well(-)seen, ppl. a.
† 1. Well provided or furnished. Const. of. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 1011 O selenes es it [Paradise] wel sene. c 1450 [see seen 1 c]. |
2. Skilled, versed, proficient in (some subject or affair). Now arch.
| 1528 [see seen 2]. c 1545 J. Heywood Four P. (W. Copland) B j, Syr, ye seme wel sene in womens causes. 1562 Turner Herbal ii. 80 Matthiolus a man otherwyse well sene in symples. 1639 Fuller Holy War ii. xiv. 63 He was..excellently well seen in all martiall affairs. a 1676 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. 13 A man well seen in Natural Causes and Effects. 1681 W. Robertson Phraseol. Gen. 1107 Well-seen in a business, callentissimus. 1759, 1886 [see seen 2]. |
† 3. Plainly visible, evident. Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 66 Now be we caytyues, as it is wel seene. 1535 Coverdale Ps. lxvii[i]. 24 It is well sene (o God) how thou goest. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia iii. (1922) 20 Her perfections then should have beene as well seene as Pamelas. 1725 Ramsay Gent. Sheph. i. i, Daftly wad ye hide Your well-seen love and dorty Jenny's pride. |