▪ I. in, prep.
(ɪn)
Forms: α. 1– in; also 3 Orm. inn, 5 yn(e, ynne. β. 2–6 i, i-, 3–4 y, 6– i'.
[Common Teut. = OFris., OS., OHG., Goth. in, ON. {iacu} (Sw., Da. i), cognate with L. in, Gr. ἐν.
In OE., in all those texts in which the word occurs, the full form in is used, but in early ME. the apocopated i became common in certain dialects.
In the Ormulum, inn ( = in) is employed before vowels and h, and i before all consonants except h. Early southern texts, such as the Lamb. and Cott. Homilies, Juliana, St. Kath., St. Marher., Ancr. R., etc., show a similar tendency, but with more or less irregularity, the MSS. often differing in this respect; on the whole, i is preferred when the prep. precedes the definite article or the demonstrative pronouns, as i þe, i þis, i þat. In some of these texts (Ancr. R., Lamb. Hom.) the relations of the two forms are further complicated by the use of ine, which also appears (e.g. in Ayenb., Owl & Night., Shoreham) where i is rare or altogether wanting. The prevalence of i in these southern texts suggests that Ormin's use of this form was not due to Scandinavian influence, especially as northern writers (including Scottish down to 1600) always employed in, though i' is common in the modern dialects. In standard English from the time of Chaucer in has been the normal form; but former colloquial usage is sometimes retained in verse in the combination i' th', or as an archaism in i' faith.
c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 79 Þe uisces iþe wetere and fuȝeles iþe lufte. c 1200 Ormin Ded. 5 Broþerr min i Godess hus. Ibid. 506 To serrvenn i þe temmple. c 1205 Lay. 1231 Biȝende France i þet west. a 1240 Sawles Warde in Cott. Hom. 245, I þis hus is þe huse lauerd. 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 84 All hearts i' th state. Ibid. 130 Ith' dead of darkenesse. Ibid. ii. i. 147 I' th' Commonwealth. a 1734 [see 29]. 1785 Burns Vision i. ii, Whan the day had clos'd his e'e, Far i' the west. 1855 Browning Bp. Blougram's Apol. 2 Cool i'faith! We ought to have our Abbey back you see.]
General Sense:— The preposition expressing the relation of inclusion, situation, position, existence, or action, within limits of space, time, condition, circumstances, etc. In ancient times, expressing also (like L. in) motion or direction from a point outside to one within limits; the two senses being determined by the case of the word expressing the limits, the former taking the dative (originally locative), the latter the accusative or case of direction. These cases being subsequently levelled, this distinction ceased to be practicable, and the latter relation is now ordinarily expressed by the compound in-to, into; but there are various locutions in which (either because the accompanying verb conveys the sense of motion, or through the preservation of an ancient phrase without analysis) in still expresses motion from without to within.
In OE. (as in OS. and to some extent in OFris.) the prep. in was displaced by the prep. on (WGer. an, Goth. ana), so that in classical and late WSaxon, and to some extent in other OE. dialects, on was used for both on and in, an emphatic or distinctive sense of ‘in’ being however expressed by innan. (See full details in Dr. T. Miller, OE. Version of Bede, Introd. xxxiii–xliv.) In Anglian, esp. in the north and west, in remained (though, under WSax. influence, often displaced by on in documents); and in ME. the distinction of in and on was gradually restored, though many traces of their former blending still remain. (See sense 2.)
The formal coincidence of in with the L. prep. in (with which it is originally cognate) led to its being employed, in translating from L., in senses or uses which were idiomatic in L., but not originally English. These also have affected the current contextual use of the preposition.
I. Of position or location.
Primarily in (of position) is opposed to out of: anything which is in a given space is not out of it, and vice versa. The compound with-in, is mainly an equivalent of in emphasizing the relation to limits. The simple relation-words nearest in sense to in are at and on, with which in sometimes has common ground, e.g. ‘in or at Oxford’, ‘in or on a street’, ‘in or on behalf of a man’. In may also have common ground with with, as ‘to travel in or with a caravan, a railway train, etc.’.
1. a. Of place or position in space or anything having material extension: Within the limits or bounds of, within (any place or thing).
May relate to a space of any size, however large or small: e.g. in the universe, in the world, in heaven, in hell, in the earth, in the sea (otherwise on the earth, on the sea, at sea), in a ship, vessel, in a field, wood, forest, desert, wilderness (but on a heath, moor, or common), in (U.S. on) a street, in a house, carriage, box, drawer, nut-shell, drop of water, etc.
Also (U.S.) in school, attending a school, receiving education at a school = (U.K.) at school (cf. school n.1 1 b). In former times in school was also used in Britain in the sense ‘attending a school’: see quot. c 1205 s.v. school n.1 1 b. Also c 900 Bæda's Eccl. Hist. (1890) 190/12 Sum leornungmon in scole Scotta cynnes; a 1350 Harley Lyrics (1948) 63 Whil y wer a clerc in scole.
| a 700 Epinal Gloss. 549 In curia, in maethlae. c 825 Vesp. Psalter viii. 2 Hu wundurlic is noma ðin in alre eorðan. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 7 Þa children pleȝeden in þere strete. Ibid. 23 Þa men þe beoð in þe castel. c 1205 Lay. 17490 In þan brade uelde. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2 Engelond Iset in þe on ende of þe worlde as al in þe west. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 8253 Þey are now saylynge in þe se. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 114 Summe in þe Eir, and summe in þe Eorþe, and summe in helle deope. 1426 E.E. Wills (1882) 73 My bachous in Wodestrete. 1470–85 Malory Arthur x. i, In euery place he asked..after sir Launcelot, but in no place he coude not here of hym. 1551 Recorde Pathw. Knowl. i. xxvii, The circle is not named to be drawen in a triangle, because it doth not touche the sides of the triangle. 1608 Topsell Serpents (1658) 741 Dryed in a furnace. 1653–1756 In the open air [see air n. 3 b]. 1660 Wood Life 4 Dec. (O.H.S.) I. 350 His chamber in Merton Coll. a 1707 Bp. Patrick Autobiog. (1839) 105, I never saw greater devotion in any countenance. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 10 ¶4 Spectators, who live in the World without having anything to do in it. 1818 Shelley Rev. Islam x. xv, The fish were poisoned in the streams; the birds In the green woods perished. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth ii, Adjacent to Couvrefew Street in which they lived. 1848 J. F. Cooper Jack Tier I. iii. 80 In a vessel is as correct as in a coach, and on a vessel, as wrong as can be; but you can say on board a vessel, though not ‘on the boards of a vessel’. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. i. 150 The restored wanderer reposed safe in the palace of his ancestors. 1852 Dickens Bleak Ho. vi, The wind's in the East. 1855 Kingsley Heroes, Perseus i. 4 They are..in the open sea. 1873 Tristram Moab viii. 157 An orderly in the doorway. 1898 F. Montgomery Tony 9 In a somewhat crowded train. 1916 ‘Taffrail’ Pincher Martin xiv. 248 ‘When I was in the old Somerset, in nineteen-nine,’ somebody would start the ball rolling, ‘we had a fellow who’―. 1942 Short Guide Gt. Brit. (U.S. War Dept.) 8 The tales of Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson which many of you read in school. 1972 R. Quirk et al. Gram. Contemp. Eng. 310 He's {obigb} at school (BrE) / in school (AmE) {cbigb} (= ‘He attends/is attending school’). He's in school (= (in BrE) ‘He's actually inside the building—not, eg on the playing fields’). |
b. After in, the article is often omitted, esp. when the function of the place is the prominent notion; as in bed, in chancery, in chapel, in church, in court, in hall, in prison, in school, in town: see the ns.
in earth, in sea, follow in heaven, in hell, which are treated like geographical proper names: see c.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 59 In eorðe, in heuene is his mahte. a 1300 Cursor M. 11793 (Gött.) Alle þai drouned in see. 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 5 Be he in toun oþer out of toun. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vi. xii. (1495) 196, I suffre not a woman to teche in chyrche. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 70, I had rather lye in Prison. 1675 tr. Machiavelli's Prince (Rtldg.) 297 Strasburg..has a million of florins..in bank. 1744 Berkeley Siris §77 A large glass every hour..taken in bed. 1852 Dickens Bleak Ho. ii, In Chancery. Between John Jondyce [etc.]. Mod. Hundreds lay languishing in prison. |
c. In is used with the proper names of continents, seas, countries, regions, provinces, and other divisions, usually also of large cities, esp. the capital of a country, and of the city or town in which the speaker lives. Cf. at prep. 2.
| c 900 O.E. Chron. an. 894 Þa ᵹegaderedon þa þe in Norþhymbrum buᵹeað & on East Englum. 971 Blickl. Hom. 211 Wæs he..in Italia afeded, in Ticinan þære byriᵹ. c 1205 Lay. 10712 Wes Allec þe king in are temple in Lundenne. a 1300 Cursor M. 24765 Willam basterd, þat warraid in jngland ful hard. 1526 Tindale Matt. iv. 13 Jesus..went and dwelte in Capernaum. 1686 F. Spence tr. Varilla's Ho. Medicis 176 The worthiest man in Europe. 1841 Thackeray Gt. Hoggarty Diam. ix, We wished her at—Bath; certainly not in London. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 158 The Presbyterian system was fully established nowhere but in Middlesex and Lancashire. |
† 2. a. = on (of position). Obs.
Partly a reaction from the blending of in with on in OE.; but partly also transl. L. in, and partly due to a different notion in reference to the n.
| Beowulf (Z.) 1952 Hio syððan well in gum-stole gode mære..breac. a 1000 Riddles xli. 98 (Gr.) Ne hafu ic in heafde hwite loccas. a 1000 Cædmon's Dan. 723 (Gr.) Engel drihtnes..wrat þa in waᵹe worda ᵹerynu. c 1250 Meid. Maregr. xlvii, Ho..Sette ir fot in is necke. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6179 Me slou is folc aboute in eche syde. a 1300 Cursor M. 8136 An heremite þar þai fand at ham, In þat montan. Ibid. 11819 In his heued he has þe scall. a 1300 etc., In a chair [see chair n. 1]. c 1305 St. Andrew 42 in E.E.P. (1862) 99 In þe Rode as þi louerd deide: ic wole sette þe. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 457 Þe pope sittiþ in his troone. c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode ii. xcviii. (1869) 111 Þat oon bar þat ooþer in hire nekke. c 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. ii. 138 Sette him up an hiȝe in the eend of a long pole. Ibid. v. 166 Write sum..carect with cole..in the wal. 1480 Robt. Devyll 28 He kneled downe in the floore. a 1550 Christis Kirke Gr. xviii, His wyfe hang in his waist. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 241 The Rider must lay the rains in his neck. 1664 Marvell Corr. Wks. 1872–5 II. 157 note, Farr from making any favourable impressions in the Tzar. 1692 S. Patrick Answ. Touchstone 89 Antichrist is long ago in the Throne of the Roman Church. 1701 Stanley's Hist. Philos. Biog. 10 He..spent his Time in the Solitary Top of a Mountain. 1730 A. Gordon Maffei's Amphith. 42 Flattering Fame is..generally in the magnifying Side. |
† b. = at. Obs.
| 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. vi. §85 Then was the General..in the head of his Regiment..shot in the thigh. 1653 Holcroft Procopius 20 The Barbarians came up close, with Gelimer in the head of them. 1671 Milton P.R. i. 98 Ere in the head of nations he appear. |
3. In is now regular with collectives thought of as singular (in an army, a crowd); among with plurals, or collectives thought of as plural (among the people); but through Latin influence in was formerly used also with plurals.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter lxvi. 3 Ðæt we oncnawen..in allum ðiodum hælu ðin. a 900 Cynewulf Crist 195 in Exeter Bk., ᵹen strengre is þæt ic..scyle..lifᵹan siþþan fracoð in folcum. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke i. 28 ᵹebloedsad ðu in wifum. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 445 Freris wold not here þis publischt in þe pepul. 1388 ― Ps. lxvi. 3 [lxvii. 2] That we knowe thi weie on erthe, thin heelthe in alle folkis. 1535 Coverdale Judith viii. 21 Seinge ye are the honorable and elders in the people of God. |
4. With numerals, nouns of quantity, and the like, expressing ratio or rate. Esp. of a gradient.
| 1598 W. Phillips Linschoten (1864) 171 Commonly worth fiue and twenty or thirty in the hundred profit. a 1613 Overbury Char., Creditour Wks. (1856) 161 He takes ten groats i' th' pound. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 239 Dearer..by about six Shillings in a Thousand. 1726 Leoni tr. Alberti's Archit. I. 74/1 A very good Rise for a slope is half an inch in every three foot. 1732 Neal Hist. Purit. I. Pref. 7 Not one beneficed clergyman in six was capable of composing a sermon. 1761 Wesley Jrnl. 23 June (1827) III. 62 Ninety-nine in a hundred were attentive. 1830, etc. [see one 5 b]. 1840 [see grade n. 10]. 1861, 1868 [see gradient n. 1]. 1869 Bradshaw's Railway Manual XXI. 318 The gradients and curves are generally favourable, the steepest gradient being 1 in 82 ½. 1892 Law Times XCII. 147/1 A debtor..offered 6s. 8d. in the pound. 1923 Michelin Guide Gt. Brit. (ed. 7) facing p. 277, Gradients on roads are shown thus:..1 in 20 to 1 in 14. 1 in 14 to 1 in 10. 1 in 10 and over. 1973 E. Course Railways S. Eng.: Main Lines i. 29 Over the nineteen and a half miles from Redhill to Tonbridge the maximum gradient was 1 in 250. |
5. a. Defining the particular part of anything in which it is affected.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 112 A lutel ihurt i þen eie derueð more þen deð a muchel iðe hele. a 1300 Cursor M. 7224 Man aght to dred þe brand Þat brint him forwit in his hand. Ibid. 12184 Leui was wrath..And gaf him in þe heued a dint. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon cxlviii. 558 Huon..kyst her in the mouth. a 1618 Raleigh Prerog. Parl. (1628) 45 He was knock't in the head by Parliament. a 1626 Middleton More Dissemblers v. i, There's many..Whom I have nipp'd i' th' ear. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 36 You must mend it in that place. 1795 Hist. in Ann. Reg. 70 A masked battery took them in flank. 1858 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. ix. ix. II. 491 King of the Two Sicilies..whom Naples, in all ranks of it, willingly homages as such. 1898 Tit-Bits 17 Sept. 484/1 The horse..is blind in one eye. |
b. In phrases implying incidental distribution, e.g. in parts, in places.
| 1905 [see curate 2 b]. 1922 D. H. Lawrence England, my England 132 And I sensed I was a prisoner, for the snow was everywhere deep, and drifted in places. 1924 A. D. Sedgwick Little French Girl ii. v, The long iron staircase down the face of the cliff was almost as steep as a fire escape in places. 1973 Listener 8 Feb. 167/2 The Appeal Court..found the [Warhol] film dull, dreary, and offensive in parts. |
6. Expressing relation to that which covers, clothes, or envelopes, its material, its colour, etc., = clothed in, wearing, enveloped in, bound in, etc.: as a lady in a court dress, in a Gainsborough hat, in muslin, in mourning, in white, in curl-papers, a man in armour, in slippers, in a wig, a parcel in brown paper, etc. (in arms, and other idiomatic uses: see the substantives.) Cf. also 13 b.
| a 1000 Cædmon's Exod. 212 (Gr.) Sæton æfter beorᵹum in blacum reafum. a 1240 Wohunge in Cott. Hom. 277 Poure þu wunden was irattes and i clutes. c 1300 Havelok 1767 Comes a ladde in a ioupe. 13.. Coer de L. 5616 Our Crystene men ben armyd weel Both in yren and in steel. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1261 Som wol ben armed in an haubergeon And in bristplate and in a light gypon. c 1430 Life St. Kath. (1884) 17 Þe company of martirs clothed alle in purpul. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 28 b, The same was gaynsayd by some men in armes. 1710 Addison Tatler No. 221 ¶1 A little Boy in a black Coat. 1843 Blackw. Mag. LIV. 195 A lovely girl in mourning is sitting. 1843 Fraser's Mag. XXVIII. 324 A lady in black velvet is seated. 1868 Dickens Uncomm. Trav. xx, A compactly-made handsome man in black. |
7. The physical sense of location often passes into one more immaterial; e.g. in a book, in an author, come to mean ‘in the course of the narrative or subject’ of the book, or the writings of the author; in a company, college, association, or party, in the army, the navy, and the like, become = ‘belonging to, or in the membership of the company, party, the army’, etc. in company, in league, etc.: see the ns.
| c 890 O.E. Chron. an. 878 Þara monna þe in þam here weorþuste wæron. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 7 Þis witeȝede dauid..in þe saltere. a 1225 Ancr. R. 400 Ase he seið þuruh Sein Johan iðe Apocalipse. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 56 We ssulleþ her after in þise boc telle of al þis wo. c 1340 Cursor M. 15563 (Fairf.) We salle ga in company & suffre baþe a sare. c 1460 Towneley Myst. xvi. 202 Syrs, I pray you inquere in all wrytyng, In vyrgyll, in homere, And all other thyng Bot legende. 1548 Latimer Ploughers (Arb.) 17 All thinges that are written in Goddes boke. 1657 Bp. King Poems iii. ix. (1843) 90 Let it no more in History be told. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. iii. ii. §5 So true is that of Balbus in Tully when he comes to discourse of the Nature of God. 1709 Addison Tatler No. 131 ¶11 A Friend of mine in the Army. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 325 The place of the clergyman in society had been completely changed by the Reformation. 1887 A. Gilchrist in Century Guild Hobby Horse 13 Eblis in the Koran, Cain in the Bible are scarce so black as this royal phantom in his Escurial. 1890 Law Times Rep. LXIII. 685/2 The plaintiff applied for shares in this company. |
8. With non-physical realms, regions of thought, departments or faculties of the mind, spheres of action, etc., treated as having extension or content.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. i, Se wæs in boccræftum & on woruldþeawum se rihtwisesta. a 1000 Cædmon's Dan. 732 (Gr.) Sohton þa swiðe in sefan ᵹehydum. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 607 In hire mod inwið. c 1300 Havelok 122 Sho is mikel in mi þouht. c 1400 Three Kings Cologne xiv. 50 Ȝif þe werkis of god myȝt be comprehendit in mannys wit or reson. c 1470 Henry Wallace i. 2 Hald in mynde thar nobille worthi deid. 1601 Cornwallyes Ess. ii. xlv, In no course is it more behovefull then in the life of a Souldier. 1645 Fuller Good Th. in Bad T. (1841) 33, I discover an arrant laziness in my soul. 1670 Sir S. Crow in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 16 In my opinion a better designe. a 1770 Jortin Serm. (1771) IV. vi. 114 A faith which dwells in the memory hath no influence on the heart. 1826 J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. 1855 I. 240 How canst thou thus in fancy burn with fruitless fires? 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 39 All the thirty were in politics vehemently opposed to the prisoner. |
II. Of situation, condition, state, occupation, action, manner, form, material, and other circumstances and attributes.
9. a. Of situation, i.e. kind or nature of position: e.g. in the dust, in the mud, in snow, in clover, in hot water. Often idiomatic: see the ns.
| a 900 Cynewulf Crist 561 in Exeter Bk., In cwic-susle ᵹehynde & ᵹehæfte. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 47 Ieremie þe prophete stod..in þe uenne up to his muðe. 12.. Relig. Songs in Wright Owl & Night. (Percy Soc.) 75 Ich schal bernen in fur and chiverin in ise. 1382 Wyclif Job xlii. 6 Therfore I myself repreue me, and do penaunce in dead cole and askis. 1481 Caxton Godfrey cci. 293 Habandouned in ordure and fylthe. 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 94 She bathes in water. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 548 A hilly Heap, seven Cubits deep in Snow. Ibid. iv. 545 The sacred Altars are involv'd in Smoak. 1765 Mrs. Harris in Priv. Lett. Ld. Malmesbury (1870) I. 125 We are kept, to use the modern phrase, in hot water. 1849 Tennyson In Mem. Prol. iii, Thou wilt not leave us in the dust. 1886 Law Times LXXX. 166/2 Hall..found his working about eighteen inches deep in water. |
b. Situation expressed by material instruments: e.g. in bonds, chains, fetters, leading-strings, in a cord, a leash, a rope, a string, etc.
| a 1200 Moral Ode 289 In þo loþe biende. c 1200 Ormin 19975 Inn hiss cwarrterrne i bandess. c 1300 Beket 15 Al in feteres and in other bende. 1382 Wyclif Isa. xlv. 14 Bounde in manycles thei shul wende. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 4 And by her, in a line, a milkewhite lambe she lad. 1611 Bible Job xxxvi. 8 If they bee bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 504 ¶5, I am to be hang'd in chains. 1862 C. Hudson in Peaks, Passes & Glaciers Ser. ii. I. 209 During the descent..Melchior, Tuckett, and I, who were in the same cord with them, were..obliged to stop until they got down some of the more difficult rocks. |
c. Situation as to light, darkness, and atmospherical environment.
| Beowulf (Z.) 87 Se ellengæst..seþe in þystrum bad. a 1225 Juliana 31 As ha þrinne wes i þeosternesse. a 1300 Cursor M. 17811 (Gött.) Þe folk in dedeli mirknes stad. 1382 Wyclif Isa. ii. 5 Go wee in the liȝt of the Lord oure God. 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 160 Gropyng in the dark. 1605 Shakes. Macb. i. i. 2 When shall we three meet again? In Thunder, Lightning, or in Raine? 1648 Bp. Hall Breath. Devout Soul xxix. 46 An inheritance in light: In light incomprehensible, in light inaccessible. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 135 His thick Mane..dances in the Wind. Ibid. 473 Where basking in the Sun-shine they may lye. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxi. IV. 593 Privateers and smugglers who put to sea in all weathers. 1887 Spectator 27 Aug. 1148 Planting his potatoes in the rain. |
d. Situation within the range of sensuous observation or the sphere of action of another. in the eyes of: see eye n. 4 c, d.
| 1388 Wyclif Ezek. ix. 5 He seide to hem in myn heryng. a 1425 in Rel. Ant. I. 230 He is God, that all thinge made, and all thinge hath in his power. c 1460 Towneley Myst. i. 15 All is in my sight. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 655 Those seav'n Spirits that stand In sight of God's high Throne. 1780 Cowper Table T. 97 There..the group is full in view. 1860 Trollope Framley P. i. i, The living of Framley was in the gift of the Lufton family. |
10. a. Of condition or state, physical, mental, or moral: e.g. in a blaze, in debt, in doubt, in comfort, in health, in hope, in life, in love, in pain, in sickness, in solitude, in sorrow. Also in-work (nonce-wd.), one who has work.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter ii. 11 Ðeowiað dryhtne in eᵹe [L. in timore]. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 59 He makede mon i rihtwisnesse. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 328 Him þoȝte, þe ymage in is slep tolde him is chance. 1340 Ayenb. 250 Þer he him resteþ, þer he is in pais. c 1350 Will. Palerne 841 He semes bi semblant in sekeness ful harde. c 1450 Merlin 71, I am in certeyn of oon thynge, that he farith well and is in hele. 1535 Coverdale 2 Chron. xxi. 19 He dyed in euell diseases. 1602 2nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. iii. iii. (Arb.) 43 [He] throwes the booke away in a rage. 1666 Pepys Diary 6 June, All the Court was in a hubbub. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 15 ¶6 Her Husband..has been in Love with her ever since he knew her. Ibid. No. 98 ¶1, I am highly pleased with the Coiffure now in Fashion. 1732 T. Lediard Sethos II. ix. 273 You are absolutely forbidden speaking to him in private. 1791 Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest ii, Egad, Master, you're in the right. 1793 Beddoes Calculus 214 Supposing that the carbon is in a very attenuated state in the blood. 1846 Mrs. Gore Eng. Char. 13 No sooner in print, than out of print. The reviews revere him. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xiv. III. 482 The sea was in a blaze for many miles. 1924 Galsworthy White Monkey i. xii, The out-of-works and the in-works. |
b. The condition may be expressed by a concrete n.: e.g. in calf, in kid, in cash, in drink, in liquor, in wine, in tears, etc.: see the ns. Cf. also bud n.1 4, flower n. 10, foal n. 1 b, in-calf a., in-foal a., in-pig a., leaf n.1 3.
| c 1460 Towneley Myst. xii. 111 What, art thou in ayll? a 1562 G. Cavendish Wolsey (1893) 217 Havyng a great multitude of artifycers and laborers..dayly in wages. 1593 Nashe Christs T. (1613) 25 Sore am I impassioned for the storme thy tranquillity is in child with. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 458, I doe not speake to thee in Drinke. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. x. 19 For him the lofty Laurel stands in Tears. 1703 Lond. Gaz. No. 3971/4 Calve-Skins in the Hair. 1704 Ibid. No. 4034/4 John Jackson..aged near 40..in his own Hair. 1754–64 Smellie Midwif. I. 400 Women in the first child seldom have after-pains. 1799 J. Robertson Agric. Perth 196 Where the land has not lain for some time in grass. 1813 M. Edgeworth Let. 6 Apr. (1971) 10 The coffee tree in red berry... The palm tree in fruit and flower... The banana in fruit. 1847 Tennyson Princ. Prol. 142 Sweet girl-graduates in their golden hair. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. i. I. 123 Leaving their castles in ruins. 1866 Rogers Agric. & Prices I. xxvi. 642 Goats in kid. 1881 Sheldon Dairy Farming 8/1 If the cow is in milk. 1882 [see pod n.2 1]. 1972 Hilliers' Man. Trees & Shrubs 83 Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’... A winter feature when in catkin. |
11. a. Of occupation or engagement: chiefly with nouns of action and vbl. ns.
| c 1205 Lay. 27767 Þer he heom funde i fihte. a 1300 Cursor M. 49 In riot and in rigolage Of all þere liif spend þai þe stage. 1340 Ayenb. 7 Þe ilke þet dispendeþ þane zonday and þe festes ine zenne and ine hordom. 1502 Privy Purse Exp. Eliz. of York (1830) 52 A servaunt..that cam in message to the Quenes grace. 1628 Hobbes Thucyd. (1822) 19 The Lacedemonians..are already in labour of the war. 1701 Stanley's Hist. Philos. Biog. 10 He..spent his Time..in seriously bemoaning the Follies and Vanity of the World. 1754 Hume Hist. Eng. (1812) I. iii. 163 The King, in pursuance of his engagements, had indeed married Editha. 1838 Dickens Mem. Grimaldi iv, In search of plunder. 1884 Gd. Words June 400/1 They have..been ‘in’ almost every variety of crime, from petty larceny down to downright murder. |
b. In the process of, in the act of; in case of: often equivalent in sense to a temporal clause introduced by when, while, if, in the event of.
| c 1400 Mandeville (1839) iii. 19 Wee synne dedly, in schauynge oure berdes. Ibid., Wee synne dedly, in etynge of bestes. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 67 Gladdenesse, whiche encresses daily in me in lernynghe wysdom. ? a 1550 Life Fisher in F.'s Wks. (E.E.T.S.) II. p. liii, I am not affraid in gevinge you this counsell to take vpon my owne soul all the damage. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, v. iii. 41 And may ye both be sodainly surpriz'd By bloudy hands, in sleeping on your beds. 1596 ― Merch. V. iii. ii. 320 In paying it, it is impossible I should liue. 1607 Stat. in Hist. Wakefield Gram. Sch. (1892) 58 Leaves word thereof att their howses in theire beinge abrode. 1846 M{supc}Culloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) II. 217 In estimating the chances which any candidate has of succeeding..no one ever thinks of inquiring into the politics of the tenants. 1864 Holme Lee In Silver Age (1866) 408 Kindness is not a quality that perishes in the using. Mod. He was drowned in crossing the river. |
† c. After the verb be, and some other verbs, in was formerly used to express the relation of occupation before a verbal n. where it varied with a (a prep. 13), and is now omitted, the vbl. n. functioning as a present participle active. Obs.
| 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. (Percy Soc.) 79 Of many floures..A goodly chaplet she was in makynge. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. I. 528 Richt quyetlie in hunting he is gone. 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 367 Camilla, whome he founde in gathering of flowers. 1675 Brooks Gold. Key Wks. 1867 V. 577 A griping usurer, who was always best when he was most in talking of the world. 1737 Whiston Josephus, Antiq. v. ii. §2 They went on still in taking the cities. Ibid. ix. xii. §3 He went on in worshipping them. 1808 Southey in C. C. Southey Life (1850) III. 137 You saw me in London everlastingly at work in packing my books. |
† d. In (varying with a prep. 12) was formerly used with a vbl. n. expressing the action or process to which a thing or person was subjected. (The prep. is now usually omitted, and the vbl. n. functions as a present pple., passive in meaning: e.g. while the ark was (in or a) building (= in the process of building, being built). Obs. or arch.
| c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) vi. 21 When þe toure of Babilon was in makyng. 1465 Marg. Paston in P. Lett. No. 533 II. 250 Whille the logge at Heylesdon was in the betyng down. a 1535 Fisher Serm. Passion Wks. (1876) 427 So the grasse is euer in eatyng, and neuer full eaten. 1620 Frier Rush 36, I haue a new Church in building. 1699 in Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 326 New streets are built and still in building. 1869 Freeman Norm. Conq. III. xi. 45 While the symbolic act was in doing. |
12. a. Of manner (way, mode, style, fashion).
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1473 In þis manere þe brutons þis lond wuste þo. c 1305 Pilate 56 in E.E.P. (1862) 112 Þer ne miȝte so neuere non beo in none wise. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xvi. 380 In lyke wyse dyde Alarde. 1559 Bp. Scot Sp. Parl. in Strype Ann. Ref. (1824) I. App. vii. 408 Every man..sholde..at large speke his mind in conscience in the contents of all the bills. 1608 W. Sclater Comm. Malachy (1650) 196 The things there spoken of cannot in any hand agree to Elias. 1654 Cromwell Let. 20 Jan. in Carlyle, What can be made out in this kind? 1691 T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. 62 In the manner anciently used. 1706 tr. Dupin's Eccl. Hist. 16th C. II. iii. iv. 81 Begging him to take this their Remonstrance in good part. 1737 Whiston Josephus, Antiq. ii. i. §1 He was, in way of jest, called Adom. 1833 H. Martineau Berkeley the Banker i. iv. 92 He told several people in confidence. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 619 He begged in piteous terms that he might be admitted to the royal presence. 1859 Jephson Brittany v. 54 The baptistery has been restored in Renaissance. |
b. Of form, shape, conformation, arrangement, order. [The OE. example has the accusative.]
| a 900 Cynewulf Crist 725 in Exeter Bk., Þa he..wæs in cildes hiw claðum biwunden. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) iv. 12 In likness of a dragoun. 1572 J. Bossewell Armorie iii. 7 Fiue Plates in crosse. 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. ii. iii. Colonies 391 That vast Extent, where now fell Tartars hant In wandring troops. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iii. iv. 210 When in one line two crafts directly meet. 1605 ― Lear iii. vi. 31 The foul fiend haunts poor Tom in the voice of a nightingale. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 641 Under a Coronet his flowing haire In curles on either cheek plaid. Ibid. vii. 459 Among the Trees in Pairs they rose. 1694 Lutrell Brief Rel. (1857) III. 292 The agent..is gone aside, and hath carried with him 2000{pstlg} in money belonging to the troop. 1710 Addison Tatler No. 221 ¶2 Whether I had best sell my Beetles in a Lump or by Retail. 1776 Mickle tr. Camoens' Lusiad 339 He gives the prelude in a dreary sound. 1807 Southey Espriella's Lett. II. 395 Did he, contrary to the ordinary process, begin in rogue, and end in enthusiast? c 1820 S. Rogers Italy, Advent, A hawk Flew in a circle, screaming. 1843 Fraser's Mag. XXVIII. 695 A cloak falls in easy folds down his back. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xvi. III. 684 Within a few hours and a few acres had been exhibited in miniature the devastation of the Palatinate. 1891 Law Rep. Weekly Notes 82/2 A land company, who afterwards sold the adjoining land in building plots. 1895 Scot. Antiq. X. 79 In singles or in pairs men began to put in an appearance. |
c. Of manner of speech or writing.
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iv. xxiv. [xxiii.] (1890) 332 Heo..ᵹewat to þære ceastre, þe in Englisc is ᵹehaten kwelcaceaster. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2430 Þe heye god þat in vre tonge woden icluped is. c 1315 Shoreham 122 Hy makede joye in hare manere And eke in hare langage. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) ii. 5 Þe table..on þe whilk þe tytle was writen in Hebrew, in Grew and in Latyne. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 106 a, An herbe called..in latin, Beta. 1680 Evelyn Diary 2 Sept., The discourse is in High Dutch. 1776 Trial of Nundocomar 22/2 Sometimes he wrote the bonds..in Nagree, sometimes in Bengal. 1833 H. Martineau Vanderput & S. i. 3 He..spoke in a strong French accent. 1845 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 13 Bede is writing in a dead language, Gregory in a living. |
d. Often dependent upon a superlative or a commendatory epithet: within the sphere of (a particular class or order of things). colloq.
| 1866 Ruskin Crown Wild Olive ii. §53 The newest and sweetest thing in pinnacles. 1879 [see thing n.1 7]. 1911 W. J. Locke Glory of Clementina Wing ii, I may not be the latest thing in dandyism. 1966 G. N. Leech Eng. in Advertising ix. 92 ABC: the first name in entertainment. 1974 Radio Times 3 Jan. 58/1 The most dazzling cruises in holiday history. |
13. Of means or instrumentality: now usually expressed by with. † a. Illustration of earlier uses. (Often a literalism of translation.) Obs.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter ii. 9 Ðu reces hie in ᵹerde iserre [L. in virga ferrea]. a 1300 E.E. Psalter ibid., In yherde irened salt þou stere þa. 1382 Wyclif 1 Cor. iv. 21 Shal I come to ȝou in a ȝerd: or in charite? c 1450 tr. De Imitatione iii. xlviii. 119 Þan shal Iherusalem be serched in lanternes. 1503 Act 19 Hen. VII c. 4 §3 No persone..shall occupie or shote in eny Crosebowe. 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 445 It more delighteth them to talke of Robin hood then to shoot in his bowe. 1693 J. Dryden, jun. in Dryden's Juvenal (1697) 367 Penelope knew which of her Suitors cou'd shoot best in her Husband's Bow. 1753 Chesterfield Lett. (1792) IV. ccxcix. 19 Getting drunk in Port. 1804 Naval Chron. XIII. 147 A French Ship..ballasted in mahogany. |
b. Uses in which the senses of in (on) and with (by) are both present: e.g. to cover in or with any envelope.
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iv. xxiv. [xxv.] (1890) 346 He eal þa he in ᵹehyrnesse ᵹeleornian meahte, mid hine ᵹemyndᵹade. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1035 In þis an þing he schawde..þet he wes soð godd. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xvii. 48 In herynge of ere he boghed til me. c 1440 Jacob's Well (E.E.T.S.) 137 Þou wylt wretthe god in brekyng þe halyday. 1609 Bible (Douay) 1 Sam. xviii. 6 The wemen came..singing and dancing..in timbrels of joy, and in cornettes. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. iii. ii. iii. iv. (1651) 495 Whom Iuno for pitty covered in her Apron. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 19 Progne, with her Bosom stain'd in Blood. 1880 Church Spenser v. 137 He drowns us in words. |
c. Here may be added the use of in after eat, drink, pledge, etc. Also = (eat or drink) out of.
| 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, ii. iii. 60, I drinke to you in a Cup of Sack. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. ii. iii. iii. (1651) 323 A poor man drinks in a wooden dish, and eats his meat in wooden spoons. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 15 ¶4 Whether they keep their coach and six, or eat in plate. 1742 Fielding J. Andrewes iv. ii, He was drinking her ladyship's health below in a cup of her ale. |
14. Of material, constituents, and the like.
| 1663 Gerbier Counsel 94 They paint them also in strong oyle colour thrice over. 1686 tr. Chardin's Trav. 75 Our Ships Lading consisted in Salt, Fish, Caveare, Oyle, Biscuite. 1710 Addison Tatler No. 243 ¶1 The Statue of an Horse in Brass. 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 23 It was in gold, all but 14s. 1852 Dickens Bleak Ho. vi, Half-length portraits, in crayons. 1891 Truth 10 Dec. 1240/2 The long coat was also in green velvet, with sleeves and revers in green cloth. |
15. Of degree, extent, measure.
| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 510 Cristene men..shulde have discerved most þank of God in degre possible to hem. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. i. v. 61 Misprision in the highest degree. 1649 Cromwell Let. to W. Lenthall 14 Nov. in Carlyle, Only, in the general, give me leave humbly to offer [etc.]. 1667 Milton P.L. v. 490 Differing but in degree, of kind the same. 1696 Dupin's Eccl. Hist. 16th C. I. 54 In the main they agree with ours. 1737 L. Clarke Hist. Bible (1740) I. ix. 585 Without being in the least discouraged. 1843 Fraser's Mag. XXVIII. 647 Tears fell in profusion. 1845 Stephen Comm. Laws Eng. (1874) I. 79 Any act repealing in whole or in part any former statute. 1875 F. Hall in Lippincott's Mag. XVI. 750/1 Drift-wood was lying about in large quantities. |
16. Expressing object, aim, or purpose: with an abstr. n., as in affirmation, answer, denial, memory, honour, proof, quest, recompense, reply, return, reward, scorn, search, testimony, token, witness, worship, etc. See farther under the ns.
It is possible that the object here was orig. accusative, and that these expressions came under sense 31.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 30 In hore wurðshipe siggeð oþer les oþer mo. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 466 Brut..let vair tabernacle in honur of him rere. c 1315 Shoreham 131 In tokne that pays scholde be. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) iv. 31 In the worschipe of hem there is a fair chirche. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W.) 1 Diuyded in to thre bokes, in the honour of the Trinite. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 552 She thus in answer spake. 1713 Addison Cato i. ii, I claim in my reward his captive daughter. 1805 Scott Last Minstr. iv. xii, Loudly the Beattison laughed in scorn. 1821 J. F. Cooper Spy viii, He went in quest of his new applicant. Mod. A holiday in honour of the event. He has written to the newspaper in reply to his assailant. |
17. Expressing reference or relation to something: In reference or regard to; in the case of, in the matter, affair, or province of.
Used especially with the sphere or department in relation or reference to which an attribute or quality is predicated: see 33 b, c, 34–36.
18. With a following n. forming attrib. phrases: in-car, within a car; in-career, of training, etc., received while in employment; in-churn, of a method of machine-milking direct into a churn; in-company, of training, etc., received while in the employment of a company; in-depth (see depth I. 3 c); in-person (cf. person n. 11); in-pile, within a nuclear reactor; in-plant, within a ‘plant’ or factory; in-process (cf. process n. 1), of any activity, etc., that is in process; in-process gauging (see quot. 1968); in-sack, within a sack; in-service (cf. service n.1 1), of training, etc.: received by a person while engaged on some activity; of an object: relating to its reliability, maintenance, etc., while in use. Cf. in-college a. (Cf. analogous uses mentioned near end of in- prefix1).
| 1968 N.Y. Times 7 Apr. 1/4 The sound problem was eventually solved with in-car speakers. 1971 Daily Tel. (Colour Suppl.) 4 June 39/1 These damp cloths are part of something the manufacturers..don't seem to have heard of; in-car luggage. They seem to think you can put everything in the boot. 1973 Times 13 Feb. 24/1 A Lucas spokesman said yesterday: ‘I can confirm that we shall be entering the in-car entertainment market this year.’ |
| 1968 New Scientist 3 Oct. 31/2 Whether in-career re-education will be best inside or outside universities is a matter for debate. 1970 Physics Bull. June 242/2 The engineers' survey..includes unemployment and in-career training as well as remuneration figures. 1970 Nature 28 Nov. 814/2 In-career retraining may become very important in the future. |
| 1955 J. G. Davis Dict. Dairying (ed. 2) 745 Probably the most important development has been the introduction of the ‘In-Churn System’. In-churn milking passes the milk direct from the cow to the churn. Ibid., In-churn recording..is carried out by means of weighing scales. Ibid., In-churn cooling. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 16 Feb. 39/3 This new..unit..provides you with modern in-churn milking. |
| 1966 Ann. Rep. Travelers Insurance Co. (Hartford, Conn.) 1966 26/2 Our in-company training programs. 1969 Timber Trades Jrnl. 13 Dec. 35/2 There were twin pillars to training—in-company training and, for young people in particular, further education. 1970 Times 28 Apr. 26/7 Having already completed most of the in-company training for the introduction of decimalization. |
| 1955 L. Feather Encycl. Jazz i. 21 Although the white jazzmen rarely found opportunities for expressing themselves freely on ‘in-person’ jobs, the work..on..recording sessions compensated. 1957 S. Dance in S. Traill Concerning Jazz 37 No experience of jazz can be so exciting or so illuminating as the in-person performance. 1959 Spectator 9 Oct. 469/1 On any one TV appearance Macmillan and Gaitskell must have been seen by more people than the sum total audience of their in-person tours. 1972 Jazz & Blues Nov. 18/1 Her recordings and in-person work illustrate that she is an artist who is always willing to experiment. |
| 1960 Times Rev. Industry Dec. 16/2 Zirconium..is useful for ‘in-pile’ equipment, such as fuel element supports, tubes for control equipment, flexible hose and packing pieces. 1961 Times 10 May 2 The work includes:—out-of-pile and in-pile testing. 1963 B. Fozard Instrumentation Nucl. Reactors iii. 33 The second type of measurement is made with in-pile detectors. |
| 1943 Atlantic Monthly Sept. 55 Few of them participate in in-plant training and upgrading programs. 1958 Technology Feb. 414/2 The proportion of in-plant to total training is..low. 1959 Times 5 Feb. 2/5 They involve an application of this industry in in-plant technical scale studies. 1967 Jane's Surface Skimmer Systems 1967–68 62/2 The power source can be an in-plant air supply system or [etc.]. 1971 Timber Trades Jrnl. 21 Aug. 26/3 In-plant treatment will now be extended to other ‘1800’ components. |
| 1925 Nat. Assoc. Cost Accountants Yearbk. 24 Divide the average ‘in process’ inventories into the amount of transfers to finished stores. 1967 New Scientist 20 Apr. 140/1 In-process gauging, on the machine tool itself, could halt..appalling waste. 1968 Gloss. Terms Air Gauging (B.S.I.) 13 In-process gauging, gauging carried out during processing, e.g. measurement of a workpiece whilst it is being machined. 1971 Computers & Humanities VI. 41 In-process corrections, however, are very difficult to make since holes cannot be erased. 1971 Gloss. Terms Quality Assurance (B.S.I.) 6 In-process inspection, product inspection carried out at various discrete stages in manufacture. |
| 1958 Times 24 Nov. 15/4 For drying grass seed.., the in-sack drier had many advantages. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 23 Feb. 100/1 (Advt.), Heat for..in-sack grain drying. |
| 1928 Rep. Comm. Educ., U.S. Dept. Interior 30 June 6 The movement for improving preservice and inservice training of teachers for rural schools. 1960 Guardian 13 July 5/4 Development of in⁓service training..for staff nurses. 1963 F. F. Laidler Gloss. Home Econ. Educ. 48 In-service training, the continuing education and training given to a person after he/she has begun to work in a particular occupation. 1964 M. A. K. Halliday et al. Ling. Sci. 264 He [sc. the primary school teacher] needs an appropriate training in his new task, either during his initial period of training as a teacher or by means of in-service training. 1967 Technology Week 23 Jan. 43/2 (Advt.), Such data may well reveal overdesign or design deficiencies, thus providing opportunities for improvement of safety characteristics, in-service reliability. 1972 Lebende Sprachen XVII. 72/2 The in-service performance of the trio is likely to dictate the specification for production models which are due to appear before the end of 1971. |
III. Of time.
19. a. Within the limits of a period or space of time.
With in the day, in the night: cf. by day, by night, by prep. 19 b.
| Beowulf (Z.) 2 We Gardena in ᵹear-daᵹum Þeod-cyninga þrym ᵹe-frunon. a 900 O.E. Chron. an. 709 In foreweardum Danieles daᵹum. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 9129 In þe sixe & þrittiþe ȝer of his kinedom. 13.. K. Alis. 85 By cler candel, in the nyght. 1388 Wyclif Gen. i. 1 In the bigynnyng God made of nouȝt heuene and erthe. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) Prol. 4, I..passed the see, in the ȝeer of oure lord Jhesu crist MCCCXXII. c 1500 Melusine lxii. 369 He was neuer in his dayes so aferd. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. i. i. 39 One day in a weeke to touch no foode. 1591 ― Two Gent. iii. i. 178 Except I be by Siluia in the night..Vnlesse I looke on Siluia in the day. 1650 Trapp Comm. Lev. xxvi. 26 Common in times of famine. 1655 Stanley Hist. Philos. i. (1701) 36/1 Pittacus was..born in the thirty second Olympiad. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 222 ¶1 Between the Hours of Twelve and Four in the Morning. 1812 T. Jefferson Writ. (1830) IV. 176, I think our acquaintance commenced in 1764. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iv. I. 490 In the days of the Commonwealth. |
b. With other ns. implying time.
| 871–889 Charter in O.E. Texts 452 In þissum life ondwardum. a 1000 Seafarer 40 (Gr.) In ᵹeoᵹuþe. a 1240 Wohunge in Cott. Hom. 277, I þi burð tid. Ibid., I þi cildhad. 13.. Coer de L. 4049 A spie, That hadde be Crystene in hys youthe. c 1440 Jacob's Well (E.E.T.S.) 277 To styen vp to heuen in ȝoure ende. 1555 Eden Decades 245 They are neyther bytten with coulde in wynter nor molested with heate in summer. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. i. §11, I never saw a first-rate picture in my life. 1825 T. H. Lister Granby vii. (1836) 43 You must be an archeress in the summer, and a skater in the winter. 1839 Thirlwall Greece VI. 89 The education of the prince in his childhood. |
c. With processes occupying time.
| 1711 Addison Spect. No. 126 ¶8 In all our Journey from London to his House we did not so much as bait at a Whig Inn. 1721 Lond. Gaz. No. 5954/1 In the Passage we had bad Weather. 1802 H. Martin Helen of Glenross IV. 73 In our descent down life. 1859 J. White Hist. France (1860) 90 All the gentlemen's houses you see in a railway excursion. |
20. Of the length of time occupied; in the course of.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1818 Þer were in a moneþ [so most MSS.; A has wiþinne one monþe] seuentene þousend & mo Ymartred. 1388 Wyclif Exod. xxxi. 17 In sixe daies God made heuene and erthe. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxxiii. 148 Men may saile it in seuen days. 1526 Tindale 1 Cor. xv. 52 We shall all be chaunged..in a moment and in the twincklynge of an eye. 1611 Bible Transl. Pref. 11 The worke hath not bene hudled vp in 72 dayes. 1702 Eng. Theophrast. 163 Presumption leads people to infidelity in a trice. 1885 Manch. Exam. 15 May 5/6 From the Gatling Gun..a trail of 1,000 bullets can be discharged in a single minute. Mod. The voyage to America can now be done in less than 7 days. By working hard he could make one in a week. |
21. Of a limit of time: before or at the expiration of; within the space of.
| a 1300 Treat. Science (1841) 138 Ther nis non..That evereft i-heled beo, ac deyeth in a stounde. 13.. Seuyn Sag. (W.) 115 In time of seuen yere He sal be wise withowten were. 1513 More Rich. III (1641) 210 He dyed in three moneths. 1706 tr. Dupin's Eccl. Hist. 16th C. II. vii. xviii. 261 In Process of Time they might be corrupted. 1782 Johnson Let. to Dr. Taylor 8 July, I came back from Oxford in ten days. 1843 Blackw. Mag. LIV. 305, I rallied in a day or two. 1884 Law Times Rep. L. 231/2 Anything put into the defendants' well was certain in time to affect the supply. |
22. Formerly (and still sometimes) used, where at, on, during, for are now in use, or where the preposition is omitted.
At is now ordinarily used with a point of time, e.g. at this time, at the moment, at day-break, at sunset; on in stating the date of an event, e.g. on the first of May, on Monday next, on a summer morning; during for the course or continuance of a period, for which for is also used, esp. in negative statements, e.g. he has stayed for a week, I have not seen him for a long time. For all these in occurs in earlier or dialectal use.
a. = At.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 121 Þas pine..ure drihten þolede..in þisse timan. a 1225 St. Marher. 2 Wes in þe ilke time liuiende..þet eadi meiden. 13.. K. Alis. 403 In the dawenyng He made efte his charmyng. c 1440 Gesta Rom. xci. 417 (Addit. MS.) He made this Eyre to sitte with hym..in mete tyme. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. cxix. [cxv.] 340 They departed..in the brekynge of the daye. 1604 Shakes. Oth. i. ii. 94 The Duke in Counsell? In this time of the night? a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1823) I. 315 But he..got his offices to be published..in a time when [etc.]. 1807 Crabbe Par. Reg. ii. 456 No Sunday shower Kept him at home in that important hour. 1873 Hamerton Intell. Life vi. ii. 205 When an architect in the present day has to restore some venerable church. |
b. = on. [The OE. example has the accusative.]
| a 900 O.E. Chron. an. 626 Her Eanfled..wæs ᵹefulwad in þone halᵹan æfen Pentecosten. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 81 Þet me sculde in þe ehtuþe dei þet knaue child embsniþen. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8668 In a þores-dai it was. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) Prol. 4, I..passed the see..in the day of Seynt Michelle. 1426 in Surtees Misc. (1888) 7 In þe Vigil of þe Assumpcion of our Lady. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, i. ii. 233 Looke you..that our Armies ioyn not in a hot day. 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) x. l, In a chilling evening..after you have carefully stirred a very ticklish fire. |
c. = during.
| 1713 Swift Corr. Wks. 1841 II. 492 In all the time I have been conversant in business, I never before observed [etc.]. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. vii. 209 Captain Mitchel, in the whole time of his cruise, had only taken two prizes. Ibid. viii. 220 The succeeding four months in which we continued at sea. |
d. = for. (Formerly only in negative sentences.)
| 1470–85 Malory Arthur x. xxxvi, He made them to swere to were none harneis in a twelue monethe and a day. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. xliv. [lxix.] (1812) 422 If they dranke moche..they coulde not helpe themselfe in two dayes after. 1601 Holland Pliny (1634) II. 379 Wash it not off in three daies. 1669 Pepys Diary (1879) VI. 1 To Westminster Hall, where I have not been..in some months. 1765 Blackstone Comm. I. v. 228 It had not been practiced in some hundreds of years. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §265 They did not come back in some days. 1889 E. Saltus Tristrem Varick xiv. 152 He was hungry as he had not been in months. 1924 C. Mackenzie Heavenly Ladder xvi. 223 Mark had never been near his house in a year. 1957 R. A. Heinlein Door into Summer (1960) ix. 143 The place smelled like a vault that has not been opened in years. 1971 Daily Tel. 1 June 4/8 The first bridge across the Bosphorus in 2,300 years..is now being built. 1972 ‘E. McBain’ Sadie when she Died xiii. 42 Arlene said that she had not played tennis in three years. 1973 Sci. Amer. Jan. 53/1 When Mariner 9 reached Mars on November 13, 1971, the greatest dust storm in more than a century was raging. |
e. Where no preposition is now expressed.
| 1382 Wyclif Luke i. 75 In hoolynesse and riȝtfulnesse bifore him in alle oure dayes. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccxxxv. 332 In the same euennyng the two marshals..commaunded euery man to drawe to their logynge, and in the next mornyng to be redy at sownyng of the trumpettes. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iv. iv. 9 Why should wee proclaime it in an howre before his entring? 1726 Swift Gulliver i. i, This engine..set out in four hours after my landing. |
IV. Pregnant uses: sometimes due to ellipsis.
23. With reflexive pronouns: in himself, in itself, etc.: in his or its own person, essence, or nature; apart from any connexion with or relation to others; absolutely.
| c 1200 Ormin 3041 Jesu Crist Iss..soþ Godd inn himm sellfenn. 1340 Ayenb. 237 Þe sacrement þet is ymad..be þe hand of þe kueade ministre ne is naȝt lesse worþ ine himzelue. 1531 Tindale Exp. 1 John (1537) 7 The scripture abydeth pure in herselfe. 1656 Artif. Handsom. (1662) 178 Suppose Artificial beautifying of the face be not in it self absolutely unlawful. 1843 Mill Logic i. iii. §7 Of things absolutely or in themselves. 1849 Ruskin Sev. Lamps vii. §5. 189 Neither originality, therefore, nor change..are ever to be sought in themselves. 1870 Freeman Norm. Conq. (ed. 2) I. App. 739 The story may be true in itself. |
24. In spiritual or mystical union with.
| c 1315 Shoreham 2 Ydemyd we bethe In Adam and ine Eve. 1382 Wyclif 1 Cor. xv. 22 As in Adam alle men dyen, so and in Crist alle men schulen be quykenyd. ― Rev. xiv. 13 Blessed the deede men, that dien in the Lord. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Comm. Prayer, Communion (Coll. ad fin.), Al our woorkes begonne, continued, and ended in thee. 1745 A. Butler Lives of Saints (1836) I. 23 It was their desire that he might follow his vocation in God. |
25. In the person or case of.
| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 341 Þe fend..moved þe emperour of Rome to dowe þis Chirche in þis preest. 1470–85 Malory Arthur ix. xxv, Fy for shame..that euer suche fals treason shold be wrought or vsed in a quene and a kynges syster. 1589 Spenser F.Q. (Let. to Raleigh), Sir Guyon in whome I sette forth Temperaunce. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. iii. That in the Captaine's but a chollericke word, Which in the Souldier is flat blasphemie. 1653 H. More Antid. Ath. iii. viii. (1712) 111 Which also happen'd in a Maid of his. 1707 Glossogr. Anglic. Nova, Asa foetida,..good against fits in women. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 333 ¶7 It was..a..bold Thought in our Author, to ascribe the first Use of Artillery to the Rebel Angels. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 20 Dread no thief in me! 1854 J. Scoffern in Orr's Circ. Sc., Chem. 102 This instrument was found in the thermomultiplier of Nobili. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. II. x. 470 How great a captain England possessed in her future King. 1878 Morley Crit. Misc. Ser. i. Carlyle 201 Those who..found in the rules and discipline and aims of that system an acceptable expression for their own disinterested social aspirations. |
26. a. Belonging to, as an internal quality, attribute, faculty, or capacity, inherent in; hence, within the ability, capacity, thought, etc. of.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 166 Þer ȝe schulen beon ine þrunge, auh reste and peis is in me. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xix. 78 Al þe witte of þe worlde was in þo þre kynges. 1388 Wyclif John i. 4 In hym was lijf. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxxiv. 156 And I, in þat in me es, makez þam parceneres of þam. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iii. i. 179 There is no musicke in the Nightingale. c 1600 G. Harvey in Shaks. C. Praise 30 Shakespeare's..Lucrece, and his tragedy of Hamlet..have it in them to please the wiser sort. 1605 Shakes. Lear ii. iv. 177 'Tis not in thee To grudge my pleasures. a 1611 Beaum. & Fl. Maid's Trag. iii. i, It is in me to punish thee. 1678 Wanley Wond. Lit. World v. ii. §16. 469/2 A covetous Pelagian, and one that had nothing of worth in him. 1737 Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 129 As to the Notion..I think there is not much in it. 1775 Sheridan St. Patr. Day i. ii, You did not mean any rudeness, did you, Humphrey? Oh No, in deed, miss; his worship knows it is not in me. 1810 Q. Rev. Feb. 193 If a man has it in him, he can do anything any where. 1841 Lytton Night & Morning (ed. 2) I. i. v. 103, I will work for you day and night. I have it in me. 1846 G. E. Jewsbury Sel. Lett. to Mrs. Carlyle (1892) 224, I did care for him once, long and well—better than I have it in me to care for any man now. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 174 To prefer evil to good is not in human nature. Ibid. 332 An enquiry which I shall never be weary of pursuing as far as in me lies. 1889 Nature 11 Apr. 500 Anyone who has it in him to do heroic deeds. 1892 I. Zangwill Childr. Ghetto III. 52 That girl's got it in her, I can tell you. She'll take the shine out of some of our West-Enders. 1895 H. James Notebks. (1947) 408, I didn't know I had it in me. 1919 Beerbohm Seven Men 119 He looked to me to ‘do something big, one of these days’, and that he was sure I had it ‘in’ me. 1924 Isis (Oxf.) 30 Jan. 16/2 He may become a fine actor—he has it in him. 1928 Foy & Harlow Clowning through Life 297, I didn't believe he had it in him. 1938 R. Finlayson Brown Man's Burden 79 They didn't think Kay had it in him to do it. 1958 Listener 13 Nov. 786/2 As between draughts and chess this is outweighed by the fact that there is more ‘in’ chess. 1960 M. Spark Bachelors i. 2 ‘You must have it in you,’ said Ronald, ‘going all the way to Piccadilly for herbs.’ 1973 ‘E. McBain’ Hail to Chief ii. 30 If you could find it in yourself to go over to the hospital and identify your brother. |
b. nothing, not much, little, etc., in it: little or no difference between competitors or any persons or things that are compared. orig. Racing slang.
| 1914 in Concise Oxf. Dict. 1927 Observer 18 Dec. 19/3 The first round there was nothing much in it. In the second round Angus..punched Mansfield round the ring. 1929 S. E. Thomas Elem. Econ. (ed. 4) xxix. 523 While in the course of a year Britain imports considerable quantities of gold, she also exports almost equally large quantities, and on balance there is usually very little in it. |
c. in it: an advantage (to be received from something). Usu. in phr. what was (or is, etc.) in it for (someone).
| 1963 T. Parker Unknown Citizen v. 140 He seemed to have an inbred suspicion of any kind of offered help, he wanted to know why people were giving it, what was in it for them. 1968 Guardian 2 Apr. 11/1 The ‘Washingtonologists’ in Moscow must be getting their files out to see what is in it for the Soviet Union—and for the world. 1971 ‘A. Gilbert’ Tenant for Tomb ii. 39, I can't see what there was in it for Mrs Plum. |
27. In the hands of; in the control or power of; legally vested in.
| c 1460 Towneley Myst. xvi. 92 In me standys lyfe and dede. ? a 1500 Cov. Myst. (1841) 311 Alle the poer lyth now in the. a 1532 Ld. Berners Huon lxxxi. 250 You knowe well it is in me to cause Huon to dye. 1607 Stat. in Hist. Wakefield Gram. Sch. (1892) 65 The election..shall be in the Maister and Fellowes of Emanuel Colledge. a 1626 Bacon Max. & Uses Com. Law (1636) 23 Lands possessed without any such title, are in the crowne, and not in him that first entreth. 1708 New View Lond. II. 484/1 The Living is a Rectory, the Advowson in the Bp. of London. 1837 Whewell Hist. Induct. Sc. (1857) I. 30 The government of Greece is in the king. 1884 Ld. Coleridge in Law Times Rep. L. 45/2 The minerals, therefore, are in the trustees. |
28. Partaking, sharing, associated, or actually engaged in. to be in it, to be one of those actually engaged as partners, competitors, etc.; to be in the running, to be a serious competitor, to count for something.
| 1728 W. Cleland Let. on Dunciad in Pope's Wks. (Globe) 359 None, it is plain, was so little in their friendships, or so much in that of those whom they had most abused. 1792 Hist. in Ann. Reg. 13 Neither the Count d'Artois..nor Mr. de Calonne were in the secret. 1812 J. H. Vaux Flash Dict. s.v., To let another partake of any benefit or acquisition you have acquired by robbery or otherwise, is called putting him in it: a family-man who is accidentally witness to a robbery, &c., effected by one or more others, will say to the latter, Mind I'm in it. 1888 Lady 25 Oct. 374/1, I thought I really was in it at last, and knew what she meant. 1888 Longm. Mag. July 256 To those ‘in it’ every sound conveys a meaning. 1889 Spectator 21 Sept., ‘Flying Childers’ and ‘Eclipse’ would not be ‘in it’ with our modern cracks. 1902 H. James Wings of Dove vi. xx. 298 ‘You scarcely call him, I suppose, one of the dukes.’ ‘Mercy, no—far from it. He's not, compared with other possibilities, {oqq}in{cqq} it.’ 1907 F. H. Burnett Shuttle xxxviii. 381 ‘Hope you had a fine time, Mr. Selden?’ ‘Fine! I should smile. Fine wasn't in it.’ 1912 A. Bennett Matador 272 We were completely outshone. I tell you, we were not in it, not anywhere near being in it! 1913 F. L. Barclay Broken Halo vi. 69 In fact, the Egyptian dynasties weren't in it! She was positively antediluvian! 1915 A. Huxley Let. Oct. (1969) 82 At present I share Balliol with one..man..who rather repels me at meals by his..habit of shewing satisfaction with the food: Sir Toby Belch was not in it. 1960 L. Cooper Accomplices iv. ii. 224, I thought the Party knew all the technique there is about handling people, but they're not in it with the Church. 1964 H. E. F. Donohue Conversations with Nelson Algren ii. 74 All people are killers, potentially. Tigers aren't in it with people. 1966 ‘J. Hackston’ Father clears Out 140 A fight in the snow is a tame affair and not in it with a hot summer contest. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 15 Jan. 9/4 We just weren't in this one... Nobody was going to beat them today. |
29. Of representative character or capacity, as in name of, in right of: see the ns.
30. Elliptical for (a) in the name of; (b) in the character of.
| a 1734 North Lives (1826) III. 203 ‘Ay, i' God, is it’, said the lord. 1831 F. A. Kemble Let. in Rec. Girlhood II. viii. 229, I am to come out in Bianca, in Milman's ‘Fazio’. |
V. Of motion or direction. See also 16.
31. Expressing motion or direction from without to a point within, or transition from one thing to another: = into.
In OE. this was the proper sense of in with the accusative: see above. The sense of ‘into’ is still retained after some verbs, as put, cast, split, part, where the sense implies motion, and in some idiomatic phrases which are no longer analysed.
† a. Illustrations of earlier usage, now obs. or dial.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter v. 8 Ic inga, dryhten, in hus ðin. 971 Blickl. Hom. 121 Þa hie..in þone heofon locodan æfter him. a 1000 Hymns vi. 27 (Gr.) Ne læd þu us..in costunge. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 3 Goð in þane castel þet is on-ȝein eou. Ibid. 45 Muneȝing of þam hali gast þe he sende in his apostles. c 1220 Bestiary 230 Do we ðe bodi in ðe bale. a 1300 E.E. Psalter xxix. 12 [xxx. 11] Þou torned mi weping..In blisse. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 11 And broghte hire hoom with hym in his contree. c 1470 Henry Wallace i. 147 His fadyr Malcom in the Lennox fled. c 1500 Melusine 369 Soone after [she] tourned herself in the figure of a serpent and so vanysshed away. 1509 Bury Wills (Camden) 111 Yff ony off my childern happyn to cumme in pouerte. 1535 Coverdale 2 Esdras iii. 4 And hast brethed in him the breth of life. 1570 Tragedie 127 in Satir. Poems Reform. x, Turnit day in nycht and nycht in day. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 8 Dorpes and wynes..now growne in fair townes. 1680 in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. vii. 394 My daughter was brought in bed of another boy. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 645 [The snake] retires..And in some secret Cranny slowly glides. 1785 Burns Death & Dr. Horn-bk. xiv, Deil mak his king's-hood in a spleuchan! |
b. Illustrations of current usage after the verbs cast, fall, lay, put, throw, thrust, etc., divide, split, break, etc.
| a 900 O.E. Chron. an. 709 Wæs todæled..in tua biscopscira West Seaxna lond. 971 Blickl. Hom. 191 His lic..in þa stowe asetton þe Uaticanus hatte. 1154 O.E. Chron. an. 1137 ¶2, & dide ælle in prisun, til hi iafen up here castles. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 21 And was his holie lichame leid in burieles, in þe holie sepulcre. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 3618 Iþe barel of gold þey leid ilkon. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 106 Full ofte he heweth up so highe That chippes fallen in his eye. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxxiv. 153 Þe prestez..hewez þe body all in smale pecez. c 1460 Towneley Myst. xxvi. 413 My catyf hart wyll breke in thre. 1491 Act 7 Hen. VII, c. 22 Preamble, The seid John..caste the seid writing in the fire. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. ii. i. 108 Hoared headed frosts Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson Rose. 1591 ― 1 Hen. VI, i. iv. 52 They suppos'd I could..spurne in pieces Posts of Adamant. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 766 He..in the Billows plung'd his hoary Head. 1836 Fonblanque Eng. under 7 Administ. (1837) III. 336 Is he put on the shelf, or cast in the lumber-room? a 1868 M. J. Higgins Ess. (1875) 118 The most judicious mode of putting a kicker in harness. 1876 Mozley Univ. Serm. vi. (1877) 142 This dreadful schism..which splits them, as it were, in two beings. |
c. See also in the face of: face n. 4.
† 32. The sense of motion or direction formerly gave rise to various modifications. [Cf. L. in with acc.] Obs. † a. = upon, on.
| a 1225 Leg. Kath. 102 Ha..spende al þet oðer in neodfulle & in nakede. c 1305 St. Lucy 7 in E.E.P. 101 In fisciciens heo hadde ispend moche del of hire gode. c 1430 Hymns Virg. 97 Þan schal neuere myscheef in þee falle. 1490 Caxton Eneydos vi. 26 Y⊇ grete..cryme, perpetred and commysed in the persone of sychee. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 528 To put handis in ane crownit king. 1557 North Gueuara's Diall Pr. 127 b/2 To caste their eyes onelye in that that is presente. |
† b. = against, towards.
| a 1300 E.E. Psalter xliii. 6 [xliv. 5] In þi name for-how in us risand. a 1340 Hampole Psalter vi. 1 Forgifynge til him þat synnes in vs. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 198 To oure dettouris þat is to men þat han synned in vs. |
† c. = over.
| c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 16 That noon enmyes have in him powere. |
† d. = unto, to.
| 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xxxvi. 50 Sir Water of Manny..dyd set fyre in the strete ioyninge to the castell. Ibid. cclxxix. 417 Parte of them that had set the fyre in the towne. 1535 Coverdale 2 Esdras iii. 7 Thou appoyntedest death in him, and in his generacions. |
VI. Constructional uses.
33. Expressing the relation which the action of a verb has to some indirect object: forming with the latter an adverbial adjunct to the verb, and often entering with it into an indirect passive: e.g. to be believed in, to be dealt in, to be engaged in. (See the verbs individually.) a. To believe, trust, hope in, and the like. In OE., believe took in with the accus., = into, unto, towards (cf. L. credere in Deum, etc.).
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter ii. 13 Eadᵹe alle ða ðe ᵹetreowað in hine [L. confidunt in eum]. a 1000 Juliana 434 in Exeter Bk., Þu in ecne god..þinne ᵹetreowdes. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 19 He þe bileueð in god. 13.. K. Alis. 7348 Alisaunder him gan affye In his owne chivalrie. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xv. 166 In theise thinges..ther ben many folk that beleeven. 1553 Q. Mary in Strype Eccl. Mem. (1721) III. App. i. 3 For the special trust and affiance we have in you. 1753 Chesterfield Lett. (1774) IV. 6, I hope in God she will give you the will of exerting them. |
b. To partake, share, concur, engage, join, deal in; to consist in; to succeed, fail, increase in; to delight, exult, glory, joy, rejoice, triumph in; etc.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 38 Ȝif me..delen in his pinen. a 1300 E.E. Psalter ix. 3, I sal fayne and glade in þe. 1375 Barbour Bruce iv. 718 Thai men, that will study In the craft of astrology. c 1585 R. Browne Answ. Cartwright 68, I partake in another mans offring. 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 77 To those two Armies that would let him goe, Rather then triumph in so false a foe. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 13 Join in my Work. 1776 Trial of Nundocomar 68/1, I used, a long time ago, to trade in salt. 1795 Hist. in Ann. Reg. 5 All classes..concurred in this determination. 1845 S. Austin Ranke's Hist. Ref. I. 185 A regular war with France was not to be engaged in without negotiations. |
c. With trans. vb.: To instruct (a person) in; to convict, condemn, mulct in; to baffle, disappoint, limit in; to spend (money, time, etc.) in. To hold in (honour, etc.): see hold v. 12 f.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 2610 In despit sco haldes me. 1382 Wyclif 2 Chron. xxxvi. 3 The king of Egipt..condempnede the lond in an hundrith talentis of syluer. 1490 Caxton Eneydos vii. 33 To haue some prynce..for tenstructe hym in doctrynes and good maners. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. ii. i. 19 Spending your wit in the praise of mine. a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1823) II. 207 The crown had been..limited in the power of raising money. 1838 Thirlwall Greece xi. II. 24 The Athenians, who had been repeatedly baffled in their attempts. 1893 W. P. Courtney in Acad. 13 May 413/1 The money expended in the improvement of the site. |
34. Expressing the relation of an adjective (often ppl.) to some sphere or department to which its qualification is limited: in and its object forming an adverbial adjunct of the adjective; e.g. accomplished, adroit, at home, complete, diligent, eager, eloquent, great, learned, skilled, strong, weak in; attacked, grieved, hurt, marked, wounded in; etc.
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iv. xxiii[i.]. (1890) 332 Wæs heo..æðele in woruld ᵹebyrdum. Ibid. 334 In reᵹollices lifes lare swiðe ᵹeornful. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 525 In alle wittes of worldliche wisdome wiseste o worlde. 1382 Wyclif Acts vii. 22 Moyses..was myȝty in his wordis and werkis. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 76 Right connyng in fisike and a good fisicien. 1526 Tindale Matt. v. 3 Blessed are the povre in sprete. 1557 North Gueuara's Diall Pr. (1582) 174 a, Pirrus..was stout and hardy, valiant in armes, liberall in benefices, pacient in aduersities. 1605 Shakes. Macb. iv. ii. 66 Though in your state of Honor I am perfect. 1665 Boyle Occas. Refl. (1848) 294 To admire and thank him that is infinite in Beauty, and in goodness. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 81 ¶2 If Rosalinda is unfortunate in her Mole, Nigranilla is as unhappy in a Pimple. 1833 I. Taylor Fanat. i. 2 Ignorant in the chief article of the case. 1845 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 2 Rich in works of the historical class. 1884 Law Times LXXVII. 27/2 A railway company was held liable in damages. 1895 Bookman Oct. 22/2 Louis [XIV] was..wanting in all the elements of true greatness. |
35. Expressing the relation of a substantive (esp. one that involves an attribute) to a certain sphere.
| c 1200 Orm. 5483 Þe firrste ȝife iss witt & skill Inn heofennlike þingess. 1382 Wyclif Dan. i. 17 God ȝaue to these children science and discipline in ech boke. 1513 Douglas æneis i. Prol. 56 Nane is, nor was..ne ȝit sal haue sic crafte in poetrie. 1571 Campion Hist. Irel. ix. (1633) 27 The Barbarians highly honoured him for his cunning in all languages. 1699 Burnet 39 Art. xxv. (1700) 266 In all this Diversity there is no real difference. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones i. x, He was himself a very competent judge in most kinds of literature. a 1770 Jortin Serm. (1771) I. iii. 46 Those who have skill in arts..in war..in politics. 1830 T. Taylor Argts. Celsus etc. 63 Alacrity in the performance of things. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. i. I. 111 The Houses..would have made no formal change in the constitution. 1859 C. Barker Assoc. Princ. ii. 56 Young beginners in business. 1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 48 Let nothing shake your trust in her. |
36. Expressing the relation of number or quantity to the dimension or amount in question: e.g. length, breadth, depth, or the like.
| c 1275 Lay. 21995 Hit his imete in brede fif and twenti fote. 1382 Wyclif 1 Kings vi. 2 The hows..hadde sexti cubitis in length and twenti in brede. 1512 Act 4 Hen. VIII, c. 1 §1 The said Countie is thre score and ten myle in lenght. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Mark i. (1552) 120 Fewe in numbre. 1710 Berkeley Princ. Hum. Knowl. Introd. §12 A black line of an inch in length. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 306 The virtues, which are also four in number. 1882 W. Sharp D. G. Rossetti ii. 86 A man six feet two inches in height. |
37. With a substantive (or adj.), forming an adverbial phr., e.g. in charity, in duty, in honour; in right; in common, in general, in especial; in fact, in (all) probability, in truth, in faith; in conclusion, in fine; in haste; in any case, in every way; in (all) the world. See the ns.; also indeed.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 13402 Þai fild a cupp þan son in hast. c 1386 Chaucer Pard. Prol. 126 But herkneth lordynges in conclusioun Youre likyng is that I schal telle a tale. 1513 More Rich. III, in Grafton Chron. I. 781 In faith man..I was never so sory. 1647 N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. iii. 8 In Charity, therefore, the English Church in those daies must be of mean repute for outward pomp. 1667 Primatt City & C. Build. 2 Consider..what casualties it may in probability be subject unto. 1721 St. German's Doctor & Stud. 309 If a man buy a horse..of him that in right had no property to him. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. xii. 100 Debts, which he could not, in honour, delay to discharge. 1871 Smiles Charac. i. (1876) 11 Every one is..bound in duty, to aim at reaching the highest standard of character. 1881 L. B. Walford Dick Netherby xiv. 162 Not a shilling in the world. |
38. In many prepositional phrases, as in case of, in face of, in favour of, in front of, in honour of, in lieu of, in presence of, in respect of, in spite of, instead of; in regard of, to, in respect of, to; in order to, in proportion to, in relation to; in common with, in company with, in comparison with, etc. See these words.
VII. Phrases.
39. in so far: in such measure or degree (as); to such extent (that). Still conventionally written thus (Hart's Rules for Compositors, ed. 37, 1967, p. 75) but also freq. as a single word or with hyphens.
| 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. v. 269 Britannie was..in sevin Regimentis, deuydet be the Saxonis,..Jnsafar, that a certane and sure ordour of kingis coulde not weil be collected. 1836 H. Taylor Statesman xxxi. 232 A man's manners have much real and intrinsic significancy, in so far forth as they are the result of his individual nature and taste. 1847 Grote Greece ii. xlvii. (1862) IV. 183 Insofar the latter had good reason to complain. 1896 Act 59 & 60 Vict. c. 39 §1 (3) In so far as they are temporary in their duration. 1940 Economist 6 July 13/2 Insofar as it ensures that trade between the two participating countries shall be reciprocal, it is an extension of compensation trade. 1948 J. Steinbeck Russ. Jrnl. (1949) 10 The C-47's are a little run down insofar as upholstery and carpeting go. 1959 B. Wootton Social Sci. & Social Path. viii. 267 Differentiation between the one and the other will be called for only insofar as it affects the kind of treatment that is likely to be helpful. 1969 Times 31 Oct. 29/5 Enforcement, insofar as salaries are concerned, is costing nothing. 1971 Watsonia VIII. 205 The results of it will be used here in-so-far as they affect the classification of the group. |
40. in that: in the fact that; in its being the case that; in presence, view, or consequence of the fact that; seeing that; as, because.
| c 1440 Gesta Rom. ii. xxi. 399 (Add. MS.) The child is not apte to serve god, in that he is inparfite. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cliv. 186 The kyng of Nauerr..excused hymselfe honorably, in that he departed out of the realme of France. 1535 Coverdale Josh. xxii. 31 We knowe, that y⊇ Lorde is amonge vs, in that ye haue not trespaced agaynst the Lorde. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iii. i. 257 Let him dye, in that he is a Fox. c 1680 Beveridge Serm. (1729) II. 302 In that they think they get good by such hearing..they are really the worse for it. 1883 Dobson Fielding i. 18 This is the more likely, in that Arne the musician..was Fielding's contemporary at Eton. |
41. See also inasmuch, insomuch, etc.
Add: [II.] [18.] in-ground orig. U.S., of an outdoor swimming-pool: built into the ground (as distinct from one placed above ground), esp. at a private residence.
| 1973 Washington Post 13 Jan. f16/5 (Advt.), Five bedrooms, two baths, 2 fireplaces and in-ground pool. 1977 Lancashire Life Mar. 114/2 (Advt.), ‘Pool Services’..Distributors of Above and Inground Do-It-Yourself Pool Kits. 1988 J. Frame Carpathians ix. 62 We've in mind for later an in-ground swimming-pool. |
in-hand (see hand n. 29), (a) held in the hand; also fig.; (b) spec. in Equestrianism: used in or involving the leading of a horse by hand.
| 1960 Encounter Feb. 36/1 The in-hand attractions of salary, security, and perks. 1963 E. H. Edwards Saddlery xxiv. 188 There is..an increasing tendency for pony mares..to wear what used to be termed a ‘stallion bridle’. As it is now used on everything, I prefer to call it an ‘in-hand’ bridle. 1974 Daily Tel. 3 Apr. 8/8 Take-home ice-cream products..had been subject to 10 p.c. VAT. But of the in-hand products—wrapped ice-creams and ices and lollies on sticks—half have gone up in price. 1978 Country Life 18 May 1376/2 Mr and Mrs J. B. Grobbelaar..came from South Africa to Windsor expressly to judge the in-hand classes. 1985 Catal. Sale Horse-Drawn Vehicles (Thimbleby & Shorland) 6 Mar. 1 Set of brown in-hand harness without crupper. |
▸ in-home adj. taking place in the home; intended for, available for, or relating to use in the home.
| 1956 in W. Y. Elliott Television's Impact on Amer. Culture 347 Movies are the only major TV competitor fighting it strictly on the entertainment level, and outside the home. Radio and publications are challenged both on an advertising and an *in-home basis. 1969 Times 8 Oct. 24/3 The in-home sales situation will quickly conquer the tawdry image of doorstep selling currently too common for household utensils, encyclopaedias and insurance, by the introduction..of appointments systems. 1988 Mod. Painters Autumn 64/3 He restaged an in-home William Tell act and missed. 1996 R. Mistry Fine Balance i. 58 Her friend Zenobia had a brainwave about in-home haircuts for children. 2001 Working from Home Mar. 26/3 Each PC includes two years of free in-home servicing. |
▪ II. in, adv.
(ɪn)
Forms. 1– in; 1 inn. 3–5 inne, 4 ynne, ine, 4–5 yn.
[Common Teut.; OE. in(n = OFris., OS., OHG. in (MHG. in, în, Ger. ein), Goth. inn- (in composition with vbs.), ON. inn (Sw. in, Da. ind). The distinction between adv. and prep. is clearly marked in mod.Ger. ein beside in, in Scandinavian inn, in, ind beside {iacu}, i, and in English dialects which use in for the adv., i' for the prep. OE. inn was employed only with verbs expressing motion, the corresponding form to denote rest within a place being inne (see inne), but during the ME. period the loss of the final vowel made the two words identical in form; in some texts it is doubtful whether the e of inne, ynne is of etymological significance or not.]
I. Of motion or direction. [OE. inn, in.]
1. a. Expressing motion from a point without certain limits to a place within these; so as to penetrate or pass into a certain space; esp. into a house or other building (see also under come, go, pass, put, etc.). Frequently followed by preps. indicating the direction, extent, etc. of the movement, as in at, in by, † in on, in through, in to, in under, etc.; also in-a-doors (see a-doors).
| Beowulf (Z.) 3090 Þa me ᵹerymed wæs..sið..inn under eorðweall. c 893 K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §14 Ða beah þæt land þær eastryhte, oþþe seo sæ in on ðæt lond. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. vii. 13 Gangað inn [v.r. in] þurh þæt nearwe ᵹeat. a 1225 Ancr. R. 74 Hwose euer wule mei gon in. 13.. K. Alis. 349 In he cam to hire bour. c 1400 Rom. Rose 7004 My paleis and myn hous make I There men may renne ynne openly. 1596 Spenser F.Q. vi. iii. 42 The groome went streight way in, and to his Lord Declar'd the message. 1673 Ray Journ. Low C. 23 At our Entrance in [to Breda] we passed [etc.]. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. i, In comes my nephew. 1722 ― Col. Jack (1840) 311, I was called in again. 1814 Mrs. West Alicia de Lacy III. 215 We shall be never the nearer..unless we can climb in at the..window. 1894 Baring-Gould Kitty Alone II. 101 Put the cob in, said he to the ostler. |
† b. In OE. (poetry and prose) and in ME. poetry, in often precedes the verb with which it is construed. Obs.
| c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 520 Be ðam hunde ðe his hand eft inn abær. ― Exod. xxi. 3 Ga he ut mid swilcum reafe swilce he in com. ― Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxvi. 41 Waciaþ..þæt ᵹe in ne gan on costunge. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 91 Þenne þe procession ut goð of ierusalem and eft þenne it in cumeð. 13.. K. Alis. 544 A dragon com yn fleon. 13.. Coer de L. 3305 They leten hem in come. Ibid. 6316 A stout Sarezyn gan in sterte. ? 1370 Robt. Cicyle 52 Let hym in come swythe faste. a 1400 Sir Perc. 1538 The portere..Lete the knyghtis in fare. c 1440 Ipomydon 1110 Þe rede knyght anone in rode. |
c. Used after auxiliary verbs, as may, must, shall, etc., or absolutely with imperative force, with omission of ‘go’, ‘enter’, ‘get’, or the like (cf. in v. 5). Now chiefly poet. or rhet.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 127 Duru þæt mannes heafod, ᵹe þa sculdro, maᵹan in. a 1225 Ancr. R. 74 Ase buruh wiðuten wal, þer ase uerd mei in oueral. 13.. Coer de L. 3842 The Sarezynes myght neyther in ne oute. 1340 Ayenb. 232 Þet hy ne moȝe naȝt in. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. v. i. 37 This is some Priorie, in, or we are spoyl'd. 1595 ― John i. i. 171 In at the window, or else ore the hatch. 1627 Sanderson Serm. (1681) I. 284 Unless God kept him back, he must on, and he must in, and he must in deep. 1668 Davenant Man's the Master iii. i, Sure, this is Isabella's chamber; the door is open! I'll in, and take my leave of her. 1821 Byron Sardan. ii. i. 601 Let's in. 1857 Trollope Barchester T. I. v. 62, I see that there are three trains in and three out every Sabbath. |
d. Imperatively = ‘take in’. Also in with.
| 1708 Motteux Rabelais iv. xviii. (1737) 76 He cry'd, in with your Top-sails. 1857 Merc. Marine Mag. (1858) V. 1 In jib and main course. |
2. Phrase. day in, day out: as each day comes in or begins, and goes out or closes; continually. So with week, year, etc.
| 1839 Longfellow Village Blacksmith iii, Week in, week out, from morn till night. 1884 Miss Wilkins in Harper's Mag. July 303/2 Sitting and sewing as she did day in and day out. |
3. Expressing motion in the direction of some central point; hence, position attained by (or as by) coming, bending, or pressing in; in proximity, within reach of, or near to some point or limit specified or implied; into or in close quarters.
| 1702 Lond. Gaz. No. 3781/4 Goes a little in with his Ancles. 1709–10 Tatler (J.), They [fencers] are in with you, if you offer to fall back without keeping your guard. 1812 Sporting Mag. XXXIX. 24 Crib always was in and fighting with him. 1872 Black Adv. Phæton (1878) 532 The swans were sailing close in by the reeds. 1888 R. Haggard Maiwa's Revenge iv, About five yards in, it [the path] took a turn. 1898 To-Day 5 Nov. 4/2 When you have a man ‘fighting in’, there is no possible time to use anything but your hands. |
4. Into the bargain; in addition (to the legal amount); over and above, besides; as in to get, give, throw in: see the verbs.
| 1634 Massinger Very Woman iii. i, He will not yield above a peck of oysters: If I can get a quart of wine in too, you are gone, Sir. 1718 Free-thinker No. 28 ¶1 To these [exquisite Faces] he threw me in Three Songs. 1836–9 Dickens Sk. Boz 116 (Hoppe) And so you have the fight in gratis. 1864 Throw in [see inbread n.]. 1886 [see give 59 f]. |
II. Of position.
5. a. Within a certain space; esp. inside a house or other enclosed place, inside the usual place of abode, shelter, or safety.
In early ME. use chiefly northern, the southern word being orig. inne.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 14737 Ne wald he neuer o þaim blin, Till all war vte þat þar was in. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 94 Vndo the dure beliue! Dame, art thow in? 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. i, Our ship rid forecastle in. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §287 To come home with her cargo in. 1805 Collingwood 6 Oct. in Nicolas Disp. (1846) VII. 81 note, I think at 5, or at 4, the Boats will be better in. Mod. Is Mr. A. in? He is not in at present. Do you know when I shall find him in? |
b. On the inside, within. from in, from the inside.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 5615 An esscen kyst sco did be wroght, Did pik it sua, wit-oute and in [Gött. widuten and inne; Trin. wiþoute & ynne]. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iii. iii. 97 Man, how dearely euer parted, How much in hauing, or without, or in, Cannot make boast to haue that which he hath. c 1860 H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 22 Reeve it from in out through the quarter block. 1873 Tristram Moab iii. 43 A sheepskin coat with the woolly side in. |
6. In various special senses.
In some of these the adverbial use may have arisen from the prep. by ellipse of a substantive; in others the verb to be takes the place of one implying motion. Hence in may be used in almost any sense arising from verbal combinations, and only the more common ones are illustrated here.
a. In prison, in confinement.
| 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, v. v. 40 Thy Dol..is in base Durance, and contagious prision..Dol is in. 1877 Five Years Penal Servit. iii. 147 It is the etiquette among prisoners never to ask a man what he is in for. The badge upon his left arm gives his sentence. |
b. Engaged, involved, entangled in (an action, esp. an unlawful one). Cf. count v. 2 b.
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. iii. 20, I would not care a pin, if the other three were in. 1602 Marston Ant. & Mel. iv. Wks. 1856 I. 49, I shall nere ha done when I am in, Tis harder for me end, than to begin. 1607 Tourneur Rev. Trag. v. iii, And now, my Lord, since we are in for ever. 1623 Massinger Dk. Milan ii. ad. fin., All my plots Turn back upon myself: but I am in, And must go on. 1884 ‘Mark Twain’ Huck. Finn xxxi. 321 As long as I was in, and in for good, I might as well go the whole hog. 1893 ― in Century Mag. Jan. 342/1, I could n't venture it now; I was in too deep. |
c. Of a statesman or political party: In office, in power.
| 1605 Shakes. Lear v. iii. 15 Talke of Court newes..Who looses, and who wins; who's in, who's out. 1678 Earl of Arran in Lauderdale Papers (1885) III. 102 Some people..because they are not In themselves,..must fall upon me. 1728 Young Love Fame i. 214 Against reason..'tis equal sin To boast of merely being out or in. 1801 H. Swinburne in Crts. Europe Last Cent. (1841) II. 303 We are in a strange situation, half a ministry in, and half another out. 1880 Daily Tel. 22 Sept., Incorrigible revolutionists, who must attack a Minister because he is ‘in’. |
d. Of a player or a side in a game: In possession of the field, etc.; having the turn or right to play. Cf. innings. Also of a batsman given ‘not out’ by the umpire.
| 1744 Laws [of Cricket] in New Dict. Arts & Sci. (1755) IV. 3459/1 Laws for the strikers, or those that are in. 1770 J. Love Cricket 24 The two last Champions even now are in. 1844 Blackburn Standard 17 July, The bowler asked ‘in or out?’ 1871 ‘Thomsonby’ Cricketers in Council 32 Men who run with their bats in the air are constantly run out in cases where they would have been safely ‘in’ if they had adopted the contrary practice. 1874 J. D. Heath Croquet-Player 69 Instructions to the player who is ‘in’. 1884 Lillywhite's Cricket Ann. 55 He scored 33 out of 35 made while he was in. 1898 K. S. Ranjitsinhji With Stoddart's Team (ed. 3) iv. 70 He was given ‘in’ by the umpire when appealed to. |
e. In legal possession of (an estate).
| 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) III. 350 Where the heir takes any thing which might have vested in the ancestor, the heir should be in by descent. |
f. Of a ship's sails: Taken in, furled.
| 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), In, the state of any of a ship's sails, when they are furled or stowed. |
g. Of fire or light: Burning, lighted. Chiefly with certain verbs, e.g. to keep in; to blow in, the reverse of to blow out.
| 1662 Sir S. Tuke Adv. Five Hours v. i. in Hazl. Dodsley XV. 287 (Pedro..lets the candle fall..Diego takes up the candle.) Here's a fair trial for your maiden breath! Flora, blow't in again..(Flora blows the candle in). 1711 Addison Spect. No. 72 ¶7 They observe the law..which orders the Fire to be always kept in. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. § 247 This evening's tide we worked with links, and it began to blow so fresh that we had much ado to keep them in. 1883 L'pool Daily Post 28 Dec. 5/3 By 3 o'clock the electric lights were in, as though it were in the evening. 1889 Pall Mall G. 2 Dec. 3/1 One has to think seriously before blowing in a furnace whether the price will be maintained long enough to leave him a profit. 1893 Argosy Jan. 23 We..sat round the..fire, which we kept in more for the sake of cheerfulness than warmth. |
h. Of a train, coach, steamer, mail, etc.: Come in, arrived.
| 1870 M. Bridgman R. Lynne I. xv. 249 The 7.30 train would be in. |
i. In the market; in season; in fashion.
| 1687 [see in and out 1 b]. 1851 Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 85 During July cherries are in as well as raspberries. 1891 Daily News 24 Oct. 5/4 Savoys are in. 1923 Ladies' Home Jrnl. Sept. 50 Her hostess, in black silk crêpe, rejoices that trains are once more ‘in’, knowing the value of long lines and loose draperies. 1954 L. MacNeice Autumn Sequel 131 Accomplishments were in, enthusiasm out. 1959 Encounter Sept. 60/2 Beckett is a fashionable reputation which is still ‘in’. 1965 M. Morse Unattached i. 24 Perhaps ‘being at a party’ is a qualification for being ‘in’? |
j. Of a school: in session, in progress. Sc. and N.Z.
| 1812 P. Forbes Poems, chiefly in Sc. Dial. 95 On Saturday, nae school being in. 1895 W. C. Fraser Whaups of Durley iii. 27 We would be stopped by a shout, ‘The schule's in’. 1949 F. Sargeson I saw in my Dream i. vi. 40 But I don't remember nothing about when school was in. |
k. well in. (a) Racing. Applied to a horse which has been treated leniently by the handicapper. (b) In comfortable or easy circumstances. colloq. orig. Austral. Also, profitably engaged in speculation.
| (a) 1854 J. Mills Life Race-Horse xvii. 111 The handicapper..considerately classed me among the middle ones, and awarded 6 st. 12 lb. as my burthen. ‘He's vell in,’ said my owner,..‘very vell in.’ 1894 G. Moore Esther Waters xxx. 247 Are the 'orses he backs what you'd call well in? 1898 A. E. T. Watson Turf i. 16 A horse which is well in in a little handicap. |
| (b) 1891 [see well-in adj. phr.]. 1902 Webster Suppl., Well in, engaged in a profitable speculation in stocks; said of a speculator whose purchases have risen considerably in value on his hands. Hence, in a general sense, prosperous; well off; well to do. (Colloq., Australia.) 1913 M. Roberts Salt of Sea 158 If you ain't lucky you're bound to be dishonest,..if you means to be well in all the time. |
l. Of fortune or luck: favourable. (Cf. out adv. 23.)
| 1901 A. E. W. Mason Clementina i, His luck for the moment was altogether in. 1912 ‘Saki’ Chron. Clovis 187 Her fellow-gamblers were always ready to entertain her..when their luck was in. |
III. Contextual uses.
7. With verbs, besides the senses 1–5, above, in has many contextual and idiomatic uses; e.g. expressing irruption, as in break, burst, strike in; penetration, as in burn, cut, force, rub in; enclosing, surrounding, or covering, as in build, cover, fence, hem, roof, wall in; acceding, yielding, as in come, fall, give in. See the verbs.
IV. Phrases, etc.
8. in for. [Cf. 6 b.] a. † (a) Involved or engaged in some business or occupation for a specified time. (b) Involved in some coming event, etc. from which no escape is possible; finally committed or destined to do or suffer something.
| 1599 Broughton's Lett. viii. 26 Herein..you are in for all day..it is your element. 1658–9 Burton's Diary (1828) IV. 37 We are in for a month at this rate of speaking. 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. iv, I was in for a list of blunders. 1835 Fraser's Mag. XI. 21 We are in for a speech. 1889 Repent. P. Wentworth I. xiv. 285 We are in for a pretty severe storm. |
b. esp. in phrase in for it: Committed to a course of action; also, certain to meet with punishment or something unpleasant.
| 1698 Farquhar Love and a Bottle iii. i, I've thrown my cast, and am fairly in for't. But an't I an impudent dog? c 1730 Burt Lett. N. Scotl. (1818) I. 91 As I am in for't I must now proceed. 1741 Richardson Pamela II. 99, I am in for it now, over Head and Ears, I doubt, and can't help loving him. 1855 Kingsley Plays & Purit. 145 Raleigh finds himself ‘in for it’, and takes the island out of hand in the most masterly fashion. 1864 Sala in Daily Tel. 26 Feb., When..the representative receives a lady's card..He knows that he is in for it..he has to exhibit the lions of the Capitol. |
c. In the competition or race for some prize or thing to be gained. Cf. go in for: go v. 82 e.
| 1850 Scoresby Cheever's Whaleman's Adv. xiii. (1859) 182 Though not myself..in for any share of the profits. Mod. Several good men are in for the librarianship. He is in for Moderations at Oxford. |
d. In for a penny, in for a pound: see penny.
9. in with. a. In agreement with; on friendly terms with. to keep in with: see keep v.
| a 1677 Manton in Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. cxix. 98 A godly-wise man is careful to keep in with God. 1682 Bunyan Holy War (Cassell) 115 They knew that..against him they had been in with Diabolus. 1692 Bulstrode in 15th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. ii. 21 He was a haughty proud man, in with King Charles the Second. 1714 Swift Pres. St. Aff. Wks. 1778 VI. 101 Those who pretended wholly to be in with the principles upon which her Majesty and her new servants proceeded. a 1875 W. Arnot Anchor of Soul (1876) 72 When I am no longer in with my destroyer, I have the Omnipotent on my side. 1925 ‘R. Crompton’ Still—William vi. 112 So far County had persistently resisted the attempts of Mrs. Bott to ‘get in’ with it. 1942 E. Paul Narrow St. xxiv. 213 Naturally, the Prime Minister was in with Stavisky, too. 1964 P. M. Hubbard Picture of Millie ii. 15 We..go along to the Carrack for a drink..occasionally, but we're not really in with the people staying there. |
b. Naut. Close in to, near (the land).
| 1708 Lond. Gaz. No. 4422/7 It proving close and dirty Weather,..we could not venture in with Land. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. xiii. 275 We kept plying on and off the whole night, intending to keep well in with the land. 1800 Sir M. Hunter Jrnl. (1894) 159 We sailed close in with the island. |
† c. At close quarters with; even with. rare—1.
| 1742 Richardson Pamela III. 335, I can't say, but you're in with me now... Ay, by my Soul, you have nabbed me cleverly. |
d. to come in with (see come 63 n); to fall in with (see fall v. 91).
10. See in and in, in and out. V. Combinations.
11. Participles and vbl. ns., nouns of action, and agent-nouns, from verbs qualified by in, are formed by prefixing in-, when used as adjs. or ns. The number of these is practically unlimited. See in- prefix1. a. With pres. pple., as in-abiding, that abides in; so in-curling, in-flying, etc. Also inburning, inbursting, incoming, etc., etc.
| 1889 J. Smith Fellowship i. (1891) 26 The inabiding and inworking Christ. 1894 G. Egerton Keynotes 66 Like the wave-note of the in-curling sea in the Mediterranean. 1894 Outing (U.S.) XXIV. 46/1 We lay..in the bottom of the boat and..waited for the in-flying game. |
b. With pa. pple., as in-burnt, that is burnt in; so in-built, in-moulded, in-set, etc. Also inblown, inbowed, ingrown, inpoured, etc.
| 17.. Christmas Ba'ing in Skinner Misc. Poet. (1809) 127 (Jam.) In came the insett Dominie Just riftin frae his dinner. 1848 A. H. tr. Richter's Levana i. ii. §7 An Indian slave, who wanders about with the inburnt stamps of his various masters. 1856 R. A. Vaughan Mystics (1860) I. 271 A man of true self-abandonment must be un-built from the creature, in-built with Christ. 1896 Westm. Gaz. 23 Apr. 8/1 Coffins..made of heavy plate-glass, the sides and top being strengthened by an in-moulded network of wire. |
c. With vbl. n., as in-abiding, an abiding in; so in-flashing, etc. Also inbeaming, inbringing, etc., etc.
| 1850 W. Anderson Regener. (1871) 205 That there be a continuance of that inflashing of the truth into the..soul. 1889 J. Smith Fellowship (1891) 126 You enjoy the in⁓abiding of the mind of God. |
d. With noun of action, as inburst, incast, income, inpour, etc., q.v.
e. With agent-noun, as inbringer, incomer, etc., q.v.
12. With ns. Usually opposed to out-. (Cf. in a., which differs from this only in being written detached.) a. That is, lives, lies, or remains in, or within (some understood place); internal: usually opposed to a person or thing which is out or external, as ˈin-brother, a resident brother of a fraternity or guild; ˈin-burgess, a burgess resident in the burgh; ˈin-case, a case of an in-patient; ˈin-company, a company employed at home or at headquarters; in-maintenance, maintenance for a person living in a workhouse or the like; ˈin-patient, a patient who remains in a hospital while under medical treatment, as distinguished from an out-patient who comes daily, or from time to time, to be attended to; now freq. used attrib.; ˈin-pensioner, a pensioner resident in a charitable institution.
| 1644 MS. Acc. St. John's Hosp, Canterb., Receiued..when he was admitted an *inbrother. |
| 1479 Burgh Rec. Aberdeen (Spalding Club) I. 37 Of all otheris, outeburges and *inburgessis and indwellaris havand chavmer or house, a penny. 1741 in Gross Gild Merch. (1890) II. 200 The Foreign Burgesses and the Inn-Burgesses..Those admitted by the Council or by the Mayor are called Inn-Burgesses by Copy of Court Roll. |
| 1892 Daily News 13 July 5/5 A ‘faction fight’ has contributed a further contingent of ‘*in⁓cases’ to the local hospitals. |
| 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §101 The out-company not to return home till the *in-company is carried out to relieve them. |
| 1860 in C. S. Davies Hist. Macclesfield (1961) v. 267 *In-Maintenance of paupers {pstlg}1027 s.5 d.9. 1885 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 475/2 Relief given in a workhouse is termed ‘in (or indoor) maintenance’ relief. 1905 Daily Chron. 1 Sept. 2/5 For every {pstlg}1 spent on out-relief in 1902–3 no less than {pstlg}7 12s. 4d. was expended on in-maintenance. |
| 1760 More in Phil. Trans. LI. 938 Thinking, that if he was admitted an *in-patient at the hospital, he should be more likely to obtain a cure. 1879 St. George's Hosp. Rep. IX. 693 Four of these were also inpatients of the hospital. |
| 1959 Times 13 Jan. 3/2 Inpatient therapy. 1965 Mod. Law Rev. XXVIII. v. 580 Persons who..are receiving in-patient treatment for mental disorder. |
| 1894 Daily News 12 Sept. 5/3 It would be very unfair to take the Hospital away from the *in-pensioners. |
b. That is in office or power, as ˈin-party (cf. quot. 1817 in in a.); in-side Cricket, the side which is batting.
| 1837 D. Walker Games & Sports 224 Batters, belonging to the In-side. a 1860 Whately Comm.-pl. Bk. (1864) 172 An out-party will generally have more zeal..among its members, than an in-party. 1882 Australians in Eng. 16 Matters are going wrong with the in-side. |
c. Inside a person; inside the body; internal; as ˈin-evidence, internal evidence; † ˈin-muscle, an internal muscle; ˈin-parts, internal parts of the body (cf. quot. 1599 in in a.). Also inmeat.
| c 1611 Chapman Iliad v. 76 The region About the bladder, underneath th' in-muscles and the bone. a 1629 T. Goffe Three Trag. (1656) 208 This hand shall rip her breast, And search her inparts, but I'll find it out. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. ii. viii. §4 The in-evidence which is so much spoken of as an ingredient of the nature of faith. |
d. Situated within limits, or nearer to the centre, or point of reference, as in-field, inland, in-parish, in-shore. e. In various other compounds, which see in their places.
13. Parasynthetic derivatives from ns. forming adjs., as in-backed, having the back bent inwards. So in-kneed, in-toed.
| 1833 New Monthly Mag. XXXVIII. 33 The in-back'd slave, Who, laid face upward, hews the black stone down. |
14. With verbs: see in- prefix1.
15. With adverbs and prepositions; as in-about, in-between. in on (cf. on adv. 13): participating in; being (one of a group) in possession of knowledge concerning (something).
| 1923 A. Christie Murder on Links viii. 101 You don't mean—that you're in on that? 1928 E. Wallace Gunner xxiii. 189 As you're in on this, Gunner, you'd better see what I've said. 1935 M. M. Atwater Murder in Midsummer xxv. 235 He'll want to be in on this. 1946 [see ground floor b]. 1953 W. Burroughs Junkie (1972) ix. 83 They are in on narcotics, and they are connected with Communism. Ibid. xii. 121 If any one makes a good score, she puts out a grapevine to find out who was in on the job. 1958 B. Nichols Sweet & Twenties 197, I was very much ‘in’ on the birth of this song. 1959 Listener 12 Feb. 283/1 It does not work for the American reader, who is not in on the secret. 1970 R. Lowell Notebk. 221 Anyway you should be in on it. Only In imagination can we lose the battle. 1973 ‘M. Innes’ Appleby's Answer xv. 128 Don't imagine I have the slightest wish to be in on your muckraking. |
▪ III. in, a.
[in adv. used attrib., or as positive of inner, inmost.]
1. That is in; that lies, remains, lives, is situated, or is used in or within; internal. (In most cases it is more usual to hyphen in to the n.: see in adv. 12.)
| 1599 Chapman Hum. days Myrth Plays 1873 I. 76 All their in parts then fit to serue pesants or make curdes for dawes. 1615 Chapman Odyss. v. 305 Up he rose, put on His in and out weed. 1681 W. Robertson Phraseol. Gen. (1693) 734 You made it out by in and home proofs. 1693 Answ. ‘Just Measures’ 5 What's this but to say we may have one sort of Power to Govern the out Part, and another to guide the in? 1817 Cobbett Pol. Reg. XXXII. 62 The out party proposed to pass a law [etc.]. The in party said that such a law was unnecessary. 1818 Ibid. XXXIII. 469 To suppose..that the out part of ‘the regiment’ would be disposed to call the in part of ‘the regiment’ to account. 1836 Southey Lett. (1856) IV. 464 Twenty-nine little volumes..with one duke's arms on the outside, and another..on the in. 1876 Mrs. Whitney Sights & Ins. xxiv. 238 The outside and the in of a thing. |
2. a. Fashionable, sophisticated; esoteric. Cf. in adv. 6 i, in-group, in-joke, in-reference.
| 1960 Spectator 14 Oct. 555 A personable young strip-peuse at Vegas (as we ‘in’ people call Las Vegas). 1961 Harper's Bazaar Apr. 138/2 The dahlings of the profession—beloved by ‘in’ audiences who adore a coterie joke. 1965 Melody Maker 13 Feb. 10 Record companies release more discs in the belief that folk is the new ‘in thing’. 1969 C. F. Burke God is Beautiful, Man (1970) 107 He's got all the in stuff on and a big stick pin. 1969 Daily Tel. 2 July 19/6 The audience—totally committed to the ‘pop’ ideal and fully conversant with its idiomatic ‘in’ vocabulary—reacted suitably. 1970 O. Norton Dead on Prediction ii. 41 It is the in place. You'd be surprised who you meet there. |
b. With hyphen and so passing into in- prefix1.
| 1961 Guardian 29 Apr. 12/7 You will quickly find in N.Y. that the in-thing to do is to pronounce..Broadway. 1965 Punch 17 Nov. 721/1 Gnomes, it judged, are now in-people—possibly even top people. 1968 Daily Tel. 15 Nov. 16/7 The pace-setters here are upper-class girls who treat swearing as a snobbish in-thing to do. 1969 J. Braidwood Ulster Dialect Lexicon 17, I am informed that it has become the in-word in all Northern Ireland Ministry of Agriculture pamphlets. 1969 New Scientist 9 Oct. 74/1 The words ‘computer’ and ‘education’ must be two of the most overworked in-words of the decade. 1969 Word Feb. 38/1 Change is a contemporary theme; change is one of those in-words at the moment. 1969 Time 11 Apr. 55 The magazine's critics still point to its smug, In-crowd perspective. 1970 Times Suppl. 9 May 26/4 The in-crowd calls it [sc. Casablanca] ‘Casa’, and I offer the information here for anyone who can use it to advantage. |
▪ IV. in, n.
[f. in adv.]
1. pl. a. In politics: The party which is in office (see in adv. 6 c), usu. in phrase (the) ins and outs.
| 1764 Chesterfield Lett. (1792) IV. ccclxxix. 201, I believe that there will be something patched up between the ins and the outs. 1774 H. Swinburne in Crts. Europe Last Cent. (1841) I. 16 What an epoch for ministers, both ins and outs! 1823 Byron Juan xiii. xxiv, Juan stood well both with Ins and Outs. 1884 Spurgeon in Pall Mall G. 19 June 11/1 Everything the Ins do the Outs denounce, and then the moment this denunciation has done its work, the Outs take the place of the Ins, and are abused in their turn, not because they are wrong, but because they are in. |
b. In games: The side whose turn it is to play (see in adv. 6 d).
| 1862 J. F. Campbell Pop. Tales W. Highlands IV. 37 note, The circle within which the ‘ins’ stand at the game of rounders. 1891 Daily News 4 Aug. 4/8 In an ocean-going steamship..a ball in the rigging or in the air funnels is the fortune of the ins. |
2. ins and outs. a. Windings or turnings in and out, devious or tortuous turns to and fro in a road, a course of action, etc.; sinuous ramifications.
| a 1670 Hacket Abp. Williams i. (1692) 152 Follow their Whimsies and their In and Outs at the Consulto, when the Prince was among them. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas vii. vi, Laura..required from me a faithful and true narrative of all my pros and cons, my ins and outs, since that..separation of ours. a 1845 Hood Laying down the Law ii, A celebrated judge, too prone to tarry To hesitate on devious ins and outs. 1862 Sala Seven Sons III. v. 83 The labour of following the ins and outs of the close-clustered carriages. 1878 R. H. Hutton Scott ii. 27 Keen appreciation of the ins and outs of legal method. 1889 Boldrewood Robbery under Arms xxii, He knew the ins and outs of the road better than any of us. |
b. Those who are constantly entering and leaving the workhouse. Cf. in-and-out class, etc. (s.v. in and out, in-and-out adv. 4).
| 1884 Daily News 10 Dec. (Ware), There are considerable numbers of paupers..who find the workhouse a convenient retreat on emergency... They are known familiarly as ‘the ins-and outs’. 1896 Rep. Poor Law Schools Comm. xi. 71 The fluctuating class of children whose parents frequently discharge themselves from the workhouse and in a few days seek readmission. These cases are known among Poor Law officials as ‘ins and outs’. 1905 Rep. Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci. 467 The ‘ins and outs’ of Great Britain have characteristics which may be described as nomadic. |
3. a. An introduction to someone of power, fame, or authority; influence with such a person. colloq. (orig. U.S.).
| 1929 E. D. Sullivan Look at Chicago (1930) ii. 21 His strong ‘in’ with police, built largely at the outset, with their organization's money. 1930 Amer. Mercury Dec. 454/1 An in, an introduction; to place in a position to bribe. ‘Get me an in with the skipper of that precinct.’ 1940 R. Chandler Farewell, my Lovely xxxvi. 276 It stands to reason that he had an in with the city government, but that don't mean they knew everything he did or that every cop on the force knew he had an in. 1947 J. Steinbeck Wayward Bus iv. 44 If her cousin was Clark Gable, why, that was an ‘in’ you couldn't beat. 1950 ‘J. Tey’ To love & be Wise xix. 248 A girl has a more difficult time getting an ‘in’ in a racket. 1958 N. F. Leopold Life plus 99 Yrs. iii. 58 He had some sort of special ‘in’ with Warden Westbrook of the jail and was allowed more privileges than the other reporters. 1961 J. Heller Catch-22 (1962) xxi. 210 The only colonel he trusted was Colonel Moodus, and even he had an in with his father-in-law. 1962 J. Wain Strike Father Dead v. 210 He had always been meaning to base himself in Paris for a while; all he had been waiting for was what he called ‘an in’. Well, now he had got the ideal in. 1966 J. B. Priestley Salt is Leaving xiii. 177, I have an in with a couple of the directors. 1973 E. McGirr Bardel's Murder i. 18 He wondered if she had an ‘in’ with some manufacturer. |
b. to be on the in: to have inside information. U.S. colloq.
| 1936 J. Steinbeck In Dubious Battle vi. 78 ‘You a big guy?’ ‘I'm on the in,’ said the boy. 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §480/4 On the in, smarted up, wise (to), wised (up). |
▪ V. in, v.
(ɪn)
Also 5–9 inn, 6–7 inne.
[The OE. innian, ᵹeinnian, appear to attach themselves in part directly to the adv. inn, in, partly to be more immediately associated with the derivative, inn n. In mod. use we distingish in v. from inn v. in accordance with their sense, but the formal distinction fails in the inflected forms inned, inning, and, in ME., even in the present forms inn-en, inn-est, inn-eth, inne; in some uses, also, it is possible that both notions were present. Cf. OHG. innôn, from the adv. inn.]
1. trans. To give or put in (obs.); to take in, include, inclose; esp. to take in, inclose or reclaim (waste or unprofitable land). Now dial.
| 11.. Codex Exon. 1 He hæfð ᵹeinnod þæt ær ᵹeutod wæs. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 367 Aluredus inned Londoun first and Colwulfus deel to his owne kyngdom. 1529 More Dyaloge iv. Wks. 278/1 The landes Inned by dyuers owners in the Isle of tenate. 1543–4 Act 35 Hen. VIII, c. 9 Wappinge Marshe..beyng longe tyme surrounded and over flowen w{supt} water was recovered and ynned by the saide Cornelys [Wanderdelf]. 1592 Bacon Observ. Libel in Resuscitatio (1661) 113 Wast, and unprofitable Ground Inned, Reclaimed, and Improved. 1640 Somner Antiq. Canterb. 290 Appledore mershes were inned in his time. 1852 Humber Conserv. Act 2038 Any part of the shores..shall be inned, gained, or reclaimed from the water. 1875 Parish Sussex Gloss. s.v., I inned that piece of land from the common. |
2. To gather (grain, hay, or other produce) into the barn, stackyard, etc.; to harvest or house.
| c 1407 Hoccleve Bal. & Chanceon to H. Somer 29 Haasteth our heruest as soone as yee may..Were our seed Inned wel we mighten pleye. 1496 Dives & Paup. (W. de W.) x. viii. 383/1 Thou shalt tylle and other shall in that thou tyllest. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. xxii. 55 Then he taryed tyll they had inned all their corne and vyntage. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 562 They make greater hast to cut it [Barley] downe, and to inne it. a 1605 Montgomerie Poems xlviii. 240 Notwithstanding all wes ind and bair. 1676 T. Clark in Hubbard Narrative (1865) II. 139 note, To fight the Enemie out of our Borders, that our English Corn may be inned in. 1743 Lond. & Country Brew. iv. (ed. 2) 253 When Barley is inn'd wet, it will heat or burn in the Mow. 1821 Blackw. Mag. VIII. 428 October either rots, or inns the stuff. 1847 Tait's Mag. XIV. 842 The brownie had inned the corn and threshed it. |
b. To harvest (a field). Now local.
| 1646 in Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 234 From the tyme of seedeing till the towne feild be inned. |
3. To get in, gather in, collect. (Partly transf. from 2.)
| 1615 E. S. Britain's Buss in Arb. Garner III. 647 The same [money] is clearly inned again, together with all other charges. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. x. iii. §13 The profits of two former years, which the knight inned at his own cost. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Fat, the last landed, inned or stowed of any sort of Merchandize. |
† 4. To take in mentally, comprehend. rare—1.
| 1603 Florio Montaigne ii. iv. (1632) 201 He hath assuredly understood and inned the very imagination, and the true conceit of the Author. |
† 5. intr. To go in, to enter; in 17th c. to make a beginning, to begin. Obs.
(The OE. instance is a late variant reading; it has app. no historical connexion with the 17th c. use.)
| K. ælfred Boeth. xxii. §1 (Bodley MS. a 1200), He [se læcecræft] bið swiðe biter on muðe..ac he werodað syððan he innað, & bið liðe on ðam innoðe [Cotton MS. a 1000, ac he weredað siððan he innan bið, & swiðe liðe on ðæm innoðe]. 1633 P. Fletcher Purple Isl. i. i, The warmer Sun the golden Bull outran And with the Twins made haste to inne and play. 1639 J. Clarke Paræmiol. 13 We inne diversely, but end alike. |
▪ VI. ‖ in, prep.
(ɪn)
I. The Latin preposition in, (with the ablative case) ‘in’, (with accusative) ‘into’, enters into a number of phrases, chiefly of legal, logical, philosophical, or ecclesiastical origin, now or formerly current in English, of which the chief are given below.
In early use, the in seems occasionally to have been taken as the English preposition, and is thus found printed in roman type, while the rest of the phrase is in italics.
1. in abˈsentia, in (his, her, or their) absence.
| 1886 Edin. Univ. Cal. 1885/6 141 Conferred in absentia. 1938 Times Lit. Suppl. 5 Feb. 88/3 The clergy in general are likewise condemned, though in absentia. 1955 Times 11 July 9/3 A Goa military court has sentenced in absentia Peter Alvarez, former president of the Goa National Congress. 1961 L. Mumford City in History xiii. 386 Residences of royal power in absentia, like Londonderry, Philippeville, and Christiansand. 1965 Listener 7 Oct. 544/2 The Occult Diary..goes on principally to describe his relationship, both actual and telepathically in absentia, with his third wife. 1972 D. Bloodworth Any Number can Play xi. 92 The renegade..has been condemned to death in absentia. |
2. in ˈactu, in practice (as opp. to theory or potentiality).
| [a 1680 S. Charnock Works (1684) II. 171 Some say..we are active in actu exercito, but not in actu signato. 1749 Chesterfield Let. 5 Dec. (1932) IV. 1453, I can only allow him in actu primo (to talk logic) and seldom in actu secundo.] 1902 W. James Var. Relig. Exper. xviii. 451 Whatever we may be in posse, the very best of us in actu falls very short of being absolutely divine. 1905 ― Ess. Radical Empiricism ix. 239 Radical empiricism, unable to close its eyes to the transitions caught in actu, accounts for the self-transcendency or the pointing..as a process that occurs within experience. 1907 ― Pragmatism vi. 222 Health in actu means, among other things, good sleeping and digesting. |
3. in ˈantis. Class. Archæol. [see anta], denoting a building in which the side walls are prolonged beyond the front and the pilasters terminating them are in line with the columns of the fa{cced}ade.
| 1848 W. Smith Dict. Greek & Roman Antiquities (ed. 2) 1105/2 There were never more than ten columns in the end portico of a temple; and when there were only two, they were always arranged in that peculiar form called in antis. 1875 Encycl. Brit. II. 388/2 Temples in Antis, with a portico of two or four columns in front. 1955 L. Woolley Alalakh ii. 71 It is tempting to restore this as a temple in antis, with two columns between the projecting walls (or between reveals from those walls) on the analogy of Niqme-pa's palace front. 1973 Country Life 20 Sept. 763/3 Its original first-floor portico, with Ionic columns in antis, survives. |
4. in ˈcapite, in chief (see chief n. 12), holding directly from the crown.
| [1275 in Rot. Hundred. (1812) d ij b, Jurati dicunt quod civitas London{ddd}tenetur in capite de domino Rege.] a 1558 W. Stanford Kinges Prerog. i. (1567) 6 a, It extendes to any landes..whether they be holden of the king in capite or not. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. vii. 129 Men shall hold of mee in Capite. 1767 Blackstone Comm. II. 60 All tenures being thus derived..from the king, those that held immediately under him..were called his tenants in capite, or in chief. |
5. in contuˈmaciam, applied to sentences given against persons in contempt.
| 1892 in Stanford Dict. Anglicised Words 460/2. 1918 Wireless World VI. 156 It was only because they were for the moment beyond reach of the Italian Courts that they were condemned in contumaciam. 1923 Westm. Gaz. 28 Dec., Several of these verdicts were passed in contumaciam. |
6. in ˈcorpore = in vivo.
| 1906 Rep. Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci. 1905 552 The nature of the substance contained in the serum was discussed. In vitro it has little power. In corpore,..the amount..necessary..is of no consequence. 1969 Nature 12 July 189/1 This is the first reported case of in corpore fertilization and development in the sea urchin, Arbacia punctulata. |
7. in ˈdistans, at a distance (see actio in distans).
| 1890 W. James Princ. Psychol. I. ii. 47 This blindness was probably due to inhibitions exerted in distans. 1909 ― Pluralistic Universe viii. 311 Remote professorial minds operating in distans upon conceptual substitutes for him [sc. God] alone. |
8. in exˈtenso, at full length.
| 1826 Congress Debates II. ii. 1767 It might not suit the views of the Government, to give, in extenso, the instructions given to our Ministers. 1855 Thackeray Newcomes II. xx. 196 The evening papers gave Rowland's address, in extenso. 1906 Rep. Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci. 1905 257 Star Streaming. By Professor J. C. Kapteyn. (Ordered by the General Committee to be printed in extenso.) 1965 Mod. Law Rev. XXVIII. v. 618 Nearly every section is quoted in extenso. |
9. in exˈtremis, in the last agonies, at the very point of death.
| a 1530 R. Pace Let. to Wolsey in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. I. 199 Mr. Dean off Paulis hath lyen continually synst Thursdaye in extremis and is not yitt dedde. 1646 Evelyn Diary (1850) I. 230 An Irish Friar..confessing him..and other ceremonies used in extremis. 1764 G. Williams in J. H. Jesse G. Selwyn & Contemp. (1843) I. 321 The Master of the Rolls..tumbled out of his chair last Sunday at church, and is, they say, in extremis. 1840 Barham Ingol. Leg., Lady Rohesia, His lady was in extremis. |
10. in ˈforma ˈpauperis, in the form or guise of a poor person (exempted from liability to pay the costs of an action: see pauper n.); hence, in a humble or abject manner.
| 1592 Greene Quip Upst. Courtier E j b, The poore man that..pleads in forma pauperis. 1605 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. Law Ded. to Ld. Chauncelor, He is compell'd, in forma pauperis, To Plead. 1641 Spiritual Courts in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) IV. 420 Many of them were in formâ pauperis. 1711 Steele in Spect. No. 78 ¶10 We have been oppressed so many Years, that we can appear no other way, but in forma pauperis. 1883 Wharton's Law Dict. (ed. 7) 409/1 A person admitted to sue in formâ pauperis is not entitled to costs from the opposite party, unless by order of the Court or a judge. |
11. in infiˈnitum, to infinity, without end (cf. ad infinitum).
| 1564 Grindal Fun. Serm. Emp. Ferdinand in Rem. (1843) 4 And so in infinitum, until all years and days be clean past and expired. 1674 Boyle Excell. Theol. ii. iii. 146 Each of these parts is divisible..into other corporeal parts, lesser and lesser, in infinitum. 1790 Reid Let. to J. Gregory Wks. (1846) 86/1 Diminish the time, in infinitum, and the effect of a centripetal force is diminished in infinitum. |
12. in ˈlimine, on the threshold, at the very outset.
| 1804 Edin. Rev. July 297 One objection, in limine, we feel ourselves called upon to make. 189. S. Leathes Testim. Earlier Proph. Writ. 7 The supposition of super⁓natural teaching, which is in limine rejected by the critics. |
13. in ˈloco, (a) in place of; esp. in loco paˈrentis, in the place or position of a parent.
| 1710 New Hampshire Prov. Papers (1869) III. 434 George Jaffrey was this day elected..a Representative in loco Mark Hunkin. [1785 Ld. Thurlow in W. Brown Chancery Cases (1820) I. 426 A provision..made directly, or as a portion by a parent or person loco parentis.] 1828 Congress Debates IV. i. 1335, I now stand to them, in loco parentis, in the place of a father. 1854 Thackeray Newcomes I. xvi. 157, I stood towards him in loco parentis; because he was as a child to me. |
(b) in a (or the) place; locally.
| 1671 Locke Essay Draft B (1931) §94 p. 200 If it be said that it [sc. the soul] cannot change place, because it has none, for spirits are not in loco but ubi, I desire that distinction may be put into English or any other language and made intelligible. 1908 Practitioner Jan. 22 Some toxin either generated in loco..or reaching the skin from some distant focus of disease. |
14. in ˈmedias ˈres, into the midst of affairs, into the middle of a narrative.
| 1786 H. More Bas Bleu 33 But be as epic as I please, And plunge at once in medias res. 1819 Byron Juan i. vi. 1883 Black Yolande I. xiii. 253 For good or ill, she determined to plunge in medias res. |
15. in meˈmoriam, to the memory of, in memory of. Common as the commencement of an epitaph or commemorative inscription. Hence, after the title of Tennyson's poem, used as n. = A memorial poem or writing.
| 1850 Tennyson (title) In Memoriam A.H.H. Obiit mdcccxxxiii. 1895 Daily News 19 Oct. 6/1 The in memoriam of a bereavement, a breviary of a sorrowing parent's love. |
16. in ˈnomine, in the name (of): applied to (a) a motet or antiphon in fugal style, probably so called because originally used of a composition set to a text in which these words occurred, e.g., the Introit ‘In nomine Jesu’, the Psalm ‘Deus, in nomine tuo’; (b) a free fugue in which the answer does not exactly correspond with the subject.
| 1636 C. Butler Princ. Musick 91 The In-nomine's of Parsons, Taverner, D. Ty, etc. 1876 Stainer & Barrett Dict. Mus. Terms s.v., The in nomines which exist are chiefly the production of composers of the 16th century. 1970 W. Apel Harvard Dict. Mus. (ed. 2) 412/2 Purcell's two ‘In nomine’ compositions represent a late attempt at revival of the form. |
17. in ˈnubibus, in the clouds; not yet settled or decided; also, incapable of being carried out.
| 1583 Babington Commandm. To Gentl. Glamorgan, Both the fee and freehold of the Church is in suspence, and in nubibus. 1624–5 J. Chamberlain in Crt. & Times Jas. I (1848) II. 506 The French match is still in nubibus, and few or none know yet what to judge of it. 1717–18 Eyre in Gilbert Cases in Law & Equity (1760) 266 It would Occasion great Delay, should the Plaintiff be put to take out a new Writ, whilst the Business is thus in Nubibus. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lxvi, ‘Bah’, said the other, ‘the concert is a concert in nubibus’. |
18. in ˈnuce, in a nutshell, in a condensed form.
| 1854 Geo. Eliot tr. Feuerbach's Essence Christianity ii. xxii. 214 The religious man is happy in his imagination; he has all things in nuce; his possessions are always portable. 1948 L. Spitzer Linguistics & Lit. Hist. iii. 100 A reduction in nuce of the general aesthetics of Racine. 1972 Times Lit. Suppl. 7 Apr. 382/1 A grand summation and cosmology in nuce. 1973 Times Lit. Suppl. 26 Oct. 1307/1 The idea of the modern family as social democracy in nuce. |
19. in ˈpartibus (infiˈdelium), in the regions of infidels; in countries inhabited by unbelievers. In R.C. Ch. describing a titular bishop in an infidel or a heretical country: see bishop 1 b.
| 1687 in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. IV. 314 The King having..recommended Father Phillip Ellis, Dr. Gifford, and Dr. Smith, to be Bishops in partibus. 1787 Beckford Italy (1834) II. xiv. 73 He is become Archbishop, in partibus. 1885 Catholic Dict. (ed. 3) 88/2 Bishops in partibus can attend general councils. |
20. in ˈpectore = in petto (see petto).
| 1858 N. Wiseman Recoll. Last Four Popes vii. 333 The Pope made this speech..in this form: ‘Moreover, we create a cardinal of the Holy Roman Church,..whom, however, we reserve in pectore.’ 1876 Encycl. Brit. V. 98/1 The change which Paul III. introduced consisted in confining the secret of the unpublished nominations [of cardinals] to his own breast, keeping it ‘in pectore’. 1963 Times 29 May 10/2 One suggestion about the current affairs discussed with Cardinal Cicognani is that the Pope is preparing to reveal the identities of the three Cardinals whom he created in pectore in 1960—a device by which the Pope may keep to himself the names of certain new appointments if he feels that the moment is inopportune to publish them. |
21. in perˈpetuum, in perpetuity, to all time, for ever.
| 1642 tr. Perkins' Prof. Bk. iii. §239 If Lands or Tenements bee devised by Will, unto a man and his Assignees, In perpetuum. 1807 Edin. Rev. July 362 We ought not to annex, in perpetuum, to the office of cabinet-minister, one or two hundred more of close boroughs. |
22. a. in pontifiˈcalibus, in pontificals, in the proper vestments of a pope, cardinal, archbishop, etc.
| 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. 607 The deane and the chanons of Paulys, with whom also in pontificalibus came the archebysshop of Caunterbury. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. III. 892/2 The cardinall..sat in pontificalibus vnder his cloth of estate. 1679 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) I. 29 At night were several bonefires, and particularly a very great one at Temple gate, where was a pope burnt in pontificalibus. 1788 H. Walpole Remin. iv. in Lett. 1857 I. p. cxii, He offered to proclaim the Pretender at Charing Cross in pontificalibus. |
b. Also in his, their, etc. pontificalibus: see pontificalibus.
23. in ˈpropria perˈsona, ‘in proper person’, in his (her, etc.) own person.
| 1654 Gayton Pleas. Notes iii. vii. 113 He Knight-Errant, if he steale in propria persona, is Uncalendred for ever. 1762 Smollett Sir L. Greaves xvi. (1793) II. 85 Believing he was the devil in propria persona. 1817 Byron Let. to Moore 28 Jan. in Moore Lett. etc. (1830) II. 72 Marianna S**, in propriâ personâ..without a single word seizes her said sister-in-law by the hair. 1828 Lytton Pelham III. xvii. 280 As they have never beheld me before, it would very little matter if I went in propriâ personâ. 1851 Geo. Eliot Let. 28 Jan. (1954) I. 344 When am I to have Mr. Bray's promised letter? or to see him in propria persona. 1958 Times 19 Aug. 11/2 Cosi fan tutte was performed in the great hall of the Residenz, where Leopold and Wolfgang Mozart themselves had often been in propriis personis. 1967 Listener 23 Mar. 408/3 In Figaro he [sc. Rossini] has created the ideal character from which he can speak in propria persona. |
24. in re, (a) in reality; (b) Logic, = extra dictionem (opp. in voce); (c) Metaph., (of universals) dependent for their existence on the existence of the particulars that instantiate them, as Aristotle held; having real or objective, not merely mental, existence, but not separately from particulars (cf. ante rem); also in ˈrebus; (probably taken by modern writers from Duns Scotus (c 1264–1308)); (d) in the matter of, referring to, = re n.2
| (a) 1602 W. Watson Decacordon 145 Wherein the Iesuits..had any speciall commoditie or gaine in re or in spe thereby. a 1680 S. Charnock Works (1684) II. 853 Their Sacraments and ours were the same in re, though diverse in signs. |
| (b) 1847 [see in dictione]. 1906 [see extra dictionem]. |
| (c) 1879 W. James Coll. Ess. & Rev. (1920) 112 If they begin with a clear nominalistic note, they are sure to end with a grating rattle which sounds very like universalia in re, if not ante rem. 1904 [see ante rem]. 1907 W. James Pragmatism vi. 221 Like wealth, health also lives in rebus. 1927 [see ante rem]. 1952 R. I. Aaron Theory of Universals ii. 26 Locke here denies the In Re theory... The white itself is not in re but ‘in the mind’. 1953 H. H. Price Thinking & Experience i. 10 The traditional Aristotelian doctrine of universalia in rebus. Ibid. ii. 56 There are universals, existing and subsisting in rebus. |
| (d) 1877 Times 18 Jan. 11/4 Court of Bankruptcy... In re B. and L. Harris. This was an adjourned sitting for public examination. The bankrupts, Messrs. Benjamin and Lawrence Harris, were merchants. 1886 Athenæum 20 Nov. 671/2 The alleged ‘misrepresentation’ in re Squeers v. Bentley. 1896 E. Terry Let. 7 Dec. in Ellen Terry & Bernard Shaw (1931) 136 What do you mean by saying (in re The Philanderer) it is dull and bestial? 1955 Times 29 June 3/7 In re Hillier ([1954] 1 W.L.R. 700), but it did not occur to counsel in that case. 1972 Times 22 Feb. 14/5 In In re Scarisbrick ([1951] Ch 622) the Court of Appeal held that the distinction between a public or charitable trust and a private trust depended on [etc.]. |
25. in se Philos., in itself. So inseity (ɪnˈsiːɪtɪ), in-itselfness.
| 1868 W. James Let. 5 Apr. in R. B. Perry Tht. & Char. W. James (1935) I. xv. 269 To the Greeks a thing was evil only transiently and accidentally... Bystanders could remain careless and untouched—no after-brooding, no disinterested hatred of it in se, and questioning of its right to darken the world. 1879 ― Coll. Ess. & Rev. (1920) 94 Substance in se cannot be directly imaged by feeling. 1909 ― Meaning of Truth vii. 167 Useful to test truth by, the matrix of circumstance, he thinks, cannot found the truth-relation in se. |
| 1899 A. E. Garvie Ritschlian Theol. ii. 48 The thing which we represent for ourselves is an existence in itself (inseity). 1940 Mind XLIX. 177 The otherness of ‘self’ and ‘other’ need in no wise conceal the inseity of the ‘other’ from the ‘self’. |
26. in ˈsitu, in its (original) place; in position. Also attrib.
| 1740 W. Stukeley Stonehenge iv. 21 Eleven of them are standing in situ. 1817 Edin. Rev. Mar. 180 Granite and clay slate are those [rocks] alone which appear in situ. 1845 J. C. Atkinson in Proc. Berw. Nat. Club II. No. 13. 134 We shall find it in situ close by. 1894 Nation (N.Y.) 31 May 405/1 What actually remains in situ is the walls of the foundations. 1912 Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. LI. 490 In situ forests occur frequently in shale beds. 1940 Archit. Rev. LXXXVII. 102/2 The foundations to receive the superstructure are formed of concrete in-situ posts. 1968 Daily Tel. 4 Nov. 9/6 Constructed entirely in in-situ concrete..it resembles a fortified gateway to the main hospital buildings. 1971 Nature 24 Dec. 432/1 The Department of the Environment, which has responsibility for in situ historical monuments in England. |
27. in ˈstatu naˈscendi, in the process of creation, formation, or construction.
| 1890 W. James Princ. Psychol. II. xvii. 11 Black can only be felt in contrast to white..and in like manner a smell, a taste, a touch, only, so to speak, in statu nascendi, whilst, when the stimulus continues, all sensation disappears. 1927 B. Malinowski Sex & Repression in Savage Society iv. i. 180 And let us clearly and explicitly recognize that we can never observe it [sc. culture] in statu nascendi. 1948 Sci. News VII. 112 The ENIAC has been in use for some time, the other machines are still in statu nascendi. |
28. in ˈstatu pupiˈllari, as a pupil or ward; under scholastic discipline; at the universities, designating all who have not the degree of Master.
| 1855 Newsp. & Gen. Reader's Compan. §571 A young Englishman..while still in statu pupillari. 1860 Once a Week 21 July 95/2, I fully admit that in later years we are all of us apt to grow sentimental about the traditions of our respective schools—I merely deny that we do so whilst we remain in statu pupillari. 1862 Thackeray Philip III. x. 214 Other young women who are kept by over-watchful mothers too much in statu pupillari. 1882 Standard 25 Dec. 5 (Stanford), Academic and urban magnates, fellows, and tutors have predominated over guests who are in statu pupillari. 1903 ‘Sigma’ Personalia 172 One of those dusky potentates in statu pupillari, who were nearly always represented at the Master's dinners. 1930 Sunday Times 12 Oct. 26/2 The possession of a motor-car makes it easy for a person in statu pupillari to spend a large part of his existence elsewhere than in the University. 1965 Rep. Comm. Disciplinary Powers Vice-Chancellor & Proctors (Univ. Oxf.) 8 Difficulties might arise if graduates in statu pupillari who, very often, do the same sorts of things as undergraduates, such as running university clubs, are not bound by the same regulations as their undergraduate colleagues. |
29. in ˈstatu ˈquo (ante, prius, or nunc), in the same state (as formerly or now).
| 1602 W. Watson Decacordon 174 The seculars are but in statu quo prius, and cannot be in a worse then they are in at this present. c 1645 Howell Lett. (1650) II. xlvii. 60 In statu quo nunc I am grown useless and good for nothing. 1687 New Eng. Hist. & Gen. Reg. (1850) IV. 222 Matters will never be againe in Statu quo here. 1688 T. Tramall in Hatton Corr. (Camden) II. 98 Things were put in statu quo, only Mr. Charnock was left out. 1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to Lady [Rich] 17 June, However, my face is still in statu quo. 1817 Byron Let. to Murray 2 Apr. in Moore Life (1830) II. 94 Of course I had the box remitted in statu quo. |
30. in teˈrrorem, as a warning, in order to terrify or deter others.
| 1612 J. Chamberlain in Crt. & Times Jas. I (1848) I. 213 Most men believe..that only it was done in terrorem. 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. To Dr. Lewis, 2 June, This [the pillory] is so far from being accounted a punishment in terrorem, that it will probably make his fortune. 1845 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 18 Exhibited in terrorem to the assembly. 1960 Times 12 Apr. 13/7 They operate mainly in terrorem; the potential tax avoider will not incur the cost and complication of a transaction unless he can be reasonably sure of its result. 1970 Internat. & Compar. Law Q. XIX. ii. 214 Perhaps no more would be necessary than a criminal sanction against rent usury operating in terrorem, as exists in German law. 1971 Daily Tel. 1 July 4/6 This idea that the Treaty of Rome, like diamonds, is forever, is held in terrorem over people. |
| attrib. 1799 Washington Lett. Writ. 1893 XIV. 153 If the augmented force was not intended as an in terrorem measure the delay in Recruiting it is unaccountable. |
31. in ˈtoto, as a whole, absolutely, completely, without exception.
| [a 1639 Wotton Surv. Educ. in Reliq. (1654) 293 Always I except Prodigious Forms, and meer natural Impotencies, which are unmanageable In toto Genere.] 1798 Washington Lett. Writ. 1893 XIV. 135 It was impossible to comply with them, and difficult to discriminate, for which reasons it was deemed best to reject them in toto. 1811 G. Constable Let. 31 Dec. in J. Constable Corr. (1962) I. 73 If my opinion was requested it would not be to give up your female acquaintance in toto. 1858 Greener Gunnery 357 Many writers condemn in toto the Minié principle and its cup. 1893 Stevenson Catriona 32, I decline in toto to hear more of it. 1954 M. Beresford Lost Villages vi. 186 In fact we cannot be all that certain that it was all that much less in toto. 1955 Times 4 May 22/6 These amounts, in toto, fall short of our requirements if the business is to continue to expand as it is doing. 1965 Mod. Law Rev. XXVIII. 595 Lord Cameron's reasoning is applicable in toto to the situation in The Acrux. |
32. in ˈtransitu, in passing, on the way.
| 1620 Reliq. Wotton. (1654) 334, I had, in transitu, conferred with him your Christian ends. 1665 South Serm. at Court 23 They only please and affect the mind in Transitu. 1787 Grose in Durnford & East Rep. (1794) II. 76 The consignor may seize the goods in transitu, if the consignee become insolvent before the delivery of them. 1882 Ld. Selborne in Law Rep. 7 App. Cas. 576 But for the indorsement..the right of stoppage in transitu would have been well exercised. |
33. in ˈutero, in the uterus or womb, unborn.
| 1713 W. Cheselden Anat. Humane Body iv. iii. 170 It seems highly necessary, that the Ducts thro' which the Body receives Nourishment after the Birth, shou'd be kept open by a Fluid passing that way whilst it is in Utero. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Generation, For that Dr. Harvey could never discover any thing of it in utero. 1795 W. Turnbull in Mem. Med. Soc. London IV. 364 (title) A case where small-pox was communicated from the mother to the child in utero. 1871 A. Meadows Manual of Midwifery (ed. 2) iii. ii. 156 The placenta, which..still remains for awhile in utero. 1901 [see stomatitic a.]. 1964 M. Critchley Developmental Dyslexia xiii. 75 Any theory of minimal brain damage—whether or not sustained in utero—is also unconvincing. 1966 Lancet 24 Dec. 1403/2 Stiehm et al. conclude that raised levels of γM or γA globulins at birth are presumptive of in-utero infection. |
34. in ˈvacuo, in a vacuum or empty space.
| 1660 Evelyn Diary (1872) I. 364 Various experiments in vacuo. 1716 Cheyne Philos. Princ. Relig. i. 114 Supposing a body moving in vacuo. 1812 Sir H. Davy Chem. Philos. 138 A wire of platina may be preserved in a state of intense ignition in vacuo. 1937 [see electronic a. 1]. 1942 Tee Emm (Air Ministry) II. 140 It is more correct to regard a running fix as a means of approximating the position ‘in vacuo’ so to speak, when more precise methods are unobtainable. 1955 Times 25 May 15/3 Whatever meaning people might ascribe to the word ‘tramp’ in vacuo. |
35. in ˈvino ˈveritas, truth comes out under the influence of alcohol; a drunken person tells the truth.
| 1594 Lyly Mother Bombie in Wks. (1902) III. iii. iii. 199, I perceiue sober men tel most lies, for in vino veritas. 1616 T. Adams Divine Herball 27 And though the Prouerbe be, In vino veritas; yet as drunke as he is, you shall neuer haue truth break out of his lips. 1831 Disraeli Yng. Duke III. iv. vi. 50 There was Cogit, who, when he was drunk, swore that he had had a father; but this was deemed the only exception to in vino veritas. 1927 D. H. Lawrence Mornings in Mexico 174 They say: in vino veritas. Bah! They say so much! 1936 N. Marsh Death in Ecstasy xii. 145 We had a clear case of in vino veritas. a 1953 E. O'Neill Long Day's Journey (1956) iv. 145 Got to tell you now. Something I ought to have told you long ago... Not drunken bull, but ‘in vino veritas’ stuff. |
36. in vitro (ˈviːtrəʊ). Biol. [lit. ‘in glass’.] In a test tube, culture dish, etc.; hence, outside a living body, under artificial conditions; also attrib., performed, obtained, or occurring in vitro.
| 1894 Gould Dict. Med. 623/2 In vitro, in the glass; applied to phenomena that are observed in experiments carried out in the laboratory with microörganisms, digestive ferments, and other agents, but that may not necessarily occur within the living body. 1901 Jrnl. Exper. Med. V. 355 Serum obtained by immunising with one race did not necessarily give more than a trace of reaction in vitro and none whatever in vivo when tested with another race. 1912 Broquet & Scott tr. Burnet's Microbes & Toxins x. 193 The neutralisation in an ordinary test-tube of a toxin by an antitoxin was one of the first and most brilliant ‘in vitro’ experiments in immunity. 1925 C. H. Browning Immunochem. Stud. 14 These alcoholic extracts possess the property of reacting with heterophile antibody in vitro. 1955 Sci. Amer. June 88/3 Streptomycin has little or no activity against fungi in vitro, but it..controls blue mold of tobacco..and rot of sugar beets—all fungus diseases. 1962 Lancet 5 May 936/2 The in-vitro results show that fucidin is very active..in sterilising cultures of staphylococcus at higher concentrations. 1974 Nature 22 Nov. 302/1 Onset of rapid haemoglobin formation in the blood islands of the developing chick blastodisc, both in ovo and in vitro, commences at the stage of the 6- to 7-somite embryo. |
37. in vivo (ˈviːvəʊ). Biol. Within the living organism; also attrib., performed, obtained, or occurring in vivo.
| 1901 [see in vitro]. 1947 Sci. News V. 78 Some chemical interchange between the plant and the bacteria must take place in vivo and be largely responsible for nitrogen fixation. 1962 Van Heyningen & Waley in A. Pirie Lens Metabolism Rel. Cataract 336 Proteolytic enzymes are often characterized by their action on substrates which are not known to be the natural substrates of the enzyme in vivo. 1973 Nature 16 Feb. 457/2 The in vivo experiments were also carried out using mice bearing a 14 day old tumour. |
38. In many other phrases: e.g. in abˈstracto, in the abstract (a. 5); in arˈticulo mortis, in the article of death (cf. article 2 b); at the point, or in the instant of death; in ˈbanco, on the bench (see banco); in ˈcamera, in (a judge's) private room, not in open court (see camera 1 b); in ˈcathedra, in the chair of office, in the seat of authority: see cathedra 2; in coˈmmendam: see commendam 1; in conˈcreto, in the concrete (a. 5); in deˈliciis, in favour, in affection; in deˈposito, in deposit (see deposit n. 2 and depositum); in ˈdubio, in doubt, in uncertainty; in duoˈdecimo, in ˈembryo, in equiˈlibrio, in ˈesse: see the ns.; in exˈcelsis, in the highest (heavens), in the highest degree; in ˈfieri: see fieri; in flaˈgrante deˈlicto, in the very act of committing an offence (cf. delict b); also (colloq.) in flagrante; in ˈfolio: see folio 5; in ˈforo consciˈentiæ, in the court of conscience (cf. forum 2 b); in ˈfumo, in smoke (in Alchemy); in ˈgenere, in the genus, in general; in ˈmedio, in the middle, in an unsettled state; in ˈpari maˈteria, in a like case or position; in ˈplano, on a plane surface; in ˈposse, in potentiality, in the condition of being possible: see posse; in poˈtentia, in potentiality; in ˈprimis: see imprimis; in prinˈcipio, in the beginning: the first words of Genesis and St. John's Gospel in the Vulgate; in ˈpuris natuˈralibus, in ‘pure naturals’ (cf. natural n.); in a purely natural condition, hence ‘stark naked’; in ˈrerum naˈtura, in nature, in the physical world; in ˈsæcula sæcuˈlorum, to the ages of ages, to all eternity, for ever and ever; in ˈspecie, in specific form, in the precise or identical form: see specie; in ˈtenebris, in darkness, in a state of ignorance or doubt; in ˈterminis, in express terms, expressly.
| 1602 W. Watson Decacordon ix. 310 Which if he can bring to passe..then shall the French be so fleeced *in abstracto..to be distracted out of their wits. 1630 [see in concreto below]. 1884 W. James Ess. Radical Empiricism (1912) xii. 269 Let us fall back from all concrete attempts and see what we can do with his notion of through-and-throughness, avowedly taken in abstracto. 1920 D. H. Lawrence Lost Girl vii. 127 She existed in abstracto as far as he was concerned. 1928 O. Jespersen Internat. Lang. i. 22 Those who have spoken in favour of the idea in abstracto. 1933 Times Lit. Suppl. 13 Apr. 256/2 Towards the religious life of India Dr. Söderblom is kinder than many critics, but he, of course, is dealing with it in abstracto and not in its cruder manifestations. 1951 Parsons & Shils Toward Gen. Theory Action i. 99 The actor in abstracto is simply a set of properties by which he can be classified; in action he is involved in a system of relationships. 1967 Word XXIII. 385 We remember that the verb expresses nothing but the verbal idea in abstracto without containing any actualizing elements such as tense, mode, or voice. |
| 1596 Estate Eng. Fugitives 75 (Stanf.) Visitation of sicke men *in articulo mortis. 1617 J. Chamberlain in T. Birch Cour & Times James I (1848) II. 1 The late lord chancellor left this world, being visited in articulo mortis, or not full half an hour before. 1825 Scott Talism. in Tales Crusaders IV. xv. 344 Nor did I mention it, save in articulo mortis,..to yonder reverend hermit. 1929 Encycl. Brit. VI. 231/1 Those under discipline were allowed to receive the eucharist when in articulo mortis. |
| 1868 J. T. Benjamin Sales (1884) 409 The only case decided *in banco, that has been found on this point. |
| 1872 E. Browning Exposition Laws Marriage & Divorce 5 The Judge may, and usually does sit *in camerâ to hear suits for nullity of marriage, where the matters to be disclosed are unfit for the public ear. 1882 Standard 26 Dec. 5/7 The case is one that in England would be heard in camera. 1955 Times 25 June 11/7 All documents filed in the Court be confidential and kept secret, and that every application for an adoption order should be heard and determined in camera. Ibid. 14 July 5/1 A naval court martial held in camera to-day in H.M.S. Victory at Portsmouth. 1966 P. Moloney Plea for Mersey 34 Fearing that the evidence might be a bit lurid the judge ordered ‘Clear the court! The evidence will be heard in camera.’ The accused immediately asked ‘What the Hell's {oqq}in camera{cqq}..?’ 1970 Guardian 8 Aug. 9/2 The expurgated version of the in-camera sessions. |
| 1602 W. Watson Decacordon ix. 310 Though by the law Salique the Lady Infanta may be..put from her..lawfull claime to the whole kingdome of France, *in concreto. 1630 T. Adams Workes 633 And the Popes haue so wrought it and brought it about now, that they will not onely in abstracto bee had in reuerence; but in concreto be feared with obseruation. 1798 A. F. M. Willich Elem. Critical Philos. 39 A bare idea of a possible science, which is no where given in concreto. 1885 W. James in Mind X. 41, I may satisfy him that the words mean for me just what they mean for him, by showing him in concreto the very animals and their arrangements, of which the pages treat. 1902 ― Var. Relig. Exper. ii. 31 Not a deity in concreto, not a superhuman person, but the immanent divinity in things..is the object of the transcendentalist cult. 1936 C. S. Lewis Allegory of Love vi. 289 The symbol..fits all, and gives in concreto a characteristic of our life. |
| 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. ii. ii. iv. (1676) 172/2 Their cats which they have *in deliciis. |
| 1615 J. Chamberlain in Crt. & Times Jas. I (1848) I. 362 The place of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports hath..remained in the lord chamberlain's hands as *in deposito. |
| 1602 W. Watson Decacordon i. 21 Though to vs vnknowne to be of the same church triumphant *in excelsis. 1882 Athenæum 23 Dec. 854 It is an uncritical guide-book in excelsis. 1927 Melody Maker Sept. 923/3 By all means strive to become a Frankie Trumbauer, or a Jimmy Dorsey, for that is musicianship and style in excelsis. 1965 New Statesman 30 Apr. 690/1 Tchaikovsky is the Victorian Artist in excelsis, grand, noble, compassionate. |
| 1612 T. Shelton tr. Cervantes's Hist. Don Quixote iii. viii. 190 All was done *in Flagrante, there was no leisure to giue me torment, the cause was concluded. 1772 ‘Junius’ Lett. II. lxviii. 314 A person positively charged with feloniously stealing, and taken in flagrante delicto, with the stolen goods upon him, is not bailable. 1876 tr. P.J. van Beneden's Animal Parasites 2 The sharper passes for an honest man as long as he has not been taken in flagrante delicto. a 1930 D. H. Lawrence Phoenix (1936) 17 But at last she caught him in flagrante. 1942 E. Paul Narrow St. ii. 16 He saw, not his cringing wife and the imaginary lover he had always sworn to catch in flagrante delicto, but his swarthy waiter and a strange girl. 1972 D. Bloodworth Any Number can Play i. 2 A shocked Font-le-Baume caught them in flagrante. |
| 1749 Fielding Tom Jones iv. xi, As his Intention was truly upright, he ought to be excused *in Foro Conscientiæ. |
| 1605 B. Jonson Volpone ii. i. Wks. (Rtldg.) 183/2 When these practitioners come to the last decoction, blow, blow, puff, puff, and all flies *in fumo. |
| 1474 Caxton Chesse iv. i. heading, Of the chesse borde *in genere how it is made. |
| 1609 Holland Amm. Marcell. Annot. xiv. a iv, I leave it *in medio. 1884 Law Times LXXVIII. 131/1 To keep the property in medio until the rights of the parties were ascertained. |
| 1867 Wharton Law Lexicon (ed. 4) 485/2 *In pari materiâ, dealing with the same subject-matter. 1932 Times Lit. Suppl. 16 June 436/3 The comparison..on page 106 is not quite in pari materia: the three and a half million Churchfolk are adults, the thirty-five the whole population. 1955 J. L. Austin How to do Things with Words (1962) ix. 112 Even the minimum physical action..is, being a bodily movement, in pari materia with at least many of its immediate and natural consequences. |
| 1662 Evelyn Chalcogr. (1769) 98 Solid bodies may seem swelling, and to be embossed *in plano by art. |
| 1610 B. Jonson Alch. ii. iii, The egg..is a chicken *in potentia. |
| c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 254 So plesaunt was his *In principio. c 1570 Pride & Lowl. (1841) 23 Sure thou were not in principio. |
| 1602 W. Watson Decacordon vii. 204 As inclined to seeke for good to eschewe euill, and wishing after summum bonum, if *in puris naturalibus they could haue obtained it. 1633 Sanderson Serm. II. 34 Compare thy self and him..in puris naturalibus, and thou shalt find no difference. 1859 Harper's Mag. June 46/2 The natives..may be found not only in their primitive state, but even in puris naturalibus. 1930 D. H. Lawrence Nettles 18, I thought it was a commonplace That a man or a woman in a state of grace In puris naturalibus, don't you see, Had normal pudenda, like you and me. |
| 1584 R. Scot Disc. Witch. xiii. v. 292 Such as except we had seene..we would not beleeve to be *In rerum natura. 1686 J. Dunton Lett. fr. New-Eng. (1867) 21 Stuff'd with Wonders of my own Invention, and such as never were in rerum natura. |
| 1593 Peele Edw. I Wks. (Rtldg.) 382/2 To follow my fortune *in secula seculorum. 1716 Pope Let. 9 July (1956) I. 347 We begin to wish you had the singing of our Poets..to yourselves, in Sæcula Sæculorum. 1841 Thackeray Misc. Ess. (1885) 219 So Pride and Hatred continue in sæcula sæculorum. 1890 [see atom-like]. 1940 Penguin New Writing I. 10, I thought of the British Raj as an unbreakable tyranny, as something clamped down, in saecula saeculorum, upon the will of prostrate peoples. |
| 1668 Dryden Even. Love iv. ii, But, how she lost it, and how it came upon your finger, I am yet *in tenebris. |
| 1646 Hammond Wks. (1674) I. 254 'Tis said of Christ in Scripture *in terminis that he was the day-spring to give light to them which sit in darkness. 1808 Scott Life Dryden in Dryden's Wks. I. 98 A contradiction in terminis. |
II. The Italian prep. = Latin in, as in the phrases in fresco, in petto, for which see the ns.
Senses 22–24 in Dict. become 23–25; senses 25–38 in Dict. become 27–40. Add: 22. in perˈsonam Law, of judicial actions, claims, or rights: against or with reference to a specific person (or group of persons) only; so as to impose personal liability. Cf. *in rem below. (See also note s.v. personal a. 6.)
| 1771 F. Vesey Cases Argued & Determined I. 455, I could inforce it by process of contempt in personam and sequestration. 1810 Rep. Cases District Court S. Carolina (Bee's Rep.) 186 It is contended that the court can proceed in rem, or in personam, but that an attachment against property is a different proceeding, and cannot issue from hence. 1880 J. Muirhead tr. Inst. Gaius iv. §102. 318 In certain cases..the defender in an action in personam must give security even when conducting his own defence. 1927 N.Y. Suppl. CCXIX. 335 On the part of the defendant, it is urged, first, that no money judgment against him is valid, in personam, because no personal service was ever effected. 1960 Times 5 Mar. 10/2 The right under Greek law was not a proprietary right at all but only a right in personam. 1986 Law Soc. Gaz. (Business & Finance) 11 June 1804/3 While not doubting the court's jurisdiction to make in personam orders in any case the court thought right, the decision in the end must always be one of discretion. |
26. in ˈrem Law, of judicial actions, claims, or rights: against or with reference to an object or property and not availing against a specific person; so as to impose a general liability, esp. to respect ownership. See *in personam above.
| 1761 G. Gilbert Hist. & Pract. Civil Actions iii. 37 An Executor or Administrator shall not be held to Special Bail, because the Demand is not on the Person, but in Rem, (viz.) the Assets of the Dead, unless there be a Devastavit suggested. 1810 [see in personam (sense *22 above]. 1930 Law Rep. King's Bench I. 736 Their right in rem, their title of property, had been transformed into a right in personam,—a right to get the property back by proper proceedings against those in whom the property should be vested. 1962 Publishers' Weekly 24 Dec. 25/2 A bookseller's right in a censorship case to an in rem verdict regarding the obscenity of a book was reaffirmed..by..the New York Supreme Court. 1987 Emory Law Jrnl. XXXVI. 771 The stockbroker regularly flies to South America to pick up cocaine. The government discovers the broker's illicit activities, seizes the plane and initiates civil in rem forfeiture proceedings against it. |
[40.] in ˈovo, (Biol.) within the egg, in embryo; also fig., at an early or embryonic stage of development; cf. in vitro, sense 38 above.
| 1841 Webster, *In ovo. 1863 Trans. Obstetr. Soc. IV. 89 The preservation of the distinctive characters of the Cochin and Dorking egg in this ovum in ovo suggests an interesting speculation concerning the transmissibility of parental peculiarities. 1959 R. Lowell Life Stud. ii. 29 At nine character is, perhaps, too much in ovo for a child to be strongly disliked. 1976 Lancet 20 Nov. 1133/1 We conclude that the prohormone found after the translation of R.N.A. in ovo contains at least one sequence equal to or comparable with calcitonin. 1989 Jrnl. Developmental Physiol. XI. 342/1 The increased sensitivity to adenosine seen in ovo may be independent from the development of sympathetic or parasympathetic innervation. |
in parvo, in miniature, in microcosm (cf. multum in parvo Lat. phr.).
| 1926 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 4 July 4/1 There is a sermon *in parvo of the duty of life-work first, and the fee second. 1976 H. Wilson Governance of Britain iii. 65 It is for him to ensure that a Cabinet committee is the Cabinet in parvo, a microcosm of the Cabinet itself. |
▪ VII. in
obs. f. inn; var. hin pron. Obs., him.