▪ I. sake, n.1
(seɪk)
Forms: 1 sacu, 2– sake; also 4–5 sak(k, (4 saac, sack, 5 saacke, 6 sacke), 4–6 Sc. saik, sayk, (5 saike, salk, 6 saek, sayck).
[OE. sacu str. fem. = OFris. sake, seke affair, thing, sake, OS. saka lawsuit, enmity, guilt, thing (MLG., MDu. sake lawsuit, affair, cause, reason, guilt, Du. zaak lawsuit, cause, sake, thing), OHG. sahha cause, sake, thing (MHG. sach(e, mod.G. sache thing, affair), ON. sǫk crime, accusation, action at law, cause, sake (Sw. sak, Da. sag in the same senses; also, influenced by Ger., thing):—OTeut. *sakā, related to the str. vb. *sak-, represented by OE. sacan to quarrel, fight, claim at law, accuse, OS. sakan to accuse, OHG. sahhan to strive, quarrel, rebuke. From the same root are OE. sæc(c (:—*sakjā), Goth. sakjô (:—*sakjōn), strife. An ablaut-variant of OTeut. *sak- is probably the *sōk- represented by seek v., q.v. for the cognates outside Teutonic.
The only use surviving in mod.Eng. (‘for the sake of’) has not been found in OE., and was prob. adopted from ON. It existed, however, in OHG. and OFris., and there is a possibility that it may have been in OE., though not evidenced in the literature. It seems to have arisen from the use of the n. to denote a litigant's cause or case (see 1 b). Cf. L. causā.]
† I. As an independent substantive. Obs.
1. Contention, strife, dispute; in OE. also, a contention at law; a suit, cause, action.
| Beowulf 154 Grendel wan hwile wið Hroðgar, heteniðas wæᵹ..singale sæce. a 1000 Laws of Hlothhære & Eadric 8 Ᵹif man oþerne sace tihte. c 1000 ælfric Gen. xiii. 7 Wearð..sacu betwux Abrames hyrdemannum and Lothes. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 95 He ne remde ne of bitere speche nes, ne he sake ne asterde. c 1205 Lay. 26290 And æðmodliche hine beden þat he wið Romleode summe sake arerde. a 1250 Owl & Night. 1160 Oþer þu bodest cheste an sake. c 1320 Sir Beues (A.) 3510 So þai atonede wiþ oute sake. |
2. A charge or accusation (of guilt); a ground of accusation. without sake, without good reason (= L. sine causa).
| c 1200 Ormin 10211 Her he forrbæd te cnihhtess ec..To sekenn sakess o þe follc, To rippenn hemm & ræfenn. a 1300 E.E. Psalter iii. 7 Alle to me witherwendand With-outen sake or any skil [Vulg. omnes adversantes mihi sine causa]. a 1300 Cursor M. 27483 If þou man gas þin offrand to mak, And þi broþer haf gain þi sak. c 1300 Harrow. Hell 37 (Digby MS.) Hi nomen me wiþouten sake, Bounden min honden to mi bake. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints ii. (Paulus) 167 Nero, mesure þi gret foly, and sla na man fore-owt sake. a 1400 Pistill of Susan 204 We schul presenten þis pleint,..And sei sadliche þe soþ, riȝt as we haue sene, O Sake. |
3. a. Guilt, sin; a fault, offence, crime. Often coupled with sin.
| Beowulf 2472 Ða wæs synn and sacu Sweona and Ᵹeata,..wroht ᵹemæne. a 1000 Phœnix 54 (Gr.) Nis ðær on ðam londe..synn ne sacu. c 1200 Ormin 1127 Þa lakess mihhtenn clennsenn hemm Off sakess & off sinness. a 1300 Cursor M. 11553 For he moght find nan wit sak, On þe sakles he suld ta wrake. Ibid. 29022 Fasting flemes flexsli sakes. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 800 Þat gloryous gyltlez þat mon con quelle, With-outen any sake of felonye. c 1400 A. Davy Dreams 90 And so shilde fro synne & sake! a 1400–50 Alexander 3213 Þat sloȝe so þaire souerayne þat neuire sake hadd. |
b. without sake, without guilt, fault, or blame (both as adj. and as adv. phrase). Hence transf. = without physical blemish.
| a 1250 Owl & Night. 1430 Heo mai hire guld at-wende arihte weie þurh chirche-bende, an mai efte habbe to make hire leof-mon wiþ-ute sake. a 1272 Luve Ron 62 in O.E. Misc. 95 Him waxeþ þouhtes monye and fele hw he hit may witen wiþ-vten sake. a 1300 Cursor M. 4043 He [Joseph] was fair, wit-outen sake. Ibid. 6067 And siþen sal ilk hus in-take A clene he lambe, wit-vten sake. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxiv. (Alexis) 33 Þat noble wyf anna,..treuly to god seruit ay in þe tempil, nycht & day, foure schore of ȝere, forout sak. |
4. nonce-use. Regard or consideration for some one. [After for the sake of in sense 6.]
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. v. 12 Tho mov'd with wrath, and shame, and Ladies sake. |
5. (See quot. 18792). nonce-use.
| 1876 G. M. Hopkins Wreck of Deutschland xxii, in Poems (1967) 58 Five! the finding and sake And cipher of suffering Christ. 1879 ― Henry Purcell in Ibid. 80 Let him oh! with his air of angels then lift me, lay me! only I'll Have an eye to the sakes of him, quaint moonmarks, to his pelted plumage under Wings. 1879 ― Lett. to R. Bridges (1955) 83 Sake is a word I find it convenient to use:..it is common in German, in the form sach. It is the sake of ‘for the sake of’... I mean by it the being a thing has outside itself, as a voice by its echo, a face by its reflection,..a man by his name, fame, or memory, and also that in the thing by virtue of which especially it has this being abroad,..as for a voice and echo clearness; for a reflected image light, brightness;..for a man genius, great achievements... In this case it is, as the sonnet says, distinctive quality in genius. |
II. Phr. for the sake of (also † for sake of); for (one's, a thing's) sake.
In the latter of these forms, the word which precedes sake is a possessive (noun or pronoun); but down to the middle of the 19th c. the 's of the possessive of common or abstract nouns was very commonly omitted (doubtless owing to the difficulty of pronouncing the two sibilants in succession), and from the 17th to the early 19th c. the two ns. were often connected by a hyphen, as if forming an attributive compound. The omission of the 's is now obsolete, but it is still not uncommon to write for conscience sake, for goodness sake, for righteousness sake, etc., without the apostrophe which is ordinarily used to mark the possessive of words ending in a sibilant.
The paragraphs marked β contain illustrations of the omission of the 's; some of the early examples there placed must be explained by the fact that the ns. occurring in them (e.g. soul) had originally no s in the genitive.
6. a. Out of consideration for; on account of one's interest in, or regard for (a person); on (a person's) account.
| a 1225 Leg. Kath. 98 For hare sake ane dale ha etheold of hire ealdrene god. a 1250 Owl & Night. 1589 Þat gode wif..al for hire louerdes sake haueþ daies kare & niȝtes wake. a 1300 K. Horn 1454 Þis tur he let make Al for þine sake. 1375 Barbour Bruce vii. 244 Scho said, ‘all that traualand ere, For saik of ane, ar velcom here’. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints ii. (Paulus) 596 Fore I hafe schawit hym quhat he mone thole for þe sayk of me. 1530 Tindale Gen. xviii. 31, I will not distroy them for twenties sake. Ibid. 32, I will not destroy them for .x. sake. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. ii. ii. 103 And run through fire I will for thy sweet sake. 1595 J. King Queens Day Serm. in On Jonas (1618) 703 Hee spareth our countrie for his anointeds sake. 1784 Cowper Task vi. 637 Content to hear..Messiah's eulogy for Handel's sake! 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 277 For my own sake as well as for yours, I will do my very best. 1884 J. Payn Some Lit. Recoll. 6 When it became necessary for him to exert himself for the sake of his family. |
| β 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 135, & þus quathe he his þing, for his soule sake. Ibid. 292 For þe comon sake. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 229 For Thetis his moder sake. a 1400–50 Alexander 1813 And for þaire souerayne sake þam send to þe galawis. c 1420 Avow. Arth. xvii, This socur thou hase send me, For thi Sune sake! c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 4087 Crist descendid to helle fro the heven for mankynde sake. |
† b. Occas. with unfavourable notion: On account of enmity to; because of the guilt of. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 162 Herode kyng wit wogh For crist sak þe childer slogh. c 1375 St. Andreas 96 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 5/1 Or els I sall for þi god sake Ger hang þe right on swilk a tre Als þou sais suld so honorde be. 1530 Tindale Gen. iii. 17 Cursed be the erth for thy sake. |
c. When the preceding genitive is pl., the pl. sakes is often used.
| 1530 Tindale Gen. xviii. 26, I will spare all the place for their sakes. 1567 Gude & Godlie Ball. (S.T.S.) 181 All the exempillis of the Law Ar writtin..For our saikis. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 765 For your faire sakes haue we neglected time. 1596 ― Tam. Shr. v. ii. 15 For both our sakes I would that word were true. 1716 Addison Freeholder No. 9 ¶14 We desire you will put yourself to no farther Trouble for our sakes. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 505 ‘Then for God's sake’, he answer'd, ‘both our sakes, So you will wed me, let it be at once’. |
7. a. Out of regard or consideration for (a thing); on account of, because of (something regarded in the light of an end, aim, purpose, etc.); often = out of desire for, in order to attain, etc.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 4 Ye schullen..wel witen þe inre [riwle] & þe uttre vor hire sake. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 217 For lucre and nought for loves sake. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. v. 99 For consciences sake. 1593 Queen Elizabeth Boeth. v. pr. iv. 110 For argumentes sake, mark what wold follow. 1643 J. Burroughes Exp. Hosea vii. (1652) 281 Men in their prosperity are not regarded for any thing in themselves, but for their prosperities sake, for their moneys sake, for their cloaths sake. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. II. 689 This year..one Fabian Philipps..was a Student and Sojournour in the University for the sake of the Bodleian Library. 1693 Humours Town 56 One that drinks for drink's sake. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 35 ¶10 He pursues no Point either of Morality or Instruction, but is Ludicrous only for the sake of being so. a 1770 Jortin Serm. (1771) I. i. 10 It is doing mischief for mischiefs sake. 1790 Paley Horæ Paul. Wks. 1825 III. 132 The business for the sake of which the journey was undertaken. 1816 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. (1818) I. ix. 289 The icteric oriole is kept by the Americans in their houses for the sake of clearing them of insects. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 63 Flattering of rich men for the sake of a dinner. 1875 T. W. Higginson Hist. U.S. ix. 66 There was no persecution for opinion's sake. |
| β ? a 1500 Chester Pl. ii. 274 Adam, husband, I red we take thes figg-leaves for shame sake. 1535 Coverdale Matt. xiv. 9 Neuertheles for y⊇ ooth sake [Mark vi. 26 for the oothes sake]. 1571 Digges Pantom. iii. xi. R iv, I shall for breuitie sake set foorth one onely rule generall. 1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. Pref. i. §1 To suffer all things, for that worke sake which we couet to performe. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. i. vii. §16 It was mooued by some after supper, for entertainement sake. 1621 Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 404 We are pitied, for fashion-sake of many, relieved of none. 1731 in Swift's Lett. (1766) II. 127 To flatter a man, from whom you can get nothing,..is doing mischief for mischief-sake. 1754 Richardson Grandison (1810) IV. xiv. 111 For sex-sake, for example-sake, Lucy, let it not be known. 1784 Cowper Let. to Unwin Wks. 1836 V. 57, I am writing in the greenhouse for retirement sake. 1815 Edin. Rev. XXV. 398 Imagery or mere declamation, that is, speaking for speaking-sake. 1833 Tracts for Times No. 10. 3 It is our duty to reverence them for their office-sake. 1853 J. H. Newman Lect. Turks i. (1854) 13, I shall call..the populations..Tartars, for convenience-sake. 1865 Swinburne Chastelard iv. i, For sweet marriage-sake. |
† b. Because of, by reason of, through; in return or requital for. Obs. rare.
| 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 283 But say þou nouht, sire king, for sake of enuie Þat me were loþ of our lif ludus to teche. a 1400–50 Alexander 2022 And for þe sake of þi sede þou sent w{supt} þi lettre, Loo, here a purse full of pepire my powere to ken. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 8902 Some of hem her deth schal take, Er it be nyȝt, for that wounde sake. 1622 Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. i. 158 Fearing lest for my sinnes-sake..I might be taken in some trap. |
c. for one's name('s) sake, out of regard for one's name; also for name sake.
This has been suggested as the origin of namesake, q.v.
| 1526 Tindale Acts ix. 16, I wyll shewe hym howe grett thynges he must suffer for my names sake. 1599 Warn. Faire Wom. ii. 915, I love you for your name-sake. 1638 R. Brathwait Barnabees Jrnl. iii. (1818) 97 Thence to Harrington, be it spoken! For name-sake I gave a token To a beggar. 1685 Baxter Paraphr. N.T. Matt. xix. 29 All..that lose and forsake any thing here, for my Name-sake. |
8. In exclamatory phrases of adjuration, as for God's sake, for goodness' sake.
For further illustration see goodness 5, god n. 11, mercy n. 4, pity n. 2 c.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 4800 And i yow pray, for drightin sak [Gött. for goddes sake]. c 1386 Chaucer Sompn. T. 24 Now spede yow hastily for cristes sake. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lxxxviii. 279 For goddes sake aduyse you well that ye come not there. 1535 Coverdale Ps. vi. 4 Oh saue me, for thy mercies sake. 1879 Howells L. Aroostook xvi, Hold on, for Heaven's sake! 1885 ‘F. Anstey’ Tinted Venus 32 ‘For goodness' sake, say something’, he cried wildly. |
† 9. With a pronominal adj. in place of the possessive. for that sake, for the sake of that, on that account, for that reason. for any sake, in any case, at all events. for many sakes, out of consideration for many things. Obs.
Quot. 1879 appears to be an unauthorized extension of this use.
| 13.. S. Eng. Leg. (MS. Bodl. 779) in Archiv Stud. neu. Spr. LXXXII. 321/512 A frere hadde I-trespased & for þat ilke sake a disciplyne he cholde habbe. c 1350 Will. Palerne 2019 Þer-fore for soþe gret sorwe sche made, & swor for þat sake to suffur alle peynes. a 1425 Cursor M. 3771 (Trin.) She sent him soone into aram To hir broþer þat het laban Þere to soiourne for þat sake Til his broþþer wraþþe wolde slake. 1597 Shakes. Lover's Compl. 322 Aye me I fell, and yet do question make, What I should doe againe for such a sake. 1754 Richardson Grandison (1810) IV. xlii. 317 He shall, for many sakes, find it very difficult to provoke me. 1824 S. E. Ferrier Inher. xv, For any sake let us have one night of peace and rest. 1879 L. S. Bevington Key-notes 133 Men are aglow to live for some great sake, Or die, if need be. |
10. Phr. † for sake('s) sake: (a) euphemistically = ‘for God's sake’, in adjurations; (b) for the sake of some person understood; (c) for its own sake. Obs. Also, for old sake's sake: for the sake of old friendship.
| 1665 R. Howard Four Plays, Committee iii. 101 Run after him, and save the poor Fellow for Sakes sake. 1690 Dryden Amphitryon ii. i, Meaning some Body, that for sake-sake shall be nameless. 1728–9 Mrs. Delany Life & Corr. (1861) I. 191 Cupid knows he is only civil to me for sakes's sake. 1742 Richardson Pamela III. 86 But alas, Madam, he was not so well pleased with my Virtue, for Sake's sake, as Lady Betty thinks he was. 1857 Hughes Tom Brown i. iii, I've a been long minded to do't for old sake's sake. 1863 Kingsley Water-Bab. v. 216 Yet for old sake's sake she is still, dears, The prettiest doll in the world. 1886 Stevenson Dr. Jekyll 17, I continue to take an interest in him for old sake's sake as they say. |
11. sakes alive! and simply sakes!: a vulgar exclamation expressing surprise. dial. and U.S.
| 1846 Mrs. Kirkland West. Clearings 78 ‘Law sakes alive!’ was the reply, ‘I ain't no how’. 1860 Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 3) s.v., ‘La sakes!’ ‘massy sakes!’ ‘sakes alive!’ are very common exclamations among the venerable matrons of the interior parts of the country. The first two expressions are evidently corruptions of ‘for the Lord's sake!’ ‘for mercy's sake!’ 1883 Harper's Mag. Dec. 91/2 Good sakes alive!—what harm? 1896 J. de Boys in Pall Mall Mag. Apr. 548 Clever! Sakes! You call him clever! |
▪ II. sake, v.
Aphetic form of forsake.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 17183 And sua ur sinnes for to sake [Gött. to forsake]. c 1400 Rule St. Benet (Verse) 592 Trew charite so for to sake. c 1420 Metr. St. Kath. (Halliw.) 11 For sche sakyth owre lay! |
▪ III. sake
obs. form of sac1, sack n.1, shake.