▪ I. length, n.
(lɛŋθ)
Forms: 1 lengþ, lengþo, 3–7 lengthe, 4 leinth, lenkith, leynthe, lingþe, lyngþe, lynt(h, 4–5 lenkþe, 4, 6 linth, 4–6 lenght, lenthe, 4–8 lenth, 5 laynth, lennthe, 5–6 lenketh, 4– length.
[OE. lęngðu fem. = Du. lengte, ON. lengd (Da. længde, Sw. längd):—OTeut. *laŋgiþâ, noun of quality f. *laŋgo- long a. Cf. lengh.]
I. Quality of being long.
1. a. The linear magnitude of any thing as measured from end to end; the greatest of the three dimensions of a body or figure; longitudinal extent.
| 1154 O.E. Chron. an. 1122 (Laud MS.) Hi sæᵹon on norð east fir micel & brad wið þone eorðe & weax on lengþe. c 1275 Lay. 21993 Hit his on lengþe four and twenti mundes. a 1300 Cursor M. 8244 A-boute þat tre, A siluer cercle son naild he..to..knau þe wax o gret and length [other MSS. lenght, lenthe]. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 210 Þe hede of an elnȝerde þe large lenkþe hade. a 1400 Octouian 407 The Frensch seyd he was of heghth Ten foot of length. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) ii. 6 Þe crosse..was of lenth viii. cubits. 1434 E.E. Wills (1882) 101 Another bordcloth..in lenkethe ij ȝerdes, & on halfe large. 1526 Tindale Rev. xxi. 16 The lenght and the breth, and the heyght off hit, were equall. 1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 25, I gather the lengthe of a degree to be the .360. parte of the heaven. 1570 Billingsley Euclid i. Def. ii. 2 A line..is conceaued to be drawne in length onely. 1653 Walton Angler viii. 162 The Carp..will grow to a very great bigness and length. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 893 A dark Illimitable Ocean..With⁓out dimension, where length, breadth, and highth, And time and place are lost. 1774 M. Mackenzie Maritime Surv. 11 Taking the Length of XY from a Scale of equal Parts, set it off from X to Y. 1777 Priestley Philos. Necess. 177 The most exalted piece of matter possible must have length, breadth, and thickness. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xvi. 117 The full length of the rope between us. |
† b. in length and (in) breadth (or brede), length and breadth, etc.: throughout the whole area (of a country), in all parts or directions.
| a 1250 Owl & Night. 174 Ich habbe on brede and ek on lengþe Castel god on mine rise. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 38/138 Ne scholde no man so euene a þrovȝ in lengþe and in brede. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7911 Þat folc..robbede Wircestressire In lengþe & in brede. a 1300 Cursor M. 2130 Þe folk..fild þe werld o lenth and brede. Ibid. 5027 Lauerd..þat..taght adam on lenth and wide. 13.. Sir Beues 537 (MS. A) A fairer child neuer i ne siȝ, Neiþer a lingþe ne on brade. c 1350 Will. Palerne 3055 Deliver þi londes aȝen in lengþe & in brede. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 196 He hedde beo lord of that lond in lenkthe and in brede. [1377 Ibid. B. iii. 202 A lengthe and a brede.] c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xiii. (Marcus) 50 Of al þis world, lynth & bred. a 1400 Octouian 548 Ten schypmen to londe yede To se the yle yn lengthe and brede. c 1470 Henry Wallace v. 20 About the park thai set on breid and lenth..All likly men. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxii. 65 Unto the crose of breid and lenth, To gar his lymmis langar wax. 1535 Coverdale Gen. xiii. 17 Arise, and go thorow the londe, in the length and bredth [1611 in the length of it, and in the breadth of it]. |
c. Phrases. to find, get, know the length of (a person's) foot: see foot n. 26 c. the length of one's nose, tether: see nose, tether.
d. with a and pl. An instance of this.
| 1709 Berkeley Th. Vision §61 Inches, feet, &c. are settled, stated lengths. 1838 Penny Cycl. XI. 153/1 Given, the area of a parallelogram, and the ratio of its sides; required, the lengths of those sides. 1853 Sir H. Douglas Milit. Bridges (ed. 3) 229 Three lengths are given in the above table, for each mean girth. |
2. a. Extent from beginning to end, e.g. of a period of time, a series or enumeration, a word, a speech or composition. † in length of time: in course of time.
| a 1240 Sawles Warde in Cott. Hom. 261 Þe imeane blisse is seouenfald lengðe of lif. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 425 Þe lenþe of Noe lyf. 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 444 To.. leden þerinne our lif þe lengþe of our daies. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxvi. (Nycholas) 882 God hym lent lynt & space hyme to repent. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cccxxxii. 519 The lenght of the siege. 1577 tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 363 The equinoctiall is, when the daie and night is both of one length. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 273 In length of Time produce the lab'ring Yoke. 1726 Leoni Alberti's Archit. I. 31/1 The Stone has in length of time closed up the Mouth of the Valley. 1860 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 34 A stay of any length there would not suit me at all. Mod. The chapters of the book are very unequal in length. |
b. An instance of this; a period or duration of time, esp. a long period.
| 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 717 After such a length of rowling Years. ― æneid xii. 1280 She drew a length of sighs [L. multa gemens]. 1786 A. Gib Sacr. Contempl. i. iv. 52 There are consistent delays of it for various lengths of time. 1824–8 Landor Imag. Conv. Ser. i. Wks. 1846 I. 4 How delightful it is to see a friend after a length of absence. 1838 J. H. Newman Par. Serm. (1839) IV. xx. 348 He had to bear a length of years in loneliness. 1877 L. Morris Epic Hades i. 8 The weary lengths of Time. |
c. Bridge. Four or more cards of the same suit held in a Bridge hand.
| 1927 M. C. Work Contract Bridge iii. 43 The game-goer may be bid with a blank suit or a worthless singleton if the trump length be satisfactory. 1930 E. Culbertson Contract Bridge Blue Bk. xxii. 285 To build up, if possible, a great minor suit length in the strong hand. 1948 ― Contract Bridge for Everyone (1949) 77 When your principal length or strength is in the suit your opponent has bid, do not overcall. 1958 Listener 2 Oct. 541/1 West, from the bidding, is probably aware of his [sc. North's] great Club length. 1973 Sunday Times (Colour Suppl.) 20 May 90/2 It is easy to enter for East holding length in diamonds by playing the Ace and the Queen. |
3. a. The quality or fact of being long; opposed to shortness. † of length: long.
| 1388 Wyclif Ps. xci. 16, I schal fille hym with the lengthe of daies [Coverdale & 1611 long(e life]. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, iv. i. 11 Is not my arme of length, That reacheth from the restfull English Court As farre as Callis. 1606 ― Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 136 To end a tale of length. 1611 Bible Job xii. 12 With the ancient is wisedome, and in length of dayes, vnderstanding. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxvi. 139 Such Customes have their force, onely from Length of Time. 1667 Milton P.L. xi. 778 Peace would have crownd With length of happy days the race of man. 1762 Ld. Kames Elem. Crit. (1774) II. 164 Secondly, the length of an Hexameter line hath a majestic air. 1805 Wordsw. Waggoner ii. 146 ‘A bowl, a bowl of double measure’, Cries Benjamin, ‘a draught of length!’ Mod. The length of the journey was the chief objection to it. |
b. Prolixity, lengthiness. Now rare.
| 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, v. i. 94 Come, come, in wooing Sorrow let's be briefe, Since wedding it, there is such length in Griefe. 1606 ― Ant. & Cl. iv. xiv. 46, I will o're-take thee Cleopatra, and Weepe for my pardon. So it must be, for now All length is Torture. 1781 Cowper Conversat. 87 The clash of arguments and jar of words..Decide no question with their tedious length. 1791 Burke Let. Member Nat. Assembly Wks. VI. 67 Excuse my length. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 456 There is no reason why brevity should be preferred to length. |
4. a. A distance equal to the length of something specified or implied. at arm's length: see arm n.1 2 b. cable('s) length: see cable n. 2 c.
| 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. xxvi. 71 A litel hows whiche hath in euery side skars a mannes lengthe. 1474 Waterford Arch. in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 311 Within the laynth of a myle unto the citie. a 1572 Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 223 Nott two payre of boot lenthis distant frome the toune. 1602 Shakes. Ham. ii. i. 88 He tooke me by the wrist, and held me hard; Then goes he to the length of all his arme. a 1674 Clarendon Hist. Reb. xii. §89 When they come within little more than a horse-length. 1686 J. Dunton Lett. fr. New-Eng. (1867) 31 We could scarce see the Ship's length before us. 1717 tr. Frezier's Voy. 261 Adorn'd with Porticos of Timber Work, the Length of the Building. 1722 De Foe Plague (1840) 19, I might..have gone the Length of a..Street. 1843 Macaulay Lays Anc. Rome, Horatius xli, Six spears lengths from the entrance Halted that deep array. 1851 Mayne Reid Scalp Hunt. xxxi. 241 They had got the mustang some fifty lengths of himself out on the prairie. 1885 Sir C. P. Butt in Law Times Rep. LIII. 61/1 The look-out..saw..at a distance of two ship's lengths, a red light on board the smack. |
b. one's length: the extent of one's body or form from head to foot or end to end.
| a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. (1590) 118 b, Laying all her faire length vnder one of the trees. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. iii. ii. 429 Faintnesse constraineth me, To measure out my length on this cold bed. 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. 357 A needless Alexandrine ends the song That, like a wounded snake, drags its slow length along. 1784 Cowper Task vi. 74 The roof, though moveable through all its length As the wind sways it, has yet well sufficed. 1821 Shelley Prometh. Unb. iv. 567 The serpent that would clasp her with his length. 1847 Tennyson Princess v. 56 All her fair length upon the ground she lay. 1870 Ramsay Remin. iv. (ed. 18) 81, I fell all my length. |
c. Sport. The measure of a boat, a horse, etc., engaged in a race, taken as a unit in measuring the amount by which the race is won.
| 1664 Butler Hud. ii. iii. 1190 Left danger, fears, and foes, behind, And beat, at least three lengths, the wind. 1700 Dryden Cinyras & Myr. 381 Time glides along with undiscover'd haste, The Future but a Length behind the past. 1812 Sporting Mag. XXXIX. 186 This was a most excellent race, and only won by a length. 1834 Medwin Angler in Wales II. 116 Owen..was some lengths behind in the last hundred yards. 1887 O. W. Holmes 100 Days Europe i. 52 One [horse] slides by the other, half a length, a length, a length and a half. 1894 Times 19 Mar. 12/2 The Oxford crew won by three and a half lengths. |
d. Swimming. The length of the swimming-bath taken as a measure of distance swum. Also attrib.
| 1912 F. Sachs Compl. Swimmer 237 They..arrange their races to suit the baths, and their handicaps..are measured by its length, i.e. ‘3 lengths (90 yards) handicap’. 1931 G. H. Corsan Diving & Swimming Bk. viii. 74 Have the fastest swimmers swim a three lengths race. Ibid., Finish with relay races of two lengths. 1972 B. Turner Solden's Women xvii. 154 I'm not such a good swimmer as Patricia was. Three lengths at the baths is about my limit. |
5. a. With a demonstrative or other defining word: Distance. the length of: as far as. Now Sc.
| c 1450 Merlin 161 Ye myght here the strokes half a myle of length. ? a 1550 Mery Jest Mylner of Abyngton 77 in Hazl. E.P.P. III. 103 The mylners house is nere, Not the length of a lande. 1578 Hunnis in Par. Dainty Devices 2 They be the lines that lead the length, How farre my race is for to runne. a 1674 Clarendon Hist. Reb. viii. §90 He [Essex] had marched to the length of Exciter. 1687 Lond. Gaz. No. 2251/4 Which we had scarce done when the other three Ships had got our length. 1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World (1757) 73 We had found it very cold, before we came this length, but now we began to feel the extreme of it. 1772–84 Cook Voy. (1790) IV. 1198 When you get that length, you are very carefully..to explore, such rivers..as may appear to be of considerable extent. 1870 Ramsay Remin. v. (ed. 18) 111 The loan of a horse ‘the length’ of Highgate. 1886 T. L. Kington-Oliphant New English I. 295 In Scotland they say, ‘I will come your length’. |
| fig. 1753 Scots Mag. Jan. 8/2 That [treaty] never came any great length. 1837 Carlyle Let. 28 Aug. in Atlantic Monthly (1898) LXXXII. 305/1 You do not say that the disorder has got that length with you. |
b. fig. in advb. phrases: The distance or extent to which one ‘goes’ (in a line of action, opinion, etc.); the degree of extremity to which something is ‘carried’. Chiefly, to go (to) the length of, to go a (great, etc.) length, to go (all, etc.) lengths.
| 1697 Collier Immor. Stage i. (1730) 6 The Royal Leonora..runs a Strange Length in the History of Love. 1718 Hickes & Nelson J. Kettlewell iii. lxvi. 351 Others who could not..go their lengths. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. x. (1840) 224 They had not come to that length. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xviii. viii, I think you went lengths indeed. 1779 Hume in H. Calderwood Hume (1898) iii. 30 Your spirit of Controversy..carries you strange lengths. 1792 Washington Let. Writ. 1891 XII. 177 When matters get to such lengths, the natural inference is, that both sides have strained the cords beyond their bearing. 1844 Disraeli Coningsby vii. iv, He would go..any lengths for his party. 1865 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. v. vi. (1872) II. 104 The cunningest of men, able to lie to all lengths. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 404 They do not go the length of denying the pre-existence of ideas. |
† 6. The extent of space within which it is possible to touch or act upon something; reach. Obs.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 6573 Er he be led out of lenght, & lost of your sight. 1608 Shakes. Per. i. i. 168 If I can get him within my Pistol's length. 1628 Digby Voy. Medit. (1868) 60 They could not open my shippes till they were within halfe the length of our ordinaunce. |
7. Archery. The distance to which an arrow must be shot in order to hit the mark.
| 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. ii. (Arb.) 106 Phi. Howe manye thynges are required to make a man euer more hyt the marke? Tox. Twoo. Phi. Whiche twoo? Tox. Shotinge streyght and kepynge of a lengthe. Ibid. 150 The greatest enemy of shootyng is the wynde and the wether, wherby true kepyng a lengthe is chefely hindred. 1801 T. Roberts Eng. Bowman 290 Length, the distance shot. |
8. Pros. Quantity (of a sound or syllable). Also, long quantity (opposed to shortness).
| 1762 Ld. Kames Elem. Crit. (1774) II. 10 The emotion raised by the length or shortness, the roughness or smoothness, of the sound. Ibid. 103 The different lengths of syllables, i.e. the difference of time taken in pronouncing. 1884 A. Gosset Fr. Prosody i. 1 Some theorists forbid rhymes between syllables, whose difference of length is marked by a circumflex accent. |
b. length-mark, a phonetic symbol used to indicate the relative length of a vowel sound.
| 1926 Armstrong & Ward Handbk. Eng. Intonation p. vii, Length marks (: long and half-long) are used to indicate length only and not difference in vowel quality. 1932 D. Jones Outl. Eng. Phonetics (ed. 3) 65 The letter i without the length-mark stands for the members of the English i-phoneme used when the sound is relatively short. 1965 English Studies XLVI. 359 No allophonic length-marks are used. |
† 9. = longitude. Obs.
| 1581 W. Stafford Exam. Compl. i. (1876) 24 Without knowledge of the latitude of the place by the Poale, and the length, by other starres. |
10. a. Cricket. The proper distance for pitching a ball in bowling; that distance which constitutes a good pitch. Also = length ball. Hence length bowler.
| 1776 in C. C. Clarke Nyren's Cricketer's Guide (1888) 14 Ye bowlers..measure each step, and be sure pitch a length. 1833 C. C. Clarke ibid. 4 How to stop a ball dropped rather short of a length. 1850 ‘Bat’ Cricketer's Man. 41 Good lengths depend entirely on the pace. 1897 Daily News 18 June 2/6 Such a good length did the bowlers keep that during the first half-hour only 20 runs were made. 1910 Blackw. Mag. Jan. 91/1 Only at the last gasp was any serious effort made to knock him off his length. 1937 Daily Herald 5 Jan. 14/1 [Verity] The best length bowler in England. 1956 N. Cardus Close of Play 176 The old⁓fashioned ‘length’ bowlers, ball after ball on the same spot. 1958 D. Bradman Art of Cricket 97/1, I prefer to think in terms of a ‘good length ball’ and to define it thus—‘The type of delivery which has the striker in two minds as to whether he should play forward or back.’ 1969 Listener 1 May 622/3 At first Powell hit the ball all around the field and, just as it looked as if Miller might be finding his length, the item ended. |
b. In racket games: the quality of making shots which pitch well back in the court and deny the opponent an easy return; the placing of a shot in this way; the ‘form’ required to make such shots consistently.
| 1924 G. W. Hillyard 40 Yrs. Lawn Tennis viii. 136 He..went on hitting..until he did get his ‘length’, and then it was..a case of woe betide the other man. 1930 Morning Post 19 July 14/6 The Italian's fine mixture of pace and length was pitted against Lott's youth, power, and cunning. 1948 S. Noel More about Squash Rackets i. 24 Angles, drop-shots..and reverse angles are all the stock-in-trade of the professional, in addition to a sound length game. 1961 J. H. Giles Squash Rackets viii. 41 It [sc. the lob shot] can also be used as an attacking shot, providing as it does a complete change of pace and flight from the orthodox drive and length shots. 1964 R. Laver How to play Winning Tennis vii. 57 You can get good length with the topspin I use. 1966 Observer 8 May 19/5 She was quick to switch from her steady baseline game into a counter attack whenever Miss Niessen lost her length. |
II. Concrete senses.
11. a. A long stretch or extent.
| 1595 Shakes. John i. i. 105 Large lengths of seas and shores Betweene my father, and my mother lay. c 1600 ― Sonn. xliv, To leape large lengths of miles. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 415 That length of Region, and large Tract of Ground. 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. 222 From the bounded level of our mind Short views we take, nor see the lengths behind. 1715–20 ― Iliad ii. 649 Down their broad shoulders falls a length of hair. 1784 Cowper Task i. 252 Not distant far, a length of colonnade Invites us. Ibid. iv. 355 He brandishes his pliant length of whip. 1847 Tennyson Princess i. 3 With lengths of yellow ringlet, like a girl. |
b. A piece of a certain or distinct length, esp. one cut off or separable from a larger piece.
| 1645 Rec. Dedham, Mass. (1892) III. 112 Samll Milles hath libertie to cut 400 lengthes of hoopes poles on the common. 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing ii. ¶2 The Compositer may cut them into such Lengths as his Work requires. 1703 ― Mech. Exerc. 247 Line Pins of Iron, with a length of Line on them about sixty feet in length. 1832 H. Martineau Hill & Valley iii. 37 Cut into lengths like twigs. 1851 Illustr. Catal. Gt. Exhib. 328 The structure is in separate lengths, each having an independent spring. |
c. slang. A penis; sexual intercourse; so to slip (someone) a length: (of a man) to have sexual intercourse with.
| 1949 Partridge Dict. Slang Add. 1173/2 Slip (her) a length, to coït with (a woman). 1952 C. MacInnes June in Spring vi. 156 ‘Is it hard to get a job on board a ship without experience?’ ‘Not if you work for nix and don't mind the stokers slipping you a length.’ 1968 H. C. Rae Few Small Bones iii. viii. 216 Beefy, randy-arsed wives crying out for a length. 1970 C. Wood Terrible Hard v. 58 Come on, Suggy, you're 'is batman, 'e's never slipped you a crafty length 'as 'e? |
12. Theatr. slang. A portion of an actor's part, consisting of forty-two lines.
| 1736 Fielding Pasquin i. Wks. 1882 X. 129, I have a part in both too; I wish any one else had them, for they are not seven lengths put together. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. xxiii, I've got a part of twelve lengths here, which I must be up in tomorrow night. 1865 Ld. Broughton in Edin. Rev. CXXXIII. 293 Kean said [c 1815] that ‘Iago was three lengths longer than Othello’. A length is forty-two lines. |
13. Brewing. (See quot. 1830.)
| 1742 Lond. & Country Brew. i. (ed. 4) 71 It is the common Length I made for that Purpose. 1743 Ibid. ii. (ed. 2) 129 In making your Length short, and then making it longer with Small-Beer. 1830 M. Donovan Dom. Econ. I. 159 A..copper boiler,..sufficiently large to..boil each of the lengths drawn from the different mashings... By the word lengths the brewer means the quantity of wort drawn off from a certain quantity of malt. |
III. Phrases.
14. at length. a. To or in the full extent; fully, in full; without curtailment. Also at full, great, some, etc. length. † Rarely, at the length.
| c 1500 Sc. Poem Heraldry 30 in Q. Eliz. Acad. 94 The..most populus, mortal were, wes at thebes, quhiche at linth I did write. c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. 157 Whan Arthur had red wel at length these letters. 1530 A. Baynton in Palsgr. Introd. 12 Whiche thyng for substantives, he declareth some thyng at the length in his thyrde boke. 1567 Gude & Godlie Ball. (S.T.S.) 16 The Catechismus buke Declairis it at lenth. 1713 Steele Englishman No. 4. 28 The Fellow talks of Rogue and Rascal at full Length. 1727 Swift Let. Eng. Tongue Wks. 1755 II. i. 188 The words pronounced at length sounded faint and languid. 1827 Jarman Powell's Devises (ed. 3) II. 91 Lord Eldon, though he spoke at some length on the other question, did not advert to this. 1838 Trevelyan in Life Macaulay (1876) II. vii. 33 Macaulay gives his impressions at greater length. 1882 J. H. Blunt Ref. Ch. Eng. II. 138 Gardiner spoke at some length respecting the Holy Sacrament. 1886 Athenæum 30 Oct. 559/3 While Australia is described at length, the development of Canada since the Peace is hardly mentioned. |
b. After a long time; at or in the end; in the long run. † Also at the length.
| 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. (1812) II. xxiv. 64 They were all withdrawen into the castell, for they knewe well at length the towne wolde nat holde. 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 1275 Euer at the length I make hym lese moche of theyr strength. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Mark i. 117 To come at the length to highest perfeccion. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 11 At length it brought them to a hollowe cave. 1611 Bible Prov. xxix. 21 He that delicately bringeth vp his seruant from a child, shall haue him become his sonne at the length. 1631 Massinger Emperor East iii. iv, This was the mark I aimed at; and I glory, At the length, you so conceive it. 1671 Milton P.R. iv. 506 Of thy birth at length, Announc't by Gabriel, with the first I knew. 1753 Washington Jrnl. Writ. 1889 I. 31 They..pressed for Admittance..which at Length was granted them. 1768 Foote Devil on 2 Sticks iii. Wks. 1799 II. 271 Thou wilt find, at the length,..that the first will do us best service. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 210 At length she spoke, ‘O Enoch! you are wise’. |
† c. (a) At a distance; (b) in an extended line; tandem-fashion; (c) of a portrait = full length 1.
| c 1611 Chapman Iliad xv. 503 Now no more Our fight must stand at length [Gr. ἀποσταδόν], but close. 1628 Digby Voy. Medit. (1868) 60, I had so fitted my selfe that gallies could not hurt mee att length. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. i. viii. 20 As he is good at hand, so is he good at length. 1715 Lond. Gaz. No. 5384/10 Drawing any Carriage with more than five Horses at Length. 1786 W. Herbert Ames' Typogr. Antiq. II. 1287 A copper-plate portrait of Chaucer, at length, with his pedigree and arms. |
d. With the body fully extended, to the full extent of the body or the limbs. Now usually at (one's) full length.
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 19 When they sleep they lie at length. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage, Descr. India (1864) 7 [They] pray vpon the earth, with their armes and legs at length out. 1667 J. Flavel Saint Indeed (1754) 120 The..serpent..is never seen at his full length till dying. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas iv. vi. ¶4 We..discovered two men stretched at their length in the street. 1818 Byron Juan i. xc, He threw Himself at length. 1887 Bowen Virg. Eclog. vi. 14 Laid at his length in a cavern, Silenus slumbering sound. |
† 15. in length. a. Lengthwise. b. To the full length or extent. c. To a long distance; for a long time. Obs.
| c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 45 If þat a senewe were woundid in lenkþe [Add. MS. in lengþe, L. per longum]. 1580 Blundevil Curing Horses Dis. lxxxvii. 37 b, The Horse will forsake his meat, and will stand stretching himselfe in length, and neuer couet to lie downe. 1581 Savile Tacitus' Agric. (1612) 198 Agricola..fearing, lest he should be assailed on the front and flanckes both at one instant, displaied his army in length [L. diductis ordinibus]. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 757 Their position runneth all in length. 1609 Bible (Douay) Num. ix. [x.] 5 But if the trumpeting sound in length and with a broken tune [Vulg. si autem prolixior atque concisus clangor increpuerit]. |
† 16. on length. a. At length, finally. b. To a distance, away. c. To the full extent of the body. Obs.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. iii. xi. §3 On lengðe mid him he beᵹeat ealle þa eastlond. c 1220 Bestiary 552 Wo so listneð deueles lore, on lengðe it sal him rewen sore. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1231 My lorde & his ledez ar on lenþe faren. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 7946 Þe lyght of þe son..May fleghe fra þe est tylle þe west on lenthe. 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love ii. xiv. (Skeat) l. 99 She streight her on length and rested a while. c 1400 Destr. Troy 8179 Tristly may Troiell tote ouer the walle, And loke vpon lenght, er his loue come. Ibid. 13561 Fowle folowet the hert, Thurgh the londes on lenght. c 1440 York Myst. xxxvi. 379 Laie hym on lenthe on þis lande. c 1450 Bk. Curtasye 188 in Babees Bk., Fro stryf and bate draw þe on lengþe. |
17. † to draw (out) in, into, at, or on length: to prolong, protract; rarely with personal obj. = to delay, prolong the stay of (obs.). Now only to draw out to a great, etc. length.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 5806 He sal me drau wit lite and lenth [Gött. lith and lenkith, Trin. drawe forþ on lengþe]. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxix. (Placidas) 9 Men cesis..to spedful pennance to begyne, bot drawis It erare in to lynth, til of his body falȝeis strinth. 1483 Cath. Angl. 107/1 To Drawe on longe or on lenght, crastinare, prolongare, differre. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Ambages,—a circuite of woordes, a tale drawen in length. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie ii. xii. (Arb.) 134 A sound is drawen at length either by the infirmitie of the toung [etc.]. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iii. ii. 23, I speak too long, but 'tis to peize the time..and to draw it out in length, To stay you from election. 1611 Bible Ps. xxxvi. 10 O continue [marg. draw out at length] thy louing kindnesse vnto them. 1611 Cotgr., Alonger, to..draw out in length. a 1713 T. Ellwood Autobiog. (1714) 30, I Prayed often, and drew out my Prayers to a great length. 1787 Jefferson Writ. (1859) II. 191 They will draw their negotiations into length. 1893 Temple Bar XCIX. 68 Breakfast was drawn out to a most unusual length. |
IV. 18. attrib. and Comb.: length ball Cricket, a ball pitched a ‘length’ (see sense 10); † length compass, ? a ship's ‘log’ (see quot.); † length keeping Archery (see sense 7); lengthman, a man appointed to maintain a certain stretch of road or railway; (the form lengthsman in quot. 1902 is an isolated use.)
| 1833 C. C. Clarke Nyren's Cricketer's Guide (1888) 19 The reaching in to stop a *length-ball will prevent it from rising or twisting. 1851 Pycroft Cricket Field vii. 99 All balls that can be bowled are reducible to ‘length balls’ and ‘not lengths’. |
| 1627 Drummond of Hawthornden Lit. de Fabr. Machin. Militar. Wks. (1711) 235 [List of D.'s inventions] Instrumentum quoddam, quo itineris marini quantitas exacte supputatur, & longitudinis locorum differentiæ..Μηκοδείκτης, vulgo le *Length Compass appellatur. |
| 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. ii. (Arb.) 151 Howe muche it [the wynde] wyll alter his shoote, eyther in *lengthe kepynge, or els in streyght shotynge. |
| 1902 Times 22 Sept. 2/5 Every *lengthsman or fettler on the Government railway gets 8s. a day for eight hours' work. 1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §577 Lengthman,..an underman in a gang engaged on maintenance of a specific section..of permanent way. 1959 New Scientist 16 Apr. 852/1 The mixed plant community was largely maintained by..the regular cutting with scythe and sickle by..the County Council ‘lengthmen’. 1968 Telegraph (Brisbane) 3 June 18/1 Our legislators should modernise transport for railway lengthmen. 1970 E. Anglian Daily Times 31 Aug. 4/5 In days of cheaper labour many county council roadmen known as ‘lengthmen’ were each responsible for the maintenance of a limited number of miles of road in which they took great pride and knew all the peculiarities. 1971 Times 8 Apr. 15/3 An old man who lived at Spelbrook... His home was..the lengthman's cottage. 1972 L. Lamb Picture Frame xviii. 157 A road (or ‘length’) man, with broom and shovel strapped to his bicycle cross-bar. |
Add: [2.] d. Math. In graph theory, the number of edges in an edge sequence; also more generally, the number of components in any connected sequence.
| 1959 Sociometry XXII. 143 The matrix M contains all these paths and also a path of length l from each point to itself. 1962 O. Ore Theory of Graphs ii. 23 When S has both an initial vertex a0 and a terminal vertex an we can write S = S(a0, an) and call a0 and an the endpoints of S. We also say that S is an edge sequence of length n connecting a0 and an . 1965 J. J. Rotman Theory of Groups iii. 32 α is an r-cycle. We also say that α is a cycle of length r. 1969 F. Harary Graph Theory ii. 13 A walk of a graph G is an alternating sequence of points and lines..beginning and ending with points... The length of a walk..is..the number of occurrences of lines in it. 1979 Proc. London Math. Soc. XXXVIII. 445 A path in a graph is to be regarded as a subgraph with a distinguished end (the initial vertex) rather than a sequence of vertices; it has at least one vertex, and no ‘repeated’ vertices. Its length is the number of edges in it. 1990 Glasgow Math. Jrnl. XXXII. 267 Thus there is a series of finite length in G whose infinite factors are either cyclic or quasicyclic. |
▪ II. † length, v. Obs.
[f. length n.]
1. trans. To lengthen, prolong.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 5400 Now haue we noght ware-wit we mai Lenght our liue wit fra þis dai. Ibid. 21099 Thomas soght þat estrin thede..And tar he lenthid his sermon, Bituix-and til his passion. Ibid. 28850 Almus..it lenkithes man in life to lende. c 1350 Will. Palerne 4353 Lengþeþ now my lif for loue of heuene king. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xxi. 53 And beden hym drynke Hus deþ to lette and hus dayes lengthen. c 1440 Jacob's Well 196 Lengthe þou þe handyl of þi penauns wyth þis iiij. spanne of lengthe, þat is, of restitucyoun. a 1450 Story Alexander in Alexander (1886) 281 Howe might a man make other mennes liues euerlastyng whan he may not lennthe hys awne life one houre? 1513 Douglas æneis ii. xi. [x.] 139 Gif goddis likit lynth my life langer space. 1530 Palsgr. 606/1, I length a thyng, I make it longer, je alongis. 1610 Daniel Tethys Festiv. F 3 b, When your eyes haue done their part, Thought must length it in the hart. c 1614 Sir W. Mure Dido & æneas ii. 472 A rod he bears, by which he..Lenthes and abridges life, as he desires. 1622 J. Taylor (Water P.) Water-Cormorant Wks. (1630) iii. 5/2 Drinke was ordain'd to length mans fainting breath. |
2. intr. To become longer.
| c 1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 74 In þat tyme þe nyght lenghthys, þe days shorten. 1574 Bourne Regiment for Sea Introd. (1577) C ij b, The day dooth..length and short according unto the swiftnesse and slownesse of the Sunnes declination. |