▪ I. sum, n.1
(sʌm)
Forms: 3–8 summe, sume, 4–5 soumme, 4–6 somme, chiefly Sc. sowm, 4–8 chiefly Sc. soume, sowme, 5–6 som, 5–7 some, 5–8 summ (6 soom(e, soomme, Sc. soum, sowmme, 7 somm), 4– sum.
[a. AF., OF. summe, somme, from 13th cent. = Pr. soma, somma, It. somma, Pg. summa, Sp. suma:—L. summa fem. (sc. res, pars) of summus highest, for *supmus, superl. of stem sup- of super above, superus higher (see superior). Cf. MDu. somme (Du. som), MLG., MHG., G. summe.]
1. A quantity or amount of money. a. sum of money, gold, silver, † pence, etc.
| c 1290 Beket 386 in S. Eng. Leg. 117 Þe king nam fro ȝer to ȝere..ane summe of panes i-deld bi eche side. a 1300 Cursor M. 21423 A summe [Gött. sume, Fairf. soume] o monee. 13.. Evang. Nicod. 853 in Herrig Archiv LIII. 407 A sowme of tresore haue þai tane. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxvi. (Nycholas) 108 With syk a sowme of gold. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) ii. 13 To whom the Emperour had leyde hem to wedde, for a gret summe of Sylvre. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 67 Yvory or vnicorne bone Is bought for a grete somme of gold. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxix. 12, I tuik fra my Lord Thesaurair Ane soume of money for to wair. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. 296 Quhill thame selfes thay redeimed with a soum of siluer. 1632 Galway Arch. in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 484 What some or somes of money is due. 1718 Freethinker No. 109. 32 He supply'd her..with a convenient Summ of Money. 1797 S. & Ht. Lee Canterb. T. (1799) I. 329 My father..had long ago vested large sums of money in foreign banks. 1839–41 Lane Arabian Nts. I. 71 The servant receives presents of small sums of money. 1875 Encycl. Brit. II. 534/1 Suppose that several sums of money are added, and the farthings amount to 29 [etc.]. |
b. absol. = ‘sum of money’.
principal sum: see principal a. 6.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iv. 60 They gonnen trete, Hir prisoneres to chaungen..And for the surplus yeven sommes grete. c 1386 ― Frankl. T. 492 What somme sholde this Maistres gerdon be? c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxii. 104 Þe somme þat þis citee ȝeldez ȝerely commez to fyue hundreth thowsand florenez. 1496–7 Act 12 Hen. VII, c. 12 §4 Yf any of the Collectours..reare more somme than..owe to be areared in or upon any Toun. 1535 Coverdale Acts xxii. 28 With a greate summe optayned I this fredome. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iii. ii. 137 He shall..make assurance heere in Padua Of greater summes then I haue promised. 1690 in Nairne Peerage Evidence (1874) 27 That the said soume is only to be payed to the collaterall aires of the said Lord William. 1709 J. Ward Introd. Math. (1713) 245 Any Principal or Sum put to Interest. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxxiv, Montoni had lost large sums to Verezzi. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xlvii, Such moneys as he required beyond the very moderate sums which his father was disposed to allow him. 1891 Kipling Light that Failed iii, The Central Southern Syndicate had paid Dick a certain sum on account for work done. |
c. A quantity of money of a specified amount.
| c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 811 The somme of fourty pound. 1450 in Exch. Rolls Scotl. V. 425 note, The said sowm of five markis. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 173 He kept to hymselfe the money that his brother lefte..to the some of LX thousande crownes. 1679–88 Moneys Secr. Serv. Chas. II & Jas. II. (Camden) 2 Six other sumes of 150li each. 1710 in Nairne Peerage Evidence (1874) 151 All & haill the sowme of ten thousand merks Scots money. 1836 Penny Cycl. V. 165/2 The above sum of 758l. 16s. a 1901 Besant Five Years' Tryst (1902) 38 The sum of {pstlg}178. 4s. 10d. |
d. gross sum, † sum in great or gross, lump sum.
| 1421 in Rymer Fœdera (1710) X. 162/2 The said Ambassiatours shall cast to what Some the Wages aboveseid wole drawe to for every of hem..and profre hym that Some in grete. 1523, etc. [see gross a. 6]. 1612 Hieron Life & Death Dorcas 8, I am forced..in stead of a bill of particulars, which in this case would be very comfortable, to present all in one grosse summe. 1642 Coke Instit. ii. 659 The rent was paid as a summe in grosse. 1821–2 Shelley Chas. I, ii. 272 The expenses..Have swallowed up the gross sum of the imposts. 1867, etc. [see lump n.1 9]. |
† e. transf. A quantity of goods regarded as worth so much. Obs. (Cf. sum n.2)
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 11866 Þan payet kyng Priam all the pure sowmes Of gold, & of gay syluer, & of goode whete. 1422 Yonge tr. Secr. Secr. 172 A grete Some of catele to charlys appertenynge. 1528 Star Chamber Cases (Selden Soc.) II. 175 Newby sold..a serten sum of malte. 1680 Acts Assembly Nevis (1740) 6 The Sum of One hundred Pounds of Muscovado Sugar for every such Offence. 1872 Schele de Vere Americanisms 64 The term Sums of Tobacco, which is still occasionally met with in official papers, has its origin in the fact that for many generations, in old Virginia times, all taxes raised for the support of government officers, ministers, etc., were assessed in so many pounds of tobacco. |
† f. A unit of coinage; a money of account. Obs.
| 1634 Peacham Compl. Gent. (ed. 2) xii. 117 The Greeke summes were a Mina and a Talent. |
† 2. A number, company, or body (of people); a host, band. Obs.
Frequent in ME. alliterative poetry.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. C. 509 Of þat soumme ȝet arn summe such sottez..As lyttel barnez on barme þat neuer bale wroȝt. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 606 Thus they semble in sortes, summes fulle huge. c 1400 Destr. Troy 1136 A soume of soudiours. c 1450 Mirk's Festial 89 Þay gedyrt a grete some of men ynto þe castell. 1570 Dee Math. Pref. a j, The best Rules..for ordring of all Companies, summes and Numbers of men. 1601 Breton Rauisht Soule Wks. (Grosart) I. 7/1 By Him Who should both Death and Hell destroy, And be the Sauiour of His chosen summe. |
† 3. Arith. A number; occas. a whole number as distinguished from a fraction. Obs.
| 1390 Gower Conf. III. 90 Be which [sc. algorism] multiplicacioun Is mad and diminucioun Of sommes be thexperience Of this Art and of this science. 1543 Recorde Gr. Artes 118 (E.E.T.S.) 2 For example I wyll set downe this summe 287965. Ibid. 118 b, When you wyll adde two summes, you shall fyrst set downe one of them..And afterward set downe the other summe. 1655 Marquis of Worcester Cent. Inv. (1663) 58 Numerations and Substractions of all Summes and Fractions. 1657 Hobbes Absurd Geom. Wks. 1845 VII. 370 A third of the sum below is 12, the sum above is 14. 1709 J. Ward Introd. Math. (1713) 11 The Number (or Sum) out of which Substraction is required to be made. |
4. a. The total number (of individual persons or things capable of, or regarded as capable of, numeration). Now only as transf. use of sense 6. † by sum: in all. in sum (obs. or arch.): all together.
| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. v. met. iii. (1868) 160 Þan knoweþ it to-gidre þe somme and þe singularites, þat is to seyn þe principles and eueryche by hym self. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xvii. 29 [He] hath saued þat bileued so and sory for her synnes, He can nouȝte segge þe somme. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 448 Sexty myle on a daye, the somme es bott lyttille! c 1400 tr. Secr. Secr., Gov. Lordsh. 109 Þes makyn in somme tene thowsand ffyghtynge men. c 1400 Destr. Troy 1291 He..assemblit his sad men..Seuyn thousand be sowme all of sure knightes. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. ix. ii. 108 Of his folk war mony slayn,..Þe sowme [v.r. nomer] of þaim I couythe noucht say. 1535 Coverdale Ps. cxxxviii. 17 How deare are thy councels vnto me o God? O how greate is the summe of them? 1667 Milton P.L. xii. 338 Whose foul Idolatries, and other faults Heapt to the popular summe. 1699 Bentley Phal. ii. 29 Allowing the Summ of xxviii Years. 1718 Prior Solomon iii. 110 By one countless Sum of Woes opprest. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xxviii, ‘Now’, cried I, ‘the sum of my miseries is made up’. 1840 Whewell Philos. Induct. Sci. I. p. xxxix, An Induction is not the mere sum of the Facts which are colligated. 1868 M. Pattison Academ. Org. v. 307 Human nature considered as one great whole,—i.e. in the sum of its phenomena. 1874 Ruskin Val D'Arno ix. (1886) 115 The victories of Charles, and the massacres, taken in sum, would not give a muster-roll of more than twenty thousand dead. 1877 Huxley Physiogr. 228 The solid animal fabric returns to swell the sum of the fluids and gases from which..it has been derived. |
† b. With reference to accounts of money or arithmetical addition; in full whole sum, total sum: = sum-total. Also fig. Obs.
| c 1400 Brut ccv. 234 Þai lete fille v barelles ferers wiþ siluer—þe somme amontede v M1 li. 1512 Croscombe Church-w. Acc. (Som. Rec. Soc.) 32 The holle sum of all the coste xxijli. xjs. vij{supd}. 1543 Recorde Gr. Artes 122 (E.E.T.S.) 2 The hole summe, that amounteth of the addytion. 1573 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 227 It was entred after the Totall soomme. 1623 Cockeram ii, The whole summe, totall. 1640–1 Kirkcudbr. War-Comm. Min. Bk. (1855) 38 Soume of the Valuatioun of the Toun of Kirkcudbryt, iij{supm} iijc. libs. 1781 Cowper Conv. 143 His ambiguities his total sum. |
5. The total amount or quantity, the totality, aggregate, or whole (of something immaterial).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 11577 It was a mikel sume o quain O þaa childer þat war slain. 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 26 Of the cause, for whiche I com, I pray you paciently here the hole som. 1576 Gascoigne Steele Gl. 646 Wks. 1910 II. 160 To write, the summe of my conceit, I do not meane. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 140 The stretching of a span, buckles in his summe of age. 1718 Prior Solomon iii. 873 Thy Sum of Duty let Two Words contain;..Be Humble, and be Just. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 330 Sighs, Tears, Groans,..make up the Sum of its Variety. 1772 Priestley Inst. Relig. (1782) I. 43 A greater sum of happiness can exist in a greater number. 1827 Macaulay Ess., Macchiavelli (1897) 48 Public events had produced an immense sum of misery to private citizens. 1946 R.A.F. Jrnl. May 152 The Bulletin slowly built up a sum of good will among contributors. 1967 G. Steiner Lang. & Silence 31 Literature, philosophy, theology, law, the arts of history, are endeavours to enclose within the bounds of rational discourse the sum of human experience. |
6. Math. a. The number, quantity, or magnitude resulting from the addition of two or more numbers, quantities, or magnitudes. † In early use also, the result of multiplication, a product.
| c 1430 Art Nombryng (E.E.T.S.) viii. 14 Multiplie .3. by hym-selfe, and þe some of alle wolle be .9. 1570 Dee Math. Pref. *ij, Number, we define, to be, a certayne Mathematicall Summe, of Vnits. 1685 Wallis Treat. Alg. lxxix. 306 The Sum of an Arithmetical Progression. 1709 J. Ward Introd. Math. (1713) 322 The Sum of the two Sides of any plain Triangle. 1715 tr. Gregory's Astron. (1726) I. 79 The right Lines SP, PF taken together, are equal to the greater Axis: Wherefore half their Sum (that is, EP) is equal to half the greater Axis CA. 1836 Penny Cycl. VI. 388/1 The perpendiculars at these points are in arithmetical progression, 0, a, 2a, &c...na: the sum of all of which is ½ n(n + 1) a. 1840 Lardner Geom. 83 The figure ABDE, having no angle greater than 180° will have the sum of its external angles equal to four right angles. 1878 Cayley Math. Papers (1896) X. 186, I use the expression a sum of squares to denote the sum of all or any of the squares each multiplied by an arbitrary coefficient. |
b. In the calculus of finite differences, the quantity resulting from addition of the values of a function obtained by giving to the variable successive values differing by unity; denoted by the symbol σ.
† Formerly also applied to an integral (integral B. 4 a), considered as the sum of an infinite number of consecutive values of the function.
| 1696 Halley in Phil. Trans. XIX. 202 An Easie Demonstration of the Analogy of the Logarithmick Tangents to the Meridian Line or sum of the Secants. |
† c. The aggregate of the terms of an equation when all on one side, i.e. equated to zero. Obs.
| 1704 J. Harris Lex. Techn. I, Sum of an Equation, is when the absolute Number being brought over to the other side with a contrary Sign, the whole becomes equal to 0. And this Descartes calls the Sum of the Equation proposed. |
d. = logical sum s.v. logical a. 7.
| 1918 C. I. Lewis Survey of Symbolic Logic iii. 185 The ‘sum’, a + b, denotes the class of those things which are either members of a or members of b (or members of both). 1934 W. V. Quine System of Logistic xvii. 171, ε‘α may be called the sum of the class of classes α. 1968 P. A. P. Moran Introd. Probability Theory iv. 185 The advantage of using half-open intervals is that if two of them abut, their sum is again a half-open interval. 1981 W. Marciszewski Dict. Logic 53 The union (sum) of sets: x{elem}X{union}Y ≡ (x{elem}X){logicor}(x{elem}Y). |
7. A series of numbers to be added or cast up.
| 1579 Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 27 They might cast the summe without pen, or counters. c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. xlix. 3 When as thy loue hath cast his vtmost summe. 1641 R. Marriot Serm. Commem. Mrs. Dering 12 He that goes about to cast an account must know his rules... Else, when he hath cast up his summes, he cannot tell whether they be done right or wrong. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 191 They will in a trice,..cast up the difficultest Sums. 1804–6 Syd. Smith Mor. Philos. (1850) 404 An expert arithmetician adds up the longest sum with the most unerring precision. |
8. An arithmetical problem in the solution of which some particular rule is applied; also, such a problem worked out. colloq.
| 1803 Man in Moon 24 Dec. (1804) 100 To add up a sum of addition. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia s.v. Summing, Solving any question in arithmetic, is doing a sum. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. i, Sums in simple interest. 1862 Draper Intell. Devel. Eur. xvi. (1865) 361 A common multiplication or division sum. 1881 W. Harris Serm. Boys & Girls 96 Some of you boys and girls are very clever at working sums. |
9. a. That which a statement, discourse, writing, or a system of laws, etc. amounts to, or is in essence; an abridged statement containing the substance of a matter; a summary, epitome. Obs. or arch.
| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iii. pr. viii. (1868) 81 Of alle whiche forseide þinges I may reducen þis shortly in a somme. c 1450 Merlin 84 Of her wordes this was the somme. 1533 Gau Richt Vay 45 This is the soume of the wangel that our lord Iesus christ godis sone is giffine to vsz..and he and al his is owris. 1535 Coverdale Ezra vii. 11 This is the summe of the letter, that kynge Artaxerses gaue vnto Eszdras the prest. 1541 ― Old Faith (1547) D vj b, He wolde brynge in to a shorte summe and set in wrytynge, all the lawe that the feathers had. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. Pref. 3, I haue set before the beginnyng of euery boke, the some or argument. 1626 Gouge Serm. Dignity Chivalry §1 The Summe of this Chapter is A Declaration of the Magnificence of Salomon. 1671 Milton Samson 1557 Tell us the sum, the circumstance defer. a 1703 Burkitt On N.T. Mark xii. 34 This is the sum of the duties of the first table [of the Commandments]. 1837 Sir F. Palgrave Merch. & Friar Ded. p. vi, The sum of the objections was this. 1842 Borrow Bible in Spain xxiv, He..gave me the history of his life, the sum of which was, that [etc.]. |
† b. A summary treatise or manual; = summa 3.
| a 1325 MS. Rawl. B. 520 lf. 54 b, Here..biginnez þe summe þat is icleped Cadit Assisa. 1474 Caxton Chesse iii. iii. (1883) 97 Varro reherceth in his sommes that y⊇ riche men ben alle louyd by this loue. 1531 Dial. on Laws Eng. ii. xxxv. 71 In the said summe called summa Rosella in the said title alienatio, the xiii. article is asked this question. 1541 Coverdale Old Faith (1547) E v, He [sc. Moses] made yet an Enchiridion and Summe of all the Actes of hys tyme and of the lawe of God, whyche is called Deuteronomium. c 1643 Ld. Herbert Autobiog. (1824) 42 Some good sum of Philosophy may be learned. 1680 H. Dodwell Two Lett. (1691) 232 For Aquinas, you need hardly read anything but his Sums. a 1770 Jortin Life Erasmus (1788) I. 85 The Collectors of Sums, that is, of Common-places of Philosophy and Divinity. |
10. in sum [F. en somme, L. in summa]. a. (Expressed) in a few words, briefly or summarily. Also † in a sum. Now arch. and rare.
| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. i. pr. iv. (1868) 17 Axest þou in somme of what gilt I am accused? 1382 Wyclif Dan. vii. 1 In sum [gloss or litil wordis; 1388 schortli; Vulg. summatim]. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 1 b, A treatyse..that sholde conteyne in somme the sentences of illumyned doctours, concernynge perfeccyon. 1555 Philpot Exam. (1559) 47 The declaration of these thinges more at large, which nowe I wryte in somme. 1561 Norton & Sackv. Gorbodvc i. i, This is in somme what I would haue ye wey. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. i. iv. 13 To Register, what by cogitation, wee find to be the cause of any thing..and what we find things..may produce, or effect: which in summe, is acquiring of Arts. 1862 F. Hall Hindu Philos. Syst. 112 My meaning, in sum, is, that, whereas [etc.]. |
| (b) 1537 tr. Latimer's Serm. Convoc. ii. B vij b, This alone I can say grossly, and as in a sum. a 1699 J. Fraser Polichron. (S.H.S.) 418 [They] interrogat him if he appointed not his sone Richard, replyed in a sume, Yea. |
b. Used absol. as an illative phr.: To conclude in few words; to sum up; in brief, in short.
| 1562 Pilkington Expos. Abdyas Pref. 9 In summe, no violent thinge can longe endure. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. xlvi. §1 In summe, [they] taught the world no lesse vertuously how to dye, then they had done before how to liue. 1647 May Hist. Parl. i. ii. 25 They hold that the Church of Rome is a true Church;..That it is lawfull to pray for soules departed [etc.]; in summe they believe all that is taught by the Church, but not by the Court of Rome. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 6 July 1679, He was also dextrous in Chronology, Antiquities, Mathematics. In sum, an Intellectus universalis. 1700 Dryden Fables Pref., Wks. (1910) 276 In sum, I seriously protest, that no Man ever had..a greater Veneration for Chaucer than my self. 1761 H. Walpole Let. to G. Montagu 5 May, We have lost a young genius... He was shot very unnecessarily, riding too near a battery: in sum, he is a sacrifice to his own rashness—and to ours. 1876 T. Le M. Douse Grimm's L. 107 Hence, in sum, we arrive at simple and symmetrical expressions of all the cases of irregularity. |
11. sum and substance: the essence (of anything); the gist or pith (of a matter).
In quot. 1591, by a twist of the phr., used as = one's all.
| 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iv. i. 15 My riches, are these poore habiliments, Of which, if you should here disfurnish me, You take the sum and substance that I haue. 1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. iv. iii. §2 This in effect is the summe and substance of that which they bring by way of opposition against those orders. 1657 Sanderson Serm. Pref. §5 (1681) A 3 b, This is the sum and substance of the usual Censures and Objections of our Anti-Ceremonian Brethren. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. v. §15 What is the Sum and Substance, Scope and End of Christ's Religion, but the Love of God and Man? 1852 Robertson Serm. Ser. iii. xii. 144 That the Sermon on the Mount contains the sum and substance of Christianity. 1889 Jessopp Coming of Friars iv. 168 If any of us were to write down the sum and substance of his knowledge. |
† 12. The upshot, issue, conclusion. Obs.
| c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1559 Hypsipyle, The somme [4 other MSS. soth(e] is this that Iason weddit was Vn-to this queen. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 402 This was concludit amangis themselffis, and declairit into the king the sowme of the consall. 1654 Z. Coke Logick 8 That whatsoever is conceivable of a thing, may be drawn to a right summe. 1670 Dryden 2nd Pt. Conq. Granada iv. ii, On this assault..Depends the sum and fortune of the war. |
13. a. The ultimate end or goal; the highest attainable point. Obs. or arch.
| 1340 Ayenb. 260 He ssolde him resti ine god þet is þe ende and þe uoluellinge and þe somme of his wylninges. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Summus, The summe & knot of all his glorie was, that he wente into the prouince of Asia, &c. 1631 R. Bolton Comf. Affl. Consc. ii. (1635) 9 Death the end and summ of all feared evils. 1667 Milton P.L. viii. 522 Thus I have..brought My Storie to the sum of earthly bliss Which I enjoy. Ibid. xii. 575 Thou hast attained the summe Of wisdom; hope no higher. 1706 Stanhope Paraphr. III. 513 He is..the summe and ultimate End of all we can hope for. 1866 Neale Sequences & Hymns 124 Thee, our wishes' full and perfect sum. |
b. the sum of things [tr. L. summa rerum: see summa 5 a]: the highest public interest, the public good, the common weal; also (by reference to sense 5), the totality of being, the universe.
| 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 673 Had not th' Almightie Father..Consulting on the sum of things, foreseen This tumult. 1704 Swift Batt. Bks. Misc. (1711) 257 The Modern Chiefs were holding a Consult upon the Sum of Things. 1771 Junius Lett. lix. (1788) 322 Concessions, such as these, are of little moment to the sum of things. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. lxxxviii, The glory of the sum of things Will flash along the chords and go. |
† c. the sum of sums: = summa 5 b. Obs.
| 1592 Nashe Str. Newes H 2 b, The summe of summes is this. |
14. Comb., as sum check Computers, a check on the accuracy of a group of digits in which they are added together and the result compared with a previously computed sum (which may accompany the group as a check digit); also applied to similar checks in which a quantity other than a sum is employed; = summation check s.v. summation2 6; so sum-checked a.
| 1962 R. V. Oakford Introd. Electronic Data Processing Equipment ii. 31 If a single R check bit is changed, the sum check will fail..in that row, but not in the four columns. 1972 Computer Jrnl. XV. 196/2 A similar routine deals with sum-checked binary input. |
▪ II. † sum, n.2 Obs.
In 5 summe, 6 som(m)e, 8 summ.
[a. AF. sum(m)e = OF. (mod.F.) somme:—Romanic sauma horse-load, for late L. sagma packsaddle, a. Gr. σάγµα (whence also ultimately seam n.2). Cf. soum n.1
The med.L. and F. words were assimilated in spelling to summa, somme, sum n.1; med.L. has sauma, sama, somma, summa (also salmata, saumata = OF. somee) bladi, olei, vini, denoting definite measures of these commodities.]
A unit of measure or weight of certain commodities: see quots. and cf. seam n.2 1 b.
In 1314, in Neath, S. Wales, a sum of iron contained 9 pieces (Rogers Agric. & Prices I. 472, II. 463).
| c 1450 Godstow Reg. 424 The mynded luke yaf to the mynded William at the entrying vij. mark and ij. summys of barly. 1480–1 Acc. Exch. K.R. 496. No. 23 (P.R.O.), j summe clavorum voc. Sprignaill. 1539–40 in Archæol. Cant. (1893) XX. 243, 2 ‘some’ of ‘sprygg’ 10s. 1545 Rates Custome House b viij b, Nidels the some conteinynge, xii. M, x. s. 1570 Foxe A. & M. (ed. 2) I. 411/2 A somme of corne was then [a.d. 1257] sold for 26 shillings. [1711 Madox Hist. & Antiq. Exchequer xiii. 325 Leave to carry DC Summs of Corn [tr. summas Frumenti] whither he would.] |
▪ III. sum, n.3 Sc. and Irish.
Variant of soum n.2; see also quots. 1744, 1780.
| [1526 in Sir A. Agnew Hist. Hered. Sheriffs Galloway (1864) 158 The pertinents—viz., eight sums of cows, one mare,..with their sequels.] 1621 Sc. Acts, Jas. VI (1816) IV. 612/2 Act declairing summes Grasse gevin to þe Ministeris for þ{supr} gleibis to be teyndfrie. 1744 Smith & Harris County of Down 134 note, A Sum of Cattle in these Parts is what they call a Collop in other Parts of Ireland, consisting of one full grown Cow or Bullock, of three Years old, or a Horse of that Age;..in some Places a Horse is reckoned a Sum and half. Eight Sheep make a Sum. 1780 A. Young Tour Irel. I. 284 Keeping a cow is a sum; a horse a sum and an half;..a barrel of potatoe setting..all these are sums. |
▪ IV. sum, v.1
(sʌm)
Forms: 4–6 somme, 4–7 summe (4 sume, pa. pple. isommed, 5 some, soume, sowme), 7–8 summ, 6– sum.
[a. OF. sommer, summer (13–14th cent.), or ad. its source, med.L. summāre (whence Pr. somar, It. sommare, Sp. sumar, Pg. sommar), f. summa sum n.1]
1. a. trans. To find the sum or total number or amount of; to add together; to reckon or count up; to cast up (a column of figures, an account).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 2345 Folk sua selcut mani brede, þat naman suld cun sume ne neuen. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 261 Alle þese ȝeres i-sommed to gidres makeþ foure hondred ȝeres. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 1986 Here a gloue full of graynes..may þou sowme me þire sedis surely þou trowe, Þou miȝt a-count all oure kniȝtis. 1511 Fabyan Will in Chron. (1811) Pref. p. vii, My stuff of household and quyke catall..beyng praysid, engrossid, and summyd. 1530 Palsgr. 725/1 Tarye tyll I have sommed this accompte. 1570 Dee Math. Pref. d iij b, By Arithmetike, the charges of Buildinges are summed together. 1611 Bible 2 Kings xxii. 4 That he may summe the siluer which is brought into the house of the Lord. 1641 (Sept.) Terrier of Plesheybury Manor, Essex lf. 6 (MS.) The smythes rent is not summed into the rent or valueacion aforesaide. 1655 Stanley Hist. Philos. iii. 67 Bring my account-book hither, That I may summe my debts and interest. 1785 Gibbon Let. to Ld. Sheffield 13 Mar., A balance neatly cyphered and summed by Gosling. 1816 Scott Antiq. vi, The banker's clerk, who was directed to sum my cash-account, blundered it three times. 1880 Haughton Phys. Geog. iii. 158 note, This value must be summed through the time that the sun does not set. 1905 R. Garnett Shaks. 18 Drooping sad eyes toward the sod, as though Summing its blades. 1935 Lancet 11 May 1123/1 For the pig,..the combination of virus plus hæmophilic organism is much more potent than was to be expected from summing the mild diseases caused by the two agents acting separately. 1947 Electronic Engin. June 179/1 Suppose..that it is desired to sum the voltages from n sources. 1962 F. I. Ordway et al. Basic Astronautics vii. 325 The average lifetime..may be easily determined by summing all lifetimes and dividing by 100. 1971 Nature 24 Dec. 485/2 He summed data of six previous studies..and demonstrated in the total sample an over-representation of the last-but-one position. 1977 J. G. Graeme Designing with Operational Amplifiers vii. 177 The number of signals that can be summed is limited only by increasing circuit errors. |
| (b) With up. c 1450 Bk. Curtasye 540 in Babees Bk., Tyl countes also þer-on ben cast, And somet vp holy at þo last. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. vi. 34, I cannot sum vp some of halfe my wealth. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. i. v. 19 Not regarding how each bill is summed up. 1684–5 South Serm. 22 Feb. (1842) I. 172 He..may as well undertake to count the sands, or to sum up infinity. 1792 D. Stewart Elem. Philos. Human Mind I. ii. 114 An expert accountant..can sum up, almost with a single glance of his eye, a long column of figures. 1798 Monthly Mag. VI. 111 Let the speaker of the house sum up the county-polls. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. iii. ii. vii, When the Voting is done, and Secretaries are summing it up. |
b. † pass., and intr. for pass. To amount to.
| c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. v. xii. 3638 Þat sowmyt was in multitude V. thousande men, bathe barne and wiff. a 1600 G. Whyatt Life Anne Boleyn in Cavendish's Wks. (1825) II. 207 In three quarters of a year her alms was summed to fourteen or fifteen thousand pounds. 1803 Southey Let. to Coleridge 3 Aug., Those little units of interruption and preventions, which sum up to as ugly an aggregate as the items in a lawyer's bill. 1865 De Morgan in Athenæum 23 Dec. 889/2 Take those Greek words of which the letters sum into 666. 1966 G. C. Hemmens Structure of Urban Activity Linkages i. 6 The matrix of linkage coefficients is a stochastic matrix where each row sums to one. |
c. trans. To bring up to a certain total. rare.
| 1597 Bacon Coulers Good & Evill Ess. (Arb.) 144 The howre doth rather summe vp the moments then deuide the daye. 1883 Century Mag. July 429/2 Two hundred and eighty three deaths summed up an official record that was confessedly incomplete. |
d. Math. To find the sum of (a series); in the calculus of finite differences, to find the aggregate of the successive values of a function (sum n.1 6 b).
| 1776 Hutton in Phil. Trans. LXVI. 479 The former series is summed, with rather more ease than the latter. 1838 Penny Cycl. XII. 500/1 It is required to sum the series ϕx + ϕ(x + Δx) + ϕ(x + 2Δx) +{ddd}+ ϕ(x + n-1Δx) . |
e. intr. To do sums in arithmetic.
| 1825 Jennings Observ. Dial. W. Eng., To Summy v.n., to work by arithmetical rules. 1838 D. W. Jerrold Men of Character I. 260 They tries Nankin, and finds he can read, and write, and sum. 1870 Kingsley At Last x, She sat summing away on her slate. |
f. trans. In transf. and fig. uses: To reckon, count, or total up.
| 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, i. i. 167 You cast th' euent of Warre..And summ'd the accompt of Chance. a 1628 Preston Effect. Faith (1631) 90 When thou hast summed and reckoned all all together, all reasons and all objections to and fro. 1644 Vicars God in Mount 105 marg., A briefe recitall of all these foresaid premises summ'd up together. 1687 Dryden Hind & P. iii. 656 An old fanatick Author..Who summ'd their Scandals up by Centuries. 1784 Cowper Task iii. 130, I sum up half mankind, And add two thirds of the remaining half. 1820 Scott Monast. xviii, ‘And various other perquisites..’, said the Abbot, summing..the advantages attached to the office of conventual bow-bearer. 1828 Campbell Lines Depart. Emigr. N.S. Wales 53 The grey-haired swain..Shall..summing all the blessings God has given, Put up his patriarchal prayer to Heaven. |
† 2. To collect into a company. Obs.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 13356 He..sowmet his pepull. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. vi. xii. 1070 Bathe men, barnys and women, Þar sowmyt war al be ten. |
3. To collect into or embrace in a small compass; also with up. Chiefly pass.
| 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 325 The purpose is perspicuous euen as substance, Whose grossenesse little charracters summe vp. 1667 Milton P.L. viii. 473 What seemd fair in all the World, seemd..in her summd up, in her containd. Ibid. ix. 454 She..in her looks summs all Delight. 1731–8 Swift Pol. Conversat. Introd. 9 The whole Genius, Humour, Politeness and Eloquence of England are summed up in it. 1832 L. Hunt Gentle Armour ii. 68 In that last blow his strength must have been summ'd. 1842 Tennyson Gardener's Dau. 13 A miniature of loveliness, all grace Summ'd up and closed in little. 1869 Browning Ring & Bk. x. Pope 343 Show me thy fruit, the latest act of thine! For in the last is summed the first and all. |
4. To give the substance of in a few words or a brief statement; to summarize, epitomize. Said also of the statement made, or, by extension, of a principle, condition, or the like. (Usually with, now rarely without, up.)
| 1621 Mountagu Diatribæ 416 Those many Writers that Photius read, and summed in his Bibliotheca. 1677 tr. Groeneveldt's Treat. Stone 12 To sum the various and different opinions of Authors. 1825 Scott Talism. x, To sum the whole, I am aware [etc.]. 1861 Reade Cloister & H. lxxi, The phase, through which this remarkable mind now passed, may be summed in a word—Penitence. 1875 Ruskin Fors Clav. lx. V. 337 It sums much of what I may have too vaguely and figuratively stated in my letters. |
| (b) With up. 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables I. ccxvii. 190 Go to the Ant, thou Sluggard; (says the Wise-man) which in Few Words Summs up the Moral of This Fable. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 158 ¶2, I have a great deal more to say to you, but I shall sum it up all in this one Remark. 1859 C. Barker Assoc. Princ. i. 9 From these fragments we may thus sum up the general characteristics of Benedictine life. 1871 L. Stephen Playgr. Eur. (1894) i. 14 The simple statements..pretty well sum up the reflections of the..guide-books. 1880 E. Kirke Life Garfield 64 To sum it all up: he is true, kind, manly, honest. |
| absol. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 667 To sum up; in the treatment of a case of intracranial tumour, the first object [etc.]. |
5. a. to sum up: (of the judge in a trial, or of counsel concluding his case for his client) to recapitulate (the evidence) to the jury before they retire to consider their verdict, giving an exposition of points of law when necessary.
| a 1700 Evelyn Diary 6 Dec. 1680, Sir Wm. Jones summ'd up the evidence. 1768 Blackstone Comm. iii. 375 When the evidence is gone through on both sides, the judge in the presence of the parties, the counsel, and all others, sums up the whole to the jury. 1874 Nairne Peerage Evidence 171 Mr. Pearson stated..that he should be prepared, after the evidence now given was printed, to sum up the case on an early day. |
b. absol. or intr.
| 1805 James Milit. Dict. (ed. 2), To Sum up..in a judicial sense. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 642 He summed up in the same style,..and reminded the jury that the prisoner's husband had borne a part in the death of Charles the First. 1884 Times (weekly ed.) 12 Sept. 8/2 The judge summed up dead against the claim. |
c. trans. To form an estimate of, summarize the qualities or character of; to take the measure of.
| 1889 Grant Allen Terrible Inher. viii, The old barrister..summed him up from head to foot with his keen, critical Old Bailey stare. 1895 ‘H. S. Merriman’ Grey Lady i. viii. (1899) 90 She stood..looking back at him over her shoulder, summing him up with a little introspective nod. |
† 6. a. To bring to completion or perfection; to consummate; also with up. Obs.
| c 1592 Marlowe Jew of Malta i. i. 3 And of the third part of the Persian ships, There was the venture summ'd and satisfied. 1607 Heywood Fayre Mayde Exch. K 2, If yong Franke Golding were come back, To summe our wish. 1636 Massinger Bashful Lover v. iii, That there might be nothing wanting to Sum up my numerous engagements. a 1644 Quarles Sol. Recant. Sol. xi. 36 One good is wanting still To summe a full Perfection. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 113 Creatures animate with gradual life Of Growth, Sense, Reason, all summ'd up in Man. |
† b. Of a bird: To complete (its plumage): see summed ppl. a. 2. Obs. nonce-use.
| 1667 Milton P.L. vii. 421 They summ'd thir Penns. |
▪ V. † sum, v.2 Obs. rare—1.
In 5 summe.
[Echoic. Cf. late MHG., G. summen, NFris. summi; also bum v.2, hum v.1]
intr. To hum softly.
| c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. vii. 123 Al subtilly and smale yf that they summe, Al hugely and haske yf that they humme. |
▪ VI. † sum, rel. adv. and conj. north. Obs.
Forms: 3–4 sume, sim, 3–5 sum (3 summ, 5 sam), 4–5 som(e.
[a. Scand. som, sum rel. adv. and pron. (MSw. som, sum, sym, Sw., Norw., Da. som), related to Icel. sem. Cf. OE. swá same (some), OHG. sô sama, sama sô, OS. samo sô likewise, as: see same a.]
1. orig. after swa so, swilk, sli such, all quite, just (cf. MSw. sva som, sliker som, alsom): As.
| c 1200 Ormin Ded. 11 Icc hafe don swa summ þu badd. Ibid. 3499 He chæs himm sone kinness menn All swillke summ he wollde. Ibid. 5447 Þatt het forrȝife uss all rihht swa, Summ we forrȝifenn oþre All þatt teȝȝ gilltenn uss onnȝæn. a 1300 Cursor M. 259 Sli word and werc sum we til heild. Ibid. 6348 Water bitter sum [Fairf. sim] ani brin. Ibid. 16386 Sacles es he sa feir se sum i can. c 1420 Avow. Arth. x, Boudewynne turnes to toune, Sum that his gate lay. c 1420 Sir Amadace (Camden) lxix, My lenging is no lengur her, With tunge sum I the telle. |
2. As a connecting particle with rel. prons., adjs., and advs., becoming a kind of separable suffix equivalent to -ever, which was itself afterward added to it tautologically to form the separable suffix -somever (Cursor M. 21999), now dial. and superseded in literary use by -soever. See also whosome, whatsome, etc.
| c 1200 Ormin 1827 Whær summ we findenn o þe boc Enngell bi name nemmnedd. Ibid. 11404 Ure Laferrd Jesu Crist, Forrþrihht summ he wass fullhtnedd, Wass ledd ut inntill wessteland. a 1300 Cursor M. 1149 To quat contre sum [later MSS. so] þat þou wend. Ibid. 20632 In quatkin sinn sim þat þai be. 13.. Ibid. 11015 (Gött.) Sone sum [Cott. son quen] vr leuedi was mett wid þe angel..Scho went hir vte of nazareth. c 1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 1507 That ye be her This day twelmoth, how som it be. c 1400 Rule St. Benet (Prose) 14 In what dede sam ye be, loke þat yure þoht and ȝure herte be to god almihten. |
▪ VII. sum
obs. form of some pron., a.1, and adv.