▪ I. seven, a. and n.
(ˈsɛv(ə)n)
Forms: α. 1–2 seofon, -en, (1 seofan, -un, siofun, sibun, sifun, sufon, syfan, -on, 2 soven), 2–3 seoven, (Ormin se(o)ffne, se(o)fenn), 2, 5 sefen, 3 seovene, seofne, 3–5 sevene, 4 sefne, seyven, 4–5 seyvyn, sevon, sevyan, 4–6 sevin, -enne, ceven(e, -yn, 5–6 sevyne, 5–7 seaven, 6 sevn, 7 seavne, seivine, 3– seven. β. Chiefly Sc. 4 sewine, 5 sewne, 5–7 sewin, 6 seweyne, sewn, sawin. γ. 4 sen, sene (?); see also sennight. δ. 1 seofo, -a, siofo, sefo, 1–2 seofe, 2 sefe, 2–4 sove, 2–5 seve, 3 seove, 4 Kent. zeve, 5 sef(f.
[Com. Teut.: OE. seofon (infl. seofone, -u, etc.) = OFris. sowen, sawen (later sân, saan, mod. saun), sigun, siugun (mod. sjûggen), etc., OS. siƀun, sivon (MLG. seven, soven, MDu. seven, Du. zeven), OHG. sibun (MHG. siben, G. sieben), ON. sjau (Icel. sjö, Norw. dial. sjau, sju, etc.; Sw. sju, Da. syv), Goth. sibun:—OTeut. *seƀun. The Indo-germanic *sept{mdotblacu} is more closely represented by Skr. saptá, Gr. ἑπτά, L. septem, OSl. sedmĭ, Lith. septynì, OIr. secht n-.]
The cardinal number next after six, represented by the symbols 7, VII, vii.
A. adj.
1. a. In concord with a n. expressed.
| α Beowulf 3122 Þeᵹnas syfone. 971 Blickl. Hom. 193 An ᵹear & seofan monaþ. c 1000 ælfric Gen. xli. 53 Þa þa seofon godan ᵹear agane wæron. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 13 Þa oðre souen laȝe. c 1200 Ormin Ded. 252 Godnessess seffne. Ibid. 8399 Forr sefenn winnterr haffde he beon Tosamenn inn Egippte. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 3845 Þo seiȝe þai seuen baners. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 140 So that..he be bereined Be times sefne and sore peined. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 67/2 Ceventymes, septies. 1591 Digges Pantam. 8 The line AB which I would diuide into seauen equall portions. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 35 Sax, sevin, or viii. cubites hich. 1683 Evelyn Diary 18 June, For the last seaven yeares. 1813 Southey Nelson I. 198 The capture of seven sail of the line. 1865 Baring-Gould Werewolves viii, When seven girls succeed each other in one family. |
| β c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints viii. (Philepus) 79 Sewyne dais..before his ded. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 153/10 He makyd the Cite of Rome afyre to sette, and Sewyn dayes and Sewyn nyghtes to brente. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lx. 5 All thing wrocht in dayis seweyne. 1559 in J. Campbell Ch. & Par. Kirkcaldy vi. (1904) 59 Sewn pundes and twelf shillinges. 1612 in Scott. Hist. Rev. (1905) 394 Of erras wark tȧpestrie sewin stand ewerie stand contenying fywe pieces. |
| γ a 1340 Hampole Psalter xi. 7 Þe sen [v.r. seuen] giftis of þe halygast. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 500 In hevene it [God's body] is sene fote in fourme. a 1400 Octouian 1386 Sene yere and more. |
| δ c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke ii. 36, & lifde mið wer hire wintrum seofo. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 41 He him sceaude an ouen on berninde fure; he warp ut of him seofe leies. a 1200 Moral Ode 140 Wa wurð sorȝe seueȝer for souenihte blisse. c 1275 Lay. 3970 Þo soue ȝer were a-gon. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 88 Þe saxons..Seve kynges made in engelond. 1340 Ayenb. 4 Þe zeue stapes of chasteté. c 1475 Partenay 4181 A lytell body of sixe or sef yere age. |
b. Used predicatively.
| 1622 Fletcher Beggar's Bush ii. i, We are seven of us. 1655 F. W. Observ. on Fulke's Meteors 162 Metalls are seven in number, as the Planets are. 1798 Wordsworth (title) We are seven. a 1847 Rossetti Blessed Damozel i, The stars in her hair were seven. |
c. With
day,
night,
month in more or less specific uses.
seven days: a week; often referred to as the period of the Creation; in England, formerly a common term of imprisonment. Also
seven days and seven nights.
seven months' child: one born at the seventh month; a type of weakliness.
Cf. seven-days, seven-years, and
sennight.
| c 1200 Ormin 4356 Forr seffne daȝhess brinngenn aȝȝ Þe wuke till hiss ende. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2952 Ðis wreche..Lestede fulle seuene niȝt. a 1300 Leg. Rood (1871) 42 Þer wiþþoute mete and drinke seue dawes he lay. c 1375–1500–20 [see 1 β above]. 1470–85 Malory Arthur iv. xix. 144 And rode daye by day wel a seuen dayes or they fond ony auenture. a 1513 Dunbar Compl. to King 5 God, that..all thing wrocht in dayis seweyne. 1611 Bible Job ii. 13 They sate downe with him vpon the ground seuen dayes, and seuen nights. 1798 Coleridge Anc. Mar. iv. ix, Seven days seven nights I saw that curse. 1817 2nd Rep. Committee Police Metrop., Min. Evid. 352 He is sent for seven days to the House of Correction. 1847 Act 10 & 11 Vict. c. 89 §29 Liable..to Imprisonment for a Period not exceeding Seven Days. 1850 [I. Williams] (title) The Seven Days, or the Old and New Creation. 1859 Tennyson Merlin & V. 561 A seven-months' babe had been a truer gift. 1892 Oxf. Chron. 19 Mar. 6/7 Fined 1s. and costs 3s. 6d., or seven days. 1898 J. Hutchinson in Archives Surg. IX. 364 In December of the same year his wife was delivered of a seven months' child. 1903 Ladies' Field 7 Nov. 346/1 The Crystal Palace Cat Show..Neila Billi, a grand seven⁓month son of Orange Blossom of Thorpe. |
d. Used (
a) symbolically, often denoting completion or perfection (
esp. in echoes of biblical phraseology), or (
b) typically in expressions of time, etc. for a large number or quantity,
esp. † (this) seven year(s, etc. (
= a long period). See also sevensithes.
† seven times fold = sevenfold adv.;
seven-times-folded = sevenfold a.
| c 1000 ælfric Judges xvi. 7 Ᵹif ic beo ᵹebunden mid seofon rapum of sinum ᵹeworhte, sona ic beo ᵹewyld. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. ix. 66, I haue suwed þe þis seuen ȝer. c 1386 Chaucer Nun's Pr. Epil. 7 The were nede of hennes, as I wene, Ȝa, moo than seuene tymes seuentene. 1470–85 Malory Arthur vii. xiii. 232 Men sayen that he hath seuen mens strength. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 664 Thocht he had socht sic ane sicht all this seuin ȝeir. c 1475 Partenay 4182 Better..seff tymes fold. 1549 Compl. Scot. ii. 24, I sal strik ȝou vitht ane plag, seuyn tymes mair vehement. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iv. iv. 591 There shall not, at your Fathers House, these seuen yeeres Be borne another such. 1657 Austen Fruit Trees i. 32 The Lord recompenceth and will give thee seauen⁓times as much. 1671 Milton Samson 1122 Add thy Spear, A Weavers beam, and seven-times-folded shield. 1855 Kingsley Westw. Ho! xiii, And gold seven times tried he was, when God..took him home at last. |
e. In
Naut. slang
phrs. to knock seven bells out of (someone): to beat (someone) severely; similarly,
to scare seven bells out of: to terrify.
Cf. bell n.1 3 b.
| 1929 F. C. Bowen Sea Slang 121 To knock seven bells out of a man, to give him a hiding or knock him out. 1932 J. W. Harris Days of Endeavour ix. 158 Three angry Norwegians..knocked seven bells out of him. 1933 M. Lowry Ultramarine iv. 206 Yis. He's knocked seven bells out of harder cases than you in his time. 1943 F. C. Hendry True Tales of Sail & Steam i. 11 She [sc. a ship] scared seven bells out of us and gave us the worst month I have ever known at sea. |
2. a. With ellipsis of
n., which may usually be supplied from the context.
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iv. iii. (1890) 262 Mid feaum broðrum, þæt is seofonum oðþo eahtum. a 1000 Cædmon's Gen. 1335 (Gr.) Ond þu seofone ᵹenim on þæt sundreced tudra ᵹehwilces ᵹeteled rimes. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 27 Erðon he nefde bute enne deofel, nu he haued sefene. c 1205 Lay. 15878 Joram þe witie & seofne of his iueren. a 1300 Cursor M. 1455 Nine hundret yeir and seuen a[nd] fiue, Sua lang it lasted seth liue. 1382 Wyclif Gen. vii. 2 Of alle hauynge sowles clene, thow shalt take seuene and seuene, maal and femaal. 1411 in 26 Pol. Poems x. 34 Wiþ water, for synne þe world y slow, Saue seuene, and noe þat was my gest. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxvi. 47 Bot beneficis ar nocht leill devydit; Sum men hes sewin, and I nocht ane. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iii. i. 111 Sure it is no sinne, Or of the deadly seuen it is the least. 1656 Stanley Hist. Philos. iii. 89 He first divided an oration into four parts, some say into seaven. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 648 Th' Arch-Angel Uriel, one of the seav'n Who in God's presence..Stand. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. viii. II. 357 It was known all over London that the Bishops were before the Council... When the Seven came forth under a guard [etc.]. |
b. With ellipsis of
parts.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8372 Her ost hii delde a seuene [MS. β departed in seuene]. |
c. esp. With ellipsis of
hours (of the day) or
minutes, as
seven o' († of the, † a) clock; also simply
seven;
half-past seven,
seven fifteen, etc.
| c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 2008 O-boute þe hour of seuene. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xx. v. 804 Or it be seuen of the clok. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iv. iii. 193 It shall be seuen ere I go to horse. 1664 Butler Hud. ii. iii. 512, I meant what time o'th' day 'tis? Quoth Ralpho, between seven and eight 'tis. 1779 Mirror No. 43 ¶6 A clock was heard to strike seven. 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede iv, It's gone seven by th' clock. 1872 Calverley Fly Leaves (1903) 93 Ere yet the minster clock chimed seven. |
| 1580 G. Harvey Letter-Bk. (Camden) 72 Afternoone seavenaclocke dinnars. 1898 Watts-Dunton Aylwin v. ii, To dress for her ridiculous seven o'clock dinner. |
d. With ellipsis of
years (of age).
to be more than seven: to ‘know one's way about’.
| 1608 Shakes. Per. iv. vi. 81 Did you goe too't so young, were you a gamester at fiue or at seuen? 1693 Locke Educ. §199. 254 The first Season to get Foreign Languages,..I should think, should be from Seven to Fourteen or Sixteen. 1872 Calverley Fly Leaves (1884) 65 A dull little varmint Of seven or eight. 1898 Gissing Town Trav. viii. 81 Oh, we all know that Mr. Gammon's more than seven. |
e. With ellipsis of
shillings or
pence, as in
seven and seven (pence).
seven-and-sixer: an article (in
quot., a hat) costing seven shillings and sixpence.
| 1839 Thackeray Stubb's Cal. Dec., I had charged a gentleman in the coffee-rooms seven-and-sixpence for a glass of ale and bread and cheese. 1857 Hughes Tom Brown i. v, We are allowed two seven-and-sixers a half. |
f. Specific uses.
the Seven: (
a) the seven deacons of Acts vi. 5;
† (
b) the Seven Sages of Greece (see
sage n.2 1); (
c) the seven Argive heroes that made war against Thebes; (
d) in soldier's slang (see
quot. 1898).
† the erring seven: the planets.
| 1382 Wyclif Acts xxi. 8 Philip euangelist, that was oon of the seuene. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. iv. §3 Which later kind of Parabolical wisedome was much more in vse in the ancient times, as by the Fables of Aesope, and the briefe sentences of the seuen..may appeare. 1612 Selden Illustr. Drayton's Poly-olb. x. 220 As the old verses of the Seven tells us. 1642 H. More Song of Soul ii. iii. iii. xv, So doth the earth one of the erring seven Wheel round the fixed sunne. 1842 W. C. Taylor Anc. Hist. viii. §6 (ed. 3) 216 The memorable war of ‘the Seven against Thebes’. 1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 230 War of the ‘Seven’ (under Adrastus of Argos). 1898 United Service Mag. Mar. 649 In their way soldiers are very philosophical. If anything in their work annoys them they say, ‘It's all in the seven’, i.e., the seven years for which they join the army. 1902 T. M. Lindsay Ch. Early Cent. iv. 117 They are never called deacons; the Seven is the technical name they were known by. |
g. seven-a-side(s, a form of Rugby Union football played with only seven men on each side; hence, a rugby match or tournament played with teams of this size.
Cf. sense 2 e of the
n.| 1900 Scottish Sport 13 Apr. 6/1 Melrose..will tomorrow resound with a Babel of tongues..eager and excited over the first of the Border seven-a-side tournaments. a 1917 E. C. Smith Braid Haaick (1927) 24 The ‘Greens’ hev wun the seevin-a-sides at their ain spoarts. 1935 Encycl. Sports 529/1 Seven-a-Side. This variant of the Rugby Union game is much played by the better clubs towards the end of the season... There are, usually, three forwards and four backs on either side. 1961 Times 5 May 11/1 We would much rather have seen the seven-a-sides at Twickenham. |
† 3. = seven times.
Obs.| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 6834 More þank þou getest for swych ȝyuyng Þan seuene so moche with chydyng. a 1425 Cursor M. 9382 (Trin.) Sonne & mone þat is so briȝt Had seuen so michel more liȝt. |
4. a. Multiplying another numeral.
| c 893 ælfred Oros. ii. v. §2 His heres wæs seofon hund þusenda. c 1205 Lay. 364 We habbeð seoue þusund of gode cnihten. a 1300 Cursor M. 1488 Lameth his sun his eild to neuen, Seuen hundret yeir seuenti and seuen. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 141 Seuen score dayes. a 1400 Morte Arth. 3788 One seuenschore knyghtes. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 8669 Douȝti knyȝtes thousandes seuene. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 4 Seuin hundir thousand pace lang. 1626 Bacon Sylva §755 Who lived till she was seuen-score yeares old. 1650 in Fasti Aberd. (1854) 587 Seivine dusson egges 0 14 0. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) I. 216 The river Missisippi is of more than seven hundred leagues in length. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. III. ii. i, Then do but touch some spring dexterously, the whole machine, clattering and jerking seven-hundredfold, will whirl with huge crash. 1859 FitzGerald tr. Omar xx, To-morrow I may be Myself with Yesterday's Sev'n Thousand Years. |
b. Coupled with a higher (cardinal or ordinal) numeral, so as to form a compound (cardinal or ordinal) numeral.
| c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) xxvii. heading, Dauid sang þisne seofen and twentiᵹoþan sealm. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 594 Seuene and .xx.ti dais. c 1470 Henry Wallace vi. 107 Tuelff hundred ȝer, tharto nynte and sewyn. 1579 Fulke Heskins' Parl. 302 The seuen and sixtieth Chapter. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. (Sommer) 163 b, A young girle of a seuen and twenty yeare old. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 270 The seven and twentieth Booke of Plinies Naturall Historie. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. I. iv. iv, Slashed by seven-and-twenty wounds. |
c. Forming fractional numerals.
| 1726 Act 13 Geo. I, c. 26 §11 In Breadth full Three quarters of a Yard, or full Seven eighths. 1832 J. Rennie Consp. Butterfl. & M. 64 Wings one inch one-half to seven-twelfths. 1900 Jrnl. Sch. Geog. (U.S.) Jan. 16 We must divide the number of days between the time of the observation and the nearest equinox by three and seven-eighths. |
† 5. = seventh a.
Obs. The
ME. sevenday may be either an instance of this or a contraction of
sevende day (see
seventh);
cf. sevendele.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 247 Ðe seuendai morᵹen sprong. c 1305 Pop. Treat. Sci. 137 Ther nis bote the sove del that men wonyeth on i-wis. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 800 To his castel..He sailed þe seuenday. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints vi. (Thomas) 422 Þat in lele pennance we suld dwel, as fore þe sewine gre ve ma tell. a 1400 Relig. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. 23 The seuen braunche of pryde es elacion. c 1475 Partenay 1261 The seffe child Ffromont that tyme callyd was. 1491 Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) 375 The yer of the regn of Kyng Harry the Seventh the sewne yer. 1513 Douglas æneis i. xi. 755 For now the sevin symmir hidder careis the Wilsum, and errant, in euery land and see. 1588 A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 39 Ye sawin commandiment. |
6. In special collocations.
seven bishops Eng. Hist., Archbishop Sancroft, and Bishops Ken, Lake, Lloyd, Trelawney, Turner, White, who in 1688 protested against the Declaration of Indulgence of James II.
seven brethren, the seven sons of
St. Felicitas, whose festival is assigned to July 10th.
seven champions, the national saints of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Spain, and Italy,
viz. George, Andrew, David, Patrick, Denys, James, and Anthony. Hence
sing. † seven-champion allusively (see
quot. 1676).
seven islands, the Ionian Islands (
cf. Septinsular).
seven jargons (see
quots.).
seven names of God,
cf. quot. 1905; a partial coincidence with this Jewish list appears in the incantatory formula (in Heinrich
ME. Medizinbuch 149)
El,
Elye,
Sabaoth,
Adonay,
Alpha,
Omega,
Messias,
Pastor,
Agnus,
Fons. The 14th c.
quots. below point to a use of
Seven as a name of God.
seven seas, the Arctic, Antarctic, North and South Pacific, North and South Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. Also
seven sisters,
seven sleepers,
seven stars. For others see
age n. 5,
art n. 7,
bell n. 3 b,
command n. 2,
deadly a. 5 (
s. deadly sins),
head n.1 71 b (
s. head-sins),
heaven n. 4,
mercy n. 7 (
s. works of mercy),
planet n.1 1,
psalm n. 2,
sacrament n. 1 ,
sage n.2,
science n. 3,
sense n. 10,
star,
vial,
vice,
virtue,
whistler,
wise (
s. wise masters and
men),
wonder,
word.
| 1731 Tindal Rapin's Hist. Eng. XV. 142 marg., Tryal of the *Seven Bishops [1688]. |
| c 1450 Godstow Reg. 19, I pray ȝou þen *Brethren seuyn, That I may be one of Benet ys heyre. 1588 A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. in Cath. Tract. (S.T.S.) 189 The 7 brether sones of S. Foelicite martt. at Rome vnder Antoninus 136. |
| 1596 R. Johnson (title) The Famous History of the *Seauen Champions of Christendome. 1676 Poor Robin's Intell. 28 Mar. 1/1 He is a Seaven-Champion in Quackery, that delights in nothing but dangerous adventures. 1735 Bolingbroke Study Hist. i. (1752) 5 Some..read the life of Aristides or Phocion,..just as..they would read the story of the seven champions. |
| 1803 G. Rose Diaries (1860) II. 20 The republic of the *Seven Islands. 1880 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 206/2 In 1800, the emperor Paul erected the Republic of the Seven United Islands. |
| 1843 Borrow Bible in Spain xxxix, I heard one of them [the alguazils] say ‘he understands the *seven Gypsy jargons’. 1896 Gentl. Mag. CCLXXX. 129 It was very galling for one who had just been discussing the Seven Jargons with a past master to be now floored in a missing word competition. |
| a 1325 Adam & Eve 125 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 140 Yblisced be his *nam seuen. 13.. Guy Warw. 2841 God, for his name seuene He bring ȝou to gode heuene! c 1460 Towneley Myst. xiii. 191 Now lord, for thy naymes sevyn, that made both moyn and starnes, Well mo then I can neuen thi will, lorde, of me tharnys. [1905 Jewish Encycl. IX. 163/2 The number of divine names that require the scribe's special care is seven: El, Elohim, Adonai, YHWH, Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh, Shaddai, and Zeba'ot.] |
| 1872 FitzGerald tr. Omar xlvii, Which of our Coming and Departure heeds As the *Sev'n Seas should heed a pebble-cast. 1896 Kipling (title) The Seven Seas. |
B. n. 1. a. The abstract number seven.
at or on six and seven,
at sixes and sevens: see
six n. 5.
† be sic seven: see
sic a. 1 b.
| c 1055 tr. Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia VIII. 303 Twia seofon beoð feowertyne. c 1200 Ormin 5351 Forr tale off seoffne tacneþþ uss Þatt seofennkinne bene. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xix. cxx. (1495) 922 Seuen hyghte Septenarius and is the thyrde amonge odde nombres. c 1425 Crafte Nombrynge (E.E.T.S.) 10 Cast 3 to foure, þat wole be seuen. ? 1593 Drayton Man in Moon Poems (1619) 484 The which foure Seuens the Eight and Twenty make. 1621 T. Williamson tr. Goulart's Wise Vieillard 42 The number of seuen, is otherwise iudged of in the holy Scriptures. |
† b. to set on seven: said of the work of God in creation.
Obs.| a 1400 Pistill of Susan 264 Þou maker of myddelert,..Boþe þe sonne and þe see þou sette vpon seuene. c 1460 Towneley Myst. xiii. 738 The fader of heuen god omnypotent, That sett all on seuen. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 1045, I swere be suthfast God, that settis all on sevin. |
c. Short for the date of the seventh year of a particular century,
e.g. 1707. Also,
two sevens: 77th year.
| 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xxiv, At the last riding of the Scots Parliament, and that was in the gracious year seven. 1889 Gretton Memory's Harkback 63 When he was in his ‘two sevens’, I followed him from church on Christmas Day in his Doctor's red gown, big wig, and silk stockings. |
2. a. A set of seven persons or things.
sevens: a ball game (see
quot. 1868).
| 1590 H. Broughton Let. to Friend A 2 Seauen seauens (of yeeres) and sixtie and two seauens. 1599 Pont Right Reckoning of Years 76 The wicked spirites also are numbred by seavens. 1611 Bible Gen. vii. 2 Of euery cleane beast thou shalt take to thee by seuens. 1667 Milton P.L. xi. 731 Of everie Beast, and Bird, and Insect small Came seavens, and pairs. 1853 N. Brit. Rev. Feb. 397 Till the end of the forty-ninth annual revolution, a period of seven sevens. 1868 Routledge's Ev. Boy's Bk. 48 Sevens. This game is very like Catch-ball. The object is to catch a ball seven times in a particular fashion. |
b. A playing card marked with seven pips.
| 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Pol. Touchstone (1674) 288 The fair advantage which he had of three Sevens in hand. 1680 Cotton Compl. Gamester (ed. 2) 90 You then play your seven of Clubs. Ibid. 102 They may lay out the threes, fours, fives, sixes and sevens. 1783 W. Hooper Rat. Recr. (ed. 2) I. 120 With the seven and eight of diamonds. 1873 Routledge's Young Gentl. Mag. Jan. 121 Gather up the four sevens, and place them on the top of the pack. |
c. Cricket. A score of seven runs from one hit.
| 1765 in Waghorn Cricket Scores (1899) 59 Harding fetched 24 notches off his own bat at four strokes: that was one 5, two 6's, and one 7. 1886 Pycroft Oxford Mem. II. 101 He hit Mr. Lowth for a fair seven. |
d. pl. Verses of seven syllables.
| 1825 Collect. Psalms & Hymns 197 Hymn 170. (Sevens.) Gracious Spirit, Love Divine. 1891 J. C. Parsons Eng. Versif. 35 Sevens. Trochaic trimeter, with added syllable. |
e. Short for
seven-a-side(
s (see sense 2 g of the
adj.).
| 1926 Times 26 Apr. 5/5 Cussen showed in the semi-final what pace means in the game of Sevens. 1977 Daily Mirror 15 Mar. 30/1 Rosslyn Park are angry that they cannot call their famous schools sevens tournament by the names of their sponsors. |
3. † a. In the game of hazard, with reference to the throwing of a main.
Obs. seven's the main: see
main n.3 seven is (my) chance: see
chance n. 3 b.
seven and eleven: the two casts upon which the highest expectation can be wagered when seven is the main.
come on seven: ?
= ‘seven's the main’; ? so
come you seven, in
quot. used as
n., a hardened gamester.
| c 1386 Chaucer Pard. T. 653 Seuene is my chaunce, and thyn is cynk and treye. a 1553 Nice Wanton 212 Heer six come on seuen. 1596 Sir J. Davies Epigr. xxi, Hee still doth swear By come on seauen that al is lost and gone. 1605 Chapman All Fools ii. i. 42 Shall I be made A foolish novice..By everie cheating come you seaven? 1680 Cotton Compl. Gamester (ed. 2) 121 (Hazzard) If again Seven be the Main, and the Caster throws eleven, that is a Nick. 1684 Otway Atheist v. i, Farewel for ever Old Hock..Seven and Eleven, Sink-Tray, and the Doublets. 1693 Humours Town 25 But at Seven and Eleven to shake away an Estate to known Rooks that live by the Dice, is an unaccountable piece of folly. 1726 Art & Myst. Mod. Gaming 13 Whereas of the 36 Changes 24 only are Mains, viz. 8 Fives and Nines, 10 Sixes and Eights, and 6 Sevens. 1814 Hoyle's Games Impr. 362 If seven is thrown for a main, and four the chance, it is 2 to 1 against the person who throws. 1839 Thackeray Lect. Fine Arts ii. Wks. 1900 XIII. 273 A gambling-house, where many a bout of seven's-the-main..has been had. |
† b. to set (all) on seven: to make a desperate venture; hence, to make an attack.
Cf. to set (
all)
on six and seven: see
six n. 5.
Obs.| ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 2131 Thus he settez on seuene with his sekyre knyghttez. a 1440 Sir Degrev. 1279 Ȝet wold I sett all one seven ffor Myldor the swet. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 668 With seymely scheildis to schew, thai set vpone seuin. |
c. Phr.
to throw a (or the) seven and
varr., to die; also, to faint or vomit.
Austral. slang.| 1894 H. Lawson Martin Farrell in Coll. Verse (1967) I. 269, I am pretty cronk and shaky—too far gone for hell or heaven, An' the chances are I'm goin'—that I'm goin' to ‘do the seven’. 1899 W. T. Goodge Hits! Skits! & Jingles! 17 You could bet on me chuckin' the seven If she slung me for some other bloke! 1908 [see marble n. 4 b]. 1932 A. Upfield Royal Abduction xxvi. 201 If she sees the thing she won't scream and throw a seven. She'll shoot. 1966 T. Ronan Once there was Bagman x. 217 The partially digested fruit must have swollen inside me, for before long I was chucking sevens around the flat as I had done a few years before when I had that touch of ptomaine poisoning. |
d. seven-and-a-half, a round game of cards in which the object is to make the number seven-and-a-half without exceeding it, by counting the pips on the cards.
Court cards (except for the King of Diamonds) are counted as worth half a point.
| 1937 Sun (Baltimore) 26 Jan. 5/5 All other games and machines—..twenty-one, blackjack, seven-and-a-half, big Injun, Klondyke and craps are mentioned specifically—require a $50-per-month license. 1964 A. Wykes Gambling vii. 178 Blackjack and seven-and-a-half are found more rarely in the casinos of Europe than those of America. |
4. A person or thing to which the number seven is attached in a set or series,
e.g. in an eight-oared boat, the rower occupying the seat behind stroke. Also
number seven.
| 1830 Marryat King's Own xli, ‘Had not I better get a piece of duck for that?’ ‘No, no—number seven [sc. canvas] will do as well.’ 1872 H. Kingsley Hornby Mills, etc. II. 59 You spoilt the boat by carrying away young Dickson,..and instead of rowing a good seven in the boat, he was bowled out with five runs at Kennington. 1891 Cambr. Rev. 12 Mar. 267/1 On Saturday with a new seven they rowed so well [etc.]. |
† 5. A seventh in music.
Obs. rare.
| 1561 T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer i. (1577) E j, The verie sense of our hearing..oftentymes delyteth in a second or in a seauen. 1598 Marston Sco. Villanie iii. xi. (1599) 228 When they sute Some harsher seauens for varietie My natiue skill discernes it presently. |
C. Combinations.
1. a. In parasynthetic
adjs. with suffix
-ed2, as
seven-branched,
seven-caped,
seven-channelled,
seven-chorded,
seven-cornered,
seven-eyed,
seven-formed [after eccl. L.
septiformis],
seven-gated,
seven-headed,
seven-horned,
seven-maned,
seven-mouthed,
seven-piled,
seven-quired,
seven-sealed,
seven-sided,
seven-stringed,
seven-syllabled,
seven-thorned,
seven-tined,
seven-toned,
seven-tongued,
seven-towered,
seven-twined,
seven-twisted;
seven-footed, seven feet high;
† seven-mountain-seated = seven-hilled;
† seven-ported, seven-gated. See also
seven-hilled, seven-leagued.
| 1863 Stanley Jew. Ch. xvii. 377 On the left of the Entrance, stood the *seven-branched candlestick. |
| 1859 All Year Round No. 34. 176 She calls the *seven-caped cabman. |
| 1621 G. Sandys Ovid's Met. i. (1626) 11 *Seuen-chanel'd Nile. |
| 1647 H. More Triumph 27 But æther..Tunes his *seven-corded Harp. 1841–6 Longfellow To a Child xii, Pythagoras..formed the seven-chorded lyre. |
| 1611 Florio, Settangolare, *seuen-cornered. |
| 1649 Roberts Clavis Bibl. 615 The vigilant *seven-eyed Providence of the Lord. [See Zech. iv. 10.] |
| 1787 Colman Inkle & Yarico i. iii, Some grim, *seven-footed fellow ready to scalp us. |
| 1561 J. Daus tr. Bullinger on Apoc. (1573) 47 b, He is sayd..to haue the *seuen formed spirite, whom he also powreth out vpon the faithfull. |
| 1581 A. Hall Iliad iv. 71 The *seauen gated Thebes towne. 1729 G. Adams tr. Sophocles' Antig. i. ii. II. 14 Round the seven gated City. 1849 M. Arnold Strayed Rev. 247 Seven-gated Thebes. |
| 1561 J. Daus Bullinger on Apoc. (1573) 5 b, The old *seuenheaded, and the new twohorned beast. 1646 [S. Gorton] (title) Simplicities Defence against Seven-headed Policy. Or Innocency vindicated, being unjustly accused by that Seven-headed Church-Government united in New England. 1810 Southey Kehama xiv. i, Joy in the seven-headed Idol's shrine! 1847 Tennyson Princess Prol. 200 Seven-headed monsters only made to kill Time by the fire in winter. |
| 1835 I. Williams in Lyra Apost. cxi[ii]. (1836) 139 And old imperial Rome Looks up, and lifts again half-dead Her *seven-horned head. |
| 1849 Rossetti Mary's Girlhood ii, The seven-thorn'd briar and the palm *seven-leaved. |
| 1949 S. Spender Edge of Being 29 The *seven-maned Golden lions. |
| 1624 Nero ii. (1633) C 3 b, Empire-crown'd *seven mountaine-seated Rome. |
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. v. 18 As when a wearie traueller that strayes By muddy-shore of broad *seven-mouthed Nile. |
| 1850 Marg. Fuller Wom. in 19th C. (1862) 187 Their ever weeping skies and *seven-piled velvet of verdure. |
| 1603 Murray in Stirling's Darius In praise Author, *Seauen-ported Thebes wals. |
| 1897 F. Thompson New Poems 20 Where *seven-quired psalterings meet. |
| 1826 E. Irving Babylon II. 339 The 14th chapter, which is no portion of the *seven-sealed book. |
| 1766 B. Martin New Art Survey 27 A Heptagon, or *seven-sided Figure. 1853 Lynch Self-Improvem. iv. 96 Seven-sided subjects. |
| 1965 J. A. Michener Source (1966) 251 He carried a small *seven-stringed lyre made of fir wood trimmed with antique bronze and strung with twisted sheep's gut. |
| 1869 Hood Rules of Rhyme 30 Tetrameter (*seven-syllabled). 1849 *Seven-thorned [see seven-leaved]. |
| 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm II. 682 The implement..is now very frequently used with five tines, in place of the original *seven-tined implement. |
| 1853 N. Brit. Rev. Feb. 399 The *seven-toned rhythm of the universe. |
| 1913 E. Stock Heroic Bishop ii. 12 In later days he became known in India as ‘the *seven-tongued man’. |
| 1959 E. Pound Thrones xcvi. 19 From the Palace, half-circle that street is, ending near the *seven-towered castello. |
| 1853 N. Brit. Rev. Feb. 399 A pencil of light..*seven-twined and beautiful. |
| Ibid., A web of *seven-twisted thread. |
b. Nat. Hist.| 1812 Shaw Gen. Zool. I. i. 190 *Seven-banded Armadillo. |
| 1881 Cassell's Nat. Hist. V. 32 The third *seven-gilled Shark, called Notidanus indicus. |
| 1591 Percivall Sp. Dict., Siete en rama, *seauen leaued grasse. 1822 Hortus Anglicus II. 175 Seven-leaved Tooth Wort. 1927 E. Sitwell Rustic Elegies 81 The seven-leaved man-plant. |
| 1821 W. P. C. Barton Flora N. Amer. I. 14 Leaves..*seven-nerved. |
| 1812 Shaw Gen. Zool. VI. i. 55 The common or *seven-spotted Lady-Bird. |
2. Combined with
ns. forming
adjs., as
seven-carbon,
seven-course,
seven-cubit,
seven-eighths,
seven-feet,
seven-figure,
seven-foot,
seven-inch,
seven-line,
seven-octave,
seven-ounce,
seven-part,
seven-point,
seven-sacrament,
seven-shilling,
† seven-shot,
seven-wire;
seven-water, containing seven parts of water to one of spirit. See also
seven-league.
| 1852 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. IV. 233 *Seven-carbon ether, Amylate of ethyle, or Ethylate of amyle. |
| 1933 C. Day Lewis Magnetic Mountain 12 The penny-a-liner, the *seven-course diner. |
| 1858 M. Arnold Merope 28 Agamemnon's unhappy,..world-fam'd, *Seven-cubit-statur'd son. 1881 O. Wilde Poems 117 The seven-cubit spear. |
| 1939 M. B. Picken Lang. Fashion 123/1 *Seven-eighths length, length of coat that is shorter than dress or skirt by a little less than one-eighth of the length from shoulder to hem. 1963 Bird & Hutton-Stott Veteran Motor Car 186 A patent plate clutch, a new form of universal joint and seven-eighths-elliptic back springs of which the upper portions were cantilevered. 1979 Tucson (Arizona) Citizen 20 Sept. 2b/1, I was told that nothing will make my fall wardrobe look more up-to-date than a seven-eighths-length coat. |
| 1782 ‘J. H. St. John de Crèvecœur’ Lett. from Amer. Farmer vi. 169 The right whale, or *seven feet bone..about sixty feet long. 1829 W. Pearson Pract. Astron. II. 367 Mr. South's seven-feet instrument. |
| 1842 Penny Cycl. XXIII. 498/1 *Seven-figure numbers to 100 thousand. 1865 De Morgan & Schroen (title) Seven-figure Logarithms. 1933 Brit. Jrnl. Psychol. XXIII. 358 Seven-figure logarithms were used in all calculational work. 1972 Daily Tel. 10 Apr. 3/8 Lord Salisbury..died before the Budget so his family cannot benefit from the top duty scale reduction..for seven-figure fortunes. |
| 1935 Discovery Feb. 62/1 We read on p. 42 that Watt's ‘Old Bess’ had a single cylinder of 33 inches diameter—usually termed bore—and a *7 foot stroke. 1950 Amer. Speech XXV. 237/2 Seven-foot line, a line of sight seven feet off the property line from one seven-foot point to another. |
| 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. Plate xx, A small *seven-inch drain. |
| 1869 Hood Rules of Rhyme 38 The *Seven-line Stanza. |
| 1869 ‘Mark Twain’ Innoc. Abr. lix. 580 Any one can see a part of the unquestioned and undisputed Temple of Solomon, the same consisting of three or four stones lying one upon the other, each of which is about twice as long as a *seven-octave piano. 1885 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 77/2 Broadwood's seven-octave concert grands. |
| 1896 Kipling Seven Seas 97 (Lost Legion) We've shouted on *seven-ounce nuggets. |
| 1883 Grove's Dict. Mus. III. 464/1 Several short pieces for female voices in *seven-part harmony. |
| 1889 Cent. Dict., *Seven⁓point.., a., related to seven points, as, the seven-point circle. 1939 A. Rodger in F. C. Bartlett et al. Study of Society ii. xi. 259 Causes of occupational failure..are..classifiable under seven headings. [Note] This seven-point plan, has, of course, other uses. 1977 Word 1972 XXVIII. 310 A seven-point scale. |
| 1935 Burlington Mag. Feb. 81/1 The well-known series of *Seven Sacrament fonts, nearly all confined to..Norfolk and Suffolk. 1955 M. D. Anderson Imagery Brit. Churches iii. i. 54 There are about forty Seven Sacrament fonts... The bowls are carved with panels of figure sculpture, each representing one of the Sacraments. |
| 1780 H. Walpole in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1844) IV. 317 Last night I saw a proof⁓piece of *seven-shilling pieces struck in 1776. 1821 Byron Juan iii. lx, A lady with her daughters or her nieces Shine like a guinea and seven-shilling pieces. 1870 Henfrey Engl. Coins i. 87 One-third guinea or Seven-shilling piece. |
| 1681 Grew Musæum iv. §ii. 366 A *Seven-Shot Gun, or a Gun which carries Powder and Bullets, for seven Charges and Discharges. |
| 1688 Holme Armoury iii. ix. 382/1 A Wax Box, with a *seven Stone Ring set in it. |
| 1836 Marryat Three Cutters ii, *Seven-water grog. |
| 1876 Preece & Sivewright Telegraphy 242 To the old *seven-wire cable..four new wires are added. |
3. With
ns. footer,
pounder,
shooter (
q.v.).
| 1860 Charleston (S. Carolina) Mercury 6 Nov. 3/5 (Advt.), Allen & Wheelock's seven shooters. 1872 ‘Mark Twain’ Roughing It ii. 23, I was armed to the teeth with a pitiful little Smith & Wesson's seven-shooter..and it took the whole seven to make a dose for an adult. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer (1891) 205 A very effective seven-shooter. 1896 Daily News 22 Apr. 7/7 A Hotchkiss seven-pounder. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 13 Sept. 3/3 That giant seven-footer. |
4. seven-bark, (
a)
= ‘nine-bark’ (
Spiræa opulifolia and other species); (
b)
Hydrangea arborescens (Syd.
Soc. Lex. 1891);
seven-bore, a shotgun with calibre seven;
seven-eye(s [
cf. G.
siebenauge], the lamprey, in allusion to its seven gill-openings;
seven-gills, a shark of the genus
Heptanchus or
Notidanus (
Cent. Dict. 1891;
cf. seven-gilled in 1 b);
seven-holes = seven-eyes;
† seven-leaf,
-leaves = septfoil.
| 1814 Lewis & Clarke Trav. Missouri (1815) III. 18 The *seven bark, or as it is usually denominated, the nine bark of the United States. |
| 1863 W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting ix. 375, I have shot for ten years constantly with a *seven-bore of his make. |
| 1740 R. Brookes Art of Angling i. xxxviii. 81 The Lamprey..is called by Dr. Plot, the Pride of the Isis, and by others, *Seven-Eyes. 1839 T. C. Hofland Brit. Angler's Man. xv. (1841) 186 The lamprey,..or seven eyes. |
| 1883 Day Fishes Gt. Brit. II. 360 Names—Lampern, lampron, and lamper-eel; nine-eyes, nine-holes, the eye and nasal orifice appear to be here counted; *seven-holes, when only the gill-openings are enumerated. |
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 232 Ðeos wyrt þe man eptafilon & oðrum naman septifolium nemneð & eac sume men *seofenleafe hatað. 1657 Coles Adam in Eden 76 Tormentil, Setfoil or Seven-leaves. |
Add:
[A.] [2.] [f.] (
e) the group of countries (Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and the
U.K.) which were the original members of the European Free Trade Association from 1959;
cf. six a. 2 j.
| 1959 Daily Tel. 20 Nov. 1/1 The creation of the ‘Six’ and the ‘Seven’ should under no circumstances lead to a trade war in Europe. 1978 Internat. Relations Dict. (U.S. Dept. State Library) 13/1 The original members..were referred to as ‘The Seven’..as a counterpart to ‘The Six’ original members of the Common Market. |
▪ II. seven, v. U.S. slang.
(
ˈsɛv(ə)n)
[f. seven n. (see sense 3).] intr. Const.
out. In the game of craps: to throw a seven, and hence to lose one's bet;
occas. with dice as
subj. Also
transf. Cf. to crap out s.v. crap v. 3.
| 1934 Sun (Baltimore) 29 Jan. 14/3 The rattle of dice across the floor accompanied by deep-throated entreaties of ‘come on, Little Joe’..‘Seven out, dice.’ 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §750/5 Seven-out, to turn up a seven instead of one's point, a losing throw. 1957 Encycl. Brit. VII. 328/2 He continues to throw the dice until his point appears again, in which case he wins, or until a seven appears, in which case he is said to ‘seven out’ or ‘crap out’—he loses the bet and loses the dice. 1975 S. Bellow Humboldt's Gift (1976) 70 ‘Why do you push it, Charlie?’ he said. ‘At our age one short game is plenty... One of these days you could seven out.’ |