▪ I. deˈliver, a. Obs. or arch.
Also 4–7 delyuer(e, (4 delyure, 5 deliuuer, -liuere, -lyvyr, 6 -liure).
[a. OF. delivre, deslivre (cf. It. dilibero), vbl. adj. from delivrer to deliver.]
† 1. Free, at liberty. Obs.
| c 1305 Edmund Conf. 290 in E.E.P. (1862) 78 He ne miȝte him wawe fot ne hond: his poer him was binome; Ac delyure he hadde al his þoȝt. |
2. Free from all encumbrance or impediments; active, nimble, agile, quick in action.
| c 1350 Will. Palerne 3596 Douȝthi man and deliuer in dedes of armes. 1375 Barbour Bruce iii. 737 Bot the Kingis folk, that war Deliuer off fute. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 289 Delyvere men strong and swyþer. c 1430 Lydg. Bochas iii. i. (1554) 70 b, Light and deliuer, voyde of al fatness. 1472 Paston Lett. No. 696 III. 47 He is one the lyghtest, delyverst, best spokyn, fayrest archer. 1530 Palsgr. 309/2 Delyver of ones lymmes as they that prove mastryes, souple. Delyver, redy, quicke to do any thyng, agile, deliuré. a 1562 G. Cavendish Wolsey (1827) 141 A number of the most deliverest soldiers. 1580 Sidney Arcadia (1622) 326 Pyrocles, of a more fine and deliuer strength. 1600 Holland Livy xxviii. xx. 683 b, Being men light and deliver of bodie. |
| arch. 1814 Scott Wav. xlii, Mr. Waverley looks clean-made and deliver. 1887 Eng. Illust. Mag. Nov. 72 He is the most deliver at that exercise I have ever set eyes on. |
† 3. Delivered (of a child). Obs.
| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 1084 Alle hende þat honestly moȝt an hert glade, Aboutte my lady watz lent, quen ho delyuer were. c 1325 Metr. Hom. 168 That this abbas suld paynes dreght, And be delyuer of hir chylde. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xv. 67 Mary was delyuer of hir childe vnder a palme tree. c 1460 Towneley Myst., Purif. Mary 117 Ffourty dayes syn that thou was Delyuer of thy son. |
▪ II. deliver, v.1
(dɪˈlɪvə(r))
Also 3–5 deliure, 3–6 delyuer(e, 4 deliuyr, delyuyr, dilyuer(e, 4–5 delyuir(e, 4–6 delyure, diliuer(e, 6 Sc. delywer.
[a. F. délivrer, in OF. also deslivrer, = Pr. de-, deslivrar, Cat. desliurar, OSp. delibrar, It. diliberare:—late pop. L. dēlīberāre, in Romanic partly refashioned as *deslībrāre (de- I. 6), used in sense of L. līberāre to set free, liberate (see Du Cange). (In cl.Lat. dēlīberāre had a different sense: see deliberate.)]
I. 1. trans. To set free, liberate, release, rescue, save. Const. from, out of, † of. † a. To release from a place. Obs. (exc. as merged in b, and as a traditional phrase in reference to gaol-delivery).
| c 1325 Coer de L. 1140 Whenne I am servyd off that fee, Thenne schal Richard delyveryd bee. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xi. 45 Scho delyuerd þe lordes oute of þe toure. 1513 More in Grafton Chron. II. 798 The Lorde Stanley was delivered out of ward. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 277 The way turned short east..and delivered us entirely from the mountains. 1768 Blackstone Comm. III. 134 That they could not upon an habeas corpus either bail or deliver a prisoner. 1863 H. Cox Instit. ii. x. 534 A commission of general gaol delivery. |
b. Now esp. To set free from restraint, imminent danger, annoyance, trouble, or evil generally.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 234 Nolde heo neuer enes bisechen ure Louerd þet he allunge deliurede hire þerof. c 1250 Old Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. 33 Þet he us deliuri of alle eueles. 1382 Wyclif Matt. vi. 13 And leede vs nat in to temptacioun, but delyuere vs fro yuel. c 1386 Chaucer Moder of God 34 Fro temptacioun deliure me. 1549 Bk. Com. Prayer, Litany, From al euill and mischiefe, from synne, from the craftes and assaultes of the deuyll; from thy wrathe, and from euerlastyng damnacion: Good lorde deliuer us. 1611 Bible 1 Sam. xvii. 37 The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion..he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. 1651 Reliq. Wotton. 199, I fell into these thoughts, of which there were two wayes to be delivered. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. xii. 205 God..had..delivered me from blood⁓guiltness. 1845 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 26 Chilperic was delivered from the necessity of inventing any new expedient. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxiv. 396 Stood in body before them, a fainting host to deliver. |
† c. spec. To release or free (any one) from his vow, by putting him in a position to discharge it; to accept combat offered by. [So in OF.] Obs.
| ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1688 Ȝif thow hufe alle the daye, thou bees noghte delyuerede. 1470–85 Malory Arthur vii. xiv, I care not..what knyghte soo euer he be, for I shal soone delyuer hym. 1475 Bk. Noblesse 77 For to take entreprises, to answere or deliver a gentilman that desire in worship to doo armes in liestis to the utteraunce, or to certein pointis. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccclxxiii. 617 Then it was sayd to all the knightes there about, Sirs, is there any of you that will delyuer this knight?.. Sir Wylliam of Fermyton..sayd..if it pleases him a lytell to rest hym, he shall anone be delyuered, for I shall arme me agaynst hym. |
† 2. a. To free, rid, divest, clear (a) of, (b) from.
| c 1314 Guy Warw. (A.) 3248 Deliuer þi lond..Of alle þine dedeliche fon. c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iii. i. 64 Who so wil sowe a felde plentiuous lat hym first delyuer it of thornes. 1540–1 Elyot Image Gov. (1549) 32 At last god hath deliuered the..of him. 1562 Homilies ii. Good Friday (1859) 411 It pleased him [Christ] to deliver himself of all His godly honour. 1868 Bushnell Serm. on living Subj. 21 The salutation will be quite delivered of its harshness by just observing that [etc.]. |
| c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 193 Anoynte þe pacient & þis wole delyvere him fro icching. 1627 Donne Serm. v. 50 Yet we doe not deliver Moses from all infirmity herein. 1632 Lithgow Trav. vii. 323 A stone..which hath the vertue to deliuer a woman from her paine in child-birth. 1677 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. To Rdr., If the Expressions..be..delivered from Amphibologies. |
† b. refl. To free oneself, get clear or rid of. Obs.
| c 1300 K. Alis. 1319 Anon they deliverid heom of Macedoyne. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon ix. 208, I counseyll you that ye..delyver yourselfe of Reynawde assone as ye maye. 1530 Palsgr. 511/1, I can nat delyver me of hym by no meanes. [1709 Berkeley Ess. Vision §51 [He] may be able to deliver himself from that prejudice.] |
c. to deliver a gaol: to clear it of prisoners in order to bring them to trial at the assizes.
| 1523 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford 34 To deliver any gayole w{supt}{suph}in the towne. 1535 Act 27 Hen. VIII, c. 24 §16 All suche iustices..shal haue auctoritee..to deliuer the same gaoles from time to time. 1890 Spectator 26 Apr. 584/2 The gaol must be delivered before the Judge leaves the assize town. |
† d. transf. To make riddance of, get rid of, dispel (pain, disease, etc.); to relieve. Obs.
| 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 405 b/1 A lytel medecyne ofte delyuereth a grete languor and payne. 1576 Baker Jewell of Health 53 b, This water..delyvereth the griefe of the stone. 1610 J. Guillim Heraldry iv. v. (1660) 282 That so his momentany passion..might by some like intermission of time be delivered, and so vanish away. |
3. a. To disburden (a woman) of the fœtus, to bring to childbirth; in pass., to give birth to a child or offspring. Rarely said of beasts. (The active is late and chiefly in obstetrical use.)
| c 1325 Metr. Hom. 63 For than com tim Mari mild Suld be deliuerd of hir child. c 1340 Cursor M. 5562 (Fairf.) Þer wimmen..ar deliuered be þaire awen sliȝt. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. lxxi. 53 Tyme come that she shold be delyuered and bere a child. 1484 ― Fables of æsop i. ix, A bytche which wold lyttre and be delyured of her lytyl dogges. 1568 Tilney Disc. Mariage C viij, To have thy wyfe with childe safely delyvered. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. ii. ii. 25 She is, something before her time, deliuer'd. 1685 Cooke Marrow of Chirurg. iii. i. i. (ed. 4) 168 The third time they sent and begged I would deliver her. 1754–64 Smellie Midwif. I. Introd. 70 A better method of delivering in laborious and preternatural cases. 1805 Med. Jrnl. XIV. 521 By making an incision in the urethra..the patient might be delivered. c 1850 Arab. Nts. (Rtldg.) 448 The queen..was in due time safely delivered of a prince. |
| fig. 1634 Heywood Mayden-head well Lost i. Wks. 1874 IV. 108 My brain's in labour, and must be deliuered Of some new mischeife. a 1640 Peacham (J.), Tully was long ere he could be delivered of a few verses. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 281, I have been delivered of an infinite variety of speeches about virtue before now, and to many persons. |
† b. pass. Of the offspring: To be brought forth (lit. and fig.). Obs.
| 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. i. (1586) 12 All beastes so soone as they are delivered from their dam get upon their feete. c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. lxxvii. 11 Those children nursed, deliver'd from thy brain. 1604 ― Oth. i. iii. 378 There are many Euents in the Wombe of Time, which wilbe deliuered. |
4. To disburden, unload. ? Obs.
| 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §289 The Weston was delivered of her cargo. 1805 in A. Duncan Nelson 231, 26th. Delivered the Spaniard, and sunk her. 1851 Mayne Reid Scalp Hunt. xxxiv. 267 The brace of revellers went staggering over the azotea, delivering their stomachs. |
5. refl. To disburden oneself of what is in one's mind; to express one's opinion or thought; to utter words or sounds; to speak, discourse. (Cf. 10.)
| c 1340 Cursor M. 20391 (Trin.), I delyuered me of my sermoun. 1654 tr. Martini's Conq. China 217 He delivered himself thus unto them, ‘I hope by your valour to obtain the Empire of the world’. 1660 Trial Regic. 42, I now desire to know, whether it be proper now to deliver my self, before you proceed to the calling of Witnesses. 1713 Steele Englishman No. 3. 19 Some Merchants..delivered themselves against the Bill before our Houses of Lords and Commons. 1752 Fielding Amelia vi. vii, Amelia delivered herself on the subject of second marriages with much eloquence. 1869 Goulburn Purs. Holiness x. 91 Delivering Himself..in sentiments the very tones of which are unearthly. |
II. † 6. a. trans. To get rid of or dispose of quickly, to dispatch; refl. to make haste, be quick.
| c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1414 Þe mete & þe masse watz metely delyuered. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 302 Deliuer the..and mak na delay. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cccxxvi. 510 The Romayns..sayd, Harke, ye sir cardynalles, delyuer you atones, and make a pope; Ye tary to longe. 1530 Palsgr. 510/2, I delyver, I rydde or dispatche thynges shortly out of handes, Je despeche. |
† b. ? To dispatch, make away with. Obs. rare.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 3930 Þis breme best..Aȝt and tuenti men of armes onone scho delyuird. c 1450 Guy Warw. (C.) 10140 And wyth the grace of god almyght To delyuyr ther enmyes wyth ryght. |
III. 7. a. To give up entirely, give over, surrender, yield; formerly often spec. to give up to an evil fate, devote to destruction, ruin, or the like. Also with over (obs. or arch.), up.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 5012 (Cott.) Him sal deliuer your yongeist child. c 1340 Ibid. 15879 (Fairf.) He deliuered his maister vp. c 1300 Beket 724 The Kynges baillyf delivri him to anhonge other to drawe. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour E vij b, The moders of them shall be delyuered to the dolorous deth of helle. 1513 More in Grafton Chron. II. 771 That the goods of a sanctuary man, shoulde be delivered in payment of his debtes. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, iii. i. 29 See them deliuered ouer To execution, and the hand of death. 1600 E. Blount tr. Conestaggio 321 The French came from the mountaine, and..delivered up their armes. 1638 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 90 Hee also assaults Tzinner, which tho a while well kept..is in the end delivered. 1771 E. Griffith tr. Viaud's Shipwreck 97 To take our chance, and deliver ourselves over into the hands of Providence. 1777 Watson Philip II (1839) 133 ‘Count Egmont,’ said Alva, ‘deliver your sword; it is the will of the King that you give it up, and go to prison.’ 1845 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 2 When premiers deliver up their portfolios. |
† b. refl. To give oneself up, surrender, devote oneself. Obs.
| a 1533 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) B vj, I delyuered myselfe with greatte desyre to knowe thynges. |
8. a. To hand over, transfer, commit to another's possession or keeping; spec. to give or distribute to the proper person or quarter (letters or goods brought by post, carrier, or messenger); to present (an account, etc.). Const. to, or with simple dative.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 430 Alle þe byssopryches, þat delyuered were Of Normandye & Engelond, he ȝef al clene þere. c 1300 K. Alis. 1011 In a castel heo was y-set, And was deliverid liversoon, Skarschliche and nought foisoun. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxv. 119 He delyuers þis currour þe lettres. c 1440 Ipomydon 1282 Delyuere my mayde to me this day. 1530 Palsgr. 510/2, I delyver, I gyve a thyng in to ones handes to kepe. Je liure. 1535 Wriothesley Chron. (1875) I. 28 Who had his pardon delyvered him on the Tower Hill. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxii. 122 To joyn in a Petition to be delivered to a Iudge, etc. 1745 Col. Rec. Pennsylv. V. 9 He delivered back the String of Wampum sent him. 1843 Prescott Mexico (1850) I. 255 A message which he must deliver in person. 1881 Goldw. Smith Lect. & Ess. 260 The postmaster had written the letter as well as delivered it. 1892 Law Times' Rep. LXVII. 52/2 No bill of costs was ever delivered. Mod. Get the address from the postman who delivers in that part of the town. How often are letters delivered here? |
| fig. 1526–34 Tindale 1 Cor. xi. 2 That ye..kepe the ordinaunces even as I delyvered them to you. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. iv. iv. 37 The superstitious idle-headed-Eld Receiu'd and did deliuer to our age This tale of Herne the Hunter. 1794 Sullivan View Nat. II, Seven persons only were necessary to deliver the history of the creation and fall from Adam to Moses. |
b. Law. To give or hand over formally (esp. a deed to the grantee, or to a third party): see delivery 4 b (b). So ‘to deliver’ seisin of hereditaments, or a corporeal chattel.
| 1574 tr. Littleton's Tenures 15 a, If a man make a deede of feoffemente unto another..and delyvereth to him the deed but no livery of seisin. c 1590 Marlowe Faust. v. 110 Speak, Faustus, do you deliver this as your deed? 1623 in New Shaks. Soc. Trans. (1885) 505 W{supc}{suph} said Indent{supr} was sealled and deliuered by all the parties thervnto. 1767 Blackstone Comm. II. 306 A seventh requisite to a good deed is that it be delivered, by the party himself or his certain attorney. 1844 Williams Real Prop. vii. (1877) 148 The words ‘I deliver this as my act and deed’, which are spoken at the same time, are held to be equivalent to delivery, even if the party keep the deed himself. |
† c. poetic, with weakened sense of ‘To hand over, present’. Obs.
| 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. i. ii. 43 O that I..might not be deliuered to the world Till I had made mine owne occasion mellow. 1607 ― Cor. v. iii. 39 The sorrow that deliuers vs thus chang'd Makes you think so. |
d. Colloq. phr. to deliver the goods: see good a. C. 8. Now also absol. (chiefly U.S.); also const. on.
| 1942 in Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §243/3. 1959 F. Astaire Steps in Time (1960) xxi. 244, I have a horror of not delivering—making good, so to speak; and I can't stand the thought of letting everybody down—studio and public as well as myself. 1970 N.Y. Times 28 Oct. 46 This autumn the President has a major opportunity to deliver on his pledge. 1976 Sci. Amer. Sept. 160/3 Mrs. Gandhi could not deliver on her promises. 1978 Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts CXXVI. 351/2 If Toscanini's players didn't deliver at a rehearsal, Toscanini would explode. 1985 Company Dec. 82/1 Whether you go there for the art at the Louvre,..or just plain old sightseeing, Paris certainly delivers in full. |
IV. 9. To give forth, send forth, emit; to discharge, launch; to cast, throw, project: a. things material.
| 1597 T. J. Serm. Paules C. 37 The bow, being ready bent to deliuer the arrowe. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, v. iv. 59 A File of Boyes..deliuer'd such a showre of Pibbles. 1633 T. James Voy. 71 [The pump] did deliuer water very sufficiently. 1702 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) V. 207 The earl of Kent, as he was delivering his bowl upon the green at Tunbridge Wells last Wensday, fell down and immediately died. 1834 Medwin Angler in Wales I. 291 In delivering his harpoon he lost his balance. 1850 ‘Bat’ Crick. Man. 39 Before a ball is delivered, the umpires station themselves at their respective wickets. 1885 Manch. Exam. 15 May 5/2 The enemy..waited till Middleton's volunteers had approached very close before they delivered their fire. |
b. a blow, assault, attack, etc. to deliver battle: to give battle, make or begin an attack.
| 1842 Alison Hist. Europe XI. lxxv. §36. 349 The Emperor was..obliged to deliver a defensive battle. 1864 Daily Tel. 19 Nov., The assaults were badly delivered. 1874 Green Short Hist. vii. §6. 405 When Philip at last was forced to deliver his blow. |
† c. To put forth freely (bodily action, etc.): cf. delivery 6. Obs.
| a 1586 Sidney (J.), Musidorus could not perform any action..more strongly, or deliver that strength more nimbly. 1845 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. V. ii. 530 He [a horse] must..be taught to raise his knee and deliver his leg with freedom. |
† d. fig. To give out as produce, to produce, yield. Obs.
| 1605 Verstegan Dec. Intell. ii. (1628) 51 The mynes..do deliuer gold, siluer, copper. |
10. a. To give forth in words, utter, enunciate, pronounce openly or formally. (Cf. 5.)
Here the object is usually either something in the speaker's mind, as a judgement or opinion, or (now very commonly) the speech or utterance itself, with reference to its mode of delivery.
| 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 56 To a question by him propounded, this answere was delivered. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie ii. xiii. [xiv.] (Arb.) 134 The vowell is alwayes more easily deliuered then the consonant. 1615 Crooke Body of Man v. xxxi. (1616) 341 Galen deliuering the precepts of health. 1667 Pepys Diary (1879) IV. 435 He is..bold to deliver what he thinks on every occasion. 1771 Junius Lett. liv. 286, I am called upon to deliver my opinion. 1804 Med. Jrnl. XII. 384 Dr. John Reid..intends to deliver..a Course of Lectures on the Theory and Practice of Medicine. 1873 Hamerton Intell. Life 150 Like an orator who knows that he can deliver a passage, and compose at the same time the one which is to follow. 1882 Times 25 Nov. 4 The Master of the Rolls, in delivering judgment, said [etc.]. |
b. absol. or intr. To ‘deliver oneself’, discourse; to pronounce an opinion or verdict; to ‘make deliverance’.
| 1807 Robinson Archæol. Græca v. xxi. 525 They first delivered on civil affars: afterwards the discourse turned on war. 1859 Sala Tw. round Clock (1861) 97 Poor jurymen..understanding a great deal more about the case on which they have to deliver at its commencement than at its termination. |
† c. absol. or intr. To utter notes in singing.
| 1530 Palsgr. 510/2, I delyver quickly, as one dothe in syngynge..I never herde boye in my lyfe delyver more quyckely. |
† 11. a. trans. To declare, communicate, report, relate, narrate, tell, make known; to state, affirm, assert; to express in words, set forth, describe. Obs.
| 1557 Order of Hospitalls H vj, Goe to the Lord Maior, and deliuer unto him the disobedience of the said Constable. 1600 E. Blount tr. Conestaggio 219 The Duke..himselfe unto the king, delivered what hee had seene. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. v. ii. 4, I..heard the old Shepheard deliuer the manner how he found it. 1655–60 Stanley Hist. Philos. (1701) 114/1 The time of his birth is no where expresly delivered. 1664 Power Exp. Philos. i. 80, I will here deliver one or two Optical Experiments. 1768 Sterne Sent. Journ. (1778) II. 1 (Fille de Chambre) What the old French officer had delivered upon travelling. 1790 Paley Horæ Paul. i. 5 Particulars so plainly delivered..in the Acts of the Apostles. 1800 Vince Hydrostat. (1806) 5 Like his general principles of motion before delivered. |
† b. with obj. clause. Obs.
| 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 44 It was delivered hee hung himselfe for griefe. 1658 Browne Hydriot. i, That they held that Practice in Gallia, Cæsar expressly delivereth. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 161 Who founded these, their Annals nor their Sanscript deliver not. |
† c. with obj. and complement. Obs.
| 1636 Massinger Gt. Dk. Florence i. ii, She is deliver'd..For a masterpiece in nature. 1649 Milton Eikon. 11 History delivers him a deep dissembler. a 1687 Petty Pol. Arith. iv. (1691) 64 The Author..delivers the Proportion..to be as Thirty to Eighty two. |
V. 12. Pottery and Founding. To set free from the mould; refl. and intr. To free itself from the mould; to leave the mould easily.
| 1782 Wedgwood in Phil. Trans. LXXII. 310 To make the clay deliver easily, it will be necessary to oil the mould. 1832 Porter Porcelain & Gl. 50 The ware..dries in a sufficient degree to deliver itself (according to the workman's phrase) easily from the mould. 1880 C. T. Newton Ess. Art & Archæol. vi. 272 That oil or grease had been applied..to make the mould deliver. |
▪ III. † deˈliver, v.2 Obs.
[A variant of deliber v., with Romanic change of L. b to v, as in prec.]
= deliber, to deliberate, determine.
| 1382 Wyclif 2 Sam. xxiv. 13 Now thanne delyver, and see, what word I shal answere to hym. c 1440 J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. i. 966 Deliuer þis mater, so god ȝour soulys saue. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 520 Oft in his mynd revoluand to and fro, Syne at the last deliuerit hes rycht sone, To tak his tyme sen it wes oportune. |
Hence † deˈlivered ppl. a., determined, resolved.
| 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) I. 259 With deliverit mind to assailye thame in the brek of the day. 1552 Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 12 We consent nocht with ane deliverit mynd. |