▪ I. † bought, n.1 Obs.
Forms: α. 5 bouȝt, bowght, 6 boughte, bught(e, 4–7 bought; β. 6 bowt(e, 6–7 bout.
[A comparatively late word (certain only from 15th c.); parallel in its senses to bight, ME. byᵹt, OE. byht; and corresp. in form and sense to MLG. bucht (whence modG. bucht, Du. bocht, Da. and Sw. bugt). The Eng. word may also have been from LG.; but more probably it arose out of an assimilation of byght to bow v., or was itself formed from bow on the pattern of byght, etc. (cf. Bucht in Grimm). When the guttural became weak or mute, bought began apparently to be associated with the adv. 'bout, about (see 2 b, quot. 1435), and in 16–17th c. was commonly spelt bout, whence, with special development of sense, the current bout, n.2 q.v.]
† 1. a. A bend or curve; esp. a hollow angle or bend in the animal body. Cf. bight 1. Obs.
| α 1519 W. Horman Vulg. 25 b, There is a scabbe in the bought of myne arme [in ancone]. 1530 Palsgr. 200/2 Bought of the arme, le ply du bras. 1551 Recorde Pathw. Knowl. i. vii, To make a plumbe lyne..on the vtter or inner bughte [of a circle]. 1610 Markham Masterp. ii. lxv. 327 Ouerthwart the very bought or inward bent of the knee. 1658 Franck North. Mem. (1821) 159 On the bought of her near buttock was branded a remarkable patch. |
| β 1609 C. Butler Fem. Mon. (1634) 40 If there be any crook or bout in the Belt. 1634 T. Johnson Parey's Chirurg. xvi. xxxiii. (1678) 364 If the elbow be dislocated..some put some round thing into the bout of the elbow. |
† b. A bending in a coast-line, mountain-chain, etc. Cf. bight 3. Obs.
| α 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxxiii. 222 They..met the baillol and his companye at an hongyng bought of the more. |
| β 1587 Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1331/2 To enter in at the great chanell of Middleborough by the bout of the foreland. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. i. 643 In the very boute well neere of the shore. 1675 Pennsylv. Archives I. 34 Over ag{supt} the Boute aboue Verdrick-teige-hooke. |
† 2. a. The bend or loop of a rope, string, or chain; the part between the ends or points of attachment (cf. bight 2); the fold of a cloth, etc.; a turn or involution; also fig., and in comb. as bought-wise.
| α c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture in Babees Bk. (1868) 129 Draw streight þy clothe, & ley þe bouȝt on þe vttur egge of þe table. 1570 Levins Manip. 217 A Bought, plica. 1611 Bible 1 Sam. xxv. 29 marg., In the midst of the bought of a sling. 1616 Surfl. & Markh. Country Farm 712 Net..fastened bought-wise unto the end of a long pole. |
| β 1562 Inv. Q. Mary's Dresses in Sat. Rev. (1863) 12 Dec. 764/2 [Fardingales..expanded by whalebones] bowtis of quhaill horne. 1575 Banister Chyrurg. ii. (1585) 279 Let it be tyed first with ij inuolutions or bowtes. 1632 Milton L'Allegro (1863) 140 In notes, with many a winding bout Of linkéd sweetness long drawn out. a 1648 Ld. Herbert Life, One curl rising by degrees above another, and every bout tied with a small ribband. |
b. A coil, fold, or ‘knot’ formed by the body of a serpent, the tail of a horse, etc. Now poet. (revived by Tennyson).
| α [c 1300 K. Alis. 4712 Of theose bought was heore croune.] c 1435 Torr. Portugal 558 Abowght the schyld he lappyd yt ther, Torrent the bowght asondyr schere. 1591 Spenser Virg. Gnat 255 He..wrapt his scalie boughts with fell despight. 1633 H. Cogan Pinto's Trav. xxxv. (1663) 140 An Adder of Brass, infolded into I know not how many boughts. |
| β 1596 Spenser F.Q. i. xi. 11 His huge long tayle..Whose wreathed bouts when euer he vnfoldes. |
| 1872 Tennyson Gareth & Lynette p. 16 The dragon-boughts and elvish emblemings Began to move, seethe, twine and curl. 1906 C. M. Doughty Dawn in Britain IV. xv. 148 Like as some serpent, which..in the sun, displays her glittering boughts. |
† 3. (cf. bought v.1 quot. 1521.) Obs.
| 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. lxviii, The beme of that sterre was bryghter than the sonne and at the bouȝt of the beme appered a dragons hede. Ibid. lxix, The hede of the dragon that is seyn at the bought of the beem. |
▪ II. bought, bught, n.2 Sc.
(baʊxt, bʌxt)
Also bowght, boucht, bucht.
[Etymology obscure: it answers in form to the prec.; but the connexion of sense is uncertain. The Gael. buchd appears to be from Lowl. Sc.]
1. A sheep-fold; spec. a pen for confining ewes at milking-time.
| 1513 Douglas æneis ix. ii. 64 As we se..The wyld wolf..Abowt the bowght [v.r. boucht] plet al of wandis tyght. 1813 Hogg Kilmeny xxiv, Broke from their boughts and faulds. |
2. ‘A square seat in a church, a table-seat.’ Jam.
3. Comb., as bought-door, bought-seat.
| 1807 Hogg Mt. Bard 27 (Jam.) The bught door is always carefully shut at even. |
▪ III. † bought, v.1 Obs.
Also 6 bowght, bowt, 8 Sc. bught.
[f. bought n.1]
trans. and intr. To bend, wind, fold; to link.
| 1521 Fisher Wks. 324 Nor a syngle beme of the sonne is nothynge so myghty as whan it is doubled and bowghted in itselfe by reboundynge and reflexyon. 1555 Fardle Facions i. vi. 100 Nature hath made..hollow Guttres, and Criekes into the maigne lande, bowtyng and compassyng in and out. 1832 Whistle-Binkie (Sc. Songs) i. (1853) 121 When the canvassin' cam' round, the member walk'd about, And bughted i' the Provost's arm. |
▪ IV. bought, bught, v.2 Sc.
[f. bought n.2]
1. trans. To pen or fold (sheep). Hence ˈboughting vbl. n.
| 1724 Ramsay Tea-T. Misc. (1733) I. 72 At boughting-time to leave the plain In milking to abide thee. 1792 Burns My ain kind Dearie, The eastern star Tells bughtin-time is near, my jo. |
2. gen. To inclose, fence in; hence ˈboughted ppl. a. bouchting-blanket, ‘a small blanket, spread across a feather-bed, the ends being pushed in under the bed at both sides’ (Jamieson).
| 1807–10 Tannahill Bonnie Wood Craigie Lee, The mavis, down thy bughted glade, Gars echo ring frae every tree. |
▪ V. bought, ppl. a.
(bɔːt)
[pa. pple. of buy, which see for forms.]
a. Purchased; freq. in comb. dear-bought (cf. dere abought under abye). bought-book: (Comm.) a book for keeping an account of bought goods. bought-in, bought-out: purchased from an outside source (i.e. not raised or produced on one's own premises). (See also buy v. 6, 8.) b. fig. (see senses of buy) Ransomed, gained by a sacrifice; also bribed, etc. † bought plea: a groundless accusation.
| 1599 Porter Angry Wom. Abingd. (1841) 104 Tis an olde prouerbe..bought wit is the best. 1636 Rutherford Lett. lxxv. (1862) I. 193 This was but a bought plea and I was a fool. 1646 Crashaw Delights of Muses (1652) 134 More than..a bought blush, or a set smile. 1700 Dryden Palamon & Arc. 1687 Bought senates and deserting troops are mine. 1796 Burke Regic. Peace ii. Wks. VIII. 230 Dear⁓bought advantages. 1849 Freese Comm. Class-bk. 101 The Bought, or, Bills of Parcels Book, into which are entered the particulars of all goods bought. 1894 Daily News 8 June 9/6 Several parcels have been cleared since the late auctions, at the bought-in prices. 1947 N. Balchin Aircraft Builders 26 Joint committees on..materials, sub-contracting, and bought-out parts and spares. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 16 Feb. 109 Bought-in store cattle. |
Add: b. bought deal (Comm.), an arrangement whereby a securities house buys a complete issue of shares and resells them at a price agreed with the issuer.
| 1981 Business Week 2 Mar. 130/1 Another major concern is the ‘bought deal’—the current method of marketing new issues overseas. 1986 Economist 6 Sept. 71/1 Many British companies will be tempted by bought deals: they are quicker to organise than rights issues and also cheaper. 1989 Management & Leveraged Buy-Out Mag. Summer 40/2 We can call on the vast resources of Lloyds Bank for the provision of the debt element in buy-outs which with our own underwriting capability enables us to finance major bought deals. |