Bas. 116 Divines, (of so soft and servile tempers, as disposed them to so sudden acting and compliance). 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 162 ¶5 Many..who select for friendship and confidence not..the virtuous, but the soft, the civil, and compliant. 1813 Scott Rokeby i. xxiv, A heart too soft from early life To hold with fortune needful strife. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 543 His soft mind had, as usual, taken an impress from the society which surrounded him.

    b. Weak, effeminate, unmanly.

1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, ii. ii. 57 Cheere vp your spirits, our foes are nye, And this soft courage makes your Followers faint. 1620 E. Blount Horæ Subsec. 82 In women, and men of soft and effeminated affections. 1628 Hobbes Thucydides (1822) 94 The Lacedemonians..ever looked sourly on soft and loose behaviour. 1663 S. Patrick Parab. Pilgr. (1687) 487 [To] keep our selves above the soft pleasures of the flesh into which we are apt to sink. 1716 Pope Iliad vi. 362 Sidonian maids..Whom from soft Sidon youthful Paris bore. 1776 Gibbon Decl. & F. xii. (1782) I. 413 He was soft yet cruel; devoted to pleasure, but destitute of taste. 1801 Strutt Sports & Past. Introd. p. xi, Violent exercises..grew out of fashion.., and the education..became proportionably more soft and delicate. 1872 Routledge's Ev. Boy's Ann. 455/1 It looks so soft to say you won't fight.

    c. Refined, delicate. rare.

1601 Shakes. Twel. N. v. i. 331 For your seruice done him,..So farre beneath your soft and tender breeding. 1604 ― Ham. v. ii. 112 (Q.2), An absolute gentleman,..of very soft society, and great showing. 1693 Evelyn De la Quint. Compl. Gard. I. 58 They say in a pretty popular manner, that..it is impossible to afford them too much Kindness, which is the soft and sparkish Expression they use in speaking of what we vulgarly call Dung.

    † 15. Lax or slack in duty. Obs.^—1

c 1386 Chaucer Doctor's T. 101 Under a schepherd softe and necligent, The wolf hath many a schep and lamb to-rent.

    16. a. Of a weakly or delicate constitution; not strong or robust; incapable of much physical endurance or exertion.

[1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. v. ii. 165 Why are our bodies soft, and weake, and smooth, Vnapt to toyle and trouble.] 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. Isagoge c b, Soft and sedentary men must abstaine from it, it being fit only for porters, ploughmen, and mariners. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 685 There Euphrates her soft Off-spring arms. 1781 Cowper Anti-Thelyphth. 177 She, regardless of her softer kind, Seiz'd fast the saddle. 1842 Combe Digestion 294 If the individual..is of a soft, sluggish, lymphatic temperament, which stands in need of a healthy stimulus. 1850 A. Jameson Leg. Monast. Orders (1863) 46 In those days the coasts of England were, to the soft Italians, a kind of Siberia for distance and desolation. 1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms I. xi. 135 Our horses had been doing nothing lately, and..had, of course, got fat, and were rather soft.

    b. colloq. (See quot.)

1898 Sir G. Robertson Chitral xxxii. 352 The conviction that our troops were broken in spirit—what in India is expressively called soft.

    17. the soft(er) sex, the female sex.

1648 J. Beaumont Psyche xiv. i, The softer sex, attending Him And His still-growing woes with tenderer eyes. 1716 Pope Iliad v. 435 The king insults the goddess as she flies:..‘Go, let thy own soft sex employ thy care’. 1724 Swift Acc. Wood's Exec. Misc. 1735 V. 317 Those of the softer Sex who attended the Ceremony. 1833 Ritchie Wand. by Loire 128 That sex, which men call the softer, will dare the very devil, when occasion calls. 1838 Lytton Alice 157 In addition to those qualities which please the softer sex, Legard was a good whist player.

    18. a. More or less foolish, silly, or simple; lacking ordinary intelligence or common-sense; easily imposed upon or deceived. Also dial. or colloq., mentally deficient, half-witted.

1621 Burton Anat. Mel. i. ii. iii. xv. (1651) 130 Your greatest Students are commonly no better, silly, soft fellows. Ibid. iv. iv. 149 He made soft fellows stark noddies, and such as were foolish quite mad. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Soft, foolish. 1725 Bailey Erasm. Colloq. 277 This is the only Thing that he's soft in; he's sharp as a Needle in anything else. 1775 F. Burney Early Diary (1889) II. 124 He looks very soft, in the most extensive meaning of the word; c'est à dire, in temper, person, and head. 1835 Marryat J. Faithful xxv, A good sort of chap enough, but rather soft in the upper-works. 1867 Trollope Chron. Barset I. 12 One of the Grantlys was, to say the least of it, very soft.

    b. dial. Stupefied or muddled with drink.

1836– in dial. glossaries and texts (Eng. Dial. Dict.).

    c. colloq. Foolishly kind, benevolent, considerate, etc.

1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer (1891) 261 Helping other people along the road of life..a thundering soft thing it is, in a general way. Ibid. 315 He..did a soft thing in bringing these chaps here.

    d. to be or go soft on: to be or become excessively lenient or partial to.

1883 ‘Mark Twain’ Life on Mississippi xxxiv. 373 If he was soft on the Arkansas mosquitoes, he was hard enough on the mosquitoes of Lake Providence to make up for it. 1911 G. B. Shaw Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet 405 Why did He make me go soft on the child if He was going hard on it Himself? 1959 New Statesman 30 May 751 Why..were we all ‘going soft’ on Dulles? 1971 Guardian 19 Nov. 13/7 In the eyes of the militants, the Guardian is still ‘soft on the rebels’.

    IV. 19. a. Presenting a yielding surface to the touch; not offering absolute resistance to pressure.

a 1240 Ureisun in O.E. Hom. I. 187 Hwet deþ þenne þi blod isched on þe rode, hwet deþ þenne þe large broc of þi softe side? c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 335 Ðanne is tis fruit wel swiðe good, fair on siȝðhe and softe on hond. a 1300 Cursor M. 25491 Iesus, þat wald..suffer..Boffetes on þi soft chin. ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 556 Ther nis a fairer nekke, y-wis, To fele how smothe and softe it is. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 462/2 Softe and smothe, lenis, planus. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 28, I saw thre gay ladeis,.. Quhyt seimlie, and soft, as the sweit lillies. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, ii. iii. 61 Touch her soft mouth, and march. 1637 Bp. Hall Remedy Prophanenesse ii. §13. 178 The hand that was at the first soft, and tender, after it hath beene inured to worke, growes brawned, and impenetrable. 1700 Dryden Ovid's Met., Acis, Polyph. & Galatea 75 More sleek thy Skin,..And softer to the touch, than down of Swans. 1741–2 Gray Agrip. 95 Knows his soft ear the trumpet's thrilling voice. 1847 Tennyson Princess vii. 121 Softer all her shape And rounder seem'd. 1896 tr. Boas' Text-bk. Zool. 229 The legs arise..from the soft, lateral portions of the segment.

    b. Of the pulse. (Cf. hard a. 3.)

1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Pulse, A hard Pulse signifies, 1. That the Membrane of the Artery is dryer than ordinary:..3. That the Arteries are full [etc.]. A soft Pulse denotes the contrary to all these. 1834 Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) I. 545 If a pulse be small and soft together, then it must be considered as weak. 1843 R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. x. 113 A soft slow pulse.

    c. fig. soft spot, a weak or vulnerable place. (see also 13 b.)

1933 [see infiltration 1 e]. 1956 A. L. Rowse Early Churchills 239 The French..withdrew behind their fortifications... Marlborough was all for an assault on these; he had proved and found a soft spot opposite Ramillies. 1958 Engineering 21 Mar. 361/1 Even if the country as a whole was in the best of economic health, the local soft spots could not be ignored without serious political repercussions. 1965 H. I. Ansoff Corporate Strategy vii. 126 If the problem appears as a minor ‘soft spot’ in an otherwise healthy product-market position, temporary ad hoc arrangement..may suffice. 1975 Times Lit. Suppl. 17 Oct. 1233/3 There is probably much truth in Mr Levison's analysis.., but his obvious sincerity and dedication mask a few soft spots in the argument.

    d. Mil. Of a military vehicle: unarmoured. Of a missile base: vulnerable to a direct nuclear explosion because of its construction or location.

1944 A. Jacob Traveller's War vii. 129 The tanks crunch forward like a battle fleet: our ‘soft’ vehicles in the middle of the phalanx, with the armoured cars of the Dragoon Guards moving on both flanks. 1948 Partridge Dict. Forces' Slang 1939–45 175 Soft-skinned vehicles; soft stuff, unarmoured vehicles. (Army.) Both of these terms started as slang; the latter remained unofficial, although it did become colloquial; the former very rapidly became colloquial and then official. 1958 [see hard a. (n.) 14 f]. 1961 E. Burgess Long-Range Ballistic Missiles vi. 182 All forms of long-range missiles now appear to be developing towards the abandonment of the soft base, but there are..difficulties associated with the hardening concept. 1972 Dict. Military & Associated Terms (U.S. Department of Defense) 275/2 Soft missile base, a launching base that is not protected against a nuclear explosion.

    e. Physics. Of a mode of vibration in a crystal lattice: such that its frequency decreases to zero as the temperature of the crystal approaches that of a phase transition.

1964 Physical Rev. CXXXVI. a. 429/1 Cochran proposed a theory which links the cause of ferroelectricity in the perovskites to the existence of a temperature-dependent ‘soft’ lattice vibrational mode. 1967 Ibid. CLVII. 396/1 The energy of this soft mode can be extracted from reflectivity measurements in the infrared region. 1973 G. R. Wilkinson in A. Anderson Raman Effect II. xi. 813 A number of ‘soft’ modes of vibration whose frequencies depend upon temperature have been found.

    20. a. Of cloth, hair, or similar substances: Of a yielding texture, pleasant to the feel or touch; also, capable of being easily folded or put into a different form; flexible.

c 1205 Lay. 22763 Water me brohte.., seoððen claðes soften al of white seolke. 1382 Wyclif Matt. xi. 8 Loo! thei that ben clothid with softe thingis [1388 softe clothis] ben in housis of kyngis. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1721 Lucretia, This noble wif sat by hire beddys side..And softe wolle..she wroughte. 1450–80 tr. Secreta Secret. 39 And the heer be fulle and softe, that man is deboner. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 96 Soft and soupill as the silk. 1567 Gude & Godlie Ball. (S.T.S.) 196 Preistis, leif ȝour pryde, Ȝour skarlet and ȝour veluote soft. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 15 A white soft Bombast intermixed with seeds. 1725 Fam. Dict. s.v. Hair, If you would have the Hair grow long and soft. 1784 Cowper Task i. 11 Satin smooth, Or velvet soft, or plush with shaggy pile. 1788 ― Gratitude 17 These carpets, so soft to the foot. 1879 F. T. Pollok Sport Brit. Burmah I. 234 Leather..which must be kept soft by oil and elbow grease. 1887 Lowell Democracy 34 [To] walk along Piccadilly at the height of the Season in a soft hat.

fig. 1780 Cowper Progr. Err. 313 Caught in a delicate soft silken net By some lewd earl.

    b. soft wares, or soft goods, (a) woollen or cotton fabrics, such as cretonne, chintz, lace, muslin, velvet, etc., or articles made of these; also soft furnishing(s). (b) Comm., designating relatively perishable consumer goods such as clothes, foods, and drugs; spec. in the commodity market, used of commodities produced from vegetables, such as textiles, rubber, and foodstuffs.

1833 Chambers's Edin. Jrnl. I. 385/3, I could occasionally hear a detached sentence on politics..the price of stocks—soft goods. 1851 Mayhew London Labour I. 378 The most primitive kind of packmen, or hawkers of soft-wares. 1894 Westm. Gaz. 27 Sept. 8/2 Lectures intended for those engaged in the soft goods trade. 1898 Daily News 8 Jan. 7/3 A traveller in soft goods for an old-established London firm. 1925 Daily Tel. 13 May 20/6 Soft furnishing department. 1927 Ibid. 11 May 18/6 Manageress wanted... Must have thorough experience in the sale and scheme side of soft furnishings. 1946 Sun (Baltimore) 5 Oct. 2/6 These points stand out with respect to the production of ‘soft’ consumer goods (clothing, food, drugs and the like). 1961 Ann. Reg. 1960 502 The value of retail sales rose by 4 per cent, a higher demand for ‘soft’ goods more than offsetting the drop in purchases of durable household goods. 1967 E. Short Embroidery & Fabric Collage iii. 78 Probably the most useful and versatile object in soft furnishings is the cushion. 1976 L. Deighton Twinkle, twinkle, Little Spy xvi. 169 She did nothing except sink lower in the soft furnishings and continue to drink. 1979 Daily Tel. 9 Oct. 21 While the metal markets continue their volatile course the ‘soft’ commodities, with the notable exception of sugar, have largely been untouched by the urge to get out of the dollar and currencies in general.

    c. U.S. Of paper money. (Cf. hard a. 2.) Also attrib.

1831 T. L. Peacock Crotchet Castle xi, The notes of Touch⁓andgo and Company, soft cash, are now the exclusive currency of all this vicinity. 1878 N. Amer. Rev. CXXVII. 103 A Western Democrat on a soft-money platform. 1893 Daily News 16 June 2/3 Mr. Cleveland..found himself compelled to give the hot-headed partisans of ‘soft’ money a sharp lesson.

    21. Of a bed, pillow, etc.: Readily yielding to the weight of the body; into or upon which one sinks or settles down comfortably.

c 1250 Owl & Night. 644 Mi nest is holeuh & rum amidde, So hit is softest myne bridde. c 1275 Sinners Beware 284 in O.E. Misc., Ye me fedde..And leyden in softe bedde Þo ic a-mong eu eode. 1340 Ayenb. 47 Þe zofte bed cloþes,..and alle manyere eyse of bodye. 1588 Kyd Househ. Phil. Wks. (1901) 284 There in a very soft bed I bequeathed my bones to rest. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iv. i. 14 A good soft Pillow for that good white Head. 1607 ― Cor. v. iii. 53 With no softer Cushion then the Flint I kneele before thee. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 334 As they sat recline On the soft downie Bank. 1781 Cowper Table-T. 678 He laid his head in luxury's soft lap. 1784 ― Task i. 75 Ingenious fancy..devis'd The soft settee. 1830 Tennyson Merman iii, Soft are the moss-beds under the sea. c 1885 Rossetti Sick Child's Medit. ii. Poems (1904) 263/2 Thou, O Lord, in pain, hadst no pillow soft.

transf. 1450–80 Secreta Secret. 29 Thingis that makith the body fatte,..as wyn that is dowsett,..and slepe aftir mete, soft liyng, and alle good odoures. 1784 Cowper Task i. 82 By soft recumbency of outstretch'd limbs. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe ii, If the reverend fathers..loved good cheer and soft lodging.

    22. Of ground: a. Yielding agreeably to the feet.

c 1200 Ormin 9666 Þær shall nu newenn greȝȝþedd beon Full smeþe & soffte weȝȝe. ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 128 The medewe softe, swote, and grene, Beet right on the water-syde. 1815 Shelley Alastor 448 Soft mossy lawns Beneath these canopies extend their swells.

    b. Insufficiently hard; allowing a vehicle, person, etc., to sink in, esp. through excess of wet.

1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §5 On marreis ground and soft ground the other wheles be better. 1765 Dickson Treat. Agric. (ed. 2) 73 The pasture of plants is enlarged, both in hard and soft land, by stirring and turning it over. Ibid. 74 Soft marshy land, by being frequently ploughed, becomes more firm and solid. 1812 New Bot. Gard. I. 98 In soft boggy situations. 1816 Scott Bl. Dwarf iii, The bog is no abune knee-deep, and better a saft road as bad company. 1872 ‘Idstone’ [T. Pearce] The Dog vi. 58 When the track was plain upon mud or soft ground.

    c. Of a fall: Made on a soft substance, or in such a way as to escape injury. In quots. fig.

1587 Mirr. Mag., Rudacke x, Who climeth so highe, his fall is not soft. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. iii. viii, Remains only that the Court..shall make his fall soft.

    d. Astronautics. Of a landing made by a spacecraft: slow enough for no serious damage to be incurred. Chiefly in soft landing vbl. n.

1958 Times 28 Mar. 10/3 Next (in difficulty) would be a ‘soft’ (controlled) landing [on the moon] by an unmanned vehicle. 1966 E. Burgess Assault on Moon v. 151 A soft lunar landing is the landing of a payload on the Moon with a small shock to that payload. 1975 Daily Tel. 11 Aug. 11/4 One vehicle will make a soft touchdown on Mars while the large spacecraft which carried it on its journey will remain in orbit.

    e. Of a substance: readily magnetized by an ambient magnetic field but retaining no permanent magnetization in the absence of such a field.

1839 G. Bird Nat. Philos. 259 If a bar of soft iron be bent in the shape of the letter U. 1873 J. C. Maxwell Electr. & Magn. (1881) II. 44 If the magnetic properties of the iron depend entirely on the magnetic force of the field in which it is placed..it is called soft iron. 1900 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. LVII. 403 The author divides the different varieties of iron and steel into those which are magnetically ‘soft’ and those which are magnetically ‘hard’. 1948 F. Brailsford Magnetic Materials iv. 69 The most important source of internal strains in the higher grade soft magnetic materials is that due to the presence of impurities held in solution in the metal. 1976 Nature 5 Feb. 381/1 In a few cases large randomly directed magnetically soft components were removed in low alternating fields.

    f. Of glass: softening at a relatively low temperature when heated.

1925 Hodkin & Cousen Textbk. Glass Technol. vi. 51 A..vessel of soft soda-lime glass in which water is boiled, will liberate so much alkali in 15 minutes as to make impossible correct titrations with decinormal solutions. 1961 G. R. Choppin Exper. Nuclear Chem. viii. 121 Since Pyrex glass contains boron..it is better to use a soft glass tube to hold the source. 1965 Phillips & Williams Inorg. Chem. I. xiv. 545 Soft glasses are made by adding soda to the silica. About 25 per cent soda reduces the viscosity of a glass by a factor of 1010.

    g. Of a contact lens: made of a soft, yielding material.

1964 Highlights Ophthalm. VII. 252 (heading) The new hydrophilic gel, soft, contact lenses. 1971 Time 31 May 46, I intend using the soft lenses on every patient I possibly can. 1978 H. Hamand in M. Ruben Soft Contact Lenses viii. 128 The thickness of cornea of a rabbit was found to increase by 20% with 17 h of hard lens wear and about 5% with soft lens.

    23. a. Of a yielding consistency; composed of, or forming, a substance which may easily be moulded or compressed without disintegration.

c 1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 68 And whenne a body ys þicke and drye, softe metys and moyste er goode þerto. a 1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. 60 Blode is norischyng of al membrez, als wele of sadde as of softe. 1474 Caxton Chesse iii. v. (1883) 123 For the women ben likened vnto softe waxe or softe ayer. a 1536 Proverbs in Songs, Carols, etc. (E.E.T.S.) 132 Whote wortis make softe crustis. 1567 J. Maplet Gr. Forest 100 b, Whose flesh so soft and morsell sweete in all feastes is the hed. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 424 Spirits..Can either Sex assume, or both; so soft And uncompounded is their Essence pure. 1687 Prior & Halifax Hind & Panth. Transv. P.'s Wks. 1892 II. 321 A milk-white mouse..Fed on soft cheese. 1710 J. Clarke tr. Rohault's Nat. Philos. (1729) I. 123 A soft Body, which seems to be of a middle Nature betwixt a hard and a liquid Body. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VI. 66 To suppose that they entered the rock while it was yet in a soft state. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 415 By exposure to heat, potass becomes soft, and..melts into a transparent glass. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. vii. 48 The snow..was moist and soft. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 581 For the scalp..a soft ointment..answers well.

    b. In more or less specific uses (see quots.).
    soft roe: see roe² 1.

1601 Holland Pliny I. 332 Those in the sea which we call Soft-fishes, although they haue no bloud at all, as namely the Pour-cuttles or Polypes. 1745 P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 30 A Copper Oven..for baking Soft-Bread. Ibid. 145 The Officers had always soft Bread new baked, which was much better than the Biscuit. 1856 N. Brit. Rev. XXVI. 168 If these be the causes of hard and soft cataract. 1889 Pall Mall. G. 28 May 3/1 All ‘soft meat birds’ are observant. I mean by soft meat—which is a birdcatchers' term—the feeders on grubs and worms and flies, rather than on seeds. 1899 Daily News 7 Dec. 11/1 The foggy weather had an effect on the carcases in general, rendering them what is called ‘soft’.

    c. Of a semi-fluid consistency.

1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 262 In Summer time use your Morter as soft as you can, but in the Winter time pretty stiff or hard. 1791 Phil. Trans. LXXXI. 174 Workman keeps stirring and turning over the metal; in 3 m. it becomes soft and semi-fluid. 1898 Bolas Glass Blowing 132 An iron rod called a punty.., on the end of which is a mass of soft glass, is now attached to the elongated bulb.

    d. Of oil: (see quots.).

1885 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 242 The several kinds of crude paraffin..are classed as ‘hard scale’ or ‘soft scale’, according to their fusing points and consequent degrees of hardness at ordinary temperatures. 1887 C. A. Moloney Forestry W. Africa 43 In the trade it [palm-oil] is called ‘hard’ when it contains a larger proportion of ‘stearine’, ‘soft’ when it contains a smaller proportion.

    24. a. Relatively inferior or deficient in hardness.

1599 Hakluyt Voy. II. i. 253 Where there is a great market kept of Diamants, Rubies, Saphires, and many other soft stones. 1670 Pettus Fodinæ Reg. 5 And in these Veins of Metals and Minerals are often found Loadstones,..Rough pearl and Soft diamond. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 4 But if heated and cooled gradually, it becomes nearly as soft as pure iron. 1830 Lyell Princ. Geol. I. 216 The carbonates of iron, lime, and manganese are so dissolved, that the rock is rendered soft. 1847 J. Yeowell Anc. Brit. Church xii. 140 A head and face rudely carved in a soft stone. 1872 Raymond Statist. Mines & Min. 145 So far the mines have been easily worked, the gangue being as yet comparatively soft.

    b. In specific uses, as soft bast, soft brass, soft burr (see burr n.⁵ 3), soft hammer, soft metal, soft paste, soft porcelain, soft steel, soft stuff. (See also paste n. 3 b, porcelain 1 a note, solder n.¹ 4.)

1875 Bennett & Dyer tr. Sachs' Bot. 101 These cell⁓formations (cambiform, latticed cells, sieve-tubes) may, in combination with the phloëm-parenchyma in which they are imbedded,..be included in the term *Soft-bast, in opposition to the true bast.

1888 Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 128 *Soft brass, brass rule which can be easily manipulated, specially manufactured for fancy work.

1964 S. Crawford Basic Engin. Processes i. 16 Hammers with heads made of lead, copper, rubber, or rawhide are known as *soft hammers. The head is usually in the form of a cast tube with a recess at each end to locate the soft inserts. 1977 G. Clark World Prehistory (ed. 3) v. 212 The introduction of the soft hammer technique resulted in the production of thinner bifaces.

1869 Rankine Machine & Hand-tools 63 *Soft metal, for the bearings of shafts, consists of 50 parts of tin, 1 of copper, and 5 of antimony.

1848 H. R. Forster Stowe Catal. 8 Chantilly Porcelain is a fine kind of ‘*soft paste’. 1879 Soft paste [see paste n. 3 b]. 1884 Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl. 828/2 Soft Paste, (Ceramics), a name applied to the material of porcelain, which is semi-hard only.

1819 A. Rees Cycl. XXVIII. s.v. Porcelain, The porcelain is made of these substances [sc. porcelain clay and felspar]..but other materials are employed to give the required transparency at a lower temperature. This has received the name of *soft porcelain. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts II. 1025 The manufacture of soft porcelain is longer and more difficult than that of hard. 1859 R. Hunt Guide Mus. Pract. Geol. (ed. 2) 92 The English porcelain is, what is called, soft porcelain, and is composed of three elements, Kaolin and Cornish China stone—with bone ashes.

1868 Joynson Metals 90 For *soft-steel, less than 1 per cent. [of charcoal] being required. 1827 Fitton in Zool. Jrnl. III. 416 The ‘soft-stuff’ [of the Stonesfield slate-beds], occupying about six inches, consists of yellowish very sandy clay, including thin courses of fibrous transparent gypsum.

    c. soft coal, (a) coal that is easily cleft; (b) a coal of low rank, usu. a bituminous or a brown coal.

1789 J. Williams Min. Kingd. I. 232 Sometimes you can judge pretty near the crop or surface whether it will be a hard or soft coal. 1855 J. Phillips Man. Geol. 190 ‘Soft’ coal, where the cleat fissures are numerous and broken by cross cleat.

1857 J. B. Jukes Student's Man. Geol. iv. 133 All these minute varieties are commonly included under four principal heads:—1, Caking coal; 2, Splint or hard coal; 3, Cherry or soft coal, and 4, Cannel or parrot coal. 1903 Bull. U.S. Geol. Surv. No. 213. 265 By far the largest part of the coal mined [in the Eastern Interior field] is soft bituminous, making a good steam fuel. 1926 J. Roberts Mining Educator I. 677/1 American cities where the use of ‘soft’ or smoky coal is forbidden by law. 1958 I. C. F. Statham Coal Mining Practice (1960) I. ii. 77 Practically all black coals, such as are worked in British coalfields, show banding of soft bright and hard dull coal..parallel to the bedding. 1979 Sci. Amer. Jan. 28/3 Hard coal (anthracite and the various grades of bituminous coal) and soft coal (brown coal and lignite).

    25. a. Applied to water, such as rain or river water, which is more or less free from calcium and magnesium salts. (Opposed to hard a. 14 a.)

1755 Gentl. Mag. XXV. 361 Keep this bason constantly filled with soft water. 1805 Saunders Min. Waters 3 River Water..is in general much softer and more free from earthy salts. 1878 Ramsay Phys. Geogr. xxxii. 553 The water from the Welsh mountains is also in great part soft.

    b. orig. dial. and U.S. Of beverages (usu. cold fruit drinks and the like): Non-alcoholic, non-spirituous.

1880 in Antrim & Down Gloss. 95. 1894 Outing XXIV. 236/2 Each regiment had a ‘canteen’ of its own, where the men could buy..soft drinks, beer, cigars, pipes, etc. 1911 Chambers's Jrnl. Feb. 111/2 In the matter of ‘soft’ drinks the chemist or druggist is not in it [in Canada]. 1919 P. B. Clayton Tales Talbot House 29 The House was always what the Canadians called a ‘soft drink’ establishment, but no one resented this, lapping up tea or cocoa or Bovril with thanksgiving. 1936 G. B. Shaw Simpleton of Unexpected Isles Prol. iii. 27 A feast of fruit and bread and soft drinks is spread on the ground. 1944 Auden For Time Being (1945) 113 Soft drinks and sandwiches may be had in the inns at reasonable prices. 1960 Koestler Lotus & Robot i. i. 36 A soft-drink cocktail party in the house of a leading Parsee politician. 1964 I. Murdoch Italian Girl iii. 36 You haven't anything soft, ginger beer? All right, tomato juice. 1966 ‘A. Hall’ 9th Directive xii. 116 The sun was hot..soft-drinks men worked their way through [the crowd]. 1978 R. Ludlum Holcroft Covenant xviii. 203 They had proceeded to a second hotel on the rue Chevalle, where a soft-drink sign provided him with a name for the registry: N. Fresca.

    c. Of a detergent: biodegradable.

1963 New Scientist 27 June 716/1 A soft detergent is one that is biologically soft; that is, readily oxidised in a modern sewage plant. Ibid. 717/1 In most western countries the consumption of soap, which is a soft detergent, remains fairly steady or is falling. 1966 Economist 23 July 385/1 Replacing this branched chain with a straight chain makes the detergent ‘soft’—that is, easily munchable by the hard-working bugs. 1971 Daily Tel. 16 Oct. 10/6 The detergent industry switched over to ‘soft’, biodegradable detergents.

    26. Of the weather, a day, etc.: Rainy, wet. Chiefly Sc. and north. dial.

1812 Sir J. Sinclair Syst. Husb. Scot. i. Add. 11 If they [slugs] be attacked when on the surface of the ground, where they are every soft morning in search of food. 1828– in many dial. glossaries, etc. 1829 Scott Jrnl. 12 July, The day excessively rainy, or, as we call it, soft. 1874 Mrs. Oliphant For Love & Life (1880) 68 The day was fine, notwithstanding the prophecy of ‘saft weather’.

    27. a. Electronics. Of a thermionic valve or discharge tube: (a) having had an inert gas introduced into it at the time of manufacture in order to modify or enhance its performance; (b) containing gas at low pressure as a result of a leak or of outgassing by component parts. [tr. G. weich, used in sense (a) by W. C. Röntgen 1897, in Sitzungsber. d. K. Preuss. Akad. d. Wissensch. zu Berlin 584.]

1899 [see hard a. (n.) 17 b]. 1901 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. CXCVI. 42 The value of λ obtained..for a much ‘softer’ bulb was ·001, or about four times the absorption of the bulb employed in these experiments. 1921 Wireless World 6 Aug. 288/2 One ‘soft’ triode will give as much amplification as two ‘hard’ valves. 1931 [see hard a. (n.) 17 b]. 1932 Discovery July 216/1 These hard valves were found to be very much more reliable and uniform in their action than earlier ‘soft’ valves. 1948 Electronic Engin. XX. 384/1 In recent years the soft valve (thyratron) counter has been replaced by the hard valve counter. 1956 G. A. Montgomerie Digital Calculating Machines ix. 178 The soft valves are usually beam⁓switching tubes of the multicathode type.

1919 R. D. Bangay Oscillation Valve 203 There are several indications which enable one to tell when a valve is going ‘soft’. The first is loss of power in the oscillatory circuit. 1929 Duncan & Drew Radio Telegr. & Teleph. xi. 214 The degree of vacuum in the tube would change and some tubes became soft (having less vacuum) while others became hard (having a higher vacuum, with little or no gas present). 1958 W. F. Lovering Radio Communication viii. 173 A valve in which the vacuum is poor is said to be soft; the presence of a small number of molecules of gas adversely affects the performance.

    b. Physics. Of X-rays and gamma rays: of relatively long wavelength and low penetrating power. Of sub-atomic particles: of relatively low energy.
    Orig. so called because soft X-rays are emitted by a soft tube (see prec. sense).

1901 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. CXCVI. 516 The radiation from the barium compound is enormously reduced by the interposition of so thin a screen as an ordinary piece of tinfoil; these ‘soft’ rays accordingly form much the greater part of the whole. 1925 Proc. Cambr. Philos. Soc. XXII. 834 The soft γ-radiation gave a well-marked spectrum containing two strong lines. 1940 Nature 20 July 94/2 The beryllium oxide was tested inside a counter so designed that even very soft particles could be detected. 1950 D. H. Wilkinson Ionization Chambers & Counters vi. 160 The use of a proportional counter for counting extremely soft electrons which give very few ion pairs, has been proposed. 1960 Lebende Sprachen V. 163/2 The soft X-rays emitted from television screens cause great concern among radiologists. 1978 Nature 30 Mar. 396/3 There are several isotopes..which emit radiation sufficiently soft to be shielded even by the syringe wall but which can be presented in a form such that all the tissues of an animal become labelled a short time after injection.

    28. Miscellaneous transf. and fig. uses. a. Of facts, information, etc.: insubstantial, impressionistic, imprecise (opp. hard a. 7 b, c). Of a science or its method: not amenable to precise mathematical treatment or to experimental verification or refutation; esp. in soft science.

1923 Sci. Amer. Feb. 77/2 Its functions and its limitations are to get the facts from the bottom to the top of the coal industry, both hard and soft. 1966 Time 3 June 43 Project simile Director Hall T. Sprague says these games are ‘to the soft sciences what a laboratory is to the hard sciences of physics, chemistry and biology’. 1968 Physics Bull. Oct. 351/2 One of the striking features of the present time is the penetration of ‘hard’ methods (quantitative, physical analyses) into subjects which were hitherto ‘soft’ (descriptive, non-numerical). 1970 Publishers' Weekly 8 June 154 Hardscience is science (physics, math, chemistry), softscience is the humanities, sociology in particular. 1972 Lancet 25 Nov. 1138/1 Clinical departments..must learn a new respect for the ‘soft’ data of sociology. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 10 Apr. 20/5 All the President's Men is what reporters call a ‘soft’ story—breezily entertaining but short on hard facts. 1976 Times Lit. Suppl. 25 June 766/2 The soft areas in evolutionary theory, which he sorts into a series of Hegelian opposites: adaptive versus nonadaptive traits, [etc.]. 1980 Dædalus Spring 94 One might view these various expressions..spanning (from the ‘hard’ end) science, history and anthropology..to (at the ‘soft’ end) dreams and personal fantasy. 1982 Daily Tel. 23 Apr. 22 Most academic articles in all the sciences (hard and soft) are read by very few people.

    b. Comm. Of markets, commodities, etc.: depressed, characterized by falling prices or excess supply. (Cf. firm a. 7 a.)

1930 Morning Post 19 Aug. 3/4 Oils were generally soft, while Coppers were far from being buoyant. 1935 Commercial & Financial Chron. 7 Sept. 1488/2 Gold mining stocks were soft, and international issues were neglected. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 13 Feb. b1/2 At the end of last year, the fish industry in Newfoundland was reeling from the effects of the extremely soft U.S. market. 1981 Times 8 May 26/5 Disappointing trading news also left..Francis Sumner 1p softer at 9p. 1982 Times 6 May 17/1 Britain must cease being the soft market for the so-called developing world and action was needed against countries which blocked imports of British goods by crippling duties while having free access to the United Kingdom.

    c. Econ. Of currency: (see quot. 1949). (Cf. also sense 20 c and hard currency (b) s.v. hard a. 23 b.)

1940 Economist 6 Apr. 609/1 There are some currencies—the ‘soft’ currencies, notably the lira and the yen—for which no official rates are fixed. 1949 Times 10 Sept. 5/7 Soft currency..is a relative rather than an absolute term. It means a currency of which other countries (or some other countries) have earned more than they can willingly spend in the country whose currency it is... A soft currency is by definition, non-convertible—i.e., cannot be converted into gold or dollars... A currency may, however, be ‘transferable’ (within limits) and yet remain a soft currency in relation to some other currencies. 1960 Economist 15 Oct. 241/1 The United States now ‘sells’ abroad each year surplus farm products worth more than $1 billion, taking in exchange soft currencies—as one bureaucrat calls them, ‘clam shells, coloured buttons and other forms of local currency’. 1967 A. Diment Dolly Dolly Spy vii. 97, I had changed some of my hard Swiss francs into soft pesetas. 1980 Times 23 May 14/6 Some African countries can only make ends meet in Moscow by smuggling in soft roubles bought abroad... This is categorically forbidden by..most..western embassies.

    d. Designating a kind of technology that uses renewable resources such as wind or solar power and human or animal exertion and is not harmful to the natural environment. Also, of energy employed in or derived from this technology.

1974 Harper's Mag. Apr. 6 The term ‘soft technology’ was coined amid the British counter-culture in 1970. Technology which is soft is gentle on its surroundings, responds to it, incorporates it, feeds it. A nuclear power-generating station doesn't qualify. A wooden windmill with cloth sails grinding local grain does. 1977 A. Lovins Soft Energy Paths ii. 38, I shall call them ‘soft’ technologies: a textural description, intended to mean not vague, mushy, speculative, or ephemeral, but rather flexible, resilient, sustainable, and benign. Energy paths dependent on soft technologies..will be called ‘soft’ energy paths. 1978 Dædalus Summer 188 The Progressives..have tended to emphasize economics and technology, yet they have been ‘soft’ technological determinists in a way that maintains..Rousseau's fascination with the potential..of human autonomy. 1978 Internat. Relations Dict. (U.S. Dept. State Library) 2/1 Other terms used synonymously with appropriate technology are alternative technology, intermediate technology, and soft technology.

    V. 29. a. Special collocations (see also 23 b, d, and 24 b, c; special combinations, corresponding in formation to those (undefined) under senses 30–32, are also included here). softback attrib. (U.S.), (of books) bound in paper or limp covers; soft-board n., a relatively soft form of fibreboard (see also sense 32); soft cancer, a cancer in which the affected tissue is soft and yielding; now rare or Obs.; soft chancre, a venereal disease caused by local infection with Hæmophilus ducreyi; chancroid; also, one of the characteristic lesions of this disease; soft copy, a legible but transient presentation of information, as on a VDU screen; information so displayed; soft-core attrib. [after hard-core (pornography): see hard core (b) s.v. hard a. 23 b], (of pornography) less obscene than hard-core pornography; also absol.; soft corn, plausible speech or language; flattery (Bartlett, 1859); soft-cover attrib., of, pertaining to, or designating a book bound in a limp or paper cover; also (usu. as two words) ellipt. for some such phrase as soft-cover edition; hence soft-covered adj.; soft drug, a drug that is held to be comparatively non-addictive and safe to use; also fig.; soft food, the partly digested food which pigeons regurgitate to feed to their young; = pigeon's milk 1; soft-foot vb. intr. (N. Amer.), to go with quiet footsteps, to tiptoe; soft fruit = small fruit s.v. small a. 21; soft ground, a sticky covering of wax mixed with grease for an etching plate; also = next; soft ground etching, a process of print-making using plates covered with a soft ground, producing prints with softened lines resembling chalk or pencil drawings; also, a print produced by this process; soft hail, precipitation of snow pellets (see snow n.¹ 9 a); soft-horn, a simple or foolish person (slang); soft line, a flexible or conciliatory policy; freq. (with hyphen) attrib.; hence soft-liner, soft-lining adj.; soft loan orig. U.S., a loan, esp. one to a developing country, made on especially favourable terms; † soft meat = soft food above; soft money, (a) (see sense 20 c); (b) (see quot. 1976); soft mouth, a flatterer, smooth speaker; soft-nosed adj., (of a bullet) expanding; soft option: see option n. 1; soft palate: see palate n. 1 b; soft plank (see quot.); soft porn(ography): see porn, porno n. 2, pornography 2 a; soft pull, in Printing (see quots.); soft rock, a type of rock music which is less strident than hard rock; hence soft-rocker; soft rot, any of various bacterial or fungal diseases of vegetables, fruit, and herbaceous plants in which the tissue becomes soft and pulpy; also, a condition of timber in which a fungus renders it soft and brittle; freq. attrib.; soft sculpture (Pop Art, etc.), a form of sculpture in cloth, foam rubber, or other pliable materials; soft second (Bowls) (see quot. 1905); soft sell orig. U.S., advertising or salesmanship that is subtly persuasive rather than aggressive (opp. hard sell s.v. hard a. 22 b); also transf., fig., and attrib.; soft-sell vb. trans.; soft-selling ppl. adj.; soft-shoe attrib. (orig. U.S.), designating, of, or pertaining to a kind of tap-dance performed in soft-soled shoes without metal taps; also fig.; hence as n., a dance of this kind, and as v.; soft-shoulder orig. U.S. [shoulder n. 6 j], an unmetalled strip of land at the side of a road; soft silk, silk from which the gum has been removed; soft-skinned adj., (a) having a soft skin (see sense 31); (b) Mil., of a military vehicle, unarmoured (cf. sense 19 d above); soft snap U.S., an easy, pleasant job; a profitable business or undertaking (colloq. or slang); soft solder: see solder n.¹ 4 a; soft sore = soft chancre above; soft sugar, moist sugar; soft tack, among sailors, bread as distinct from ship's biscuit (see tack n.⁵); soft tissue, body tissue other than bone and cartilage; also attrib.; soft tommy (see Tommy); soft-top, a roof of a motor vehicle that is made of soft material and can be opened; a car so fitted, a convertible; freq. attrib.; soft touch: see touch n. 20 c; soft toy, a toy animal stuffed with a soft material; soft vat (see quot.); soft wart, a small, soft, pedunculated growth of skin occurring most frequently on the neck; soft woodlands (see quot.).

1958 B. Malamud Magic Barrel 141 He had got some of his *softback books read. 1966 Time 8 July 60/2 Shimkin and three other men in 1939 founded his Pocket Books, Inc., the world's most voluminous soft-back-book producer. Ibid. 60/3 Pocket books will be better able to assure authors of bonuses for softback reprint rights. 1966 C. Sweeney Scurrying Bush v. 68 The sagging *soft-board ceiling. 1976 P. Hill Hunters v. 43 The inside wall was partially covered by a large sheet of soft-board pinned to which was a large-scale map.

1804 J. Abernethy Surg. Observ. containing Classification of Tumours 51 The sarcoma which is..generally found in the testis, and is distinguished by the name of the *soft cancer of that part. 1834 [see spongoid a. 1]. 1871 Med. Times & Gaz. 20 May 568/1 A soft cancer of the uterus. 1894 R. Quain Dict. Med. (new ed.) I. 269/2 Encephaloid, medullary, or soft cancer, so named from its usually brain-like appearance and consistence, is softer and grows more rapidly..than scirrhus. 1961 A. S. MacNalty Brit. Med. Dict. 247/2 Soft cancer, medullary carcinoma. [1965 I. Macdonald in T. F. Nealon Managem. Patient with Cancer xvii. 451 The designation of medullary (soft) is less than ideal, but is not of significance unless it refers to bulky, pseudo⁓encapsulated tumors.]

1859 C. F. Maunder tr. Ricord's Lect. Chancre 9 Numerous examples of the *soft chancre. 1887 H. Raphael tr. Zeissl's Path. & Treatm. Syphilis ii. 116 In the female the soft chancre is most frequently met with upon the labia majora and minora. 1917 Act 7 & 8 Geo. V c. 21 §4 In this Act the expression ‘venereal disease’ means syphilis, gonorrhœa, or soft chancre. 1961 R. D. Baker Essent. Path. ix. 157 Chancroid (soft chancre), a venereal sore on the genital organs, resembles the chancre of syphilis in location but differs in being the starting point of a purely regional process and never a systemic disease.

1968 Internat. Solid-State Circuits Conf. Digest Technical Papers 76/1 This scheme permits one to share the same phone link for both hard and *soft-copy output. 1982 New Yorker 17 May 34/2 ‘Soft copy and hard copy’ (words on a television screen and words on a piece of paper in hand).

1966 N.Y. Times 25 Sept. d 15/4 The *soft-core pornography of advertisements like ‘Have you had any lately?’ 1971 Guardian 9 Mar. 8/2 The market for pure pornography is insatiable, while soft-core porno is waning in appeal. 1973 Publishers Weekly 6 Aug. 67/3 Lots of softcore sex scenes as Bertha finds revenge. 1977 Time Out 17–23 June 47/2 Borowczyk's slightest and most commercial offering has provoked wildly different responses: great pagan art or ultimate soft-core? 1979 Listener 5 July 21/3 The soft-core entertainment end of the television spectrum.

1834 W. A. Caruthers Kentuckian in N.Y. I. 98 He's feeding me on *soft corn, thought I. 1948 Antioch Rev. Autumn 161 He was all soft corn.., but you couldn't be sure, not with a man like Malcolm.

1958 Times 12 Feb. 9/4 Earnings from *soft-cover rights, movie rights, etc. 1961 Guardian 20 Oct. 17/5 Creative fiction will eventually prove itself in soft cover in this mass market. 1965 Amer. N. & Q. Sept. 13/1 Olms has also initiated an important new series of ‘Paperbacks’, soft-cover reprints of important scholarly works. 1975 Bookseller 16 Aug. 1306/1 What makes a paperback publisher pay nearly two million dollars for the softcover privilege of a book? 1977 Time 17 Jan. 54/2 In 1976 U.S. softcover publishers issued more than 150 historical novels, many of them as paperback originals.

1960 Times 15 Oct. 7/4 Now British presses also are producing ‘*soft-covered’ volumes that can cost anything up to a guinea.

1959 Oxford Mail 14 Jan. 4/4 Dr. D. C. M. Yardley of Oxford found that of about 50 university users of *soft drugs (mostly marihuana) about 20 were regular takers, and that although the latter were convinced they could give it up at any time, in fact they hardly ever did so without professional help. 1968 Sunday Mail Mag. (Brisbane) 7 July 6/1 Some 300,000 people in Britain are estimated to be using some form of ‘soft drug’ such as marijuana, amphetamines or barbiturates. 1969 Punch 12 Mar. 376/2 For most of my life I've thought flattery was only a soft drug. It was nice; but I could take it or leave it. 1976 J. Archer Not Penny More i. 11 He was a sly, smart little boy, unloved by the school authorities..for his control of the underground school market in soft drugs and liquor.

1876 R. Fulton Bk. Pigeons iv. 39 This ‘*soft food’..is pumped up by the old ones with a sort of vomiting action. 1969 C. R. Hill Pigeon Guide vi. 91 At first, the parents will feed the youngsters on soft food (pigeons' milk).

1939 Ottawa Jrnl. 22 July 12/8 He *softfooted to the window and looked inside. 1972 J. Mosher Adultery iii. xiv. 133 As he soft footed it through the kitchen, father began to whistle a tune she liked.

1918 W. P. Seabrook Mod. Fruit Growing vii. 60 In the case of..*soft (or bottom) fruit cutting back at once may be done. 1956 H. H. Crane Fruit i. 9 If the area is very small, it may be possible to grow only soft fruits. 1981 Observer 26 Apr. (Colour Suppl.) 47/3 It's obviously much easier to fit soft fruit into a small garden.

1840 S. Fuller Let. 31 Jan. in N. N. Solly Mem. Life David Cox (1873) iv. 57 We propose to republish... The plates have been proved, and found to be in good condition, particularly the *soft ground, which I consider as good as ever. 1925 E. S. Lumsden Art of Etching xiii. 113 Soft-ground (vernis mou) is nearly allied to etching proper. 1965 Zigrosser & Gaehde Guide Coll. Orig. Prints iv. 56 A soft ground is prepared from hard ground by the addition of tallow or Vaseline. Ibid., Both linear and textured or tonal effects can be created by soft ground.

1868 P. G. Hamerton Etching & Etchers v. xi. 340 In some books on engraving, ordinary etching is called *soft⁓ground etching, to distinguish it from etching done in a hard ground, by the old masters. This old hard ground now being disused, a modern writer may call common etching hard-ground etching, and reserve the title of soft-ground etching for that to which it is here applied. 1873 N. N. Solly Mem. Life David Cox iii. 36 Cox had been employed..to make soft ground etchings on copper from his own drawings. 1914 G. T. Plowman Etching & Other Graphic Arts xiii. 111 For soft ground etching melt together lard or tallow and an equal amount of etching ground. 1976 P. Coker Etching Technique 70 The principle of soft ground etching is that the ground adheres to anything that is brought into contact with it.

1881 W. Marriott Hints Meteorol. Observers 16 International symbols... *Soft hail Δ. 1894 [see graupel]. 1945 F. A. Berry et al. Handbk. Meteorol. iii. 257 Soft hail usually accompanies the less severe winter or spring storms. 1970 R. M. Longley Elem. Meteorol. iv. 91 At the tops of these clouds pellets of soft hail are formed by the collision of the snowflakes found there.

1837 Haliburton Clockm. i. xxxi, I allot..that the blue⁓noses are the most gullible folks on the face of the airth,—rigular *soft horns, that's a fact. 1865 Slang Dict. 240 Soft-horn, a simpleton, a donkey.

1966 Sunday Times 5 June 4 But Canada, Norway, Denmark and Italy prefer a ‘*soft’ line and want to leave the Council where it is to minimise the rupture with France. 1975 New Left Rev. Nov.–Dec. 70 The ambassador..may have been part of the soft-line American faction. 1977 Time 30 May 20/2 They scorn labor unions and the Communist Party as soft-line collaborators.

1967 Economist 18 Feb. 614/2 Life is made even more difficult for the guerrillas, hard-liners by definition, because of their open conflict with the *soft⁓liners in the Venezuelan communist party. 1980 N.Y. Times 17 Jan. a23 Soft-liners will say that the Huyser mission prevented a bloodbath, with the Iranian Army battling the mobs.

1977 Time 28 Mar. 13/2 They accuse it [sc. the Communist Party] of betraying the revolution and joining the Establishment with its *soft-lining tacit support of Premier Giulio Andreotti's minority government.

1958 N.Y. Times 2 Mar. iv. 5/6 The fund is authorized to make some ‘*soft loans’, that is with long maturity and partly repayable in local currency. 1958 Washington Post 8 Oct. a12/2 The..American proposal for a new International Development Association, equipped to make softer loans to supplement the ‘bankable’ advances of the World Bank, is vitally important. 1965 [see I.D.A. s.v. I III]. 1979 Financial Times 11 Sept. 9/1 ‘Hidden subsidies’ to the paper industry provided by most European governments—in the form of tax incentives, soft loans and regional employment schemes—will continue.

1765 Treat. Pigeons 22 *Soft meat then is a kind of liquid pap, prepared as it were by instinct by the parents, by a dissolution of the hard grains in their craw. 1822 ‘B. Moubray’ Pract. Treat. Poultry (ed. 4) xii. 185 Soft meat is a sort of milky fluid or pap secreted in the craw of pigeons, by the wise providence of nature. 1879 Soft meat [see sick a. 1 f]. 1971 *Soft money [see penny 9 l]. 1976 Daily Tel. 13 Dec. 8/5 ‘Soft money’ is the research money which charitable foundations give to research workers to sponsor two-year or three-year research projects... Scientists who have depended on soft money are now beginning to worry... As the period of the sponsorship runs out, they are starting to be concerned about where the next money is coming from. 1979 Bull. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. Mar. 8 Research and teaching units that..tend to live on ‘soft money’ from grants and contracts.

1882 Blackmore Christowell xxxi, Mrs. Tubbs liked them, because they were gentlemen; not such *soft-mouths as you see now.

1898 W. S. Churchill Let. 5 Aug. in R. S. Churchill Winston S. Churchill (1967) I. Compan. ii. 957 My thoughts are more concerned with swords—lances—pistols—& *soft-nosed bullets—than with Bills—Acts & bye elections. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 1 July 2/3, 200,000 rounds of ammunition, made up with *soft-nosed bullets. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 327 Mark for a softnosed bullet. 1979 J. Blackburn Sins of Father xviii. 155 Dumdums; soft⁓nosed bullets... Banned by the Geneva Convention.

1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. s.v. Soft-Plank, Picking a *soft plank in the deck, is choosing an easy berth.

1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing §xxiv. ¶5 A long or a Soaking or Easie Pull;..this is also call'd a *Soft Pull; because it comes Soft, and Soakingly and easily down. 1787 Printer's Gram. 328 That which causes a Soft Pull is putting in pieces of felt or pasteboard. 1888 Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 128 Soft pull, an easy pull over of the bar-handle of a printing press.

1969 Harper's Mag. Sept. 24 Some *soft-rock groups..have invaded the middle-of-the road market themselves. 1971 Time 11 Jan. 40 His songs delve ingeniously into hard and soft rock. 1980 Washington Star 31 July c1 Forget the sleek Hollywood production..and try to overlook the soft rock theme.

1977 Time Out 21 Jan. 43 (caption) David Bedford..who regularly set the classical fraternity wondering if one of their boys is turning irredeemably into a *soft-rocker.

1901 Ann. Rep. Vermont Agric. Exper. Station No. 13. 299 A rapid *soft rot of carrots caused by a bacillus (B. carotovorus). 1937 F. D. Heald Introd. Plant Path. iv. 47 Storage and transportation losses may be heavy..in vegetables such as asparagus,..lettuce, etc. by bacterial soft rots (Bacillus carotovorus),..in sweet potatoes by soft rot (Rhizopus nigricans). 1961 J. S. Boyce Forest Path. (ed. 3) xvi. 356 This type of decay, known as soft rot, is usually in the surface layers of wood in service. 1969 G. N. Agrios Plant Path. x. 355 Cruciferous plants and onions,..when infected by soft rot bacteria, almost always give off an offensive sulfurous odor. 1976 B. K. Bakshi Forest Path iii. 306 Treated wood which may show complete freedom from attack from decay fungi may exhibit soft rot attack.

1969 C. Oldenburg in G. Baro Claes Oldenburg 18 Drawing in space required an emphasis on volume. This was stimulated by pieces made as props..for the Ray Gun Theatre performances—which led to the ‘*soft’ sculptures. 1982 L. Kallen No Lady in House xiii. 121 Soft Sculpture..large squashy objects made of patterned cloth..artfully shaped into human or animal caricatures.

1905 Harmsworth Encycl. II. 884/1 Usually a side [in flat-green bowling] is composed of four players, each with a distinct function... The second has to do as he is told. A captain will play his weakest man here (hence the phrase, the ‘*soft second’).

1955 Life 25 July 21/1 Sometimes they ran into the ‘*soft sell’—‘Sit down, we don't want you to order anything, just get acquainted.’ 1961 C. Cockburn View from West iii. 24 Dons anxious to ‘soft sell’ ancient Greek culture to the modern world. 1967 V. S. Naipaul Mimic Men III. v. 260 Their soft-sell advertisements in the newspapers. 1970 G. F. Newman Sir, You Bastard i. 15 Terry Sneed was a sceptic, no soft sell ever bought him. 1970 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 26 Sept. 15/4 Now Broadway is lucky to have those masters of the softsell gag and casual comedy. 1978 Ld. Drogheda Double Harness vi. 58 He..was a master of convincing overstatement whereas my gift was more for what is known in advertising jargon as soft sell. 1982 Times 19 Jan. 18/8 We have abandoned the softsell approach and become very aggressive.

1960 New Left Rev. Jan./Feb. 3/1 The ‘society of equals’ is better than the best *soft-selling consumer-capitalist society.

1927 P. Dunning Broadway 9 They were a brother act, a team of *soft-shoe dancers. 1935 D. N. Cropper Dance Dict. 76 Soft-shoe, generally acknowledge[d] to be dancing of the star type and containing certain ballet steps. Any tap dancing done without metal taps or clogs. 1941 Life 25 Aug. 74/2 George Primrose was famed as an exponent of ‘soft-shoe’ dancing 35 years ago. Ibid. 77/1 The misleading phrase ‘soft-shoe’ was applied to an increasingly popular form of mobile, eccentric step dance in rolling 4–4 time. 1962 J. D. Salinger Franny & Zooey 180 Les and Bessie did a lovely soft-shoe on sand swiped by Boo Boo from the urn in the lobby. 1965 P. O'Donnell Modesty Blaise xviii. 190 We'll make a soft-shoe job of it if we can... Straight for the diamonds..and away. Ibid. 197, I don't want to use the gun, not while there's any chance of keeping this soft-shoe. 1967 M. Stewart Gabriel Hounds x. 139 He..beckoned. I *soft-shoed after him. 1975 W. McIlvanney Docherty i. xvi. 115 Only a few couples still soft-shoed around the floor. 1981 Daily Tel. 27 Jan. 12/6 They [sc. Adele and Fred Astaire] rapidly soft-shoed their way to acclaim in musical comedies on Broadway.

1939 Time 20 Feb. 28/3 Driving toward his home on the outskirts of Indianapolis..he got off the road on a *soft shoulder. 1978 J. Irving World according to Garp xii. 231, I run in the stuff of the soft shoulder, in the hot sand and gravel.

1862 M. Merryweather Experiences of Factory Life (ed. 3) iii. 31 In 1847, Messrs. C― had 195 *soft-silk looms at work in this town. a 1877 Knight Dict. Mech. III. 2180/2 Silken thread..is called..if the natural gum is..removed, soft silk. 1921 C. Salter tr. Ganswindt's Dyeing Silk i. 155 The bath temperature must..be modified..being lukewarm for soft silk and hard silk.

1942 Hutchinson's Pictorial Hist. of War 10 June–1 Sept. 129/1 That is the protection of all this paraphernalia of supply and maintenance, all what may be called the ‘*soft-skinned stuff’, from air attack. 1980 Times 18 Jan. 14/6 Many of the ‘soft-skinned’ vehicles [brought into Afghanistan] have been civilian trucks, which is normal Russian practice in wartime.

1841 Spirit of Times 9 Oct. 378 One of them, however..suddenly lamed herself, and another..‘found a *softer snap,’ so they paid forfeit to The Heiress. 1887 Francis Saddle & Mocassin xii. 227 I've got a ‘soft snap’ on—can't miss it.

1884 A. Cooper Syphilis & Pseudo-Syphilis iv. 33 There are two principal theories with regard to the relations existing between the hard and the *soft sores. 1940 E. T. Burke Venereal Dis. xx. 508 The term ‘soft sore’ or ‘ulcus molle’ should, since they lead to much confusion, be discarded and the term ‘chancroid’ should be used. 1974 Passmore & Robson Compan. Med. Stud. III. xiii. 13/2 Chancroid or soft sore..is a venereal infection with Haemophilus ducreyi..causing genital ulceration and enlarged, tender inguinal lymph nodes.

1818 Scott Br. Lamm. xxiii, A drap brandy to burn, and a wee pickle *saft sugar.

1892 G. M. Gould Pocket Med. Dict. 272 Soft, not bony, cartilaginous, etc., as the *soft tissues. 1964 L. Martin Clinical Endocrinol. (ed. 4) iii. 113 Soft-tissue radiographs of the limbs. 1977 Proc. R. Soc. Med. LXX. 256/2 Advocates of early soft-tissue surgery..have reported successful results in a significant number of patients subjected to this method.

1959 Motor 23 Sept. 177/2 First *soft-top model in the so-called compact car size. 1967 Guardian 3 Oct. 5/3 The soft top now costs {pstlg}1,212. 1976 Milton Keynes Express 18 June 39/6 (Advt.), L registration Triumph Spitfire yellow, 33,000 miles, hard and soft-tops. 1979 Tucson (Ariz.) Mag. Mar. 25/1 A removable forward hardtop and a convertible softtop rear window.

1917 E. A. Hickman Soft Toys & how to make Them 1 The object of this book is to bring instruction in the art of making stuffed or *soft toys. 1950 Dryad Handicraft Catal. 93 Soft toy making. 1964 M. Laski in S. Nowell-Smith Edwardian England iv. 203 The named soft toy was now starting its long run of popularity..Golliwog..Teddy Bear..Caesar. 1970 Guardian 24 Sept. 11/1 Wendy Boston, pioneers in safe soft toys.

1839 Ure Dict. Arts 674 A *soft vat..is that which contains too much copperas.

1887 Jrnl. Cutaneous & Genito-Urinary Dis. V. 50 The lesions known by the laity as moles, mothers'-marks..and by the profession as acrochordon, ecphyma mollusciforme,..and among English-speaking physicians sometimes as *soft warts. 1967 Soft wart [see molluscum 1 a].

1859 Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 2) 427 *Soft woodlands, a term applied, in the British Provinces, to the districts or intervals covered with various species of pine trees.

    b. In the names of plants or trees, as soft brome, soft grass, soft maple, soft rush (see quots.). Also soft corn, a variety of maize Zea mays var. amylacea, whose seeds are rich in soft starch; also, maize containing a high quantity of moisture, making it unlikely to keep well; soft maple, one of several maples with less durable wood, esp. the red maple, Acer rubrum, or the silver maple, A. saccharinum; also, the timber of these trees; soft wheat, one of several varieties of wheat having a soft grain rich in starch.

1817 W. H. Marshall Review V. 489 The *soft brome, smooth stalked meadow, smaller fescue, and yellow oat, are partial to dry soils.

1751 J. Bartram Observations 60 Last of all was served a great bowl full of Indian dumplings, of new *soft corn, cut or scraped off the ear. 1868 Mich. Agric. Rep. VII. 160 Early frosts made considerable ‘soft corn’. 1902 A. S. Hitchcock in L. H. Bailey Cycl. Amer. Hort. IV. 2004/2 Brazilian Flour Corn sold by seedsmen is a type of the Soft Corn. 1947 Chicago Tribune 23 July 9/4 The state must prepare for a soft corn crop this fall.

1785 Martyn Rousseau's Bot. xiii. (1794) 151 Several genera; of which the Holcus or *Soft grass is most likely to come under your observation. 1796 Withering British Pl. (ed. 3) II. 135 Holcus lanatus,..Meadow Soft-grass... H. mollis,..Creeping Soft-grass. 1845 Lindley Sch. Bot. (ed. 2) 143 Holcus lanatus (Woolly Soft Grass). 1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 264/2 The natives of Africa also make a beverage from the seed of the spiked or eared soft-grass (Holcus spicatus).

[1778 J. Carver Trav. N. Amer. 496 The Maple. Of this tree there are two sorts, the hard and the soft.] 1806 P. Gass Jrnl. 6 Apr. (1807) 195 The timber is mostly of the fir kind, with some..*soft maple. 1810 [see maple tree]. 1855 J. Darby Bot. S. States 265 A[cer] dasycarpum,..Soft Maple. 1891 E. Roper By Track & Trail xv. 220 Against this rose the giant cedars, pines and hemlocks, the soft and vine maples [etc.]. 1948 H. A. Jacobs We chose Country 25 We..saw the farm buildings, clustered behind a great row of soft maples. 1969 T. H. Everett Living Trees of World xxii. 221/1 The most important American soft maples are the red or swamp maple..and the silver maple.

1861 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. V. 285 Juncus effusus (*Soft Rush)..is a common Rush of marshy lands.

1812, 1843 *Soft wheat [see hard wheat s.v. hard a. 22]. 1875 Encycl. Brit. III. 251/1 In commerce the grain is distinguished as white and red, or as hard and soft wheats. 1944 Sun (Baltimore) 5 Jan. 13/5 The Office of Price Administration..boosted the maximum prices for soft wheat. 1973 Times 3 Dec. 14/2 Soft wheat is cheaper for us thanks to being in the Community.

    c. In the names of animals, esp. reptiles or fishes, as soft-back, a soft-shelled turtle of the genus Trionyx; soft clam = long-neck 2 b; soft crab, a crab that has shed its shell and is awaiting the hardening of the new one; soft tick, a tick of the family Argasidæ, lacking a dorsal shield; soft-tortoise (see quots.).

1859 P. H. Gosse Lett. Alabama 99 Another Tortoise of even greater size and equal ferocity is the *Soft-back (Trionyx ferox). 1872 Schele de Vere Americanisms 388 Another tortoise of greater size and equal ferocity is the Softback (Trionyx ferox).

1806 D. Roe Jrnl. 27 Feb. (1904) 25 Got Sum *Soft Clams. 1855 Knickerbocker XLVI. 222 Along the strand..these great delicacies, ‘soft clams’ and sand-crabs may be found. 1884 Goode Nat. Hist. Aquat. Anim. 707 The ‘Soft Clam’, ‘Long Clam’, or ‘Nanninose’ (Mya arenaria).

1772 L. Carter Jrnl. 10 Oct. in William & Mary Coll. Q. (1906) 1st Ser. XIV. 38 Like the shell of a *soft crab, the body of the crab after the shell is off seems by much too large for the shell. 1805 R. Parkinson Tour Amer. 315 Soft crabs..are reckoned great dainties. 1859 Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 2) 398 Shedder-crab, a crab which has recently cast its shell, also called a Soft Crab. 1884 Goode Nat. Hist. Aquat. Anim. 776 The terms ‘Soft Crab’, ‘Paper-shell’, and ‘Buckler’ denote the different stages of consistency of the shell.

1896 Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. V. 376 Of these two unimportant families, the first is represented solely by the *soft-spines (Malacanthus).

1932 R. Matheson Med. Entomol. iii. 40 The family Argasidae contains those ticks which lack a scutum and hence have been called the *soft ticks. 1974 Nature 25 Jan. 226/1 This is the first proven example of transmission of a mammalian piroplasm by an Argasid (‘soft’) tick.

1822 J. Parkinson Outl. Oryctol. 303 The *soft tortoise (Trionyx). c 1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. IV. 256 The Trionycides. The Mud or Soft Tortoises. 1896 Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. V. 98 The most striking peculiarity of the soft-tortoises is to be found in the nature of their shells.

    30. a. Used with ns. to form an attributive (or objective) comb., as soft-bill, soft-coal, soft-foot, etc.

1829 Griffith tr. Cuvier VIII. 617 *Soft-bill Duck,..Anas Melanorhynchos.

1884 Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl. 828/1 *Soft Center Steel, a composition of iron and steel... Used for safes, plows, etc.

1885 W. D. Howells Silas Lapham (1891) II. 57 The *soft-coal fire in the grate.

1598 Marlowe & Chapman Hero & Leander v. 3 Sol, and the *soft-foote Howrs hung on his armes. 1916 D. H. Lawrence Amores 73 When I carried my mother downstairs..at the beginning Of her *soft-foot malady. 1959 Listener 8 Jan. 60/2 The soft-foot priest.

1916 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 26 July 5/5 Muckers, sewermen, blacksmiths, *softground workers, and timbermen are specially needed.

1868 U.S. Rep. Munit. War 165 A hooped, *soft-steel gun.

1977 P. Geddes Hangman xi. 98 She carried everything she owned in the *soft-top suitcase.

1860 All Year Round No. 49. 532 Of the *soft-water-drinking towns already named, Lancaster gets water..from millstone grit. 1893 Pall Mall G. 30 Jan. 7/3 The tallest people in Great Britain are to be met with in soft-water districts.

    b. In comb. with adjs. rare.

1603 J. Davies (Heref.) Microcosmos Wks. (Grosart) I. 20/2 Yea, smoothlie iest at their soft-silken Happe. 1843 Holtzapffel Turning I. 450 The first solder is called by the pewterers hard-pale, the last soft-pale.

    31. Comb. Forming parasynthetic adjs., as soft-balled, soft-bellied, soft-brained, soft-coated, soft conscienced, soft-fingered, etc., and derived ns., as soft-mindedness.
    Only the more important or earlier examples of this type are here illustrated.

a 1930 D. H. Lawrence Last Poems (1932) 42 Kisses of the *soft-balled paws.

1923 ― Birds, Beasts & Flowers 113 He..trailed his yellow-brown slackness *soft-bellied down.

1687 Miége Gt. Fr. Dict. ii. s.v., *Soft-brained, or Soft-pated, qui est un peu foû.

a 1918 W. Owen Poems (1931) 98 Comforted years will sit *soft-chaired In rooms of amber.

1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede xxxvii, The luxurious nature of a round, *soft-coated pet animal.

1820 Keats Ode to Psyche 4 Pardon that thy secrets should be sung Even into thine own *soft-conched ear.

1607 Shakes. Cor. i. i. 37 Though *soft conscienc'd men can be content to say it was for his Countrey.

1970 Jrnl. General Psychol. Apr. 183 The other two paintings were non⁓representational ‘*soft-edged’ geometric abstractions.

1828 P. Cunningham N.S. Wales (ed. 3) II. 190 Weavers, barbers, and such⁓like *soft-fingered gentry.

1611 Tourneur Ath. Trag. ii. v, I do not like these phlegmatic smooth-skinned, *soft-fleshed fellows. 1928 D. H. Lawrence Woman who rode Away 113 If a woman looked pleasant and soft-fleshed..they were ardent and generous.

1848 J. R. Lowell Poems 2nd Ser. 167 The red-oak, *softer-grained yields all for lost. 1966 Listener 3 Mar. 329/1 Souzay..is..now able to make his beautiful soft-grained voice cover a wide range of human experience.

1886 C. Scott Sheep-Farming 195 Dogs..of every size and colour, rough and smooth-coated, *soft and hard haired.

1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 277 *Soft-handed Hope, whose soothing touch makes the possessor easy in himself. 1820 Keats Ode to Psyche 18 Their lips touch'd not, but had not bade adieu, As if disjoined by soft-handed slumber. 1842 I. Williams Baptistery iii. xvii. 224 Soft-handed Silence near stands looking calmly on.

1868 G. M. Hopkins Jrnls. & Papers (1959) 175 Beauty of the sycamores here, native to the soil, *soft⁓horned, and falling apart like ashes.

1847 Disraeli Tancred v. ii, Amiable and brave, trustworthy and *soft-mannered.

1592 Arden of Feversham ii. ii, Why, this would steale *soft metled cowardice.

1540 Coverdale Fruitful Lessons i, Quiet, mild, *soft-minded, tractable, and meek. 1648 Hexham ii, Weeck-zinnigh, Soft-minded, or Enraged. 1919 E. O'Neill Moon of Caribbees 189 It's soft-minded she is, like I've always told you, an' stupid.

1925 F. Scott Fitzgerald Great Gatsby vi. 120 The transactions in Montana copper..found him physically robust but on the verge of *soft⁓mindedness.

1564 Abp. Parker Corr. (Parker Soc.) 214 A good, *soft-natured gentleman. 1619 Fletcher Wild-Goose Chase i. ii, We'l provide thee some soft-natur'd wench.

1776 Mickle tr. Camoens' Lusiad iv. 6 The dawn..With *soft-paced ray dispels the shades obscene. 1857 S. Winkworth Tauler's Life & Serm. 164 A soft-paced horse would be much easier for him to ride.

1848 J. R. Lowell Uncoll. Poems (1950) 59 The *soft palmed tradesman coming home at eve. 1978 Time 3 July 1/3 Hooray for higher food prices... The American farm worker and farmer have subsidized the American dinner table long enough... There will be the usual soft-palmed protesters.

1680 C. Nees Church Hist. 179 Ahaziah..was a *soft-pated prince and low spirited.

1882 Jordan & Gilbert Syn. Fishes N. Amer. 94 Physostomi, (The *Soft-rayed Fishes).

1612 Chapman Widdow's Tears v, A Souldier and afraid of a dead man? A *soft-r'ode milk-sop?

1886 Kipling Departm. Ditties (ed. 2) 53 From rockridge to spur Fly the *soft-sandalled feet.

1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. iv. 807 Those, that..chase The *soft-skind Martens, for their precious Cace. 1596 Nashe Saffron Walden Wks. (Grosart) III. 111 Making loue to those soft skind soules & sweete Nymphes of Helicon. 1896 tr. Boas' Text-bk. Zool. 225 Thin plates separated by large soft-skinned interspaces.

1923 D. H. Lawrence Birds, Beasts & Flowers 201 Now that in England is silence, where before was a moving of *soft-skirted women. 1933 J. Buchan Prince of Captivity iii. ii. 287 The *soft-soled shoes of the pursuit did not slip.

1530 Palsgr. 324/2 *Softespyrited, modeste. 1585–6 Earl of Leicester Corr. (Camden) 273 The audytors here be so soft-spryted men as I dowbt [etc.]. 1641 Milton Animadv. Wks. 1851 III. 186 Thus much..in favour of the softer spirited Christian.

1631 Chapman Cæsar & Pompey v. ii, My *soft-spleen'd seruants ouerrule and curb me.

1805 Edin. Rev. VII. 5 The eldest..seems to have been a very *soft-tempered youth. 1878 Joaquim Miller Songs of Italy 45 When the stars in the soft-tempered breeze Glowed red.

1820 Keats Lamia ii. 261 ‘Lamia!’ he cried—and no *soft-toned reply. c 1850 Arab. Nts. (Rtldg.) 488 A concert of soft-toned flutes, hautboys, lutes.

a 1873 Lytton Pausanias 78 It goes hard with my pride..to make equals of this *soft-tongued race.

1976 Milton Keynes Express 23 July 39/1 Heavy rain during the day provided a *soft-topped, damp wicket which gave a lot of help to the bowlers.

1847 Webster, *Soft-voiced, having a soft voice. 1894 ‘J. S. Winter’ Red Coats 63 The remembrance of a soft-eyed, soft-voiced little woman.

1842 Loudon Suburban Hort. 117 The singing-birds are the best for destroying *soft-winged insects such as moths and butterflies.

1916 Joyce Portrait of Artist iv. 180 It was only amid *soft⁓worded phrases..that he dared to conceive of the soul or body of a woman moving with tender life.

    b. In the specific names of animals, birds, plants, etc.

1803 Shaw Gen. Zool. IV. ii. 517 *Soft-backed Labrus, Labrus Malapteronotus. 1837 Swainson Classif. Birds iii. iii. II. 16 The soft-backed shrikes, or Malaconoti.

1678 Ray tr. Willughby's Ornith. iii. ii. §i. 362 Wormius his Eider or *soft-feathered Duck. c 1711 Petiver Gazophyl. vi. §lviii, Soft-feathered Cape Coralline.

1833 Proc. Berw. Nat. Club I. 29 Hieracium molle—*Soft-leaved Hawkweed. 1840 Hodgson Hist. Northumb. III. ii. 361/2 Byrum carneum, Soft-leaved Thread-moss. 1872 Routledge's Ev. Boy's Ann. June 417/2 The soft-leaved Rose (Rosa mollis). 1890 Science-Gossip XXVI. 136 The soft-leaved cranesbill (Geranium molle).

1801 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds Suppl. II. 224 *Soft-tailed Flycatcher.

    32. With vbs., as soft-board, soft-boil, soft-talk. See also soft-land v.

1897 C. T. Davis Manuf. Leather (ed. 2) xxvii. 417 Then the leather is taken down and soft-boarded and hung up to thoroughly dry.

1884 Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl. 828 Soft-boarding, boarding or bruising the leather on the flesh-side.

1832 Gen. P. Thompson Exerc. (1842) II. 327 Now just reflect,—meditate for as long time as would soft-boil an egg. 1903 G. B. Shaw Let. 21–2 Dec. (1972) II. 384 Mrs Robertson..would have had to get her brains extracted and her face soft-boiled to play the poor pitiful creature Judith [in The Devil's Disciple]. 1970 H. McLeave Question of Negligence (1973) xxii. 170 The pressure in number-two boiler room is hardly high enough to soft⁓boil an egg.

1968 Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Va.) 15 Apr. 21/2 Young Gentry used artificial bait and said he also had to soft talk the fish as he pulled him in. 1968 B. Mather Springers x. 100 He asked peevishly when the hell we would be moving—and where? I soft-talked him and said any minute.

    33. With ppl. adjs., as soft-looking.

1860 C. M. Yonge Hopes & Fears I. ii. 33 Honora thought her the prettiest child she had ever seen..such a soft-looking little creature. 1924 ‘R. Crompton’ William—the Fourth vi. 87 He said he'd rather be killed than go to an ole dancing class anyway, with that soft-looking kid.

    
    

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     ▸ to have a soft corner for and variants: = to have a soft spot for at 13b. Now chiefly S. Asian.

1927 ‘A. A. Horn’ & E. Lewis Trader Horn xix. 203 It's in the make-up of the natural man that he keeps a soft corner for a bit of a battle. 1967Link (Delhi) 15 Aug. in Asian Surv. (1969) Nov. 802 Even policemen seem to have a soft corner for Kanu, the misguided dreamer. 1988 Mod. Asian Stud. 22 560 He had clearly a soft corner for Phoonsen, a man more sinned against than sinning. 2006 Statesman (India) (Nexis) 15 Apr. People of north Kolkata have a soft corner for sweets.

    
    

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     ▸ soft power an approach to international relations which avoids coercion and relies on economic, ideological, and cultural influences, rather than on military action; cf. hard power n. at hard adj. and n. Additions.

1990J. S. Nye in Bound to Lead vi. 188 Co-optive behavioral power—getting others to want what you want—and *soft power resources—cultural attraction, ideology, and international institutions—are not new. 1991 Atlantic June 64/1 Soft power, the ability to co-opt rather than command, rests on intangible resources such as culture, ideology and the use of international institutions to determine the framework of debate. 2003 Guardian 19 Nov. i. 25/2 Washington needs to see that, yes, it can win wars through solo, hard power—but only at the expense of the ‘soft power’ of influence and moral authority.

▪ III. soft, adv.
    (sɒft, -ɔː-)
    Forms: 1, 3–6 softe (5 soffte, 6 safte), 4– soft.
    [OE. sófte, = OS. sâfto, OHG. sanfto, samfto (MHG. sanfte, samfte, G. sanft): see prec.]
    Softly, in various senses.
    I. 1. a. In a quiet or peaceful state; in a comfortable or easy manner; on a soft bed, couch, etc.; † luxuriously. Now poet. or arch., esp. in to sleep soft.

a 1000 Genesis 179 He..softe swæf. c 1000 Saxon Leechd. II. 292 Reste [he] hine softe. c 1205 Lay. 4004 Þer he læi softe &..slepte. Ibid. 6346 He wes a wel god mon & softe he wolde libben. 13.. Cursor M. 3796 (Gött.), Wele was he gladid of þat sight, Soft him thoght he slep þat nyht. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vii. lviii. (Bodl. MS.), Þis yuell bredeth in ham þat leue esilich and softe, and trauayleþ butte litel. c 1400 Brut lxvii. 63 Y shal ȝeue ȝow soche a medecyne þat ȝe shulle swete anone ryȝt, and softe slepe. 1601 Shakes. All's Well iv. iii. 368, I will..sleepe as soft As Captaine shall. 1607 ― Timon iv. iii. 206 Thy Flatterers..drinke Wine, lye soft. 1667 Milton P.L. viii. 254 Soft on the flourie herb I found me laid. 1781 Cowper Anti-Thelyphth. 8 Fancy..laid her soft in Amaranthine flow'rs. 1827 Scott Surg. Dau. ix, The riches of the East expended that they might sleep soft and wake in magnificence. 1850 Mrs. Browning The Sleep iv, Sleep soft, beloved!

    b. In soft wrappings, surroundings, etc.

a 1400–50 Alexander 2401 Þat Iowell..Þat was full sekirly & soft all in silke falden. c 1440 York Myst. xviii. 196, I pray þe.., happe hym warme, And sette hym softe. 1579 Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 39 They were smoothly appareled, soft lodged, daintely feasted.

    c. ellipt. for soft class (in travelling by train in China or the U.S.S.R.). Also transf., first-class.

1939 ‘M. Innes’ Stop Press i. ii. 44 As a matter of fact, he's on the train now. But of course travelling soft. 1976 Times 13 Nov. 11/1 Trains in China are made up of classless coaches but you travel hard or soft according to your position.

    2. a. In a gentle manner; without harshness, roughness, severity, or violence.

a 1000 Boeth. Metr. xx. 7 Ðu..ᵹesewenlicra softe wealdest scirra ᵹesceafta. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3874 An oðer siðe he went is ðoȝt Betre and softere. a 1300 Cursor M. 58 Wyt chaunce of ded,..Þat soft began has endyng smart. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xx. 311 Ther is a surgiene in þis sege þat softe can handle. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 2708 Hypermnestra, And hym she roggith & a-wakyth softe. 14.. Sir Beues (M) 605 With drinke and salffe she helid hym softe.

    b. Without much force, intensity, or vigour; lightly, gently.

c 1430 Two Cookery-bks. 17 Stere it soffter an sofftere, tylle it come to-gedere; þan gader it to-gederys with a ladelle or a Skymoure, softe, tille it be round to-gedere. Ibid. 22 Wrynge it soft þorw a straynoure. 1742 Young Nt. Th. ii. 241 Silky-soft Favonius, breathe still softer, or be chid. 1757 Gray Bard 71 Fair laughs the Morn, and soft the Zephyr blows. 1793 Wordsw. Descr. Sk. 14 Nature loves to show'r Soft on his wounded heart her healing pow'r. 1833 Tennyson Lotos-Eaters Choric Song i, There is sweet music here that softer falls Than petals from blown roses on the grass. 1891 C. T. C. James Rom. Rigmarole 175 ‘I fall soft,’ he said.

    3. a. With gentle movement; unobtrusively; without (much) noise or sound; quietly.

c 1205 Lay. 26614 Þæs cnihtes siȝen þurh þene wude wunder ane softe. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 75 Þis holie Man wende forth a-mong heom alle wel softe. a 1300 Cursor M. 17288 + 127 For drede þai stynted oft For ferd of þe Iews, and sithen welk ful soft. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iii. 1535 He softe into his bed gan for to slynke To slepe longe. 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. xi. 33 Him follow'd Yar, soft washing Norwitch wall. 1742 Collins Passions (1807) 141 [Runnels] Dashing soft from rocks around. 1820 Keats St. Agnes xxix, Then by the bed-side..soft he set A table.

    b. With or at a slow or leisurely pace; not hastily or hurriedly.

1390 Gower Conf. I. 100 He set hire on his hors tofore And forth he takth his weie softe. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 2982 Polidonias Come afftirward with qwene Eleyne, Rydyng soffte vpon the pleyne. c 1460 Towneley Myst. xxi. 211 All soft may men go far. 1550 Crowley Last Trump 895 Thou hast forgotten to go soft, thou art so hasty on thy way. 1748 Thomson Cast. Indol. ii. xxi, Or where old Cam soft⁓paces o'er the lea In pensive mood.

    4. In a low voice or tone; with a soft, melodious, or pleasing sound; not loudly or harshly.

c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 232 Þis Monekes beden seint Brendan, þat he softe speke. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 9769 Þis godeman sat adoun akne..& wel softe..sede þis orison. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 187 The wys man wenethe he Softe laghyth. 1470–85 Malory Arthur v. v. 167 She..sayd Syre knyghte speke softe, for yonder is a deuyll. a 1536 Songs, Carols, etc. (E.E.T.S.) 118 Syng softe, I say, leste yowr nose blede. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. xii. 71 The waters fall with difference discreet, Now soft, now loud. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iv. i. 69 Little haue you to say When you depart from him, but soft and low, Remember now my brother. a 1763 Shenstone Nancy of Vale iii. Wks. 1777 I. 128 When from an hazle's artless bower Soft warbled Strephon's tongue. 1784 Cowper Task iii. 779 And streams..Now murm'ring soft, now roaring in cascades. 1820 Keats Lamia ii. 199 Soft went the music the soft air along. 1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad lii, The wanderer..Halts on the bridge to hearken How soft the poplars sigh.

    † 5. Sweetly, odorously. Obs.^—1

a 1300 Cursor M. 9357 Sco smelles better þen piment, And wel softer [Fairf. soter] hir uestement Þan ani recles þat es brent.

    6. To a slight degree or extent; slightly. rare.

13.. Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. xlix. 371 For muche to bi-hote & ȝiue but softe, Makeþ mon to be chalanged ofte. 1812 New Bot. Gard. I. 46 The leaves are spear-shaped, soft waved and entire.

    † 7. soft and fair(ly), softly, gently, leisurely. Obs. (Cf. 8 b and fair adv. 7.)

1390 Gower Conf. III. 194 Thus have I told thee softe and faire Mi feith. 1530 Palsgr. 842/1 Softe and fayre, tout bellement. 1535 Coverdale Tobit xi. 3 Let the husholde with thy wife and y⊇ catell come soft & fayrly after vs. 1565 Cooper Thes., Cunctanter, slowly; safte and fayre; leasurely. 1625 Purchas Pilgr. II. 1104 That the Queen should follow soft and fair. 1638 Junius Paint. Ancients 29 The Arts..are in processe of time soft and faire forged by a continuall meditation.

Prov. 1681 T. Flatman Heraclitus Ridens No. 32 (1713) I. 208 Soft and fair goes far in a Day. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew s.v. Fair, Soft and Fair goes far. 1736 Ainsworth i. s.v., Soft and fair goeth far, festina lente.

    8. a. Used as an exclamation with imperative force, either to enjoin silence or deprecate haste. Freq. preceded by but, and sometimes followed by you. Now only arch.

(a) c 1550 Cheke Matt. xxvii. 49 And y⊇ resideu said, Soft, let vs se whiyer helias com to save him or no. c 1590 Marlowe Faustus ix, Soft, sir; a word with you. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. i. v. 312 Not too fast: soft, soft. 1611 ― Wint. T. iv. iv. 402 Soft, Swaine, a-while, beseech you. a 1822 Shelley ‘'Tis midnight now’ 82 Soft, my dearest angel, stay. 1852 M. Arnold Tristram & Iseult i. 7 Soft—who is that stands by the dying fire?

(b) a 1566 R. Edwards Damon & Pithias in Dodsley O. Pl. (1754) I. 241 But soft, sirs, I pray you huysh. 1589 ? Lyly Pappe w. Hatchet (1844) 22 But soft, I must now make a graue speach. 1639 N. N. tr. Du Bosq's Compl. Woman i. 8 But soft, wee take nothing from Pagans. a 1721 Sheffield (Dk. Buckhm.) Wks. (1753) I. 179 A night..All black, and terrible! but soft! stand close. 1782 H. More Moses iii. 14 No one sees me. But soft, does no one listen! 1820 Byron Blues ii. 24 A rabble who know not—But soft, here they come!

(c) 1599 George a Greene Greene's Wks. (Rtldg.) 256 Nay, soft you, sir! you get no entrance here. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iii. i. 88 Soft you now, The faire Ophelia! 1635 Mede Wks. (1672) 836 But soft you there, I like not that Method.

    † b. So soft and fair, soft and peace. Obs.

1576 Gascoigne Steele Glas (Arb.) 69 Cruel? nay iust, (yea softe and peace good sir) For Iustice sleepes. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado v. iv. 72 Soft and faire Frier, which is Beatrice? 1611 Cotgr., Tout beau, take your leisure, soft and faire, not too fast. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull (1727) 63 Soft and fair, gentlemen, quoth I; my mother's my mother.

    II. Comb.
    9. a. With pres. pples. (or advs. from these), as soft-brushing, soft-circling, soft-ebbing, etc.
    Similar examples, but unhyphened, are freq. in 18th cent. poetry.

1606 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iv. ii. Magnificence 701 One, in the fresh shade of an Apple-Tree, Lets hang its Quiver, while soft-pantingly 'T exhales hot Vapour. 1667 Milton P.L. vii. 300 Wave rowling after Wave,..If steep, with torrent rapture, if through Plaine, Soft-ebbing. 1710 Philips Pastorals ii. 6 Their Notes soft-warb'ling to the gladsome Spring. 1726 Pope Odyss. xvii. 310 They heard, soft-circling in the sky, Sweet Airs ascend. 1743 Francis tr. Hor., Odes iii. xi. 18 The Dog of Hell, Immense of Bulk, to Thee soft-soothing fell. 1820 Keats Lamia i. 43 The God..soft-brushing, in his speed, The taller grasses. 1845 F. W. Faber Let. 29 Jan. in R. Chapman Father Faber (1961) vi. 103 When I know how miserably sinful and soft-living I have been, I ought never to have stepped out in the way that I have done. 1875 Longfellow Hanging of Crane iv. 22 Limpid as planets..Soft⁓shining through the summer night. a 1918 W. Owen Poems (1963) 103 And through those snows my looks shall be soft-going. 1925 E. Sitwell Troy Park 45 Like curd soft-falling. 1944 E. Blunden Shells by Stream 49 The cloud soft-flaming past the mountain wall.

    b. In attributive use.
    Freq. in 18th cent. poetry; many examples are given by Jodrell.

1612 Drayton Poly-olb. iii. 401 As some soft-sliding rill..Extends itself at length unto a goodly stream. 1648 J. Beaumont Psyche iv. ccxlv, By the side Of some soft-murmuring Current. 1743 Francis tr. Hor., Odes iii. xix. 20 The soft-swelling Pipe, and the Hautboy sonorous. 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 263 Benign, soft-shining goddess! [Hope]. 1791 Coleridge Mathem. Problem iii, The soft-flowing daughter of fright. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague Poems 1825 I. 299 Sinking down As through soft-yielding waters murmuring round me. 1827 Keble Chr. Year, Visitation Sick, The light from those soft-smiling eyes. 1829 D. Jerrold Black-Ey'd Susan i. i. 13 That pretty piece of soft-speaking womanhood. 1836 Mrs. Browning Poet's Vow ii. xiii, The silence left By that soft-throbbing speech. 1888 W. Whitman November Boughs 33 And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower... I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain. 1892 Gunter Miss Dividends (1893) 13 Here a soft-treading waiter knocks upon the door. 1916 D. H. Lawrence Amores 24 Soft-sailing waters where fears No longer shake. 1965 F. Sargeson Memoirs of Peon iv. 73 The shapely soft-speaking Maori girl..brought me a plate of sandwiches. 1975 New Yorker 5 May 109/1 He hit a great, soft-falling shot seven feet beyond the flag. 1977 Times 17 Mar. 18/6 A soft-living Mayfair clientele.

    10. a. With pa. pples., as soft-bedded, soft-extended, soft-roast(ed), etc.

1558 Warde tr. Alexis' Secr. 26 b, A new laied Egge, soft roste. 1725 Pope Odyss. vii. 435 There, soft-extended,..Ulysses sleeps profound! 1726 Ibid. xix. 119 A seat soft spread with furry spoils prepare. 1742 Young Nt. Th. iv. 654 Their distant strain,..Soft wafted on celestial pity's plume. 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. ii. ix, Not sufficiently honoured,..soft-bedded, and lovingly cared-for.

    b. In attributive use. soft-spun, loosely twisted in spinning; also transf.; opp. hard-spun s.v. hard adv. 8 e. See also soft-landed ppl. a.
    Other examples are given by Jodrell.

1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 28/1 We must first let him suppe in a soft-dressed egge. 1648 J. Beaumont Psyche xx. ccxciii, Those lusty Thoughts which in a soft-lay'd Dream [etc.]. 1649 G. Daniel Trinarch., Hen. V, ccxlviii, Spred the feild ore with Soft-Spun Carcasses. 1682 A. Behn City Heiress 8 The stealths of Love, the soft-breath'd murmuring Passion. 1748 Thomson Castle Indol. i. xx, The soft-embodied fays through airy portal stream. 1768 Phil. Trans. LX. 122 They have shoes of soft-tanned moose skin. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mech. 481 This soft and soft-glazed pottery is easily scratched by a knife. a 1835 Mrs. Hemans To the New Born Poems (1875) 502 Bending o'er thy soft-seal'd eyes. 1869 ‘Mark Twain’ Innoc. Abr. xxx. 324 A lace-work of soft-tinted crystals of sulphur. 1893 Outing XXII. 123/1 The soft-finished, braided raw-silk line. 1902 W. de la Mare Songs of Childhood 96 As if it were a perfect jewel in the morning's soft-spun hair. 1906 Soft spun [see hard spun s.v. hard adv. 8 e]. 1940 E. Blunden Poems 1930–40 193 Choose this soft-tinted willow tree. 1964 H. Hodges Artifacts ix. 129 Excessively twisted, or hard-spun, yarns may kink..while soft-spun threads with little twist may untwist further.

    11. With adjs., as soft-bright, soft-lucent, soft-slow.

1593 Shakes. Lucr. 1220 Her mistress she doth give demure good-morrow, With soft-slow tongue, true mark of modesty. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. ii. i. iv, Light Apollo, so clear, soft-lucent. 1863 Ld. Houghton Sel. fr. Wks. 216 Disparted all those soft-bright diadems.

▪ IV. † soft, v. Obs.
    [f. the adj.]
    1. trans. To render (a person, the heart, etc.) less harsh, severe, or obdurate; to mollify, appease, pacify.

a 1225 Ancr. R. 244 Eadie bonen softeð & paieð ure Louerd. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 318 Witt and resoun conseilen ofte That I myn herte scholde softe. c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode i. lii. (1869) 31 Whan it is fulfilled with olde sinne, and harded, j softe it, and make it weepe. c 1477 Caxton Jason 47 b, Ther is no herte of lady so hard but by the vertu of youre requestes muste nedes be softed and molefied. 1533 Bellenden Livy v. xiii. (S.T.S.) II. 194 The distributioun of þir landis softit..þe myndis of small pepill. 1594 Spenser Amoretti xxxii, Yet cannot all these flames..her hart more harde then yron soft awhit.

    b. Const. to and inf.

c 1430 Life St. Kath. (1884) 90 But anoon porphyry softed þe kepers to consente.

    2. To allay, abate, or assuage the heat, intensity, or pain of (an injury, sore, etc.). Also with double accusative.

(a) a 1200 St. Marher. 5 Lauerd loke to me, ant haue merci of me, softe me mi sar. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxviii. (Adrian) 295 With a faire clath scho clengit þare bilis, & softyt hurtis þat ware sare. 14.. Siege Jerus. (E.E.T.S.) 5 Canste þou any..craft vpon erþe To softe þe grete sore þat sitteþ on my cheke? c 1440 Promp. Parv. 463/1 Softyn, or esyn of peyne,..mitigo, allevio. 1527 Andrew Brunswyke's Distyll. Waters C iv, It softeth the goute podagra in the fete.

(b) c 1440 Promp. Parv. 463/1 Softyn, or comfortyn yn sorowe and mornynge, delinio. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 1055 Wes nowthir solace nor sang thair sorow to soft.

    3. To mitigate or moderate, to lower or reduce the intensity of (a passion, emotion, etc.).

c 1400 Apol. Loll. 112 Wat þat is offrid in felony in þe sacrifice of God it softiþ not, but steriþ his wraþe. a 1470 H. Parker Dives & P. (W. de W. 1496) vi. x. 380 The Iacke is softe & nesshe and by his softenesse..softeth & feynteth all strokes þat cometh there ayenst. 1533 Bellenden Livy i. iv. (S.T.S.) I. 30 Providing so þai wald soft þe Indignacioun of þare myndis. Ibid. iii. xi. 293 His collegis..set þame þe maist presand way þai mycht to soft his preiss.

    4. To make (words) plausible or specious.

1382 Wyclif Ps. liv. 22 Softid ben the woordis of hym vp on oile; and thei ben speris. ― Prov. ii. 16 That thou be take awey fro an alien womman, and fro a straunge, that softeth [L. mollit] hir woordis.

    5. To render physically soft. Also in fig. context.

a 1400 Prymer (1895) 60 Wheþer þou hast not softid me as mylk; and hast cruddid me to-gideres as chese? c 1430 Life St. Kath. (1884) 52 The erthe also is softed wyth rayn and aȝeynward made hard wyth froost.

    6. refl. To calm or restrain (oneself). rare^—1.

c 1480 Henryson Fables, Fox, Wolf & Husbandman xxiii, Schir,..we ar at it almaist; Soft ȝow ane lytill, and ȝe sall se it sone.

    7. intr. To become or grow soft in various senses.

c 1275 Lay. 12042 Þe wind gan a-legge an þat weder softi. a 1340 Hampole Psalter lxxxiii. 2 My hert softid in swetnes of luf.

    Hence † ˈsofting vbl. n. and ppl. a.

1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xix. xlvii. (W. de W. 1495) 890 Bi grete drynesse they be made smothyng and softynge. 14.. Siege Jerus. (E.E.T.S.) 6 Þer is a warlich wif..Þat haþ softyng & salue for eche sore out. 1611 Cotgr., Amollissement, a softing, mollifying, making tender. Ibid., Amollissant, softing, mollifying.

Oxford English Dictionary