▪ I. † ad, n.1 Obs.
1–3. Also 3 od.
[OE. ád cogn. w. O. and MHG. eit, Goth. *aids; Gr. αῖθος fire, burning heat. The mod. repr. would be ode.]
A fire, a blazing pile, a funeral pyre.
| a 900 Leiden Gl., Sweet O.E.T. 114, 95 Rogus: beel vel aad. c 1000 Poetry of Codex Vercellensis 1898 (1846) ii. 56 And on fyrbæðe suslum beþrungen siððan wunodest ade onæled. c 1220 Leg. Kath. 1364 Bed bringen o brune a fur amidde þe burh [v.r. an ad]. c 1225 in Wright Vocab. 94/2, Rogus od. |
▪ II. ad, n.2
(æd)
Colloq. abbrev. of advertisement and advertising. Also attrib. and Comb., as ad-man, admass.
| 1841 W. M. Thackeray in Britannia 1 May 284/1, I'll have my books properly reviewed; or else, I'll withdraw my ads. 1852 Househ. Words V. 5/2 We know that the really interesting ‘ads.’ are in the body of the paper. 1902 Howells Lit. & Life 268 Ad is a loathly little word, but we must come to it. It's as legitimate as lunch. 1909 Collier's 22 May 15/2 So in a sense, the ad-man is a public entertainer. 1919 [see want n.2]. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 158 Best paper by long chalks for a small ad. 1933 Scrutiny I. 400 Like all successful ad-men he has come to believe quite uncritically in what he sells. 1942 M. McCarthy Company she Keeps (1943) v. 132 He was the Average Thinking Man..that..ad-writers try to frighten. 1957 Observer 10 Nov. 15/4 That side of modern life..which bears the finger-smears of the ad. man. 1958 Ibid. 28 Sept. 21/7 The heroine..is straight out of the ad. pages in the shiny feminine magazines. 1959 Spectator 19 June 875/2, I cannot change my opinion..that ‘admags’ in their present form are contrary to the intentions of the framers of the TV Act. |
▪ III. ad, n.3 Tennis colloq.
(æd)
[Abbrev.]
= advantage n. 2. Freq. attrib., in ad court, ad point.
| 1928 in Funk's Stand. Dict. 1979 J. Kramer Game (1981) viii. 134 In the final set, when I was ahead only 4-3, I hit the chalk with a backhand volley to save an ad Frankie held against my serve. 1986 New Yorker 13 Oct. 137/3 Mecir, with Becker serving, fought off three ad points that Becker held. He then went to ad himself with a tremendous backhand return. 1990 Tennis July 80/2 His serve spins away in the ad court, forcing you to change the direction of the ball. |
▪ IV. ad, n.4 slang. rare.
(æd)
Also add.
[Abbrev. of addict n.]
A drug addict.
| 1938 Amer. Speech XIII. 180/1 Ad. or add., a narcotic addict, especially a needle-addict. 1951 Evening Sun (Baltimore) 27 Mar. 4/1 Depending on the type of ‘junk’ he was using and the place and method of administration, he was an ‘ad’. 1976 Amer. Speech 1973 XLVIII. 208 With the drug explosion, large hospitals have increasingly admitted more ads ‘addicts’ who have taken an OD ‘overdose’. |